AUTOR NOTE: I couldn't write for a few days because my laptop charger broke and I had to get a new one. Here's a slightly shorter chapter than usual so you don't miss out today.
Liam and Carrie were traveling back to New York by a different route than the one they had taken to reach Santa Monica, with the clear hope that along the way they would run into something else they could kill to gain new abilities. The car moved at a steady pace, the sound of the engine blending with the tires brushing against the asphalt, while both of them remained alert for any anomaly.
The sky was already completely dark; they had just left Missouri and entered Indiana. They were on a long, lonely road, surrounded by barely visible fields, in the middle of nowhere, waiting to find the next town or city to refill the gas tank. The headlights cut through the darkness like a narrow tunnel, illuminating only a few meters ahead.
At that moment, while driving at the maximum allowed speed, they saw the road split in two. There was a sign on each path: one read "Welcome to Crawfordsville" and the other "Welcome to Hawkins".
In that instant, Liam slightly widened his eyes in surprise and, without thinking too much, decisively turned the steering wheel, taking the road toward Hawkins. A slow, anticipatory smile formed on his face.
"Carrie, we're going to a town with monsters from another dimension. Prepare yourself mentally, because we're going to kill monsters nonstop." Liam said with a smile, clearly excited, gripping the steering wheel more tightly.
Liam had no intention of breaking the canon or anything like that from Stranger Things. His plans were clear: arrive, and if the town was currently in some canon situation, help while killing as many monsters as possible; and if not, simply go to the nearest portal, enter the Upside Down, and kill everything he found before looking for a way to reach where Vecna was sent by Eleven.
Liam fully trusted his ability to solve the entire problem of this story because he knew for a fact that Carrie was far superior to what was shown in the series. Also, from what he had seen, in the fourth season there were no excessively dangerous beings; and even if there were, by the time they reached them he would already be much stronger after killing demogorgons and their variants.
Carrie, upon hearing this, lifted her gaze from her book and looked at Liam."Finally, I was already getting tired of so much traveling without finding anything besides that demon from before." As she said this, she let the book rest on her thighs and raised her arms, stretching lazily and letting out a soft sigh.
"This time it will be the longest hunt we've had so far." Liam said with a confident smile, without taking his eyes off the road.
With that, they continued along the highway, and about ten minutes later they began to see the town. Hawkins looked completely fine, calm, almost too normal. That alone was enough for Liam to rule out seasons 2 and 4, since in those there was far too much visible destruction in the town.
That left season 1 or 3, where the chaos was mainly concentrated in the laboratory, the school, and the Starcourt Mall, the latter being the focus of season 3. Liam planned to go first to the school, then the Starcourt Mall, and finally the laboratory.
They passed by the school and checked it quickly. The building was intact, with no signs of recent damage, so they continued toward the next objective: the Starcourt Mall.
They already had the place in sight when they heard a loud sound of fireworks exploding in the distance. Upon hearing it, Liam frowned and immediately realized which moment of the plot they were in. It wasn't the best possible moment, but even so there was still something they could kill before entering the other dimension.
…
Inside, Eleven and Max were standing behind Billy, who was positioned in front of the six-legged monster that seemed to be made entirely of dark, twisted flesh. The monster attacked with a tentacle that came out of its mouth; Billy stopped it with both hands, gritting his teeth with visible effort, his muscles straining to their limit. However, that wouldn't be enough. Other tentacles began to emerge from the monster's back, writhing in the air, ready to attack Billy, whose hands were already occupied.
But that was not destined to happen this time.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the area, causing Eleven and Max to turn their heads in alarm to see who was coming. Their eyes widened in surprise when they saw a stranger.
Liam advanced without hesitation, pulled out his dagger with his right hand, and with a quick, precise motion cut the tentacle coming out of the monster's mouth. It let out a sharp, piercing screech, its body shaking in pain, before trying to attack him with the other tentacles. Liam dodged some with fast body movements and cut others, stepping back only when necessary.
While Liam defended himself, Max and Eleven saw an unfamiliar blonde girl appear, walking toward the fight with complete confidence. Carrie calmly raised one hand, pointing directly at the monster. It began to cry out in pain as dark smoke poured from its body, and seconds later it burst into flames. The scream it let out was even louder than before, full of desperation. The monster tried to extinguish the fire by rolling on the ground or smashing itself against everything around it, destroying columns, walls, and nearby objects in its panic.
"No!" Mike and Lucas shouted as they fell from the second floor, after the monster destroyed part of the structure.
"No, Mike." Eleven said in anguish.
"Lucas." Max said, bringing a hand to her mouth.
Carrie, upon hearing their shouts, turned her head toward them without stopping her molecular telekinesis from burning the monster. With a simple gesture of her hand, Mike and Lucas began to float gently in the air, descending until they were placed safely next to their other friends on the second floor.
Above them, a girl could be seen hugging Mike, desperately checking to make sure he was okay, before lifting her gaze in surprise toward Carrie and Liam, who was now standing beside her.
A few seconds later, the monster lay dead on the ground. Carrie, as always, didn't settle for that and continued using her telekinesis for a few more seconds until nothing remained but scorched remains and dust.
"That was easy, I like that they're weak to fire." Carrie said with a confident smile, slowly lowering her hand.
"Well, without fire they'd be harder to kill. Not all of them have such an easy way to be dealt with." Liam said beside her, carefully observing the remains.
Liam turned his attention back to what he had analyzed with observation, now that he no longer needed to defend himself from the tentacles thanks to Carrie's arrival.
[Flayed]
Race: Abyss Creature
Title: None
[ABILITIES]
Supernatural physical strength: Can easily break walls, floors, and cars.
Supernatural regeneration: Can regenerate from bullet wounds and reattach lost body parts.
Resistant body: Damage from weapons such as pistols, rifles, and others is barely effective; only fire and heavy weapons can truly harm it.
For Liam, all three abilities were useful, and he was lucky to have arrived in time. Although he almost arrived too late, he reached the scene while the story was unfolding and obtained a mission upon arrival. By killing it and completing the mission, which was to prevent Billy's death, he had just gained two abilities.
When the monster died, Liam felt his strength increase to levels he had never imagined before. His muscles tensed slightly, his body reacting to the change, and he already knew which ability he had obtained even without checking his status. Liam would review the mission reward when they went down toward the entrance to the other dimension.