They had kept Thor waiting for hours, locked in a small secured room somewhere deep in the maze of S.H.I.E.L.D. He kept standing to pace the length of the small room, yanking roughly on the door handle when it failed to open for him. They were keeping him contained because they were doing something to his brother that he wouldn't agree with, there was no other explanation. They told him they were tending to Loki and processing him for confinement, that it was all standard procedure. It had sounded suspicious even then, but Fury had convinced him it was the only way they could keep him there, that it was for everyone's safety, Loki's included.
He wasn't sure how long ago exactly that had taken place, but in that time, he's worked himself up into a rage as he pictured the worst possible scenarios. They were killing his brother, they had separated them because they knew he wouldn't stand for it, so they made up a lie and locked him in here. If that were the case, though, it wouldn't matter how long they kept him locked up. Someone would pay upon his release.
When the door finally opened behind him, his hand flew to Mjolnir's handle, anger burning hot inside of him as he spun around to face whoever had finally decided to free him.
"Where is he?" Thor demanded hotly, his hand still on his hammer. "Why did you lock me in here for so long? What were you doing?"
"We had to detain him properly, all things considered, we can't risk him breaking out. He's been put in our most secure cellblock," Fury said gruffly, his exhaustion creeping up on him, and not in the mood to deal with an angry, overprotective thunder god. "You were kept in here so we could work and do what needed to be done. It's finished now, and you can see him."
Fury turned to walk back down the hall, Thor close behind him, moving down the cold, winding maze of corridors, past security points and guards, until they reached the cell block. Low lit and lined on both sides with heavy metal doors, a small window in each one only big enough to peer inside the cell. Thor's eyes remained locked on Fury as the man led him to one of the doors near the end of the room, peering into the window himself before stepping back.
"He's unresponsive still, he hasn't moved since we put him in there, but he is alive," Fury said with a nod. "We don't have much experience with gods, we don't know what the normal healing time is for him. We were hoping you could tell us something about that."
Thor ignored Fury, walking towards the door and looking into the window, his temper surging again. This wasn't the right cell, he'd taken him to the wrong one, how stupid could they be to mix up their prisoners? Loki had long raven hair, he wasn't bald, and there was no metal rectangle on the back of his neck. This pale, still person wasn't his brother; they'd made a mistake.
"That is not Loki," Thor said through gritted teeth, turning to Fury. "Where is my brother?"
"Thor, that is your brother," Fury said, pointing towards the door. "Do you think we just have decoys on the ready or something?"
Thor looked back through the window, looking for a trace of his brother on the man that lay slumped against the wall inside the cell, though he refused to believe it could be him.
"Let me see him then, I want to see for my own eyes that he is my brother," Thor demanded, stepping aside so that Fury may activate the door.
"If it's the haircut that's thrown you, it's standard procedure, it's to keep him easier to keep clean," Fury offered, not moving to open the cell. "The implant on the back of his neck is ours, it monitors the energy levels in his body, and so if he tries to use magic, it prevents him."
Fury wasn't going to go into any more detail than that, he didn't think Thor would appreciate what would happen to Loki if he were to try anything. Unfortunately for him, though, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't exist to protect his feelings. Loki had come close to destroying them all and taking over the world, they'd be damned if they were going to treat him with kid gloves at this point.
"Open the door," Thor said through gritted teeth, enraged, and barely keeping his temper in check, averting his eyes from Fury lest he lose his last bit of control. They didn't have to do that to him, he would have cared for Loki without need of an implant, or slicing off his hair.
"You can see him like this, Thor, it's too d-"
"Open the door, I will not ask again!" Thor snapped, finally turning to face the man he considered a comrade, the man who was standing between him and his brother. "I will stay in this prison with him, I will watch over him! If you have so much confidence in the technology you have placed upon him, this should not be a risk!"
"You'll stay here? Sleep on the floor? Stay locked up day and night? Are you…" Fury trailed off before he could ask Thor if he was insane, because clearly he was. But that knowledge wouldn't do him any good if the thunder god's temper snapped, as it looked dangerously close to doing. For now, he would comply with his request, and once Thor had enough, he would let him out and normal visitation could begin.
"Fine…fine…" Fury said, walking up to the panel beside the door, leaning in close so it could take a scan of his retina. Security on Loki's cell was tight; few people had the clearance to get inside, he would have to notify the others immediately to Thor's presence, though he doubted he would want to stay long.
Thor didn't speak as the door slid open, heading straight for his brother's side. Along with the implant, they'd left the arm cuffs on him, securing him by a length of chain to the wall behind him. They'd stripped away his armor, leaving him in a dark blue gown much like the one Thor had woken up in when he'd been taken to the hospital, and the restraints they used had not been so aggressive.
"…he is a Prince of Asgard…" Thor managed after a moment, looking down at his unconscious brother, shaken by how stripped and weak Loki looked, a twisted ghost of his former self.
"It doesn't matter here," Fury said, his voice softer than it had been out in the hall. "Despite what he's done, he's not going to be mistreated here, Thor, you don't have to stay here with him. You can see him whenever you want, he's safe here, he can't hurt himself or anyone else."
Thor only shook his head, kneeling down, reaching to trace his fingers over the healing wound on Loki's temple. His body was repairing as it should, he would take that as a good sign, and hope that more were yet to come. He longed to see his brother as he remembered him, not like this, and he would make sure that if Loki couldn't regain his freedom, he would at least regain his dignity.
"You may go," Thor said without turning to look at Fury, his eyes still on his brother looking for any sign that he may awaken. "…thank you, but my place is here at Loki's side. I swore to him that I would always care for him, I see no reason for that to have changed."
The tone in his voice suggested that he wasn't interested in Fury's opinion; the matter was not up for discussion.
"I'll let the others know you're here then, make arrangements for you," Fury said, though he didn't think that Thor was even listening to him any more. He wasn't going to let him languish in here without bedding and food though, not after what he'd done for them today, obviously at great personal difficulty for himself.
Stepping out of the cell, Fury let the door close behind him as he went to make sure things were in place before he retired himself, pushed far past the point of exhaustion.
"…Loki," Thor said softly, his voice sounding loud in the small, closed room as he reached under his brother's chin to bring it up, wanting a better look at his face. "Loki, I am sorry, I did not know they would do this to you, I would not have allowed it. They locked me away so I could not be there with you…"
He was furious with S.H.I.E.L.D., it was so obvious now why they had wanted him barred from seeing Loki while they did this to him, he should have seen it. He had put too much trust into them, he was too gullible, and he had to remember that though he had fought on the side of these mortals, he was not one of them as he'd wanted to believe, not if they would deceive him. It was a realization that hurt deeply.
Looking back at Loki's face, he tried to will him to wake, wanting to see if his eyes had regained any of their life, afraid deep down that it was permanent. So much about his brother had already changed, but he desperately hoped he could somehow turn some of it around. He knew that it may be futile, but there was hope there, at least for him. He couldn't perform miracles though, if Loki's body lived and his mind was gone, then there was nothing more he could do than stay by his side and watch over him.
"My brother…" Thor said softly, letting go of his chin as he moved to sit at his side, wrapping a heavy arm around Loki's shoulders to pull him closer. "Rest now, I will be here when you wake, and every day after that."
Leaning his own head back, Thor wondered if sleep would come for him as well. His body was exhausted, though a nagging sense of guilt kept him from being able to give in to it. It took hours for sleep to finally win over his troubled mind, his head rolling to the side, cheek rested against his brother's bare scalp, his hand locked on Loki's shoulder to keep him close.