Thanks so much for the positive response to this test run series! Here's the second chapter for you all!

In response to a review I received, there's a reason why I didn't "brand" Max like the others. What I'm doing is my own little headcanon that the kids kept in Hawkins Laboratory were marked based off of their kinds of abilities. You'll understand more as the story develops.

October 25, 1987

Seattle, Washington

4:30 pm.

"Max!"

Chloe Price opened the door to her best friend's home, bags of groceries in hand. She stepped inside and kicked the door closed gently behind her. Shuffling into the kitchen, Chloe set the bags down on the counter and stretched. "Max, I'm home!"

"Upstairs, Che!"

A smile broke out on Chloe's face and she made her way to the stairs, skipping them two at a time until she reached the top. She turned down the hallway towards Max's room, expecting to find her in there but noticing that the bathroom light was on. Her smile dissipated as her pace slowed a bit.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

She stepped in front of the bathroom doorway, finding Max hunched over the sink and washing her face. She was about to think nothing of it until she saw the water turning a faint shade of pink as it fell back to the basin. Her eyes widened, even more so when Max picked her head up to look at her. The lower half of her face was a mess of watery blood.

"Nightmare." Max explained. She tried to give Chloe a reassuring smile, but it ended up looking more like an uncomfortable grimace.

"Shit, Max..." Chloe slipped into the bathroom and grabbed a small wad of toilet paper, slowly turning Max to face her and gently cleaning her mouth and chin before holding it to her nose.

Max's smile became more genuine, appreciative, as she moved in closer to Chloe and wrapped her arms around her. She took over holding the tissue so that Chloe could hug her back properly. She felt the bluenette nuzzle into her hair and kiss her head lightly. Max closed her eyes.

"Which one was it this time?" Chloe inquired quietly.

Max sucked in a breath. "The one where someone learned about my powers and locked me up in some facility to do tests on me." She trembled in the embrace and that made Chloe hold her tighter. "Like I was a fucking lab rat."

"That's not going to happen, Max." Chloe said. "We're too careful for any of that. When was that last time you even used your powers?"

"Only last week to keep you from burning yourself on the stove." Max admitted. "I haven't used them since, I swear."

"It's alright. I believe you." Chloe backed away a bit to smile at Max.

"I don't want to have a repeat of Arcadia..." Max's voice was hardly a whisper.

"I know."

It had only been two weeks since they escaped Arcadia Bay with just the clothes on their backs and Chloe's truck. They fled to Seattle to stay with Max's parents for the time being. It was a few days before they knew who survived and who didn't. Joyce, David, Kate, Victoria, Nathan, Frank amongst others survived. And it was only because Max had tampered with time before they left to ensure that Nathan and Victoria didn't fall victim to Jefferson. Warren, Dana, Hayden, Eric, Ms. Grant, Samuel... They weren't so lucky. And Jefferson? He was killed by a falling tree trying to escape David. Max wouldn't have wanted it any other way, if she could be honest. Not even jail was good enough for the likes of him.

Max dropped her gaze and turned back to the sink, washing the remaining blood from her face as Chloe soothingly rubbed her back. She cleaned the sink and shut off the water, and Chloe turned the light off behind them as they exited the bathroom.

"I think I know what'll brighten your mood." Chloe said. Her impish smile was a perfect replicate of the one she had the night she suggested they sneak into the Blackwell pool.

"Do I really want to know?" Max said teasingly, smiling weakly.

"It just so happens that we're a few miles away from one of just under two hundred drive-in theaters not at risk of being shut down yet." Chloe hinted. "And said drive-in theater is having a Star Trek marathon starting in," -Chloe checked the clock on the wall- "two hours. Whaddya say?"

Max chuckled. "I thought you weren't a big fan of the Star Trek series."

"No, but I know you are and I'd sit through anything for you."

Max felt her heart swell at Chloe's words. While Chloe knew and respected that Max needed time before they fully established a more intimate relationship, she still made an effort to make Max's world brighter and happier when she was feeling down. Max was thankful for it every time and often found herself wishing that she could just be ready to be more than best friends with Chloe already. The feelings were there. They knew that. So why wouldn't they just... express themselves?

"That sounds perfect, Che." Max answered. Chloe's grin widening only increased the rapid beating of her heart.

"Then we should probably start getting ready."

Hawkins, Indiana

7:46 pm.

Thud.

Another kid's face was marked with a red 'x'. That was the third one this year. Jane Hopper stared at the picture of the boy with heavy discomfort. He was once a twenty-two year old man with the ability to control air. Bald, tall in stature, fairly built. He was marked M2X.

He was gone. Lost to a fire in the factory he worked in a year ago.

Jane hated when she found out that she failed to find her brothers and sisters in time. For the past three years, she dedicated any time she had to finding anyone else that was trapped in the laboratory before or with her based off the files she took when she was there three years ago. Back when she closed the gate to the Upside Down. There were way more than she thought there would be, and that made sense to her because not only was the building huge and have a bunch of secret areas, but that also wasn't their only location. Her and Kali weren't the only ones to escape. Brenner wasn't the first one to own the facility.

Despite the fact that she was sure Pa- Brenner was gone, she still didn't feel comfortable stepping back in that place herself again. So she made nice with someone on the inside to get her any information she could whenever she could. Some woman whose name she never got for confidential reasons. She'd just received her latest folder two days ago.

In three years, Jane and her friends located six others. A woman with the ability to see ghosts, number 003, who lived in Grandview, New York. A boy who had the power to become a ghost at will located somewhere in Pennsylvania. He wasn't born with his ability and therefore was never physically in the facility, but he was a person of interest to them and she worried that they would eventually try to take him away. She was intrigued to know that only she knew his real name and the scientists worked closely with "The Men in White" whom only referred to him as "Inviso-bill."

Yeah, she thought it was stupid too.

A girl born with the powers that resembled those of a witch, number 006, found in Chance Harbor, Washington. She didn't know of her powers. Yet. And that could change at any given moment. So Jane took it upon herself to keep a watchful eye on her so, if needed, she could get to her first.

But that's just to name a few. Even with the support of her friends, it didn't help the heartbreak she felt whenever she learned that someone was gone.

Jane sighed and set the stamper down on the table, picking up the folder beside it to find another person to look for. She flipped through the various faces, the different numbers, chewing on her lip absently. It was then that there was a knock on the door to her room.

"Come in." she said.

The door opened and her step-mother, Joyce Byers, peeked into the room. "Hey, hon." she said, a gentle smile on her face.

"Hi, mom." Jane replied. She didn't look up from the folder.

Joyce open the door wider and stepped into the room, walking up behind Jane slowly. She looked up to take in the map her step-daughter had created with all the faces of others with powers like her. She noticed the fresh red ink on the boy's picture and felt her heart sink a bit. She looked away to Jane. "I'm sorry you didn't find him how you hoped to."

Jane's actions hesitated for a second. "I can't expect to find all of them alive..." she said quietly.

"Yes, but I know it still hurts."

Jane looked up from the folder this time and turned to look at Joyce. She felt the pain returning to her chest. It did hurt. A lot. She set the folder back on the table and swallowed thickly. On instinct, Joyce opened her arms and Jane fell in to them, burying her face in her shoulder and trying not to cry. Joyce shushed her gently and patted her back.

"It's alright, dear." she encouraged. "You should still be proud of the work you've done, of those you've found. You've made better progress than I'm sure anyone else has or could."

Jane sniffled and tightened her hold on Joyce for a second before stepping back, reaching up to wipe her eyes. She did her best to return the smile Joyce was giving her.

"Dinner's almost ready, though. That's what I originally came up to tell you." Joyce said. "Max and the boys will be here any minute."

"Okay. I'll be down soon, promise." Jane said.

Joyce's smiled turned warmer and she kissed Jane's forehead tenderly before leaving the room. She closed the door back and Jane sighed. She grabbed the folder once more and flipped through a few more profiles before coming to one that caught her interest. She took the paper out, setting the folder down, and turned towards the map. Her eyes scanned the paper.

Subject: M4X (Manipulation, 4th Experiment)

DOB: September 19th, 1969.

Ability: Time Manipulation.

Someone with the ability to control time?

Escaped: September 19th, 1971.

Located: Arcadia Bay, OR on October 7th, 1987.

LKW: Arcadia Bay, OR on October 10th, 1987.

Arcadia Bay? That sounded familiar. Why did that sound familiar?

Jane looked to the map, her eyes falling to Oregon. She hurriedly picked up a thumbtack from the box on the table and held the picture of the young girl over the state. She pinned it down and took a step back. This girl's last known whereabouts were recent. Too recent. Which means that something happened with her, something big enough for them to not only find her again, but lose her soon after. She wondered how she managed to stay off the radar for so long like Kali.

Jane heard the downstairs front door open and the voices of her friends traveled through the house. She sighed. This was something that would have to wait until after dinner. She closed the folder and made her way out of the room and down the stairs.

Y'know, I'm actually really glad I came up with this story as a way to help me through my writer's block. It forces me to think and come up with ideas and plans and so on. And as you can see by the new chapter, I'm currently experiencing it. But I hope you guys enjoyed and I also hope you recognized the references I made here. In case you didn't:

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Aang

Ghost Whisperer: Melinda Gordon

Danny Phantom: Danny Fenton/Phantom

The Secret Circle: Cassie Blake

That is all I have for you lovely readers today! Be sure to follow/favorite/review if you liked it!

CaptainVampireKing awaaay!