In Asgard, Loki was entertaining another visitor in his well-decorated and much-despised cell. An image of Frigga stood close to him and conversed with him about current events. Frigga had hoped to get Loki to talk about his visitor from Midgard. She hinted around, poked and prodded, tried not to be too obvious, hoping to get her youngest son to open up about it but to no avail. Loki was his usual acidic self. Sarcastic about everything in his current environment. The guards were idiots, the food was terrible, the light was too bright, his clothing was dull, his suffering was legendary.

Frigga sighed, loving her son despite his anger, despite the things he'd done. Her Loki had always been at a disadvantage. Things for him had not always been truly fair. She hated to see him here in the dungeons, but she had hope that there would be some kind of healing. Some way for her son not to feel so alone. Something, anything. She was frustrated in the fact she was also unable to provide a total shelter for him. Loki didn't trust easily either, and he couldn't seem to trust anyone. He had to feel like someone was 'his'. She knew he didn't even feel that way about her. She was also 'Thor's' as well as 'Odin's'. Loki always saw himself on the lowest side of any equation, even before the equation existed. She didn't know how to break that wall and get through to him.

When Thor saw her talking to Loki, he had at first told her it was hopeless, but she knew he didn't believe that. Thor had eventually come around and brought up the topic again while they were in private. They hatched a plan to bring new perspective to Loki's view of Midgard in particular. Thor grew as a person quite a bit during his time on Midgard. He benefited greatly from being among it's people, and cultivating relationships with them. It allowed him to see past the gold and finery of Asgard, and made the fact of other realms palpable and real. To Odin's consternation he'd also fallen in love with a Midgardian woman. Frigga had no such designs on Loki finding the same with anyone from Midgard…did she? Well, maybe just a little bit.

She smiled sweetly as Loki sighed and gave his opinion on the latest bit of court gossip she'd brought to him. Always opinionated, Loki.

"…mother? Was that all? There did not come an actual public confrontation? I would have loved to hear of that!" Loki looked up at her, amused.

"No Loki, not as of yet. It seems some do understand when they have gone too far." She cleared her throat, "Though if there comes more to the story, I will impart it to you at our next visit." She decided now would be a good time to end all hints and just come out and ask. He would probably become angry, but it wouldn't be the first time. "Loki, I would know of your recent visitor? Thor said she was of most interesting temperament."

Loki's mood immediately changed. Frigga felt the shift as if a door closed. His face became first angry, and then unaffected, as if he was trying to sweep his feelings away from view. To hold on to them. To make them 'his'.

"Ha! Visitor. Thor brings me street urchins from Midgard and expects this to somehow 'help' me. Help me with what? Feel forgiveness for being lied to all my life? For his arrogance? For Odin's mistreatment? I sent them away with nothing." He clasped his hands behind his back and faced away from his mother, to the hallway that ran in front of his cell.

Frigga's eyebrows lifted, recognizing a favorite avoidance technique of her youngest. "Thor also told me your visitor gave Lady Sif quite the tongue lashing, perhaps even rivaling the magnitude of one you yourself could bestow."

At this, Loki laughed cruelly. "She did mention she had a run-in with Lady Sif. Good on her then. Do tell, what was the reaction of dear Lady Sif?"

Frigga sighed and admonished, "Loki. Must you derive pleasure from the suffering of others?"

"How much pleasure do they derive from mine? Tell me, Mother, how did Sif fare after?" He had turned to face the avatar of Frigga in his cell again.

"I understand she was practically driven to tears. She was so upset, she refused to take your guest back to Heimdall, and Thor had to. Your guest also gave Thor a piece of her mind. She's a fearless woman, your Lady Lyn."

Loki waved a finger in the air at his mother as he moved towards his bed. He wasn't lost on what she was doing. "She is not 'my' anything. Also, I did not ask for her presence, she was not my guest in that regard. I am not in need of defense from anyone on Midgard. If Lady Sif suffered an indignity, then she has Thor to thank for bringing it to her." He flopped on the bed. "Or maybe her own self to thank, as her unrequited love for Thor shall be her undoing."

Frigga almost smiled at Loki's choice of words, "Hmmm. Why do you supposed Lady Lyn acted this way? This was her very first visit to Asgard. It should have been overwhelming and frightening to her, yet her first concern was you. Do you not find that a little endearing?"

Loki gave a tired sigh. "No Mother, I do not. There was nothing endearing about being subjected to the indignity of Midgardian terms of affection and a moony, lovestruck gaze."

"So nothing touched you at all about her visit? You have often claimed frustration that no one seeks your company. When you finally are faced with someone that would like nothing better, you scoff?" Frigga crossed her arms in front of her frowning. She knew Loki wasn't giving away his feelings entirely. "Does nothing please, you son?"

"It pleases me to know that there is one on Midgard that would cherish my leadership. That gives me hope for Midgard itself, that it may not be entirely full of simpletons. She would be an unquestioning pawn in whatever game I choose. Now that, mother, is truly an endearing thing to me!"

Frigga shook her head sadly. "Loki, I fear you miss the true power of the kind of allegiance your Lady Lyn expressed. I have sent a gift in the box you received today. You will know it when you see it. It will allow you to see what Lady Lyn is doing on Midgard with more clarity than you have previously been afforded." Loki started at this, he believed no one knew he was able to manifest any magic at all past the point of his own cell, weak as it may be.

"I can assure you, Mother, I do not care to see this Midgardian woman ever again." Loki growled.

"Perhaps you may, my son." Frigga paused, meaningfully. "Someday."

Loki, startled to spite himself, looked towards Frigga only to find that her image had faded.

Loki pretended to ignore what Frigga brought him for quite awhile. The innocuous looking thing sat in the box of books patiently, until his curiosity got the better of him enough to pull it out. He knew what it was as soon as he saw it. He sat the flat, rune-covered stone object on the table and pulled a chair up to it. He put up an illusion so anyone looking in his cell would only see him sitting at the table reading a book. His hand ran a few inches over the surface of the object and a small, blurry holographic image appeared. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The image came into focus. It was of the woman that had visited him, Lyn. He was able to see what she was doing, and her immediate surroundings. He knew this wouldn't last for long periods of time, and the connection was unstable as the subject was so far away, but he saw her much clearer than his previous astral ramblings.

Currently Lyn was sitting at a desk in front of a computer looking at a screen with squares on it. There were numbers and words in the squares. Loki wondered if this was some kind of spell. He'd worked with a grid-like pattern before on spells. She was interrupted by someone walking in to her room and talking to her. She looked angry, and when she spoke she sounded as angry as she looked.

"Yeah, what the fuck do you expect? There's no goddamn money to do shit WITH! I'd love to pay for all the materials you could buy for production, but there's nothing here. I'm not even sure how the hell we're all going to get a paycheck this week. I guess we better make up some more Gods to pray to, eh?"

"Caustic words, my lady." Loki muttered and smiled.

"Motherfucking asshole." Lyn said to herself as whoever had been talking to her left her presence.

Loki waved his hand over the image and it seemed to fast forward to another time. Lyn was in what Loki assumed to be her home, reclining on a couch and reading something. He could make out the book title: Otherworld Intruders. He couldn't quite make out the words on the pages of the book, as the image was watery. He did see a few sentences: "…at the point of invasion, the Asgardian despot attacked Captain America personally and tried to…" and further down the page, "Loki had also manipulated the firing of a nuclear weapon…"

"No, no hang on. That's bullshit." Lyn said as she grabbed a notebook from the stand next to her. "This shit directly conflicts with what the news report said AND what I saw on 20/20." She paged through the notebook and said, "I don't believe this crap. He didn't do that. Someone else did."

"Why do you care?" Loki whispered. She was still comparing notes between papers and books that he couldn't make out. He waved his hand over the hologram again and saw her sitting at a table with another woman.

"Do you want to come to our house for Christmas, because we're having everyone over…" the other woman said.

"Nah. I'm good. I can always use the extra sleep." Lyn said, sipping at a glass of wine.

"Girl, you are always by yourself! It's no good to be alone on a Holiday! You really don't have any family around?"

Lyn shook her head, "Nope. All dead. Anyone's that's left wouldn't want to see me anyway. I never fit in with them, ya know? I was never a part of them, they counted me out a long time ago. Fuck it though, water under the bridge! I just sleep in on the holidays and don't have to put up with all the daily bullshit. That's enough gift."

Loki frowned and waved his hand one more time over the image. "Loki!" she said loudly from the image, as if trying to get his attention. Lyn appeared to be looking right up at him and it startled him for a moment before he realized she was just talking to the room in general and could not see him. "If you can hear me this is for you! Hope whatever you're doing, you feel OK today. It's going to get better. Someday will come." A song began playing, and he could plainly hear the lyrics:

Sweet wonderful you

You make me happy with the things you do

Oh, can it be so

This feeling follows me wherever I go

I never did believe in miracles

But I've a feeling it's time to try

I never did believe in the ways of magic

But I'm beginning to wonder why

Don't, don't break the spell

It would be different and you know it will

You, you make loving fun

And I don't have to tell you but you're the only one

He angrily waved the image completely away. "Nonsense." He grumbled, and stalked to his bed. "Pathetic woman in her pathetic life. What does this have to do with me?" He laid on his bed and stared up at the white ceiling.

Sweet wonderful you…

"You don't even know me." He hissed. The next time Mother sent something down, he was going to have this scrying stone sent right back up to her, and he would send a note with it as well to never EVER send something such as that again, and to cease trying to find him friends on Midgard immediately. He would never deign to allow such bland and ridiculous company as this lonely fool. Good for nothing. Nothing!

…you're the only one

Loki rolled over and eventually fell into a fitful sleep, interrupted by dreams and visions of days long gone.

Frigga allowed Loki some time to use the scrying stone before she visited him again. She was curious if he would say anything about it at all. She feared that he would send it back to her in a fit of anger and never speak of it again. If that happened, she was out of ideas. Sentencing Loki to rot in the dungeons was nothing but a pointless loss to both Asgard and their family. It was also a pointless punishment. Loki's stubborn nature would never allow him to examine the situation fairly while he sat in a cell, his anger and jealousy and hatred multiplying by the day. She did not receive the stone back though, which was a small relief.

When she dropped in to visit him again, she found him in better spirits. He seemed a little less…lost, though she couldn't put her finger on exactly what was different. They talked about different things, Loki's main interest being news of what altercations Thor or his friends may have gotten in to and gossip about the members of Asgard's royal court. He surreptitiously tried to find out if anyone was asking after him or missing him besides herself, and she did her best to avoid answering. Thor showed interest in Loki to her, but Odin did not. Odin's mind had thus far been closed to her.

"Did you happen to try the gift I sent?" Frigga asked lightly, hoping to take advantage of her son's slightly better spirits.

"The scrying stone? Yes. I have." Loki replied, in a guarded manner.

"May I see what it shows you? I had not the pleasure to meet Lady Lyn. She sounded so fascinating!" Frigga mentally crossed her fingers that Loki would allow her to see some of what he'd seen.

He looked at her for a moment, seemed to gauge whether or not he should, and then walked to the table where the stone sat. He waved his hand over it, and the image appeared. They watched Lyn at what Loki surmised was her daily job. They listened to her deal with several angry phone calls, talk to a rude man, and then also fend off a pushy woman that was hell bent on selling her something she didn't want to buy.

"Ma'am, there is no fucking money here. I'm all out of ways to tell you 'NO' politely! Now get OUT of my office!" she rose and walked the pushy woman out of the small room she was in.

"She has a rather crass tongue." Frigga remarked. "Goodness! No wonder Lady Sif was so offended, if that's the way she speaks to everyone!"

She watched Loki out of the corner of her eye, and was surprised when he answered, "I'd call her reaction justified! I would have done worse if someone had been as demanding. She handled herself quite well." He sounded almost proud. Frigga tried to hide her smile from Loki, that was the reaction she'd hoped for.

They continued to watch some of what Lyn was up to. She seemed to like to speak to Loki when she was unobserved by others, and it was obvious she thought of him often. "Loki, why can't I dream myself up to Asgard again, and this time just like…stay. I'd rather be with you in that cell than here sometimes. Ah hell, who am I fooling. I'm in my own cell most of the time."

"Dream? She doesn't realize she was actually here, does she? It's just as well." Frigga said.

"She spends a great deal of time studying books about Asgard and my…recent time on Midgard." Loki met his mother's eyes over the image on the scrying stone. "She has figured out that all may not be as it seems with what Midgardian leaders tell their people about me."

"It sounds like you have become rather fond of Lady Lyn. Perhaps she may be allowed to call on you again. She certainly is devoted to you." Frigga leaned forward and looked at the image of the woman, "Fiercely devoted." She looked back at Loki. "Heimdall and Thor were correct in that assessment."

"If she were truly devoted, she would have exonerated me to all of Midgard by now, what with all the investigation I see her doing. Alas, she has not." He looked back up at his mother. "While she has some admirable qualities, she's lacking in others. She has kept most of this knowledge to herself. That speaks more of cowardice and ineptitude than devotion."

Frigga looked at her youngest son in shock. "Loki! Your expectations are too high! She is not capable of absolving your crimes no matter how much adoration she has for you, even as much as she might like to! You have observed someone that believes enough in you, and feels enough love for you to trust to find the truth for herself, yet you call her inept?"

"What does it matter mother? Her lifetime is like a blink of my eye. Fond of her…such sentiment would be wasted on humans. Thor will one day take that bitter pill."

Frigga bowed her head in sadness. Her heart felt truly heavy for Loki. "Oh Loki, you just cannot SEE can you?"

After Frigga left, Loki waved the scrying stone off. He found he did not feel like watching the woman on Midgard any more. He wasn't sure how he felt at this point. He would not admit to anyone, not even fully to himself, that he felt a pull towards this odd woman. This was not the only woman on Midgard that had spoken to him. There were others that expressed desire for his attentions…but none of the others bothered much with who he was, or why he felt the way he felt. He was just something pretty to look at and fantasize about, and then discard with thoughts of other men, or other things. Lyn's attention held past the point of admiring something lovely. She realized there might be more to the situation than even her 'news' on Midgard could tell her.

While he did not understand nor return her affection in kind, he felt an undeniable kinship with her. He might not be opposed to visiting with her again. As soon as he had that thought, another flooded his mind: What if this is what Thor and Odin want? They want me to become attached to someone on Midgard, only to never allow me to get close to them. It would be a bauble they dangled over my head, another way to break and torture me. No! I'll have no part of this!

He strode to the table fully intending to snatch up the scrying stone and dash it to bits on the wall of his cell. They weren't going to do this to him, he wouldn't let them! He stood there looking at the silent, flat stone object. He ran a hand through his hair, then reached out for it…and found he could not. Instead he reached out a hand again and waved the image back up, closed his eyes and sent a thought to Midgard, down to Lyn. Just one thought. She liked…music. She liked…liked…

"Hey Loki, here's your song!"

Sweeeet wonderful you…you make me happy with the things that you do…