A/N: so, after one round of not having any stranger things characters in it, I think I will reassure you that this is about stranger things and not some random story that has come out of my head. Please R&R as my payment is your interaction with the story.

The sun fired its warm rays through the branches of the trees, the light summer wind causing the dappling pattern on the walls of the cabin to undulate and lurch as though it were alive. The bright blue sky hung lazily over the town, children played, cyclists cycled and swimmers swam in the area, not a stone out of place. The warm oak of the cabin creaked and groaned as a certain 13 year old girl walked out from her bedroom. Her bare feet making light pattering noises as she furtively moved around to the kitchen and opening the fridge took out the telltale yellow cardboard box filled with Eggos.

"When were you going to wake me up" a gruff voice said in the doorway to the kitchen.

"When you got up" the girl quipped, not looking away from the toaster.

Hopper ruffled his adoptive daughter's short hair as he stole one of her waffles from her plate, earning him a death glare from eleven.

"Mike is coming" she stated

"When was this a thing?" hopper asked, looking quizzically at the short brunette.

"You agreed to it last week, 'once a week on Saturday'" she imitated in his gruff voice, making the chief chuckle.

"Alright, when is he coming?"

On cue, the familiar knock on the door of the cabin signalled a presence at the door.

"Speak of the dev..." Hopper started before the door flung open and the two teens were both flung down the stairs and onto the dirt floor of the forest.

"El!" mike said, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead before being enveloped by several more kisses from eleven herself.

"Hey!" hopper shouted, making the two teens jump from their entangled positions.

"No funny business" he glared more at mike than at eleven.

The three boys climbed down the steps leading from the plane cabin, each wearing their signature navy blue overcoat their mother had given to them many years ago. An imposing figure stood by the door leading onto the runway, his white hair standing out amongst the hats and heads of the visitors. The three marched towards the man, heads held high and glares fixed on the tall man, at about equal height to Edward.

The man extended his hand to Edward.

"My son" he said; his voice soft and quiet.

"Father" Edward curtly replied.

"My, My you lot have changed since I last saw you" he said, embracing his eldest in a warm hug as the boy stood straight and firm.

"Considering the last time you saw us I was a year old I say we would've" Luke snapped back at him, earning him a glare from the elder two.

Seeing his son's glares he started "no, your brother is right, I have not been there for you at all over the past years and I am truly sorry about that. I have supplied you with money and resources but the work I was doing was far too dangerous to consider keeping you close, that's why I sent you to the islands. But now you have reached a good age where you can, quite clearly, defend yourselves; the time has come for me to be a father once again and to show you what I have been working on all these years. I don't ask for your forgiveness as that is your decision to make, but I hope to at least have some relationship with my children, even if they hate me to their core." He finished his speech looking down at his polished shoes. Edward went to shake his hand but pulled him close so that only he could hear what he was saying.

"I am sure you are aware of what happened on those islands and how our expertise in chemistry and science aided us" Brenner nodded. "Then I am also sure you are aware of what we are capable of" He nodded again, "Then I need not to remind you that if you hurt wither Matt or Luke they will be scraping you off of the walls for the next three months" He finished his threat by breaking the handshake and walking straight past his father, followed by his younger brothers.

The car journey was short, the buildings and huts of the town whizzing past in a blur. Edward was riding shotgun, his dark brown hair moving every so often as he brushed through it, a habit he had when he was nervous.

The brick house stood in a clearing on the outskirts of town, out of view and out of sight of anybody it was quite a way from any snooping local or any lost hiker. The place was nice, in all honesty, the ivy climbing up the walls contrasting the red brick perfectly. The wide windows letting in lots of natural light and the numerous chimneys sticking out at the top, like guns in a parade of soldiers, indicating the age of the house.

"Welcome home" Their father said, opening the door with his key and keeping it open as the boys carried their bags with them and went into the house.

"Edward's room is on the left, Matthews is in the middle and Luke's is on the right hand side. Dinner is at five o'clock and ill talk to you about your school then."

The boys shuffled up the stairs, Edward entering his room first. The deep green walls were plastered with various posters and flags from the area. A British flag twinned with an American flag hung proud on the wall above the bed, clearly an addition from his father to help him settle in. He took his bag and dumped it on the bed before taking his telescope from it and setting it up on the wide window, the lack of trees giving him a perfect view of the sky. Next he took his old cadet uniform and hung that neatly into the closet, ensuring no creases or folds were left in the material. He took the rifle, the SLR, from his bag that he had somehow managed to sneak in and hung that on the wall above his bed as a souvenir from the war. Next came his medals, the green and blue medal shining bright next to the maroon cross, each stood proud on their mounts as he hung that directly above the rifle. A framed picture of his mother and brothers went on the bed-stand along with a framed picture of his childhood sweetheart. The rest of the day was pent moving around furniture and putting together deconstructed items, allocating them to specific points in the room. Eventually he finished, slumping down on the bed, exhausted from a combination of jetlag and the physical exertion.

Dinner was a curtly affair, the three sat at the wooden table, still unsure about their father who was now in charge of them.

"So, have you managed to move in properly?" Their father asked, met with nods from the boys.

"What do you do?" Matthew asked, looking up from his meal.

"I used to work at the lab down the road, however that project was cancelled. I know work as a doctor in the local hospital"

"What did you do in the lab?" Luke asked.

"I can't tell you that, state secret" he replied continuing with his meal.

"When do we start at school?" Edward asked, wanting a bit of normalcy in his life.

"Next week, it's the school holidays so you'll have time to go around the neighbourhood and speak to the children, even make some new friends" Brenner said, his voice hopeful.

"I've bought you some bikes, that seems to be the mode of transport around here for the kids, the store here is in the centre of town"

After the more than awkward dinner, the boys went upstairs to their rooms.

"What do you think of him?" Luke asked.

"I don't think he's too bad I'm willing to give him a chance. If he sent us away genuinely because what he was doing here is dangerous then fair enough, wouldn't you do that to your own kids?" Matthew replied.

"We shall see" Edward said, deep in thought.

"Where are you going?" Matthew asked, as his brother walked towards his room.

"To think!"

El and mike sat watching the TV for the majority of the day, despite soaps not being his favourite thing, Mike was more than happy to sit there and watch the shows whilst El watched wide eyed and intent on the little screen in the corner of the room. Ever keeping a watchful gaze, hopper sat in the kitchen like a hawk, every so often taking a sip of beer from the can he kept within reach. The sun drifted below the horizon and Mike kissed El on the cheek before beginning the cycle home. He walked down the dirt track leading to the road, suddenly the snap of a twig made the young teen whip round, flashlight pointed and fist raised to defend him.

"Alright mate, I'm not going to hurt you" a voice with a strange accent.

"What do you want?" Mike asked, the fear visible in his voice as he shook mildly, the events of the past two years being experience enough for him to expect the unexpected.

The figure stepped out from a bush, shielding his eyes from the glaring light coming from the flashlight.

"Who are you?" mike demanded.

"Luke Brenner"

The name hit mike like a sack of stones, that evil name echoed in his head, the memories of the school building, the white coats, the torture inflicted by that name made his blood boil.

"Who are you?" Luke asked.

"Michael wheeler" Mike replied, the anger in his voice now replacing the fear.

"What do you want?" Mike demanded yet again.

"To get into the town, I'm lost I'm afraid" the voice replied.

"How old are you?"

"14, what about you?" the voice asked

"14" mike simply stated he's the same age as me, of course he can't be of any relation to that monster Mike relaxed, his conclusion being reached.

"The main town is about 4 miles that way, care to walk with me?" Mike asked.

"Sure!" Luke joined him trudging through the thick mud of the path. The two walked in silence for a bit before mike spoke up.

"So I've not seen you before, are you new around here?"

"Yes actually, I've just moved from the Falkland islands to live with our father"

"I remember there being a lot of trouble down there a couple of years ago, was it exciting?" Mike asked, silently chuckling to himself as he reminisced about the events of the past few months.

"Yes, I fought in it. Falkland's defence association see, the cadets banded together and fought in an almost guerrilla war with the invaders. A bit too exciting if you ask me."

"You fought in it?" mike asked, astounded.

"Yes, as did my two older brothers, we're all were part of the cadets and we felt it was our duty to stand up and fight to defend our mother" his face grew solemn.

"Is your mother still in the islands?" mike asked, oblivious.

"I guess you could say that, she died three weeks ago. She had been very ill for the past four years; we had to care for her every day. Drove Edward up the wall, but we still loved her."

"I'm sorry for your loss" Mike said as they fell silent for a while longer.

"What about you, anything interesting happened around these parts recently?" Luke asked.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me" was all that Mike responded with.

"How exactly did you fight the argentines?" Mike asked quickly to change the subject.

"We started a bombing campaign on the soldiers, Edward is very good at chemistry and Matthew is very good at shooting, as am I, so together we set up a routine. Luke would set up the bomb, I would plant it and Matthew would get rid of any nearby troops. Then, when the others came and inspected the site Edward set it off. It was quite successful, but very deadly."

"Wait, so you've killed people?" Mike asked, his eyes growing wide.

"Unfortunately yes, it's not something I'm proud of" Luke responded, looking down at his feet.

"We stole the rifles from our cadet base and off some unsuspecting soldiers, one night we launched an attack on one of their bases. It didn't end very well. Yes we did more damage to them than they did to us, but I lost a few good friends on that night, we were running down a hill to get away when they opened up with mortar and artillery fire. We didn't stand a chance." Luke finished, his eyes growing darker by the second.

"How many?" Mike asked, unsure whether he should've dared to ask.

"We killed 134 of them, or so said the official report. I reckon we got more but we will never know. They got seven of us, with an additional 8 injuries including my brother Edward."

"What happened to him?" Mike asked.

"When the artillery fired on us, he went back to pick up the wounded and a soldier shot him in the chest as they came over the ridge, he survived but was hurt bad" Luke finished.

"You said you live with your father now, what does he do?" Mike said to change the subject yet again.

"Yes, his name is Mark Brenner and he's a doctor at the state hospital. He says he worked for the government previously but he didn't say what as"

Mikes blood ran cold, the hot feeling in his chest spreading now so that all he could see was red.

"Your father is a monster" Mike said, the outburst startling Luke.

"What?" he asked, looking at the smaller boy in disbelief. "I knew he was a bit of prick for sending us away but that's too far"

"Your father experimented on children; he tortured them and cut them open just to see what they could do"

"Great; and how do you know this exactly?" Luke asked; his fist clenched ready to knock the dark haired boy down.

Unsure whether or not he should continue and risk El's exposure he replied simply "I just know okay"

"Right... you can't leave me on that, why exactly should I believe you?"

"Because if you don't you will continue to live with that monster and he will continue to torture children and continue to..." a loud whack interrupted mikes tirade of accusations.

"Right, I'm going to give you one more chance to shut the fuck up before I put you in hospital, got me?" Luke asked a now dazed mike, the right side of his face swelling and darkening with a bruise.

"Listen here, if you get me evidence that he has done what you have said he has done, then fair enough. But if you insult my family like that, my only living family then you get what you deserve. Mess with us again and you will regret it. Until then, I'll see you about," Luke let go of mike's collar, throwing him to the ground and into a muddy puddle.

Unfinished, mike stood up and stumbled a bit before picking up the biggest stick he could find and smashing it on Luke's head. The rotten branch broke in half over his head as Luke stopped walking and slowly turned around, Mike still wielding the now useless branch. It all happened in less than a second, Luke's arm whipped round and caught mike in the jaw, shattering it. Next he caught the sloppy punch mike hastily threw at him and smashed his arm against his knee, shattering it on impact. Finally he head butted the teen knocking him out cold and leaving him on the forest floor.

Luke ran to the nearest telephone box and rung an ambulance.

"A kid's been beaten up on the forest path by Carlos road. Broken arm, fractured jaw and unconscious but breathing." He left the phone hang from the box as he trudged away from the forest, back towards his house.

"Meeting now" Luke called as he went straight past his gambling brothers and up the stairs to their rooms.

"Some kid came up to me in the forest and said our father was a monster, said he experimented on kids whilst he worked for the government" Luke said once they had some privacy.

"What did you do?" Matthew asked.

"I put him on his backside and told him to come back with some evidence if he wanted to talk to me like that again" Luke replied, sipping a glass of water.

Edward who was leaning against the doorway to the room with his arms folded asked. "I feel as though there is more to this than it seems, would I be correct in presuming so?"

"That you would, dear brother, this kid then thought it would be a good idea to smash a rotten branch over my head. He now has a shattered jaw and arm with a painful concussion" Luke stated in a matter of fact way before sipping from his glass once more. "Nobody talks about our family like that, even if he is the worst of it, still doesn't change that fact" Luke finished.

"What if he had done those things that kid had accused him of?" Edward asked

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response" Luke said, shaking his head.

"If he had done those things, and that's a big if, then he would've done it for his country wouldn't he?" Edward said, unfolding his arms.

"It's still torturing a child mate" Luke replied.

"When you think of the things we have done for our country, that pales in comparison" With this Edward left the room, a dark feeling swallowing the room.

"I agree with you" Matthew said, re-assuring his brother.

Downing the drink in one, Luke got up from the bed and headed to his father's office hoping to find out anything about his job at Hawkins lab.

Paper after paper he filed through, mainly medical notes with Latin words he didn't understand, but every so often he would get a sheet of paper with the Hawkins lab stamp branded on it.

Hawkins lab department of energy – coffee expenditure

"Nope" he thought to himself

Hawkins lab department of energy – Donut expenditure

"$400? How much does this man spend on donuts per year?" Luke thought to himself.

Hawkins lab department of energy – project 011

"Bingo!" Luke thought.

He began to read the passage, the flimsy paper combined with a few pictures of an emaciated girl with short hair making for shocking reading. His eyes scanned left to right and his face turned slowly into a scowl before his fists started shaking in rage. The wheeler kid was right. That man was a monster. The door opening broke him out of his anger.

"Luke, what are you doing here?" Brenner asked

"You are evil, you know that right?" he stated, his fists still shaking in anger.

"What are you talking about" His father replied, his voice cool and calming.

"Patient 011 subjected to electroshock therapy for refusing to comply, age seven. Patient 011 subjected to experimental chemo therapy – age ten. Patient 011 subjected to experimental chemical sterilisation – age eleven. Need I go on?" the fury in his eyes burned the elder man's flesh all but literally.

"Luke, you of all people should know what we have to do for our country"

"No, you are not making that comparison" he half screamed. "I fought men that had signed up with the knowledge of what they were getting up to, not torturing kids with some special abilities for the sheer hell of it!" his voice now reaching an ear piercing volume, making the walls reverberate with its ferocity. "I nearly killed a kid today, who dared to call you a monster. Now I find out that you really are one. Hell I should be the one pointing a gun at your blasted head this very instant"

"You know that won't achieve anything" a second voice spoke out from the door, making both of them swivel round. "This patient has special gifts, gifts that could bring the cold war to an end, gifts that could've saved mama and many others like her." Edward said, his face glaring at his youngest brother.

"Why the hell should she is tortured for them then?" Luke half screamed. "Take a look for you" he threw the folder at Edward who promptly picked it up and briefly skimmed over it.

"Well well, this is pretty horrific" he said, clicking his tongue in mock disapproval before taking the folder and throwing it onto the roaring fire. "But nonetheless justifiable."

"Look at what we have done, for our country, we have killed people, we have blown their bodies to pieces and scattered them in fields, courtyards and roads. If you think this man is a monster then I can assure you the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree" this final message stung Luke, his heart growing heavy with guilt over his deeds.

"Luke, see this from our perspective, I was merely following orders to protect my country, very much like you were doing to protect yours; we are on the same side. My call to serve just materialised in a different form than to yours" the cold voice said, smooth and as slippery as a rattlesnake.

"Okay I believe you" Luke lied, shaking his father, no, the monster's hand as he slowly slipped out of the door and into the cool night.