Author's Note: This is my first entry in the Shining Avengers series, which features an all-girl team of Avengers. Each character differs from its 616 counterpart in several ways; being female is just one part of it. Anyway, they say that a good way to explore new characters is to put them in everyday situations and see how they react. Put them on a "milk run", in other words. So I decided to do just that.

Milk Run - Tonya Stark (Iron Lady)

Tonya stared at the inside of the fridge. "Bria! Where's the milk?"

"Bria's not here" came the diminutive reply. "And besides, she got milk yesterday."

Tonya glanced with annoyance at Emily Hecatatian, the 10-year-old sorceress who had recently joined the team. The kid was too clever to really show it, but Tonya could just about detect some smugness in her voice.

"I don't want to drink your crappy lactose-free stuff! Where's the real milk?"

"Why, are you planning to eat some cookies?"

"No, I'm gonna power a nuclear reactor YES I WANT SOME COOKIES. Is that a crime?"

"I just wonder what you loyal fans would think."

Tonya closed the fridge and walked over to the couch in the next room. "What are you talking about?"

"Just imagine: Tonya Stark, the world's greatest rock star...eating milk and cookies. It'll be all over the tabloids."

Tonya flopped onto the couch.

"Bitch, if I get seen eating milk and cookies, it'll be the sexiest thing since Elvis. Everyone will copy me, it'll get super big, and I'll probably write an album about it."

"You're not supposed to swear in front of kids."

"You like it when I swear."

Emily smiled. "Yeah, I do."

"Yeah, well, it's kindof irrelevant now, since I don't have any milk."

"You could always try the lactose -"

"I'm not drinking your stupid lactose-free stuff! Geez, it tastes terrible."

Tonya buried her face in a pillow.

"Why don't you just buy some?" said Emily

Tonya grunted.

Emily smiled mockingly, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is that too difficult for you? Iron Lady thinks she can save the universe single-handed, but when when push comes to shove, she can't even get a jug of milk without somebody holding her hand."

Tonya turned sharply to face her. "Is that a challenge?"

"Yeah."

Tonya leapt up and slammed her hands on the coffee table. "Fine"

She grabbed at her watch and hit the activation sequence. A wicked guitar solo erupted from the tiny speakers. She heard a familiar voice in her earpiece: "Iron Lady activation sequence: Commencing". Brushing Emily aside, she rose to her feet and strode confidently toward the floor-to-ceiling windows at the edge of the room. A panel opened up in floor, and the Iron Lady suit emerged from below. It bristled with electric power, as the disembodied guitar kept wailing.

"Um" said Emily, "you could just walk to the store."

Tonya stepped into the suit, which closed around her with perfect synchronicity. Just before she put on the helmet, she turned back to her young companion.

"Bitch, I am Iron Lady. I don't do anything small."

She snapped the helmet onto her head. "All systems functional", said the robo-voice. The windows in front of her slid away, yielding to the wind outside. Tonya took only a moment to gaze down at the 50-story drop. "I'll be back!" she yelled, and leapt out of the window.

She allowed herself to plummet 30 stories before she hit the thrusters, then she went straight for the horizon. "Jarvis," she said to the onboard computer, "activate external speakers". The guitar solo - which was still ongoing - poured out of the suit in all directions. (She also hacked a bunch of nearby speakers, though that was technically against the law.) She went straight for Times Square, since it was all foot traffic now and had the biggest crowds. She loved doing this sort of thing; bolting out of the blue, trailing awesomeness like fire in the wake of a comet. She performed mid-air stunts for a minute, just to drag it out and watch the crowd get bigger and wilder. There were some who said this sort of thing made her a public nuisance, but as far as Tonya was concerned, those were just lousy fun-killers who couldn't appreciate the raw beauty of rock.

"What's up Times Square?!" she bellowed through the speakers. The crowd roared back in response. "Here's the deal: First person to get me a jug of milk gets a free autograph! Who's it gonna be?!" Suddenly the crowd started scurrying, and it wasn't long before people started throwing full-gallon milk jugs at her.

"Woah!" she said as she caught one "Alright! Let me see ya!"

She hovered closer to the lucky winner: A teen girl with purple hair, a black leather jacket, and a freaking electic guitar! Tonya approached and the kid stood her ground, but you could tell she was awestruck. Tonya laid the milk jug on the ground, and with a flick of her eyes, she activated the "Autograph pen" function in her left guantlet. "You get a signature, kid. But first, you know how to play that thing?"

The teen glanced down at the guitar "Yes ma'am!"

"Then show us what you got!" Tonya waved a hand and her own pre-recorded music stopped. She grabbed the cord coming from the teen's guitar and plugged it into her own suit. The crowd went nearly silent.

The teen hesitated for only a moment. Then she played a single note, as if testing the system. Another note followed, followed quickly by another and and another soon she was shredding and a rapid speed, and the crowd loved it.

"YEAH!" shouted Tonya. "Let me sign that!" She signed the back of the guitar, then flew off with a friendly salute. "Give my agent a call, kid! We'll see what we can do for you!" She soared back towards Avengers Tower, leaving the crowd in her wake. She wanted to stick around longer, but she knew the golden rule of showmanship: Always leave them wanting more. Besides, they had that purple-haired kid to entertain them.

She flew back up to the window she had come from. The panels closed behind her as she entered, and hovered triumphantly to the floor. Emily was still standing there.

"How's about that?" she yelled, still smiling inside.

"Well you certainly got their attention", said Emily.

"You bet I did."

"You're all over the internet right now. I've been checking."

"That's what I do best, kid"

"Hey, quick question: Did you get any milk?"

Tonya glanced down at her empty hands. "Damn it!"