.Queen: I KNOW :( Unfortunately he's going to be at it a while longer. I think part of it is that he doesn't think he deserves to be loved... so he doesn't believe that what he's experiencing is love.
koryandrs: Okay... :) Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
BleachLover11: Haha, everyone tells me that. Apparently I come up with curveballs all the time. I'm so glad you liked it, I was nervous about anyone accepting Lizzie's past, so its good that it had such a good reception. :) Don't worry, Loki will take Alex down himself along with Erik Lehnsherr. They have unfinished business. :D
kittysayzmeow: Yay :D I'm so excited that you liked it. Thank you so very much for liking it, it made me happy that it was realistic enough. :D YAY. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
heroherondaletotherescue: I know. Protective Loki is such a funny guy to write :D What I love is what I have in store for his protective nature... ooh... no spoilers, sorry. -_- I'm glad you liked it.
Niki Faren: Aw, I'm sorry I brought you to tears. :'( her life is pretty sad when you think about it. But I'm glad you liked it overall. Thanks for your review.
thatredheadedchick: Thank you so much for your review :D It made me happy to see a new name. I'm glad you're liking it so far - we are only a small part of the way through. There is so much that they will have to go through before the end. I hope to hear from you more :)
Katherine Winchester: Thank you :) I'm sorry I wrenched out your heart.
Xxvegetafan55Xx: Haha, I know. :D I couldn't help it, I love Magneto, and I thought "Hey, Erik Lehnsherr and Loki are kinda similar in their mannerisms, wouldn't it be cool if one of Erik's kids or grandkids fell for Loki. The 'Hurt my daughter and I'll kill you' conversations would be gold." and so, Lizzie was born of the line of Lehnsherr. Thanks for your review, it made me happy to see it.
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days o' lang syne! For auld lang syne, my dear. For auld lang syne! We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Here's the New Year's chapter, I hope you all like it. :D
The next day, Clint decided that he needed to apologize to Lizzie for his behavior toward her a week before. They had hardly spoken since their little interlude in the kitchen, and it was beginning to pain him. Not in the year that he knew her had she been so distant, and his worry was increasing. Now, of course, he had another worry to concern himself over – Fandral. He had noticed that the blonde Asgardian had taken a liking to Lizzie, and refused to leave her be the day before, forcing him to send Natasha to intervene at one point... and he hadn't heard the end of it. Apparently now, Natasha was taking the brunt of his attentions, now that Lizzie had disappeared for the entire next 24 hours, and it was driving her a little mad.
So, Clint had gone to Fandral, warning him not to go near either one of the women. Fandral had nodded, asking why he had taken claim to two women, and telling him that he would only leave one alone as long as that one was Clint's beloved. This, of course, had not settled well with the archer, as he was now in a slight problem: did he leave Lizzie to fend for herself, or Natasha. Naturally, he didn't care to have either pursued by Thor's friend, but he could understand Fandral's question.
However, at this point, he needed to find Lizzie – the only thing which stood in his way was that Lizzie couldn't be found. He had asked Jarvis a few minutes before, and had been directed toward the roof of Stark Tower. So, he was in the elevator which would take him there, all the while rehearsing what he was going to say.
When he finally reached his destination, he was surprised to hear Lizzie laughing. Putting his assassin skills to good use, he quietly kept to the shadows so as to see just who Lizzie was with. Much to his irritation, the green tunic and black hair gave him his answer: Loki. She had gone to see Loki the night before, and he hadn't seen her since. Just what was going on between them?
"I would have loved to see Thor dressed as a bride!" Lizzie exclaimed. "Though you dressed as a woman would have been interesting too."
"Oh, so my brother would have been more interesting than me?" Loki countered, amusement in his tone.
Lizzie giggled. "Yes, actually. I can see you doing it, and easily getting away with it, your charm and suave assisting you. But Thor?" Clint watched as she laughed again. "Big, bulky, deep-voiced, I'm-going-to-knock-you-into-the-wall-with-my-hammer, Thor? No."
"Well he didn't have Mjolnir in that moment, you see." Loki replied.
"Yes, but still... he's huge! That had to be some dress." she exclaimed, and this time Loki chuckled slightly. Suddenly he froze, his hand resting on her shoulder as her laughter quickly ceased. "What is it?" she asked him quietly.
Slowly, Loki turned toward Clint's hiding spot, his tall frame shielding Lizzie's smaller one. "I know you're there. Come into the light." he said, and Clint slowly walked toward them. Loki relaxed slightly, knowing that Clint would not harm Lizzie. "Ah, it's you Barton."
"Yes, it's me." Clint replied, scrutinizing Loki's protective stance. "I was looking for Lizzie."
"Looks like you found her." Lizzie teased, peeking out from behind Loki. "Hey Clint!"
"We were wondering what happened to you last night. Jarvis assured us you were safe, but he said you had disabled any cameras from your location." Clint told her, wondering when it was that Loki and she had become such good friends.
"Ah, yes, sorry about that." she apologized, moving from behind Loki to stand in front of Clint. "Loki and I were having a little conversation, I wanted some privacy."
Her explanation didn't settle well with Clint, and he immediately retorted without really thinking."Privacy? What could you possibly be speaking about privately with... him?"
Lizzie's eyebrow rose. "Things which are none of your business." she replied, her tone a degree chilly.
Clint looked at Loki, noticing a tick in the Asgardian's jaw. "What have you done to her?" he hissed.
"What have I done?" Loki snapped back. "I have done nothing, Barton. If anything I would question what she has done to me."
"Don't give me that crap, you've done something. She wasn't so readily accepting of you before!" Clint exclaimed.
"Shut up, Clint!" Lizzie shouted before Loki could retort. "What did you come up here for? Say it and go."
That seemed to catch Clint's attention, and he stopped. He wasn't happy with Loki's being there, but he was more discontent with Lizzie's displeasure. He had realized during his time not talking to her that he cared about her, and although he didn't comprehend the fullness of his attachment, he didn't want to distance her again – he had missed her too much. "I..." he trailed off. "I came to apologize, Lizzie."
Her eyes softened, and she looked back at Loki. "Can you leave us for a few minutes?" she asked him, Loki opened his mouth to protest – "Please?" – he quickly shut his mouth again, cursing his inability to reject her request. Glaring at Clint for a few seconds, he realized that he could not have her to himself, and stomped away from the pair of them to the elevator. When the doors closed, she leaned against the short wall which surrounded the roof. "Alright, we're alone. What do you want to apologize for?"
Clint joined her on the wall, wetting his lips as he brought to his mind what he had rehearsed in the elevator. "Lizzie..." he began. "The last time you and I spoke, I'm afraid I said some things which caused for there to be a rift between us. Although I see it did nothing for my troubles, you are more in his company than you were before. You were laughing with him Lizzie, don't you see that he's only trying to use you?"
Lizzie sighed. "Clint, I know I can't expect you to understand, but I need you to try." she said. "There are things which you don't know about Loki, and there are things which you don't know about me. You care about me, I know that, I care about you as well – but you need to understand that I care about Loki too. Don't interrupt, let me finish." she cut him off before he could begin to interrupt. "Loki knows more about me than you do, and I know more about him. We have things in common, Clint, which you and I don't have in common. Things which you may conceptualize, but not necessarily grasp. I know what you're talking about, I know he tried to use me at one point to satisfy his curiosity, but he's not like that now. We've come to an understanding since the Chitauri incident, and I believe that Loki cares somewhat – in his own way."
"Loki is a villain, Lizzie. He doesn't know how to care." Clint interjected.
"You don't know that, Clint." she retorted. "Loki has gone through some crap in the past, most of it within the last two or three years. I know why he attacked us, which I may add you don't, and I don't blame him. He's more complex than you know, and there's more than just the cold, indifferent mask that he gives. Didn't you notice that he has shown that he cares about me in some regard? Shall I remind you about the day that Johnny burned me?"
"I am not sure that he didn't have plans for you then." Clint replied. "He obviously had his reasons for taking care of you at that moment, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it just to gain your trust."
Lizzie looked out on New York as she said: "You didn't look in his eyes, Clint." She turned back to him. "You didn't hear what he's told me of his time in the Chitauri dungeons."
"Then tell me why he suddenly earned your respect and your defense." Clint said. "Help me understand."
"I can't tell you anything Clint, I promised him I wouldn't." she responded. "But know that there is more to Loki than meets the eye, and I've seen it."
Clint shook his head. "He's going to hurt you, Lizzie." he groaned.
"I don't think he will." she countered, pulling out her locked from under her shirt. "This was given to me by Frigga, Thor's mom. She said that she's seen something in our future which has caused her to send this to me... and Loki to protect me."
"He'd sooner kill you. Have you forgotten-"
"No, I have not." she interrupted. "You'll see, Clint. Not yet, but you'll see. All of you will. Thor was right, Loki isn't all bastard... there's a heart in there somewhere. A heart which has been obscured by what he's been through. Maybe one day you'll know, but I think that because of my own past that I understand him more easily than anyone else."
"You keep mentioning your past," Clint pointed out. "What makes your past so similar to his?"
Lizzie paused, considering telling Clint what he wanted to know. "One day I'll tell you... but not now. I'm not ready." she told him. "Just know that there is more to me that meets the eye as well, and if you knew me from my past, you wouldn't like me either."
Clint's brow furrowed. What could she possibly be talking about? "And what do I do in the meantime, with you and all your secrets, and your newfound affection for the bastard who put me in his little mind control?" he asked her.
She smiled, taking a step closer. "Let it be?" she suggested. "Give Loki a chance, or at least let me give him a chance?"
"I care about you Lizzie... I can't watch you become friends with that snake." Clint argued.
"Its not up to you, Clint." she replied. "Watch, if you like. Look out for me, if you feel that's what you need to do. But you can't tell me what to do, and you can't interfere. I have sided with Thor, this once, and I'm willing to give the snake a second chance."
"He'll bite you." Clint countered.
"Then I have said before: it'll be on my head alone, and you can come to me and say 'I told you so'." she replied cheekily.
"I don't want you to get hurt." he said, leaning slightly forward. "He doesn't deserve you."
Lizzie shook her head, walking away from Clint. "Don't puff me up, Clint." she said, walking toward the elevator. "All I ask is that you don't try to come between Loki and I. Let the chips fall where they may, and see where they end up. You might be surprised."
Clint sighed. "I suppose its no use arguing with you. You're going to do what you want." he said, heading for the elevator himself, pressing the button.
"Clint," Lizzie said, her hand resting on his shoulder. "Don't let this come between us. You're my friend, a good friend, whom I owe my life to, and care about. I've missed you, and I don't like that you and I haven't been on good terms. Please, Clint..." she trailed off, allowing him to consider her words.
Finally he smiled, closing the distance between them to give her a hug. "I've missed you too." he whispered in her ear before pulling away. "I'll try not to be a bother, but don't expect me to like this whole arrangement."
"I won't." Lizzie replied, smiling. The elevator doors opened, and Loki was revealed to be on the other side. "Were you in the elevator the whole time?"
"No." Loki said quickly. "I was on my way back to see if you two were done yet."
Clint stepped forward with Lizzie, the air getting a little tense. "We're done for now, Loki." Clint said, pressing the floor he wanted. "I know that I've warned you before: if you ever hurt her, I will kill you in the most painful way I can imagine."
"Clint..." Lizzie's soft voice warned from his left.
"Your threat has been noted." Loki replied, fighting the urge to cross the elevator and make Lizzie be next to him instead.
Clint nodded, looking over at Lizzie. "You up for a game of Clue tonight, down at our wing? Tasha and I were planning on playing it, and were wondering if you might grace us with your presence."
Lizzie laughed. "Since when did you play Clue? I thought you thought that game was a waste of time."
"Since you had a fondness for it." Clint replied. "And Tasha has been trying to get me to apologize, and said something about this being the best way to apologize."
"Forget the game." Lizzie said. "But I'll watch something with you guys tonight... but not James Bond, Clint."
"You're no fun." Clint replied. "Fine. Movie, but not James Bond. How about Bourne?"
Lizzie laughed as the doors opened to their destination. "I'll talk to you later." she said, leaving with Loki.
Clint stayed in the elevator, eventually making it to the floor he had selected, and making his way down to the wing of the tower that he and Natasha were sharing.
"What's got you smiling like an idiot?" the red-headed assassin asked first thing.
"I apologized to Lizzie, and she's coming down here tonight to watch something." Clint replied. Natasha nodded, a smile on her own face masking the pain she felt in her heart at the fact that Clint had no clue that she cared for him.
Over the next few days the residents of Avengers' Tower became keenly aware that something had happened between Lizzie and Loki which made them more agreeable to one another than before. Loki spent more time in Lizzie's presence, staying around her in a protective manner – especially around Fandral – and holding more conversations with her than he ever had in the past. He had even gone out of his way to start to get to know Kathleen.
By the evening of the first day after the shared pasts, he had gone to Logan, telling him about what he knew, and how he wanted to help the mutant to keep Lizzie safe. Alex was still out there, and if he got ahold of either Lizzie or Kathleen he would wreak havoc with their lives. Logan agreed, with a little pushing from Lizzie, and shook hands with the Asgardian Prince.
As it was, Logan was gone from the Tower more frequently than before, going out to 'check on Alex' so he said... though Lizzie knew inwardly that it was something else. Had she known that the reality of the situation was that he was going to see Nell on a regular basis, asking her if she knew anything more about Alex's location, or incoming Chitauri, or if she wanted to go out for coffee again – she might have teased him. As it was, she didn't know.
Clint had even been included in their protective agreement, and although he wasn't too happy with Loki's involvement, he recognized that something had happened between him and Lizzie which caused for her to trust him. He reluctantly agreed to the arrangement, keeping an eye on Loki at all times regardless. He would never trust him, he told Natasha when they were alone, but at least he could use the help.
This newfound protectiveness caught the attention of the Avengers' women, and soon they were all hedging bets on when Loki and Lizzie would no longer be 'just friends', and move into the realm of romance. Pepper bet a couple of week; Jane, two months; Darcy bet that it may take a while, and 'Some other large thing to happen, causing friction and a final push' yet, only gave them a month; Emma was kept out of the bet, as there was also another pool going on when she and the Captain would finally realize their own feelings; Justine sided with Pepper and bet on a few weeks. Kathleen somehow wound up betting as well, and with a smug grin on her face placed her bet with Darcy; while Natasha – although quite put out by Clint's favoritism toward the brunette girl, and vowing up and down that she didn't believe in romance – secretly placed her bet along with the eccentric pair.
As Loki learned more, he found himself becoming more and more curious as to how Lizzie coped with the information on the terrors of her past. His fascination with her grew, and their discussions began to spread to more topics than their usual 'You're a mess, and I don't like you'. The library became their haven, and they were often found talking about the more happy aspects of their childhoods, and conversing on their opinions. When conversations about what to do about Thanos and Alex came up, Loki made sure that Elizabeth was present – staying by her, and offering her whatever strength that he could. They had an understanding, through their shared bond of pain, that they would be there for one another.
Lizzie was grateful for his new attention, enjoying her time with him more now than she ever had in the past. Part of his mask had been stripped away, and underneath she found a man who enjoyed the arts, and preferred to speak of her rather than himself. Though she often was able to get him to speak of those small things of his childhood that he looked on with a happy reminiscence. A tenderness was what she found, which she never would have thought him to have – although she saw it only a sliver of the time – and despite his prior claims, certain people who he pretended to hate, he actually still cared for. Frigga was one person who he spoke of without any sign of disdain, and oftentimes she heard him speak with such reverence that she wished she could meet the queen. The few times she got him to talk about Thor, she managed to get into his mind that perhaps his brother hadn't been out for his destruction as he believed... and had simply been naïve to the favoritism shown by Odin. He listened to her with a grain of salt, and eventually conceded that she may be right.
Yet, for Odin she saw no love from Loki, nor did she try to persuade him otherwise. She knew not what Odin was like, but wasn't entirely sure she agreed with his parenting skills... and vaguely wondered if Kathleen would have anything to say the Allfather about his obvious favoritism toward Thor – as she had never shown favoritism toward the twins in her life. Loki found a confidant in her, a friend with whom he could converse without worrying about the consequences of her perhaps sharing her information with anyone else. After all, she disabled the cameras quite frequently after that first day, and left them alone in total privacy.
All this, Loki considered, and wondered when his original plans of using her for information skewed into actual care – well, as much as he thought he could care for a creature lower than himself. Yet, the gnawing jealousy was still within him whenever she spoke to anyone else, a selfish desire to snatch her away to the library overwhelming at times. When such thoughts came into his mind, he looked down at the ring his mother had sent, and let his mind wander to exactly what it was she had seen which would cause her to send it to him.
In Asgard, Odin leaned heavily against Gungnir, the weight of the news of the oncoming storm already beginning to cause uproar in Asgard. They blamed Loki, demanding answers of why Odin had allowed the Trickster to live when he obviously had brought this upon their heads. For this, Odin had no answer, and simply shut his doors to the complaints of the people. He could not deal with them now, not with the Mad Titan closing ever in – as Heimdall reported – threatening the very lives he had sworn to protect. He was old. Too old, perhaps, to deal with this onslaught which would bring death and destruction to his realm. If only Thor had taken the crown, if only Loki hadn't tried to steal it... perhaps he would not be subjected to such a conundrum.
"You are tired." Frigga's voice echoed from the shadows, her figure coming closer to him until she reached the throne. "You must rest, Odin, or you will tire yourself too much."
"War is approaching, Frigga, I cannot rest now." Odin replied.
"You're no good to anyone if you're in Odinsleep." Frigga argued. "The interruption of your last bout left you weakened, if you allow yourself to continue in this manner, you will weaken still. I beg you, my king, please rest."
Odin placed his hand on her face, allowing himself a rueful smile. "Shall I rest when Thanos cannot? Thor and Loki started this, but like the boys I raised they have left me to finish – but I brought this upon myself, I know. Had I been more careful, paid more attention, Loki would have never tried to overtake Midgard. He would be here with us, he would be the boy we loved. A Prince of Asgard who still did his tricks, and caused his trouble – but he would not be a convict in a realm where he didn't belong, stripped of his power with no hope of recovery." He sighed, his single eye roving the room.
"There may yet be hope for Loki." Frigga confessed, her hand taking his.
"What hope?" Odin replied. "What have you seen?"
Frigga shook her head. "You know more than any I cannot tell you the particulars, lest my power to foresee be taken from me – but I can only tell you that Loki will be returned to us soon." she replied. "It was a lack of love which distanced him from us, a feeling of abandonment." He looked at her, tears beginning to form in his eye. "But it is love which will bring him back to us, restore him to being a Prince of Asgard. Already he has changed, Heimdall told me today that he is becoming much closer to the mortal Elizabeth Donovan; he is protective of her, and she is beginning to care for him in turn."
"You leave your hope in the hands of a mortal?" Odin inquired. "Is it possible that some mortal could bring Loki back from the brink when his own family could not?"
"She loves him, Odin." Frigga replied. "It is love which Loki needs and craves, she will give him that. Their pasts are quite similar, and their futures are intertwined. He will care for her more than he has ever, or will ever, care for any of us."
Odin watched his wife, the love in her eyes shining out through the cerulean orbs. She liked the girl, that much he could tell. "What did you send with Thor for the girl?" he asked, knowing that his wife's natural desire to protect would by instinct find a way to help the girl.
Frigga smiled. "Something which will defend her in any manner if she is in danger, and send for help..."
"From Loki." Odin finished. "But he is unable to assist in any manner as his powers are no longer within him, he is as defenseless as any Aesir without the ability to use magic."
She looked down, kneeling beside him. "Forgive me, my king, for what I have done and will inform you of now." she said.
Odin's brow furrowed. "Why would you need my forgiveness?"
"I reinstated his power – before you object, allow me to finish – I placed his power within the locket which I sent to Elizabeth Donovan." Frigga said. "When she is in danger his powers will return to him for as long as he needs to defend her. When she is safe, they will leave him once again and go back to the locket until My Lord sees it fit to restore him completely."
A smile worked its way across Odin's lips, and he chuckled. "You disobeyed my orders in such a way that I cannot be angry." he said. "You must have seen something rather destructive to this, Elizabeth Donovan which would lead you to such an action of love."
Frigga's eyes returned to his gaze. "I have," she replied, a sad look passing over her brow. "I can only hope that they will survive the storm ahead."
"Is it possible that they will not?" Odin inquired.
Eyelids closed over the blue eyes, a tear seeping out of the corner. "It is possible, my lord." she replied, her eyes once more opening. "But if he loses her, we will never get him back."
Odin nodded solemnly. "Then we will have to make sure he never does." he said, drawing his wife to his chest and holding her. Not a king comforting a queen over a lost prince – but a man comforting his wife over their son.
Across Asgard, a shadowy figure, cloaked in a cape of ever-night, stood on the mountains of the realm, unmoving as the stones they stood on. Behind them, a chasm lay – but no ordinary chasm was it. It was a portal between realms, between Jotunheim and Asgard to be precise. A commotion could be heard in the cave, and the figure outside turned, moving inside with ease. A light suddenly shone in their hand, illuminating the darkness and the figures within.
"You're late." the initial figure replied, their voice having the dulcet tones of a woman.
"Our master had a bit of trouble with the Jotuns," a Chitauri answered her. "They weren't too happy being used as transportation from the Void."
The woman chuckled. "Sounds familiar." she replied. "What took you so long at any rate? Jotunheim isn't exactly hard to navigate."
"The Jotun prince caught a small group a few days past and has since set guards about the realm." the Chitauri growled. "But we are not here to discuss that, Enchantress."
Amora flicked her hand, sending the Chitauri leader into the cave wall, holding him there. "Do not address me so flippantly, thrall. I am your leader here, and will ask what I will and demand answers." With another flick she released him from the wall and he fell with a cry. The Chitauri around them backed themselves away from the Enchantress, looking with fear at the blonde Asgardian traitor. "I hope I will not need to repeat that particular performance."
The Chitauri shook his head.
"Then we shall continue on with changing you all into Aesir." she said nonchalantly, a green glow filling the cave and surrounding the Chitauri. Within moments, there were twenty good-looking Asgardian men in place of the Chitauri warriors; the main Chitauri walked up to her.
"We were told to wait until the Master was ready to attack, but what precisely have you decided that we shall do until then?" he asked, his now-blue eyes looking out at the cave entrance.
"Follow me." Amora replied, pulling her hood back on and lead the way out.
Nell woke from her slumber, breathing heavily as her mind recalled the images that she had seen. A portal in Jotunheim had opened to a group of Chitauri, and had been lead into Asgard by Amora the Enchantress... she could sense it as the doors of the portal closed. Swearing loudly, she left her bed, knowing she would find no more sleep that night. Asgard had to be warned, but just how she would do so she wasn't sure. She wasn't ready to reveal her true identity to anyone, especially to Thor Odinson – but she would have to tell someone what had happened, and word would have to get there without knowledge of where it came from.
Reaching for her cellphone, she quickly dialed the one person she knew she could, turning on a few lights and getting dressed as she did so.
"Hello?" the groggy voice of James Howlett coming over the line.
"James, I need you to come over immediately." Nell replied quickly.
"What happened?" the change in Logan's voice was obvious, he was awake and already getting dressed.
"I have information which is vital to the Realm Eternal, which I'm going to have to ask you to pass on to Mr. Thunder. It concerns a mutual friend and her friends, and their friend's realm." Nell replied. "It must be passed on for the good of all."
Logan growled. "I hate when you speak in riddles."
"Our friend Shaw is not the only one." she replied plainer.
"What are you talking about?"
"Will you simply trust me for once and come down here?"
"Can't you do it over the phone?" he asked, irritation coloring his voice.
Nell growled. "No, I can't. I have no idea who is listening to my phone calls. As you know, I am being monitored. Someone figured out that I tipped you off the day that Elizabeth was attacked – so if you would please just come over, I'll tell you everything when you get here."
There was a pause, "I'm on my way." and he hung up.
Nell huffed, tossing the phone on the bed. "Irritating mortal."
In a small apartment above a bakery in Brooklyn, in a dimly lit apartment, a dark-haired woman stopped the playback on a recording device, rewinding it and hitting play.
"I have information which is vital to the Realm Eternal, which I'm going to have to ask you to pass on." Fast forward. Play. "It concerns a mutual friend and her friends..." the tape stopped, and the woman fast forwarded, hitting play again. "Shaw is not the only one..." Stop. Fast forward. Play. "Elizabeth." Stop. Rewind. Play. "Elizabeth." Repeat. "Elizabeth."
The woman stopped the voice, and put the recorder down on the desk, leaning over it with her hair obscuring her face. Turning off the light, she got up and left the apartment, leaving the recorder where it lay.
Ooh... we are beginning to grow in our suspense with mystery-woman. Any guesses who she is? you probably won't get it, but what's the harm in guessin right? One clue: she is part of Lizzie's past. That's all. Anyway, what do you guys think? reviews?