Franklin sat in his sixth-grade classroom when the TV turned on with breaking news.
"Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, has been reported missing following an attack on his military convoy in Afghanistan," the reporter said.
The class stopped pretending to care about cell division. On screen, they showed pictures of destroyed military vehicles in the desert, then cut to footage of Tony Stark at some press conference.
"The billionaire weapons manufacturer was in Afghanistan demonstrating a new missile system when his convoy was ambushed. Several soldiers were killed in the attack. Mr. Stark's current whereabouts are unknown."
Mrs. Peterson turned off the TV. "Back to the lesson."
But no one could focus on mitosis diagrams after that. Even Mrs. Peterson kept checking her phone when she thought no one was looking.
At lunch, Miguel sat next to Franklin. "My brother's over there. Says they use Stark weapons all the time."
"Think they'll find him?" Franklin asked.
Miguel shrugged and bit into his sandwich. "Nobody's ever grabbed someone like Stark before. My brother says the whole base is going crazy."
The cafeteria buzzed with theories. Some kids said terrorists took him. Others thought he planned it himself to get attention. A few were convinced he was already dead.
Franklin picked at his lunch, listening to everyone talk. Last week, their biggest concern had been the math test on Friday. Now they were discussing ransoms and terrorist groups like they knew what they were talking about.
After school, Franklin found his dad's truck in the pickup line instead of taking the bus. Marcus sat in the driver's seat, still wearing his construction gear.
"Job got shut down today," Marcus explained when Franklin asked. "Some kind of inspection. Your mom's working late at the lab, so I figured we'd grab something to eat."
They stopped at King Burger. Franklin noticed more news vans than usual driving around, and a helicopter circled overhead.
"City's on edge," Marcus said, watching the helicopter. "Bunch of sites got shut down today. Companies are worried about security."
"Because of Stark?"
"Yeah. Guy like that getting grabbed makes everyone nervous. Rich people especially."
They took their food home and ate while watching the news. Every channel showed the same things - the attack site, Stark's face, military officials saying they were doing everything possible to find him.
Franklin's phone buzzed with a text from Jerome: "You seeing this Stark news? Crazy stuff. Whole city's talking about it up here."
The next day at school, security guards patrolled the halls. Principal Martinez said it was just a drill, but everyone knew better. If someone could take Tony Stark, they could take anybody.
In class, nobody paid attention to the lessons. Everyone kept checking their phones under their desks for updates about Stark. But there weren't any. He was just gone.
During PE, Franklin overheard two teachers talking.
"Stark Industries stock is falling," one said. "My husband wants to sell before it gets worse."
"You think they'll find him?"
"After three days in that desert? I don't know."
Franklin thought about the weapons they showed on TV. His uncle Jerome had mentioned once that his security company sometimes worked with Stark Industries. Last Christmas, Jerome gave Franklin a magazine with Tony Stark on the cover, talking about something called the Jericho missile.
At home that evening, Franklin did his homework while his parents watched more news coverage. The reporters had started talking about what would happen to Stark Industries if they didn't find Tony. Who would run the company? What about all the military contracts?
Lisa came home from her lab job looking tired. "They're talking about it at the hospital too. Apparently, Stark Industries makes a lot of medical equipment. Nobody knows what's going to happen with their research division."
"World's getting crazy," Marcus said, shaking his head at the TV. "First the weapons king gets grabbed, now everybody's acting like the sky's falling."
Franklin's phone buzzed again. Another text from Jerome: "Stay safe down there, nephew. Things are tense in New York too. Might have to cancel my trip out west next month if this situation doesn't clear up."
The evening news started showing pictures of candlelight vigils outside Stark Industries headquarters. Someone interviewed Colonel James Rhodes, who talked about the ongoing search efforts. The military wasn't giving up.
Franklin watched people placing candles and signs. Yesterday, Tony Stark had everything - money, fame, that huge house in Malibu they kept showing on TV. Today, nobody even knew if he was alive.
In his room, Franklin pulled out the magazine Jerome had given him. Tony Stark smiled from the cover, standing in front of a wall of missiles. The headline read: "The Future of Defense." Franklin wondered what kind of future it would be without the guy who was supposed to build it.
His mom knocked on his door. "Homework done?"
"Almost."
"Try not to stay up too late watching the news. You still have that science test tomorrow."
Franklin nodded, but they both knew nobody would be thinking about science tests tomorrow. Or maybe for a while.
Franklin finished his homework and got ready for bed. The TV downstairs still played news about Stark. He turned off his light and set his alarm for school tomorrow.