The US Department of Defense was right on the Mandarin's case. So was War Machine. Ahem, Iron Patriot. I had to remember that now. They'd renamed War Machine so it was more applicable to the situation; essentially, the Government's own Iron Man. While I was proud of its pilot Rhodey, who happened to be Tony's best friend (fun fact: he first became War Machine after stealing one of Tony's suits, same as I had) I also felt scared for him. He was a colonel in the Air Force, danger was pretty much his thing, but still.

Tony had gone to meet him for lunch the next day, while I got re-settled into the old guest room that I had stayed in last summer. In the months since the battle of New York, Pepper, Tony's girlfriend and CEO, had also moved in. But right now, I was alone in the house (well, with JARVIS) and the thought of the Chrome suit just itched in the back of my head…

I bounced downstairs into the workshop and found the panel that concealed the armor. It slid open, revealing the Chrome suit, just begging me to put it on and paint the town.

So I did.

Every piece fitted me perfectly; Tony had probably added a few inches allowance to the original suit. Finally the helmet came on, and I blinked.

"JARVIS?"

"Not JARVIS, ma'am," replied a female voice, as the HUD flickered into life around my head. "Call me FRANNIE, the artificially intelligent system designated to operate the Chrome armor."

I blinked again. "Tony programmed you especially for this suit?"

"That is my sole function, Miss Stark," she said smoothly. "I am here to assist you in flying the armor. The Chrome suit has hyperenhanced speed capabilities, an advanced calculations system, heightened agility and is in itself a wi-fi hotspot, allowing you access to the Internet at all times." I chuckled at this. Pure genius! "It is also fitted with the standard-issue arsenal of every Stark suit, with the addition of two retractable titanium blades in the gauntlets." I looked down, and the blades she'd mentioned immediately popped out, sharp and bright.

"Whoa," I said.

"Mr. Stark has also requested a remote link from my system to JARVIS', so that at any given moment he knows where you are. And for easy transport, this suit can collapse itself into backpack form using a pre-encoded hand gesture. My total mainframe has also been uploaded to the Iron Girl MK 2 in the basement, should the need ever arise. And never worry- I was programmed with the main prerogative to protect you at all costs. Now, shall we get started?"

I looked outside at the bright California sky.

"Yes, we shall."

The first time I'd used one of these, I never thought I'd ever go so fast in my life. I was wrong. Wherever the Chrome armor took me, it took me fast. Within a couple of hours I'd already flown over the entire western hemisphere's airspace and cut a swath above Asia.

On my way back home I dropped into New York for a steaming hotdog bun and ate it on a sidewalk bench with a good view of the Stark Tower. After the alien invasion last year, it was still in bad shape; whole floors in rubble, windows smashed, and all the letters in the name 'STARK' mounted atop the building were missing.

Well, except for the A.

I looked up at it despondently. What would have happened if I had been there? Would I have made it out of New York alive? Tony and Pepper had Skyped me when the lights first came on. Mom and I had been in Zurich at the time, both so excited for them. How was I supposed to know that that night would change everything?

In any case, repairing the building was slow going, and darned if Tony wasn't cooking up some grand new scheme for its redesign…or completely new and different function.

I was just tossing away the hotdog wrapper when FRANNIE said, "I've received word that your uncle just returned, Miss Stark, and he's not in the best state. Might I suggest you go to him?"

Oh boy…whatever was it now?

"Tony?"

The garage was empty when I landed, but all the suits were complete, so undoubtedly Tony was already home. I had the armor fold itself into a backpack and quickly ran upstairs to see exactly what 'not in the best state' meant.

I found my uncle sitting at the foot of the stairs, his back to the wall, breathing heavily and looking like he'd run a marathon in six minutes.

"Tony!" I exclaimed. He blinked up at me.

"…Iz?"

"Oh my God. What happened?"

"I'm okay."

"You're not." I put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. "You're in a cold sweat and your heart is pounding like a—"

"Shh, be quiet for a second, there's all these dark spots in front of my eyes," he complained as I led him to the couch. He flopped down on it wearily.

"WHAT happened?" I said.

"If you'll excuse me, Miss, Mr. Stark recently suffered a panic attack," came the voice of JARVIS. "It would certainly be helpful if you kept your voice low."

"Panic attack?" I said, looking at Tony worriedly.

"Look, it's nothing, okay?" he said impatiently. "I'm feeling…better." He took a deep breath and looked me in the face. "You took the suit out for a joyride, didn't you?"

"Well…"

"I knew you would!" His tone immediately got excited. "What did you think? FRANNIE, what'd you think of her?"

"She's amazing, but we can talk about it some other time…what happened to you?"

"I told you, Iz, it's nothing…"

"That's what you always say, but it's always something, isn't it?" I said.

"I just flipped out during lunch, that's all," he told me. "Mentions about…about the…" He seemed hesitant to say the words, but I knew what he meant.

"About New Y—"

"Yeah. Don't," he said, cutting me off.

"Oh no," I said softly.

"I'll be fine, Iz," Tony said, trying to be reassuring (but failing miserably.) "I just need a few minutes. That's all." He shut his eyes.

I chewed my lip. "Anything else?"

Tony opened one eye. "Maybe a jazz tune?"

"Right." I left him and sat down at the baby grand piano a few feet away.

When I was a kid, someone suggested to my father to give me lessons in the arts, apparently so I could balance out my big brain with something more emotional and creative. Painting, ballet, pottery and singing didn't interest me or even work out- but when I was eight I somehow ended up in the same room as a keyboard, and we just hit it off. I took lessons for a couple of years then ended up teaching myself. Tony found out about my skillz and made a habit of asking for requests; usually 80's rock stuff that were impossible to cover on the piano. Today's suggestion was more sensible.

As I started on a smooth jazzy number, I hear Tony begin to relax slightly.

"That sounds nice," he said. "Sounds a little…Christmassy. Apt, for the season."

"You know, I really think you've done it with the Chrome suit," I said, "I don't think my parents will mind so long as I don't join you on missions or whatever." My fingers traveled across the keys, seemingly of their own accord. "But the idea is kind of…tempting, I don't know. I got a lot of growing up to do before trying any hero stuff…Maybe when I'm a bit older, right?" Tony didn't answer.

"Right? Tony?" I stopped playing, glanced behind me. My uncle was already asleep on the couch, snoring softly.

I sighed. I left the piano and walked over to him.

I curled up on the couch, next to Tony, and I watched the waves come in and come in on the California coastline beyond the window.