The room was minuscule and painted an off-white color. To the side of a desk, piled with files and an old dinosaur computer, was a window with metal blinds blocking the sunlight from streaming into the room. It was midday and the battered air-conditioning unit was doing little to nothing to help cool the room from the Arizona sun. Through the shades, she could see an artificial lake in the backyard. The neighbors were out with their grandchildren again. They had invested in getting a paddle boat shaped like a duck so the grandchildren would actually want to go out on the lake. She could hear their laughter as the children paddled and the grandparents steared.

Next to the desk was a printer. It's worn appearance was accompanied by loud thumps as it prints stacks of papers. The keyboard clicks as Scarlet Miller works in a frenzy at the computer. Multiple tabs are open and she scrolls through article after article. She doesn't peel her eyes from the screen until the last sheet of paper is spat out by the printer. The printed sheets are stuck into a bulging manila envelope and secured with a tie.

The sudden squeal of one of the children had her sneaking a glance out to the lake where she saw the two kids were splashing each other.

Another moment and Scarlet was lost in her mind.

"Mom!"

A young Scarlet waddled forward slowly, balanced on the wide surface of a paddle board. The board glided forward on the calm surface of the lake. Jane Miller, her mother, stood behind her with a paddle and her long gold hair pulled back with a hair tie.

"Hmm?" Jane looked down through her eyelashes as she soaked up the Arizona sunshine.

"Look at this!" Scarlet had managed to waddle to the very end of the board and balanced on her toes. Her arms were held out on either side of her, it was funny looking as each of her skinny arms had a water wing on. The board started to wobble a bit as she started to flail her arms about. Jane chuckled and steadied the board.

"Careful, mini-me." She paddled forwards again, turning the board around. "You might fall off."

"No, I won't. I got the bestest balancing skills ever." Scarlet made her point by lifting a foot off the board and balancing like a flamingo. She swayed from side to side on her feet.

"Scarlet. You're going to fall in." Jane looked up when she heard the revving of a motor and seconds later a sports boat came flying past and created a large wake. "Scarlet, you better put your feet back on the board." But Jane's warning went unheeded as the waves reached the board and both Jane and Scarlet fell in.

Scarlet came up with a shriek and Jane laughed as she helped Scarlet back on the board.

"I think you need to work on your balancing act, mini-me."

The little girl was shivering and grumbling as her mother pulled the board back towards land with a smile.

Looking away from the window Scarlet examined her folder. She picked up her phone to check the time but when she went to unlock her phone it started ringing. A generic pop song from a well-known movie filled the silent room. It was an alarm. Scarlet took a moment to control her heart rate before reaching for the orange pill bottle on the dresser next to her. She took out two small white pills before popping them into her mouth and swallowing it with water.

Scarlet looked at the phone once more before wiping and shutting down the computer. She grabbed her envelope and left the phone on the desk. She grabbed a green vintage army bag from her room and went into her closet.

Scarlet stuffed the bag with clothes and all the money that was in the hidden cookie jar she found on top of the fridge. Her mom was a sucker for the classics.

Making her way to the front door, she stopped in the living room to look at Margaret sleeping on the couch. She was her nanny while her mom was off on tour. The old woman looked exhausted and frail. The wrinkles on her face seemed to be accentuated in her sleep. While Margaret, or Marge as she asked to be called, was awake her age was hardly noticed because she would manage to light up a room whether it was from a smile or a crude joke. Marge had been watching over Scarlet for about three years now. Scarlet had always thought of her as something like a grandmother. She had been there ever since her mom lost her job and had to join the Marine Corps in order to support them.

Scarlet and she felt a deep sense of guilt for what she was about to do to her. Scarlet wanted nothing more than to stay with Marge like they always did. Laugh at each other's witty comments and try to beat each other in a game of rummy. But most importantly she wanted to tell her why she had to leave. She couldn't though, Marge would try and stop her and Scarlet couldn't bear to talk to her face to face about this.

It was time to go.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Scarlet convinced herself that she would see her again. She was acting like this was the end. Though she would be leaving without telling anyone, Scarlet was sure she would be forgiven for her actions once she returned. That Marge would be kind and welcome her back to the rummy table with open arms. She wouldn't be gone forever, she would be back.

Scarlet started for the door and snatched Margaret's keys from her purse and slipped out the door before the nanny woke up and realized she was gone.

Even though the air was warm, Scarlet pulled her pull over closer to herself, a sudden shiver running through her from apprehension. She unlocked Marge's car and slipped into the seat. Setting the folder and bag down in the passenger seat she headed to the next place on her agenda.

Driving the car down the street she put on her sunglasses her baseball cap from her first year on the school's softball team. The smell of dirt and sunflower seeds had Scarlet receding into her mind again.

Clack.

The yellow ball soared through the air and Scarlet's hands still felt the vibrations from the bat as she started running. She tore towards first, running at full speed to make up for her short legs. When she reached first, she looked towards her coach who told her to keep running. She didn't question him as she rounded first and sprinted past a slacking shortstop who was kicking at the dirt.

Scarlet could hear the screams of her teammates as they cheered for her.

"Keep going!"

"Go, go, go!"

Most of the yells were drowned out by others and Scarlet looked ahead to see Maddie reach home plate. Scarlet slowed down to round second. She found it odd that no one had told her to stop yet. She never really hit it that far, barely made it past the infield most of the time. The assistant coach waved his arm round to signal her to round to home.

Scarlet nearly tripped over third base as she rounded it and shot like a rocket to home. She could hear the ball thud into a glove somewhere near her and her heart started to pound in her chest.

"Down!" The frantic yell from her coach startled her and she immediately found herself sliding on her side and her foot pointed out like a needle towards the true north. The ball snapped into the glove of the catcher inches above her head, but it didn't matter, she hit the plate.

Her team was a mess. They were screaming and cheering and flinging things around in the dugout. The game had ended then, they had reached the run limit. Scarlet looked over to Jane who was grinning just as big as Scarlet was. The team then had dumped their water bottles on Scarlet as they were missing a cooler. Scarlet had to wait outside the ice cream shop while the coaches got ice cream because she was too soaked to go inside.

Scarlet came back to herself in a jolt, realizing that she had started drifting out of the lane. She jolted the steering wheel back over and focused on the road. She glanced at the familiar scenery from where she grew up as she drove past. She was going to miss this place but in order to take control of what was going on, she couldn't stay. She needed to get away from whatever ghosts her mother warned her about from an early age.

She stopped at the bank and took money out of hers and her mother's account. Scarlet's heart was pounding. She felt like each of the bankers was watching her with critical eyes and that they would crack down on her like a bad dream at any moment. But in the end, Scarlet walked out with the money and was on her way. She walked out of the bank with a large sum of money and a minor heart failure.

Once she counted her money and was sure she had everything she started her drive to the next place on her list.

The building was made of cinderblocks and had multiple large metal garage doors. The majority of the building was spray painted wild colors and had the words Chop Shop Spray painted over the length of two of the garage doors. When Scarlet got out of the car the sun beat down overhead. She walked through the front door of the shop and walked through the welcoming area to the auto repair area in the back. She could hear the sound of heavy machinery command large area as Scarlet walked further into the back of the shop. With her bag over her shoulder and the envelope stuffed inside.

When she reached the source of the noise she saw a large man with a welding stick in his hands.

The man's arms were covered in tattoo's and his face had smudged oil over his brow and by his cheek. He was wearing a welding vest over the top of his wife beater and tattered jeans. He wore heavy gloves on his hands, he had small circular welding goggles on and was bent over the fender of a 1960's Beetle. When he started working with the welder again blue sparks emanated from the tip of the rod.

"Marcus," Scarlet yelled at the man over the sound of the welder. The man, or Marcus, stopped and turned towards her. As soon as he saw her he gave her a big grin, showing off his slightly yellow teeth under his greying mustache. The dark goggles were still on his face as he got up from the stool, they made him look a bit silly as he grinned like that.

"Scarlet!" He walked over to her and brought her into a hug. "What is my little flower child doing down here? I thought I told you I didn't need your help this week." Scarlet returned the hug tightly knowing this would be last time she saw him for a while.

Marcus was the owner of the car shop here and was as close to a fatherly figure she ever had in her life. When her mother had taken her car in to get fixed years ago, Marcus showed Scarlet how to fix it while her mother was on the phone trying to explain why she was unable to come into work that day. Marcus noticed how she had taken an interest in engineering, it was one of the few things that held Scarlet's attention. From there Scarlet had some kind of apprenticeship with Marcus, though it took a lot more for her to focus, he still felt like she did quite well in the field. Her mother never knew that she was helping Marcus at the shop but Scarlet preferred it that way.

Her mother never really had free time after she signed up for the Navy, and when she was home she was working odd hours at a local diner to make ends meet. So Scarlet let her have her rest when she was home, but the rare times when Jane wouldn't be working they would spend most of the day together. Even though the time they spent together was limited, they were closely knitted together and Scarlet loved her.

Though she had Marge and her mother there was still a fatherly figure missing in her life and letting go of Marcus was like letting go of the only stable ground she had left. Like giving up the man would be like giving up the one she had considered to be like a father to her. She didn't want to go but she had to, she had been warned far too many times about what would happen if she didn't.

There was a small voice in the back of her head though, doubting her mother's paranoid warnings. Writing them off as a delusion to keep Scarlet afraid of the world. While she knew her mother wouldn't do it intentionally, Scarlet couldn't help but feel like something wasn't adding up with what her mother told her.

Scarlet shook her mind from her wanderings.

"I need a trade in, Marcus." Scarlet said still hugging him. Marcus stiffened and pushed her back gently so he could look at her face. The confusion was evident on his face as she looked up to him. She dug the keys out from her pocket and handed them to Marcus. He took them hesitantly.

"What are you talking about Flowerchild? Is Margaret with you?" Marcus looked out the window and saw Margaret's car in the lot. Not seeing the nanny out by the car he looked back to the girl, bewildered. "What's wrong?"

"Marcus, I need to find my dad." Scarlet says stiffly. Just thinking about what might happen if she stayed here any longer made Scarlet's legs feel like jelly. Marcus took a moment to process her meaning.

"No, you don't. Why did this come us all of the sudden?" He asks kneeling on one knee to be level with her. "Have you talked to your mother about this?" Scarlet looks at Marcus with sad eyes.

"She's gone, Marcus." Tears had formed in Scarlet eyes.

"What she's on tour? Oh, that's right. Well, just wait until she gets back and then talk it out with her. But just taking off like this is unreasonable Scarlet."

Scarlet shook her head and looked down at her feet. He didn't understand. Scarlet didn't think she could say it out loud. When she tried her voice caught and her throat started to burn from suppressed emotions. She looked straight at his face then, her eyes boring into his.

"Please, Marcus. You know she would never talk to me about him, let alone let me go find him. I need to know, please."

Marcus stared into her pleading eyes and then looked back at the car in the parking lot. Sighing he looked down at the ground. He dragged a hand down his face and tugged on his long beard.

"May God forgive me." He whispered and then looked back at Scarlet. "Fine but I need to give you something fast, just so you can get back in time before your mom gets back. Did she ever teach you how to drive a stick shift?"

"When would she have time?" Scarlet asked following Marcus as he walked back further into the shop. She could hear Marcus mumbling something like a prayer as he opened a door that lead into the private section of the shop. Not even Scarlet was allowed back here.

"Right." He picked up keys and tossed them to Scarlet. "I only have one automatic and it's fast okay. You need to be careful, buckle up and I swear if you go any faster than 80 I'll skin you alive next time I see you." Scarlet barely caught them, as she was distracted by the line of cars that were before her. There were Chevy convertibles, Ferrari roadsters, Mustangs, t-tops and Scarlet thought she even saw a Jaguar. Marcus was gesturing to a gold and black Audi R8. She looked up at him, her eyes stinging.

"Marcus this is too much. I can't take this. You've been collecting these for years. They are your mechanical children." Marcus waved his hand to dismiss her words.

"Consider it an early birthday present. I was going to give it to you on your 17th knowing how much you love that damn car, seeing as you'd never shut up about it." Shaking her head at this she hugged Marcus once again.

After a moment she felt Marcus wrap his arms around her. She knew he didn't approve of what she was about to do but he was letting her go anyways. They wouldn't let each other's opinions get in the way.

It's here where Scarlet finally accepts the fact that she might not be coming back. There was a threat dangling over her shoulder that her mom never gave name nor face to. She needed to find refuge with the last of her known connections. She just didn't know where to go.

One traitor tear slipped from Scarlet's eye and she stepped back and wiped it away quickly.

"Don't forget to call Baby girl. I want to know all the details of your great adventure." She was thankful that he was so calm in all this. Of course, he didn't know the full story, but it was still grounding. She gave him a nod.

"I won't. Bye Uncle M." She said calling him by his old nickname, she had stopped using it after she realized how childish it was. Though, Marcus let a single tear fall down his cheek. Scarlet got in the car and pulled out of the garage and onto the street where she heard Marcus say softly.

"Bye my Flowerchild."

She looked at him once more. His expression seemed to suggest that he was torn between stopping her and letting her go. Scarlet had to think about what she would do if she was in the same position as him. Scarlet knew that by now she would have stopped herself from driving off. Marcus had not tried to stop her, Scarlet was extremely grateful for that too. She might not have had the courage to do this otherwise.

The shop's phone started blaring from inside, scaring Marcus. He looked back towards the shop. It was only for a moment but the loss of eye contact was all she needed.

Just like that, she was gone. Driving down the road with her seatbelt on and not daring to exceed the speed limit Marcus had set for her. She would always think of Marcus as something like a father to her, but right now she needed to find her real one and let the old one go.

Scarlet's real father was never mentioned or spoken of in her mother's household but every once in a great while Scarlet would express to Marge her wonderings about who her father was. Though these wonderings never made their way to her mother Scarlet could tell Jane knew that she wanted to know.

Scarlet was not a fool. She knew that she couldn't take care of herself forever without an adult's help. There was no other family on her mother's side that Scarlet knew of. No cousins, aunts, uncles or grandparents. Scarlets only hope of someone who might actually help her out, in the long run, would be her father.

The file and backpack were placed next to her. If the information in that envelope was right, there was only one person who could find her father in the limited amount of time that she had, well the only one who owed her mother a favor. She pulled into a road stop after she got out of town and pulled directions to the two different places out of her folder. First, she needed to check his house in California. It was closer and safer there anyway. The Avengers were in Manhattan and that wouldn't work. They were with S.H.I.E.L.D. She couldn't be found by them, not yet.

Not until she found her father. After that everything would calm down.

Right?

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