Yikes, I don't think I know what I got myself into. This fic is very complicated, but it's too late to stop now. I already have followers, so how can I leave now? I'll continue this fic to the best of my ability and overcome any obstacles that get in my way. :D

AaylaKit: Haha! XD Totally understandable. I yell at characters in movies as if they could hear me. I yell at Loki sometimes, in fact. Like in the Avengers. "No, Loki! Thor just gave you the chance to redeem yourself! No, don't stab him! What are you doing!"

Cassy27: I hope my PM helped put you at ease. I was totally afraid that everyone would be like "What the bleep is she doing? She's ruining the plot of the Avengers!" No, I assure you that I have a plan to keep the Avengers the way it is.

nickypooh: Yeah, I can see that. So many possibilities with this fic! :D

Guest: …lol XD

Loki clutched the artifact, knowing that it would soon be confiscated. I've got to find a clever way to get out of this. He did not want his mind to be wiped, and he did not want to be stuck in this future time forever. Funny how simple mischief and curiosity could get him into such a large mess.

"You know," Fury said, "I'm pretty certain that if we keep you behind bars, then the world will be a better place in the end."

"What have I done, though?" Loki asked anxiously. He did not like the idea that the actions of his future self affect what happens to him now. "I didn't mean to come here. I was just hiding in the weapons vault and stumbled across this artifact, and—"

"So this allows time travel?" Fury asked, studying the round object in Loki's hand. He led him into a room and gestured for him to sit. "How did it take you here?"

Loki didn't want to tell this man anything. He suspected that no good would come out of it. "I don't know." It wasn't entirely a lie. He knew that he saw Future Loki in the ball, but he didn't know how it transported him here. "Please don't wipe my mind."

Fury sighed. Thor stood beside him, his expression uncertain. "I don't think you should wipe his mind," he said at last. "He might be able to be returned to his time, and it would be a catastrophe if he goes back with no knowledge of who he is or what is going on. Do you really want him to live like that for the rest of his life?"

Loki turned pleading eyes on Fury. The Director sighed. "We shouldn't try to return him to his time, because if we do, then he will just grow up to be just like the Loki we are holding now. Plus, now that he has seen the future, everything in the past will change, thus affecting the future."

"Time travel is so complicated," Thor said.

Fury nodded. "I'm not sure how things would work if we kept him here. It may actually change everything as we know it. I'm not sure. Right now, I think it best if we just keep him locked up awhile. We'll figure out what to do with him later. Right now, we have a lot to keep us occupied."

Loki felt his heart sink. He hated the idea of being locked away like some kind of criminal. I've done some pretty wayward things, but nothing bad enough to deserve this! "Do I have a say in this?"

"No, but the Loki in the cage has pretty much spoken for you. His actions give us no choice. The way I see it is that this is our chance to change everything that he has done. I'm pretty sure Doctor Banner and Tony Stark will have theories on this. For now, you're coming with me." Loki stood up, still grasping the artifact, and let Fury lead him to a glass cell similar to that of the future Loki's. "I'll take that," he said, snatching the artifact out of his hand. "I'm sure the geniuses could find out what to do with it."

Loki reached for it, but Fury held it higher so that he wouldn't be able to grab it back. "I need that! It's the only way I can go home!"

Fury shook his head. "Sorry, kid. This is your home now." With that, he walked out of the room with the artifact.

Loki stared after him, then sat down in the middle of the cell, hugging his knees to his chest. He was not a crier, and he refused to let a single tear form in his eye. But he was scared. No, he was terrified. He had to be strong, though. What would Thor do in this situation? He would probably put up a good fight. Right now, he wanted to go home to his family. He wanted his mother more than anything. Her kind voice telling him everything is okay…her soft hands stroking his hair…How can I go home? The artifact is gone. It's the only thing I have left from my time—the only thing I have that can remind me of my family—and it's gone! A single tear formed in one of his eyes. He brushed it away, sniffing. Do not cry. Do not give them the satisfaction of seeing you break.

"Hey now," a voice said, making him jump. "There's no need for that." A man with scraggly black hair and a goatee entered the room. "You certainly don't seem Loki-ish. You're more innocent. I can't believe Fury's doing this to you."

"W-who are you?" Loki asked, hating that his voice was shaky.

"You don't know who I am? No, I guess you wouldn't. Tony Stark, rich mastermind, at your service." He gave a little bow and studied Loki a moment. "You look so young. How old are you?"

"Ten," Loki replied.

Tony shook his head disapprovingly. "Why are they holding a ten-year-old in a maximum security cage? That's what I'd like to know. I'm guessing they're trying to put a cap on your magic or something. Still, it's a little cruel to hold a kid prisoner."

"I agree," another voice said, belonging to a man with a blue collared shirt. "This may be Loki, but he hasn't committed the crimes that the other one has."

"So you'll let me go?" Loki asked hopefully, standing up.

"No can do, kiddo," Tony said. "I'm afraid that's not our call. I'll take it up with the big guy if I can, but it's hard to change his mind once it's made up."

"Why are you here, then?"

"We figured you had a right to hear some of our theories. And I believe this belongs to you." He gestured toward his companion, who held out the artifact. "We can't give it to you, but we can at least set it over here where you can look at it all you want."

Loki stared at it, and then at the mortal men. "What are your theories, then?"

"Doctor Banner? Would you like to do us the honor of beginning the story?"

Banner nodded. "One of the guesses is that you are simply an observer and will not affect our time at all. We think that it'll affect the past, which will affect the future the second time around, but not this future considering everything already happened. The other theory is that everything will change. We doubt that the second theory could happen considering the fact that you are here. It will confuse everything."

"This whole thing makes my head hurt," Tony said. "I'm willing to bet on the first theory, considering nothing has happened yet."

"Don't jinx it," Loki muttered. He wondered vaguely what was going on in Asgard right now.

Odin walked into the weapons vault where the guard had informed him Loki was. Why did his son always have to get into things that he should never be messing with? He could get seriously hurt in there. As he walked through the room, he felt a creeping sense of foreboding, as if he would find something that he would not like. "Come out, Loki," he said. "I'm not angry. You will not be punished." There was no response. "Loki?"

"My King—look!" a guard said, sounding surprised. He gestured toward an empty space where the Orb of Time was supposed to be.

"Oh no…" The dread in Odin's chest increased. "Loki…" He whirled around and rushed out of the room to find his wife.

She was in their room, brushing her long hair. She smiled when she saw him, then frowned at his grave expression. "What happened?" she asked.

He stared at her very seriously. "Loki is missing," he said, "and so is the Orb of time."

Queen Frigga put a hand over her mouth. "No," she whispered. "This can't happen."

"Time travel is dangerous. Anything could happen at this point. There's nothing we can do," he added when Frigga made to rush out of the room. He placed a hand on hers. "All we can do is hope that he will return to us."

"Loki's gone?" a small voice asked. Thor was standing in the doorway.

Odin hesitated. Frigga turned toward her son and said, "He has a right to know." She bent down on one knee and hugged Thor close to her. "Your brother has had a run-in with a very ancient relic," she said. "It has taken him to the future. We know not where, but he is most likely in terrible danger." Her voice shook as she said the words.

Thor tensed up. "We've got to find him, then!"

"We can't. The artifact is the only one of its kind," Odin said.

Thor started shaking. "But—but—we can't just leave him there! He's my brother." He hung his head, realizing that the last time he had seen Loki was during the play-fight with Sif. They had not left off on very good terms. "He can't be gone forever. He can't!" Thor hated the idea of Loki's last memory of him being a bad one. "Please, Father. Use magic or something. Bring him back!"

"I am not all-powerful, Thor," Odin said tiredly. As much as his son wanted to believe it, it was not so. "There are some things that I cannot control. You must understand that."

"So Loki's gone, then." Thor's lip quivered. He did not want to cry, but the thought of losing his brother was heartbreaking.

Frigga stroked his hair and pulled him close. "You must be strong, okay? We mustn't lose hope. I know that, wherever he is, he is surviving. He will always be strong, and I'm sure he would want you to be strong, too." Her voice shook and tears formed in her eyes.

"Are you crying, Mother?" Thor whispered.

She wiped the tears away, but figured it was no use hiding them. I just lost my son. Of course I'm crying, she thought. "I will be all right, Thor," she whispered. "Just keep Loki in your thoughts and hope that he will return."

Thor nodded and pulled away. He took a few steps back, turned around, and left abruptly. He ran into his friends not soon after.

"What's wrong, Thor?" Sif asked, quick to notice his mournful expression.

"Loki is…gone," Thor answered painfully.

"Gone?" Volstagg was surprised. "Gone where? You don't mean—?"

"I don't know. I have reason to believe that he's alive, but there's no way of knowing. He's in the future."

"The future? Care to elaborate?" Fandral asked.

"He used the Orb of Time and travelled into time. We know not what his actions could unleash, but it can't be anything good."

"He'll most likely be causing trouble, wherever he is," Sif muttered.

"I don't like the way you talk," Thor said, somewhat angry. "Loki is my brother. I don't care what he has done or the mischief he has caused. I want him back. I want him to be safe, in this time, where he belongs." He turned away from his friends. "You wouldn't understand. I cannot bear to think of what he must be going through right now. He's probably trying to be strong, but I can't imagine that he's not terrified."

The four friends exchanged glances. It was hard for them to miss Loki, but they would never wish this fate upon him. They didn't like the way this was affecting Thor, either.

Sif put a hand on Thor's shoulder. "I know that Loki is a survivor. He won't let this obstacle get in his way."

"But no one is there for him," Thor said stubbornly. "He is all alone. Even the toughest Asgardian warrior would be somewhat scared in an unknown time. He has no way of knowing if what he'll do will affect anything. What if he meets his future self? What will happen then? Will he be able to come back at all? What if he does come back and it affects what will happen in the future? He might find something out that will change everything. Time is a dangerous thing and it's giving me a serious headache."

"The Orb of Time should be destroyed, then," Sif decided. "If he comes back with it, it must be smashed."

"What if it comes back without him?" Thor wondered.

"Why would it do that?" Volstagg asked.

"You never know." He turned to Sif. "What would you do if the Orb came back without Loki?"

Sif hesitated. She knew what she would want to do. Destroy it. If she could get her hands on it, she would want it gone so that nothing else could damage time. "I'm not sure," she lied. "What would you do, Thor?"

Thor's jaw set. "I would use the Orb to find Loki and somehow bring him home." His eyes glazed over. "Wherever he is, I hope he's all right."

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or Thor.

AN: For those of you that know me, you know that I always reply to reviews in the next chapter. For those of you that don't, I'm sure you've figured it out by now. So, if someone goes as Guest, then I don't know how to respond to the review. I just put Guest1 and Guest2 and so on and so forth. So if you guys that don't have accounts would try to put a name down for yourselves, that'd be awesome. Like AaylaKit for example. She doesn't have an account, but I can identify her because she made a signoff name that she consistently uses. Could you guys do that for me please?