Thor marched into Nick Fury's office without hesitation, still cradling Loki's body in his arms as he approached Fury's desk with anger and fear in his eyes. Loki was still unresponsive, staring blankly at the ceiling above, the flow of blood finally ebbing from his nose and ears. Thor had yet to see any signs of life from his brother, yet he still held out hope that Loki lived, if only because he couldn't imagine the alternative.

"Thor, what-?" Fury stood up from the other side of his desk, looking at Loki in shock.

"You are lucky he is in my arms! I would tear this place apart and you as well! Your men did this, with their own devices, they tortured him and now I do not know if he still lives! Was this the purpose of that thing you put on him, to have him killed in such a cowardly way?" Thor snapped, gripping Loki tighter against his chest. "If you meant to execute him, you should have told me! I would have taken him home to Asgard to die as a prince, not as an animal!"

"Hold on, I never meant for him to die, this was a security measure, this was never meant as an object of torture, of execution, it was just meant to keep him from using his magic against us or breaking out," Fury stood up, getting a better look at Loki as his stomach twisted at the sight of the being that had once been his enemy. He wasn't a cruel man, at least he didn't think he was, but whoever had done this to Loki had been. He didn't know how long the chip would have to be activated to produce results like this, but it was much longer than Loki would have been able to stand if he was trying to get out or use his magic. This was inflicted upon him, there was no doubt in Fury's mind.

"What was that thing? What did it do to him?" Thor demanded to know, though he didn't know how much it mattered now. He needed to know though, he wanted an idea of what Loki went through

"It uses his energy against him, it converts all the magic in his body into pure electrical energy, amplifies it, and it sends it though his spinal column and throughout his body. It's painful, but it's only supposed to last a moment, seconds if that, it's not supposed to be used like this," Fury said, reaching a hand over to place on Thor's arm, not knowing what else to do to comfort him. "Thor, I'm sorry, this was not my intent for Loki, despite his crimes. This wasn't supposed to happen to him."

Thor's eyes welled with tears that spilled silently down his cheeks, a sick feeling welling in his stomach. They used Loki as a weapon against himself, he was tortured by his own body, by those men who were there to watch him. He wanted to go back down there and take out his rage and pain on those men, they needed to hurt like Loki had, but he couldn't even begin to move from where he stood, and nothing would make him put Loki down.

"He had changed, you know, he had apologized, and I know he meant it. I know that does not bring back the people he killed, it does not fix what he destroyed, but it is something. It means something to me," Thor looked down into Loki's blank eyes, willing them to move only to be disappointed. "I should have taken him straight to Asgard, I should not have left him in your care to put devices on him, but I thought I was doing what was best for him. I failed him."

Fury wanted to tell Thor that he did more than most people would have done, but he didn't think Thor wanted to hear it. He wasn't sure what Thor wanted to hear exactly, if there was anything he could say or do to make things seem at all better. Loki still hadn't stirred, he didn't know if he was dead or alive but he assumed it was the first based on the state of him.

"We can take the chip out, and you can take him home and…" Fury trailed off, not quite sure what the Asgardians did with their dead, but the least he could do was remove the metal piece from the base of his skull. "It was never meant for that, again, I'm so sorry Thor. The men who did this will be punished."

"They will not be punished enough, they will not get what they deserve," Thor shot back, giving Loki a gentle shake, his heart aching as Loki continued to lie still. "They deserve to stand before Odin and hear his judgment. He may have lost his patience for Loki but he was still his son, he was still raised on Asgard despite being Jotun, the men that did this to him should face an Asgardian trial."

"I can't do that, Thor, I'm sorry, I can't in good conscious hand over two humans for Odin to judge, but they will face our justice," Fury assured him.

"Will they be fitted with devices then? Will they too be tormented by their guards? Is this what you propose because that is all I will accept. If it is good enough for Loki, it is good enough for them!" Thor barked angrily, his face flushed red. "I want them to live how he had to live, I want them to feel his fear and his pain, can you promise me that?"

Fury paused for a moment to look into Thor's eyes before he broke eye contact, shaking his head. "Loki was the only one we'd ever put a chip into. Seeing what they do now, there's no way I can authorize their use ever again, not in the current state they're in anyway. I had no idea they could be used this way or I wouldn't have condoned putting one on your brother, believe me."

"So if they will not face Asgardian justice nor the device, what will they face? How will they pay?" Thor asked, becoming more and more outraged by the moment. If they were to forced to sit alone in a cell for the rest of their lives, he wouldn't consider that to be enough. Not considering the manner in which they tortured Loki, men like that didn't deserve to walk free. They were cowards, sick, twisted cowards, and he would see them pay the appropriate price whether Fury agreed with it or not.

"Thor…"

A small whisper broke Thor out of his angry train of thought and he looked down at his brother in surprise. He didn't know if he would ever hear Loki speak again, but to hear his own name, no matter how weakly it was spoken, brought a wide smile to his reddened face.

"Loki! Brother, I thought you had-"

"Asgard," Loki said, finally blinking, though his eyes barely opened after they closed. "Home…"

Thor opened his mouth to speak, though all he did was nod slowly instead. He couldn't stay here any longer, chip or no chip, this place was killing him slowly. If he went home to Asgard, the executioner would be much quicker, and even if Odin cast Loki down to the dungeon, the room would be bigger, the surroundings more familiar, and Thor would stay with him there too if need be, despite what the All-Father said. He prayed Loki's punishment would be the latter.

"If you wish me to take you home, I will," Thor said to him softly, swallowing past the lump in his throat. He was sure Loki had accepted the consequences of seeing Odin again to ask to go back to Asgard, but that didn't mean Thor had to like them. "I will speak to father to be lenient towards you, that you have already been punished here."

Loki just closed his eyes once again, too weak to reply, in moments he was unconscious once more, limp in Thor's arms. He'd used up the little energy he had to beg for what he needed most, an end to all of this, by any means necessary. The humans had broken him, he was barely alive and unable to continue like this any more, all he wanted now was the mercy of an Asgardian cell or blade.

"We'll take the chip out and you can leave with him, but Thor, I'm trusting you here that you can control your brother without it. We can leave it in, turn it down somehow, give you a remote to control it responsibly and if he-" Fury began, wanting to keep this chip on Loki now that he knew he still lived. Loki would recover, and possibly be more dangerous than ever if he hoped to seek revenge on what was done against him in this place. Fury had to think of the safety of everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. after all, this wasn't just a normal prisoner he was letting free, this was a very powerful god.

"The chip comes out immediately, I will not take him home with that thing attached to the back of his head, it is bad enough you cut his hair," Thor said curtly, though he was almost afraid to let Loki go for the operation, he didn't trust the doctors and scientists that would create such a thing as this device. He wished he could take it out himself, but he knew he couldn't do it without hurting Loki badly, and the healers of Asgard would likely have no idea what this thing was, let alone how to take it off without setting it off. He would have to try to trust in S.H.I.E.L.D. for the time being.

"Then I'll make the phone call and get it done," Fury said, dread in his voice and heart. Thor said he could control Loki, but Fury wasn't buying it. He didn't want to lose a powerful ally such as Thor, however, and he really didn't want an all out war with Asgard for torturing one of its princes. "Are you very sure about this, Thor? Once it's done, it's done, and he'll be free to use his magic all over again."

Thor nodded, looking down at his brother in his arms. Loki wasn't himself without his magic, it was part of who he was, and shutting it off had changed Loki overnight. Though part of Thor's mind worried that this really all was an elaborate plan to be freed and able to use magic again, he was sure that Loki was sincere this time, that he'd meant what he said in that time they shared a cell. Thor was certain that Loki had learned something in their time together, and that he would continue to when he went home to Asgard. The other Avengers may think him to be naïve about his brother's true intentions, but he knew Loki, and this time it didn't feel like he was trying to cause mischief. It felt genuine, and Thor was going to accept it as such, despite what everyone else had to say about it.

"I am sure," Thor said with a nod, his voice stern. "Call your people, I mean to take him home with me as soon as possible."