The heat was burning, intense, as if someone had set her insides on fire and it was slowly burning its way out. A groan escaped her mouth.
"Not your brightest idea, Izzy," said a voice.
Bella's eyes snapped open and she lunged forward, only to realize she was strapped down.
Wait, that wasn't Aldrich Killian's voice.
She turned her head slowly from side to side. She was in some kind of basement, strapped to something metal in an upright position.
And, tied to a bed frame a few yards away, was Tony.
"Tony?" she whispered in disbelief. "But… you…"
"I sent a message to your suit – didn't you get it? I said I was alive but that I wasn't coming home yet."
Bella shook her head. "I was too busy looking for the Mandarin, and then they took my suit."
"Don't worry, we'll get it back. What were you thinking, giving yourself a dose of that stuff?"
It had been a ridiculous badly thought through escape plan. But she didn't have to come up with those any more. Because now it was Tony's job to do that, and her job to help see them through.
She'd never realized how dependent she'd been on him to do all the thinking. For the most part, she just did what he said, followed his plans. She'd been happy to hand over control to him and do whatever he said.
Actually, as compared to this plan, his weren't so bad.
"So, that's what Extremis does. You wanted to know, Stark, didn't you?" It was Aldrich Killian.
Tony glared at him.
"We finished what she started and gave a full dose," continued Killian. "Her body is currently a crucial stage – does it accept or reject the virus? If it doesn't… the detonation is quite spectacular."
Bella swallowed hard. What had she been thinking?
"So, that brings us to the matter at hand – I want you to stabilize Extremis for me, since Izzy here –"
"Don't call me that."
"Since Izzy here probably won't have much longer. You know, that night in Switzerland… I was standing on the roof. You didn't come up. Never told Izzy that, did you? You told me you'd meet me on the roof of the building, talk about an idea you had, and you never showed. I considered stepping off that roof. But that night, you gave me a gift, Tony – the gift of desperation. So I'm giving it back to you. My father used to say we make our own demons – you're living proof of that."
Bella twisted around to look at him. "No, Tony. Don't. Please don't. I'll be fine."
"If he doesn't, I'll have someone else to help," said Killian.
"Who? Maya Hansen?" asked Bella.
"No. A recent acquisition of mine."
Footsteps sounded on the cement floor. Bella twisted her head to see a girl a few years younger than herself walking toward them. The girl walked straight over to Bella and stared at her for a moment, regarding her with the bluest eyes Bella had ever seen.
"She was part of a program that designed geniuses for various purposes. I got her a week or so ago," said Killian.
Bella's stomach twisted. She stared at past the girl at Killian in disgust. "She probably has a name, you know, and she probably has feelings and would prefer not to be spoken about as she wasn't here."
The girl didn't respond. Then she suddenly turned back and walked over to Tony.
"It's an honor, Mr. Stark. I will be your assistant should you agree." She spoke with an accent similar to Bella's, except much fainter.
He stared in horror. "Aren't you a little young for this?"
"You graduated from MIT at seventeen, correct? I'm sixteen."
He glanced at Bella.
"Take your time and think about it," said Killian. "Just remember Izzy only has so long. Come along."
"Wait," said the girl suddenly.
Killian paused.
The girl studied Bella, tilting her head slightly on one side. "You're one of us."
Bella blinked. "What?"
"You're one of us. No, don't tell me you aren't. Which one are you?" Her eyes suddenly lit up. "You're Isabel, aren't you?"
Bella nodded. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had called her that name.
The girl turned slightly to face Killian, expression unreadable. "Let them go."
He blinked in surprise. "Where did this come from?"
"Isabel. She started it. Three years ago, in a cave in Afghanistan. News like that gets around. When we all realized that we didn't necessarily have to do what we were told." She suddenly pulled a knife out and pressed it against the side of her neck. "What will happen to your soldiers if I die? To you? Maya hasn't fixed it yet - and won't for a while. You could blow up during that 'while'."
"It's not worth this," said Bella.
The girl turned her head slightly. "Yes, it is, Isabel."
"Don't do anything hasty," Killian said to the girl.
"Oh, trust me, it's not."
"You're making a bad mistake. Mistakes have consequences." Killian's hand moved suddenly. There was a flash and a gunshot.
And then the girl lay on the ground, blood staining her shirt.
Bella screamed.
"Too bad," said Killian with a shrug. "She had so much longer she could have lived. Just like you did, Izzy. Or maybe still do," he said, giving Tony a smile and walking away, out of Bella's line of vision.
"Stay awake," said Bella. "Come on. We'll think of something. Come on, just stay awake."
The girl twisted her head toward Bella and gave her a small smile. "You inspired us all, you know. Two of us got away – I don't know where they are. The others… I don't know. You got away. You made up for everything."
Her head dropped and she went still.
Bella twisted her head to the side and threw up.