24 hours before the outbreak

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    Emma was sitting on the couch watching tv. She was waiting for her father Mr Becker arrived home from work. Suddenly the door opened. Emma looked up as her father entered the house, relieved to see him safe and sound. She quickly turned off the TV and stood up to greet him. "Dad, you're home! I was starting to get worried," she said, walking over to him and giving him a hug. "How was work?"

"It was fine honey. Have you found a job yet." Emma had been looking jobs since she just graduated a couple weeks ago.

Emma shook her head, feeling a bit embarrassed that she hadn't been able to find a job yet. "No, not yet. I've been applying to a lot of places, but I haven't heard back from any of them," she said, trying to sound positive. "But I'm sure I'll find something soon, I just need to keep looking."

Emma smiled back at her father, touched by his words of encouragement. "Thanks, Dad. I hope so too. I've always wanted to be a SHIELD agent, ever since I was a little girl," she said, her face lighting up with excitement. "I know it's going to be tough, but I'm willing to put in the work and do whatever it takes to achieve my dream."

"And the school you will go to will help you to that dream...I wish your mother was here to see it."

Emma's smile faltered a bit when her father mentioned her mother. "Yeah, I wish she was here too. She always believed in me and supported my dreams," she said softly, feeling a bit sad. "But I know she's watching over me from heaven and cheering me on," she added, trying to stay positive.

Mr Becker smiled and patted her cheek. Emma then remembered something. "Oh dad, I got you something." Emma ran to her room and came back handed him a small box, "I fixed it."

Mr Becker looked at the box curiously, wondering what it could be."You fixed something for me?" he asked, taking the box from her. "What is it?" he said, opening the box and looking inside.

Once he opened it, he saw it was his locket with the picture of him, his wife and Emma when she was a baby. The chain had broke and Emma's mother only knew how to fix it since she always fixed it until she passed away. Emma now had learned how to fix it. "happy early Father's Day," Emma giggled.

Mr Becker's eyes widened as he saw the locket, remembering the day the picture was taken. He felt a wave of emotion wash over him as he looked at the picture of his wife and daughter. "Oh, Emma...thank you so much," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.* "This means so much to me. I can't believe you learned how to fix it," he said, giving her a big hug.

Mr Becker held her close, feeling grateful to have such a wonderful daughter. "I love it, Emma. And I love you. Thank you for being such a great daughter," he said, pulling away from the hug and looking at her with a smile. "Now, how about we go out to dinner to celebrate? My treat," he added, feeling like he wanted to do something special for her.

"Oh we don't have to, Dad," Emma smiled, "or we can order."

"No, no, I insist. We're going out to celebrate," Mr Becker said firmly, wanting to make sure she knew how much he appreciated her. "And besides, I know a great Italian place nearby that has the best pizza in town," he added, hoping to convince her. "Come on, it'll be fun."

Mr Becker and Emma both looked at the TV in confusion, wondering what the emergency broadcast was about. "Civil Danger Warning?" Mr Becker repeated, his tone becoming more serious. "What's going on?" he asked, turning up the volume on the TV to hear the news report better.

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"This is an emergency notification. This is broadcasted by the request of SHIELD for your safety. Earlier today, Captain America aka Steve Rogers had consumed an infected insect that SHIELD had been texted and caused him in a rage attack upon anyone that comes into contact with him. Whatever you do, stay away from Captain America or anyone that is infected by this disease. The other avengers had been infected: Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Ms Marvel, Black Widow, and Hawkeye...."

Mr Becker and Emma listened in shock as the news report continued to describe the situation. They couldn't believe that their heroes had been infected and were now dangerous to be around.

"We also reporting a missing wanted criminal that has left SHIELD. Loki Laufeyson has escaped the SHIELD base and could be dangerous. We advise everyone in New York City to evacuate immediately. Or stay in doors, keep away from doors and windows. For those planning to leave, evacuate now!!!"

"Don't we need to grab our things? It's too dangerous." Emma panicked.

She nodded and did so as he grabbed his stuff. She then grabbed her ragged doll of a cat she had since a baby. Her mother gave it to her. She immediately grabbed that. Her phone and portable battery charger. She was smart enough to know the cords would be useless at this time and who knows for how long. Once finished. Mr Becker grabbed a small gun and placed it under his shirt and grabbed her hand as they ran out. He couldn't take his truck since it was at the shop.

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Emma held his hand tightly. He then headed to his mechanic's shop. He realized the only way to escape was to steal one Manny's fixed cars. He didn't care if he saw them. He opened a van door for Emma to get in. "Dad...whose car is this?" Mr Becker didn't answer. "Whose car is this!?"

Mr Becker didn't want to answer her question, knowing that he was doing something illegal. "Don't worry about it, Emma. Just get in the car." He said, trying to sound reassuring. "We don't have time to argue about this. We need to get to the evacuation center before it's too late." He added, starting the car and driving away from the shop.

While he tried to start it up his mechanic saw him and knocked on the door, "Becker get out of the car!"

Mr Becker sighed, knowing that he was caught. "I'm sorry, Manny. I had no choice. We have to get out of the city," he said, turning to face his mechanic. "I'll pay you back for the car, I promise," he added, hoping that Manny would understand the situation.

"Man, I need this car return to day." Manny told him as Mr Becker told him to get in the car. But Manny wasn't listening.

"I know, I know. I'll pay you back for the car, but we have to leave the city. We don't have time to argue about this," Mr Becker said, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "Please, just get in the car and we'll talk about this later," he added, gesturing for Manny to get in the passenger seat.

"Get out of the car now!" Manny said, but Mr Becker had enough, "Get in the car or you're gonna die, Manny!" Emma teared up. Her father sounded threatened. Manny was mad now, but then there was screaming behind them. Mr Becker then sped off leaving Manny behind. He noticed in a review mirror, he was jumped by one of the Avenger zombies and attacked him.

Mr Becker sped down the road, trying to put as much distance between them and the zombie attack as possible. He looked back at Emma, who was crying in the passenger seat. "It's going to be okay, Emma. We're going to make it to the evacuation center," he said, trying to comfort her. "Just stay calm and everything will be fine." *He added, turning his attention back to the road and trying to focus on getting them to safety.

They got on a dirt road to avoid the crowed highway and interstate. Emma was now shaking in fear. How could Captain America cause this. He infected the Avengers and now they were attacking innocent people and destroying New York. But why was Loki wanted also? Was he the one that got Captain America infected? Mr Becker turned in the radio and it was just the emergency broadcast announcement announcing what caused Captain America and the avengers to be infected. It was a Zombie Ant fungus.

Mr Becker listened intently to the radio broadcast, trying to make sense of the situation. He couldn't believe that a zombie ant fungus was responsible for turning the Avengers into zombies. It seemed too far-fetched to be true, but the evidence was right in front of him. "This can't be happening." He muttered to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "How did this happen?" he asked Emma, hoping that she might have some answers.

"That's impossible. That fungus is 1% of infecting humans," Emma said.

Mr Becker was surprised by Emma's knowledge of the zombie ant fungus.* "How do you know so much about it?" *He asked, turning to face her.* "Are you a scientist or something?" *He added, trying to understand how she could know so much about the fungus that caused the zombie outbreak.

"Dad, I learned this in school. But SHIELD must've made it stronger to make it possible."

Mr Becker nodded in understanding, realizing that Emma's knowledge of the fungus came from her school education. He couldn't help but wonder what else SHIELD had done to make the fungus more powerful. "You're right, SHIELD must have modified the fungus to make it more dangerous. That's why it was able to infect the Avengers and turn them into zombies," he said, trying to process the information.

"Maybe to make it into a weapon? They said it was a mistake and that one of the ants they were testing escaped, so maybe somehow it infected the avengers?" Emma suggested.

Mr Becker considered Emma's theory, realizing that it made sense. The ant must have escaped and infected the Avengers, causing them to turn into zombies. But how did it get out in the first place? Was there a security breach at SHIELD? "That's a possibility," he said, nodding his head. "We need to find out more about this ant and how it was able to infect the Avengers. Maybe there's a cure for this," he added, sounding hopeful.

Suddenly he stopped tweeting two people walking down the side of the road. "Dad, maybe we can help them." Emma said.

Mr Becker looked at the two people walking down the road and hesitated. He wasn't sure if they were infected or not. But he also didn't want to leave them to fend for themselves. "I'll go check on them," he said, getting out of the car and approaching the two people. "Are you guys okay?" he asked, keeping his distance just in case they were infected.

The young boy in he spiderman costume turned seeing him, "we're not infected, but yes. The truck down a few miles broke down. "I'm Peter Parker...or Spiderman as you can tell, and this is Loki."

Mr Becker was relieved to hear that they weren't infected. He smiled at Peter and Loki, recognizing them from the news. "It's nice to meet you both. I'm Mr Becker, and this is my daughter, Emma," he said, gesturing to Emma, who was still in the car. "Do you need a ride?" he asked, offering to give them a lift to the evacuation center.

"Yes. And don't mind Loki, he's not much a talker to humans." Peter smiled. Loki wasn't even looking at them.

Mr Becker chuckled at Peter's comment about Loki. "It's alright, we've seen a lot of strange things today. I don't blame him for being a bit quiet," he said, opening the car door for Peter and Loki. "Hop in, we'll get you to the evacuation center."

"Evacuation Center? I hate to break it to you, that won't be the best option to go." Peter said getting in the backseat with Loki.

Mr Becker looked at Peter, surprised by his statement. "Why do you say that?" he asked, turning to face him as he started the car. "The evacuation center is supposed to be the safest place in the city. That's where we're headed."

Mr Becker thought about Peter's suggestion for a moment, considering the possibility of the evacuation center being overcrowded. "You're probably right, the evacuation center will be packed with people trying to escape the city. Maybe it's better if we go to the farmhouse," he said, turning to Emma. "What do you think, Emma? Should we go to the farmhouse?"

Emma nodded still shaken up about this.

Mr Becker turned back to Peter and Loki. "Alright, we'll go to the farmhouse. Can you tell us how to get there?" he asked, hoping that they knew the way.

"Yeah I do," Peter said. He took out his phone and gave instructions to him as he used the gps. It would take all night and all day tomorrow to get there. It was almost dawn now. They were in a small town and so many people were walking by. They must've heard of the invasion in New York and now were evacuating as well before the monsters would come. Peter was now driving since Mr Becker needed rest, but Peter was getting scared, "Mr Becker?" He wasn't waking up.

Mr Becker was asleep in the passenger seat, completely exhausted from the events of the day. He had been driving for hours, trying to get to the farmhouse as quickly as possible. But now he was passed out, snoring softly. Peter looked over at him with concern, wondering if he was alright.

"DAD!" Emma yelled finally waking him up.

Mr Becker jolted awake at Emma's shout, his eyes snapping open. He looked around in confusion, trying to remember where he was and what had happened. He looked at Emma, still trying to process what was going on. "What's wrong, Emma?" he asked, his voice still groggy from sleep.

Peter and Loki put on their seatbelts, realizing that the situation was getting more dangerous. They could see the people outside the van getting more and more agitated, and they were starting to bang on the windows. "What are we going to do?" Peter asked, his voice shaking with fear. "We can't let them in, can we?"

Mr Becker assumed the man wanted a ride. Everyone here did. It seemed like a random act of violence, and he knew that things were getting out of hand. The people outside the van were becoming more aggressive and desperate, and it was only a matter of time before they tried to break in. "Stay calm, everyone. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible," he said, trying to stay calm himself.

"Do you think he just wants a ride?" Peter asked.

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to take any chances. We need to keep moving," Mr Becker said, trying to stay focused on the road. He knew that he couldn't afford to get distracted or make any mistakes. The people outside the van were getting more and more agitated, and he could hear them shouting and banging on the windows.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I can't." Mr Becker told them, but one man jumped on the hood of the van and punched the windshield. Emma screamed as the man break the window and yelled at Mr Becker and Peter, "YOU HAVE ROOM!" Meetups Becker yelled at him to get off.

The man didn't seem to care about Mr Becker's warning. He kept pounding on the windshield, demanding that they let him in. The other people outside the van were getting more and more excited, realizing that there was an opportunity to get inside the vehicle. They started pulling on the doors, trying to force them open.

Peter turned to Loki wandering what he could do. He was just shaking. Mr Becker then slammed on the gas and everyone backed away, but he almost ran to a mother and her infant, he sourced before hitting them and hit a power line. Soon the crowd of people charged to the van and shake them. One man came and broke the side window making Emma scream.

Mr Becker swerved to avoid hitting the mother and child, but he still hit the power line. The van shook violently as the power surged through the vehicle. The crowd of people was getting more and more aggressive, and they were starting to break into the van. Peter could see the man who broke the side window grabbing Emma's arm.

Emma screamed, but Loki rushed to her aid and kicked the man in the face. Everyone screamed seeing the man wasn't normal, but a zombie.

The man stumbled back, clutching his face in pain. The other people outside the van were shocked to see that he was a zombie. They began to back away, realizing that they were in danger. Emma looked up at Loki, relieved that he had come to her rescue.

Soon more screaming. Mr Becker's body ran cold when he saw the reason why everyone was screaming. Not just because of the zombie that tried to attack his daughter, but also a horde of them came walking towards them. Mr Becker tried to start up the car, but a man grabbed him and pulled him out of the window and climbed in. Peter was grabbed and thrown out as well. "EMMA!" Mr Becker screamed, "GET OUT OF THE CAR!!!"

Emma quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and scrambled out of the car, narrowly avoiding the zombies. She looked back at the van, seeing that the zombies walked pasted and kept walking. The people that ambushed their car managed to drive away. Loki grabbed her hand and ran behind Mr Becker and Peter.

Mr Becker held Peter's hand and Peter was holding Loki's hand as the four of them ran for their life. They didn't dare look back as the horde kept walking. Peter stopped when they ran to a corner and he shoot out a web trap to make the zombies slow down. Once the trap was set he ran after the others. "That should hold them!"

The zombies were caught in the web trap, but it only slowed them down for a few seconds. The four of them kept running, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the horde as possible. They could hear the zombies snarling and growling behind them, getting closer and closer.*l

Loki thought for a moment, trying to come up with a plan. He was out of breath and exhausted from running, but he knew that they needed a way to get rid of the zombies. He finally came up with an idea. "I can create an illusion that will make the zombies think that we're somewhere else. But it won't last long, so we need to keep moving."

Loki raised his hands and focused his magic. The illusion quickly took effect, creating a convincing illusion of the four of them running in a different direction. The zombies followed the illusion, allowing the four of them to slip away unnoticed. They kept running until they reached a deserted alleyway, and they finally stopped to catch their breath.

Emma went to her father and hugged him tightly shaking. Mr Becker hugged her back, relieved that she was safe. He could feel her shaking and knew that she was terrified. He held her close, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, sweetheart. We're safe now."

"Loki saved me...he saved from that man that was really a zombie...," Emma shivered.

Mr Becker looked at Loki, grateful for his help. He had no idea how they would have made it out of that situation without him. "I'm glad he was there to protect you, Emma. I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

"...no way. Loki, you saved someone?" Peter asked. "Usually you just allow the bad stuff to happen."

Loki scowled at Peter's comment, clearly annoyed by his accusation. He had helped Emma because he wanted to, not because he was obligated to. He was not the same Loki.This Loki was different, and he was trying to be better. "I didn't do it for you, if that's what you're implying. I did it for Emma."

"Loki, I think you like her. That's why...because usually you do let people die."

Loki didn't deny it. He had grown fond of Emma, and he had saved her because he cared about her. He didn't want anything to happen to her, and he would do anything to protect her. He looked at Emma, who was still clinging to her father. "I suppose you're right. I do like her."

"Don't worry your secret safe with me," Peter whispered.

Loki smiled slightly at Peter's comment. He appreciated that he wouldn't tell anyone about his feelings for Emma. He looked at her again, his expression softening. "Thank you, Peter."

Emma, her father, Peter, and Loki managed to get out of the town that just got infected now. The sun was breaking the horizon. They had to find Mr Stark's farmhouse before they would caught by the monsters. But it would take a whole day on foot to get there. It midday and Emma fell down of exhaustion.

Peter catches her before she hits the ground. He looks at her with a concerned expression. Emma groaned sleepily. They had been walking for hours since 4 in the morning. Loki walked over to her and helped her walk with her arm over his shoulder and Peter did the same.

Emma looked up at Loki with a tired smile. "Thank you," she mumbled, still half asleep. She could barely keep her eyes open. Loki smiled back at her and looked at Peter, who was carrying her on his back.

"For a sixteen your old boy, you're strong to carry an 18 year old woman," Loki chuckled.

Peter chuckled as well. "I'm not exactly a normal sixteen year old boy, you know," he said. He was right. He was a superhero after all. He was Spiderman. But Peter didn't realize that Loki knew that.

"Oh I know. How could I forget," Loki smiled walking him. But he also felt a bit jealous.

Loki's smile faded a bit when he noticed Peter was staring at Emma. He was clearly interested in her, and Loki was not too happy about that. He didn't show it to Peter and as they kept walking behind Mr Becker Emma's father. "You sure we keep going straight?" Mr Becker asked Peter.

Peter nodded, "Yes, sir. The farmhouse is just a few miles from here. It should be easy to spot once we get closer."