She was in Math class when it happened, working on the Pythagorean Theorem. 

Estella had taken a two year break between eighth grade and Highschool. She didn't want to be two years younger than everyone. She finished eighth grade 2 years after her mother died, and decided she wanted a break from school. Tony couldn't are less if she did or not.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Pepper and Rhodey took more care of Estella than Tony did. Estella was fine with this; she adored Pepper and Rhodey.

But she missed Tony. He spent so much of his time with his weaponry and so caught up with women, that Estella got to see him only very rarely. She saw him drunk or escorting another girl from his house. She would make him food, or they would watch a movie. They weren't as close as they used to be. She missed that.

She wasn't angry with him--everyone had their own way of coping--as much as disappointed. He reminded her of Luz. She saw her mother in his eyes.
Tony saw the same thing Estella, which made it near impossible to look at the young girl.

It was Pepper and Rhodey, but mostly Pepper, who helped Estella cope. Plus Estella's dog, Luna, and her cat, Sol (Both were gifts from Tony, hoping they would make her stop crying. He didn't seem to understand that she wanted him). Pepper and Rhodey came to every art show, every school performance, every school night, every teacher conference. This made it easier for Estella to lie to her friends about who her parents were.

Pepper was easy to talk to, willing to wake up late at night to listen to Estella cry over the phone.

Rhodey took a different corse of action. He would take her out to play laser tag, go bowling, play some football. Sometimes, he would wake early in the morning, before the sun rose, to run while she took her scooter to school. He had stopped suggesting they take a car years ago.

"Now, who can tell me what the Pythagorean Theorem is?" The teacher, Mr. Dosey, asked. Estella raised her hand, along with two other kids.

"Ah, Ms. Torrez." It was rare for Estella to raise her hand, but she decided she'd be interactive today.

"The Pythagorean Theorem is a squared plus b squared equals c squared," she said, trying to push the tiredness from her voice.

"Yes, Ms. Torrez! Good!" A few kids around the classroom scribbled the formula down. Estella sighed, writing it down herself. Mr. Dosey droned on about the hypotenuse until the phone rang. The old man shuffled over to the phone slowly, picking it up on the last ring.

"Hullo?" He asked. They saw him nod. "I will send her."

Everyone was interested by this point. No one interrupted Mr. Dosey's class, ever, for any reason. He set the phone down and looked up. He stared hard at Estella.

"They want you in the office."

Estella inclined her head, closed her book, set her pencil down, and left the room. As she left, her knees started to quake.

Why would they need her?

Something was obviously wrong, or they wouldn't have called during Mr. Dosey's lesson, that much was obvious. But what? What could be so bad that they had to call her out of Math?
Her mind thought of a million possibilities by the time she got to the office.

Her mother had come back from the dead.

Happy was missing.

Rhodey died in the war.

Tony got hospitalized.

Tony got engaged.

Tony accidentally got married.

I have a long lost sibling.

Pepper's pregnant.

The possibility were virtually endless.

It just so happened that the one thing that did happen, was the one thing Estella didn't think of.

She stuffed her shaking hands into her jeans pockets as she entered the office. The assistant principle, Neoma, a long time friend, gave Estella a small wave and an almost pitiful smile. That was enough to set Estella even more on edge, for Neoma always had a positive and optimistic demeanor. Estella sucked in a rather ragged breath and stepped into the principle's office.

She was almost glad to see Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy all there. Just seeing the back of their heads was enough to make her sigh with relief.

But, when they heard the door behind them open and close and turned to face Tony Stark's daughter, Estella could tell by their faces that whatever news was to be bared was not of the good kind.

Estella's heart leaped into her throat. She swallowed hard, but it felt like she was swallowing grit.

Pepper had tears in her eyes. The principle's eyes swam with pity as he motioned for me to sit in the only remaining chair.

"You'll be going home today, Estella," he said. She swallowed again and started fiddling with the torc bracelet around her wrist, a habit she'd picked up since her mother died. "Someone will go get your stuff and then you can go home."

Happy stood from his seat to leave, but Estella stood quicker.

"I'll do it myself," she said, ashamed of the hardness in her voice. The suspense of not knowing what was happening was sure to kill her. "I just want to know what's happened."

Pepper gave her a very forced smile.

"I think that's something better explained at home," Rhodey said for Pepper. She looked between the four faces in front of her. Suspicion arose in her chest, but she, after locking eyes with Rhodey, nodded and headed, at a quicker pace, back to her classroom.

She returned to see Mr. Dosey talking. She ducked her head in respect and bustled over to her stuff. She tried to mask her fear, but the girl next to her Caidy, whispered: "Are you okay?"

Estella froze at the question, half way through stuffing her things into her bag. For a moment or two, Estella was unsure of what to do. So she smiled and replied as confidently as possible.

"Of course." Estella shuffled out without a word and without zipping up her back-pack.

Estella met Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey at the front of the school. She grabbed her scooter and finished zipping her bag before throwing it over her shoulder.

Pepper stood in front of the car.

"It's faster this way-"

Estella shook her head.

"I can't." She looked between the three again. "I'll meet you at home."

She set off on her scooter, pushing off the ground with such strength that it seemed as if her life depended on it. The wind stung her eyes, bringing tears. She was a blur riding down the steep hill. The light at the bottom of the hill was red, but Estella didn't slow. Something in her pulled her downwards, kept her from pushing the break on the back of her scooter. Just as she hit the crosswalk, the her light turned green, letting her zoom past the cars.

30 minutes later, she arrived at her destination. The car Happy drove was already parked out front.

JARVIS opened the garage door to the Stark mansion and Estella brought her scooter to a halt inside. Jumping from it, Estella charged into the house without listening to JARVIS' fun fact of the day, something that usually cheered her up after a hard day at school.

Throwing her backpack into her usual spot, Estella's body froze, suddenly afraid of what entering the living room- where she assumed the three adults were waiting for her- would bring to her. After a few calming, shaking, deep breaths, Estella once again gained control of her fears and started slowly towards the living room.

Her feet dragged across the ground, slowing her pace even further. Estella twirled her bracelet a few more times.

Upon entering the room, Pepper appeared from no where and engulfed Estella in a hug. Startled, Estella hugged the woman back.

"Let her sit, Pepper," Rhodey said. Pepper pulled away, keeping an arm around Estella's shoulders.

"Guys, what's going on?" Estella asked, unwinding herself from Pepper and holding fast to her place at the bottom of the stairs before the room itself. Pepper sighed and Happy mimicked that sigh.

"It's about Tony, isn't it?" Her voice broke from the sheer thought of losing the man her mother held so dear.When no one responded, Estella repeated her question in a more pressing tone. "Isn't it?

Rhodey inclined his head in confirmation.

Estella's throat swelled, her chest heaved.

"He isn't..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Happy was the first to shake his head and he shook it the hardest.

"Not dead," Happy told her, trying at a reassuring smile. The weight lifted from her chest. She took in a breath of fresh air.

"Then what has happened? " She asked, irritation slipping in through her tone.

"You know that Tony went out to test his new weapons-" Pepper started, but Rhodey sighed and crossed his arms.

"Estella, Tony's protection squad and himself were ambushed. The squad is dead and we're unsure of where Tony is. We're doing the best we can to find him, but we're leaning towards kidnapping."

Estella felt no swelling in her throat, no heaviness on her chest, no burning in her nostrils, no stinging in her eyes. She felt weightless, yet completely heavy. Her vision tunneled, blackening even more with every second. Her knees buckled from underneath her, her head filling with so many thoughts and possibilities and 'what ifs', that it felt as if a bowling ball replaced it. Yet somehow, she felt utterly...empty.

The three adults lurched forward to catch the girl before she fell, but she already hit the ground before they could get any closer to her. The sudden shock sent wave after wave of pain through her body, while gravity pulled her head towards the stairs awaiting her like a pillow. She felt a sharp stabbing pain on her head before the world fully blackened.

Rhodey reached her just before her head it. He swore under his breath.

"Is she okay?" Pepper asked. Rhodey nodded, watching Estella's nostrils flare and her chest rise and fall.

"Just hit her head." He picked her up and Happy made a place for James Rhodes to lay her on the couch.

"We have to find him," Pepper said, looking down at the 15-year-old girl below them. Happy nodded. Rhodey bit his thumb nail. After a few brief seconds, he stormed from the house. Pepper hardly flinched. If she could be of any use to Rhodey, she would have gone after him, but her place was here, with this girl.

"Is there anyway I can be of service, ma'am?" JARVIS asked.

"No, thank you, JARVIS. She just needs to rest."

But Estella did not want to rest.

She was plagued with terrible nightmares, brief images; explosions, a dark cave, a blue, fluorescent light, Tony's face. She tried to wake up, she tried to force the images from her mind, but each time she did, the images bounced back and even more terrifying than before; aliens falling from the sky, 6 gem stones, a sickly man with slick, black hair, a man turning to stone with the look if pure horror on his face, herself encased in the same stone many yeas later. When she subconsciously gave up, when she stopped trying to fight the frightening images, was when she finally awoke.

Drenched in sweat, Estella sat up quickly, the thoughts still running through her head. Out of fear, and having just awoke, she scrambled from the couch she slept on, landing painfully on the ground. She pushed herself of the ground while running to the other side of the room, wanting to be as far away from the dreams as possible. She pressed her back into a wall and slid downwards, just as Pepper came running in, having heard the loud thud.

"Estella?" Pepper took a step closer to the girl, but Estella curled herself into a small ball against the wall, rocking herself back and forth. Her breaths were short  and fast and she was shaking her head. Pepper took another tentative step. "Estella, what's wrong?"

"I know where he is, Pepper," Estella managed, staring at the woman's feet.

"You know where who is?"

"Dad, I know where he is."

Pepper swallowed and approached the girl. She knelt in front of her, trying to mask the worry in her eyes, but Estella was too clever.

"Where is he?" Pepper asked in the calmest voice she could muster. The young girl didn't need to be asked twice.

"There's sand, everywhere. And weapons. Large, Stark Industries weapons. He's in a cave, with another man. They're captives. The men want them to build something, but they're building something else; a...a suit. A metal suit. And Daddy...Tony's got this...thing in his chest." Pepper was impressed at Estella's imagination, but she was frightened by what happened next. Estella pressed her hand into her chest, her nails creating a circle.

Estella started to shake again, tears building in her eyes.

"There's a giant hole in the sky and aliens are pooling out of it. Manhattan is screaming. The aliens kill without even thinking. A man with black hair and a green and gold outfit is their leader. He kills a man in a black suit, he drops a golden haired man in a glass container.

"I can see his eyes, but his mouth is covered up. His eyes are covered in some sort of black, matching his long hair. He wears black clothes except on his right arm. It's silver, metal. He looks almost sad. He has a shield in his metal hand, as if he caught it.

"So many stone statues that look just like people. Some have crumbled to dust, some have come out, reborn. It's dark inside, terrifying. They don't know if they're going to die, the taste of fish oils still in their mouths. It's dark, so dark."

Estella buried her face in her arms and sobbed. Pepper, in utter shock of what she just heard, sat next to the girl and put an arm around her.

"I'm not crazy," Estella said through sobs. Pepper kissed her head.

"I know." But in all reality, Pepper didn't know. She didn't know where Tony was, she didn't know about the places and events Estella had just described, she didn't know what was wrong with the little girl, her little girl. Honestly, Pepper was terrified. She hoped it was just hysteria, Estella not being able to comprehend what she had been told. But Estella was able to understand almost anything.

"Estella, I'm going to make some dinner," Pepper said, standing. Estella didn't look at her, only kept mumbling and shaking. Sighing, Pepper walked towards the kitchen, her high heel's click-clacking echoing in Estella's ears.

As soon as Pepper was gone, Estella jumped to her feet and ran to her room. Her hands shaking, she pulled out her pencils and her drawing pad and started to draw everything she had seen. The images were fading, less clear than they were before. She scribbled furiously for hours, or at least what seemed like hours. She had drawn everything she could remember, including a large glowing, blue box she didn't remember. After she'd finished drawing them, she started pinning them to the wall. She started with her father on one side of the room and then came the blue box with the aliens, then the silver armed man, and then the stony figures, and finally, the 6 gemstones. Once everything was placed on the walls, a sudden exhaustion swept over the 15-year-old girl. She felt completely drained, as empty as she had before she had fallen asleep the first time. 

She crawled into her bed and fell asleep.

When will I see you again?
You left with no goodbye, not a single word was said
No final kiss to seal anything
And I had no idea of the state we were in

~~~

I know that the last part was sort of weird, but, naturally, it will be explained. About the titles and the last little part right there. This song is Don't You Remember by Adele. I'm naming all my chapter titles after songs I think at least partly fit with the contents of this chapter. The last little bit is just the part I think fits the most. The lengths of the last bit will depend on the song. :)

If you have any suggestions or songs you think I should use, I am all ears.

I'd live to hear your thoughts on this chapter!

Thank you for reading, I hope you continue to enjoy. I love you.

With the Deepest Thanks,

Bucky J. Carter,

The Author's Bane