Life as Maya Stark • Iron Man's Daughter [ 1 ]

01

2 years later...

Maya stared at the map in her hand and then up at the house in front of her. "No way," Maya breathed out. A house none like Maya had ever seen before stood in front of her. It was grand, flawless, and bright. It sat on top of a mountain that looked over one of Malibu's wonderful beaches. It was the total opposite of her old home in New York. In Maya's opinion, this was her dream house.

Maya started walking towards the front door. She wiped away the sweat that had formed on her forehead from the hours of walking in the morning sun before she then tried to fix up her appearance.

She used her hands to fix her hair and then rubbed all the dirt off of her face. Next, Maya secured her backpack and then made sure her shoes were tied on tight. Maya flattened her shirt, instantly getting rid of the wrinkles and then brushed the dirt off of her pants. Maya only smiled when she finally no longer looked like she had been walking through dirt for hours.

Maya walked up to the front door and was about to knock when the door was thrown open. Maya jumped back in surprise and watched as a woman came out the door. The woman walked away angrily and Maya's eyes widened. Maya looked at the door and saw another woman standing in the doorway.

She looked at Maya and her facial expression softened. "Hello. I'll take three boxes of any flavor. I'll go get the money right now," the woman told Maya. "What?" Maya asked in confusion. "You're a Girl Scout, right? And you're selling cookies?" the woman asked. Maya shook her head, "No. Actually, I was looking for my father."

"Well, no one here has a kid, so, if that is all-" the woman started to say as she started to close the door. "Tony Stark!" Maya exclaimed. The woman froze and opened the door again. "What?" the woman asked. "Tony Stark...he's my father," Maya said. "Are you sure?" the woman asked, not believing the girl that was standing in front of her. Maya nodded.

The woman stood there for a second before stepping aside. "Come on in," the woman said. Maya smiled and muttered, "Thank you." Maya walked inside and her eyes widened. "Wow! It's even better on the inside!" Maya exclaimed.

Right in front of Maya was an impressive living room. A long curved sofa, a matching table with matching chairs, a circular skylight, two guitars in a rack at the side, a cool looking lamp, some pictures, and a water feature filled the room. But the best part was the giant window that showed Maya the vast blue of the Pacific Ocean.

The woman chuckled as Maya stared at the room in awe. "I'm Pepper," the woman stated. Maya looked at the woman and smiled. "I'm Maya," Maya told Pepper. Pepper smiled at her and a voice said, "Welcome Miss Maya. I am J.A.R.V.I.S." Maya looked around the room, but saw no one.

"Who said that?" Maya asked. "That was J.A.R.V.I.S. Mr. Stark's AI computer," Pepper answered as a screen appeared in front of Maya, the letters J, A, R, V, I, and S lighting up on the screen. "What does J.A.R.V.I.S stand for?" Maya asked. "It stands for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, Miss Maya," J.A.R.V.I.S. answered as the letters turned into the words before the screen disappeared. "Cool. It's nice to meet you J.A.R.V.I.S. Please, just call me Maya," Maya said.

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark is down in his lab. Would you like me to tell him that we have a visitor?" J.A.R.V.I.S. asked. "I'll tell him," Pepper answered before she started walking away. "J.A.R.V.I.S. while I'm gone, can you please run a scan and see if Maya is in fact related to Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked. "As you wish, Miss Potts," J.A.R.V.I.S. said.