"I didn't need a hero, Billy." Darian sneers, dusting off his coat, eyes glaring.
Billy only smirks, reaching over and untangling one of Darians dark curls, quickly catching himself, pulling his hand back. "It didn't seem like that a minute ago." B...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Hawkins, Indiana
July 1985
。.✦ ☾
Max's Room.
。.✦ ☾
Max holds up two comics: Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. "Which one?" Max asks as El climbs into bed beside Max. "I don't know." El says, she was still worried about Billy. Max knocks the comic at her side, catching her eyes. "Hey, there's nothing to worry about anymore, okay?" Max says
El shakes her head. "Doesn't make sense." El says "What doesn't make sense?" Max asks "Darian. The blood. The ice. I mean even Jamie said he was off." El says
Max sighs. "Darian had a fever, so he took a cold bath, but he's better now." Max says with a small shrug, she knew the feeling crawling down her back but she chose to ignore it, still filled with nightmares of the upsidedown. "That has to be it. I don't know where that blood came from, but we saw him. We both saw him. He's totally fine." Max says
El's not convinced. "What about Billy?" El asks "What about him?" Max asks "He seemed wrong." El says
Max chuckles. "Wrong is kind of like his default. But it's nice to know he's not a murderer because that would've totally sucked." Max says with a small smirk. El allows for a small smile which fades just as quickly. She looks at the Wonder Woman comic. "Who is that?" El asks "See, this is why you can't just hang out with Mike all the time." Max says as she opens the comic, and shares it with El. "This is Wonder Woman. AKA, Princess Diana. She's from Paradise Island, which is like, this hidden island where there are only women Amazon warriors." Max states.
....
Brimborn Steelworks. Night.
An ambulance races by Billy's parked Camaro. The vehicle was in front of an abandoned factory.
....
Tom Holloway's eyes snap open. With a gag around his mouth, he struggles to break free from the rope that binds his wrists. Janet is also bound and gagged beside him. Heather Holloway strides in with Billy and Darian standing nearby.
Heather kneels before her father. "Hi, Daddy." She coos
She pulls the gag out of Tom's mouth. "Heather, sweetie. Whatever this is, whatever he's got you into, you don't have to do this. You can stop this." Tom whispers, sweat pulling at his bloody brow. Heather grins. "There is no stopping it, Daddy. You'll see." She whispers, gently touching his cheek. Tom shakes his in fear. "No." Tom begs as Heather stands up. Darian kneels in front of Janet and he takes out her gag. "Heather, please! Heather!" Janey begs her daughter. Darian puts a finger to her lips. "Try not to move." Darian whispers, staring into her frightened eyes.
Billy, Darian, and Heather head up the stairs. "Heather! Heather!" Tom screams, thrashing in his restraints as he hears snarling. The Mind Flayer emerges from the shadows and closes in on Tom and Janet. "Jesus Christ." Tom breathes
As the beast approaches, Tom and Janet struggle to break free. Just then, a tentacle shoots forward and suctions onto Tom's face, making his eyes roll back. A substance pumps through it and into Tom. A second tentacle does the same to Janet.
....
Steve knocks on the Wheeler's front door, waiting patiently for it to open. Ted opens the door with a bored look, meeting Steve's eyes. "Hi Mr. Wheeler, sorry to bother you, is Darian up?" Steve asks
Ted eyes him up and down. "No, he's been staying with his friend....uh the one that thinks overalls are an appropriate look." Ted says "Jamie." Steve answers for him, and his shoulders deflate. He wasn't at work either.
They had set a date tonight and Steve wanted to tell him everything they had found about the Russians. "Uh thank you, Mr. Wheeler, sorry to bother you." Steve says, Ted nods, "Uh huh." He hums, slowly shutting the door on Steve's face.
Steve turns and begins walking to his car, worried for Darian.
....
The next day.
On the rooftop overlooking the loading dock, Dustin surveils with binoculars.
Dressed in Lynx transportation uniforms, two men deliver huge boxes with an armed guard watching over them. One of the guards uses a key card to open the double doors
....
Dustin is pacing back and forth as Steve and Robin watch from the table they are sitting at. "That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun. Whatever's in this room, whatever's in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it." Dustin says, stopping in front of them.
Steve who was spaced out thinking about Darian, looks up as Robin speaks. "But there's gotta be a way in." Robin states
"Well, you know... I could just take him out." Steve says, causing the two to look at him. "Take who out?" Robin asks "The Russian guard." Steve says as if it were obvious. Robin seems skeptical, as she should. "What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy." Steve says
Dustin snorts, earning an offended noise from Steve. "Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin asks "Yes, Dustin, I did. And that's why I would be sneaking." Steve says with an eye roll. "Ah. Well, please, tell me this, and be honest, have you ever actually... won a fight?" Dustin asks with a raised eyebrow.
Steve flushes. "Okay, that is one time --" Dustin cuts him off. "Twice. Jonathan. The year prior?" Dustin reminds. Steve sighs. "Listen, that doesn't count." Steve says "Why wouldn't it? Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you." Dustin says, earning a laugh from Robin, who covers it with a cough when Steve shoots her a look.
"You got a fat lip, crooked nose, swollen eye, a lot of blood...things that all added up --" Dustin says
Something catches Robin's eye while Steve and Dustin argue semantics. "That might just work." She says to herself. She leaves the room.
She grabs a fist full of cash from the tip jar. Steve watches from the sliding window. Steve stands and approaches the window. "Robin!" Steve calls out. Robin heads for the mall. Steve runs to the door. "Hey, Robin, what are you doing?" Steve asks
Robin looks back at him, waving the money. "I need cash." Robin says "Well, half of that is mine. Where are you going?" Steve asks as Robin continues her way out the door. "To find us a way into that room, a safe way. And, in the meantime, sling ice cream, behave, and don't get beat up. I'll be back in a jiff." Robin says, she quickly leaves before Steve can say anything.
Dustin licks an ice cream scoop. Steve takes it away. "Oh, dude. Come on, man, not my scooper." Steve grimaces. He twirls the scoop around his finger like an old-timey Western Gunslinger before slipping it into his scoop holster.
