Trauma

Thomas and Laura took an hour hitting up the closest clothing stores before spending two hours at taco bell.

Existing Taco Bell stood the 6.3ft Thomas feeling very satisfied with his feast and by his side was the hunched over 4.1ft Laura hugging her stomach. Laura was no longer barefoot and just wearing black jeans and a white shirt. Now she wore a black bomber jacket with a white turtle neck sweater and on her feet were a pair of black crocks.

"It's my ability I'm surprised you're affected considering that you have healing which should improve your immune system. I forgot to ask are you a metahuman or mutant"

"If I'm a mutant dose it change things?"

"No don't be so naive, remember you stabbed me and I still got you clothes, shoes and food"

Laura hesitated but managed to reply "Human-mutant"

"Huh? That's a new one. Okay, we should get back. Before you leave a snail trail"

Laura threw a vicious kick to the back of his knees as she angrily scoffed "Disgusting"

Thomas stumbled to the knee and just as he was about to stand up Laura jumped on his back "I can't walk so be quick for both of our sakes"

"Haha you've finally lightened up a bit"

"Shut up and run, mule," Said Laura kicking her leg like she was on a horse

Thomas sprinted in perfect at

"Faster!!" Shouted Laura as the wind hit her face and brushed through her hair.

After 30 minutes of sprinting with slides incorporated just for the fun of it before they reached home.

"Here take your bags to the spare room in the cabin. Make yourself at home"

While Laura left to sort out her room Thomas started all the arcade machines up and put the open sign back up. Laura reappeared looking to have showered again. She was now wearing black joggers and a black ACDC hoodie with her crocks.

She was no longer so cautious and nervous and moved with a lot more confidence. She wasn't blinded by hunger and could now take the time to look at Thomas's shop.

"What do you sell here?" Asked Laura curiously looking at the rows of computers and blinking arcade machines

"Hmm, I guess I sell fun and cheap stuff in the vending machine. let's play a game"

Taking a seat in front of a two-player street fighter IV cabinet before inserting a metal card with infinite credits. He quickly explains the basics before jumping into a game. Thomas won seven matches with the last two being close games before being destroyed by Laura for five straight games.

Thomas is a casual player compared to fans of fighting games so it's not shocking to see someone who never played the game beat him.

"This isn't really fun is there anything else?" Asked the bored Laura

"Hmm maybe something more hardcore" Thomas brought her to a Ghosts and Goblins cabinet

After having to restart for the 20th time she asked for some snacks as she then wandered around trying out every arcade machine.

Time flew by as the night fell bringing forth the dangers of living in Park Row. Most shops and restaurants close around 8 pm just to avoid being caught up in Park Row's nightlife.

Where a shabby rundown theatre once stood was a clean and expensive-looking shop that appeared to welcome the night. Distant alarms sounded from all directions following it were the police sirens with gunshots and the occasional explosion.

Laura who was now playing a zombie shooter game cabinet stopped as she looked towards the door. Thomas who had been watching the door ready for the customer saw a black land rover parked up with two black vans.

Coming out from the land rover was a man wearing a military uniform, green Barrett, an arrangement of badges and a Staff Sergant patch.

Seeing the colour of the beret Thomas mocked "Tsk special forces. Laura"

"I have eyes" Laura quickly got behind an arcade cabinet.

The man walked in with a harmless smile but his eyes kept shifting around with a cold glint.

"Good evening Sir," Said Thomas with his best customer service voice

The man chuckled "I wouldn't say good with the noise outside"

"Haha that's true but as a local, it's a good evening if you're not shot at"

"Haha I suppose so"

"So what can I do for you, sir?"

"Sigh The boss got into an argument with his daughter leading her to run away so we were tasked with finding her. Here's a picture"

He showed a closeup picture of Laura smiling at the camera.

"4.1ft she was last seen wearing a white shirt covered in red paint and she didn't take any shoes so she is probably barefoot. If you have any information that would greatly help"

"Sorry, can't say I've seen her," Said Thomas with an apologetic smile

"That's too bad," Said The man before exiting

Laura came out of hiding and took her hoodie off.

"What are you doing?" Asked Thomas in a confused tone

"I don't want blood on it," She said before her metallic claws sprang out from her knuckles

"You don't need to worry about having to fight," said Thomas confidently

The Sergeant stood outside the internet cafe, he lit a cigarette and waved at Thomas mockingly

Then from the black vans 2 teams of 5 armed to the teeth. Two of them led the fight with shields.

Thomas waved as he turned the lights off leaving the only light coming from the arcade cabinets.

The team put on night vision as they quietly tread through the darkness. The only thing that could be heard was their breathing and music blaring from the Arcade section.

Five meters in they hear an ominous long droning symphony of music that resulted in them coming to a sudden stop. The music started to fade out almost releasing the tension it caused before a voice representing pure evil echoed "Fetch me their souls!"

They could swear to have heard the dreadful music and the sinister voice playing right by their ears. The team felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere as the hairs on their back stood. They quickly got into a back-to-back formation making sure to cover each other.

"Retreat," Said the leader of the group

As they moved they heard a terrifying snarling and crackling sound as the smell of burning and dead flesh began to pollute their noses.

"Move faster"

They quickly moved back to the exit before struggling to open it.

"What's happening?"

"The door won't open, sir!"

"It's glass just shoot it. Quick it's getting close" Shouted The leader

*Bang. . Bang, bang*

"Sir it's not working"

"Fuck everyone against the door shoot whatever moves. Night vision off Deploy the shields"

The two shield users placed the shields down as the sides extended covering the whole team as the front shone a bright light removing the suffocating darkness.

They looked towards the ground and saw cracks appearing as a loud thumping and scratching followed before a pale hand broke through. More cracks started appearing on the ground as more hands broke through before digging a bigger hole leading to a pair of hands reaching over the top. From the holes, pale mutilated and bony humans peeked over with dead yellow eyes. Most of them with patches of skin and tissue missing exposing ligaments and bone.

"Shoot to kill!" Shouted the leader as popped off the first few shots at a Zombies' head killing it after four shots

*Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang*

The team quickly did as they were ordered and started shooting.

"preserve your ammo, they don't move very fast, four shots to the head seem to do it"

They started getting comfortable with the slow-paced zombies taking the time to understand their situation.

"Sir are these zombies!?' asked a bewildered member

"It doesn't matter whether they are or not what matters is the mission"

"Recover X-23 and remove witnesses"

That comfort was met with reality in the form of fire and four legs. Out from under the desk and from behind the arcade machines were black 3ft dogs matching the mutilated appearance of the zombies but with fire flaring from their wounds. As if the fire boosted their speed they moved around the zombies quickly closing the gap before one of them jumped over the shield only to be met with a shotgun.

*Bang, POOF*

When the hell hound died it turned into a puff of black mist that caused a shockwave ricocheting the team back into the doors and knocking one of the shields down. Ears now ringing and eyes blurry they quickly get back into formation only to see the zombies within reaching distance and a hellhound ripping into the neck of a body wearing their uniform.

"Kelso!"

Wave after zombies appeared and the hellhounds turned into a blur with a trail of fire behind them attacking when they got confident. With every passing second, the stench of death began to smother their years of training as the hysteria of a hopeless situation took over.

50 zombies and 7 hellhounds later they found themselves with no ammunition. Pulling out their knives they got ready for the last three dogs.

"Steady yourself, crouch down to their height and be ready" Said The Leader as he watched the hellhounds pace back and forth with a hungry gleam in their eyes.

The three hellhounds then ran at them in a single file line with the first one jumping at waist height, the one behind sprinted beneath the first one while the last one jumped over both of them.

The leader was hoping to deal with them one by one but sadly these dogs weren't simple. He managed to catch the one that jumped at waist height with his knife lodged into the temple unfortunately he was already dead with his crotch area now in the mouth of a hellhound.

Immediately after being bitten a sort of numbing pain spread across his body as his body began to wilt and discolour while his eyes became yellow. The leader then began to groan but not out of pain but hunger. He turned to hit fellow teammates and began scratching and biting with the two hellhounds helping.

A few seconds later the lights turned back on leaving ten zombified special forces. Just like the others are slow and are unable to make complicated movements.

Laura was standing next to Thomas shaken by what she had seen. She looked at Thomas and asked, "What are you?"

Thomas with Dark Eather's Cry replied "Childhood Trauma"

Laura jumped back as her claws popped out.

"Pft haha come on it was a joke"

Laura didn't budge and kept her distance.

"Well we still have one last 'friend' to deal with. ah this is a chance to hide your tracks," Said Thomas

Thomas then had the ten members escort Laura out. Laura pretended to be knocked out before being thrown in the back of the van. The sergeant didn't suspect a thing as he got into his Land Rover ready to lead the team back to base.

Just as he closed his car door he was knocked out by Thomas who materialised inside the Land Rover wearing the Rose skin. He then forced vodka down the Sergeant's throat before putting his foot on the gas pedal while steering his way to Dini Bridge. After an hour of non-stop speeding gaining as much police attention as possible, he arrived at the bridge where he then drove off into the water.

Thomas then shadow-shifted out into the water waiting for Laura. Just as the van Laura was in drove off the bridge the back doors opened as Laura jumped free falling into the water. The moment she went under water Thomas grabbed and shadow shifted int the bridges shadow. Using the bridge as cover he swam across the Gotham river with record time reaching the Burnside neighbourhood.

He stayed in the water while Laura got out and made sure to wait for the overhead news team. After waiting for while a spotlight from a helicopter finally hit her before she ran into Burnside. The moment the helicopter lost track of her Thomas emerged from a shadow. With Luara in his arms his he shadow shadow-shifted all the way home where they watched the News report about a police chase that led to three vehicles driving off Dini Bridge.

"Police are still trying to identify the child that manage to survive the ordeal. If viewers recognise the child please call....."

"We should be in the clear" Said Thomas as he toasted a meat feast pizza with Laura

"What are you really?" Said, Laura still confused by all the abilities Thomas had shown

Thomas with a serious face replied "Amazing, Handsome, Dependable, Scarred Jesus and God's Not So Only Son. I mean there are only so many words in the world to describe me"

Laura just stared at him waiting for a real answer.

Thomas snatched her pizza and replied "I'm Thomas Blair a game designer who also owns a shop"

"Tsk I'm Laura Kinney mutant and run away experiment," She said before scoffing down a slice of pizza

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A.N: GG