#batverse discord | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

askweisswolf · 3 years

Text

The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed (Clexa, The 100 AU)

I have no justification for this.

Major thanks @kokkoro who let me scream on Discord about this idea and @moczothe1st who lent his wonderful Batverse expertise because what I know of the lore is so small it could fit into a thimble.

AO3 link

It was moments like these where Clarke realized it’d be so much easier to let go.

There was darkness dancing around the corners of her vision and she tasted blood on her tongue, and everything hurt. She’d fallen, she thought--fallen too far, broken something. Another fight, another misjudged jump, another gadget malfunction. She couldn’t remember; her brain had gone fuzzy alarmingly fast. All she knew was she was on the ground when she wasn’t before, and everything hurt.

God. It’d be so easy.

She could just close her eyes, she thought. It wouldn’t be hard; the darkness was already there on the edge, waiting for her like an old friend. She could just close her eyes, and the pain would stop. Raven was shouting somewhere in her ear and well, okay, that was rude, but she was so tired and everything hurt so it was easy to ignore it.

It’d be so easy. All she had to do was close her eyes.

(This was what Clarke remembered, always:

She remembered Jake lunging for the gun the moment it was aimed at his wife and child.

She remembered Abby shoving her behind her body even as her husband fell and died in front of her.)

She groaned, bringing her hand to her earpiece. “Jesus, Raven, I’m right here.”

It came out wrong--slurred and ragged and she coughed up something wet and warm with it--but Raven laughed and it almost sounded like crying. “Holy fuck, Clarke--”

“Please tell me we got something from that. I don’t think I can do it a second time.” She couldn’t remember what it was right now and that was a little alarming, but she absolutely knew whatever it was she couldn’t do it again.

“I’ll look at the data in a second, okay, I’ll look at it all when you get back, I promise. Just stay awake, Wells is on his way right now.”

“Mkay.” Clarke’s hand fell away and she sighed, gingerly rolling over onto her back and gripping her ribs as she turned her gaze to the stars overhead.

She didn’t close her eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarke was counting the stars in the sky when Wells arrived. His car was silent--it always was--so she tilted her head slightly to watch him pull up and park as close to her as he dared. She managed a weak smile, gave a small salute, and tried to ignore how wet his responding chuckle was.

He knelt down next to her, but he didn’t touch yet. “You look like shit.”

“I feel like shit.” It should have been funny, she wanted it to be funny, but the sigh those words came out on hurt too much for her to try. “I think… brain’s still a little fuzzy, but my chest took the worst of it. Landed on my side. Might have banged my head, since I can’t think clearly.”

Wells took her words for what they are; he finally reached out, gingerly urging her to sit up and slinging her arm over his shoulders. “I’ll take a look when we get you home,” he promised. “Just gotta get through the next few minutes, okay? One, two—“

Clarke lurched up before three, but Wells braced himself and went up with her, tightening his grip on her wrist and resting a tentative, steadying hand on her hip, mindful of her side. Her legs held for a single, hopeful second before ultimately betraying her, and she leaned on her best friend like he was the only thing keeping her steady, felt the way he leaned back into her to support her.

Wells Jaha, her rock.

If only he knew.

“Sorry,” she managed, once she could catch her breath.

Wells shook his head. “I’ve got you. Just relax.”

“My bike—“

“I’ll pick it up later. Let’s go home, Clarke.”

Clarke nodded tiredly, nuzzling into the space where Wells’ neck met his shoulder, and she finally closed her eyes.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarke’s sleep was dark and dreamless, and when she finally managed to open her eyes again she was back home, true to Wells’ word.

Or, well--she was under home, if she wanted to be technical about it. As she blinked blearily, she could tell that from the sound alone; the faint roar of the distant waterfall and the steady, soothing drip of water on rock, the low hum of the underground stream. For all intents and purposes the cave was basically a part of home at this point, so she more or less considered it the same thing.

As her gaze finally cleared and sharpened, she became aware of the fact someone was beside her. She didn’t have to even tilt her head to figure out who it was; the pure aura of anger she could feel prickling next to her gave away who it was immediately. “If you want to say I look like shit, Wells already beat you to it,” she said, figuring the words couldn’t make anything worse .

“It’s almost like you look like shit because you didn’t wait for me,” Octavia snapped, and Clarke finally accepted the inevitable and tilted her head slightly to look at the other woman seated next to her. The brunette had taken off her mask and had tucked away her crossbow, but it didn’t do anything to help the fury blazing in her eyes.

Clarke grimaced and shifted on the cot Wells had settled her on, holding up both hands carefully. “You were dealing with a raid,” she began. “Even if I had called for you, by the time you would have made it to me--”

“Bullshit, I know the city like the back of my hand and you know it. I could have been there in a few minutes, tops. You just couldn’t be assed to wait.”

“This was a huge tip, okay? I had to move on it while it was still fresh. And it worked out, didn’t it? I still got the information.” Clarke paused, pressed her lips together. “Plus, considering the welcome I got in that warehouse, I don’t know how much having you with me would have helped.”

“I’m going to kill her,” Octavia told Wells as he came back from the massive computer Raven was hunched over, furiously working and ignoring her three old friends. “I’m sorry you went through so much trouble to bring her back here.”

Wells paused, looking between them for a moment. “Can I at least check her over before you kill her?”

Clarke groaned. “Wells.”

Octavia leaned back in her chair, wordlessly giving the man permission. Wells stepped up to Clarke’s side, and the blonde instinctively straightened up as he flicked on a flashlight and skimmed it over her eyes, lingering for a moment before he tucked it away. “She isn’t wrong,” he finally said. “You should have waited.”

“Wells--”

“Now you have a minor concussion and a few broken ribs for your trouble. You’re not dead, so there’s that, and maybe you’re right and her presence wouldn’t have helped, but you know what? It couldn’t have hurt.”

There was nothing Clarke could think to say in response to any of that; nothing she could say to that, so instead she huffed quietly and slumped back into her pillow. Beside her, Octavia let out a low whistle. “Damn, Jaha,” she said. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“You’re acting like I’ve never gotten hurt before,” Clarke finally sighed.

“You’ve gotten hurt before, you’ve never been reckless before,” Wells snapped back. “The information was good, but you wouldn’t have lost anything by waiting five or ten minutes for Octavia to back you up.”

Clarke chewed her bottom lip, before she finally shifted carefully and nodded. “You’re right,” she conceded. “I got… excited, and I rushed into this without thinking. I’m sorry.”

Octavia let out another whistle. “Damn, Jaha. Can you tell me what your secret is? Every time I try to get her to admit she’s wrong it’s like pulling teeth.”

“Fuck off, Octavia.”

Octavia grinned, getting to her feet. “You love me. You’ll be taking it easy for at least a day or two with those injuries?”

Clarke’s immediate response was to open her mouth and say no, she wasn’t about to do any such damn thing because the city’s underbelly was hardly going to stop running just because she’d gone and gotten herself hurt, but a look from Wells made the words turn to ash on her tongue. “A couple hours,” she said. “Maybe a day. I can still do some light patrolling, right?”

Wells sighed. “Let’s see how that concussion clears up first.”

The blonde smirked, unable to resist. “And you always said you never wanted to be a doctor.”

He chuckled. “We do what we have to.”

“Damn right we do.” Clarke shifted her head slightly, peering at where Raven still was by the computer--Octavia had lovingly dubbed it the Bat-Computer, but the other woman absolutely refused to let the name stick. “We get anything worthwhile from that information, Rae?”

“Si, jefa. As usual, I’m a genius. You’re welcome.” Raven stood up from the chair and pulled the drive out, making her way over to her friends. “Took a little bit of cleaning up to get a decent look at it, but here you go. All the proof you need that Carl Emerson has been selling those modified weapons circulating through the black market recently.”

It was really just confirmation of what they all already knew, and in the grand scheme of things Emerson was ultimately a bit player, but it was a small thread weaved into a much grander whole, and Clarke would take what she could tonight. Hurting like this, she needed a win. “You’re the best.”

“I always am, babe, keep up.” Raven took a moment to look Clarke over, subtly shifting her weight off of her bad leg; it always started to ache if she spent too long working, but she could ignore it for a little longer. “We can probably run this to someone and still get an official arrest. You up for that, or…”

Clarke wanted to say she was, because she knew exactly who was waiting for this information and she wasn’t sure Octavia would play nice with her; the brunette was blunt at the best of times with people who weren’t involved in her inner circle, and Commissioner Kane had developed a thick skin for it over her years of activity in the city, but an outsider would definitely be present at the drop off tonight. Besides that, the information had been given to Clarke, not to Octavia, and her pride demanded she be the one to finish what she’d started.

Clarke wanted to say she was up for it, but she felt the burn as she breathed and could only imagine the kind of headache she’d get from trying to move that much so soon after hitting her head, and beyond all of that she was pretty sure that if she did say it Wells and Octavia would team up and finally kill her.

What Clarke said instead, with a deep sigh that almost made her ribs ache, was “Octavia, don’t make me regret this.”

“Hey now.” Octavia plucked the drive from Raven’s hand. “I can play nice when I have to. It’s just Kane, right? I’ve worked with him a million times now. I’m actually starting to like him.”

“It won’t just be Kane tonight. So please actually be nice? At least try to be?”

Green eyes slowly narrowed, looking the blonde over. “Who else will be there?”

“Well, the person who passed that information to me, for one. She might help us out more in the future, so again, be nice. Please.”

“You’re being oddly tight lipped about this.” Octavia glanced between Raven and Wells. “Either of you know anything about this?”

Raven held up both hands, backing off. “No, nope, I’m not getting involved. I already told Clarke this was potentially a bad idea, I’m not having that argument again. I’m going home now that my work is done, because unlike you losers I actually have a stable romantic partner who enjoys my company.”

Wells sighed. “No one you’d know,” he told Octavia. “I can vouch that she’s clear, though. Even if Clarke got reckless tonight to have some results for her.”

“Traitor,” Clarke groaned.

“That tells me a whole lot of nothing, but fine. I’ll go and I’ll play nice, whatever that even means because neither of you are telling me anything about this supposed new contact.” Octavia paused. “And I’m going as I am. I’m not playing dress up again to be you.”

Clarke chuckled, closing her eyes. “Oh, man. We haven’t done that in awhile.”

“We’re never doing it again if I have any control over it.”

“You two are idiots,” Raven cut in, but her voice was affectionate as Clarke opened her eyes again--she wasn’t going to risk keeping them closed for too long at the moment. “If that’s all settled, I’m going to head out. I think I’ve done all I can for tonight.”

The blonde tilted her head, smiling tiredly at the Latina. “Good work tonight, Raven. You really came through.”

“Yeah, yeah, you say that every time.” The words were softened by the kiss the other woman pressed to her forehead. “Try and get some sleep, jefa. I’ll see you later?”

“Always.”

“Good. See you later too, Wells. Don’t kill anyone, Octavia.”

Wells gave Raven a small wave at the same time as Octavia flipped her off. Raven responded to both of these gestures with a blown kiss, and then she was gone. Octavia studied where she’d been for a moment, then dropped her hand to Clarke’s shoulder and squeezed. “I agree with what she said,” she murmured. “Try and get some sleep, Clarke. You look like you really need it.”

“That hurts. That’s hurtful.”

“It’s supposed to hurt, I’m trying to shame you into sleeping.”

“You’re such an ass.” But Clarke’s hand came up and found Octavia’s, squeezed reassuringly.

“You’ve known that about me for years.” Octavia lingered a moment, then pulled away. “I’ll head out then for this meeting with Kane and your mystery informant. Usual place, right?”

“Mm, yeah. Top of the precinct near the signal. They’ll be expecting me, so you won’t have to wait for them.”

The brunette grinned. “The Bat Signal?”

Clarke groaned. “Go. I’ll--try to get some sleep.”

Octavia left--finally--with a promise to send Clarke a message in the morning letting her know how the meeting had gone. The blonde took a quiet breath, tilting her head slightly to look at the man who was left sitting beside her. “Hey,” she said, finally giving in and letting exhaustion seep into her tone. Letting pain seep into her tone because God, she hurt.

“Hey,” Wells answered, his eyes soft.

“Do I still look like shit?”

That got a laugh out of him, even if it sounded as exhausted as she felt. “A little, yeah. It’s not as bad as when I found you, but…”

“That’s fair.” Clarke sighed. “Help me up? I think the world’s going to spin if I try to do it myself.”

Wells was already getting to his feet before she even finished speaking; when she held out her hand, he took it without any hesitation. They’d done this now a thousand times, and there was no doubt in either of them they’d be doing it a thousand times more as he pulled her up, easily slinging her arm over his shoulders and bracing his hand against her back to help steady her as she staggered on her feet for the second time that night.

“Thanks,” the blonde managed, when the pain from moving faded enough for her to be able to manage words. “Wells?”

“Yeah, Clarke?”

“You can pick up my bike tomorrow. Can you just… stay with me tonight? Please?”

Clarke knew she didn’t need to ask, not really. Wells had been by her side when her parents had been buried on a cloudy, rainy day, and he hadn’t complained when she’d held his hand so tightly she was sure it had to hurt. He’d had his chance to leave when she’d been seventeen and struggling to breathe, and yet he’d chosen to stay. She didn’t need to ask him every time.

Yet, a part of her still needed the confirmation. The reminder that after everything, he was still beside her and ready to keep going with it.

“Of course.” His voice was steady, like always. “Come on, lean on me. We’ll deal with everything in the morning.”

It may not have been the ending to her night Clarke had wanted, but it wasn’t the ending it could have been. She was willing to take it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“She’s late.”

From most people, that would have been an accusation; when Anya said it, it was simply a statement of fact. Lexa watched her breath mist in the late night--early morning? She didn’t know what time it was, she hadn’t brought her phone with her--air, and didn’t reply. The words weren’t meant for her.

Marcus Kane’s eyes were still trained on the signal he’d lit, patient. “She’ll come,” he said.

“And if she doesn’t?”

“She will. If she doesn’t, Huntress will instead.” Marcus shrugged, finally shifting his eyes to look at the women. “One of them will come.”

Lexa’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t give that information to Huntress,” she said. “I gave it to Batwoman, and I expect Batwoman to be the one coming to us with the results.”

“You’ll have to learn to live with disappointment, then.”

Anya’s entire body stiffened at the same time Lexa’s heart jumped at the unfamiliar voice. She wasn’t even sure where the new person had come from; she seemed to have simply materialized from the shadows, and the only thing that gave her away was the gleam of her eyes and the splashes of purple and white against the black of her suit.

Marcus smiled slightly; in comparison to his companions, he actually seemed to relax at the sight of their visitor. “Huntress.”

Huntress--not Batwoman--glanced at him, dipping her head slightly in greeting. “Commissioner.” Her eyes slid past him, focusing on the man standing quietly near the door so they wouldn’t be disturbed. It might have been a trick of the dark, but Lexa swore her gaze actually softened when she looked at him. “Officer.”

Keeping watch by the door, Lincoln lifted his hand in response to her acknowledgement, and now Lexa knew the night was playing tricks on her because she could have sworn the large, usually quiet and reserved man actually smiled slightly. She and Anya shared a glance, communicating without a single word.

“Anyway.” Huntress reached into her belt, flipping open a pouch. “I’ve got the flash drive right here. Batwoman got the information and it’s all been cleaned up for your use. I think you’re going to like what it says.”

Lexa looked the other woman over. Of the two vigilantes that called Arkadia home, she’d ultimately chosen to reach out to Batwoman for a reason; by all accounts Huntress was steady enough and trusted by the people of the city, but she had a ruthless streak that her companion didn’t share. Lexa had wanted to get her information, preferably without any blood on her hands if she could manage it, and she’d known Batwoman was the best chance she had of accomplishing that.

Instead of Batwoman, though, it was Huntress who had returned with the information.

Before Lexa could let her train of thought reach its logical conclusion, her eyes met the other brunette’s. Huntress looked at her for a moment, then at Anya, then back at Lexa again before she snorted. “Ah,” she said. “I see. You’re the informant she was being so tight lipped about, I assume?”

Lexa’s eyebrows went up, but she stepped forward and accepted the flash drive when Huntress held it out to her. “I didn’t know she mentioned me.”

“She didn’t mention you at all besides saying you’d be here, that was half the problem.” She rolled her eyes when Anya’s gaze hardened, her mouth beginning to open; the vigilante held up a hand before she could speak. “Relax,” she said. “Like I said, I don’t know anything about either of you besides the fact that you’re new, and frankly I don’t care to know who you are. Bats is the one who plays nice with you types.”

Anya didn’t relax an inch. “You seemed perfectly fine with the Commissioner and Forest.”

Huntress shrugged. “I’m used to them, so I tolerate them now. It’s not personal. If that’s all, can I go? I was just supposed to drop this thing off, not have tea and a friendly chat.”

What a charming woman.

Anya rolled her eyes at the same time Kane gave an amused, almost tired shake of his head, and Lexa could have sworn Lincoln was actually trying to muffle a laugh back by the door into the building as Huntress turned away to head back out. After that exchange it was terribly tempting to keep quiet and let the other woman go on her way, but…

“Is Batwoman okay?”

That made Huntress pause, and she turned back around to give Lexa a quiet look. The other brunette met her gaze evenly, even as she could feel her temper beginning to fray along the edges. She’d given the information to Batwoman assuming that it would be an easy enough task that would end with nobody dead, and now there was a very real possibility that she had been wrong. Lexa hadn’t been in Arkadia for long, and her partnership with the other vigilante was recent, but the thought still sat poorly with her.

Eventually Huntress decided she must have liked what she saw as Lexa continued to hold her gaze, because she finally sighed. “She’s fine,” she said. “If you’re out and about tomorrow night I’m sure you’ll see her again.”

That was all Lexa was going to get out of her, it seemed, because right after she said those words she just--stepped off the building like it was nothing. Lexa’s heart briefly flew into her throat before she heard the whistle of a grappling hook, and then Huntress was gone almost as silently as she’d come.

There was a beat of silence.

“She seems nice,” Anya said at last as Kane made his way over to her and Lexa, taking the flash drive from her when she offered it.

“She’s kept us safe for years,” Kane replied, his tone even but firm; Anya got the hint and kept her mouth shut, though Lexa could see the way she briefly clenched her jaw. “We should go inside and take a look at this. Knowing Batwoman it’s been cleaned up, but it could still be a lot of information to work through. The sooner we get through it the better.”

Lexa wordlessly agreed. She’d come this far to get what she had in her hands now; hopefully, she only needed a little bit more to see things through to the end. She didn’t know what came for her after this was all done--she’d never let herself think that far ahead--but she knew she was getting closer to it, step by step. It would do her well to go inside as quickly as Anya had followed after Kane and Lincoln, blowing into her hands to try and bring some warmth back into her body after almost an hour of the night chill.

Instead she lingered by the door, letting her eyes gaze out over the city that was either tucked away peacefully in sleep or just starting to stir in the early morning. She waited, hoping against all hope that maybe, just maybe Huntress would be wrong and Batwoman would somehow magically materialize in front of her. The other woman’s words had been less than helpful, and Lexa had always had an awfully vivid imagination.

(Nia had been counting on that.)

Lexa waited, but Batwoman didn’t appear, and with one final look out over the city the brunette stepped inside and closed the door behind her, taking a moment to rub her eyes before she checked the lock and headed downstairs to see what information they now had

Sleep could wait. There was still work to be done.

#clexa #the 100 #Clarke Griffin #Lexa #my writing

19 notes · View notes