Chapter 1: Introducing Lucille Stark

Lucy's Diary, Entry One

Well diary, tomorrow is going to be a big day for me. It'll be the first time I go back to school after a long absence, when I mean "absence", I mean that I've been bedridden for six months after I was in a horrible accident, and my dad has been taking care of me ever since. I love my father. He is one of the greatest father's a girl could ever have. He gives me anything I ask for, no matter the expense, he also makes sure that I have the best education possible. I have an incredibly high IQ like dad does. Even though I already graduated from MIT about a year ago, I still need my social life. So, I go to school at Beverly Hills High School.

I also have a part-time job at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. I only work there twice a week or on special occasions. It's the kind of side job that I want to have before I end up working in the family business. Joining the family business isn't a bad thing and I can certainly handle it with no problems. Dad has already started the process of showing me around the company and explaining how everything operates and showing me things that the company is working on. I will admit that it is interesting, but I'm not ready to have to deal with such things just yet. Hence that's why I hang out with my friends and go to school.

But, I haven't actually been at my job or school for several months, because I've been re-learning how to walk and how to use my hands again. One night, on the way home from my job, I was hit by a drunk driver and lost the ability to move pretty much any of the muscles in my body. Doctors didn't think that I'd make it, but I proved them wrong. The only reason that I am able to walk, write, drive, and do anything like a normal person does is because of Dad. He and the staff at Stark Industries, the previously mentioned family business, plus some of the world's best doctors created a device that sticks into my spine and stimulates the nerves and muscles into doing their jobs again. If I have my device in, I'm just like any other teenage girl. But, if it is removed for at least a half an hour, I would be completely paralytic once more. I call my device the Spinal Tap. You know, cause it's tapping into my spine. It's silly, I know, but I can't help myself. And it's the name of an actual medical procedure called Lumbar puncture. Needless to say, I don't want to take the Spinal Tap off. Ever.

Since the accident, it's been 24/7 Dad time. Despite his public behavior, Dad can be quite overprotective, even more so since the accident. It's not a bad thing to be with Dad so much, but it will be nice to see some other familiar faces. Dad doesn't really want me to go back to school tomorrow, because when I'm there he can't keep an eye on me, but I don't really want him to go to Afghanistan tomorrow either, so we're at a draw. But, let's be honest, even if Dad wasn't going into a war zone tomorrow, I'd still be going to school and the museum. I can't stay in this house forever. But I'm still nervous about getting back in my car, because unknown to Dad, ever since the accident, I've been terrified about being in small tight places, I think I'm claustrophobic. And I'm afraid to tell Dad, because he'll think I'm weak.

Lucy sighed as she paused from her writing and looked out her bedroom window, which overlooked the ocean. She was pondering to herself when a voice called out through the speakers of the house.

JARVIS: "Lucille, your father and Miss Potts have just pulled into the driveway."

Lucy: "Thank you, JARVIS. (Lucy replied, as she closed her diary and put her pen down) Should I go greet them or should you?"

JARVIS: "I will, if you wish, Lucille."

Lucy: "I'm just kidding, JARVIS. (Lucy said. She stood and headed down to meet her father and Pepper) And would it fry your circuits to call me Lucy?"

JARVIS: "Lucille, you know how hard it is for me to call you just by your name! Let alone nicknames."

Lucy: "Well, keep trying. I have faith in you, Jarvis. I know you can do it."

Lucy went down the stairs and smiled when she saw her father and Pepper in the kitchen.

Lucy: "Hey Dad. Hey Pepper. Whatcha doing?"

Tony looked up and smiled when he saw his daughter approach.

Tony: "Hey, honey. We were just talking about the party tonight."

Lucy: "Party? What party?"

Pepper: "The awards ceremony tonight in Las Vegas. Your father is getting the Apogee Award. (Pepper replied) You didn't forget, did you?"

Lucy: "(chuckles nervously) Uh nooo.."

Tony: "You did forget, didn't you?"

Lucy: "(sighs) Alright, you got me. I've been busy thinking about school tomorrow that I forgot. (Lucy replied)"

Pepper: "Well, fortunately for you Lucy, I made sure that a dress was prepared for you. (Pepper replied as Tony laughed) It should be hanging up in the dining room."

Lucy: "Ooh, she's good. (Lucy said as she pointed at Pepper and turned to go back and see which dress Pepper had picked) Don't let this one go, Dad. I like her."

Tony: "Your wish is my command, Princess! (Tony yelled after her. He turned back to Pepper) What dress did you pick?"

Pepper: "A light blue whimsical dress with dark blue flower patterns on it."

Tony: "WOW! She'll look so beautiful in that dre… (he realizes something) Wait a minute! It's not the dress from the hallway closet, is it?"

Pepper: "(sighed a little) Yes."

Tony: "(very angry) Pepper!"

Pepper: "I'm sorry, Tony. But, that dress was just collecting dust in that closet, and I wanted to make sure it was cleaned. And besides, you said that you always wanted to see Lucy wear it, to her prom, even to her wedding."

Tony: "Yes, but that dress belonged to her mother. I don't want it to get messed up. (Tony said, turning away from his secretary) I just don't want anyone seeing Lucy's…device. I don't want anyone to bring it up and cause her to re-live horrible memories."

Pepper: "Do you not want that to happen to Lucy? Or yourself?"

Tony didn't answer and turned back to Pepper. She couldn't help but notice the pain in his eyes. She knew that it was him who didn't want to be reminded about the night he almost lost his daughter and his world. Tony stayed quiet for a few moments as he had a flashback of the car accident six and a half months prior.

Flashbacks to August 5th, 2008; Tony was working on one of his many cars in his workshop when his phone starts ringing, he stops working and picks up the phone.

Tony: "Hello?"

Lucy: "Hey Dad. I just finished my shift at the museum. I'm heading home now."

Tony: "(looks at the clock on the wall; which said 9:34 PM) You're surely working late."

Lucy: "Yeah. I got stuck doing the last tour of the day, and it took ages. (Lucy said as she got into her car)"

Tony: "Well, don't get hung up on that. Just appreciate the fact that you have a good job, and everyone likes you and your work."

Lucy: "(smiles as her father made that lovely comment) Thanks, Dad. You always know what to say. I'll be home soon. Love you."

Tony: "Love you too, sweetie! (hangs up the phone)"

Lucy puts down her phone and turns the key and starts up her car, and pulls out of the parking lot of the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Cuts to Lucy's car driving through the sea cliffs of Malibu. By now, it was 10:07 P.M., everything was calm, Lucy's favorite song was playing on the radio, and then Lucy's phone rings.

Lucy: "(picks up the phone) Hello?"

Paige: "(through the phone's speaker, her voice sounded stuffed up) What up girl!"

Lucy: "Oh hey Paige! Are you feeling any better?"

Paige: "(blows her nose before speaking) A little bit. The new medicine that mom got earlier seems to be kicking in. And about time too. (Blows her nose before speaking) I hate being sick."

Lucy: "Yeah. It's not fun. And you know you're supposed to be resting, right?"

Paige: "(sniffs) I know. But with Rosie over at a slumber party at her friend's house, and Mom and Dad out on their anniversary dinner, I'm lonely and bored. I just need some excitement then just sitting in bed all of the time. Speaking of excitement, did Mrs. Shepherd give you the promotion yet?"

Lucy: "Not yet. But there's an employee meeting at the museum in two days, I'll find out then."

Paige: "(blows her nose before speaking) I know you love working at the museum. (Sniffs) We'll see if you get to work full time. (Sniffs) Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Lucy: "Alrighty. Make sure that you get plenty of rest, drink plenty of liquids, and most importantly…"

But before Lucy could finish; a drunk driver came out of nowhere at full speed and within seconds the driver drove Lucy off the road and over the cliff screaming in fear, and when after the car landed in the water, Lucy hits her head on the steering wheel and was knocked out for a few moments.

Then the car started to sink and Lucy groaned as she woke up. She gasped as she realized the situation she was in and tried loosening the seat belt, but it was stuck. Acting quickly, she grabbed her pocket knife from the glove box to cut through the seat belt. After much determination, she finally cut the seat belt loose and attempted to open the door but it was jammed. Lucy was running out of time and would soon run out of air and she would die. She took a deep breath and went under the water. With her lungs filling up with water, Lucy used all her strength to break the window and swim to the surface. Luckily, she made it to the surface and the shoreline and she passed out.

Lucy goes in and out of consciousness as she is rushed through the hospital and into the emergency room. She was able to hear her father's voice between those moments.

Past Tony: "Don't worry sweetheart, I'm right here… I need to be strong for… Just hang in there!"

Crossfades from a close up of past Tony's tearful eye to present Tony's tearful eye as the flashback ends.

Tony: "(sighs) That night was one of the most horrifying moments in my life. (Tony admitted, with a somewhat shaky voice that almost caught Pepper off guard) You remember that night, don't you?"

Pepper: "(she nodded) Of course I do. I don't think that I will ever be able to forget it. But Lucy wants her life to get back on track with her life. I know that you just want to protect her, Tony, but she needs to learn how to continue on her own. Her device is helping her do everything that she did before, so you need to allow her to get back into her routine."

Tony: "I know, but… (Tony stopped when Lucy came back from the dining room after putting on the dress, his emotions changed from sad to overjoyed) Wow! Honey, you look just as beautiful as your mother when she wore that dress."

Lucy: "(blushes) Thanks dad. I love the dress, Pepper! Excellent choice."

Pepper: "(she smiled) Glad you like it."

Lucy: "What time are we leaving?"

Tony: "A couple of hours. The thing's in Vegas, after all. (Tony motioned back to the stairs) So, you better head upstairs and start getting ready. We all know that women take forever to get ready. (He teased. Pepper just rolled her eyes)"

Lucy: "(narrowing her eyes) Really? At least I will actually bother to show up and won't let someone else fill in for me."

Tony made a face at his daughter as she smiled at him and turned to go back upstairs.

Tony: "Hey! I'm going to prove you wrong this time."

Lucy: "(she looked over her shoulder) No, you won't."

Tony watched as Lucy went back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. His eyes never left the glowing purple circle in the middle of her back. Pepper put a hand on his shoulder.

Pepper: "I know that you are worried about her. But, she'll be fine. If she can make it through this horrible thing, she can make it through anything."

Hello everyone! Traininspector11 G2 here. This is my first FanFiction story ever! I'm a big fan of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe).

After seeing the entire MCU (including some the TV shows), I was inspired to write this story about Lucy Stark. The original idea of this story came from HistoryGirl22 (formerly known as WWWLover) and few other people.

In this first installment of what I like to call the "Iron Maiden Saga", the saga will stretch from Iron Man (2008), all the way to Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019). I'll also write a chapter or two of Lucy as a guest star on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

UPDATE 1: I decided to rewrite Chapter 1 a little after I had a talk with HistoryGirl22. I renamed Tony's daughter from Alex to Lucy (which is the name of Lucy Preston from Timeless).

UPDATE 2: I rewrote Chapter 1 a little to include more of Lucy's mother (who is portrayed by Blake Lively in this saga); and Rosie (who is Paige's younger sister and who is portrayed by Zoey Deutch in this saga).

TRIVIA: Lucille Stark is portrayed by Melissa Benoist in this saga.

The light blue brigade dress that Lucy wears and belonged to her mother is the same dress that Rory Gilmore wore in Gilmore Girls.

Lucy and Paige's conversation on the phone before the accident happens is similar to Tony's kidnapping in Afghanistan.

I hope that you enjoy this first chapter! Please read and review!