"This can't be. It is just as my father feared." Thor looked upon Iron Man's monitors, all throughout the world men and women were being incarcerated and put to death for small fines, playing the music too loudly, painting on walls, and even stranger, no one was doing anything about it. People were carrying on as if it were a normal and just punishment.

They were so wrapped up in the goings on of the world, that they had missed Loki when he reappeared for a brief moment. Damn it.

"Tony, there's gotta be something we can do. Anything?" Steve looked like he was in shock, his body was shaking more than when he was fished out of that ice block.

"I'm trying, I'm trying." Tony couldn't believe this was happening. When Steve came bounding into his lab, telling him to turn on the news, he was almost too annoyed to indulge him. What, were they showing a WW II documentary again? But Tony did as he was asked…and he felt like his stomach had leapt out of his throat. The Avengers knew Loki was powerful, but they had no idea his influence gave them free will. They had no idea that chaos, was what made them human.

"Look, I can't wait any longer. I say we go out and rescue those people." Steve had had enough of waiting. It was like a WW II concentration camp all over again, except there was no one to raise any hell about it, no one to march against it…it was just accepted.

"Steve, I know how you feel but we can't just go in there guns blazing. There are laws-"

"Since when do you care about laws Stark?" Clint's voice sliced through Tony like an axe, rusty and without any grace to speak of.

"I don't, but having the Avengers branded as fugitives isn't going to help anyone."

"And neither is sitting around like a bunch a' dumbasses."

"That's enough Hawkeye." Natasha entered behind the left door, her finger slipping on and off of the gun's trigger. "Stark's right, we can't just go in there half-cocked. We need a plan, and also, we need to know more of this "peace", like why aren't we being affected by it, and how do we stop it?"

Thor shook his head, "I believe the reason why we are unaffected is because we have fought chaos itself, my brother, and proved victorious. I think the same may be true of this order as well, but I am not sure how long it will hold. We must find Loki, by any means necessary."

"Fine, but that doesn't mean we can just sit around here while innocent people die." Steve had already placed his mask on his head. "I'm going to stop this."

Before Tony could say anything else, before Clint could join him in his mission, and before Natasha could roll her eyes, Steve had left.

He took his chopper and speed to downtown, the news report said the execution would be at dawn, well, he would get there before then; by any means necessary. The night blurred all around Steve, the stars began to look like streetlights, the cars began to look like clouds.

"I won't let this happen."

He managed to make it to the execution site, a place called Vert Industries. He slowly slipped through the shadows, broke the seal using that jammer Tony created (something he…borrowed, on his way out) and managed to get inside. He would say this, technology did make everything more convenient, if nothing else.

The hallway was so small, but the strange thing was there were no guards. Maybe this would be easier than he anticipated.

Back at the tower Tony was still trying to locate the source of all their troubles, or rather, the one person who could stop them.

"Why didn't we go with him?" Clint asked. It had been too long since any of them had seen any kind of conflict, he was itching to make something bleed.

"Because it wouldn't have done any good. Look, he's been doing crap like this since before any of us was born. He'll be fine. We need to find Loki and," he couldn't believe he was about to say this, "Try and get him to help."

Tony began to type again. They could rule out Earth as being his hideout, so he must be somewhere else. Didn't Thor say there were nine realms? Then that meant Loki could be on either one of them, and there was no way to get to any of them.

"Thor? How exactly did you get here?" The last time Thor came he explained to them that the way of getting to Earth…the Bifrost, had been destroyed.

"The All-Father used his power to send me here. It was no easy feat."

"And this 'All-Father' sees everything right?" Tony asked, hoping that he could remember some of his mythology from college.

"Aye."

Tony went back to typing. "Alright, I've got a theory, but it'll take some time. Right now, we should just focus on trying to find Loki."

"And Capt.?" Clint asked.

"We'll just have to wait and see."

Captain America walked through the hallway, looking for where they kept the prisoners. He had to hurry, dawn would come at any time. He passed empty corridor after empty corridor, and still no guard, or prisoner. This was easier than infiltrating H.Y.D.R.A., but something was off.

Finally, he came to a room, wide opened and unlocked. He walked inside, and saw the same young man he had seen on the news, the same young man with that lifeless expression.

"Son," he began "I'm getting you out of here."

But, there were no chains on the prisoner, no locks on his door. He just sat there, obediently like a dog. Didn't he hear? He was free. Rescue was here.

"Son?" Steve moved closer, placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed. "Come on, let's go."

No movement.

"You'll die if we don't get you out of here."

Nothing.

Steve shook his head, and heaved the man onto his shoulders. They had to get out of-

Footsteps, the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway.

It was dawn already.

"No no no." He tightened his grip around the man who hung like a dead animal over his shoulders. "Let's move." He turned towards the door, but it was already too late. There in the doorway stood two guards. Steve's eyes narrowed.

"Put the prisoner down and leave."

There was no way he was letting this kid get killed, not as long as-

"Put me down."

What? Steve looked over his shoulder, the young man had finally begun to speak.

"Son, you can't mean that. I'll get you out of here and-"

"No," he said, "Put me down." His voice was so soft, so lifeless. "There is no point. No anymore."

Was this why there were no locks on his door? No guards in the hallways? Because he wouldn't try to escape? Because he didn't have the spirit too anymore?

Is this was order does?

Without thinking, Steve placed the young man down. What was he doing? This wasn't right. He knew it.

"Captain, please leave the premises."

But he couldn't stop himself. This was wrong, but this was justice now. Wasn't it?

He clenched his jaw and his fist tightened. He couldn't help anyone if they didn't want to be helped, that was something he learned a long time ago. His back felt hot as the morning sun slashed against it. That boy could not be helped. No one could be helped. No matter how much he wanted to.