Brooklyn Archer //Book Six// - Legends of Tomorrow - COMPLETE

Chapter 9: Bay of Squids

3rd Person POV

"Rory, what time is it?" Ava questions as she and Jax walk sleepily into the parlor where Mick is standing at the table

"Technically, time doesn't exist in the Temporal Zone." Gideon tells Ava

"Yes, thank you, Gideon. I just mean it's early." Ava says as Jax yawns

"I got a hit on the alien that kidnapped our girls." Mick announces

"What?" Ava whispers

"Why the hell didn't you wake us sooner?" Jax questions

"Well, remember that sketch I drew?" Mick questions, holding out the drawing. "The, uh, squid face?"

"Oh, yeah, I thought it was chicken wings." Ava says, looking at the paper

"Well, Gideon helped me find this photo buried amongst some old KGB files." Mick says, holding up a photo. "Report about a crashed space alien. It was redacted until Putin was ousted from power in 2044."

"Redacted?" Jax scoffs. "Ousted? Dude, where are these words coming from?"

"I know words." Mick grumbles. "Look, uh, thanks for cleaning me up." He tells Ava

"Oh, thank you!" Ava exclaims, hugging Mick. "Oh, you even smell nice." She tells him, pulling away

Jax gives Mick a hand shake. "Seriously man, thanks." Jax tells Mick

Spooner, Zari, and Nate walk into the parlor. "Gang, great news." Ava tells the group. "Rory got a lead on the alien that took Sara."

"Hmm. Shocking, honestly." Zari says

"The pod we're looking for was picked up by military forces at 0600 hours." Mick says. "It's en route as we speak. The plan, rendezvous with it here. Any questions?"

"En route. Rendezvous. Est-ce que tu parles français, Rory?" Zari speaks French

"What?" Mick grumbles

"Hey, this is great, Mick, but shouldn't Gideon do the coordinates?" Nate asks

"Already set, numb nuts." Mick says

"Wait, shouldn't we stop by John's, pick up him and Astra?" Zari asks

Mick presses a button on the console and the ship lurches, causing everyone to stumble. "Let's move. It's a two-click hike through thick jungle."

"Right, I love the intensity, Rory, but just a little heads-up would be nice." Ava tells him

"Okay, hold up, I thought this was a time machine." Spooner says. "Why not bring us back an hour earlier? That way, y'all can change out of your pj's."

"Oh, girl, we don't ask those questions." Zari says, her and Spooner leaving the room

Ava looks at Jax who is staring out of the window of the waverider at the scene in front the ship. She walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hey..." She whispers. "You okay?"

Jax nods a small nod. "I just...I wanna be out in the field with y'all but...but I don't wanna leave Maddie or stop looking for more leads to find Brooke..."

"Rory's lead is the best that we have right now." Ava tells him. "And that's what it is: a lead. It's more than we've had in a while and it's a step in the right direction."

"I feel like I'm letting her down." Jax whispers, a tear pricking his eye as he continues to stare out the front window. "I feel like I can't protect her."

"The best way to protect your girl..." Mick says from the console, pulling the attention of Ava and Jax. "...is to protect her daughter." He says, looking up from the console at Jax who gives him a nod in thanks

***

Mick and an alien walk into an empty waverider late at night. Well, almost empty. Ava is standing at the console

"Oh, uh, this is not how it looks." Mick tells her

"I know." Ava tells him. "I owe you an apology. You saved the entire world from nuclear Armageddon, Rory."

"Well, I, uh... I had help." Mick says, looking to the alien that was at the console and rewiring a few things

"Yeah." Ava whispers, turning to look at the alien. "It doesn't say much, does it?"

"Oh, she does." Mick says. "You'd be surprised."

"Did you say she?" Ava asks to which he nods. "Huh. So what's the plan?"

"Well, she's hooking some kind of turbo charger to the Waverider." Mick says

"Why would she help us?" Ava asks

"I promised her I'd help her find her ship." Mick says

"Okay. Do you trust her?" Ava asks

"No, it's why I'm going alone." Mick says

"Oh... uh, no. But that... But no." Ava stammers

"You said your job is to protect history." Mick tells Ava

"I also said your job wasn't to think for yourself, but had you listened to any of my orders, we'd have absolutely no hope in finding Sara or Brooke, so I..." Ava trails off. "I guess you got this."

"Stop saying nice things." Mick grumbles

Ava hugs Mick tightly. "You just bring me back the girls, okay?" Ava tells him. "Good luck, big guy." She tells him

"What's going on?" Jax asks, walking in with Maddie on his hip

Ava looks over at Jax and then looks at Mick. "Why don't you fill him in, yeah?" She says before patting Jax's shoulder and leaving

"What's going on?" Jax repeats, staring at the alien next to Mick

"I'm going to space to find the girls." Mick says. "And I'm going alone."

"Like hell you are." Jax says, taking a step forwards and shifting Maddie to his other hip. "There's no way I'm letting you go alone."

"Your job is to keep the little one safe." Mick tells Jax. "Leave finding Brooke to me."

"How am I supposed to keep her safe?" Jax asks in an almost broken whisper

"You're her father." Mick says, putting a hand on Jax's shoulder. "You'll figure it out. But I will suggest that you take her away from all of this." He says, gesturing around to the waverider and then outside where the other Legends are still on their mission

"This is her home." Jax says

"Not her only home." Mick tells Jax. "I'll drop you off." He says

***

And when Jax leaves the ship, the waverider flies away with Mick and the alien, making its way into outer space

"Listen up." Mick orders the alien. "Before we start this little journey of ours, let's get a few things straight. Keep your slimy tentacles off my stash, understand?" The alien chitters. "That better be a yes." The alien chitters again. "Listen. If you're gonna run your ugly mouth off this whole trip, we're gonna have problems."

The alien morphs into a woman. "I was just asking if you had anything stronger onboard." She says. She grabs Mick's beer. "Don't mind if I do. Here's to long journeys." She toasts

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Hope you all enjoyed that chapter! Make sure to vote and comment! Next chapter will be up NEXT FRIDAY

-MC