I do not own Stranger Things or any of the characters.
Killing It
Max looked up at the door as the other children all walked back in, along with Nancy and Steve.
"Thanks for the help setting up," Mike said.
"She's fine, Mike," Dustin said. "We all agreed that someone should stay with Thirteen, and she was the logical choice."
"I just assumed it was party members only, like always," Max said, glaring at Mike before turning back to Thirteen.
The others all scattered around the house, settling in to wait. After a few minutes, Max glanced at Lucas, who was sitting by her and Thirteen.
"If he founds out where we are...will he send those dogs after us?" Max asked.
"He won't find out," Lucas assured her.
"Yeah but...i-if he does..." Max said.
"Judgement day," Lucas said.
Max squeezed Thirteen's hand as they all waited silently. Things had been going well, only for the phone to ring and give away their location to the Mind Flayer, a name they'd chosen for the shadow monster from yet another monster in Dungeons and Dragons. Now, they were about to be attacked. She tightened her grip still more, only to jump and clench down painfully as the monsters chirruped to her right, the others, who were all standing in a group, spinning toward the sound, then back the other way as another chirruped from the opposite side.
"What are they doing?" Nancy asked.
A monster shrieked out front and they all spun with a collective gasp. More growling and shrieking rang out. Then, there was a crunching noise and it went silent for a moment. Just as Max opened her mouth to ask what happened, a creature, what Dustin had called a Demo-dog, smashed through the window and landed heavily in a corner, unmoving.
"Holy shit," Dustin breathed.
"Is it dead?" Max asked.
Hopper kicked the thing in the head, but it didn't move. They all breathed a sigh of relief, only to spin toward the door as the porch creaked, then watched as the door's locks opened themselves. Then, as the door swung open, Eleven walked in, wearing jeans with the bottoms cuffed, white converse, a black jacket over a black shirt, a thin layer of dark eyeliner, and with her hair slicked back.
"Eleven!" Mike smiled, rushing forward to meet her.
"Mike!" Eleven cried, hugging him, continuing to cry as he held her.
"Is that..." Max trailed off as Lucas nodded.
"I was starting to be afraid I'd never be able to see you again," Mike smiled, pulling back. "Where were you? Why couldn't you talk to me?"
"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper said, walking forward. "The hell is this? Where have you been?"
"Where have you been?" Eleven countered.
He pulled her into a hug.
"You've been hiding her," Mike said. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" He shoved Hopper, who spun, catching by the front of his shirt.
"Let's talk," Hopper said, leaving no room for argument. "Alone."
He led Mike into the other room, and Eleven took a moment to get herself under control, only to freeze, seeing Thirteen. She yelped in surprise, dropping beside him and taking his free hand.
"What happened?" she asked, looking to Max.
"He fought three of the monsters like you just saved us from using barriers," Max said. "It drained him, but then he forced himself to use his powers again to get some of the others out of Hawkins Lab, which was overrun."
"Has he eaten?" Eleven asked.
"We fed him oatmeal and spaghetti before he passed out," Steve said. "He should be fine."
Eleven nodded and closed her eyes, focusing, only for Thirteen to pull his hand out of hers and flick her forehead.
"Save your energy, Ellie," Thirteen smiled. "You're going to need it."
Eleven let out a relieved sob and hugged him.
"I missed you," Thirteen said. "And I like the new look."
Eleven smiled, pulling back. "Glad you're okay."
"I'm fine," Thirteen said, giving Max's hand a light squeeze before taking it back and pushing himself up into a sitting position.
"Excuse me," Lucas said, he and Dustin stepping up behind Eleven. "Aren't you going to say hello to your other friends?"
Eleven smiled and turned, hugging both of them, both of them hugging her back.
"We missed you," Lucas said.
"I missed you, too," Eleven said, pulling back.
"We talked about you pretty much every day," Dustin smiled.
Eleven frowned, reaching up to his mouth, only for him to recoil in surprise. "Teeth."
"What?" Dustin asked.
"You have teeth," Eleven elaborated.
"Oh," Dustin grinned. "You like these pearls?" He made a purring noise and Eleven recoiled in surprise, making a slightly disturbed expression.
"Eleven?" Max said, Eleven turning to her. "Um, I'm Max." she offered her hand. "I've heard a lot about you."
Eleven narrowed her eyes before glancing at Thirteen, who gave her an exasperated, expectant look. She sighed, shaking her hand, then leaned close to her ear.
"Stay away from Mike," Eleven hissed, only Max hearing it, though Thirteen read her lips.
"Oh, oh God!" Max said, grimacing and shaking her head. "No, no, no! It's not like that, I swear. All yours."
Eleven nodded once.
"So," Thirteen spoke up. "What'd I miss."
"A lot," Lucas said.
He explained the situation to Thirteen briefly, and Thirteen nodded.
"So we have to close the Gate in order to stop the Mind Flayer," Thirteen nodded. "Well...I can't."
"Yeah, you need to rest," Dustin agreed.
"No, I mean I physically can't," Thirteen said. "My powers won't affect it. It was opened by Ellie's ability to find people. I don't have that power."
"But...wait, does that mean El can?" Joyce asked.
Eleven nodded hesitantly.
"I can help get you to the Gate, but I can't close it," Thirteen said.
"No," Hopper said, walking back out with Mike. "You've done enough. But the Gate's changed. It's not like it was before, it's grown. A lot. And I mean, that's considering we can get in there. That place is crawling with those dogs."
"Demo-dogs," Dustin corrected him.
"Dustin, shut up," Thirteen said. "What's the plan, Hopper?"
"I can do it," Eleven said.
"You're not hearing me," Hopper said.
"I'm hearing you," Eleven said. "I can do it."
"Even if El can, there's still another problem," Mike said. "If the brain dies, the body dies."
"I thought that was the whole point," Max said.
"The point he's making is that Will is currently counted among the body," Thirteen said.
"Closing the gate will kill him," Mike nodded.
"There's a solution," Thirteen said. "When I tried to read Will's mind as it was possessing him, I got flashes of its mind, too. That was why I was in so much pain. It's mind is...powerful. Terrifyingly powerful. But with a weakness. Heat. It can't stay in a host that's too warm. We can force it out of Will if we heat him up, a lot."
"Are you sure?" Joyce asked.
"Not one hundred percent, no," Thirteen said. "But I am one hundred percent sure that if we leave him as he is, he'll die."
"Then we've got to try," Jonathan said.
"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know, this time," Mike said.
"Yeah, somewhere far away," Dustin agreed.
"The cabin," Thirteen said, looking to Hopper, who nodded in agreement.
He walked into the room where Will was sleeping, picking him up and wrapping a blanket around him before heading out to Jonathan's car, Jonathan, Joyce, and Bob going with him. As they did, Hopper explained to Jonathan how to get to the cabin. While they did, Nancy and Jonathan went out to a pile of garbage out back to find heaters, Joyce saying she had taken a few out once Will started wanting it cold.
"I should be going with you," Thirteen said to Eleven as they were on the porch waiting for Hopper to be ready to go.
Eleven shook her head. "You need to rest. Stay with the others. It might send more after them."
Thirteen sighed. "Be careful, alright? As soon as you start trying to close the Gate, it's going to send everything after you."
Eleven nodded and turned to Mike. Thirteen headed back inside to give them privacy. He sat on the couch beside Max, who leaned on his shoulder.
"You scared me," Max said. "I was afraid you weren't going to wake up."
Thirteen smiled. "I can't be a superhero if I'm asleep on a couch." He slipped his hand into hers, Max squeezing his lightly. "I'll be alright. I'm probably done fighting for this round anyway."
"This round?" Max asked.
"Well, this is the second time we've had to fight monsters to protect Hawkins from the Upside Down," Thirteen said. "It seems to be becoming a trend."
The door swung open and Mike, Steve, Dustin and Lucas walked in. Max squeezed his hand a little tighter.
"Everyone's going to be fine," Thirteen said. "Us especially. All we have to do is wait here."
Max nodded. "What are they doing?"
Thirteen looked over at Dustin, who was emptying out the freezer and Steve, who was holding the Demo-dog, wrapped up in a blanket. "Really Dustin?"
"Hey, this is a ground-breaking scientific discovery!" Dustin defended himself. "We can't just bury it like a common mammal, okay? It's not a dog!"
"Okay, fine, but you're going to explain this to Mrs. Byers," Steve said.
He stuffed it into the freezer, having Dustin shut the door to keep it there.
"We should burn it," Thirteen said. "No only because it's what the military will do to it anyway, but also because I fucking hate those things."
"It's not all about you," Dustin said.
Thirteen shook his head, looking over to where Lucas was sweeping up the glass from the shattered window while Mike was pacing.
"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas asked.
"You weren't in there, okay, Lucas?" Mike snapped. "You didn't see. That lab is swarming with those dogs."
"Demo-dogs!" Dustin shouted.
"The chief will take care of her," Lucas said.
"Like she needs protection," Max said.
"Look, dud, if the coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it," Steve said. "All right?"
"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game," Mike said irritably. "And second, we're not even in the game, we're on the bench."
"R-Right, so my point is..." Steve stopped, everyone waiting for him to continue. "Right, we're on the bench so there's nothing we can do."
"That's not...entirely true," Dustin said. "I mean, these Demo-dogs, they have a Hive Mind, right? When Dart ran away from the bus, he was called away."
"So if we get their attention..." Lucas began.
"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab," Max finished.
"Fire," Thirteen said. "The tunnels."
"Yeah, and then we all die!" Steve said.
"No, we won't," Thirteen said. "I can plug the tunnel behind us while we run."
"No," Max said. "No using your powers."
"Here," Mike said, pointing to a spot in Will's map of the tunnels where multiple converged.
"Perfect," Thirteen said. "We light it on fire and beat feet back out of the tunnels before they catch us."
"By the time they realize we're gone-" Max began.
"El will already be at the Gate," Mike said.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Steve shouted, clapping his hands as he yelled. "This is not happening!"
"But-" Mike began.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Steve shouted over him. "No buts. I promised to keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. We're staying here. On the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job."
"Starting team's nothing without cleanup," Thirteen said.
"Don't turn my analogy against me," Steve said. "We're not going. Does everyone understand that?"
"This isn't a stupid sports game!" Mike said.
"I said does everybody understand that!?" Steve snapped. "I need a yes."
Just then, an engine roared outside, and everyone turned. Thirteen read the person's mind and swore.
"Billy," Thirteen said.
"Shit!" Max swore. "He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me." She looked at Thirteen. "He'll kill us."
"I can knock him out real quick," Thirteen said. "It wouldn't take much energy."
"No," Steve said. "I'll handle it."
"Stay out of the windows," Thirteen said, tugging Max away from the window just as Billy stood from his car.
"Shit!" Dustin swore, all of the others dropping just as Thirteen got Max away from it. "Did he see us?"
"Yes," Thirteen assumed, just before the door burst open, Billy stepping through it.
"Well, well, well," Billy said, staring at Lucas on one side of Max, then Thirteen on the other. "Lucas Sinclair and the boy with no name. What a surprise." He walked over to stand in front of them. "I thought I told you to stay away from them, Max."
"Billy, go away," Max said.
"You disobeyed me," Billy said threateningly. "And you know what happens when you disobey me."
"Billy-"
"I break things," Billy snarled, then grabbed Lucas by the jacket.
Thirteen stepped forward instantly, slamming a kick into the back of Billy's knee. He shouted in surprise, dropping Lucas, who scrambled away, and Billy turned on Thirteen.
"Well, well," Billy grinned. "A little fighter. You're already ahead of King Steve. Fine. I'll break you first."
He took a swipe at Thirteen but Thirteen ducked under it, blood leaking from his nose as he read Billy's mind to see what he'd do before he could do it. Then, as he stood, he punched Billy in the jaw ineffectively. He followed it up with a punch to the nose that worked much better, however.
Billy chuckled. "Not bad kid. You're quick!" He grabbed for him, but Thirteen stepped out of the way and tripped him. He snarled, shoving himself up. "You are so dead, kid! So dead!"
"No," Steve said, spinning him. "You are!" He drilled a punch into Billy's jaw, sending him staggering backward.
Billy simply laughed, standing back up. "Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I've been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about."
"Get out," Steve said, pushing his chest lightly.
Billy stood there, staring, for a moment, before throwing a haymaker, only for Steve to duck under it, then drill another punch into his jaw. The kids began to cheer as Steve drilled three more punches into Billy, who staggered away but simply laughed.
"Plate!" thirteen shouted, just as Billy grabbed it.
Steve ducked under the plate, but instead, Billy slammed an uppercut into his face, sending him staggering away.
Billy grabbed him by the coat, snarling, "No one tells me what to do."
He threw Billy to the floor, then dropped on top of him, beginning to rain punches. Thirteen raised his arm, only for Max to shove it down and run forward with a syringe, the same kind as they'd used to put Will to sleep. Then, the jabbed it into his neck and injected the anesthetic before backing away. Billy stood and turned to her, pulling the syringe out and dropping it before starting forward unsteadily.
"The hell is this?" Billy asked. "You little shit, what did you do?" Then, he fell backward, barely conscious but struggling to stay awake, laughing as he lay on the ground.
Max grabbed Steve's bat and walked over, raising it. "From here on out you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?"
"Screw you," Billy said, only for Max to slam the bat into the ground between his legs, just shy of his balls.
"Say you understand!" Max shouted. "Say it! SAY IT! ! !"
"I understand," Billy mumbled.
"What?" Max asked.
"I understand," Billy said, barely louder, then finally passed out.
Max sighed, dropping the bat. Then, she grabbed Billy's keys from his pocket and turned to them, holding them up. "Let's get out of here."
"Beautifully done," Thirteen grinned, lifting Steve with his powers. "Don't forget the bat."
The boys all looked at each other, before Lucas grabbed the bat and they sprinted for Billy's car. On the way, they all grabbed cans of gas, and Dustin grabbed an ice pack for Steve's head, which was covered in blood, bruises, and swelling. Thirteen took the passenger's seat, putting Steve in the back, and the other three all crammed in with Steve.
"He's not going to like this," Lucas said, as Dustin held the ice bag to Steve's head.
"Yeah, he's going to freak out," Mike said.
"Not our problem," Thirteen said as Max sped out onto the road. "Lucas, navigate." He handed back a map.
Lucas nodded, unfolding the map and quickly finding a route to the farm they needed to get to.
"Wait, have you ever driven before?" Mike asked.
"Once," Max said. "In a parking lot."
"Good enough for me," Thirteen said.
"We're doomed," Mike said.
"No more than in the tunnels," Thirteen said. "I have faith."
"Nancy?" Steve groaned after a while.
"No, don't touch it," Dustin said, Thirteen glancing back at Steve, seeing he had tried to touch his face. "Hey, buddy. Sshh. It's okay. You put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a good fight, buddy. You're okay."
"Okay, you're going to keep straight half a mile, then...make a left on Mount Sinai," Lucas told Max, who nodded.
"What's going on?" Steve asked, a second before realizing exactly what. "Oh, my God!"
"Steve, just relax," Dustin said calmingly. "She's driven before."
"Yeah, in a parking lot!" Mike said.
"That counts," Lucas said.
"Oh, my God!" Steve groaned.
"You'll be fine, Steve," Thirteen said. "We're almost there. I think."
Max pressed the pedal harder.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Steve shouted. "What's going on!?"
Max flashed Thirteen a grin and matted it.
"Oh my God!" Steve panicked. "Whoa! Stop the car! Slow down!"
"I told you he'd freak out!" Mike snapped.
"Stop the car!" Steve shouted, though his tone was slightly more irritated, as though he knew it was pointless to ask.
"Everybody shut up!" Max shouted. "I'm trying to focus!"
"Oh, wait!" Lucas shouted, lunging between the front seats to point. "There's Mount Sinai! Make a left!"
"What?" Max asked.
"Make-turn left!" Lucas shouted.
Max swerved across the road and hit a mailbox before skidding around the corner. Everyone but Thirteen and Max screamed, Lucas' a high-pitched, girly screech just like Halloween. Finally, they reached the hole Hopper had dug to get into the tunnel before, apparently, and the car skidded to a stop, Steve's continued shouting and screaming ending with a "Hello!" Thirteen chuckled at his choice of last word as he got out, leaning the seat forward. Instantly, Steve scrambled out of the car, barely able to stand.
"Incredible," Mike said.
"Told you," Max said. "Zoomer."
"Cavalry," Thirteen said.
Max rolled her eyes as the others climbed out of the car with the gas. They all ran to the trunk, grabbing bandanas and scarves and goggles from back there to help minimize the amount of toxic air they breathed.
"Guys," Steve said, voice thick from his lip being swollen. "Oh no. Hey guys!"
Mike headed for the tunnel.
"Hey!" Steve said. "Hey, where do you think you're going!? What are you, deaf? Hello! We are not going down there! I made myself clear! There is no chance we're going to that hole, alright!?"
Thirteen shoved the side of the bat into his chest hard enough to slam him back against the car and pin him there. "My sister is walking to her death if we don't do this. My father is walking to his death if we don't do this. No, I am going in there, alone if I have to. But since all of them are going to go with me, short of broken legs, that means that if you want to help me protect them, you have to help me protect my family, too!"
He shoved the bat harder, then let go, Steve catching the bat and staring at him, halfway impressed, halfway confused. "Jeez. Alright. Man, you kids are more trouble than you're worth."
"Sure we are," Thirteen said, walking over to the hole as Mike through some rope in. "Psychics first."
He grabbed the rope and walked down to the opening in the tunnel, then dropped in, sliding down the rope to the bottom of the tunnel. He looked around and, seeing no Demo-dogs, flicked the rope then moved out of the others' way. After a few seconds, everyone was in the tunnel, and Mike began to lead, only for Steve to catch him.
"I'm going first," Thirteen said, raising the pistol he'd stolen during his second breakout from Hawkins Lab, for which he had a second magazine that Bob had had on him when they got to Will's house, though he'd forgotten the pistol by the generator, apparently.
"A pistol?" Steve asked.
"I mean, if you'd rather you and that bat be up here than me, this gun, and my superpowers, you're welcomed to it," Thirteen offered. "Otherwise, cover the rear so we don't get snuck up on. And try to leave a trail of breadcrumbs that doesn't involve hurting the tunnels."
Steve nodded and looked around before ripping a piece of his shirt off. Thirteen nodded and began to walk, following Mike's directions. As they walked, Max caught up to him, slipping her hand into his free one.
"I need that to shoot accurately," Thirteen said.
"I don't see any targets yet," Max said.
"Hopefully it'll stay that way," Thirteen said.
"How do you feel?" Max asked. "Honestly."
"Honestly?" Thirteen asked. "I'm recharged enough for two barriers for a second each or twenty seconds of my other powers, or a minute of mind reading. Hopefully, we won't need any of it."
Max nodded just as they reached a small hub where several tunnels connected, though not the one they were looking for.
"God, what is this place?" Max asked.
"Straight ahead," Mike directed them.
"It's a pocket of the Upside Down," Thirteen said. "Basically, Hell. Or, at least, the road to it."
Max nodded, holding his hand a little tighter. Then, about a minute later, they found the hub they were looking for, which had a square, altar-like object in the center.
"I think we found it," Thirteen said, looking around at the bones and bodies lying around the area. "This is where the Mind Flayer set a trap for those soldiers."
"Good, then it's fitting that this is where we light the fire," Mike said.
"What?" Thirteen asked. "No. Well, yes, it is, but that's not what I meant." He walked around quickly, grabbing several pistols and an M16. "This is what I meant." He checked all of their bullets, tossing three of the pistol magazines aside before loading one of the pistols with his spare magazine and passing it to Max, keeping the only other pistol with bullets, though only half a magazine, then passed Steve the M16, which was fully loaded. "Basic rules. Don't point it at one of us, keep you finger straight along the gun so it's not on the trigger until you need to shoot it, and do not point it at each other!"
"Okay, jeez," Steve said, sliding his bat under his backpack in favor of the gun. "We get it. No need to say it twice."
"It's the most important," Thirteen said. "If you don't point it at us, you won't shoot us." He looked around. "Now, let's play with fire."
The others all nodded and quickly set about spreading gas around the hub. Then, once they'd spread everything, they headed to the tunnel they needed to take.
"Alright, you guys ready?" Steve asked.
"Ready," the others all said.
"Steve," Thirteen said. "I'll take rear on the way back. They'll be chasing us, since they'll go to the hub first."
Steve nodded.
"Light 'er up," Dustin said.
"I am in such deep shit," Steve said, and tossed his lighter into the hub.
As soon as the fire roared to life, vines wrapping around the floor flailing as a deafening shriek rang out from somewhere, they all turned and took off at a sprint. They tried to be careful of the uneven floor and the vines lying across it, but it was a secondary concern. As they were running through the smaller hub from before, however, Mike tripped, a vine beginning to coil around his leg instantly. However, before it could get very high on his leg, Thirteen whipped a hand out to the side, the vine being ripped off of his leg before Lucas and Dustin hauled Mike to his feet and they turned to the tunnel they needed to take, only for Dart to leap into view, snarling.
"Been waiting for this!" Thirteen growled.
"Wait!" Dustin said, stepping forward cautiously. "Dart."
"Get out of my way!" Thirteen growled.
"Sshh, stop!" Dustin said. "Trust me, please."
Thirteen hesitated, arm raised but waiting to kill it.
"Hey," Dustin said, pulling his bandanna down and his goggles off. "It's me. It's your friend. It's Dustin. It's Dustin, alright?" He knelt down in front of Dart, Thirteen inching to the side to get a clear shot. "Remember me? Will you let us pass?"
Dart's head opened and he roared at Dustin.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Dustin said. "I'm sorry about the storm cellar. That was a pretty douchey thing to do. You hungry? Yeah?" He pulled his backpack off.
"He's insane!" Steve hissed.
"Don't!" Lucas hissed at him.
"Shut up!" Max agreed.
"I've got our favorite, see?" Dustin held up a 3 Musketeers bar. "Nougat." He broke off half the bar and set it in front of Dart. "Look at that. Yummy, right? Eat up, buddy."
He hurriedly waved the others through as Dart was distracted by the candy bar. They all hurried past Dart, Thirteen staying close behind Max. Once he was past, he turned and gave Dart and Dustin an incredulous look as Dustin gave it the other half of the candy bar before walking past calmly while it ate the candy.
"I don't believe it," Thirteen said.
"Goodbye, buddy," Dustin said.
"Let's go, let's go!" Steve hissed.
Thirteen shook his head and ran after the others. Once they were a safe distance away, he chuckled.
"You got what you wanted, Dustin," Thirteen said. "I didn't end up being what killed Dart. Remind me to punch you later."
"For what?" Dustin asked.
"I still owe you at least one more for keeping him in the first place and lying to us about it," Thirteen said.
Just then, the tunnel shook, all of them stopping to stay on their feet.
"What was that?" Max asked.
"Ellie's started sealing the Gate," Thirteen said. "That means the tunnel's going to die, and possibly collapse!" He paused as a chorus of shrieks and roars rang out behind them. "Move!"
Finally, they reached the rope hanging in through the hole they'd come through and Steve stopped, beginning to boost the others out, starting with Max. As he did, Thirteen stuck his pistols into his pants' waistband and picked up the M16. He spun, aiming back along the tunnel the way they'd come, waiting.
"Hurry up, Steve!" Thirteen said as the roars grew closer rapidly.
As the roars echoed from just around the last corner, only he, Steve, and Dustin were left, so he focused, sending both of them flying up out of the hole, gritting his teeth as his head throbbed in response.
"Thirteen!" Max shrieked, but it was too late for him to get out.
A sea of Demo-dogs were swarming toward him. He grit his teeth, opening fire, but the bullets were ineffective at best. However, just as he prepared himself to use a barrier, the Demo-dogs parted, streaking past him while giving him a very wide birth, scrambling against the walls of the tunnel to keep out of his reach. He let the rifle fall to aim at the ground and turned after them.
"Ellie," Thirteen breathed.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Steve shouted, dropping in front of him. "Don't even think about it! We need to get out of here, now!"
Thirteen grit his teeth and shoved Steve aside, only for Max to jump in front of him, catching him by the shoulders.
"Please," Max pleaded. "Stay."
He hesitated before shouting in frustration and slamming the rifle on the ground. "Okay. Steve, Max first."
Both hesitated before nodding. However, once Max was out, Thirteen tossed his three guns up, making sure all three of them were set to safe, then let Steve boost him out before pulling Steve back out with his powers. Max hugged him instantly.
"Thank you," Max said.
Thirteen hugged her back for a few seconds before pulling away. "We need to get to-"
He stopped, shielding his eyes as the car's headlights began to rapidly shine brighter and brighter. Then, it was over. The headlights faded back to normal, and they all looked around.
"It's over," Thirteen said, closing his eyes, tense for a moment before smiling. "She's alive. She did it. She closed it."
The others began to cheer instantly, and Max laughed in relief, throwing her arms around him and kissing him. He smiled, kissing her back for a few seconds before pulling away and hugging her. After a few more minutes, they all crammed into the car again, Steve driving this time with Thirteen in the passenger seat and Max in his lap, and headed for the Lab to meet Hopper and Thirteen.
Thirteen grinned as a romantic song began to play, then turned to Max and bowed, holding out his hand. "Madam, if you would do me the honor."
Max rolled her eyes. "Only if you stop acting like a dork."
Thirteen flashed her a shit-eating grin as she took his hand, and they walked onto the dance floor together, beginning to sway to the music. Once he was sure Dustin wouldn't hear, he laughed. "Oh my God, his hair is so bad!"
"It's definitely too curly for that style," Max agreed. "So, John Hopper, huh?"
"Owens pulled a few strings, for me and Ellie," Thirteen said. "It's not a million bucks, but I'll take it."
Max smiled. "At least if you're the chief of police's son my dad will think you have a decent moral upbringing."
"True," Thirteen nodded. "Not that I ever want to be in any room with him for more than ten seconds. I'm liable to fling him."
"No flinging, please," Max said.
"Speaking of flinging," Thirteen said. "How are things with Billy?"
"He's...mostly ignoring me, now," Max said. "Which is better."
"I'm sorry," Thirteen said.
"It's fine," Max said. "It's better this way."
Thirteen smiled and nodded, glancing around for the others. As he did, he grinned. Will was dancing with a girl he didn't know, but Mike was dancing with Eleven, and happened to kiss her as both Max and Thirteen saw them, Dustin was dancing with Nancy, and Lucas was dancing with another girl Thirteen didn't know. However, something caught his attention about her instantly. She was black, had long hair and a purple dress, and when she tilted her left arm slightly, he caught sight of a tattoo of the number "008" on the inside of her wrist.
"Who's he dancing with?" Max asked.
"I think that's my next dancing partner," Thirteen said, instantly getting an incredulous glare. "She has the number zero-zero-eight tattooed on her arm."
Max's eyes widened. "Wait, like, from the Lab?"
Thirteen nodded. "Mind if I meet maybe my sister?"
Max considered for a moment before pulling him into a kiss. "Make it quick."
Thirteen nodded, then nodded to the girl Lucas was dancing with, who had been watching him, as had Lucas. Both he and Lucas released the girl they were with, pivoting around each other and swapping partners.
"Eight, huh?" Thirteen asked.
"Kali, now," she said. "And I'm not really your age."
"I know," Thirteen said. "As soon as I saw the numbers I read your mind. You look better as an adult."
Kali grinned. "Not bad, Thirteen. Jane mentioned you could do that, but she said it was only active thoughts."
"You have to focus to hold an illusion," Thirteen said. "Which means you'll also focusing on what's really there. Your nose is bleeding, by the way."
She reached up casually and wiped it, the blood seeming to disappear, though in reality it was just on the glove she was hiding. "Jane told me a lot about you before she took off, and I wanted to meet my baby brother. Of course, as soon as I got on my way here, something else she said finally clicked. I was hunting down people from the Lab when she found me, but she told me that revenge is born of anger, but justice is born of the desire for peace. Since I originally came down to make sure my little sister was okay, since she said there was something dangerous going on here, it felt like I was doing the right thing. Guess she fixed me after all."
"Done hunting for revenge?" Thirteen asked.
"Yeah," Kali said, wiping her nose again. "I think I might stick around here for a while. Get to know my family."
Thirteen smiled and nodded. "Then, in that case, we'll have plenty of time to talk after."
Kali smirked. "Go on then. Go suck face with your girlfriend."
"Glad to see you're such a romantic," Thirteen smirked.
"Oh, just wait til you get older," Kali said.
"Yeah, you and I are never having that conversation," Thirteen snorted, then stepped away from her, tapping Lucas who released Max instantly.
Max raised an eyebrow as they began to dance again. "So? Tell me all about her."
"She's a twenty year-old criminal, who's spent years hunting down all the people involved with the Lab while she was there," Thirteen said. "Her hideout got raided and her gang scattered, so she decided to go after Eleven, who had said she was going somewhere dangerous. Then once she was here, although too late for the fun, she decided to stick around and help look after me and Eleven and gave up on revenge. Oh, and her only power is illusions."
"She was thinking all of that?" Max asked.
"No," Thirteen said. "I've been practicing, and if I focus, I can see bits and pieces of recent memories."
"Nice!" Max grinned. She kissed him, then smiled. "For the record, as long as I'm not mad at you, I don't mind you reading my mind. Unless I ask you not to."
Thirteen smiled and nodded, and kissed her again before the current slow song ended and they both left the dance floor, neither wanting to do a more active kind of dance. Instead, they snuck out after Kali, Eleven bringing Mike, and found her waiting in the parking lot as herself, complete with her hair shaved on one side, a black leather jacket, fingerless black gloves, one of with was practically dripping blood from holding an illusion too long, black jeans, and black boots.
"Sister!" Eleven gasped, running forward to hug her.
"Sister?" Mike asked.
"She's from the Lab, too," Thirteen said.
"I came to make sure you were okay, Jane, but you'd already taken care of everything by the time I could get here," Kali said. "Fhat police Chief, Hopper, saw my tattoo and explained everything, then agreed to keep me out of prison in exchange for me looking after the two of you whenever he can't be there. Apparently, you're both a lot of trouble."
"Always," Eleven grinned.
"Good," Kali smiled. "More fun that way." She sighed. "I 'm sorry, Jane. I shouldn't have tried to manipulate you. And after I started to head here, your advice about revenge clicked, so I'm done hunting those people down."
"Thirteen's advice," Eleven said. "He told me one day when I was really mad at them after a nightmare."
"Well, my brother's a smart kid," Kali said. "Now, the chief offered me a place to stay, but also gave me a curfew, on account of my spotty past, so I've gotta run. Go enjoy your dance."
All four nodded, Thirteen and Eleven both smiling happily, then headed back inside.
"Seems like things worked out pretty well," Max said.
"I agree," Thirteen smiled. "As long as we're done with that place."
Max nodded in agreement as they all sat with Lucas, Will and Dustin joining them after a few seconds, and Eleven and Thirteen began to fill them in on what they'd missed.
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