I do not own DC's Legends of Tomorrow

AU-ish; in which John Constantine takes his time to contact the Legends, allowing the following to ensue between Jax's departure and Constantine's arrival

The Legends did not return to the Waverider unscathed. Sara walked onto the bridge, agent Ava Sharpe on her side. They were bruised and battered, but other than that, they were fine and did not suffer any major injuries. The same could not be said for the rest of the Legends. Sure, some injuries were inflicted before today, but that did not make them any better.

Amaya rushed past them. Taking firm steps, she made her way to the med bay as quickly as she could. She carried Nate, who leaned limply against her. He was unconscious, but luckily he was still breathing. Sara and Ava did not say a word – they let Amaya make haste to save Nate.

Leo and Zari entered the bridge next. They carried Ray with them, both holding an arm as they walked forward. Ray's feet dragged over the floor. Mick came in right behind them, never letting his eyes off of Ray. He tried to scratch off the thin layer of ice that covered the stump or tried to relieve an itch, but he did not really succeed, for he held his heat gun in that hand. Even though he was pissed off, it seemed like he treated it like a minor nuisance instead of something potentially life-threatening.

"You should go to the med bay," Sara told him. She only glanced at the stump. It had been cut off in the upper arm, right above the elbow. Just when you think you've seen it all… It was gruesome to see – she could handle seeing it, she just had a hard time looking at it, knowing who had taken Mick's arm.

"And do what, exactly?" Mick grunted, not looking up from his stump. "I'll live."

"For now," Leo chimed in. He and Zari had stopped, possibly so that they could partake in the conversation. Mick stopped scratching and Sara caught him rolling his eyes. "The bleeding has stopped, but it's only a temporary solution. Later, someone will have to take a look at it."

Before Mick could say anything in response, the doors slid open. Rip Hunter, who had stayed behind on the ship, hobbled towards them. He was careful not to put too much pressure on his left leg or to move it too quickly.

"Gideon's back online, but it'll take time to recover her medical abilities." By the time he finished talking, he had reached them. Ava Sharpe did not make eye contact, instead preferring to keep her eyes on Ray. Rip did not ignore her, but simply chose not to address her directly.

"What does that mean?" Zari frowned. So far, Gideon had been a blessing to the Legends, and every day she learned something new about the AI. It would take her a while to learn all there was to know about her.

"She can't treat people yet, but she can diagnose them," Rip responded. "I'll need more time."

"See?" Mick said, pointing his stump at the former captain, "Can't fix me yet." Rip's face paled slightly when he noticed the stump. He couldn't help but stare in disbelief. Sara sighed under her breath as Mick walked away from them, probably to fetch himself a beer. Life would be a bit easier if he listened every once in a long while.

Ray groaned. Everyone turned their heads to him, silent. Leo's grip tightened and Zari eyed him warily. He was waking up.

Mick growled. As soon as he heard the sound, he turned around and marched straight towards Ray. With a blow of his heat gun, Ray's body went limp again. It was a hard blow and it was possible Ray would feel it when he woke up. Mick turned around again and walked away in silence, off to get his beer.

Sara's eyes shifted from Mick to Ray. "Take him out of sight," she said. The sooner he was locked up, the sooner her team would be safe. Leo and Zari obeyed and took him away from the bridge. Ava followed them, and Sara suspected she would try to make sure Ray wouldn't cause any more problems.

With their departure, Sara and Rip were the only ones left on the bridge. Sara noticed the confused look in Rip's eyes as he watched how Ray was dragged away. She knew Rip would demand an explanation for everything that happened the past hour.

"What exactly happened out there?" Rip eventually asked. He turned his head to her. "I couldn't make contact—"

"It's a long story," Sara said. "How is your leg?" She changed the subject far too obviously. She was sure that Rip caught on, but she just couldn't discuss what happened. Not yet, at least. It was a long story, indeed, but also one she did not know the details of. It was easier to talk about Rip's injury than Ray's betrayal.

Rip's hand moved to his left thigh after the question. "Gideon said it isn't too bad. it will continue to hurt until it is mended."

"Sounds like you have a lot of work to do," Sara said. Rip nodded in response, still holding his tight. Sara glanced at it, too, and noticed the blood stains. The former captain had yet to change his pants. Those were the least of his concerns, anyway.

"I do, but it's not an easy feat. I'll work as quickly as I can." He was getting ready to turn around and return to the engine room, but Sara stopped him.

"Do you need some help?" Rip shook his head.

"I'll manage," he said. He needed the help, but he did not want anyone to help. That, or he believed everyone would be too busy figuring out what had happened to Ray.

"Good luck, then." With these words, she dismissed him. They went in opposite directions – Rip limped back to the engine room while Sara made her way to the library. It was empty, just the way she wanted it. She sat down in the chair and let a heavy sigh escape her mouth, placing her hand on her forehead.

How could this have happened? She tried to put together the puzzle, but there were several pieces missing. It made it impossible to find any logic behind Ray's rash behavior. She glanced at the screen opposite of her. Currently, there was nothing projected on it.

"Gideon?"

"Yes, captain Lance?"

"Pull up the live feed of the brig."

"Right away, captain." No second later, the screen showed her what was going on at the brig. Ray lay in the cell, still unconscious from Mick's blow. Zari locked the door while Leo and Ava watched. The doors slid closed and the three of them walked away, leaving Ray alone in the brig.

Sara leaned back in the chair, watching nothing else but the screen and the footage it showed. As she tried to figure out what was going on with him, she waited for him to wake up. The sooner he woke up, the sooner she would have to confront him about his actions, and the sooner she would find out what drove Ray to do these unspeakable things.

At that moment, nobody aboard the Waverider really knew anymore what Ray Palmer was capable of doing.