Bella watched the orange liquid settle in the glass.
"Has anyone recovered Maya Hansen's research yet?" asked Bella.
"If S.H.I.E.L.D.'s found it, they're not saying anything," said Tony.
Bella stared out the window at the city below.
Not much of the house had been rebuilt, so Tony had moved them into Stark Tower for the time being.
Tony's suits were all scattered across the area where the battle had taken place. Bella had suggested he gather up all the pieces and deal with them before working to stabilize the Extremis in her body, but he had refused – the still functioning suits could do that.
So far, she hadn't mentioned the director's offer to Tony – she'd been waiting for the right moment.
"Sir, there is a visitor for you, who requests that he not be named."
Bella stiffened. Could it be one of the Extremis soldiers, come back to finish Killian's work?
"Security footage of the front door, please," said Tony.
A screen popped up on the table, showing footage of a familiar man wearing a purple shirt and glasses.
"JARVIS, don't let him in, I'll do it myself," said Tony.
Bella followed him down in the elevator to the bottom level.
Tony walked across the main room at the bottom and opened the door.
"Banner, good to see you," said Tony.
"Hello, Stark. Came as soon as I heard what had happened. Hello, Miss Stark."
"Bella," she corrected. "It's good to see you again, I hadn't heard from you in a while."
"Thought showing up might be better than a phone call."
"Oh, it is," said Bella.
"Come in," said Tony.
They walked to the elevator, which took them up to their home. Fortunately, it was cleaner than usual. Pepper was coming over that evening so she and Tony could discuss wedding plans, so Bella had made an effort to hide the fact that neither of the apartment's two occupants had really much care for cleanliness outside of the lab.
"So… I heard what happened," said Dr. Banner as they stepped into the apartment. "With Bella and Extremis. I wanted to know if I could help."
"Any help we can get is good," said Tony. "Thank you. You want to stay here for a while?"
"I couldn't impose –"
"You're right, you couldn't impose, you could stay forever and you'd still be welcome," promised Tony. "Trust me, we've got lots of space. I'll have someone get your bags from where ever you're staying and move you into a floor of your own."
"Yes, please stay," said Bella.
"If you insist," said Dr. Banner.
"I insist," said Tony. "Look, I'll make the arrangements, you just tell me where you're staying so I can have someone get your bags."
As the two talked, Bella backed away, heading to the lab. The test they had been running had finished, and the sooner she found out the results, the sooner they could get on with testing.
The orange contents of the glass had turned red.
She pulled up a holographic screen on the desk, revealing a list. She swiped her finger over the first item mentioned on the list. Another substance that couldn't stabilize the Extremis. Put that into Bella's blood and she'd explode within five hours.
She now understood how Dr. Banner felt, constantly trying to keep his anger under control. Not that she usually got angry, but it was extremely frustrating to constantly have Tony checking her temperature if anything even slightly annoying happened to her.
She glanced down at the small band on her wrist that they'd designed to check her temperature. Nothing to worry about for now.
"Bella?"
Dr. Banner walked toward the table.
"Hello. Tony getting everything arranged for you?"
"Yeah. So, how is it so far?"
"The Extremis virus alters the DNA. I can't actually rid myself of it, and even if I could, my genetics have been messed with quite enough in my lifetime. At best, we can stabilize it and minimize the effects, which is what we are attempting to do. It's not going very well at all."
She began to explain the various substances they'd concocted in attempts to fix the Extremis and showed him their list of ideas – none of which seemed to work.
As she did, an idea formed in her mind.
"Dr. Banner… S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to have offered me a job."
Dr. Banner blinked in surprise. "What?"
She explained the director's offer. "Thing is, I don't know what to say."
"What did Tony say?"
"I haven't told him yet. I wanted someone with an unbiased opinion to ask."
"Ah. Miss Stark, I… don't know what to say. It's your choice, not mine. Why wouldn't you?"
"I don't trust them."
"Then why would you consider it?"
"Because I may not trust them or like their methods, but I know that they're part of making this world safer, like a shield between us and whatever new threat is out there." Just like the name she'd chosen for herself – Silver Shield.
"You should really talk about this with your father."
"No need," said Tony's voice.
Both turned.
Tony stood in the doorway.
"Why didn't you tell me, Izzy?"
"Because I knew you'd be angry."
"But not at you. You can do plenty of good without having to work for them. Now excuse me. I need to have a little chat with a certain pirate."
He walked out.
That was almost the exact reaction Bella had expected.