"Yes. Okay. I'll keep Butterfingers company..." I assure Tony as I'm on a group call with my super family.

"If you need help on your Pre-Cal just give me a call." Bruce offers.

"Thanks, but I don't think the Hulk would be a very good tutor." I joke.

"There are some leftovers in the fridge or you can always order a pizza!" Natasha chimes in.

"Sweet." I reply, this time with my voice tinged with anxiety.

"Beth? What has you troubled?" Thor asks.

"I just worry about you guys..." I confess. "Just because you are the 'World's Greatest Superheroes' doesn't mean you can't get hurt." I say with a sigh. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Don't eat all the bacon without us, okay?" Steve says with a grin, reciting my family's customary goodbye when the go on missions.

"I'll make sure and save y'all some. Kill some mutants for me will ya?" I ask with a smile.

"You got it!" Clint says, and we hang up.

****************************************************

I was doing homework, which basically meant vegging-out in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream and my math workbook beside me. Not my fault both my tutors were on a mission saving the world. Besides, tomorrow's Saturday. My show ended. I glanced at the clock. Yikes, already two in the morning...better hit the hay. I set my bowl in the sink.

"Goodnight Jarvis!" I say to the ceiling.

"Goodnight, Miss Beth. Sleep well." he replies.

I throw on an old t-shirt and leggings and crawl into bed, praying that my family would come home safe and sound.

****************************************************

DING-DONG!...DING-DONG!...DING-DONG-DING-DONG-DING-DONG!

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" I shout as I flop out of bed. "Jeez...someone's excited..." I say to no one in particular as the jarring ring of the doorbell forces me out of bed. I look at the tiny video screen on the wall in the entryway. It's Pepper. Why is she so upset? I unlock the door.

"Pepper, what's wrong?" I ask. She's crying, holding a wadded up tissue in her hands.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. lost communication at eight o'clock this morning...They're...They're gone!" she splurts out between sobs as she grabs me in a crushing hug.

My world falls apart around me. They can't be gone...

I sob. Choking, painful sobs as Pepper and I hold each other and cry in the doorway where my one true family used to walk through.