Connor did not need to turn around to face the woman the voice belonged in order to see who she was.

He knew very much who she was. "Glad to see you are still around." came her next remark.

Connor then turned around to face her. She still had her silly ponytail after all.

"Seriously Liz?" he began, "A ponytail?" he remarked with a raise brow, his arms still raised.

The female looked to him, and she then huffed a bit, running her hand through her ponytail, "Hey, you have no reason to complain about it. You're not around after all." she retorted a bit to Connor.

Connor felt a pang of guilt run through him, and he shook his head a bit.

"Sorry..." she apologized to him, "But you-"

"There is nothing to be sorry for," Connor forced an awkward smile on his face, "After all..." he sent a slight glance over to his friend, "It is the truth."

Marshall had enough, "Connor," he began, "Does anyone even bother to tell us what is going on?" he asked referring to him and their former assassin turned ally companion,

Connor cleared his throat, "Well... When... He took his place as Ruler of the Universe, after Exodus Day, I ran away. I just left."

"You broke Mom's heart that day," his sister confirmed, and she took a step forward and then pushed him with both hands.

A bit roughly too, as Connor lost balance briefly. "Well I am sorry a thousand times for that. I ran off because of Him."

The three all knew what Connor had meant.

All but the Silver Shadow, who sent confused looks to Marshall, "I am sorry," everyone turned their attention, "But who is this guy we're speaking of?"

Connor looked around and noted that all the guns and bows were still aimed at them.

His sister caught his gaze and looked around a bit, waving a hand as the weapons were lowered, "We can't talk here. Come back," she asked her brother, her eyes meeting his own "We need to talk."

She might have said this, but her eyes were saying something very different.

We miss you, they cried out to him, I miss you.

It didn't make much of a difference, as Connor had already made plans with his travel companions to head to his mother's.

"We already were planning to visit Mom..." Connor began, "She might be able to help us out."

"So I've heard."

"Excuse me?" he asked his sister softly.

Her brown eyes met his blue eyes, and she continued, "Word around is that an Avenger's child has been running around causing trouble. And since nobody with us is dumb enough to run around exposed like that I assumed that it had to be you."

"Hey I am not running around all willy nilly." he remarked as he folded his arms a bit.

Liz rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips as she then spoke up, "That's enough small talk," she dismissed, "We came because there was a disturbance in the area of a known Hydra Base. We found what we needed, so we are going to go." she then waved a hand to the others, and they all relaxed and began to walk back into the forest. 

Connor sighed as he then looked back to Marshall, who was still assisting the Silver Shadow in standing, and he made his way over to them, "We have to go with them." he spoke suddenly.

Marshall rose a brow, "Excuse me?"  he began softly, "I get it, she is your sister, but let's not-"

"Forget that they attacked us in the night." Elizabeth finished.

Connor nodded his head "I know, I get it. Not the best introduction to my sister, but I promise as long as she is there, then that means they are our best chance. Besides, you always said you wanted to meet my mother Mars." he remarked with a smirk.

Marshall furrowed his brows as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "Sorry! It's just..." he then shook his head, "I've heard so much about her, and she sounds waaaay cooler than my mother." he chuckled a bit.

"Yeah... Well now you can meet her man." he told the older male as the trio began to walk over

"Does she really never burn chocolate chip cookies?" he asked as his stomach growled.

"Last I remembered, yes. She does." he remarked happily to him.

"Count me in." he affirmed without hesitation.

"Oh? Change of heart?"

"No," Marshall looked to the Quinjet, "I am just really hungry right now."

Connor chose to ignore his own hunger, opting to laugh at his friend's one tracked mind. They soon stepped onto the hangar, where two men in bright blue and red uniforms relieved the two young men from holding Elizabeth.

Connor walked to a bench and sat down, buckling into the seat as he looked to Elizabeth as they laid her on a stretcher.

"Where are you taking her?" asked a rather nervous Marshall.

"Just to the gurney. She is malnourished, and needs an IV drip stat," one of men assured them, "She will be fine son. We'll take care of her."

Connor let his mind wander to the distant memories of his father- the amazing Spiderman.

The world may have known him as a great, young superhero, but Connor knew him better.

He was Peter Parker, nerdy photographer extraordinaire, his father. He remembered his dark hair, swishing in the wind, his eyes, sparkling in the sun, and his smile...

A smile that could melt away any fear that Connor felt.

A smile that he would never see again.

Marshall then walked over to Connor, "So," he began, taking the seat next to Connor, "How are you feeling?" he began to fumble with the seatbelt, appearing to struggle with adjusting the straps.

Connor looked over to him, "I feel fine Mars." Connor brushed him off, not wanting to talk to him at all.

Marshall rolled his eyes, "Oh please," he began, "You and I both know that you're thinking of your father."

Connor let out a breath and nodded, "Yeah I am. I miss him, you know?"

Yes, Connor may have never spoke about Peter Parker being his father, but he had often told Marshall about the kind of man his father was. 

"Hey," Marshall rested a hand on his shoulder, having finally buckled the seatbelt, "I am here for you. If you ever need to, you know... Vent."

Connor looked up to him and smiled softly, "Yeah, you're right." he remarked, running a hand through his hair. 

Nudging Marshall with an elbow, he then added "I have a big idiot like you to confide in."

"Hey! Don't call me an idiot." Marshall snapped back to him.

Liz soon walked onto the jet, "Alright, everyone buckle up," she told them as she sat down near Connor, a good two feet between them, "We are ready to fly."

----------

The flight was not too bad, except for the part when they had to go in stealth because of the giant elephant in the room.

The Quinjets... Were not exactly in a public domain, and Connor had heard from someone near him talk about how bumpy it gets  when it goes invisible.

It made him wonder why they had not gotten a mechanic who knew how to fix the problem.

Connor looked over to his sister, "How is Mom?" he asked after a while, trying to ease the awkward tension and silence between them.

"Oh you know," Liz began as the jet passed through another bout of turbulence, "Living. She is doing fine Chrissy, thanks for asking." she rolled her eyes at him. 

Connor sighed, "Look, I am sorry that I ran away, I just-"

"'Wanted to keep us safe'? Connor," Liz looked over to him, "What Mom needed on D Day was the love and support of all of her children. Keyword Connor, ALL. You left us, without a word. Mom... She just kept it in after you left." she looked to the ground as she gripped her knees tightly.

Connor had flinched in guilt as she spoke. She was right, he wasn't thinking when he ran off. Back then, he wanted to protect his family by going away, but in doing so... He had hurt some of the most important people in his life.

"Liz," Connor began with a shaky breath, hesitantly reaching a hand out to her, "I am so, so, sorry... I just wanted to keep Mom and you all safe." he confessed softly, his hand resting on top of one of her own. 

Liz shook her head, "We needed you more than ever back then..." she remarked as she then looked towards the cockpit, removing her hand from his. "What is our eta?" she asked the pilot.

"Eta is ten minutes if all goes perfectly." the pilot told her, raising a thumb to signal that it was all good so far.

"Liz," Connor began, "I need to see Mom as soon as we get there."

She looked over to him, "I dunno Connor... Do you deserve it?" she asked him, straightening her posture and folding her arms across her chest.

Connor didn't hesitate "Of course not. I ran away for nearly a decade. And I honestly never thought that I would see you guys ever again." he spoke truthfully.

"You don't really mean that." Liz let out a scoff, shaking her head slightly.

"I really do think so." Connor admitted to her.

Liz said nothing else, her gaze had returned to the floor, as if what he had said was something so life changing.

But it wasn't.

What was though was going to be the rest of that day.

NOTES:

I am SO, SO sorry for nearly a year delay of this! I moved nearly a year ago and just my mind ran out of juice for much writing! I also was not in the best mindset to write a while ago, so I needed to get that sorted out.

Anyways, this chapter is a bit slower but it is important buildup for the family reunion. I am also working more characters into the story, so all y'all's OCs will make their way into the book I promise!

Thanks for reading/watching this unfold and see you next time!