A/N: So, someone asked if I could update today because it's their birthday, well, here it is Happy Birthday
"Well that did nothing." Clint said as the Avengers returned to the tower. This was getting them nowhere. All they were doing was waiting for Loki to show up, and when they tried to confront him he made them look like complete amateurs.
"Hey Thor," Steve said. "I need you to come with me for a while." The two shuffled down the hallway, far from Natasha's lingering eyes, and Stark's ears. There was a strange air about the Captain. His once proud stature slumped over as he walked.
"Captain, what is it that burdens you?" Thor asked. He felt…hoped, that this was far enough away from the others.
"It's your brother." Steve almost shook as he spoke. "Everything's going the hell and he's just sitting there at ease. I guess I should have expected this from someone like him. He revels in the misery of others." That last line crawled from Steve's lips like a scorpion, angry and ready to sting.
Thor only shook his head. Yes, there was a deep change in his brother, but malice was not a part of it. Loki may be the foe of the Avengers, but he is still Thor's brother, and like it or not, he knew the man better than any of them could ever hope to.
And the Loki they saw now was not the Loki he knew.
"The reason why I called you here was to ask…are there any weaknesses to Loki? I mean physically? Maybe there is some kind of enchantment we can try?" Steve was almost shaking as he spoke. "There's gotta be something that'll put this guy away."
Thor almost felt his stomach drop onto the floor. Put his brother away?
"I fear, Captain, that even if we do dispose," that word wrong coming from him, "of my brother, that will not bring back chaos. No one really knows what will happen. It may even bring about…" He looked away, unable to finish his sentence.
Ragnarok. He had heard that any kind of imbalance in the cosmos may bring about the end of everything. Right now Loki's very existence was the only thing keeping Ragnarok at bay, at least that's what Thor hoped, doing away with him would certainly make things worse.
"And I am afraid physical force won't do anything to sway my brother's course. He is…on vacation." There was that word again. Vacations were such a strange Midgardian custom. "But it's strange, I have never seen my brother so happy. So content."
It almost made Thor a little sad, the only was his brother could get any kind of peace was through the total rejection of his family, his home, and everything he grew up around. Was Asgard truly the source of all of his trouble?
"That's not good enough." Steve's face was long and dry. He hadn't gotten any sleep at all, and it was showing.
"Captain. I sense there is something else weighing on your heart."
Steve closed his eyes. All he could see was that boy's face, his eyes devoid of any life at all. No hope. No spark. No chance of a better world. The very things he fought against back in the war. But now, all his work, all of his sacrifice undone by some megalomaniac who wasn't even trying to. That was the worst of it. He wasn't even trying. This wasn't some huge scheme that could be fought with justice and truth; it was some god who got sick of his own place in the universe and decided to eat cake with a cat. All he had worked for and represented had been defeated not by evil, but by indifference.
"It's just something personal." Steve managed to say. "Look, the world can't take much more of this order. There's got to be something we can do. Anything."
"I fear the only one who can restore order is Loki, and he can only do that by taking up the role he refuses to resume." Thor's shoulders sank.
Jarvis screeched through the intercom. "Captain, Thor, your presence is requested in the war room."
Thor placed his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Fear not Captain, we shall find a way to make everything right."
Thor and Steve entered the war room where the rest of the team was already seated.
"So glad you two could join us." Tony said as he brought up the holoscreen. "Alright we, and by that I mean I, have come up with a plan to catch Loki. The next time he appears we'll jump him from all sides, bring him back here and lock him in a cage."
Natasha rolled his eyes. "And how do we know he'll stay there?"
Steve slammed his fist against the table, "We'll force him!"
"Look Captain," she began, "Our current course of action hasn't been working. At the moment we've just been waiting for Loki to show up only to have him escape."
"Then what exactly do you think we should Natasha?" The room was getting tense, you could almost split the air with a butter knife.
"You said it yourself Stark. We need answers. Loki's clearly decided not to "play" anymore, but we need to find out why."
"And we can't just beat him up because…" Clint leaned back in his chair,
"Because every time we try that we get our asses handed to us, or do you not remember what happened earlier?" Natasha leaned against the table. "The only thing we can do is wait until Loki comes back again, but this time, we'll just observe. Stark, I know you have satellites and cameras all over the world."
Tony's face turned red. "…maybe."
"Well we need them on at all times. The next time Loki comes we'll be able to see him, and see what he does."
Steve didn't like it. This isn't the time for just sitting around. They needed action…but every other way hasn't worked so far, so maybe…just maybe…they could do it this way.
"Fine."
It had been weeks since Loki's last visit, and they were all getting restless. Who'd have thought that the Avengers, of all people, would be waiting for Loki to return? Steve sat in front of the television, watching the news. It was only getting worse. Crime was pretty much non-existent, and so was freedom.
Tony looked through the window in his office, the New York streets that were once filled with people had been deserted; the city that never sleeps was dying. Was it because everyone was too afraid, or they just didn't have the spirit to walk outside anymore?
For weeks the Avengers had been looking on the monitors, scouring the country looking for anywhere Loki might be. But even if they did find him, then what? Beg Loki to try and take over the world again?
"Sir," Jarvis began, "The energy signature has returned"
Tony sighed. "Alright. Get the monitors ready. Let's hope Widow's plan works."
The Avengers assembled in the war room once again. The monitor had settled on an Amusement park, just outside of New York.
"There? He'd go to an amusement park?" Clint asked.
"Well he did say he was on vacation." Tony said.
Thor stood up. "Let me see him. Simply sitting here isn't going to get us any answers."
"No," Natasha said, "This is just a way to gain intelligence. Get inside his head."
"My brother is strange, simply observing him will not yield the answers we seek."
"And I take it you have a better idea?" Tony asked.
"We shall continue to monitor him, but let me go to him. Try to figure out his scheme, maybe I can convince him to return to his place as-"
"And if that doesn't work?" Tony asked.
"Then we'll still have the information you all gained through this act." Thor's eyes softened. "Let me try."
They all turned to Natasha, her eyes wavered, simply unreadable, just like the always were.
"Alright. Go."