I can't stop smiling as I get ready for the day. It's Friday, which means the class field trip to MOMA and my first official date with Peter. The thought alone is enough to make my heart start pounding in my chest, in the best way.

This is the first time I think I've ever felt like this in as long as I can remember, and I can't hide the bounce in my step as I head out to grab breakfast. Dad immediately takes notice and offers me a puzzled look. "What's got you in such a bright mood this early?"

"It's Friday." I retort as I steal a piece of his fruit. "What about you? Don't think I didn't notice that deep-in-thought look on you face when I walked in."

"Nothing, I just had a dream that I was thinking about." He pauses for a moment and looks at my watch. "I'm glad to see you're wearing the nano tech."

"Of course, you never know when something's gonna happen and you'll need a suit."

"Yeah, that's what I tell Pepper." He pauses for a moment, once again in thought. "I wanted to ask you, how would you feel about a sibling?"

"Wait, is—is Pepper—?"

"No, not that I know of. I just had a dream that we had a kid, and it just felt so real that it got me thinking. Still, I want to make sure you'd be okay with it if we did." He pauses and looks at me for an answer.

I stand there for a minute, silent and shocked. It's hard to figure out how to feel about the idea of a new sibling, but the longer I think about it, the more panicked Dad becomes. "Lia?" He calls after a few minutes of tense silence, which snaps me out of my thoughts as I launch myself to hug him.

"I think that whenever it happens, they'll be the luckiest kid in the world." I reply before pulling back to look him in the eye, "I mean, they'd have to be to have you as their dad. You've already been so amazing with me despite the time we missed, and they'll never have to wonder about how loved they are. Plus, Pepper is already an amazing mother to me."

A wide smile breaks across Dad's face at my reply. "They'd also be really lucky since they'll have you as a big sister, and I hope neither one of you will ever have to wonder how much I love you."

"Trust me, I haven't for a long time now." I smile at him before glancing at the clock. "Dang it, I've gotta run. Keep me updated if you find out anything about that dream."

"Will do, bug." He replies with one last hug before I rush out the door with my bag over my shoulder and a bounce in my step.

Ned and Peter are both waiting for me by my locker when I make it to school, and I can't stop the giddy smile that breaks across my face. "Hey, guys. Ready for a day full of staring at modern art and trying to make sense of it?" I ask as I approach.

"I'm more excited what I'm doing later today."

"Wait, isn't your guy's first date tonight?" Ned asks as he motions between Peter and myself. We just nod in confirmation. "Finally! I've been waiting for this since you both admitted to liking each other months ago."

"Yeah, but I'm just glad we're doing it—no matter how long it took." I smile as Peter's hand finds mine. "C'mon, we should probably get our seats. Otherwise, I'll be stuck listening to Flash pretend he knows everything about anything. Please, don't make me endure that again."

"I promise, we'll do our best to avoid that." Peter replies as we all head out to the bus and see our class mates happily chatting about our day free from class.

"Hey, Lia, losers." MJ smiles as both the boy's just shake their heads and start their own conversation. It makes me laugh slightly as I lean against the dingy, yellow bus next to her. "I brought your book back. You were right; it's pretty awesome."

"Yeah, my gran used to read it to me when I was a kid, just like she had done for my mum when she was little." My fingers trace over the worn, emerald green cover. "One time she told me this was my grandfather's favorite."

"I figured it was his, with the inscription on the letter and all." She shrugs, and my eyebrows scrunch in complete confusion.

"What letter?" I press after she goes quiet for a second too long. "MJ, what letter?"

"The one that was tucked into the binding." I watch in amazement as she takes the book, flips it open, and reveals a delicately folded piece of paper tucked into the torn inner binding of the book. "I didn't know what it was, but it looked like a letter. I'm not sure, and I'm not nosy, so I didn't read it."

"Says the girl who listens in on everyone's conversations." I mumble as my fingers trace over the folded edge peeking out.

"Hey, it's not my fault people talk loudly." She replies and shakes her head at me. "You'll have to tell me if it's anything interesting. I'm a sucker for a good mystery."

"Alright, everyone on the bus." Miss Oberlin calls as she uses her clipboard to herd students toward the entrance. I follow Peter and Ned without paying much attention as I carefully unfurl the paper that's long since turned yellow and curled at the edges.

"Here, you can take the window, babe." Peter says as he lets me slip past him into the seat. For a second, I almost forget about whatever was hidden in my gran's book and blush at the first use of a pet name from Peter. Although, he barely notices it as he and Ned resume their conversation.

My hands won't stop shaking as I settle into the uncomfortable bus seat and lean into Peter. For some reason, I'm nervous and feel like my stomach is tying into knots. It's suddenly combined with an overwhelming wave of nausea as I begin to read the delicately written words.

"My dearest granddaughter,

"Amelia, oh, how I wish these I could be with you right now to tell you all these things. It is a great misfortune of mine that time will keep me from doing so. It's such a funny thing, time. I can see so much yet experience so little of it.

"There is so much that you must know. Things that your mother shouldn't—couldn't understand or know, but you have to. You have the potential to change so much, my little star. It's a heavy burden to bear, but you must. The trials are only beginning for you.

"I believe it best for me to start at the beginning for you to understand. The world you know is not the only one, but merely like a single star inside a galaxy. I know this because your grandmother and I came from a far different place after ours was destroyed. Our hope was to create a new life, to raise our family in a safer place, and to forget the troubles that we had previously known. Although, I fear that those troubles were merely passed along to you.

"In the earth we once knew, people like us—people with unusual skills and abilities—were not as rare as this world. It was commonplace for people to be born with elemental control like you and I. It was one of the greatest differences I had to become accustomed to with this earth's limitations and fewer known base elements. For us, there was more than earth, wind, fire, and water, which were our undoing. It was also time, light, and shadow.

"Our detriment began when greed overtook the common man. Each one wanted more—more power, more strength, more of anything they set their eyes on. It started out simply, enhancements to gain control over one's complimenting element, but as greed does, it pushed us further.

"We knew of the war we fought, the one against the elements and Nature herself. It was not until it was too late that we realized that our greedy attempts to win more battles had lost us the war. The giants woke slowly, each one startling the next from their slumber and ripping apart our world bit by bit.

"I was merely a young soldier when I saw what was to come, too young and weak to be listened to by my superiors until the destruction overtook. Yet, I blame myself for not doing more to be heard. So I write this now in the hopes my mistakes won't be repeated.

"You, sweet girl, are going to face trials. I've seen it in glimpses, hints, and flashes in my visions. Nothing is clear when I look that far ahead. All I can tell you is you are the key to it all. Everything will eventually depend on you; so you must stay strong and persevere. Follow your heart when you're troubled, it is your compass in the dark, and above all else, keep him close. You'll need each other through it all.

"I wish I could tell you more, but my sight is limited and clouded with so many possibilities. Trust your instincts, little star, and know that even now, I am here and proud of the woman you have and will become.

"With the utmost love,

"Grandpa"

"What?" I question as I read the letter over what feels like a hundred times. It makes my head spin the more I try to make sense of it.

The earth we knew? Is there more than just this one?

Trials? Could he mean the REM trials?

Keep him close? That's the one that makes a little sense. After all, I don't have that many 'him's in my life he could be referring to. I'm assuming he means Dad or Peter, but which one is the real question.

It all dulls in my head for a moment as a sense of apprehension and nausea wash over like a tsunami, and ARTI plasters an alert across my lenses. "Bruce Banner detected through Tony's system."

"What?" I question out loud, which draws Peter and Ned's attention. They both look at me with confusion written across their features. "Bruce is back."

"How do you know? And hasn't he been gone for years?" Peter questions, and I feel the blood rushing to my cheeks despite the worry still looming over me like a cloud.

"Yeah, he's been gone since the Avengers fought Ultron, and I may still have kept ARTI tapped into Tony's system in case anything pops up."

"I thought you swore off snooping."

"Well, it's kind of like when Tony swore off dairy just before Ben & Jerry's named a flavor after him." I shrug with a forced meek smile. "I just can't figure out why he's suddenly here now."

Right then, that horrible sense of foreboding returns even stronger than before. Peter seems to feel it too judging by the panicked look we both give each other before looking for what could cause it.

Of course, it's kind of hard to miss it when the thing you're looking for is a giant ring shaped craft in the sky. "Why is it New York is always the target for crazy aliens?"

"I don't know, but I've always wondered the same thing with London in Doctor Who." Peter replies with a shaky smile as he turns to Ned. "Can you cause a distraction?"

Ned immediately nods with a crooked grin and stands up screaming, "We're all gonna die. There's a spaceship." The rest of the students follow him to the back of the bus to see the spaceship currently descending on New York.

I lose track of everything else that happens as I try to keep my focus on dragging Peter out the fire exit and holding onto the bus. "You got your suit?"

"Yeah. Do you?" Peter asks as he slips his mask on.

"Always." I retort and double tap my watch, which activates the nanotech that creates my suit. "Ooh, new car smell."

"It looks good on you."

"I know, but we can't get distracted right now." I retort. "Trackers should be showing Tony's location. We can head out and provide backup."

"Hold on." Peter doesn't hesitate to wrap an arm around my waist as he swings us off towards Dad's location. I make sure to keep an eye out for any signs of trouble or aliens.

It's not long before we find Dad in the park fighting a very massive, very ugly alien. "Incoming!" I shout as I let go of Peter and land on the big guy's back, while Peter stops him from crushing my Dad with his weird axe-hammer.

"Hey, man." He nods to the alien before turning back to Dad, "What's up, Mr. Stark?"

Dad quickly looks between the two of us, shock evident in his voice as he asks, "Kids? Where did you come from."

"The field trip to—MOMA." Peter shouts with a warble as he's thrown towards the fountain.

"You did not just throw my boyfriend." I shout and use my legs and shadows to push the alien into a chokehold.

Dad takes the chance to get in a few high-powered blasts. "Ugh. What is this guy's problem?" Peter calls as he webs himself closer, and I get flung off the alien's neck."

"He's from space." Dad replies as he keeps basting and circling him to hold his attention. "He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard."

"So we're suddenly living in a Harry Potter movie?" I call as I use my shadows to pin down his feet. Unfortunately, alien guy's hammer clamps around me, and it all goes into a haze of dirt and clumps of grass before I feel myself brushing past Dad as I'm launched through the air.

Luckily, Peter stops me before I get too far, and picks up half a taxi to launch down on ugly's head. We keep fighting it until a streak of maroon rushes past us. "Kids, that's the wizard."

"We're on it." We both call as Peter uses his webs and I use my shadows to follow after them as quickly as we can.

"What the heck is that?" I question as I notice a swirl of floating concrete chunks and a pale skinny dude on top of it. It's not until I get a glance at his face that I start to wonder if all aliens are that ugly. I mean, this dude looks like Squidward's ugly cousin.

Squid-dude notices Peter and I following and launches a billboard at us. "Hey, watch where you're vandalizing." I shout and push on in the hopes of catching up to 'the wizard' as Dad called him, but Squidy has other ideas—mainly stopping him from getting away.

He bends the street lamps to block the wizard's path, and it seems to catch on whatever's making him fly because the red cloak gets caught, which sends the wizard falling. Peter catches onto him with a web as I do the same with my shadows. "Got him. Now let's get him out of here before—"

Of course, like always things go wrong almost immediately. A beam of light catches both the wizard and myself that pulls us up towards the ring. "Pete?" I call as I hold tightly onto his web and he attaches another one to a street lamp in the hope of keeping the wizard and I from going any farther.

Squidy finally comes into view and dislodges the lamp, which makes Peter, the wizard, and I all get lifted toward the ship. "Mr. Stark, we're being beamed up!" Peter's voice shouts over the comms.

"Hang on, kid." Dad replies.

I try to keep my grip on both the wizard and Peter's web despite the opposing forces making them slip. "Pete? I'm losing the web."

"Hold on, Lia. Okay? Mr. Stark is on his way. Just don't let go."

"I'm trying, but it's slipping." I cry and feel my heart plummeting as we get closer to the open doors of the ship, which close the moment Squidy's inside too. So I'm left completely lost as the wizard disappears before I can even blink. "Peter? T-Tony? Can anyone hear me?" I whisper into the inky blackness as I press myself against the wall.

I don't know where he's going—or Squid-dude for that matter, but I follow them through the wide hallways, narrowly missing getting crushed by the closing doors. My heart pounds in my chest and my hands shake as I—for the first time in a long time—feel utterly terrified and alone. The sleek panels of my suit begin to light up with faint glows of silver, and I take a long moment to breathe through the panic and fear to bite down a growing Supernova.

My comms crackle slightly as I climb onto a platform to keep an eye on the pair below without getting caught. "Pete, y—gotta—go." Dad's voice mumbles through the static.

"You—save—and Lia—there." Peter's voice comes in reply.

The transmission crackles some more, and I can barely make any of it out except the odd word here or there. It pulls my focus as the worry begins to settle in. Outside the window in front of Squidy, I can see the atmosphere fading into the deep blue of space speckled with stars. All I can do is hope Dad and Peter are all right.

I know Dad won't just leave if he knows I'm here, and I feel guilty for the slight relief that thought brings. It's daunting to think even for a second that I'm facing this alone. Although, a part of me wishes that Peter and I weren't superheroes—and that we had just stayed on the bus.