Disclaimer: Do not own Marvel, DC or the 100
Warnings for mentions of violence, violence against animals and trauma.
Takes place a few years after "The countdown is starting."
No reason to leave
Leaping from one building to the next was easy enough. All she had to do was bend her legs at the right angle and leap up, fly high, before dropping back down onto some building or other. She could fly, sure, but this felt fun somehow.
Clarke Griffin, a "superfreak," in her words, loved going for runs like this, loved jumping from one building to the next, loved seeing people occasionally glancing at her from their windows, likely startled and worried that she might be a supervillain or something like that. Then again, as she had learned over time, humans could be ridiculously optimistic, likely thinking that she was instead, a superhero. Which was bullshit. But she supposed humans lived in their ludicrous hopes.
She bounded over the rooftops and shot past several water towers on top of those rooftops.
She had no bloodshed in mind today. The people behind their glass windows were very, very lucky. If she wanted to commit some horrifying massacre? She easily could have.
She was strong and powerful enough. And her mates had foolishly let her out of her cage, so she could do as she wanted without them stopping her. And she was strong enough that even if both Superman and Supergirl, and Powergirl too, tried to stop her, it would end with her being able to total all three of them.
All beings were weak next to her rage and power.
But she wouldn't. Not because she feared any consequence, but because she knew that her mates believed, truly believed that she had "gotten better." No need for them to know that she still saw most living creatures as ants. Or that she still sometimes wondered what it would feel like for her to smash through a building and take off the heads of every resident inside.
No need for them to know that.
For her, the lessons taught to her by queen of the Ice Nation, were very, very hard to shake. And she wasn't sure she wanted to shake them.
Queen Nia, of the Azgeda, had been a fanatic monarch, believing that all that were at her beck and call to be inferior to herself. And when she had heard of Clarke's power, heard of what Wanheda was capable of, she had seen a being able to elevate her as invincible.
That was why she had taught Clarke for years to see anyone who wasn't within the Ice Nation's royal family, as nothing but cattle to be slaughtered and eaten.
And Clarke had absorbed those lessons like a sponge.
Her being thirteen and feeling rejected by the world, and being given the only real home she had known in years had helped. And so had her relationship with the queen's nightblood daughter, Ontari.
Ontari had been just a year older than Clarke, and they had gotten along so smoothly, much to the queen's delight.
After only a about a year and a half, they had started sleeping together. They had been together for years before Clarke had been caught by the Avengers. Ontari, the queen, the rest of the Ice Nation and Clarke's brother, Roan, not by blood or by soul, but still her brother, were not that easy to forget either.
However, Clarke knew she would not go back to the Ice Nation. For all of her mates' foolish plans and attempts at keeping her from committing more murders, she had formed stronger feelings for them than she'd like.
Two years ago, she had been caught in a prison they had made specifically for her. They had sent out a distress call that some of them had been injured in a fight with HYDRA, and like the fool she had been, she had come running.
It had ended with her in their trap.
The past two years she had spent being more or less rehabilitated by her mates, who had tried to be there in every way for her, had tried to get her to see that there was more in life than just war, death, bloodshed and killing.
Honestly, Clarke didn't see it still. But they succeeded in nothing else, except getting her to develop feelings for them.
Then again, they were her mates, so her feelings likely would have begun to develop over time one way or another.
Her romantic partner soulmates, her familial soulmates, her ally soulmates and some friends that she had made along the way.
Those were all the thorns in her side. The things that were keeping her from going back to the Ice Nation.
The Ice Nation might have been the closest she had known to a home since the Ark people had exiled her for losing control and killing a bunch of other prisoners, a situation, which by the way, had entirely been the Ark peoples' fault, anyway, but the Azgeda still were her torturers and had taught her to kill, maim and murder.
In that place, there had been very little she had known besides war, blood and death.
With her mates, here, she knew more than that.
She had what looked like endless familial soulmates, several ally soulmates and twenty-one romantic partner soulmates.
It had been almost a year since she could come and go as she wanted. She was strong enough now to destroy that cage she had been put in by the Avengers, if they tried to throw her in there again.
She had been twenty-three when she had ended up in that trap three years ago. She was twenty-six now.
She was strong enough to destroy any restraint that Tony Stark might develop. But she wouldn't. She could easily leave now and go back to the Ice Nation and lay her claim to the throne, but she wouldn't.
Queen Nia was dead now. A year after Clarke had first been tricked into the prison in Stark Tower, the Azgeda had learned where Clarke was, and had sent an army to try to bring her back.
They had gotten into Stark Tower and had tried to kill the Avengers. Seeing this, Clarke had snapped and had clawed her way through floor of her prison, the forcefield almost killing her as she got through, and attacked the Ice Nation soldiers.
She had killed all of them, enraged that they had tried to hurt her mates.
Wounded and angry, Clarke had sat down, glowering at her mates as they had repaired her prison.
The queen had learned what Clarke had done and had sent a message to the Stark Tower. That Clarke was to rejoin the Ice Nation, or Nia would wage war against the Avengers.
One thing had led to another, Clarke had gotten out of her prison and after Nia had threatened to torture and decapitate the Avengers, Clarke had gotten her hands on Nia and had torn her to pieces. That wasn't a metaphor. She had actually torn Nia apart, limb from limb. She had killed Nia's closest allies, as well.
Ontari and Roan, thankfully, were both far more reasonable than Nia. They had agreed to let Clarke stay with the Avengers, but had reminded her that she was welcome back anytime.
But Clarke still wouldn't go back to the Azgeda. She was Azgedian. She would never deny that, given that the Ice Nation had become her true home, more than the Ark peoples' camp had ever been her home.
But she would not go back.
What would be the point, when she had so much more here?
Her brother, Wells, her allies and occasional fuck buddies, Dinah Lance and Helena Bertinelli and her ally soulmates, the Defenders, had spent time with her while she had been held within the Avengers' prison, making sure she knew that they were there for her and that they cared about her and didn't judge her for the things she had done.
Then Lex Luthor had become a problem. Because it was Lex Luthor and would he be anything else except a problem?
He had learned of where his lab's creation had been held, and asked that she be "returned" to his custody.
The Avengers, as to be expected, refused. Clarke, however, had asked him what it was he was willing to give her if she came back.
Lex Luthor had, to her surprise, smirked at her question. He apparently had been pleased by her demand, thinking that this made her more like him in some way. She presumed that that was the reason why he was pleased, anyway. He had offered up something that surprised her. Weaknesses for the Avengers and the Justice League. All of them. She had pointed out to him that she was strong enough to kill all of them if she wanted. And he had pointed out that this would be a way for her to do it, if she ever found herself in the position she had been in when she had first ended up in the prison at the Stark Tower.
Clarke had doubted that that scenario would be likely, since she had grown too strong since then, but she had considered it.
She was still in touch with him now. And he had given her all that information. And technology she could use against the Avengers and the Justice League. If she wanted to.
But she didn't. There were things that she could use against them sure. But she wouldn't.
Kryptonite that Lex Luthor had given her to use against Superman and Supergirl, was the least of it.
She had yet to tell any of her mates or friends that she had all that information and technology stored away. She had to wonder if she would ever actually do anything with it. Lex Luthor had even mentioned that he and Batman were quite a bit alike, as Batman had ways of getting rid of the Justice League if the Justice League ever turned dark. Well, all of them, except for Clarke.
There was no way, as far as anyone knew to actually overpower Clarke. Not now, anyway.
Clarke hadn't realized that nanobots would be useful against Wonder Woman. But then, she supposed they would be.
She jumped up off of one of the roofs, using her flying ability. She floated up into the air, suspending herself there, sniffing and looking around.
Nothing happening so far. She could hear people run around down on the streets, heard people crying out about purse snatchers and pickpockets and other types of thieves. She didn't bother with those types of crimes. Because why? Why the fuck did she care? That was what the police were for. They couldn't get off their donut eating asses to do that, that was their problem.
And amongst the tribes? Wasn't dealing with thieves the responsibility of the different villages' soldiers? Not her problem.
Honestly, people became complacent with superhero groups around. They wanted everything handed to them on a silver platter.
Now, if she had heard someone beating on another, person, a domestic abuse situation, an attempted rape, an attempted murder and such, then she would have interfered. Those types of crimes she always interfered in.
There were just some lines even she didn't cross.
She shot off from between the skyscrapers and apartment buildings and began flying fast through the air over said buildings.
She knew she flew fast. She had raced against Superman, Supergirl, Shayera, Wonder Woman, Vision, Thor, Ironman, Falcon and War Machine. She knew she was faster.
She came to a stop overhead when she got to the bridge, looking down and seeing a pair of drivers who had stopped alongside the bridge's road, one of them having rear-ended the other. The two of them were fighting.
Clarke snickered, enjoying the sight. Two full-grown human beings and they were throwing fists at each other as if they were still teenagers. That was funny to watch. She would not interfere. This was not a domestic abuse problem or even really an assault. Just by looking down at the two men beating on each other and listening to their voices? She could tell that they had wanted a fight.
Maybe it had been the long days they had spent at work, maybe it had been the congested roadways, maybe it had been the problems of city life or the problems of all the narrow-minded tribes. But either way, both men had wanted a fight.
So watching them punching each other, blood flying out of their lips as blows landed, filled her with joy to watch.
People thought that such an act was sadistic. And it was. But these people wanted to fight. Was she cruel for standing back and doing nothing and letting them hurt each other? They would just end up getting into another fight with some other asshole eventually.
This was her simply watching what was the most natural thing in the world. And that was, how self-destructive human beings were and always would be.
One of the men swung a low down blow, right hand balled up into a fist. The fist landed into the other man's stomach, making his opponent bend over and cry out.
The other man slowly recovered, turning his body and swinging his fist, fist smashing right into the first man's face, and Clarke could hear a cracking noise. His nose had bene broken.
Clarke chuckled, "And that's a good hit. Grand prize." She snickered as she flew from the bridge, listening to the men still fight and listening to others trying to interfere.
Humans as she had learned over time, were pathetic wastes of space. Her mates, her friends and the Ice Nation were the only exceptions.
As far as she had been able to tell, anyway.
She reached the main part of the water, seeing several boats, some constructed from metal and some constructed from wood go by along the waves. There were some modern ships, which the people in the more modern communities used. And the older boats the people of the tribes tended to use.
She looked out over the water, considering for a few seconds. She could easily go across the water. She could easily go all the way across the ocean and go wherever she wanted. Or she could go back to Canada and rejoin the Ice Nation. Her true people.
But even as she pondered these possibilities, Clarke knew that she wouldn't do this. She would stay here. With her mates and her friends.
The past three years had shown her nothing, if not that she had yearned for a family. A real family, who wouldn't hurt her and who would treat her right. And her time with her familial soulmates, her father, Clint Barton, her mother, Laura Barton, their children, Clarke's new siblings, Jillian, Cooper, Lila, Zachary, Jessie and little Nathaniel, her friends and allies, her other familial soulmates, and worse than any insult, her romantic partner soulmates, had shown her nothing, if not that here with her loved ones, she had a home, a family.
And it infuriated her.
Wanheda was meant to be a monster. A force of great destruction and pain. But she would not leave. And she knew that.
Why would she leave when she had multiple mothers here? Multiple fathers here? Friends, allies, siblings. Teammates. And lovers.
Three years ago, when she had first ended up in that trap concocted by Tony Stark, she had thrown accusations at them that they were trying to make her feel Stockholm Syndrome for them. But that wasn't needed. Sure, she knew that people probably would argue that they had succeeded. It wasn't that.
The Avengers and the Justice League had set up the situation so that she wouldn't suffer from that, making sure she had other people there for her, acting as a support system, so that she didn't just have them.
So that she didn't feel dependent on them.
There were times when she wished she could hate them specifically for them giving her so much.
There were times when she certainly was able to feel real frustration with them. But never hatred.
Clarke's romantic partner soulmates from the Avengers and from the Justice League, Natasha Romanoff, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Bruce Banner, Thor Odinson, Diana Prince, Mari McCabe, Beatriz da Costa, Tora Olafsdotter, Sigrid Nansen, Wanda Maximoff, Maria Hill, Carol Danvers, Yelena Belova, Melina Vostokoff, Loki Laufeyson, Hela Odinsdotter, Brunnhilde and even the two Trikru tribe members, Niylah and Anya, had had a profound effect on her.
Even if she wished that they wouldn't.
Their presence in her life had taken root in her mind, heart and soul and they would stay there.
Clarke felt a vibration against her leg and she looked down at her right pants pocket. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She had only recently started carrying around a cell phone. Within the Ice Nation, there had been no need for one. Wanheda, the queen's closest general and the princess's intended? Everyone within the Azgedian kingdom had known where to find her there. And they knew to come to her with important news when need be.
But after a while here, her mates had all insisted on her carrying around a cell phone so that they could contact her.
She recognized the number from her familial soulmate, her mother, Tarina kom Floukru. Some of the tribes used tech. The arrogant Trikru would never, ever use technology. To them, that was a sign of weakness. But some people from the other tribes used it. Clarke's mother, her familial soulmate, a werewolf, Tarina, a being that could live for centuries, had just asked her if she would be coming by for dinner.
Tarina had figured out tech enough to be able to take photos of herself or others. She had sent Clarke some pictures before of herself and Shayera, showing the home they had helped organize after they had gotten together. Clarke imagined that Shayera had shown Tarina how to use the camera. Tarina always wore her Floukru attire in the photos, which was borderline pirate clothing. Tarina wasn't a captain onboard any of the Floukru ships, but she had great authority there, and took her appearance and attire very seriously.
Clarke smiled. She didn't understand how any of her parents, her familial soulmates, could love her the way parents loved a child, knowing the horrible things she had done. But they did. Then again, she couldn't, for the life of her figure out how any of her romantic partner soulmates could love her, but they did.
She opened up her phone and sent Tarina the message, telling her mother that yes, she would come to dinner soon enough, and asked what was for dinner, anyway.
Tarina and Clarke were similar. Predators. Sometimes Tarina would make food at her place so that she, Clarke and Clarke's other mother and Tarina's romantic partner soulmate, Shayera Hol, a member of the Justice League, could eat together almost like people.
At other times, Clarke and Tarina would go out hunting and let their beasts out, attacking animals and tearing into them, their mouths and fangs stained with blood and gore.
Shayera, despite being much more of a person than either Clarke or Tarina, never judged her lover or her child.
Clarke often worried that Shayera would be aggravated or disgusted by her romantic partner soulmate and her familial soulmate's actions.
But Shayera never threw judgment at Clarke, or at Tarina.
Clarke got a new text from Tarina, informing Clarke that the three of them would be eating together at the table. Clarke smiled. She supposed that was good. She didn't feel the particular need to hunt and kill tonight. She had gotten enough from watching a few fights between stupid human beings.
Her bloodlust could sometimes be soothed with the sight of fighting and gore. Sometimes. Not always. But sometimes.
It was why it was such a change to be here after living in the Ice Nation for so long. The Ice Nation lived on violence and bloodshed.
But she had adjusted.
She told Tarina that she would be back soon and sent the text.
She opened up the pictures she had on her phone. It was a photo of her parents. Tarina and Shayera, and several other of Clarke's familial soulmates. Several pictures of the Barton family, her brother, Wells Jaha, his romantic partner soulmate, Pietro Maximoff, and more of her familial soulmates.
She looked at the picture of Shayera and Tarina together, smiling at the camera. They were both amazing people. Shayera, a Thanagarian, with long, thick, orange hair and bright green eyes with big, wide hawk wings on her back, and Tarina, with her gentle, dark brown eyes, long, dark gold hair and dark brown leather pirate like jacket, Clarke admitted that she never would have imagined them before being romantic partner soulmates.
One of them was a warrior of the air, the other was a warrior of the sea. But they worked. They worked shockingly well.
Clarke knew that Shayera had used to be with another Justice League team member, Jon Stewart. One of the Green Lanterns. But they weren't together anymore. Tarina had various relationships with women over time. She had stuck strictly to women, her interest in only women, but she had never had a serious relationship before Shayera.
But as soon as they met, they had cliqued in every way that they could in such a relationship. Clarke got out of the photos and was about to put her phone away, when she got another text. This text startled her.
It was from the group chat text.
There were two group chats that she and her romantic partner soulmates shared. One was "for work," letting everyone know when there was danger or some threat coming.
It had been very helpful when Brainiac had gone rampant through the city and they had had to get rid of him.
But there was another group chat that they had.
It was of a more…personal and suggestive nature.
The text she got was from Natasha Romanoff. As soon as Clarke saw Natasha's name in the text, she knew she would be helpless to resist. She would be helpless to do anything except do as Natasha told her to.
Natasha never outright commanded her to do anything. But Clarke knew there was so much more she could get out of obeying Natasha. And even if she didn't already know that, she was helpless to do anything, except listen to Natasha.
Natasha's text said, "We'd like you to come to us for the night, tomorrow. If you're willing."
Clarke whined quietly. "If you're willing," was the code. It was both a way for her romantic partner soulmates to let her know that she could refuse, if she wanted, and it was letting her know that whenever they used that term, the time she spent with them would be special. Very, very special.
They knew that tonight she was going to be spending her night with her mothers. She would eat dinner with Tarina and Shayera, and stay the night at their place. But tomorrow, Clarke's romantic partner soulmates wanted her with them.
And Clarke had a good idea of what some of the things were her romantic partner soulmates would be doing to her tomorrow night.
"Shit," she said quietly, heat stirring in her stomach.
She texted to the group chat, shared between herself, Natasha and the rest of Clarke's romantic partner soulmates.
She asked Natasha, "What did you all of you have in mind?"
She sent the text, and a few seconds later, she got a new text. This time, from Tony.
Tony's text said, "Come to us tomorrow night. Find out. Natasha, Pepper and I have some new toys we want to try on you, baby girl."
Clarke groaned, warmth spreading between her legs. Well, that sure as hell made her decision for her, didn't it?
Clarke chuckled. Yeah, her mates, all of them, always found ways of keeping her here, and she saw no reason whatsoever, to go back to the Ice Nation. A cage? A physical one, anyway? Her mates sure as fuck didn't need one.
She supposed her mates had succeeded in what they had set out to do when they had caught her.
