Hopper blared the police sirens as he barreled across town. Dustin sat beside him and the others squeezed in the back, anxious and a little overwhelmed with all this new information. It had been Will's idea to go to Joyce - perhaps she would know something about Billy's parents since they had been neighbors at one point. El wondered if Max was safe at home.

Joyce didn't seem surprised to see them when they arrived, although it had been years since she and Hopper talked about anything but the weather. She had once thought, long ago...but no, no that was just silly now. A silly dream. She quickly ushered them in, sensing that they weren't here for pleasantries. They gave her an abbreviated rundown of the situation and once they'd finished, she stared at her son.

"Will...all those years?"

He looked at her, the pain on her face, the tears in her eyes. This was what he had always tried to avoid. A weak shrug was all he could offer. "Yeah. I didn't want to worry you."

She shook her head in exasperation before pulling him in for a hug. "So, we're all infected?"

Will chuckled before sitting back. "Maybe. Do those symptoms sound familiar to you? I thought maybe...your anxiety?"

A wry smile on her face, she thought for a moment. "It does. It really does. I think you guys might be right."

Hopper asked, "And this couple - Gerald and Susan Sanford - do you remember them at all? They lived over where the Thompsons are now."

She smiled and nodded. "I do actually. I didn't know him well, he worked a lot, but she was real sweet. Had this beautiful long red hair, could have been Anne of Green Gables. She was working only part-time and she would come visit sometimes during the weekdays. I don't think she had a lot of friends - they had just moved here." She chuckled lightly. "I remember when she told me she was pregnant. She was so excited, just glowing."

"And she drank the water? When she would come over?"

Joyce shrugged. "I don't specifically remember, but it's not like any of us were drinking bottled water back then. I'm sure she drank it."

"When did they move? How pregnant was she?"

"Oh I don't know...I mean, she was definitely showing. I had known she was pregnant for a while, and that she was having some trouble. Maybe six months along? I'm not sure. They moved so they could be closer to the big hospital."

"Did you ever hear from her?"

"I think I got a birth announcement, but that was about it. I really haven't thought about her that much since then. I can't believe they died so young."

Dustin spoke up. "So Billy would have been infected in the womb. That's major. Being infected during development...I can't imagine the effects. It would put those lab rats to shame."

"Do you think he has powers?"

Joyce locked eyes with Hopper, both immediately thinking of Terry Ives. They were hesitant to bring it up with Eleven in the room. The chief coughed.

"I can't say how I know this, but El got her powers in the womb."

Eleven stared at him, and he avoided her eyes. She wanted to ask how he knew, what else he might know, but decided to save it for later. It could wait.

The boys looked at each other. "Shit."

"Do you think that fire…?"

"I don't know, but Max might know something. We probably shouldn't have left her alone."

Max was sitting on the kitchen counter, milk carton in hand, when she heard the front door open. She crossed her fingers that it was Billy, who had skipped school, that he was back to apologize, to go back to normal, or at least the semi-normal that she was used to. Instead Mr. B and El walked in, along with her science teacher, some guy she didn't know and...the chief of police? What was going on?

"Uh, 'sup guys?" She asked, wiping off her milk mustache. They stood there awkwardly as Will stepped forward to take the carton.

"We need to talk about Billy."

She tensed up. She knew this was coming. El reached for her hand.

"Please?"

Max nodded and they retreated to the living room. Dustin spoke first.

"Max, do you remember the fire?"

She stared at the carpet and Will placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. We know you were really young."

She continued to keep her eyes trained on the floor, but shared her story. "I was four and I woke up thinking there was a monster in the house. It smelled weird and there were noises outside my room. I wanted to be brave so I went to investigate. I found Billy in the kitchen. The curtains were on fire and the stove was making this cracking sound. The floor was wet and smelled so bad, like a gas station. Billy grabbed me and pulled me outside and we hid in the neighbor's yard. He didn't...he never seemed scared. And…" She paused.

"Yeah?"

"There was something wrong with his hands. They were glowing, they almost looked like sparklers. But when he pulled me outside they were fine. I don't know...I've never been sure if I made that part up or not. It seems crazy. I was so little."

"I don't think you made it up." They explained their theory about Billy, and she listened with wide eyes, hugging herself close.

"Do you think any of this makes sense?"

Max nodded slowly. "Yeah. I mean, he's always had these mood swings and strange things would happen...lights going out and computers breaking. But…" She looked up at Will. "He's my brother. I know he's good, somewhere in there."

"I believe you. I want to help him."

She could tell he was being sincere and let herself calm down.

"Okay, well I think we can agree that he's been way worse the past week or so."

"Since El got here." She gave El an apologetic half smile and she shrugged in return.

"Do you think that opening the gate affected him?"

El shook her head. "The gate was already open. I just made it bigger."

"I think it's El. There can only be one, y'know?" Dustin said, his eyes lighting up.

"This isn't a fantasy novel," Lucas groaned.

"Hey, D&D came in handy last time, I'm just saying," he replied, holding his hands up in defense.

"Fiiine."

El stood up and looked around at them all. "I think it's me. It's too much. It...makes him worse."

They were interrupted from further discussion by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. Billy was home.

Billy was in a rotten mood. Skipping school and throwing rocks in the quarry hadn't helped, nor had zipping in his car along the highway. Strange thoughts and feelings swirled throughout his mind and he couldn't get rid of them. His fingers itched.

When he got out of the car he saw the group standing on the porch. Even the police chief...this couldn't be good. They stared at him in silence.

"You know, you're supposed to hide during a surprise party," he called as he sauntered across the yard.

"Billy, we just want to talk," Will said. Billy stopped in his tracks.

"What is this, a fucking intervention?"

"We know about the fires, kid," Hopper said as he stepped off the porch.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Billy, we know about the fires, about all the weird stuff that happens. We know what you can do," Will said.

"You don't know anything about me!"

"We know what killed your parents."

Billy saw red and his hand twitched. He struggled to keep his voice even. "Shut up."

"We can help you, okay? We want to help you."

They could see Billy's hands shaking. A couple sparks flew from the utility pole at the edge of the yard. "You can't do anything!"

"Do you want to be like this forever?"

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Billy shouted and he started walking toward them. Sparks fell from his fingertips, and blue electric currents ran up his arms.

"Holy shit!"

Hopper pulled out his gun and fired a few shots at his legs, but Billy waved his hand and they flew off in the wrong direction. Soon all of Hopper's bullets lay scattered in the grass. Max ran out, slipping past the adults.

"Billy! Please," she begged as she stood in front of him, tears in her eyes. "Please let us help. Please, do it for me."

He roughly grabbed her arm, and she screamed, feeling his hand sear her skin. But it was only a moment, as he was soon thrown across the yard. Eleven stood a few steps from the porch, a glare on her face that shook Max to her core. She came forward as Billy stood back up and Max ran to Will.

Whatever was left of Billy had disappeared deep inside him. His eyes turned orange and lip curled with a fiery cruelty. He shot streams of crackling blue currents at El but she pushed each one back. It was difficult though; he was strong. She broke his arm and he screamed in anger. Sparks shot from the transformer on the utility pole and the cables severed, falling onto the house where they continued to spasm.

"Get away from the house!" Hopper yelled and they could see from the sidewalk the smoke starting to rise from the roof. Billy laughed and pulled the flames down, snaking them along the siding and over the porch roof. They started to creep onto the grass and El used his distraction to throw him onto the porch. The flames grew larger as he stood basking in them. Max could feel the heat on her face, even from the sidewalk. El was breathing heavily, sweat dripping down her face. She felt weak, felt like she was failing yet again. She'd failed the boys, she'd failed Mike, she was going to fail Max. Anger and desperation tangled in her stomach.

"Billy, stop! Please!" Max yelled from her spot. Billy's response was to shoot a fireball at her, but it didn't make it halfway across the yard. It flew back at him, knocking him down. El screamed, felt her veins vibrating, and pushed hard, as hard as that night in the school.

The porch exploded.

Billy exploded.

All that remained was the smoking embers where the porch once was and the blood splattered across El's face and clothes.

It was over.