Scar

Chapter 1: The Race

Chapter 1: The Race

Scarlett Elizabeth Stark was born on April 14, 2013 to proud parents Tony and Pepper Stark. The year is now 2028, 15 years after Iron Man's retirement, and Scarlett is 15 years old.

Scarlett took a heaving breath as her 4x800 teammate, Summer, was extending the slippery baton to her sweaty hands. Snapping back into reality, Scarlett clutched the stick tight and took off running. "Not too fast to begin," she muttered to herself. She could vaguely hear the screams of her team and supporters as she finished her first lap. Rounding the first curve, Scarlett passed the girl that was currently in second place. "One more to go," she whispered. As she finished the straightaway, all she could hear was the phrase, "Push it" in her head. Scarlett knew that now was the time to take off, and that she did. Sprinting as fast as her long legs could carry her, she passed her final opponent right as she crossed the finish line. Overwhelmed with joy, Scarlett collapsed on the damp grass next to her and was surrounded by the cheering voices of her team. Once she had the strength to stand up, Scarlett rose to her feet and rejoyced, "Number one, baby!" 

"That was completely incredible sweetheart! I am so proud of you!" exclaimed Pepper as she started up the car.

"Thanks, Mom," Scarlett replied. Scarlett decided it was a good time to crank the toons, so she turned up the radio as loud as possible.

"Scarlett! Turn that off! I would like to talk to you!" Pepper yelled over the loud music. She made a quick move to the off button and pushed it several times, resulting in the radio to turn off, then on, then off again, and finally back on for the third time. Scarlett giggled quietly as her clueless mother sighed. "Look, you and your father were born good with this techy stuff. I was not. Now stop laughing at me and tell me about your day," requested Pepper.

"Uh, well, ok. Um, Mark talked to me more than usual today. I think he's actually starting to notice me!" said Scarlett.

"That's wonderful sweetie. Now, show me how to open the garage again please," Pepper said as she pulled up into the driveway. Scarlett magically opened the garage with the simple button, but her poor mother still couldn't figure it out. Once Scarlett and her mother dragged her heavy bags into the giant house, Pepper wanted to tell her husband the good news. "Come on, Scar. He'll be just as proud as I am," explained Pepper.

Scarlett huffed and agreed, "Fine." The two women found Tony exactly where he always was these days, in the office. When Pepper and her daughter approached the sweaty man, he was working on some kind of upgrade for JARVIS.

"Tony, baby, guess what your daughter did today," Pepper said.

Tony didn't even looked up and mumbled, "Uh, I don't know, but make this quick, I'm extremely busy."

Scarlett rolled her eyes and whispered at a volume only her mother could hear, "See? He doesn't even care." Pepper said nothing and raised her eyebrow at her hurt daughter.

"Scarlett won a race today at her track meet. Her team came in first," explained Pepper after a couple moments of silence.

Tony glanced up from his work and plainly said, "Cool. Great job."

Fuming, Scarlett exclaimed, "Come on Dad! I mean, really? Do you even give a shit?"

Pepper's eyes widened, suprised, and she calmly whispered, "Scar."

"Mom, stay out of this please. Ok Dad, here's a quick question about your daughter for ya. What's my my birthday? Huh?" Scarlett questioned.

"Honey, you know I love you and care about you very much. And the fact that I can't think of your birthday right now is not because I don't care, but because I'm so focused on my work," said her lax father.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," said Scarlett as she turned and stomped up the stairs.

"Pepper, what am I supposed to do?" asked Tony.

Pepper sighed and explained to her husband, "Tony, maybe if your "work" wasn't the only thing you cared about anymore, this would have never happened." Pepper solemnly turned away from Tony and slowly stepped up the stairs.