A/N: Boy, it's been a spell since last updating this, hasn't it? Sorry for the delay. I'll be honest, this story is going to be updated at a much slower pace due to my workload and taking care of my family. Thanks for bearing with me!
More Than it Seems - Chapter 3
Hawkins, Indiana – November 1985*
She didn't know what to feel as she crossed the border into Hawkins. The large sign that she eyed outside the driver-side window of Joyce Byers car brought a number of feelings she didn't expect. El was still in the process of being adopted by Joyce, soon becoming the sister to Jonathan and Will. The family that she longed for was almost a reality. And yet, Hawkins was both the place where she found friendship, love, and safety, as well as isolation, death, and tragedy.
It was there that she was experimented on for years, where her powers were used by powerful men for their own selfish gain. It was there that she had to fight evil monsters who wanted to destroy those that she loved. It was there that she lost her powers, and still struggled to find any semblance of them. Who was she without her immense power? It was there that she lost the father she had always longed for, despite the fact that they often argued. Their love for one another outweighed their stubbornness, which truly spoke volumes.
"Hopper," El whispered. The remark earned her a pat on the head from her adoptive mother.
"I miss him too," Joyce sighed.
"You know Mom," Jonathan started. "As much as I'm glad we're visiting, it's a little weird coming back home."
"I know," Joyce agreed. "But you guys will get to see your old friends. Jonathan, you'll get to see Nancy..."
"I'm not sure she wants to see me," he sighed. "We haven't talked in weeks, and she doesn't return my calls."
"I'm sure she's just busy," Joyce tried to reassure him. Jonathan shrugged the half-hearted affirmation. He had grown accustomed to it. His mother had been through so much over the years, and while at first she dealt with the grief with wild emotions, now she just seemed resigned to trying to see the silver lining in everything. He knew better than to share his real fears about his relationship with Nancy. He felt defeated and abandoned. He thought she would be happy that they were visiting, but he was met with silence.
"Hey Will, how you feeling about coming back?" Jonathan asked his younger brother, trying to move the attention off of him. However, he didn't respond, instead choosing to stare out his window. "Earth to Will, you in there." He jerked in his seat and looked at his brother oddly. "You ok?"
"Yeah..." his voice trailed. "Yeah, I'm ok," he said, as he turned to look out the window, avoiding Jonathan's gaze.
"What's wrong?" El turned to the back seat and asked.
"Nothing's wrong," Will replied weakly, which drew out a smirk from El.
"Friends don't lie," she gently rebuked him. "What is it?" He hesitated for a moment, before finally sharing.
"I don't want to believe it's true, but you know the feeling I had last year, whenever I sensed the Mind Flayer was around?" They nodded their heads. "Well, I feel something similar now. I have ever since we were about ten miles away from the city limits."
"Will, do you think you really feel it?" Joyce asked calmly. "Or do you think it has to do with the traumatic experiences you've had here?"
"I don't know," Will tried to explain. "I was really excited to come on this trip, but I also felt anxious beforehand. Maybe that has something to do with it?"
"What if it is him?" El asked. Joyce didn't know what to say to ease their fears, nor did she know if she should just turn around right away.
"Look, let's just be extra careful," Jonathan resolved. "Will, if you continue to feel this way, or if they intensify, let us know."
"Okay," he started, but Jonathan placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Seriously," he replied. "You don't need to hide these things from us. We're here for you, and if that thing comes back..."
"Let's hope it's not that," Joyce interjected. She looked over at El, whose face had fallen at the news that her enemy may have returned. And worse, she was powerless to stop him.
*New York, NY – 2023*
Doctor Strange was exhausted. He had pored himself into all types of books related to traveling throughout the multiverse. The dangers, risks, how to make sure he got to the right position in time.
"You've been sitting there for days, Stephen," Wong said. "Shouldn't you get out, freshen your mind?"
"Something about this is quite worrisome," Strange replied.
"Just because the cauldron threw you against the wall..."
"It wasn't the force of the cauldron that has me spooked," Strange spoke with more force this time. He stood and turned to his friend and fellow guardian of the Sanctum. "This is one day in which the time stone would be helpful."
"We could always ask Dr. Banner to use his time travel device and get a hold of it," Wong suggested.
"For someone who has warned me before about tampering with time, I'm going to go ahead and ignore that suggestion." He paced around the room a bit, puzzled by what he felt.
"Tell me about the monster again," Wong replied.
"It was dark, slender," he started. "It's head almost looked like a flower pedal. It's fingers were like razor sharp talons. When it stood up, it towered over all who saw it."
"That doesn't sound like anything I've ever encountered or read about," Wong considered.
"That's why I'm troubled," Strange continued. "The combination of our lack of knowledge, combined with its strength and it's appearance in the cauldron..." Strange's voice trailed off.
"What are you considering, Stephen?"
*Miami, FL – 1997*
Hours had passed since the encounter with the beast. They all retreated to Hopper's trailer, which was located a few miles outside the main drag of the city, so while they could see the bright lights of Miami, the darkness of a less developed suburbia began to take hold. When they arrived, Kim, Jason, and Tommy were more than a bit skeptical at Hopper's accommodations. As they entered, there was pitifully few pieces of furniture and the wallpaper was peeling away, clearly worn.
As for the smell, despite the several air fresheners scattered across the different outlets in the common room, it hardly masked the putrid smell that nearly gagged them. Tommy and Jason had even considered morphing back, just to see if that would alleviate the unpleasantness.
"You live here?" Kim asked, the disgust clearly evident in her voice.
"Yes," Hopper replied, a bit short in his response. "It's not like I brought my bank account here to 1997."
"Sorry," she quickly apologized. "It's just..."
"I get it," he replied. "It's not exactly much to look at, but I'm kind of hoping this isn't permanent." He sat down and ran his hands through his hair, rubbing his temple as he knew how crazy he probably sounded.
"So, what was that thing back there?" Jason asked.
"It's a demogorgan," Hopper replied.
"Like from Dungeons and Dragons?" Tommy asked, eliciting an odd look from Kimberly and Jason. "What? I used to play it..."
"Wait, seriously?" Kim asked.
"Yeah, before I moved to Angel Grove," Tommy confessed. "I kinda didn't have time for it after we started dating and, you know, the whole power ranger thing."
"Huh, I dated a nerd," Kim joked without thinking. The off hand comment pained him, which Jason saw and placed a hand on his shoulder to console him.
"Anyway," Hopper interjected, noting the awkwardness between Tommy and Kim. "I think that's what they named it after. The kids... they always fought and came up with these crazy names."
"But it's not actually a Demogorgan from Dungeons and Dragons, right?" Tommy asked.
"Of course not, it's its own... thing, look why would you think it's actually from the game?!"
"Honestly, because that happens to us on the regular," Jason replied.
"Yeah, two weeks ago, Rita took Katherine's purse and made it into a monster that ate everything," Tommy remembered. Now it was Kim's turn to look peeved.
"Okay, you proved your point," Hopper admitted. "No, it's not from the game, they just named it that, and it terrorizes people, along with every other terrible monster that comes from that hideous place!"
"But what's it doing here?" Jason asked with a graver tone.
"Yeah," Kim entered the conversation. "Didn't you say that you guys destroyed it?"
"We did."
"Then how could another one be here?" Tommy continued the litany of questions.
"Hell if I know," Hopper replied. "If I knew that, I'd probably know how to get my way back to Hawkins, Indiana in 1985. But I don't. I don't know how to get back, I can't get in touch with anyone, and the only people I can actually talk to are these idiot pranksters..." He pointed at the radio that he had been using.
"Is there anyone in Hawkins that you can get a hold of?" Kim asked empathetically.
"That's just it, I've tried looking for them, but it's like everybody moved out of town. Of course, if your town got inundated with monsters at least once a year, I'd imagine that wouldn't be a great selling point to stick around."
"You've clearly never lived in Angel Grove," Jason quipped, which brought out a slight chuckle from Tommy and Kim, though the tension between them was still fairly noticeable. "What does it want?"
"The monster?" Hopper asked. "I don't know. Maybe it just wants fresh blood. Or maybe it's returned to scout for it's master."
"It has a master?" Tommy asked.
"Unfortunately," Hopper recalled. "Again, I don't know much. I thought we shut down the gateway to the upside-down when I got sent here."
"Upside-down?" This time it was Jason who asked.
"I never thought I would want that stupid Wheeler kid to be here, so he could explain all this stuff," he sighed. They all looked at him oddly. "Kid from the 80's, named everything after the game you mentioned, kind of the ringleader of the group."
"We should get in touch with Zordon, see if there's anything he knows about it," Tommy mentioned, going into leader mode.
"What's a Zordon?" Hopper asked.
"Look, there's a lot that we probably shouldn't say," Tommy confessed. "The whole being heroes thing, keeping identities a secret. We've kind of all ready blown that."
"Fair enough..." Before Hopper could finish, the four of them found themselves standing in a room with some very impressive technological structures. Viewing screens, displays on the wall with old power ranger suits, battle stations. Hopper had never seen anything like it.
"Jason, did you teleport us here?" Tommy asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Jason replied. "Kim?"
"I don't have access here anymore, remember," Kim replied.
"What is that!?" Hopper cried, as he gazed upon the power tube that contained Zordon.
"He is Zordon," Jason replied. "Mentor to the Power Rangers. You are currently standing in our base, the Power Chamber."
"He's a floating head," Hopper quipped.
"GREETINGS," Zordon's voice boomed.
"Uhh... hi," Hopper hesitantly spoke. Before any other communication could happen, the other rangers teleported in. They were shocked to see both Kimberly and another man in the power chamber.
"Kimberly?" Kat's Aussie-accented voice was the first to be heard.
"Guys, why are you giving our secret away to random people?" Rocky joked.
"We didn't," Tommy defended himself. "Zordon brought us here." The statement was met with silence. Tommy looked up at his mentor, wondering why he didn't respond. "You did bring us here, right?"
"I'M AFRAID I DID NOT. I TOO WONDERED WHY YOU WOULD BRING A NON-RANGER INTO THE POWER CHAMBER."
"If you didn't teleport here, and Zordon and Alpha didn't bring you here, then who did?" Adam asked.
"I did," A voice came from the shadows. The rangers and Kimberly got into defensive positions, while Hopper was still too stunned to react. The one who spoke stepped into the light, wearing his green tunic and the red cloak of levitation, his face with a subtle beard, his hair black with gray streaks throughout. "My name is Doctor Stephen Strange, and I believe the fate of the multi-verse is at stake."
To Be Continued...
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- Googz333