The Stark jet was flying somewhere over the Pacific Ocean and Tony was staring out the window at the darkness outside. In some way it mirrored what he had been feeling over the last few months. He had plunged himself into his role as protector and avenger of the innocent and had put too much stress on his own body. Becoming Iron Man was the first time in his life when he had felt alive, had used his intelligence and resourcefulness at the max, and he had to admit it made him feel awesome! It was the first time he had felt the burden of responsibility and had owned up to fact that his actions had consequences That had made him become more cognizant of those around him and he began having new found admiration and appreciation of the people he took for granted – like Happy and Pepper – who had always stood by him even when he had acted like a jackass. He had bought Happy and Pepper a lovely house in the suburbs and had set aside enough money for them to be able to live a life of comfort should they choose to, but they both were of the opinion that he needed them now more than ever and had decided to stick around for as long as they could – Happy seemed to love his role as Iron Man's sidekick a bit too much!
Amii coming into his life had been yet another stroke of luck in Tony's life and he was often amazed how someone as amazing as her had loved his worthless ass all these years. He turned and looked at her curled up on the bed in the back of the plane – she had been exhausted and he had told her she could rest up on the flight to Korea. He looked at her, her black hair falling over the pillows, her lips mouthing something he could not make out, and he felt his heart swell with love. The increasing blood toxicity had got him really worried now that he had someone to live for and he had put every spare minute into researching ways to get the reactor out. Amii had helped fill in some of the gaps in his work and she now had given him to final piece of the puzzle. Tony was looking forward to bein whole again – he hadn't eaten a proper meal in weeks, he just couldn't stomach it, and he was in constant pain though he never mentioned it to Amii. At one point he had even thought of giving up and ending his life in one final battle with some villain, but Amii had sensed his intentions and snapped him out of that depressed state of mind. Tony had decided to spend whatever time he had taking care of those around him and those that needed him as Tony Stark, rather than Iron Man. He had entrusted the company into the able hands of Pepper despite her protests and had made Amii in charge of overseeing the company's transition from weapons manufacturer to the producer of clean energy sources. He had taken time off from avenging and had taken Amii on a holiday to many exotic locations across the world, wanting to make their time together as memorable as possible before he finally kicked it.
Amii, however, refused to give up and had stolen every minute she could to research ways to save him – and he had to give it to the woman, when she set her mind to something she became an unstoppable force! As he saw the sun rising on the horizon, he felt his heart fill with hope for the first time in a long time. Dr. Cho's research was revolutionary, and he had spoken to Reed, Sue, Bruce and Fury and all of them agreed that if anything could save him it was Dr. Cho's chamber. Tony got up and slipped into bed next to Amii, and he put his arms around her. She hugged him back and Tony finally fell into a deep, dreamless sleep in Amii's arms as the jet continued its course towards Seoul.