Steve's POV

"Does he know who you are yet? "

That sentence kept ringing through my head. I knew it was rude eavesdropping on a private conversation so I walked away without hearing the rest. Although, I wanted to.

I've had strong suspicions about Ellesmere and her friend, Anne ever since. I had already begun to see Elles as a friend, as an honest person no matter the crime she had committed in the past. I was ready to accept her fully even though she was strongly despised by others.

But this question left me thinking about so many things.

What if she was a spy for those aliens? What if Thor had been right about her reeling us in?
Where was she from?
Who was she?
What if Wanda's idea of locking her up had been taken? What if?

I had a serious battle with myself. She was a loveable person on the outside. She had a smart mouth, good sense of humor, survival skills excluding her untamed powers. But I couldn't know her mind.

What if Wanda took care of that? A voice in my head suggested. I snapped it off immediately. It was rude getting inside one's head without permission. I had been there once and it wasn't a pleasant experience.

I had been watching her closely ever since we got back from the Helicarrier. S.H.I.E.L.D had been trying to locate the base of operations of those aliens but it seemed as if they were always moving their camp.

I had a hunch that whatever was going on and this "Orb" they were looking for, she knew all about it.

"Where did she say she was going? " I overheard Parker asking Thor when the fight was over. I eagerly walked up to them. The Tower was destroyed almost beyond repair but Tony was working on something.

"What's going on here? "I asked pretending not to know that she had left.
"Ellesmere's gone. We have no idea where!" Parker said looking quite worried.

"I saw her speaking to you before she ran off Point Break." Tony added walking towards us. I turned my gaze to Thor then raised my brows waiting for an explanation.

"The lady didn't say to where she was headed but she told me to contact Jane. She claimed Jane knows about what's happening. " He had an unsure look on his face, almost doubtful.

"How did she know Jane?" I asked him as my suspicions continued to increase.
"I have not an idea how. She also said they were here for me, that they think I stole the Orb." He finished then dropped his hammer on the table. "I always knew I was enemies with Malekith but I never stole from his people. Here I was thinking that they were all vanquished. "

"Do you smell that? "Wanda asked making everyone turn their attention to her.

"The silent judgment! "Tony answered waltzing into the conversation "She's going to rub it in all your noses that she was right about Current. "

"You don't know that for sure. " Parker protested.

"I do know that. First time, a bomb attack. She claims big hero, today we were almost killed and then she disappears. Doesn't it smell a little fishy? " Wanda said coming to stand in the middle of everyone.

"I don't know about you but I smell dust and earth and my billion dollar Tower crumbling down. "Stark said and for the first time, the sarcasm was a little less and the worried look on his face overshadowed his tone.

"We can track her. I can track her down. " Wanda said again.

The room fell silent for a long while. I guessed everyone battled within themselves too.

Somehow, we all wanted to trust her even though she was our enemy and now we didn't know what to think. She had us wrapped around her little finger. She was probably baiting us and I fell first and really hard.

"Do it. "I said and every head shot up to look at me. "Find her. In the meantime, Thor, you contact Jane. If we face those creatures again, we face them with the information we have on them. They take our ignorance and use it against us. But we'll be prepared when they come back. "

Thor swung his hammer then flew out the Tower causing the air to sweep wildly over everyone's face. The rest of us watched as Wanda tracked down Ellesmere.

She shut her eyes tightly then tilted her head slowly from left to right then suddenly screamed as she sank to the floor with one hand on her head.

Nat got to her before everyone else then helped her stand. "What's wrong? "
Wanda took deep breaths between each word she said, "She's blocking me somehow. I tried to get into her head too but it's not working. There's a thick wall of some kind, it's stopping me from reaching beyond New York. "

"Where's Vision? He could try while you rest a bit. "I said signalling Peter to look for Vision.

"Getting into Current's head is like making a death wish. You can't just waltz in there like you belong there or you have some backstage pass. " Tony said tucking his sunglasses in his jacket. Yeah, only Stark would wear sunglasses indoors.

"If we don't find out what her play is, we'd be walking blindly into a trap. "Nat said. "I'm going to go help Thor with finding Jane. "

"I think you're all being mean and you're just overreacting. Just because she left ,that now makes her an official spy and enemy?" Parker asked . He looked disappointed as he walked away. I was disappointed too. I didn't want things to be this way.

"I picked up a strong signal Sir, it's coming from an energy source." Friday said.

It caught all attention in the room. "Where? "Bruce asked.

"Salem, Oregon." Friday said.

"What kind of energy source? "Sam asked.

"It's an electromagnetic radiation. It's very powerful and it's causing rapid changes in the atmosphere."

"It's her! " I said then gave the signal to move out immediately.

"What about Nat and Thor? "Clint asked as we made our way into the Quinjet.

"They're not babies. They'll catch up eventually." Stark said launching the Jet. "And FYI, the other reason I'm coming with you is cause I'd love to see Current again."

"Just fly the damn Jet! "I said shutting my eyes momentarily to squeeze Tony's voice out. Clint and Tony took the wheel, while Myself, Wanda, Vision, Sam and Bruce occupied the back.

Parker was left behind. I was kinda grateful he wasn't here, sometimes his jabbering gets on my last nerve. It's no wonder Stark was the one to bring him in. It was like he was a younger version of Tony with more immaturity.

The jet zoomed off headed for Salem. About 40 minutes into the flight, the Jet jerked dangerously as all the alarms blared.
"What the hell was that? "Vision asked.
"Friday? "Tony called.

"There's a barrier up ahead. It's a force field with close to nine hundred and twenty three thousand watts. It's impenetrable, Sir. " Friday said. We all looked at each other for a moment.

"How do we get through that? "Wanda asked no one in particular.
"Friday. Isn't there a way to bring it down? An electromagnetic force field that high could break the Jet into pieces "Bruce said.

"I know she did this. She's definitely hiding something from us. Why would she place a barrier halfway across New York? That was the reason why I couldn't penetrate through to her mind. "Wanda said with utter disdain.

"Can't we go around it? "Tony asked Friday again biting his bottom lip softly.

"The barrier covers New York going around to Mississippi. Its meeting point is Michigan, Sir. "

"How the hell did she do that? That barrier covers up to nineteen states including Wisconsin. It's really large but what is she trying to keep in? "Bruce said looking flabbergasted.

"I think the question is, what is she trying to keep out? "I said. "We have to think of other options. Right now, we're stuck in one place. Our only hope is if Thor finds Jane and she tells him what. . . " I stopped halfway as I realized something. "Where is Jane? "

"She's in Austin ,Texas! "Sam replied.

"Did Friday pick up the signal before or after Thor left the Tower? "I asked.

"I don't really know! "Sam said.

"It was after. After Nat left. Friday, calculate the exact time you picked up on the radiation signal. "Tony said. The Quinjet hovered in the air like a mindless bird without a destination.

"It was at exactly 14:24pm Sir. "Friday replied.

"Thor was still at the Tower by then. Friday, did you announce your findings immediately? "Tony said.

"I announced when the signal got stronger Sir. " Friday replied.

"Then he must've made it past the barrier before it had gathered enough capacity to shred anything that goes through it " Tony said.

We were stuck and it was not fun at all. Ellesmere was up to something and we were going to do everything we could to know what.

Who's having fun?
I know I am. Writing this book is so much fun.

So quick question y'all, Who do you think is responsible for putting up the barrier?

Answer to that and more to come on the next chapter.

Also, Sam (Falcon) will not be appearing in this book from here on out instead we'll be having. . . . .drumroll, please. . . . . . .Colonel James Rhodes (War Machine).

He's not that amazing to some people but he's quite important since he appeared in all three Iron Man movies and Age of Ultron and Infinity War.

That's all for now,

Curtains close here. See you in the next page.

Lots of Love.... xoxo ❤❤

DuchessRI