#and mrs driscoll is just scary

[becca-alexa]

Please, just let the kids be alright.

[panicatthebeck]

in sisters, we seek strength

Summary: TJ finally talks to his sister.

Words: 2,193

ao3

A/N: I wrote most of this back in July/August right after the last episode but it’s just been sitting in my drafts and I finally decided to finish it. I hope you enjoy!

TJ’s breath caught in his throat and he felt like he couldn’t move his chest at all- not to move his torso and definitely not to breathe. He stared at the door in front of him and stood waiting. For what? It’s not like there was anything scary behind the door. It was just his sister’s room. A room he had been in a thousand times before and would continue to go into even after today, but what he wanted to say; TJ’s rational mind didn’t win over his emotions, but the strength would come to him and he would knock on his sister’s door- hopefully.

A few times in the past few weeks TJ would pause in the hallway on the way to his own room. He would hear Amber’s music through the door and stand there for a second. He thought about knocking on the door- going in her room and talking to her. Actually talk to her without mean jabs or smart aleck quips, talk like they used to all the time. The only time they seem to do anything together anymore is when they talk about their parents, like when they both decided to get jobs to help out around the house. He wished they could talk about their lives again, or random things like the funny vines they saw that day or what their teacher did in class. TJ thought they had so much to catch up on, but what he wanted to say wasn’t something they had in common- it was something that he barely figured out himself.

One strained breath and he’s trying to calm himself down. TJ knows that his chest constricting was just his body reacting to the stress, Cyrus told him that when talking about anxiety and panic attacks. Of course Cyrus had all the information about anxiety and panic. Now maybe all the information was useful. The thought of having this conversation made TJ feel awful. It’s not even like Amber would do anything or say anything bad. This feeling though- TJ hated it. The last time he felt this much nervousness go through his body was after Reed, the watermelons, and the gun. Approaching Cyrus after all that happened made him feel like this- but the swings made it better. The swings and Cyrus made it better. Cyrus’s smile made it better.

Amber changed the song she was playing on her speaker and it brought TJ back to the hallway away from the park and the swingset. The tightness in his chest wasn’t going to get any better and TJ knew that the time was now.

He knocked on the door. The bubbly music came to an abrupt stop and TJ could hear Amber shuffling in her room. The door opened sharply and Amber was at the door. 

“Hey Teej. What’s up?” 

TJ wrung his hands. “Can I come in? I kinda wanna talk.”

Amber paused. TJ thought that maybe she wasn’t expecting a serious TJ at her door. A yell from Mom, maybe, or a peace offering from Dad. Amber stepped out of the door to let TJ walk in with a strange look. 

"What is it this time? Fail another math test? Or did you get another call from the school about your 'behavior'?" TJ sat down on the edge of her bed and Amber closed the door behind him. TJ rolled his eyes when he heard the comments. He hadn’t gotten in trouble at school in who knows how long, the only thing he did wrong in a while was fail his math class, but he managed to get that back up with one good test grade. TJ actually turned himself around, believe it or not, with the help of Cyrus, of course.

"No, actually. My last math test I got a C+.” Amber didn’t try to hide her surprise. It was a little mean maybe, but TJ didn’t expect less from his sister. She was so much smarter than him, obviously. She’s the one who skipped a grade, nonetheless. “I'm trying to be serious, Amber. I want to talk to you."

Amber's sly smirk dropped on her face. "Oh, crap. Is it Mom and Dad?"

 TJ breathed a laugh. "No, I actually think I saw them smile at each other today,” he paused and wiped the palm of his hands on his knees, feeling the denim on his hands. “It’s about me.”

Amber stopped. She sits down across from TJ also on the bed. She puts her hands open palm in front of her. It was an open invitation TJ understood: you can hold my hand if you want to or if you need to. Growing up together, especially as twins, they always had their own gestures, and their own meanings. TJ didn’t take the hand, he didn’t need it for now. “What’s up?”

“I, um, I wanted to tell you something about me.” Something I found out a while ago, something that I’m scared of. TJ took a deep breath, then let it sit in silence for a little bit. The words would come to his tongue then drift off again. He didn’t know if he could manage to say it.

Amber was waiting patiently. He honestly hadn’t said the words to himself yet. God, why did he have to knock on the door if he wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready and now he’s sitting on Amber’s bed and she’s looking at him expectantly and- another breath. A deep breath that he tried to use to push back all the other thoughts. Rip it off like a band-aid.

“I, I’m gay. I think.”

Silence. The words hung in the air. There was a lump stuck in TJ’s throat. He wanted a hug, he wanted to cry, and he wanted to leave. He tried to take a deep breath through his nose, but it didn’t go all the way through and it came out as a sniffle.

“Oh TJ.” TJ felt Amber’s arms go around his neck in an embrace. TJ wrapped his arms around her waist and his face dug deep in her shoulder. She knows. Just a hug and TJ felt relief wash over his body in a great wave. She knows and she cares about me. He squeezed her waist to keep himself grounded- and she returned the pressure just as hard.

Without moving his head, TJ spoke into her hair. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I wanted to tell you so bad.”

Amber pulled away from TJ and stared at him in the eye. “TJ, you’re allowed to tell me anything. I don’t care if we haven’t talked in a while okay?” She cupped his face and used her thumb to wipe under his eye and over his cheekbone. “I’m your sister, that means more to me than anything you might think. Especially with how mom and dad have been lately.”

TJ took a deep and shaky breath, and let it exhale completely before he spoke. His anxiety was trying to settle in his bones, or dissipate from his body completely. Rationally, TJ knew he still had a lot to think about, but his sister was on his side, and that’s all that mattered right now.  “Thanks. It feels really good to tell you.”

Amber smiled at him and moved her hand from his neck to his hands. She squeezed them. “We need to catch up. What’s happening in your life? You passed a math class. I don’t remember that happening- ever.”

TJ laughed. That, that hasn’t happened ever. He’s been skating on high Ds in every math class in his life; that was until Cyrus told him that Mr. Coleman couldn’t fail him for dyscalculia and he actually got some extra tutoring help on the days he didn’t have basketball practice. “Yeah, my friend, Cyrus, knocked some sense into me and helped me set up tutoring sessions with Mr. Coleman, and we do our math homework together in the park. He explains everything pretty well.”

Amber scrunched her nose at the name drop, but it went into a smile easy enough. “I know Cyrus. He’s like that. He helps people. He’s helped me even when I didn’t deserve it.” Amber tossed her hair behind her. 

Yeah, Cyrus helped people, even when they didn’t deserve it. TJ knew that fact very well. When TJ was mean, pushing Cyrus away so that no one found out about his learning disability, Cyrus helped him. When TJ messed up and brought Cyrus to a dirt bike pit with an unhealthy side of firearms, Cyrus’s voice in TJ’s head was the one to tell him to call the police. Cyrus’s smile when TJ told him, you’re the only person I can talk to like this. All of it helped him- and TJ thought he was a better person because of Cyrus Goodman. “When did you start hanging out with Cyrus?”

“I met him when Buffy Driscoll, joined the boys basketball team. Buffy, Cyrus, and their friend Andi are all attached at the hip.”

Amber laughed. “Yeah, I know. They hang out with Jonah too, remember? My ex-boyfriend?” 

TJ’s face went slack. “I totally forgot you dated him.”

“Thanks for slacking, bro. Aren’t you supposed to protect me from all the boys that come my way?”

TJ was slacking. He hadn’t really talked with his sister in a long time, and the last time it wasn’t about themselves and their lives. It was what was happening around them and what they were going to do about it (last time they both decided to get jobs, Amber at the Spoon and TJ at the gym). He guessed when Amber moved up in grades they just sort of… dropped the ball. “I guess I have.”

“I won’t have any of that.” Amber told him. She let go of his hands and laid down on her bed, on her stomach. She put her head in her hands and waited. TJ waited for what she was going to do, but she just stared up at him with her blue eyes. 

After a moment, she patted her palm on the bed. TJ rolled his eyes. Understanding, TJ laid down on the bed too, but rather on his back with him facing the ceiling. 

“So tell me more, about your new friends- what’s going on with your life.”

“Um,” TJ thought about it. “I'm gonna ask Cyrus to do a costume together on costume day. I thought of a good one last night and I think he’s gonna like it.” TJ told her. Costume day was a big deal, at least at the middle school. People usually planned their costumes at least two weeks in advance. TJ hoped that Cyrus didn’t already have one because doing a costume with Cyrus- and inside joke only the two of them (and maybe Andi or Buffy) would understand. The thought made TJ smile.

“I remember costume day at was always really fun to be together with the people… you care about." Amber paused before she finished her thought. She could have said friend, but she didn't. that was something that TJ himself wasn't ready to unpack yet- Cyrus being not only a friend but one of 'the people he cares about'. "When do you plan on asking him?"

“I’m meeting him tomorrow in the park and I’m gonna ask. My idea is this inside joke we have- so I think he’s gonna like it.”

Amber rolled over so she was also on her back- but her head was resting on his rib cage. “I’m sure he’s gonna like it.”

TJ scoffed and raised his head to meet her gaze. “I didn’t even tell you what it was.”

“But, just from what you said I think Cyrus will say yes.”

TJ hoped he would, and he hoped it was a good idea. He didn’t want to make it a deal or anything, but TJ having a real friend was a deal, a big deal and he didn’t want to accidentally do the wrong thing and start them back from square one. Again.

“I hope so.”

A comfortable silence fell upon them. It was nice, not uneasy or mean, just them being comfortable in their presence with one another. TJ felt the comforter under his head and just thought one thing, I did it. One easy thing I could do, and I did. Any other people and that was a no go, even Cyrus, because even telling Amber he felt the weight of the world on his back, if there were any more he would have to see all of Cyrus parents- biological and step- just to put him back at ease. Just the thought of telling anyone else… TJ didn’t want to think about it.

“Amber?”

“Yeah?”

“I know it probably goes without saying but, you’re the first person I told- and no one else knows-”

“I get it, don’t worry. Zipped lips.” 

“Thanks.” TJ took a deep breath. 

“No problem.”

TJ waited a beat. He wanted to make sure Amber understood him. “Thank you.”

Amber patted a part of his leg she could reach, “Always.”

[stardustgirl05]

The Sauna Test 2

I wasn’t planning on writing a part two but it sounded fun and I was bored so here we are. here’s part one and the inspiration post and if y’all want a part three lmk and i will do it. tbh i like part one better but probably bc its more angsty.

warnings: language, flashes to the upside down (so scary stuff), a pinch of byler like always, mild angst, yelling, mentions of violence

other notes: despite the title this actually takes place during s3e5, The Flayed

-------------------------------

The phone had been ringing for several minutes now. 

Nancy was starting to get worried. Yes, it was early, and yes, Jonathan probably still hated her for getting them both fired, but if the Mind Flayer was coming back, and it definitely seemed like it, then talking to Will would be her best bet. 

“Hello?” an angry voice from the other end of the line answered.

“Jonathan!”

“Do you realize what time it is?”

Yep, he was still mad. For sure.

“Listen to me, okay?” Nancy could feel that old feeling of panic starting to bubble up again. Something bad was happening, and again, no one was listening to her.

“It’s 6am, and I had a late night with Feagan and the gang so—”

Nancy thought that sounded like a lie, but at this point, she didn’t care. “I’m at the hospital with Driscoll.”

A pause. “What?”

“She’s been sedated for a few hours and the doctors are still running tests.”

She could hear Jonathan wake up almost immediately. “Nancy, please tell me you’re joking.”

“It’s not a joke, and yes, I know I’m insane, and irrational, and out of touch, but save your lecture because I really don’t give a shit right now, I just…” Nancy took a breath to calm herself. The few people out at this hour have been giving her weird looks during the whole conversation. 

“I need you to put me on the phone with your brother.”

“What?”

“Jonathan, please.”

Nancy was praying this would work, that Will would remember enough to give her something, anything, about what she had just witnessed in the hospital.

“He’s not even here,” Jonathan said, and Nancy felt her stomach drop. 

“Where is he?” She knew her voice was getting more and more frantic, but if this thing was commanding Mrs. Driscoll, then it was commanding others too. If she knew her brother and his friends, it’s that they always ran head first into the chaos, exactly where Will could be in the most danger. “Is he safe?”

“Why wouldn’t he be safe?” Jonathan’s voice was quavering. Nancy almost regretted saying that, reminding him of the past two years in which he had to watch his brother go through hell, but if something had happened to him...

“Nancy, why wouldn’t he be safe?”

“So you don’t know where he is?”

“Nancy!” Jonathan’s voice was on the brink of yelling now. “Tell me what happened at the hospital.”

Nancy’s eyes started to brim with tears. “It...I don’t know, it looked like that night, in the cabin, when we burned the Mind Flayer out of Will, but worse…” She heard Jonathan curse on the other end. “Do you know where he is?”

-----------------------------

“So...it felt like when he possessed you?” Max’s eyes drilled into Will’s. She looked scared. All of them did. He couldn’t help but wonder if they were scared of him.

“I mean...yeah. Like that.” 

The whole morning, the group had been grilling Will on the events of the previous night. Will didn’t want to tell them that the cold feeling never went away. He didn’t want anyone to worry. He didn’t like being the center of attention, but at least they were somewhat focused on other things. Between speculating about what happened to Will and the constant asking of are you sure you’re alright?, Mike had been whining about El and El had been working on finding Hopper. As it turned out, he was in Illinois. With Joyce. While everyone found that a little weird, they had bigger things to worry about. 

A loud knock on the basement door caught everyone’s attention. 

“Not now, Mom!” Mike screamed, and instead being greeted with his mother’s annoyed tone, Nancy’s voice screamed from just up the stairs.

“Mike, open the door!” 

The group just stared at each other in confusion. Finally, Mike got up. Nancy and Jonathan came running down the stairs, shoving Mike out of the way. “Will?” Jonathan said, looking frantically around the room.

“I’m right here,” Will said, confused as to why Jonathan’s face was twisted with fear.

“Oh thank god,” Nancy breathed, and Mike turned on his sister abruptly. 

“Okay, what is going on right now? Why do you two look like you just ran a marathon?”

Nancy and Jonathan looked at each other. Nancy took a breath and explained everything she had just seen.

“What time was this attack?” Mike piped up once she was finished.

“Last night,” Nancy said, still looking fearful.

“Right, but what time last night?”

“Around nine.”

Jonathan turned on Nancy. “You waited all night to call?”

“I was waiting for the doctor to run some tests.” 

Will’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “You weren’t there?”

“Well I’m here now, aren’t I?” Jonathan snapped.

“Hallelujah,” Nancy quipped back. 

Nancy and Jonathan had been avoiding eye contact for the whole conversation. Everyone could tell something had happened between them. It was almost comical, seeing their tense and awkward interactions.

“So wait, what were you guys doing last night?” Nancy said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

They all looked at each other. Will looked at the ground. Finally, Mike spoke.

“We, uh. We went to find Billy and...and we tried to get the Mind Flayer out of him. With a sauna”

“What?” Nancy and Jonathan exclaimed in unison. 

“It was working, for a bit,” Lucas said slowly. “But then he got out of the sauna and then he tried to possess Will again and then El threw him through a wall and he got away.”

The room went silent. Jonathan slowly turned to look at Will. “What do you mean ‘tried to possess Will again?’”

“Jonathan—” Will whispered.

“Why would you go with them, when you knew this would happen? You’re lucky he didn’t do anything to you,” Jonathan yelled. Will squeezed his lips together. “He didn’t do anything, right?”

“I don’t know, he...he did something to me. Like he was trying to control me again. Like I still have some of the Mind Flayer left in me.” Will’s voice was shaking. He knew he was on the brink of tears, like he always was when he talked about the Mind Flayer or the Upside Down.

“Yeah, Billy made Will collapse. It was freaky, it was like Will couldn’t hear us at all,” Max said, leaning closer to El. Jonathan looked furious.

Suddenly, a chilling sensation tore through Will’s body. His lungs constricted in pain. His head started pounding again, as Mike’s basement faded away and all that was left were shadows, and little white spores flitting through the air. 

“Mike?” Will said quietly, standing up from the couch and trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness. He heard a sound from outside, something all too familiar. Will couldn’t move. He knew he had to run, but he couldn’t risk being seen. He looked down to see vines creeping over his shoes, trapping him. The sound was coming closer, and it would find him again he would find him again he needed to run and hide and not let him see and he had to get back to Mike—

“Where are you?”

A singsong voice echoed from all sides. Will felt the back of his neck start to tingle, like the feeling of being watched. The toxic air pierced his lungs and stung his skin and he started to get dizzy—

“WILL!”

Will’s eyes shot open to see his friends surrounding him, Mike’s hands on his shoulders. He felt El’s hand on his arm, and Jonathan’s hand on his forehead. 

“Was it another episode?” Mike asked, staring intensely at Will’s face. 

“God, you’re freezing.” Jonathan lowered his hand. “What happened?”

Will sat back down, breathing heavily. He tried to focus on Mike’s face, looking increasingly more worried the longer Will didn’t speak. He opened his mouth, and a wave of nausea fell over him. He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the spinning.

“...Will?” El’s voice was quiet as she sat down next to him. “Was it Billy? Was he there?”

Will shook his head. 

“No, it was...well, it sounded like Billy. But it wasn’t. It was him. And he knew I was there.”

Nancy and Jonathan exchanged a look. “Is it...in you again? Do we need to burn it out?” Nancy said, her eyes wide.

Will shook his head. “I don’t think he actually possessed me this time. He’s just trying to scare me, I think. I know too much.”

“Well, what do you know?” Lucas leaned forward. Will noticed that he and Max were holding each other’s hands tightly, their knuckles turning white. “I know how he works. How he thinks and everything. He views me as a threat because...because I got through his control in the past.”

Lucas sighed in frustration. “Well, if you could do it, why can’t Billy?” 

“I—”

Will’s neck tingled again, like a warning. “I think something’s wrong.”

Nancy stared at him. “What? What’s happening?”

He looked up at them, eyes wide.

“It’s Mrs. Driscoll.”

[pizza-is-my-buziness]

Number 20 is sweven (a dream)

Set post s3

She’s back in the hospital. 

In some ways, Nancy feels like she’s never left. 

She dreams of the place so often now. It slips into her subconscious, chasing out happy memories and sunny days, pushing aside the dark, flashing lights of the Byers home with a monster of a different sort.

It all feels real. Real enough to make Nancy forget that she’s dreaming at all, that this isn’t her reality anymore, that if she were to open her eyes she would see the familiar walls and furniture of her bedroom. 

Those thoughts never occur to Nancy when she’s there. 

Instead, she just walks toward Mrs. Driscoll’s room, her feet in their flats making only whispers on the tile floor. The hospital is silent and still around her and Nancy can hear the sounds of the machines humming in the other rooms, working to keep the people inside alive for a little while longer. 

The door whines as she pushes it open and Mrs. Driscoll isn’t in her bed. The sheets are rumpled, the clipboard that she’d used to try and gather some sort of information earlier discarded on the floor.

And there’s blood, flecks of it, drying on the threads of the knitted blanket on the bed and dotting the walls of the room. Nancy reaches forward, her fingers shaking as she kneels to pick up the clipboard, like it might somehow have some an explanation of what she’s seeing. 

“Nancy.” 

She gasps and the clipboard clatters back to the ground. The hammering in Nancy’s chest stops when she whirls around and sees that it’s Jonathan standing behind her but she presses her hand to the spot above her rabbiting heart anyway. “Jonathan,” she breathes. “You scared the shit out of me.” 

“Sorry,” Jonathan says, in a way that suggests that he isn’t sorry at all. He eases the door closed behind him as he steps into the room. “You know you shouldn’t be here.” 

Nancy frowns, her eyebrows knitting together. “No...we are. We need to figure out what’s going on with everyone so we know how to stop that...that...thing.” 

When Jonathan steps closer to her, Nancy can’t help but notice that there’s something strange about the way he moves. Gone are the slow, easy movements that she’s come to memorize, that she could picture clearly in her head without even trying. Jonathan is moving like he’s still getting used to the idea, like he hasn’t gotten comfortable in his own body. 

And when she looks closer at his face, she can see his forehead beaded with sweat. 

Swallowing, Nancy steps back and the edge of the bed stops her from going any further. “Jonathan…” 

“It’s too late, Nancy. I’m sorry.” 

She shakes her head and she can feel her heart beating faster against the palm that she still has pressed to her chest, her fingers tangling in the fabric of her dress until her knuckles turn white. “No. No...Jonathan...no.” 

What she wants to say is not you too or this can’t be happening.

But Nancy knows better than that. This can be happening because the girl who let her best friend be swallowed up into a demon’s layer isn’t going to be able to stop the same thing from happening to the person she loves. 

Because lightning does strike twice, when you’re single-minded and selfish and careless with the people you love. 

“You’re…” Nancy swallows and the edge of the bed is hard against the small of her back. “You can’t be...one of them…” 

There’s no more Jonathan in the eyes looking back at her. Nothing back dark, empty eyes looking back. “It’s not so bad, Nance,” he tells her. “It’s nice not to have to worry about anything anymore. To let someone else make all the decisions.” 

“No,” Nancy says softly and Jonathan blurs as she feels tears leak onto her cheeks. “No. Not you too.” 

“Soon enough, everyone will take their place,” Jonathan tells her. “Including you.” 

He lunges, making to grab her, and Nancy drops to the floor, ducking underneath his reaching arms and not bothering to turn around at the sound of Jonathan colliding with the end of the bed. She just runs, yanking open the hospital room door and flinging herself into the hallway. 

There’s no one in the hallway. Not a single doctor or nurse in sight. No one for Nancy to run to, to hide behind, to put in charge of fixing all of this and making everything better. Nancy runs and the end of the hallway, the elevator that will take her back to Mike and the others, never seems to get any closer.

And there’s the sound of Jonathan’s footsteps behind her, growing closer even as Nancy pushes herself to run faster, as she forces herself not to look back, not to remind herself that the person she’s trying to get away from is Jonathan, the one person she always thought would make her feel the safest. 

“Nancy.” The sound of him calling her name echoes off the otherwise silent walls, rattling around in Nancy’s mind. “Nancy.” 

She pushes open the door to one of the rooms, hurrying inside and slamming the door shut behind her. Nancy turns, her fingers and eyes searching desperately for a lock, for a way to keep herself inside and Jonathan out. 

Finally, her fingers find the button and she pushes down, exhaling, trying to see through the tears in her eyes and think through the barrage of thoughts in her mind. Swallowing, Nancy closes her eyes, trying to take a deep breath, trying to focus her mind, to center herself.

When she turns back around, Jonathan is already standing there in front of her.

Nancy barely has time to let out a gasp before he grabs her, his hands around her throat.

Nancy wakes herself up screaming. 

She realizes that she’s not in the hospital, that she’s in her bedroom, tangled in her sheets, at the same time that her bedroom door flies open and her father comes stumbling in, looking disheveled and panicked. “Nancy!” 

Gasping, Nancy stares at her father, willing her mind to come back from the hallways of the hospital and to the present. The present where she’s at home, in bed. Where there’s no more monster, where there are no hands around her throat.

Where there’s only her father staring at her like he’s never seen her before in his life, looking for whatever threat has crept into her bedroom and caused her to scream like that.

But there’s no threat. 

There’s nothing, except what Nancy sees in her own mind.

Nancy exhales, closing her eyes, scrubbing a hand across her face. “I...I’m sorry, Dad,” she says softly. “I was...just dreaming.” 

Ted looks more confused than afraid now, which Nancy thinks is an upgrade. “Oh. I...okay.” He steps into the room, half-heartedly peeking in corners, even opening the closet door and peering inside.

“Really, Dad, I’m fine,” Nancy says and her voice manages to sound like she means it. Like she’s not still trying to push aside the memories in her mind. “It was just a nightmare.” 

This time, Ted seems satisfied, nodding. He steps closer to the bed, kissing the top of her head and giving her shoulder a squeeze. “No more scary movies before bed,” he says wearily. 

“Okay,” Nancy says, even though she can’t remember the last time she’s watched a scary movie. 

They stopped having any sort of appeal years ago.

“Sorry,” Nancy says, her voice small to her own ears, as Ted turns to leave the room. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

Ted looks over his shoulder, giving her a tight, tired smile. “It’s okay, honey. I’m glad you’re okay.” 

Quietly, he closes the door behind him. Nancy studies the door, counting to one hundred before she untangles herself from the covers and slips out of bed, creeping quietly across the length of her room and opening the door once more. 

A quick glance into the hallway shows that her father has already gone back into his room, the door closed behind him.

But Nancy nearly jumps out of her skin when she sees Mike, standing in the doorway of his bedroom, his face solemn and still as he watches her. He gives her a tired, understanding sort of smile. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” Nancy says quietly, the tightness in her chest now because of the worry that she sees in Mike’s face. “I’m fine. Just a nightmare.” 

Mike shrugs one shoulder. “Do they count as nightmares if they’re true?” 

Nancy doesn’t want to answer that question. She wants to pretend, at least for a moment, that that’s exactly what it is: a nightmare, her imagination running wild. “I’m just going to…” She points down the hallway, toward the stairs. “Get a glass of water.” 

Mike nods and they hold each other’s gaze for a beat longer and where Nancy saw only confusion and weary annoyance in Ted’s face, she sees understanding in Mike’s. 

Nancy turns, quietly heading down the hallway, avoiding the spots and stairs that will creak under her weight and give her away. She doesn’t bother to turn the light on when she gets into the kitchen, just like she doesn’t bother to grab a glass out of the cabinet. Water is the last thing on her mind right now.

Even though the clock above the stove is telling her that it’s long past midnight, Nancy reaches for the phone, dialing the number that she’s committed to memory. It’s taken the place of the other number she had memorized, the one of the Byers home right here in Hawkins. She can imagine it ringing, hundreds of miles away, and she feels guilty at the thought of the sound waking Joyce or Will or El. 

But, as though he’d almost been expecting her to call, Jonathan picks up on the third ring. “Hello?” His voice is quiet and husky with sleep.

“Jonathan,” Nancy says softly, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs, pulling her knees up to her chest. 

“Nancy. Are you okay? What’s going on?” 

“I’m sorry to call so late,” Nancy says quickly, though there’s a part of her that isn’t really sorry at all. “I just...I had a dream and I...it’s dumb now.” 

“No, it’s not dumb,” Jonathan says quickly, like he expects her to change her mind and hang up. “I’m glad you called.” 

Nancy smiles softly, closing her eyes at the sound of his voice. If he was still here, in Hawkins, she thinks she could get into the car right now and drive over to his house. Or, more than likely, she would already be there with him.

Then she could actually feel his arms around her instead of just imagining how it would feel. 

“Do you want to tell me about your dream?” Jonathan asks and his voice somehow makes her feel both comforted and lonely at the same time.

Nancy sighs and it’s all too easy to remember the nightmare and how it had been Jonathan that was taken from her, how he had become one of those things. It seems ridiculous now, listening to his voice in her ear, knowing he would never hurt her. 

“No,” she says softly, resting her chin on her knee and keeping the phone pressed against her shoulder and ear. “No...I just...I miss you. I wish you were here.” 

“I miss you, too,” Jonathan says and Nancy feels a longing for him like it’s a real, solid part of her. “I wish I was with you. So bad. You have no idea.” 

She smiles faintly. “I might have some idea,” Nancy tells him. “I know it’s late but...do you think you could talk for just a little while longer? I just want to hear your voice.” 

She can imagine Jonathan smiling, even if it’s not as good as actually seeing him do it. “Of course.”  

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

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

Chapter Five → Return to the Void

“Sorry we’re late!” Joyce said, running in and hanging her coat on the rack. “We had to talk to Ms Driscoll, and-” 

She looked around, surprised to see only four children sitting on the floor. As Hopper walked in after her, Max said, “Everyone else is late, too, you’re fine.” 

“Oh.” Joyce said. “Wh-where’s Will? And-” 

“Will and Dustin are at the mall with Steve.” El explained, her and Mike still braiding bracelets together. “Nancy and Jonathan are somewhere, I don’t know.” 

“Probably making out.” Max said. She was staring very hard at the floor. “I was gonna walk home myself but I walked Lucas home first and El thought-” 

“That you walking home alone has had a precedent for turning out bad.” El said. She glanced cautiously at Max, who still stared at the floor. Lucas was giving her the occasional worried look, too. 

“Well, um…” Joyce tried hard not to look anxious. “I… I suppose that’s alright. It’s just-” 

“Weird we’re not attached to each other?” El said. 

“I didn’t say-” 

“I think,” Hopper said, giving El a careful glance, “We should go home. Joyce, you catch Nancy and Jonathan up on what we found.” 

Joyce nodded. “I-” 

“I need to sleep.” Max stood up quickly, still not looking at anyone. She walked right past Hopper, and out the door. 

El bit her lip. “Dad, is this… the whole PTSD thing you mentioned?” 

He took a sharp breath. “Maybe? Or it could just be teen angst. You all get it.” 

“Can we help?” 

Hopper gave her a sad look. “We’ll… have to see. Come on.” 

El hesitantly gave Mike a kiss on the cheek, and then stood up and followed her father out the door. 

When she left, Lucas looked up at Joyce and said, “Can… can Mike and I hang out for a bit? Until Steve comes back.” 

“Of course.” she said, a kind smile on her face. “Of course, I… I’ll jot down my thoughts for Nancy and Jonathan when they get back. You two have fun, okay?” 

Lucas nodded, and held out his hand for Mike. Mike took it, one hand still holding the half-done bracelet, and the two of them headed to the room they’d managed to make for Mike. 

Once Lucas closed the door, he said, “Mike, can you still go into the Void?” 

Mike placed his bracelet beside several others on his desk, and he said, “Yeah. Why? Cause El told me not to spy on her or Max because that’s ‘invasive’ and ‘creepy.’” 

“I need you to spy on Max’s stepbrother.” 

Mike blinked. “Why the hell-” 

Lucas sat on the bed and said, “He was at the pool. Me and Max passed him. He was being really mean to her.” 

Mike’s eyes widened, and he sat beside his friend. “That is scary.” he agreed. “But why do I need to-” 

“I accidentally threw some light at him.” Lucas said. 

“Lucas!” Mike jumped. “You can’t do that, we-” 

“I know, I know, but he acted really weird. He backed up-” 

“Yeah, people do that when light shows up in their face.” 

“But it was… not like that.” Lucas sighed. “It’s hard to explain. Why can’t we have better words?” 

“Because our life used to suck.” Mike said. 

“I just… can you look at Billy? See what he’s doing?” 

Mike paused. “I think so. I… can try?” 

“Do you need a picture? I don’t have one.” 

“I think I saw a picture. When El was showing me her photo album, there was some guy behind Max at the park. Does he have ginger hair and kind-of a beard?” 

“Yeah!” 

“Okay. Okay, if I focus… can you be quiet?” 

Lucas nodded, scooting back. “Good luck.” 

Mike smiled at him, then reached into his pillowcase, where he kept an emergency strip of fabric. He pulled it out, tied it around his eyes, and focused. 

Nancy rushed in, saying, “Sorry! Sorry, we’re late, we got caught up with-” 

“That’s alright.” Joyce said, looking up from the table, where she was writing something onto a notepad. She smiled at Jonathan and said, “We, um, have some stuff to go over.” 

“So do we.” Nancy immediately walked over to the fridge, glancing down. “Will’s drawings fell again, huh?” 

“What? Oh.” Joyce looked over, noticing the papers on the floor. “Yes, I- shit, I can-” 

“Watch.” Nancy knelt by the floor, picking up the magnet that had held a paper. She placed it on the fridge, and let go. 

It fell to the floor. 

Joyce narrowed her eyes, watching as Nancy tried it again, and the magnet fell again. 

“The magnets are failing.” Jonathan said, sitting across from her. “So we went to Mr Clarke, and he explained that we have a… an issue.” He straightened up, as Nancy came to sit by them, and said, “See, the magnets would be affected by an unstable electromagnetic field. The Gate, when it was open, created one of those, which is why the compasses pointed towards it.” 

“We didn’t have problems with magnets while the Gate was open.” Joyce said. 

“Which, thankfully, probably means the Gate hasn’t re-opened.” Nancy said. “Unfortunately, there is definitely something going on- and if it’s affecting these magnets, it could be stronger.” 

“There’s gotta be some huge machine.” Jonathan said. “Mr Clarke showed us an AC Device that can simulate the magnetic activity, but he said if- theoretically- this was starting to happen in town, there’d have to be a larger machine causing it. If it reached all across town, it would have to be… hugely powerful.” 

“Like, ‘billions of dollars to run, explosively dangerous’ powerful.” Nancy said, looking excited. 

Joyce’s eyes widened, and she suddenly really wished she had a cigarette. “Do you think it’s something at the Lab?” 

“I don’t know.” Nancy’s face fell a little. “We were planning on telling our bosses and getting this in the paper, but… well, they didn’t believe us about the rats, likely they’ll yell ‘female hysteria’ at me for screaming about magnets.” 

“And if I tell them, more likely than not they’ll tell me to go back to the darkroom and find some way to blame Nancy.” Jonathan squirmed slightly. 

Joyce took a deep breath. “Um. Speaking of the rats-” 

“Did you visit Ms Driscoll?” 

“Yes, me and Hopper stopped by. She was very excited that ‘those nice reporters’ thought to call the police.” 

“And?” Nancy asked. 

Joyce bit her lip. “You said you saw the crazy rat in the cage, right?” 

“Yeah, I got pictures.” Jonathan said, a sinking feeling in his chest. 

Joyce sighed. “Well. It… exploded.” 

The teenagers fell deathly silent. 

“It… what?” Nancy said. 

“We found its remains. Ms Driscoll was…” Joyce took a breath. “A bit unnerved.” 

“I should assume so.” Jonathan said. “What happened to it?” 

“We don’t know.”

Nancy took a deep breath, and then said, “We’re checking out the Lab tomorrow.” 

“Um, we have work.” Jonathan said. 

“We’ll go after work, or play hooky. I’ll say I have girl problems again, you can meet me there.” Nancy said. 

“Nancy-” 

“I’m not letting them mess with Mike’s life again.” Nancy said, very certainly. “Or anyone else’s.” She turned to Joyce. “Is the Chief here?” 

Joyce shook her head. “Max and El had to go home.” 

“Tomorrow, if he stops by your work, can you ask him to check up with Ms Driscoll? Just to make sure she’s alright, see if any rats came back.” Nancy’s eyes were focused, a plan whirring in her brain. “We’ll check out the Lab. Meet you back here in the afternoon to compare notes, to pick up the kids-” 

Almost as if on cue, the door opened, and Dustin and Will ran in. “Mom!” Will cheered, running and giving her a hug. 

Joyce beamed upon seeing her youngest son, and she hugged him back, saying, “Hey! Hey, how was the mall?” 

“It was great! Steve gives us free ice cream, but we’re not supposed to tell anyone!” Will said. 

Dustin smiled at them. “Where are the others?” 

“Um,” Joyce said, “El and Max had to go home early, and Lucas is in Mike’s room.” 

“Okay, cause we better go. We’re gonna be late home and then Steve’ll wake up late and be late to work and we’ll get yelled at.” Dustin said seriously. 

Nancy forced a smile. “Better make sure that doesn’t happen.” 

Dustin ran off, and after a minute, so did Will. 

Jonathan paused. “Should we tell them-” 

“Once we have evidence. No sense worrying them if this is just a coincidence.” Joyce said. 

“A rat blew up and magnets are going nuts and you think it’s a coincidence?” 

“We’ll figure it out, Nancy.” Jonathan assured her. “We always do.” 

Nancy sighed, and then said, “Sooner or later we’re gonna find something out too late.” 

It had gotten easier to slip into the Void in the last few months. Truthfully, Mike didn’t even need the blindfold, but it did cut down preparation time by a few minutes. He’d also gotten a bit more used to it. The coldness, the stillness, the blackness. Even the faint feel of water under his feet. 

“I’m in.” he said, then he thought very hard. “Finding Billy.” 

“Be careful.” he heard Lucas say, very distantly. 

“He can’t hurt me.” Mike shrugged. 

He walked a bit in the darkness, focusing very hard on the blurry, hazy memory he had of the photo. Would that be enough to find Max’s stepbrother? 

He thought he heard a noise behind him, and turned to see the image of a car. “There’s a car.” he said aloud, walking towards it, cocking his head. He didn’t see anybody in it. There was a California license plate, and… oh. Shit. There was a giant-ass crack in the window. 

Mike walked around the edge of the car, peering in the windows and doing his best not to touch it; he didn’t want it to vanish, like most things did when he saw them in the Void. He looked up, and realized the trunk was open. That was… strange. 

Carefully, he stepped closer to the trunk, a bit of a chill spreading through him. “Lucas?” he called. “Lucas, there’s… he’s not here, the car’s empty.” There didn’t seem to be anything in the trunk, it was as dark as the rest of the Void… 

Lucas said something, but Mike jumped and turned; there was a figure, crouching several feet away. He could see light red hair- Billy? Hopefully? 

“Hold on.” Mike walked over. What was he doing? He thought he heard another sound, and at first he assumed it was Lucas, but… no. This sounded higher. More muffled. Like a struggling woman. 

Billy said something- it might’ve been “Don’t be afraid,” but Mike wasn’t sure. 

“He’s… on the floor?” Mike said, walking up. “Talking to someone. Who’s not talking back.” 

He kept moving across the wet floor of the Void, starting to feel cold. 

“Max?” Lucas asked, scared. 

“I don’t… think…” Mike moved more, trying to get a better view. He was closer to Billy now, and he could definitely hear fear in the other, muffled voice. Like muffled screams. He knew that sound well; when one of the boys in the Lab got too loud, they’d have a gag stuck in their mouths. It was not pleasant. Clearly someone was gagged. Was Billy trying to help them? Or… 

Before he could move around the figure, Billy slowly stood up. Mike retreated a few steps, confused. The teenager before him was standing very still, almost like a statue. Once again, he tilted his head, trying to look around and see who was on the ground… 

Billy whipped around, staring, dark eyes boring into him. Mike gasped, frozen in place, as Max’s stepbrother kept staring. He couldn’t see him. He was in the Void, he couldn’t see… 

He turned more, now directly facing Mike. And then, slowly, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

Mike screamed, and the next thing he knew, he was ripping his blindfold off, gasping for breath and holding back horrified tears. 

“What? What happened?” Lucas leapt forwards, grabbing his hands. “Mike? Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?” 

“He saw me.” Mike gasped. 

“What?” 

“He saw me.” Mike shut his eyes. “He saw me and he disappeared. Like… like he didn’t want me to see what he was…” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to hide in the closet.” 

“No, no.” Lucas moved his hands to Mike’s shoulders, holding him down. “You’re not hiding in the closet again, you can’t keep doing that, you’re just reminding yourself of Solitary and making it worse.” 

“I need to calm down.” 

“Then breathe. Like Nancy taught you how to do.” Lucas said. “Breathe. In and out.”

“How could he see me?” 

“I don’t know. I don’t know, but…” Lucas considered. “We’ll find out. Tomorrow, we’ll go out. Find him. You can track him?” 

“In the Void.” Mike shivered. “He… he saw…” 

“Then we’ll start with Max’s old house and go from there.” Lucas said. “Okay? We’ll find out what was going on.” 

“Someone needed help. It- it didn’t sound like Max-” 

“We’ll figure it out. Okay? Breathe.” 

Mike shut his eyes, and breathed in and out. In and out. 

They heard a door open, and Lucas said, “That’ll be my ride. Will you be okay?” 

Mike nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I… oh, shit.” 

“What?” 

Mike looked over at him, startled. “What are we going to tell El?”

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Iron Man

Hi, Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where Today We Are Starting A New Franchise After Finishing The Fast And Furious Films In September And Doing Duke's Monsterween And Duke's Yultide Reviews In October, November And December. But Wait, Did I Say Franchise? I Meant, Cinematic Universe, Welcome My Friends, To The Marvel Cinematic Universe....

And What Better Way To Start Our Look At The MCU, By Looking At The Film That Started It All, Iron Man!

But Before We Begin, I Have A Slight Confession To Make, Until This Movie Came Out I Knew Absolutely Nothing About Iron Man, I Mean I Saw A Few Episodes Of The 1994 Iron Man Animated Series When I Was A Kid And I Knew A Few Names Like Tony And Rhodey But It Didn't Really Stick With Me Unlike The Fantastic Four Who's 94 Series I Also Watched And I Collected Few Of The Action Figures (Namely The 4 Themselves) But We're Not Talking About The Fantastic Four Who Don't Have A Movie In The MCU Yet (But I Hope It's Soon) We're Talking About Iron Man...

Directed By Jon Favreau, This Film Follows Billionaire Industrialist..,

(Start At 1:45, End At 1:51)

Who Gets Captured By A Terrorist Group Only To Escape With The Help Of A Mechanized Suit That He Created And Upon Returning Home, Tony Devotes All His Time To Perfecting The Suit So He Can Fight Crime...

So, What Are We Waiting For? Let's Watch Iron Man...

The Film Starts In Afghanistan As Tony Stark (Played By Robert Downey Jr.) Is Being Driven In A Convoy By Military Soliders Who Turn Guarding Mr. Stark Into A Q&A Session At Comic-Con...

But When They're Attacked By Terrorists Who End Up Killing Them, Tony Leaves The Safety Of The Convoy To Hide Behind A Rock To Call For Help On His Phone, Only To Be Damaged By One Of His Companies Missiles That Causes Tony To Bleed Out...

A Few Hours Later We See That Tony Has Been Kidnapped By The Terrorists As We Get A Title Card!

Rewinding To 36 Hours In Las Vegas, We Watch A Video On Stark Himself As He's About To Recieve The Apogee Award....

(Start At 0:08, End At 1:02)

Being Given The Award By His Best Friend, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes (Played In This By Empire's Terrence Howard) He Discovers That Tony Is Not There So, Instead He Gives The Award To Tony's Partner In Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane, (Played By Tron's Jeff Bridges) Who Simply Says That He's Always Working When Really He's Enjoying Vegas Like Any Other Guy!

Finding Tony At A Crap Table, Rhodey Gives Tony His Award And Tells Him To Not Be Late For Their Flight Tomorrow As Tony Walks Out Of Ceaser's But As His Bodyguard, Happy Hogan (Played By Director Jon Favreau) They're Confronted By A Reporter For Vanity Fair Named Christine Everhart (Played By Talladega Nights Leslie Bibb) Who Tony Talks With For A Moment Before Ending Up With Her

Waking Up The Next Morning In Tony's Bed, Christine Ends Up Being Scooted Out Faster Than One Of Charlie Sheen's Women On 2 And A Half Men As Tony Gets Ready To Fly To Afghanistan With The Help Of His Assistant, Pepper Potts (Played By Gwyneth Paltrow)

Racing Happy To The Airport, Tony Boards A Plane With Rhodey To Afghanistan Where He Will Do A Weapons Demonstration In Front Of The Military...

(End At 1:19)

Getting Inside Of The Convoy To Get Away From Lame Old No Fun Rhodey Tony Ends Up Right Back Where The Film Started With Him In The Hands Of A Group Of Terrorists...

Once Conscious, Tony Discovers That He Has A Metal Device In His Heart That Was Placed There By A Fellow Captive Named Yinsen Who Says That In The Blast Tony's Heart Took On A Lot Of Shrapnel, Removing What He Could, That Device Is What Is Keeping The Rest From Hitting Tony's Heart...

With Their Captors Coming In, Yinsen Translates For Them As He Says That They Want Him To Build A Jericho Missile Like The One He Demonstrated For The Military, Refusing, They Torture Tony For A Few Minutes Before Taking Him And Yinsen Outside Where He Continues Translating For Them, Saying That Once He Makes The Jericho For Them, They'll Set Him Free But Tony Knows Different...

Working On The Jericho With Yinsen, Tony Learns More About His Captors Discovering That They Are Called The Ten Rings And They Aparently Speak In A Lot Of Languages But None Of Them Know English, Breaking Down The Missiles, Tony And Yinsen Start Taking Palladium Out Of Them So Tony Can Build Himself A Small Arc Reactor Which Will Keep His Heart Running For 3 Lifetimes...

(Tony) I Wonder If It Could Stand Radiation From A Life Killing Glove?....

This Leads Stark To Show Yinsen What He's Actually Building Which Turns Out To Be The Mark 1 Iron Man Suit...

Placing The Arc Reactor In Tony's Chest, They Get A Little Down Time Where Tony Learns A Little About Yinsen Discovering That He's From A Town Named Gulmira Once They Escape He's Going To See His Family...

Continuing Work On The Mark 1, The Man In Charge Of This Group Of The Ten Rings, Raza Is Getting Tired Of Waiting For The Jericho Missile And Tells Yinsen And Tony That He Has Until Tomorrow To Get Them The Missile, Forcing Tony And Yinsen To Up Their Timetable On The Mark 1...

With Tony Suiting Up In The Mark 1, They Start To Power It Up While A Trap They Both Placed On The Door, Blows Up, Killing 2 Guards As They Try To Open It...

With Raza Telling His Men To Deal With It, The Mark 1 Program Needs More Time To Load, So, Yinsen Runs Out To Deal With Raza And His Guards...

(Yinsen) I Regret Nothing!!!!!

(Yinsen) Oh, Shit!

With The Suit At 100%, Tony's Ready To Take On Some Terrorists...

(End At 2:09)

Trying To Get Yinsen Up So He Can See His Family Again He Tells Tony The Truth That His Family Is Dead And He's Going To See Them Now, Dying In Tony's Arms...

Going Out To Face The Terrorists, Tony Basically Barbeques Them And The Weapons They Have...

Being Damaged By Bullets, Tony Decides The Only Way Out Is Up...And Down...

More Like A Propelled Leap Instead Of A Flight, But It's A Work In Progress...

Waking Through The Desert Like Lawrence Of Arabia...

Tony Is Eventually Found By Rupert And The Military Who Bring Him Back To The States So Once Back He Can Put On A Press Conference To Make An Announcement. But Before The Press Conference Begins, Pepper Is Confronted By Agent Phil Coulson (Played By Clark Gregg) Who Asks For Her To Set Up A Meeting Between Him And Stark To Ask Him About His Escape From The Ten Rings...

When The Meeting Starts, Tony Tells The Press That When He Was There In Afghanistan, He Had His Eyes Opened As He Came To Realize That He Can Do More For This World Than Just Make Things That Kill People So, With That Said Tony Decides To Shut Down The Weapons Division Of Stark Industries Until Further Notice...

And I Thought Seeing Jeff Bridges Country Accent In R.I.P.D. Was Bad But Jeff Bridges On A Segeway? Now That's Scary...

Talking With Tony After The Meeting, Obadiah Asks Tony If They Aren't Going To Make Weapons, What Are They Going To Make? Which Leads Tony To Suggest That Maybe They Should Look Into Arc Reactor Tech Which Makes Obadiah Scoff Until He Sees Tony's Arc Reactor In His Chest...

Returning Home, Tony Asks For Pepper's Help In Removing The Arc Reactor In His Chest So That He Can Place In A New Upgraded Version Of The Arc Reactor Instead, Asking What To Do With The Old One? Tony Tells Pepper To Destroy It Because If There's One Thing He Isn't, It's Nostalgic..

Meeting Rhodey At The Military Base, Tony Tells Him That He's Working On A New Project And He Wants Him To Be Involved In It But Discovering That It's Not For The Military, Rhodey Passes As Tony Returns To His House In Malibu, He Talks With His AI, J.A.R.V.I.S. About Placing A File On His Private Server Dubbed, Mark 2...

But As Tony Begins Work On The Mark 2 Iron Man Suit, Raza And The Ten Rings Find The Remains Of The Mark 1 Iron Man Suit In The Afganian Dessert...

After A Disastrous (Yet Funny) First Flight Test, Tony Decides To Create A Handheld Flight Stabilizer That'll Both Control The Rockets And Work As A Possible Weapon...

A Few Minutes Later, Tony Goes Upstairs To Have (Imatating Tim Curry In Home Alone 2) Pit-Za...With Pepper And Obadiah Who Tells Tony That He Just Came From A Board Of Directors Meeting Where They Decided That They're Filing An Injunction Against Him Because They Feel That Tony's New Direction Isn't What's Best For The Company...

Well, At Least They Didn't Kick Him Out Like Others Did With These Guys From Other Marvel Movies...

Wanting Tony To...

To Pitch To The Board, Obadiah Suggests Letting His Engineers Make Specs Of Tony's Arc Reactor But Tony Says No, It Stays With Him...

The Next Day, Tony Does A Second Flight Test Using The New Flight Stabilizers And (Imitating Bill Murray In Ghostbusters) It's A Successful Test...

With The Mark 2 Iron Man Suit Built, Tony Suits Up To Get Everything Online Before Powering The Shut Down But Tony Tells J.A.R.V.I.S. To Run A Weather And ATC Check And Start Listening In On Ground Control So He Can Do A Flight Test...

(Start At 1:10)

On His Way Back To His Work Station, Tony Discovers A Present From Pepper, Which Is The Mark 1 Arc Reactor Inside Of Engraving On The Outside Of It Which Says, "Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart"

Returning To His Work Station, Tony Fixes All The Problems With The Mark 2 (Including The Icing Problem) And Starts Production On The Mark 3 Which Looks More Like The Iron Man We All Know And Love. But While Doing That Tony Sees On The News That Stark Industries Is Holding A Benefit For The Firefighters Family Fund At The Disney Concert Hall...

Little Hint To Disney Owning Marvel In The Future? (Note: At The Time Iron Man Came Out Disney Did Not Own Marvel)

And Tony Didn't Get An Invite!?! So, What Does He Do? Why Crash It Of Course!...

Stan Lee Cameo!

Running Into Obadiah At The Party, He Tells Tony To Take It Easy Because He Has The Board Right Where They Want Them With Tony Saying Fine, He Just Has Cabin Fever....

Running Into Coulson, He Books Him On The 24th At 7 Pm At Stark Industries Before Going Off To Talk And Dance With Pepper...

Going Out To Talk With Pepper, She Kind Of Regrets Dancing With Tony Because He's Her Boss And Everybody What Kind Of Person He Is But Sending Him Off To Get Drinks, Tony Runs Into Christine Everhart Who Shows Him Pictures Of His Weapons In Gulmira That Were Taken Yesterday...

But Knowing That He Didn't Approve Any Shipment, Tony Confronts Obadiah On It Who Tells Him That He Was The One Who Filed The Injunction Against Him Because It Was The Only Way To Protect Him...

Okay, I Know Obadiah's The Bad Guy, But Looking Back On This Scene It Has Me Wondering Who Was Obadiah Trying To Protect Tony From? H.Y.D.R.A.? The Ten Rings? Who?

Going Back To His Malibu Home, Tony Watches A News Report In Gulmira Before Deciding To Suit Up As Iron Man To Go Stop The Ten Rings...

(End At 3:17)

With Ground Control Spotting Tony, They Get Rhodey In To See What He Makes Of It...

(Watch Full Video)

With Obadiah Watching Rhodey's News Report On Tv, Pepper Discovers That Tony Is Iron Man As He Tried Taking Off The Suit, But Speaking Of Obadiah, He Visits Raza At His Camp For Him To Show Obadiah The Mark 1 Iron Man Suit Which Raza Will Give Him In Return For Suits Like This Which To Say...

And Basically Kill Him And His Men As He Takes The Mark 1 Back To Stark Industries....

Meanwhile At Tony's House, Tony Wants Pepper To Go To His Office To Hack Into The Mainframe To Retrieve All The Recent Shipping Manifests So That He Can Stop Them And Destroy Them, Believing This Is Crazy At First, Pepper Quits But After Hearing Him Talk About How He Shouldn't Be Alive And How He's Not Crazy But He Just Finally Knows What He Has To Do, Pepper Decides To Stand By Him...

(Pepper) But If You Call Me Felicity, Tony, I'm Leaving...

(Tony) Aww, Come On!

So, Going To Stark Industries, Pepper Hacks Tony's Computer, Finding Plans For The Iron Monger Suit And A Video Connecting Obadiah With The Ten Rings As She Copies It To Tony's Ghost Drive But Unfortunately She's Caught By Obadiah Who...Didn't See Her Do Anything Apparently But Talks With Her About Tony Before She Exits...

Running Quickly, Pepper Runs Into Coulson Who She Tells Everything To....

(Coulson) Do You Say That To All The People You Have Appointments With, Miss? Because If You're Coming Onto Me I Have A Girlfriend Who's A Violinist...

Going Down To The Arc Reactor Room, Obadiah Talks With His Lead Scientist, Who Is Having A Hard Time Shrinking Down An Arc Reactor...

But One Thing I Will Say Is That The Actor Who Plays The Lead Scientist Looks Strangely Familiar To Me Like I've Seen Him In One Of My Favorite Christmas Movies...

Yep, I'm Serious, Folks, That Lead Scientist Is Played By None Other Than Peter Billingsley Otherwise Known Around The Holidays As Ralphie Parker From A Christmas Story...

Oh, My God, I Have So Many Questions Now....Wait A Minute I Just Got This From The Duke Newsroom, An Unknown Source For The Marvel Cinematic Universe Has Confirmed To Us That This Character Billingsley Plays William Ginter Riva (Who Not Only Appears In This Movie But Spider-Man: Far From Home) Is Actually A Descendant Of Ralphie Parker Which Means That A Christmas Story Is Now Officially An MCU Film!

Of Course, A Christmas Story Is Not An MCU Film! Bob Clark Would Be Nuts To Say That Was An MCU Film!...

But Mad That Riva Is Unable To Shrink Down The Arc Reactor, He Decides To Take Matters Into His Own Hands By Stealing Tony's...

Using The Same Device He Used On Rasa, He Paralyzes Tony So He Can Get The Arc Reactor From Tony's Chest But While He Does He Admits That He Got The Ten Rings To Kidnap Him...

So, Without An Arc Reactor What Can Tony Do? But Go Downstairs And Get The Mark 1 Arc Reactor That Pepper Saved With The Help Of DUM-E!...

But With The Arc Reactor In Hand, Obadiah Activates The Iron Monger Suit As Rhodey Finds Tony On The Ground Of His Workshop...

With Pepper And Coulson Arriving At Sector 16, Obadiah Suits Up As Pepper, Coulson And The Other Agents Come In To Find The Mark 1 Armor But They Soon Discover More Than That...

Suiting Up, Tony Suits Up, Telling Rhodey To Keep The Skies Clear As He Goes To Save Pepper From Obadiah But Unfortunately The Mark 3 Is At 48% And Dropping Like Sony After They Took Spider-Man Out Of The MCU...

Eventually Arriving At Stark Industries, Tony Fights Obadiah On The Streets Of Miami Before Taking It To The Skies So Tony Can Ice His Suit Like The Mark 2 Did During It's First Flight...

Running Out Of Power, Tony Manages To Get Back To Stark Industries...

(Watch Full Video)

So, With Obadiah Dead, Rhodey Handles A Press Conference That'll Set Everything Straight, Coulson Tells Both Tony And Pepper That He Works For S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony And Pepper Are...A Work In Progress And Tony Takes Over The Press Conference Where He Admits To The World That He Is Iron Man...

In The First Ever MCU End Credits Scene, We See Tony Returning Home Only To Be Confronted By Col. Nick Fury, Director Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Who Is There To Talk To Him About Something Called The Avenger Initiative...

And That's Iron Man And What Can I Say About It?

For The First Film In The MCU, It Is Fantastic! The Story Is Great, The Characters Are Great, It Is Just A Jewel In The MCU And If You Have Not Seen This Yet Than, What Rock Have You Been Living Under? See It Now!

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[thefaeriereview]

Tour: Masters and Beginners

https://ift.tt/39D3CS8

Welcome to the tour for Masters & Beginners, by Daley Downing, book one in The Order of the Twelve Tribes series! Read on for a sneak peek, and a chance to win a signed copy of the book!

Masters & Beginners

Publication Date: August 2017

Genre: YA Fantasy/ Urban Fantasy/ Magic

When Sophie Driscoll’s grandmother dies, her parents take over running the Annex, a warehouse facility that stores magical artifacts and documents proving, and protecting, the existence of faeries. Sophie and her brothers, Flynn and Cal, happily adjust to a new house, new friends, and a new way of living, joining the ranks of generations who have kept the fey and mortal realms separate for centuries. Before the first month of their new life is over, they’ll encounter romance, elves, talking cats, ancient secrets, and potentially lethal danger. What could possibly go wrong…

4 out of 5 fairies

Masters and Beginners is a great afternoon escape. You really do get drawn in right from the start (and I don't just mean the prologue). I loved the whole Warehouse 13ish vibe that the book gives off. I loved the fae elements, but I could've skipped some of the more biblical/Christian things. That said I'm greatly looking forward to book 2.

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Excerpt

Prologue 

It wasn’t a dark and stormy night. It was a pleasant late summer’s evening, shortly after sunset, the sky a rich navy blue, stars beginning to twinkle in the distance. In a pleasant subdivision, residents were settling in for the night. In a tent pitched on one of the well-mowed lawns was a group of four teenage girls, in their pajamas and sleeping bags, currently finding out who could come up with the scariest scary story. 

"...and to this day, he wanders the woods, looking for his head." 

"Can I just say, eew." Margaret wrinkled her nose and frowned disapprovingly. "That was the Headless Horseman. That's not an original story, Kimberly." 

"Fine! You come up with something better." Kimberly flopped down onto her pillow. 

The tent was pitched in a backyard just like so many other backyards up and down the street. The development was one of the last to be built in the town limits, and it sat near the boundary of the state forest. The fact they lived so close to a nature preserve meant to the adults lots of hiking and biking on the trails, a chance for the kids to see wildlife, and learn about the woods firsthand. To their children, it meant a sense of danger, dark goings-on, and the perfect atmosphere for telling ghost stories during slumber parties. 

"Fine, I will." Sophie sat up taller on her blanket. It was her tent, her backyard, her house, with her family inside, hosting the slumber party. Taking the flashlight, she placed it under her chin, the beam casting shadows over the contours of her face. 

"There was a house at the edge of the city that everyone called the glass house," she began. "It looked like it was made all from glass, and it was strange to the people in the city. It belonged to the most wealthy family, the Greymalkins. They employed many servants and farmers in the past, people working on the land they owned. But these days, they had all but stopped hiring new staff." 

Margaret and Helen watched Sophie, listening politely. Kimberly pretended to be bored, and fiddled with a loose thread on her sleeping bag. 

"The people didn't really go near the glass house anymore," Sophie went on. "The former staff, or their descendants, said that the Greymalkins were having troubles -- illness, bad investments, and the like. They said that soon the family may be forced to sell the glass house and all their land. "That was a shame, old Mrs. O’Connor said, as her grandson was coming back to town after traveling abroad for a few years, and he needed a job. He'd just completed his courses at an important university in another country, and he was well-trained in managing finances and keeping records. That was a very good thing, said Daphne, one of the few maids left at the glass house. Because the Greymalkins were looking for someone to do just that. "And so Augustine O’Connor began to work at the glass house." 

Margaret and Helen were definitely interested now. Even Kimberly sat up a little more and glanced in Sophie's direction. 

"Daphne showed Augustine where he would work. It was mostly in one room, a study where all the family's important papers were kept. After a few hours of working each day, he would go to the kitchens for a meal, and take a walk in the gardens if the weather was good. Most of the time, he only saw Daphne, or the cook, or the butler, Mr. Lee. "One afternoon, just as he was finishing up, a very grand, and beautiful, woman came into the study. She wore a silver dress, and diamond combs in her hair. This was Lady Greymalkin, he knew, as he had seen portraits of her in the lobby of the glass house. Augustine quickly stood up and then bowed, as Mr. Lee had instructed him to do if he ever met a member of the family. "Lady Greymalkin insisted he not bother about such a formality. 'Thank you for doing this work for us,' she said. 'We need all our affairs in order before we sell the house.' So it was true, Augustine asked, the rumors among the people? 'Yes, I'm afraid so,' the lady said. 'Life has not gone...as we planned recently.' Augustine gave his apology. 'There's no need to be sorry. It's how things happen sometimes.' And she invited him to tour the rest of the house with her." Outside the tent, it was quiet except for the chirp of crickets, and the occasional, brief passing of a car. Fireflies danced in the trees beyond the fence, but the girls didn't notice. "Augustine walked along the halls and saw the big dining room, the library, the grand parlor, where the family had entertained in happier times. Lady Greymalkin told him a little more about her children, her husband, and his parents, who built the glass house. When it was time for him to go, she invited him to tour the property on his own, as he wished." 

Kimberly couldn't pretend anymore; she was listening as raptly as Helen and Margaret. 

"A few days after this, the Lady came to find Augustine in the study," Sophie continued. "She told him that they had a buyer for the land, and soon his services wouldn't be needed anymore. 'Thank you so much for your help. I'm sorry it means you're out of a job. If I can do anything, please let me know.' Augustine replied that a good reference would come in handy, but also, before he left, he'd like to walk around the gardens one more time. The Lady said yes, and that she would join him. "As they walked, Augustine saw a door in the garden wall he had never noticed before. 'Come with me,' the Lady said, and she showed him a tunnel beyond the door. As they began walking down the tunnel, the Lady said, 'Oh, I forgot, Mr. Lee needed to see me! Do wait here.' And she ran back into the garden, shutting the door behind her." 

The back door of the house gently opened and closed. A shadowed figure slipped away from the lights inside, creeping into the yard and towards the tent. 

"Confused, Augustine tried to open the door. He found it locked. There was only a little light in the tunnel, and he couldn't see very far. Deciding he should wait as the Lady had told him to, he stood still." The dark figure paused near the tent, crouching down, trying to stay out of the light coming through the windows of his home. Sophie's hand was beginning to get tired of holding the flashlight, but she was almost done with the story. "Then a loud sound came from the other side of the wall, a sudden scream. Augustine jumped, and ran into the tunnel. As he ran, he heard other sounds, on either side of him, growls and snarls like those of wild animals. All the noise came out of nowhere, but it seemed to be all around him." 

Helen was spellbound. Margaret hugged her pillow close to her. Even Kimberly's eyes were wide. 

"Augustine stopped running when he realized the light was fading in the tunnel, and the noise seemed to be behind him. He stood in front of another door, and he wondered if this one would lead back to the garden, or to the glass house. He opened the door, and saw nothing else." 

A branch snapped in the yard, and something scratched at the tent. Helen and Margaret screamed, and Kimberly dived into her sleeping bag. Sophie smiled and turned off the flashlight.

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About the Author Daley Downing is an autistic author, parent to special needs children, a dance teacher, and cat whisperer. She spends her days attempting to write just a few more words than in the previous 24 hours, and lovingly refers to her genre as suburban fantasy. Visit her at: https://daleydowning.wordpress.com/.

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