Screeching To A Halt (Book Eight of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

On Your Left

Because I needed to laugh and I have been waiting SO long for this opportunity. ;) Back to the Avengers!

***

"Just a regular day at the office," Jessie shrugged as she lounged on the patio at the Avengers Complex, watching Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson warm up on the track.

"Please," Martha Rogers-Jones snorted as she rolled her eyes. "You do not face off Daleks every day, and I never heard of this Dalek Asylum."

"What are the Daleks again?" Wanda Maximoff asked, scrunching up her face in concentration. "You described them as pepperpots, no?"

"Yes," Martha nodded. "Evil pepperpots that like the word exterminate."

"That's them," Jessie nodded. "Yes, they have an asylum for insane Daleks. Well, they used to. Now they don't. The sane Daleks blew that up."

"I'm sorry, did you just say some Daleks were sane?" Martha stared at Jessie.

"If you saw what I did going to try and save Oswin, you would have agreed there are sane Daleks in this universe."

"I didn't see what you did."

"I just said that."

"What is this whole 'on your left' thing?" Wanda asked suddenly as Steve and Sam started their laps.

"Hmm?" The two other women looked back to see Steve pass Sam, saying that very sentence. "Oh," Jessie rolled her eyes. "Steve still does that?"

"He's never stopped," Martha sighed, rolling his eyes. "The first time he met Sam was on a run around Washington DC," she explained to Wanda. "He passed Sam several times, continually saying 'on your left.' Since then, it's become a thing of theirs. Even after Steve took a beating during the Battle at the Triskelion, when he woke up with Sam at his side, he said 'on your left.'"

"I would not think the Captain would continue it like this when Sam is clearly so annoyed by it," Wanda frowned.

"Well, I'm not going to beat Steve," Jessie shrugged. "Even when I'm trying my hardest, I'm not better than him. Keep pace? Maybe, but no way could I beat Steve like he's beating Sam." She paused, thinking, then smiled slyly. "I'm going inside for a drink," she announced, standing up. "Do you two want anything?"

"No, thank you," Martha shook her head. "I'm just gonna count and see how far Steve is ahead of Sam."

"A high number, I would wager," Wanda mumbled as Jessie headed inside.

The moment she was, Jessie cackled and ran for the elevator. "That didn't sound good," the Doctor's voice said.

"Are you with Pietro?" was all Jessie sent back.

"And the Vision, down in the training room. Natasha's pummeling Rhodey, currently, and my guess is Tony's somewhere getting some sort of alcohol. Why?"

"I'll be right down." Jessie entered the elevator. "Training room, FRIDAY," she said.

"Of course, Bad Wolf," the AI answered smoothly, the doors closing.

When Jessie arrived on the training floor, she indeed found Natasha Romanoff pummeling Rhodey in the ring. Tony Stark was by the bar, and the Doctor chatting with Pietro Maximoff and the Vision. "Pietro!" she called.

Pietro looked over, then jogged over. "Yes?" he asked.

She smirked. "I would like you to do something for me, and I think it is something you'll enjoy very much."

By the time she was done explaining, Pietro was matching her evil smirk. "I will enjoy this," he declared, grinning. "I will inform the others."

"I'll text you when I get back upstairs," Jessie promised with a wink. "Thanks, Quicksilver."

"It is no trouble," he waved it off.

***

"Has Steve put Sam out of his misery yet?" Jessie asked as she returned to the patio, sipping at an ice cold glass of water.

"Definitely not," Wanda curled her lip as she watched Sam shout at Steve in annoyance.

"So what lap are they on now?" Jessie asked, taking out her phone.

"Sam's on number three," Martha answered. "I think Steve's on seven."

"Oh, is he?" Jessie quickly tapped out a message on her phone. Steve's done seven, nearly done with eight. Can you beat that?

A moment later, she had a reply. Easily. "All right, ladies," she sat down, smirking and crossing her legs. "Let the show begin."

"What show?" Martha frowned, confused -

When a blur of silver shot by, whipping past them onto the track. "On your left!" Pietro shouted as he passed Steve by. Confused, the super soldier slowed down, only for Pietro to make a lap in five seconds. "On your left!" he called again before he was at it once more.

Jessie howled in laughter at Steve's utter bewilderment and Sam's confusion, before Wanda started laughing hysterically as well, even Martha joining in later. A moment later, Sam started laughing as well, Steve looking utterly put out as Pietro did five more laps, shouting "On your left!" each time he passed by. "Hey!" Steve finally shouted when he understood, holding his arms out. "Maximoff!"

"Oh, my God," Tony laughed as the rest of the Avengers joined the girls on the patio. The Vision looked as amused as the android could get; the Doctor and Rhodey couldn't speak, they were laughing so hard. "J, did you put the kid up to this?"

"Oh, you betcha," Jessie giggled as Pietro did more laps, only three left to go until he finished his sixteen. "A bird told me Steve hadn't stopped doing this to Sam. I only asked Pietro to give him a taste of his own medicine. He was happy to oblige."

"Don't say it!" they heard Steve groaned as Pietro finished.

"On your left!" Pietro did anyway, grinning like a maniac as he stopped, not even panting.

"Man!" Steve stared at him, eyes wide, as Sam clutched his side, trying to regain his breath, still laughing. "That was sixteen laps in just over a minute!"

"What is the phrase?" Pietro tilted his head. "What comes around comes around?"

"Payback's a bitch!" Jessie shouted, making the Avengers laugh harder.

"Steve?" Natasha had to rub in it. "Jessie said a bad word!"

"Shut up!" Steve groaned, hanging his head.

Jessie just giggled and high-fived Tony as Sam held out a hand to Pietro. "Thanks, man," the soldier said with a grin.

"It is nothing," Pietro grinned. "It was very enjoyable."

"Did he put you up to this?" Steve asked.

"No," Pietro grinned wider. "The Bad Wolf did."

Steve groaned. "I hate her."

"No, you don't!" she shouted back.

Steve growled under his breath as the Avengers just kept laughing. She was right, curse be damned.

Payback was, indeed, a bitch.

***

I had to. I'm sorry, I thought it, and it stuck. I'm thinking of doing a cheetah race eventually: where the Time Lords and the Maximoffs visit, and at the cheetah exhibit, there's a simulation that's like racing a cheetah, and Pietro wins. Any thoughts?

"Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" will be up who knows when!