Sorry, this took so long. This chapter will probably feel a bit disjointed as it was written over several weeks.
In the last chapter of my other Stranger Things story I wrote in the author's note that I had a persistent couch which bugged the hell out of me. Went to my doctor and since then, I'm fighting a persistent respiratory illness which is getting a bit better now but I'm still hampered by the headaches that come from the shaking my body experiences during coughing fits. And at night, when I'm horizontal, I feel pressure on my chest as if someone is sitting on it, and not in the good way -.-
Again, direct continuation from the last chapter.
Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters and I write for my own pleasure and that of the readers.
Before laying down on the couch he had chosen, Hopper felt his skin begin to itch all over and decided to head into the bathroom, seeing the shower and, to his relief, found an old soap dispenser bottle on the sink and some very stiff towels, taking all of it before taking off his clothes and stepping into the shower stall, letting the water run down his body.
He took a deep breath and winced, the pain in his ribs prevalent and making him validate his decision to have his bones fixed by that doctor guy the next morning. He tried to block out the memories of the things he had been subjected to, the beatings of the Russian guards when they did their sleep deprivation torture, then the food that caused him diarrhea for two weeks, more beatings and then the drugs they pumped into his body to get the truth that they wanted to hear but that he couldn't give them.
He could scarcely belief that it was over now. That he was back in his hometown, the woman he had kinda fallen for sleeping on the cot close to the couch he had chosen and his adoptive daughter upstairs with her boyfriend.
Boyfriend. That word stung Hopper more than he wanted to admit to himself. Mike was a boy of two sides. One the one side, Hopper had to admit that he was the best thing that could happen to his little girl. He was kind, he was honest, he was loyal to a fault and would take a bullet for his friends. Hopper chuckled at that thought, since Mike had literally taken three bullets for him during the rescue.
On the other hand, during their dating before, Mike had turned into an obnoxious jerk, disrespectful to him because of whatever caused him to be like that. Maybe it was smugness that he had gotten the girl of his dreams, maybe something else. Finally dry and dressed again, he returned into the room and got down on the couch.
Hours later, Hopper lay in bed, trying to sleep but he still felt the phantom pain of the beatings he received during his incarceration and all the new information he got since being freed didn't help with calming his mind. Not only was Eleven not the only one, something he did suspect given that she was numbered eleven but he had been surprised at how many of them there still were and how somewhat normal lives they lived. How Joyce was able to sleep in the cot on the other side of the room was beyond him.
The guy with the 001 on his arm was a CIA agent for crying out loud and also with an apparently pretty big influence in the agency given what he had provided. The girl Eleven had gone to when she had run away was the eighth. Three and four, those freakish twins. Six, that doctor who saved Mike's life with a touch after he had gotten shot.
And of course, the biggest bombshell. His little girl, his Jane, was having sex already. With the Wheeler kid, of all people. Then again, the kid did love her unconditionally and he saved his life, which gave him some points, at least enough for Hopper not to kill him outright. His thoughts still whirling, he started hearing a rhythmic squeaking, and after figuring out the direction from which it came from, his face turned red but given the tragedy that had almost transpired, he knew it would have happened anyway. He had just hoped that he weren't in the same house when it happened.
"Jesus, kids." he cursed after turning to his side, seeing the large 2:01 on the digital clock illuminated by the moonlight. "Why can't you sleep like normal people?"
He wrapped the pillow around his head and held it tight. He had no idea why those sounds were transmitted so clearly, maybe the pipes running through the house did it. Or it was because he knew who was doing it and his brain couldn't stop him from hearing those sounds more clearly, given that he needed to keep up his determination to kill the kid in the morning. Or at least put the fear of god into him. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the squeaking that chimed every second.
Which was exceedingly hard. It was like a clock ticking at night. With no other sounds around him, all he could hear was squeak, squeak, squeak. Once per second. Again and again and again. Never slowing down, never speeding up. He cursed under his breath, pushing his fingers into his ears and breathing hard, trying to extinguish the flames of fatherly rage burning inside him at least to stop himself from running up there.
"Mike saved my life. He got shot because of me. He loves her and she loves him. Mike saved my life. He got shot because of me. He loves her and she loves him. Mike saved my life. He got shot because of me. He loves her and she loves him." He kept that mantra going in his head, desperately trying to conjure images of the Wheeler kid not doing his daughter but of them jumping on the bed for fun. He opened his eyes and looked at the clock again, the numbers now showing 2:32. "Jesus, kids!"
What the hell was wrong with these two? Did Wheeler eat batteries for lunch? Despite the fact that he still wanted to kill him, his masculine side couldn't help being impressed. As he pondered the ways he could end Mike's life without Jane knowing, the squeaking suddenly sped up, making him groan. When he heard a yell, knowing exactly what it was, he wanted to throw up but finally, the squeaking stopped and the night became quiet again.
With a relieved sigh, Hopper closed his eyes and finally managed to fall asleep. Sleep first, killing Mike later. That sentiment was severely tested when something startled him awake. He oriented himself, looking at the wall clock again and barely making out the time. 4:17. With darkness still reigning, only slightly combated by the porch lamp, Hopper looked around and saw no one, then he strained his ears to find the source of his sudden awakening.
He was just about to settle back into the pillows again when he heard it. A cough, almost like a gag as if someone was choking. Then a giggle. Then another giggle, deeper this time. And another giggle, the same pitch as the first but followed by a quiet moan.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he cursed under his breath and desperately wished that he wouldn't hear a certain sound once again tonight.
No such luck for him of course. Only twenty seconds later, the squeaking returned, slower this time but definitely there. It was interspersed with more giggles, more moans and a momentary yelp, clearly from a female. Hopper felt almost like he wanted to cry, completely disbelieving of what his adopted daughter was doing at such a young age.
"Hopper, go to sleep." Joyce whined sleepily, being woken up by his talking.
"I'm trying." Hopper retorted. "They don't make it easier for me."
"How do you know it's El and Mike?"
"I heard them talking before they settled down." Hopper told her.
"Ugh, you overthink this, let them have their fun." Joyce counseled him.
"Easy for you to say, she's not your daughter." Hopper growled but immediately regretted it upon realizing what he had said when he saw Joyce's body sit up straight in the bed.
"Hop, first of all, she's not your real daughter either." Joyce said seriously. "And remember, I took her in after you disappeared and she was my daughter for almost as long as she was yours."
"Joyce, I'm sorry." Hopper apologized. "But they're just fifteen!"
"So?" Joyce shrugged. "I was fifteen when I lost my virginity."
"But what if she gets pregnant?" Hopper was adamant. "In that cell in Russia, Mike said that he knocked her up and that he was thinking about running away. Admittedly, it was a lie to get me angry but still..."
"Hop, I put her on the pill." Joyce tried to calm him. "And even if it were to happen, do you really think Mike would leave her? The boy adores the ground she's walking on."
"Having a child at sixteen can change a lot of things." Hopper pointed out.
"Believe me, I know." Joyce said quietly. "I've seen some of my childhood friends in those situations."
"And how did they end up?"
"Some split from the fathers of their babies, some stayed together and later married. One was even kicked out by her parents for keeping the child." Joyce told him. "Sure, having a baby at such a young age can be a burden, but again, I highly doubt Mike would leave her."
"Joyce..." Hopper tried.
"Can we continue with this talk in the morning?" Joyce was getting exasperated. "I'm tired and I need sleep."
"Okay." Hopper consented and settled back down, the quiet in the room making the noises coming from the room above more pronounced again.
He kept thinking the same mantra in his head he had used before, telling himself that Mike had walked through the Upside Down to save his life, had gotten shot and almost died because of it and that he would never do something to his little girl that she didn't want, mainly because she would snap his neck if he tried.
However they were doing it this time thankfully didn't last as long as the last and after slightly less than twenty minutes, silence reigned again. Almost with tears of relief, Hopper settled back again and fell into blissful oblivion. His mouth twitched into a smile when he dreamed of how he threw Mike from the cliff into the quarry, shouting at him how he'll never violate his little girl again.
El sat up quickly, her breathing hard and tears springing from her eyes. Her mind was still filled with the images from her dream, her Mike bowling over, spitting blood and collapsing to the floor where he stopped breathing. She looked to her left, seeing the boy she loved sleeping soundly, only part of his face and hair visible from under the covers.
Calming down and wiping her tears, she laid back down and shuffled closer to him, just feeling his skin on hers and laying her head on his chest, hearing the soothing beats of his heart that told her that he was still here, still alive. With a smile, she thought about the night, where they had reaffirmed his survival, more than once.
"Good morning." his voice made her open her eyes again.
"Hey." she smiled warmly at him, looking into his eyes and moving her body the last three inches so she could kiss him.
"Have you been crying?" he asked, seeing her red eyes.
"Bad dream." she nodded.
"About?"
"You." she sighed. "I watched you die. Again."
"My love, I didn't die." he argued. "That doctor guy healed me."
"But if he hadn't been there, you would have died." she shot back, more tears forming in her eyes. "I saw three bullets coming out of you."
"I know." he sighed, running his finger over the spots where the wounds had been, feeling the pinch that the doctor had predicted. "But I'm alive. I'm here. And we won't ever have to go to Russia again."
"I hope so." she nodded. "But if we ever did, I'll come with you."
"I love you." he smiled at her loyalty and determination. "Now please let go of me, I need to pee."
"Yeah, I feel so loved." she huffed sarcastically but had to admit that he had a point.
While he waited for him to return so she could use the bathroom too, she got dressed in her clothes from the day before. Around her, she could hear the rest of the group awakening, people talking and Axel's distinct mocking tone reverberating through the house. She quickly hurried to the bathroom, waiting there for Mike to emerge to avoid anyone going in there before here and felt validated when Kali, Mick and Dottie appeared, also getting in line.
"I think I'll check the other bathrooms." Mick said and left again, Dottie following her.
"Morning." Kali grinned at El. "Slept well?"
"Yes, very." El nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed by Kali's grin.
"I bet you did." Kali winked as the door opened and Mike appeared. "Morning stud."
"What?" Mike looked confused.
"Ignore her." El moped and went into the bathroom, quickly shutting the door.
"You guys aren't that quiet." Kali winked at him.
"Oh god." Mike groaned, palming his face.
"Yeah, I heard those words a few times, from both of you." Kali giggled.
"I'm gonna go now." Mike took a deep breath and quickly walked away.
He returned into the bedroom he had shared with his girlfriend and put his pants and sweater back on, rummaging in his bag for a comb to get his unruly hair at least a bit under control. He looked out the window and saw the semi circle of tents where his friends were apparently still sleeping. His stomach was rumbling and he wondered if they should simply leave now or wait for the two agents to return.
"What are you thinking?" El asked, entering the room again and stepping behind him to wrap her arms around his waist and rest her head against his back.
"Right now, I'm thinking of food." he chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm hungry too." she agreed. "Kali heard us last night."
"If she heard us from the couch she fell asleep on, I wonder how many of the others heard us." he shuddered. "Especially the chief."
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." she giggled and took his hand. "Come on, lets see if we can get something to drink.
Meanwhile, Hopper had woken up as well, on his own this time and not by the noises of his fifteen year old adoptive daughter having sex with her equally fifteen year old boyfriend. He gave the still sleeping Joyce a smile before heading into one of the bathrooms on this floor, wincing as he tried to take a deep breath, his ribs again bothering him. Once he was done in the kitchen, he walked into the kitchen.
"Mike, can we talk?" Hopper asked the boy when he found him standing in the kitchen, El right beside him. "Alone."
"Oh no." El quickly interjected and protectively wrapped her arms around her sweetie. "You will not do this again."
"Do what?" Hopper asked his daughter.
"Scare him into avoiding me and lying to me until I break up with him." El stated, squinting her eyes at her dad.
"You told her then." Hopper chuckled. "Don't worry honey, it's not that. I just wanna have a talk."
"Fine." El nodded. "But if he comes back and tells me his grandma is sick, I'm flinging you through the wall."
"Duly noted." Hopper couldn't help but chuckle at her determination.
"So, what's going on, chief?" Mike asked after they are alone behind the house.
"First of all, I heard you last night." Hopper began. "Both times."
"Last night?" Mike asked, trying to obfuscate. "What do you mean?"
"It was two in the morning and you two were having sex. And then again after four." Hopper stated but stopped Mike from talking when he saw him breathing in. "Don't try to deny it, I know how it sounds. The bed springs aren't silent and neither are you. Or her."
"Oh god." Mike groaned.
"Listen, you two are fifteen, it's pretty early to have sex already, wouldn't you say?" Hopper looked at him.
"Chief, I love your daughter and she loves me, I don't see what the problem is." Mike threw up his arms.
"You're not experienced, what if..."
"We use protection! Joyce put her on the pill." Mike interrupted him. "If there's one thing we make sure, it's always that. El got the speech from Joyce and I got it from Nancy. And Steve. I don't see why you are so mad. Aren't you glad that El is happy?"
"Kid, do you know why I did what I did the first time?" Jim looked at him. "Why I forced you to stay away?"
"Because you didn't like me?" Mike asked.
"Kid, when I thought about guys to date my girl, you were on top of the list." Jim chuckled. "You are a decent boy, you're generally polite, you're loyal to a fault, you don't get in trouble much and you clearly love her, so you would never hurt her."
"Then why?"
"Because after you started dating her, you turned into a smug, obnoxious, disrespectful son of a bitch." Jim growled. "When I tried to talk to you, before I threatened you, you sat there, right in front of me and you made fun of me with El. Have you any idea what that feels like to a father?"
"I..." Mike hesitated, thinking back to that day, realizing that Hopper was right. "Ah, crap."
"So, while I realize that I can't stop you from doing what you're doing, please, for the sake of my sanity, don't do it when I'm in an adjacent room."
"We can do that." a suddenly appearing El surprised them, startling thew big man.
"Jeez, kid, how long have you listened to us?" Jim asked.
"Since you started talking." she grinned and wrapped her arms around Jim's midriff, the larger man wincing from his injuries. "I'm so glad you're back."
"Glad to be back." Jim gave her a kiss on the temple. "Are you happy?"
"Very." El nodded and sighed into his embrace. "Lets go back inside, the agents are back."
"Morning." a very sleepy Brandon joined them in the living room when they walked back inside, the two agents already there.
"Good morning, everyone." Bryan greeted them.
"Anything for breakfast?" an appearing Dustin asked, Kali's group also coming down the stairs.
"We brought some." Marcus nodded and whistled loudly, the front door opening again and two men entering, carrying a load of boxes, followed by more people with more boxes.
"Since we couldn't really carry enough for everyone, we hired a catering service last night to prepare enough for all here." Bryan explained as the six people from the catering company set up a folding table and placed numerous boxes and plates with breakfast items on it.
"Holy moly." Dustin exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I'm gonna gorge myself."
"Leave something for the rest of us." a somewhat disheveled Robin joked.
"And don't eat too much, you have a girlfriend now." Steve chimed in.
"How are you feeling?" Brandon asked Steve.
"Better." Steve replied. "The cuts pinched a bit during the night."
"Keep them clean and bandaged and you'll be fine." Brandon smiled. "You may wanna put some Neomycin salve on your cuts to keep them from getting infected again."
"Some what?" Steve looked confused.
"An antibiotic salve, like Neosporin." Brandon clarified with a brand name.
"Oh, okay." Steve understood.
"Jim, when do you want to do your ribs?" Brandon asked the large man who was about to sit down.
"After breakfast?" Jim suggested.
"Alright." Brandon nodded and sat down himself, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"Well, dig in." Bryan said, sitting down as well, as did the rest of the group. "After breakfast, we're going to give you your rewards."
"Oh, I wonder what we'll get." Lucas chuckled.
"First, food." Dustin said and grabbed for a bun.
"No, coffee first." Joyce yawned and poured herself a cup from one of the cans.
"So, Mike, slept well?" Max asked. "You know, after being shot?"
"Yeah, I did." Mike nodded and Jim growled into his coffee. "Dying really takes it out of you."
"Not funny!" El gasped and gave him a slap on the head.
"Yeah, that trip really killed you." Lucas winked.
"Don't encourage him!" El moped and flung a few pieces of cereal at her friend with her mind.
"Careful, you don't want to see her angry." Will laughed. "She kicked a trash container and it flew a hundred feet away."
"You saw that?" El asked.
"No, but how else would a full container that comes in at somewhere around half a ton get moved thirty feet?"
"Yeah, I was pissed at Trish for something she said." El mumbled.
"What did we say about using your powers openly?" Jim looked sternly at her.
"It wasn't openly, nobody saw me." El defended.
"And nobody connected the lamp dropping on Trish's head with her." Will grinned.
"Remind me to never get on your bad side." Axel shuddered.
"You need a remainder of that after watching her pull a thirty ton train car?" Funshine laughed.
"Point taken." Axel shrugged. "Mental note, never piss off Shirley Temple."
"Shirley Temple?" Jim looked confused at El.
"My hair at the time." she pointed to her head.
They spent the rest of breakfast with idle chit chat, the children talking excitedly about what to do with the rest of the summer, now that they were all back, even though nobody really knew if Joyce and her kids would stay in Hawkins, or even if El would. Jim also had no idea if he even could stay, given that the town believed him dead, which might necessitate a relocation and a new identity.
Once it was clear that everybody was finished eating, the group around Kali bagged most of the remaining food to take it with them, nobody stopping them from doing it since it was paid for and meant less work for the caterers, who came back into the house on a call from Marcus to take away the boxes, plates and tables they had brought.
"Come with me." Brandon said to Jim, leading him into the bedroom he had slept in. "Lift your shirt and bite on this."
"It's going to hurt that bad?" Jim asked concerned, Joyce joining them, and biting down on the same, albeit washed, leather strap that Mike had also almost bitten through the day before.
"If you think you can bear your ribs being broken, be my guest." Brandon chuckled. "But don't expect me to heal your tongue if you bite on it."
"Alright, alright." Jim sighed and bit onto the strap after taking off his shirt.
Brandon put his hands on Jim's chest and closed his eyes, concentrating once more on the body of the larger man in front of him. His mind's eye floated into Jim's chest, finding the six ribs in question and seeing their crooked setting. The first thing he did was separate the tissue that had grown around the ribs and that already made Jim whimper in pain.
If Jim had thought that this would be the worst pain, he was sorely mistaken. Brandon decided to spare him most of the pain by breaking all six ribs at the same time, the clearly audible snap making Joyce wince as Jim cried out in pain but without spitting out the strap. Brandon kept his concentration up, pulling the ribs back together accurately this time, fusing the bone together until it looked as if it had never broken.
"Done." Brandon proclaimed, letting go of Jim and stumbling backwards, Joyce quickly stepping forward to prevent him from falling down. "Thanks."
"You look as if you ran ten miles at high speed." she commented.
"And weirdly enough, I feel even worse." Brandon joked while panting hard. "Give me a minute."
"Okay people, gather around!" Bryan's voice brought everyone into the living room again.
"Yes, teacher?" Axel scoffed.
"I got your rewards here." Bryan pointed to a bunch of envelopes his partner was holding.
"We didn't really ask for anything." Dustin interjected.
"Nevertheless, we thought it only fair that you should get something for your troubles." Marcus added.
"Doc, since you offered your help from a sense of patriotic duty, we decided to give you this." Bryan started, handing Brandon the top envelope.
"Oh my god!" Brandon gasped when he saw the contents. "Thank you so much."
"What did you get?" El asked, curious.
"A two million dollar donation to the department of the hospital I work in." Brandon showed him, even though he was too far away for El to read the words.
"Here's your reward." Bryan smiled, handing Tom and Tim an envelope each.
"Wait, are you serious?" Tim gasped at the content.
"What, didn't you ask for that?" Bryan chuckled.
"Yes, but we never thought you'd actually do that." Tom interjected, looking at his sheet of paper.
"What did you guys ask for?" Axel asked them.
"Jokingly, we asked for a keg of beer a day for the rest of our lives." Tim said.
"And you got that?" Axel grabbed the document to read it. "Can I change my demand?"
"Nope, like it or not, you now have complete immunity from the crimes you already committed." Bryan winked at him and handed him his envelope before handing four others to the rest of Kali's group. "But that won't protect you from any future crime."
"How do we pick them up?" Tim wanted to know. "We travel around quite a lot, you know?"
"I know but those are sold in a lot of places, just take your cards to the stores they are sold in and get as many kegs as you need. There is enough money in the accounts with those cards to get you a keg a day for the next sixty years, assuming you live that long." Bryan told them. "So if you wanna get two kegs a day, feel free but then the supply will run out in thirty years."
"We'll get by." Tom laughed and shook Bryan's hands. "Thank you."
"I have to thank you." Bryan nodded. "So, now to you, Chief."
"Well, how do we explain my survival?" Jim asked.
"Me and Marcus spent last night on a cover story." Bryan told him, handing him an envelope as well. "We already called headquarters and have it spread around, especially at social security administration, so we could un-dead you. The cover is that your body was found but on your way to the morgue, you came back to life, like with Lazarus syndrome, and since you were badly burned, nobody could ascertain your identity until you healed enough."
"That's... actually quite ingenious." Brandon commented.
"Also, you can have your job as chief back, since the current one is still only here on a temporary basis." Bryan added. "Since the old mayor was arrested and tried, the new one hasn't really done anything with the police department."
"That would be great." Jim nodded. "I'll need a job to get a loan for a new place to live."
"Actually..." Bryan smiled and pointed to the envelope.
"Are you kidding me?!" Jim gasped as he read the document inside.
"What does it say?" El asked, walking around to him to take a look.
"It's the deed to this house." Jim showed her. "How can you do this?"
"As we said yesterday, this house belonged to the lab." Bryan shrugged. "They don't need it anymore. Also, in your envelope is a debit card for an account with half a million dollars in it you can use to make repairs and to do some refurnishing."
"Uh... wow." Jim almost deflated, unsure of what to say. "Thank you."
"It's the least we could do after your ordeal." Bryan nodded.
"Does that mean that El will stay here in Hawkins?" Mike perked up.
"Well, unless she wants to go back to Chicago with Joyce, yes." Jim nodded, looking at his daughter.
"If you think I'll leave Mike again, think again." El stated resolutely. "No offense, mom."
"None taken." Joyce smiled warmly, albeit a bit disappointed at losing her but her heart warm from El calling her mom.
"You could stay here too." Jim said to Joyce.
"Hop, I don't have a place to live here and my job is in Chicago." Joyce pointed out. "So, as much as I would like to come back, I can't."
"You could live here too." Jim pointed up. "This house is certainly big enough for me, El, you, Will and Jonathan."
"Actually, I couldn't stay here, I work in Chicago, remember?" Jonathan spoke up.
"Joyce, there's a way for you to come back here without losing your job." Marcus interjected. "We actually know the owner of your company and we know that he's planning to expand to Indiana. If we put in a word, he'll transfer you to the new branch in Indianapolis, which would be not that far to drive every day."
"That... would be okay." Joyce nodded. "Jim, if I moved in here, I could support Jonathan, so they wouldn't have to give up the house immediately."
"I'll move to Chicago next year to go to college there, we planned on moving in together." Nancy spoke up.
"Well, that way Jonathan would still have a place until you found your own." Joyce suggested. "But there's one condition that absolutely has to be met until I decide to move back here."
"And that is?" Bryan asked.
"Will, what do you think?" Joyce turned around to look at her younger son. "You wanna stay in Chicago? I know you have your..."
"Stay here!" Will shouted excitedly.
"But what about..." Joyce tried again.
"Dumped." Will waved it off. "Nothing to hold me there."
"Alright then, if the job thing works out like you said, I'll come back here." Joyce nodded.
"And stay here?" Jim asked.
"Sure, saves money." Joyce smiled, giving him a subtle hint that there was another reason for moving into the house.
"And these are for you." Bryan brought the meeting back to its original purpose, handing envelopes to every teenager.
"What is it?" Mike wondered after reading the document, not quite understanding it.
"When you decide to go to college, you can call that number, it'll connect you right to me." Bryan explained. "I will make sure that you get into the college of your choice, be it Harvard or Yale or some community college in North Dakota, and that your entire college stay will be paid for."
"Are you serious?" Dustin gasped. "We get college grants?"
"Yes." Bryan nodded. "But only for the standard semesters for whatever you'd be studying with a maximum two semester extension. If you slack off and take longer, you'll have to pay for each added semester yourself."
"Wow." Mike gaped at his document.
"For everyone?" Lucas asked.
"Yes." Bryan nodded.
"But what if we want to learn a trade and not go to college?" Lucas wanted to know.
"Then it's money saved for my department." Bryan laughed. "Sorry. We could help you with your move to another city though."
"What if I want to become an officer in the military?" Dustin asked him.
"That we can't do." Bryan shook his head. "We could get you into the military but the branch you get to isn't based on a good word from anyone, only the results of your physical and mental tests. And we sure as hell couldn't get you a commission to become an officer if you haven't earned it."
"Got it, college it is." Dustin smiled.
"Okay, we're going to head out." Kali announced.
"Too bad." El smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Drive save and keep away from crime."
"I don't know if I can rest until everyone from the lab is dealt with." Kali sighed.
"They are dealt with." Bryan said. "Haven't you noticed that you were unable to find anyone else?"
"Yes." Kali nodded, squinting her eyes.
"That's because everyone who was part of the project has been arrested and tried." Marcus told her. "So, if you really feel the need that you have to kill them, you'll have to break into a federal prison, if you can find the right ones."
"Point taken." Kali nodded. "Maybe I'm going back to school."
"If you need help, call."
"No idea what we could do." Mick shrugged.
"You could try public service." Bryan suggested. "You held your own during the fight and just because we prevented the Russians from opening another gate doesn't mean that a natural one won't open in the future."
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I work for the government that abandoned me." Axel scoffed.
"Then you may wanna get a warm sweater because I certainly will think about it." Dottie poked out her tongue at him.
"Dot, don't do this to me." Axel whined, following the girl out of the house.
"Bye Jane." Kali hugged her sister. "Keep in touch."
"I will." El nodded.
Watching the group leave, El went back to Mike to lean into his body, his arms wrapping protectively around her.
Well, there it is. Finally finished despite the headaches. Hope it wasn't too bad.
Review please :)