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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟔
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐓'𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍

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𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑

Trina sat beside Natasha in the sofa chair she pulled over to the desk. Both of them were listening to their allies' reports from the past week. The Felicity woman couldn't believe it had been five years since she watched Orion disappear right in front of her. She had spent half a decade without him. That thought alone was enough to make the ache in her chest return. She missed him more than she could ever imagine. And even though she had found new friends and allies with the Avengers and Guardians, Trina never felt more alone. After all, Orion was the one who knew her best other than her family.

It had been a very long time since Trina had seen her family and she wasn't ready to find them. Well, she wasn't ready to find some of them. The last time she saw most of them they had a very big fight. They couldn't agree on what they wanted, so they decided to part ways. The Felicity woman kept in touch with two of them, one more than the other. That was until she found out they were both keeping something from her.

The Felicity woman's attention soon returned to the situation at hand by the sound of Rocket's voice. "Yeah. We boarded that highly-suspect warship Danvers pinged."

"It was an infectious garbage scow," Nebula announced without even attempting to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"So, thanks for the hot tip."

"Well, you were closer," Carol muttered under her breath.

Rocket couldn't help but scoff as she glared at the Danvers woman's holographic image. "Yeah. And now we smell like garbage."

"You get a reading on those tremors?" Natasha asked, moving the conversation to a new topic.

"It was a mild subduction under the African plate," Okoye explained while ignoring the raccoon's quiet complaints.

"Do we have a visual? How are we handling it?" the Romanoff woman asked as she leaned against the desk in front of her

"Nat. It's an earthquake under the ocean. We handle it by not handling it."

Even though she did her best to hide it, the Felicity woman saw the hint of defeat in Natasha's eyes. And she knew she wasn't the only one who saw it. So in an attempt to get everyone's attention off the Romanoff woman, Trina looked at the holograms and began speaking. "Carol, are we seeing you here next month?"

Trina didn't need to hear Captain Marvel's next words to know her answer. The look on her face was enough to tell her everything. "Not likely."

"What? You gonna get another haircut?"

"Listen, fur face. I'm covering a lot of territory. The things that are happening on Earth are happening everywhere. On thousands of planets."

"Alright, alright. That's a good point. That's a good point."

After rolling her eyes at Rocket, Carol's attention returned to Trina. "So, you might not see me for a long time."

All the Felicity woman could do was nod in response, hoping that would hide the disappointment she was feeling. Carol was the one she bonded with the most, both feeling isolated among the Avengers. And now the Danvers woman would be off-world for an unknown amount of time. That was enough to make Trina feel more alone than before.

"Alright. Uh, well...this channel's always active," Natasha announced, drawing all attention back to her, "so, if anything goes sideways...anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't...comes through me."

It wasn't long after that when they all longed off except for Rodey, who looked as though he wanted to be anywhere but there. Because Natasha's eyes were locked on her sandwich, she didn't notice his presence. That was until Trina tapped the Romanoff woman on the shoulder, causing her to look up at the holographic image in front of her.

Natasha just stared at Rhodey for a moment, confused as to why he was still logged onto the channel. But she quickly shook it off and opened her mouth to speak. "Where are you?"

"Mexico," the Rhodes man said before letting out a long sigh, "the Federales found a room full of bodies. Looks like a bunch of cartel guys...never even had a chance to get their guns off."

"It's probably a rival gang," Natasha responded as she looked back down at the desk in front of her, completely unaware of Trina and Rhodey sharing a concerned look. Even though the Felicity woman had no idea what he found, she knew that what the Rhodes man said next wasn't going to be good.

"Except it isn't. It's definitely Barton," Rhodey declared, drawing the Romanoff woman's attention back to him before he continued speaking, "what he's done here, what he's been doing for the last few years. I mean the scene that he left...I gotta tell you, there's a part of me that doesn't even wanna find him. And I can't even imagine what his sudden reappearance will do to Charlie."

Trina didn't know what to think after taking in the new information. She couldn't believe that it was discovered that Charlie's father was alive after five years of thinking he was another one of Thanos' victims. The Felicity woman was happy with the discovery, knowing that the Barton woman needed some good news. They all did. However, she was also jealous that Clint suddenly reappeared and Orion was still lost to her. But by Natasha's reaction, something was telling Trina that Clint's reappearance wasn't as sudden as she thought.

The Romanoff woman was staring down at her plate while trying to hold back her tears. Trina could tell that a million thoughts were bouncing around in her head as she took a bite of her sandwich. Even though the Felicity woman had a hard time reading the former assassin, Trina knew one thing from the way her friend was reacting. Natasha already knew that Clint was still alive and she knew what he was up to.

"Will you find out where he's going next?" the Romanoff woman asked after finally looking up to meet Rhodey's uncertain gaze, "please?"

The only response she received from the Rhodes man was a small nod before he disappeared. Trina just stared at where the War Machine once stood until she gathered enough courage to look over at Natasha. The Romanoff woman had her head in her hands as she tried her best to control her emotions, only to fail. The silence surrounded them for a moment longer before the Felicity woman gathered enough courage to speak. "How long have you known Clint was alive?"

Trina's question caught Natasha off guard, causing the latter to stare at the raven-haired woman with a shocked expression on her face. That lasted for what felt like an eternity before the redheaded woman responded. "I've always known."

"Then why does Charlie think he's gone?"

"He's not in the right headspace. If I'm being honest, neither of them are. It's better for her to think he was snapped."

"Charlie's a grown woman. Don't you think she should decide that for herself?" the Felicity woman retaliated, taking Natasha by surprise once again. Trina studied all the emotions on the Romanoff woman's face for a long moment before letting out a long sigh. "Take it from me, Nat. You might think keeping secrets from someone you love will protect them, but it'll always cause more harm than good. It's better for everyone if she knows the truth. Charlie needs to know that her father's alive."

Their conversation was soon cut short by approaching footsteps. When they turned toward the source of the sound, they found Steve walking over to them with a sad smile on his face. "You know, I'd offer to cook you both dinner, but you seem pretty miserable already."

A somewhat forced smile appeared on the Romanoff woman's lips as she leaned back in her chair and put her feet on the table. "You here to do your laundry?"

"And to see a friend."

"Clearly, your friend is fine," Natasha retaliated while interlacing her fingers and placing them in her lap.

"I'll give you guys a second to catch up," Trina told them before getting to her feet and walking into the other room.

A small sigh passed over her lips as she sat down on one of the couches in the living room. The Felicity woman let the silence surround her for a moment before her hand moved toward her pocket without her telling it to. It wasn't long after that when she pulled out the picture she'd kept by her side for the last five years. Tears instantly filled her eyes as she stared at the image of her and Orion. It was taken right after he asked her why she didn't age. If Trina was being honest, she was surprised it took him sixteen years to ask that question. She was also surprised by how well he took the truth. She thought he'd be scared of her or want to leave. But he accepted it without an ounce of hesitation. He accepted her.

And then the accident occurred a week later. Trina should've seen the signs. She should've noticed their lawn suddenly looking greener or how flowers seemed to bloom instantaneously when he walked past them. But the Felicity woman chose to ignore it, wanting to believe that her son was just a normal human. But he was far from it. And that was why they were perfect for each other.

It wasn't long before Trina heard a new voice coming from the next room, one she had never heard before. She didn't hesitate to put her picture back into her pocket and get to her feet. After wiping away her tears, the Felicity woman walked back into the room where she left Natasha and Steve.

"Uh, is anyone home? This is, uh, Scott Lang," a man said as the two Avengers stared at the screen in front of them with shocked looks on their faces, "we met a few years ago at the airport in Germany. I was the guy that got really big. I had a mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

"Isn't that guy also supposed to be dead?" Trina questioned, once again angry that someone else was given a second chance who wasn't Orion.

"Is this an old message?" Steve questioned while getting to his feet without taking his eyes off the screen in front of him.

Natasha soon copied the Man Out of Time's actions as she stared at the man who continued to wave his arms around in front of the camera. "It's the front gate."

After allowing Scott to enter the Compound, they all stood around in the conference room. Trina, Steve, and Natasha watched in silence as the Lang man paced in front of them while muttering under his breath. That lasted for what felt like an eternity before the Rogers man decided it was time to break the silence surrounding them.

"Scott," Steve called out, making the man in question stop in his tracks and look over at him, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," the Lang man responded while rubbing his hands down the sides of his face. It wasn't long after that when he let out a long sigh and looked back up to meet their gazes. "Have any of you guys studied quantum physics?"

Confused looks instantly appeared on Trina and Steve's faces while Natasha opened her mouth to respond. "Only to make conversation."

"Alright, so, five years ago, right before...Thanos...I was in a place called the quantum realm. The quantum realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small," Scott explained while looking between the three heroes in front of him, who all still looked incredibly lost. But despite that, the Lang man continued speaking. "Hope. She's my, um...she was my...she was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened...and I got stuck in there."

"I'm sorry, that must've been a long five years," Trina responded while still trying to comprehend everything she had just been told.

"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours. See, the rules of the quantum realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable," Scott explained, causing Steve and Natasha to exchange a look. It wasn't long after that when the Felicity woman noticed the Lang man's attention land on something behind them. "Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving."

Without waiting for a response, Scott rushed across the room and grabbed half of Natasha's sandwich. The three heroes just watched him eat like it was his first meal in forever. That only lasted for another moment before Steve opened his mouth to speak. "Scott. What're you talking about?"

"So, what I'm saying is, time works differently in the quantum realm. The only problem is right now we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did?" the Lang man explained while continuing to eat the sandwich without a second thought, "I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos and we could navigate it? What if there was a way that we could enter the quantum realm at a certain point in time but then exit the quantum realm at another point in time? Like...like before Thanos."

"Wait. Are you talking about a time machine?" the Rogers man questioned while Trina continued to stare at Scott as if he had grown a second head.

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. This is more like a..." the Lang man trailed off before taking another bite of his sandwich and gathering his thoughts. It wasn't long after that when he let out a long sigh. "Yeah. Like a time machine. I know, it's crazy. It's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be...some way...it's crazy."

"Scott," Natasha called out, drawing everyone's attention toward her before she continued speaking, "I get emails from a raccoon...so nothing sounds crazy anymore."

Scott just stared at her with a hint of confusion in his eyes before he quickly shook it off. He looked between the three people standing in front of him for a moment before finally responding. "So, who do we talk to about this?"

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