An Ending and a Beginning (November 2001)

Ava felt like a kid in a candy store when they entered the jewelry store. She took her time and looked at every ring. There were some that she immediately knew she didn't like, but she picked out others that she wanted to try on. After close to two hours in the store she finally made a selection. It was a beautiful Pear cut diamond with a halo of smaller diamonds on the outside and diamonds along the band. It was a large stone and she Ava was concerned about the price, but Frank didn't even bat an eye. The fit was perfect and so she walked out with the ring on her finger that day. She was so excited and she couldn't stop looking at it as he drove them back to the Tower.

When they arrived Bruce and Shuri were conferring together over a couple plates of food at the table. Logan, Steve, Kate and Natalya were in the Gym working on some moves to try and lure Loki into the containment area. Loki sometimes liked to engage in combat. Mostly when he was tired of being ignored. Logan was the best choice to start in on him and so they focused on that. Since they were going to be fighting on SHIELD's turf, they had Kate act as a SHIELD agent who tried to stop them. Shuri was trying to make the force field zones portable enough to hide on the back of Steve's shield. T'Challa and Isabella watched the training, giving critiques in how they did after each bout.

"Hey Bruce...where is everyone?" Frank asked. "In the gym, they're..." He began but Frank winced. "Shit, yeah, I plum forgot!" He said then kissed Ava on the cheek and hurried to their room to change into workout clothes so he could join them. Frank came down the stairs and he took a few stretches as everyone looked toward him.

"Did ya find a ring?" Steve asked. "Ava found one, we went to that place Tony suggested," Frank said as he moved up to them. "How we doing?" Frank asked. "Terrible," Logan said. "We're trying a lure for Loki without suits. It's not going so well," Logan said though Steve thought they were learning some valuable information by failing.

"I mean we have ta pull punches for the ladies so its not like this is serious or anything," Logan said insultingly. T'Challa though seemed to take some amusement from his words to the chagrin of Isabella.

Since Kate had been trained as a SHIELD agent she knew all of their moves. She therefore acted as a stand-in for the SHIELD agents they would be fighting. She could only hope that she wouldn't have to fight Phil or Maria. She didn't want to have to hurt her friends. They were currently working on a way to lure Loki into the containment system...although they had yet to actually succeed. 

They decided to take a short break when Frank arrived. He told them about the ring Ava had picked out and got Frank up to speed on what they had done so far. When Natalya heard what Logan said though she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him. "And I'm not kneeing you in the groin either."

"Well, bring it powder muffin. I'd enjoy a stand up fight instead of all this care bear shit," Logan said. That actually made T'Challa chuckled. Obviously Logan didn't see the dangerous look on Kate and Natalya's faces. "T'Challa held up a Wakandan Chocolate bar that he just pulled out of his breast pocket. It was likely a little melted but The Wakandan's made some of the darkest and tastiest chocolate in the world. It wasn't a major export because they made it in small batches. But it was very good.

"The first person that can put Logan on his knees gets this," he said as he held it up. "I bet Ava would love that!" Frank said and didn't even wait for the women to react. He went right for Logan. Steve did too but soon everyone was in on it and Logan found himself in full defense. He was ofcourse, protecting his privates which Kate had tried to kick from behind but missed. They all kept shifting Logan when one or the other was in danger of getting in a good hit or kick. So it became a full fledged melee in order to be the one to take Logan down.

Natalya was doing her best to get Logan down. After all, she couldn't let him get away with that little comment now could she? However, with everyone else also fighting him it made it extremely difficult to do what she needed to do. Finally, she just stood back. She let the others wear themselves out. The rest of them stood back a few feet and then Natalya full on flashed Logan. He was so stunned that he just stood there. Before he realized what she was doing she kneed him in the groin...rather hard because she knew he could take it. She watched with satisfaction as he collapsed down to his knees. She pulled her sports bra back down and walked confidently over to T'Challa for the chocolate bar. She broke it in half and gave half to Frank to give to Ava. She then turned and proceeded to eat the rest right in front of Logan.

"Victory tastes like chocolate apparently," she said with a grin. Seeing Steve's red face only made all of this that much more satisfying.

"So, then, we just have a few more of those bars up for grabs if Loki goes down and we're all set," Logan said from the floor. Natalya had really kicked him hard. He could heal but pain was pain and that HURT! He scowled at T'Challa and at Natalya and stalked off obviously pissed off. T'Challa winked at Isabella playfully anyway. It was a good exercise and a good lesson. Steve moved to his water bottle and wiped the sweat off his neck. He handed Kate hers as well.

"I almost had em," Steve said as he panted. "Natalya saw what I saw. She waited to take advantage of the distraction. You need something similar to fight Loki effectively. If you all go into the melee, than there is no one able to capitalize on an opening," He said.

Isabella's wrist comm went off. "Isabella, the new suits are ready and the after burners are being painted. We should be ready to take out some satellites tonight," Bruce said.

Natalya let Logan go. He was pissed but he would get over it. All she had to do was bring him a beer, kiss him, and whisper some naughty things in his ear and then he would be fine again. She actually saved a little of the chocolate for Logan. Isabella saw her and knew what she was doing. She couldn't help but smile at her. Natalya was not a traditional woman by any means, but she loved Logan and that showed. 

Just then, Isabella heard her wrist comm go off. She heard what Bruce said and she looked over at Frank. "Want to go check out the suits?"

Frank wiped his face off and looked over at her. "Is that a question?" Frank asked. He LOVED flying. He took to it like a fish in water. "I'll go get a shower," He said and then was gone. Steve and Kate went upstairs as well which left T'Challa and Isabella. Tony had fallen into a deep depression. He rarely spoke and most of the time he just laid in bed and looked out the window. They were on their third physical therapy technician. He had thrown out the first two so Isabella had to get crafty. He picked a woman, an attractive one and so far he hadn't tossed her out. But he barely ate and was supposed to get up and walk a little but he just said that his leg hurt and he didn't want to.

"How is Tony doing? I would have more confidence if he were in the suit," T'Challa said. Loki had finally made his demands and now the threat was the entire, eastern seaboard. The threat was real ofcourse and the President himself had talked to Isabella and asked her what if anything was she going to do about Loki. That was not a great conversation. He was prepared to bomb SHIELD HQ and kill all of those people to stop him. ofcourse, none of that would hurt Loki, just the innocent agents and he'd just take his machines elsewhere.

Isabella didn't know what she was going to do about Tony. He was off the pain medication, but that just meant that he was drinking again. He was very unhappy and had fallen into a deep depression. He acted like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum most of the time, especially when it came to physical therapy. Isabella would make him his favorite dishes, but he would barely eat and wasn't getting up and walking like he was supposed to. 

"He's...not doing great honestly. He's drinking...a lot and not doing his physical therapy or getting up and walking around. He barely eats and he won't talk to me," Isabella told T'Challa. A few tears came to her eyes.

"Tony has to find his own path. You can not find it for him. He is likely feeling obsolete, unnecessary perhaps. Bruce and Shuri make a good team in the lab and Frank is a good stand in the suit. And you, my dear, are an excellent leader. He spends time with Serena I see. Should he if he is so intoxicated?" He said but there was more to it than that. It could also be taken as a suggestion too. A fire needed to be lit under Tony's bottom but that was dangerous in itself. He was extremely stubborn and if she pushed too hard, the result could be even more unpleasant.

Isabella ran a hand through her hair and sighed softly. "I know that Tony wants to get back into his suit, but he can't do that if he doesn't do the physical therapy. Frank is good in the suit, but he isn't Tony. Tony invented the suit and he knows how to use it better than anyone. I know that I need to motivate him somehow, but I'm not sure what to do." Isabella paused and thought for a moment. "There...there needs to be a problem....something that only Tony can solve...something that shows that he is still needed."

"Hmm, I don't have an answer for that, I wish I did, that is a very good idea," T'Challa told her.

Tony did get up, his glass was empty and Isabella had moved the mini bar to the other side of the room. He filled it half full again and then hobbled over with his cane back to the bed and laid down. Just moving that much made sweat pour onto his forehead. His knee hurt alot and the physical therapy left him terribly sore for days. He knew he was letting Isabella down but she didn't know what he was dealing with. Nobody did. It wasn't like they needed him anyway. With Bruce and Shuri they had it covered. And Frank was wearing the suit. He turned on the tv and took a sip from his drink. He was already pretty snookered but he intended on getting much more so in the near future.

Isabella had no idea what the problem could be that only Tony could fix, but she had a feeling that that was what would ultimately help him. She walked into their room and sighed when she saw Tony with a glass of alcohol. The only good thing she could say is that it had forced him to get up and move. She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him. She could tell he was already getting drunk.

"Tony, I understand that you are frustrated and upset, but is this the example you want to set for Serena? Serena looks up to you. I've never known you to just give up on anything, but it seems to me like you are giving up now. I can't imagine what you are going through, but I do know that your leg isn't going to get better with you just sitting around all day. In fact, I think that is just going to make it worse."

Tony's glower only got worse as she continued. "Don't you have a mission? It certainly doesn't involve giving your cripple of a husband a pep talk!" he snapped. He rubbed his forehead feeling that she didn't deserve his scorn. He was angry at...what? Himself? The world? He didn't know for certain. He was just angry. And besides a babysitter, he had no real purpose. Isabella didn't understand, how could she? He thought.

"Once you hit the upper atmosphere, Don't discard the after burner units. Keep them incase something happens. The sealed systems havent been tested. If there is a leak, ask Jarvis if he can seal it. If he can, great. if not...you'll have to use the burners to get back into the atmosphere in a hurry," Tony warned. He winced and rubbed his knee. They would not know what Loki would do in retaliation either but they had to do something.

Isabella, quite frankly, was scared. This was going to be the most dangerous mission she had been on yet and Tony wasn't going to be there with her. A million different things could go wrong that could kill her, and if a failure in the suit didn't kill her, Loki might. This could be the last time she saw Tony or Serena and this was not how she wanted their possible last discussion to go. 

She looked down and nodded as she fought back tears. She needed to be strong...she wanted to be strong. She slowly looked at Tony. "I love you."

Tony gestured for her to come to him. When she did he kissed her, hard. he held back a groan from the movement and continued to kiss her. He tasted like bourbon but his lips were his lips and he knew how to kiss. His hands touched her as well. He missed the intimacy alot. She had 'done' things to him and he 'did' things to her but it had become rare and not lately in any case. "I love you too,' He murmured in between kisses. "You come back to me!" He said urgently as tears filled his eyes.

Isabella missed Tony. He had not been himself lately and she missed being able to talk and laugh with her best friend. She missed the intimacy and passion they shared. She missed feeling his arms around her at night as he held her. She missed the sweet things he used to whisper in her ear. She missed the way he looked at her. Feeling his lips against her own, kissing her as he hadn't kissed her in weeks, brought fresh tears to her eyes. Despite his flaws (and he had many!) she loved this man so much it hurt. She couldn't imagine her life without him.

She slowly pulled back and her hand trailed along his arm to his hand as she stepped back. She wanted to touch him for as long as she could. Finally, her finger tips caressed his and then her hand pulled away. She looked at Tony for a long moment before she turned and left the room.