Chapter Text
Nothing. It's all Lexa can see, feel, smell, and do, and that's exactly the way Amanda Waller, the director of the most classified sector of the Department of Defense likes it.
A month ago, she had no idea who the scrawny brunette was, but now as she sits on the other side of bullet proof glass watching the girl that is strapped to the table in the middle of a blacksite, she's the only thing on her mind.
When she had first gotten a call from the FBI claiming to have found something extraordinary, she wasn't expecting what they had brought her. She had assumed they meant a new bomb or spying technology, not an ancient myth resurrected from some old tomb.
At first she hadn't believed it, but when the girl, Lexa Woods, had been brought to a DOD blacksite in a drug-induced coma with what seemed like half of the goddamn military, Amanda has sure been more convinced. It wasn't until she really saw what happened with her own eyes that she could truly understand the power of what they were working with though.
As soon as the army men began trying to let the drugs fade off, Lexa would be stuck in a state between sleep and consciousness. Every time she would begin tossing and turning, then every time, the word “Enchantress” would pass by her lips in a shaky whisper and it's as though she would transform into something else entirely. She's got the face of an angel and the spirit of a demon.
Each time before the woman, or whatever she is anymore, has time to do any damage, they are once again filling Lexa’s body with enough drugs to sedate a rabid animal, and only then will the mien of darkness fade from around her and her regular exhausted body collapses back to where it had been pinned down.
Usually she would just bring in more reinforcements, but in this case, she doesn't want anyone to know about the girl. She doesn't want anyone to know the condition she's in right now either, where she's pinned in solitary confinement except for the minimal doctors that are allowed to visit and adjust her drug dosage or check on her.
Today though, Amanda is through simply keeping this girl in her coma. She plans to wake her up completely and to do this she's decided that she needs two things. For starters, she took the heart from the tomb where the woman was allegedly found so that is can hopefully be used to help control whatever entity they have, and two she has called in for one of the best soldiers she knows.
Sure, Clarke Griffin has had problems in the past, but she's brave and smart so she will need both qualities if she plans on lasting long with this assignment. Just as the thought comes to her mind, she gets a buzzing on the computer in front of her, reminding her that the soldier has been brought here, getting nothing but a classified document explaining she's needed for a very important duty.
Rumors have been speculated, but no one really knows the full story behind the brunette laying on the table besides the very few top government officials that had to be briefed to get her here, yet now they are about to open up this dangerous secret to someone else.
Amanda’s brown eyes gaze straight through the glass at the girl lying strapped to the bed on the other side of the glass. Her arms, legs, and throat each have a strap over them even though she's clearly not able to wake up from the trance they have put her in.
She has needles connected to IV fluids with the drugs that are feeding into her veins stuck in her wrist and monitoring wires pinned to her forehead and chest to detect any shift in consciousness, making her look like something of a science experiment.
Besides her underwear and a chest binder, she's bare of anything that might obstruct testing.
It doesn't look good and it sure doesn't look humane, but the girl laying on the table is far from human so she just clicks the button to allow Clarke to get escorted through the doors into the observation room.
“This is Amanda Waller. Let her in.”
--
Clarke had just came back from Sri Lanka where she was fighting in the Counter Terrorism Operation when she got the call.
Literally.
She was still in her STF uniform, walking into her crappy apartment when her phone buzzed in her pocket and she answered the call with a “Griffin speaking” in a very tired, but professional voice. No one explained to her what the next mission would be – but that’s something she’s used to by now after years working for the Special Task Force, in the FBI.
They didn't give her much time to get ready either. She still has her large worn out backpack over her shoulder when she sees the black SVU parking on the street and the suited men waiting for her on the outside.
‘Fuck,’ She thinks as she ends the call and takes a deep breath. She was really looking forward to finally take a hot shower, sleep in her bed and get some real food.
Plus, her hair is real gross.
Once the blonde is seated on the back of the car, she lets a long exhausted breath out, but she grateful for the air conditioner since Washington can get really hot in this time of the year.
There is a brownish folder on the seat and she goes through its contents, seeking more information beyond the ‘The DOD needs you, agent.’
There is nothing much on it, though. Just a few pages of her contract for this task, where she must sign in order to be a part of. Judging by the way it was drafted, she knows it’s something big.
Looking through the window glass, she sees the silhouette of the city fading behind the car as they enter a rural area and suddenly she has no idea of where they are going.
She checks her phone, but she has no signal – Of course.
It takes two hours for them to finally stop by the DOD Blacksite.
Her back and shoulders hurt. There is also a constant pounding on the back of her head and her eyes burn with tiredness. Still, she is sharp and alert, taking in every information around her as she is escorted into the building.
Every door has a code and for you to enter, you must know the password. After 16 turns, 6 floors down, and 9 doors (she counted), she is led to the final room where a familiar voice run through the speaker.
10 doors
, and she is face to face with Amanda fucking Waller.
“Really?” Clarke says with a mild annoyed face as she lets her heavy pack hit the ground in a muffled thud. “Couldn’t have let me take at least one shower?” She crosses her arms over her chest before flicking her eyes around the room.
Waller practically snorts in distaste at Clarke's comment and chuckles dryly. "Trust me, Griffin. We all wish you could have showered first."
Everything seems normal, Clarke thinks, if not for the big ass box of glass with a girl strapped to a table. That grabs the blonde agent attention. She tilts her head to the side as she steps closer, stopping by Amanda’s side.
The girl in the box seems frail. She is slim and bears no marks in her body. Her light brown hair is messy and wavy around her shoulders and her lips are slightly parted.
Despite the bony structure of the girl, she seems normal. Beautiful even. There is tons of needles connected to IVs and the agent wonders for a moment what the fuck is she doing there.
“What is she?” She asks slowly in a quiet and curious tone as her clear blue eyes stay fixed on the glass in front of her.
Waller gazes over at the woman and then let's out a deep breath, her dark brown eyes following their way back to where Lexa is strapped in the small room in front of them.
She gazes through the window and let's out a deep breath, not even sure how to begin to explain.
"You're not going to believe me when I tell you, but I guess we have to start somewhere." Letting out a tired huff, she picks up a folder off the desk in front of them that is marked as top classified and she shoves it into the soldier's hands.
In the folder is everything that they know about the enchantress. There are pictures from the tomb and pictures of the heart of the ancient body that was dug up that is now in a sealed case on the desk in front of them. It all seems like it could be a prank or some damn magic show, but Waller's face remains completely straight as she watches Clarke reading through a list of the woman's suspected powers.
Of course since this is a blacksite there is footage of everything and that includes the multiple times they have tried to allow Lexa to wake up and she has began to transform, or whatever you would call it. So pushed inside the back of the folder are photos of the same girl that is laying on the table except there her hair is darker and messier. Her eyes are completely dark and her skin is a murky dark color.
“What is she?” Amanda speaks up and raises her eyebrows, narrowing her eyes at the frail girl laying on the table. “That's the real question, isn't it?”
The woman nods her head as a doctor walks into the little room in front of them and just does a routine check on Lexa's vitals.
“That thing that you see,” Waller nods to the briefing packet in Clarke's hand. “That thing is in there.” She points to the girl on the table and doesn't seem to feel any guilt of concern for her, just curiosity.
“As of now, she's going to be your responsibility if you can handle her. Those pictures in the back of that folder were just a few weeks ago. Only a month before we first found her. When we try to wake her up she starts to transform when she is in a state of near consciousness. We think it is involuntary and I want you here because I want to inject her with adrenaline to wake her up instantly. If it doesn't work, then we are going to need you sure as hell.”
The contents of the folder are something Clarke had never seen. Magic? Really? She scoffs and frowns, but drinks on every information given to her. It takes a few minutes for the agent to go through everything – every description, every picture and every tape.
With pursed lips, she closes the document and sighs, glancing up at the strapped unconscious girl as she listens to Amanda. No matter how much she distastes the woman, Clarke respects the hierarchy and right then, the bitch is her boss.
It’s not that she doesn’t believe in what she’s read and saw. After all, they live in a world where aliens pay the Earth a visit every fucking weak – As if they don’t have earthy problems to solve. Her mind goes back to the war in India and she takes a deep breath, pushing the memories aside and focusing on her current mission.
She just doesn’t like it.
She is used to be in the field. To carry guns; to spy on terrorist agencies. To observe, learn, and kill if necessary. This here, is another thing. And although she is curious as hell, she is no babysitter.
“So what, Amanda?” She turns to the dark skinned woman with a frown, tossing the fold onto a desk. She points at the girl inside the box and shakes her head. “You need to me to what?” She asks rudely – but that’s just who she is, really, and the Director knows it too well. “Sit around it, watch it and… Tame the thing?” She huffs and shuts her jaw shut hard, eyes flicking to the girl again.
She watches the doctors applying another shot of what must be some heavy drug to keep her unconscious and leaving the room again.
She really, really doesn’t like it.
She had tried to stay away from the tasks where she would be dealing with those alien things. Leave it to fucking superman to deal with this kind of shit.
Amanda isn't surprised by Clarke's attitude. The woman is a great soldier and amazing with a gun, but she's always had a bad attitude and it's just something that the director came to peace with years ago. She raises her eyebrows at the solider and doesn't seem phased by the snide remarks because she just huffs quietly.
“Maybe. It all depends on if she can control herself when she wakes up. Last time she was awake when we first found her she killed three of our men in seconds who tried to control her while the enchantress was in her.”
She watches the girl laying on the table and punches a code into the door so they can walk into the room with Lexa in it that they had been watching through the window.
Once Clarke enters, the doors close automatically and the nurse just gazes up at Amanda without saying anything.
The room smells like medicine and chemicals enough to make anyone light-headed and Waller just wrinkles up her nose.
“But your opinion on your job doesn't really matter because last time I checked you do what the hell I tell you. If I tell you to sit around with the DOD's little science project all day then that is what you will do, do you understand?”
Without waiting for a response, Waller speaks up to the nurse, requesting the head of the medical team and saying that it's urgent. Of course, the woman scurries off to go fetch the lead doctor and Amanda just gazes down at Lexa.
“We will have the doctor give her a few shots of pure adrenalin.” The woman speaks up without pity in her voice even though she knows that stuff is basically going to be shooting pure terror through the brunette's veins. If that is what they need to make her wake up instantly instead of slipping into the enchantress' mindset, then that is what they will do. “That should get her up again.”
Her eyes meet with Clarke and she looks at her seriously. “If she makes one wrong move when we get her up and you're watching her, then kill her. You understand? This doctor is going to sedate her again if anything goes wrong, but if you have to then shoot her. God knows if that will even affect the fucking thing at all.”
Clarke grits her teeth at Amanda’s command, but she takes a deep breath through her nose and masks her face into a neutral expression as the soldier in her takes place, and she nods.
The Director is right, though. The reason Clarke is a good agent is especially because she knows when to bow her head and follow the order. Yes, she is always going out of the tracks and improvising during her missions, but that’s because she has experience in her belt and knows what she is doing.
She still doesn’t like it, though. Especially when she is under Waller’s radar.
But she is soldier. And a damn good one.
Yet, she can’t help but to smirk and glance at Amanda after listening to the plan. “And are you sure you want to be in this side of the room when that happens?” She snarls and shakes her head.
With a ‘tsk’, she lets her eyes fall on the girl’s face. She looks peaceful, really. Nothing like a fucking demon or whatever the hell she actually is.
She also knows how much of a mess a pretty face can make.
Carefully, she steps close to the girl. Alexandria ‘Lexa’ Woods, as her file says. 23, archeologist. Single. Boston. No siblings. Parents deceased. Great grades. AB- blood type. No surgeries. Owns a black cat. No porn.
She is normal, and it’s disconcerting how this girl in front of her could be the thing she saw in those tapes.
Timing is a bitch, she muses. Wrong place, wrong time and suddenly you have powers.
She ‘tsk’s again and steps back, shaking her head. It’s a fucked up new world the one they are living in now and she still has to make peace with the fact.