#I’m going to kick the shit outta Gary I’m gonna kill him

[aratinatophat]

Going from Faith game to Sonadow in like 2.4 seconds like my life depends on it

[randomfandomfamily]

What if Invictus made Avocato kill Little Cato?

---

Yeah, you know, because this kid hasn’t been through enough already.

Gary could barely hear over the ringing in his ears. He felt disoriented. And geez, why did everything hurt so much? What was he doing back on Kanopus Prime? Wasn’t he just trying to escape Invictus? And what on earth was Little Cato shouting about?

He focused just enough to hear Little Cato yell, “Dad, no! Fight it!”

Fight what? What was going on? He sat up and squinted at the blurry figures in front of him. The familiar sight of his friend brought him momentary relief. “Avocato?” But when Avocato turned, Gary could that the brainwashed person in front of him was not his friend.

Avocato’s eyes glowed an eerie purple. Oh god, is that why he couldn’t remember anything? Had Invictus gotten ahold of him somehow? Little Cato looked panicked. And beaten. Oh crap, what had he done? Did he hurt Little Cato while he was possessed? Did he hurt Avocato?

Whatever had happened, he definitely managed to get Avocato possessed. And possessed Avocato did not look happy. “You stole my son away from me.” A shiver went down Gary’s spine. That voice didn’t belong to Avocato. “And you left me for dead!”

Was that what happened? That wasn’t what happened! Unless that was what happened. Gary couldn’t remember. His thoughts were spiraling out of control. He needed to find his son and go. His son? Avocato’s son. Jesus, did he really steal Little Cato away from Avocato?

Somewhere in his haze of thoughts, Gary tried to say ‘I’m sorry’, but all he managed to say was “I…” before pain exploded in his side. Somewhere it registered that he had been shot, but he couldn’t quite believe it. No, he could, he just didn’t want to believe it.

Little Cato darted forward and grabbed the gun. “Stop it! This isn’t you!”

Avocato growled, which was so unlike him that it pretty much solidified that his friend was no longer in control. “He turned you against me!”

Every single one of Gary’s senses sharpened as his possessed friend kicked their son. Little Cato went skidding past him, and Gary sat up, the haze finally starting to clear out of his head. “Avocato, whatever that thing is, it’s poisoning your mind.” He tried to push himself back,but it was hard with the blood pooling on the ground around him. “You asked me to look after your boy. We broke time to save you, we’re friends!”

“Dad, stop it!” Gary glanced behind him to see Little Cato picking himself up off the ground. “Come on, you can fight this thing.”

“Little Cato, don’t,” Gary said, “Stay outta this, bud, just go.”

The young Ventrexian ignored him. “I know you’re in there. And I know you don’t want to do this.” Little Cato took a few tentative steps forward. “You can’t want to do this.”

Avocato’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get in my way, boy.” He lifted his gun. “Gary Goodspeed is a no good thief!”

“You don’t believe that,” Little Cato said, “I know you don’t believe that.

“You don’t know anything,” Avocato spat, “You’re just a child!”

“And you’re Gary’s best friend!” Little Cato protested. “Don’t you remember that? He is literally the first thing you remembered!”

“I said ‘get out of the way’,” Avocato hissed.

Little Cato hands curled into fists. “No, Dad. You have to stop.”

Gary felt an indescribable pressure hanging in the air. A tangible feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. But there were so many things that could go wrong. “Little Cato, seriously. He’s possessed and you need to go.”

“You should listen to the thief,” Avocato said, “And get out of my way.”

Little Cato took a deep breath. “Dad-”

“Move.”

“Please, just listen-”

“Move!”

Gary managed the strength to stand, causing another wave of blood to flow from his side. “Avocato, we can talk about this.”

“I’m done talking.” Avocato pointed his gun at Gary. “He dies right here. Right now.”

Little Cato stepped in front of Gary defensively. “Like hell he does! You’re not even mad at Gary! He took care of me just like you asked him to! He didn’t turn me against anybody, he was just… there for me. Because you asked him to.”

Avocato lowered the gun slightly. “You’re in the way.”

Little Cato took another step forward. “Dad, please-” And then it happened.

That was it.

It just happened.

Gary wasn’t sure what he was expecting. The world to slow down? For the blast to somehow freeze in the moment like it did in the movies? He didn’t know.

But what he saw was Avocato’s arm tense, the flash of his gun firing, and then Little Cato falling back like he had been shot.

No, not like he had been shot. He had been shot. Oh god, he had been shot. “Little Cato!” Impulsive rage flowed through him, scooping Little Cato’s gun off the ground, all pain forgotten. He pointed it at Avocato, admittedly shaky, but he was too overwhelmed with anger and fear to care.

“What the hell did you do?!” Gary demanded.

“He was in the way.”

Gary’s grip tightened on the gun. “In the way, my ass! He’s a fourteen year old kid! He’s your fourteen year old kid!” He put his finger on the trigger. “Now you better step the hell back before I shoot you.”

Avocato laughed. “You wouldn’t.”

But Gary would, and he did, because that thing was not his friend.

And there wasn’t any hesitation. There was no dramatic music. There wasn’t a brief flicker of recognition in Avocato’s eyes that told Gary that maybe--just maybe--there was still a piece of his friend buried deep down inside Invictus’ control.

There was nothing except a gunshot, and Gary couldn’t even hear it over the blood roaring in his ears.

He watched as Avocato fell to his knees, the hole in his chest spilling blood. In a brief moment of shock, or maybe hysteria, Gary had the urge to point out that they were now matching as far as gunshot wounds go. One for one.

It would have been a ridiculous thing to point out at a time like that, and that’s part of the reason he would have done it: because it was ridiculous.

Because it would have made Avocato laugh, even though he definitely would have called Gary an idiot afterwards. And Gary would have been okay with that because it would have meant that the Ventrexian glaring at him was still his friend.

It was almost as if Invictus could still manage to get in his head and peer into his thoughts, because the very next thing Avocato said was, “You are no friend of mine!”, as if responding to Gary’s fears.

“No,” Gary said, “I have always been your friend. And I always will be.” He shook his head. “But you… you aren’t you.”

Black started to creep up Avocato’s arms. “I will find you,” Avocato said scathingly, “And I will kill you!”

“Try me, you piece of shit!” Gary shot back. “You just shot my kid! You think anything in the galaxy is gonna stop me from making you pay this?”

Avocato sneered, “Your kid? The child is mine.”

“You are not Avocato,” Gary seethed. “You’re just a twisted possessed version of him. You are not my friend, and you are not his father!”

“Neither are you!”

Gary continued to stare at the spot where Avocato disappeared. He lowered the gun to his side. Which hurt. A lot. God, was that really what he was thinking about right now? Little Cato had just been shot and-

“Oh shit.” Gary tossed the gun aside and knelt at Little Cato’s side. “Hey, little buddy, talk to me.” He wasn’t moving. Why the hell wasn’t he moving? “Spider-Cat? Come on, say something.”

He gently turned Little Cato onto his back. The kid’s hands were clamped over a blossoming stain of red. “Ah… Gary?”

“Yeah, it’s me. I’m here, okay? I’m here.” He put a hand over Little Cato’s and tried to ignore the bright red that seeped through his fingers. “Everything’s gonna be okay. W-we’re gonna get you back to the ship and-”

“I’m so sorry.”

Gary paused, his mind still reeling. “What?”

“I didn’t think he’d shoot me,” Little Cato said, “I didn’t think… I just… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” Gary said firmly, “This is not your fault.”

Little Cato looked down at himself with a frown. “You know, he never saw me… until the Lord Commander made him kill me. You should have seen it, Gary, he really saw me.” He looked up at Gary blearily. “I thought if seeing me could convince him to betray the Lord Commander then maybe… maybe seeing me would help him fight Invictus too, but…” He sighed. “But he didn’t see me.”

Gary struggled to focus on Little Cato, and the hurricane of thoughts that were howling in his mind wasn’t making it easy. “Little Cato, I need you to stop talking, okay? Just take it easy and we’ll get you back to the ship.”

Little Cato took a shaky breath. “I thought… maybe he’d see me again…” He laughed weakly. “I think he only sees me when he has to kill me.” His smile faded. “And that’s funny… r-right?”

Gary shook his head. “No, that’s… that’s not funny.” He slipped his arms under Little Cato. “Hold still, okay? We’re going up.” He stood unsteadily, his own side throbbing in pain, and Little Cato winced.  “I’m sorry, buddy, I know it hurts.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Little Cato murmured. “It’s only the second worst hole I’ve ever had in my stomach. Doesn’t even hurt that bad, really…” Tears started welling in his eyes. “He didn’t see me, Gary. Why couldn’t he… why couldn’t he see me?”

“I don’t know, Spider-Cat,” Gary tried to keep his voice level as he walked. “He was possessed. That was all Invictus, it wasn’t really your father talking.” He held Little Cato tighter. God, the kid was small, he was so so small. “But we’re gonna get him back. We’ll get Avocato back, I promise.”

“I know,” Little Cato whispered, “You always keep your promises.” He tilted his head. “Hey Gary?

“Yeah?”

“Can you see me?”

Gary was going to kill Invictus for this. He wasn’t even sure what Invictus was, but the son of a bitch was going to die. “I see you,” Gary reassured him, “I’ve always seen you.”

Little Cato looked relieved. “Okay.” His gaze was unfocused. “”Everything’s so blurry.”

“Do not close your eyes,” Gary instructed. “I mean it. Just talk to me and keep your eyes open, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I mean it.”

“Oka…”

Gary halted in front of the waterfall they fell down earlier. “Little Cato? Little Cato!” He put on their helmets and took off into the air. “Shit, shit, shit!” He clutched Little Cato tighter to his chest. “Hang on, okay? Just hang on.” 

The next few minutes were an absolute blur. He barely remembered the flight back up to the ship, but Nightfall was there when he came through the airlock. She said something, or asked something? Something about Avocato? And then she took Little Cato from him.

Which was wrong. Gary couldn’t be separated from Little Cato, not right now. He watched them disappear down the hall and panicked. “No… no, wait.”

“Easy,” Fox said, “We need to get you to the infirmary.”

“Little Cato-”

“Nightfall’s taking him to the medpod,” Ash told him. “He’s really banged up, and so are you.” She reached up and touched his right eye gingerly. “What did this to your face? You look like you’ve been hit by a spaceship.”

“Not to mention you’ve been shot,” Fox added. “Come on, AVA and HUE will help you in the infirmary.”

Gary shook his head. “I need to get to him. I need to-” His vision blurred around the edges. He stumbled into Fox, who caught him by the arm and helped him stand. “Little Cato!”

Fox picked Gary up and threw him over his shoulder. “Sorry man, but you’re not gonna be any help to him if you bleed out.”

He tried to break free of Fox’s grasp, but his struggles only strengthened the blackening in his vision. The fog managed to overtake him, and he woke up in the infirmary, laying in the chair with HUE at his side.

Sitting up, he looked around frantically. “Where is he? HUE? AVA?!”

‘Little Cato is stable,’ AVA told him.

Gary tried to get up. “I need to see him.” He fell back, supporting himself on the arm of the chair. “Where is Nightfall? I need to talk to her right now.”

The door to the infirmary slid open. “I’m here, Gary.” She put a hand on his arm. “You have a gunshot wound in your side, Gary. You need to take it easy.”

“Little Cato has a hole in his stomach, and you just want me to-” Gary winced and held his injured side.

‘AVA already told you that Little Cato is stable,’ HUE reminded him.

“Stable isn’t good enough!” He turned back to Nightfall. “Where is he?!”

Nightfall lifted her hands placatingly. “Still in the medpod. Ash and Fox are there with KVN keeping an eye on him” She hesitated and lowered her arms. “Gary, what happened out there?”

“Invictus happened,” Gary growled. “Avocato got possessed, and Little Cato got shot, and everything went wrong!” He stood up, feeling the bandages pull at his wounds. “I am going to go see him.”                   

‘We already told you he is stable,’ HUE repeatedly unhelpfully.

“And I told you that’s not good enough!”

Gary tried to walk past Nightfall, but she pushed him back. “Gary, you need to rest. I know you’re worried, but why is this bothering you so much? They just said he’s stable.”

“Because I don’t need him to be stable! I need him to be safe!” Gary breathed heavily in the silence. “I-I need…”

Nightfall sighed. “You’re worried. I get it. We’re all worried.”

“I’m not just worried, Nightfall, I’m… I’m pissed.” Gary paced around the small room. “I let Invictus out, a-and I got Avocato possessed. He tried to shoot me, and Little Cato got in the way trying to protect me. And you know what Invictus did? Used Avocato’s body to shoot him!”

HUE tilted his head. ‘You are angry with Avocato?’

“No!” Gary exclaimed. “He’s possessed! I’m not mad at him, I’m mad at… at everything! The universe, I guess, I don’t know!” He ran a hand through his hair. “Because… I mean, the kid needs a break, damnit! And getting his father back was supposed to be his break.

“Little Cato has been through hell and back so many times, I’ve lost count! Saving Avocato was the one thing I could do right by him, and I couldn’t even do that! Instead he nearly ended up dead trying to stop Avocato from killing me!

“He could have died saving me. Just like he’s almost died dozens of times! Which is dozens of times too many! He’s just a kid, Nightfall! He’s a fourteen year old who has lived a lifetime of misery. Can’t the universe leave him alone for two goddamn seconds?!”

“Gary.”

He whirled around to face her. “What?!”

Nightfall took his hand. “Let’s go see Little Cato. We’ll deal with Invictus and Avocato and everything else later, but if it’ll make you feel better to see him now, then we’ll do that. Okay? And then you rest. You both need it.”

Gary took a breath. “Okay. Yeah, let’s do that.”

Avocato trusted him to protect Little Cato when he died. Now he was alive again, and Little Cato was still in danger. This time because of him.

That was never gonna happen again.

And Gary wasn’t even sure if he could make that promise because he had already broken it. So, so many times.

But he was going to try. Again and again, until Little Cato was safe, really safe. He didn’t know how to do that yet, but he was gonna have to do something. He was going to have to step up somehow. The question was, how do you step up for a kid who had become so used to being alone?

Gary stepped into the dimly lit room with the medpod. Seeing Little Cato in that metal contraption made him sick, and the blood-stained sweater didn’t help. It also  gave him an answer of sorts. How to step up for a lonely kid?

All he had to do was be there. And Gary was pretty sure he could do that, but the blood-stain also solidified his decision in something else.

Invictus was going to pay for this. No matter what it took.

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

Right-Side Up AU, Part Three: It’s the End of the World {AO3} {tumblr} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Thirteen → Kidnapping the Mayor

“Do you think it’s going well?” Nancy asked. 

Her and Jonathan sat in waiting room chairs, while Joyce leaned against the desk, saying something boring to the mayor’s receptionist, Candace something-or-other, who seemed very unnerved that Hopper had just barged past them and left her with three people to annoy her during the workday. 

“Um…” Jonathan guessed. “Sure.” 

Nancy sighed, and then said, “I’m gonna listen in. Make sure nobody notices.” 

“Wha- Nance!” 

Nancy stood up, going to the door, and Jonathan sighed and walked over to his Mom, joining in the conversation and standing in just such a way that the receptionist wouldn’t see Nancy. 

She reached for a sidetable, where a few drinking glasses were kept- probably for office parties- and she grabbed one and put it against the door, leaning her ear against it. She had to strain to hear, but she finally caught the end of one of Hopper’s sentences. 

“-ringing any bells?” 

“Uh…” she heard the mayor laugh, a bit awkwardly. “I don’t think so.” 

“Really?” came Hopper’s voice. “Cause he was just here two days ago. This was right before I saw you.” 

“Oh!” a snap of fingers. “You know what?” 

“What?” 

“Could be the maintenance guy.” 

“Maintenance guy?” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, can’t remember his name… oh, Gary or John or something. Candace’ll have his name on file. We’ve had trouble with the plumbing. Clogged toilets and…” another laugh. “Sinks with minds of their own.” 

“You meeting with a lot of plumbers, Larry?” Nancy flinched at the sound of Hopper’s voice. It sounded very dark, very cold. She hadn’t known him to speak to anyone like that. 

Mayor Kline must have noticed this too. “Excuse me?” 

“This guy, when I saw him, he was coming out of your office.” 

“Okay, well, I don’t remember that. I shake a lot of hands, you know?” 

Silence for a moment. Nancy glanced back to make sure Jonathan and Joyce were still keeping Candace busy, and then she heard Hopper say, in a very low tone, so low she had to strain her ears to hear, “Do you remember when I caught you out in the hideaway with all that powder all over your nose?” 

Another awkward laugh. “Aw, geez.” 

“Do you remember?” 

“Oh, Jim, come on, man.” 

A bit louder. “Do you remember when my boys found you and Candace going at it like a couple of bunnies in the back of your cadillac? Do you remember that? Does your wife remember that?” 

Then Kline’s voice went just as cold. “You… you really wanna play this game?” 

“Not a game, Lar.” 

“Okay. You remember those pills you used to swallow like candy? When you first got the job here- I don’t recall, did you have a prescription for those?” 

Oh, fuck. Nancy hadn’t expected that. 

“And with a little girl at home, too. What would’ve happened if she found those before you stopped?” 

Oh, fuck. 

“Don’t bring her into this.” 

“Oh, speaking of kids at home, how long was the other kid supposed to stay with you? Doesn’t she have parents somewhere?” 

Nancy shut her eyes. Fuck, fuck, fuck… 

“Oh, that’s right, they left town. Never did find out why, did we? And her… father, in California hasn’t sent for her? Now, I don’t know about you, Hopper, but I think if people realized she wasn’t supposed to stay with you so long, they might wonder why she’s at your place with no supervision.” 

FUCK, he did not just- 

“Then again, a lot of new kids been popping up recently. Real interesting, isn’t it? Where’d Byers find her kid again? Or is it kids? I’m a bit unclear on that.” 

Nancy considered, for a moment, lowering the glass, breaking it on the ground, and using the shards to rip Kline’s insides out. 

“The stories you could get from all that, wow. Could make some real headlines. One call to Tom at the Post and you’re done, buddy. You’re gone.” 

Son of a- of course Tom Holloway was buddy-buddy with the mayor. Of fucking course. 

“Oh, and please, don’t give me that dead daughter sob story, cause I just don’t care. Clearly you don’t anymore, either, cause you’ve gotten a replacement for her.” 

Oh, that’s it.

Nancy stood up, sliding the glass back on the table. She reached for the door, planning to throw it open and kick the mayor in the fucking face- she really didn’t care about how much trouble she’d be in afterwards, she just knew she wanted him dead right now, and the most holding back she could do was grievous physical injury. 

But as she attempted to turn the handle, she realized it was locked. And just as she tried the handle again, she heard a shout and a loud thud against the door. 

The others heard it too- Joyce, Jonathan and Candace jumped to attention, whipping around to stare at the door. Jonathan’s eyes darted to Nancy, and she gave him a shrug, as if to say, I didn’t do anything. 

She heard, muffled yet very close behind the door, “My nose! You broke my goddamn nose!” 

“And your friend almost killed a friend of mine last night, so I’d say we’re still not even!” 

“Larry?” Candace stood, moving to the door; Nancy considered jumping to block her, and then considered whether or not that’d be suspicious, and if it was worth trying to avoid suspicions at this point, and by the time she decided she should probably punch someone, Candace was already trying the doorknob and also finding it locked. 

They could hear more muffled shouts from behind the door, and after a moment, Candace worriedly moved to her desk, as fast as she could in heels, and reached for the phone. To Nancy’s surprise, Joyce, quick as a whip, reached forwards and ripped a wire out of the phone, knocking it dead. 

“Who you calling?” she asked incredulously, as Candace and Jonathan stared at her in shock. “The police?” 

At that, Jonathan moved to the door to the hall, hitting the lock. 

“Well, what do you expect me to do?” Candace hissed. “Obviously that brute of a man-” 

“He’s doing way less than I would’ve done had I been in there.” Nancy informed her. “So consider Mr Mayor lucky that I’m locked out here with you.” 

“What’d they say?” Jonathan asked, deciding to ignore the panicking secretary for a moment. 

“Asshole’s threatening the kids.” 

A fire lit in Joyce’s eyes. “I’m going to kill him myself.” 

“Excuse me?” Candace gasped. 

“Viva la Revolución.” Jonathan nodded. 

“Ms Byers, are the kids still at the pool?” 

“Should be.” Joyce sighed. “If they run off, I swear to God-” 

“And Dustin and Will are with Steve, so they’re fine.” Jonathan said. 

Nancy paused a second. “Hey, Jonathan, you think we’re getting fired for not showing up to work today?” 

Jonathan groaned. “God, I didn’t even think of that- we’re fucked-” 

“No, don’t be like that, I just wanna know how much I can beat the shit outta Holloway.” 

“Why-?” 

The door suddenly swung open, and Nancy leapt back as Mayor Kline was pushed out, almost hitting the wall. Hopper stepped out, a stone cold glare in his eyes as he grabbed Kline’s arms and hoised him up towards the door. 

“Larry?” Candace gaped as Jonathan quickly ran to unlock and open the door. 

“Oh, he just bumped his head.” Hopper said, dragging the man out and smiling uncaringly at the secretary. “Just a little boo-boo, right, Lar?” 

“Oh, I see we’re going.” Nancy said, following closely behind Hopper and glaring at the mayor. 

Joyce looked back at Candace, said, “Have a nice day!” and closed the door behind them. 

As they walked down the hall, Jonathan said, “I feel like the car’s gonna be crowded. And we’re gonna get arrested.” 

“Like this is the worst thing we’ve done.” Nancy sighed. 

“And look at this, Jonathan,” Nancy spread out her arms in the foyer, almost tripping on an expensive-looking rug, “We get to see the mayor’s house! Isn’t this so much better than work?” 

“Nancy, are you taking this seriously?” Hopper sighed, as he pushed the captive mayor up the stairs. 

“I am lightening the mood because I’m terrified, Hop.” Nancy said, without dropping the smile on her face. 

“What are we doing here again?” Jonathan asked, taking Nancy’s hand and leading her up the stairs. 

“The Goon who attacked you two works for Starcourt,” Joyce recapped, “Which bought up a shitton of land. Kline’s got papers here.” 

“Cool. Major conspiracy bust.” Nancy said. “And we get to piss off the guy who said- what did he say about our kids again, Hop?” 

“Nancy, please.” Hopper sighed, once they reached the upper floor. “Let’s just get these papers and then we can all forget this happened.” 

“Maybe you will.” Nancy snorted, running her hand over the polished railing. 

“Why are they here, again?” Kline asked, glaring back at the entourage. 

“We’re a package deal.” Joyce shrugged, glancing back to make sure Jonathan and Nancy were still following. 

“Yeah, there’d be more of us if they weren’t all busy saving the world and/or eating way too much ice cream.” Jonathan mentioned. 

Kline groaned, before leading them into a large bedroom that was probably bigger than the Byers’ living room and kitchen combined. He swiftly unlocked a safe on the wall, pulling out a file that he passed to Hopper, before sitting down on a chair and groaning, head in his hands. 

“Alright, so,” Hopper said, flipping open the file, “What exactly are we lookin’ at?” 

Kline sighed, as Nancy and Jonathan quickly ran to Hopper’s side and began flipping through the papers. “Land deeds, transfers of property.” 

“So your buddies at Starcourt,” Hopper said, as Joyce joined them, “Suddenly start buying up all this property. They tell you why?” 

“I told you, they don’t tell me anything.” 

“Yeah, they’re just using you, we get that.” Nancy said, as Hopper closed up the file. 

“What I’m not getting, personally,” Jonathan said, as Hopper passed the file over to Joyce, “Is why you have a bunch of land deeds in a safe in your bedroom. Seems a bit-” 

“Paranoid?” Nancy interrupted. 

“Was gonna say ‘overprotective.’” 

“Yeah, that works.” Nancy glanced over towards Joyce, who was flipping through the deeds with that look of concentration on her face. 

“You kids wouldn’t get it.” Kline said, giving them a stern look, a tinge of fear in his voice. “These people. They’re bad news.” 

“So is this blackmail?” Nancy asked. 

“Protection.” 

“Protection.” Hopper echoed. 

Joyce interrupted with a quick, “Hold on a second,” and she turned and started into the hall. Without hesitation, Nancy and Jonathan followed, watching as she flipped through the papers and walked towards a large city map, hung on the wall of the hallway. Once Hopper came out, glancing back quickly into the room to make sure the mayor wasn’t going anywhere, Joyce pointed up. 

“These places that have been bought out- Hess Farm, Henry’s Place… they’re all here.” She spread her hands around an area in the corner of town. “Look, they’re all here. They’re all in Southeast Hawkins, right near Jordan Lake.”

“I’m not following.” Nancy admitted. 

“What else is near Jordan Lake?” Joyce prompted. 

Hopper’s eyes widened. “The power plant.” 

“Four nights ago, there was that power outage.” Jonathan recalled. “They’ve been happening all the time, but the one four nights ago- the day after that-” 

“The magnets fell.” Nancy nodded. 

“Mr Clarke said a machine needed to make the magnets fall like that would take a massive amount of power.” Jonathan said. 

“This machine does exist.” Nancy realized. “And we didn’t find it at the Lab-” 

“Because it wasn’t at the Lab.” Jonathan said. 

“It was at one of these properties.” Joyce said. “They’re hiding something over here, and all we have to do is track it down.” 

“Holy shit, Mom.” Jonathan said, leaning against the wall. “How did you get that so fast?” 

Joyce shrugged, and Hopper smiled a little. “Why don’t you forget about sales and come work at the Hawkins PD?” 

Joyce laughed, closing the file again and passing it back to him. “And have to look at your face every day? I don’t think so.” 

“Also if the mayor tells anyone what just went down, you’re probably toast.” Nancy said. Then she narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Did we leave him alone?” 

They heard some kind of muffled shuffling, and a little groan. “Larry!” Hopper took off running, back towards the room. 

Nancy sighed. “Okay, it’s the kids’ turn to be smart, I guess, cause we just completely forgot we took a politician captive.” 

“We’re gonna be in a lot of shit for this.” Jonathan sighed. 

“So much shit.” Nancy nodded. 

“Eh, we’ll be fine.” Joyce waved her hand. “I mean, I think we will. We’ve got… connections.” 

“I dunno if the government guys-” 

They heard another shout from Hopper, and Nancy said, “We should help him, right?” 

“Yeah.” Joyce sighed.