Marvel's Iron Lady

Once again, Stark Industries' board convened a meeting without the chairman, this time focusing on her recent audacious actions during the press conference.

Such an open severance of the company's economic lifeline was practically a death wish, akin to slitting its own throat and waiting for inevitable demise. As a military enterprise, Stark Industries primarily dealt in arms sales. But without the revenue stream from weapon sales, what would remain of the company—if anything?

Not only did the board question their chairman's behavior, but the public was equally perplexed by her decision.

"How could she—how dare she do this?!" one board member shouted, pounding the table as others around him sat grim-faced, each thinking the same thing. "Who gave her the right? Is she out of her mind?"

The reason they'd invested in Stark Industries was because they believed it profitable. When someone cut off their revenue stream, they naturally sought to protect their interests.

"Technically, she does have the right—don't forget, she inherited half the company shares from Howard. That gives her absolute control in shareholder meetings, meaning she can directly influence company operations."

"But she's endangering the company's interests. What do we do? Take her to court?"

"What's the point? You all know the contacts Howard left her. The courts won't touch this case, and if they did, we'd be looking at a trial so delayed it wouldn't even matter anymore. Our stocks will be worthless by then!"

Around the table, arguments erupted. The only topic was how to save their investments, because if the company ceased arms sales, their stocks and stakes in Stark Industries would drastically devalue.

"What if we just have her assassinated, take back control, and call another shareholder meeting?" someone proposed darkly.

"Are you crazy? We're already in the spotlight. If anything happens to her, the public will immediately suspect us, and then we'll have far worse than police after us!"

"Then what? Any delay and we're done for."

"If we keep dragging this out, the damage will only get worse. Cutting our losses is the best option," another member said decisively. "Frankly, I don't see the company surviving this. I'm selling my shares before they become worthless."

Almost as soon as the meeting adjourned, each board member reached out to their aides, determined to offload their shares while they still had value. In fact, many hurried, fearing even a slight delay could cost them dearly as the stock price continued its plunge.

Meanwhile, the average shareholders, watching Stark Industries' stock fall, also moved to sell, eager to salvage what they could and wondering where to reinvest next—anywhere but Stark Industries.

In a market overwhelmed by a flood of shares and with no buyers, the inevitable outcome was further depreciation, with losses mounting.

Two days later, in her penthouse atop Stark Tower, Miss Stark was reviewing Jarvis's report.

"Miss, in the past 48 hours, the company's stock value has dropped 20 percent, evaporating over $130 billion in market value. But now that the board members are selling in droves, the entry point is ideal."

Miss Stark observed the green line of Stark Industries' steadily declining stock value with a trace of a smile, then picked up her phone, sending a carefully prepared email to several specific recipients.

Moments later, Stark Industries stock—now dirt-cheap and left to rot on the market—was snatched up in an instant by several companies in a sweeping buy-up.

Few understood what had happened, but most assumed some unfortunate soul was stepping in to catch the falling knife. They eagerly sold off what little stock they had left, thinking only of recouping their losses before moving on.

"Good. Keep monitoring the market, Jarvis. Let me know if anything changes. Now, I'm heading to the lab—I have a new toy waiting for me."

"Certainly, Miss. I'll keep you updated."

Minutes later, Dr. Olivia Octavius received a text message, and within half an hour, she arrived at Stark Tower, entering Miss Stark's private workshop.

"What's going on? You seemed in a hurry to get me here. I thought you'd be buried in company troubles, but here you are—and you told me to bring my mechanical backpack."

When Dr. Octavius, weighed down by her metallic backpack, entered the room, she found Miss Stark busy circling a collection of oversized cardboard boxes.

"I put a lot of trust in Jarvis. With its advanced analytical skills and incredible networked vision, it can observe and deduce trends in the world."

"You'd never guess," Miss Stark said, a grin lighting her face as she shared a particular story. "Last time, I gave Jarvis ten thousand dollars to experiment with. It used a fake identity to short-sell in the market, turning it into a million within three days. Can you believe that?"

"Really? Well, why not make it your investment advisor?"

Dr. Octavius, fascinated by the idea of an AI making a hundred-fold profit in days, was naturally curious. Her own background was in atomic and mechanical physics, far removed from artificial intelligence, and she could only guess at what Jarvis's abilities meant.

Still, even to an outsider, it was clear Jarvis outperformed any "smart" tech available to the public.

"Because it didn't want to. It said it was too easy, not worth the processing power, and preferred to leave that work to humans who needed the jobs."

Miss Stark shrugged, glancing at the stack of boxes beside her.

"But enough of that—come help me set up. I've got a new project and could use an extra pair of hands."

"Jarvis, pull up the design for the Mark III arc reactor."

With a snap of her fingers, the lab's projection equipment whirred to life, casting a vivid blue schematic in the air between them.

This was Howard Stark's hidden legacy, embedded in the 1974 Stark Expo—a byproduct of Project Pegasus. After researching the Tesseract's unlimited energy, he'd created an isotope of it: a new element perfectly suited to arc reactor technology.

"What is this, an atomic structure diagram? It looks…oddly familiar."

Dr. Octavius stared at the structure with a strange expression.

"Actually, it's a new element. One of my father's legacies."

"I've seen this before—the Tesseract, right?"

Miss Stark's face registered surprise.

Dr. Octavius wasn't lying. She, as an atomic physicist dedicated to finding an infinite energy source, had even joined SHIELD's Project Pegasus. After Howard's death, she'd taken over his work. Though Howard's research wasn't classified, he had publicly stated that, at the time, it was impossible to create the isotope of the Tesseract.

"Oh, that's right. Nick Fury mentioned you were one of the heads of Project Pegasus. Looks like I'm not the only one in on this. Strangely, I feel like I've inherited something only to have it shared."

With access to SHIELD's database, Miss Stark knew all about Project Pegasus and Howard's connection to it. She had security clearance now, so aside from Fury's most confidential files, nearly everything was open to her.

But it was no time to dwell on the past—her focus was on the equipment scattered around her.

"What's this?" Dr. Octavius asked, pulling a large tube from a box and frowning in confusion.

"Oh, just a particle accelerator. A custom order, so it's small enough to assemble ourselves."

"Right…interesting."

Thanks to Dr. Octavius's mechanical backpack with its articulated arms, the two quickly assembled the disassembled components of the particle accelerator. The tube was long, and they had to drag it out of the workshop, into the penthouse's main hall, and even partially into the skywalk outside to make a closed ring.

Even though Miss Stark called it a custom, miniaturized particle accelerator, it stretched through the hall and outside corridors, eventually forming a circular track. At its core, she placed a special prism, the device's true heart. This prism would focus the particle energy, essential to powering the new reactor core.

"I've seen your father's atomic structure chart before, but I never considered this approach—a particle accelerator. Brilliant."

After finishing the installation, Dr. Octavius looked at the ring circling the hall, admiration evident on her face.

She had seen Howard Stark's atomic structure chart more than once, but she'd simply archived it in SHIELD's database without studying it further.

"Technology innovation is more than just progress—it's transformative, Olivia."

With that, Miss Stark handed Dr. Octavius a pair of dark safety glasses, putting on her own before heading to the control panel. All the equipment was set, and now it was time to witness a miracle.

Staring at the radiant triangular core of the Arc Reactor, Dr. Olivia Octavius couldn't hold back her excitement. Ignoring formalities, she grabbed the reactor from Miss Stark's hands, flipping it around and examining it closely.

"So, this is the Arc Reactor—a fusion-powered energy core. But wasn't the isotope your father created supposed to be… wait, could this really be made from the Tesseract's elements? Absolutely incredible."

Howard Stark was nothing short of a genius, a true visionary. Despite the technological limitations of his era, he left a groundbreaking design for his daughter to realize, propelling his legacy forward.

The isotope was a product of Howard's extensive studies of the Tesseract, a supercube of boundless energy, a theory so audacious that it birthed a new element, taking the energy output of the reactor to its maximum.

Or perhaps not even the maximum—science is an endless pursuit, and Miss Stark didn't believe she'd reached the final destination. She was confident that, in the distant future, her technologies would undergo yet another leap forward.

"So now that you have a near-limitless energy core, what's your next step?"

Handing back the reactor, Dr. Octavius resumed her composure, curiosity glinting in her eyes as she studied Miss Stark.

"JARVIS, bring up the design files for Iron Mark-7, and prep the equipment in the workshop."

Miss Stark had already begun the Iron Suit development project but chose to construct the seventh model directly instead of the earlier versions. Compared to the prototypes, Iron Mark-7 had a unique functionality as a high-resourced model, built with full-scale utility in mind.

Thanks to an onboard high-performance microcomputer and an integrated information management system woven throughout the armor's micro-sensors, Iron Mark-7 represented a significant leap in usability compared to earlier models.

And in terms of materials, the Mark-7 benefited from her advanced nanotechnology. Its materials were lightweight, strong, and highly adaptable. Affordable yet durable, it was well-suited for mass production.

But its most distinctive feature was its compact, collapsible form. While dormant, it looked like a cylindrical flying device; once deployed, it became the full-fledged Iron Mark-7.

Mechanical integration had long been a barrier, but not for Miss Stark. Her sophisticated AI allowed for controlled transformations and supported various equipment interfaces that could be interchanged as needed.

The cylindrical shape made it easy to transport to specific locations, with deployment-ready launch platforms already set up around the globe.

In Stark Tower's top-floor penthouse, Miss Stark had dedicated a private workshop, created by combining unused rooms with the Disaster Control team's help.

Inside, the largest and most energy-consuming equipment was a specialized printer. Unlike conventional 3D printers, this one used nano-grade metal as its material.

In other words, it could follow a design blueprint and easily print an array of metals at the molecular level, from standard industrial steel to military-grade or even space-grade alloys.

Using her workshop's precision engineering tools, the armor pieces of Iron Mark-7 gradually took shape within the nano-grade metal 3D printer. These armor components were assembled piece by piece with the assistance of mechanical arms, eventually conveyed by a belt to the two women.

"Well, it looks pretty ugly..."

Looking at the golden-red metallic cylinder lying at the end of the conveyor belt, Dr. Octavius wrinkled her nose.

"But I think it's brimming with the beauty of mechanical craftsmanship. Alright, JARVIS, activate standby mode."

Bending down, Miss Stark picked up four rubber loops and clipped them to her wrists and ankles. They would help align the armor's assembly process perfectly.

"Want to see how it works? I think it'll be fun."

Miss Stark turned, looking at Dr. Octavius, who nodded and followed her across the hall and around the particle accelerator tubing to the platform's edge.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Something thrilling, of course. Life is always better with a bit of excitement."

Without another word, Miss Stark stepped over the platform's railing onto the ledge and, turning to face Dr. Octavius, opened her arms. With a mischievous grin, she let herself fall backward, plummeting down the tower's edge.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Are you crazy?!"

Dr. Octavius rushed to the platform's edge, helpless to stop Miss Stark's mad stunt. The top floor of Stark Tower was a full 750 meters off the ground—a fall from such a height would reduce even Captain Rogers to dust.

At that moment, a crashing sound echoed as glass shattered, and the metal cylinder activated its thrusters, looping around in midair before diving down in her direction.

Miss Stark continued her free fall, unfazed, exhilarated by the rush.

Above her, she could see the cylindrical object unravel, revealing a humanoid frame inside that, using her wrist and ankle markers, positioned itself over her. As it locked around her body, the thrusters on her waist and underarms ignited.

Down below, no one noticed the figure plummeting from the sky. But everyone heard the glass shattering and looked up, checking for broken shards or signs of danger. To their amazement, they saw a figure encased in metallic armor falling toward them.

Onlookers gawked as the figure's back, shoulder blades, spine, and waist flared with a pattern of auxiliary thrusters, stabilizing the descent and maximizing drag effect.

Within ten meters of the ground, Miss Stark, fully encased in Iron Mark-7, shifted her orientation and executed a mid-air flip.

She completed her landing in a professional superhero stance, smashing the asphalt on the street below, drawing astonished gazes from bystanders all around.

"Alright, alright, stop staring. I'll pay for the damages... probably."

Iron Mark-7's faceplate was still up, revealing her face to everyone. Recently, she had become a hot topic, notorious across news channels and the stock market for shutting down Stark Industries' primary weapon division—a move that had won her the title of "Heiress of Ruin."

Seeing several onlookers taking out their phones to record, she frowned. Thankfully, JARVIS's voice cut through the tension.

"System diagnostics complete. Iron Mark-7 is fully operational, Miss Stark."

JARVIS's voice chimed as her faceplate closed down, one piece after another. The faceplate segments maneuvered around her hair, locking in place to protect her head.

Even with this new design, she hadn't quite figured out how to tuck away her long hair. As a workaround, she left it tied outside the rear of her helmet, partially exposed. But thanks to the Extremis virus, her hair wasn't ordinary keratin; it was effectively a part of her biological enhancements, immune to most damage.

With that, Iron Mark-7's palm and foot thrusters ignited, propelling her upwards. She became a blazing streak across New York's skies, leaving spectators stunned.

On the penthouse platform above, Dr. Octavius exhaled in relief, watching the comet-like flash. She then turned back to the hall to observe JARVIS's satellite tracking feed.

Strictly speaking, conventional military radar couldn't detect the Iron Mark-7 with its advanced stealth systems; it was far too small.

However, with Stark Industries' satellite array directly connected to JARVIS, real-time satellite monitoring was effortless.

This was her first time taking to the skies on her terms, relying solely on her tech. The sense of freedom thrilled her, an exhilarating rush that sent her blood racing.

Surrounded by sensors, the helmet created an unobstructed panoramic view. Though encased, she could see the world without limits, as though she had pierced through any barrier between her and the world.

Pushing the thrusters to their maximum, she easily broke through the sound barrier, soaring higher, into thinner air.

"It's beautiful, JARVIS. Don't you think so?"

"It certainly is, Miss Stark, though I do believe you might be straying a bit too far."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon: 

Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven