A HERO AND HIS SIDEKICK !

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THE TWO GROUPS LEFT HAD STALLED THEIR GOODBYES UNTIL THEY HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO LET GO. Joyce had a grip on Will's arms as she spoke clearly and carefully to him, unsure if it was best she let him go off without her. Passing by them, Alex's eyes shifted to Hopper sitting beside El, holding her hand as he reminded her of how important she was to him, how he needed her safe because he couldn't live without her.

More than ever, Alex had felt like crying. She had loved her mom and there was nothing she wouldn't do for her, but she craved the kind of love that Joyce and Hopper had given their children. Right now, her mom had been clueless about what Alex and Dustin had gotten themselves into. Never questioning why they had disappeared and never asking when they would feel so much pain inside after events like this occurred. Sometimes she wished she could hug her mom and tell her she would safe and protect Dustin at all costs.

Now she had sat alone, watching as the kids had formulated a plan, and Nancy and Jonathan had listened to Murray's careful instructions on how to get into his highly secured home.

When Joyce had held onto Will, she had spotted Alex all alone. Her face had pulled together in concern before she shook it off and flashed Will a smile. Giving him a kiss on the forehead, she wished him all the luck she could to get somewhere safe. When Will had made his way back to his friends, Joyce made her way over, taking a seat beside Alex. She didn't know it, but when she had reached out and held Alex's hand, she had made her heart soar.

"I'm going to stop this," she assured. "Hop and I, we'll close the gate while you get the kids out of here."

"I could come with you guys and help," she had offered. "I know they drugged me, but I still have a good idea of how to get to the gate. I can help out."

"You can help us out by staying safe." The corners of Joyce's lips had curled up as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around Alex. "I need you to stay safe for me. That's how you help."

Alex squeezed her eyes shut, holding onto her as long as she could. This was how she had always imagined it and for this moment to be with Joyce had only made it feel more special. Joyce had always been there for her, she was a second mom in her life. She looked up to her to let her know she would stay safe just for her, it was everything she could have asked for.

Pulling out of her arms, Alex looked over to see Mike approaching carefully. "We should be going," he said quietly. Alex's eyes turned over to Hopper, wanting to say goodbye before he had left, but he was already calling Joyce over as he made his way over to Murray to head out. She had considered calling out a goodbye or even good luck to him, but she decided against it. She would see him again and thank him for risking his life to end this once and for all.

Standing up, she followed Mike towards the group. He immediately went to help Max hold up Eleven and assist her to the car. "Let me," she offered quietly. "I can carry her."

Max sized her up questionably. "Are you sure?"

Alex had answered her question by crouching down in front of El, waiting for her to get onto her back. At first, Eleven was hesitant as she got onto Alex's back, wrapping her arms around her neck. "You're hurt."

"So are you," Alex said. "No matter how hurt I am, I got you."

Eleven had felt herself smiling as Alex stood up, holding her up onto her back as they headed towards the exit. She had trusted Alex with her life since the moment she had met her. When she offered up her jacket when it was pouring rain, she knew that Alex would care for her. Now was exactly like that.

Walking ahead of them, Max had popped open the back of the car for the two, offering help alongside Mike to get Eleven down and into the car. Getting down carefully, Eleven had still winced in pain but fought through it as she climbed into the backseat.

Mike had climbed in the back alongside her, holding onto her hand as she whimpered from the pain. Max made her way around the car, hopping into the backseat and leaving Alex to sit with the other two.

Settling into the very backseat, Mike looked back and forth at both broken-down girls, unsure if he should start a conversation. The car began to stall, the only sound in the car was the sound of the engine sputtering and Nancy cursing. It had created a spike of panic in the car, causing them to wonder if they would be able to make it out of Hawkins as they planned.

Eleven needed to keep her mind off the pain in her leg and from the looks of Alex, she wanted to keep her head clear. Sitting up for a better position, she groaned, gripping above her wound, hoping for the pain to stop. When she had looked over to Mike, she had noticed as his eyes wandered from her leg to Alex. An idea had sparked in her mind that she had seen as a good idea.

"Alex is pretty, right, Mike?" She asked, causing Mikes cheeks to instantly heat up as Alex lifted her head up to look at the younger boy.

"Wh-what?" He stuttered nervously, shifting his eyes off of Alex and onto Eleven. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Alex again, knowing it would be his downfall. It was embarrassing and he would never admit that he had ever liked his best friend's sister. "I-I don't know." Quickly gesturing to her, he had managed a response that would protect him from another fight with El. "You're the prettiest by far."

Eleven smiled and it had only grown when she saw Alex narrowing her eyes at her. She had known that Eleven would hold Mike's old crush on her against her, what she didn't see was that it would be brought up with him around. "She really is, isn't she?" Alex questioned him, earning a fast nod in response.

In the backseat, Lucas had sat forward, confused about how the car was failing them now. "Didn't your mom just buy this car?"

"Yes, I'm sure it's fine!" Nancy yelled, trying multiple times until Jonathan pulled her from the wheel to relax. Thinking quick, he had instructed her to hop out of the car with him and check under the hood. This was their only way out of Hawkins and no one else left to help them flee the mall.

Alex had closed her eyes as a pulsing had entered her head. She breathed through the pain, telling herself to shut him out. She had to keep up the fight because with him in there, she was compromised. To push him away would give them a better shot at fleeing so that the gate could be shut and the weapon used to open it could be destroyed.

El had felt a shift in the energy in the car as she looked up to Alex. Something was wrong and she couldn't understand. Reaching over to her, she had placed a hand on top of hers before quickly pulling away. It was something she couldn't understand, but she could feel it. "What's happening?" She questioned carefully.

"I can feel him," Alex whispered. "I can feel him inside me."

Turning his head around, Mike looked at Alex. "You can feel the Mind Flayer? Is he coming?"

"I'm outta here if that's the case," Lucas mumbled.

El had never pulled her eyes off of her, carefully looking her over. "I can feel him too," she said softly. "I can feel him inside of her."

"Oh shit. Not again! Man! What the hell?!" Lucas yelled until Max smacked him hard on his leg. "I'm sorry! I'm just worried because..." letting out a deep sigh, Lucas for once, opened up on his feelings towards Alex, "I don't want her to be like Billy or how she was before. I... ugh, I care about her or whatever. Okay?"

"It's not like Billy," Alex whispered. Breathing steadily, she opened her eyes and looked at everyone in the car. "I promise you, it's not like him and it's not like before. He left something in me, but not enough to put you guys in danger, I don't think. It's like channeling, a way to communicate. He's waiting until he can have me but I don't know why." Feeling the warmth drop down from her nose, she had trusted her sense. "Billy's here."

Headlights had turned on out in the Starcourt parking lot. Everyone had turned to look out the window. The familiar sound of the engine of Billy Hargrove's car had filled the silence around them. He had revved it, sending a warning to the group that he was not going to stop until he had them.

Slamming her hand on the car window, Nancy had screamed for all of them to head back into the mall. It was their safest and the only option left. Maybe they could create some distance between them and Billy and it was a shot they had to take. Everyone had filed out, Jonathan rushing to the back of the car to take Eleven himself.

Coming around to Alex's side, Max had grabbed onto her hand. "It's Billy," she said in disbelief. She knew the Mind Flayer had him, but that had never eased the pain to know he was coming for them as a means of revenge for the Mind Flayer.

"It's going to be okay," she whispered reassuringly. "There's a part of him still in there, I know it." Alex's words were the reassurance Max had needed. Had they made it out alive, she had to hope Billy could too. That was still her brother and thought that there was a chance he could change. She wanted that for him. To have a life like her, be surrounded by people full of love, and would lay down their lives for the sake of the world.

In the mall, the group had hurried to decide on a plan to move forward. There wasn't a chance they could get out of the mall without Billy stopping them and to stay here would bring in the Mind Flayer. It was a losing battle until they could figure out a way to escape.

Mike had taken over the radio, calling for the Scoop Troop. It was a long shot and a drive back from Weathertop, but he knew they would come for them. It was only a matter of getting a signal that reached them.

Alex and El had taken a seat at a table with Lucas, watching as he practiced with his slingshot. When he had noticed Alex looking at him, he aimed it directly at her before lowering it. "You said you trusted I could save you with this, right?"

"Mhm," she hummed.

"You knew Billy was out there, so that must mean you got some sort of future telling powers from the Mind Flayer then. So if you predicted I'd save the world, then I'm going to— wrist rocket style."

Alex had propped her head in her hand as she felt herself smiling. "Yeah, that makes sense. Kinda shit powers, but I dig it. Lucas Sinclair— true American hero, that has a kick-ass ring to it."

"Lucas Sinclair and Alex Henderson, a hero and his sidekick. We could have comics made about us. You predict everything to help me out and I'll save the world. Everyone will love me and I'm sure someone will like you. You got Steve to like you, but he's a douchebag."

Faking a laugh, Alex used her other hand to stick up the middle finger at him. He could only smile as he raised the slingshot back up at her, perfecting his aim for when the time came. She had shaken her head at him, dropping her hand back into her lap. Whether or not he could save the world with his wrist rocket, he was always going to be a hero in her eyes. Having him sit here with her was enough for him to be a hero.

Making her way over, Nancy had a gun she had taken from one of the Russian guards and pointed over to the tossed car. "Jonathan says we can get the ignition cable out of that car. We just need to flip it. Mind adding your muscle into the mix?"

Getting up, the group came together to attempt to push the car back onto all four wheels. Eleven and Will had stood off to the side, watching as the rest had barely managed to push it forward.

"The weakest people are of course the one's stuck here pushing this thing," Alex groaned as she put her full weight onto the car.

"Speak for yourself," Lucas called over to her.

"Jonathan's kinda strong," Will said, causing both of the older girls to start laughing and giving up on pushing.

"Hey, come on," Jonathan pouted quietly. Giving up, he had relaxed his muscles just as the rest did but was unsure if they would be able to complete such a task. They needed more people to help them.

"Let me try," El said confidently, stepping forward, "I can do it.

Seeing no use in fighting with the girl that had that much determination on her face, the group stood behind watching as El raised her hand to the car. The group was silent as the car started squeaking as the metal started to push itself forward. Then El dropped her hand in exhaustion. Unable to get a word out, she shook her head to let everyone know she couldn't do it. Not anymore.

"Predict the future, Henderson, will we get the ignition cable out?" Lucas asked teasingly.

Playing along, she shut her eyes and placed her fingers on her temple. After a moment of silence, she finally broke. "No, because... you're an asshole." Reaching over, Lucas gave a sharp smack to her arm while the others laughed. It was a relief to them to have that break and get a chance to laugh at something. It would be a long night left ahead for them and with danger lurking not too far behind, everything would begin to become much worse.