The Battle of Starcourt
The car raced down the road as Steve drove them to their destination. Catherine nervously bounced her feet up and down as her fingers continued to drum on the dashboard. 'I Will Survive' was playing on the radio and Cat had subconsciously started singing quietly along with the song. "Jesus, how far is this place, man?" Steve yelled over the music.
"Relax, we're almost there." Dustin said, leaning forward in his seat.
"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin spoke, glancing behind her. "I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?"
"I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be." Dustin replied.
"And, apparently, she's hotter than Phoebe Cates." Catherine added. "Nobody's hotter than Phoebe Cates."
"Well, I think you are." Steve told her, taking his eyes off the road for a moment so he could smile at his girlfriend.
"Aww. But as cute as that is, babe, you're wrong. Like I said, nobody's hotter than Phoebe Cates." Cat responded, tilting her head slightly as she turned to face him.
"She sound made-up to me." Erica said, leaning forward slightly. "She sound made-up to you?" Neither of the three teens answered.
"Why are you hesitating? Steve? Kit?" Dustin asked.
"Not hesitating." Cat answered, bopping her head up and down to the new song that was playing. "Enjoying the music."
"Steve?" Dustin prompted, staring at the back of his sister's boyfriend's head.
"I'm- I'm- I'm not! I'm not! I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real."
"Left. Turn left." Dustin said suddenly, leaning his head forward, in between Catherine and Steve.
"There's not a road here."
"Turn left now!"
"Jesus! Hang on!" Steve yelled, turning the wheel sharply. The car crashed through a fence as Steve drove further up the hill at a fast pace.
"Holy shit!" Cat screamed, her hands pushing her hair out of her face so she could see where her boyfriend was driving them.
"Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!" Steve yelled.
"Up!" Dustin replied, his voice just as loud. The car continued up the hill at an alarming rate, only slowing down ever so slightly.
"We're not gonna make it!" Robin yelled.
"Oh, my God!" Cat screamed. "Oh, my God!"
"Come on, baby. Come on, baby!" Steve yelled at the car as he pushed harder on the gas pedal. They made it a few metres further before the engine started to strain and the car refused to drive any further.
"Guess the Toddfather had it's limitations." Robin observed. Steve gave up with the car, turning the engine off a taking the keys out the ignition. They all climbed out of the car and finished the journey on foot.
***
"Bald Eagle, do you copy?" Dustin asked into the radio. The others all stood around him and the home-made radio tower. "Bald Eagle, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop, do you copy?"
"Yes, I copy." Murray's voice came through the radio.
The group all chuckled slightly in relief. Cat leaned down and pressed the button, speaking into the walkie. "Call sign?" She asked, knowing it would piss off the older man.
"Bald Eagle." Came the reply.
"Please repeat." Cat said, holding in her laughter.
"Bald Eagle. This is Bald Eagle." Murray repeated, his voice full of irritation.
"Copy that." Catherine chuckled, handing the radio back to her brother.
"Good to hear your voice, Bald Eagle. What's your 20?"
"We reached the vent. I'll contact you when I need you. Until then, silence."
"Roger that, Bald Eagle. This is Scoops Troop, going radio silent. 10-10, over."
Catherine gently tugged Steve over to the edge of the hill, a little further away from the others. The two sat down side by side, Cat leaning her head on Steve's shoulder. "So, you really think I'm hotter than Phoebe Cates?" She smiled and glanced up at him.
Steve took his eyes off the view of Hawkins and looked down at his girlfriend. "Of course. But, didn't you say that nobody could be hotter than her?"
Cat scoffed. "Yeah. But it's cute that you think I, plain, ol' Catherine Henderson, could be hotter than Phoebe Cates." The couple sat in silence for a few minutes, just revelling in each others company. Peace was rare in Hawkins, especially for them, and so it was a nice change just to be able to sit quietly.
"Would you ever leave this town?" Steve asked, breaking the comfortable silence. "I know we already kind of talked about it but we were still sort of drugged." He put his arm around her shoulders as she leant her head on his shoulder.
"I don't know..." Cat answered. "I mean, one day I'd like to. Sure." She thought for a moment. "But I doubt I'd feel comfortable leaving everyone behind. Besides, who else would save Hawkins if it wasn't for us?"
Steve couldn't help but laugh quietly. "Yeah. I suppose you've got a point."
"Maybe in a few years, when I've got a proper job and saved up a bit. Once this is all over. Then, maybe, I'd love to move to a city. Or to the coast."
"Maybe," Steve said, pausing for a moment, "maybe we could get a place together?"
"I'd love that." Catherine smiled, leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his lips.
The two sat together, enjoying each others company for a few more minutes before they headed back over to the rest of their team. They had just sat down in the grass next to Robin when a 'beep' sounded from the radio. "Scoops Troop, this is... Hm. Bald Eagle. I've reached another junction." Murray's voice spoke to them.
"This is what?" Dustin asked.
"The fourth junction." Erica informed.
"All right, so if memory serves, this is right after the My Little Pony thesis."
"The what?" Cat asked, furrowing her brows in confusion.
"We went left," Erica said, "so he has to go right."
"Right." Dustin re-iterated. "Fly right, Bald Eagle. Fly right."
"Roger that, flying right."
"What's the My Little Pony thesis?" Robin asked. Cat turned her attention to Steve, watching as he stood up and walked a little way away from them.
"Don't get him started." Erica muttered.
Cat stood up and made her way over to Steve. "What's so interesting to have caught your attention?" She asked, smirking as she rested her arm on his shoulder.
"That." He raised his arm and pointed to something in the distance.
"Oh." Cat's face fell as she followed his gaze, spotting the Mind Flayer on the roof of the mall. It had found them. "No, no, no."
"Hey, guys?" Steve called to the others. They moved away from the radio and moved over to where Steve and Catherine stood.
"This can't be happening. This can't be happening." Catherine muttered over and over as they raced back to the radio, desperate to get in contact with their friends.
"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop!" Dustin yelled into the device, panic evident in his voice. "Do you copy? Over!" They didn't receive an answer.
"Try again." Cat told him, shaking from worry.
Dustin nodded and tried again. "Griswold Family, I repeat, this is Scoops Troop. Do you copy?"
There was a shriek over the radio. Cat's face went pale as she realised what had made that sound. "Oh, God." She muttered. "Oh, God."
"Griswold Family, do you copy?" Dustin yelled into the radio. "Do you copy?!"
The only response was a loud roaring, courtesy of the Mind Flayer.
"Fuck." Cat mumbled as static emitted from the radio.
"Griswold Family, this is Scoops Troop. Please confirm your safety!" Dustin yelled.
"We have to do something." Cat said, determination laced somewhere in her voice amongst the panic. She stood up and began pacing back and forth. "We can't just stay here!"
"You're right." Steve said. He jumped up and grabbed her arm, pulling her along with him to the car.
"Where are you going?!" Erica screamed at them.
"To get them the hell outta there!" Steve yelled back, his hand gripping tightly to Cat's as they raced down the hill towards the car. "Stay here, contact the others!"
"Shit." Robin muttered, running after the two.
"Wait, Robin!" Dustin called to the older girl. She turned around to face him as he chucked her a spare radio. "Stay in touch."
"Got it." Robin caught the radio and raced towards the car. She hopped in the back seat just as Steve pulled away, beginning to speed down the hill and back towards the mall.
***
Steve sped the car into the carpark only for the three of them to see Billy's car speeding towards Nancy. "Shit." Cat muttered. "What do we do?!"
"I've got an idea." Steve told them, slamming his foot harder on the gas. "Hold on." The car sped at what felt like a hundred miles per hour, flying through the dark parking lot until they began to near Billy's Camaro.
"Steve... We're gonna crash..." Catherine whispered warily, her hands gripping on tightly to the dashboard.
"That's the whole point." Steve answered shortly. "Brace yourselves." Their fancy, stolen car crashed head first into Billy's, the latter's car spinning away from the teens.
"Holy shit." Catherine mumbled as the car suddenly came to a stop, spinning as it did so. "Holy shit." She watched, mouth agape, as flames rose from Billy's car.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked his two passengers.
"Ask me tomorrow?" Robin answered.
"If we make it out of this hell hole..." Catherine mumbled.
The three of them gasped, standing up in the car. In front of them, crawling over the roof of the mall, was the Mind Flayer. It looked like a giant, fleshy spider and Catherine had to fight the urge to vomit at the sight. "Oh, shit." Robin mumbled.
A car horn tore them from their trance as Nancy yelled at them to climb in her car. Hurriedly, Robin, Steve and Cat jumped out of the sports car and ran over to the Wheeler's van, climbing into the cramped back. Jonathan drove them away from the mall and down the main road, leading the Mind Flayer away from the mall. Catherine looked around at the others in the vehicle, her eyes widening when she didn't see three of the kids. "Where's El, Max and Mike?" She asked, panic arising in her voice with each word. "Where's El? Nancy, where's El?!" Steve pulled her into his arms and started to try and calm her. Nothing good ever came from panicking. "Oh, my God. She's still in the mall, isn't she?" She looked Steve dead in the eye. "Oh, God. Oh, God." Tears began to leak from her eyes as full panic set in. "We have to go back!"
"Nance," Steve called to the front of the van. "Some reassurance would be nice."
"Oh," Nancy whipped around in her seat as she looked back at Catherine. "They're gonna be fine." She plastered a smile on her face as she spoke to her friend. "She's going to be fine. We're leading the Mind Flayer away from them. They're going to be okay, Cat." She attempted to reassure.
Catherine nodded, but something told her that the night was just going to keep getting worse.
***
Edited: 04/08/2020
Edit 2: 04/11/2021