American Heroes: A Stranger Things 3 Fic

What About the Russians?

As Will and Max put their bikes in the bike rack, Will catches sight of Mike's and Lucas's. "C'mon, hurry. They're already here," Will tells El and Max, rushing into the mall.

The three of them make their way through the crowd and into Scoops Ahoy. The moment Will sets foot inside the store, he's engulfed in a tight hug from Mike. "Will! We were so worried," Mike pulls away when he sees Max and El over Will's shoulder. "What's going on?"

Lucas, Dustin, and Steve are hovering behind Mike. Will motions them to follow him and heads to the back room. "I didn't think it was anything at first," Will starts as everyone gathers around the table. "I first felt it at Day of the Dead, then at the field by Nelson's farm when Dustin came back, and then last night, in Steve's car."

"Felt what?" Lucas asks.

"It's like everything goes cold. You can't breathe. I felt it whenever he was around."

"Who?" Steve asks.

"The Mind Flayer."

A heaviness falls over the group. Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Steve stare at Will in disbelief. "The Mind Flayer?" Lucas shakes his head. "You mean... it's back?"

Will nods glumly. "Yeah."

"And we think he has a new host," El adds.

"Wait a second." Steve puts his hands up. "I thought you closed the gate. Didn't that kill everything from the Upside Down?"

"We thought so," Will says, "but all I know is he's back, and we have to stop him."

"Who's the new host?" Dustin asks.

"We think it might be Billy, but we're not sure."

Max stares solemnly at the ground. Lucas looks to her. "Your brother?" he asks.

She frowns. "I don't know if he's the host or not. We'll have to find out somehow."

"How do we do that?"

"We've been trying to figure that out," Will says. "We went to see him at the pool, and he definitely didn't look normal. He had a shirt on and a towel, like he was trying to keep the sun off him. Problem is, we don't know how to make sure it's really him who's the new host, and what to do once we do know."

"You said he was at the pool?" Mike asks.

"Yeah."

"I think I have an idea. Follow me." He gets up and starts towards the door. Everyone but Dustin begins to follow.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dustin hollers. Everyone stops and looks back at him. He eyes Will. "What about the Russians?"

Will's eyebrows furrow. "What about the Russians?"

Dustin throws his arms up. "Don't you think they might have something to do with this?"

Will blinks.

"Do you really think it's just a coincidence that at the same time we discover Russians may be infiltrating Hawkins, the Mind Flayer returns?"

"I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about that."

"Well, think about it now. We were planning on getting into that secret room by the loading dock, remember? We can't just abandon ship. For all we know, it might have something important pertaining to the Mind Flayer."

Mike crosses his arms, stepping up to Will's side. "If we don't do something about Billy soon, he could hurt someone. I don't think Russians seem as big a deal as something from the Upside Down. Especially something like the Mind Flayer. I mean, you were there last fall. You saw what it could do."

"No offense, Mike," Dustin says, "but if anyone gets to decide what we're doing right now, it's Will."

Taken aback, Mike narrows his eyes at Dustin. "First of all, why? And second of all, he said so himself, he isn't even thinking about the Russians right now."

"What do you mean, why? Because he sensed the Mind Flayer's presence in the first place. He found Max and El, got you guys here, and has been investigating the Russians for the past three days with Steve, Robin, and I! I'd say he has a pretty good understanding of what could be at stake here."

"And the rest of us don't?" Mike shoots back.

"No, Mike! You don't! You haven't been here with us figuring out what these Russians are doing in Hawkins which could be more important than we once thought." He looks to Will. "Robin said she had an idea about getting into that secret room, and she went out to get something. She'll be back soon, and we can see if what's in that room has anything to do with the Mind Flayer."

"I don't know..." Will says.

"C'mon, Byers. What are we going to do once we know if Billy's the host or not? We don't know what it's planning, and if the Russians have anything to do with it, we could stop it sooner rather than later."

Will glances between Mike and Dustin, trying to come to a conclusion. He sighs, looking to Dustin. "Okay, we'll wait until Robin comes back."

Mike puts a hand on Will's shoulder. "Are you sure?"

Will nods. "Yeah, I'm sure."

From next to Max, El gives Will an uncertain look. "But you said he could kill someone if we don't do anything soon."

"I know." Will glances around to the others. "I think we should wait here until Robin gets back, see what her plan is, then go from there. If Dustin's right, and the Russians do have something to do with the Mind Flayer's return, it's better to check it out than just ignore it. We'll deal with Billy for sure, but we also need to think of the bigger picture here."

There's a moment of hesitation, mostly from El and Max, but everyone agrees.

"What was your idea, Mike?" Lucas asks.

"Well," Mike says, "you know in the back of the pool's locker room there's a sauna? Last year, Will's mom got the Mind Flayer out of him with heat since it doesn't like it cold, so I thought if we can get Billy into the sauna -"

"We can burn the Mind Flayer out of him," Will finishes.

"Exactly."