Sign of the Times ｡ Wanda Maximoff

4 - FLYING MONKEYS

About twenty minutes after both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers jumped out the back of the quinjet to reclaim their prisoner, Iron Man contacted them over the comms system. He informed them they'd gotten Loki back, only after managing to get through to Thor, who was now willing to work alongside them.

Immediately after hearing the news, Agent Romanoff flew in the direction of the coordinates Tony provided. They eventually found the four of them in a clearing large enough for Natasha to land the quinjet in, Thor holding Loki by the back of his collar as Tony and Steve stood idly by.

Everett remained apprehensive as the blond Asgardian boarded the quinjet. Although he knew Thor was on their side now and it had all been somewhat of a misunderstanding, Everett still didn't fully trust the Asgardian enough to know that he wouldn't attack them again. Until he knew for certain Thor wasn't a threat and that Estelle would be safe in his company, he'd continue keeping his guard up around him.

Once Loki had been secured on board for the second time that night, Agent Romanoff set course for the helicarrier, hopefully this time with no interruptions.

At some point during the flight, Estelle had fallen asleep with her head resting on her brother's shoulder. Her soft snores echoed throughout the quinjet, causing Everett to smile down at her. He was glad she'd been able to get some sleep. He figured with all his unease she was undoubtedly feeling through him that she wouldn't be able to get any rest. But she'd been out like a light within forty minutes of Loki being secured.

Everett noticed Steve smiling softly at his sister's sleeping figure a while later, and he couldn't help but smirk knowingly to himself. It was obvious that Captain America harbored some kind of feelings for his sister, with the way he easily became flustered around her and was impressed by what she was capable of.

Normally, Everett loathed the people his sister attracted. Every single one of them only ever appreciated Estelle for her beauty, which typically ended with him threatening them or breaking their jaw, but it was obvious Steve saw beyond that. He seemed to admire her personality above all else, and that's the only reason Everett didn't tell him to get lost already.

They arrived back at the helicarrier at dawn, and as Agent Romanoff began lowering the aircraft onto the landing deck, Everett gently shook his sister awake to let her know they were back. Estelle woke up almost immediately, yawned and stretched out her limbs, then instantly began complaining about how desperately she needed a coffee right now.

When Agent Romanoff had landed and began shutting the engines down, the rear hatch was lowered and they noticed several SHIELD agents waiting at the bottom of the ramp with weapons. The agents quickly boarded the quinjet when the ramp was completely lowered and they grabbed Loki before escorting the god back down the ramp, most likely to his cell.

Another set of agents grabbed the scepter and brought it inside, presumably to the lab so Bruce could begin working on it. Or at least that's what Everett assumed. Seemed most likely to him. Otherwise why had Fury brought the scientist here?

The rest of them followed Natasha inside to the bridge, where she told them they'd wait for Fury, who she knew would want to speak with Loki personally before meeting up with them to discuss their next course of action.

Everyone took a seat at the table, Everett and Estelle sitting beside each other on one side with Steve across from Estelle and Natasha at the head of the table. Bruce, who had joined them a little late, probably because he immediately began working on the scepter once it was brought to him, stood idly by with Thor. But Tony was nowhere to be seen. They weren't sure where he'd disappeared to. None of them had even noticed he left the group on the way in.

Natasha pulled up multiple live feeds to Loki's cell on the table's surface, which apparently doubled as some sort of computer screen. It was quite remarkable, really, all the technology and weapons SHIELD seemed to have at their disposal. It made Everett curious about what else they had up their sleeves.