Chapter Text
~*~
Leonard took a slow, deep breath as he listened to the click click click of the dial as he waited for the tumbler to fall into place. The thunk he heard brought a satisfied smirk to his face, and he eased down the handle of the safe. When the door swung open, smooth as butter, Leonard pulled the stethoscope from his ears, folding it carefully before he draped them around his neck.
Personal safes weren't a particularly lucrative hit, but it had been a slow Tuesday evening and he needed to keep up his skills.
He slipped a diamond ring in his pocket and left the safe wide open, just to unsettle his target. If they'd actually wanted any of their valuables protected, they would have invested in a better safe.
He had an hour before either of the tenants were expected home, but he packed his tools and rose to his feet. He'd taken enough of a risk coming on his own—he didn't particularly like taking a larger risk with the possibility they might be back sooner. He went out the back door that they'd left unlocked and courteously locked up behind him as he passed.
A simple B-and-E used to amuse him, but he wondered for a second if he'd made it too easy by giving himself too much leeway. Choosing the right amount of time was tricky. Too little time and things got messy and dangerous. Too much time and the thrill was gone.
Having the Flash in Central had spoiled him.
Leonard went to the safe house he'd prepped for the job and stripped out of his black clothes, choosing jeans and a gray hoodie to wear as he threw his work clothes in a bag to be washed later. He'd been careful at the scene, but you never knew what pieces you left behind. Once he was ready, he grabbed his helmet and took his bike, conveniently hidden behind the building, out to the road. The drive was satisfying in a way that the theft was not, but his annoyance settled tension back into place on his shoulders, tightening his neck.
He ignored the discomfort and continued to drive to the safe house he intended to use for the night. There was a garage for his bike, a washer for his work clothes, and a bed where he could sleep, and it was good enough for now.
~*~
Leonard stalked up the stairs, ice coating his fists when he reached the double doors that lead into city hall. It was locked, but that didn't concern him, not when there was someone important waiting for him. He rested his hand against the wood and allowed the ice to flow from his fingers and out, sinking into the wood grain and coating the metal of the doorknob. It grew brittle beneath his hand, and he drew back, curled his fingers into a fist, and punched the door with all his strength. The wood splintered, the door swinging back on its hinges, and he stormed into the building, his steps echoing on the marble floor.
Lisa sat in a plain wooden chair, her ankles primly crossed, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her jaw was tight, the line of her back unyielding. Good girl. She always knew when to watch for an opportunity.
"C'mon, Rogues," Leonard drawled, ice spilling out over his fingers and up his arms. "You know how this song and dance goes. Let my sister leave, and no one gets hurt."
"I don't think you understand what's going on here, Citizen Cold." Fallout, wearing his specialized environmental suit. "You don't have any leverage."
Leonard raised a hand, hoping to stop Fallout from doing anything stupid. "Neil, think about what you're doing. Lisa's got nothing to do with you."
"But she's got everything to do with you." Fallout peeled off one of his gloves, revealing a skeletal, glowing hand. "The Rogues are in charge, Snart. Maybe this time you won't ignore our warnings." He stepped closer to Lisa, and Leonard could see her hair start to singe from the heat of Neil's palm, the skin of her cheek growing red in seconds—
Leonard opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. The safe house was dark, the weak pulse of a flickering streetlight barely lighting the curtains. He'd never been the type to have vivid dreams, not since he was a child, but over the last two weeks, his dreams had gotten more and more powerful, leaving him groggy and a little confused when he woke up.
He threw off his blanket and went to his bathroom, flipping on the overhead light, although it made him squint. After a moment, he turned on the faucet and splashed some water on his face. Dreaming about radioactive metahumans. Being a hero. It was bizarre.
He didn't even have a sister.
Leonard splashed his face with water one more time and flipped off the light.
Leonard Snart. Time to wake up.
Leonard whirled around, automatically casing the room, even though he knew there was no one there. There was dim moonlight filtering in through the one small window to the right of the sink, but he turned on the light one more time, checking behind the shower curtain just to make sure he was alone.
A low rumble of sound swelled behind him, and Leonard turned back to the sink, frowning when he heard the screech of metal on glass. As he watched, letters appeared on the mirror as if they were being scratched into the surface.
ALCHEMY
Leonard resisted the urge to roll his eyes and looked around the empty room one more time. "Another meta. I'm shocked." He folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. "Is this a fancy way to say hello? I'm not a fan."
There was no response, the room silent except for the sound of traffic on the road, filtering through the window.
He hummed and ran his fingers over the mirror, his skin catching on the etched letters. "I'll give you points for style." There was no real answer to that, either, other than an itching at the back of his mind, a call for something unknown, for something almost familiar. Alchemy.
Leonard's phone vibrated in the other room, and he stirred, leaving the bathroom and closing the door firmly behind him. He grabbed his phone from the nightstand. There was a single unread text message that read simply, Tomorrow. 11:30pm.
The number was unknown, but he was familiar with his father's tactics, even though he often disagreed. Understood. He turned off the phone and made a mental note to dispose of it and get a new burner after the heist.
Again, the whisper sounded in his empty room. Wake up, Leonard Snart. It's time.
Whether it was the new meta or his own subconscious grabbing hold of an unsettling encounter, Leonard wasn't sure. Until they chose to reveal themselves, he had other, more pressing things to worry about.
~*~
Leonard leaned over the map again, pointing at the blueprint. "You always want to go through heavy traffic areas. We could start on the roof, go through the stairwell access—"
"When we're doing my heists, son, we do it my way." Leonard looked up from the map to glare at Lewis, but stopped arguing, his jaw tightening in frustration. Lewis and his occasional forays into Central made it more difficult to maintain his agreement with the Flash, something that Lewis took great satisfaction in. Anything to disrupt Leonard's preferred way of life. "If you're so worried about casualties, learn how to be a better actor," Lewis continued. "I don't know why you've taken your 'super villain' identity so seriously. Everyone knows your face now. Thought I taught you better than that."
"I like the challenge," Leonard bit out.
"If you liquidated even half of the things you stole, you wouldn't have to worry about the damned 'challenge.'"
"You mean, if I gave you access to my spoils, you wouldn't have to plan your robberies?" Leonard shook his head, shooting Lewis an angry look. "You raised me to be cold. I'm not gonna hand something to you that you haven't earned."
Lewis scowled. "Watch your mouth, boy."
"I'm too old for your lessons, Dad. Let's get this over with so you can get out of my city."
"Your city?" Lewis planted his hands flat on the table, his mouth thinning. "Maybe I've let you have too much freedom. Mouthing off like this. I'm thinking I should move back home and take some of that length off your leash."
Leonard averted his eyes and flexed his fingers, taking a deep breath and counting to ten. "That's unnecessary. We'll do this heist and part ways just like always. No reason we can't stay chill."
Lewis shook his head, but he relaxed, and that was what was important. He raised his hand and Leonard flinched before Lewis set his hand on Leonard's shoulder, patting him heavily. "You remember your responsibility and we'll be fine. I'm family, Leo. We stick together because we're all we got."
Leonard shrugged off Lewis' hand, curling his fingers around the handle of his cold gun, taking a deep comfort in the way the grooves of the handle fit into his palm. The core hummed, and it almost felt like it was eager to be used. Maybe he was so eager to use it he was projecting his feelings.
"I remember our agreement," Leonard said eventually. "We'll get in and out, and then you'll be gone tomorrow. Hope you've got some money left, you won't be able to use the money from tonight too fast."
Lewis' hand on the table curled into a fist. "I think I need to remind you who taught you that in the first place."
"Let's get this done." Leonard stepped away from the table, his eyes flitting from Lewis' face down to his hand. "This score'll be easy. Nothing to worry about."
"Assuming your little good faith behavior you put on for the Flash doesn't get in the way."
Leonard shrugged, refraining from mentioning that it was always Lewis who screwed up on their shared heists. "It won't."
Lewis nodded once and folded the blueprint. "You know the plan. Keep it together."
Leonard turned his face away from Lewis, scanning the wall across the room, and his gaze lit on a poster for some video game. Alchemy Labs is the place to go! It read. Make science seem like magic!
Lewis snapped his fingers, and Leonard jerked his attention back. "Get yourself ready to go," Lewis said. "It's time."
It was a small job, all things considered—just Leonard and Lewis, no other crew involved. Leonard still wanted to go through the roof—the security system had a flaw he would have been able to exploit—but he'd already tried bringing it up to Lewis, and no amount of arguing was going to change Lewis' mind. He'd always preferred walking in through the front door.
It was late enough that there was only one security guard. He wasn't at his post, their timing working out for a change, and Leonard took the opportunity to check the cameras, tracking the guard's progress on his rounds.
"Let's keep moving." Lewis jerked his head, gesturing toward the stairwell.
Leonard nodded sharply, taking point and moving toward the stairs. He wanted the heist to be quick and efficient. The less time they spent in the building, the less likely there would be a complication. Fewer complications meant that they wouldn't have to worry about the Flash. The kid was always antsier when he learned Lewis was in town. Maybe because Leonard started skirting the edges of the rules they had agreed on, less willing to play the game. Some casualties were worth the relief that came when Lewis left.
"Can you disarm the security system around the safe?" Lewis asked.
"With what? A fuse box?" Leonard pinned Lewis with a glare.
Lewis grabbed Leonard's arm once they reached the landing and spun him around. "Don't get smart with me, boy," he snarled. "You think you're too big to be taught a lesson, but I can still prove you wrong."
Leonard looked away, resentment simmering in his chest and making his head throb. He was forty-four years old, and Lewis still made him feel all of thirteen.
"I can't disable the security system from here," Leonard responded through gritted teeth. A muscle in Leonard's jaw jumped as Lewis stared pointedly at him. "Sir."
"That's better." Lewis let Leonard go and stepped away. "You remember who's in charge, you hear?"
"Yeah. I hear." Leonard resumed his climb up the stairs. "I'll get us through the safe. We'll have one minute and thirty-eight seconds to grab what we came for and get out."
"What are we waiting for? Move faster."
Leonard kept his mouth shut and continued moving, slowing down when he reached the fourth floor so he could ease the door open and peek out for the security guard. The hallway was clear, so Leonard stepped out of the stairwell, Lewis following a second after. The safe they were hunting was in the third room, hidden behind a reproduction of a Van Gogh painting. People were so predictable.
Assuming the security guard finished his rounds in the next five minutes—and how Leonard hated assuming; it made everything so sloppy—they would be able to take the money and leave without any casualties drawing the Flash's attention. Of course, their faces would be on the security cameras, but it didn't matter. He'd lay low for a while, maybe head out of town while he waited for the situation to cool down.
They reached their destination, where it took Lewis twenty-five seconds to pick the lock, and entered the empty office. Leonard went straight to the Van Gogh and pulled it off the wall, confirming the location of the safe. At least their intelligence had been accurate. He pulled out his cold gun and aimed it at the dial, freezing it solid.
"That's right." Lewis piped up behind him, his voice hard and derisive. "Freeze the safe before I even unlock the damned thing." Leonard cut an annoyed look at Lewis from the corner of his eye before he brought the butt of his cold gun down on the combination dial, sending frozen slivers of metal tumbling to the ground. Lewis pushed Leonard aside and pulled open the broken safe door. "You always have to use your snow gun, don't you?"
"Cold gun," Leonard corrected. Lewis snorted, but remained otherwise quiet as he filled his duffel bag full with the cash from the safe. "Thirty-six seconds, Dad."
"I'm not worried." Lewis zipped up the duffel bag and looked over at Leonard. "Unless you're talking about getting a look at your super powered boyfriend." Leonard glared at Lewis again, biting back an insult as Lewis hoisted the duffel bag over his shoulder. "Don't give me that look, Leo. You think I'm blind?"
Leonard ignored him, going back to the office entrance and looking into the hallway. "You going to stand there and mock me, or we gonna get out of here?"
Lewis pushed past Leonard into the empty hallway and headed to the other side of the floor. The plan called for reaching the stairwell on the other side of the building, where there was a fire escape they could reach on the second floor. From outside, they'd be able to keep an eye on the police response time and get to their getaway vehicle. Leonard watched out for the security guard as Lewis hurried down the stairs, and he felt the adrenaline rush begin when they pushed out onto the fire escape. Leonard grinned as he took a breath of humid midnight air, unable to hide his smile when it became obvious that their burglary was successful. The sirens were just cutting through the air when they reached their getaway car, and Lewis hid in the backseat with the money as Leonard slid into the driver's seat, pulling his seatbelt on and driving through the empty late-night streets. He didn't rush—he didn't need to.
They drove to an old warehouse on the waterfront and abandoned the car, taking Lewis' old station wagon to a cheap hotel, where they paid for a night in cash. It was a tiny room, barely enough for the two full-size beds that took up the main portion of the space. Lewis checked the curtains on the window and then sat on his bed, dumping the money out of the duffel bag so he could count it. Leonard checked his watch, counting down the minutes until he'd be able to leave and vanish back into the city.
"Twenty-five thousand dollars," Lewis said, his voice rife with satisfaction. "Not bad for an hour's work."
Leonard grunted in response, crossing his arms as he stared out the window. Now that Lewis was finished counting, the room was quiet, and it left Leonard on edge, waiting for the shoe to drop. The adrenaline of the chase was leaving him, and he was weary down to his bones, his eyes aching.
He squinted at Lewis. "Satisfied?"
"Don't worry," Lewis said. "I'll be out of your hair first thing tomorrow morning. That's what you wanted to hear, right?"
Leonard shrugged. "Good enough." He looked back toward the street, but it was empty, not even the slightest sound of a siren in the neighborhood. "I'm taking off. Think you're safe enough now."
He didn't wait for Lewis' response as he strode to the door, his skin feeling itchy and too tight. The air was still and humid, thick with the promise of rain, and Leonard grimaced in annoyance. Even worse than the weather, though, was the sense of anticipation he just couldn't shake.
Leonard Snart.
Leonard froze at the sound of the voice, his finger resting on the trigger of the cold gun hidden beneath his coat. There was no one out on the street with him, just a slow suspicion that whatever new metahuman this turned out to be was trying to drive him crazy.
Find me.
Leonard squeezed his eyes shut when he was assaulted by memories again—ice, death, failure—and he stumbled forward, pushed by sheer, desperate need, a compulsion to find the speaker and get him to stop.
Leonard wandered almost without seeing, walking until he reached an uncovered manhole in one of the city's construction projects. He climbed down the ladder, descending into the sewer. It wasn't normal, but the part of Leonard's mind that cared about that sort of thing seemed muffled, overridden by an intense sense of urgency. He had to find Alchemy. Nothing else made sense to him anymore.
He had memorized Central City's sewer system from a very young age—he knew the oldest tunnels well, and even through the haze, the insistence drumming in his mind that he find Alchemy, he moved with a surety borne of hours poring over old blueprints. The tunnel that he followed opened up into a large intersection of pipes and open space, and he squinted, raising his hand in the light coming in from the street entrance.
"Welcome, Leonard."
Leonard turned toward the voice, flexing his fingers in anticipation before he rested his fingers lightly on the rail leading down the stairs. He took each step slowly, lingering on the edge before moving down to the next one. "Alchemy, I presume."
"Come." There were three hooded figures kneeling before another, with a mask that reminded Leonard of medieval plague doctors. "You have made your way here."
"Despite my better judgment." Leonard looked around and crossed his arms over his chest. "What is this? A cult? Gotta say, not a fan."
"We have all lost something." The masked person Leonard assumed was Alchemy stepped forward, beyond the half-circle of cloaked people, and withdrew his hand from his cloak, presenting a stone that seemed to glow in his palm. "Here's your chance to take it back."
"Thanks for the thought," Leonard drawled, choosing to remain in place while Alchemy advanced, while his instincts told him to run. "I appreciate the invitation, but I'm cool with what I've got."
"The Flash stole something important from you, Leonard." Alchemy's hand remained outstretched, the stone glowing brighter between them. "He has manipulated your life as though you were a puppet on strings. If you are, indeed, satisfied, you may leave."
Leonard arched his eyebrow. "You compelled me to come here to give me a pitch?" He looked around again—the cultists kneeling on the floor hadn't moved, and the air was still and quiet. Alchemy didn't even make a sound, other than his robes brushing across the floor. "What, exactly, did he take from me?"
"To know that"—Alchemy inclined their head, the mask catching the light and glinted almost gold for a second—"you must decide on the path of your awakening."
Leonard tilted his head as he thought. He didn't have a bad life here. There was the Flash to keep him challenged, Rogues that followed his rules. He had enough money that he could retire in comfort, if he so chose. His father still came around and that wasn't ideal, admittedly. Above everything else, though, he was curious. Barry Allen was, at his heart, a good kid. What could he have done to draw the attention of this weird group? And what could he have taken from Leonard that Leonard could have missed?
Well. Lewis always did say he was too curious.
"What the hell." Leonard shrugged and took a step toward Alchemy. "Show me what you've got."
Alchemy set the stone in Leonard's hand, and all Leonard could see was light.
~*~