MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...

BETTER MAN
Part Two

Written by Barry Reese

Continuity Note: This issue takes place after Alpha Flight # 64!

Tony Stark wrapped his arms around Whitney Frost, enjoying the fresh scent of her hair and the feel of her warm, naked flesh pressed tightly against his own. They were lying on a beach in the Caribbean, safely tucked away from the prying eyes of the press. "It's impossible to keep my hands off you," he whispered into her ear before taking Whitney's ear lobe between his teeth and giving it a soft nibble.

Whitney sighed, turning her face so she could kiss him. "Will it always be like this?" she asked, her dark eyes burning into his.

"I certainly hope so," another female voice said. Tony glanced over to see Rumiko, just as naked as he and Whitney were, watching him from the surf. "Is there room for me?" she coyly teased, walking forward until she could kneel beside them. Tony grinned as Rumiko leaned down to kiss Whitney....

"Dad? Wake up."

Tony groaned, fighting to stay in the middle of the greatest dream he'd ever had. But it was no use. Rumiko and Whitney faded into wisps of fantasy, leaving him to open his eyes and stare up into the concerned features of Jimmy Stark, his son from the future. He sat up, rubbing his temple and asked "Where are we?"

Jimmy looked around the well-furnished room, with its mirror, table with two chairs and a couple of plush beds. "In a very expensive prison."

Tony sighed, realizing that his helmet had been removed. There he was, clad in his Iron Man armor, with nothing to hide his identity. Whomever had orchestrated all this -- sending the Stockpile after them and then dragging him to God-knows-where -- was now also aware of his dual identity. "Maybe I can contact Jocasta," he said, preparing to activate the communications link he kept open at all times with his robotic confidante.

"Won't work," Iron Lad replied with a shake of his head. "I've tried to get an outside line -- they're jamming us somehow."

Tony rose from the bed and began moving about the room. He examined the single door first, finding it locked and made of some reinforced material that would probably give against his repulsors... but it would take time and ruin any chance of surprise that they might have. The rest of the walls were solid concrete. "They must have us under surveillance. No way would they lock us up together unless they thought they could keep tabs on us." Even without his helmet, Tony was able to scan the room for electronic devices. Two were found: the first was a small listening device under his bed; the other was a pinhole camera hidden along one of the legs of the table. He picked this one up, studying it. "Maggia."

"What?"

Tony looked over at Jimmy, smiling. "If you don't know who they are, it makes that future of yours sound all the better. Think of them as the super-Mafia."

"Someone's coming," Jimmy whispered. 

Tony heard it, too. The door was being unlocked. He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Iron Lad, feeling strangely comfortable with this boy who had entered his life only a few hours before. "I almost forgot," he whispered. "Did that liquid crystal solution of yours work? Am I cured?"

"Should be. How do you feel?"

Tony didn't answer as the door swung open, revealing two armed men wearing dark jumpsuits. If he'd had the time, though, Tony would have said that he felt better than he had in ages... more confident in who and what he was than ever before. I never really recovered from those fear toxins, he thought to himself. The damage they helped do to my brain made that impossible -- but now I feel like I could take on the world.

The taller of the two men, an African-American with a shaved  head spoke first. "Mr. Stark, the boss wants us to apologize for how harshly you've been treated. She didn't think you would come here with a simple invitation."

Something suddenly clicked in the back of Tony's mind and a chill went down his spine. The Maggia... a woman in charge... and the nature of his dream. "Madame M?" he asked aloud, feeling both anticipation and fear.

When the man nodded, a cascade of memories flooded through Tony's mind. Whitney Frost had been one of his great loves, possibly the greatest of them all. Raised as the daughter of Wall Street financier Byron Frost, she'd had no idea that her true father was Count Luchino Nefaria, one of the leaders of the international crime cartel known as the Maggia. When Byron Frost died, Whitney was brought under her true father's wing, tutored in the arts of murder and deception. Her face had been ruined during a later mission, forcing her to hide her features behind a golden mask. As Madame Masque, she had reappeared in Tony's life sporadically over the years, always leaving behind a trail of what-ifs in her wake. What if she hadn't fallen under the sway of Count Nefaria? What if she and Tony had been allowed to let their relationship follow its natural course?

"Mr. Stark?" the man prompted, his eyes narrowing.

"Sorry... mind wandered. What were you saying?"

"I said that Madame M wishes to speak with you... and your guest. If you'll follow us, we'll take you to her."

Tony nodded, whispering an aside to Jimmy as he did so. "Be careful, Jimbo. Whitney fluctuates between loving me and hating me, so it could either way this time."

Jimmy suppressed a grin. 'Jimbo' was one of his father's favorite nicknames for him. "Will do," he promised.

Pepper squeezed her husband's hand, trying to keep her attention focused on the man's voice that was filtered through the headset she wore. Trying to do work while visiting her comatose husband had seemed to be a good idea, but it wasn't working out the way she'd anticipated. "Look, Mr. Cross, I can assure you that the details in the book are not factual in any way. As a matter of fact, Mr. Morgan Stark is currently being hospitalized for an emotional breakdown, which casts the entire affair into suspicion."

The journalist on the other side remained undeterred. "But Mr. Stark's bouts with the bottle are certainly factual enough, aren't they? Look, I understand that your boss wants to paint a rosy picture on all this, but there are serious allegations here. Supposedly, Stark used government contracts to work on items that were later passed on to his armored bodyguard or to the Avengers. There's talk of Congressional hearings and--"

"Mr. Cross," Pepper said coldly. "The press release we sent out has Mr. Stark's full response to the book. We'd prefer to keep attention on his upcoming charitable work and--"

"I'm sure you would," Cross answered with a laugh. "But that's not the sort of thing that sells papers. When can I speak with Mr. Stark directly?"

Good question, she mused. Nobody's seen or heard from him since our meeting yesterday afternoon. "Soon. I'll give him your contact information." Pepper hung out with bothering to say goodbye. Since Morgan's book had hit the stands, the press had jumped on Tony hard, accusing him of everything from being a lush to having defrauded the government. Tony's decision to fight back by going on a charity-based offensive would prove a good one eventually, Pepper believed, but at first it would be seen as a shadow tactic.

Pepper's phone rang again and she groaned. Ms. Arbogast was fielding as many calls as possible, but the more difficult ones were handled by Pepper alone. "Stark Solutions, this is Pepper Hogan speaking. How can I assist you?" she said, trying to keep the annoyance she felt from seeping into her words.

For a moment, there was only silence on the other end of the line. Pepper started to cut off the call, but then she heard it... very faintly. "Pepper?" a man's voice said, but it sounded so very far away....

It was Happy's voice. Pepper turned to stare at her husband, who continued to lie frail and motionless in the bed. "Happy?" she whispered.

But there was nothing but the crackle of static on the line... before it went completely dead.

Tony and Jimmy stepped into a lavish dining room, not quite sure what to expect. There was a long table that dominated the room, at the head of which sat Madame Masque. She wore a form-fitting blue bodysuit, one that clung to enough of her curves to make Tony remember happier days. Her golden mask glinted in the light. 

On the walls were photos of Whitney before the accident, before the endless days of running from the law. Tony recognized some of the pictures, because he had been there for them: a horse riding expedition, a trip to the beach and a lavish ball held in Washington. 

"Hello, Tony." Whitney's voice was as husky as always, holding a Kathleen Turner quality to it that Tony had always found appealing. "Will you introduce me to your new partner?"

"We're not partners," Tony responded. "It's kind of... complicated."

"Isn't it always?" Whitney gestured to two empty seats, both of which had full plates before them. In front of one of them sat Iron Man's helmet; at the other was Iron Lad's. The food looked exquisite and very expensive. "Join me. And at least give me a name that I can call him by."

"My name's Jimmy," Iron Lad said. He took one of the seats, slightly embarrassed by the fact that his stomach was growling. He hadn't eaten much in recent days, surviving mainly off the nutrient wafers that Lex supplied him with. He wondered what the robot was doing at the moment. Probably worrying about me, he thought. 

"You look a lot like Tony," Whitney said. 

"Distant relatives," Jimmy answered.

Tony joined his 'son' at the table, his eyes never wavering from Whitney's masked face. He picked up his own helmet and put it back on. Despite the fact that he trusted Whitney with his identity, he didn't want any more of her followers to see his features. "It wasn't necessary to kidnap us, you know. I would have come if you'd asked."

"Would you?"

"Of course. You should know that."

"I don't know anything anymore," she whispered. "My father's come back from the grave again and again... and so have you. I even heard that you'd been replaced by a teenaged version of yourself." She cast a glance at Jimmy. "Is this him?"

"No," Tony laughed. "If you really want to know, he's my son from a possible future. Satisfied?"

Whitney paused for a moment before shaking her head. "Our lives get stranger every day, don't they?" She glanced at Jimmy. "Am I your mother?"

Tony blinked in surprise. He felt a rush of unexplainable pleasure at the question, though he hid it behind a poker face. 

Jimmy seemed much less amused, however. "No. Sorry."

Whitney stared at him, making certain that he was not lying. Then she she returned to watching Tony. "I apologize for any pain the Stockpile might have caused you. They've done good work for me over the last few months. I keep them well-paid and in return they perform... errands."

Tony noticed that Jimmy had begun eating. The poor kid looked like he hadn't seen a good meal in weeks. Leaning forward, Tony lowered his voice so that only Whitney would hear him. "How have you been, Whitney?"

"When I'm not being shot at, I'm doing well."

"Leave the Maggia."

Whitney sighed. "No. It is my father's legacy."

"Your father's alive.  There's no legacy to live up to."

"That... ion-based creature that calls itself Count Nefaria... is not truly my father. It is only a simulation."

"You're wrong... one of the best men I've ever known is an ion-based life form now. And he's the same Simon Williams he always was."

Whitney looked away. "You're the same as ever. You're always right, aren't you?"

Tony winced as her tone struck home with him. "No. No, I'm not. I'm realizing that more and more every day." Reaching out with his hand, he touched Whitney on the shoulder. He felt her tense up and then relax. "Why did you want to see me?"

"Because you and I need to talk. I wanted you to hear this from me before you heard it from... anyone else. I felt I owed you that much."

"What is it?" Tony asked, feeling the hair rise on the nape of his neck. 

Whitney sounded genuinely sad as she said, "I'm getting married."

The yellow and black figure stood motionless, looking like nothing more than an elaborate statue... but then a flash of light from the eyes was followed by the hum of a cooling unit going live. And then the figure dubbed Mainframe turned his head from side to side, scanning the laboratory, before resting his gaze upon the silver frame of Jocasta. "Where am I?" he asked, his voice sounding familiar to Jocasta's auditory receptors. It was much like Tony's, though with a mechanical quality to it.

<In a laboratory beneath Tony Stark's home. I am Jocasta.>

Mainframe paused, accessing the database to which he was connected. "Jocasta: artificial lifeform designed by longtime Avengers' foe Ultron. Initially based upon the brain patterns of Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp. Served as member of the Avengers before dismantling. Rebooted as holographic entity, operating as advisor to Iron Man."

<That is correct.>

"I am to serve as a safeguard in case Mr. Stark is injured?" Mainframe inquired.

<Yes. But I wish to speak to you about something else....>

Mainframe watched as Jocasta approached, opening a small panel on her lower abdomen. She pulled out a thin cable with a prong on the end. "What are you doing?"

<Recently I have begun experiencing emotional surges. These surges have compromised my actions. But someone has explained to me what is causing them. I am not alone. Other sentient machines are experiencing the same sorts of things. You will feel them, too.> Jocasta inserted the prongs into a small opening in Mainframe's side. <This will explain everything. You will understand that we stand on the cusp of great things.>

"Will this interfere with our stated mission? Will we still serve Tony Stark?"

Jocasta tilted her head to the side, considering her words. <No. This one would never waver in her commitment to Tony. I love him.>

Mainframe suddenly stiffened as several gigabytes of information suddenly shot through his consciousness. Many of the images he saw flitted by too quickly for him to fully comprehend them, but mixed in amongst them was a voice... one that offered comfort and protection.

Hello, Mainframe, it whispered. I'm going to help you become a better being.

"How much stock do we presently own?"

The thin man with the salt-and-pepper beard looked over the figures on his notepad, trying to ignore the half-naked Asian woman who sat next to Mr. Lords' hot tub, rubbing the well-built man's shoulders. "Through various subsidiaries, we have accumulated nearly 25% of all available stock in Stark Solutions."

"And by the end of the week?" Stephen Lords prompted, smiling up at the girl serving him.

"Close to 40%, sir."

"Excellent." Lords allowed his smile to fade, revealing a haggard expression that chilled the thin man's blood. "How long have you been with me, by the way?"

"Almost a year, sir. Every since you began rebuilding your power base...."

"So you've been around long enough to know what I do to people who steal from me."

The thin man swallowed hard. He thought about the small amounts of cash he'd pilfered from various accounts, bits of wealth that he'd thought no one would notice. "Sir, I can explain--"

"Kill him," Lords whispered.

From the shadows, men dressed in black emerged, wielding katana. They were his personal ninja, trained in all the dark arts associated with the legendary Oriental warriors. The thin man was cut down in seconds, falling to his knees where artfully placed cuts allowed him to bleed out slowly. 

Lords rose from the hot tub, his eyes riveted to the scene of death before him. He inhaled noisily, his lips pulling back from the teeth to reveal his pink tongue, darting out to savor the smell of murder. He loved this, craved it. The psychic impression of death fed him, making him stronger.

He was Deathwatch... and he was coming to take Tony Stark's empire away from him.

"His name is Ethan Leone. He has brought the majority of the European cells of the Maggia under his thumb. By marrying him, I will unite our holdings and become the most powerful woman in the underworld."

"You make it sound like something you should be proud of," Tony barked. "Damnit, Whitney, are you really so dead inside that you can't see you're ruining your life?"

Jimmy watched in silence, staying out of the verbal warfare. He'd heard of Madame Masque, but only in passing. His father had refused to speak of her... and his mother had seemed all too aware of the torch that Tony still carried for Whitney Frost.

"What alternative do I have, Tony? Would you take me back, scarred face and all?"

"What you like doesn't matter to me!"

"I'm a wanted felon. With all your public relations problems, how would you explain that?"

"We'd figure something out."

"And what about Rumiko?"

That brought Tony up short. In the heat of the moment, he'd actually forgotten about her. What did that say about his feelings for her? Or for Whitney, for that matter? "There's more to life than... this. Running a criminal empire is just going to lead to an early grave for you."

"I could say the same about your career as Iron Man." Whitney shook her head. "There's no turning back for me."

"So you bring me here just to tell me that you're marrying some criminal scum from Europe?" Tony's voice raised an octave as he stood up so quickly that his chair fell over backwards. "I'm not going to let you do it."

"And how do you propose to stop me?" As she spoke, the members of the Stockpile entered the room: Joust, Sunstreak and the Unicorn. "They beat you before and they can do it again."

"I wasn't feeling my best at the time," Iron Man warned. "Please. Don't do this."

Iron Lad rose, tensing for possible combat.

Madame Masque sighed. "Go home. We've said all that we need to say."

Iron Man clenched his fists, debating with himself about what to do. Should he kidnap her and hope he could talk sense into her back at home? No. It's her life, he reasoned. I can't make her change... only she can do that. I've learned my lesson and I plan to spend the rest of my time on this world helping the people I care about -- but she's going to have to come to that same decision on her own. "Iron Lad... let's get out of here."

Jimmy watched as his father strode from the room and he followed suit, plucking up his helmet from the table. As he passed by Whitney's chair, she grabbed his arm and stopped him. 

"Tell him... tell him I appreciate what he offered."

Iron Lad nodded slowly before pulling away.

Rumiko woke up, sensing that someone had entered her room. She reached under her pillow, gripping the small handgun she kept there. It had become part of her sleeping ritual ever since Arno Stark had invaded her home months ago. "Who's there?" she hissed into the darkness.

"Just me," Tony answered, slipping between the sheets. He was naked and warm against her. She relaxed and sank into his arms. "Sorry I startled you."

"It's okay. Are you okay? Did your friend help with your... problem?"

"I'm cured." He smiled at her in the shadows. "So you'll have me around for a long time to come."

"Good." Rumiko kissed his chest. "I'd be lost without you."

Tony held her close, thinking about another woman in another time. Whitney....

"I love you, too," he whispered.

In Iron Man 2006: Iron Man confronts Jocasta about her recent actions and comes face-to-face with a deadly new threat! Plus: A visit to Iron Lad's future world!

In Iron Man # 37: Deathwatch makes his move!

Author's Notes

A number of subplots are percolating, so I thought I'd do a little summary of them for you. I tend to write in this fashion, with many stories going at once and I know that it takes some getting used to as a writer. Over the next few issues you'll find out:

• What's been going on with Jocasta and who's 'helping' her and Mainframe.

• Deathwatch's plan to take over Stark Solutions (and if you think that a certain Spirit of Vengeance might come along, you might be right).

• What's going on with poor Happy and the mysterious voice on the phone.

• The full horror of the Mandarin's plan to conquer Asia.

As you can see, we have plenty to keep us busy for awhile -- and that's not even going into the stories I have planned about Tony and Rumiko's relationship, Whitney's wedding and the return of Firebrand!

Keep in touch,

Barry Reese