Within the Greenhouse of the estate, Javier was seen making his way through, contemplating the next part of his plan.
"I should have done this sooner, Hilda," Javier said as he glanced at a statue of a woman holding a baby. He dropped his gun as he approached the giant bulb plant. "Stupid foreigners. You think you can defeat it, don't you?" The bulb began to open as Javier tossed his sunglasses aside. "But you forget that when you look into the shadows of the abyss, it swallows you whole."
Javier stood with his arms out as the plant moved closer to him, ready to take whatever power it had to offer.
Meanwhile in the other room, Chun-Li had gotten Krauser patched up, applying First-Aid to the man the best that she could.
"Is your arm feeling any better?" Chun-Li asked.
"A little, not that it matters though. I've had tougher wounds, so I'll be okay," Krauser insisted, then mentally lamented the situation. "As if. There's no way the army's going to keep me on board now. This might as well be my last mission."
Nearby, Leon and Natasha were trying to comfort Manuela. Given what she had just bore witness to, they knew she wouldn't be mentally okay, but they had to make sure she was stable long enough for her to get any professional help she might need.
"Are you feeling any better, Manuela?" Natasha asked.
"I'm not sure..." Manuela said as she clutched her arm. "But don't worry about me. I will be okay."
"Don't force yourself to feel better," Chun-Li said as she now had her attention on Manuela. "It's alright to be upset. But you need to know that none of this is your fault."
"How can it not be? If it weren't for me, those girls would still be alive," Manuela said.
"It's not like you told your father you wanted any of this," Natasha said. "What happened to those girls is his doing, not yours."
"But..." Manuela wasn't sure how to argue, as part of her still felt some blame.
"Hey, I know you're worried about her," Krauser said. "But we still have a mission to complete."
"Yeah, the problem is that we lost track of Javier," Leon said. "We might need some air support."
"Can we get any?" Chun-Li asked.
"It should be possible," Natasha said as she input some coordinates into a pad. "For now, let's try to track that bastard."
Just as they were about to move, they heard a loud thump on the ceiling above.
"What the...?" Leon looked around in confusion, as did the others.
Another loud thump was heard, followed by a louder one which started to cause debris to fall from the ceiling.
"This isn't an Earthquake, is it?" Chun-Li asked.
"I doubt it, something big must be out there!" Natasha said.
They attempted to escape but one more thump slammed down hard as the ceiling broke, causing a dust cloud emanating from the debris.
One the dust cleared, the group spotted what looked like a giant foot, taking each of them by surprise.
"Where did this thing come from!?" Leon shouted in disbelief.
"Never mind that for now! Just shoot!" Natasha ordered as she fired at the monsters.
"Right!" Leon fired as well with the rest of his team.
"Dammit, I can't fight like this!" Krauser thought to himself, the man slightly in a panic. "I can barely move my arm!"
Everyone opened fire on this creature, doing their best to dodge its attacks as well. One tentacle tried to whack Leon, but the former RPD officer was quick to backstep and fire at the creature.
Krauser took a moment to fire at the tentacles, giving everyone a safer opportunity to shoot at the creature and potentially put it down for good.
"This is really strange," Natasha said. "Where did this even come from? Is this something Javier had as backup?"
"Seems likely," Chun-Li said as the group kept firing.
Eventually the creature detached its foot and retreated back through the roof, everyone taking a moment to catch their breath after such a shock.
"What is that!?" Manuela asked in worry.
"Whatever it is, we're going to need bigger guns," Krauser said.
"Or more allies," Natasha said.
"I say we fall back for now and recoup before moving on," Krauser suggested.
"Good plan," Leon agreed.
"Will the elevator work though?" Natasha asked. "Better yet, would it be safe?"
"Look, over there!" Manuela said, gesturing to a destroyed shutter that led to another hallway.
"Well, what do you know? A hidden passageway," Natasha said, feeling pleased to see it.
"How lucky for us," Leon said.
"That might be our only escape from this place," Krauser said.
"Then let's hurry," Chun-Li said, then turned to the only civilian. "Manuela, whatever happens, stay close to us unless we tell you to run."
"Okay," Manuela agreed.
As they passed through the tunnel, more loud thumping was heard above, worrying the group down below.
"What the hell is going on up there?" Leon asked.
"I hope Javier doesn't have some secret army that he just unleashed," Natasha said.
"Or a giant B.O.W.," Chun-Li said. "Just curious, what's the largest B.O.W. you've all fought?"
"Probably Willaim Birkin, he did mutate to the point where he took over an entire train," Leon said.
"That sounds scary," Chun-Li said.
"I don't think Claire or Clint reported anything too big during the Rockfort Island incident," Natasha said.
"Nor Ark during his trip to Sheena Island," Leon said.
"This isn't helpful information," Krauser said.
More loud thumping occurred, once again worrying everyone.
Suddenly some tentacles invaded the tunnels, attempting to attack the group. Chun-Li was quick to knock them away with her kicks, allowing the others to duck and run into a nearby hallway.
Once inside, Krauser noticed a Magnum Handgun just resting on the table, the man grabbing it and some nearby bullets. "Must be my lucky day."
"Got a stronger weapon?" Natasha asked. "Good, we may need it."
"Ammo is scarce though," Krauser pointed out.
"Make your shots count then," Natasha said as the group remained hidden in the room.
"Come on, I see an exit!" Leon said as he led the group away. Unfortunately, the lone civilian began feeling pain in her insides. "Manuela!?"
"Hang in there!" Chun-Li urged as she checked on the girl. "Come on, I've got you."
"Is she going to transform?" Krauser wondered.
The group ran up until they found themselves back in the courtyard of Javier's base, Natasha taking a minute to scout the area.
"We're back at the entrance," Natasha looked toward the door she just come out of. "Guess that secret path led us to the secret bunker."
"Which means we probably could have gotten to Javier much sooner," Krauser said. "If he hadn't made things more difficult."
"Nothing's ever easy," Leon said. "But anything worth hiding is worth guarding."
"Still, we're back outside," Chun-Li said as she looked around. "I don't say anything dangerous though."
Suddenly a giant foot landed on a nearby crate, spooking everyone present.
"Fall back! Go!" Leon said as everyone ran toward another crate which was swiftly stomped on. "Take cover!"
"Where!?" Natasha asked as more stomps came from the mysterious giant foot.
"Is that a B.O.W. too!?" Krauser asked as he and his team did their best to avoid getting crushed.
Everyone turned around to see what was attacking, and to their horror, it was a monster that was three times the size of the nearby base. No one could believe what they were seeing as they each carefully took a step back.
"What the hell is that thing!?" Leon asked in disbelief.
"It's huge!" Krauser noted.
"We..." Natasha aimed her weapons, despite the worry flowing through her body and mind. "We gotta kill this thing!"
"How!?" Krauser asked.
"Don't ask, just shoot!" Natasha ordered as she and her team opened fire at the monster.
"Behold..." The monster said as it withstood the bullets. "The true power of the virus!"
"That voice..." Manuela said as looked up in disbelief. "Father!?"
"Wait! This is Javier!?" Chun-Li asked in disbelief. "What did he do to himself!?"
Krauser recalled a strange bulb in the greenhouse from earlier, "That weird plant!"
"Looks like he merged with whatever was in that garden!" Leon noted.
"Come to me, Manuela," The giant, mutated Javier said, startling his daughter. "Let me take away your pain!"
"You stay the fuck away from her!" Leon shouted as he fired at the beast. "I'm not letting you hurt Manuela any longer!"
"For all those girls who's lives you stole! For all the damage your greed has caused!" Chun-Li fired at the monster. "We're not letting you get away with your atrocities! You're going to face justice!"
"I've faced worse than you on a daily basis!" Natasha shouted as she fired away. "Compared to someone like Ultron or Doctor Doom, you're just another monster to squash!"
"Oh, you truly are confident," Javier taunted as he stepped forward. "Perhaps fear has caused you to become delusional?"
"Just keep firing!" Krauser ordered, the man fighting for his life.
Leon kept firing, though worried his attacks weren't doing much to slow Javier down. "Geez, at this rate we're going to run out of ammo before we even put a dent in this beast."
"He was human not too long ago!" Krauser worried. "How did he transform so fast!? How do we kill something this big!?"
Javier lifted his foot to slam down at those who opposed him, each of them barely dodging out of the way.
"That was close," Natasha said as Javier lifted his foot again. "Looks like he's about to try again!"
"Not if I can help it!" Leon fired away but got whacked aside, the man sent through a stack of nearby barrels.
"Leon!" Chun-Li shouted in worry. A second later, she was seen trying to stop Javier's other foot from crushing her, using her own strength to match her foe's. "I won't let you!"
Natasha tried firing but she was whacked away by a tentacle and sent flying into a tent.
Krauser stood around in disbelief, unable to fully process this situation. "This is nuts!? Why is everyone so determined to fight!? Aren't they scared!?" The monster stood tall over the injured man, striking fear into his heart. "I can't die here! Not like this! Leon! Please, keep me safe! Keep me alive!"
"Krauser! Move!" Leon limped back over as he fired at Javier. "Hey! I'm not done with you!"
"Such persistence," Javier said, then felt a burning sensation under his foot. "What in the world!?"
"KIKOSHO!" Chun-Li blasted Javier's mutated foot with her Chi abilities, stumbling the man back. She then leapt several feet into the air to kick him in the face, but he responded with a punch hard enough to send her through the wall of his building.
"Foolish girl," Javier said. Suddenly he was blasted in the face, courtesy of a Rocket Launcher that Natasha found. Injured as the girl was, she managed to keep the weapon on her shoulder as she frantically reloaded.
"This has come in handy before, but something tells me one shot isn't enough," Natasha loaded a second rocket, but she got whacked to the side, dropping her weapon as a result.
"Just stand still and perish!" Javier said. "Otherwise your deaths will be much more painful!"
Krauser fired again, almost hopelessly. No matter what damage this beast took, it withstood and struck back harder.
"We're getting nowhere!" Krauser dreadfully stated. "We can't do this!"
"Don't give up!" Leon grabbed a grenade and threw it at Javier's face, barely stunning him with the blast. "If we stop now, we're dead! And who knows what Javier would do with that virus!?"
"Damn your persistence!" Krauser mentally lamented. "How are you this eager to fight a battle you can't win!?"
"Javier!" Natasha fired away with an assault rifle she found. "Don't think you have us beat you bastard!"
"You fools, try as you might, your deaths are inevitable," Javier said.
"Says you and every other lunatic!" Leon said. "I've seen Hedgehogs that are more intimidating than you!"
Chun-Li pulled herself out of the hole that she crashed through, thankful she wasn't ambushed by any zombies inside while she recovered.
She landed in the courtyard where she found Manuela keeled over in pain. In her worry, she ran to check on the girl. "Manuela, are you alright!?"
"I...I think I understand now," Manuela said, much to Chun-Li's confusion. "I feel this pain, because I am still...still human. But, if I were no longer to feel pain...then that would mean...that I..."
"Manuela?" Chun-Li tried to help her up, to which the girl denied, wishing to stand on her own power.
"I choose...to die a human!" Manuela said with determination as she ran toward the monster.
"Manuela!" Chun-Li called in worry. "Leon! Krauser! Black Widow!"
"Huh!?" Leon too saw the girl running ahead and went to protect her. "Manuela, don't!"
"It's not safe!" Natasha warned.
Krauser just looked on in curiosity, wondering what this girl was planning.
As Manuela got close, one of Javier's feet raised over her and slammed down, either intentionally or inadvertently. Regardless, Leon pulled Manuela to safety as the two fell over and rolled along the ground.
"Leon!" Natasha ran over, spotting the hero laying above Manuela. "Good, they're alright. Awkward positioning though."
The foot raised above them again, attempting to slam down, but Manuela managed to move Leon aside and held her arm out. It suddenly caught fire and damaged a part of Javier's body, taking everyone who witnessed it by surprise.
"Her arm..." Natasha noted.
"Manuela...are you?" Leon asked.
The girl turned to face the man, "I'm still here."
Krauser looked on in disbelief, amazed by this girl's power. "What is she?"
Chun-Li was just as surprised, but remembered the situation they were all in, "We need to focus on Javier!"
"Quick! Get in closer!" Leon instructed.
"Closer!?" Chun-Li asked.
"Our guns only have so much range, plus if we're close enough, he can't crush us!" Leon pointed out.
"Nice plan...assuming we don't end up getting crushed regardless," Krauser said.
"Come on, this should be a piece of cake for you," Leon said.
"Maybe on any other day," Krauser noted.
"Just watch the feet!" Chun-Li said, taking her own advice as she avoided a stomp from a now spikier foot.
"Black Widow, tell me!" Krauser said as he and Leon moved in close. "Is this the biggest monster you've seen? Not just B.O.W.s, but in general!"
"No, I'm definitely seen bigger," Natasha said. "Usually it's an alien though."
Another leg tried stomping, but it was briefly stuck to the ground as Javier struggled to pull it out.
"Shoot it there!" Manuel instructed. She then flung her blood at the monster, causing a minor explosion. "Hurry!"
"Manuela!?" Leon said in worry.
"Wait, is that her quirk or something?" Chun-Li asked.
"No, it's her blood," Natasha said as she fired at the spot. "It's the Veronica Virus. Clint said it makes your blood flammable."
"Flammable, are you kidding?" Krauser wondered.
Leon fired away with his shotgun, just as Krauser pulled out his magnum and got a nice clean shot before Javier managed to pull his leg away.
"Clever..." Javier said. "But that won't be enough!"
"Manuela had a good strategy!" Leon said. "If we attack his joints, he won't be able to move!"
"Easier said than done!" Krauser pointed out.
"It's something at least!" Natasha said as she reloaded her weapons. "Come on, let's end this!"
"You fools cannot hope to stop me!" Javier slammed down more with everyone doing their best to dodge and evade, narrowly avoiding his attacks as they fired at his joints.
Chun-Li took the opportunity to leap up and deliver a flying kick into one of the joints in an attempt to knock her foe off balance. "You may be big, but that just makes you more of a target."
"Great work!" Leon said as got in close to another joint and fired with his shotgun. "We'll end this soon!"
"Keep it up!" Natasha urged as she fired at a third joint with her SMGs. Once they were out of ammo, she quickly placed them aside and pulled out her machine gun to maintain the momentum.
"These guys are nuts!" Krauser aimed his Magnum and fired, hoping to end this battle fast. "If they have connections to S.H.I.E.L.D., why don't they just call for an airstrike or something!?" Krauser shook it off, somehow finding the will to keep fighting. "You know what, it's fine! At least this way I can show my higher ups that I have value as a soldier!"
"Hey look!" Chun-Li saw that Javier's ribs began to open up. Suddenly some medium sized balls began falling from him.
"What are those things!?" Natasha wondered.
"Look out!" Leon warned as he helped Natasha out of the way just before a ball landed, both narrowly escaping an explosion.
"Did it just blow up!?" Chun-Li asked.
"They're bombs!" Krauser fired at a bunch, the explosions destroying others while avoiding a few.
"Let's use them to our advantage!" Leon said as he fired upwards. "Shoot the bombs and they'll do more damage to Javier!"
"I got an idea!" Chun-Li leapt up and kicked a bomb upward, then fired a shot that destroyed it and several others close to Javier's body.
"Weak little fools!" Javier declared as he tried stomping again.
"I will finish this!" Manuela said as she threw more of her flammable blood at her father's joints.
"Manuela, be careful!" Leon urged.
"I hope she don't become affected by the blood loss," Chun-Li said as she got to safety with her allies.
"Still, it's nice to see the Virus actually being used for good," Natasha said. "It's science after all, both Captain America and Iron Man are proof that it can be used for good just as much as it can be for evil."
"Good point, now let's stop this evil!" Leon said as he fired at Javier.
A whip came from the ground and whacked the man back, with Chun-Li catching him as Natasha ran in while firing her SMGs at Javier's joints.
"If we can take out at least one leg, that will be good for our advantage," Natasha said.
"Focus fire!" Krauser said as he fired at the one joint, with Leon and Chun-Li helping.
"You cannot win!" Javier grabbed Natasha with a whip.
"Nat! No!" Leon called as he fired at the monster.
"I don't like men that get all grabby!" Natasha flung a grenade into Javier's eye, stunning him even more as he released the girl.
"Good work!" Leon said as he continued blasting the joint, weakening Javier more. "We almost got it!"
"Fools!" Javier slammed down again, barely missing the others, but leaving himself open for attack.
"I will send you to hell!" Manuela flung her fire at the joint once more, finally destroying it and handicapping Javier.
"Finally, one down!" Leon said.
"We can't keep fighting like this though!" Krauser urged.
"We don't have a choice!" Natasha said as she gestured to another joint. "Come on, we can't stop now!"
"We'll win together!" Leon said.
"Or die trying!" Chun-Li added.
"I'd rather avoid the dying part," Krauser mentally noted.
"Let me help!" Manuela called as she tried running over.
"No! Stay back!" Leon warned. "You'll lose too much blood if you keep fighting!"
"If she wants to help, let her!" Krauser said.
"Krauser that's very irresponsible!" Chun-Li scolded, then focused on Manuela. "Just let us deal with this!"
"Manuela! You would turn against your own father!?" Javier shouted as he attempted to grab his daughter with a whip.
"You're no father!" Leon shot the whip. "You're a heartless monster who hurts others to get ahead!"
"What I do is for survival!" Javier said as he sent down more bombs. "It is human nature!"
"Don't bullshit us!" Leon shouted as he shot the bombs to cause more damage to the man. "There is nothing humane about what you did!"
"It's always the same with these crooks," Natasha said as she fired as well. "They make up any fucking excuse they can to justify their greed and their insanity."
"This man has a special place among people I greatly dislike," Chun-Li said. "I don't think I've hated anyone outside of Shadaloo this much!"
"My victory, is inevitable!" Javier tried to impale them, the group quickly dodging and avoiding contact.
"Be cautious!" Leon warned. "One hit and we could get infected!"
"That's stating the obvious," Natasha said as she fired at another joint.
"If we're infected, then what!?" Krauser asked. "Do we turn into a zombie!? Or this thing!?"
"I'm not sure," Leon said as he fired. "But I'm not taking any chances!"
"There's much we don't know about this or any virus that Umbrella created!" Natasha said. "That's why we needed to interrogate some Umbrella researchers! See what they know!"
"A researcher huh? How hard would it be to find one?" Krauser wondered. "Or perhaps, they already know where?"
Natasha fired away at the joints, hoping to weaken Javier even more with Leon firing right next to her.
"I think we almost got it!" Leon said.
"Leon! Natasha! Behind you!" Chun-Li warned as a whip flung at them.
Leon was able to duck, but Natasha took a hit, which worried the cop, "Natasha!"
"Focus!" Krauser fired, then took a whack himself, sending him flying.
"That's enough of this!" Chun-Li charged up some chi and ran up the leg toward the joint as she unleashed on the monster. "KIKOSHO!"
The power was enough to destroy Javier's second leg, nearly immobilizing the man turned behemoth.
"Fools, I can regenerate!" Javier said as he attempted to muster some strength. "And every time I grow stronger! Everything I devour becomes a part of me, a fate that awaits you Manuela!"
"We'll never let that happen!" Leon shouted as he and his team regrouped in front of Javier.
The monster lowered its head and opened its large mouth, revealing the mutated Javier in the middle. "Witness my divine power!"
"You call this divine!?" Chun-Li asked in disbelief. "I call this an abomination to life!"
"Fool, you can't possibly..." Javier started to feel strange as he slowly lost control of the monster. "Wh-What is this!? What's happening!?" Javier was slowly being engulfed by the creature. "My body! Veronica...it's consuming me!"
"Is he losing control!?" Chun-Li asked in worry.
The monster flung Javier around as he desperately tried to maintain control, "WHY!?" He was slammed down into a lack of conscious as the beast completely took over.
"Father!" Manuela shouted in worry.
"The virus just took over his body!" Leon said. "Figures, no one is able to control it."
"Not Javier anyway," Natasha said as she glanced toward Manuela. "Still, we gotta destroy this creature!"
The monster began spitting acid at the ground, everyone ducking out of the way as they opened fire at the beast's head.
Suddenly something began burrowing at them, worrying Krauser, "It's coming at us!"
A spiked whip attempted to ambush them, but Chun-Li managed to grab it just as it lunged, "Keep firing!"
Leon, Krauser and Natasha fired at the monster with their strongest weapons, going right for the head in hopes of finally defeating it.
"Is this even doing anything!?" Krauser asked as he fired his Magnum.
"It's our only option, keep fighting!" Leon said as he fired his shotgun.
Manuela ran in front, "I'll help!" She flung more of her blood at the monster's head, causing an explosion.
"Manuela stop it! You'll die!" Leon warned.
As Natasha fired at the creature's head, she turned and spotted her Rocket Launcher nearby. "Maybe that can work better now!"
She ceased her firing and ran for the weapon. Krauser noticed Natasha leaving, confusing him for a second, "Where are you going!?"
"I'm getting something to help end this!" She ran over and grabbed the weapon. Another tentacle tried to attack but she was quick to dodge while throwing the Rocket Launcher toward her allies. "Leon! Take over!"
Leon turned toward the weapon, "A Rocket Launcher?" The man suddenly recalled memories of Raccoon City, and how a mysterious stranger assisted him with The Rocket Launcher. Moving quickly, he rolled in and grabbed the device before aiming it at the Veronica monster. "It's over!"
With one blast to the head, the creature was knocked over and in pain. The mouth opened again, revealing Javier's body as he uttered one request. "Kill me..."
Despite everything that Javier has done, Leon could not help but feel pity for the man. Placing the Rocket Launcher down, he walked over with his handgun and aimed at the weakness of the beast. One shot and it was over.
A fountain of blood began pouring out of the monster's head, the beast trying to stay alive despite Javier's wishes, but between the damage that it took, plus the death of its host, the beast fell over, finally dead.
"Is it over?" Chun-Li asked.
Seconds later, the entire monster began to catch fire, likely due to the blood of Veronica, and the beast slowly faded into nothing.
"Yeah, it's over," Leon said as he placed his gun away. "Mission Accomplished."
"Guess you just couldn't handle the power, could you Javier?" Krauser mentally taunted.
Unknown to this group, they had an audience observing them. Near the mountain side, Albert Wesker was watching the fight go down through his binoculars. And he was not alone.
"So, that's it?" Came the voice of Juri Han. "All that boasting about his power, and he dies just like that?"
"Not everyone can handle the power of Veronica," Wesker said as he lowered his binoculars. "It is among Umbrella's best research."
"Yeah, it's a powerful virus, even you couldn't handle it," Juri taunted. "Alexia really gave you a beating that one time."
"Cute..." Wesker said as he placed his binoculars away.
"Chun-Li handled herself well," Juri admitted. "Such a strong girl, her skills have improved. Maybe one day, she'll actually be able to kill Bison."
"It's hard to kill one who has the right insurance," Wesker said. "But it provides resources we can exploit for ourselves."
"Also, I gotta say, Leon Kennedy is quite a force to be reckoned with," Juri said. "His skills may be on par with Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine."
"He is quick to adapt, and may prove to be trouble himself," Wesker said. "We'll keep an eye on him."
"Or send someone else to," Juri said. "I think we both know who."
"Yes," Wesker began walking off. "Come, we have business to attend to."
"Is it Sephiroth?" Juri asked. "Or are you going to strike that deal with Magneto?"
"You will see, "Wesker said as he left.
"Always so secretive," Juri followed her boss, but not without taking one final look back. "Hm...aside from those two and Black Widow, there was that muscular guy. Wonder if he'll be trouble later?"
Shrugging it off, Juri made her own exit, following her boss.
Down below, Natasha was radioing Nick Fury, "We're done here. Javier's dead, and we have the virus neutralized."
"He's dead? You couldn't take him alive?" Fury asked.
"He injected himself with the virus and tried to kill us, there was no coming back from that," Natasha said. "Just make sure you get a helicopter here."
"There's already a dispatch on the way," Fury said.
"Good, also make sure there's some medics nearby," Natasha turned toward Manuela, who was being tended to by Leon and Chun-Li. "We found a girl who could really use the medical assistance."
"A girl?" Fury asked. "Is she one of the missing girls we heard about?"
"Something like that," Natasha said. "I'll fill you in later."
As Natasha placed her radio away, Leon was looking over Manuela's arm, still amazed that despite the power, she was still able to maintain her current form.
"I'm sorry," Manuela said as she clutched her arm. "I know you said not to do anything reckless, but..." Manuela took a moment to readjust herself, trying to work through the pain. "I just couldn't not do anything. I did not want to be powerless to help, and I really did not want more people to die because of me."
"No one died because of you," Chun-Li said. "You never asked for any of this."
"This happened because I got sick," Manuela said.
"Manuela, you didn't ask to get sick, and you didn't ask for your father to do these terrible things," Chun-Li said.
"But..." Manuela clenched her arm in pain.
"No more talking for now, save your strength," Leon said. "You lost quite a bit of blood, but you should be alright if you take it easy."
"Leon!" Krauser called, gesturing to the facility. To everyone's surprise and worry, some zombies began coming out, joined shortly by other types of B.O.W.s.
"Shit, there's always something isn't there?" Leon asked as he pulled his gun out.
A few Jabberwocks were leading the charge, everyone now carefully backing away and keeping their guns aimed, ready to do what they had to.
"Wait, we don't need anything more from this place," Krauser said. "We should run!"
"If we do that, these creatures might get loose," Leon said.
"But if we don't, we'll probably die, and they'll get loose anyway!" Krauser said.
"Even so, I can't just run when there's danger!" Leon said. "Let's at least try to take out as many as we can!"
"What's with this guy!? Does he think he's Superman or something!?" Krauser mentally worried. "You're going to be the death of me, Leon!"
Fortunately, just before a fight broke out, some helicopters began flying in, which got everyone's attention as they turned to the air vehicles.
"Looks like we might get some backup," Chun-Li said. "Or at the very least, a chance to escape."
Suddenly a figure flew out of the helicopter and fired some missiles at the zombies, surprising everyone below.
"Well look who decided to show up," Natasha said.
Up above was the Armored Avenger, Iron Man, who continued firing blasts at the zombies and other forms of B.O.W.s down below.
"Didn't expect Iron Man to show up," Leon said in disbelief.
"He's not alone," Natasha said as the helicopters landed behind them.
Jumping off one of them was the X-Men Legend himself, sinisterly walking toward the zombies. "This oughta be fun." With a SNKIT of his claws, Wolverine dashed in to attack, effortlessly slashing through a Jabberwock before focusing his attention on the zombies.
"Logan?" Chun-Li curiously stated.
"How did Tony get him on board for this assignment?" Natasha wondered.
More S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents showed up, joined by a pair familiar to Chun-Li.
"Cammy and Guile!" Chun-Li gestured to the two as they ran in to fight.
"These are your friends?" Manuela asked.
"Yeah, they're the ones we mentioned earlier," Chun-Li said. "I can't believe they actually showed up!"
"Same here," Leon said. "Lucky us."
A group of Anubis rushed in to attack, getting in too close for comfort, but they were silenced with a quick sword slice. Landing nearby was the former First Class SOLDIER, Cloud Strife.
"Are you all doing okay?" Cloud asked.
"We're fine," Leon said. "Glad you came."
"When I heard about this, I thought Sephiroth might be around, given his ties with Wesker," Cloud said. "Did you happen to see him?"
"Unfortunately not," Leon said. "Maybe a quick run through of Javier's base may have some information. There's evidence that he worked with Wesker to get the Veronica Virus."
"Veronica?" Cloud asked. "So, that's back again. Sid did say it was one of the worst things he'd encountered."
"CHAOS BLAST!" A voice came from nearby, destroying a good chunk of the monsters.
"What in the world?" Krauser said in disbelief.
Emerging from the smoke was a small, black Hedgehog, one that immediately got Leon's attention.
"Shadow? Wait, how'd he get here?" Leon asked.
"You can thank me for that one," Came the voice of a Bat Girl named Rouge. "G.U.N. wanted a piece of the pie, so I asked Shadow to come."
"What is this? More B.O.W.s?" Krauser asked.
"No, they're aliens," Leon explained. "Mobians to be exact."
"Mobians?" Krauser asked.
"Aren't you a soldier?" Cloud asked. "Didn't you get reports about Mobians? Shadow along with another Mobian named Sonic saved the world years ago."
"The incident on Space Colony ARK," Natasha said.
"ARK?" Krauser asked.
"Right...even most soldiers outside of G.U.N. don't know about that," Chun-Li said. "It's a cover up, just like Raccoon City."
"And Shinra," Cloud said.
"Dammit, how much do I not know!?" Krauser angrily lamented.
"Nat," Iron Man flew over, removing his face plate to speak. "We got this covered, why don't you go take a break? You and your friends have earned it." He then turned to Manuela, "Besides, that girl looks troubled."
"Yes, we should get her somewhere safe," Natasha said.
Leon had his worries. The last time he helped rescue a girl, she ended up being taken by the government. He could not let the same happen to Manuela.
"Iron Man, I want to be in the know regarding what happens to Manuela," Leon said.
"I can't make you any promises," Tony said. "But I'll do my best."
"Make sure of it," Natasha said. "This girl's been through hell, and we're not letting a bunch of unempathetic suits near her."
"If anyone can do it, it's you Iron Man," Chun-Li said. "After all, has anyone ever stopped you when you set your mind to something?"
Tony looked impressed by Chun-Li's response, then merely laughed it off, "You make a good argument. Don't worry, I'll make sure the suits know who they're dealing with. It looks like you went through hell and back to save this girl, and I'm not letting that work be for nothing."
"Thank you Iron Man," Leon said as he saluted the hero.
"At ease soldier, save that stuff for Cap," Tony said. He then reapplied his face cover. "The base is likely still infected, I'll go inside and check things out. The rest of you get on that helicopter."
"We'll finish off the rest of these monsters," Cloud said.
"I suppose I should help too, I gotta earn my jewels after all," Rouge said as she extended her wings. "But, don't think this is the last time we'll meet up. Our paths may cross again soon."
"I don't doubt it," Leon said as Rouge flew off.
"Come on, let's get Manuela to safety," Chun-Li said as she joined her friends on the way to the nearby helicopter.
Krauser looked behind himself, seeing all the nearly arrived allies tearing up and destroying the B.O.W.s with ease. "Such power..."
One such was Wolverine, who tore through the monsters with ease with his claws, leaving nothing both a mess of blood at every battle he fought at. Something about the way he fought was intriguing to Krauser. No fear, just pure, raw power as Logan tore through more monsters, including making short work of a Jabberwock.
It wasn't long before the rescue helicopter got Leon and the others away from the facility. Krauser glared at the building while tending to his injured arm.
"Are you feeling alright?" Chun-Li asked.
"Yeah..." Krauser insisted.
Meanwhile Leon is tending to Manuela, ensuring she was truly alright. "How are you holding up?"
"...I should have died, with my father," Manuela said.
"No, no one should have died down there," Leon said. "Besides, you have an obligation to live. For the sake of the girls living inside you."
"Don't give up so easily," Natasha said.
Taking their words to heart, Manuela nodded in confirmation that she would do her best to make the most of life.
Leon glanced at Krauser, the man sporting a confident smile of a job well done. The moment Leon turned away, Krauser's smile turned into a scowl as the man's bitterness began reaching a new high.
"How cruel, they couldn't even try to make her feel proud. She has a whole new life ahead of her." Krauser thought to himself. "There's nothing left to say. Leon, we are two sides of the same coin. You can have your Avenger buddies. Me, perhaps I'll look more into this man you mentioned, the one you called Wesker."
Things had changed from that point. Manuela was taken into custody by the U.S. Government and placed under strict surveillance. Fortunately, as Tony promised, he relayed anything he could to Leon, and beyond too.
The best news he could relay was that Manuela had no major changes to her body, and she had adapted to the virus and made it her strength.
Meanwhile, Krauser's injury was bad enough that he was forced to leave the army, and suddenly disappeared not too long later, believed to be dead.
Days later, within the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Natasha was seen finalizing some reports regarding the recent Veronica Incident.
"I shouldn't have to be doing this," Natasha lamented.
"It's not a lot of work, you're just detailing vital information," Tony said from right beside her. "Besides, we need all the information we can get on this virus. Given that this is the second time it popped up, we kind of have a reason to worry."
"I guess," Natasha said. She then spotted a semi familiar face coming over. "Have I seen you before?"
"A few times, I'm Carlos Oliviera," the man said.
"Oh right, you teamed up with Jill Valentine and Spider-Man to escape Raccoon City," Natasha said.
"That's right, both Gambit and his girl Applejack were there too," Carlos said. "It was nuts."
"Carlos comes by from time to time, he likes keeping in check with all the happenings that goes on," Tony said. "At least regarding B.O.W.s."
"I still can't believe it happened in my home country," Carlos said.
"Well believe it, this thing is getting worldwide," Tony said. "Not just America, but hitting places like England, South America, and even Antartica will open some eyes. Soon, it will be a lot harder to ignore."
"Not that it should have been in the first place," Natasha said.
"Hey, don't worry, that's what guys like me are for," Carlos said. "Chris Redfield's got plans of his own. He wants to start his own anti B.O.W. Agency."
"I will do what I can do fund it," Tony said. "I will not allow Umbrella's cruel legacy to continue."
"Good to hear," Natasha said. "By the way, how is Manuela doing?"
"She's recovering well," Tony said. "I think you and Leon should be able to visit her soon."
"I hope so, after Sherry, both Leon and I were kind of concerned about the government watching over anyone with the virus in their blood," Natasha said. "According to Clint, it seems like Claire' been quite vocal about this too. Especially after she found out about Manuela."
"I'd like to check on this girl too," Carlos said. "You know, just to comfort her. In my own way."
Tony scoffed at this remark, "I don't blame you for saying this, but now isn't the best time for that."
"Honestly, how desperate are you?" Natasha asked.
"Hey, I see a pretty girl, and I'm interested," Carlos said as he amped up his Spanish accent. "By the way Natasha, any chance you're not too busy later?"
Natasha rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Kak zhalko."
"...Is that a no? Or yes?" Carlos asked.
"Just...come with me my friend," Tony said as he led Carlos away.
Natasha continued doing her research as she glanced back at the files beside her. She expected to have to team with Leon and Chun-Li again, but she knew that Krauser was not going to happen.
"That poor man, he served his country well," Natasha said. "At least, he got an honorable discharge, I just hope that wherever he is, he's doing okay."
Elsewhere, Krauser was seen walking toward a base...a lot going through the man's mind.
"The life I lived was just a lie. And now, endless possibilities of a new world are right at my fingertips. You told me you wanted to destroy the virus. Every last trace of it. You say it's the right thing to do." As he entered the base, he passed through some corridors. "But do you truly believe that, Leon? That girl proves that it's a gift! She showed how just strong, powerful and in complete control she was! If I can harness its power, I can rule the world! Leon, Natasha, Chun-Li, cowards like you have no place in this new era. You will fall into mediocrity while I am reborn!"
Krauser stopped before a door, opening it slowly to greet those in the room.
"This moment marks my rebirth, for the darkness within me has awoken."
In the room were the trio of Sephiroth, Juri Han, and Albert Wesker, each of them gesturing to a seat.
"Welcome, my friend," Wesker said.
With a sinister laugh to himself, Krauser relished in the upcoming opportunities he would receive, and the new world he could possibly help create for himself.