Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 9 of Iron Maiden. I want to thank those who have left reviews for this story. It truly does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this. I hope that you guys will continue to enjoy this story. Without further ado Chapter 9. ENJOY!

Chapter 9

Abigail came downstairs to Tony's work room of his home after being gone for a few days taking a small break from everything that Tony had been going through. She bit her lip softly as she saw sketches and diagrams splayed over the worktable.

Tony finished soldering work on two sculpted metal boots.

She blinked a few times tilting her head to the side wondering why he was making metal boots.

Monitors flickered behind him as the robot arm looked over his shoulder.

"Still having trouble walking, Sir?" Jarvis's voice rang out causing Tony to stop working for a moment.

"These aren't for walking." Tony said he moved back.

Abigail bit her lip as she watched Tony begin to mark a spot for a test circle with pieces of tape. She blinked a few times as he put the boots on and wired to the chest bandolier. "Tony…"

"Just a test." He said looking at his little sister with a cheeky smile.

Abigail let out a breath pinching the bridge of her nose. Of course he would deem it a test. She could only hope that he wouldn't get hurt from whatever he was testing. "Alright, just don't injure yourself."

"Ready to record the big moment, Jarvis?" Tony questioned as he went to test the boots he had made.

"All sensors ready, Sir." Jarvis replied.

"We'll start off easy. Ten percent." Tony said as he activated the hand-controlled joysticks. He shot up and flipped over crashing into the upper wall.

Abigail gasped in shock, her green eyes going wide before rushing over to where he had landed. "Oh god Tony."

"That flight yielded excellent data, Sir." Jarvis's voice rang out.

"Great. I, uhh, think I know what this needs." Tony said with a groan as he got up to his feet.

Abigail looked at her brother. "You are okay, Tony? That was a mighty hit you took to the wall."

Tony rubbed his back lightly. "I'm fine, Abs."

"And that dent in the wall states otherwise. Tony… just don't get yourself killed doing this."

Tony waved his hand knowing that his sister was worried about the whole thing of him testing something out that he hadn't told her about yet.

IMIMIM

Rhodey paced before an F-22 and a Global Hawk drone. Student pilots were assembled before him. "Manned or unmanned, which is the future of air combat? For my money, no drone, no computer will ever trump a pilot's instincts. His reflexes, his judgment-"

"Why not take it a step further?" Tony said as he came out of the shadows with his younger sister by his side. He had been watching everything from the shadows. "Why not...a pilot without the plane?"

"That I'd like to see. Look who fell out of the sky…"

"Who wants to take these apart and put them back together?"

"All right - let's wrap it up."

Tony and Abigail walked to Rhodey as the pilots trickled out, buzzing and stealing looks at the Stark siblings.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you for a while." Rhodey said, looking at Tony and Abigail. Since coming back it only had been a few days since he had last seen either one of them.

"Why not?" Tony questioned his brows as he looked at his friend.

"Figured you'd need a little time."

"Why does everybody think I need time?" Tony complained letting out a frustrated breath.

Abigail looked at her brother with a look of agitation on her face.

"You've been through a lot, thought you should get your head straight."

"I've got it straight. And I'm back to work."

"Really?"

"I'm onto something big. I want you to be a part of it."

"Lot of people around here will be happy to hear that. What you said at that press conference really threw everyone."

"I mean what I said." Tony said, looking up at Rhodey.

"No you don't. You took a bad hit. It spun you around."

Abigail cleared her throat.

"Maybe I do need a little time."

"All right then. Good seeing you."

"Likewise." Tony said as he walked with Abigail out of the hanger having Rhodey watched the two of them go.

"You're really not going to allow Rhodey to change your mind are you?" Abigail questioned as they walked back towards the car that Tony had driven in.

Tony shook his head lightly. "No, but I am going to need more time to work on the suit."

"Tony, are you sure that it is wise to make this suit? Wouldn't it be a weapon?"

Tony shook his head. "I want to do something right."

Abigail nodded her head slowly. "I know you do, Tony. I wouldn't dream of detracting from that dream. You want to make something that will be for the good."

Tony nodded his head.

"But you think that this suit is the right path? I mean it will be draining off of your arc reactor in your chest." She said softly, slightly concerned of what her big brother was doing.

"I want to be able to take away those weapons that are over there."

"I know… and I'm with you. I'll be with you every step of the way. I promise you that."

Tony gave his little sister a smile and patted her shoulder. "Let's get to work then."

Abigail smiled softly and followed her brother to the car. She knew that they were going to be working on the suit that he had almost pushed himself into the wall scaring her. She honestly didn't know what to think of this idea of him using a suit to fly around. It worried her that it wasn't something that would be worth working on. She could only hope that helping him would help him cope with everything that was going on.

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This is the end of Chapter 9. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best to add in some extra scenes of this chapter to make it a bit longer. I think that I succeeded in that. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing out stories. I hopefully will update soon with a brand new chapter. Until next time.