A World Without Heroes: Redemption

Andrella07

Disclaimer: I own this! OMG! I'm gonna make a movie with Milla and Ali, and then a video game based on the movie, then I'm gonna make sequels, and prequels, and get rich, and ...yeah, I don't own this. Don't sue me.

Reviews: Save lives.

Rated M for dark themes, language, and (I think) sexuality... though why that needs to be said is ridiculous. If you have problems with two chicks in love (or even two guys for that matter) - then go away.

Huge shout-out to my beta, Cantholdon, who (in case you didn't know) is more awesome than shotguns of evil.

So, who has missed me? I've missed you all terribly. I hope you're at least as excited as I am for the start of the next Evil Alice journey. Just like AWWH I promise length, angst, love, and gore. Please enjoy and never forget - it's always blue for the virus. ;)

Chapter 1: A Day in the Life

Before the outbreak Alice had a chance to save the world from the deadly practices of a powerful corporation, but she failed and her actions put it in jeopardy. Then Dr. Isaacs turned her into the very weapon that could destroy Umbrella, but she failed again.

Finally two survivors, a fiery redhead and her silent charge, gave her the chance to be the hero she'd forgotten she had the potential to be.

Then Alice had an idea. It was stupid, brash, and seriously suicidal.

Just might be crazy enough to work…

The brunette brought the axe back and started another downward swing. The heavy wedge cut the wood with a sharp crack of sound that echoed in the woods behind her. The separated pieces of oak fell into the snow, and Alice bent to pick up the next log to split. She carried on like a machine as the gears in her head continued to turn.

Alice struck another piece although the pile at her feet was beyond what she needed to do for the day. She held the axe over her shoulder again ready for another blow.

"Easy there, Alice."

The brunette startled, completely missing the log, but only narrowly missing her foot. "Fuck!" She looked at the redhead who'd interrupted her. "Shit, Claire!"

Claire chuckled as she walked closer. "Sorry."

Alice blew the apology off. "It's not fucking funny."

The brunette didn't know how much longer she could take this. Being a mere shadow of her former superhuman self was aggravating. She disliked being tired and hungry; loathed the absence of her speed, strength, and mental ability; was afraid of not being able to sense the undead; and hated that paranoia drove her every action though it didn't always keep things like Claire from surprising her.

The redhead cocked her head to the side as she placed a hand on Alice's shoulder. "I really am sorry."

Alice sighed, and her warm breath came out as a white fog in the frozen air. "I hate this."

"You've only been without your powers for a couple months; it's going to take time to get used to."

The brunette looked down at her feet trying to hide the fact that she was not ashamed of what she was about to say.

"Is it bad if I don't want to get used to it?"

Claire removed her hand and stared off in contemplation. Alice already knew what was going through her head. This was always what they fought about. The redhead was happy with Alice's humanity; the brunette stated often that she was not.

The redhead deflected the question with practiced ease. "I think you've got enough wood there for a few days, don't you?"

Alice shut her eyes for a second in annoyance and dropped the axe. She put her right finger and thumb in her mouth and let out a fierce whistle. The Saint Bernard came running, and Alice didn't give Claire a second glance as she left with Paco at her side.

The brunette was fuming. She checked the handgun on her waist as she walked down the wooded trail. It was Alice's habit to leave when she felt angry, and the growing dog always accompanied her. He was building his stamina right along with his bulk, yet the pup was a gangly fool. Still he was loyal, smart, and always seemed to know when Alice needed him most.

She looked at her watch. 1:40 PM. After breaking her last one in a drunken rage she found another in town and was too tempted to pass it up. Though the compulsion was not near as bad, it was still there.

The three survivors gathered everything they could use from the abandoned town nearby. It was surprisingly well-stocked with supplies, but then it would have to be. Before the outbreak, Alaskan towns had to have extra of everything in case the planes carrying new goods couldn't make the treacherous journey. This was no country for the weak of heart. Alice felt at home here, especially in the snow.

The frozen world around her reminded the brunette of the winters she spent in her home state of Michigan. Growing up she never had anything other than white Christmases and roaring fires.

Her boots kicked a trail in the snow that Paco was happy to follow with boyish glee. He nipped at the back of her heels and ran away from her when she paused. The pup enjoyed the game, and Alice had to admit she was enjoying it too.

She took a long breath as she looked around. Alice identified the trees that usually signaled her turn around. She wasn't sure if she was ready to return, but she couldn't stop her mind from replaying a powerful memory. It was the one where she realized that she loved Claire; the very same drunken episode that cost her a watch. The redhead however would not be following her now. She never followed her when Alice left like this.

She checked the time again. 3:21 PM. The sun would be setting very soon. Alaskan winter days were much shorter than anything she was used to, but the dark wasn't so bad. At least the moon could reflect off the snow and light her way wherever she needed to go. She knew she had to go back, but not until she finally understood why she was upset with Claire.

They'd been through so much and in a very short amount of time. The redhead could be hard to read, stubborn to a fault, and temperamental, but she was also compassionate, strong, and warm. Claire didn't hold Alice responsible for the outbreak, and it was that simple fact that spurred so much of the brunette's wrath.

If there was nothing to be blamed for – then there was no cause for redemption.

That was it; that was why she was upset. Alice could truly live without her powers if she was forced to. A life without redemption, even a happy one with Claire, would always have that tinge of guilt just poisonous enough to kill her internally. Humanity always had its price.

It was now that Alice's previous insane notion came to play in her thoughts again. If she could just get some of her power back, she could help the survivors she knew were still out there. With a perceptive smirk she thought of the other act where her superhuman self would come in handy – dealing with Umbrella. She wanted to take that corporation down once and for all. Revenge had been sweet before. There was no doubt that it would be sweet again.

How much would it take? Alice began to pace next to a lofty Sitka Spruce. The snow compacted beneath her boots as Paco sat and began to pant.

She turned and looked at the dog. "What do you think Paco? One, maybe two? Maybe more…"

The Saint Bernard lifted his large ears but couldn't give her the answer she required. The only man who would really have any idea was dead. Isaacs, the good doctor, had been the father of her unique blood, but giving up on her humanity because of it – was all Alice.

Her DNA was still altered though her powers were diminishing to the point that it caused her physical pain to apply her focus on anything larger than a handgun, and it always had to be within arm's reach.

Alice's martial skill was learned so at least that couldn't be taken away from her. Her impressive physique hadn't changed much either for the simple fact that the brunette worked out every day, but still her strength was greatly lessened.

The brunette felt a twinge in her left shoulder so she stopped pacing to rub it away. Her bullet wound was long gone, and there was no remaining damage. The ache she felt wasn't from corporeal pain – it was guilt. Plain and simple.

The sun was dipping below the horizon, and Alice still hadn't started walking back. Paco whined; the dog really didn't like the dark. He slept with K every single night.

"Come on Paco," Alice called softly. "Let's go home."

The walk back was cold; the temperature had dropped below zero degrees long ago. She opened the door to let Paco in, and he bolted. The pup was so eager to be out of the dark that he slipped on the wooden floor from his wet paws. Alice let out a low chuckle at the sight and then turned around. She still had wood to stack before she turned in.

The brunette knew she should wait until tomorrow when the sun would be out, and it would be warmer, but she didn't want to go inside. Claire and K-mart were likely making dinner with Paco doing everything in his power to get their attention focused on him instead.

Alice stacked the wood with the rest of the pile outside the house, and then covered it with a worn tarp when she was done.

No one was waiting up for her when she finally entered the cabin. Her entire body was numb with chill though she'd been completely outfitted for the snow. Alice always pushed herself further than she should. It was the only thing she had to compensate for what she lacked, and it often crossed the line into self-destruction.

She had kept true to her word in at least one respect. Alice hadn't had one drink since, but it was nights like this one that reminded her of the ignorant bliss she was missing. The brunette dressed down to her black pants and thin shirt. She placed her handgun in her waistband, and then walked to the woodstove in the living room. After pulling a log from the top of the pile next to it, she kneeled and opened the heated glass door to set the wood in the dying fire. The oxygen and replenished fuel brought the flames to life.

Alice knew what she should do next. She shut the woodstove door and rose back to her feet. The brunette was hungry, but she had no appetite for food. Instead she walked back to the bedroom she shared with Claire. She stood in the doorway for a moment taking in the sight of Claire lying in bed.

The woman's chest rose and fell, but it was not the deep breathing that signaled her sleep. Alice wasn't surprised to know that the redhead was still awake. She crossed over to the mattress, put her gun under her pillow, and then pulled back the blankets to slip inside. Alice lay on her back, between Claire and the door. If anything ever came through it that wasn't K or Paco, Alice would be first to meet it. She stared up at the ceiling, and the woman shifted beside her. Claire placed her head on Alice's shoulder and her arm around the brunette's mid-section. Alice let her hand rest on Claire's shoulder. It was a silent apology to each other, and it was accepted by both of them.

Claire's voice broke the quiet. "Did you eat anything?"

"No," Alice whispered.

The redhead didn't respond she just snuggled closer into Alice. Tomorrow, the brunette knew, she would have to tell Claire of her plan. She would not be pleased so Alice decided to make up for that right now.

She turned her head and lifted Claire's chin with her hand to kiss her soundly. The redhead rose to the occasion with stirring passion. Alice felt Claire's lips press harder into her own as the redhead maneuvered herself to lie completely on top of her. Alice let her hands go to work on Claire's willing form as the redhead moaned. She rolled Claire over in the bed and began to strip her as the redhead did the same to Alice until the only pieces of warm fabric left were the blankets on top of them and the sheet beneath.

Claire moaned again as she bit into her own wrist when Alice's fingers blazed a trail from her taught abdomen to her sensitive core. The brunette drank in the sound and used it to fuel her own desire. She worked Claire hard, never letting the redhead be without some reason to whimper and beg in escalating pleasure. Several long minutes later the redhead didn't cascade over the edge – she plummeted, calling out Alice's name loud enough for the brunette to know that climax was reached but not so loud that it would wake the house; namely K-mart.

Her goal met, Alice was happy to feel Claire cuddle up to her as the redhead's breathing and heartbeat began to settle.

"Claire…I love you. Don't ever doubt that."

The redhead didn't answer right away, but when she did Alice heard worry in her voice.

"I love you too."

Alice sat on the operation table, like she did every time Isaacs came for her. This time however she was fully clothed in her regular, black apparel.

"Project Alice," he greeted. "You're back."

"I'm not," she answered and tried to jump down from the metal slab, but she couldn't move. Everything but her face was frozen. She glanced around the antiseptic white room.

Dr. Isaacs readied a needle, pulling fluid into it from a container on the table next to him. He held the syringe up, and the tiny needle caught in the light. Alice knew her human senses never would've been able to catch that tiny detail, and it made her swallow nervously.

"It will never work, you know?" he commented as he flicked the vial of the syringe to knock off an air bubble. Alice had no idea what he was talking about, but he continued and the familiar British accent tickled her ears. "My serum is too strong."

Isaacs walked up to her; suddenly she was naked. He took a hold of her arm though she tried to pull back from his cold, unprotected hands. The doctor pierced her flesh with the tip and pushed the plunger down with his thumb. Alice expected pain to follow. She was certain her veins would catch fire when he withdrew the needle, but nothing happened.

Dr. Isaacs's eyebrows drew together. "Interesting…"

His gaze left her body to focus on a spot behind her. Alice didn't need to look to know what he saw. Her blood began to sing, but she still couldn't move. Air shifted around her neck, the breath neither cold nor warm. A sharp, tearing feeling abruptly developed in her skin. The building pressure of solid bone ripping into her muscles caused hot blood to spill down her collarbone and back.

Alice screamed.