A month prior, Chris was seen in his office, the man lamenting the situation. No one seemed to believe him about the zombies in Arklay Mountains, nor Wesker's involvement, and definitely not Shinra's involvement.
"You doing okay, Chris?" Jill asked, the woman getting his attention.
Chris turned to see his usual partner alongside Barry, Rebecca, Richard, and Brad. "I'm fine. Just a lot on the mind."
"Still thinking about Umbrella?" Jill asked.
"I know what we saw, you all saw it," Chris said. "Even Daisy saw it and that's not enough!"
"Chris, this just seems highly unusual to people," Rebecca said.
"We live in a superhuman society, there's a giant green man in New York punching aliens through buildings, how is what we saw somehow weird?" Chris asked. "Something's not right, there's definitely a cover-up."
"We have no way to prove that right now," Barry said. "Chief Irons is not really talking much about this incident."
"I don't trust him, I feel like he's behind this somehow," Chris said. "But without proper evidence, that won't mean a damn thing. And all the evidence went up in flames when that mansion exploded."
"No one in town wants to talk about it either," Jill said. "Makes sense, Umbrella has a lot of people on their payroll, and I guess no one wants to say anything that could risk their job."
"Didn't you find anything from Wesker's side?" Rebecca asked.
"I checked his desk several times, he left no real evidence," Chris said. "He really kept it clean."
"Nothing about Shinra either?" Jill asked. "Or that Sephiroth guy?"
"That's the thing, when I looked up information about Sephiroth, it said he was a former SOLIDER of Shinra who died in an accident in the town of Nibelheim," Chris said.
"Maybe you got the wrong info," Jill said.
"There was a picture of him, it was the same man we saw in the lab," Chris said. "Sephiroth faked his death, and from what Fury speculates, so did Wesker."
"No way, we saw him get impaled by that monster, he's got to be dead," Jill said.
"I don't even know what to believe anymore," Chris said. "What pisses me off is that this stuff is still happening, reports of monsters are still rolling in. How is this not enough for people that something's happening?"
"Chris, monsters or not, Umbrella is not their first thought," Barry said. "Any company could have made those as far as people think."
"Things are only going to get worse, especially with that so-called G-Virus in development," Jill said.
"I can only imagine what that would do to everyone," Richard said.
"Richard, you should probably leave town," Jill said. "You had too many close calls at the mansion, if Daisy wasn't there, you might have been killed."
"I can't just do nothing," Richard said.
"Richard's right, we can't let this slide," Barry said.
"Barry, you shouldn't be involved in this either, think about your daughters," Jill said.
"I am, and if I do nothing, they could be affected by Umbrella as well," Barry said. "I will do what I can to help."
"Same here!" Brad said, earning a few curious glances. "Look, I know I messed up at Arklay Mountain. Seeing Joseph killed by those dogs, it just got to me. I promise you that I will put an end to Chickenheart Brad, and help however I can."
"Happy to hear it," Chris said.
"Honestly, it's kind of a good thing that things turned out the way it did," Rebecca said. "It gave me and Richard a chance to escape."
"Yeah, you indirectly saved our lives," Richard said.
"Well, yeah, of course," Brad said.
"Well with that settled, it's clear that need to handle this ourselves," Chris said. "Umbrella has an HQ in Europe, I already talked to Fury, he's going to arrange a trip."
"Are we all going?" Rebecca asked.
"No, better that some of you stay just in case," Chris said. "Rebecca, Richard and I will go. I'll see if Daisy can come too. Meanwhile try to see if you can maintain contact with S.H.I.E.L.D., hopefully they're send more our way."
"Got it," Jill said. "We'll defeat Umbrella, together."
"And find out the truth about Shinra and Sephiroth," Chris said. "Count on it."
Back in the present, the heroes of the RPD opted to follow the directions of Ben Bertolucci, making their way toward a kennel, where they could immediately hear dogs angrily barking, trying to break out of their cages.
"Man, humans, crows and even dogs," Clint said. "Just how dangerous is this virus, like what's the limit of the damage it can do?"
"We'll get our answers soon enough," Natasha said. "Even more if Ben holds up his end of the bargain."
"You think he actually has something or do you think he's just trying to get us to do his bidding?" Clint asked.
"Either way, we can't just leave him behind, tempting as it is," Leon said, grabbing a crowbar. "Let's just see where this goes for now."
"Be careful," Claire said.
"I got this," Leon said, pulling the cover off. "Piece of cake."
Natasha looked over the cover, immediately repulsed, "We gotta go in there?"
"I know it looks bad but it might lead out of the city," Leon said, climbing down. "Just follow me, and be careful."
"Stay close to me, Sherry," Claire ordered as both Clint and Natasha went down.
"Yes Claire," Sherry said.
Leon stepped ankle deep in water, the cop feeling disgusted being in such a place, "God, I can only imagine the stuff this water's made out of."
"I don't even want to try," Natasha said, trying to not let herself think about this situation too much. "Lets hurry, this place is way too cramped."
"Yeah, lets try to," Leon heard something odd. "Anyone hear thumping?"
Clint had gone down and immediately caught eye of something terrible, "Claire, do not let Sherry come down here!"
"What's wrong?" Natasha asked, taking sight of what Clint had just seen. "You gotta be kidding me!"
"What the hell!?" Leon shouted, aiming his gun at what was a giant spider that was roughly the size of a car.
"Kill it!" Clint shouted, firing his arrow while Leon and Natasha opened fire with their weapons, blasting the creature until it met its demise.
"Is it dead?" Leon asked, cautiously nudging the creature with his foot. "I think it's dead."
"Claire, you still got that Grenade Launcher right?" Clint asked. "Mind coming down here and blowing up a spider?"
"Wait, a spider?" Claire asked. "Is that what got you three all freaked out?"
"Hey, do you want to see the size of this freaking thing before you start judging!?" Clint shouted.
"Wow Clint, not used to seeing you all worked up," Natasha said, then fired a few more rounds into the dead spider. "It's not moving, I think it's safe to say that we got it."
Claire came down the ladder, taking note of the dead creature, "Oh good God, that sucker is HUGE!"
"Told you," Clint said.
"Let's just get through before more show up," Natasha said.
"More?" Leon couldn't help but feel a bit of a chill. "Man, whatever's doing this is having a weird affect on the environment."
"Chris's diary called it the T-Virus," Clint said. "To think that something like that could do this much damage."
"Not to mention that Umbrella is working on what they call the G-Virus, which is bound to be so much worse," Natasha said.
"I can only imagine what other creatures might have gotten infected, and how it changed them," Claire said.
"Well according to a report from the Arklay Mountain incident, mutated flies became short little creatures that were referred to as Chimeras," Natasha said.
"Flies!?" Claire asked, the girl feeling pale. "Creepy."
"Wait, you have a detailed list of the monsters?" Leon asked.
"We only have what's been reported," Clint said. "Zombies, the dogs, which were codenamed Cerberus and some lizard things called Hunters. Not to mention those crows."
"There were reports of Aquatic life being affected as well, like sharks," Natasha said.
"Sharks!?" Claire asked, the girl terrified by the thought. "I hope we don't run into anything like that."
"I mean we are in a police station sewer, so unless they have a shark tank around for no reason, I think we'll be fine," Clint said.
"Seems all types of living beings can be affected," Leon said. "Wait, what about plants? Can they be affected as well."
"According to reports from one of our agents, yes," Clint said. "Plants are just as susceptible."
"So we can be walking past a tree and it springs to life or something?" Leon asked.
"Let's not think about that, I don't want to be paranoid around every single thing," Claire said.
"In a town like this, it helps to be extra cautious," Leon said.
"Let's just hurry, this place really smells like shit," Natasha said.
The group emerged from the other side, finding themselves in a white hallway with a couple of doors.
"What's this place supposed to be?" Claire asked.
"I think this is a sewage disposal area," Clint said. "Probably where they filter the trash and stuff."
"How can this lead us out of the city though?" Natasha wondered.
"Guess we'll have to find out," Leon said. "Search around."
The group cautiously began making their way through the hall. Their first instinct was to check a door that led them to Septic Pool Walkway.
They crossed over a little bridge, keeping an eye out for any sign of danger before coming to a door on the other end.
"Think this could be an exit?" Clint asked.
"Maybe," Natasha said, trying to open the door. "It's locked though."
"So much for securing a way out," Leon said. "Unless we blast this door open with Claire's Grenade Launcher or maybe a special bow Clint has.
"Bad idea, we don't know what's on the other side," Natasha said. "Plus this place looks old, we'll risk it collapsing from the explosion."
"What else are we gonna do then?" Clint asked.
"We could look around for the key," Claire said.
"Where are we gonna find a key?" Natasha asked. "We don't even know what it looks like."
"I don't think it's a conventional key either," Clint said, checking the sides. "It looks like a chess board."
"A chess board?" Natasha asked, observing the pad. "Whose idea was this?"
"Someone who likes chess I guess," Leon said. "Still, until we find a key, we're at a dead end."
"Let's look around a bit first then," Clint said. "Can't hurt to try."
"Think that Ben guy knows anything?" Natasha asked. "We could try asking him, if he knows we found a potential exit, he might cooperate more."
"Another possibility," Clint said. "Anyway, let's not drag our feet, let's go."
"Excuse me, Mr. Hawkeye sir?" Sherry said, getting the Avenger's attention.
"You can call me 'Clint'," the hero insisted.
"Clint, I know you said that The other Avengers are busy, but would they eventually come to this town?" Sherry asked. "Could they be the ones to save us?"
"Eventually, but that might take a long time, and this town is too dangerous to consider staying in one place for too long," Clint said. "Plus, even if they showed up, they're not going to immediately know where we are too."
"That's right, and there's no way to radio them from this town, all the service is dead," Natasha said.
"We'll be fine, no monster can stop us," Clint said.
"Speaking of monster, earlier you mentioned one in a green trench coat," Claire said.
"Natasha and I ran into it upstairs, on the hallway leading to the helipad," Leon said. "We think we killed it though."
"You think you killed it?" Clint asked.
"We unloaded into it, so it should be dead," Leon said.
"It was very durable, so I have my doubts," Natasha said.
"...Sherry," Claire said, getting her attention. "Do you remember the monster that you said was coming after your father?"
"I can't describe it well, only that it was big, and I don't think it was wearing a trench coat," Sherry said.
"This is making me a bit nervous, let's hope that first guy really is dead," Leon said, making his exit from the H shaped room.
"If only our luck was that good," Clint said.
Once outside, Leon immediately spotted a familiar face, "Ada?"
"Ada?" Clint said, peeking his head out, finding the woman in red. "Oh, there you are."
"Didn't expect to see any of you here," Ada said. "I can't seem to find an exit to this place."
"Neither can we," Clint said. "Closest is some weird door with a Chess Board lock."
"Chess Board Lock huh? Given that this place is connected to the police station, maybe you'll find clues about that there," Ada said.
"It's a lead, hopefully Ben has more," Clint said. "Anyway, are you ready to join us? You're safer with numbers."
"I'll get by, plus having an entire group might slow me down," Ada said.
Clint shook his head in annoyance, "This isn't a game lady, you could die out there."
"Stop being so stubborn and let us help you," Claire said.
"...Fine, how about helping me through this shaft then, it could lead us upstairs too," Ada said, gesturing to a ventilation shaft overhead.
"Sure, but before you go, I don't think I've introduced myself yet," Leon said, the cop straightening his collar, earning some weird glances. "My name is Leon, and I'm with the RPD."
Ada shrugged it off, "Cute...now how's about giving me a boost?"
"Uh, sure," Leon said, bending down and letting Ada climb in his shoulders, the woman crawling through the ventilation shaft.
Once on the other side, Ada looked around, not finding much of interest. She only saw another empty space, and a door leading out.
"Ada! Did you find anything?" Natasha asked.
"Not yet...I'm gonna explore this place a bit and meet with you later," Ada said.
"Huh? Wait, what about joining up?" Leon asked.
"Like I said, a large group will slow me down," Ada said. "Catch you all later, and try to stay alive!"
"Ada! Wait!" Leon called. "Dammit..."
"Did she seriously just give us the slip like that?" Clint asked.
"Not very keen eyed in that aspect, are you?" Natasha teased.
"Hey even I didn't expect anyone to be that foolish, there's a million freaking zombies around and only so much ammo," Hawkeye said. "Wish I could just say leave her be, but I don't feel comfortable just letting a civilian here by herself."
"Somehow I feel like that woman is no ordinary civilian," Natasha said.
"Is she gonna be alright?" Sherry asked.
"For her sake, I hope so," Natasha said. "Look, enough standing around, let's just go find some clues about this chess lock."
The team made their way past the sewers, back toward Ben's cell block, the man again laying down, trying to find comfort in this situation.
"Are you trying to sleep again?" Clint asked, getting his attention as he took note of everyone coming back. "How can you even sleep in a place like this?"
"Especially with zombies around," Claire said.
"Not you again, what do you want this time?" Ben asked as he sat up.
"Well, as per your suggestion, we checked the kennel for the manhole leading into the sewer," Leon said. "We found a sewage disposal area, but no clear escape path."
"Aside from a door with a chess board lock," Natasha said.
"Chess board? Ah, I think I've heard of this, whoever designed that place is a huge chess fanatic, he designed the plugs that open the door to look like chess pieces," Ben said. "A King, a Bishop, a Rook and a Pawn."
"How do you know this, Mister Ben?" Sherry asked.
"I've done a lot of snooping around here," Ben said. "You wouldn't believe the stuff I found out."
"Well do you know where these plugs might be?" Leon asked.
"Hard to say, but if I had to guess, they'd be somewhere in the police station," Ben said.
"Just like Ada suggested," Leon said.
"This is freaking ridiculous, I figured we can get a bit more clarity than just the police station," Clint said. "I mean, it's not a small place! We're going to be wandering around for a long time trying to find those things."
"Looks like you're in for quite a search," Ben said.
"No shit, but for real, you don't have any more info?" Clint asked.
"I'm just telling you all that I know," Ben said. "Sorry if that's not good enough for you but I don't know exact locations."
"Are you really telling us everything we need to know?" Clint asked. "Something tells me you're still holding back information."
"Let's not get into another argument," Claire said. "Unfortunately the only clue we have is that these plugs are in the police station, we might as well check it out."
"Claire, you can't mean for us to search that entire station," Clint said. "There's probably still tons of zombies, plus we might see more of those creepy red things."
"You mean lickers?" Ben asked.
"Okay how the hell do you know about them!?" Clint asked.
"You know people were alive before, and I overheard things," Ben said. "I know about those lickers, another reason I'm not leaving this cell. Zombies are one thing, but those ugly fuckers are hard to deal with."
"Well I'm not too worried, Clint killed one effortlessly," Claire said.
"How about that then, the heroic archer handling yet another monster," Ben said. "With your skills, I don't know why you're worried about a bunch of zombies that you can take down. I mean, didn't you fight aliens?"
"Two different types of danger pal," Clint said.
"Look, we're not getting anywhere with this arguing," Leon said. "I know it's risky, but our best course of action is to go and find those plugs, even if we have to do a sweep of the station."
"Leon, I get your reasoning but remember this, it's not just the zombies we need to worry about," Clint said. "You heard that loud roar earlier, there's another monster out there."
"I know, and if we need to fight it, then so be it," Leon said. "A hero wouldn't back down, so I can't either."
"Pfft, are you one of those pro heroes now?" Ben asked. "Gonna save the day like you're Superman or something?"
"Hey, that heroic determination he has is why you're even getting a chance to escape the city," Natasha reminded. "Hawkeye and I may be heroes but we're not as nice as guys like Cap or Superman."
"Yeah, I figured that part out already," Ben said. "Look, I gave you the info you wanted, now be good heroes and go find those plugs if you want to leave this place alive."
"Wait, one problem," Clint turned to the youngest girl. "We're not taking her with us. I can't take the chance that we're gonna run into more of those monsters."
Leon turned to the reporter, "Do you have the key to another cell here?"
"Sorry, just this one," Ben said.
"Fine, then Sherry's staying with you," Leon said.
"We already went over this, I am not playing babysitter," Ben said.
"Listen!" Leon shouted, banging on the cell. "If we're gonna go back and look for those damn plugs, then I need to be sure this little girl is safe! You don't have to do anything except lie down while this girl just minds her own business inside this cell."
"Ugh, fine," Ben said, grabbing something. "This is for the other cell though, put her inside and give it back to me when you're done."
"Seriously? You just said that you didn't-" Clint slowed his roll. "You know what, fine. Just give me the damn key."
"By the way, police guy, you seen the chief around?" Ben asked.
"The Police Chief?" Leon asked. "No, I haven't yet. Why, do you now where he is?"
"No, and honestly, keep it that way," Ben said. "I'm heard rumors about him."
"Rumors? Like what?" Leon asked.
"Eh, it's nothing," Ben said. "Just be careful who you trust."
"...Okay, that's cryptic," Leon said.
"What do you expect from someone like him," Natasha said. "Still, it's been a while since I heard from The Chief, and honestly he did look a little unhinged. He did not want to talk to any of us, even Daisy mentioned him being way too dismissive of what happened in Arklay Mountains."
"Guess he had a hard time believing this stuff as well," Leon said. "Still, if he's around, we should save him too."
"Do you remember where his office is?" Claire asked.
"Somewhere on the second floor, he's got a really fancy office," Natasha said.
"We're wasting time, let's go," Clint said.
Sherry was placed in a cell, Leon locking the door tight. "You stay here alright? Once we find those plugs we'll come right back for you."
"Okay," Sherry said.
"You got a spare radio for her?" Clint asked.
"No, I only had one extra for Claire," Leon said.
"She can take mine then," Claire said, pulling her radio out.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Clint asked.
"It's for Sherry's safety," Claire said, handing the radio to the young girl.
"At least this way we'll know if she needs help," Leon said. "Meanwhile we should check around for those plugs."
"Hope this doesn't take too long," Natasha said. "Come on then."
"Good luck out there," Ben said, to the annoyance of the heroes.
The quartet of allies had begun making their way back upstairs, traveling through a green hallway that would lead back into the Police Station office.
"What could he have meant before?" Leon wondered out loud.
"You doing alright there?" Hawkeye asked. "Something on your mind?"
"It's nothing...let's just focus on finding those plugs," Leon said.
"If only we had a clue of sorts and..." Natasha stopped a moment.
"And what?" Clint asked, getting shushed by Natasha.
"I hear footsteps," Natasha said.
"Footsteps? Think it's a zombie?" Clint asked. "Or is someone alive?"
Emerging from around the corner, while no zombie, was still a massive threat. The monster in the green trench coat had made its second appearance, his presence bringing rushing emotions of fear and a large sense of danger to the protagonists present.
"What the hell!?" Claire aimed her gun. "What is that!?"
"It's that freaking monster from before!" Leon shouted, firing away at the beast. "Kill it! Quickly!"
The monster tried for a punch that everyone quickly rolled out the way from. Clint quickly readied his arrow and fired, piercing the monster through the head as it was quick to grab the arrow and tried pulling it out.
"Claire! Your Grenade Launcher!" Natasha ordered.
"Right!" Claire quickly fired a round, blasting the monster in the chest, barely stumbling it backwards. "It's too strong!"
"Just run!" Leon ordered, everyone quickly scurrying away as the monster took time to compose himself.
The heroes arrived back in the room, trying to figure out where to go from here.
"Should we go to the top floor?" Claire asked. "Or to the main hall?"
Leon turned around, hearing the sound of footsteps. "Find somewhere to hide!"
Without much objection, everyone quickly went underneath a nearby table, just before the monster showed up again. It took a moment to look around before making its exit through the double door at the end of the room, where Clint caught a glimpse of it turning right.
"Follow me," Clint ordered, everyone quickly following the archer, slowly and carefully as to not make too much noise out of fear of alerting it, or potentially bringing forth another monster.
As she walked, Claire spotted a golden cogwheel on a desk, "Huh? What's this doing here?"
"Focus Claire," Natasha said, the girl pocketing her find and going along the way.
Clint creaked the door open, looking down the hall where he believed the monster went, hearing footsteps in that direction.
"He went that way," Clint said in a hushed tone, gesturing to the monster's direction. "Come on, let's exit through there, quickly."
One by one they had scurried to the other door, hoping that the monster would not be alerted to their presence.
The quartet had made their way back to the main hall of the police station, still keeping a careful watch out for any sign of danger, and hoping that they evaded the monster, at least for now.
"So, let's think, is there any place we can possibly check for these plugs?" Clint asked.
"I don't have a clue, this is gonna be like finding a needle in a haystack," Leon said. "But I'm willing to bet we might get some answers in the computer on the front desk."
"Can't hurt to try," Clint said, gesturing to the main desk. "Let's go."
Moments later everyone was checking through the computer, after Natasha managed to bypass some passwords through some intel she had prior.
"Still no exact details on these plugs," Natasha said. "This is getting concerning."
"Great, how are we supposed to find a way out of this shit hole then?" Clint asked. "The closest we had to a lead was the kennel, and that's a dead end."
"Should we go back outside?" Claire asked.
"Sherry's still in the cell below," Clint said. "Plus it's way too dangerous to go out there."
"But what if we can find a car or something? We'd be able to drive out of the city," Claire said.
"Assuming there isn't a blockade," Natasha said. "Though considering you both managed to arrive in the city, I guess that blockade is long gone."
"Still, the odds of finding a car are too slim," Leon said. "We don't know what else could be out there. Dangerous as this station is, the city is even more so."
"Well what else can we do?" Claire asked. "If Marvin was still alive, he might have been able to help us."
"Wait, what about the Chief?" Leon asked. "Maybe he's somewhere around, he might know."
"Chief Irons?" Natasha asked. "But we don't know if he's even alive."
"Better to check, do you know where his office is?" Leon asked.
"Um...if I recall..." Natasha looked up and around. "I think it's in the second floor, above the door we came out of."
"You mean where that giant, freak of a monster was?" Claire asked. "I don't know if it's safe to go there."
"We might not have a choice, the quickest route up there is through that door," Leon said.
"But it's not the safest," Natasha said. "We should-"
Suddenly the door slammed open, everyone quickly hiding behind the computer desk as more thumps were heard. Everyone peeked overhead to see that the monster was walking across the halls, taking a moment to look around.
The heroes knew not to make a sound, hoping that the monster wouldn't come their way. Of course they were ready to fight, each of them having their weapons ready to fire. Fortunately the monster had continued on past the double doors, leaving the heroes relieved.
"The sooner we leave, the better," Clint said. "Anyway let's get a move on."
Moving quickly, the heroes dashed to the door they had come out of prior and made their way upstairs. They arrived in the hall just outside of a waiting room, Natasha leading them toward the Chief's office.
"I believe it was around here," Natasha said, leading them to the end of the hall. Unfortunately for them, the place was surrounded by fire from the helicopter crash. "Seriously?"
"Don't worry, there should be a fire extinguisher nearby," Clint said.
"I doubt that's going to be enough," Natasha said.
"I think I remember seeing a water tank near the helicopter when it crashed," Leon said. "I could be wrong though."
"Worth a try, come on," Natasha said.
The group ran past the hall, Clint making note of the hole in the roof, "What happened here?"
"That monster, it's how he made his entrance," Leon said.
"Oh, so this was the crashing sound we heard earlier," Clint said, amazed by the damage caused. "Gotta say, that monster didn't seem like the others. Somehow it seems smarter."
"Smart enough to use doors," Natasha said. "And smart enough to check it's surroundings."
"Not in the best way since we were able to hide from it, but still a step above those zombies," Claire said.
"What could it be doing here? Was it sent here?" Clint wondered. "What the hell did Umbrella make?"
"Wish we knew the answers, but right now all we can do is avoid it since it seems to be practically indestructible," Leon said.
The group came to a door that was blocked by the debris, to which Leon and Clint moved it out the way as Natasha opened the door back onto the roof. She looked up and pointed to a tank, "Is that what you saw, Leon?"
Leon looked up, the cop nodding his head, "Yeah. that's it."
The group walked over to the Valve Handle, carefully reading the instructions. "Apparently if we turn this thing, the tank's pressure will overload."
"That could free the water," Claire said. "Give it a turn."
"Right," Leon grabbed the Valve Handle and started turning. After six turns, the handle seemed to break off, fortunately it was still enough for the water to burst out, putting out the fire from the helicopter.
"I can't believe that actually worked," Clint said, patting the cop on the back. "You got a good eye, Leon."
"Oh, um, thanks," Leon said, still holding the Valve Handle. "Uh, what should I do with this?"
"Put it back, I doubt we'll need that again," Natasha said.
Leon looked over the device, "Uh, are you sure about that? I can't help but feel like this is a really useful tool."
"Leon, it's a Valve Handle, how useful can it be?" Natasha asked. "But fine, I'll hold onto it for a little while."
"Alright," Leon said, handing over the Valve Handle. "Come on, let's go to The Chief's office."
Everyone was quick to where the fire in the hall once was, with it gone, an exposed door remained. With the fire was out, Leon and Clint were able to kick their way through the destroyed door and went down the hallway toward the chief's room. They opened up, taking a peek inside.
"No one's here," Clint said, walking to the desk, spotting what looked like various stuffed animals. "Must be a collector of this stuff."
"I did hear that the chief was very much into art," Natasha said.
Leon checked the desk, spotting various collectables, almost amazed by what he was seeing. "This looks good, but-"
Suddenly the door nearby opened and closed, all the heroes looking back to see a new arrival.
"This is a surprise, what brings you all to my office?"
"Chief Irons?" Natasha asked.
Indeed, it was the Police Chief of the RPD. "Black Widow...and Hawkeye. Back again for more questioning?"
"Not this time," Natasha said.
"Well as I've said at least, I have no comment about Umbrella, but perhaps what Chris Redfield has been saying had a bit of truth to it," Irons said.
"So, you're my brother's boss?" Claire asked.
"Brother?" Irons asked. "Ah, you must be Chris's little sister, he's mentioned you quite often. But, who is this..."
"My name is Leon Kennedy, sir," the cop introduced.
"Ah, the rookie," Irons said. "I was wondering if you'd make it. You're quite late."
"Forgive me, things have been obviously hectic," Leon said.
"Of course, and it's great that you've come," Irons said. "Well, perhaps not, after all, you're all in grave danger. All of us are."
"Not for long," Natasha said. "We may know a way out of the city, but we do need some help."
"Yeah, how familiar are you with the Sewers System?" Clint asked.
"Sewers? I'm afraid I cannot help you there," Irons said. "I only know of what goes on in my police station."
"Damn, we found a door that might lead out of here," Clint said. "Thing is, it's made of chess pieces or something."
"Chess pieces?" Irons asked. "Ah, I know what you're referring to, check the clock tower, it's right on the other side of this station, through the double doors on the top floor. Right above the library."
"Clocktower huh? Above the library?" Clint asked. "That's good, thanks for the info."
"Let's hurry, the sooner we do this, the sooner we can leave," Claire said. "We'll be able to get Sherry to safety."
"Sherry? Did you say 'Sherry'?" Irons asked.
"Do you know her?" Claire asked.
"I might, where is she?" Irons asked.
"We left her in a cell next to some guy named Ben Bertolucci," Clint explained. "We felt she might be safer there than with us."
"I see, well thank you for that info," Irons said. "By the way, have you seen a young blonde woman around here?"
"No, sorry," Clint asked. "Who is she? A friend of yours?"
"She's the Mayor's Daughter, I was told to look after her, but I may have failed, quite miserably," Irons lamented.
"Hopefully those zombies didn't get her," Leon said.
"Yes, I do hope so myself," Irons said. "Tell me, is anyone still alive? Aside from this Ben fellow?"
"There's a woman named Ada," Leon said. "We did run into a cop named Marvin Branagh, but he turned sometime after running into him."
"He had a pretty bad injury," Clint said. "Likely from those zombies."
"Yes, anyone bitten will transform within the hour I'm afraid," Irons said. "The only way to prevent it is with severe damage to the head."
"Alright, so if I get bitten, I want one of you to shoot me in the head," Clint said.
"Don't say that! You're not getting bitten!" Claire said.
"Yeah, I couldn't face your family if anything bad happened to you," Natasha said. "None of us are dying here."
"Very determined, that stubbornness might prove useful to you my dear," Irons said. "Well, I should be off, see if that poor woman is alive. Oh, and if it's worth anything Miss Romanoff, I truly am sorry."
"Sorry?" Natasha asked.
"If I had only taken Chris Redfield much more seriously, none of this would have happened," Irons said. "But, we can't change the past I'm afraid."
Irons made his exit from the room, leaving everyone confused for the time being.
"Ben made it seem like he couldn't be trusted, but he seemed just fine to me," Leon said.
"Well Ben's a shady guy, probably made that up for whatever nonsense article he was making," Claire said.
"Natasha, you said he looked unhinged," Leon said.
"Well I do recall him getting frustrated anyone someone bothered him about Umbrella, even when Clint and I came here sometime after the outbreak began, he looked very paranoid about something," Natasha said. "Guess the shock of it all just got to him."
"Well he mentioned the library, let's go check it out," Clint said.
"Wait, what about that monster?" Claire asked. "The Chief might be in danger."
"...Shit!" Clint said, everyone rushing out of the room and back into the hall. Unfortunately there was no sign of Chief Irons anywhere.
"Damn, what were we thinking?" Leon said. "There's zombies around! He could be in danger!"
"Look, let's not panic, we need to find those plugs, now move it, on the double!" Clint ordered.
Everyone rushed out the room and across the top floor pathway toward where the library was. Though on the way there, they spotted a group of zombies blocking the way.
"Out of the way!" Leon shouted, grabbing his gun and opening fire, Claire and Natasha doing the same.
Clint aimed his bow and arrow, seemingly unaware that a licker was approaching from. As the heroes mowed down the zombies, the licker let out a loud battle cry as it leapt at the quartet.
With a smirk, Clint turned around and fired an arrow through the monster's head as it landed near the heroes.
"What the hell!?" Leon grabbed his knife and jammed it in the creatures chest to finish it off.
"Boom, two for two," Clint said. "Those suckers can't sneak up on me!"
"Focus Clint, don't get cocky," Natasha warned.
"Hey," Clint began, pulling the arrow out of the monster, shaking it off before placing it back with the others. "I earned it."
Leon began checking his body, "Dammit...I'm running low on ammo."
"Same here," Claire said.
"I got some extras, but be careful, it's not a lot," Natasha said.
"We should make a quick stop by the armory, there should be some ammo there," Clint said.
"Come on, let's hurry to the library," Leon said.
The four entered the room, amazed by the size of it all. Books far as the eye can see.
"Damn, this is a bookworm's paradise," Clint said.
"The Chief said something about the plugs might be here," Leon said. "I hope he didn't mean the books, that would take forever to look through."
"With that monster still around, we need to move fast!" Claire said.
"Don't worry, he specifically said the clock tower," Clint said. "Come on, it's right up the stairs."
As they were about to head up, they heard some loud crashing from down below, as well as the moans of zombies as several entered the RPD from the hall leading to the Staircase next to the S.T.A.R.S. room as well as the green hall leading to the holding cells.
"Things just got worse," Leon said. "Come on, we have no time to waste!"
The group quickly went upstairs, hearing the hiss of a licker from the other side of the door.
"Not another one of those things," Leon said, grabbing his shotgun.
"Leon wait, don't be so hasty!" Natasha called out.
"Take this you bastard!" Leon shouted, aiming his gun as the monster leapt. Leon managed to blast the creature, sending it flying over the edge to the floor below.
"Christ almighty! Please don't be so reckless Leon!" Natasha scolded. "You could have gotten hurt."
"Sorry, but we're close to finding the exit, I needed that thing out of the way," Leon said.
"Remember Leon, heroes don't act recklessly," Clint said.
"...Yeah, alright," Leon said, placing his shotgun away.
The group made their way to the door, spotting a staircase that took them to the top of the clock tower.
"So...now what?" Leon asked. "The Chief said what we're looking for is up here."
Claire looked around, trying to see if she could spot anything that could be of help. She noticed a cogwheel was missing. She reached into her pocket and placed it inside, then pressed a button to make it turn, activating the clock tower.
Nearby a door opened, revealing a duct and the location of the Four Chess Plugs.
"There they are!" Leon said, grabbing the pieces. "Now we can-"
"Claire! Leon! Help!" Came Sherry's voice, coming from the radio.
"Sherry?" Leon grabbed his radio. "What's wrong?"
"M-monster! Monster!" Sherry shouted.
"Monster!? What kind!?" Claire asked, hearing some screams of terror.
A few minutes prior, Sherry was waiting in her cell, not much to do except hope that Claire and the others found the missing Chess Plugs.
"You doing alright in there, kid?" Ben asked.
"I'm fine, sir," Sherry said.
"Try not to bite the dust, otherwise your friends won't let me hear the end of it," Ben said.
"Yeah, sure, okay sir," Sherry said, then heard the door open. "Claire? Leon?"
Emerging instead was Chief Irons, the man glaring down at the young girl, "Little Sherry Birkin, so good to see you."
"Huh? Who are you?" Sherry asked.
"Don't you remember? It's me? Chief Irons, I know your mommy and daddy," the chief said in an almost sinister sort of way.
"Chief Irons?" Ben said, getting the other man's attention.
"Oh, it's you, the guy who was so determined to bust me, and ruin my fine reputation," Irons said. "What's wrong? Give up already?"
"Count your lucky stars that there's a freaking zombie outbreak," Ben said. "One you are technically a part of."
"Please, you think I wanted this? My town is ruined! Those bastards didn't hold their end of the deal, but it's fine, I'll have my revenge on them eventually," Irons said. "First, I need this little girl, for persuasion reasons."
"Pfft, what persuasion?" Ben asked.
"I believe her mother is somewhere around here, and it would do my heart good to see a mother and daughter reunite," Irons said, glaring at Sherry. "Under the right terms."
"You're scaring me," Sherry said.
"Aw, too bad," Irons said, grabbing some keys. "Now you're gonna be a good little girl and come with me."
"No, I don't want to!" Sherry shouted.
"I am not giving you a choice in the matter," Irons said. "You can come with me quietly or I can drag you kicking and screaming!"
"Someone help!" Sherry shouted.
"H-hey! Come on this is crossing the line!" Ben scolded.
"Oh, shut your mouth you bottom feeder," Irons said, as he started turning the lock. "This is between us; you stay in that cell and waste away for all I care."
"Mr. Ben! Help me!" Sherry shouted.
"Dammit, I hate having to be the hero..." Ben grabbed his own key and was ready to open his cell to fight away Irons when things got worse.
"RAAAAAAWR!" cried an oncoming monster, one that burst through the door, scaring back Chief Irons.
"NOOOO!" Irons scurried back as the monster cornered him. "Help me!"
Suddenly the monster sent an organism into Irons's body through his mouth, the chief squirming as he fainted.
Ben, acting quickly, bypassed the monster as he got out of his cell and quickly freed Sherry. "Run! Now!"
Sherry was quick to make her escape while radioing for help as the monster marched toward Ben.
"Get...GET AWAY!" Ben pleaded, but the monster had clawed him, leaving the reporter down and covered in massive scars.
The monster then made its exit, seemingly trying to find Sherry.
Above, Claire had turned her attention to everyone, "We have to move, quick!"
"How are we gonna get down there in time?" Leon asked.
"Wait, there's a duct," Claire said. "It could lead us to the basement!"
"Are you sure?" Natasha asked.
"I'll check first!" Leon said, leaping down.
"Leon!" Clint groaned in annoyance. "Did we NOT tell him to not act without thinking?"
"I don't think he can help it," Natasha said. "It happens to the best of us."
"I know, but still," Clint said, then heard his radio.
"I'm in the basement near the cells, hurry!" Leon said.
"How fortunate for us," Clint said. "Let's go."
Everyone jumped down as Leon waited below, waving them over.
"Let's check the cells! Sherry might be in danger!" Leon said.
"You're too late..." Came the voice of Irons, the Chief struggling to make his way over. "So...you've managed to make it this far."
"Chief?" Leon asked.
"But no one's going to leave this town, everyone's gonna die!" Irons shouted, aiming his gun.
"Calm down Chief, what happened?" Claire asked, trying to maintain the peace.
"Oh shut up, none of you could comprehend how I'm feeling!" Irons shouted, getting closer. "Those monsters from Umbrella have destroyed my beautiful town! How could they betray me after everything I've done for them!?"
"You're working with Umbrella?" Leon asked.
"I knew you were up to something, so this is why you never took Chris Redfield seriously," Natasha said.
"Quite the contrary, I took him very seriously, but the pay from Umbrella was too good to pass up," Irons said.
"What is this G-Virus we heard about?" Claire asked. "The thing that got my brother all worked up?"
"If you must know, it is an agent that can turn any living person into the ultimate bioweapon," Irons explained. "It's superior to the T-Virus in every way. You can thank William Birkin for that, he's the one who created it."
"William Birkin?" Leon asked.
"You've already met his daughter I believe," Irons said. "Poor young Sherry, who's off hiding from the big bad monster."
"Monster? Is this related to the G-Virus?" Clint asked.
"If you haven't already figured it out, the monster that's been destroying my precinct is another example of the G-Virus, an ultimate bioweapon!" Irons shouted. "The same monster that just killed Ben Bertolucci, and the one that aimed to kill me."
"You mean that monster that we heard before, the one that terrified Sherry?" Clint asked.
"Umbrella is trying to cover its tracks, but if I'm going to die," Irons aimed his gun. "You're all going down with me!" Just as everyone was about to fight back, Irons began clutching his chest. "I can't...take...the pain!"
Suddenly blood started spurting out of the chief's body as a giant insect emerged, tearing the chief apart and leaving him dead on the floor, blood spilling all around and leaving everyone speechless.
Claire was very terrified by what she saw, immediately running over and vomiting in a corner while Leon stood there frozen in fear. Even Clint and Natasha looked very disturbed by what happened. Irons was a terrible person, but this is not something they'd wish on another.
The monster that emerged started to grow, snapping everyone out of it as a sense of urgency took over.
"No!" Clint grabbed an arrow and started jamming into the creature. "You're not evolving you son of a bitch!"
"Move!" Natasha grabbed her guns and opened fire, doing her best to prevent the creature from growing more. "Claire! Your Grenade Launcher!" She turned around to see that Claire was still taken back, and even Leon was frozen in fear. "Hey! Get your asses in gear!"
Leon snapped out of it and began opening fire himself while Claire herself instinctively grabbed her grenade launcher and blew the monster to pieces before it could grow.
Claire took a moment to catch her breath, the girl nearly in tears from what she just witnessed, even more when seeing the damage left behind as more insects tried crawling away.
"Die!" Leon shouted, using his knife to kill the bugs, the cop still looking a bit traumatized from the ordeal.
"Sweet Jesus...what did we just see?" Clint asked.
"...Ben," Leon remembered what Irons said before. "Ben!"
The heroes rushed to the cells, spotting a fatally injured Ben laying against a wall.
"Ben!" Claire said, sitting beside him.
"Damn...I don't believe this, I almost got the story..." Ben said, holding some papers.
"The story?" Leon asked. "So, you did have something."
"Bitter irony," Ben held papers. "The Chief of Police...is a co-conspirator. But, I imagine he told you himself."
"Yeah, he's dead too," Clint said.
"At least he died before I did," Ben said.
"Don't say stuff like that!" Leon shouted.
"Ben...where's Sherry?" Claire asked.
"I...got her out...told her to run," Ben said. "I hope she's alright..."
"You saved her?" Leon asked.
"Well...she was screaming a lot...it gave me a headache," Ben said, chuckling to himself. "Don't go thinking...that I'm a good guy. It just...suited me at the moment."
"Yeah...of course," Claire said, trying to humor the situation, hoping it would distract her from the grief.
"I got some extra ammo in my cell...never needed it since I didn't have a gun...but I kept it around, just in case..." Ben said.
"That's good, at least we won't have to scrounge for it," Natasha said.
"Listen to me..." Ben said, looking straight at Leon. "Get that scum...and make him pay!"
"Hang in there, Ben!" Leon pleaded. Unfortunately, Ben succumbed to his injuries, the man taking his final breath before collapsing dead on the ground, to the chagrin of Leon.
"Damn..." Clint said, then heard the door open, Ada coming through.
"Looks like he's dead too," Ada said.
"A monster infected by the G-Virus did this," Clint said. "Wait, Sherry, we gotta-"
"She's in the kennel," Ada said. "Don't worry about the dogs, they're long gone."
"That's good...wait, where were you?" Leon asked.
"Doing stuff," Ada said, making her leave. "Anyway just wanted to check on you, bye for now."
"Huh? Hey Ada! Wait!" Leon shouted in annoyance. "Ugh, why doesn't she ever listen to me?"
"You're one to talk," Clint said, annoying Leon.
"Let's just get Sherry and get the hell out of here," Leon said.
After restocking on ammo, the group went into the kennel where Sherry was waiting. "You all came back!" She immediately hugged Claire.
"To think the man who made the G-Virus is actually her father..." Claire thought to herself.
"Did you find the plugs?" Sherry asked.
"Sure did, took forever," Leon said.
"What about Ben? Is he alright?" Sherry asked. "He saved me from that monster."
"He's...in a better place than us right now, so it's all good," Clint said.
"Oh, okay..." Sherry said. "What about The Chief?"
"You don't have to worry about him anymore," Claire said. "Come on, let's leave."
The group passed through the sewers into the Sewage Disposal Entrance. Leon was the first through the door, taking a breath of relief, "Finally, one step closer to escaping."
As they walked through, they came across what looked like another zombie, with a really bad looking arm. It stood next to a railing, seemingly leaning on it.
"Great, stay back Sherry," Leon said.
"...That zombie looks familiar," Sherry said. "He kind of looks like my-"
Suddenly the monster pulled a pipe off the railing, startling everyone present.
"Did...that zombie show signs of super strength?" Hawkeye asked.
Suddenly the monster's upper body began to grow, as did its right arm as a giant eyeball opened on its shoulder, this causing a sense of nausea for the heroes.
"You gotta be kidding me," Clint said. "Wait... is this the G-Virus monster the Chief mentioned!?"
"Sherry, wait outside!" Claire ordered, sending the girl out as she grabbed her grenade launcher. "Kill it! Quick!"
The G Monster rushed at the four, trying to whack them with the pipe. Fortunately all of them managed to evade and opened fire. The G Monster turned its sights on Leon, angrily marching over and slamming the pipe down as Leon dodged and grabbed his combat knife to jab the G Monster's shoulder eyeball, causing it some pain.
Clint fired some arrows at the G Monster, the beast turning its attention to the Avenger as he ran over with the pipe. Clint jumped off the wall over G's head as Claire rushed in with her Grenade Launcher.
"Keep at it!" Clint said as Claire fired her weapon.
Unfortunately as she did so, she ran out of ammo, "I need to switch!"
"I'll cover you!" Natasha said, firing her guns as the G Monster marched towards her. Leon rushed in and blasted the monster with his shotgun a few times.
Claire brought out her bow gun and fire away as well while Clint and Natasha assisted, each of them overwhelming the monster a bit as it tried swinging its pipe around in desperation.
Leon rushed over and jabbed the monster in the neck with his combat knife as Claire fired some rounds point blank in his face, knocking him against the rail. Each of them grabbed their strongest available weapon and fired again, the rail breaking and the monster falling.
"Did that kill him?" Clint asked.
"I have no idea..." Claire said.
"Not sure if I want to stick around and see," Leon said, reloading all his guns. "Get Sherry and let's get the hell out of here."
"Right," Claire said, opening the door for the young child.
"Is it safe?" Sherry asked.
"We got rid of the monster, let's hurry on out of here," Claire said.
For the moment the team was safe, but dangers still lurked ahead.