Riley had fallen asleep several stoplights ago, her snores rivaling the roar of the motorcycle. Her drool didn't add to her "graceful sleeper" points, either. Steve remained wide awake, despite how late it had become. They would be lucky if they reached his apartment before 2 am.

It was funny, he thought, how someone like Tony could produce someone like Riley. She had none of his arrogance, but all of his stubbornness. And he couldn't help but notice both of them had the same air of mischief that was hard to hide. Where Tony oozed confidence, Riley was left with an odd sort of awkwardness that seemed to overwhelm her. She was very fidgety, and her hair stuck out in all the wrong places. Not to mention her newly acquired habit of glowing when she was uncomfortable.

They came to another stoplight. A large black car pulled up beside them. Steve paid no attention to it, until the same car pulled up beside them again four blocks later. It was clear they were being followed. To be sure, Steve began taking sudden turns, looping around blocks, going one way for a while and then abruptly changing directions. The car stayed with him effortlessly.

Driving away from the car had turned into being steered by it. With little control over his path, Steve had come to an old road. Trees stretched overhead, blocking any light from the moon. Ruts in the pavement threatened to send the two off the bike at the speed they were going- not that they had a say in how fast they were going.

Twists, turns, and a massive headache shook Riley awake. Drool lingered on the side of her mouth, and the back of Steve's shirt. "oops," she mumbled, attempting to wipe off the stain with her sleeve. The muscles in his back were taut, pulled together with apprehension.

"Hold on as tight as you can!" The captain ordered over the sound of the two vehicles.

Riley looked over her shoulder. Headlights shone in her face. Behind the light she could make out the image of a daunting car, coming at them at full speed.

"Wait, I've seen that car before!" A faint memory of an upside down car driving away crossed her mind. No, she had been the one upside down. It had been right after the accident. She had been too focused on everything else to realize that she had seen the car that drove her and her parents off the road. A dent in the front bumper confirmed it. By the looks of it, the car meant to run her off once more. No way in hell she was letting that happen. Again.

There wasn't time to tell Cap what she had remembered. She had to stop the car first. And there was something she could do that she knew would be effective.

she reached her hand back and aimed at the car. There was no way she could hit it at this angle. She had to face the other way.

Riley swung one leg over to the other side, like she was riding side saddle.

"What are you doing?" Steve demanded.

"Something incredibly idiotic and dangerous." She swung the other leg over. Now she was backwards. A bump. She clutched the seat, trying not to fall.

"No, you're not, turn back around!" Riley laughed. It was almost sad how he thought she would actually listen to him. Of course she wouldn't. Not while she had a whole legacy of stupid to live up to.

She could see the car clearly now. The windows were too dark to see through, but the driver's intentions were clear. If it weren't for the Cap's impeccable "drive away from the scary vehicle" skills, they would have been dead a long time ago.

Another bump caused Riley to lurch forward, and she almost fell off again. "Stop doing that!" She yelled. Her grip on the seat was as tight as it could get, but that wouldn't matter if there were any larger dips in the road.

"Oh, sorry, hold on while I fill in each whole individually. Don't worry, I'll just ask that nice car to pull over for a minute while I do that. I have complete control over this situation!" he shouted back.

"All right, I get it! Cool your jets, Captain Sass! Just try to avoid the holes. I won't be able to hold onto the seat while I do this."

The car was closer now. It revved its engines.

Riley let go, and raised her hands in front of her, pointing straight at the windshield of their attacker.

The light came to her easier than ever. Brighter, too. It buzzed through her body, pouring out of her hands and tumbling into the ball. It kept building up until it exceeded the size of her head.

She let it go with a grunt, and it smashed into the other car. Glass and blinding light flew in every direction. Riley was grateful for the helmet that covered her eyes.

The car swerved violently. The screeching tires hit one of the larger holes and sent the car straight into a tree. The driver, now visible with the tinted glass gone, slouched in his seat. He was either unconscious, or dead. If Riley was being honest, she wouldn't have minded if it was the latter.

Steve slowed down, turned around, and pulled over by the tree the car had crashed into. He kicked down the kickstand, and got off the bike. "Stay here," he ordered. Riley got off and followed behind him anyway.

He pulled something out of a side compartment of his motorcycle. A gun. He held in front of him as he went to inspect the driver. He was middle aged man with a scarred face, a wide nose, and, thanks to Riley, a few missing teeth.

Steve placed two fingers on the man's neck. After a few seconds he announced, "He's alive."

"Is that good?"

"We'll see." Steve sighed, and took out his phone. "I'm calling Tony, he'll come pick him up and take him back to the tower. Once this guy wakes up, someone is going to have to question him. There's no way I can fit all of us on my bike."

Riley sat back down on the bike and waited for him to get off the phone. Her headache had gone in the excitement of the chase, but it was back now, more painful than ever.

"Thanks," Steve said, hanging up. He came over and sat beside Riley.

Neither of them talked for a while. Steve was on full alert in case the man woke up again, though he had removed any weapons from the car and tied him up, and Riley just didn't know what to say.

She leaned against Steve. Everything felt heavy now. It was incredible how draining firing light balls was.

Steve responded by putting an arm around her.

"Hey," Riley broke the silence.

"Hm." Steve said, not looking away from the man.

"Can we still have a sleepover?"

Author's Note:

Just so you all know, I will be on vacation until the 12th of September, and will likely be unable to update during that time.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!