A/N: A massive thank you to all who have favourited and followed this story, it really means a huge amount! Also special thank you to orangeandvanilla for the lovely review! Because of all the interest I decided to release the next chapter earlier than I was planning to, so please enjoy!

I did also realise that I had forgotten to put a disclaimer in my last notes so... Disclaimer: I don't own Avengers (obviously) only my OCs and their plot lines are mine!
By the way if any of you get the chance to see the new film Suffragette please do watch it because I did yesterday and I have to say it was AMAZING! Lucksby xx

CHAPTER 4

Finally arriving in New York City had put the whole school party in a rather excitable mood, and, as they piled into taxis to go to their hotel, Ren found it easy to be swept along by it. The city of towering metal, glass, and brick was in a word stunning, and the throng of people all around her made her feel absurdly safe. It was a day Ren would remember for the rest of her life; having a fear, facing it, and in consequence finding something truly unforgettable. It would forever remind her the beauty of bravery.

Falling into bed that night, both Ren and Celena felt content in a way that wasn't only to do with the amount of pizza they had just consumed, and even the thought of the memorial in the morning couldn't dampen Ren's good mood.

She lay on her back with a pleased smirk, "You owe me $10 Cel, stupid move to bet that I wouldn't finish that pizza!"

"Yes it appears that it was", her friend huffed in reply, "trust me, I have learned never to question your stomach capacity ever again."

There was a knock at the door of the room they were sharing, and Cel opened the door to reveal Mr Divall standing in the corridor.

"Did you both enjoy dinner?" He asked smiling as Ren and Cel both burst out laughing, "Well I'll take that as a yes. I just came to tell you that we are meeting at 10 o'clock tomorrow, and as the hotel doesn't cater for breakfast, you'll need to get up in time to go out and get something to eat."

"Okay, thanks Mr D"

"Seren, Celena, you both have a good night." He responded before moving away down the corridor to the next room to deliver the same message to its occupants.

"So, what do you think it's gonna be like tomorrow?" Ren asked when they had regained their privacy.

"Who knows?" was her friend's reply, "All I can say is I'll be glad to get the serious part over with so that I can go absolutely mad in the shops on Fifth Avenue!"

"That, my friend, couldn't be more true."

The next day dawned in all its autumnal glory, and the girls found themselves heading through Central Park which was resplendent in orange and gold. On a normal day a group of thirty teenage girls might have been a touch conspicuous, but today was not a normal day. It seemed that half of New York City was heading to Stark Tower to hear the memorial ceremony, and the other half planned to watch it on live TV rather than spending the day working.

It was, in Ren's opinion, the kind of phenomenon that could only occur after something awful has happened; people drawn together, determined to rise stronger than they were before. One of humanity's redeeming features, she decided.

Ren was, admittedly, nervous; the desire to run was one that was still very much present within her, but at the same time she knew that what she was doing was right, that it would help her. Closure was what she needed; proof that Anthony Edward Stark had moved on. Proof that his continued ignorance of her survival was for the best.

Because it was, and she knew it. It had turned him into a better man.

"What happened here last year made me think. Dangerous I know, but nonetheless it made me consider the things that are most important. Not money, although that's nice, not power, although that's good too, but family and friends. That's why I, well I wanted to share this with you all, because I don't want anyone else to end up like me."

Ren stood in the middle of the crowd listening to the man who had given her long dark hair, chocolate eyes, and the mind that even now was furiously trying to predict what was coming next.

"You see I, was stupid. I didn't know what I had until it was gone, and that is something I will never stop regretting."

Ren was dumbfounded, she had never, not even once, heard him speak with such vulnerability and emotion. It was like a totally different man was standing on the stage, instead of the one that she had left so many years ago.

"That's the marvellous thing about hindsight though, isn't it? Looking back and realising what you should have done differently. What you should have seen coming."

But it is someone different, her subconscious whispered, and you are part of what did that to him.

"I lost one of the most important people in the world to me, nearly six years ago now, I lost my little girl, and I will always regret not spending more time with her, everyday I'm ashamed because of that."

Ren swore her heart stopped, and she was barely able to breathe.

"She's dead now, so they tell me. I have no closure, they never found her, she just disappeared in the night, she could be somewhere out there, but I am reminded every so often that the chance is just too slim. That no twelve year old girl can survive on her own in a world as cruel as the one I landed her in. What happened to my daughter taught me not to take things for granted. So did the Battle of New York. I hope that you guys learn the same lesson I did, because living with regrets isn't nice. And I do- do regret it."

Fighting desperately to hold her tears, Ren began to look for an escape route, but her progress was halted by his final words.

"So I dedicate the Avengers Tower to Carenza Stark, my beautiful daughter, wherever you are. I love you baby."

With that Ren bolted, unable to take any more of the assault on her emotions, fleeing the square as fast as the huge crowd would allow.