A man with a suitcase walked down in alley. He was a short stubby man, who represented someone who had long lost a muscular build once retained. He wore a very dark purple suit and combed down what remained of his hair. His name was Bill Traughber, a hard working citizen, who was ready to start a business he had been dreaming of since day one. In his suitcase, was money he had saved up for years. He finally had enough to pay back the mob, a path he hated to have to travelled down in the first place. It wouldn't matter. After this it'd be over. He could start from scratch, no mobsters hounding after him every three seconds, no worrying if he can pay the bills on time. He'd open up a small quiet shop, and let his worries drift into the ocean.
He arrived at the place, more nervous than usual. This was the big moment. He knocked on the rusted steel door, looked up and waved at the camera, heard a click, then entered the building.
He walked down the lengthy corridor, which was always freezing, then was greeted by a "bouncer". His name was Marty, and he wasn't friends with Bill per se, but they were on pretty good terms. They shook hands,
"Last time I'll be seein' ya', Bill?" Marty grinned.
"Dang, I hope so. Got the cash right here, hopefully everything will get sorted out." Bill said.
"Glad to hear it. If so, then it's been an honor opening a door for you."
They shook hands again, and Marty opened the door. He walked down into Del Vardo's office. The man owned the city, and anything and everything got to his ears first. He yawned and stretched.
"Bill! How ya' doin'?" Vardo happily exclaimed.
"Uh, I'm doing good, Sir, thank you." Bill shyly said, averting his gaze. "I've, uh, I've got the payment."
"Great! Great," Vardo said, standing up. "Although, some...terms have been changed."
"W-What?"
"Calm down, Bill, it ain't nothin' big. All I need is 100 more dollars by the end of tonight.Stolen from someone. Anyone."
What? Bill knew was this was about. Vardo didn't care about the money. He just wanted Bill to steal. Bill hadn't ever used malicious ways to get his money. He didn't smoke, he didn't drink, he just ended up in the wrong crowd.
"Your face tells me you know what I really want," Vardo said. "Yes, I always envied you, Bill. The high life right in front of you, and you never took it. You will do this, and as a sign of my gratitude, I'll pay any and all expenses for your business until your death, my solemn promise."
Bill couldn't deny an offer like this. He waited forever for a moment like this. He had to.
Vardo seemed to have read Bill's mind.
"It's not like I was asking," Vardo said, as one of his men handed Bill a ski mask and a pistol.
As Bill started to leave, Vardo spoke one more time: "Oh, and no witnesses, of course."
Bill mad his way throughout the town, hoping to come across someone, anyone. Hopefully a 40-year-old criminal drug addict with no family. But time was running out and, Unfortunately…
Simultaneously, Lincoln, Rita, and Lynn Sr. were leaving a Cinema. They had just finished watching an R rated horror movie. Rita and Lynn had agreed to let Lincoln complete his bucket, as they felt bad for how horribly he was treated. They admitted they were quite negligent towards him and wanted to make it up. One of his items on his bucket list was to see an R rated horror movie at night. Now Lincoln actually had stuff to brag about.
The theater was close to their house, so they decided to walk to the movies. As they walked down, a man emerge from the shadows. He seemed to have hesitated, then he advanced.
"Empty your pockets. Now," the man said.
"O-Ok," Lynn Sr. said, stepping in front of Rita and Lincoln. "Just don't hurt my family."
Lynn emptied all he had in to the masked bandit.
"Thanks," the man said.
He aimed the gun at Lynn's head, and fired, killing Lynn instantly. Rita screamed and cowered in fear. Lincoln still remembers it crystal clear.
"LINCOLN, RUN!" She yelled.
Lincoln sprinted down the alleyway as fast as he could, tears obscuring his vision. He heard a bullet whizz through the air, and ran fast.
Rita had tangled with the life robber, to give a window for Lincoln to escape through. She was eventually overpowered and executed.
Bill started to go after the kid, but police sirens burned through the chilling air.
"Damn it!" Bill said.
Screw it. Bill ran off in the opposite direction, disappearing into the night.
Twelve Years Later…
"Lincoln Loud? Ms. Madelyn is ready for you."
Lincoln entered Ms. Maddie's room he had last visited over six years ago.
Ms. Maddie was Lincoln's therapist for as long as he could remember. She was kind, thoughtful laid back, and cheap.
She was quite old, almost 60, but had a body of a thirty-year-old. Her hair was as white as a bunny and went down to her shoulders. Her voice was extremely strong and steady, twelve years of teaching English had its perks she said, and she was quite active, constantly participating in marathons. Lincoln wasn't sure if this held up today, but hoped it did, he could brag about it more to Bill.
Her room was exactly the same, too. A brown mahogany desk centerfold, with an extremely outdated white Macintosh lying to the side of it. A loud keyboard the clanked and clacked whenever she pressed a key. An extremely messy bookshelf behind her worn out swivel chair, which she currently sat in. She had pictures of this one movie plastered all over her walls, because her grand niece was an extra in one scene.
"Lincoln!" Maddie joyfully exclaimed. She rushed over to him and destroyed his spine in a bone crushing maneuver that would make Bane scared. "How are youuuuu? It's been so long since we've last talked. What's going on?"
"Ack! H-hey Maddie. I'm, uh, I'm not doing so hot right now, you know, that's why I'm here. It's good seeing you, though."
"Y-yeah. Sorry, I just got a bit excited," She said in a professional tone. "Looking at what the psychiatrist sent me…" CLANK CLANK CLACK. "...how is Vikki doing?"
"She's fine, I guess. We, uh, broke up," Lincoln said.
"Oh, sorry to hear that...ok, here we go. Your PTSD seems to be...reactivated, I would say, from what I would assume is the tour you took in Iran. Thank you for your service, young man."
"Uh-you're welcome…"
"You have also been diagnosed with Anxiety, which seems to be pretty severe. Well...let's, uh, catch up first. How have things been going career wise?"
"It's been going well. I work at this place called TaBee's owned by some guy named Bill Traughber. He's pretty cool. The place doesn't get that much traffic, so we usually just hang around and talk."
"Co-workers?"
"We-uh-don't have any. It's a really small business, so it's just us two," Lincoln said.
"Really?" Maddie said with amusement and curiosity filling her voice. "How friendly are you with Bill?"
"Man...uh, I mean, he's like family to me. When I got back here, about two years ago, I came here, looking for work. I really didn't have anywhere else to go, you know?"
"Why was that? You've lived in Michigan all your life. Were you pressured about going somewhere new?"
"N-no…" Lincoln said. "It was-I kinda felt like I had to be there. You know, Lucy seemed to get even worse on her own...and Lily couldn't take care of herself, Lola and Lana aren't even out of school…"
"Well, who was watching them when you were gone? Overseas?"
"Lori was watching them but, I felt bad for her. She had plans. A future. And she got stuck caring for my family. I just wanted to help. Or something. I don't know why I'm here."
"Lincoln, Lori chose to do it, she took responsibility. She wasn't forced into it. She-"
"No, Maddie. She was the only one who could take of us. Then she moved away, I joined the Army, and she came back."
"Last time we talked you had said that Luna was living with you-" Maddie begin.
Lincoln snorted.
"Luna keeps her nose bled, she doesn't get anything done. She doesn't even need to live with us. She's rich, but lonely, I guess, and I'm supposed to feel bad for her, but I don't. She doesn't understand she's just making things worse. I joined the army to make that stuff better, you know?"
"I understand. While, we're on the topic of family, how's Leni?"
Lincoln sighed.
"She's, uh, fine, I guess. I guess her looks paid off…"
"And Luan?"
"I...don't wanna talk about Luan right now…"
"Is she still..?"
"Yeah…"
"How's Lynn?"
"Jr?"
"Uh...yeah."
"She's fine. Haven't talked to her in a few months. I think she's a coach at a school or something."
"And how are you? Truly?"
"Eh. I've done a lot of bad things. Hurt a lot of people. Not doing so good."
"Do you blame yourself for…your parents' death?"
"No, I'm more reasonable than that. I understand that they would've died no matter what, and I should've died. But I'm here for some reason."
"Lincoln-"
"I can't help but feel like I'm not doing anything. That what I do doesn't make a difference."
"Well, what do you do?"
"...Crap. You know what? This was a bad idea, Maddie. I-I shouldn't have come here. This was dumb. I don't know why I'd get better. As if words would matter. I'm past that-"
"Lincoln, you need someone to talk. Obviously something is seriously disturbing you. I'm your friend. I can help you, Lincoln...nevermind. It's fine, Lincoln, you have a lot on your mind. I won't pressure you. Take your time. Please come back to me when you're ready."
"...Ok."
Later…
Lincoln was approaching TaBee's, slowly, lost in thought. His hair was grown out and shaggy, and was somehow whiter than it was before. He was too lazy to cover it up, so he threw a white beanie over it. He wore a gray tank top, topped with a t-shirt, topped with a blue dress shirt, covered with a purple vest, then finally a buttoned up black coat. He wore smooth dress pants, with high socks and casual shoes. For some odd reason Lincoln could never explain, he was always cold, so he always wore layers. To be fair, it was late fall, but it's not like he'd ever lessen the weight.
He opened the door to TaBee's and entered. The place was stocked with comic books, games, TVs, just about anything one could imagine. Just think "Cheap Last Minute Christmas Shopping."
"Afternoon, Bill," Lincoln said.
"Hey," Bill said. "Didn't think you'd be comin' in today."
"I didn't either," Lincoln said, as he sighed and took off his beanie.
An unfortunate irony. Lincoln was working for the person who killed his parents. Both were unaware of each others origin; Lincoln, as the assailant was wearing a mask covering his identity, Bill as he couldn't see the kid in the pitch black night, and Lincoln's a pretty common name. Bill had left the city after the job was done, and moved back about five years later. When Lincoln had come by, he just seemed like a cool guy who had life figured out.
In a way, Bill was Lincoln's mentor, being one of the few people who knew about Ace Savvy's true identity. A secret Lincoln may have slipped on accident, (remind him to stay away from alcohol). Nonetheless, Bill was family to Lincoln and he kept his secret. Lincoln never told Bill his motivation for become a vigilante, (crime-fighter sounded to immature) as he didn't like diving into his parents' death. Not because it was a painful time for him, but because it reminds him of the fall of the people around the end of his family's innocence. A time that had shaped the young man he was today.
Bill, well Bill was an older, wiser guy, and had seen his fair share of the world. His innocence was stripped much further down the line, though, and he sometimes felt he couldn't relate to Lincoln. Lincoln had never talked about his family, or any of his personal life, other than his ex-girlfriend Vikki, who he would rant on hours about.
"Hey Bill?" Lincoln said. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"
"As a crime-f-vigilante?" Bill asked.
"Yea."
"No. The right thing would be to report crimes to the police and place the assailant under citizen arrest. You, beat them to a pulp. In a way, you are a criminal."
Lincoln loved Bill. Always straight to the point. Didn't matter if it hurt your feelings, he wasn't going to sugarcoat anything. After releasing himself from Vardo's claws, he had little care when it came to sucking up to people.
"Yeah, I know," Lincoln said. "I do wish things were different. Maybe I could just put the mask away...but then there'd be no point. Of living in way. Wandering as a mindless drone without answers. 'Why this' and 'Why that', and they'd say it's to keep order, or so the bad people don't get away with hurting people. Then: chaos erupts and there's no more good people left, so the people always get away with hurting people."
"Jesus, Socrates, anything else you want to question? My tie?"
"Should've went with turquoise instead of green," Lincoln said.
"Oh, screw off," Bill retorted.
Lincoln grinned to himself. This life wasn't so bad. At least, here, it wasn't. That's why he loved being Ace Savvy. He wasn't a nervous wreck, that was uncomfortable with any that wasn't his close friend or family member (some excluded). He was a savage, a violent vicious smart mouth who'd embarrass the cops. It's not life the cops were doing their jobs. Lincoln scowled to himself.
Del Vardo, somehow still alive, ruled this city with an iron fist. Corrupt cops everywhere, who'd turn a blind eye to the drug deals, rape, and even murder. The city was going to hell. Anyone running for mayor with a chance of fixing the city would either cancel their campaign and move out the city, or disappear. So when Ace Savvy first appeared, about a year ago, Vardo was surprised and entertained. Then that surprise turned into worry, then that worry turned into anger. And now Ace Savvy's "the most dangerous man Michigan has ever faced." Not all cops were corrupt, though, and some were on Ace's side, help he could always take.
"Are you going to be patrolling, tonight?" Bill asked, changing the subject.
"Probably. I'll ring in L and see if she has anything."
L was Lisa Loud, one of the only siblings to have kept her sanity after the end of Rita and Lynn Sr, aside from...well, Lily. Lisa was also the only sibling who knew about Lincoln's alter ego, as well as the only sibling Lincoln knew he could trust with a secret so grand. She kept her eyes and ears on headsets for big events, police reports, and any other potentially malicious spectacles that might've occurred. She was trustworthy and responsible, and Lincoln respected her.
"When are you gonna set me up this chick? She'd be all over me if we met."
"Yeah, and I'm the Pope."
Lincoln never told Bill L was related to him in any way, and just thought her a trusted friend. Just then, L called.
"Well speak of the devil," Lincoln said.
"Isn't that like, a sin?" Bill asked, as Lincoln picked up.
"Hey. What do you got?"
"It looks like a big event is happening by the Meridian Docks around 10," L said. She used a voice modifier, not to keep her privacy from Lincoln, but from the "evil ears of the corporation" as she called. "Vardo's guys are going to be making an exchange with Colombian drug lord Francisco Blanco's men."
"What can you tell me about Francisco?" Lincoln asked.
"The Blanco part in his name refers to his main commodity: and Blanco seem to have a poor history with each other, one of Vardo's men was murder and he called foul at Blanco. Fought it out, and eventually made up. I'm sure either of them are planning a double cross, so they're probably loaded with guns," L said.
"Alright, thanks."
"...Yeah."
L hung up as Lincoln sighed.
"Gotta go out?" Bill asked.
"Yep," Lincoln said. "This is probably going to be a long one."
"'Ey, take as much time as you need, ain't anyone comin'' through here," Bill said. "Just...try not to die, ok?
"I'll see what I can do," Lincoln said.
Night...
A man was perched on the ledge of a nearby building, glancing down at the Meridian Docks. He wore a mask that cover his entire face, excluding his mouth and nostrils, that was black with red highlights. He wore a dark red cape lined with velvet. The clip for his cape connected at his front, and had a black spade on it. He wore black and red flexible armor, that was stab-resistant, but not bullet proof, as the material used for it had to be light enough for flexible movement. He wore long arm protectors, that were extremely lightweight, and was used to parry and block melee attacks. He had a belt, Colored black with red at the center. Finally, he wore tight red athletic jeans, and black boots. An outfit that went through several changes in the past, Lincoln was sure he'd stick with this one.
Ace Savvy surveyed the Meridian Docks, gaining an idea of the area. How many guards were there? How many of them were armed? How many of them were on patrol? Were they sitting or standing? Did they seem distracted, or were they on eggshells? Once he got all the information he needed, he formulated a plan. He scratched the idea, he didn't have enough time. As of now, Blanco's men were nowhere to be seen. A clump of Vardo's men, assumed to be elitists, were closest to the docking bay. They were unarmed, assumingly to seem more friendly, but Ace scanned around and spotted snipers covering them. He assumed they also had bulletproof vest, just in case things got ugly. Go time.
He glided down from the building, and onto a ledge, where several guards were spread across. This was the highest part of all the dock, so taking these guys out would give him a huge advantage. He waited around in silence, then, hearing no one, hoped over the ledge. He stealthy crawled over to a corner of the inner structure on the building. He snuck a glance over and noticed a guard, having a smoke. He was next to his metal fold-out chair and his rifle was placed next to him, sitting near his feet. This made Ace's job easier, but he still he to be discreet, the roof he was on was quite tiny. Any loud noises could definitely be heard. Ace slowly closed in on the henchman. The henchman felt a presence, turned around and felt hands wrung around his neck. He was gasping for air, so Ace choked him harder. As he started to lose consciousness, Lincoln slammed his head into his chair, knocking him out.
He quickly moved, usually crawling on all fours as he did. It was the quickest method of moving stealthily that didn't hurt his calves. Weak, sure, but in reality, he needed to conserve his energy. He approached his next target, a patrolling sniper. He slid under him, knocking him over, causing the henchman to yelp. Ace quickly grabbed his sniper rifle and slammed it into his face, busting his nose and knocking him out. As he prevailed forth, Ace heard footsteps coming up the metal stairs, and hid around the corner closest to the stairs. Ace was eager to make an arrangement with the henchmen's face and stone pavement, and did such as the henchmen turned the corner.
He easily made quick handiwork of two nearby henchmen, one with a shortage of oxygen, and one with a convenient table. Made out of metal, of course. He followed a moral code, and wouldn't kill anybody if he couldn't help it. And situations had to be drastic. He had never taken a bullet before, but was almost blown up, saving a cat. Long story.
He didn't choose not to kill because he would be as bad as the criminals or something ludicrous like so, he just didn't want to have the guilt of killing on his hands. At least, not again.
Maybe he needed someone to talk to. He did already properly expositise to Maddie, maybe he could go back. He'd have to apologize for ditching, something he wasn't really good at. Well, he was, then, he wasn't. Times change.
He was presently standing on the ledge of the balcony, glancing around. Snipers and other armed guards were taken down to great avail. He just had to focus on the elitists, who were unarmed.
As he was grinning to himself for coming up with such an amazing plan, an elite, bored and out of things to do on his phone, glanced at the scenery around him. He wasn't exactly ecstatic when he saw a figure in red glistening in the moonlight staring down at him.
As he yelled and alerted the elitists, Ace took his chance, pouncing on the alerting henchman as he glode off the building.
He then proceeded to knock out and or incapacitate the remaining elites, a task that wasn't simple. Well, all except one. A huge, gigantic, large, and so-on man hovered over Ace. He cracked his knuckles and wore a menacing grin. Ace gulped, or at least, on the inside he did.
"Let's see what you got, little man," Was all the brute had to say.
"You talk big for someone who's about to get destroyed," Ace said. Not a particularly clever line, but he wasn't exactly a genius when it came to making up stuff on the spot.
The man was unfortunately charging Ace mid sentence, and didn't give Ace enough reacting time. The brute got him in an arms lock and slammed him on the ground. Ace quickly rolled off the ground in a rolling backflip. On his feet but dazed, he punched at the man, missed, punch again and socked him in the side of the head. As Ace went for a third punch, the man grabbed his arm and kneed him in the stomach. He flipped Ace on his back and was going to release a devastating stomp if Ace hadn't caught his foot last second. He threw it upwards, and the brute lost his balance and fell over. Ace was on his feet again, and climbed on top of the downed brute and began beating him about the face. The brute, whose face was now battered with blood and caked with sweat, released a devastating blow to Ace's jaw, most likely fracturing it. Ace fell over on his hands, spitting out the blood pooling in his mouth. The brute took this to his advantage, and kicked Ace in the stomach. He was weakened though, so luckily, Ace barely felt the attack that would've broken his ribs if the brute was at full strength. Ace tried grabbing the man by the sides, a tactic that failed due to the man's size. The brute countered, and with what strength he had left, wrung his hands around Ace's neck.
Ace quickly reached to his gadget belt, whipped out a small canister, and sprayed it in the man's eyes. He release Ace and fell over in pain.
"AHH! W-What the hell?!" He winced.
"Why didn't I use that in the first place along, with many of the other gadgets I had?" Ace wheezed. "I actually didn't think you'd be a challenge. I guess my ego got that best of me."
Ace was quick, and roped up the brute.
"I would call the cops, but you know how they are," Ace said. "But seriously, stay out of my damn town."
After he made a few arrangements, Ace was gone.
Blanco's men were met with quite the gift. A bunch of knocked out men, a barely conscious large man tied up, with an Ace of Spades card tied to his forehead.
.
.
.
Lincoln entered Lori's house quite late the night, and had never been more exhausted in his life. He was ready to plop on the couch of the small livingroom, but unfortunately, that spot was claimed by a snoring Luna. Lincoln scowled to himself, shook his head, and went to the bathroom. He tossed his backpack aside, which safely contained his outfit, and glanced at himself in the mirror. He was tattered pretty badly, some blood drooling from his mouth. His hair was messy and dirty, his arms were sore, and he had a black eye, which he wasn't even sure how he received.
Lori would probably barrage him with questions about it in the morning if she'd even be there, to which Lincoln would deny or act like he got in a bar fight or something. After quickly freshening up, he turned off the light and left the bathroom.
As he walked down the hall to his room he quickly glanced in Lily's room. She was sound asleep. Lincoln smiled to himself, softly closed the door, and made his way back to his room, strolling along dreamily.