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His wrists were chained behind his back, trapping him to a wall. It had been three days since Steve had last seen his captors. Water was starting to run low in the doggy dish they had given him, and food only came with his captors. He’d been in this cell for a while, only coming out to get questioned. And to make his insides sing when he wouldn’t talk. If he was keeping track of the days correctly, he’d been here for at least a year. Maybe a bit longer. But it had to have been about three days since he last saw his captors.
Probably some new form of punishment for not telling them about El.
He glanced at the bowl of water, watching as the water only skimmed the bottom of the bowl now. He kept debating if he should drink it. But he had been hanging out with a group of nerds, and he could go at least a little longer without water.
He turned away from the water, only to wince as light filtered into the room. It was so dark in the room that Steve sometimes forgot what light felt like. He kept his expression blank as a few people filed into the room.
Here we go again.
“No,” a voice breathed out. “Oh no.”
------------------------- Roughly A Year Earlier ---------------------
“But we can go see El on Wednesday, right?” Mike asked excitedly as they sat in the basement around a D&D board. Steve was grinning down at them as they stared at him. “He’s really going to let us.”
Hopper had basically hired Steve to babysit El, much to everyone’s complaint. Especially Mike. Until Hopper finally told them of El’s condition. Because she had overworked her powers, she had been exhausted. The night at the Snow Ball was the first time the group got to see El again, and nearly two months later, Steve had convinced Hopper to let him bring the kids with him.
“Only if you all swear to do homework first, then you hang out,” Steve stated firmly, but he was smiling.
Mike was the first to hug Steve, thanking him relentlessly as Steve let out a bark of laughter. Then the other four kids were hugging Steve, thanking him over and over again.
“Alright, alright,” Steve chuckled. ‘Finish your campaign. It’s almost time to go home.”
The four nodded and Mike eagerly picked up where they left off. Steve chuckled as he watched them finish and then ushered Dustin, Lucas, and Will to his car. Max gave them a wave as she climbed in with Billy, and the Camaro was off. Steve had Lucas, Dustin and Will home shortly after.
Steve had gotten home and had accidently dropped his keys when he felt it. A hand fly over his mouth, cloth in hand. He tried to fight, tried to throw the person off, but then there was a needle in Steve’s neck. The cloth was shoved into his mouth as he slipped to the ground. He was only stopped by the person who had their hand over his mouth a few minutes prior. The last thing he saw was a second man grab his feet before the drug finally hit him.
When Steve woke up, there was a man, an old man, standing at his side. It took him a few minutes to gain his bearings and realize he was tied down to some sort of bed.
“Hello Mr. Harrington,” the man greeted. “My name is Doctor Brenner.”
And Steve growled at that name.
“Ah,” Doctor Brenner sighed. “So you have heard of me. Well then, I might as well get to the point.”
“Go die in a hole,” Steve spat.
“I think I’m just fine, thank you,” Doctor Brenner chuckled at him. “Now, as you know Eleven, you probably noticed her powers.”
Steve said nothing. He didn’t care how much pain he was going to feel, he wasn’t going to tell these people anything. Especially not Doctor Brenner.
“She’s very ill,” Doctor Brenner continued. “And we only want to help her. We just need you to-”
Steve broke out into hysterical laughter at that. “You really expected me to believe you?” Steve laughed. “Seriously? After everything you did to Eleven and Will? You’re mad.”
“I see,” Doctor Brenner sighed again. “Then I am afraid we have no choice.”
Some sort of mouth guard was shoved in Steve’s mouth as some sort of devices was connected to either side of Steve’s head. In a matter of seconds, Doctor Brenner gave the word, and there was nothing but pain.
Sometimes it was the shock treatment. Sometimes it was some sort of drugs. Sometimes Steve was shoved into the thing El called a bath for hours on end. He was left in the bath for over 24 hours once. Sometimes it was having doctor poke at his brain.
Steve endured it all. Never once letting anything slip about El or anyone else. At some point, though Steve wasn’t sure when, Doctor Brenner stopped asking about El. Probably because it had been so long since Steve had seen her last. It just became days of pure torture. A punishment for not answering questions when they had been asked.
He was treated like an animal. A doggy dish for water. His hands, more often than not, were chained behind him when he was in the cell. Food was brought once a day, and it was often stale. Steve honestly had no idea how he had survived this long. Not really. But there was one thing that haunted him. He never got the chance to take the kids to see El on Wednesday.
He wanted to make up for that someday. Maybe that was why he was alive.
Steve’s life was a complete haze of different “tests” after they stopped asking questions, and Steve wondered what Brenner was trying to get from this. He got his answer when he woke up one day with a pain in his wrist. A doctor came in to change the bandages that had been wrapped around his wrist. Steve just kind of stared at the mark Brenner had put there.
000.
If Brenner couldn’t have El, he was going to make Steve the next best thing. Steve laughed bitterly at this, eventually having to be sedated because of how crazy he had become as he laughed. He’d shown no sign of even having powers, but Brenner was persistent. Steve told himself he rather it be himself than Eleven.
Then one day, nobody came. It turned into three days without food and little water. And Steve waited.
------------------ Present ------------------
“Isn’t this the kid that Chief guy was asking you about?” a man in military uniform asked.
Steve just sort of eyed Doctor Sam Owens, not letting anything show. The Doctor looked positively scandalized at finding Steve chained in a cell. Then Doctor Owens was crouched in front of Steve, observing him carefully.
“Find the keys,” Doctor Owens ordered immediately. “Find clothes and get him out of here. And somebody call Chief Hopper. We found Steve Harrington.”
Steve still didn’t react. Just stared at the Doctor, who was taking in Steve’s cell and condition.
“He needs a doctor!” Doctor Owens screamed into the hall after the men who went to complete the job. “And get him food and water!”
Then Owens was cupping his head, feeling the scars and wincing as he realized what they were from. He went to check Steve’s pulse using his wrist and froze at the tattoo.
“Steve,” Doctor Owens breathed.
A military guy raced back in, keys in hand. Doctor Owens quickly unlocked Steve’s wrists with fumbling fingers. Then he was staring at the tattoo.
“What did they do to him?” the guys asked, horror etched across his face.
Doctor Owens sighed and pulled Steve up on shaky legs. “This is why I wanted Doctor Brenner gone. If the man was still in charge, no child, no matter what age, would have been safe.”
And Steve just sort of grinned at the solider. “They made my insides sing. And my brain go crazy.”
The military guy looked like he was going to be sick. Owens proceeded to pull Steve out of the room where he was placed on a stretcher. Steve was surprised they hadn’t tied him down yet, but Steve was also resigned to his fate. He let them take him away to do whatever experiment they wanted to do next.
Someone gave him actual water from a bottle, which was nice. And they gave him real food, though he threw it back up seconds later. Some doctors came to poke and prod at him. It felt different than the other times he was poked and prodded at, but he still refused to answer their questions. A few hours later and they tried to feed him again. It tasted flat, but it actually stayed down. Some sort of soup bread mixture. And he got more water from an actual water bottle too. That was nice.
“Am I not going back to my cell?” Steve asked later that night when Doctor Owens prepared to leave after several unanswered questions.
Steve was honestly confused, because he was always brought back to his cell after questions. Then he would get punishment the next day. Or at least when he woke up. It was a routine. Wake up, endure punishment, eat, get asked questions, go back to cell, sleep, and repeat. So, yes, Steve was beyond confused right now.
Doctor Owens face kind of fell. That was the best term Steve could think to describe it. One minute he was frustrated, and the next he was sad. He put his hand on Steve’s shoulder, watching carefully.
“You never have to go back there,” Doctor Owens promised.
Steve didn’t really believe that, but it was nice for someone to actually try and lie about it. Steve just chuckled and went to staring out of the window. The window was nice. He hadn’t seen outside in a long time. It was dark, and there was a street lamp outside, but it was enough.
“I mean it Steve,” Doctor Owens squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “You are safe. Doctor Brenner won’t hurt you.”
Yeah, the lie was nice.
------------------------------
The soldier that had brought Steve the keys was in the room when Steve woke up. He was kind enough to smile at Steve and offer him water and the bread-soup stuff. His name was Daniel, he had stated as he fed Steve. Though most people called him Dan. He was kind. No one had really been kind to Steve since they abducted him. Dan was the kindest person Steve had met since he came to the lab, and Steve told Dan as such.
“If you say so,” Dan chuckled as he gave Steve the last spoonful of the bread-soup stuff. “You seem like a better guy than me.”
Steve chuckled back.
He never did end up going back to his cell, though. And he mostly talked to Dan and Doctor Owens. It was almost like no one else knew what to do with Steve. They let him walk around, normally with a guard. Usually Dan. Other days, he would stare outside or read a book they brought him. But one day, as Steve suspected, Steve found himself being prepared to go back into the bath.
“We just need to know what Doctor Brenner did,” Doctor Owens explained. “You’ll never have to do this again, but we have to know.”
Again, the lie was nice. But there were a lot of lies now. Steve couldn’t bring himself to care, not even as he was submerged in the water. Then it was dark.
He’d done this a few times now, finding himself in dark spaces. He’d never thought anything of it. Normally he just walked around, searching the dark expanse of the space. There was normally nothing else there. Just him, the darkness, and the feeling of water at his feet. He never did tell Doctor Brenner about this, not that he would tell Doctor Brenner anything anyways. He was still walking around, waiting to be pulled from the darkness, when he heard a voice.
“Steve?”
It sounded familiar, though Steve couldn’t quite remember why. It was a nice voice though, and he slowly turned towards it. El stood behind him, watching with him with cautious eyes. Her hand reached out slowly, fisting into Steve’s weird water suit thing. She seemed surprised by this, but she fell forward and clutched Steve in a fierce hug.
Her hair was longer, and she seemed healthier too. Not as tired as the last time Steve saw her. He hugged her carefully, not really sure how she was here.
“Steve,” she breathed his name out in a sound of relief.
“Hi, El,” Steve whispered. Then he pulled away, stepping back. “You should go. They’ll find you.”
“No,” El shook her head.
“They will,” Steve stated. “They’ll hurt you. I won’t tell them. I swear. I haven’t said anything yet. But you should go.”
He nudged her away, trying to make her go. He wasn’t very strong anymore though. He didn’t have the strength to do much of anything anymore. Doctor Brenner hadn’t wanted him to be strong.
“They hurt you,” El whispered, ignoring Steve’s nudge as she grasped his hands. “You were hurt badly. Very badly.”
“Needed to keep you safe,” Steve stated as he nudged El again. “Still need to keep you safe.”
El looked pained by this as she glanced down at his wrist. There were tears in her eyes as she brushed her thumb over Steve’s tattoo.
“They made you like me,” El whispered.
And she sounded so pained. So upset. There was a gasp from somewhere, but not in the space. A choked sob came from far away too. And Steve could only chuckle.
“Better me than you,” he stated firmly with a soft smile.
And El sobbed, sinking to her knees as she kept gripping Steve’s hands. Steve had never been very good at comforting people. So he watched as she sobbed and then vanished. Steve woke up to the light coming back into the tank and the thing being brought down so he could be pulled out.
He waited as Doctor Owens discussed with several people. Doctor Brenner did this sometimes too. And despite Dan’s insistent nudging, Steve knew the drill. He couldn’t leave until Doctor Owens, who was clearly replacing Doctor Brenner, gave the word. So Steve waited. Waited to go to questioning and eventually his cell. Same routine.
Dan finally stopped trying to get Steve to move and raced down to Doctor Owens. He had a hushed conversation that led everyone who was with Doctor Owens to start staring at Steve. Steve just sat there, waiting obediently as he learned to do. There was sometimes less pain the next day if he was obedient. Not always, but sometimes.
“Steve,” Doctor Owens approached him gently. “Are you alright?”
Steve gave a curt nod. “Just waiting.”
“For what?” Doctor Owens questioned.
And Steve had to fight back a frown. “To get questioned,” Steve answered flatly. “Then to go back to my cell. You replaced Doctor Brenner, so I can’t do anything until you give permission.”
You know that saying that it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Well, it wasn’t a pin, but rather a pen. Everyone in the room had gone deathly quiet. Some even looked green or pale. And Doctor Owens looked like he got slapped in the face.
“I thought we were making progress,” he breathed out.
“Progress?” Steve questioned.
And that was a mistake. He’d already spoken too much, so Steve began to steel himself for the pain he was bound to feel tomorrow. Doctor Owens seemed to notice the sudden shift in Steve. But his reaction was not one Steve expected. The Doctor took one look at Steve’s shift in nature before sinking to the ground and burying his face in his hands.
“Just go,” Doctor Owens stated.
It wasn’t like his usual orders, but Steve let Dan finally lead him from the room. He was back in the hospital room and Steve was beginning to wonder if this was his new cell. Maybe Dan was just supposed to make sure he didn’t run away. Either way, Steve waited for the other shoe to drop.
--------------------------------------------
A week after the tank, Steve was hit with a surprise. He’d been blindfolded and carefully led somewhere. Probably the pain he was waiting for. Doctor Owens was just sort of talking about stuff to someone. Steve wasn’t sure if Doctor Owens was talking to him or someone else. But then he heard some doors open and felt a shift in the air. They removed the blindfold after a few more minutes of walking.
He was outside.
With a bit of probing from Doctor Owens, Steve found his bare feet making contact with soft grass, though some of it was hard and crunchy. He couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up, though he flinched away from Doctor Owens the moment it escaped.
Doctor Owens didn’t say anything about it, simply led Steve further into the grass. Steve touched a tree, smelled flowers, sat on a stump, threw some leaves, and dug his feet and hands into dirt. Dan was beaming at him, and Doctor Owens seemed a little relieved. Steve couldn’t remember the last time he was this happy. They stayed out late, until even Steve couldn’t ignore the sound of his own stomach.
“You can go out again,” Doctor Owens smiled at Steve when he noticed the boy looking dejected. “I promise.”
And this was the first time Steve couldn’t tell if Doctor Owens was lying or not. He found out it wasn’t a lie the next day when Doctor Owens and Dan once more brought him outside, without the blindfold. They were sitting on a log as Steve drew in the mud when Doctor Owens spoke.
“I’ve got some grandchildren coming to visit,” he told Steve slowly. “And one of the things I’ve been hoping to do is give you people to talk to. Is it alright if I let them see you?”
Steve wasn’t sure why Doctor Owens was asking him. It wasn’t really up to him. But he nodded anyways. He probably wouldn’t talk to them, but he was not sure what else to do. It made Doctor Owens fall into a better mood, so he just continued to draw in the mud.
It started raining eventually, but Doctor Owens let Steve stand in the rain for a bit. It felt nice, the feeling of the rain on his skin. Doctor Owens warned him he might get sick, but the Doctor was smiling the whole time. Doctor Owens and Dan both stayed under umbrellas.
The next day was all muggy and the rain was harder. Steve longed to be outside, but even he didn’t want to go out in the storm that was clearly coming. But that was okay though. Doctor Owens came in a bit later with a few people.
“Hey, Steve,” he greeted, always cheerful. Or at least trying to be. “This is the family I told you was visiting.”
Steve looked behind Owens to see four people. And Doctor Owens proceeded to introduce them. The youngest, a girl around the age of the six kids, was named Lilly. Then there was the second youngest, a boy named Harry that was two years younger than Steve. And the other two were twins. A boy and a girl named Matthew and Anna. They were both Steve’s age. Doctor Owens left his grandkids with Steve, and Steve had literally no idea what to make of this situation. It was Harry who finally spoke first.
“Do you like card games?”
They went through quite a few rounds of card games ranging from Old Maid, to Go-Fish, to even a off version of Poker because no one could agree on the rules. It was nice. Normal. And suddenly, Steve realized something. Something that made him break down in tears.
Doctor Owens was trying to help him. Not hurt him.
Anna was trying to soothe him, using a gentle hand to soothe over his hair that had been cut short but was slowly growing. Matthew was clearly a little freaked out. Harry was saying something about never playing poker again. And Lilly was wrapping him in a hug.
“Thank you,” he breathed to Doctor Owens when the man rushed into the room. “Thank you.”
And it was clear that Doctor Owens understood because he smiled at Steve. And it was a warm smile that spoke nothing but truth. And it made Steve’s heart feel lighter than it had in a year.
“Anytime kid,” he promised with that reassuring hand to Steve’s shoulder. “Anytime.”
-----------------------------
Anna was sitting in between his legs, glaring down at a chess board that separated them on Steve’s lap. Neither was sure who was winning, but they weren’t going to stand down. Lilly and Harry were coloring, and Matthew had a book in his lap. At one point, the other three siblings had been watching, but the game kept going and they pulled away.
“Hey, Steve,” the sound of Doctor Owens’ voice reached his ears. “I’ve got a surprise.”
“Not yet,” Anna and Steve said at the same time.
Doctor Owens chuckled for a moment as Steve kept eyeing the board. He suddenly shot Anna a grin and moved his rook.
“Check mate.”
Anna buried her head in her hands and groaned angrily as Steve laughed and started to pick up the pieces. Then his gaze finally shifted to where Doctor Owens had been waiting, only to stop in his task. There, standing behind Doctor Owens, was Chief Jim Hopper.
Steve felt his body begin to shake as Anna climbed off the bed with the chess board and shooed her siblings out of the room.
“Hop-”
Steve’s voice cracked as he started to lean off the bed, his body not quite working right as he reached for the older man. Hopper hugged him tightly in a matter of seconds, cradling Steve to his chest.
“Ah, kid,” Hopper breathed as Steve clutched tightly back.
Steve just buried his face in Hopper’s shoulder.
“We weren’t sure what would have happened if we just let them see you,” Doctor Owens was explaining a bit later. “We needed you to believe that you were actually free before we tried to get anyone you knew involved.”
Steve was still leaning into Hopper’s chest. And honestly, Steve couldn’t be mad at Doctor Owens for not letting him see the others. Steve wasn’t sure what he would have done. Probably laugh hysterically or claim it was a trick. So Doctor Owens was taking it slow. Steve’s parents were scheduled to come see him next week to get the ball rolling.
Steve’s disappearance had almost been passed off as a runaway case. Probably what Doctor Brenner would have wanted. The problem was that Doctor Brenner’s team had messed up. The keys Steve had dropped before he was jumped had been enough to prove the case a kidnapping.
The six kids, all believing Steve had not runaway, had been grilling Hopper when Dustin made the connection. The car had been found at the airport with a set of keys in the driver’s seat. The keys, however, as Dustin pointed out, did not go to the BMW. It was the fact that Hopper found a set of keys on the floor, Steve’s actual car keys, that made the case a kidnapping. Steve was a stickler for where his keys were supposed to go. Even if he had been beyond exhausted, Steve would have hung his car keys beside the door.
With six kids and Nancy confirming this quirk, Steve Harrington was deemed kidnapped. Soon Steve’s parents got involved. El was freaking out because she couldn’t find Steve. Which turned out to be because Doctor Brenner had been giving Steve drugs to block out El’s powers. Then Tommy and Carol got involved. They even opened the gate to see if Steve was there. Then Karen Wheeler got involved. And Erica Sinclair. And Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair. And Mrs. Henderson. And Mr. Scott Clark. And detective Powell and Callahan. And somebody named Murray Bauman.
There were a lot of people involved now. All waiting to see Steve. All knowing about the Upside Down. All knowing about El’s powers. All knowing about his new powers.
Steve fell asleep listening to the sound of Hopper breathing. He thinks it was the most peaceful amount of sleep he had gotten in a long time.
The day before his parents were supposed to show up, Steve throws a table across the cafeteria. With his mind. As Lilly beat them at Poker. He’d been frustrated, but he didn’t think he was that frustrated. But he knows he was the one to throw the table, and he hasn’t shown signs of telekinesis. Until now. Before anyone can stop him, he’s running out of the cafeteria in a panic.
Matthew and Anna found him at almost midnight. After nearly thirteen hours of everyone frantically searching. He’d gone to his old cell. Hiding away like the monster he was. Like the animal Doctor Brenner had made him.
Anna stayed by his side as Matthew gets Doctor Owens, Hopper, and Dan.
“Is Jane a monster?” Hopper asked after they finally pried out what had been bothering Steve.
“No,” Steve shook his head. “But I-”
“But nothing,” Hopper stated. “You and Jane went through the same things. Brenner used both of you. You aren’t a monster unless you chose to be, okay?”
And Steve nodded. He wasn’t sure if he believed Hopper, but Hopper was just so sincere when he spoke. Steve couldn’t help himself as he leaned into the comfort of Hopper’s chest.
The next day, he found himself in the embrace of his sobbing parents. Well, his mom was sobbing. His father fought back tears. Steve just nestled into their embrace, relishing the fact that they were actually there. With him. Heck, according to Hopper, they’d fought the Upside Down for him.
Trauma was weird.
------------------------------------
He got to see everyone, slowly, before he got to go home. But he was practically giddy when he got home. He ended up sleeping on the couch in between his parents on his first night home, both holding him protectively. He woke up to the sight of his parents making breakfast and six kids staring at him. He then proceeded to cuddle those six kids.
The trauma was a lot to deal with. He’d wake up screaming sometimes. Sometimes he would just be frozen in the doorway where he was captured. People cooing at him like a child makes him fall into a panic attack. Arguments make him flinch away.
But he has people, a lot of people, who are there for him. And Steve has never felt so loved before.