Sunshine was bleeding through the curtains in Alex's bedroom as she fluttered her eyes open, the sound of her alarm blaring just beside her. She reached over to turn it off, groaning. Was it already time to get up? It felt like she'd barely slept at all. Nevertheless, she forced herself to sit up, dropping her feet to the floor before rubbing her tired eyes. Mere moments passed before she heard a quiet knock on her door.

"Alex? You up?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up," she said groggily in response. Her bedroom door slowly opened.

"Alright, good. You'd better go ahead and get ready so we're not late, okay?"

"It'll literally take me like 5 minutes, Mom." A small smirk appeared on the teenager's lips as she spoke.

"I'm holding you to that, starting... now," her mother sarcastically countered. Alex laughed at her mother's words, rolling her eyes.

"I'll be down in a sec," she said, finally standing from her bed. No sooner than her mother had walked away, Alex made her way to her closet, picking out an outfit for the day. She quickly got dressed in one of her many Led Zeppelin t-shirts, jeans and a flannel before sliding on her favorite pair of Vans, as tattered and worn as they were. She promptly brushed out her messy dark hair before brushing her teeth and finally heading downstairs. She saw her mom standing at one of the counters, pouring herself a cup of coffee as she noticed Alex's presence. She had raised an eyebrow upon seeing her daughter's choice of outfit.

"That's what you're wearing today?" she questioned jokingly.

"What? It's not like some super fancy occasion or anything," Alex responded, reaching into one of the cabinets for a coffee mug of her own.

"Okay, if you say so." Her mother laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. "Just make sure you eat something before we leave - and no, coffee doesn't count as a meal."

"Like you have room to talk." Alex reactively rolled her eyes.

"I'm serious. You want me to make you something?"

"Nah, I'll just eat some cereal, I guess."

"Well, make it quick. T-minus 30 minutes till we have to leave, kiddo."

"Yeah, yeah," Alex laughed. She'd always hated being called a kid, but there was something about the way her mom said it that made it feel comforting.

She quickly poured herself a bowl of Frosted Flakes as her mind wondered. She couldn't help but smile as a jolt of excitement sparked within her at the thought of today's endeavor. After all, it wasn't every day that she got to be in the same room as the Tony Stark.

xXxXxXx

This particular car ride was one of extreme anticipation, at least for Alex. She had been told only last week that Tony Stark himself was going to be visiting Stanford University to speak for the Physics and Technology departments, and she was not missing that. Normally, such an event would've been strictly for students and faculty only, but the fact that Alex's mom was the head of the Physics department had its perks at times.

They couldn't get there soon enough, and when they finally did, Alex practically jumped out of the car, nearly losing her balance in the process; and she excitedly followed her mom toward the back side of the large auditorium building in front of them. Once inside, Alex had noticed they were in the back area to the stage, where multiple people were prepping last-minute details. Her wondering mind was brought back from its thoughts at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Come on, I've got a surprise for you," she said with a rather excited smile appearing across her face.

"You know I don't like surprises, Mom." Alex mockingly rolled her eyes, a subtle laugh escaping past her lips.

"Oh, trust me, you'll like this one."

"If you're plotting some kinda scheme to embarrass me in front of your co-workers, I'm afraid it's not gonna hap-" Her words stopped right in their tracks. She had barely noticed that they'd been walking toward a separate room until she saw her mother reaching up to gently knock on the door, upon which a sign read 'Guest', and she started to piece things together quite quickly. "No- Is- Is this- Nooooooo."

Her mother laughed as she read Alex's awe-stricken expression. "Let's just say, you owe me one, okay?"

"Uh, okay yeah. Big freaking time. I just- I can't even right now." Alex's smile couldn't have been any wider if she'd tried. This was huge.

Only moments later, the handle on the door began to slowly move, and Alex couldn't help but widen her eyes.

Okay, be cool, be cool, she thought to herself, watching in anticipation as the door started to open in front of her. She saw a figure in the opening, but not one that she recognized. The very official-looking man was tall, wearing a plain suit and a subtle smile.

"Ah, Doctor Murray. Come on in," he said brightly, waving his hand in gesture for them to enter. The two of them followed closely behind the man as he ushered them inside the small room.

"Thank you, Mr. Hogan. I really do appreciate this," said her mother.

"Oh, it's nothing," the man replied, finally stepping out of the way. Alex's eyes instantly found their way across the room.

And there he was, sitting on the small couch just feet away as a smug smile played on his face. She couldn't believe it. Sure, she was far beyond ecstatic to see him speak today, but by no means whatsoever did she expect to have the privilege of her own personal meet and greet with Iron Man himself. Her body felt frozen as her eyes met his, and she didn't know if she was capable of actually moving at the moment.

Tony stood from his seat, starting to slowly make his way toward them.

"The ringleader herself!" His gaze was on Alex's mom now as he offered to shake her hand. She did so, a gratuitous smile forming across her features.

"I'm so glad you could be here today, Mr. Stark," she said.

"Of course," he responded, his infamous smirk unfaltering, "I figured, it's been a good minute since I've made an appearance in this neck of the woods, anyway." He chuckled softly, turning his attention now to Alex. "And who do we have here?"

"This is my daughter, Alex. She was super excited to come and see you speak today. I didn't tell her about this after we'd talked, though. Thought it might be a nice surprise." Alex's face instantly turned a bright shade of red as her mother spoke. Was this actually happening right now? Her mom had mentioned her to him? She couldn't decide if she was appreciative or mortified.

"H-Hi." Her voice was obviously tinged with nervousness. "It's nice to meet you."

"It always is," Tony chuckled, and he reached his hand out to shake her own. Alex raised a slightly shaky hand in response and shook his, silently cursing herself at knowing how sweaty her palms must've been. Nevertheless, she attempted to keep her cool. The last thing she wanted to do was make an idiot of herself right now.

"I'm a big fan of your work, Mr. Stark. I even wrote a paper about you for one of my science cla-" Oh no... Word. Vomit.

She cut herself off upon realizing the all too embarrassing sentence that had just escaped from her mouth, her eyes becoming wide. "I mean- I just- I think it's all really cool, what you do," she finished with a nervous chuckle. She felt almost instant relief as she noticed Tony laugh himself.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't flattered, kid."

"Oh, well, th-thank you," Alex replied as her lips curled into a genuine smile.

"And I've heard from your mom here that you're quite the science enthusiast yourself, huh?"

Yep, she was definitely mortified.

"Um, well sorta, yeah."

"Only sorta?" he joked, "Well, stick to it, kid. The world always needs more sorta scientists in it, yeah?"

Alex attempted to think of something cool to say in response, but her thoughts failed her as the room grew awkwardly silent.

Tony glanced at his watch before turning his attention to Alex's mom, clapping his hands together. "Well, looks like it's about that time. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" He, paused, once more shifting his gaze to Alex as he slightly nodded his head at her. "It was a pleasure, Miss Alex."

She watched as he hastily made his way toward the room's door, and she was beaming. Had this actually happened? Had she really just met him? It felt like a dream that she was far too worried she'd soon wake from.

"Nice shirt by the way, kid," Tony noted before finally stepping out of the room, followed by Mr. Hogan. Alex raised an eyebrow as she glanced down at her t-shirt.

"And you wanted me to change," Alex joked, causing her mother to shake her head in response.

"Come on, let's go," she said through a small laugh before making her own way toward the door.

This was, decidedly, the best day of Alex's life - so far.

xXxXxXx

The presentation had gone spectacularly so far, and Alex was fully invested in every moment with a rather cheesy smile plastered across her face. This was so awesome.

Tony was just beginning to make his final remarks when an unimaginably uneasy feeling settled within Alex. She felt rumbling at her feet, and it was quickly growing. In a matter of seconds, a mutual notion of panic had started to spread throughout the room as people realized what was happening.

Earthquake.

Alex's heart jumped as the continuous vibrations grew more violent, and she turned to her mother, grabbing her hand. Their eyes met, a shared expression of worry evident within them.

"We have to get out of here, quickly!" her mother spoke fervently, gripping Alex's hand a bit tighter. "It's gonna be okay." She quickly placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Come on."

Alex followed, still latching onto her hand as they weaved through people. The entire building had begun to tremble, lights flickering, and now the crowd was scattered in multiple directions like a chaotic stampede. Alex felt her hand forcefully dislodge from her mother's, and within seconds she had lost sight of her mother altogether. Her heart rate started to rise, and her eyes grew wide.

"Mom?" she called out. "Mom!" It was to little effect, the clamor of panic in the air completely overpowering the sound of her trembling voice. She made an instinctive decision to make her way further toward the front of the auditorium, against the flow of people running to the building's main exit. She called out again. No answer. So she kept moving, her eyes darting rapidly through the crowd. She finally made it through the sea of panicked people who had almost completely vacated the space by then, and she exhaled a sigh of slight relief at the next thing her eyes saw.

Alex's gaze finally found her mom. She was much further back than she'd thought, having gone to the side wing of the stage. She watched as her mom helped to usher people in the direction of the back side's exit, and she tried to make her way to her as quickly as possible.

She had made it to the stairs leading onto the stage when a loud metallic creak sounded just above her. Her eyes veered upward as her body suddenly froze, noticing that the stage light rigging was shifting. The large metal beam strung with large lights abruptly gave way, and Alex gasped as she raised her hands toward it, her breath catching in the back of her throat.

Before she had time to react, she felt her body being yanked backward. Her eyes clinched shut as she embraced herself to meet the ground hard - but she never did. Instead, it was a pair of metal arms that had wrapped around her, pulling her to safety. Her eyes opened again to see that the beam had landed mere feet away from where she was now standing. Her head whipped around, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight behind her.

Iron Man.

"Th-Thank you..." she muttered shakily.

"Get outta here, kid. Now!" he demanded.

"But I have to get to my-" Alex was cut short by a rather noticeable wave of shaking from the ground.

There was another loud snap on the ceiling above them, then cracking. The concrete began to break apart, and chunks started descending directly at the two of them.

"Mr. Stark!" Alex warned, but the rubble was falling all too fast. She raised her hands upward once more - this time, with more intent.

Instantly, the pieces of ceiling stopped, suspending in mid-air before they were sent hurdling to the side. Not immediately realizing what she had done, she glanced up at the figure who had just saved her moments ago, knowing he had witnessed her unintentional display of ability. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at him.

"I-" Alex attempted to come up with an excuse for the entirely abnormal task that she had just accomplished, but she was quickly cut off.

"Get out of the building, now!" Tony instructed, seemingly unfazed by the girl's actions.

Alex hesitated for a moment. She needed to find her mom, and quick. Decidedly ignoring his words, she jolted away from him, further into the auditorium where she had previously been. Surely her mother hadn't gone too far from there. Not more than a few seconds later, she heard what sounded like rocket thrusters getting closer toward her; and before she knew it, she felt the same pair of metal arms grab her own as her feet left the ground. She gasped in both surprise and fear, turning around to see that Iron Man had picked her up once again and was carrying her outside of the complex.

"Listen, kid, this is no time to play hero, okay?" Tony stated, a mix of sternness and sarcasm in his voice.

"You don't understand! My- My mom is still in there!" she pleaded, struggling to free herself from his grip to little effect. Once outside, Tony slowly lowered her to the ground.

"Stay. Here," he demanded, immediately turning himself back toward the entrance and heading back inside. Alex felt her chest tighten. How could she just stand out here when her mother could very well be stuck under a pile of rubble? She watched as one by one, Iron Man continued to retrieve the trapped guests within the auditorium, bringing them outside to safety. Alex began to scan the crowd of people, searching for the only person that mattered at the moment. The more unfamiliar faces she passed, the more she felt her heart drop.

"No, no, no, no, no..." she muttered under her breath. This couldn't be happening. Where was she? She had to be there somewhere.

Only she wasn't.

It seemed as if Alex had searched through the sea of people at least twice by now, checking now and then to see if anyone else was being brought out.

At that point, Iron Man flew out of the auditorium again, but this time he wasn't carrying anyone. Alex's eyes were glued to him, partly in anger and partly in pleading. Please, get her... she thought.

Her concentration was suddenly broken by the loud crumpling noises coming from the direction of the building, and right before her eyes, it began buckling to the ground. She gasped, clasping a hand over her agape mouth.

Just like the building, Alex's whole world was collapsing around her.