October 1st 05:45AM
LOCATION: NEST 2 (Roof Helipad)
Natasha froze as she saw Carlos, he was lying on the ground and not moving 'No, no, no' she kicked herself for letting him go after Nikolai
"Oh no" Jill whispered, they both ran to check on him.
Black Widow knelt next to him and searched for his pulse, she couldn't lose anyone today-
She realised that he was still breathing although she immediately heard heavy footsteps running upon her-
She swiftly pulled out her only remaining Glock only for it to be immediately kicked out of her injured hand by Nikolai
"You're not going to stop me!" he yelled at her,
Black Widow was about to fire an electric Widow's Bite when he switched his sights of his pistol on Jill who was to stunned to move –
Her own pistol was empty and she certainly couldn't reach for any other weapon now
"Don't even think about it bitch, or I kill her"
Jill frantically looked at Natasha, she wanted to tell the Avenger to not worry about her and shoot at the son of a bitch.
Natasha knew that she couldn't do it she couldn't lose anyone else today she wasn't sure her heart could stand for it- she lowered her arm.
Nikolai pulled out the vaccine vial as he spoke to the Black Widow but kept his gun sights aimed entirely on Jill, holding the S.T.A.R.S officers life in her face like some sort of human shield.
"Promised you this didn't I Romanoff?"
Nikolai threw the vaccine towards Jill who attempted to quickly grab it, but Natasha knew at that moment it was over-
Her heart sank in her chest, they'd lost.
Nikolai shot the vaccine vial destroying it completely,
Jill screamed as she watched Raccoon City's last hope dissolve into nothingness
"NO! Do you have any idea what you've just done!?" Jill yelled at Nikolai who smirked at Jill's cries,
Natasha on the other hand had gone completely silent-
She wanted to kill him, she wanted it more than she had wanted anything in such a long time
"Don't know, don't care- my client paid me to reduce Umbrella to rubble"
Natasha's attention flickered past the heavy noise of her own mind and back towards Nikolai 'Client?' she'd assumed that the mercenary was solely working for Sergie Vladimir- that theory seemed less likely now
"Ten minuets till missile impact" the city's emergency broadcast system announced
"Ah the missile has launched, it's a shame Black Widow- you're worth far much more alive than dead" he smirked at the red headed Avenger who glared at him with an intense hatred
"And you Ms Valentine- you should have listened to me when you had the chance" he was going to pull the trigger, Natasha saw it so vividly that it may as well already happened.
However, before anyone can react Carlos tackles Nikolai to the ground.
Jill watched as the two men traded punches, the scene moved in a quick blur as Jill quickly grabbed and reloaded her pistol with shaking hands-
Clearly Nikolai was stronger and more an experienced fighter, but thankfully Carlos was quicker,
He held the struggling Russian man in a body lock whilst Jill tried to keep up with who was winning in this fist fight
"Jill shoot him!" Carlos yelled to her; he needed her to act whilst he still held tightly onto the slippery fucker
"I can't I'll hit-." Jill is unable to finish her sentence when a loud gun shot over her shoulder freezes her.
The bullet hit Nikolai painfully in the shoulder and sent Carlos flying backwards.
Jill looked back at the Black Widow who had retrieved her Glock at some point during the struggle
"I'm a better shot when I'm pissed off" Black Widow stated as she held the injured Nikolai at gunpoint.
Jill ran over to Carlos "Carlos!" Jill yelled as he gave her a weak thumbs up,
He tapped on his bullet proof vest, he was thankful that the Black Widow was a good enough shot,
Jill sighed in relief as she helped Carlos up to his feet-
"Hey, I told you I couldn't leave you in a Carlos-less world, that would be too cruel" Jill laughed,
"Tyrell?" he asked her, Jill sadly shook her head
"I'm Sorry, he's gone" Carlos's expression darkened as he looked over at the Avenger silently holding Nikolai at gunpoint
"What about him?" Carlos asked,
Jill glanced at the Black Widow-
She was honestly surprised that the Black Widow hadn't ended him already- the Avenger had taken up a terrifying expression the moment Nikolai destroyed the cure and honestly the Black Widow's calmness was kind of scaring Jill a little.
"Why'd you do it?" Jill asked him.
Nikolai sighed as he edged backward from the ex-assassin, he knew when he was defeated- but wasn't going to go down without a fight
"There's a price tag for everything, including letting the world burn" he remained focused on the assassin holding the gun on him
"You've condemned countless of people to die for a high number in your bank account" she spoke to him in a hushed whisper that surprised herself-
She was tired, exhausted both physically and mentally and being angry took energy that she wasn't sure she had anymore
"If it's not Colonel Vladimir... who else are you working for?" he smirked up at her,
The Black Widow who really acted like she knew everything didn't have a clue- she was completely unaware of the nightmare that she would soon be facing-
His employers despised the Black Widow and he knew for a fact that her involvement in the outbreak will have now placed her in Umbrella's deadly crosshair.
"Ms Romanoff- you really don't expect to get answers like this? If you get me out of here- I'll tell you what you want to know"
Jill laughed at the request, not two minuets ago had he been holding them at gunpoint about to kill them-
"It's your call Natasha, but personally I think we should leave him here" Jill stated,
Nikolai sneered at Jill who went to stand next to Carlos who watched on near the helicopter- no matter what neither of them would interfere, it was personal to Black Widow and should therefor be her choice to make
"You deserve to die for everything you've done" Black Widow told him as the voice in her head told her to get it over with- just kill him already!
"I think you'll remember that a while ago, there were plenty that said the same thing about you" he unpleasantly reminded her.
It was hardly the same thing- as it turned out the Black Widow wasn't above the path to redemption, were as Nikolai dug his grave the moment he destroyed the vaccine.
Nikolai laughed "Who the hell do you think you are 'Avenger' to stand in judgement over me!" the voice in her head screamed at her to kill him, to pull the trigger- leave him here- slit his throat- push him off the side of the building.
However, then she realised something- that angry voice- that beast inside her brain was the fragments of the Red Room that still lived within her.
Carlos and Jill share a worried look, the missile was on its way and they only now had six minuets till the city was completely destroyed in the strike.
"I'll get the engine running" Carlos insisted,
Jill nodded- she needed Natasha to hurry this up, they didn't have the time for a moral crisis right now.
What happened next surprised everyone, including Nikolai as Black Widow lowered her gun
"No, no- you don't deserve to die. You deserve to live"
Natasha fired a Widow's Bite at Nikolai the high electrical shock immediately knocked him unconscious.
Natasha retrieved one of the cable ties out of her pocket and restrained the Russian mans hands behind his back- she'd made a promise to save whoever she could,
She supposed that promise even reached to those that didn't deserve saving.
"I'm not letting you get away with this" she half dragged, half carried an unconscious Nikolai over to the plane whilst Jill stared at her like she thought the Avenger had gone insane- she couldn't believe that the Black Widow was actually saving the bastard!
They all fastened into the helicopter as Carlos piloted them away
"Why?" was all Jill found she could say to Natasha,
Jill had been so certain that she knew that the Black Widow was going to kill him, he deserved it.
Natasha shook her head, she didn't really understand it herself-
"I wanted to kill him- so very fucking much, but that side of me that wanted to put a bullet in his skull. Is the part of me that's the assassin, the killer that the Red Room created- I'm not a killer anymore, I'm an Avenger"
Jill glared at the unconscious Nikolai, she wished that she had the Black Widow's strength, if it had been down to her she wouldn't have saved him.
Jill smirked "Good for you Natasha" she supposed that type of self-awareness took power- the only power that could be associated with being an Avenger,
"But what are you going to do with him?" she motioned at Nikolai as Raccoon City slowly became a shadowy scene in the distance of the rising dawn
"I have connections, I can make sure that he faces justice for what he's done" Black Widow insisted,
Jill supposed that was true "Let me guess- you want to question him too?"
Natasha nodded, she had so many questions and now she had the man that could give her the answers.
October 1st 06:00AM
Jill's head whipped towards the window "There it is" she whispered as she watched the tail fire of the missile fly towards the city.
A flash of white blinding light filled the sky, a warm wind quickly followed as a mushroom shaped dark cloud rose from the centre of the city, the dark destructive blast quickly enveloped the whole city.
The air around them burned as Carlos struggled to control the helicopter in the current of the blast, they all jerked around frantically in what was realistically a sticky metal cage, the lights at the cockpit flashed as Carlos brought them out of the danger zone of the explosion
An entire city gone- just like that.
Jill sighed as her heartbeat returned to a normal pace, she watched as Natasha placed her head into her hands
"Are you two alright?" Carlos asked, but neither of them had it in them to lie to him.
Jill looked back at the smoking mess that had once been her home
"So long RC" Jill whispered as she sunk into her seat,
Her body was exhausted from the constant adrenalin she'd been feeling since the beginning of the outbreak and now she was coming down from the rush
"It's finally over" Carlos stated, but they all knew that it was far from over.
Black Widow had picked up the destroyed vial that held the vaccine, she didn't know why, but now she clutched it in her hand.
Jill watched the Avenger who finally allowed herself to feel everything that had happened in the last few days.
Natasha sighed- despite the heat from the blast she felt cold and empty, all this death it wasn't from this monster making virus, it was brought on by greed- human greed.
Natasha glanced at the unconscious Nikolai, she was uncertain still if saving him was the right thing to do, but the Black Widow vowed that the ashes of Raccoon City would soon be the ashes of Umbrella too,
Whatever it takes- she would end them once and for all.
Authors Note: That's right- the only thing that changed is that Black Widow saved Nikolai. This seemed like an in character thing for her to do after all her story is the progression of assassin to avenger, besides Nikolai being alive is kind of crucial to the next story, but this isn't the end of this story- Keep reading for bonus chapters as well as a 'DLC' that will explore what some characters were doing in the time jumps in the story.
Thank You so much for reading this far, I really appreciate it I've worked really hard on this story and am excited to write freeform (not in line with the game) in the upcoming chapters and DLC.