A Fool Thinks Herself to be Wise
Pairing: Clexa
Rating: Children Shouldn't Read Alone (T)

Note: So, turns out I had this finished but I forgot... Anywho, here's some thing from Lexa's point of view!

She was an idiot.

Her fists pounded on the bag, but the burn of her muscles and the bruises forming on her knuckles didn't seem like enough punishment for her stupidity.

She'd been doing so well.

Almost seven years as Heda, and she hadn't slipped once. She'd taken down villain after villain, put multiple criminals behind bars. Yet after the arrival of that enraging girl Wanheda, everything had gone down hill.

She'd slipped on their first meeting. She'd been tired, out of focus. The anniversary of her mother's death had been soon, Costia had said they needed a break, work had been hounding her ass despite her father's efforts to redirect their attention. It had been an off day, which had let one of Arkdia City's most dangerous criminals get away, and it made her so angry with herself.

She hit harder, adding in kicks and spins, the heavy bag rattling dangerously on it's hooks.

The next time they'd crossed paths, she'd been so eager to fix her mistake. Eager and reckless to the point that Aden had commented, and when Natblida, the sidekick literally known in the papers as being reckless, says she'd gone too far, then she knew she needed to take a step back. Her emotions were high, she was stressed. She needed to think everything through.

Breathing hard, she steadied the bag, leaning her forehead against the cool canvas, eyes sliding closed. She stayed like that for a long while, letting the rhythmic sound of the air conditioning fans sooth her. She ignored the sounds of footsteps coming closer, down the steps from the upper levels, instead focusing on her still pounding heart.

"Hey, Lex."

She hummed in response, signalling that she was listening.

"We found some- why is it so dark in here?"

She sighed, blinking open her eyes to take in the sight of Anya, fully suited up as Gona, but with her cowl down, squinting into the dim room.

"Even though it's been this way since I was born, I feel like you keep forgetting that I can see much, much better than you."

She smirked into the gloom. Methodically unwrapping her hands, she strode over to her sister, easing up the light settings just enough that Anya could see her without issue. The light wasn't harsh or bright, but everything was thrown into sharp clarity. She could see every corner of the room with ease.

"What did you find?"

Anya raised an eyebrow, but continued.

"Dad managed to find Wanheda on some security camera's. She is really good at being stealthy, but we're better."

The older girl winked, a cocky grin on her face. Lexa puffed out a laugh, shaking her head at her siblings confidence.

"Alright then, let me get suited up and we'll make a plan. Is Aden coming, or is school kicking his ass?"

Anya leaned against the doorframe as Lexa pulled on the compression underclothes of her suit. Anya's own suit took much longer to put on than her sisters, so it was a slight surprise that she was already set to go. While the Gona suit was extremely similar to the Heda suit, right down to the infinity symbol on the chest, there were some functional differences. Heavy armour along the arms complemented Anya's superior strength nicely, and the lighter armour on her legs and torso allowed for her enhanced speed to go relatively unhindered by the added weight. Aden had once called her "the perfect tank."

"He's busy with homework, but he promises to make time for training on saturday."

The younger girl nodded as she pushed past her sister, taking the stairs up two at a time.

Their 'lair' as the siblings had affectionately named it, much to their fathers irritation, overlooked the city that they'd sworn to protect. The old clock tower that disguised their abode was situated near downtown, a few streets over from the waterfront, and near Ton DC Hospital. The perfect place for their crime fighting operations, and being so high up let them jump straight onto the roof tops.

Her father, Titus, or FleimKepa, typed away at his computer, a few different images of Wanheda frozen on one of the screens. She paused at the sight of the villain, the small smirk and the glinting blue eyes sending shivers down her spine.

A slight push from Anya has her racing to her suit, slipping it on with a sigh of happiness. The suit made her feel safe and confident, like she could really do some good in the world. She jogged over to her Father's desk as she adjusted her gauntlets, where he and Anya discussed Wanheda.

"Do we know what she's doing?"

Fleimkepa grunted, his regular frown creasing his features.

"I'd assume going to kill someone. There have been reports of several bodies showing up all throughout the city, although most concentrated in the Dead Zone. Known rapists, human traffickers, some drug dealers although all had past crimes involving abuse. Rather odd, but consistent with her MO from Arkadia. The rape and human trafficking statistics are very low there, mostly because of her."

Anya frowned as she pulled up her cowl.

"Then why are we going after her? She's getting scum off the streets."

Lexa mirrored her sister, pulling her own cowl up and adjusting the built in blinders and hearing protection, along with turning on the built in camera. Blank screens on the desk blinked to life, showing the two camera feeds from their cowls. Fleimkepa leaned back in his chair, pulling up Wanheda's file. The file was large, showing combat statistics and her long list of crimes.

"Because she's killing them rather than turning them over to the police. I read up on her statistics from the ArkPD. Once she finishes with the most immediate and obvious criminals, she moves on to Government officials and white collar criminals. While all are proven guilty of some crime or another after the fact, they're still dead."

Gona swallowed at that, coughing slightly as she turned to Heda.

"So, what're we waiting for? The camera's indicated she was heading towards the Dead Zone."

Heda nodded, adjusting her suit one last time. They headed towards the balcony, grappling hooks at the ready.

"Lexa, remember you have a meeting with the new branch head of Griffin Co. tomorrow at ten AM. She's the daughter of the CEO, so don't be late."

Lexa waved back at her father to show she heard, putting the reminder at the back of her mind. She had more important things to worry about.

The hero duo lept off the balcony, firing their grappling hooks. It didn't take terribly long to reach the Dead Zone. Not having to battle traffic cut down on their travel time significantly, but they still had to stop and stretch their arms once they reached the slums edge.

The Dead Zone was a series of housing and business districts situated on a peninsula on the north-eastern side of the city. Surrounded by water on three sides, the Dead Zone was the centre of Polis' smuggling and crime rings, and the designated slums of the city. It had such a high concentration of criminals and villains, which had resulted in a buddy system being implemented whenever the heroes had to go inside.

"Alright, Heda, what's the plan?"

Gona stretched, groaning out her question. They'd stopped on one of the warehouses near the Dead Zones edge to get an update from Fleimkepa. Heda was silent, listening to her father over their com channel.

"Wanheda was last sighted near The DropShip, so let's head over there and see what we can find."

The DropShip was a well known hangout for the less savoury citizens of Polis City, many of which would shoot any of the heroes without a thought, so there was an unspoken/once spoken rule of "Don't go in the dang bar, I'm looking at you Aden." It was run by a pair of suspiciously proper gentlemen, Monty Green and Jasper Jorden. Neither had a juvenile record, and their business was run to the letter of the law. Their only notable transgression was being accused of illegally making moonshine, but the charges had been dropped due to insufficient evidence. The two boys, no older than college age, were so incredibly innocent it was down right suspicious, especially with where they decided to set up shop.

The two heroes dropped onto the bars roof, hidden behind the sign depicting a falling spaceship in gaudy neon lights. It was rather quiet, the endless traffic of downtown nonexistent here. Instead, the air was filled with low chatter from the bar's patrons, dogs baying from several streets over, and the odd yell that rang down the eerie streets.

Their coms crackled in their ears, giving way to the comforting sound of their father's voice.

"I found her again. She ran past a working security camera outside a warehouse near the pier. I'll send you the coordinates."

A GPS map flashed across the lenses in their cowls, sending them sprinting towards the pier. They ran across the rooftops in tandem, Anya in front to act as a springboard for Lexa when a roof was just that little bit too far, but not worth using a grappling hook to get to. The need for assistance did grate a little on the younger hero, but she had grudgingly accepted her limitations. She had enhanced sight and hearing, Anya had greater strength and speed. That was fact and she couldn't do anything about it.

They arrived at the designated location within minutes, dropping in front of the camera, Anya cheekily waving, then continued running in the direction Fleimkepa directed them. Heda spread out her senses, trying her best to listen for the sounds of a fight, or rather murder. Filtering out the sounds of her own breathing, the pounding of boots on tarmac and the light clicks of Anya's heavy armour, she sorted through the noises of the Dead Zone. Gone went the sounds of howling dogs and hissing cats, the raucous laughter from nearby bars, and the sound of lapping water against dock supports.

A scream cut through the noise.

"Did you hear that?"

She felt as though she could hear the eye roll.

"No."

Farther than normal hearing then.

"This way."

They skid around a corner, spraying gravel. The sounds of screams and gunfire grew louder.

"Heda, you're in Reaper territory."

Her father's voice had a worried edge. The Reapers were a known gang with several organized crime connections, so if Wanheda was here then she was most likely going for one of those connections or one of the gang's leaders.

The gunfire continued, but was gradually lessening, fading into the sounds of grunts and agonized screams that rang in her ears. They were identical to the scream of the man the villain had killed in front of her on their first meeting. A broken door came into view, the lock destroyed by bullets and then kicked inwards. The entrance led into a warehouse, identical to the one next to it, all grey and red brick with yellow painted letters to indicate who owned what. The paint on this particular warehouse was so damaged that the only letter left was a ragged 'R.' How fitting.

She and Gona slid down into the warehouse on their knees, popping up in low crouches behind a stack of crates. The scene before them made their mouths go dry.

Bodies, dead husks were scattered on the floor, other, healthier bodies, were slumped against the walls, bullets and blood splatters painting a gory picture. Gunfire flashed about the room as Wanheda dodged and rolled, blonde hair flying with every movement, firing her own gun as she grabbed a gangster by the face, his agonized scream ripping through the air as he shrivelled grotesquely. Anya's breath picked up beside her, a shaky sound that matched her own heart beat.

"Come on, they might be criminals but they don't deserve this."

Gona nodded, a tense frown on her face. In unison, they vaulted over their hiding place, feet planting themselves in the backs of two gangsters. They were sent sprawling, falling with shocked cries, drawing the attention of the vengeful villain. Wanheda looked shocked for a handful of seconds before her face fell into an easy smile, like her murder spree hadn't just been interrupted.

There weren't many opponents left, the majority either dead or having fled once Wanheda had been distracted. Heda darted forward, determination in her posture. She wasn't letting the blonde get away again. Gona took on the job of finishing off the last of the gangsters, enhanced strength filled punches sending them flying.

Wanheda jumped away at Heda's first low sweeping kick, hopping up onto a crate to avoid the subsequent flurry of jabs. They danced like this for a while, at a stalemate as Wanheda refused to engage. Only when Anya joined her, having finished the rest of the gangsters did they pause.

"Give up Wanheda, it's over."

The blonde stood stiffly, perched on a crate. It seemed they'd managed to back her into a corner. Movement to the back end of the room had everyone turning, a man in a filthy suit sprinted towards the exit, a briefcase in hand.

"It's not over until he's dead!"

Wanheda snarled, bringing up her gun, firing off two shots before Heda managed to tackle her. They tumble to the ground, the bang of the gun right next to her ear making her head spin. The blonde manages to elbow her in the face, slipping from her grasp. The ear protection in her cowl had worked to an extent, sealing off her ears nanoseconds after the shot went off, but the noise was still loud enough to stun her.

Note to self: develop and update better ear protection

The yells of Fleimkepa buzzing in her ear, and then Gona were the first sounds she managed to hear after the ringing in her ears subsided. She stumbled to her feet, startling when her sisters arms came around her in a hug.

"God, I thought you were dead."

Anya's voice held relief, as they separated. She put a palm to the side of her head, only barely feeling the pressure through the padding of her cowl. She scanned the warehouse, taking in the bodies, the absent Wanheda and the suited man sprawled groaning on the floor, a shoddy bandage around his leg.

"He'll live. Fleimkepa already has an ambulance and police enroute."

She nodded, gritting her teeth as a headache began to pound behind her eyes. It seemed they'd managed to win a small victory against Wanheda. While they didn't catch her, they had saved her target, meaning they could hand him over to the police to undergo due process. Not the most ideal outcome, but better than nothing. Plus, they might be able to learn something from the recordings from their cowls.

"Alright, we'll stay until they get here. Then we go home. I need a ton of aspirin if I'm going to survive that meeting tomorrow."

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