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Convergence

(Part One of DC/Resident Evil Convergence)

(This takes place not long after Infinite Darkness, but before the Nightmares DLC. DC/RE crossover. If you want to read it on Ao3 instead of here, here's the link. If you wanna keep reading it on here, it's below the keep reading.)

(Summary: Albert Wesker found what he thought was a way to destroy all of his opposition. He gets all of them together and when he fires the machine, it sends them along with what appears to be a completely rebuilt Raccoon City to Gotham City.

Meanwhile, Gotham is dealing with their own problems. Riddler, Bane, and Scarecrow have decided to join forces and are terrorising the city.

Now all of them have to deal with this new reality while trying to find a way home.)

(Leon)

Leon pushes the Jeep as fast as it can go, heading toward the remains of Raccoon City.

It’s been cut off from the rest of the world by the US Government, but leave it to Claire to get past that to help people. Fuck. Why couldn’t I have just told her everything so she wouldn’t do this?

Leon sees the giant fence that was put up to keep people out. He stops the Jeep right in front of the gate and fumbles with his keycard for a moment before putting it into the mechanical lock. It takes a minute, but the gate swings open. He puts the card back in his wallet, then pulls his gun and heads in. As he walks through the remains of Raccoon City, memories that he’d rather kept gone start flashing through his mind. All of the reports that he read about the death count and what the virus had done to those people. Marvin, the gun store owner, the gun store owner’s daughter, who was already turning by the time they got there.

They .

Him and Ada going through the sewers to get to Annette.

He stops in front of what’s left of the orphanage, where Sherry was held hostage by the Chief. Claire told him about it the night after they escaped. That the Chief killed that woman then… He shakes his head and goes inside. Walking through the crumbling halls, he hears movement. He keeps turning corners slowly, trying to avoid running headfirst into a situation that he definitely doesn’t want to be in.

There’s nobody there as he turns each corner, a bad feeling creeping up his spine. When he opens the last door, he sees what remains of a zombie, half melted and the other half looking worse. He shuts the door so he doesn’t throw up, the original fear from Raccoon City crawling all over his body.

Knock this off, Kennedy. You think that this long dealing with bioweapons would make you immune to this.

He keeps walking, cautious but quick. He has to find Claire before it’s too late. The closer he gets to the station, the tighter his chest feels. He has to keep reminding himself to breathe, which he hasn’t had to do in a while. He sees the hole in the road that led down to the old Umbrella base. Barely recognizes it with the dozen other gaping craters in the ground, but he spots what’s left of the grate that he went in, tucked far enough under stuff to be left mostly untouched. He gets to the police station’s entrance and hesitates.

Can’t let the nerves get to me. I’m too old for this; it’s been too long. Nobody could possibly be left here, mutated freak or not.

Leon takes a deep breath, then opens the doors of the RPD. His breath catches when he sees the destroyed Main Hall, the goddess statue standing decapitated, and the back wall which has been blown off. He stops in front of what’s left of the goddess statue. He feels this ache in his chest, like the rest of him just realized about the part of him he left here. How he wished that he could be the man he was before coming here. Everything was so simple, and there was no government to tell him how he could live his life.

But that would mean no Claire or Sherry. Yeah, not worth it in the long run, is it?

He hears something behind him, so he turns. Claire’s in the doorway to the police station, but she’s heading out. He runs toward her, sure that he’s imagining her. He gets out the door and she’s a few yards away.

“What are you doing here, Claire?” Leon shouts, running over.

“I got an email from the BSAA saying that they lost Chris and Jill out here,” Claire answers, “What are you doing out here? Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Leon barely keeps himself from physically recoiling from the harshness of her tone.

I deserve this. I can’t tell her the truth, so what’s the point in acting otherwise?

“Claire?” Chris’ voice rings out in the hollow remains, so Leon and Claire both turn. Chris and Jill run toward the duo.

“What are you two doing here?” Jill asks.

“That’s a running theme for the afternoon,” Leon mutters, gaining him a dirty look from both women.

He raises his hands in surrender and Chris gets their attention back.

“I got an email from the BSAA that you two went missing here,” Claire repeats.

“TerraSave told us that you and others were close by and went missing, so we put two and two together,” Jill says.

The pang to his chest that even though they were clearly lured here, nobody came for him.

This is not the time to act like a little bitch. We have to get out of here before whatever lured us here comes out.

“We have to go,” Leon says, pulling his pistol again, “Clearly, we were all lied to and someone wanted us here.”

“Good thinking, Leon Kennedy.” All of them turn toward the sound of the voice, Chris and Jill raising their guns.

“Wesker,” Chris says.

Leon does vaguely recognize the blond man standing on the other side of the broken lobby from a picture that was in the S.T.A.R.S. office.

“You all are very easy to lure, I hope you know that. Throw out a little threat and you come running.” Wesker smiles directly at Leon, who points his gun at Wesker.

“Give it up!” Leon shouts, “You’re under arrest!”

Claire pulls her handgun at this point, pointing it at Wesker’s chest. Wesker folds his arms with his chest puffed out. Leon steadies his aim and is about to fire when Wesker pulls a trolley out from behind the goddess statue. He pulls the tablecloth off of the machine and it looks like a toddler put it together, pieces barely holding on by a thread.

“ That’s it ?” Chris asks.

Leon glances at Chris, not sure where the confidence in the machine’s inability came from.

“Is this like the Tyrant, Wesker?”

Wesker’s posture gets defensive, “That was a miscalculation. One that I will not make again.”

“Hands away from the machine, Wesker!” Jill calls out. “We will shoot!”

“Will you?” Jill shoots to the left of Wesker’s foot, but he doesn’t flinch. “I’m a god now, Jill. Your guns will do nothing to me. On the other hand, killing you all would have been such a pain. A waste of my time. I decided that the best course of action was to deal with you all in one swift blow.”

He picks his hand up to switch the machine on, to which Chris and Jill both shoot at him. He dodges so fast that Leon almost didn’t see it and he switches the machine on. A bright flash of light and Leon loses consciousness.

(Bruce)

Everyone sits down at the Wayne dining table with dinner set out. “How was everyone’s day?” Bruce asks after eating in silence for several minutes.

“Stephanie got in trouble at school today,” Jason answers, leaning back a little.

Bruce raises an eyebrow.

“Look, that girl deserved to be punched,” Stephanie says in her defense, “She called Tim a word I won’t repeat here at the table, and Tim can’t defend himself because she’s too dumb to understand that he’s insulting her.”

Tim and Jason snort, gaining them a glare from Bruce that doesn’t shut either of them up. Cass stabs her chicken with enough force to stab straight through it and clang on the plate. Tim and Jason stop laughing and turn toward Cass. She slits her eyes at them, so Jason raises his hands in surrender. She turns to look at Stephanie, who gives her a big smile. Cass nods, then goes back to her food.

“I think I should get out of trouble since Cass agrees with me,” Stephanie says.

Cass looks at Bruce, then shakes her head.

“Stephanie, I can’t punish you since you’re not my child,” Bruce says, “but there are better ways to resolve the conflict. Insult her in words that she understands as a way of translating for Tim.”

Stephanie sticks out her bottom lip, but nods.

“Thank you.”

“Where’s Dickhead?” Jason asks, “He’s not normally quite so late.”

“He’s not coming tonight,” Bruce answers. “He had something he had to attend to that couldn’t be postponed.”

“So Zatanna?” Jason asks, then gets elbowed by Tim.

A sharp intake of breath from Jason that sets off every alarm bell in Bruce’s head. Tim looks a little surprised, like he doesn’t know what to do.

“I don’t want questions,” Jason says, putting a hand over the spot.

“What happened?” Bruce asks.

“Okay, I’m getting questions. It was nothing.”

Damian walks in.

“Hey, where have you been, buddy?” Bruce asks.

“Getting back from Jonathan’s,” Damian answers. “You guys might want to check the TV. I’m going to get ready.”

Bruce gets up and before he has a chance to turn on the TV, his phone starts ringing. He sees Barbara’s name, which only means one thing. He answers, “Get ready. What’s the problem, Barbara?”

“Three of them. Riddler, Bane, and Scarecrow. They’re in different parts of the city, so you’ll have to split up.”

Bruce goes down and everyone’s getting dressed, except Damian, who’s at the Batcomputer.

“How are we splitting up?” Damian asks, turning to Bruce.

“Red, Orphan, and Spoiler will take part one. You and Hood will take part two. I’ll go after Riddler.”

Jason nods, “Is Dick…?”

Barbara pops up on the computer screen. “Nightwing’s on route. I was able to get in contact with him after talking to Robin.”

Once everyone’s ready, they split up. Bruce heads to Riddler’s area in the Batmobile. He starts solving the clues while hearing his children bickering in the background. Parent hearing for the win.

“Hiya, guys,” Dick’s voice says through the comms, “The villains just knew that I didn’t come to family dinner, so they’re punishing me.”

“I’m gonna punish you when we get back,” Jason replies.

“Whatever.”

“Focus, you two,” Barbara says.

“Sorry, Oracle,” Dick says. “I’m heading in Robin and Hood’s direction, right?”

“Yes,” Bruce answers. “I want you to make sure that Bane doesn’t get out of the area.”

“You got it. I’m five minutes out.”

“Good. Hood is not holding his own well.”

“I’m doing just fine.”

Bruce hears something snap on the other side. “Hood?”

“I’m fine,” Jason coughs.

“I’ll make it three.”

Bruce picks up the next clue, which says that it’s the final clue. “Finally,” Bruce mutters.

After figuring it out, he heads toward the location. Bruce jumps down to the next roof and lands with a thud. The next building is where he thinks Riddler is, based on the riddles that he’s left across this part of Gotham.

“Oracle, it’s time.”

“Everyone give me a status update,” Barbara says into comms.

“Do we have to?” Jason asks, gunshots heard in the distance.

“If you want me to give you snacks when you get back.”

“Well, shucks,” Jason says sarcastically, “Bane’s people are folding like cards. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Robin and I are handling the rest of Bane’s people alright,” Dick says, “He’s shouting for Bane to come out because ‘only little bitches hide behind henchmen’, but that has yet to work on Bane. It’s almost like he’s used to being taunted by someone in that outfit.”

“What?” Tim asks, all fake innocence, “I don’t remember calling him a bitch.”

“Nobody said that you did,” Dick replies, “How’s evacuating the people in Scarecrow’s area going?”

“Well, Orphan and Spoiler are working pretty well together to subdue the people already affected, but have basically left me to deal with the people that aren’t,” Tim answers, “I’m managing.”

“Spoiler, help Red with getting the people out,” Bruce says.

“Boo,” Stephanie says.

“Batman?” Barbara asks.

“I’ve located where Riddler is and I’m heading in,” Bruce replies, “I’ll let you guys know once I’ve gotten him into custody. Keep up the search for Bane and Scarecrow.”

A series of yes sirs echoes through the comm, so he jumps from the roof into the window of the building Riddler’s hiding in. Riddler’s standing there next to a machine. The machine looks like a rickety thing that might combust if you blow on it too hard. Bruce almost laughs at the ridiculousness of Riddler standing next to it , and looking at it like it’s the holy grail. Almost.

“I’ve finally done it, Batman,” Riddler says, “I’m about to create the perfect world. One where you and your annoying brats will be ancient history.”

“Nigma, give it up. We both know that won’t work,” Bruce growls, side eyeing the machine before returning his full attention to Riddler, “Don’t even think about it.”

Riddler steps toward the machine and Bruce throws a Batarang. It nails Riddler in the head, causing him to slump. Something causes Riddler to change trajectory and he lands on the handle of the machine before Bruce can stop him. The machine starts to vibrate, then an energy blast knocks Bruce through the wall behind him. He sees a bright flash of light before being knocked out.

(Dick)

I can’t believe that I lost Jason, Damian, and Bane.

A bright light flashes at the corner of Gotham, making Dick shield his eyes. Once the light dies down, he looks around. There’s buildings near where the light originated that were not there before. The comm is buzzing with chatter about the light and the buildings. Before he has a chance to do a head count, his comm beeps. He switches the channel.

“Hey, sexy,” Zatanna voice purrs through the comm.

Dick ducks behind a wall so that his family won’t notice the flush that just hit his cheeks if they happen to show up.

“Hey, Zee. I’m actually really busy right now,” Dick says.

“Aww,” she says and he can almost see the pout.

“I know. I know that we had plans, but something huge just hit Gotham. Actually, can you come this way? It may be some magic that we could use some help understanding.”

“I’m not busy,” Zatanna replies, “I guess I can make a house call for you.”

Dick laughs, “Thanks, my love.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Where should I meet you?”

“Cave will work fine. Thanks again.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you.”

The line drops, so he switches back to the family’s channel.

They’re questioning where I am. So much for being subtle.

“I’m fine,” Dick says, “Just had to take a call. Also, Zatanna’s on her way to figure out how a city appeared out of nowhere.”

“You were taking a booty call while we’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on?” Jason asks.

“No, I was not,” Dick answers immediately.

Damian sighs while it sounds like Tim’s laughing with his mouth covered. Stephanie’s laughing.

“Are you still with Bane?” Dick asks.

“No, he disappeared,” Jason answers. “Robin blames me.”

“You fell into me,” Damian hisses.

The laughter renews and Dick realizes that something’s missing.

“Wait, where’s Dad?” Dick asks.

The line gets completely silent.

“Batman?” Barbara asks.

Pure panic courses through Dick’s veins and he bolts toward the place where the bright light came from.

“Nightwing, don’t do something stupid!” Barbara exclaims, but Dick can barely hear her.

He gets to a completely destroyed building, right next to where the new city is, and starts digging through the rubble.

“Come on, Dad,” he pleads, “Please be fine.”

“Nightwing.”

He turns and Bruce is standing a couple feet away, leaning against the wall for support. Dick runs over, stumbling a bit.

“Are you okay?” he asks, “What’s hurt?”

“My knees are giving out on me a bit. Where’s Riddler?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. Where’s the Batmobile?”

“On route,” Barbara answers. “Two minutes.”

Dick gets one of Bruce’s arms over his shoulder and starts taking his weight.

“We need to find Riddler. He set off this machine–”

“We know what it did, and we’ve got it covered. You’re going back to the Cave to wait for Leslie.”

Bruce goes to argue, but Dick shuts him up with a look. The Batmobile shows up and Dick helps him in.

“Take care of them,” Bruce says.

Dick nods, “I will.”

Bruce nods as the door shuts. Once the Batmobile drives off, he returns his attention to comms. Everyone’s asking if Bruce is okay.

“Okay, Batman’s fine and going to get medical attention. Zatanna’s on her way, but we need to assess if there’s any threats in the city that could bleed into Gotham. We also still need to find Riddler, Scarecrow, and Bane. I want all of you to return to looking for them. I’m going to hit the streets and see what I can scope out. I’m trusting you guys to split up and look for them.”

“Dick,” Barbara says, her voice softer.

“I’m fine,” he assures her, “As my oldest friend, I need you to trust me on that.”

“Okay. I’ll coordinate the search. Keep me posted.”

“I will.”

The streets are empty and Dick starts to get on edge when he hears voices. He drops down and sees a giant sign that says the building where the voices are coming from is the R.P.D., Raccoon City Police Department. He walks in and there are four people, three of which are up and yelling at each other. The one on the ground, a man who looks to be in his twenties, looks like he needs medical attention.

“Hey!” Dick shouts, gaining the attention of the three along with three guns pointed at him. “Really? You want to point guns at me instead of helping your friend?”

One of the women, the younger of the two, glances at the man and then back at Dick. “Who are you?”

“Nightwing. I’m a vigilante in the city that yours crashed into.”

“Crashed into?”

“Your city hit ours like a truck. Smashed like seven buildings in the process. The buildings were abandoned, so there’s nothing to worry about. That’s not the point. What do you all know about what’s going on?”

“Wesker said that machine was supposed to kill us, not send all of Raccoon City somewhere else. He also didn’t say that it would rebuild the entire city.”

“Who’s Wesker?”

Before they have a chance to answer, the man on the floor starts getting up.

“Kennedy, knock that off,” the older woman says, kneeling down.

“Names, please,” Dick says.

“Chris Redfield,” the standing man says, “This is my sister Claire. The other woman is Jill Valentine and the guy on the floor is Leon Kennedy.”

Dick nods, “He needs medical attention?”

“We dealt with the majority of it,” Chris answers. “The only problem is that we can’t know if he has any brain damage.”

“You have brain damage, Redfield,” Leon snaps, pushing Jill off.

“What happened?” Chris asks.

“Wesker happened. We were the first to wake up and he got the jump on me.”

Dick walks over and Leon goes for his holster. When he doesn’t find his gun, he seems to completely stop. Dick stops with his hands slightly raised.

“It’s okay, he can’t hurt you,” Claire says, “We disarmed him completely.”

Leon pulls his knees up and messes with the sole of his shoe. He pulls a small blade out and shows it to Claire.

“Got caught like that already. Planned properly. Who’s he?”

“I’m Nightwing. We should get you to a doctor, then figure this whole thing out.”

Leon shakes his head, seeming to be looking around for the first time. Dick watches Leon’s breath hitch.

“I’m gonna contact my people,” Dick says. “Let you guys figure that out.”

(Chris)

Jill and Claire start talking while Chris does a standard test to check Leon’s mental state.

“What were you doing?” Chris asks as he puts his pen light away.

“What?” Leon asks.

“Wesker got the jump on you? You didn’t mention fighting back at all.”

Leon sighs, “I did fight back, he just got too many hits in for me to be able to stop him.”

Chris raises an eyebrow.

“I was checking on Claire. There was a desk on her leg and I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t hurt.”

The understanding must have been visible on Chris’ face because Leon puts a hand on Chris’ chest and pushes him. Chris puts his hand behind him to stop himself from falling, a small smile on his face.

Leon cracks a smile, “I’m fine, Redfield. Leave it alone.”

Chris nods, getting up. He offers Leon his hand and Leon takes it. Chris pulls him up and he tilts a little, but catches himself.

Nightwing walks back in, “My people are on their way. They managed to find one of the bad guys that we were going after, but the other two managed to slip away. We’ve got someone that’s almost here that’ll do her best to fix the situation.”

“Talking about me, pretty boy?” a voice says from the doorway.

Chris turns his attention to the door and there’s a woman with black hair dressed like a magician.

“Hey, Zee,” Nightwing says.

She goes over and gives him a kiss on the cheek, then walks away, her hand brushing all along his chest and shoulder before walking over to Jill. Nightwing looks a little red in the face, a sentiment that Chris sympathizes with.

“Everyone, this is Zatanna. She’s the person I was talking about that’ll hopefully know how to fix this.”

“I need you to stand very still,” Zatanna says to Jill.

Jill nods, though she’s tense. Zatanna keeps her hand several inches from Jill’s head and she says some words that Chris doesn’t understand. Her eyebrows furrow and Jill loosens up a little. Chris closes the distance between him and Jill in an instant.

Zatanna’s looking the two of them over. “Working relationship?” she asks with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

Jill nods.

Zatanna turns to Nightwing, “We have a problem. Something that we’ll have to deal with once we’ve dealt with the threats.”

Before Nightwing has a chance to respond, he puts his finger near his ear.

Communication device of some sort, I’m sure.

“What does your Wesker look like?” Nightwing asks.

Chris gives a short description, not liking the feeling that’s settling in his chest.

“Red Hood and Robin apprehended him and sent him toward Arkham,” Nightwing says.

“What?” Jill asks. “They got him?”

Nightwing nods, “They said he had some sort of powers, which is why he’s going to Arkham. We’ve been dealing with people with powers for a while now, so we know how to deal with them quickly and safely.”

Chris lets out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding while Jill visibly relaxes.

“So it’s over?” Leon asks. “We grill him and figure out what the hell he did?”

Chris turns and Leon’s leaning against a wall, Claire not too far from him.

What went on between those two? She hasn’t said anything to him the entire time that we’ve been here, has she?

“You guys can question him once he’s settled in his cell at Arkham. We don’t want to risk him getting out and creating a bigger problem than he ever would have been alone.”

After half an hour, three people came in. All male and all dressed in the same ridiculous manner.

“Bane’s been returned to Arkham?” Nightwing asks the little one, who genuinely looks like he can’t have hit puberty yet.

“Yes, he has been. He was not happy about it, but I don’t think that man has ever been happy about anything. I wouldn't be happy either if I was beat by someone four times smaller than me and over ten years younger than me.”

The one with a helmet snorts, the sound odd coming through a voice filter that must be in his mask.

“Thanks, bud,” Nightwing says. “Shut up, Hood.”

“Whatever.”

Nightwing turns toward Chris. “Little one is Robin. Red Robin is the one without the helmet and Red Hood is the one with the helmet.”

“We should go,” Zatanna says.

Red Robin nods. Zatanna says some more words, then a bright spot appears in the middle of the R.P.D.

“Portal,” she says, “It’s perfectly safe.”

She walks in, then walks back with a smile. They all head through the portal and Chris does a head count. Once everyone is accounted for, they head into what looks like an abandoned warehouse. The inside looks like the inside of a magician’s store. Zatanna picks up a hat and trades it for the one she’s wearing.

“It’ll help me channel the energy of the Multiverse,” she says in the direction of Gotham’s heroes.

She walks right up to Chris and holds out her hand. He holds his out and she takes it. She says something else he can’t understand, then starts glowing. It takes everything in Chris not to recoil. The glow fades and she opens her eyes.

“It’s what I thought.”

“What?” Nightwing asks.

“They’re not even from our Multiverse. I have no way to get them home.”

Red Hood leans against the wall of the lair, “So they’re stuck here and we’re stuck with their city?”

Zatanna nods, then turns toward them. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

Leon shakes his head, “You did everything you could. Thank you.”

“I have to head home,” Zatanna says to Nightwing, “I’ll call you.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he replies with a wink.

Red Hood sighs loudly, sounding more like static than anything else. Nightwing turns and sticks his tongue out at Red Hood.

“We have to figure out what we’re doing here,” Red Robin says, waving his hands at them.

“Right,” Nightwing replies. “We can’t just have a bunch of stuff going on with a whole ‘nother city.”

“We can take care of our own place,” Chris says, “We did a fine job of it before. With Leon and Claire in the mix, we’ll be more than able.”

“Are you sure?” Robin asks, sounding skeptical.

Jill nods, “If any of your guys come in our direction, we’ll let you know.”

(Jason)

Jason watches as Dick goes through rules with the Raccoon City people, what they should and shouldn’t try to handle.

Personally, I think that we should just let them do their own thing. They clearly seem to know what they’re talking about. Dickhead’s protective of civilians that think they know what they’re up against.

“Do you guys need a place to stay for a while?” Dick asks. “We have a safehouse you guys can stay in if you need.”

Chris shakes his head, “Jill and I have apartments in Raccoon City, so Claire can stay with me and Leon can stay with Jill.”

Jill nods, “That’s a fine arrangement.”

“We’ll take you to the border, then let you guys figure it out from there then,” Tim says.

Chris nods, “Thank you guys again.”

“Anytime,” Dick promises. “We’re stuck with each other for a while anyway.”

Jason rolls his eyes, but pushes himself off of the wall. “Let’s go then.”

They head out, then head toward Raccoon City. They drop the four of them off in Raccoon City, then head home. When they get to the Batcave, Bruce is there with Cass.

“How did it go?” Bruce asks.

“We got the new people back to their city,” Jason says as he pulls his helmet off, “They seem sure that they’ll manage, so I’m interested in seeing.”

Dick shrugs, leaning against the desk the Batcomputer’s on. “You guys should head to bed,” Bruce says. “You all have early mornings.”

Tim, Cass, and Damian nod, then head upstairs.

“Bruce, you let Riddler escape,” Jason says with a laugh. “The Riddler .”

“I cannot be held responsible for that,” Bruce replies, “He ripped a hole in reality and it knocked me through a wall.”

“Dad is not responsible,” Dick says, rage burning in his gaze so Jason drops it with an eye-roll.

“You can go home, Dick,” Bruce says, “We’ll be alright here.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Dick replies. “I will see you guys next Friday. Call if you need me.”

“We will,” Bruce promises.

Dick nods, then heads back out on his bike.

“Can you make sure that Tim and Damian went to bed?”

Jason nods. He finishes changing, then walks upstairs. Tim’s door is open, so he’s definitely not getting ready for bed. Damian’s door is shut, but he can hear him talking. It sounds like it’s in Arabic, so it’s probably his mother. Jason knocks on Tim’s open door. Tim looks up from his book. Jason folds his arms and leans against the doorframe.

“I’m going to bed now.”

“I’m gonna come back and make sure.”

Tim groans and puts his book on his bedside table.

“Thank you.”

“Get out of my room, Jason. Turn the lights off while you’re at it.”

Jason flips the lights off, then shuts the door. He goes to his room to get some shut eye before he has to get up for class.

(Leon)

The walk to the cars is silent, all of them too caught up in their thoughts to make conversation. They walk to the station and take two of the cars that are reserved for S.T.A.R.S. Leon gives Chris and Claire a wave before getting into the passenger’s seat. Jill explains where everything is as they drive, giving Leon an unofficial tour of Raccoon City as they drive to her apartment. People are out and about now, seeming to have realized that they’re no longer dead or undead. Leon watches out the window, mostly at the people, who seem to be unphased by everything.

“They probably don’t remember anything,” Jill says, breaking Leon from his thoughts. “We’ll have to do some things tomorrow. Chief Irons is probably still around and he needs to be arrested.”

“Yeah, he killed that girl.”

“What girl?” Jill asks, stopping to look at Leon when the light turns red so she has to stop.

Leon opens his mouth, then closes it. “There was this woman. Claire didn’t know who she was, but he murdered her and taxidermied her. She was in the orphanage with Sherry.”

“I’ll call it in so that the night crew can send someone,” Jill says.

The light turns green, so she keeps going. They get to her apartment and park. Leon grabs his backpack out of the back and gets out.

“I’m glad that you still have your things.”

“I don’t leave home without the essentials. I never know when I’ll be forced to move.”

Jill nods, then leads him up to her apartment. She pulls the mailbox up and there’s a key hidden there. She uses it to open the door, then motions for him to go in. Leon walks in and she shuts the door behind her.

“I don’t have a guest room, so you can–”

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Leon says, “I plan on getting an apartment as soon as I can. I don’t want to burden you for longer than I have to.”

Jill grabs his wrist and he turns to look at her. “I don’t know what happened, but you need to stop pushing us away, Kennedy.”

Leon pulls his wrist away, her words burning. “You don’t understand, Jill. You can’t. I can’t.”

“We aren’t even in the same universe anymore. You have to understand how ridiculous you’re being.”

Leon sits down on the couch and stares at the floor, hoping to disappear.

I can’t tell Jill. She won’t be safe then.

After several minutes of silence, Jill sighs and heads into her room. She throws a blanket and pillow at Leon’s head, which he just lets hit him. She goes back into her room and shuts the door. She doesn’t slam it, just shuts it.

Honestly, that might be worse. At least if she slammed it, it would seem like she cared. No time to worry about that right now.

Leon leaves the pillow and blanket on the floor where they landed, then lays down. He pulls his phone out and unsurprisingly doesn’t have signal. He gets on his saved videos and turns on one of them, then drops his phone onto his chest. He closes his eyes and listens to the video, unable to sleep but content like this.

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crimsonwolf715 · 2 months ago

Text

Christmas Reunion

(Part 9 of Resident Evil 2 Family Stories)

(Sorry for the long ass wait on this. Kept forgetting to post it *rolls eyes*. I've had such a good time writing this series and I keep forgetting to post it. Things happen, I guess.)

Claire gets to the payphone and quickly dials Leon’s number. It rings all the way, then goes to voicemail. She tries calling the house phone and someone answers on the last ring.

“Hello? This is the Kennedy household,” a female voice says.

“Umm… Where are the Kennedys?” Claire asks.

“At the hospital. Leon’s job apparently caught up with him and he’s been there for the last two days. I’m just house sitting. Do you want me to give you Mr. Kennedy’s number?”

“No.” Claire hangs up and practically shoves Chris out toward the taxis.

“What is going on?” Chris asks.

“We need to go to the hospital right now,” Claire answers.

“Okay.”

They get a taxi and head to the hospital, Chris holding Claire’s hand. When they get there, Claire rushes over to the desk. After getting the room dumber, they head upstairs. She sees Velma and Fred talking to a doctor. Sherry’s sitting in a chair and lights up when she sees Claire. Sherry jumps up and runs to Claire, who scoops her up and holds her close. Fred and Velma turn and they look relieved.

“How’s Leon?” Claire asks.

“He’s stable, but he hasn’t woken up,” Fred answers, “They’re concerned about his brain.”

Claire turns to Chris, “This is Sherry. Brace yourself because I am going to hand her over.”

It takes a minute, but Chris nods. Claire hands Sherry to him gently. Before she has the chance to ask, Velma points to a room. She walks in and sits down beside the bed. The heartbeat monitor says that his heart is beating strongly, which comforts Claire.

“Come on,” she whispers, “I’m home, and you promised that we’d figure this out when I came back. You’re not allowed to chicken-out now.”

“Bad first place to meet,” a voice says behind her.

She turns to see a guy in an arm sling and stitches along his forehead. “Kennedy would not shut up about you.”

“You are?”

“Alex Pierce. I used to be his partner. Now, I’ll probably never be on the force again.”

“Your arm or shoulder?”

“Both. My shoulder’s totaled, but my arm isn’t that much better off. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for him. I’d explain, but you wouldn’t believe me.”

Claire raises an eyebrow, but returns her gaze to Leon. “He’s always protecting people, it’s one of the things I love about him.”

“Well, at least he’s something other than whipped.” Claire turns. “Sorry, I’m used to only talking about him when he has the ability to hear me. I have to go, but it was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Claire replies, even though she isn’t sure it’s true.

Pierce heads out.

“I can believe that you’d put up with that bullshit.”

(Leon)

Leon wakes up slowly, pain pulsing at his temples. He groans as he opens his eyes. He sees his parents outside and a guy he doesn’t know holding Sherry. He tries to sit up, but pain shoots through his chest. He groans again as his back hits the bed.

“Leon?”

He turns to see Claire, who’s rubbing her eyes. “You’re back,” Leon says.

“Yeah, I found my brother,” Claire replies, motioning toward the guy holding Sherry.

Leon sighs in relief.

“What happened?” Claire asks.

Leon, despite the pain, leans forward enough to kiss Claire. After a few seconds, Leon hears Sherry shout his name. Leon and Claire turn toward the door and see Sherry running in. Claire takes Leon’s hand as Sherry climbs onto the bed.

“Easy, sweetheart,” Leon says, “I’ve got a chest and leg injury.”

“What happened?” Sherry asks, echoing Claire’s earlier question.

“I don’t really know exactly, but there were monsters there. Monsters like the ones in Raccoon City.”

“So they’re still out there?” Claire breathes.

“That place is toast, I burned it to Hell. The thing is, there wasn’t an indication to whether it was an Umbrella site.”

“I thought that village would be the last time I saw them.”

“What?” Leon asks.

“Long story. The short version is that I found a small Umbrella Facility and that’s where Chris was.”

Chris knocks on the door.

“Leon, this is my brother, Chris.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chris says.

“You look dead on your feet,” Leon says without thinking.

“Thanks.”

“Sorry, pain killers make my filter malfunction.”

“It’s fine. I like your boyfriend, Claire.”

Claire smiles and shakes her head.

“I like Uncle Chris,” Sherry says.

Leon laughs, then coughs, the action making his chest ache. “Are my parents outside?”

“Yes. I’ll get them,” Claire says, moving to get up.

Leon keeps a hold of her, making her hesitate.

“I’ll do it,” Chris says before walking out.

“I just want us to stay together.”

Claire nods, giving Leon’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“I love you two, remember it,” Leon says, grabbing Sherry’s hand.

“We love you too,” Sherry replies.

Fred and Velma walk into the room, Velma crying while Fred looks concerned.

“Hey,” Leon says, “You guys alright?”

Velma nods, tears still pouring down her face. Leon lets go of Claire’s hand and offers it to Velma. She takes his hand and calms down a bit.

“I’m okay,” Leon assures her, “No one’s dying today.”

Velma nods, seeming to be relieved. Leon shoots Claire a sweet smile, then looks back at his mom.

(Claire)

Leon gets released on the twenty-fourth with a ton of restrictions, which he isn’t thrilled about. Leon didn’t get a chance to get to know Chris until his release because Chris had to spend a while in a room. The car ride is mostly silent, but Leon and Chris get to talking when they get back to the house. Claire smiles at the two talking and Sherry anxiously flittering between them. Chris pulls Sherry into his lap, so Claire heads into the kitchen.

“Don’t worry about them,” Velma says, “Leon’s always gotten along with people well.”

Claire nods. “Do you need any help with food prep?”

“I do not. Fred’s smoking the turkey and everything else is manageable.”

“Alright, let me know if you change your mind.”

Claire walks back in and Leon smiles at her.

She returns the smile, “Is there anything I can get for you two?”

Leon shakes his head.

“Water would be nice, if you don’t mind,” Chris answers.

“Help,” Sherry says.

“Why do you need help?” Claire asks.

“Send help.”

Claire picks Sherry up out of Chris’ lap.

“Thank you. I wanted to get down but I didn’t know which one of his knees hurt,” Sherry says.

Claire puts Sherry down, so she runs off. Claire gets Chris water, then sits down between the boys.

“How are you guys feeling?”

“Fine,” Chris answers.

“Like I’m on painkillers,” Leon answers, “but that’s not a problem because I am on pain killers.”

“You’re boyfriend’s weird,” Chris says.

“I know,” Claire replies, “Speaking of, when are you getting in touch with Jill?”

“I already did. She will come by eventually.”

“Yay, I finally get to meet her.”

“Who’s Jill?” Leon asks, “I remember reading her name in conjunction with Chris’, but that doesn’t tell me a lot.”

“Jill was Chris’ partner in S.T.A.R.S.,” Claire answers, “They definitely had something going on though.”

“We did not,” Chris argues, “That would have been unprofessional.”

“But now that you aren’t working together?”

“Drop it, Claire. What are the plans going forward?”

“Against what we were hoping for, stuff’s still going on that’s putting a lot of people in danger,” Claire says.

“There’s nothing we can do about that right now though,” Chris replies. “It’s all overseas and neither of us are able-bodied enough to travel.”

Leon nods, “We should just focus on the holidays and go from there.”

“Okay,” Claire says.

Chris gets up, “I’m gonna go get settled in the guest room.”

He heads upstairs, leaving Claire and Leon alone.

“Your brother seems nice,” Leon says.

Claire hugs him and he pats her back.

“I’m sorry, this is probably a lot,” Claire says.

“A lot is being jump-scared by the apocalypse. This is nothing.”

Claire laughs, “I guess.”

“I was also expecting your brother, so that adds to it.”

Claire nods.

(Leon)

The rest of the day is spent prepping for the next day. Velma assures Leon that Sherry’s gifts are sorted out and not to worry about them. Claire ends up going out for a bit with Sherry and his parents, so he’s left alone with Chris. They end up discussing Chris’ investigations into Umbrella and what he found. A conversation that stops the moment the others return. Claire seems a little suspicious of the two, but doesn’t say anything to them. Dinner’s a noisy affair with everyone talking.

“What do sleeping arrangements look like?” Claire asks over dinner.

“Sherry’s room is finished, so she’s staying in there,” Fred answers, “Since your brother’s set up in the guest room, you’ll need to crash with Leon or Sherry.”

“Or you can sleep on the pull-out couch,” Velma says.

“You can crash with me, Claire,” Leon says, “It’s definitely not a problem.”

Velma looks like she wants to argue, but keeps her mouth shut.

“Sounds good,” Claire says, giving Leon a wink when his folks aren’t looking.

He smiles, then puts food in his mouth so his parents don’t question it. Once dinner’s done, Sherry drags Claire and Chris to see her room. Leon would have gone too, but his leg’s bothering him too much.

“You really like her,” Fred says as he sits in his armchair.

Leon smiles, “I do.”

“It’s good to see. I was always worried you wouldn’t let people that close due to the possibility of being betrayed.”

Leon’s mind flashes back to Ada, and that kiss on the cable car.

“No. We can work things out, and she’s more stubborn than I am.”

“Always a good thing for a Kennedy.”

Leon laughs as he nods.

The Redfields and Sherry come back and Sherry has them play Nintendo with her. Leon slips into the normal quickly, gently making fun of the Redfields while complimenting Sherry. Chris seems surprised by how quickly he was roped in, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Around ten, Leon gets up. Sherry looks up and immediately starts complaining that it’s holiday time.

“Yeah, but we gotta give my folks time to wrap presents before they call it a night. Say goodnight and come on, darling.”

Sherry says goodnight to Chris and Claire, then follows Leon to her room.

“Whatcha wanna read?” Leon asks.

“I don’t know. We don’t have time to read the entire Christmas Carol before tomorrow.”

“We’ll read something short, then we can pick a new long project tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” Sherry agrees.

Leon reads “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, then tucks Sherry in.

“Goodnight,” Sherry says.

“Night, kiddo.”

Leon walks back into the living room, where presents are being wrapped. He sits back on the couch and starts assisting with wrapping. Once everything’s wrapped, everyone heads their separate ways for bed.

(Claire)

Leon’s room looks the same aside from several new stuffed animals scattered around. Leon gets settled in bed, then grabs a book. Claire hits the lights, so Leon turns on the lamp. She climbs into bed and snuggles up to Leon. He wraps an arm around her.

“Aren’t you tired?” Claire asks.

“Honestly, my leg’s been keeping me from sleeping,” Leon answers.

“Why? Is your painkiller dose not high enough?”

“You know, the meds haven’t seemed to be helping my leg at all. Everything else is fine and the doc either didn’t believe me or thought that I was exaggerating. Not too concerned about it yet. It’s healing normally.”

“As long as you’re sure.”

“Very. Thank you for asking.” He kisses her forehead, then returns his attention to his book.

She closes her eyes and falls asleep pretty quickly. When she wakes up, Leon’s breathing is heavier and even. She picks her head up enough to see that he’s sleeping peacefully. She grabs her phone and texts Chris to see if he’s up. He doesn’t respond, which she takes as a sign that he’s still sleeping. She barely has time to put her phone down before Sherry runs in.

“It’s time,” she says, a big smile on her face.

Claire looks at Leon’s watch, seven fifteen.

“It’s a little early, isn’t it?” Claire asks, “Why don’t we snuggle up here for a bit?”

“But Grandma and Grandpa said seven,” Sherry pouts.

Why would they say that? Can’t we sleep in?

Leon’s breathing hitches, so Claire’s attention turns to him. He starts coughing, sitting up. Claire sits up and Sherry climbs onto the bed. It takes a minute, but he stops coughing.

“I’m okay,” he says after catching his breath.

Claire grabs his hand, which draws his attention to her. He kisses her forehead, then looks at his watch.

“Oh, we’re supposed to be up.”

“If you’re not up for it yet…” Sherry says.

“Nah, I’m good. Don’t know where the coughing came from.”

Leon gets up, so Claire follows.

“Do you need help with the stairs?” Claire asks.

“Nope,” Leon answers.

They head downstairs and Chris is in the kitchen, making coffee.

“Hey. Did Sherry wake you?”

Chris shakes his head, “Been awake. She waved when she ran past me earlier.”

Velma and Fred walk past the kitchen, apologizing for their lateness. Chris offers Claire a mug, so she takes it and they both go into the living room. Once everyone’s settled, they start opening presents. Sherry gets excited about every one of her gifts, proudly showing them off.

Leon offers Claire a small box with a pretty ribbon. “Merry Christmas, Claire.”

She takes the box and pulls the bow. Inside is a pretty watch with a red leather band.

She pulls it out, “How did you know that I lost my watch?”

“I didn’t,” Leon answers, then shows her that their watches match and she smiles.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

She leans over, making sure to avoid touching his injured leg, and kisses him. He wraps an arm around her until she pulls away.

“My gift’s arriving late, so you can get it when it gets here,” Claire says.

“Can’t wait,” Leon replies.

They return their attention to Chris and Sherry, who are trying to put one of Sherry’s toys together.

Extra:

Claire and Sherry head outside, so Leon heads into the living room. Fred’s picking up wrapping paper.

“Want help?” Leon asks.

“No. You’re not even walking properly.”

Leon sighs, then nods. Chris has taken residence on the couch, so Leon sits in the recliner and props it up.

“I can move,” Chris says into the pillow his face is in.

“You can also stop trying to run out of air. I don’t need you to move.”

Chris turns his head so he can see Leon. “You doing the whole ‘sometimes I’m perfectly normal and then other times I’m oddly sassy’ is weird, Kennedy.”

“Pain meds,” Leon reminds him.

“Tracking and all, I just wanted you to know.”

Someone knocks on the door, so Chris gets up and opens it.

“Hey, partner.”

“Jill!”

Leon leans forward so he can see past the half-open door and sees Chris hugging a woman with short brown hair. Leon recognizes her from the picture of the S.T.A.R.S. Agents in their office. He leans back, then grabs his phone.

I think Chris’ girlfriend got here.

Chris comes in with Jill looking a little uncomfortable. “Sorry for crashing your Christmas afternoon,” she says.

“Not a problem,” Leon says.

“This is Leon Kennedy, my sister’s boyfriend. She met him while looking for me in Raccoon City.”

“Huh, nice to meet ya.”

Claire comes in with Sherry.

“You know Claire, and that’s Sherry.”

“I know of Claire,” Jill corrects, “It’s nice to meet you all.”

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