Return to Camelot
Nate could hardly breathe. He was in a time machine. A time machine! And it was huge! Like most people around his generation, Nate thought of time machines as fancy couches with even fancier umbrellas stuck to the back, or low-riding cars from the '80's. This was a whole ship! He could hardly believe any of it!
"Hey, Pretty Boy!" Rory snapped. "You gonna quit gawking and keep up, or what?!"
Nate wrinkled his nose at the nickname, and at being rushed past his moment of awe and wonder. But, then, this man's friends might be in danger after all. "I'm coming."
He followed the gruff man through the dark halls of the ship until they reached the library. Nate was impressed by the size of the room, and the huge variety of books and other resources. "Wow. This is great! A little dark in here, but I think I can make it work. So! Who should we start with?"
"Haircut," the man said immediately.
Nate smiled, suddenly amused and maybe even touched that he had already received a nickname, when this was something he clearly did for all his friends. "So... Mr. Rory?"
"Mick! And what?"
"Mick. Which one of your crew is 'Haircut'?"
Mick looked down and let out a low growl that Nate took to be his version of an apology. "Raymond Palmer," he said, and Nate smiled again. Of all the anomalies he'd discovered (and later bombarded the mayor of Star City with), he was most interested to meet Dr. Palmer - the presumed-dead, genius billionaire who shared a name, and a nose and a chin with an ancient knight.
"Got it," Nate said. "So... can I ask, why him first? He your best friend on the crew or something?"
Mick looked alarmed for a second, before scowling at Nate. "No. He's just... he's a helpless idiot! The others can take care of themselves a little longer. He can't, that's all!"
Nate nodded. "Best buds. Got it."
Mick growled and stormed out of the library, muttering something about "lights". Nate smiled and set his satchel full of "Time Travel is Real" evidence on the desk. He poured through his own files again, looking for connections, and watching for the threads his quantum physicist friend had trained him to see.
About twenty minutes into his research, the lights in the library came on. Not long after that, Mick came in with two beers and a bulky looking tablet. "Hey, cool, thanks," Nate said, reaching for one of the beers.
Mick looked at him like he was crazy for a second, then looked down at his hands. "Oh." He shrugged and handed Nate a beer before sitting in one of the chairs.
"These were both for you, weren't they?" Mick grunted noncommittally. "What's on the tablet?"
"Instruction manual."
"For the-"
"Enough chatter, Pretty!" He snapped. "Find Haircut!"
Nate raised his hands. "Yup. On it."
He spent the next several hours working - searching through his own notes, and the books, newspaper articles and even magazines he found in the ship's library. At some point, Nate noticed that Mick had left. He wondered briefly what he was up to, but decided against looking for him empty-handed.
He kept working diligently, and during his hours of research, he found evidence of an unusually strong, disruptive "witch" who had disappeared after nearly being killed in Salem. He tried looking for more evidence of Sir Carson, but instead, found notes on an odd pair of jesters - one older and "English", the other a young man supposedly from Africa in ninth century Tintagel.
Nate took note of the information, but didn't look for Mick yet. He had a strong feeling he'd get punched in the nose if he told Mick he had found everyone but "Haircut". A never-ending nosebleed was the absolute last thing he needed right now.
Nate kept working until he finally found a lead. Time Magazine had an article on a mysterious boot-print that appeared to have been left in the Cretaceous period. From Mick's description, it wasn't likely to belong to the "skinny little Englishman". It was much too big. It had to belong to Ray Palmer. "Ha! Finally!" He ran out of the library and went in search of Mick.
Hours (and aeons) later, Nate lay in one of the spare rooms on the ship, sweating, morning, and doing his best not to hurl. He'd helped rescue Ray Palmer from a dinosaur, Jefferson and Dr. Stein from an ancient execution, and almost got his nose broken by Sara Lance. But after all that, the time jump side effects were what took him out.
According to Mick, the longer the jump, the worse it was, which explained why his introduction to Dr. Palmer had involved violently losing his lunch. Twice. Now that they'd jumped three times in quick succession, Nate felt like death warmed over. Everyone else seemed fine after a little rest, but Nate guessed that must come from practice. At least, he hoped it did. If this was the cost of traveling through time, Nate wasn't sure it was worth it.
About twenty minutes or so after he laid down, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," he called, struggling to sit up. The door opened, and the tall, dark-haired scientist stepped in. He had a tall glass of water in one hand, and a shy smile on his face. "Oh, hi, Dr. Palmer."
"Hi, Dr. Heywood. How are you holding up?"
Nate shrugged. "I'm... alive. I guess."
Dr. Palmer smiled. "I figured you might be having a rough time. I remember the early days."
"So, it does get better?"
Palmer laughed. "Yes, it does. But the first time I did a really long jump, I had a pretty rough time." He held up the glass of water. "I have something that might help, if you want to try it."
"Yes, I'll try anything!"
Palmer gestured to the small table in the room. "Mind if I sit down?"
"Oh, sorry, go right ahead."
He sat down at the table and set the glass of water down. Then he pulled a small packet and a wrapped coffee stirrer. He dumped the packet in and the water turned a bright blue color. He stirred it well and handed it to Nate. "It's made from different herbs I learned about in the Eagle Scouts."
"Thanks," Nate said. He eyed the glass dubiously, and took a sip. He grimaced. "What is in that?"
"Oh, it's distilled from..." His bright expression faltered, and he shook his head. "Actually, you... probably don't want to know."
Nate looked at him in alarm. "Ummmm..."
"Trust me, Dr. Heywood," he said.
"Um... okay, but if I die, I'll haunt you forever." Palmer laughed, and Nate held his nose and gulped down the remedy. He grimaced again. "SO gross!"
"Sorry. But hopefully you should feel better in a few minutes."
Nate nodded and set the glass down. "So... exciting to be a time traveler, huh?"
"Oh, heck yeah! Sometimes more exciting than I want it to be. I certainly could have survived without spending six months in Gertrude's territory."
"I'll bet," Nate said. "But... bet you've seen some amazing things, huh?"
"Yes, that's true. It's been quite a wild ride. I'm excited that you're joining us! Must be crazy for you as a historian."
"Yes, it's been so amazing so far. Except for... hey!" Nate grinned. "My stomach feels better!"
Palmer smiled brightly. "That's great!"
"Wow, thanks, Dr. Palmer!"
"I'm glad I could help. And please, feel free to call me Ray."
"Thanks, and I'm Nate."
"Thanks, Nate. Hey, I wanted to thank you, too. For saving us."
"Oh! Well, it was really Mick and his heat gun that saved you from that T-Rex."
Ray smiled at him, shaking his head. "Yes, he did, but he wouldn't have found me if not for you. I talked to him, and he explained how you found him in stasis on the ship. You saved all our lives. And by saving us, you're saving the timeline, too, so... thank you, Nate."
Nate could feel himself blushing. "I guess I never thought of it that way. But I'm really glad I figured it out and was able to help you guys."
"Right. And without a computer interface, too. Very impressive."
"Thanks," Nate said. "I wish there was more I could do to help you."
"Oh, there is!" Ray answered. "You found all of us, but we haven't found our captain yet."
"Of course," Nate said. "And thanks to you, I don't feel like complete crap anymore, so I can actually contemplate looking at a book without wanting to puke my guts out."
Ray chuckled. "So... feel like a trip to the library? If there's any way I can help, I'd love to give you a hand."
"Oh, with four PhDs you've got to be a natural at research. I'd love some help."
"Great, let's do it," Ray said, smile bright.
On their way out the door, Nate asked, "So... have you ever been to the Middle Ages? Maybe... around the fifth century?"
"Me? No way! But I wish I had. That would be awesome. I spent my whole childhood immersed in Arthurian Legends."
Nate chuckled. "That's cool. Hate to say it, but I spent my whole doctoral thesis disproving the connection between Arthurian myths and actual historical events."
Ray smiled and clapped Nate on the arm. "Nobody's perfect, buddy." Nate laughed and they made their way to the library.