Legends meet the 100

Chapter 21

"The next few paragraphs include more specific information about what exactly was done, but what if the Commander got a transplant or an implant?", Nate theorized.

Charlie was the first one to pick up on what he was saying. "So you are saying that a way might have been found to alter blood and make the body accept implants or transplants?"

Nate nodded carefully while adding, "I mean, we are in the future. I know that the grounders look like they are from any time but the future. On the other hand, people have been living on a space station for nearly 100 years..."

"But why are there a bunch of children in the tower then with the same blood?", Ava criticized Nate's theory. "Do all of them have transplants too?"

"And wouldn't Gideon have found something during her scan, if there were any transplants or implants?", John added.

"Not necessarily", Charlie defended Nate's theory. "We don't really know anything about that blood. Neither does Gideon. A transplant may have gone undetected if the body accepted it."

"That doesn't explain the children's blood though", Sara repeated Ava's critique.

"Maybe she got it from her parents", Mick grunted to everyones' surprise.

"That doesn't solve the children's problem", Ava objected, but Sara shook her head.

"But it does", she claimed. "Mick, you are a genius."

The former criminal reacted by nodding once and lifting his beer bottle to his lips to take a big gulp out of it.

"What do you mean?", Ava wanted to know from her girlfriend.

Charlie replied in her stead, "It's probably not directly her parents, but if one of her ancestors had gotten an implant or a transplant and their blood had been altered for it to work, she may have inherited it from them. The children might be descendants of the same person."

Sara nodded.

"But why are there no adults with that blood other than the Commander?", Ava asked.

Sara had a suspicion. She hoped that it wasn't true, but she had also met the grounders and knew that they were very much capable of brutality like that. "Think about it, people with that blood are very rare and the only people that are apparently alive right now with that blood are the Commander, the grounders' leader, and a bunch of children all of whom are currently in the tower in Polis. That can't be a coincidence."

Ava picked up on Sara's pitch and finished explaining her suspicion. "You believe that only those so-called natblidas can be Commander and there is some kind of tournament where the winner becomes the new leader of the grounders?"

Sara affirmed the question with a short "yes".

"And what happens with the rest of them?", Nate asked even though he believed that he knew the answer.

Charlie confirmed his fear. "I am guessing that they all die in that tournament. They probably have to fight to their own or their opponent's death."

The room was silent for a moment. Everybody let those words sink in.

"OK, everyone. There might be a different explanation for all of this. It's just a theory. Nothing is confirmed", Ava tried to loosen the sudden tension, but it was obvious that she wasn't convinced of her words either.

"Sounds like The Hunger Games", Mick commented.

"More like the Gladiator", Nate corrected him.

"OK", Sara interrupted them preventing more violent comparisons. "Charlie, get this book to Raven, Clarke and Behrad. You can also let them know of our theory." She added, "Just the part where the Commander may have inherited the blood", after looking at her team.

She had everyone else continue to look for other books that might hold useful information.

As soon as Charlie had told them everything and had given them the book, Behrad had left to have Gideon run another scan on the Commander and search for any possible transplants or implants. He just wanted to make sure that they didn't miss anything.

Meanwhile, Raven and Clarke were reading the section of the book that described the tests that had been conducted on blood. Most of it wasn't very helpful, but there was one part close to the end of the section that seemed a little familiar to Raven. She stepped to the microscope and took another look at the Commander's blood.

"Did you find anything?", Clarke wanted to know from behind her.

Raven gave her a sign to be quiet. She needed some time to concentrate. The book had given her an idea.

Just as she was about to tell Clarke that she had an idea, Behrad came running into the laboratory.

He yelled, "She has an implant in her neck." He has breathing a little hard. Behrad slapped a slightly transparent, dark sheet on the table. Clarke and Raven strode quickly towards him and leaned over the sheet. At first, they couldn't quite recognize what they were looking at. But the realization started to settle in quickly and was accompanied by fitting facial expressions.

"What is that and what is it doing in Lexa's neck?", Clarke asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"I don't know", Behrad answered.

Raven added, "It doesn't matter right now. It's not what's killing her right now. You can ask her later."

With that, Raven told both of them about her plan. She wasn't surprised about their reactions, but she also didn't see any other way to save the Commander. There was only one question left to answer before they could start.

Right then, Sara and the rest of her team came in. "Gideon said that you have a plan?"

Raven nodded and proceeded to reiterate the details of her plan to the legends' captain and her team. After she was done, she observed the legends' reactions. None of them seemed too happy with the plan, but Sara just asked how much time they had left.

The AI replied that they had about an hour left.

"All that is left to decide is who will do it", Raven announced.

Clarke was about to speak up, but Gideon was quicker. "Behrad is the only legend that is currently on the Waverider who would come into question for this."

Clarke used the following moment of silence to say what she had meant to say before she had been interrupted. "No way. You have done enough for the Commander and for us. Now, it's my turn to help her."