It didn't make any sense. How could order destroy anything? How could peace be the undoing of an entire universe? Tony didn't want to believe something so…absurd, but that look in Thor's eyes made him swallow his disbelief, for the time being at least.

"Fine, let's put the 'end of the universe' talk away for now and focus on how to find this guy."

"Well Man of Iron, I had hoped that your science might help with discovering Loki's whereabouts."

Tony leaned back into his chair and interlocked his fingers behind his head. He knew SHILED had him working on some kind of device just in case Loki came back; hell Fury was right…almost. It was actually kind of brilliant, when Loki was last here he left some kind of energy signal that was, hopefully, distinct to only him.

Tony smirked. "I may have something, but there are still problems. Like the fact that it's still in the testing phases, oh, and that little thing about Loki needing to be on the planet for it to even begin to find him. I mean, if the guy's on like Mars we're SOL."

"It'll have to do for now." Natasha said as she pulled out here phone.

"Wa-wait, are you about to call Fury and the goons?" Tony shot out of his chair. "Look, I think we should keep SHIELD out of this for now."

"Why's that?" Steve asked, looking more confused than that time Tony tried to teach him how to use an iPhone.

"Because, the more people there are, the more complicated this could become. We don't know what Loki's planning, what if SHIELD is a part of some crazy psycho plan of his, and us bringing them in would only further those maniacal schemes."

Tony sounded like he lost it…but it did make some kind of sense, right? Loki knew SHIELD existed and he probably expected them to come running with big guns, at least now they'll have him off guard. A simple info retrieval should be sufficient for now.

"So, this machine can find my brother." Thor's eyes began to look so hopeful, like a child who was about to be reunited with his family.

"Theoretically."

"Alright, this should be easy." Tony said as he punched some weird numbers into his machine. Steve only looked on as the others read what looked to be…forget it. He never could understand what Tony was ever talking about, like when he tried to explain that iPhone contraption. Weren't phones supposed to be used to make calls? Now all people ever want to do are make videos and upload them to something called Facebook. He shook his head and crossed his fingers, hopefully this thing would find their man.

"After Loki left I had JARVIS upload the residue of his energy signature. I'll just look for a strong concentration of that magic crap and bingo." He sounded so confident. So sure of himself. There was no way this would fail.

And then it did.

But he tried again and…

Same result.

"Damn it." Tony slammed his fist into the keyboard. "He must not be on the planet, but don't worry, I'll keep this thing running on autopilot, that way if he does come back to our side of the fence, even for a nanosecond, we'll know about it. I hope."

He pressed a few more buttons and it was done. Loki would have no place to hide.

"What I don't get is why Loki isn't doing anything. I mean, if what Thor says is true, why would he just go against his nature like this?" Clint asked, it was almost funny, if Natasha didn't know any better, it would sound like Clint cared.

"I do not know archer, but when we find him we shall get all of the answers we need."

Time went by and still there was no detection of Loki, and as much as Tony hated to admit it, something strange was going on in the city. As Tony walked back from his favorite bakery, he noticed everything was quiet. New York was supposed to be the center of action, wasn't it? Street dancers, loud music, traffic that didn't move for hours, but everything was still. The cars were still, the people on the streets moved with a mechanical accuracy, like walking puppets, of course no one would have noticed it if they weren't looking. Most people were too busy with their own lives to even notice, but Tony did.

And it scared him.

Thor leaned against the balcony, this Midgardian city and their love of science was still a grand mystery to him, but even more confounding than the mortals and their ways was the strange mind of his brother. What was the point of all this? What did he want to gain? How did he escape?

"Thor?"

Thor turned to see Steve Rogers approach him, his shirt draped over his shoulders.

"Yes Captain."

"Out of everyone here you know Loki the best. If he's not on Earth, where else would he hide?"

Thor shrugged. "The Bifrost is still in repairs, so there aren't many places he could escape to, but he is Loki. If he's found a way to avoid Heimdall's gaze, then maybe he's found a way to travel without use of the Bifrost."

Steve rolled his eyes. Great, just what we need.

"Truth be told Captain, I am worried."

Steve smiled, "Don't worry Thor, we'll find him and stop him."

"No, it is not Loki's schemes that way heavy on my mind, but his reasons. What could possibly make him stop everything he is? Loki without chaos is…unheard of."

Steve nodded; everything was getting out of control, and even if they did manage to find Loki, then what? What were they supposed to say, "Get back to causing mayhem or else"?

"Captain Rogers, Thor, Mr. Stark has returned." Jarvis said. The both of them looked to the sky, and then to the windows. Hearing a house that talked was disturbing for the both of them.

"Uh…thanks…Jarvis." Steve said. Even though he was talking to a house, it was still important to be polite.

The two walked back into the mansion to meet Tony. Natasha and Clint were already in the kitchen when they arrived. It was times like these that he wished Banner was around, he felt like they could use the extra man power.

"So, anything happen while I was away?" Tony asked as he wiped his mouth.

"No, but Clint and I were talking," Natasha said, "We think we've figured out Loki's scheme"

"Oh, do tell." Tony said as he plopped down onto a couch.

"We think he's planning something even bigger than the Chitari invasion. Something huge. That's why he's pretty much stopped all activities, and why no one has seen him in years. It's probably got to do with this plan."

Tony seemed less than convinced. "Alright, and what is this plan?"

"We don't know Stark." Clint started in. "We'll just find him and beat him up until he tells us."

"Yeah and wha-"

A loud piercing alarm screeched through the air.

"Avengers," Jarvis said, "The power signature that you have been tracking has been found."

Tony's eyes lit up. "Well, looks like Loki's back on world."

Steve nodded, "Let's get some answers."