THE MONSTER AND THE SUPERHERO;
part two

SAM WAS REGRETTING a lot of things at the moment. Beating Dana Hagen, not putting on a flannel, not getting the ten bucks from Will, beating Dana Hagen. The cold room sent shivers down her spine and goosebumps racing down her arms. Her lips were pressed in a thin line, leg bouncing up and down, and she was fiddling with the bracelets around her wrist. Two fingers slid under the green and blue bracelets, rotating them around her wrist.

Across from her sat two different police officers from the ones that took her from the Byers-Hopper residence. One of them was a dark skinned woman in her late forties; curly dark hair trapped in individual braids falling just below her ears, rosy chapped lips, and a grim expression on her face. The other was a male; younger, snarky expression dancing across his face with tanned skin and a creepy beard.

The male's name tag read; Gonzalo and the female's read; Jones. Gonzalo was having a good time, apparently, questioning Sam like no tomorrow. She could tell he was either talking too much or too fast from the way Jones glared at him with every new question he asked. Her pen was scribbling down something that Sam didn't care to lean over and look at but she kept glancing at it.

What if that determined wether she got out or not? What if that determined her entire future? Did she even have a future anymore? Would she have to drop out of school? Would the bad men come and take her away in a fake disguise of a police van? Would she ever see El again? Will? Mike? Jonathan? Argyle? Joyce? Lucas?

Her head pounded under the bright light. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"You know, I can see the bruises on your hands." Gonzalo quaffed water in her face, making a loud slurping sound. Jones looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "It's no doubt you did this, but the question is why? Why would you assault a innocent girl?"

Sam stared at him blankly. Innocent. Sam wasn't innocent. She was guilty, bad, a monster. She would never be innocent, not even in a self sense. She'd always killed. To defend, to protect, out of fear, anger. She would never be innocent. The things she'd done were far from it. She was too far gone to even begin to imagine what innocence even was anymore.

   But, what about Dana Hagen?

   Sam knew that what Dana did wasn't innocent. She was bad too. Why was Sam being reprimanded for something that Dana did every day but with words? Was it okay if someone did what she did but with words? Is that why Dana could be innocent and Sam was guilty? Words were invisible, spoken out into the world and vanishing into thin air. Is that why Dana gets away with what she does? Why she got away with saying what she did? Because no one could see it?

Jones noticed the way her jaw clenched and put down the pen. Studying Sam in a way that made her feel exposed. "The bruises on Miss Hagen's neck were from attempted strangulation. When you started to. . . choke Miss Hagen, did you intend to kill her?"

"No." The answer was immediate. Sam didn't have to think twice about killing Dana Hagen. She wouldn't, if faced with the choice and would choose that over and over again. Dana Hagen wasn't worth the nightmares, much less the blood on her hands for the rest of her life.

Gonzalo harrumphed, tilting his head at Sam. "Is that so?"

Feeling annoyed at his condescending tone, she nodded.

Gonzalo lifted his fingers to count, a displayed smile of derision on his face that made Sam want to knock it off. "A very nasty looking black eye, busted lip, nearly a broken nose and bruises on her neck beg to differ, ma'am." Gonzalo leaned closer to Sam, and she scrunched her face up in distaste. "I know a fight when I see one, and this one looks a little like attempted murder. Why else would you have tried to choke her?"

"I. . ." Sam's voice died on her lips. She didn't know how her hands had ended up around Dana's neck. One second she was being shoved against the wall and the next she was being dragged off Dana. She barely remembered the fight, strangely. Shouldn't she at least remember throwing the first punch? "I don't know?"

"You don't know?" Gonzalo mocked her questioning tone. "Do you even know why you attacked her in the first place?"

"Angry at everyone and no one all at once," he stepped closer. Seven didn't shield away like she once would, but felt it in her bones to back away from him. He had danger written in his eyes, bleeding through his gaze. "Do you even know why you killed these people?"

Sam blinked, trying to get the imagine of the strange white man towering over out of her mind. She shook her head, words falling short. It didn't exactly matter now. They couldn't see what Dana did to her. The bruise on her own hand fading away, but the words stuck. The memories of being locked in the locker room, hair being yanked, the shoves, the whispers, the days when all Sam wanted to do was scream, that would stick.

They couldn't see that. They never would.

Jones sighed at Sam's silence and sat back in her chair. After a moment of staring, she pursed her lips. "I think we're done here."

After being put through processing, Sam was forced into the back of a transportation van, joining a guilty El and soon they were being driven somewhere. Sam didn't know where, and from the blank stare El had, she knew she didn't either.

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   Sam sat with her head in her hands, growing annoyed at California's bumpy road. She rocked back and forth in her seat across from El, listening to the dull sound of the tires on the road and the crickets in the desert. She was glad for the cover at least, keeping her away from the sun's heat. She tried to ask the man driving them where they were going but received nothing but silence. She sighed and returned to her spot.

   The silence was thick. Coating her and El in a ear splitting silence. The faint ringing was what Sam tried to focus on and not the sight of Dana's bloodied face. She was going somewhere bad, she knew that much. Some place as bad as she was. But, El? Sam glanced up at her sister, frowning at the expression on her face.

   El didn't do anything wrong. She defended herself. Sam wouldn't be convinced otherwise. Putting her head back in her hands, she stared down at the black converse. What would Lucas think of her? Sam bit down on her lip. Perhaps too hard, as the familiar metallic taste filled her mouth.

   "Sam, look." El tapped Sam's arm. She looked up and stared towards the back windows of the van. She saw three cars, the exact same model, driving behind them. Sam furrowed her eyebrows, and looked up front to see the nearly deserted road. If they were in a rush, they would surly just pull ahead of them. Why were they behind them?

   When she looked back, two cars were zooming ahead of them while one other stayed back. Sam shared a glance of worry with El, who reciprocated the emotion.

   Much too soon afterwards, the van came to a halt, causing El to jerk sideways abruptly and Sam to reach forwards and attempt to catch her.

   The man in the front said nothing to them and rolled down his window. A women with a navy blue suit, and shirt hair entered his line of vision. "You transporting a Jane and Rosetta Hopper?"

   Sam let go of El, glancing feebly behind them. The car had stopped, but no one got out. They watched from inside the vehicle. Despite the warm weather, Sam felt a chill vibrate through her spin, coating her arms and legs in goosebumps. "Shit."

   "Yeah, what is this?"

   He speaks, Sam glared.

   The lady lifted up her badge. "I'll take them off your hands."

   Sam's blood ran cold, and she stared at El with an urgency that El matched. This was it, wasn't it? They would never reach their destination because the bad men had found them. Even after all these years, the second they were alone and unprotected, the bad men were still out to get them. They would never give up.

   Sam's eyes stung, and she clenched her fists. The man got out of the van and began making his way to them to unlock the door. Sam and El started looking for something, anything to use as a weapon but found nothing. Of course, Sam looked towards El.

   "Follow my lead." El whispered hoarsely. Sam nodded, and prepared herself. She clenched her fists, and crouched down next to El.

   When the door opened, barely ajar, El shoved it open the rest of the way and bolted. Sam, stunned for a minute, jumped over the man and followed after her. Almost immediately, there were men in suits gripping her arms, restraining her. Sam managed to get ahold of one of them but was pulled back by two men.

"Let go!" Sam all but shrieked as she struggled against their hold. Fingernails were digging into her arms, grasps that were gripping so hard it would leave bruises. Sam tried to reach out to El, not wanting to be separated but they pulled them apart. El protested, tugging harshly against them but it was in vain.

   No! El's pained expression made Sam impossibly try harder to break free. She didn't want to lose El. She couldn't lose El. Something about a future without her sister, that had been there for her since she saved her from hell itself made her insides turn and made her nauseous. "Stop! El!"

   The two girls grew nearly still at the sight of the car behind them opening the car door. They waited for the person to reveal themselves, waiting for them to give them a stupid speech about how long they've been trying to find them. They waited for-

   A grey, low cut haired man to reveal himself as Dr. Sam Owens stepped out of the car. The man Sam had briefly been introduced to back in 1984 when the demo dogs were free and they had to close the gate. He'd been in the stairwell, bleeding to death when Hopper saved him. The slight breeze pushed his navy jacket back a bit, revealing his brown cardigan underneath. He smiled very grimly at them, barely there.

   "Hey, kiddos."

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   Sam didn't know if she should be relieved to see Owens or scared. Hopper trusted him, and while Hopper used to be an old, angry, suspicious man that never really trusted anyone, Hopper trusting a ex-lab worker probably meant something. It couldn't have been a bitter judge of character or a mistake. Sam couldn't fathom Hopper making a mistake in that category. It would cost them everything.

   On the other hand, Owens never bothered them again. At least, not directly. The lab had been shut down, jobs taken elsewhere or lost. Sam considered that Owens was one of those people but with connections that never really left him out of the loop. She had made a bad judge of character of him a while back, in her more naive times, but now she understood. He wasn't all bad. There was parts of him that wanted to help.

   And that couldn't be said for most of the lab workers. So, even against her own better judgement, Sam trusting Hopper led to her trusting Owens. She hoped she wouldn't regret it. But, sitting across from him in the diner made her rethink the few things she'd known about him in the first place. One, how did keeping him not-so-out-of-the-loop led him to them?

   "Sorry about all the theatrics. I. . . I didn't mean to scare you girls. But you two got yourselves into quite the little predicaments, didn't you?" A ghost smile crawled onto his face. Sam stopped mixing her drink with her straw and stared at him, unamused. "You know, I relocated you guys to Lenora because I thought, you know, 'safe town, small, dull, far from Hawkins.' 'Nothing could happen here.' And what was it, a roller skate or something?"

   His gaze flickered to Sam. "And I've seen your record. I would say I'm surprised, but not by much, kid."

   Sam bit her tongue, and sat back in the seat, arms crossed. She glanced outside towards the guards that were staring towards them. She narrowed her eyes on them, still feeling the ache of her muscles being squeezed tightly.

   "Are we ready to order?" A woman asked, smiling politely at them. Sam squinted and read the name on her name tag; Denise.

   Owens glanced at them before looking at the woman. "I think so. Yeah. I'll just. . . uh. . . Some more coffee, and, um, I'll have a, How about the club special?" He turned to them. "Whatever you two want. It's on me."

   El tilted her head, focusing on the menu in the back. A beat passed. "Waffles, please."

   Sam huffed, running her hand through her hair messily. She didn't bat an eye towards the boards but towards one of the customers that she kept making uncomfortable eye contact with. She glanced down at their plate and decided. "With hash browns, please? Thanks." She leaned forward and took a rather larger sip of her lemonade. Denise smiled and walked off after writing the things down.

   Sam knew by the time El got her food, Sam would probably ask her for some of her food. El would get annoyed, but share anyways. Then, she would ask for Sam's hash browns and Sam would share reluctantly, despite El lending her half of her own food. Afterwards, the two would eat in silence and contentment. Sam would swear to herself to not ask for El's food again, that way, she could have more hash browns next time.

   But, in about ten minutes, Sam would break it by asking El the same predicted question and the cycle would repeat for the twenty-sixth time. Sam didn't mind it, and from the knowing expression El threw her way for a moment, Sam knew that she didn't either.

   "Never too late in the day for breakfast, that's what I say." Owens said, folding his hands together. Sam didn't give him so much as a bored look and instead huffed, fogging up the window slightly.

   El spared a glance to Sam, who was wiping the fog away to glare through the glass at the guards outside. "Are we in trouble?"

   Owens waved his hand in a dismissive way. Growing amused at Sam's annoyed expression at the sight of the window continuing to fog up because of her relieved huffs. "For the roller rink incidents? No, no, no, no. We'll make that go away. Don't even. . . Don't even worry about that."

   "Then, why are you here?" Sam turned to him, dismissing the window and narrowing her eyes on him. Her eyes searched his face for a minute before her shoulders tensed. Her fists clenched together and she straightened her posture. "Has. . . Has something happened? Something bad?"

   Owens leaned more on the table, and stared at Sam. She didn't waver, eyes as cold as stone and his warm but inquiring. The only sounds surrounding Sam were all she heard. The clatter of dishes from the few customers; and from in the back, not to mention the hum of the refrigerators. Even the music floating from the speakers softly. After a beat, almost like he was waiting for Sam to look away, he sighed.

   Sam hoped he wouldn't lie. Because, frankly, she wouldn't be able to tell if he did and that was the most unnerving part about this conversation. This could be a trap. He could be working with the bad men. He could be compromised. No one was here to tell her he wasn't.

   But... Hopper had.

   "To be honest with you, kid, you're a little on the nose." Owens admitted, eyes avoiding Sam's glare. He briefly met El's concerned ones. "Last night, I saw something. Something I've been dreading for some time.  I don't know how to say this other than just to say it. Hawkins is in danger."

   Sam's mouth opened but closed immediately after. Danger. Hawkins. Hawkins was in danger. Again. What could be wrong this time? The Gate was closed, The Mind Flayer was dead, Hopper was dead. Sam didn't have her powers, neither did El, and Joyce was in Alaska.

   Lucas, Max, and Dustin? What about them? Were they in danger? Is that why Owens was avoiding Sam's eyes right now? Sam didn't notice herself playing with her bracelets until she felt El's hands on top of her own. Sam frowned but squeezed her eyes closed.

   She opened her eyes, instantly meeting familiar brown ones that resembled the smooth brown crayon that Sam had stolen from Will's crayon box. Calm down. El nodded her head at Sam, almost as if they could still communicate without words.

   "You two have fought this evil before and won. But this evil, it's like a virus. Each time it returns, it comes back stronger, smarter, deadlier. A war is coming to Hawkins. There are good people, brave friends who have helped you two fight your battles in the past. But they alone can't win this war, not without you two."

   He paused for a moment. And Sam realized that she was staring at the green and blue bracelets down on her wrist. She lifted her gaze and focused on Owens.

   "I know it's not fair to ask more of either of you, but I wouldn't be here if I didn't think this was the only way, if I didn't think you girls were the only ones who might have a shot to hit this thing so hard it can't get back up." Owens eyes sparked fire in the bottomless pit. Sam couldn't put it out, no matter how hard she tried.

   El leaned forward, voice leveled. "We don't have our powers."

   "What if I told you there was a way. . . a way to bring them back?" Owens saw the doubtful expressions and continued. "I feared this moment would come, so I've been preparing, developing the means to restore your abilities. A program that has the potential to not just bring them back, but bring them back stronger than before. But there are others who don't believe in you two, who think you both are the cause."

   Owens met Sam's eyes momentarily. "I believe they're wrong."

   Are they? Sam's eyes stung. Sam wasn't exactly innocent in all of it. It seemed as though Owens didn't care about that, though. He looked at them like superhero's, and not murderers.

   "I believe you two are the cure. That's why, if we're really gonna do this, I'm gonna ask that you girls leave with me now. But you should know there is a very real possibility this program fails. And if it does, you will never see your friends again."

   Chills climbed down Sam's back. "Our friends," a deep breath. Sam looked at Owens. "You know them. Are they in danger?"

   Owens met her gaze with an intensity that made Sam want to shrink away. "I'm afraid your friends in Hawkins are very much in the eye of the storm. You may feel you need to go to them now, but if you do, you will risk everything, risk everyone. They're not the only ones in danger, it's life as we know it. This is why I'm here. Because I believe you two are our best hope. Our only hope."

   "What if I'm not good?" El's words startled Sam. "What if I'm the monster?"

   "El..?"  Sam went to put her hand on her shoulder but El didn't face her. She didn't look her way. Sam frowned.

   Seeing this void effort, Owens sat back and sighed. "I don't know you that well, kiddo, but I'm betting the fate of the planet that you're one of the good ones." He said with the smallest hint of a reassuring smile. "But, I know you have spent too much of your lives being told what to do by people like me. I know that. So, you two say the word and I will take you both right back home."

   Home. The last time she tried to have a home, she destroyed it, hadn't she? Both times. She left them, which seemed to be a reoccurring pattern the more she thought about it. But, what if, she could somehow this time, she could save it? What if she could save her home before she ruined it?

   "Or. . . come with me now. Find out for yourselves."

   Sam looked over to find El already staring at her. Sam could feel as though she could see into her sisters mind, ruminating; see Dustin's gummy grin, eyes sparkling. Or Mike's very poor attempt at mocking Hopper. Max's fiery red hair pushed back from face, a teasing smirk tugging on her pink lips. See Will's rare but brilliant smile as he watched Sam try to paint whiskers on Jonathan and Argyle's faces.

Sam didn't have to keep looking at El to feel her heart swell when her own mind filled with Lucas's warm eyes and soft touches, or his eyes valiantly focusing on throwing fireworks, his laugh that made one of her own lift from her chest. His coquettish smirks just before he placed a kiss on top of her forehead, gentle like never before. Comfortable like they'd always be able to do so.

Love, Lucas. Sam's eyes flitted back down towards the green bracelet, directly under the bracelet that was given to her by the person she couldn't save. Meeting El's eyes again, she clenched her fists together. Knowing this time, she would do everything in her power to save the people she loved. No matter what.