CHAPTER THREE » ❝ I would rather run forever
with you than stand alone without you.. . . ❞

    " Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful, that your meaningless lives are now contributing to..." The strange alien started, which caused Iris to scruff out in annoyance. She heard the same damn thing before from every single  villain that she has faced. The female speedster then glance at Tony, who already looked so completely done with the strange alien. Was it not possible to have one day without the world somehow getting taken over or ending by some means? Just one day?

    " I'm sorry, Earth is closed today. You better pack it up and get outta here." Retorted Tony in a rather bored tone. This was by no means, his first time picking a fight with an alien. Certainly wouldn't be his last time either. Iris's fingers messed with her sliver Flash ring that her former best friend, Hope Van Dyne, had made her. It had tech within it that made her suite grow and shrink, it allowed the female hero to change into her hero suite much quicker and easier. It was easier then her having to run back to the Avengers compound or have to akwardly carry it in a bag, which could just as easily expose her true identity. Which was something that she wanted to keep private. It was bad enough that the tabloids wouldn't shut up about her relationship status and personal life, but mixing in a hero life would just be pouring gasoline to a big fierce fire. 

         " Stonekeeper..." the alien started as he stared down at them as they were just completely less than his very own existences. The creatures eyes were cold and deadly, yet oddly so calm as they land on Stephen Strange. The alien then gestured towards Tony.  "Does this chattering animal speak for you?"

    " Certainly not. I speak for myself." states Stephen fiercely as he makes a magical shields that are readied with his fists and takes a threatening step forward. "But, you're trespassing in this city and on this planet." he growls. Wong then emulates Strange's pose. Iris glances at Tony and Bruce as she silently wonders what she should do. Iris's main weapon of defense with her own villains is appealing to their empathy, but she knows that this isn't the time for any level of  empathy because these creature didn't have any. They worked for the same creature that mind controlled Loki; who mind controlled a literal norse god into destroying New York.

    " It means get lost, Squidward!" exclaimed Tony in annoyances. 

    " He exhausts me." states the alien as he glances back at his teammates. They then mummer something out in a language that Iris doesn't know and assumes most be their custom alien language. Which sparks some mere curiosity within the female speedster's nerd brain. But, she reminded herself, time and place. But, she couldn't quite help it. With all of Iris's super speed came it's effects on her more mundane things in life. Things like thinking, reading, talking, even just her own eye sight. It was faster then anything. Everything  about her speed was existing on much more faster plain of living. A plain that she and other speedsters in the multiverse knew as the Speed Forces. A plain where all speed comes from. If one where to go into it, then they'd would come out of it faster then ever. 

    The speed force can steal or even lead speed to speedsters. It allows them enough speed to go back in time, speed for faster healing, and multitude of other things. It also provides speedsters the ability to function at unnatural speeds without the laws of physics stopping them. There's even a sort of legend, one could call it, about speedsters begging able to go into the force and use it as a means of a vast communication to all of the other speedsters. But, this supposed legend has yet to be proven by any speedster that she and her friends know's of or that anyone has a mere history of. It mere speedster bedtime story. 

    The speed force is a truly a powerful plain to have such a deep connection to. But, even with a deep connection, Iris isn't as fast as other speedster's that she knows in the multiverse. A great example of this is her good friend from Earth One, Barry Allen, who is killer fast. Iris's good friend has gone back and further in time, a feet that Iris  has not learned to do. Which she doesn't ever really plan on learning. Especially, after Barry had told her the very messy events of Flash Point and all it's various terrible effects. The male speedster had even lived within the speed force for six mouths and then managed to come out of the speed force, which was so very unheard for a speedster in his given situation. 

    " Bring me the Stone." demanded the main alien, which quickly brought Iris's attention back to what was playing out before them. The main alien then sent out his team that were his only reinforcement. They then spoke in the same strange language before one of them then drops their huge alien hammer and drags it along as they obeys his brethren orders. 

   " Banner, you want a piece?" Tony questions his friend that he hadn't seen in a while. The male doctor in question shifted rather uncomfortably. Iris knew her good friend hated his other green half, but they really didn't have choice here. The world was at stake and they needed every single one of their team members. even, if it meant getting a little angry now and then.

   " No, not really, but when do I ever get what I want?" huffed Bruce lowly as he shifts. Iris tosses her friend a small sincere look of empathy. She hated the pain that she knows the male doctor under goes. Iris still remembers the day that they had first meet; the day the he exclaimed in front of their team that he had tried to kill himself and didn't work. It had been a moment that broke her heart to hear and she knew she had to befriend him. Iris, at that moment, couldn't say that she fully understood his pain - but having lots of empathy, compassion, and just begging open to as much understanding as she could give - was more then anything that people had given him in the past when the found out his green alter ego.  

   " I'll be fine, Speedy..." Bruce lied to his close best friend as he catches a faint sign of worry and panic in her soft eyes. She was such mom figure to her friends; she worried and cared for them like mom would. Tony swore up and down that speedster turned int motherly friend after she adopted Peter and it suddenly became her main personality trait. Though, Tony tended to acted as though he didn't have his own fatherly moments or when randomly adopt kids in order to give them a better life. Bruce then attempted to release the Hulk. But, instead of the man's other green alter ego coming out like what would normally happen, Bruce's neck turns a very faint green. That's all that happened to the man. Iris titled her head in confusion.

   " Been a while. Good to have you, buddy." Tony says as if to encourage his old. It doesn't. If anything it adds more pressure to the man.

   " I just... I need to concentrate here for one second." retorts Bruce in mere annoyance as he keep trying his best to change his form. " Come on, come on, man." 

   " Where's your guy?" Tony questions impatiently. 

    " I don't know. We've sort been havin' a thing." Bruce explains.

    " There's no time for a thing." advises Iris as she looks back at the aliens.

    "I know." Bruce complains. Tony then points at the approaching them. The alien creature is just getting closer and closer to them. 

   "That's the thing right there. Let's go." Tony states worriedly. Bruce gives out a loud grunt, but fails to release the Hulk. Strange stares at Tony, Iris, and Bruce in disbelief.  " Dude, you're embarrassing us in front of the wizards."

   "Tony, I'm sorry."  Bruce stammers as he unsure of everything going on. "Either I can't or he won't-" 

  " It's okay. Hey, stand down. " he interrupts Bruce so that he can reassure him. Tony then turns to Wong. "Keep an eye on him. Thank you." 

   " I have him." states Wong. Which causes Bruce to curse under his breath. Iris could see how defeated he felt. He didn't want to see them hurt because he could't turn into the Hulk. 

   As the strange alien approaches the team, Tony nano-tech sprung into action. The red and sliver Iron Man suit became it's full fleshed out look by Tony's third step. He then grows a shield on one arm to protect himself, then grows a set of blasters that he uses to easily throw tone of the other aliens back to the main one, who makes just a mere hand gestures and manages to deflect his massive companion into some cars. Iris takes this time to jump into action by holding her ring out and letting her Flash suite, the same suite that both Tony and Hope had made their own improvements one, and her dark colored mask fall out. Which she quickly zooms into. 

  " Where'd that come from?" called Bruce in surprise as he stares at Tony's nano-tech. 

   " It's nano-tech. You like it? A little somet-" Tony was suddenly cut off as the main alien creates a spike of earth that throws him far up, and then the alien attacks the rest of the team with uprooted trees and other debris. Wong summoned the Shield of the Seraphim to protect him and Bruce, while Iris uses her speed to zip away from the deadly destruction that is hurled their way. As the female speedster zig zags across the street, she leaves a very vibrant trail of purple lighting in her wake. She glances over at her small make shift team to see that their unharmed and protected for the moment. 

      " Dr. Banner, if the rest of your green friend won't be joining us..." Stephen Strange trails off as he suddenly teleports Bruce to a nearby park, along with half a taxi. Iris's eyes are flickering about the scene as she thinks of their next possible move.  She watches as Tony returns and joins the fight, pushing a car thrown by the main alien back at the thrower. Though, the effort was useless as he merely cuts it in half and lets the pieces fly past him, untouched. 

   "Gotta get that stone outta here, now!" yells Iris as she speeds out of the way of various falling debris. She grits her teeth as her body vibrates with more speed. For the first time since she became a hero, Iris doesn't know what do. 

     " It stays with me." Strange states with fierce determination. 

    " Babe, I'm gonna need a distraction." Tony tells her through the private comm that is built into her Flash suite. Iris huffs out as she knows what she has to do. Iris then starts running, running, and running as fast as she can - she reaches her desired speed and could feel all of the electricity pulsing around her. She could feel how extremely hot the electricity was and holds it as she zooms across city in mere seconds. She then lunches herself down the street that her team was on before throwing the purple lighting bolt she had made. She throws the bolt at the main alien, which barley effects him.

    It gave Tony enough time fly through the wild obstacle course that aliens had made. But, he is cut short by the bigger alien's hammer, sending him through a building and into the park at high speed, plowing into the ground and fetching up against a tree. Iris glances at Tony's direction as every fiber of her begging demands her to stay here to fight, but her heart tells her to go to after Tony. She couldn't loose him. Not again...

    Iris arrives just in the nick of time. The alien had arrived at the park and had thrown his large hammer at Bruce and Tony. Iris quickly runs - time seemingly moving slower as she runs as fast as possible - and moves the duo out the way.

    " Hammer. " Iris breaths out as everything around her slows back down to normal people speed. It's a bit rough on Iris as she keeps changes speed - she wearing herself down a bit to fast then what's strictly normal for her. Iris knows it's because it's hard to get a single move up on these guys. Tony energy beam deflects off the bigger alien's shield, slicing down trees. Bruce barely evades one as it falls.

    Iris can make out what sounds like Bruce and the Hulk fighting, but keeps her attention on the aliens as she and Tony fight them off.  Iris is then knocked down and thrown few streets over like she is a mere rag doll. She tries to gain her braining, but her head is spinning and she just so disoriented. Iris then groans as she slammed forcibly into the cracking pavement, then she lets out a loud chores of blood curdling scream as she feels all of her bone shatter upon the all too sudden impact. The female speedster whole body was temporalily paralyzed. She laid in the pavement as she waiting for her speed healing to kick in. She thrash around the pavement as she cries out; the female hero's speed healing was dangerously fast, which meant that rest of her bones were regrowing at intense past and hurt like hell because of that. She tossed her head back as another scream ripped through her. Tony's shouts in her comms system her vision is darkening at the edges. After while the pain is gone as she no longer feels anything. She shuts her eyes as she feels cold crisp metal touch her skin. She briefly gives into the darkness...