Pepper sighed as she entered her apartment in the Wizard's Tower, tired and just a little frustrated, but at the same time glad she'd talked to Ianto about everything.

The Grand Master had made some good points about letting things continue on, but to be ready to act in case something catastrophic occurred. She didn't want to consider that, but she had to. There was Daisy to think of, after all, and she didn't want to risk the girl's father anymore than he was already doing. She genuinely liked Phil, and wanted to get to know him a little better.

Happy launched himself at the window seat, settling himself onto the embroidered pillows Pepper had had made for him. That was his favorite perch, and she couldn't help but smile as he flopped over onto his back, waving his legs toward the ceiling. In the window, one of the moons was hovering just above the horizon, even though it wasn't quite sunset yet.

He really was one of the silliest dragons she'd ever seen. And Pepper loved him for it.

Her rooms were expansive, taking up half a floor in the Tower. She had a sitting room, a bedroom, and her own privy, as well as an office where she would often prepare her lesson plans and doubled as a personal casting chamber. She didn't stay there often, mostly when she was too busy to go home, but she kept it stocked with everything she'd need to stay several nights at a time.

When she was teaching, she used the labs and chambers that the school provided for the casting of spells, but there were times when she would have students in for private lessons… usually those particularly gifted Novices, like Daisy Coulson. Not everyone she taught had that sheer amount of natural power, and the intelligence and strength to handle it, and needed that one-on-one approach to learning.

Sighing again, Pepper shed the outer layer of her robes, tossing the knee-length jacket onto the nearest chair, then removing her shoes and leaving them near the same chair. She'd run a bath later, but for now she wanted to contact Tony and let him know they would be having a visitor. She was just glad that Ianto had asked her to dinner, that way she wouldn't have to scrounge something up this late.

There had been a message waiting for her on her speaking stone from Daisy herself, saying she was coming back to the school first to pick up schoolwork, before being ready to teleport to Ferrous Castle. Pepper didn't think she would have arrived there so soon, but she wanted to warn Tony – or, more particularly, Jarvis, the one man who knew everything that was going on at home – to expect Daisy at some point.

Her mirror was hanging in her bedroom. It was large, with gilded leaves around the outside of the frame, and looked incredibly expensive. Looks weren't deceiving; it had been a gift from Tony, but it was worth more than anything to her.

The first thing she'd done was enchant it.

Its mate was at Castle Ferrous.

Walking up to the mirror, Pepper waved a hand across the surface of the glass, her magic touching the spells that had been laid upon it, activating the Far-Seeing and Speaking spells and adding an extra ward for privacy, making certain that the coordinates were set for home. The glass wavered, as if reflecting a heat haze, and when it cleared it revealed the library of Ferrous Castle.

Pepper knew she'd have to wait a moment, since no one was likely to be within the library back home, so she stepped away in order to take her hair down and to get comfortable clothes from the wardrobe. While the robes she wore out and about were fine, when she was alone she much preferred simpler garb. Plus, she would be going back to Ferrous soon, and Tony really didn't care what Pepper wore, as long as she was back.

She'd just gotten the hairpins out and put away when the soft chime from the mirror told her that someone had heard the other mirror's attention getting sound when she'd activated it. Pepper was up and out of the chair at her vanity table, moving to the mirror.

She smiled at who was at the other end of the connection. "Good day, Jarvis."

Edwin Jarvis was a tall, gangly man with brown hair and dark eyes. He projected such an air of competency that Pepper sometimes wondered if there wasn't a thing he couldn't do. He was the fourth Jarvis to work for the Starks, and both she and Tony would have been lost without him and his equally competent wife, Ana.

"Good morning, Mistress Pepper," he answered warmly, sounding as if he was in the same room with her, despite the actual distance between them. The Barony of Ferrous was on the far west coast of the Western Lands, which meant it was just before middleday there. "Shall we be expecting you home soon?"

"I think so," she answered. "However, I'm not going to be alone, so if you could have one of the guest rooms prepared that would be lovely. Daisy Coulson will be staying with us for a short while."

"Very good, I shall have it done. I do hope everything is alright with Novice Daisy's father?"

Jarvis was always perceptive. Sometimes Pepper had to wonder if he had some form of magic, that had been overlooked in the Testing. "There is an issue, but I can't really discuss it openly like this."

"Understood." Jarvis was used to there being secrets, and accepted her word with equanimity.

"Can you ask Tony to come to the mirror, please?"

"It may be a moment; His Grace is in his workshop."

Pepper laughed. "Did he even leave it last night?" She knew her husband. If no one made him leave, Tony would practically live in his workshop.

Tony Stark wasn't a wizard, but what he could do with other devices was downright magical. He'd invented quite a few things that mimicked magical artifacts, including the lightbulbs that did the same thing as glowglobes did but ran on a non-magical power source that he'd also come up with, a form of manmade lightning. Tony had dreams of every home being lit by them within his lifetime, and Pepper didn't doubt him in the least.

Tony was a genius. He might have been irritating and forgetful and infuriating, but she loved him for his mind, as well as his generosity.

"I did fetch him a little after middlenight," Jarvis answered, sounding affronted by her question. "However, while I cannot prove it, I believe he snuck back into the workshop sometime after Ana and I went to bed ourselves."

That certainly sounded like Tony. "I'll wait for him, Jarvis. Thank you."

"You're quite welcome, Mistress Pepper." He bowed slightly, and then withdrew, leaving Pepper alone with the still open connection.

She took the opportunity to change clothes, exchanging the more formal robes with an ankle-length skirt in deep blue with a matching tunic. It felt wonderful to get out of those bulky robes; whoever had come up with the idea that Wizards needed such things should have been forced to wear them constantly. And the very idea of color matching with their dragons…not that everyone did it, but it was almost expected at this point. It was also extremely bothersome.

"Hey, Pep," Tony's voice came from the mirror, just as she was putting the robes away.

Pepper couldn't help but smile as she turned back toward the mirror. Tony had, indeed, been in his workshop, judging from the grimy shirt he was wearing that was just barely obscuring the blue glow from the magical gemstone that had been implanted in his chest, in order to save his life several years previously. Protective goggles were pushed back into his rather messy dark hair, and there was a streak of some sort of grease on his cheek. He hadn't shaved yet; his goatee was a little overgrown, and there were definite circles under his eyes from the lack of sleep.

She thought he was adorable.

"Tony," she greeted. "Are you giving Jarvis a hard time again?"

He shrugged, not looking contrite at all. "It's not my fault I had this brilliant idea as I was falling asleep. Besides, I just don't sleep well when you're not here."

Her heart warmed at the admission. She felt the exact same way, which was why she liked to limit her time at the school when she could which, because of the large time difference, she wasn't able to do as often as she liked. "I'll be home soon, but I'm bringing a visitor with me." At Tony's questioning eyebrow, she added, "Daisy Coulson."

Tony gave her a pleased grin. "Mini Pepper is coming for a bit? Awesome."

That comment had Pepper rolling her eyes affectionately. He and Daisy got along very well, the young woman fascinated by Tony's inventions and was always asking questions that Tony was delighted to answer. He might have been considered an ass by a lot of people, but he really was an excellent mentor to young people.

However, his grin faded a little. "Is there something I should be aware of? I mean, I really don't mind having your students over, but you usually give a bit more warning. It's not like you to just announce it. So, light of my life…what's going on?"

Damnit. "You are way too perceptive for my own good," she teased.

He batted his eyes at her. "It's one of the reasons you love me."

"Well that…and the sheer prestige of marrying into the Stark family."

Tony raised a hand to his chest in mock surprise. "Oh, you wound me! And here I thought it was because of my lightning wit and devastating charm."

Despite herself, Pepper laughed. "Yes, Tony…that's exactly right."

To be fair, she really hadn't gained all that much by marrying Tony, at least not in the way of personal prestige. She'd already been on the fast track to becoming the Head of Cardinal Order, so joining herself to Tony Stark hadn't made any sort of difference in that way. And, her family was also relatively well-off, so she hadn't needed the wealth, either. In the end, it had been love that had motivated her, and nothing else.

His reputation might have been considered disreputable, but all that had ended before she'd married him. There were still a few out there who thought she'd married below her station, but Pepper always scoffed at that. They simply didn't know Tony, or hadn't even taken the time to, and that wasn't her fault. Pepper knew him, that was good enough. It didn't matter what anyone else thought.

She sobered. "Something is going on, but I can't tell you. Not by the mirror. The spells on our connecting mirrors are very strong and hard to break, but anyone with enough power would be able to listen in. And…I'm sorry, Tony, but you'll need to wait until I see you in person."

She really wanted to tell him about everything. About how worried she was about Phil, and Daisy, and even the Hawk, who was willingly walking into whatever gathering the Voids calling themselves Hydra were arranging. Talking to Ianto had eased her heart a little, knowing that the Grand Master was willing to step in and help in case Phil got into trouble, but the waiting for whatever shoe to drop was interminable. There wasn't a thing she could do but take a step back and try to be as patient as she possibly could.

Many people were of the opinion that she had the patience of a saint, to be married to Baron Tony Stark, but it was easy to be patient with him because she understood his idiosyncrasies and could deal with them as they arose. This…this was completely different, and Pepper hated it with every fiber of her being.

Tony must have seen something in her expression, because he nodded. "Alright, I get the secrecy. But come home, Pepper. Come home and let me help you."

Mistress Pepper Potts was a strong woman. She had her magic and willpower and intelligence, and yet the kindness shown her by the man she loved was almost enough to undo her. The majority of the world saw Tony's public face: the dilletante, the once-warmonger, the drinker and the incorrigible flirt. Only a privileged few got to ever see the real Tony, and she felt blessed that she was one of them.

Before she could say anything else, there came a pounding on her door. Frowning, Pepper extended her senses outward, surprised to feel three sources of Great magic outside; one more controlled than the other two, and she could surmise that one was a teaching Master and the other two students.

"Gods, I can hear that even on this side of the mirror," Tony groused as the pounding began again. "You better go and answer that, unless you want whoever the hells it is to break your door down."

"You're not kidding." Without sparing him a backward glance – and not disconnecting their conversation, just in case – Pepper headed out of the bedroom and into the front room. As she approached the door, she could hear someone speaking outside, but the pounding didn't start back up again.

Confident that she could handle whoever it was if they'd decided to cause trouble, Pepper waved her wards away and opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked pleasantly, not giving away her preparedness to defend herself if needed.

Her magical senses hadn't lied; there were three people on the other side of the door. Two were definitely students…and she recognized them as the two Elves that Daisy was friends with, along with their dragons, and they both looked very worried.

In that moment, the Cardinal Wizard knew something was very wrong.

The third person was a tall, broad man, with dark skin, his head shaved but sporting a neat beard. He resembled a brawler, but Pepper got the impression that this teaching Master was actually as soft-hearted as he looked tough. His dragon was just as huge as he was, all brown and gold, hovering over her Wizard worriedly.

"I'm sorry about that," the man stated, not managing to hide his slight embarrassment, "I'm teaching Master Alphonso Mackenzie, and these are my students, Novices Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz. We may have a problem, and Jemma and Leo thought you ought to know."

"We thought to speak to Mistress Maria," the female Elf – Jemma Simmons, Pepper recalled – said almost breathlessly, "however, she isn't in Gateway."

"And," the other Elf – Leo Fitz – added, equally as breathless, "as you're Daisy's teaching Master, we thought we should come to you."

The foreboding grew into absolute fear. "You'd better come in," she invited, pulling the door open all the way in order to let them pass.

She excused herself, going back into the bedroom to let Tony know she was alright. "I have to go," she told him.

"What's happened?" he demanded, looking as if he was ready to come crawling through the magical mirror to her aid.

"I don't know, but I suspect Daisy and I won't be home today after all." She didn't even try to hide the worry in her words. It had to be Daisy. Her friends wouldn't be acting this way if it wasn't, and they certainly wouldn't have come to her about it. But she was Daisy's teaching Master. It would make sense for them to seek her out if something had happened.

"Oh, shit." Tony straightened. "I'm coming to help. I'll use the pendant you gave me, and I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Tony – "

"Don't even think about it, Pep. I'll be there." With that, he was gone, the mirror back to showing the empty room back at the castle.

Pepper was relieved, although a part of her wished he was staying home. Instead of worrying about it, she swiped across the mirror, breaking the connection, and then headed back out to the sitting room, where all three of her visitors were standing just inside the now-closed door, the younger students nervous as their teaching Master practically loomed over them; although, it wasn't an angry looming. It was more protective than anything else. To Pepper's surprise, Happy hadn't flown over to make the acquaintance of the newcomers, because Elves were like the dragon form of catnip. He must have picked up on just how upset they were.

Pepper stopped right in front of them. "Tell me what's going on."

The Elves glanced at each other, their dragons twitchy at their sides. Master Alphonso nudged them both forward a little. "Go on," he urged.

"It's Daisy," Novice Jemma said, fear in her pleasantly accented voice. "She's gone missing."