"Who are you?" Joyce, upon seeing Jonathan's terrifying appearance, immediately went on the defensive.
That reaction was expected—no one would stay calm seeing someone covered in blood, carrying a black suitcase, and followed by a little girl.
Eleven wanted to say something to calm these kind people who had helped her, but she didn't want to disturb the man's composure—someone much stronger than her.
But Jonathan didn't give her the chance to speak even if she wanted to. "Forgive my appearance. It's not like I just killed dozens of monsters from another dimension, saved your son's life, and eliminated the problem at its root… or wait, is that what I did? Doesn't matter. All you need to know is that there's nothing left to worry about."
Having entered and exited a completely different dimension, added to the massacre he had caused just hours earlier, was still something that kept him a bit on edge.
Jonathan was concerned about not feeling anything after killing that group of people. He thought he would feel some kind of guilt, but it turned out it didn't seem like much to him.
But now he needed to focus, and with privileged information, he had the upper hand in this mission.
For example, he knew that the only one who could open dimensions was Eleven with her psychic ability. He wanted to know how she trained in order to maximize his own powers and be able to enter when the world resembled the Upside Down.
"Excuse me, you saved my son?" Joyce couldn't believe what she was hearing from this man covered in blood. If it weren't for him, her son would still be trapped in the Upside Down.
But what she didn't know was that it was Jonathan who had drawn the attention of all the creatures in the other dimension so Joyce's son could escape unharmed.
Everything had been planned. Jonathan knew he would head straight to the rift that controlled this laboratory, and it was only a matter of time before he could save the boy.
He didn't remember that Joyce would be right here.
"I don't mean to sound harsh, but some very bad people are on their way here. So, ma'am, please take your son and leave, and don't mention this matter again. The people from the Order will talk to you more about it, but now is not the time. As for you, I need you to come with me." Jonathan didn't give the woman another glance, and before she left, he murmured, "Burn all your clothes. Don't damage your son's, since it has my suit—I'll come for it later."
"Understood…"
Hopper caught up to Jonathan and warned him in a deep voice, "I don't know what your abilities are or where you come from, but I'm telling you, if we go back there, we'll be killed by whatever is on the other side of that portal."
"Eleven will close that portal and teach me how to open them. After that, you'll take her away from here so she won't be captured by the government. My people aren't in this town, so until they arrive, you must keep Eleven safe." Jonathan wouldn't leave Eleven's protection to whoever was in charge of this case.
If they controlled the Upside Down, who knows what kind of stupidity they might do.
Jonathan was determined to be the only one capable of opening portals besides Eleven.
Hopper looked at Eleven and said, "She can barely stand."
"She won't die. Her vitality must be twice as strong as that of an ordinary child."
"She didn't heal me instantly from my wounds like you do…" Eleven murmured those words as she followed Jonathan, who simply walked toward the building and then led the way to an elevator.
This place could be confusing, but he had observed on his way here many of the documents left behind by the people he had killed.
"How do you know this place?" Hopper didn't trust Jonathan at all. A part of him told him he should get out of here as soon as possible.
But Eleven told him not to do anything—she herself had seen Jonathan get shot and stand up as if nothing had happened.
"What exactly are we doing?"
"They sent me here to close a portal. That's the government's objective."
Eleven approached Jonathan and asked, "How come your nose doesn't bleed?"
"Oh, much more than my nose bleeds—many more parts of my body than you think. It's just that my regeneration is much faster, and my aptitudes are more suited to avoid feeling pain or fear." Jonathan once again felt compassion for the introverted girl. He would obviously respect the laws, even if they were laws from another time.
Hopper looked around nervously and cut in on the conversation. "How are you so sure there's nothing around here?"
"If there's something here, I'll be the first to sense it. Don't worry, and put that gun down—you're making me nervous." Jonathan threw his large backpack to Hopper for him to carry.
Eleven smiled openly and said, "You're different from the others."
"Yes, very different. You're different too—that makes you special. Though being special sometimes sucks." Jonathan knew those were words Eleven had heard many times before.
He wasn't a normal person, and he expected others to understand that.
"Well then, let's go down to that laboratory."
Eleven felt afraid, but Jonathan took her hand and said, "Don't worry. Whatever's down there won't hurt you."
Hopper wanted to ask, "What about me?"