Several days after Sigyn's rescue found Loki and Sigyn sitting in a small room, on a couch, hands held tightly together. They were turned to face each other, their eyes closed, their faces screwed up in concentration as they battled back the invasion in Loki's mind.
They had done this every day since Sigyn had first awoken, making slow progress, but she could tell the difference. Compared to before, in which only a small sliver of Loki's mind was free to be his own, almost a quarter of it had been freed.
But Sigyn could tell that Loki was getting frustrated with the apparent lack of real progress and Sigyn had been quick to tell him that the improvement was something that he couldn't see, only something that she could feel. He acted as if that answer wasn't good enough for him, that he wanted more advancement, but Sigyn could always feel that Loki was pleased that they were making any progress at all. He never said, but Sigyn always knew that he was grateful for her help.
Sigyn and Loki's faces relaxed, and their eyes opened. Sigyn smiled at him, the biggest smile her face had shown since she had been imprisoned all those years ago.
"Good progress today," she told Loki as he stared into her green eyes.
"I could feel it today. I feel the difference."
"That's a good sign."
Sigyn dropped one of Loki's hands so she could lay back on the couch, her head on the armrest, her legs still dangling off the side. She closed her eyes once more, taking a deep breath and allowing her mind to wander and relax.
It wasn't unusual for Sigyn to be drained after helping Loki. It always tended to take her entire concentration and large amounts of energy for Sigyn to be able to reach into another's mind and use her powers, which were buried far beneath the surface of her own conciseness. Usually, Sigyn would find her way back to her bedroom and give herself a few hours of sleep, but she couldn't pull herself out of the state her mind was in.
That moment was the first time she had felt strong enough to let her outside barriers down and just feel. Before, when she had opened her mind, the emotions of the other people had overwhelmed her. But now, she was strong enough. She may have been tired from helping Loki, but she had rarely felt so strong.
She sent her mind wandering, feeling Loki close, Liz not far off and ready to step in to do as ordered or follow Sigyn to make sure she needed for nothing. Beyond Liz was the large group of people working on the machinery. She could feel over a dozen of them there, half of them under mind control and the others inspired by their own curiosity and drive for knowledge.
There was a familiar mind, one she had encountered before being rescued. Her memories from before that were muddled, however, and she couldn't pinpoint exactly why that mind was familiar. Instead of focusing on it, Sigyn allowed her mind to drift, not only through the emotions and minds that she found familiar, but also through the emotions that were strange to her. She entered a state of calm, of euphoria and completeness that she hadn't experienced in almost six decades. She was there, detached and free, letting emotions that didn't belong to her wash over her mind.
She was drawn to one person, one more complicated than the others. The emotions where churning, unrested, chaotic. She reached out to it, finding that there was already a small string connecting her mind to the other. She followed that string as it sparked, as it grew and became a shining gold thread.
That thread led her deep into the mind, into complex emotions she had never experienced except within herself. These emotions were deep, threaded right to the very core of who that person was. There were so many unhappy memories. Grief, betrayal, dejection, uselessness, resentment. But there was love there as well, for a mother, a brother. And there was a girl surrounded not in love, but curiosity, respect, and tenderness.
Sigyn gently caressed the inside of the mind, intending to soothe the person. She was surprised when the mind reached into her, just as she had reached into it. It scared her, to have this mind in her own, so close, so intimate. Sigyn acted on instinct and brought her barriers up, slamming the connection closed and effectively blocking the other mind out. But that thread was still there, gold and shining more than before.
Sigyn opened her eyes, sitting up, wiping the sweat that had gathered on her forehead at the sudden surprise and burst of adrenaline. She noticed Loki looking at her with pain and surprise, his hand gripping hers tightly.
"You were in my mind," he said, his voice soft and in awe. He looked down at their connected hands and Sigyn finally realized what had happened.
That little gold thread had connected her mind to Loki's! It was no wonder she didn't immediately bulk at her mind entering another's so closely. Never before had she experienced it, never before had she felt so close to someone, like she could absolutely trust them with every secret that she held close to her chest.
But how had that little thread formed? What had caused the connection between their minds to become so desperate that they would make this connection? For once, Sigyn didn't even have an inkling of a clue. She had never experienced this before, had never encountered someone who had the same abilities as she did. There was no way she could ever have known how to create the bond in the first place. She had never known it was a possibility.
"I don't know how it happened," Sigyn said desperately once she realized that Loki was still watching her. From her own experience, she knew someone entering a mind without permission was never a pleasant feeling. The sudden memory of that horrid doctor's mind infecting her own flashes across her vision. Sigyn pushed it away before she could dwell on it.
"I do." Loki's voice was soft, and his face lost the surprised look. Instead, he looked thoughtful. "When you last visited me, I could tell you were close to death. You had frightened me terribly and I surprised myself by showing great strength in summoning a small amount of power. I thought I had only temporarily bound your life force to mine. I guess I did not disconnect that bond as entirely as I thought." He stopped there, and Sigyn could almost see the gears turning in his head, just as her thoughts were spinning.
She investigated her mind, searching for the spot in which the golden thread originated from. She found it deep, behind her memories, her thoughts, her deepest secrets, her worst and happiest memories. That would explain why she hadn't felt the connection before. Even though it felt much longer, it had only been ten days since that bond had been formed. She was still recovering and hadn't had the time to look so deep, especially since she wasn't ready to face many of those memories.
It was an intense connection and had already embedded itself deep into the core of her turquoise mind. Roots had sprung out, wrapping through other areas, her memories, the core beliefs she held to, her thoughts, already growing and becoming a connection that she couldn't remove.
"The bond runs deep," Sigyn said, taking a deep breath and slowly bringing herself back to her body. "I don't think that I could unravel it, even if I wanted to."
Sigyn opened her eyes to find Loki watching her intently, their faces now very close. He spoke very softly. "You don't wish to remove it?"
Sigyn smiled at him. "From what I can tell, that connection saved my life. And I am still much too weak to try and remove it." Sigyn paused and couldn't help but smirk at what she said next. "By the time I'm strong enough, it will probably be too entwined to remove anyway."
She felt a thrill as Loki grinned back at her.
Loki stood, standing in front of Sigyn as he gently pulled at their still entwined hands to guide her upwards. They stood facing each other, Sigyn's eyes full of curiosity as Loki studied her, taking in every detail that he possibly could.
"You are quite the mystery," Loki whispered to her. Sigyn blinked in shock, not expecting him to say that while watching her so intently. "You have the ability to feel and manipulate emotions, much like I can do, only you are so much more powerful. I can only suggest emotions or encourage certain reactions. I cannot force any emotion on someone. But, from what some of the agents have told me, you are very accomplished. Even just a few moments ago, when you had entered my mind, I could feel the energy radiate off you. In this room, I could feel the force of your will clamp down, churning and powerful. Have you ever used that particular gift before?"
Sigyn, her mouth slightly agape as she listened to Loki talk, her eyes wide, listened to every word he said. "You truly have these powers too?"
Loki gave a slight smile, gently nodding his head. "They are not the same as yours." Loki spread his arms wide, backing away from Sigyn and the couch. "For instance. I find that I can be in multiple places at once."
Sigyn was startled to see three Lokis appear beside the original. Sigyn took a step back, bumping into the couch. Sigyn sucked in a deep breath, her face awestruck as she studied each Loki in turn.
"I can also disappear..." his last words faded as the four Loki's all vanished from sight. "It is not that I am truly gone, but instead manipulate your mind into believing I am not there." Loki's voice floated around the room, but Sigyn could still feel his mind, his emotions, and the now obvious bond that flared between them. In three heartbeats Sigyn looked behind the couch where she knew Loki to be standing. He flickered back into view, a small amused smirk on his face. "I can only do that when I'm not distracted."
Sigyn just raised her eyebrows at him, silently considering that her attention on him had caused him to lose concentration enough to reappear. She let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding before speaking to him again. "I can't do any of those things."
Loki nodded, taking several steps towards her, the couch still separating them. "Both of our powers come from the mind, but in very different ways. Mine is all about deceiving people, causing chaos. Yours is emotional, something tender to hold close. They are not the same, but they share similarities. Our power, our strength, comes from our minds. The strength in which our powers have are determined by how strong-willed we are, how much we want something to happen.
"And you have only just discovered the surface of your abilities. The power you hold to create such presence, to draw the raw energy around you and force it to your will, is something to be feared indeed."
At those last words, Sigyn's face fell into something that could only be described as sorrow, her eyes lowering to study the fabric of the couch she had been sitting on moments ago. She saw the stitches, the way they intertwined, and the seams that held them together.
She knew exactly the power he was speaking of. The first time she had ever known it existed was the first time she had used it. That had been just after her mother had died. She had run off into the woods, away from the city, from the people she loved, because she could feel it building inside her, around her, in every room she walked through. She knew the release of that power wasn't going to be anything good. And it hadn't been. The energy she expelled hadn't been very strong, only enough to push the snow away from her in every direction. But she had been so afraid of it. She didn't know what that power could do if she could even control it. When she had felt it building again throughout her lifetime, she found other ways to vent her energy. She had joined several classes, self-defense, meditation, and calming movements from a man that had studied from the Yoga-Sutra. It had worked well for her.
And then the power came back in full force not long ago, while stuck in a room with that man. She remembered very clearly the feel of the restraints on her body, and the absolute hate she had for the man who had personally seen that she was tortured. She called that power to her in a mess of pain, confusion, rage, and revenge. And then she had killed that doctor with it.
She knew she had done the right thing. She had wanted that man gone from her life, never to cause her, or anyone else for that matter, pain again. She was happy he was gone, but the uncontrollable nature of it scared her. She could call on that power again, could feel it just beneath her skin, crawling to be released. She couldn't let that happen, couldn't let it control her and hurt an innocent.
"I don't want to be feared," she whispered almost silently.
"Then don't use your powers to be feared, use them to protect yourself."
Sigyn looked up, hope in her eyes. Could she really use this power, the one she had always known about but was never able to harness, to protect herself? If she could learn how, she might never be put in a situation where she would be trapped for decades again. She was free now, but did that mean she would stay out of the clutches of the place that had her in the first place?
"Could you teach me?"
This time, Loki's smile was large, genuine. "Oh, I would be happy to."
Sigyn's face turned into a giant smile of her own as she beamed at him. "But not today," he continued after a moment, pausing to watch her face fall. "You and I have both already strained our minds enough for the day. We can begin when we are both at full strength."
"But if practicing will strain us, how will we-," Sigyn began, only to be gently interrupted by Loki.
"I will continue the fight in my mind on my own for now. We have already made significant improvements." He stopped, and Sigyn opened her mouth. He continued before she said anything. "And, I will allow you to check to be sure I'm not losing any ground."
Sigyn gave him a small grin, not surprised he had guessed what she would say.
"Now," Loki said, raising his hand and pointing at the door. "I do believe it is time for the mid-day meal."
Sigyn nodded, then opened her mouth before either of them moved. "I have a request." At Loki's nod, she continued. "Before I was- before everything, I had several close friends." Sigyn stumbled over the words, unsure of the right words to describe what had happened to her. "I know I can't meet them and I know it has been so long, but I never got a chance to say goodbye. I would like to see their faces one last time, see their children and grandchildren. I think I need that closure to be able to focus on learning about these other abilities I have."
She looked at Loki hopefully, lowering her chin and looking at him through her eyelashes unconsciously.
Loki didn't hesitate. It almost seemed as if he had been expecting the request. He only nodded once, a slight look of understanding in his eyes. "Tell the girl outside the last information you knew about them, she is resourceful and should be able to find them for you."