Chapter Twelve
Bob Newby: Superhero

Scotty chewed his lip, watching as the small groups of scientists set up the test. On a tray, sat a small piece of the creature. Another scientist held what looked to be a torch.

"All right.. Will, I want you to tell me when you feel something." The first scientist, the man who had suggested the tests, spoke as he scribbled on his clipboard.

Will nodded shakily, gulping as his eyes darted to Scotty.

You'll be okay Scotty mouthed to him. Will nodded, turning his attention back to the scientist.  The second scientist held the torch a measly foot above the creature.

"You feel anything?"

"A little," Will grimaced, grip tightening on the blankets. "It-It stings."

"It stings?" The man gestured for his coworker to bring the torch closer.

"Ch-Chest!" Will wheezed, clawing at his chest.  Scotty cracked his knuckles by his side, tilting his head. He willed himself to stay silent, not wanting to be the reason Will got harmed. Joyce buried her face in Hopper's chest, a weak attempt to block out her child's pain.

"And now?"

Will let out a pained scream, "It burns! It burns!"

As he cried, he lifted his body off the bed, trying to escape the pain.

"Where?" The scientist commanded. "Where does it hurt?"

Will screamed, tears fully streaming down his face. "Everywhere!"

"Cut it out!" The words slipped from Scotty's mouth before he could stop them. "You're hurting him!"

Mike grabbed Scotty's wrist, cold fingers wrapping around his skin and pulling him towards himself. The taller boy stumbled back into Mike, who made no move to release his wrist, watching in horror as Will cried out for help. The scientists brought the torch so low that it was touching the tentacle.

"That's enough! That's enough!" Joyce commanded, pushing herself out of Hopper's arms. He made no move to stop, commanding his coworker to do it again.

Voice booming, Hopper shoved the scientist. "She said enough!"

Will visibly calmed as the fire shut off. His chest heaved and sweat dripped from his forehead. Joyce rushed over to comfort her son, brushing the hair out of his eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Scotty snapped, eyes narrowed at the scientists. "You're sick. Sick in the head-"

"Scotty." Mike whispered harshly, forcing him to look at him. "Stop."

"No. No, they should know! They're sick in the head!" Scotty argued. "Did you see him?!"

"Well, as sick in the head as you think we may be. We're helping your friend, so.. I'd suggest watching your tone." The scientist warned, leaving the room.

~~

Scotty sat, beside Mike, who read a comic book aloud. Scotty almost found himself being lulled to sleep by Mike's gentle voice.

It brought him back

That was one of his favorite things about Mike, the way his tone would change when he read. How his brows would furrow in concentration, eyes excitedly darting over the pages eager to know what happens.

His head rested on the hospital bed, using one arm as a pillow while the other rested in his lap.

"Stark-"

"I'm sorry!" Will cried out suddenly. Scotty jolted up, eyes wide. Mike and Scotty shared a look, having a silent conversation as they did so. "I'm sorry!"

"What? What do you mean, sweetie?" Joyce said lowly, brushing the hair from his eyes.

"It made me do it." Will answered. An eery tension settled in the atmosphere at his reply.

"Who?" Joyce pressed. "Who made you do what?"

"I told you. They upset him! They shouldn't have done that! They upset him!"

"He likes it cold." Scotty whispered to Mike, remembering the conversation he'd overheard Joyce and Hopper having earlier.

"The spy!"

Scotty's heart sank. "Which means.."

"We need to warn them!" Mike finished. In the blink of an eye, Mike was up and out of the chair and rushing out of the room.

Scotty remained in his seat, the distant sound of Mike's screamed warnings became drowned out at the sound of the alarm bells blaring. All too quickly it dawned on Scotty that they were too late.

Mike returned moments later, clothes and hair disheveled.

"We need to make Will sleep." Mike held up a syringe as he spoke.

"What?" Joyce shook her head, tearing her eyes away from her son to look at Mike.

"Joyce, he's the spy." Scotty said, voice low as he eyed Will. The boy in question's eyes were blank. Emotionless. It put Scotty on edge, seeing Will like that.

"Exactly. And if Will knows where we are, so does the shadow monster." Mike explained, stepping closer.

"He's lying! He's lying!" Will cried, "He's lying!"

"He killed those soldiers, he'll kill us, too."

"He's lying! He's lying! He's lying!" Will screamed, thrashing on the bed in an attempt to free himself from Joyce's hold. "He's lying! He's lying! He's lying!"

Scotty squeezed his eyes shut, cracking his knuckles and tilting his head to the side. His eyes popped open at the sound of shots firing.

"Those are gunshots!" Bob shouted.

"He's lying. Why don't you believe me?!" Will cried, eyes looking directly to Scotty. "Why don't you? He's lying! He's lying!"

Scotty shook his head, refusing to look towards Will. He focused on his red shoes, rather than the events going around him.

"Okay! Okay, Will. Will, listen do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?" Joyce repeated, voice loud as she forced her son to look at him.

"You're.." Will trailed off. The silence answered her question, watching his eyes search her face answered his question. "You're.. You're mom!"

"Hold him down." Joyce ordered to Bob, taking the needle from Mike. "I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!"

"No! No! Let me go!" Will begged, limbs thrashing. Scotty squeezed his eyes shut as Will screamed and begged for help. Voice growing more and more desperate... and then silence. Hearing nothing from Will was almost as bad as the desperation for release.

Almost as if on cue, Hopper and a scientist burst in, eyes darting to and from the hallway. "We gotta go. We gotta go, now."

Hopper took Will, now unconscious, into his arms. Mike and Scotty, followed by Bob and Joyce, scrambled out of the room.

The blaring sirens were deafening, and when mixed with the flashing lights were overwhelming to Scotty's senses.

Howling and several machine guns firing echoed throughout the building, drowning out Scotty's very thoughts. He froze at the sight of a body being thrown across the hallway. Scotty felt sick at the mutilation.

He felt stuck. Unable to move, until Mike used all his force and shoved him into an office.

"Are you okay?!" He asked desperately, glancing at the scientist who slammed and locked the door, pressing his body weight against it to keep it closed.

"Yea-Yeah. Are you?" Scotty's hands shakily found their way to Mike's shoulders, eyes scanning his face.

"Yeah." Mike breathed out. "Yes."

"Oh.. my god.." Bob's eyes trained on the screens, watching as the monsters mercilessly ripped doctors, scientists, people to shreds.

Scotty wished it would stop... until the lights went out and he, along with those around him, was submerged in complete darkness. It was some kind of sick joke.

~~

"Okay.. Look, this is us." The scientist scribbled on the blueprints of the building, room being lit up by a small oil lamp. "And this is the nearest exit. But even if we somehow make it there, there's no way out."

"How? It's an exit." Scotty stressed.

"What do you mean?" Hopper asked.

"The locks are fail secure." He explained, placing the pen beside the lamp.

"Fail secure?" Hopper repeated, scoffing. "You're kidding."

"No. If there's a power outage, the building goes into lockdown." He explained briefly.

"Can it be unlocked remotely?"

"There's always a way to do that." Scotty mumbled, eyes flickering to Will.

"With a computer, sure. But somebody's gotta reset the breakers." He spoke dismissively, waving them off.

"Where are the breakers?" Hopper asked, an idea stirring in his head.

"Breakers are three floors below us." He pointed on the blueprints as he spoke. "In the basement."

"Hey, where are you going?" Bob asked, watching as Hopper snatched the blueprints from the table, heading towards the door.

"To reset the breakers." Hopper answered. Scotty shook his head, feet carrying him over to where Joyce and Will were.

"Okay. And then what?" Bob pressed.

"Then, we get out of here."

"No, then the power comes back on." The scientist corrected, Scotty began to feel guilty for not knowing his name. "If you want to unlock the doors, you have to reboot the computer system, and then override the security codes with a manual input."

"Fine." Hopper grumbled. "How do I do that?"

"You can't!" Bob laughed, clearing his throat. "I mean.. Not unless you know B.A.S.I.C."

Scotty thought back to what Mr. Clark had said about it, brief flashes of that class striking him.

"Yeah.. I don't know what that means." Hopper admitted.

"It's a computer programming language." Answered Mike.

"All right." Hopper sighed, tossing the blueprints to Scotty. "Teach it to me."

"Teach it to-" Bob cut himself off. "Shall I teach you French while I'm at it, Jim? What about a little German?"

"What about you, Doc? You speak B.A.S.I.C?"

"No." He inhaled sharply.

Bob gulped, nodding to himself as he shakily took the blueprints from Scotty. "Okay. Okay, I got this. I got this."

"You'll be okay." Joyce smiled tightly, blinking the tears away as she surrounded him in a hug. "You're Bob Newby. Superhero."

~~
a/n; god im so excited for s3