ℳ𝒾𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓁𝑒 𝒩𝓊𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 | Top Gun Maverick

Chapter 3: Training

"Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking. Welcome to basic fighting manoeuvres." Maverick started.

Rooster, Payback and Fanboy were the first up on the planes. Snow-white and the rest were listening to what was happening from the radio.

"As briefed, today's exercise is dog-fighting. Guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 feet. Working as a team, you have to shoot me down, or else-"

"Or else what, sir?" Payback interrupted

"Or else I shoot back." She could practically see the smug on his face. "If I shoot either one of you down, you both lose."

"This guy needs an ego check." Hangman commented while holding a toy plane.

"Says you." She answered to him, he scrunched his nose and grimaced at her so she stuck her tongue out to him.

"We'll see to that." Yale replied to Hangman's previous comment, their cockiness making Snow-white scoff.

"What say we put some skin in the game?" Payback suggested.

Her head shot up immediately. "Don't do it, Payback." she whispered into the air as if he could actually hear her.

"What do you have in mind?" Mav asked intrigued by the challenge.

"Whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 push- ups" He said and my eyes widen with dread.

"Oh God no" she muttered to herself again.

"Guys!" Rooster intervened, knowing all too well how this is going to end.

"That's a lot of push- ups" Maverick tried to warn them.

"They don't call it exercise for nothing, sir" Fanboy retorted back.

"You got yourself a deal gentlemen. Flight's on. Let's turn and burn" Mav finished the sentence and just like that, the training began.

"Great, thank you guys!" She said sarcastically, her hand slamming against the counter in disappointment and frustration.

"You know they can't hear you, right?" Hangman once again interjected.

"I wish I couldn't hear you right now." She emphasised the 'You.' Hangman rolled his eyes at her.

"Fanboy, you see him?" Rooster asked.

"Nothing on radar up ahead. He must be somewhere behind us."

"No...he's below you-" Just as she said it, Maverick must have flown up between Rooster's plane and Payback's plane.

"Damn it!" "What the hell?" "Shit" She heard everybody exclaim in surprise, confirming her suspicion. She knew his way of flying, he likes the element of surprise and he sure as hell likes to show off.

"Tally, tally, tally! Maverick's coming in! Break left!" Fanboy shouted to Payback.

"Breaking left!" Payback said, both with panic in their voices.

"Payback, where's your wingman?" Maverick asked, getting closer to his plane.

"Rooster, where are you?" Payback asked shakily.

"I got your back. Hang in there. Hang in there."

"Hurry up man, Hurry up!"

"Payback, break right!"

"Breaking right!"

"Rooster just saved your life, fellas. But it's gonna cost him!"