-8-
Everyone squeezed into the bathroom as Jane prepared herself to reenter the void, but this time Kali was here.
"I don't get why she has to go into that thing?" Axel was saying quietly to Mick and Dottie. "I mean, like, what's it for…?"
Kali's voice interrupted him. "Going into the void which allows her to read minds, can be very draining for Jane, Axel. The bath, while it's not perfect, can also relax her."
"Have you ever gone into a bath like that, Miss Kali?" Holly Wheeler asked as she looked into Kali's dark eyes.
Kali couldn't help it, she smiled down at Holly. She couldn't help but be charmed by the little girl who reminded her a great deal of Jane when she was younger. But she prayed the little girl never had the kind of miserable life she and the other kids had been forced to endure.
"I….can't use telepathy, Holly, but believe me, Brenner refused to accept that until later," Kali's expression of a smile remained fixed, but Joyce, Karen, and Hopper could all see the glimmer of burning anger deep down. They guessed correctly Kali - young Kali - must have been put through the ringer in the Lab.
Robin licked her lips. The more she heard of what the Lab had done to kids like Eleven/Jane, it was no wonder people like Kali and Creel went mad. Nancy spared the girl a sympathetic look. Mike wasn't too surprised to hear about this, but he was starting to wonder why he had become
Karen stared at Ted, who turned to her when he sensed his wife's gaze. "What is it?" He whispered.
"I didn't pay the lab any interest or concern, now I hope we can just move away from the place," she replied back.
"I know what you mean, but do you think we can avoid another Lab?" Ted asked with scary foresight.
Karen glared at him, but she nodded in agreement. "Good point, I just hate what those people did to these two," she sent a look towards Jane and Kali.
Ted Wheeler knew he was oblivious but that was simply because he truly did not have a clue how to be a part of his children's lives, but he knew while the gulf had grown even wider due to recent events and revelations, he truly did want to make amends and try to be a part of their lives now. It would not be simple, or easy, but he could try.
"You still want to speak to them, don't you?" He said.
Karen nodded. She had wanted to speak to Jane for a while now, but she hadn't had the opportunity. She wanted to get to know the real her, to be there for her, and be there like Joyce was, and while she would never replace Terry Ives, she wanted to make it clear she was there and to thank her so much for being there for her kids.
She had helped Mike come out of his shell, and she had honestly thought the two were good for each other, she was a good friend to both Nancy and Holly, but Karen wanted to know more about her.
Meanwhile, Jane had overheard what her sister was saying. She went over and touched Kali's arm supportively. "What did he do?" She asked slowly and quietly.
Kali turned to her sister grimly. "He tried for years to see if I had powers like yours or Creels," she explained, "he wanted to see just what I could do, and what else I could do. He kept putting me in the tanks, the baths, more than once…but he was always disappointed whenever he couldn't make me look into someone else's conversation, never mind kill from afar."
Jane licked her lips, unaware of the looks from the others as they took in what Brenner was trying to do with the innocent children under his so-called and dubious care.
"What did he do?" She whispered.
Kali bit her lip and she looked down. She didn't need to answer. Mike shared a dark look with Dustin and Lucas, while Steve looked down as he imagined the kind of pain Kali had gone through; so did Robin and Nancy, who both imagined what had happened.
Jane closed her eyes. She wrapped her sister in her arms and cuddled her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Kali," she whispered, hating Brenner even more than ever before, already working out what happened to her.
"Don't be," Kali shook her head. "While Brenner did not like the fact my powers weren't like yours, or his," she spat the word as she referred to Creel, "he soon got over it, and he started looking for ways of making me stronger. It worked for the most part."
"I still don't like it," Jane mumbled, hugging her tightly. Kali held her just as tightly, too before she patted Jane on the shoulder.
"Now go on, have the bath," Kali told her.
Jane nodded and smiled back at her sister. "Sure," she chuckled, but then she sobered. "Kali, I want to talk to you when I'm finished."
Kali knew that Jane was serious and she started to guess what the talk was about. "Okay," she said.
"You don't have to do this, Jane," Joyce said, fretting already.
Jane smiled at her. "I know, but if there's a chance of going into his mind, finding the truth…," she looked down, biting her lip. "Mama had a message for you two," she said, looking at Joyce and Hopper.
Joyce blinked. She hadn't expected Terry Ives to give a message. She shared a look with the equally befuddled Hopper, and then back to Joyce.
"What?"
But Jane smiled at her and Hopper. "She said, 'Thank you for looking after my baby,' and that she hopes to meet you and that you and Hopper are good together."
That was too much for Joyce, who blushed scarlet as she glanced at Hopper, who smiled at her.
As she walked to the bath and was helped in, the goggles put over her eyes, Jane put herself back in the black cold comfort of the void. Meanwhile, Jonathan turned on the radio, and static began playing.
