The days dragged on, but there was still no word on the whereabouts of Tony Stark. After a month or so of waiting, things started to move without him. People didn't forget him, but they couldn't put their lives on hold.
Obadiah continued Tony's work like he once did when Tony was too young to do it himself. He's been trying to control the stocks from dropping more than they have. Once news of the billionaire broke out, people started panicking and sold all of their Stark Industry stocks. The company took a big hit that day. It has since started to rise slowly, but there is still much work to do to get things back to normal.
Rhodes continued to look for his dearest friend. He felt that it was his responsibility to find him and wasn't going to stop until he did. As much as the US government wanted him back to his normal duties, they knew that Rhodes wouldn't listen. They also knew that Stark was their responsibility as well. His disappearance made them look bad. To gain the public's trust once again, they needed to find Stark.
Pepper still had a hand in the company. She was still Tony's assistant. Pepper made sure that lies the were kept out of the media and had her own constant update of the search. There were a lot of things that Tony needed to sign or events that he needed to attend, but Obadiah did both of those things with Pepper by his side. They wanted to show that they were a strong team without the man in the middle, but deep down Pepper needed Tony. She put on a brave face everyday, but inside she worried about him every second he was gone.
The person that took the biggest hit was Tony's only living relative. Mira hadn't left the Malibu home in weeks. Her strong fear of loneliness caused her to have daily panic attacks and she started to lose who she was in her sea of worry. After a week in the hospital, the doctor's told Mira that she needed to reduce her stress level. She knew no matter what she did, her stress level wouldn't go down until they found her uncle. The waiting and the not knowing was the worst part about the whole thing. Mira believed she could continue living her life if she just knew if Tony was dead or not. Instead, she continues to play the waiting game.
Two months in, Mira had neglected her foundation. She couldn't think about anything else. To her, the foundation was just a distraction. Mark constantly begged her to come back because he couldn't do anything without her signature. Mira couldn't take his constant begging. She just wanted to be left alone, so she signed all the papers and gave the foundation to Mark. She knew it would be in good hands with him. As always, Mira was right. The foundation flourished under Mark and she couldn't be happier for him.
After the start of the third month, Mira started to get herself together, kind of. She still didn't leave the house, but she started taking better care of herself. She stopped eating junk food, watching television, and feeling sorry for herself. She replaced these activities with much scarier ones. She practiced selfdefense for six hours a day and built up her muscles. The only time she left the house was to go to the shooting range. She bought a whole slew of weapons from guns to knives. She familiarized herself with everything she could get her hands on. Her worry for her uncle had turned into fear for herself. What was stopping them from going after her, the only remaining heir to the Stark fortune? She wasn't going to let anyone get the jump on her. Mira even beefed up her security. There was always a guard at the door of the house and four or five when she decided to leave her residence.
Pepper would manage to stop by Mira's house a few times a week, but most of the time Mira refused to see her. When she did, it was only for a few minutes for an update on her uncle. She wouldn't take her calls, either. In fact, Mira didn't talk to anyone. Obadiah would call once in a while and leave a short message asking how she's doing, but there was nothing more than that. The two of them weren't close anyways. The one she refused to talk to was Rhodey. This man practically raised her along side Tony and was hurt that she wouldn't speak with him, but he understood why. That was another reason he tried so hard to find Tony. He wanted to repair what he had broken.
Mira's only companion was Jarvis. He may have only been a program, but he would never judge her for her choices. Jarvis was always nice to Mira. Even though Tony designed him, Jarvis would always sass him. Maybe the reason he was so nice to Mira was the fact that Tony designed him, but she could never be sure.
There were hundreds of messages in her voicemail that she never listened to. There was only one that mattered to her. The message that her uncle left her the night he disappeared had been played over a hundred times. Mira had memorized the words, the emotions, the pauses, even the small noises in the background, but she never stopped listening to it. With each passing day, her hope had started to diminish. Once three and a half months hit, she firmly believed those would be the last words she would hear her uncle say to her. That voicemail was something she planned to keep forever so she would never forget his voice. She owed everything to that man. She refused to forget him in anyway.
Once it had been four months since his disappearance, Mira was an animal. She continued her training every day and never missed. She never had a cheat day and never messed up her sleep schedule. In fact, her schedule in general was extreme. She never changed anything. Mira didn't have time to see people, but one day, Pepper did a manual override on Jarvis and forced herself into the home. She screamed Mira's name, but there wasn't an answer. Pepper knew exactly where she was and busted into the fitness room. Mira had her headphones on full blast and she was completely in the zone as her fists connected with the punching bag. Pepper knew she wouldn't be able to get her attention by screaming, so she simply flicked the lights on and off.
Startled, Mira threw her headphones off and flashed a fighting stance in Pepper's direction. Once she realized it was only Pepper, her shoulders dropped and her face turned red with anger. "What do you want, Pepper? I'm a little busy here."
The woman standing in front of her was smiling ear to ear. "Mira, they got him."