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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐂𝐓

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The sun was shining high in the sky while a gentle breeze cut through the air. It had been a long time since a nice day occurred in Boston, Massachusetts and the residents were determined to make the most out of it. The public pools opened up for the first time in a very long time and the ice cream trucks were making their way down every street they could. All the kids were outside playing in the afternoon sun while the teens were at the pool or with their friends. It was such a nice Saturday and everyone wanted to be out in the world. Well, almost everyone.

Unlike everyone he knew in town, Orion was at home like every other day he didn't have school. He had friends, but he only saw them at school. The Felicity boy was never very social and would much rather be on his own. So instead of running around Boston with his friends, he was in his garage working on the car he saved up to buy for the last two years. It was his pride and joy and he loved working on it every chance he could. He always thought his mother would try to push him to explore Boston and make friends. But to his surprise, Trina didn't mind him staying at home. Unknown to her son, it allowed her to keep an eye on him after the incident that occurred a few years ago. Orion didn't remember much about it, just that he woke up one morning in a tree instead of his bed. But Trina remembered it very clearly and always kept him close ever since. Even if that meant keeping her son from going out in the world on his own.

A smile appeared on Trina's lips as she watched her son work from the doorway, loving the intent focus in his eyes. This was the only time she ever saw him sitting still. He was always fidgeting and could never just sit and enjoy the moment. The Felicity woman noticed soon after adopting him that Orion always needed to keep busy. But Trina never minded that. It had been a long time since she had someone in her life she cared this much about and she would do anything to make her son happy. Even if that meant revealing why she didn't age when he turned fourteen. The Felicity woman thought Orion would be scared of her, but the truth only made him love her more and made their bond grow stronger.

It wasn't long before Orion sensed his mother's presence, causing him to look up to meet her gaze. The smile on Trina's face did nothing but grow after their eyes met. Soon she found herself walking through the garage to sit down in the camping chair a few feet away from the Felicity boy. Orion didn't hesitate to return his mother's smile before going back to working on his car. They let the silence surround them for another moment before the Felicity boy remembered the question he wanted to ask Trina. It had been on his mind for a long time, but he was always scared to ask her. Orion didn't know how she would react and thought it was best to keep his question to himself for a while. But now he knew it was now or never.

So after letting out a long sigh, Orion placed his wrench on the floor and turned to face Trina. "Hey, Mom. Can I ask you something?"

"You know you can, Ri," the Felicity woman responded before noticing the nervous look on her son's face, "is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Orion announced while trying his best to keep the confidence that he managed to find, "it's just my class is going to be taking a weekend tour of UMass in two weeks. Would I be able to go?"

"Of course, you can go! I don't know why you were so nervous to ask," Trina announced, earning a large smile from her son that she gladly returned, "I'll just have to get a half-day sub for the Friday before so that we can get over there in time."

Confusion instantly flowed through Trina's veins when she saw the smile on Orion's face fall. He just stared at his mother in silence for what felt like an eternity before finally breaking the silence surrounding them. "Actually this trip is for students and teachers only."

All the emotions faded from the Felicity woman's body as she stared at her son. Her thoughts moved back to the incident, one that Trina would never forget. It terrified her enough to have Orion go to school alone, but she forced herself to deal with it. He had to go and she would see him later on in the day. Just the thought of the Felicity boy being away from her for two days terrified Trina. She wished it didn't. She wished that she could agree to let him go and live a normal life. But like always, her fear conquered everything else.

"Well, maybe we can do something fun here that weekend and go some other time," Trina suggested while trying her best not to show all the emotions she was feeling. 

"What are you so afraid of?" Orion asked without thinking, taking his mother by surprise. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment before the Felicity boy found the courage to continue speaking. "I'm almost eighteen, Mom. You need to start letting me do things on my own."

"It has nothing to do with your age, Ri. I know you're old enough to go out on your own," the Felicity woman responded while her son continued to stare at her with no emotion in his eyes, "but I don't know if I'm comfortable with you going away on a college tour for an entire weekend without me."

"When are you gonna start treating me like an adult?!" Orion snapped, shocking Trina even more.

The Felicity woman kept her eyes glued to her son for what felt like an eternity. She was unsure of what to make of their conversation. Orion had never acted like this before, which only meant this was something that he truly wanted to do. But at the same time, Trina wasn't ready to let him go. She didn't want him to grow up. So after letting out a long sigh, the raven-haired woman opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by a distant scream.

The tension between them soon disappeared as Trina and Orion shared a confused look. Not even a second after that passed when they ran out of their garage and down their driveway. But as soon as they reached the sidewalk, both of them wished they never left the house. People were starting to turn into what looked like dust and vanishing into thin air. Fear coursed through Trina's veins as she watched it happen to more and more people who were simply outside enjoying the nice day. She couldn't understand what was happening or why, all she knew was that she didn't know how to stop it. Even though the likelihood of herself being affected was small, the Felicity woman found herself looking down at her hand. She waited for it to transform into dust, but nothing happened. However, the wave of relief that washed over her soon vanished when she heard one simple word.

"Mom?"

Trina spun around faster than she thought possible before her eyes landed on Orion. The fear and panic within her soon returned when she found him staring at his hands. Terror filled his eyes as he watched it turn into dust before his arms were met with the same fate. His eyes moved to meet his mother's as the rest of his body followed suit. The two of them kept their gazes locked until Orion disappeared right before Trina's very eyes.

The Felicity woman just stared at where her son once stood for what felt like an eternity, unable to comprehend what just happened. It wasn't long after that when she sprinted into the house. A million thoughts ran through her head before they finally settled on one thing. She soon made her way into her room and grabbed a duffle bag from the back of her closet to pack her clothes. Determination flowed through her veins as her brain tried to figure out how she would track down her other family members. She hadn't talked to them in a very long time, but she had an idea where to start looking for them. Or at least she had an idea where to start looking for him. Trina knew once she found him again, it would be easier to track down the rest of their family. She just hoped he'd agree to help her.

Just as Trina finished packing and zipped up her bag, her attention was drawn to talking in the living room. Confusion flowed through her veins as she walked down the hall toward her destination. When she finally arrived, she found the TV still on and playing the news. Clips of what was happening around the world played on the screen. Trina was surprised to see that what was happening in her small neighborhood was happening everywhere. It wasn't long after that when the clips turned to show what happened earlier that day. Scenes of the Avengers fighting against aliens played across the screen. That was all it took for Trina to realize that she didn't need her family to figure out what was happening, she needed the Avengers. She had a feeling that they would have the answers to all of her questions.

All she had to do was find them.

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