Checkmate
An Avengers One-Shot
Avengers HQ, Upstate New York, Friday, 1:35 PM
Sam "Falcon" Wilson let out a contented sigh as he downed his usual glass of post-workout orange juice. He leaned against the counter, relaxing his tired muscles as he drank to the end of another day's training. He wore a grey mesh shirt and black sweatpants, both of which allowed for maximum physical flexibility. This served him well, as he had just finished a hour-long spar with fellow Avenger Natasha Romanov.
He lazily strolled into the living room of the superhero team's living compound, placing his glass in the sink as he went. The headquarters was truly luxurious, and Sam was glad that he had the rest of the afternoon to laze about in it.
Looking over at the room's centered black leather couch and coffee table, Sam saw another of his teammates; The Vision, who was wearing a solid dark blue sweater and Chino slacks to contrast his unnaturally red bio-mechanical skin. The android was crouched over in thought, gazing at a chess board. Confidently, he moved his white rook up three spaces, taking a black bishop.
"What's poppin', Vision?" Sam greeted his friend as he loped over to a chair opposite the couch and taking a seat. Vision looked up suddenly, seemingly broken out of a trance-like state.
"Nothing is popping at the moment, Sam. Unless my auditory channels aren't functioning properly, of course." Came Vision's calm, scientific response. He clearly didn't understand the phrase, much to Sam's amusement.
"Sorry man, what I meant to say was 'how are you doing?'" Sam said with a chuckle.
Vision smiled as well. "Ah, I see. I shall add this 'what's popping' phrase to my lexicon shortly. Thank you for expanding my vocabulary. Anyhow, I am playing chess at the moment."
"By yourself?" Sam questioned. "how do you do that?"
"Well, I simply play both the black and white sides. You see, understanding both sides of a conflict, is essential in both war and the wider disciplines of strategy and debate. I find it a positively invigorating, as well as fun, exercise." Vision's tone could almost be described as enthusiastic, but not quite.
The merits of such an activity were lost on Sam, however. "I don't know man, it's no fun without the competitive aspect. At least that's how I feel."
Vision nodded in understanding. "I imagine for you, such a viewpoint is entirely natural. For myself, however, it is difficult to find adequate opposition. Due to, among other things, the mind stone in my forehead, my mental faculties are far too advanced to be outwitted by ordinary human intelligence."
Sam laughed, mistaking Vision's factual observance as a challenge. "Oh, I get it. You're just way too smart to ever lose a game of chess, is that it?"
Vision nodded, but was not tacking onto Sam's thought process. "That would be an accurate summation."
Sam cracked his neck, a grin quirking his lips upward. "You know you gotta back up that tough talk, bro. C'mon, let's play." He declared cockily.
"Ah, I had no idea that you played, Sam. Very well, if you wish to, I would be honored to be your adversary." Vision said, respectfully as always.
"Yeah, I even beat Steve a couple of times!" Sam bragged, neglecting to mention the fact that Steve was absolutely atrocious at Chess.
"Did you?" Vision smirked wryly. "That's really something. I fear you might find me a more challenging opponent."
Needless to say, Vision completely trounced Sam in the course of five moves. "And I believe that will be checkmate. Good game." Vision said with sincerity. Unfortunately, Sam found Vision's words unbearably smug.
"Oh, you got so lucky. Come on, we play best of three." Sam flexed his fingers, his mind working furiously as he prepared a new strategy to counter the seemingly unflappable Vision.
The afternoon wore on and Vision continued to destroy Sam as the sun began to set. Both players showed an extraordinary amount of patience; Vision for humoring a clearly inferior opponent, and Sam for attempting to surpass a metahuman in a battle of wits.
As the clock struck five, the other Avengers began filing into the living room. Captain Steve Rogers lead the pack, as he was wont to do. Behind him stood Colonel James "Rhodey", Rhodes, Natasha "Black Widow" Romanov, and Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff. The superheroes looked on at the strange scene in bemusement.
"I believe that will make 365 victories for me, thereby winning the best of 729 we agreed to, Sam." Vision moved to stand up, but halted. "Sam, are you going to be alright?"
Sam was visibly sweating and audibly breathing harder than usual; he looked as if he had been through a punishing workout. "Nah… this is bullshit…nah…one more game. And this one's for all the marbles." He said in a humorously menacing tone.
"Just what is going on here? Vision, I thought you said you were going to cook dinner tonight!" Steve attempted to sternly reprimand his teammate, an effect that was somewhat ruined by the giggles he was trying to suppress.
Vision looked apologetically at Steve. "You have my remorse, captain Rogers. I felt it would be rude to refuse Sam's challenge to a best of 729 round. It might be necessary to order one of those delectable round things again. What were they called again?" The android asked.
"That would be a pizza." Natasha helpfully offered. "Yes, one of those. Now then sam, let's return to our final game." Vision nodded. Sam made his first move, moving a pawn forward two spaces.
Since she was in the back of the group, no one saw Wanda's eyes begin to glow crimson as she began to use her powers. Steathily, she began to influence Vision's decision-making through the mind gem on his forehead. She knew her more fair-minded teammates would disapprove of this, but Sam was going to go mad if he lost another game to the mentally advanced Vision.
Her power was so subtle, not even Vision himself realized that he was making rationally unsound moves while Sam stumbled, half-delirious, to victory. Vision was beyond shocked to find that Sam had actually managed to take his king after a long 30 plus move game. The rest of the Avengers watched, in disbelief that Sam actually managed to take a win off of Vision.
"What? How can this be?" Vision exclaimed- exclaimed!- as he placed his head in his hands. "And why do I have such a bad headache all of the sudden?"
Wanda's eyes returned to their normal color, her mission complete. "There- maybe now Sam won't be so upset." She mentally scoffed, annoyed with her teammates' immaturity.
"Aw hell yeah!" Sam actually jumped out of his seat and pumped his fist in the air. "This is how we do, baby! You were talking all that good shit a second ago, now look at you! I AM THE GREATEST CHESS PLAYER OF ALL TIME!"
The other Avengers were now openly shaking with hilarity, Natasha clutching her sides and Steve letting out a hearty laugh. "It'll be ok, Vision- you still beat him 365 other times!" Wanda laid a hand on the android's shoulder to comfort him.
After a moment of silence, Vision recollected himself. "It is only natural to incur defeat sometimes- I am not perfect, after all. Thank you for a well played game, Sam." Ignoring his opponent's gloating, Vision shook hands with Sam, and the Avengers began migrating out to the kitchenette to discuss dinner plans.
Steve and Wanda were the last two in the living room, and right as the witch was about to enter the kitchen, he stopped her with a firm hand on the shoulder.
She cringed. "Steve- I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have cheated, but-" She began.
"That was a nice thing you did for Sam. Sometimes he feels like doesn't bring much to the team compared to everyone else. It was good for morale for him to win today, but winning doesn't matter if we're not in the fight together." The captain said soothing, sparing the newest member of the team a smile.
"I suppose you are right." She conceded before following him into the kitchen, still unfamiliar with the idea of being on a team. She could get used to it, though.
A/N
What's good everybody, thank you for reading this silly one-shot. I wrote this while I was super sick, so it might not be great or even coherent, but I just had this idea one day of Vision kicking Sam's ass in chess and knew I had to put it to paper. This would be set pre-Civil War of course- I wish we got to see this team of Avengers in action more before the events of Civil War, but whatever. Have a good one, readers.