Even after going through the plan multiple times with the others, Duck still couldn't calm the racing thoughts in his mind. His head was spinning as he placed his palm on the wall, leaning his body sideways to calm the raging storm within.

He knew there was no other option. He was the only one who would be immune and thus at the least risk of being infected. He had also become a competent crewmate aboard the ship, having gotten to the same level as the people he looked up to so much with the powers he inherited from his mother through vigorous training.

Despite all the logical reasons he knew justified his part in the plan, his primal side squirmed and screamed to be let off the hook. Please, this was his birthday! His father had died on the very same day! Could life not give him so many lemons?! 

He just wanted to go back to their normal adventures... Why did he have to face his fe-

A hand placed itself on his shoulder, and Duck jumped, but turned to face Shang-Chi. The former assassin had an almost gentle look on his face as he asked, "You okay?"

"H-How can I be fine?" He snapped back, yet shrunk in soon enough. "S-Sorry, I hadn't meant to-"

"It's fine, I get it. You're facing your own fear. I totally get it, y'know?" The older guy said with a soft smile. "I had to face my past, and it was very scary."

Right... He had forgotten about his uncle's past. "Were you scared back then?" He decided to ask, curiosity bubbling in his chest while the racing thoughts began to slow down.

"Of course. I ran away from that life for a reason," Shang-Chi admitted while sighing. "Still, I did have to face him one way or another. It was a scary fight, but during it, I began to feel... light and free. The ten rings that had been my father's were now mine. And..."

He faltered, looking at those bangles now resting on his forearms. "I ended up winning. I stopped him with the help of my friends. And now I was free. The shackles I had been carrying ever since I ran away from home, all of them fell apart. I was no longer that boy, fearful of the one place where I should feel safe in. I was now someone who had found his own safe home to protect and care for. I will never regret the choices I made."

He looked at the other. "Duck, I won't act like this is a cure-all idea. It may make your phobia worse, even. But... remember that you're not alone. I'm confident it's not your time to die yet, and I... I firmly believe your father is watching over you, so... go kick some undead *** and save your family."

He held out a fist to him, and Duck couldn't stop the smile that burst out. "You're... you're right. Thanks a lot, Uncle Shang-Chi. I really needed that talk."

"No one can outrun fear, but courage is when you take that fear and consider it, but balance it out with proactivity and determination. To keep going despite that fear," he advised, a smile on his face. 

"Got it," he said with a wide grin. Getting that talk reminded him of the home he had with his friends and family now. 

His mother was all he had left of his childhood, as foggy as those memories were. The only thing he remembered of that time was the smile. That warm smile from his father as he tossed him up into the air. As he squatted to face him with a grin, promising that he would be back with the best birthday cake. 

Even if that ended with him getting a stroke on the way home... Even if it cost him his life...

He closed his eyes. Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. He felt calm now. The energy that had been erratic, beating fast with all the adrenaline from the ****show he had seen since arriving in this cargo ship of horrors, was now coursing through his veins with determination. His mother's Kree blood roared in his ears. The power, it smiled at him, letting him know that it was there with him. That no matter how hard things got, he would be able to make it through. He had friends, he had family. 

He could almost hear the crashing waves. It whispered into his ear that he was worthy, that now was the time to take the fear down. Embrace it as a part of him, one that he may never fully overcome, but he could manage, that he could balance.

He was ready to save the heroes. No matter the danger, he would push through. Even the bait had a purpose to fulfill, and he would do just that. He would rescue his family from the undead Avengers, and he would save his mom no matter what! 

"Alright, so Captain Kirk and Spock are on the east wing of the ship. They're already immune so we don't have to worry about them much," Uhura told Duck as he geared up, testing his powers to ensure they were working at top form. "The real issue is ensuring you catch all the zombies and lure them to the lab in the other ship for the curing. We miss one, it'll spread again, and the cycle starts all over again."

"That's why we'll be coordinating with you from here," Sulu said while setting up the computers. "We have remote access to the CCTVs after some hard work, so we can see where you're going and where the zombies are. In addition, Bones has activated the illness-tracking sensor (that one is cause of Spock) to track down sick people."

"They're quite clustered at the moment," Bones said. "We'll direct you to them once you bring those two back here. We've timed the thing to go off in an hour, so if you get there faster you'll probably have to figure out how to keep them in there. Just think of it like quarantine." 

"Quarantine, got it." Duck nodded. "You guys will be fine right?" 

"We're not stupid, Duck. Well Thor is to some extent-" "I TAKE OFFENSE!" "-but the rest of us can still use our brains." 

He chuckled. "Alright then. I'll see you guys after all of this is over, I guess." 

"You better stay safe, Duck," Uhura warned. "Even if you're immune, you could still get sick or injured. These zombies are not your typical movie ones. They have powers too."

He nodded. "Don't I know it."

"Good. And kid?" 

"Yeah, Bones?" 

"Please, stay safe. None of us want to lose you," he stated simply. 

Duck gaped in surprise at the straightforward wording, but the other members shared a grin. When Duck had arrived at the tender age he had been in fresh off his dad's passing, they had been pretty apprehensive about letting a kid in, even if he was powerful and it was a plea from his mom, Captain Kirk's acquaintance. They had been scared of another death, even if Spock had ended up returning to them; the memory of the funeral, of the emotions they had felt was not easy to erase, and it definitely felt like his mom was just dumping him away and neglecting him when they considered his fear. It felt so unrealistic to entrust a child with a fear of death to a crew dedicated to protecting the universe, with how dangerous it was. Carol Danvers knew that more than anyone, being a human-Kree hybrid. 

But somehow, the kid had wormed his way into their hearts. His energy always brought a smile to their faces. His mom cared for her son, always showing up when she had the chance and teaching him new things. He learnt to use what he had and adapt accordingly. Before they knew it, the years passed and he was now a teen. A teen about to confront the fear that stemmed from losing his father, the event that led him to come under their wing in the first place. 

It was a strange coincidence, life was. Even when things got weird and didn't make sense, somehow they just connected. Everything came around. Their pasts came back to haunt them, sure, but why not use it as a chance to grow and become a better person? Duck was definitely doing that as he waved goodbye and flew out of the room, leaving them there with silent but proud smiles. They had managed to teach him to the best of their ability, but this was HIS battle, and who were they to interfere?

"Let's get going," Shang-Chi said. He was the proudest, knowing more than anyone the experience of losing family since he spent time with Duck as well after Jack's death. Seeing Duck take that step reminded him that nothing was impossible; even if things got rough, good was coming. Healing came after reflection, and even if this process was non-linear, it would reach an optimal conclusion one day. That was a belief everyone in the Enterprise held strongly onto, especially McCoy.  

Watching the kid grow from a sniveling baby to a determined and courageous man was something that brought tears to his eyes. This kid had truly... He was truly learning to overcome this, and he was happy about that. 

"We're almost there! Hang on, James!" Spock yelled while pressing a cloth onto the commanding officer's shoulder. Red liquid still leaked from it, staining the handkerchief deep scarlet and making him curse as he searched the first aid kit with one hand, grabbed in a rush during the chase. The two had finally managed to somewhat outrun their pursuers, but they knew it was only a matter of time before things got out of hand. They almost always did. 

Spock was not sure if the virus would turn Kirk into a zombie through that kind of exposure, but either way, he rather not take the risk. James was a dear friend of his and he would be damned if he didn't do anything to help him!

"Spock, we don't have time... Just leave me..." Kirk said while looking up at him.

"I refuse! This crew would not be where it is without you! How dare you make light of your role as our leader!" He snapped back, a hint of desperation in his tone. There had to be another way! He couldn't lose his friend when things had only recently settled down for them, an era of peace in the universe until some crazy person comes along and tries to disrupt it. They had...! They had worked so hard! What did this mean if one of them was unable to enjoy the benefits of their hard work?! It meant nothing! Nothing at all if they had lost someone before they could fully experience it together!

"Hey now, I'm the emotional one of..." he coughed. "Of the two of us..."

"Must you try to be so infuriating and joke at a time like this? You are loved and everyone on the ship respects you! Imagine if you were to pass away! They wouldn't have survived at all!" Spock was getting frustrated again cause of his nonchalant attitude toward death. Why couldn't he understand how painful-

Wait. But SPOCK had been the one to start the cycle of grief when he died of radiation poisoning, hadn't he? Would it then be hard to believe that the reason Kirk was so nonchalant about this was that he had grown desensitized from the feeling due to his death all those years ago? 

He... He hadn't meant to make his friend feel that way... 

Biting his lip, he lowered his tone to a gentler one. "If... If my death had caused this nonchalance, I deeply apologise. I know of the lengths you went to in order to revive me, and I remain eternally grateful. You are a friend to me, James. I refuse to put anyone through the grief of losing you. My loss was hard enough on them, but if you were to die... I doubt they would have been able to get back up again." 

"Spock..." Captain Kirk's eyes widened at the small tears pooling in the other's eyes. He didn't expect his friend to be so... so affected by his nonchalance. "I... I'm sorry too. I hadn't meant to make you feel this way." 

"No, it is fine. I suppose a talk about this was long overdue, anyway," the half-Vulcan said with a soft chuckle, his grip on the wound tightening even as the relief of finally getting those words out relaxed his heart. "You are quite the infuriating person, James."

He gave a smirk. "Well, that's what I do best, I suppose; be an annoyance to your logic." 

"No, that would be Bones. You are the one I have to rein in when your emotions get the better of you," Spock corrected. "Next time, I will not be as lenient if you injured yourself protecting me from a shield made of vibranium." 

"Understood, understood," he chuckled. "Geez, Spock, you've really changed, haven't you?" 

"I could say the same towards yourself, Captain James Kirk. Now do shut up so I can fix your wound in peace."

"Very well, former commanding officer Spock." James mock-saluted, bringing a lip twitch upwards on Spock's face as he began disinfecting the wound, cleaning it up before he bandaged it up. There, that would do for now. At least until they could get proper medical checkups from Bones. 

Despite the dire situation, the two couldn't help but feel like a burden had been lifted off their shoulders. They hadn't talked much about the death, choosing to ignore the feelings even if the trauma had still festered beneath the conscious surface. 

Who knew it would take a crazy zombie virus to just talk about it? 

The sheer notion would have been laughable if it was anything but true, yet... perhaps it was in times of danger, when the bottle burst at long last, that one could be honest about their inner feelings and face reality with the support of their loved ones.

"Time to get out of here, then," Captain Kirk said while using his other arm to pull himself to his feet while turning over and extending a hand out to Spock, who chuckled as he closed the first-aid kit, taking said hand. "I suppose it is time we regroup with the others-" 

The two paused. They could feel some sort of vibration from the hallway behind Kirk. 

Footsteps. 

It was the zombie horde, no doubt about it. 

They shared a glance, and nodded as they took off in the opposite direction of the vibrations. Spock quickly armed himself with two guns while James pulled out a pistol from his back pocket, running as much as they could but also pacing themselv-

Wait. Was it just them, or was the hallway getting warmer? 

It couldn't have been the zombies. They were not capable of emanating warmth. Even Carol hadn't used her solar powers, instead creating ice spears to shoot at them... 

That could only mean one person. 

And sure enough, as they turned back, they saw a familiar person, a yellow aura surrounding him, flying over to them with a grin on his face. "Captain Kirk! Spock! I can't believe I found you!" 

"Kid!" James couldn't stop the proud smile that formed. How had he been able to overcome the horde without feeling scared?! This kid really did exceed expectations and then some! 

Spock himself smirked as he said, "Well, you seem to have taken your sweet time, Duck!" 

"Sorry about that! We have a plan now, so follow me! I'll explain to you on the way!" He urged, sending some more energy to his feet and propelling himself forward. 

The two adults shared a glance before nodding as they quickened their paces. They didn't have much time, anyway, so it was best to trust Duck on this one! 

Here we go! I hope you enjoy it, SilverEyesCharlie !