Happenings (September 1990)

Isabella struggled to breathe. Her lungs felt as if they were burning and she felt extremely sick to her stomach. She didn't know what she had knocked into her and didn't know that her chances of survival were very low from the amount of exposure she had been subjected to. She was drifting in and out of consciousness as Steve rushed her up to the medical suite and put her onto the biobed prototype. She didn't hear what Jarvis said. All the voices around her sounded muffled and far away. However, just before she lost consciousness she felt an odd sensation in her body. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. The burning in her lungs suddenly was gone and she could breathe. Then, everything went dark.

Isabella was unconscious for nearly 24 hours before she slowly began to awaken. She could vaguely remember what had happened...although it seemed fuzzy in her mind. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she winced against the harsh medical light above her. She shifted and could suddenly hear relieved voices around her.

"What...what happened?"

Tony was there over here in an instant. His eyes were red from lack of sleep, worry, guilt and pain. His lungs still made breathing painful but he only needed time to expel the gas from his lungs now. Isabella had taken in a lethal dose of radiation but she had made a miraculous recovery. “You fell into the case of isotopes,” Tony said slowly “Your body took in alot of radiation...but somehow its been absorbed by something. We checked the baby and she’s alive and fine Isabella,” Tony said as he kissed her cheek. “We were so worried,” He said as he rested his forehead on hers. He then lifted up. “Are you thirsty? I have water here, do you want some?”

Isabella was stunned by what Tony told her, but looked somewhat relieved to know her baby was alright. She was still visibly concerned and worried though. She slowly sat up and nodded when Tony asked her if she wanted some water. She was quite thirsty and she drank all of what Tony gave her and then drank some more. As the reality of what had happened hit her she began to tremble a little and had to put the cup down.

"I...I just don't understand how radiation could just suddenly be absorbed by something. If I was exposed to as much radiation as you say I was then I should be dead." Then, a memory came to her. "Just before I lost consciousness I remember an odd feeling in my body. I couldn't describe it even if I wanted to. The burning feeling in my lungs was suddenly gone and I could breathe."

Tony paused in what he had been about to say. They couldn’t figure out what had happened. “We don’t know what happened to Isabella. We only know you’re alright. Its as if nothing had happened,” he said and then he began to cough. He wasn’t in such good shape however. Especially in his weakened condition. He stopped eventually and cleared his throat. “We can continue with the experiment Isabella. To find a cure,” He aid as if he hadn’t just tried to conceal the fact that he was dying a slow painful death and tried to hide it from her,

Isabella felt a little weak and knew she probably needed to take it easy for the next few days. However, hearing Tony begin to cough caused her worry for him to increase. She was still visibly upset over what she had learned about his condition and the fact that he had tried to hide it from her.

"So, can you just tell me now what's going on?"

Tony sighed as he sat down next to her. “My mini arc reactor requires a palladium core to work. Palladium is a rare substance that, over time, is toxic to humans. The very thing that is keeping me alive is now killing me Isabella. Unless I can find another element to replace the palladium that isn’t equally as toxic. So far, I have not found it,” Tony said. “And you know why I kept it from you,” he said.

Isabella listened to what Tony said and none of it was comforting. In fact, it was scary as hell. She knew Tony well enough to know that despite the stoic expression on his face that he was terrified. She reached out and took his hands into hers and looked at him. "We're going to figure this out Tony. There has got to be something else out there and we'll find it." Despite her best efforts tears came to her eyes. "I need you Tony. I don't want to go through the rest of my life without you and so I'm going to do everything I can to ensure that you are around to drive me crazy for a very long time."