Chapter 88: Mk-II & Mk-III

"Toni, there's no need for you to start working the very next day of you return. You need proper rest," Pepper tries to dissuade Toni as they both reach the basement workshop at her Malibu house.

"I had my rest yesterday already," Toni counters as she keys in the password to the workshop.

"But yesterday, we hardly had any rest," Pepper responds, a mild blush colouring her cheeks.

"Yeah, Luke doesn't know the meaning of restraint," Toni sighs, wincing slightly as she touches her aching pussy through her pants. "But I can't sit still. I need to start working immediately, so you can't stop me, Pepper," she declares as she enters her workstation.

"Sigh, alright. But try to get some rest. I'll be busy dealing with the departure procedures from the Watson Group. It might take a few days, but don't worry, I've already started handling Stark International's matters, although I haven't officially joined the company yet," Pepper explains, checking her phone for her itinerary.

"Uh-huh, okay, totally get it," Toni mutters absentmindedly as she reviews some designs and plans given to her by Lucas on her computer.

"And you're already working!" Pepper exclaims in exasperation, watching Toni engrossed in her work. "Okay, I have to leave now. Don't forget to eat your lunch, and don't just order pizza—get a proper meal!" Pepper urges as she heads towards the exit.

"Sure," Toni replies, her focus fixed on the drawings and schematics of the files labeled Mk-1 and Iron Monger.

"Jarvis, open two new project files. Index them as 'Mark II' and 'Mark III,'" Toni instructs after checking a few more things.

"Shall I store this on the Stark Industries' central database?" Jarvis inquires.

"No, just keep everything on my private server," Toni responds promptly as she approaches the bulky suit in the corner of the room.

"And find the family of Ho Yinsen. Notify me when you do," she adds somberly.

"Understood," Jarvis acknowledges before falling silent.

"Time to give this old boy some serious upgrades," Toni murmurs with a smirk, gazing at the metal suit of armour she had crafted in that cave in Afghanistan.

---

"As we're bulking it up, we need another alloy for its outer casing. Show me all available alloys in our Stark Industry database," Toni commands, examining the holographic display of a file named Mk-II.

"There are 49 entries in the list" Jarvis responds presenting a list of names on the computer.

"Yes, this one—Omnium Steel. It's still in the research phase, but it could work. Jarvis, let's complete the research and start manufacturing it," Toni says, stretching her hands to start working.

---

"For our Mk-III, we'll go with Luke's suggestion and use a gold-titanium alloy as its base instead of Omnium Steel, as it will have a sleeker and lighter build," Toni decides, starting to design another suit of armor while the Omnium Steel is being manufactured.

---

"Let's see if this works," Toni says, holding out her gloved hand.

Bam!

"Ugh," she groans as a blast emerges from her hand, throwing her back to the floor.

"So, the Repulsor Blast Gloves still need some fine-tuning," Toni grunts, getting back up and adjusting the wiring in her glove.

---

"Dummy, hold this steady!" Toni snaps at the robotic arm, which obediently holds a piece of armor in place.

As she works, her mind often drifts to Lucas. She can't deny that she misses him, the last she heard he was off to some European country for work.

She shakes her head, pushing those thoughts aside to focus on her work. She can spend time with Luke after finishing these projects.

---

"We'll keep the Vibranium-Palladium Arc Reactor for the Mk-II suit since it's very bulky. Let's create a new, fully Palladium-based Repulsor Tech node for the Mk-III.," Toni comments as she starts making a new design for the reactor.

"If only Vibranium wasn't so rare" She says aloud bitterly, looking at the new red and gold bracelet given to her by Luke.

---

"Let's begin testing the propulsion system. Start the power-up sequence," Toni orders, feeling excited as she never got to use this during her escape in Afghanistan.

"Power-up sequence initiated. Arc reactor at full capacity," Jarvis confirms. A blue glow emanates from Toni's chest plate as the new arc reactor comes to life.

"Alright, let's do it," Toni says, placing her hand at her side and looking ahead, activating her Repulsor gloves.

She barely lifts off the ground before crashing back down.

"Adjust the power output by 20%," Toni commands, trying again.

With a powerful thrust, Toni gets thrown back to the wall and crashes to the ground.

"Ouch," she mutters in pain, getting up slowly. "This will take a while."

---

Bam! Bam!

Toni fires perfectly at two targets in her laboratory using her Mk-III's Repulsor gauntlets. She vents her frustration as she just saw a news feed of a terrorist group attacking a peaceful village in Afghanistan, armed with her company's weapons.

Even though she stopped manufacturing weapons and destroyed all those from her captors, multiple other terrorist groups and warlords still possessed her company's weapons due to Obadiah's years of illicit sales.

"Perfect. Now, let's add some weapons to the Mk-II," Toni decides, planning to equip the armoured giant with machine guns and missiles, wanting to fight fire with fire.

---

"Toni, you look like you haven't slept or showered for days," Pepper remarks as she enters the basement, seeing Toni adjusting the machinery with a screwdriver in a pair of metal boots.

"I think I showered just yesterday," Toni says, focused on her work.

"That was three days ago Miss," Jarvis corrects automatically.

"Sigh, are you eating properly, at least?" Pepper asks, exasperated.

"Yeah, daily, healthy meals and all," Toni replies simply, still tinkering away.

"Why don't I believe you?" Pepper wonders, eyeing the pile of pizza boxes in the corner. "Sigh, there's a party tomorrow at our headquarters building."

"Oh, what's the occasion?" Toni inquires, looking up at Pepper.

"It's a welcoming party for the new COO—that's me. I'm officially starting work under you tomorrow," Pepper announces with a wry smile.

"Oh, cool. The company is in dire need of you." Toni comments as she goes back to her work.

"Yes, especially when you haven't attended any meetings for half a month. Will you attend tomorrow, at least? It will stop all the rumours about you suffering from PTSD," Pepper asks softly.

"Is Luke going to come?" Toni asks back nonchalantly.

"Yes, Luke will be there," Pepper nods affirmatively.

"Then, I'll definitely be there!" Toni replies with a smile, her face still dusty.

"Okay, thanks. I have to go now. Take a shower, please, and don't forget about the party tomorrow evening," Pepper says, leaving in a better mood.

"Well, let's hurry up then," Toni says, putting down the boots and wearing them. She dons the metal plate with the arc reactor embedded and the metal gauntlets.

"Dummy, do not use the fire extinguisher unless I am on fire," she warns the robot arm holding the fire extinguisher.

Dummy just points the fire extinguisher's nozzle toward her.

"Sigh, let's hope I don't crash into the ceiling again," Toni murmurs as she points her gauntlets downwards and activates them.

Woosh!

Toni lifts off the ground and hovers stably in the air.

"Okay, this is good," she says, manoeuvring around the basement. After a few laps, she lands perfectly on the ground.

"That was cool, so the propulsion system is done at last," Toni says with a satisfied smile.

---

"Huh, the red and gold paint looks surprisingly good," Toni remarks with a wry smile, admiring the finished render of Mk-III. She ultimately chose this colour scheme to match the bracelet Lucas had given her.

"Jarvis, start the final diagnostics and fabricate it. I want everything running smoothly," she orders, moving towards the Mk-II.

"All systems are nominal, Miss Stark. Commencing automated assembly. Estimated time: five hours," Jarvis confirms.

"Good. That's just in time for the evening party. And don't forget to double-check the flight stabilizer," Toni says, making the final touches on the Mk-II model.

---

After finishing the touch-up on Mk-II, Toni takes a short nap, gets up, and enjoys a relaxing shower. She then sits on her sofa in the workshop, pouring herself a drink.

"Jarvis, how long until Mark-III is completed?" Toni inquires, glancing at the clock showing 8 PM.

"Twenty more minut—" Jarvis abruptly pauses.

"Jarvis?" Toni questions, perplexed, as she sips her drink. She puts the drink down and tries to get up.

Buzzz!

"Ugh," Toni abruptly slumps back onto the sofa.

"My dear Toni," a voice murmurs from behind her.

Toni, immobilized, looks wide-eyed as Obadiah Stane steps in front of her.