"But you have to believe us!" Chris Redfield shouted in an office. A few days had been removed since the outbreak incident in Arklay Mountains. "Umbrella caused all this, it's because of them that those creatures attacked the people on The Ecliptic Express Train! The ones who destroyed the Training Facility and that Mansion!"
"I believe you Chris, and you need to believe me when I say that I want this resolved just as much as you do," S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Nick Fury insisted. "But my hands are tied right now."
"What do you mean your hands are tied? People died out there Fury!" Chris shouted. "Innocent lives were lost because of Umbrella! Because of that traitor Albert Wesker!"
"We're currently attempting to track down any further association with Umrbella, but that's easier said than done," Fury said. "Look, I want justice too, you think I want to risk zombies showing up in other cities? I lost a lot of good men myself so I'm just as angry as you are! But you need to keep a clear head, otherwise those guys in Umbrella will get the better of us."
"Dammit..." Chris lamented. "So there's nothing you can do?"
"Not without evidence," Fury said. "And all the evidence was destroyed when that mansion blew up, same with that train and that facility that Rebecca Chambers endured. Seems someone really wanted their tracks covered."
"Quake was there with us, she saw everything that happened, shouldn't that be evidence too?" Chris asked. "She can vouch for me on this."
"The two of us already tried that, between you and me, I think someone in the higher ups is still trying to cover this mess," Fury said. "We talked to Raccoon City's Mayor and the Police Department. If there's a cover up, then it's a big one. But I'm not one to leave stuff like this without a fight, and believe me, we're going to fight and expose the truth."
"This is ridiculous," Chris said. "How does Umbrella have this much leeway?"
"They made the right friends, including those in Shinra, of course those guys have recently gained trouble of their own from a rebel group who is not too fond with their work," Fury said. "Those guys are just as corrupt, but they work the system well."
"Well whoever those rebels are, I wish them luck," Chris said. "Maybe they'll have their mess sorted out first."
"Who's to say?" Fury asked. "Legally, I can't ask you to do anything, but if you were to act on your own accords, well that's a whole different story. I can't promise anyone of my payroll can help, but you need to decide if the risk is work it."
"It might be, I'll keep digging around in Raccoon for now," Chris said. "If all else fails, then I guess I'll have no choice but to do something on my end."
"I want to spare the help, I really do, but right now, I have to keep this under wraps," Fury said. "Aliens are one thing, but scaring the public with word of zombies and all those other monsters is going to result in more harm than good. Sometimes the best heroes work behind the scenes."
"I just want this resolved, I'm worried that one day my sister will have to deal with this crap," Chris said. "She's the only family I have left, I can't risk losing her."
"I respect that," Fury said. "Know that you have an ally, and I will help however I can, but it's gotta be done discreetly."
"Sure, I appreciate that," Chris said. "By the way, have you ever heard of a man named Sephiroth?"
"Sephiroth?" Fury asked, trying to think. "I might have, I think he was a Shinra solider, though I hear he met his end during a mission to a small town called Nibelheim."
"Then unless that was a ghost talking to Wesker, or the most advanced zombie, then those reports may have been wrong," Chris said. "Do you know what his quirk might have been?"
"All I know is that he specialized in using a sword, but I can try to see if there's any more information," Fury said. "If we can expose this, we can bring down both Umbrella and Shinra."
"That's good," Chris said, recalling the cold gaze of Sephiroth. "That man seems dangerous, even more than any of the monsters we've encountered."
"One more thing," Fury said. "You mentioned that Wesker was killed by his monster, correct?"
"Yeah, the bastard got impaled," Chris said.
"When we checked the area, we saw no sign of him," Fury said. "Unless he turned, he might not be dead."
"That seems impossible, I saw him die," Chris said.
"Well if you saw Sephiroth despite his supposed death, then you shouldn't rule out Albert Wesker," Fury said. "You'd be amazed at the miracles that get pulled off this day and age."
"I'll keep that in mind then," Chris said. "Right now, I have work to do."
Chris had his determination to bring down Umbrella, the man looking into the distance, wondering if Wesker was truly out there.
But it was more than that, The cold hard gaze of Sephiroth also lurked, the man still doing preparations of his own.
"I wonder how Midgar is doing right about now?" Sephiroth said to himself. "I should pay it a visit soon."
Back in the present, things of course were bad for Raccoon City, especially for those still residing in the Raccoon City Police Department.
The four survivors made their way through the corridors of the first floor, past some boarded windows toward the first staircase.
They came across a hallway full of zombies, to their left and their right.
"We got this," Clint pulled out his bow, effortlessly shooting an arrow through a zombie's head. Clint grabbed another and shot it again, the zombie falling over dead.
"You like showing off?" Leon joked, aiming his gun and firing. He hit a zombie in the shoulder rather than the head however.
"Well at least I got better aim," Clint joked, much to Leon's annoyance.
"Just a little off," Leon said, aiming again, hitting the chest, and then finally the head, killing the zombie immediately.
"Work on your arm, ammo isn't exactly flourishing," Clint teased.
"Oh shut up," Leon said.
One zombie tried approaching from behind, Claire brought out her own gun, firing twice, once in the chest and the second in the face. "Got it."
"Wow, one less bullet than Leon," Clint teased, further annoying Leon.
"I won't need bullets for this one," Natasha said, rushing over and jumping off a wall to wrap her leg around a zombie's head and then twisted the zombie's neck, killing in instantly.
"Whoa, that was pretty badass Nat," Clint said. "But try not to do anything that will risk you getting bitten. Being a badass won't matter if you're dead."
"I'll keep that in mind," Natasha said.
Clint pulled his arrows out a zombie's head, wiping away the blood. "Still, I'd say Nat was top notch, with me as a close second. Claire did well too, better than the trained officer."
"Hey, I'm surviving aren't I!?" Leon shouted.
"Whoa, easy Leon," Natasha said. "Clint's just messing around."
"…Yeah, I know," Leon said. "Sorry, guess I'm just a little stressed out."
"It's fine, sorry if I was being a pain," Clint said. "I kind of like to mess with people, just ask Iron Man."
"Let's hurry," Claire said, going up with Clint. Natasha was about to follow when she saw how dejected Leon looked.
"You'll do better, I mean you're still good with a gun," Natasha said.
"Yeah, I know, I just need to be better if I'm gonna be of good use," Leon said.
"You're doing fine, just stick by us," Natasha said. "This is a team effort, not a competition."
"Sure," Leon said, heading toward the staircase.
"I gotta say though two are really good shots," Natasha said as the four began to walk upstairs.
"Well, I did receive police training," Leon said. "I just didn't think I needed to put it into practice so soon, especially in an environment like this."
"My brother gave me a few pointers," Claire explained. "I never thought I'd have to use any of his training but at least it's paying off."
"It never hurts to be prepared," Clint said. "Especially in a world like this. If you weren't born with powers, better find some other way to survive."
"By the way, where'd you get that other gun?" Leon asked, gesturing to her bow gun. "I don't remember you having that when we split up.
"I got it from a gun store that I passed by on the way here," Claire said. "It was the only weapon left."
"Hope the owner won't mind you using it too much," Clint joked.
Claire tried laughing it off, hoping to ease the pressure, but it wasn't enough.
Earlier, right after getting separated from Leon, she immediately took shelter in a gun store, where the owner Robert Kendo nearly mistook her for another zombie.
She could still remember the moments of what happened shortly before his death.
"Don't you worry about a thing, you'll be safe in here," Robert said. "I'm keeping a close eye on things."
"Thank you," Claire said, heading to the back. "Do you have any spare weapons so I can protect myself as well?"
"Sure, check the drawer there for a crossbow, it can-" Suddenly the glass behind him broke, the store owner immediately surrounded and despite his attempts, Robert could not fend off the monsters.
Claire, knowing she couldn't help him, immediately grabbed the gun and ran off, hoping to make it to the station in one piece, but during her trip, she had to wonder if there was anything she could have done to save that man's life.
It was a grim sign of what was to come if she wasn't careful herself. At least she had a trained RPD Officer and two members of The Avengers by her side but the worries did not alleviate much. Any moment could result in a quick demise.
The group passed by a statue holding a large ruby, with two other statues nearby. Clint took a moment to study it, finding the placement curious. "Is that Ruby part of the statue or was it added on?"
"I can't say," Natasha said, observing the statue. "Not like that ruby will do us any good."
"Would fetch us a pretty penny," Clint commented.
"Come on Clint, I thought you put your thief days behind you?" Natasha said.
"Thief?" Leon asked. "You were a thief?"
"It's not something I'm proud to admit," Clint shamefully confessed. "But yeah, I used to be a thief."
"That's a bit surprising, but as long as that's no longer you, then that's all that matters," Claire said.
"She's right, just keep your eyes forward right now," Natasha said. "We still have a job to do."
"Right, to the S.T.A.R.S. office," Clint said.
The group continued walking, making their way past a door that led them to a blue hallway, Natasha gesturing to their destination. "It's down here, follow me."
The group made their way to the entrance, opening the door to the S.T.A.R.S. office. It was smaller than expected, likely due to their being fewer surviving members after the incident in Arklay Mountains.
"Well, if there's anything about your brother, then this would be the place to find a lead," Clint said.
"Let's search around for any clues the members might have left," Natasha said. "Including information about their Captain, Albert Wesker."
"Wasn't it reported that he was working with Umbrella?" Clint asked. "Not that it matters since he's dead."
"He might not be, Fury says he disappeared after his supposed death," Natasha said.
"Think he transformed too?" Leon asked.
"We're not sure, it's a bit of a mystery to us, but we'll figure out sooner or later," Natasha said.
"Hopefully sooner," Clint said. "If he's alive, I don't want to risk him causing more trouble like this."
"Still, I am curious if he left any clues in this room," Natasha said. "Maybe we'll see if any other members might have been involved in some way, it does strike me as suspicious that he was able to hide it this long without any help."
"Even with Shinra backing him up, it's hard to imagine him pulling that off," Clint said.
"Shinra? That Power Plant company out in Midgar?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, it's said to be a corrupt place, but the problem is no one has definite proof, so they can continue to get away with the stuff they do," Clint said.
"That would explain that group of rebels that are currently trying to fight against it," Natasha said. "Unfortunately they're seen as the enemies, not just by Shinra, but it's loyal followers."
"How can companies like that even have followers?" Claire asked.
"Some don't know what the companies are doing and believe that they truly are just in their actions," Clint said. "Others do know, but are too frightened to do much about it, fearing that if they step out of line, they could be made an example out of."
"Amazing how some of these companies can just do this shit right under everyone's nose," Leon said. "Or worse, dangle their despair over their heads."
"That's why we fight, to ensure justice prevails," Clint said. "Moving on though, I'll search near the desk, Leon you can check the lockers for anything that could be used to our advantage."
Leon did as told, opening up a locker, finding something interesting, "I didn't find any clues, but I found some stuff that can definitely help." He pulled out a Shotgun and a Grenade Launcher.
"Good eye," Clint said. "The more weapons the better."
"No doubt," Leon said. "Though both of these might be a bit much for me. Wanna take one off my hands, Clint?"
"I'll stick to what I do best," Clint said, gesturing to his bow and arrow. "As you saw earlier."
"Give it a rest," Natasha said.
"Honestly it seems like a shame. With your eyesight, you'd do great with a gun," Leon said.
"Yeah but arrows are more my thing, plus they're much more recyclable," Clint said.
"Makes sense," Leon said, then turned to Black Widow. "Nat you interested in any of them?"
"I'm good with what I have," Natasha insisted.
"Confident as is? Guess it makes sense, you are an Avenger," Leon said, then turned to the other girl in the room. "How about you Claire? I know you have that Bow Gun but a little variety could help, having one of these weapons might help shake things up." He noticed her reading something, the girl looking very much into it, "Claire? What's wrong."
"I think I know where I can find my brother," Claire said. "I found his diary."
"Should you be reading that?" Clint asked. "It might be personal."
"I wouldn't be reading this if I didn't need to. My brother's missing and I need to be sure he's safe," Claire said, looking through the diary, skimming until she found the page she was looking for and began reading aloud. "We talked it over and decided to fly to the main Umbrella HQ in Europe. I can't tell my sister about this because doing so would put her in danger. Please forgive me Claire..."
"The Umbrella HQ in Europe?" Clint asked.
"Seems like Chris Redfield really is adamant on his mission to bring down Umbrella," Natasha said.
"It says here they're developing a new virus, the G-Virus to be precise. From the sound of things, my brother went to go investigate," Claire explained.
"So...it looks like we're not going to find your brother here after all," Leon said, pitying the girl.
"No..." Claire groaned in annoyance. "Dammit, I can't believe he would go off like that, without even telling me!? What did he think I wouldn't be worried if he just up and left!?"
"It sounds like your brother just wanted to protect you," Clint said.
"He should have known me better than this though," Claire said, angrily closing the book. "Well, that settles it, first chance I get, I'm flying to Europe and finding my brother."
"We still need to make it out of this city alive," Leon said. "That's not gonna be an easy task."
"We'll make sure it happens though," Clint said. "Maybe even find out more about this G-Virus thing."
"Apparently it's stronger than the T-Virus, which is what created all these zombies," Claire said. "If that thing got out...I can only imagine how much worse things would be."
"That could affect the whole country, or even the world," Clint said.
Claire sighed in shame, "I can't believe what is happening to this city."
"It is unfortunate," Natasha said, looking around. "To think if the people here only listened to your brother then none of this would have happened."
"Maybe they could have listened to Fury too," Clint said. "It's ridiculous that someone could find any of this unreasonable when we have a freaking Thunder God's phone number."
"Thor doesn't use a phone," Natasha said.
"You know what I mean," Clint said. "Honestly, I'm wondering if someone high up already knew about this and just kept quiet."
"Let's not jump to any conclusions, even if that is possible" Natasha said. "Our best bet is finding a way out of the city, it's gonna be difficult but it can be done. We just need to work together, think we can manage that?"
"We've been doing a good job of that so far," Leon said.
"Yeah, I'm game too," Clint said.
"If we work together, it's definitely possible," Claire said.
"Well then, let's get a move on," Natasha said. "We should explore the station a bit more, maybe find some other survivors and see if we can secure a route of the city. Once we do, we'll go back to Marvin and help him escape as well."
"If he'll even make it," Clint said. "Not to be a downer, but he did look pretty badly messed up from his injuries."
"He'll live," Leon insisted. "It's too early to give up hope, he'll make it out, he has to."
"Well, you sound confident," Clint said. "Good that you want to save his life, that's a great attribute to have. Honestly, I want to save him too, he's a good man after all, an a valuable police officer."
"That he is, and as long as he's alive, we'll do our best to help him," Natasha said. "I am not leaving him here to die."
"I'm with Natasha," Claire said. "Everyone deserves a chance to escape."
"Well then, let's get to it," Leon said. "Time to secure a route out of this hellish city."
The four made their way out of the room when they heard a cry for help. They turned and saw a young girl backing away from a zombie. "Help me!"
"Who was that!?" Leon asked.
"Let's follow her!" Claire said, quickly shooting the zombie in the head and running in the direction of the girl. They opened the door and found her on the other side.
"You alright little girl?" Clint asked. The girl just got spooked and ran again down a nearby hall. "Hey! Where are you going!?"
"Get back! It's not safe!" Claire called, following after her with the others right behind her as the young girl crawled through a hole on a boarded up door.
"Crap, how do we get through there? That hole's too small!" Hawkeye said.
"I'm gonna bust the door open, stand back!" Leon shouted, running over and kicking the door down. The group was now back on the top floor hall leading to the staircase, where the girl was running toward the staircase. "There she is!"
"Little girl, come back!" Claire said as the others began to follow her.
"Why is she running!?" Leon asked as they ran to down the stairs. "We're not trying to hurt her!"
"She's just frightened, it's understandable," Natasha said.
"AH!" The little girl began screaming again, having been grabbed by a zombie.
"Get your hands off of her!" Claire shouted, shooting the zombie in the face and freeing the girl, but she continued to run, going past a nearby door into the boarded up hallway.
"Little girl, come back!" Clint beckoned. At that moment a zombie grabbed him from the gaps in the board. "Get off me!"
Leon stuck his gun through the hole and shot the zombie in the face. "Let's hurry!"
The four continued to pursue the girl, all while trying to avoid the zombies sticking their arms through the gaps. Natasha took point in shooting all the zombies that posed a threat to them as her friends kept running.
They arrived back in the main hall of the Police Station, no sign of the girl anywhere. This of course posed worry for the four, knowing a defenseless girl was on her own in a city full of zombies.
"What do we do now?" Leon asked, frantically keeping an eye out. "Where could she be?"
"I don't know, but it's too dangerous to leave her on her own," Claire said. "Maybe we should split up to find her!"
"Bad idea," Natasha said. "If we split up, we'll just be putting ourselves in danger, we need to stay together."
"But we'll cover more ground if we split up!" Claire said.
"Look, let's try to think rationally," Clint said. "We know she came through here, she either went through that door over there," Clint pointed to a door atop of a mini staircase. "Or through the door where Marvin is."
"Let's check there first, maybe Marvin's seen her. Chances are that he even calmed her down," Leon suggested. "Who knows, he might be doing better too, maybe we can even try to move him, and he could join us."
"You really think so?" Clint asked.
"Honestly, I'm not too sure, but I like to think it's possible," Leon said. "After all, if we're gonna escape, we'll need him with us."
"Only one way to find out, let's hurry and see how he's doing, and hopefully he has that girl with him as well," Claire said, the four quickly making their way through the door. They looked around the room, trying to find any sign of the cop or even the little girl.
"Marvin!? You still in here?" Clint asked, cautiously aiming his bow and arrow.
They walked by an office where Marvin had stumbled out, this catching Leon's attention. "Marvin!? Oh good you're able to move. If you're well enough we can look for a way to escape the city together. But first, have you seen a little girl come through-" Suddenly Marvin lunged at Leon. "Oh shit!"
"Leon!" Natasha shouted, leaping in and pushing Marvin away from Leon, quickly checking on the younger cop, "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Leon quickly insisted.
Natasha turned to the other cop. "Marvin what's the matter with you!?"
They got a good look at his face, no longer was there any life, much to the chagrin of the others. Marvin had turned, becoming another zombie.
"No! Marvin!" Leon shouted in disbelief, the cop looking very distraught. "This can't be happening!"
"Oh no…" Claire lamented, the girl feeling a twine of despair. "He's turned."
"Leon, take a step back!" Clint warned.
"I can't…!" Leon said. "I can't just give up on him! It can't end like this!"
Marvin lunged again, but this time Clint impaled him in the head with an arrow, the undead cop stumbling around. "Leon, he's already gone, no use talking sense into him!"
Leon turned to his fellow police officer, the man who was supposed to be his boss, a man he was dead set on rescuing from this city. Right now he was still moving, but not for long. Reluctantly Leon pulled out his gun and aimed at the zombified policeman, "I'm sorry Marvin." With one shot, Marvin was done, the undead cop fell to the ground, no longer moving, and truly done.
"Marvin..." Claire's heart tugged a bit, seeing this man turn into another one of those creatures. She hoped they could have saved him, but it was just not meant to be.
Clint walked over, pulling the arrow from his head, shaking off all the blood. "I hated having to do that, but it's better than leaving him like that, this man deserves his rest."
Natasha looked rather distraught herself, but now was not the time for mourning. She still had a mission to complete, and a girl to find. "Let's keep moving, that little girl is lost out there."
Before they left, Natasha turned her attention to Leon, the cop still in shock over what just happened. Despite his beliefs, despite his optimism, he couldn't save Marvin.
"Leon?" Natasha said, trying to get his attention.
"Do you know why I wanted to be a cop?" Leon asked. "As a kid, I thought superheroes were cool. I remember hearing about all these strong guys. Heroes like All Might, a man who could defeat any force of evil with a smile on his face. Nothing scared him, and nothing deterred his path."
"He's Number One for a reason," Clint said. "At least in Japan."
As I grew older, I came to appreciate the other superheroes," Leon said. "Guys like Superman and The Flash, cool girls like Wonder Woman, and even your teammates, Captain America and Iron Man. I thought they were the most awesome people in existence."
"They'd certainly appreciate the praise," Clint said.
"Unfortunately for me, I didn't have superpowers, I couldn't do all the cool things those guys did," Leon said. "So, I settled for being a police officer, that's as close as I would get to being a hero, to feeling like I belonged in this society. I thought if I became a cop, I could save lives, and stop the bad guys my own way." The young man shook his head, "I'm for damn sure not off to a good start."
"Leon, you can't help these things," Natasha said.
"I could have though, I should have been here with the other cops but…I screwed up," Leon said. "I was supposed to be in earlier today, but I goofed off too much, celebrated too hard on getting the job that I fell asleep in a cheap hotel room smelling like beer and had to rush to get here, only by then it was too late! Everyone I was supposed to team up with is dead! People who probably could have used my help! If I were here then maybe Martin wouldn't have gotten infected! Maybe-"
"Leon!" Natasha said, getting his attention. "You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself. What's done is done, you can't change the past. Now, it sounds like you made a mistake, but that's fine, you know why? Because mistakes are what makes us human. You are a human Leon."
"I know that, I'm a powerless human who never had a shot at being a hero," Leon said. "I can't even cut it as a police officer."
"Leon, earlier on you told Clint that it didn't matter that he was a thief, because that's not who he is now," Natasha said. "He made a mistake and grew from it. Whatever mistakes you think you made, you can grow from those too. You have more potential than you're giving yourself credit for."
"Tony Stark wasn't always perfect either," Clint said. "He's made some…terrible mistakes. He'll be the first to admit that he used to be an alcoholic, it's not something he's proud of, but he used those mistakes to make himself better. You got drunk once, that's nothing compared to Tony."
"Plus, and I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this Leon but, even if you were here, there's no guarantee whatsoever that you could have done anything to save these cops," Natasha said. "For all you know, you could have died with them. You being here, being alive, you have a chance to avenge them. You can find justice for those who died tonight. Even people like me and Clint can't save everyone, otherwise Marvin would still be alive, and all those other cops."
"Stop shouldering the world's problems, and remember that you still have a chance to be the good hero you want to be," Clint said. "Powers don't make the heroes, actions do. Even if you fail tonight, that's fine, because everyone messes up sometimes, it's not true failure unless you quit. Now, are you a quitter?"
"…No," Leon meekly stated.
"Come on Leon, I know you have more confidence than that!" Clint said. "I'm gonna ask you again, are you a quitter!?" Clint asked.
"No! I'm not!" Leon said, a little more confidence.
"You're not what, Leon!" Clint asked.
"I'm not a quitter!" Leon shouted. "I'm…I'll keep trying, I'll save others. This isn't the end for me."
"Damn right it isn't," Hawkeye said. "We still have a job to do, now lets make sure it gets done."
"Leon," Claire said, getting his attention. "I'm sorry that you feel this way, and I get it, because I wanted to save Marvin too. For now, there's someone else who needs saving. That little girl."
"Shit, you're right," Leon said. "I spent too much time feeling sorry for myself. We gotta rescue that kid!"
"And we will, if we're smart about it," Clint said. "Now, it looks like she's not here, there's one other spot we can check. There's a door to the left of the building's main entrance from here. Let's try looking for her there. With any luck, she's still safe and we can get her the hell out of this city."
Leon loaded his gun, "Ready when you are then."
"That's the spirt," Clint said, readying his bow.
The group made their way out the room, towards the other door in the first floor, desperately hoping to find that girl and bring her to safety.