Alexis' uniform was burned away all over the limbs, not even her boots survived. Her face in full view, being unsettling to Billy. It didn't take a genius to tell that she and the other guy were part of the same unit. Surprisingly, no one was too concerned that essentially a humanoid, female lizard was standing before them, the same one that stopped the train.

Had Benton not known any better, he probably would have shot the woman immediately at first glance. However, that wasn't the case here, and she actually didn't look half bad from what he was told, for a humanoid reptile anyway. Though, it looked like their cover was blown. Rookie mistake really.

Just as Alexis was getting comfortable around strangers, the smell of burning was stirring her ire. The heat was doing other things... She checked her working PDA to see what she missed. One thing was for sure, her radio was lost, and she only just noticed Benton's was missing once he patted himself down. They shared heavy huff of frustration.

She didn't know what to think when she rifled through her messages. The ones she didn't respond to were from General Savage; he was stating he was coming down to finish her mission. Personally... This proved to be a problem in two ways.

He would be on the field, and since he doesn't take shit from anyone, what would he think when he sees his favourite subordinate associated with outsiders? Some she tolerated enough to see decency in them, something her brother lacks. Sympathy.

The last problem would obviously be him wasting his time on a minor mission; he often complains wasting his time with the common rabble and not be where he is truly needed. He is the very last resort when a mission goes awry. He'll be so mad. When he gets angry, she gets upset. When she gets upset, people die.

Leaders of a team can manage and organise their subordinates with their standard issue PDA. Status. Objective. Condition. Radios could work to call command or anyone on the field for that matter, as long as they were on the server, but they were both lost.

General Savage would have a radio, which is good. She could only hope to intercept him and relieve his worries, assuring him she can finish the mission without him wasting his time. She had to call command to tell them that they survived the crash. She needed to prove herself.

Billy eyed up at the approaching Benton, noting the way he seemed to be limping. Apart from a few cuts and scrapes on himself, the convict was briefly grateful at how little damage he had seemed to have taken from the crash.

"Are… you okay, miss?" Billy said to the green, scaly woman before him, a million questions running a mile. Like how had she'd been able to move the train car? Why was her skin green? What were those scales all over her? Why was her and Benton's uniform similar? What the fuck was she?

"Never better," Alexis lied. Billy stared at her, noticing her tail again, her wounded chest and the new talons she had for feet. "Don't stare, it's rude."

"I'm sorry, it's just… You don't look so good."

"My eyes are up here."

Billy stopped staring at Alexis' tail; it was just so strange to see on a woman of that calibre. "I'm sorry again. What are you?"

"Oh, that's easy; I'm a mutant, but don't let that scare you, I'm actually kinda nice once you get to know me."

"Right… I can see that from your… scales and…" Billy shrugged.

"I'm also a woman, one that likes long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners."

Billy snorted. "This is hardly the time for jokes. Dozens of people died hours ago, and that ruddy train almost blew our asses into the third century!"

"You're alive, aren't you?"

"I'll ignore the fact you're a walking, talking lizard lady but we could do with an explanation to what's going on here. With all the dead people walking around, and, oh, I dunno, maybe one for the giant scorpion."

Alexis growled softly. "There's been a chemical leak nearby, infecting people and even mutating other organic creatures. Dogs, birds, even insects, much like that scorpion. I'm here to investigate."

"Right, who sent you?"

Alexis raised her voice slightly. "That's all you need to know."

"Fine then. We'll be wanting more answers from you later, and you better answer them."

"Whatever." Dead men can't ask questions. You won't last...

Rebecca tugged Billy's arm. "Come on; there's nothing left to do here."

Billy turned his attention to the group. "Alright, everyone. We're alive, shaken up a bit and have no idea where we are right now. First thing's first, we find out where the hell we are. Then we get out, quickly and safely as possible."

Rebecca lead the way through the door with Evie and Jared; she still had to protect them as they were civilians, maybe patch them up once they get to a safer location. Billy joined her with his gun at the ready. The foul stench of sewer water soaked into their clothes.

All other paths were blocked with iron bars, so, it seemed a ladder going up was the only way out. "Well this sucks. I'll take point, follow me."

Alexis gritted her teeth and took a little breath. Like a human instinct, she had to check her PDA. The only people active and with with their condition above the cautionary yellow was her and Benton. Blake and Martin's conditions were solid red with zero pulses. When enlarged, it said they were dead. The implants were a nice touch to establish control, but it was chilling to be reminded half her team were K.I.A.

Couldn't call anyone with her radio or with the PDA. They were alone and in the dark unless someone was watched over them. Then again, this is Umbrella she was thinking about. She was never alone.

Dorian was coming, that's all she knew. She saw Benton following the survivors further into the facility, he stopped to check back at her in deep thought. Command must have assumed her team was destroyed. She still had a job to do, and he couldn't leave her.

Even though the Ecliptic Express was a thing of the past, she could at least uncover the mystery behind the outbreak at the Training Centre. If she could put two and two together, the entire mystery behind all these unrelated outbreaks might all link together. If not, she knows Birkin would finally appreciate, even learn to love her as his own.

She couldn't waste time brooding like that Sherry, so Alexis dusted herself off and checked out her wares. Other than her magnum revolver, she had her own mind and body as weapons. She was glad that she didn't have to rely on Benton or the survivors to make the killing. They'd just resent her. What group of people would allow a freak to help them?

There was a job to be done, and the only one she could trust is Benton. She doesn't trust Umbrella, but they paid the bills, and if he shares the same idea, then there won't be any hard feelings. What with that credit card scandal still going on, money was all that mattered. If she had to kill for it, then so be it, she didn't belong with humanity anyway.

Benton didn't know what to really say; he merely kept to himself and stayed a few feet in the background. He was more concerned about what people would say about Alexis. But so far, making sense of anything going on was a lost cause at this point. Giant scorpions or walking corpses were not on the list.

He watched the four survivors take the only exit out of the tunnel. Where it went was anyone's guess at this point. He turned to glance back at Alexis, and she seemed to be distracted. She knew something he didn't and remaining in the dark was something he never could get used to. Allowing the other survivors to govern themselves in following Billy, he began to walk back to the green beauty.

"Hey," he said to get her attention. "You alright?"

"Command thinks we expired during the train's derailment. Because the importance of the mission, General Savage is coming out to finish the mission. I'm actually a bit scared of him coming down here. There's a reason he's a general and NOT a captain."

Benton didn't want to hear that the general himself was going to make an appearance. That changes everything. He just glanced off to the side, not looking at anything in particular while deep in thought, before he sighed.

"Shit." No matter what way he thought of this, it was bad for most of them, if not all. "That puts them," he motioned to the group, "at risk now."

"Fortunately, those people are no use to us dead; we'll need their help to increase our survival chances. However, I don't think General Savage will agree... If we can reach command before he arrives, we might be able to resume the mission without him making things more complicate than they already are. My radio's gone."

Her idea might actually be the best course of action at this point; in fact, it was their only option. "I lost mine too." He then had a thought. "I agree though, keeping them alive helps us," he said, referring to the group, "but if we're going to make it through this to the end, we can't let them live. You know that right?" he added, wondering about her opinion on the subject.

Alexis closed her eyes and sighed, feeling her fractured humanity tempt her. "We'll do what's absolutely necessary."

"You're the captain." He felt a little bothered about the approach she's suggesting. Trying to reason with General Savage was like trying to breathe underwater. The man was old school and there was only one way; his way. "We'll keep them close for now, but remember... this is an Umbrella facility. I don't know what they did here, but you're a product of theirs, so... we have a general idea. If those people find out... they will turn on us, and we might not see it coming." He moved for the door, already lagging behind.

"Well crap, I didn't think about that." Alexis folded her arms. "I wish there was an easier solution behind this, but we either walk away and not look back or keep a very close eye on their findings and kill if we need to. I'm all for hard work and money, but if this place is infested as command says it is, then it might be best to work together. I'm open for a second opinion from you, though."

Benton was already in a mindset of survival, and it might work in their favour to keep them alive, but they also outnumbered the two Umbrella operatives. That alone was enough to convince Benton of lethal measures right off the hop.

"They're not trained like we are, yet two of us were taken out easily. If they surprise us, we're as good as dead. Let's not forget, one of them is a cop, STARS no doubt. Keeping her alive might do more harm than good."

"I don't like the idea myself, but the fact we all could've died before mission start is unacceptable. Despite everything, they're still alive and so are we. As far as I know, we have one man who's not completely useless with a gun and a partially useful medic. The other two are brittle, won't take much to break them."

Benton nodded. "The odds sound better coming from you, that's for sure."

"Once their services are depleted, we'll make it quick – they earned that privilege."

Benton sighed; he couldn't agree with Alexis, even though she brought up some interesting points. They may have proven their worth in a fight and even been a part of helping them stop the train. He had to trust her judgement; she was the expert on all this. Then again, losing two members of the team under her leadership left the working relationship strained.

"Fine..." Benton huffed, sounding a little agitated. "I'll play nice, for now... Just so we're clear, the moment I personally feel that those guys up there are snooping on something they shouldn't, or they even look at me funny, I will kill them."

"I expect you to," Alexis replied coldly. "It's your job to survive."

"And yours. Don't you forget that." Benton pushed through the door, and the grotesque smell was intense. He carried on, not wanting to press on any further.

Alexis couldn't keep a team together; she was a fool thinking she was ready to lead. Couldn't even protect herself against Stinger, nearly died because of it. Wasn't even mentioning the years of training she been through, just to be more than a mindless B.O.W. Didn't expect to shoot civilians in the back until the second or third year. This was real.

Even up to this day, she wondered if leaving the life of a researcher was a good move for her peers. It was fun back then working with the likes of Scott and Birkin, but ever since she heard Dorian Savage was enlisting in the Security Service, she knew she had to join. Not only she grew up with him, but she also developed a huge crush.

The cruel two years of training she was put through paled in comparison to his six years, but they managed to make things work. Secret meetings and all that. That was then she didn't care about her peers; she just wanted to be with him forever. Every moment away from him broke her heart.

This was her life now, and there was a job to do. The people she was stuck with were a possible threat to her company, and no amount of humanity she was feeling could change that. What will they think when they dive deeper into the facility? The horrible actions the recent general manager had done to employees? If they survive, what next? Rumours would spread.

All U.S.S. members are to protect the company's interests. Their secrecy is one of them; a captain would know that, not a rookie fresh off the press. All these complicated feelings would never let her rest, can't just chalk everything up to teenage angst. Benton was right, and she knew it.

She failed her team, and the only ally she had left clearly had doubts about her. Dorian was coming down and taking control; her choice is simple: to follow his lead along with Benton or stand in their way for the lives of the survivors, strangers she wasn't sure she should care for.

Maybe she wasn't ready for the responsibility. She's a failure, as a captain, a daughter and a sister. She was no one. Just a failed experiment that was given the benefit of the doubt, one that will last her whole life. Unlike a monstrous freak, she sat down and cried in her lap. The wrong person was made Delta Team Captain that day, that honour was not hers to earn…