As the Quinjet headed back, Steve Rogers was wiping the edge of his precious shield.
The mission hadn't been easy, but it hadn't reached the point of needing an entry in the Avengers' meeting minutes that would make Tony roll his eyes.
A sound suddenly came over the comms.
"Captain, something's come up."
Steve looked up.
A set of coordinates appeared on the screen: a private island off the coast of New York.
"Go ahead."
"Intelligence intercepted some unusual transfer records. Missing minors, forged immigration documents, private medical facilities, and an underground laboratory. We suspect research involving alien life-forms is taking place on the island."
The pilot glanced back.
Steve gripped his shield.
The voice on the comms continued, "The island's signal briefly cut out just now. The drone footage is chaotic. We can see large amounts of white, threadlike material, along with people trapped near the dock and the main building. We're sending support."
Steve looked at the little island on the screen.
White, threadlike material.
Trapped people.
Minors.
Alien life-forms.
Any one of those terms was trouble enough on its own. Put together, they needed no further explanation.
"Feed the coordinates into navigation," Steve said.
The pilot immediately changed course.
The person on the comms hesitated. "Captain, the support team will need some time."
"The children can't wait. I'll go ahead and find out exactly what's happening."
Steve fastened his shield back onto his arm.
He asked no further questions and offered no grand speeches.
Grand speeches couldn't save people.
The jet descended and flew toward the island.
A few minutes later, the island appeared in the darkness.
From the air, it looked neither like a private vacation spot nor an ordinary research facility.
The dock lights were still on, but a row of people hung from the