The Mutants (Stranger Things Fanfic)

37

"Okay, the lab would be somewhere in the lower areas. I believe we turn right--" 

"I thought it was at the left?" 

"Guys, I believe it is actually a right then left." 

Joyce sat in the living room while she watched the kids going on about trying to remember where the lab was they needed to go into. Just as they seemed like they were about to get to the exact spot, Joyce heard the sound of the car driving up the drive. Joyce excused herself as she went to see if the others needed help. As she was a few feet away from the door, Hopper came in  (looking like he was about to blow a gasket) while the the others (except for Billy) looked like prisoners heading for their execution. Billy looked almost as pissed as Hopper. 

"What's going on? Everything alright?" Joyce asked them. 

"Frankly-- I don't want to talk about it." Hopper said to her with Eddie, Steve, Dustin and Nancy nodding in agreement, "By the way, Billy's grounded." 

"What the hell?" Billy shouted. 

"Watch it!" Hopper warned him. 

"Whoa-- whoa! Everyone calm down. Kids, Robin, Jonathan rooms now." Joyce asked while gently pushing Dustin over to the other kids and the older two. The kids opened their mouth to protest but Joyce nudged them out of the living room before they could have a say. Once they were out of the room, Joyce turned back as her eyes darted between each and everyone of them. 

"Okay, now would any of you guys like to explain what is going on?" Joyce asked. Right away, everyone was screaming and pointing fingers at each other. 

"Okay, okay, okay... everyone! Calm down!" Joyce demeaned, causing them to be quiet again, "Now let us explain ourselves, one at a time. Nancy?" 

"We were at the gun store to pick up the supplies we need when suddenly we realized Dustin had somehow found his way to be in the car and then into the gun shop. So Hopper asked Eddie and Steve to take Dustin out to the car. As we were about to ring things up, I happened to gaze out the window to see neither of them were in the car--" 

"Wait? Why weren't you guys in the car?" Joyce asked while pointing at Steve and Eddie.

"Well on our way to the car, this other car came zooming up towards us and told us 'Hey! Can't wait to see your guys' movie!' then drove off. Of course, we were confused as hell as to why they would say something like that. So Steve went jogging off and Dustin and me followed behind him towards the movie theater... and well-- written on the theater was 'Staring Steve and Eddie the...' a not so nice word." Eddie explained. 

"And then I heard this spray paint sound, so I walked towards the alley beside the theater and found Carol Perkins and Tommy Hagan--" 

"Which I told you man, they were not so good people!" Eddie cut him off. 

"Shut up!" Steve shot at him. 

"Guys, back to the story." Joyce told them, "What happened next?" 

"Well-- when we saw it was them... Eddie was just like this, and just as I was about to tell Eddie, lets get out of here, Dustin decided to go down the alley and before we could stop him... he kicked Tommy in the groin. Of course we get into a screaming match with each other, trying to figure out why the would write such a thing on the theater. It turns out it was due to the fact, Carol saw me and Eddie hugging it out after we had an argument at the party and she thought we were kissing. I had just finished telling them it was not what it looks like when Nancy showed up and punched Carol in the face then went for Tommy's groin, but I stopped her before she did that--" 

"How did you know they were at the movie theater?" Joyce asked Nancy. Nancy raised her hand and lightly tapped her head. Joyce mumbled an 'Oh' before telling Steve to continued. 

"She asked what the hell was wrong with them which then Eddie explained the situation. They got into a screaming match then before we knew it, Billy was showing up--" 

"How did you know where they were?" Joyce interrupted again. 

"Monster side." Billy said without any hint of emotion. 

"Anyway, Billy shows up and of course, we knew right off the back shit was about to go down. Nancy and I tried to get him away from Tommy and Carol, but he then went lunatic!" 

"They deserved it!" Billy spat. 

"You could have killed them! I would be surprised if Tommy wakes up." Nancy shouted at him. 

"Whoa--whoa, back up! What happened?" Joyce asked. 

"Billy smashed Tommy's head into the brick wall before turning on Carol and then proceeded to go psycho and threatened to slowly break her bones or just cutting her stomach open and spilling her guts out then let the rats have at it!" Steve shot at him. 

"Billy!" Joyce shouted at him. 

"Again... they. deserved. it!" Billy growled. 

"What happened after that?" 

"We sent Eddie and Dustin to get Hopper while we tried to knock some sense into this one." Nancy answered, "Of course, he wasn't wanting to think straight. Then Eddie comes in, in his multiple bat forms, trying to get Carol away from Billy... while it worked... just that... she then tripped over a piece of wood and went head first into a dumpster."

"Oh my God!" Joyce shrieked while her hand shot up to her lips. 

"Long story short, we erased their minds so they don't have any remembrance of the event and Hopper had them hightailed downtown." Steve finished.  Joyce darted her eyes around them before landing on Billy. 

"Billy, I appreciate what you were trying to do, but you shouldn't have chosen violence." Joyce told him. Billy narrowed his eyes at her. 

"We're about to go to the lab with guns blazing." Billy reminded her. 

"Yes, but we're going to need it. We're about to face off with an army. What I am saying, there are certain situations, where violence is needed to protect oneself or others--" 

"Joyce, what Billy did was wrong." Hopper cut her off. 

"I know that. I am merely trying to explain to him--" 

"He's not a child. He understands perfectly well--" 

"Does he? He was in the lab for a long time, how do you know what they taught them and what they didn't teach them?" Joyce shot back at them. 

"We know he had a life outside the lab." Hopper stated. 

"Well-- that may be, but his father wasn't exactly the best." Joyce told him. 

"Clearly! With the way he's acting, he is probably exactly like his father." Hopper blurted out. Nancy and Joyce gasped, Eddie's jaw dropped to his chest while Steve turned away, unable to look at Hopper. Hopper felt an instant regret wash over him when he realized exactly what he said. He turn to apology to Billy when he felt his face fly to the side. Billy had swung him a good punch in the face, nearly causing him to collapse to the ground. Joyce rushed over to Hopper to make sure he didn't fall over while she looked over to Billy, who was being pulled back by Eddie and Steve. She could see there were tears forming in his eyes. He pulled his arms from their grasps slowly turned towards his friends and scoffed. 

"'It would do us some good', Eddie said. 'trying to help us out', Robin said." Billy mumbled, mockingly, "Yeah, right!" 

Without another glance, he stormed right out of the house.