𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲

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Hogan Residence
New York
 

          EZRA'S ROOM WAS clean and organized. Charlotte was so impressed that she even thought if her food fell on the floor she could perfectly eat from it.

Charlotte was particularly intrigued by the fact that her window linked to the fire-escape stairs outside when Ezra showed her around. She asked her friend if it didn't feel like someone could climb them and watch her from the outside, but Ezra only laughed and said that Happy always locks her window and closes the curtains at night or when he leaves for work.

It was also enjoyable to sit outside on occasion and watch people pass by on the streets below. The stairs led to the roof, where she practiced her gymnastics alone on occasion.

Charlotte had arrived back in Queens yesterday and had time to go back home, take a shower and pack her bag for the sleepover with Ezra.

Although excited, Charlotte was nervous about her sleepover at Ezra's. The two have been friends for almost a year but this was her first time at the Hogan residence.

They lived on a slightly modern and friendly block, in an apartment with three bedrooms on the thirty-fifth street and it was just fifteen minutes away from Midtown School, where Ezra attended.

It had been a little peculiar to see Happy outside of work, but more specifically, in a domestic role. He was always so serious when at work, but to see him relaxed in his own home, wearing a pair of slacks and a light dress shirt was a strange sight.

That night, after dinner, Happy had to go to work. In a new found arrangement between her parents and her tutor, Hugh would be coming over that evening to mind the girls while Happy was put late. Even though Charlotte's tutoring was on a Christmas break, her parents had still arranged for Hugh to come around twice a week, as more of a au pair than a tutor; this enabled Charlotte to have a familiar face around a lot more, and gave her a little more structure.

Once Happy had left for the evening, Hugh told the girls to pick out a movie for the three of them to watch. He returned with blankets and cushions in his grasps, and began to set up the necessary blanket fort, while they girls picked the newest animated movie to watch.

Charlotte couldn't help but have a terrible feeling in her stomach while brushing her teeth before going to bed. She initially assumed it was due to her sleeping away from her parents for the first time, but there was something more keeping her awake.

So she wasn't able to sleep much, even though Ezra fell asleep right away.

Charlotte couldn't recall when she eventually fell asleep, but she had the sneaking suspicion that she blinked and it was morning - and that Ezra was waking her up for breakfast.

It was eight in the morning sharp, Charlotte was too sleepy but she was a guest in Ezra's house and the last thing she wanted was to be rude and grumpy to her family. So she quickly got out of her futon and got dressed.

As both young girls waited for breakfast to be served, Charlotte asked why there was a third bedroom in the house not being used, and Ezra explained that room had originally belonged to her parents, and they would use it whenever they visited Happy in the city. It had sat untouched for the last fourteen months.

They quieted down when Happy sat down on the table with a newspaper in his hands.

After breakfast, when Happy left for work, far too soon for both their likings, the two decided to watch some television before leaving for the park. 

After watching cartoons for almost an hour, Charlotte asked Ezra if she could watch the news. The curly haired girl agreed at once, telling her that she too liked watching it, but she wasn't sure if Charlotte wanted.

The two had shared a smile over something they had in common.

And that's how Charlotte found out that her families mansion and childhood home in Malibu had its own live feed on every channel, and surrounded by other helicopters. 

According to the information box, her father had threatened a self proclaimed terrorist known The Mandarin and revealed his address to the world. That had rendered her dumbfounded as well as terrified. She wanted to phone her father or mother, but she realized she was stuck in her couch seat.

Ezra looked at her friend and gave her a concerned expression, "It's going to be okay." She leaned over and placed a arm around the shocked red head, and pulled her close, tucking her head under her chin as she ran a soothing hand up and down her arm.

But then, almost ironically, at the same time, Charlotte's eyes widened when she saw something approach the mansion.

It was a missile.

Both girls gasped when it collided with the mansion, Charlotte rose to her feet right away as the side where her bedroom was exploded.

"Hugh!" Ezra yelled, and the man came running to the living room right away, phone in his hand.

"Yes, she is right here Mrs. Stark..." Hugh's words trailed as he watched on in horror at the screen of the television, "Oh no."

Charlotte began crying almost immediately, unable to pull her gaze away from the television. Ezra hurriedly approached her with a startled expression.

"Charlotte, it's your mother." Hugh said as he pressed the phone next to the young girl's ear.

"Charlie, listen to me honey, don't turn on the television!" Pepper's voice was shaky as if she was holding back from crying.

"T-Too late..." Charlotte whispered, "Is he there? Was he in the house?" she asked as she watched a place she once called home crumble and fall apart into the ocean.

Her mom didn't say anything for a moment, "Sweetie, please s-stop watchi–OH GOD!" Pepper suddenly yelled, proving that she was also watching it as well.

Charlotte flinched at the sight of the furniture sliding into the ocean as the helicopters fired again, because the home suddenly crumbled even more. A second missile strikes, causing the house to begin to fall off the cliff.

Then something hit one of the helicopters that was continuing to shoot  missiles at the house, causing it to explode, letting Charlotte know that her father was still alive.

"He's fighting back!" she told her mom as Ezra and her mom watched the television intently. Then a second helicopter exploded, and for the first time since turning on the TV, Charlotte managed to smile.

"Oh my God, please..." Pepper begged on the other line, feeling hopeful as well.

But there was a problem: the chopper that her father had just blown up was going straight for her house. When she realized this, the smile on her face vanished.

"Oh," Charlotte deadpanned.

Charlotte whimpers with a sad expression as she watches her father's cars plummeting towards the cliff, which meant that DUM-E had also fallen – and that was enough to break her heart and bring tears to her eyes once more.

The helicopter soars again, then the house finally collapses into the water, and as it does, Charlotte's knees give out and she falls to the floor, her expression mournful as she continues to watch the TV.

Hugh looked at the child worriedly, she almost turned off the television but he felt that if he did that Charlotte would never forgive him.

"Where is he? I can't see him!" Charlotte kept repeating as her eyes searched all over the screen for Iron Man. Even Ezra was beginning to panic as she tried to look for him again. She didn't want Charlotte to lose her father like this!

While Charlotte takes a panicked breath, Hugh placed his phone back against his ears and talked with Pepper.

"Mrs. Stark, you better come pick her up she's in a state of shock."

"I'm already on my way." Pepper then promptly hung up, not caring if it was rude or not, she needed to hurry back to her daughter and comfort her. After all, she had just witnessed their family home crumble into the ocean, along with her father.

"Charlotte, your mom is on the way." Ezra began with a gentle tone as she kneeled next to her friend, "I'm sorry about your dad, I-I wish I could comfort you better." Ezra knew there was no way Tony Stark could've survived that - Iron Man or not, no human could have.

Inconsolable, Charlotte suddenly stood on her feet. She didn't have any tears in her eyes, and she didn't even appear upset. She had a furious and determined expression on her face.

"I need to be alone for a minute," Charlotte told the two, and without waiting for their reply, she ran to Ezra's bedroom and closed the door. She quickly removed her pajamas and unzipped her suitcase, pulling out her black leggings, white tank top, and grey zip-up hoodie and dressing as quickly as she could before slipping on her sneakers.

When she was done, she quickly combed her fingers through her now much shorter hair, only wincing slightly as her fingers caught in the right knots. She took a deep breath, thinking about what she was about to do while closing her eyes and meditating about it.

Then, Charlotte opened her eyes and walked to the window.

She opened it slowly for Hugh and Ezra not to hear and peeked down at the emergency fire escape staircase. She passed one leg to the other side, and before passing over the other one, she looked back at Ezra's door and considered what she was about to do again.

Charlotte didn't hesitate any longer as she remembered the visions of her home exploding and crossed over to the other side. She slid the window shut slowly and began descending the stairwell. Even though she didn't have to go very far seeing as Ezra and Happy lived on the third level, she couldn't help but feel dizzy as she descended.

The end of the stairs led to a back alley of the building, which Charlotte quickly exited into the streets, where she immediately began sprinting in the direction of the nearest bus stop.

She wasn't going to take a bus home, she didn't even know which bus to take, or how to for that matter. She has never needed to take public transport once in her life.

She did, however, need to see a map of the city so Charlotte could figure out how to get home on foot. She sat on a random seat in front of a barbershop and took deep breaths after running for at least five minutes.

Then she heard a faint but rhythmic beeping coming from her backpack. She was confused at first, but then recalled how after her incident with Loki the previous year, her parents, mainly her father, had decided it would be in her best interest if a GPS tracker was installed in her phone. 

Of course, they consulted her about it first and came to the agreement that it would only be used in times of great distress or concern.

Without hesitating, she pulled her phone from her backpack and saw a small arc reactor symbol gently pulsing on the screen. She knew that this meant that her parents were trying to contact her.

"H..Hello?" She spoke gently into the phone, not fully understanding how the tracker worked.

"JARVIS!" she exhaled, relieved. Looking around, she realized her outburst caused some unwanted attention, so before someone realized she was Tony Stark's daughter, Charlotte got up from the bench and hid in the alley between the barbershop and a pharmacy, "JARVIS?" she tried once again.

"Oh, hello missy you clicked the emergency butter," JARVIS said, his robotic voice sounded slurry.

"Butter? What? JARVIS? Are you okay? Is my dad okay?" she whispered at her phone, "I clicked the button! He should know where I am!"

JARVIS let out a groan, surprising Charlotte, "I can't chit-chat right now miss, I need to focus on the flight plan's location. Oh, I must go now, I need to advise your sleepy father that the emergency alert triggered by the power dropping below five percent."

Charlotte blinked, perplexed by the A.I.'s behavior. JARVIS appeared to have been knocked in the head and was suffering from a concussion.

But, despite that, Charlotte was filled with emotion when JARVIS revealed that her father was still alive "What happened to you two?! Where are you?"

"It's snowy, bye-bye!"

Charlotte scowled as she saw the blue light that the arc reactor on her bracelet emitted go away.

"JARVIS? Hello?" she tapped the phone screen several times, hoping that it would work.

Charlotte sighed and dropped her arm. Her father was alright, but now she'd have to deal with Hugh, Ezra, and her mother after she'd stupidly ran. What was going through her head? She couldn't possibly go to Malibu on her own and without any money.

She could almost laugh at herself now that she knew her dad was alive.

"Charlotte?"

A voice called out from around the corner to the alleyway. She recognised it instantly. The voice called out once more as a familiar figure passed across the path's junction, before stopping and doing a double take into the dank alley.

"Oh, Charlotte! Thank god!" Hugh quickened his pace as he jogged towards her. A look of genuine concern was etched on his face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking. I panicked. I just wanted to get home. I needed to see my dad."

"Hey, it's okay." Hugh quickly pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his hand on the back of her head as he soothed her. "You were scared, I understand. Come on, let's get you back to the apartment. Your mother should be there by now."

"Do you think she'll be mad?"

"I don't think so. Worried, yes. But I think she'll just be glad that you're safe."

Charlotte nodded meekly, a little ashamed at the irrational and hasty decision. She took a step back, and leaned her head up to look at Hugh, wanting to thank him for finding her.

But as soon as she did, the hand that was pressed to her head suddenly manoeuvred to cover her mouth. His other arm came around her shoulders enabling him to firmly pull her further into the alley. 

Before Charlotte could even begin to struggle, a needle was stabbed on her neck and the liquid inside of it quickly injected into her veins, knocking her out in mere seconds.

Hugh's expression seemed to change, and shifted from soft and caring to simply blank, but still seemed to show a hint of remorse.

He whispered a quick apology as he carried her to the SUV parked in the far end of the opposite side of the alley. He  whistled sharply and glancing around to make sure there were no witnesses. The man carefully placed her on the seats and locked the back door after opening it.

He took his phone out of his jacket pocket and quickly dialed a number before pushing it on his ear. He paused for a few moments until Aldrich Killian on the other end responded.

"Do you have her?"

"I have her."

"Any witnesses?"

"None."

"How?" Killian asked, confused. He thought that Hugh would at least have to kill Pepper Stark, or even the head of security to get to Tony Stark's precious daughter.

Hugh let out an amused chuckle, "She ran away. I found her alone in a back alley."

Scoffing, Aldrich shook his head at the young girl's stupidity. "Bring her in, then I'm going to need you to go to Rose Hill with Brandt to recover a set of documents."

"You got it, boss." Hugh nodded before both hung up. He looked at the unconscious girl again and frowned.

Sure, Killian was ruthless for wanting to inject this kid with the Extremis but his boss wouldn't stop until Tony Stark was finished.

And what better way was to destroy Tony Stark? Killing his daughter and make him watch was a sure way to start.

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authors note

bad author here. i completely forgot that happy would have been in hospital at this point, so let's just ignore that

also, it looks like this section is going to be the shortest in the entire book. a lot happens in this section and i didn't want to stretch it out too much