Rip let out a shout, standing up. We had time-jumped way far back, apparently, and everyone was feeling the hurt because of it.

"It's been quite a while since I time-jumped far enough to experience side effects. Fond memories." he said, looking at his hand.

"I can't feel my face" Jax said, feeling his face to make sure it was still there.

"Fine feel I." Snart said from his seat beside me and I laughed.

"Linguistic dysplasia, that should pass shortly." Rip said, pointing at Snart as he explained why he was talking funny.

"Better it now." he said and I continued laughing, pointing at both of them.

"You're like two kids that just got their wisdom teeth taken out!" I shouted in my fit of laughter.

"Am I the only one who can't feel their face?" Jax asked, standing up. I tried to stand up and immediately fell face first on the ground, groaning.

"I can't feel my... I better not say." Ray said and I laughed once again.

"Mr. Rory appears unaffected." I heard Stein say as Snart helped my back up to my feet, only causing me to fall into him.

"What's going on? We time-jump?" Mick asked and I snorted another laugh.

"Yeah, we time-jumped." Sara said, sounding almost annoyed as she stood up, "But "where to?" is the better question." she said, looking at Rip as I finally regained balance.

"The town of Salvation, the Dakota territory, 1871." Rip answered and I nodded, pointing at him.

"That sounds neat."I said, "Why are we here?"

"To buy us time." Rip replied and I nodded once again, "We can hide out here while the hunters search the other fragmentations."

"What if they decide to check this place first?" Mick asked, skeptical about this plan.

"You know, feel free to loop us in whenever it's convenient." Kendra said, not understanding what was going on. I had it down and stored in my memory organ. The Hunters that Mick had warned us about were searching for us and Rip's plan to hide from them was to hide in the wild west as they tried to find us somewhere else. I was already expecting this plan to fail. I then realized that she was just wondering about what a fragmentation was and I had missed half of what Rip was saying while I was lost in my thoughts.

"...One of the other interesting notions of time travel is the existence of fragmentations." I tuned back into what he was saying.

"Temporal blind spots, specific places and times the Time Masters can't see." Mick explained for Rip and walked away to somewhere.

"The town of Salvation and it's surrounding environs are located within one of these fragmentations." Rip said and I nodded, pretending like I understood everything that was going on when I just wanted to get going and see what the wild west was like.

"So, basically, we're hiding out in the Old West and hoping your bogeymen don't find us here." Snart said,walking to stand beside a jump seat so he could rest his arm on it and lean on it to pretend to look cool like he always does.

"The Hunters are not bogeymen. And you better hope they don't find us." Mick corrected Snart, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Well, at least not until I get a chance to "punch a few doggies" or "bust a bronco" or two." Ray said, like his dorky self.

"You want to punch a doggy?" I asked, looking at him with a sad frown and he looked at me, his eyes widening.

"Oh, no, it's just a figure of speech." He said and I made an o shape with my lips before looking at the rest of the team.

"Have you guys ever heard that one before?" I asked. None of them answered as they looked at each other, Snart smirked slightly and Mick was holding back a smile, I could tell. The rest of the team just looked confused.

"Alas, you'll have to enjoy the Old West from in here, I'm afraid." Rip said and walked to his office as we all looked at him.

"Oh, come on." Sara pleaded, "What's the harm in us just taking a look around?" she asked and I stifled a laugh.

"With this group?" Stein asked, saying what I was thinking, "Clearly, you haven't been paying attention." he said and I bit my lip to hide a smile. Ray groaned.

"If I'm in the Old West and I don't get to look around, I'm gonna kick myself." Ray complained.

"I can help with that." Snart said with a smile.

"Have fun being a punching bag." I smiled at him and he glanced from me to Snart before back to me, fear in his eyes.

"I'll keep an eye on them. Don't worry." Mick said, leaning just a little bit closer to Rip, "I'll be a good boy." he said and walked away.

"So we're going?" I asked excitedly.

101

We all went to the Fabricator room and created our own outfits, and I was very happy with mine. Let's go down the line, shall we?

Ray was wearing a white collared shirt and polka dotted tie under a light brown vest and a dark brown coat. He had brown trousers and a belt and boots, and wore a cowboy hat that hid his chocolate eyes and midnight hair. Kendra was wearing a dark red velvet jacket over a blouse. The jacket matched her velvet skirt and she wore a satchel over her shoulder with a bowler cap. Sara wore a white collared shirt and a red bandanna around her neck, a dark brown vest under a light brown trench coat type thing. She wore dark orange trousers and long boots and wore a fanny pack around her waist. Jax and Stein wore similar outfits to Ray, except Stein had a fedora and Jax had a bowler cap. Mick wore a blue button up over a yellowey-white collared shirt and had a yellow bandanna around his neck. He had a dark green coat and regular blue jeans with light brown boots. Snart was wearing a black collared shirt under a dark blue vest. He had on some kind of blue bandanna around his neck, but the part that's normally in the back was in the front. He wore a black coat, belt, black trousers, and boots.

And then there was me. Rip said I couldn't go out with my mask, so I ditched the mask as fast as I could. I looked like I had just come out of a Halloween costume magazine.

I'm joking. I was wearing an outfit similar to Sara's but with Snart's color scheme. I was outgoing, but not that outgoing.

As we walked through the town, civilians stared, glared, glanced, synonyms. We stayed silent and mysterious, but I began to hum tunes to old Western movies and they all looked at me like I'd killed a party.

"What? I'm just setting the mood." I said. A few rolled their eyes, most of them smiled at me, but they all turned back around to keep walking.

We soon came across a saloon and walked into it.

"Remember, we're just here to get the lay of the land. No trouble." Stein warned and I nodded, pretending like I cared.

"Sure that'll happen." Sara said, doubtfully.

"I need a drink." Mick said and immediately made his way to the bar.

"Make that a double." I said and turned to Snart, "I'll catch up with you." I grinned before following Mick to the bar, hearing Ray say something but not catching what it was.

Mick, Sara, Kendra and I had gone to the bar and were taking shots before I turned to Mick. I'd drank before, but I was a fairly light drinker and I could admit it, I'd rather tea than any other drink in the world.

"Glad to have you back." I said before stealing his shot and taking mine, walking over to where Snart had sat before he could argue with me. Stein was playing cards with some guys and Snart was watching, I handed him the shot, "Drink it or I will and you don't want to see me tipsy or drunk." I said, already feeling slightly buzzed as I swallowed my own shot. He smirked and downed it, putting the glass down on the table. I smiled and rested my hands on his shoulders as I watched Stein play. He laid down some cards with a smile and began claiming his now won money.

"Thank you, gentlemen."

"I'm impressed." Snart complimented Stein, something he didn't do often to anyone.

"My father was what some might call a degenerate gambler, others would say criminal. When I was old enough, he'd pull me in on some of his schemes. I picked up a thing or two at a few of the card tables he frequented. Then I took a different path." Stein put some money down on the table and began to look through his cards before looking at Snart, "Like father, like son isn't always inevitable, Mr. Snart." he said and I knew it was a direct blow to Snart because of the things that his father had done and what he had become because of them. Stein put down all his cards and began to reach for the stack of cash before some creepy guy with a ginger ponytail and beard slammed his hand down on Steins.

"I had a full boat." he argued.

"As did I. Full of kings which beats your pair of queens." he said and the guy moved his hand as a waitress set down a glass of some kind of alcoholic drink that most likely tasted of gasoline. Creepy guy grabbed her wrist and looked up at her.

"Don't I look busy to you?" he asked angrily and a hateful rage began to come over me and I could tell Snart noticed as he gestured for me to lean closer to him.

"You're beginning to uh, smoke up, angel." he said. The nickname made me melt until I realized he was right. I looked at my hands (which were still on his shoulders) to see that smoke was drifting out of my fingertips. I quickly hid my hands behind my back as the waitress spoke.

"I'm sorry. I-"

"You spill another drop of that whiskey, and you will be."

"Hey, leave her alone." I said, not being able to contain my rage anymore. He looked at me, "Just because you're crap at cards doesn't mean you can treat her like that." I said and he glared at me.

"Mind you're own business, wrench."

"Unhand the lady." Stein butted in, standing up.

"Now, now, boys and girl, let's just take it easy." Snart said and I looked down at him. Creepo let go of the waitress and she left in a flash.

"Oh, when this guy decides to be reasonable, we know there's a problem." I said, referring to Snart.

"I'm not the one with the problem." creepo stood up, "You are."

He reached for his gun and aimed it at me, but when I heard a gunshot, I wasn't the one with a bullet in me. Creepo fell to the ground and I looked down at Snart, who was holding out his gun.

"You killed him." Stein said in disbelief and Snart looked at us.

"You're welcome." he said from his seat and I smiled.

"Thanks." I said quietly and he winked at me the best he could with his black eye. Everyone in the saloon began standing up, not liking the fact that we had killed someone. There was one specific person that was staring at us, looking about ready to blow our heads off.

"Clearly, the deceased was a friend of yours, but our friend here-" Stein stared and Snart cut him off, standing up.

"Your friend drew first, got put down. It was a clean shot." Snart explained faster than Stein would have.

"Do we look like we care about clean?" some guy said, getting in Snart's face.

"Obviously not, I mean just look at your outfit." I said, being sassier than I probably should have been in this situation. The guy swung at Snart and I growled, ready for another good bar fight. I hadn't had one since the first mission. Snart swung back and knocked the guy down with ease. I turned and began fighting anyone and everyone that wanted fought with, not using my powers so I wouldn't give myself away. I threw men down on tables, smashed some glasses, until someone grabbed me from the back of my coat, "Hey, so I know this is a bad time, but you should really look out." I warned.

"For what?" he snarled in my ear. I heard something hit the guy in the head and he let go of me, falling to the ground. I turned around to see Ray looking at the unconscious body before looking up at me.

"Thanks, awesome timing. I'll hug you later." I said. His face held a confused expression as I went back to fighting. I looked at the bar to see Mick passed out and I laughed before turning and punching some guy that had been trying to sneak up on me. I grinned as he fell to the floor and wiped my hands off.

Everything stopped when some guy was thrown into the piano, making the guy playing it stop, and another gunshot sounded throughout the saloon. We all turned to the man that had caused it.

"Alright!" he shouted as he walked out of the shadows. He wore a military looking outfit with a long coat and cowboy hat. He had slight facial hair that matched his dark hair,  but his most prominent feature was his face. He was like a better looking Harvey Dent. Half of his face looked like it had been melted and I quietly breathed in with a hiss, "Playtime's over. Anybody's got a problem with that, they answer to me." he said with a raspy voice. I gulped and walked over to the rest of my team (other than Mick, who was still passed out at the bar. Too bad he missed all the fun). The man started walking closer to us and I forced a smile.

"Thank you-" Stein started and before he could say anything else, I took a long stride and reached a hand out to the guy.

"Cassie Carlisle, and you are?" I asked with a big grin on my face. He looked at my hand and hesitantly shook it.

"Hex, Jonah Hex." he introduced himself and I smiled as I dropped my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hex-sir." I said and backed up slightly so I was standing next to Stein again, who looked utterly done with me.

"You're not from around here, are you?" he asked and I looked at Stein as he struggled for an answer.

"No. My friends and I are, uh, from out of town." he said and I nodded, as did Jonah.

"Way out of town." he said and my eyes widened as I passed a glance at the rest of my team before looking at him.

We decided to bring the conversation outside, because talking about time travel in a room full of angry people would not be the best thing. As we were walking down the steps and into the dirt, Jonah spoke again.

"Alright, why don't you folks tell me where you're really from?" he asked and I immediately came up with a response, about to speak when Ray beat me to it.

"I'm not sure that's any of your business, sir." he said and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Let me rephrase that." Jonah said and turned back around to us, "Tell me when y'all from." We all glanced at each other, he seemed so sure of himself, "You eight stick out like a dog in a manger."

"Like he said, we're not from around here." Jax said and I nodded.

"Maybe you just need your head checked." I said and he shot me a deadly glare, "But you probably don't, sir. You seem like an intelligent and sane man, sir." I spit out quickly, not wanting to die today.

"You think you're the first time travelers I've ever come across?" he asked and I looked at my hands.

"I mean, it would be worrying if we weren't." I said, giving away that we were time travelers before covering my mouth, "I mean-"

"Cass?" I heard Sara and looked up at her.

"Yeah, babe?" I asked, using the nickname we used to call each other. She smiled kindly at me.

"Shut up." she said before we both turned our attention back to Jonah.

"Where is he?" he asked and I raised an eyebrow, opening my mouth to say something before shutting it again, "I got some words that need saying."

"Where is who?" Sara asked, just as curious and confused as the rest of us.

"Rip Hunter."

101

We decided to bring Jonah back to the ship, thinking it was the best idea. He was doing some kind of work so I skipped into his office before any of the others were even in the bridge.

"Hi Rippy!" I chirped as I looked at what he was doing. He looked at me in confusion.

"What did you do? You did something didn't you?" he asked and I held up my hands in defense.

"Hey, I didn't start it." I said and he gave me a basic bitch-face. We heard a knock on the glass and looked up to see Jax, Ray, and Jonah walk in. Rip gently pushed me aside as he began walking to the door of his office.

"What is it about you people that whenever we go to a new timeline, you feel the need to pick up..." he said, raising his voice slightly before Jonah turned, showing his face. Rip paused, "strays?" he finished his question as I followed behind him, hands behind my back. I felt guilty, but I didn't know why. Jonah turned around, looking around the ship.

"Nice." he said and I walked past Rip, "I didn't get to see it last time around."

"Last time?" me and Ray asked in unison.

"A long story, which we will not be telling." Rip said as he walked closer to Jonah.

"My coat suits you good." Jonah said. I had missed something that Rip said, therefore I deemed it unimportant.

"What are you doing here, Jonah?" Rip asked as Snart moved away from me.

"Collecting on a bounty, wetting my whistle, when your friends here got in a lot of trouble." Jonah answered, finishing his sentence before facing us dramatically. If they knew each other before, then maybe this was why Rip's such a drama queen.

"We might've gotten into a barroom brawl back in town." Ray explained and I nodded, humming an "Uh huh".

"Well, that was entirely predictable." Rip said, rudely. I frowned and glared at him slightly. I hated when people were rude.

"One of 'em poured lead into a member of the Stillwater gang." Jonah said, walking past us. I watched him with a raised eyebrow.

"Mr. Rory." Rip immediately assumed.

"Snart, actually." Ray said.

"Oh, that was gonna be my next guess." Rip said with so much sass, Snart would be blown out of the water.

"This guy tried to kill Cassie, or Grey, or both! Snart saved them." Jax stood up for Snart and I nodded.

"Yeah!" I said and raised a hand for him to high five, which he did with a smile, which I returned.

"And brought this town a whole lot of hell in the bargain." Jonah said and both our smiles dropped, "Those boys you were trading hands with in the saloon-they're all members of the Stillwater gang."

"Why can't a gang ever be a bunch of good guys?" Ray asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, they'd always rather kill than hug. I mean, what's wrong with hugs?" I asked and he nodded at me.

"Jeb Stillwater and his friends been raiding this town for the past three months. Stealing, robbing, killing." he said and I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off, "And he don't want any hugs." he said and I shut my mouth immediately.

"Well, he'll have to go through us." Ray said, looking down at Rip. It was only then that I realized Ray is so much taller than Rip.

"No, he won't." Rip said, raising his index finger at Ray, then looking at him, "No doubt your-your little ruckus has already placed the timeline at risk, to say nothing of potentially alerting the Hunters to our presence here." He said angrily, exchanging glances between Jax, Ray and me.

"Sounds like someone's planning on busting out of town again." Jonah said and as if on cue, Mick walked into the bridge.

"Leaving already?" he asked.

"Hello sleepy head. How was your nap?" I asked, remembering him being passed out at the bar. He looked at me and did an obvious fake smile.

"Great," he dropped the smile, "but my head is killing me." he groaned and my eyes widened.

"I know how to fix that. Be back." I said and quickly left the room after grabbing my mask, mainly wanting to leave the tense environment. Something had happened between Rip and Jonah and I was slightly afraid to find out what. I popped my mask on my face as I walked through the halls until I got to the kitchen. In high school I had a jerk of a boyfriend that loved to get drunk at parties every weekend and I was the one who always had to fix it so I picked up a little bit of useful knowledge.

Once in the kitchen, I got a bottle of water and a Gatorade, along with a burger and ginger snaps, eating a snap, I walked out of the kitchen and to the Med bay, grabbing a bottle of aspirin and shoving it in my pocket before walking back to the Bridge.

Mick was sitting in one of the seats and the rest were nowhere to be seen. Mick was holding his head, seeming in pain.

"Where'd they go?" I asked and he turned towards me.

"Out to fix, uh, something." he said and stood up, "You got whatever you said could help?" he asked and I nodded, holding out the food.

"Eat up, should help a little and then I have," I pulled out the aspirin from my pocket, he had already started scarfing down the burger, "These." I finished my sentence and he looked at me.

"How do you know so much about hangovers?" he asked as I walked to the jump seat, sitting down. I took off my mask and sighed.

"Useless lives lead to learning useless things, but I'm glad because in this case it wasn't useless." I smiled and he nodded, sitting down in a seat across from me, "Where did you say the rest were again?"

101

Mick and I had left the ship, meeting up with Jax before we heard gunshots and walked in the direction of them. Mick seemed to be doing better since the food and medicine, which I was grateful for. There were men on horses riding into town, shooting their guns to the sky and I raised an eyebrow. They must be the Stillwater gang.

"One of mine is dead. And this here town's gonna pay." the leader, I was guessing Jeb, said. Ray walked into the middle of the street and I furrowed my eyebrows before looking at Mick and Jax. Jax looked confused and Mick looked like Ray had done something stupider than forgetting your glasses are on your face, "Now, who the hell are you supposed to be?" Jeb asked.

"John Wayne." Ray answered confidently and I snorted a laugh, "Salvation's new sheriff." he said and my smile dropped as Mick, Jax, and I exchanged glances, "And this here town is under my protection." he said and I could already see something going wrong and nothing had even started yet.

"Well, you being new and all, you don't know about the arrangement that we got. See, me and my boys, we ride into town, we take whatever we want." Jeb said and I let out a low growl.

"In exchange for what?" Ray asked. Jeb looked at his "boys".

"Not killing nobody." he said and him and his gang laughed a bit. I began to walk forward, but someone stopped me, grabbing my arms. I turned to see Mick.

"Down, girl." he said quietly, staring at the gang and I sighed, looking back at them.

"Well, that sounds reasonable and all, but arrangement's over." Ray began taking steps closer to the gang and anxiety welled up in  my chest. Ray is going to get himself killed one day and today better not be that day or I'll kill him myself.

"Arrangement's over, boys." Jeb said, turned to his posse. The gang continued to chuckle and snicker as their leader got off his horse, "They teach you numbers where it is your from?" he asked and I contained a laugh, only about a genius worth of them, "'Cause the way I see it, there's only one of you and a whole mess of us." he said and pulled out his gun, getting ready to shoot Ray when the gun was shot from his grip. We all looked towards where the gunshot had come from the see Snart on a rooftop and I smiled.

"You get out of town, and you don't come back, or the next bullet goes in your eye." Ray threatened, "I got sharpshooters all around. You really want to test me?" he asked, lying through his teeth. Jeb looked deep in thought before backing up slightly.

"Let's ride, boys." he hopped on his horse and they fled. Everyone began applauding Ray and Mick let go of my arms. I ran up and engulfed him in a hug. After, I pulled back and slapped him so hard, his head turned.

"Ow!" he complained.

"The hell were you thinking? What if Snart hadn't have been there? You'd be dead. Ray, if you die, I'll get somebody to bring you back from the dead and kill you again myself." I threatened in a shout before hugging him again, "But that was a really good thing you did." I said quietly and I knew he was smiling as he hugged back.

101

We got back on the Ship and I was standing in between Ray and Snart as we walked, Jax and Mick in front of us and Jonah and Stein behind us.

"Dude, that was bad ass." Jax said, chuckling.

"Let's not oversell it." Snart said. He seemed to be in a bad mood and I didn't know why, but I certainly wanted to.

"Running a bad guy out of town's always been on my bucket list." Ray said smiling proudly.

"Bucket list?" Jonah asked from behind us in curiosity.

"A list of things one hopes to accomplish before they die." Stein explained so we didn't have to.

"Well, you better hope it's a real short list, String Bean." he said to Ray and I snorted.

"We can handle the Stillwater gang." Ray said as we all walked onto the Bridge. Needless to say, Rip wasn't very happy with us... At all.

"Well, you're all just tearing up the 1870's, aren't you?" he asked with sass. He was just a little ball of sass today, and I wasn't sure if I found it amusing or annoying.

"Stillwater and his gang's like a hornet's nest, and your friends here keep poking at it." Jonah said angrily and I rolled my eyes, sitting in a jump seat. I was tired of these angry conversations, we did what was right and we saved the day, easy. Snart walked up behind the seat I was on and leaned on it, like he always does.

"They saved the town from being raided, man." Jax stood up for Ray and the rest of us.

"Today, but what about tomorrow... Or the day after that?" Jonah asked, looking at each of us, "For a bunch of time travelers, you don't seem to understand the future much." he said, walking up on the platform that had the computer table in the center of it, "The day will come when you'll all leave... And Salvation will end up like Calvert." I raised my hand but Mick beat me to it.

"What's a Calvert?" he asked and my raised hand pointed at him as I nodded.

"A closed matter." Rip answered quietly as he leaned against the non-door frame door frame, "A word, Mr. Hex?" he asked and I looked at Jonah as Rip stood taller, "I believe you've all done enough for one day." he began to walk in his office and Jonah followed as I looked at the rest of the team.

"Well, now I definitely want to know what a Calvert is." Mick said and I looked down at my hands.

"Then it's a good thing we have access to a supercomputer. Gideon?" everyone began circling around the computer table, but I stayed sitting.

"Calvert was a town in Oklahoma circa 1868." Gideon said and Jax knitted his eyebrows together.

"Was?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter." I whispered. I knew the screen was showing pictures and reports of the town, and I knew it was bad from everyone's faces. I didn't want or need to see.

101

The boys had gone to take care of Stillwater. I wasn't interested. Okay, I was a little bit, but Jonah didn't seem like he wanted me on the mission and I kind of didn't want to leave Rip alone. I mean, he's a smart guy, he was just being a real idiot here. I knew Calvert was bad, I just didn't understand what it had to do with Rip.

"Hey there, Rippy." I said, using the new nickname for him as I skipped into his office. He let out a sigh and looked up at me as I pulled up a chair to his desk, sitting beside him.

"Since when did you start calling me that?" he asked and I thought about it.

"Earlier today, anyways, I was wondering if you might need some help. I'd be happy to help." I smiled and he looked back at whatever he was working on.

"Not right now, Cass." he said before looking back up at me, "But you know who I am sure of needs your help right now?" he asked and I shook my head, "The rest of the team going after the Stillwater gang."

"Why do you think they need my help?" I asked and he smiled slightly, leaning closer to me.

"Because they're all men, you're the smartest one." he said and I tried to contain my laughter, failing miserably as I giggled.

"Nah," I mumbled, smiling, "I'm sure they can handle themselves."

101

"So let me get this straight, you guys went after the gang that kills everyone that gets in their way and you just left Jax there?" I asked in a shout as I looked at the gang. They all looked slightly guilty. I wasn't as upset as Stein, though. Jonah had suggested that we trade Jax for Stillwater, which was a stupid idea.

"Where is Stillwater?" Stein asked slightly angry.

"He's knocked out cold in the Med Bay." Ray said calmly and I crossed my arms, shifting my weight onto one foot.

"Well, this is a simple matter. We trade Stillwater for Jefferson as Mr. Hex suggested." Stein said and I shook my head before looking at Snart. His face was still beat to hell, not that surprising seeing as the stupid idea he decided to pull off only happened recently, but I couldn't help but feel bad.

"It's not that simple." Ray said, bringing me out of my thoughts as I noticed Snart was staring at me. I looked at Ray, trying to hide a slight blush on my cheeks that wasn't hidden by a mask this time, "If we release Stillwater, we're back to square one and the town is still in danger."

"So is the kid." Snart said, slightly angry, which surprised me.

"And we'll figure out a way to get him back without releasing Stillwater." Ray said I rested my elbows on the back of a jump seat, resting my chin on my hands.

"Why don't we play them?" I asked and they gave me questioning looks, "I mean we make it seem like we're trading and then we take both." I suggested, knowing it was a long shot.

"Surely they're too smart to fall for something like that. They'd probably want to take Stillwater first anyways." Ray said and I nodded, biting my lip.

"I got a notion." Jonah said and we turned our attention to him. He was standing by the screen on the other side of the room, leaning on it, "Set up a quick draw. You win, get your guy back. You lose, you set Stillwater free." He said, walking towards us.

"And, by "lose," you mean..." Stein trailed off, already knowing the answer.

"Get shot and killed." Snart finished bluntly. I lightly nudged him with my elbow.

"Oh, great. Pistols at high noon." Stein said sarcastically.

"Finally, someone's talking sense." Mick said, playing with his pistol and I rolled my eyes.

"There has to be another way, a better way." Stein tried to bargain.

"Sure." Jonah said, "Go after Stillwater with all your gear from the future. I don't know how that'll sit with your captain, though." he walked up to Rip and I already knew the answer as Rip hummed.

"Let's assume it's a bad idea." he said, turning to Jonah and I sighed.

"So who's standing in the middle of main street?" Mick asked.

"I'll do it." Ray said and I snorted.

"Do you even know how to fire a gun?" I asked and he gave me a bitch face of which I didn't even know he was capable of.

"I'm a decent shot... At least I was with an air rifle." he said and I nodded with a sassy hum, "And it's not like anyone else is stepping forward."

"I can't believe you're encouraging this." I heard Rip whisper to Jonah before they walked into his office.

"You know it's the only way." Jonah said as he followed.

"Dr. Palmer's going to get himself killed!" Rip shouted just loud enough so we could all hear, including Ray.

"I think you forfeited your right to an opinion when you refused to leave the ship since we got here." Ray called as he followed the two.

"I had good reason." Rip said angrily and I looked down at my feet again, shuffling closer to Snart.

"I don't like arguing." I whispered, knowing I sounded like a weakling, but I couldn't change the obvious.

"Because of Calvert." Stein said and Snart looked at me with some kind of soft emotion before turning as Stein walked into Rip's office and Snart leaned against the entrance.

"Yes, but not in the way that you think. Leaving Calvert, leaving this... era is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do." he said, turned to Jonah, but talking to everyone.

"And why is that, Captain?" Snart asked and I shifted. Rip sucked in a breath before answering.

"A Time Master is trained to do his work without interference, which means not helping people or  being a hero. But as you've seen, Dr. Palmer, this era offers many opportunities for heroism. I found it... enticing." he turned and I frowned slightly.

"And you still managed to leave." Jonah said, the betrayal was radiating off him at this point, "Something's been bugging me all these years. If you'd have known what Turnbull was going to do to Calvert, would you have left?" he asked and I already saw the many outcomes to that question as Rip turned back to look at Jonah. I looked down at my feet.

"That's the thing, Jonah. I did know."

"What?" I said, dragging it out and raising my pitch slightly. They turned to me and I held up my hands in defense, "Sorry, carry on."

When Jonah turned to Rip, he swung his fist at him, clocking him in the jaw and I jumped, running to the office. Snart swung his arm in front of me, stopping me before pulling me towards him. I saw Rip fall in his leather seat before pointing at Jonah.

"I deserve that." he said.

"You deserve a lot worse." Jonah said angrily, "You knew, and you still left?"

"Of course I knew. I was a Time Master. And therein lay the problem." Rip stood up and pointed to the rest of us, "Like Raymond, like Martin, I felt the pull of heroism of this era's penchant for being rife with opportunities to make a difference. That's one of the things that called to me, and that is why I had to leave." he said and I held onto Snart's arm, gulping, "Because had I stayed... I could no longer have remained a Time Master." he said and turned around, looking at his desk with all the papers scattered, "But I'm no longer a Time Master... Which is why I'll face Stillwater."

"Wait. I said that I would do it." Ray said in confusion as he took a step closer.

"And get yourself shot and killed? It's appreciated, but I'd rather you stayed alive." Rip said before turning back to Jonah, "Send word to Stillwater's posse. I believe high noon is in less than three hours."

101

I watched as Mick and Jonah talked and Ray talked to Rip. Snart walked out of the Sheriff's office with a gun aimed at Stillwater. I was leaning against the wall and he looked at me. I glared before smiling at Snart. I quickly leaned in while no one was watching and kissed his cheek, earning a wink as he continued. The rest of the Stillwater gang showed up, with Jax.

"I'll be drawing for Sheriff Palmer." Rip called so that everyone could hear.

"How do me and my boys know you're going to keep your word?" Stillwater asked as Snart flipped the gun in his hand skillfully, holding it out to him.

"Sheriff Palmer's a straight shooter." I heard Snart answer as Stillwater took the gun, making sure it was loaded and putting it in his holster.

"Then he should be the one in the street." he said as Snart walked back to where I stood, smiling slightly at me. Rip took a few steps to his spot and pushed his trench coat back as it waved in the wind. They both put their hands near their pistols, ready to shoot, one hand behind their backs. I covered my eyes, but spaced my fingers so I could still see which contradicted my first action. They reached for their guns and held them out, both shooting as some guy with a camera took a picture. I watched blood splatter as Stillwater fell to the ground and people immediately surrounded him, picking up his corpse and putting him in a casket. Someone untied Jax and he hopped off of his horse, running to us as we all gathered around Jax and Rip. I pulled Rip into a hug before doing the same to Jax, happy that they were okay.

"Jefferson, are you alright?" Stein asked as I pulled back from Jax.

"Yeah." Jax said and I backed up, standing beside Rip, "Did you just shoot somebody for me?" he asked, sounding very befuddled and I laughed quietly.

"Yeah. You're welcome." Rip answered as Mick walked and stood beside us.

"I don't think we're done here yet." Sara said as she walked past us. I looked up to see more people and groaned.

"Oh, no." Rip said and I realized who they were, my eyes going wide as the Hunters walked up to us, "They found us."

"No." I said sarcastically before gesturing to them. The middle one raised two guns, getting ready to fire as everyone in town ran for their lives. Smart move.

I heard a gunshot and turned to see Mick already shooting. I grinned and turned to Rip, who sighed. He reached into the pocket of his coat, pulling out my mask and handing it to me before going around and handing other futuristic toys to people. I popped my mask on as it powered up and grinned, black smoke wrapping around my arms as I formed my sledgehammer, letting out a cackle. Stein and Jax formed Firestorm and I saw Jonah cross himself, making me laugh louder. I ran at the Hunters, letting out a shout as I jumped up high and swung at them, with a smile on my face. One reached up and grabbed my throat, throwing me aside and I growled, getting back up easily. I threw my hammer, knocking one down for maybe five seconds.

"Wow, you guys are tough." I said in amusement as one walked up to me, "Did you not get enough hugs as a child?" I asked and swung my hammer at their side while they were caught off guard. I turned to see Mick stab one as Ray sliced into another one before I bashed my hammer down on the Hunter's head, just to make sure, you know? I walked back up to them and Mick looked more pissed off than when they got here.

"Well, that was easy." he said. Townspeople began gathering around and I grinned and waved at everyone as my hammer disappeared into smoke.

101

"So, how are you feeling, given your concerns about becoming addicted to this era once again?" Stein asked Rip, who scoffed.

"The last time I left, Martin, I did it to be with those closest to me. I'm doing the same again." Rip replied and I smiled. Sara, Snart and I were leaning against the computer table and Kendra and Ray had just walked into the Bridge. They were most likely having a moment outside. Mick was on the other side of the room and Jax was standing right in front of the window whereas Stein and Rip were just standing by the jump seats.

"So where to now?" Snart asked.

"Or, more specifically, when?" Sara corrected him and I pointed at her, nodding.

"Is there another Fragmentation we can hide out in?" Kendra asked worriedly.

"Unfortunately, matters are not quite so simple." Rip said and I rolled my eyes with a quiet groan as Jax hummed.

"How'd I know you were gonna say something like that?" he asked and I smiled.

"Rip's buddies." Mick said.

"And yours." Ray turned to him and I chuckled slightly.

"The Time Masters have issued Omega Protocols on all of us." Mick continued and I raised an eyebrow.

"That sounds pretty terrible." Ray said. I nodded.

"The worst kind of order they can issue..." He pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on and walked to us all, "they've sent the Pilgrim after us." he said which made me more confused.

"The guys that created thanksgiving?" I asked in a robotic tone and he looked at me, shaking his head with a face that said why would you even think that's close.

"The Pilgrim is the Time Master's most deadly assassin, and she will stop at nothing until each and every one of you are dead." Rip explained and I made an o shape with my lips. I totally knew that.

"Ooh, scary." Snart said and I looked at him with a small smile that was hidden by my mask, "Pretty sure we can handle ourselves."

"Indeed..." Rip trailed off, "which is why she won't be going after the present-day versions of you." he said and it clicked with us.

"She's hunting our younger selves." Mick clarified, "And she won't stop until each and every one of us has been erased from the timeline."