Richie sat beside Nova in the car while she showed him how she could make different parts of her body invisible. She had tricked him at one point, making him believe she had one ear, before she revealed it was just her abilities and left Richie grumbling under his breath.
They had been driving for a few hours, since they stopped at a motel an hour away from the safe house. Edwin said it'd be safer since that way the people at the lab had the time to calm down and wouldn't be on the lookout once they showed up.
"How far are we?" Katie asked from the furthest seat, sprawled across it irritably. "I'm getting car sick!"
"Hey, when you cry, does lava come out of your face?" Richie asked, leaning over the back seat and making eye contact with Katie, everyone ignoring her question.
Katie raised an eyebrow. "Not that I know of," she said, seeming eager to try it.
Richie recognized that too and smirked. Even though Katie acted like she hated him, they had a similar sense of humor and were all for hypothetical situations.
"Do not try to cry lava Katelyn," Edwin said, sounding exhausted.
"Shut up Eds 2.0," Richie said, glaring toward the front seat.
"What?"
"Eddie, I call him Eds. He's the original Eds. You can be either Eds 2.0 or Edwin Spaghetwin," Richie informed him.
"Why can you call me Edwin like a normal fucking person?"
"You sound so much like my precious Eds. Not you though. Other Eds. Eddie Spaghetti. Love of my life. Cutest boy on the planet."
Nova giggled and Luka smiled. They could tell how in love Richie was with the Eddie they had never met, and it made them both so happy. It wasn't every day they felt happy and hopeful for someone, since a lot of their life consisted of hiding from a psychotic doctor.
"To answer your question, Katie, it looks like we won't be making the trip after all," Edwin called from the front. He was driving and all of the others were in the back, not paying attention to the road.
"What are you talking about?" Katie asked, sitting up.
They all turned to the front of the car just in time to see a massive portal that they were driving straight at.
Richie started to panic, until he noticed literally no one else seemed phased.
"Slow down, Edwin. We don't know where he'll land us," Luka said as Edwin slowed down, entering the portal at a slower speed.
"There we go," Edwin said, driving through the portal, the mass closing behind them.
Richie noticed they were back at the second safe house, Greyson standing on the porch and holding his hands out, finishing closing the portal.
"How'd you find us?" Katie asked, knowing the limitations of Greyson's powers.
"Eddie," Greyson answered shortly, ushering the others inside. "Edwin, we need you to fry out some microchips that are in their arms. Katie, I need you to cauterize some wounds, since Eddie is going to cut out the chips so we can destroy them."
The twins nodded and followed Greyson into the kitchen. Richie followed as well, seeing Eddie stand with a knife in hand, shakily holding it up near his shoulder, where a nasty dark burn could be seen.
Richie walked over to him and took the knife. "You shouldn't do that to yourself," he said, nodding for Eddie to sit down in one of the kitchen chairs.
Eddie nodded and sat down. "Should I trust you to do it?" he asked, a teasing undertone present in his voice.
"Come on, Dr K! A fine fellow like yourself has taught me all I need to know about doctoring and cutting into skin!" Richie said in a British accent, making Eddie giggle.
Richie could see the small, square shaped microchip just under Eddie's skin. He gripped the knife with one hand and held out his other. "Here, this is gonna sting," he said as Eddie grabbed his had without hesitation.
Eddie hissed in pain when Richie used the blade to cut through his skin and pull out the chip. For being a small chip, it was deep enough that blood was leeching out and running down Eddie's arm.
"Katelyn!" Richie called. "Come burn his arm shut!"
Katie rolled her eyes at the use of her full name but walked over to Eddie, holding up her hand. "This is really gonna hurt," she said, making Eddie grip Richie's hand even tighter.
Eddie buried his face into Richie's shoulder, whimpering in pain. Once the wound had been cauterized, Katie helped to close it up and wrap Eddie's arm.
From there, Eddie got to work, helping cut out the rest of the chips. Everyone had them, even though the ones with more destructive powers also had the rings to limit the extent of their powers.
It took all afternoon, since they were trying to limit the pain they all went through. Once they had finished, Greyson called a meeting to the living room.
Richie was holding a sleeping Georgie in his lap with Eddie cuddling into his side while they waited for everyone else to show up to their meeting.
"I know you didn't turn me over to Brenner," Eddie said, leaning his head on Richie's shoulder. "I'm sorry for believing him."
"It's okay, Eds. I'm just happy you're safe," Richie responded, lifting his arm and wrapping it around Eddie's shoulders. "Let's just get Georgie back to Bill then go home, huh?"
Eddie nodded eagerly. He never thought he'd miss Derry, but he couldn't help but wish he was at home. He missed his overbearing mother, the creepy feeling that loomed over the town, hell, he even missed seeing Henry Bowers glaring at him.
Everyone settled in the living room and Greyson cleared his throat. "We're not safe here anymore. I know that Richie, Eddie, Georgie, and El will be staying here, but I highly recommend the rest of you considering leaving the country. At least, until we know Brenner isn't after us anymore," he informed the entire room.
"We have a guy in Hawkins who said he's sending people after Brenner," Richie said. "Hopefully that means you won't have to leave for long."
"We'll keep checking in. I'll drop you four off in Hawkins, if that's where your people are."
"They are," Eddie said, standing up with Richie right behind him, still carrying Georgie. "Thank you for everything."
Richie laid Georgie down and went across the room to hug Avi, Kali, Nova, Luka, Edwin, and Katie, even though she pretended she was going to deny him at first.
"Good luck!" Nova called cheerfully, smiling at the group as Greyson opened another portal.
"Hawkins is through there," Greyson said, hugging Eddie and Richie both.
El said her goodbyes to Kali and the others she had briefly met. Even though she was going to miss her enhanced siblings, Hawkins was home. She needed to go home.
"Keep me updated on your relationship status!" Avi called to Richie and Eddie, who both blushed.
"Stay safe," Eddie said with a smile before taking Richie's hand (Richie had to shift awkwardly so he could still carry Georgie) and walked through the portal.
"You can always mentally contact me," Greyson told El before she left. "It's just a benefit to abilities."
El smiled softly. "I will. As Eddie said, be safe," she said before vanishing through the void.

YOU ARE READING
Lost ❄️ Reddie
FanfictionThe world is a dark place, Eddie. Without you it's even darker.