A/N: This is yet another sequel to my previous stories (The Unknown, A Not-So-Normal Life, and The Legion). Go ahead and read those first or else this one won't make too much sense. The next couple of months of my life are going to be chaotic, but I'm going to try and get one chapter posted per week (most likely on Saturdays).

This story is going to be a little different than my others, but it should still be pretty good. It will be The Bridge to Neverland to my Peter and the Starcatchers (if you understand that reference, please PM me so we can become friends).

Happy reading!

The middle of Chicago was filled with tall buildings. Most of them were unremarkable facades that just served to house a bunch of companies with some stores around the bottom. At first glance, the building on the corner of State Street and Randolph seemed the same as every other. The floors above the shops at ground level were filled with a couple of law offices, two tax firms, a paper company and a dance school. The only floors were at all interesting were the top two. According to the directory in the lobby, they were owned by a company called Multi-National Holdings Incorporated, but that company only existed on paper. Since 2014, those top two floors had been the headquarters of The Coalition.

Normally, the agents of The Coalition would be frantically working to stop the world from falling apart due to all the threats that existed out of sight of the public. But one evening in August 2016, most of the craziness was put on hold to celebrate the retirement of their esteemed leader. Edward Matthews had first been in charge of the Coalition base in Indianapolis, then San Francisco, then at the beginning of the 2000s he made it to New York where he was promoted to Director of The Coalition. Two years after the headquarters moved to Chicago, he decided it was time for himself to step down and make way for new leadership.

About fifteen minutes into the party, everyone filed in between the desks to make a semicircle so they could hear Director Matthews speak.

"Thank you everyone," he said, starting off pretty routinely. "I could spend this speech listing all of the things we got done in the fourteen years that I've been Director, but I don't want to take too long. There are only a couple of things I really want to say." The small crowd shuffled around to get a good view of Matthews as he made his remarks. "First, I'd like to thank all of the agents that have worked tirelessly and given up so much to help our cause." There was a moment of silence. "Secondly and lastly, I'd like to officially introduce my replacement. She might be the one person in the world who is actually overqualified for this job." There was a small laugh from the crowd. "The next Director of the Coalition is; Elle Wheeler." There was a small round of applause (the loudest applause coming from Eleven's husband off to the side) as Eleven broke off from the crowd and walked up to meet Matthew. She shook his hand and Matthews stepped back to give his successor the floor.

"I'd like to start by thanking Director Matthews. Not too many people know that he was the one that got me into The Coalition in the first place." She smiled and nodded over to Matthews, then looked back to the crowd. "Well, you all know most of my story already. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's used as a case study in the Coalition Academy nowadays." The crowd laughed quietly. It was true. Eleven's entire story was used during the training of new Coalition agents. "That's just about all I have to say. Enjoy the party, everyone!" The crowd cheered and Eleven walked back over to her husband.

"You did great," Mike said when she got back over to him.

"Really? I thought that was all too short."

"It wasn't. They already know who you are so you didn't actually have to introduce yourself. It was short and simple." Eleven smiled and gave Mike a peck on the lips. They started milling around with the crowd.

It was only a couple more minutes before the elevator dinged. Anywhere else, that would be unremarkable, but due to all the security measures put in place around the Coalition headquarters, it drew the attention of everyone in the room. The door opened to reveal a gray-haired man. He certainly looked different but he was still easily recognizable.

"Carter!" Eleven called, walking to the elevator to give her friend a hug. Mike followed close behind and gave Carter a handshake once Eleven finally let go of him. While they had moved away from Hawkins after finishing high school, Carter stayed with his wife and kids. They saw him at least once a year when they went down to Hawkins to visit people. He went up to Chicago just about as often as they went to Hawkins, but that was mostly because his three kids lived there too.

"I believe congratulations are in order," Carter said.

"They certainly are," Mike said.

"It's not really that big," Eleven said.

"Yes it is," Carter insisted. "You're the first woman to run The Coalition. The most far reaching intelligence organization in the world. I know how modest you are but this is really something you should be proud of." Eleven blushed a little and just smiled before changing the subject.

"How's Elizabeth?" she asked, referring to Carter's wife, her former English teacher.

"She's good. She had to stay back in Hawkins this time. There's a lot to prepare before next week. I have to head out tomorrow morning because of that."

"You two are still teaching?" Mike asked. "I mean… you're older than Matthews. You could retire if you wanted to."

"Yeah, but I don't. I simply enjoy teaching."

"Mike does too," Eleven said. Mike had worked for The Coalition in the past too. They had both been offered positions by Matthews in the mid-nineties and they almost immediately started working as field agents. After their first child was born in 2003, Mike left field duty and took a desk job. Once their second child came a couple years later, Mike left The Coalition all together and got a job as a high school chemistry teacher. Eleven left her job as a field agent at that point but instead of leaving The Coalition, she got promoted.

"How are the kids?" asked Carter.

"Joyce is starting high school next week and James is starting middle school," Mike said. "Somehow we planned it so that they both have to deal with new schools at the same time."

"Tell me, how much do you kids actually know about all of… this? I mean, The Coalition and everything."

"They really know nothing," Eleven started. "They think I just work for "Multi-National Holdings Incorporated"..." she put air quotes around the name of the company, "...and they don't know anything about… me. Well they don't know anything about my… you know." Eleven was referring to her super powers that caused her to be stuck in the Hawkins National Laboratory for the first decade of her life. "I just want them to have a life away from all of this. Everyone thinks that normal is boring, but really, it's just taken for granted all the time. I want them to have just the normal life that I never did."

Their small talk continued on for the next couple of hours. In that time, a couple of people from around the office came up to congratulate Eleven. She would officially start her job the next day. Carter left at about 7:00 to get some sleep before his drive back to Hawkins and the party slowly wound down after that.

After they got home, Mike and Eleven pretty much just said goodnight to their two children and went off to bed. Eleven had a big day ahead of her in the morning and Mike didn't mind going to bed early. Mike took a quick shower and came out to see Eleven sitting on the bed with her back to him.

"You ready to go to bed?" he asked. Eleven sniffled.

"Yeah," she said. Something was wrong in her voice.

"Is everything OK?" There was a long silence.

"It's been another year. I just realized it. As of today, it's been another year." Mike sat down on the bed next to Eleven and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"It's not too late. They'll find him.

"Who? Who's going to find him. It's been fifteen years. Everyone stopped looking… I just can't help but think that he's back in the Upside-Down."

"How would he get there? The monster is gone and the gate closed up. There's no way." Eleven sniffled again. Eleven turned her head to look at Mike. "Will Byers is perfectly fine," Mike said insistently.

"I know," Eleven said even though she wasn't sure. They sat in silence for another minute.

"Ready to go to bed?" Mike asked.

"Yes."

Alice Henderson stood at the edge of Lake Michigan, almost hypnotized by how the moonlight glanced off the water. It was the first time she had run away from home and she didn't really know what to do. She was about to start her last year of high school and her parents had gotten really angry at her for forgetting about all her summer homework.

"It's your last year. I can't believe you're dropping the ball now," her dad had said. Her mother hadn't really said anything, but she did just stand by and agree. They simply didn't understand. They didn't think about how that summer was her last chance to spend time with her friends.

"There's always next summer," her mother had said. While that was true, Alice knew she would have to be working all summer if she had any hope of paying tuition for one of the colleges her parents liked. Alice just needed to get away. She just needed a break. So she climbed out her window and went for a walk. Half an hour later, she found herself on the shores of the lake.

She didn't have anywhere else to go, so she just sat down in the sand and started thinking out loud;

"I'll get the work done. Why won't they just leave me be?" Alice asked herself. "They can be so annoying some times." The ground shook subtly, almost as if an earthquake was rolling in but much smaller.

"I can help you," said a deep and powerful voice. Alice quickly stood up and started looking for the source. After about a minute, she wasn't entirely convinced that she had heard a voice at all.

"Hello?" she called out, just to make sure.

"I can help you," came the voice again. Alice still didn't see anyone but could tell that the voice was coming from the direction of the lake.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice faltering as fear grew inside her.

"It doesn't matter who I am. All that matters is that I can help you." The fear became too much. Alice turned and started to run back to the street but slipped on the sand. "You're angry at your parents. I can help," the voice said. Something changed in Alice in this moment. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a small amount of trust in the person who she couldn't see. She stopped running.

"You can get my parents off my back?" she asked.

"I can do so much more than that. Would you like to see?" Every part of Alice's brain was telling her to run away and forget about the disembodied voice in the water, but she chose to ignore that.

"Show me."

A/N: Please, please leave a review to let me know what you think. Reader reviews have played a major part in the outcome of my previous stories and this one is no different. Thanks for reading!