The Avengers: A Change of Fate

Chapter 19

When Stella met Tony down in the garage, he was wearing an Iron Man suit, "What are you doing in that?"

"I'm going to be with you all the way. I want to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Stella rolled her eyes. She ran her hand across the smooth surface of her bike, "It looks exactly the same. You did a good job, Tony."

"You helped too. Just remember that."

Stella climbed onto her bike, "So if it anything goes wrong, it's my fault?"

"Well it is more likely..."

Stella started the bike and revved the engine. The screen turned on with a new resilience. Stella smiled. She put up the kickstand and adjusted the weight between her feet.

"Alright, Iron Man. Let's do this," Stella said confidently.

The garage door opened, and Stella shot off, leaving Iron Man in the dust. He was quick to catch up though. Stella sped up and wove through the traffic. Iron Man flew overhead to keep up.

"Basic controls seem good. Maximum speed is acceptable. Steering and navigation are good," Iron Man listed off over the communicator.

Stella let out a laugh, "This isn't my maximum speed."

She turned on the nitrous and shot ahead of the crowd. Iron Man sped up to catch up with her.

"Nitrous works great. How about the rockets?" Iron Man asked once he caught up to her.

Stella switched them on and flew level with Tony. They escalated in the air to avoid the traffic. They were flying west out of Manhattan. Once they reached the river, Tony gave out his next command.

"Test out the multiterrain feature now," Iron Man instructed as he turned to fly up the river.

Stella lowered her bike to the water. The tires adjusted and she hydroplaned across the surface, letting out a steady spray of water in her wake. Iron Man flew right beside her, leaving his own jet stream. They dodged boats together and tried not to laugh as the people they passed gave them astonished looks. Once they headed out of the city, Iron Man gave his next command.

"Turn here," he said tilting toward the shore.

Stella followed him, "Apply the shield," Tony instructed as they neared the forested bank.

Stella eyed the oncoming shore, "But, Tony... We just redid the paint."

"Don't worry about it," Iron Man said in a commanding tone.

Stella reluctantly turned on the shield seconds before hitting the shore. Stella listened as she hit the ground and crashed straight through a tree. She caught the noises of Iron Man's rockets as he slowed himself down to avoid crashing into the trees as well.

"Turn on your rockets. Tell the navigational system to head to Hudson Drive going North," Iron Man instructed as he followed the pod.

Stella followed his instruction and braced herself as she felt the capsule weave between the trees. Only a few minutes passed before he told her to switch back to bike mode. Stella had never actually done this, so she prayed to God that she didn't end up on the pavement. She let out a gasp of air as suddenly she was sitting on her bike, grasping the handles tightly. They raced down the road, the trees zipping past them.

"Hit the breaks now!" Iron Man commanded.

Stella gripped the breaks and grounded to a halt, leaving a smell of burnt rubber in her tracks.

"Breaks work!" Iron Man confirmed as he shot past her.

"Tony!" Stella whined as she picked up her speed again.