3 Stages Of Development (February-March 1987)

Tony didn’t speak until his drink and her food came and the waitress left them. He finally, regretfully gave up her hand so she could eat but the physical contact soothed him. “Well I’m not making any more weapons so that part is being handled though that will be a fight in the courts...nothing much to worry about really, I own 51 percent of the company. The weapons already out there is what I am concerned with and I have some ideas about that. Partly with what I did to escape...is what gave me the idea,” he said though he had never told anyone how he had done that. Nor would he, not even isabella. His plan was not far from what The Punisher did and he wasn’t certain how Isabella would take that.

That afternoon they did have to split up. Isabella needed a completely new executive wardrobe and Tony began to modify and build his first suit. Isabella also had a full day of orientation the next day and the day after that she visited the Expo, her offices and she borrowed Stark Industries HR manager to begin vetting candidates to fill the various positions she needed to have filled. This left very little time for Tony, none in fact but there was nothing for it and each time she called him he seemed...distracted, as if he was really working on something important.

Isabella’s apartment in Manhattan cost Tony 2.5 million dollars and he had never said anything at all about that. Her driver was also a security guard and her office decorations she was picking out was going to be well over $300k. But Tony had given her the designers to use and to ignore the price. On the fourth day, Thursday, Tony had had his first successful trial flight in his suit. Isabella had said she was coming over but as usual Tony had forgotten all about it. When she came in Jarvis told her he was down in the lab. When she got down there she noticed broken glass, the classic cars he had down there were all damaged and half of his lab was a mess. He had an ice pack on his arm and bruises on his face and head. He was at his computer typing and in front of him was some kind of silver robot or armored suit.

The last couple of days had been a whirlwind for Isabella. She was officially made CEO of the Stark Foundation, she chose her new apartment in Manhattan, began picking out a new wardrobe, and began to vet candidates to fill the positions she required. Unfortunately, this meant that she and Tony hadn't seen each other for a few days, but Tony also seemed rather busy. Every time she called him he seemed distracted. She thought it had everything to do with finding out about the weapons being dealt under the table and had no idea that he was working on a project.

She had called him that morning to tell him she was planning on coming by that afternoon. She walked in and Jarvis informed her that Tony was down in the lab. She headed down there and was shocked by the condition of the lab, but also of the condition of Tony. She immediately rushed over to him and looked around and then looked at him. In front of him she saw what appeared to be a robot or some kind of suit.

"Tony, are you alright? What the hell happened?" she said, looking extremely worried.

Tony hadn’t heard her come down and she had startled him. “Jesus!” He exclaimed as he stood up quickly and whirled to face her. “Oh, hi babe,” He began than looked where she looked and relaxed. “Oh…that...this is what trial and error looks like. Or is it just the process of invention, Its never clear to me which saying works better. “How’ve ya been?” he asked as he smiled and moved up to her. He put his arms around her and kissed her quite thoroughly before he felt her pull away from him. “How are you settling in? By how much money I’m spending,” He chuckled actually enjoying that she is getting what she needs but he hoped what she wanted as well. “I’d say pretty well,” He said with a smile. “Man have I missed you,” He said as he tried to envelope her again but she managed to keep him at bay...for the moment. He did look hurt but the wounds looked like bruises only now that she was this close.

Isabella was rather startled herself and was worried about him. She barely heard what he said because she was so focused on figuring out what had happened. He didn't really provide her with an answer that she liked and so she prevented him from kissing her again so she could find out what was going on.

She looked at the suit again before looking back at him. "Tony, you can tell me what's going on. I'd rather know. Frank kept secrets from me and lied to me and I didn't like that. I want you to be able to fully trust me. You asked me to help you so we're a team now."

Tony sat back down onto his stool and sighed. “This is how I escaped,” He said as he stared off into space. And then he began the harrowing tale about his capture. How he woke up to a video camera and guns in his face. Of the pain in his chest and the horror of finding an electro-magnet implanted into his chest. Of meeting Yinsen and the leader of the 10 rings, the arab terrorist group that captured him.

“I knew as soon as I built them the missile that they’d kill me so I decided to do something different. I designed and built the mini arc reactor. I knew it was powerful enough to either power a small city for a year or something big for a few minutes,” He said then turned around and typed something on his computer. His holographic interface came to life, something else no one had ever seen before. His computer system, Jarvis and the interface was decades ahead of its time. WHat she saw was a holographic 3 dimensional image of Tony’s crude suit. “I tried to save Yinsen but they killed him and then I began to kill them and did as much damage as I could before I hit the rocket boosters,” He began than he showed her using the holo imager. The suit looked as if it were flying with flames coming out of the boots.

“I landed a couple hundred meters away and then just kept going until you found me,” He said and then brought up his newest suit. I’ve been refining my design ever since,” He said as the 3d representation of the suit turned around slowly. “My...injuries are do to a test flight where I piloted the suit. It worked but obviously I have a few bugs still to work out,” he said. “I won’t lie to you or ask for your approval because in my heart I know it is the right thing to do. I’m going to destroy those weapons Isabella. By removing them from the hands of the men who use them then I can re-level the playing field. I’m not out to kill anyone but I will defend myself if they try to stop me. I made those weapons that are responsible for alot of deaths Isabella. ANd I intend on doing something about it,” He said seriously.

Isabella listened to Tony's story. He had not told anyone about what he had done to escape and she now understood why. What Tony had built was incredible. She was shocked by the holographic image. It was like something out of a movie, but Tony had created it. She was fascinated by the suit and she walked around it and looked at it more closely. Tony was truly a genius and an incredible engineer. She felt truly honored that he trusted her enough to tell her the truth.

She walked back over to him. She gently placed her hands on the sides of his face and leaned down and kissed him. It was a long, gentle and yet passionate kiss. She slowly pulled back and looked at him. "I'm so proud of you Tony," she told him honestly. "You are doing the right thing. Please...let me help you with this."

Isabella’s understanding was like a warm blanket that covered him as he shivered from the cold of darkness. Tony nodded and then they got to work. A few hours later Tony had Jarvis automate the painting process and he chose hot rod red and gold as colors. After they made love yet again Tony’s head was on her belly and she lazily played with his hair.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask...are you on some kind of birth control?” He asked. “I know we hadn’t discussed it but you didn’t seem to care about that,” he said.

Isabella was laying with Tony on his bed after making love. She lightly ran her fingers through his black hair as they basked in the afterglow. The fact that Tony trusted her meant more to her than she could ever express to him and she wanted to be there for him and help him in any way she possibly could.

"Yes, I am on birth control," she responded. "However, it might be a good idea to use other forms as well. I mean I would like to have children someday, but not now."

“Well ofcourse not now. What do you mean by ‘other’ forms? You’re either, what on the pill or not right?” he asked uncertain of what she meant. “I guess I’m not up to speed on all of this stuff,’ He said and hoped he didn’t sound like a dolt. “You want me to wear condoms even if we’re...you know...exclusive?” He asked.

Isabella looked down at Tony. "Being on the pill isn't 100% effective. There is still a chance pregnancy could happen. I mean, we can decide if that is a risk we are willing to take. I'm fine with that, but I want you to understand the risk and be alright with it as well. If you're not then I would suggest using condoms as well."

Tony smiled and looked up at her. “I’ll do some research on that,” he told her. He would, he was not ready to be a father. “So I trust you like your new place, your office is coming along? Is everything working out so far? Do you like being the head honcho? I know you’re good at it...a natural but its not for everyone,” he said but he thought she would like it. TO be able to make decisions and not be circumvented or trumped. It was a huge responsibility but he felt she’d grow into the position. Besides, all that paperwork and such wasn’t for him. “I’m out my assistant so I’ll need another one...preferably female,” he said as he looked up at her. “And pleasing to look at,” he added.

Isabella continued to rake her fingers through Tony's hair. He had thick, beautiful hair and she enjoyed feeling it between her fingers. She smiled down at him when he asked her about her new job. "I do like my new job. I haven't done much so far, but I have plenty of ideas and thoughts. As for my new apartment, I haven't moved in yet. I'll be moving in this weekend. I had a key made for you. I will give it to you before I leave." The truth was though that she didn't want to leave. However, she feared telling him that. Living together was a big step, especially since they only just got together. However, she already had a strong feeling in her gut that she and Tony were going to be together for a very long time. They had a chemistry that was undeniable.

When she heard him mention needing a new assistant she saw him look up at her and she knew that he was asking her to do it. She smiled and shook her head a little before looking at him again. "I think I'm going to need a bigger salary for having to put up with you," she teased. She truly didn't mean it. Tony had already done too much for her.

Tony looked up at her. “Name your price babe,” He said with a smile. And then he became more serious. “I am going to be putting myself in danger and do you remember what I told you before, about something is coming? Something big? I believe that more than anything. I think what I will be facing, what ‘we’ will be facing is going to small potatoes compared to that,” he said and his voice sounded so serious and worried right then.

‘If you know anything about me its that I like to be ahead of the game. What I’m doing...I’m trying to stay ahead of it. It is right and necessary and important. That suit that..Iron man out there is me, my father, you, all of us,” he said.

Isabella looked at Tony and then slowly sat up, forcing him to sit up as well. She pulled the sheet up around her, mainly for warmth versus decency, and she looked at him. "Tony, if you think something is coming let me help. Together you and I can tackle anything...I know that in my gut. We just need to remain together as a team. You don't have to do this solo...and you shouldn't. I can help you."

Tony was forced to sit because isabella sat up. He saw the seriousness of her face as well as in her voice. Tony shook his head. “Isabella, you are helping me. You’re going to be protecting my assets and helping our entire world to advance in technology and scientific discovery. I need you to do this,” he said. He knew what she was referring to but they weren’t there yet. He could see her in a suit, his mind had already begun its design inside of his head. He shifted forward and kissed her very softy and looked into her eyes. “Please,” He asked her softly and the words that he had not yet said to her were on the edge of his tongue but they did not come.

Isabella slowly nodded. She wasn't going to force the issue. If what she was doing was what Tony needed her to do then she would do it to be the best of her abilities. Isabella did not know it at the time, but she was poised to not only be the CEO of the Stark Foundation, but she would eventually also be a major shareholder in Stark Industries, have her own suit and be known as "Sapphire", be a founding member of the Avenger's team, manage Stark Tower, be a mother to a daughter that would rival Tony's intellect and talent, and she would be a worldwide inspiration to women across the world. That was her future.

She closed her eyes and returned Tony's kiss and then opened her eyes and looked back into his. She could see that the words she wanted to hear were on the tip of his tongue, but he had not yet spoken them. She reached out and gently caressed his cheek with her hand as she looked into his eyes.

"Please say it, she said softly. "I want to hear you say it."

Tony felt those words and even said them to her in his head. But they just did not come. “I...I’m going to get a drink, do you want something” He asked. The next morning Tony was gone and Jarvis had told her that he had put on his newest suit and was no longer in the house. He could not tell her where Tony was, he had been instructed not to and Tony was on strict communication blackout.

He had been searching for the weapons all morning and he had located a large cache of them and destroyed them. In mid flight a tank hit him and knocked him into the ground. He destroyed it and moved on, He also saw a large group of people being rounded up and segregated. He landed and began to assaut the soldiers. When they fired at him he ceased doing just subdual damage and began to kill them. When he disarmed the last of them he recognized the man as one of the group that had taken him.

“He’s all yours,” he said as he flew from them. As he flew he noticed the two fighter jets tailing him. He tried to lose them but they persisted. He tried to cling to one but he was discovered and they jarred him off then attack. James called him…

“Hello, ah, who is this?” “You know who it is Tony, what are you doing?” James asked. “I’m jogging,” he said. “Whats that wind sound?” James asked. “I have the windows down,” Tony said, “I thought you said you were jogging?” James asked. “Well I was, I’m driving home now from jogging,” Tony said. “Well do you have anything in Afghanistan’s airspace?” James asked. “No, why would I?” Tony asked. “Well because two of our fighters have encountered an unusual bogey and are about to blow it out of the sky. “Jame said. “Its me,” Tony replied. “What do you mean, its you?” James asked. “The bogey, the suit, its me, in the suit,” Tony said “God damn Tony, you really do try to drive me to drink sometimes,” James said.

While Isabella was there at Tony’s home she got a chance to look around a bit more. He had expensive art everywhere and it was decored in a very modern style. There were few photos of family of friends but she knew why that was. Tony was not the sentimental type. Later that afternoon why she was out on the very large terrace she saw Tony return in his suit. When she got down to the lab Robotic arms were trying to latch onto Tony’s extremities. She got a good look at his suit. It was damaged and had several bullet holes in it. He looked up when he noticed her watching him. “Ok, this is not the weirdest thing you‘ve seen me doing,” he joked.

Isabella tried to hide her disappointment that Tony wouldn’t or couldn’t say those words to her. However, she didn’t push him. That night she stayed at his place but in the morning Tony was gone. She learned from Jarvis he had taken the suit and was gone but he couldn’t give her anymore information than that.

She took a shower and got dressed and looked around his house. It was quite expansive and well decorated. Tony clearly had a more modern taste. She loved the art pieces and couldn’t even imagine how much they had cost. After getting something to eat, she sat out on the terrace with a cup of tea. She suddenly saw Tony in his suit coming towards the house. She headed inside and went down into the lab. She blinked as she watched the robotic arms try to remove the pieces of the suit.

“Can I assist at all with that?”

Tony looked over at her then at the tool that was on his main lab table. “Actually yes,” He said as he pointed toward the table. “Can you use that tool?” He asked as he stepped back from the robot arms. “Obviously since the suit has taken damage it has changed just enough to affect these robots. I’ll have to look into that,” he said. The tool looked like a drill with an odd key on the end. He showed her how to use it by putting it in a joint lock and pulling the trigger. The join lock unloosened and the piece of armor came off. She had to repeat this 5 times to get everything off.

Tony order dinner, chinese to be delivered. They sat together in his main living room and watched the rain and lightning as it poured down his massive windows. “I found some of my weapons,” He said. They were side by side eating and he looked over at her. The tv was on as well and they both watched the news conference where James Rhodes got up and said that what had happened to the fighter jet was the result of a training exercise. Isabella knew that that was not true especially after Tony had told her what really happened. They both agreed that their next step was to take Obediah down.

“Would you be willing to put your CIA, spy skills to work tomorrow? You have access to all Stark facilities, Obediah’s office is at the corporate HQ downtown,” he said and then produced an odd looking 3.5 inch floppy disk. “If you put this into his PC it will load a virus onto his computer. The virus will download everything onto the server and then my server will copy the data automatically. “Will you do this?” he asked.

By the time the Chinese food arrived, Isabella was quite hungry. She had poured them each a glass of wine and they sat together in the main living room watching the news as a storm raged outside. A news conference was being held where James explained what had happened to the jet was the result of a training exercise. Thankfully, everyone was alright, but Isabella and Tony both knew that they needed to take Obediah down. Isabella was ready to do her part and she took the odd looking floppy disc and pocketed it. She listened to Tony's instructions and nodded.

"Yes, I will do this. Do you happen to know when Obediah might be out of his office tomorrow?"

Tony thought about that for a moment and then nodded. “I think I can arrange something but I won’t underestimate him. He’s intelligent and considering his opposition to making you CEO of the Foundation he might be suspicious if he sees you. You being in the building though normal, you will still need to be careful,” Tony said as he chewed. “For myself there is just the next mission. I have Jarvis going through all of the Military’s Satellite data from the last 2 years and already that has bared fruit. I will find those weapons Isabella, if it is the last thing I do do,” Tony said.

The evening ended with a heavy bout of making out on the large couch then a passionate half hour on his large, King-sized bed. The weekends seemed to go by too fast for Tony’s liking and as they both stirred it was Sunday morning already. Tony sat up and then looked back at her. Her bare bottom was right there though one leg was under the covers and he leaned over and down and playfully bit her right on the butt cheek. When he pulled back again he gave it a nice whack and a squeeze as he got out of bed. “You want a Latte?” he asked as he put on his robe. Isabella’s face never left the pillow and he guessed her groan was a yes? Once again she didn’t get much sleep, Tony wouldn’t let her sleep much when she spent the night. He woke up often at night and coaxed her away enough so they could have sex. He was insatiable and he never seemed to run out of energy.

Sunday night Isabella spent the night at her place as she needed to get some proper sleep. Tony's sexual appetite was insatiable and though she quite enjoyed their love making sessions she also needed sleep, especially if she was going to get these files. She wanted to be fully awake and aware of her surroundings. Tony had arranged to have a meeting with Obediah that morning so the office would be empty. However, she wasn't going to take any chances. She planned to get in there get the information and leave.

She used her key card to get into the building and she headed up to Obediah's office. She glanced around to ensure he wasn't there before walking inside his office. She left the door partially open so she could hear if someone was coming. She turned on the computer and pulled out the floppy disc and inserted it. Immediately it began to upload the virus and download the data stored on his computer. While everything was being copied Isabella noticed an encrypted folder called 'Section 16'. She knew that Stark Labs had sections like that. She didn't have time to look into the folder too much. She didn't want to spend too much time here and risk getting caught. The moment the downloading was complete she pulled out the floppy disc and turned the computer off. She left everything as it had been and quickly started to leave the office. As she did a movement in the upper right hand corner of the ceiling caught her eye. It was a camera and she noticed that it followed her as she left. There was nothing she could do about that. She just needed to get out of there. As she started down the hallway towards the lobby, two men in black suits and sunglasses stepped out of separate hallways and began to follow behind her. She started to walk quicker. As she reached the lobby she found another man in a black suit and sunglasses there. He appeared to have been waiting for her. When he removed his sunglasses she recognized him to be Agent Phil Coulson from SHIELD.

"Agent Coulson...what are you doing here?"

Agent Coulson had been truing to get an interview with Isabella Corsetti for some time now but she always appeared to be ‘busy’. Nick wanted to feel her out about what she might know about the recent incident in Afghanistan. Tony was not approachable so she was the next best choice.

“You’ve not been answering my calls and SHIELD really needs to speak to you about the recent incidents in Kazakhstan and Afghanistan Miss Corsetti,” he said as he stood up and began to walk with her. As she turned back to look behind her she saw two large men in black suits and sunglasses watch her as she headed toward the door.

Isabella was also intelligent she had seen the camera inside the office and would likely know what information she downloaded. If she waited for any length if time whatever Obediah had going on in Section 16 would likely be scuttled and the evidence removed.

Isabella knew that Coulson had been trying to get in touch with her, but she had been very busy the last few weeks. She also knew that she needed to get to Section 16 in the Stark Labs to figure out what was going on.

"Ok...uh, how about we talk now? I have to go to Stark Labs, but you can talk to me on the way there." She didn't give him any time to respond. She just began to walk to the doors. Thankfully, he followed her and got into the waiting car with her. She told the driver to take them to Stark Labs.

Obediah had no other choice but to take the mini Arc Reactor from Tony. He had left him to die but he knew full well in order to bake a cake you break some eggs. Tony had outlived his usefulness to him and once he took back the company from him and disposed of ‘Miss Corsetti’ he’d ramp back up the weapons production and corner the market. He had just hung up with his head of security and he smiled as he looked up at the huge monstrosity that he had built. It was a thing of beauty and he began attaching Tony’s newest mini arc reactor into its chest.

When Isabella had given James Tony’s old mini arc reactor he thought to have it reversed engineered so the air force could make use of it. But as he thought about his and Tony’s friendship he knew he couldn’t do that without Tony’s permission. When he let himself into the house he immediately felt that something was amiss. He didn’t know why, just a feeling and he decided to head down to the lab to see if Tony was even there. He was there, sprawled out onto the floor. James rushed up to him and turned him over to find that his mini arc reactor had been removed and Tony’s face was as white as a sheet. He was alive but just barely as he set the old one into his chest. After a few minutes Tony became conscious again and his color began to normalize.

“You sure do like to scare the shit out of me Tony,” James said worriedly. “Isabella, where’s Isabella?” Tony said weakly. “Obediah took my arc reactor and left me to die,” he said. James lifted up his phone and dialed her.