Through the Looking Glass ⇒ Alice the Amazing Short Stories

[XV] AU Week #3: Fight Club

A/N from 2020: This is an AU of Alice the Amazing Part 2, "Alice's Adventures Under Ground." If Alice's powers hadn't corrupted, she would've been at the Byers house when Billy showed up. And we all know what happens when Billy shows up...

FIGHT CLUB

😡😡😡

While Dustin and Steve bickered about what to do with the dead demodog, Alice helped the others clean up broken glass.

Mike paced back and forth, unable to focus.

"Mike, come on," Alice said, leaning on her broom. "If you keep pacing, you'll rip a hole in the Byers's floor. We already have a hole in space and time, and we really don't need another."

"You weren't in there!" Mike protested, referring to the lab. "That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs."

"Demodogs!" Dustin yelled, entering from the kitchen with Steve on his heels. "I came up with the name, at least use it."

"The chief will take care of her," Lucas said.

"Like she needs protection," Max mumbled.

Steve, still wiping the demodog goop of his hands, attempted giving a basketball-worthy pep-talk.

"Listen, dude," he began.

"Here we go," Alice muttered.

"A coach calls a play in a game," Steve continued, "bottom line, you execute it. All right?"

"First of all," Mike said, annoyance flashing across his features, "this isn't some stupid sports game. And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench!"

"So, my point is!" Steve said. He hesitated, staring off into space and trying to collect his thoughts.

Everyone stared, waiting.

"Right, uh," Steve said. "We're on the bench, so there's nothing we can do."

"That's not entirely true," Dustin offered.

Alice narrowed her eyes at him.

"Holding out on us, Dusty?" she said.

"Those demodogs have a hive mind," Dustin explained. "When they ran away from the bus, they were called away."

Alice winced at the memory of the demodogs in the junkyard.

"If we get their attention," Lucas said.

"Maybe we can draw them from the lab!" Max added.

"Clear a path to the gate!" Mike said.

Alice snorted.

"Yeah?" she said. "How the hell are we going to do that?"

"We're not!" Steve said, panic in his voice. "That's crazy! We do that, we all die!"

"That's one point of view," Dustin said.

"That's not a point of view, man," Steve said. "That's a fact."