He was there again, as one of the hatches blew and the cabin began to depressurize...

He was there again, as his trusted friends and associates began to gasp for air, clutching at the oxygen masks that fell from the ceiling...

He was there again, as he remembered that his armor was with him, and rushed back into the flight attendant area to change...

He was there again, as he saw the plane plummeting from the sky as he zoomed toward it in his armor, in an attempt to halt its descent...

He was there again, as he attempted to halt the plane by grabbing its tail....

He was there again, as the tail of the plane broke off in his hands and the jet continued its descent...

He was there again, as the plane impacted into the street below, and the explosion knocked him back, despite his suit's force field...

He walked back into his bedroom and glanced at the bedside clock. It was nearly 7 a.m. and time to go to Stark Enterprises for his first day back at work after the disaster.

Stark Enterprises had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the accident, but he still felt the deaths of his six friends and business associates deeply. Tony walked to the closet and thumbed through some casual business suits, finally selecting a handsome grey one.

He could not shake the dream from his waking mind, even as he tied his tie into a Half Windsor knot. He finished dressing and walked to the living room. The television was still on from last night.

Tony switched the set off in the middle of a story about the exploits of the Super-Unit Police in New York City. He admired their courage, but not their anti-superhero attitude. But it was time for him to go to work.

Stark picked up his briefcase from the plush sofa and swiftly stuffed the paperwork he had been struggling with the night before into it. He grabbed his keys and wallet and walked out the front door of his apartment.

Stark's limousine pulled around to the front of his apartment building and Tony got in. There were a lot of people he was going to see at the office that he had not seen since the accident, and although he knew he had their loyalty, he hoped that guilt would not show too strongly in his eyes.

"Send in Miss Isley, please."

The huge wooden doors of Luthor's office opened automatically, and in walked a slinky red-haired woman. She wore a well-cut kelly green business ensemble, with a little emerald pin that resembled a twig of ivy. The doors closed behind her.

"Hello, Miss Isley, or Poison Ivy, as you have been known in the past. Thank you for coming. Please sit down."

Luthor motioned to a plush chair in front of him. His guest sat down slowly in his chair, and it was all that Luthor could do to keep his eyes from her.

He cleared his throat. "As you know, Miss Isley, Lexcorp is the prime manufacturer of weapons systems, munitions, and aerospace weapon technology in the world. But I have one strong competitor in the civilian aerospace market..."

"Stark Enterprises...", the woman breathily responded.

"Yes...you're more astute about business matters than I thought. Anyway, even with the Stark CleanJet disaster, Stark's product sales still top mine and his customers' loyalty is still high. I want some of that...in short, I want him taken down."

"So, what do you want me to do about it?"

"You are to use your powers over men to sneak your way into Tony Stark's heart. It's well known he has a thing for beautiful women...and you fit that bill perfectly."

The woman smiled. "Hmmm...flattery, very charming, Luthor."

"There's a few things I need you to do to his company once you get in there....some things that will ensure the downfall of Stark Enterprises. I will reward you handsomely for success...and, to prove my good faith, I'll give you an advance."

Luthor opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. Poison Ivy gave Luthor a flirty look that almost melted him inside, then she opened the envelope. The quietest of sighs escaped her mouth when she saw the amount of the check.

"Ooh." she said. "I think this will do, to start."

"Good. I have made arrangements for you to take a position at Stark Enterprises, one that should enable you to be in close contact with Mr. Stark."

Pamela Isley let out a seductive laugh. "I can't wait to begin! Poison Ivy always gets her man!"

He needed a break. He thought that he wanted to use his Iron Man armor, and the briefcase holding it instantly opened. With whirring and clicking sounds, the automated armor suit unfolded itself and flew over to Stark.

He allowed the mask, the chest plate, the gauntlets, the armored leggings, and the boots to cover him. A surge of power and confidence came over him once the armor had finished covering his body. Iron Man opened a secret door in his office, and walked down to a secret passageway from the office building to the Stark Courtyard concourse.

Iron Man appeared before the workers buzzing to and fro in the Courtyard. He gave an obligatory wave to a group of Stark higher-ups passing him, ignited his boot jets, and took to the sky.

Suddenly, his armor's radar sensors registered a large object coming toward him. "Match with any known air vehicles," he said into the voice-recognition module in his mask, and his computers instantly matched the signature to a Boeing 747.

Iron Man knew he had better duck out of the plane's way and let it go past. But his armor's sensors warned him of the presence of another jet heading at him from the opposite direction.

With all of this cloud cover, the planes must have been somehow put on opposing courses, or gotten off course.

Iron Man could not let another air disaster take place. He thought quickly. There was no way he could physically stop the planes from crashing into each other. But he could communicate to the airplane's pilots via his armor's communication systems.

"Boeing 747, this is Iron Man speaking. I'm a superhero, and I'm right in your flight path. So is another 767. Can you radio to the control tower to get a better flight path?"

He could see the first jet coming at him, even in the cover of the clouds.

Iron Man got a response from the jet. "Thanks for the tip, Iron Man. With all the air traffic today and the cloud cover, they must have put us on the wrong course by accident. Under advisement from LaGuardia's control tower, we are making course alterations."

"Iron Man out," the hero said, as both planes passed him and each other harmlessly. He received another radio communication from the 747 as it flew away.

"I don't care what the president says about vigilantes," the pilot said. "You're all right, Iron Man."

But Tony did not pay attention to Charlie for long. A beautiful red-haired woman sat in a dark green suit, waiting for him, her hands folded over a resumé in her lap. Her eyes caught Tony's, and for some reason, he couldn't find the words to ask her what she was doing there.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Stark! This is Miss LaPlante, who is interviewing for the secretary position."

"Hmm..." said Tony, breaking out of his reverie. "I don't remember hearing about this appointment, Charlie..."

"Sorry, Mr. Stark. I must have forgot..."

Tony was too taken with his female visitor to reprimand Charlie. He looked into the interviewee's green eyes again, and again found it hard to get words out of his mouth. "Since...you are here, why don't you come in and I'll ask a few questions, to see if you're right for the job."

"I have a resumé right here," the woman said, handing him a sheet of parchment-quality paper full of qualifications and experience.

Stark glanced it over as they went into his office. "It looks like you would be perfect for this job. In fact, it looks like you have all the skills we need."

Tony felt her green eyes burning into him as he turned and walked into his office. Instantly he felt that he just had to give this woman the job, just so he could be near her. He had never felt this way about a woman before...it wasn't like him to fall head over heels in love.

"I think you'll be a perfect fit for the job."

The old man spoke. "I've specifically hired you all because I know you'll be better than the last crop of losers I hired. I trust you will do better at serving my needs than they did." He pointed a bony finger at the group. "Remember, I want whatever you can destroy of Stark Enterprises to be destroyed...make it look like part of the attempt to capture Stark."

The old man surveyed his evil-looking quintet. "And bring him to the location I've specified...alive. I have a job for him to do for me."