*Iron Man© and its characters are owned by Stan Lee

Twilight© and its characters are owned by Stephenie Meyer

Riley Stark© is owned by superherofan95

2009

*Free running, to summarize, could be described as a form of "urban acrobatics" in which participants (free runners) use the city and rural landscape to perform movements through its structures. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as tricking and street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas that are cluttered with obstacle

Chapter 1: The Nightmare

"You're not alone Riley," the voice said from the darkness, "I've been watching you for many months. I have been keeping you safe. You think you have no one to talk to, but that's not true. You have your brother and friends to talk to. You have me. Trust me Riley. I promise I won't hurt you."

"Get away from me!" I screamed, "Who are you? What do you want?" I ran through the dark woods that surrounded me endlessly. My breathing was fast and my lungs ached as cold air swept through them. Tears were flowing down my face. "Go! Leave me alone!" I screamed again half-crying. I found a huge tree to hide and to catch my breath. I was alone. I had no one to scream for help. No one could hear me.

"Calm down Riley." The voice coaxed next to me in my ear. I screamed in fear. Then a male figure stepped out of the shadows. He reached out a hand toward mine. "Calm down Riley." He said again. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. You can trust me." He reached closer.

"Aahh!" I unleashed a blood curling scream. I darted up from my bed. Sweat soaked my shirt. My sheets were wrapped around my legs from thrashing. It was only a dream; a nightmare.

"Riley!" a voice shouted from downstairs, "Riley are you ok?" I heard footsteps running outside my door. The door opened revealing my brother Tony. He rushed to my bed and sat down next to me, wrapping his arms around me. "Riley are you ok? I heard you screaming from downstairs." I nodded and leaned my head against his chest shaking with fear from the nightmare.

"I had another nightmare." I explained looking up at his face filled with concern. He pulled me closer and kissed the top of my head. Ever since Dad died, Tony's been very protective of me. He's a busy man, but somehow he manages to have time for me. He's head of Stark Industries; America's top weapon-making company designed by my dad. We live in Malibu on a cliff in a high-tec mansion with a spectacular view of the ocean and the city. My brother's a shallow pig, but is kept organized by his assistant Pepper Potts who by the way is very cool for a chick that is way older than me.

"You're safe," Tony coaxed, "no one's going to chase you in dark places." His voice was comforting and relaxing. "No more staying up late at casinos for you missy." He added. I stared at him.

"That's not my fault!" I cried, "You're the one who brought me there because of the banquet for the award Rhodey presented, but you weren't there to get it because you were too busy gambling and flirting with women." I glared at him. "I'm surprised you could get up here after how many martinis you had and what happened between you and that reporter Christine." I added coldly. He looked shocked while he got up from my bed and walked over to the windows pressing a button to open up the shades that were really darkened windows.

"I was only messing with you," He teased, "and how do you know what happened between me and her.?"

"Jarvis." I answered simply. Jarvis is our computer who runs the house. He's very helpful at times and is easy to influence to help. Like last night for an example; Tony brings a woman I don't know who she is and he sleeps with her.

"Crap!" Tony looked worried, "God I hope Pepper didn't watch the video." He ran his fingers through his brown hair still worried. He sighed big. Oh I caught him in a tight spot.

"Oh you better hope so." I darkly threatened him. He turned around slowly.

"Was that a threat?" He asked in his dangerous voice, "Did my own little sister threaten me?" He sauntered closer to me. A grin slowly reached my mouth. Suddenly he lunged for me and I sprinted out the door. "I'm going to get you Twerp!" I heard him yell. I knew he was teasing. We tease each other all the time. We probably can't go through a day without teasing one another. He chased me into the living room into a tight spot. I dodged his grip as he lunged for me. "You're impossible to catch Riley!" He laughed. I leaped over the couch with ease.

Tony seemed to have trouble jumping over the couch because he ended up on the floor. "You're like a ninja." He commented. I stood at his feet and chuckled. That part was actually true in a way. At night, I sometimes sneak out of the house to do a little free running. It's an ability some people are born with. They bend the laws of gravity so it means we can run on walls for a certain amount of time, do a King Kong leap over walls, and my personal favorite; jumping from a great height and somersault onto the ground without getting hurt.

Tony jumped up so quickly I didn't have time to react. He tossed me on the somewhat comfortable couch and gave me a noogie. "I can't believe you did that." Tony laughed, "You clever Twerp." Then he began to tickle me. "Looks like Riley still haves some ticklish spots." That was one of my weaknesses whenever I'm around him. He kept tickling me until I had tears running down my face and my lungs and side began to hurt. "Do you want to help me fix an engine?"

"Sure." I nodded in agreement. Tony taught me everything about computers, weapons, and cars. I help him clean or fix engines whenever they needed it. I was already wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so we headed downstairs to the really cool high tech lab. Tony checked the archives to see if there were any cars that needed fixing. We found one with flames painted on the sides had some valve problems. "Of course it's always one of the custom built cars that need fixing." I muttered under my breath. Tony started to laugh as he turned on some music. We've always had a habit of turning music on when we were working, doing homework, thinking new ideas for stuff, or building something. We can't stand the quiet for some strange reason. We usually do better when music is on. I guess it runs through the family.

We were working on it for an hour until the music somehow shut itself off. I looked around to see who did. Pepper walked into the lab with one of her you're-suppose-to-be-half-way-around-the-world-looks. "Please don't turn off my music," Tony said without looking up from the engine, "I hate it when someone does that especially when it's a good song. Wasn't it Riley?" I nodded turning my attention back to the engine.

Sure enough; "You're suppose to be half-way around the world by now Mr. Stark." Pepper reminded him. Tony stopped his progress and grabbed a rag.

"Do you want to finish that?" He asked while he wiped his oil and grease covered hands on the rag. I nodded. Then I scanned over the engine to see what else needed repairs. Pepper gave a look of disproval. "She doesn't mind." He said, "Do you?" I shook my head still working. Pepper talked to him reminding the upcoming dates of meetings and special occasions. After a few minutes of discussion, Tony grabbed his keys and jacket. "I'll call you two after the demonstration." He called. He gave me a quick hug and a noogie on the head. "See you later Riley."

"Bye Tony." I called after him. I'm going to miss him even though I will see him in a couple of days. I guess the reason why is because Tony and I have a very close relationship. Most brothers and sisters treat each other like crap.

"So Riley," Pepper began with a sigh, "what do you want to do today? I know it sounds bizarre hanging around your brother's assistant, but do you want to do something?" I understood that she was trying to keep me company and try not to die of boredom.

"Honestly Pepper," I confessed, "I really don't know. I'm almost done fixing this engine, so maybe we could do something after that." She looked a little disappointed. "There. I'm done. Now, let's find out what to do." We each gave each other ideas on our favorite things and see what we have in common. We found a couple of things. We both like to swim, go sail boating, rock climbing, and go to the movies.

I finished working on the engine around 11:30, so I would be having lunch in a half hour. So to help pass time, I grabbed my copy of Twilight from the study. I pulled up a chair on the deck and started reading. So far, I'm on chapter 4. What happened so far was one of the main characters named Bella Swan, moved from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her dad because her mom got remarried to a man who's in a baseball league and has to travel a lot. Bella meets a guy who is absolutely amazing named Edward Cullen. One morning, she's almost hit by a van, but Edward comes out of nowhere and saves her life. That's all I got to so far. It's very addicting.

"What are you reading there?" Pepper's voice said faintly. I jumped bringing me back to reality. "I'm sorry I made you jump Riley."

"No. It's ok." I assured her, "It's just that I got lost in this book I'm reading. It's called Twilight. The author is a very good descriptive writer. You can picture everything in your head."

"I've heard about that book. I've seen people read the series." She said, "Here's your lunch by the way: a grilled cheese sandwich, apples with caramel dip, and a Pepsi." She handed my lunch.

"Thanks." I replied, "I didn't know it was noon already." I ate my sandwich, had a couple of apple slices with caramel, and took a long drink of Pepsi. "That was good." I commented.

"Thank you," She replied, "I made it instead of ordering takeout. Hey isn't that book about a girl who falls in love with a teenage vampire who's 108 years old?" She added.

"Yep," I replied, "you should read it. I'll let you borrow it once I'm done." She nodded an ok. "Pepper can I ask you a favor?" She nodded another ok. "I need you to keep this a secret from anyone, even Tony. The famous teenage boy guitar player Riley, it's…it's…it's actually me. I don't want to tell Tony or anyone else or they'll go berserk on me. I know that you don't want to keep secrets away from him, but I've been fighting with myself for months. I've been trying to find someone to trust and something keeps telling me that it's you I can trust."

"Riley," Pepper began, "I may not be your mother or any relative, but I'm proud of you. You're this world-known guitar player with multiple music abilities. That's incredible. Most people your age can't do that and be famous at the same time. You're one of few people in the world with a special gift. I promise to keep your secret. It's safe with me. I cross-my-heart-pinkie swear. I need a copy of your performance schedule so that when Tony comes back, we can sneak you out of here to get to your concerts. How do you disguise yourself?"

"Well," I began, "I dress like a guy that really isn't hard for me because I already do. And I wear a wig that's the same shade of brown except the wig is a little lighter than mine. I also wear a black beanie too." Pepper nodded as I went through the details.

After I got through the details, Pepper was going to comment on what I should do, but before she opened her mouth, Jarvis announced that we have visitors. I rushed to the door and answered it. When I opened the door, I found my friends Sam Wilcox and Nicole Denton standing in the doorway.

"Jarvis I need you to keep this information away from Tony." Pepper commanded.

"As you wish Ms. Potts I will keep this information classified from Mr. Stark" Jarvis replied.

"Yeah Jarvis you need to keep it away from Tony or he'll pound me." I added. I eyed Sam what was going on. She already knows about the whole guitar thing. Nicole was petite and has dark hair that she redyed every other month. She looks small for her age, but she's fifteen like me. She doesn't know the secret about me. That's why I trust Sam. I've trusted her since we were 4 and swimming in the baby pool. Sam was like me: tall and skinny with long dark hair that reached the mid back. She is shorter than me by a couple of inches, but she's tall and the same age as me. All three of us are sophomores in high school.

"Hey Riley," Nicole greeted with a smile, "is Tony here?"

"Nope," I replied, "he left for a demonstration for a new weapon in the Afghanistan desert, but he'll be back in a couple of days." They both looked disappointed. Tony treats them like family. They love hanging out with him and he always makes it interesting.

"Do you want to go see a movie with us?" Sam asked quickly instead.

"Yeah I'd love to. Let me ask Pepper to let her know where I'll be." I said, "How'd you two get here anyway?"

"My dad drove us." Nicole answered looking embarrassed. Unlike me, they live in the suburbs and Nicole's dad embarrasses her a lot whenever I'm around.

"Pepper is it ok if I hang out with Nicole and Sam?" I asked walking in the kitchen.

"Sure." Pepper answered without looking up from her agenda. She loved seeing the two of them.

"Thanks." Then the three of us headed out the door. "So what movie are we going to see?"

"I was thinking the Dark Knight. I hear it's really good." Sam suggested. We all agreed on the choice. The rest of the day ran smoothly for me.