Ben and DOOM made their way through the city, passing the lab that stole Ben's childhood. The minute they saw it, Ben recognized everything around him, and it scared him. He just wanted to get out of the city, before Dr. Embers or any other doctor from the lab came out and saw them, and so, he decided to try and convince DOOM to go.

"Uh... DOOM, I don't think we're gonna find them or any supplies here..." His voice trailed off as soon as he noticed one of the doctors looking around the area. "Shit. We need to get out of this city..." DOOM just gave him a confused look, one that Ben couldn't see from behind the helmet. "We need to go, now."

"HEY!" All anyone around the two of them heard was someone shouting, that someone being the same doctor that Ben had seen. Ben immediately swore under his breath and tried to run, only to see more doctors beginning to surround them. "Wait, I recognize the boy, as well as DOOM, him-fucking-self. Get Dr. Embers!"

"Guessing these are people from that lab Ben told me about..." DOOM mumbled under his breath as lab workers surrounded the two of them, one doctor stepping through the crowd and walking over to stand in front of them. Ben immediately looked into that specific doctor's eyes, contempt and hatred swirling in his own, for this specific doctor was Dr. Embers, the head of the lab, the reason that he and Storm lost both their childhood and their future.

"Hello again, Ben," His voice sent a chill up Ben's spine, and he smirked. "Did you miss me?"

"Not even a little." Ben's voice was cold and full of contempt as he spoke, and Dr. Embers just chuckled.

"Well, I missed you." Dr. Embers took another step closer to the two, and Ben took a step back, keeping the space between them the same. "Come on now, Ben, you don't want to run from me, do you?"

"It's either that, or you take me back. I'd rather not go back, so obviously, I'd want to fucking run!" Ben snapped, and DOOM slowly started to pull out a gun, only to stop once he saw the other doctors pull theirs and aim them at Ben.

"You draw your gun, Ben gets shot!" One of the doctors called from the crowd, and DOOM moved his hand away from his gun. "Wise decision!" Ben gulped as Dr. Embers walked up and got in his face before speaking again.

"Oh, Ben. Listen. We created this virus, only we can cure it. But we won't, not until we get the two people that we want. One of them is staring me right in the face, and the other is off with DOOM's other kids." Dr. Embers smirked. "Would you rather us stay in the apocalypse forever, or would you rather us all get out of it? Hm?" Ben groaned at the ultimatum he had been given. Either he goes with Dr. Embers to the lab, or the apocalypse never ends? What choice did he really have, let alone when he's surrounded by the scientists and doctors who run the lab?

"Okay... Okay, fine. I'll go back... Only because I have no other choice in the fucking matter at the moment." Ben looked down at the ground, glaring daggers into Dr. Embers' feet, and Dr. Embers just chuckled.

"Get them inside, boys. I need to find Skylar." DOOM immediately snapped his head in Dr. Embers' direction at the sound of his daughter's name. "Why are you looking at me like that, DOOM? Oh wait. I remember now." DOOM went to say something, but he and Ben were dragged into the lab before he could.

#

Storm had finally decided that she had enough of her old outfit and changed into a new one, this one having no beanie, a muted green jacket over a white shirt, dark gray jeans, and light gray shoes. She slowly reached back and felt her back, making sure that her wings weren't visible after a blue feather fell from her back. She heard Xisuma and Evil X talking in the next room over, and she couldn't help but overhear what they were saying.

"It seems to be scarring over, X." She heard Evil X talking in an indiscernible tone of voice. She couldn't help but wonder what he was talking about.

"Thanks, Evil X... I still can't believe I'm immune to this thing..." Xisuma's comment piqued her interest in the conversation.

"Neither can I. You got bitten and you never turned, but the skin's healing over, and you aren't suffering any of the nasty side effects of this virus." Storm's eyes widened, and she wanted to say something, but she decided it was better not to get in their private business, so she just packed her backpack and waited for them by the gate.

"STORM!" Bryan's voice carried through the camp, and Storm flinched before turning to where his shout came from, seeing him running towards her. "You can't go out there! What if you go missing like Alex!?"

"Oh, for god's sake, Bryan, I'M NOT A LITTLE KID!" Storm shouted, her voice carrying over the camp as Bryan's had moments earlier.

"IF YOU'RE NOT, THEN WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD AND LEAVE FOR GOOD!? WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE LIKE CODY!?" Storm felt tears welling in her eyes. "DON'T COME BACK IF YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE, AND DON'T BE SHOCKED IF YOU END UP DEAD!"

"BRYAN!" Davis shouted, having walked over to the gate with Blake, Kat, Xisuma, and Evil X, who all looked like they either had no clue what was going on, or wanted to slap Bryan.

"... Maybe I will fucking leave." Storm's voice cracked on the word leave, and the tears that had welled up in her eyes began to fall.

"GO, THEN. RIGHT NOW. GO ON!"

"Bryan, that's enough! It's her choice if she goes out and finds her dad and Ben or not, and it's her choice if she ever comes back to us. That's not your choice to make." Storm looked down at the ground, not letting Bryan see her crying, and she just pushed past him, getting ready to walk out of that gate. Xisuma shared a look with Evil X, and they both nodded before walking over to stand by Storm.

"We'll keep her safe, Davis." Storm looked up at Xisuma as he spoke, his voice calming her down. She gave him a thumbs up, and she looked at Evil X, who just nodded as a response.

"See? She'll be fine. Now let her go, Bryan. Don't go trying to control her and start yelling at her again." Davis gestured for the 3 of them to leave, and Storm hugged Blake once before she walked out of that gate, followed by Xisuma and Evil X.

Together, the 3 of them were going to figure out where their loved ones were, even if they had to get through a herd of Walkers just to do so.