The next few weeks were spent warding the entirety of Stark Tower against everything Thor knew of and teaching the former angel how to be human. Warding the skyscraper turned out to be the easy part. Besides applying infrared warding symbols on every wall and window, Tony was able to convince his employees to get an anti-possession symbol stamped on their hands when they entered as part of some sort of experimental tracking system. It was all made up on the spot but he offered them all a thousand dollar bonus in exchange so they complied pretty quickly.

Teaching Thor was a task all it's own. It took two full days to potty train the man, as he was having a hard time figuring out what pain or discomfort meant what on his body. He was also having a hard time remembering to eat and when he did remember, he treated the act as a personal offense. Sleep came easily enough to the former angel, which was the only grace Tony could find in the whole thing. Overall Thor just seemed shocked and depressed about the whole change.

It was the fourth week of their house arrest when Tony heard a knock on the balcony door. Peaking through the spell-work, Tony saw that it was Steven and opened the door allowing the angel inside.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Steven said, walking over to a corner of the room away from the glass door. "How have you been holding up?"

"Oh, you know, just enjoying the view of the wall," Tony said and walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "So, how's Heaven's divorce going?"

"The rivers of paradise run with the blood of my brothers." Steven answered as he walked over and took Stark's drink and downed it in one gulp. "So not that great."

Tony raised an eyebrow and grabbed another glass, pouring more into the two glasses. "Yeah, this has all caused too many casualties. The only good thing I can say is that the past few weeks have been uneventful here."

"I am glad." Steven said with a small smile, this time he drank the alcohol slower. "And how has Thor fared with humanity?"

Tony let out a grimace and Steve started drinking a bit faster. "It's like teaching a baby...well, a grown baby, how to live. He's getting better at it, so that's a plus," Tony sighed and took a drink. "He isn't doing well with it emotionally though."

"I assumed not. He has been ripped from his family and home right in the middle of a conflict. But if he could see the infighting..." Steven took another drink. "He might want to stay human for a bit longer."

"He said that he'd rather join the fight and die than be stuck like this. No offense to us, of course," Tony waved off his own remark and took a final sip of his drink.

Steven smiled slightly. "I see his personality is the same as ever." Steven took a final drink and put his glass down. "But now, I have good news. I have managed to find another Sin."

"...I'm not entirely sure if that is good news or not, but I'll try to keep looking at the bright side of things. So, does that mean we have a location on Loki?"

"No, I'm afraid not." Steven looked out the window. "I found her on accident actually. I was experimenting with different tracking methods to ensure you would not be found when I noticed the signature of a Sin. I followed it to a hospital near here. We need to collect her as soon as possible, otherwise one of my brothers may kill her."

"JARVIS, call Bruce and Thor in here. We've gotta get going."

Steven had been able to grab the three Sins and teleported them to the hospital parking lot. When their senses came to them, Tony turned his head to the hospital and froze in horror.

"Tony...are you okay?" Bruce asked.

"Steve, which room is she in?" Tony asked in near horror as he marched over to the hospital entrance.

"She is in 356, in the extended stay ward." Steven answered and Tony went pale.

Bruce's eyes flashed in realization. "Tony, this isn't where Pepper is, is she?" Tony ran inside the building. "Tony, wait!"

By the time they caught up with Tony he was already in the room sitting next to the sleeping woman. "So angel-boy, which Sin is she?"

"Sloth." Steven said simply.

"But," Thor interrupted. "Tom said that Sloth had been killed."

"That's what we all thought." Steven said. "Heaven thought we had taken care of this Sin already. It turns out she is still hanging on.

"Son of a bitch," Tony gritted out. "Loki had her… but you bastards put her in a coma for ten years!"

"We will discuss this later, Stark, we need to leave immediately," Steven commented. "With so many Sins in one place, the disproportionate balance of energy might be enough to overcome the wards I put on all of you."

"Then why did you have us all come here together?" Bruce asked.

"I needed to move you to another location. You have been still for too long." Steven reached out and put his hand on her chest. The same bright light flashed and Pepper's muscles contracted a little from the pain, making her back arch. When the light faded Steven breathed out hard. "Take hold of me and I'll take you all somewhere else."

Thor immediately grabbed onto him. Bruce and Tony hesitated, exchanging glances, and then put hands on Steven.

The next thing they knew they were in the middle of the living room in a nice log cabin.

"I have taken the liberty of warding this place before your arrival." Steven said as he walked Pepper to one of the bedrooms.

"Then how did you get in here?" Bruce asked as he followed the others.

Steven pointed to the opened backdoor. "Open doors and windows break the seal. Worry not; I examined this place thoroughly before I came to collect you."

Steven placed Pepper on the bed and Tony pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. "Thank you for your help, my brother. Maybe we should board the windows and doors to make sure they can't be opened?" Thor asked and leaned against the wall.

"Good idea." Steven said putting a hand on Thor's shoulder. "There is some wood out back; I shall help you prepare it."

Bruce entered the room as Steven and Thor left. "You okay, Tony?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." Tony shook his head. "Nope, no, I'm not. How in the world are we going to take care of a comatose woman in the middle of the woods?"

"I'm...I'm not sure," Bruce sighed and pushed a hand up his face and into his hair. "We can get Steven to bring medical supplies, but I'm not that kind of doctor; I'm not fully sure what to do in this situation."

Bruce and Tony stayed in the silence, looking over at the comatose woman on the bed. After a few moments, Bruce got off of the wall and walked over to the two. "Do you know how she got into the coma in the first place? I mean, remember when it happened to Thor? Do you think that maybe he was in such a state until we woke him up?"

Tony shook his head and laughed slightly. "You know. I hate when you might be right. I told you earlier that Loki had taken her. He had her for hours, it could have happened then. The doctors said that they had no idea why she was still alive or why she wasn't waking up..."

"Do you think that maybe...we should try it?"

"Let's wait until Steven and Thor come back." Tony sighed. "That way if she needs anything feather-butt could go get it."

"You're right; that's a good point," Bruce nodded. "I'm going to see if they need some help. Maybe we can get this done faster." Bruce turned and walked towards the door.

Once the cabin was boarded up and properly sealed they all gathered around Pepper. Tony stood closest and he looked up to Steven nervously.

"So how does this awakening thing work?" Tony asked, his hands balling up into fists and then releasing quickly over and over again.

"Bruce is the only one here who can awaken another Sin." Steven said looking over to Bruce.

"...Me?" Bruce looked incredulously at Steve and pointed at himself. "Why me?"

"James and yourself are the only Sins that have been fully realized." Steven explained. "Or rather, you both have access to the power of your Sin." Steven sighed. "Thor and Tony, though they are Sins, are relatively dormant. They show the signs, but they do not have access to their power."

"Oh, that's a comfort," Bruce muttered. He raised his hands a few inches over Pepper's chest and looked with hesitation to Tony. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"

Tony sighed and looked down at Pepper. "What other choice do we have? We can't take care of her like this."

Bruce swallowed and nodded. "I guess, I'll do what I did last time then... I'm sorry." Bruce raised his arm and curled his hand into a fist and slammed it onto her chest.

Pepper breathed in violently just like Thor did. Her eyes shot open as she flew sitting upright. But just as soon as she got up she fell back onto the bed and began coughing.

"Pep? Pep, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Tony said taking her hand. "It's Tony, come on, it's going to be okay."

"T-Tony?" Pepper managed to say between coughs. "What's going on?" She looked around the room in confusion. "Where are we? Who are these people?"

"My lady, please be at peace," Thor spoke up. "You must lie still for a while more."

"Tony?" Pepper said looking over the group once more.

"This is Thor, Steven, and Bruce." Tony pointed to each of them. "It's alot to explain, but basically, we need to hide here for a while. There are some bad people after us. No offense, Steven."

Steven looked over at Tony with a frown. "None taken."

"Bad people?" Pepper asked and then her face hardened. "Oh my God, Tony. What did you do now?"

Tony flashed a winning smile. "Oh the usual. You know how much of a mess I am on my own."

Pepper let out a groan. "I'm just glad that you're safe, for once. I guess." She looked over at him. "Its Loki, isn't it? What happened? I can't remember much of anything."

Tony shrugged guiltily. "You know me too well...Sorry, but it seems I've gotten you wrapped up in my mess." Tony looked down. "Loki, kinda sorta cursed you."

"When have I not gotten wrapped up in your messes?" Pepper said with a soft smile. "I'm sure we can figure this out. I mean, he hasn't done anything too life-threatening with you up until now, right?" Tony grimaced and Pepper went pale. "Tell me what happened."

"We maybe possibly might be pawns in an apocalyptic battle between Heaven and Hell." Tony looked up to Pepper who was giving him a small, professional death glare. "Maybe, I said maybe. We're working on it."

"Working on it? How long have you been working on it?"

"Actively, about a little more than a month."

"I've only been gone for a month or two," Pepper sighed with relief. "That's good news at least."

"More like...five-ish years?" Tony cringed.

"Five years!" Pepper yelled putting a hand to her face. "I've been in a coma for that long? Oh my God..." Pepper grew silent as she resigned herself. "That aside... You have only been actively dealing with Loki for a month when he's been tailing you for over ten years!"

Tony paused, seeming to be looking for an excuse. "It's been a very productive month."

"What do you want me to say to that? Job well done, I'm proud of you?!" Pepper yelled at him.

"In my defense, we only found out about the apocalypse plan a little over a month ago." Tony paused and looked to the group for help. "I figured that was pretty good. I mean we got an angel, a real life angel. And he's not a dick! That's a plus."

Pepper looked over at the three, who were standing there awkwardly. She then looked back at Tony and dropped back on the bed. "This is... this is all too much. I don't know... what I can do."

"For now, my lady." Thor said stepping forward. "You need to rest. Whatever more needs doing can wait until the morning."

"Right... yeah... you're right," Pepper laid down from her slouched position on the bed. "I just...need to rest."

"I'll wake you if anything changes okay?" Tony said as she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Once her breathing evened out the group left her alone in the bedroom.

"Steven..." Bruce said softly. "She fell asleep... after just waking up. Has she fully awakened as a Sin?"

Tony turned around to him. "That doesn't mean anything!" he said angrily. "It was just a lot of information to take in; that's all!"

"Actually," Steven said looking back over to the room. "As Thor's sign of Sin was to lose his grace, her's, as the Sin of Sloth, is her weakened state." He looked back to Tony. "She will wear out faster than normal. At least until her Sin fully awakens."

Bruce let out a breath and looked at Tony.

"That's not going to happen," Tony said evenly. "We're going to find Loki and end this now before any more sins awaken; and we're not going to find that bastard by just sitting around here every day for the rest of our lives."

"What do you suggest, Sir Stark?"

"We take the bull by the horns."

Steven and Thor looked confused. "Are we fighting a bull now?"

Tony rolled his eyes and let out a groan. "Oh my God, angels are idiots… And you were left in charge of ending the world? No wonder you lot screwed up."

"That's just a way of speaking," Bruce answered. "What he means is he wants to take Loki head-on instead of stay in this house any longer."

"And how do you suggest we find Loki?" Steven asked, sounding mildly defensive. "It's not like he'll willingly appear again after you tried to kill him last time."

"You don't think he'd come find us?" Tony asked. "Hello, there are four Sins ready for the taking here. You'd think he'd just leave us here forever? He's got Heaven in a war against itself and Lucifer licking his wounds from his failed attempt at world conquest. He's not going to just sit around and wait forever; it's the perfect opportunity." Tony walked over to one of his chests and started rifling through weapons. "The guy is going to want to be known for what he is doing; he's a full-tilt diva. It won't be that hard to track him down if need be."

"He still has three more Sins to create before he can launch his attack." Steven shouted back. "If I were him I would wait until I had them all before I began taking risks. Where do you even expect to find him anyway?"

"Well, you're not him, are you? I've known this guy for about 10 years." He looked up and pointed at Steven. "You only knew abouthim for these past few weeks, and that's only because one of your brothers turned into his own personal monkey. This guy is bringing chaos everywhere he goes. If we start with information that's similar to what happened when he brought Lust to the tower, we might be able to track him." Tony walked back over to Steven and stood half a foot from his face. "Unless you want us to just sit around and twiddle our thumbs."

"I want to keep you out of Loki's hands." Steven said glaring down at the man. "There is more at stake than my own personal loyalties. All of humanity is in the crossfire. Are you prepared to endanger the whole world?'

"Are you prepared to sit back and watch the whole world burn?" Tony glared back. "Or are you going to get off your pansy-ass and fight? Because the longer we sit here doing nothing, the worse off humanity is going to be because Loki is out skipping around town with Hugh Hefner."

"His name is James!" Steven yelled back. His shoulders and chest were moving up and down rhythmically like he was beating invisible wings against the air. "He was assigned to protect Loki for the past century. He would tell me about Loki when he could get away, what he was planning, what his patterns were... How else do you think I knew so much about the Sins?! Bucky-James kept me informed; as much as he knew. The fact that he was able to brainwash and corrupt him so much is a testament to Loki's power and planning... You may have experience with him, but that is only the side he wanted you to see... Bucky saw him as he was; saw every aspect of his plans." Steven laughed. "It seems you truly are the Sin of Pride to think that you alone have all the answers."

"Fuck off, Cupid. If your buddy saw every aspect of his plans', then why is he a Sin? That is, unless he wanted to become one."

"He would not dare! Loki was only able to manipulate him because you freed him from his vessel!" Steven walked over to a window. "Without a vessel he could corrupt James on a spiritual level. He could not run away...That would be to turn his back on everything he believes in... He wanted to fulfill his mission of protecting Loki until the apocalypse... He wanted to obey Heaven because he trusted they knew what was best. We all did..."

"Save me the tears, Steven."

"Tony..." Bruce started.

"No Bruce," Tony dismissed him. "It's time for action. We can't just sit here and wait for him to end the world. I'm leaving to find him, with or without you. What's it going to be?"

"What about Lady Pepper?" Thor interjected.

"She can stay here where it's sealed off," Tony said as he turned to him. "She's not in any position to fight, so she's going to have to sit this one out."

Steven shook his head. "I still believe this to be risky, Stark."

"So we should just sit here and wait for the world to end?! We've been over this, Steve. You still haven't found a good enough argument to beat mine out." he looked over at Bruce. "Bruce, back me up here."

Bruce stiffened at the mention of his name and he hunched over when all heads turned towards him. "I...I guess we'd have to go after him," Bruce stuttered out. "I mean, I'd rather come up with a plan first, but I don't think we have time to sit around anymore. Steven, what else would there be to do here anyway? I mean, I don't want anyone else to have to turn into Sins ei-."

"See, the man has spoken," Tony interrupted.

"I just want you to consider that this might be dangerous." Steven said one more time but Tony would not hear it. He gave one last look at the bedroom Pepper was in and began walking towards the door, Bruce following soon after.

"Thor, are you coming?" Tony asked as he pulled his tablet out and started looking through his research.

Thor looked to Steven and looked back to Tony. "No. I...I will stay and tend to Lady Pepper. Besides, it would be too dangerous for us all to remain together. If you need me, I will be here."

"Suit yourself," Tony shrugged and started walking out. He stopped and turned back. "Oh yeah, Thor? Thanks for looking after her. Tell her I'll be back and this will be over with real soon." Thor nodded and Tony and Bruce walked out.

"Okay, so I've been doing some research while we've been on angel house arrest," Tony started when Bruce and he left the house. "When Lust arrived on the scene, he left a certain energy around where he first arrived."

"So what makes his so different than any other energy source?" Bruce asked, an eyebrow raised.

"This energy is cosmic," Tony said and pushed the tablet under his nose. "So if we can track this kind of energy, we can probably find where he was last."

Bruce squinted his eyes and the screen. "Actually, there's also a small symbol where you said the energy was left behind." Tony made a grabbing motion and Bruce shared the tablet. "Does this look like anything that you know?"

"Never seen it in my life," Tony answered.

Bruce gave him a soft smile. "Then maybe this symbol is something that only he leaves behind. If we track his energy to the last point he was in, we can find the symbol to determine whether that really was him or not."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Tony smirked. "Jarv, get me anything relating to any weird occurrences. Look up facebook posts, twitter, hell, even the National Enquirer. I need a list and I need a few places that he could have turned up."

"Of course, sir." JARVIS replied. "I shall have the full list compiled shortly, however the closest possible area is four miles north east of here. Shall I set the GPS?"

"Make it so," Tony replied and looked around the forest and sighed. "Looks like we're gonna have to hike it, Spanky," Tony turned to Bruce.

"Good thing I brought my hiking shoes," Bruce laughed.

Tony turned his head right and then left, looked up at the sky then back down to the tablet. Bruce shook his head.

"Northeast is that way, Tony." Bruce pointed and took the lead. "How did you survive hunting alone for so long?"

"Excuse me for not being allowed into the Boy Scouts for more than two weeks, Eagle Scout," Tony frowned and caught up to him. "Besides, my tech is good enough to replace those aspects of myself and make them better, right?"

"What are you going to do when your battery's run out?" Bruce laughed.

"Probably cry a little bit." Tony held the tablet close to his head. "Don't worry Jarv. Daddy's not going to let you die. You're going to live forever."

Bruce laughed at Tony as they continued to walk in general silence.