"Orders, ma'am?" Hard Rain asked. She had her gun trained on Alice, who was grinning like a loon. "Wipe that smile off your face," she snapped.
"Or what, you'll shoot me?" Alice asked.
"You knocked me on my ass!" Hard Rain pointed out. "You're damn lucky I don't shoot you just for that!"
"Stand down, Rain," Jill ordered. "Alice is with us now. She's not our prisoner." Alice smiled, then tapped her ear, then mimed typing at a keyboard. "…Also, since we were just subject to a cyberattack that compromised our computer systems, we need to remove our earpieces, in case the Red Queen herself gets compromised."
One 2 narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the change in protocol regarding Project Alice, but he nodded. Orders were orders, after all. "Affirmative." He removed his earpiece, as did Hard Rain and Carlos III.
The other soldiers, the ones with helmets on, all touched the sides of their helmets — where their earpieces, not so easily removable, were located — simultaneously, receiving new orders. "Oh shit," Alice muttered.
"Compromised!" Jill shouted, opening fire. The clone trio exchanged a quick, indecisive look, then decided to follow their leader and attack the helmeted soldiers. Ada, spying on the proceedings from within the crawlspace beneath the demolished house, opened fire as well. Within moments, the last of the helmeted soldiers had fallen.
The clone trio all proceeded to train their guns on Jill and Alice. "We weren't really compromised, were we?" Hard Rain asked. "It's you who's been compromised, Valentine."
"Point of order, she was brainwashed for a decade," Alice pointed out. "If anything, she's become uncompromised."
Hard Rain snorted. "Bullshit."
Ada walked up, gun pointed at the clones, Becky trailing behind her. "It's true. The scarab device supplants your will with a personality much more inclined to Umbrella's point of view. It's slavery, pure and simple."
"If that's true, how come we don't have those scarab devices?" Carlos III asked.
"Because of your cloney nature," Alice said. "The loyalty to Umbrella comes pre-programmed. But that's the best part, really — you can still exercise your free will. Rise above your dark nature, all that good stuff."
One 2 considered this. "You instantly picked up on the fact that we're clones. Did you meet other clones with our faces?"
Alice opened her mouth… then stopped. Holy shit, were One 1, Carlos I, and her Rain clones? There was really no way for her to know for sure, was there? Not like it mattered, anyway. They were still people, clones or not! "…I met others with your faces, yes. One, I only knew the other you for a few hours, but you really cared about your teammates and once you found out the monsters Umbrella was growing in its secret lab, you agreed with me that it'd be bad to want to be onboard with all their monster shit. I dunno, you were kind of like the cooler older brother I never had… which I never could have had since I'm a clone too, hahaha." One had a pensive look on his face as he processed Alice's words.
"What about me?" Carlos III asked. "What was the other me like?"
"Tremendously big heart," Alice said. "Umbrella abandoned you and your teammates, and you fought like hell to get them to safety, and a bunch of civilians to boot. You eventually married one of your teammates, and died so that they could live."
Carlos III smirked. "Was she pretty?"
Alice awkwardly grinned. "Uh… yeah, for sure, the prettiest," she said. Maybe this Carlos wasn't gay, or bi, or whatever? No need to go into that little detail here in front of everyone.
On reflection, Kaplan was pretty, Alice thought.
Hard Rain had a dour look on her face. "I don't give a shit about the other me you knew," she spat. "If you all want to turn traitor, good for you. Just gives me more targets to shoot at." She primed the grenade launcher on her rifle just to show she meant business.
Alice nodded. "Okay, you don't want to turn traitor, fine. You're just like the other Rain — extremely loyal."
Hard Rain bared her teeth. "I said I didn't want to hear about that other bitch," she warned.
"Okay, noted," Alice said. "Let me ask you something — what has Umbrella done to earn your loyalty? Are they loyal to you? Do they even do anything for you?"
"Three hots and a cot. A gun. My gear. I get to shoot people sometimes." She gave a humorless grin. "I'm living the dream."
"You know, if you switched sides, you'd have a whole lot more people to shoot at," Alice pointed out. This argument actually seemed to have some sway with Hard Rain, as a thoughtful look crossed her face. "But is that really all you want out of life? Don't you want art? Music? Laughter? Love?"
Hard Rain shrugged. "Every now and then I get a titty mag. That seems to do the trick, for the most part."
"Does that titty mag tell you that the day you touched yourself to the centerfold was the happiest day of its life? Does it know all the cute little sounds you make in your sleep? Has it ever wrapped its arms around you and kissed you on the back of your neck when you're having a nightmare? Did you kiss that titty mag and have your soul bound to it forever in a mystical experience that created a magical storm of wind and lightning?"
Hard Rain was actually more affected by Alice's words than she thought she'd be… until that last bit of insane bullshit. "Lady, what in the fuck."
Alice sighed. "Never fails. The biggest drawback to making new friends is that I have to once again explain that the magic of true love is real."
Hard Rain scowled, a favorite expression of hers it seemed. "Are you trying to tell me… that you and… other me… are in some kind of relationship?"
Alice gave her that awkward "Michael Scott dating Pam's mom" smile. "Sweetie, we're married."
Hard Rain raised the gun up, aiming it right at Alice's face. "If you think you're gonna get all handsy with me—" she angrily began.
"No!" Alice said. "You're not her, don't you get it? You are your own individual self, with your own unique wants and experiences and goals and… and everything! Just like all my clones! They were all different from me in so many big and little ways!" Alice sighed. "Look, shoot me in the face if it's emotionally fulfilling to you, okay? Go right ahead. But can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me you want to spend the rest of your life like this? You've never once gone to your bunk after a long day of killing and couldn't even look at your titty mag because, in the most secret part of your heart, you knew that there could be so much more than this? This is your chance to find out the answer."
Hard Rain glared at her for a long moment. "What if it doesn't work out?" she asked in a small voice.
"If it doesn't work out, that means you tried," Alice said. "And just trying means you've already succeeded." Hard Rain looked dubious. "…Okay, if it doesn't work out, you can shoot me square in the face," Alice said, grinning.
The woman with the face of her beloved finally lowered her gun, seemingly satisfied with that possibility, but still had a doubtful look on her face. "Alright. I guess I'm with you… for now."
"Great!" Alice said, stepping forward.
A knife appeared in Hard Rain's hands almost like magic. "You hug me, this goes into your stomach."
Alice backed off. "Fair!"
XXX
The six of them made their way into the next part of the facility, a subway in Fake Moscow. They heard footsteps behind them and turned around.
"Hey!" Soft Rain said. "You two made it! And you found others!" She ran up and embraced Alice, whose eyes were wide open in utter surprise. This definitely wasn't her Rain, either. She went to hug Becky, then looked at the rest of the team… and her enthusiasm dried up seeing her body double standing there, looking ready to kill. "Hey, what the heck is this?" she said, confused.
"You two must be long lost twins," Becky said. She looked up at Alice and gave her a pointed look. "Right, aunt Alice?"
"We're clones, you twit," Hard Rain snapped at her sunnier half.
"W-what?" Soft Rain shook her head. "None of this makes sense." She turned around and waved a hand at one of the signs. "And why is everything in Russian?"
"Look, we can go into the nitty gritty of everything later," Alice said. "In the meantime, you'll need this." She handed Soft Rain one of her SMGs.
Soft Rain gave the gun a distasteful look. "…I campaigned for gun control."
Alice walked up and pressed the gun into her hands. "Well, here's your chance to control the hell out of this gun," she said.
Soft Rain nervously chuckled. "I don't think you understand — I marched against the NRA!"
"Oh, good news there, they don't exist anymore!" Alice pointed out. "But seriously, this is a postapocalyptic 'monsters are everywhere' situation, so either learn to shoot or else find a bottle of barbecue sauce so that at least the monsters will have something to dunk your flesh into after they tear it off your mangled carcass."
Soft Rain gulped. "Gosh, when you put it that way…" She held the gun the way Alice showed her, aimed it at a nearby pillar, and squeezed off a quick burst, amazed at all the bullets managing to hit.
Alice smiled in approval. "I guess that goes to show that all Rains are asskickers!" Hard Rain snorted in derision.
Gunfire could be heard in the distance. "I think that's our rendezvous," Ada pointed out.
"I better go save their asses," Alice said. "You all wait here. Send someone if I'm not back in, like, ten minutes."
"You're going?" Becky asked.
Alice nodded. "I have to help some friends of mine. They're in danger. But these people are my friends too, and they'll look after you until I get back."
Becky nodded. "I love you," she said, holding the sign up in the air for an extended period of time.
"I love you too," Alice said with a big sappy grin, mirroring the sign before running off.
She grabbed the first car she saw — a big-ass luxury sedan with LED lights on the undercarriage and spinning rims. "Okay, first time ever behind the wheel, let's see how I do," Alice muttered to herself, buckling up and flooring it. She kept the window down to better listen for the sounds of gunfire, and within moments saw three men on the sidewalk, pouring automatic weapons fire into a goddamn super licker. Fuck, judging by the size of it, it was a super-duper-licker. Alice slammed into it at top speed, sending it hurtling through a store window.
Alice leaned out the window. "Hey, clockmaker!" she called to Luther. "You and your buddies get your ass in this car!"
They piled in and Alice took off. "Oh, I know you!" Alice said, glancing in the rearview mirror. "Leon Kennedy! You met my wife in Raccoon!" A confused look appeared on his face. "Well, she was my fiancee at the time. Rain Ocampo?"
It all came back to him. The police station… Irons… and 'Jill Valentine', a.k.a. the dead girl that had saved Claire Redfield. "My God, I'd forgotten all about that!" Leon said. "I'd almost dismissed it as a stress hallucination or something! Uh… how is she?"
Alice shrugged. "Dunno. Kidnapped by Umbrella years ago now, I guess. Maybe she's still ambulatory? I try not to think about it." She turned to the other guy in the backseat. "And you are?"
"Barry Burton," Barry said. "Ex-Raccoon City STARS."
"Oh, neat!" Alice said, recognizing the name. "Hey, I just rescued Jill Valentine a few minutes ago from her decade of brainwashing, I'm sure she'll be glad to see a friendly face!"
"Jill?" Barry said, stunned. "That really is great news!"
Alice turned to Luther. "Hey, so, how did y'all get out of the prison? I don't know how much you know…"
"We got out a day or two after you left…" Luther began.
XXX
Five years ago…
They'd gotten the radio message half an hour ago: Arcadia was ready to send a helicopter to pick them up. Luther, Crystal, and Angel all waiting on the roof with bags of guns and any other belongings they didn't wish to leave behind. From out west, they saw it, growing larger and larger: the same model of helicopter they'd seen two dozen of fly overhead the day Alice had left, followed shortly after by a bizarre flickering sphere of light suspended over the ocean for a few moments.
The space on the rooftop had been cleared and properly marked off this time, and the helicopter landed much less dramatically than Alice had managed. The rear hatch opened and several people came out to help load up the bags. One of them stopped as he saw Luther. "Oh, no fuckin' way," he said. "No fuckin' way Luther fuckin' West is still alive."
Luther smiled at the novelty of meeting a fan of his in the zombie apocalypse. He held out his hand and smiled. "Hey, no pictures alright?" he joked.
"Fuck you, I don't want no goddamn picture!" LJ shouted. "You owe me two thousand fuckin' dollars!"
"…Come again?" Luther asked, taken aback.
"What was it, eight or nine years ago? When you were still in college basketball? March Madness! Your team was the sure bet, and I put down two grand on your ass! And what did you go and do? Sprain your goddamn ankle in the first two minutes of the game! What kinda bullshit was that?!" LJ was really getting himself worked up.
Luther was recoiling from the verbal assault when Betty stormed out of the craft. "Lloyd Jefferson, I know you're not screaming at this poor man for something that happened a decade ago that he had no control over! And it's your own damn fault you gambled your money away! What do you think he can do about it, pay you back? With what?"
LJ looked even more intimidated than Luther had been. "…I'm sorry, Bets," he finally said. He turned to Luther. "Hey, man, look, I'm sorry to you too. I saw your face and it was like I was back in Vegas watching the game up on the big screen. Just set me off, is all."
"Hey, man, it's nothing," Luther assured him. "It's kinda nice getting mad at something besides 'Will the zombies break in today?' or 'How are we going to eat when the food runs out?", so I get it." They shook hands.
XXX
Alice roared with laughter. "I fucking love LJ!" she cheered. "Hey, who piloted the helicopter?"
"Oh!" Luther said. "Uh… it was Bennett."
"Reeeeeeeally?" Alice asked, smug-ass look on her face.
"Yeah…" Luther muttered.
"Was he a big asshole like usual?" Alice asked.
"…No," Luther finally admitted. "He was still an asshole, only… less of one."
Alice could tell he was holding back. "…Aaaaaaaand?"
"…He was showing this girl, K-Mart — she said she knew you — how to fly the thing," Luther went on. "He was… he was actually really patient with her. …Nice, even." He looked like he'd just won a lemon-eating contest, the look on his face was so sour.
"Ah, nothing sweeter than the knowledge that I was right," Alice said, smiling. Her smile faded as she asked: "…Um, did you go check out the Nevada base?"
Luther nodded. "We did that a day or two after. We… didn't find any survivors. The bodies we did find all looked like you, though, so maybe your friend Rebecca made it out."
"Yeah," Alice said, her jaw clenched. "Maybe." She opened her mouth to ask how the Arcadia and her prison friends were doing now, when suddenly the rear window of the car imploded as fresh gunfire broke out behind them. "What the shit now?" Alice snapped, seeing several trucks and motorbikes pursuing them. "Don't tell me those are zombies with guns," Alice grimaced.
"Okay, I won't tell you," Luther said.
"This is FUCKING BULLSHIT!" Alice roared as she skidded into a sharp turn.
XXXXXXXXXX
So yeah, Alice befriends Hard Rain! It would have felt odd calling her 'Evil Rain' with her and Alice becoming the best of buds, hahaha.
Fun fact about Soft Rain, her car from early on in the movie has a bunch of hippy-dippy shit on and in it, including various beads, a dreamcatcher, stickers of a bunch of leaves, and other stickers with slogans like "Alpha Female", "Don't Eat Meat" (gotta love the irony!), "Wheat Germ Saves Lives", and a RAINBOW HEART, so you can take from THAT what you will.
Remember LJ in Extinction talking about how he lost $2,000 in Las Vegas? I thought it'd be incredibly funny to have Luther indirectly responsible for that.
Originally, the pilot in the flashback was going to be K-Mart (I would have mentioned the Arcadia group finding a memory machine which allowed her to upload pilot skills), then changed it to Fran from Dawn of the Dead (continuing the Easter egg of the WGON helicopter showing up in InRA), but Rainer_Frost on AO3 mentioned thinking Bennett was the pilot and I realized that works out SO MUCH BETTER for a few small, yet significant, reasons.
Alice does NOT like the idea of zombies with guns. It's just no fair!