CHAPTER 17: CHECKING OUT
Amélie Beaury-Saurel was a French painter known for her use of portraiture, a style of painting meant to give a presentation of a person in which their face and expression are dominant in the view. Born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1849 and living in both Spain and Corsica, she eventually settled in France, enrolling in the Academie Julian and paying for her classes by performing maintenance duties like managing finances and carrying out administrative duties.
Taking tutelage from artists such as Jules Joseph Lefebvre, Jean-Paul Laurens, and Tony Robert-Fleury, her skills were finely tuned, becoming extremely popular with her style of painting. She went on to marry Rodolphe Julian in 1885, increasing her publications, going on to appear in the Salon de Paris. She would use much of her income to provide for her mother and sister, tending to their necessities.
She eventually died on May 30th, 1924, continuing to reside in Paris. Some of her works include portraits of Jean-Paul Laurens, Léonce Bénédite, and a piece known as Dans le bleu. She was awarded a Third Medal in the Salon de Paris and a Bronze Medal in the World's Fair of 1889.
Now, as informative as you may find the preceding words, you may be asking 'That's pretty interesting, but what does all that have to do with the story'?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just wanted to take this time to remind you that you could be doing more constructive things with your time rather than read this crap I write.
Seriously, you've been reading at least 100,000 words of this bullshit. Don't you have anything better to do with your time? You could have easily learned a new skill or language in the time and concentration you've put into this.
If you're still here after that, then you're obviously not going to do any of that and you're still going to keep reading anyways. Fine, then, here's the next chapter, or, whatever.
Before today, Lincoln Loud thought he had a perfect hold on the prospect of being a superhero; having a complete control on all coming with the field of protecting innocents from eccentric costumed supervillains.
Before today, Lincoln Loud thought the prospect of fighting these villains was easy; all the opposition coming in the form of fools in silly costumes, having no true powers or ability to hold themselves in a fight.
Before today, Lincoln Loud was Ace Savvy. Now, Lincoln Loud is a patient in Royal Woods General, being treated for a head injury. While his injuries were only minor, they had ultimately resulted in his placement in the hospital, an endangerment to his secret identity.
Fortunately, he had managed to dispose of his super-suit before being picked up by first responders, but there still remained the prospect of any doctors finding his physiological changes, leaving many loose ends. More fortunately, however, Lincoln opened his eyes to find the main doctor working on him, a familiar face that would have no trouble keeping such secrets.
"Greetingsh, Lincoln. Good to shee my effortsh prevented your death. Were it not for me, you would have shurely perished." Lisa said.
"What? I really would have died from that hit?" Lincoln asked.
"No, I jusht wanted to feel ash though I had claimed a victory. Beshidesh, it sheemsh though my effortsh were not needed at all; your shkull abshorbed most of the blow and your brain joshtled only enough to knock you out."
"Oh, great. But... why are you here? And how did you work on me?"
"Shimple. I've done enough maintenanshce work on the hoshpital'sh equipment, performed a few brain shurgeriesh here and there, the worksh. After all, I got half my medishcine doctoratesh before I worked my way out of diapersh."
"Oh, cool."
"According to the firsht reshpondersh, you were found naked. Exshactly how did that happen?"
"I had to ditch the suit. If they took it off while I was in the ambulance, they would've found out who I was."
"I shee. Good thinking on your part. While I'm not too fond of you abandoning high-tech equipment willy-nilly, I have many more modelsh I can provide you with."
"And I can get the old suit back, I remember where I stashed it."
"All the better. Now, do you think you are at a reashonable shtate where you won't be overwhelmed by othersh?"
"Uh, no, why do you ask?"
"Well, you're in the hospital, what to you think the resht of the family unit ish bound to do?"
"Oh, right. Well, what am I going to tell them about what happened?"
"Jusht tell them you were with Lola, that'sh what happened for the mosht part before she passhed out, you should be fine."
"Oh, crap, I forgot about Lola! Is she alright?"
"Yesh, unfortunately, she ish jusht fine."
"Good, good, I- Wait, what do you mean 'unfortunately'?"
"I owe her a rather large shum of money, it would have been more convenient had she perished in the fight you had with thish Nailbomb character."
"You know, I hate to swear without a censor, but, you're a real piece of shit, Lisa, you know that?"
"Yesh, well, shciopathy ish the prishce we pay for progresshing ourshelvesh ash a shpeciesh. In any cashe, I shuggesht you put on a happy fashce for the family unit, becaushe, if you're phshyiologically shound, then I have no more meansh of keeping them out."
Heading to the front door of Lincoln's hospital room, Lisa opened the door to be bombarded with a heavy load of questions from their family, all insistent on entering the room.
"Is Lincoln okay?! Can we see him now?!" Lynn asked.
"Is he dying? I need to perform some Sumerian burial rites." Lucy said.
"Is Lincoln better now? We can't wait out here any longer!" Lana said.
"C'mon, Lisa, I've been waiting a long time for this moment to come!" Luna said.
"Calm yourshelvesh, shiblingsh, Lincoln ish perfectly fine, he barely required any of my medical shkillsh. You may come vishit him now, but pleashe have shome courteshy for hish pershonal shpashce." Lisa said.
As soon as Lisa opened the front door to the hospital room, the entire Loud family rushed its way to the bed, tending to the one and only boy of the family to ensure he was alright. Just as Lisa had told them, Lincoln was perfectly fine; his stay in the hospital only being a formality at this point.
Out of all the members of the Loud family, none were more concerned than the parents: Lynn Sr. and Rita Loud. Just as they cared for the other 10 of their children, Lincoln was no different in treatment, leaving him to be nearly smothered with affection after the events that unfolded.
"Oh, Lincoln, honey, are you okay?" Rita asked.
"I'm fine, Mom, really, nothing happened. I just sort of... blanked out." Lincoln said.
"'Nothing happened'? Lincoln, the paramedics found you naked, what was up with that?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Oh... My, uh... My clothes got burned off from one of his bombs. They caught on fire, and I had to toss them off to keep myself from getting burned."
"But, all the way naked? Lincoln, honey, that supervillain, he didn't..."
"Didn't what?"
"He didn't... Uh... Kids, could you cover your ears for a second?"
As requested by their mother, all the Loud sisters covered their ears from their mother's question, even the eldest ones well aware of the question.
"That supervillain, he didn't... touch you, did he?" Rita asked.
"Uh... Well, I mean, he knocked me into the desk, so, I guess so." Lincoln said.
"No, honey, not that, I mean, did he... You know... touch you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, when Dad was telling you about certain... things when growing up?"
"Uh... What does that have to do with this?"
"Lincoln, did- ...Lynn, honey, could you ask him what I'm trying to ask him?"
"Lincoln, son, did that supervillain guy... touch your... swimsuit area?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"What?! No! What kind of a question is that?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, son, there are some very... bad people out there that would do things like that, and we just wanted to make sure that he didn't hurt you."
"No, Dad, nobody touched me there. Except- Uh, no, never mind."
"Except what? Lincoln? Honey, what are you not telling us?" Rita asked.
"I mean, it wasn't a real person, it was... Let's just say it was a bad dream I had. Or two... Actually, it was three."
Not aware of these 'dreams' being the writer's sick and twisted games to force Lincoln into following the story while under the guise of satirizing pornographic fan works, Lynn Sr. and Rita, being parents of a boy soon to enter adulthood, mistook his answer as something completely different than what it really was. As a result, Lincoln will soon to suffer for blurting this out, and I guarantee you'll have a good laugh out of it.
"Oh... my... Uh, Lincoln, well... It's definitely very... normal that you're having dreams like that... but there's a lot to go over on that, so, we'll talk about this at home later, okay?" Rita asked.
"Well, I wouldn't call what I had 'normal', but, okay." Lincoln said.
As the door opened once again, yet another individual made his approach in the room; another doctor from the hospital checking in on Lincoln Loud in his bed. Having a few more confirmations to make, the doctor made his way to Lisa for answers to his questions.
"Lisa." The doctor greeted.
"Dr. Romero. How are the wife and kidsh?" Lisa asked.
"Doing great, and thanks again for tutoring them last week. You know they each skipped a grade?"
"Nothing I haven't managed before. You jusht gotta know how to whip 'em into learning shape."
"Right. So, I take it your brother's all good here?"
"Yesh. I've given him a full inshpection, and he sheemsh to be all well. I'll have him out of your way shortly."
"Alright, great. Happy to hear he's well."
Before Dr. Romero could make his way out of the room, Leni stopped the medical practitioner, preparing herself to make a very damning request; one that would affect Lincoln and the rest of the Loud family forever. Of course, being Leni, she hadn't realized the full situation, and therefore ended up sounding like a dumb bitch as usual.
"Doctor, I'm so glad you're here. Now, this is a very hard decision for me and for all of us, but we've made up our minds. We want you to pull the plug." Leni said.
"Wh-What? What plug?" Dr. Romero asked.
"You know, pull the plug so... so he'll go in peace."
"Ms. Loud, your brother's not dying. He just had a head impact, it's not like he got a brain tumor."
"Oh, don't give me hope like that! Just pull the plug already! Can't you see he's suffered enough?!"
"Suffered-? Lady, look at him, he's fine."
"No, I can't stand to see him like this! Fine, if you won't pull the plug, I'll do it myself!"
Leni rushed to the plug of the vital signs monitor, ripping it from the wall socket. As a result, the meter read a flatline, emitting the tone that followed it. Thinking that her brother was dead, Leni threw herself over his body, sobbing over Lincoln as he looked back in confusion and completely stunned from her reaction.
Dr. Romero, not used to the insanity that existed in the Loud family, looked to Lisa for answers, hoping she could make sense of this nonsense.
"Jusht wait 5 minutesh into her epishode, then tell her that Reininger'sh ish having a shale. That ushually worksh." Lisa said.
A while later, after Lincoln was checked out of the hospital, the family made their way back to the Loud House, all trying to move past the events that Lincoln and Lola had went through. Although Lincoln and Lola were both fully healed from their small bruises and hits, there was still one loose end from the bank to be tied up; one that Lincoln was not looking forward to answering to.
"Hey, I got a call from Lori earlier saying that I called her and asked for Ronnie Anne. According to my call history, it looks like I called her around the time before that supervillain guy blew up the bank. I don't suppose you remember what I was calling about?" Lola asked.
"What? Uh, you mean, you don't remember?" Lincoln asked.
"No. I guess getting hit in the head made me forget."
"Oh. Well, uh, sorry, I don't remember, either."
"Huh. Well, in any case, when I told Lori and everybody what happened, they were all really bent out of shape and wanted to make sure we were okay. Ronnie Anne especially wanted to talk to you, saying she wanted to face-time you this afternoon."
"Oh... Uh... really?"
"Yeah. You don't look too happy about that, Lincoln. Is there something you're not telling me?"
Remembering the last time this conversation was held, Lincoln decided to nip the problem in the bud, not having a repeat of unpleasant events that would have surely caused more trouble.
"Uh, no, no, I just, uh... I mean, I was found without all my clothes, I'm just scared she won't let me live that down." Lincoln said.
"Oh, ha-ha, yeah, I can see her totally making fun of you for that. Ah, a sign of true love: Being able to laugh at your most vulnerable moments together."
"Lola-"
"Of course, if my boyfriend ever did that to me, I'd gut him like a fish and feed him to Lana's reptiles. But, I digress. I've got a lot of work to do to fix this beautiful face from the damage that dastardly supervillain did, and you've got a girlfriend to talk to."
As Lola left the room to apply new makeup on her face, Lincoln was left with an unpleasant task on his hands. Like most of his usual problems, Lincoln finds some consolation in his issues by talking to you, the reader/viewer, to find some guidance by having listening ear.
"Ronnie Anne this, Ronnie Anne that. Can't a guy just live his own life without be matchmade with somebody else? I mean, Ronnie Anne is pretty fun sometimes, and she's one of the few people who understands what it's like to have a big family... and she's most likely about to become my in-law once Lori and Bobby are inevitably married... Wait, if Lori and Bobby were married, and they tried to put me and her together after that, isn't that technically incest?" Lincoln asked.
"No. There's no blood relation." Lucy said.
Just like in her usual fashion, Lucy made a sudden and unpredictable appearance behind Lincoln, scaring him with her quiet, raspy voice being spoken behind his back.
"Oh, sorry, Lincoln, is this one of those moments where you talk to the audience?" Lucy asked.
"Uh... Yeah, how'd you know they're there?" Lincoln asked.
"I commune with spirits on a daily basis. Breaking the 4th wall is child's play. So, you're trying to stay away from Ronnie Anne now?"
"Well... No... I mean..."
"I've noticed you've been hanging out with Stella more often. You're not cheating on Ronnie Anne, are you?"
"Not you, too? Look, I said it before, I'll say it again, Ronnie Anne and I were not a thing."
"Then explain this."
Lucy showed her cell phone to Lincoln, showing the picture of him and Ronnie Anne kissing at Jean Juan's, just as Lola had.
"What?! How many of you guys have that picture?!" Lincoln asked.
"We all have a copy. Mom and Dad also have it in your baby book labelled as your 'first kiss'." Lucy said.
"In my baby book?! Why would it be there?"
"It was Dad's idea, he's the one partial to that kind of stuff. So, how goes the superhero business?"
"The what?! I don't know what your talking about!"
"I know you changed yourself in the particle accelerator and started fighting crime. I watched all your conversations with Lisa in the vents, and I recognized you in costume at Dairyland. Sorry you had to suffer Leni kissing you like that."
"Thanks for bringing that up again, I thought I had just repressed that in full."
"Sorry. If it makes you feel better, you and her seemed to be the second most paired on Paheal behind Lynn."
"What?"
"Nothing. In any case, why are you avoiding Ronnie Anne for Stella? Don't you like her anymore?"
"Why do you care, all of a sudden? Don't you have some rituals to perform?"
"Later. I plan to visit Great-Grandma Harriet and find out how to let me be a vessel for her spirit. Speaking of which, she was also starting to get curious about you two, saying she noticed you lying to Ronnie Anne to hang out with Stella, saying that you were helping Aunt Ruth."
"What-?! How did you- Oh, right, you just heard it from the vents."
"Great-Grandma Harriet also told me you got a kiss on the cheek from Stella after you fought the Formulaic Four. A step down considering you went lips-to-lips with Ronnie Anne."
"Wha-?! You weren't there, how could you know that?! Or... were you there?"
"Like I said, Great-Grandma Harriet was watching you."
"Forget it! Can't you guys just let me live my life how I like it? I don't criticize you for being in love with a fictional vampire."
"That hurts, Lincoln. That really hurts. Tell me more."
"I don't think so. If you'll excuse me, I have some superhero business to attend to."
"Fine, just don't die on me. If you do, I get dibs on your heart, liver, and foreskin."
"My- My what?! Why would you want those?!"
"I need them for a ritual to summon Pariah Dark from the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. He's promised to make me queen of the undead."
Not wanting to even reply to such a statement, Lincoln made his way back up the stairs, about to obtain his new suit to patrol the streets. Stepping inside Lisa's room, Lincoln requested one of the mentioned new suits, wanting to head out on patrol to avoid his troubles.
"Lisa, you said one of those suits were ready, right?" Lincoln asked.
"Yesh, were you planning on patrolling already?" Lisa asked.
"I was. So, you got one ready?"
"Don't you think you should shpeak with Ronnie Anne before you leave? From what Lori shared when we called her, Ronnie Anne wash very inshishtent that she shpoke to you. She sheemed awfully conshcerned."
"Well, call her and tell her I'm just fine. It was just a bonk on the head, after all."
"I told her that, but she shtill wished to shpeak to you."
"Please, Lisa, can we just forget about Ronnie Anne and get back to work? Need I remind you that, if there's at least one competent bad guy out there, there's bound to be more?"
"Maybe, but shince you aren't in exshactly the besht fighting shape right now, it may be wishe to shettle down and relaxsh."
"No way. I can't just sit around and let people think that Nailbomb beat me. If I just disappear like that, people are going to get the idea that I'm gone, and then they'll think the bad guys won."
"Hmm... You drive a good point. Very well, I have another shuit ready here. I shtill musht ashk you exshercizshe exshtreme caution."
"Don't worry, Lis, I will."
Lisa handed Lincoln a new Ace Savvy suit, which he immediately began changing into. As Lincoln began stripping to his underwear, he noticed Lisa still continuing to look at him, requesting some privacy for him to change.
"Uh, I'm changing, you want to turn around?" Lincoln asked.
"Lincoln, I'm well aware of what a naked body looksh like, eshpeshcially yoursh. Don't shtop on my behalf." Lisa said.
"Well, I can't change with you looking! Can you please turn around?!"
"Ugh... You shimple-minded humansh and your nudity taboosh. Fine."
At Lincoln's request, Lisa turned around, facing away from her brother to allow him to change in privacy. Putting the suit over his undergarments and placing his regular clothes atop, Lincoln proceeded to make his way out the door, ready to embark on another superhero patrol.
"I've still got my earpiece. Call me if you get any news of any crime or supervillains." Lincoln said.
"Will do, though I sthill maintain my recommendashtion that you shtay home and talk to Ronnie Anne."
"Well, I choose to ignore your recommendation and go out anyways. Like I said, call me if you get news."
As Lincoln made his way out of Lisa's room, the boy prepared to make his way out the front door and make his way on patrol, hoping to forget his troubles for a short while and keep the streets safe. Before making his way down the stairs, Lincoln found himself stopped before leaving by another one of his sisters, bringing up the topic of Ronnie Anne once again.
"Hey, brah, you got a second?" Luna asked.
"Oh, uh, hey, Luna, I'm kind of in hurry right now." Lincoln said.
"In a hurry? For where? You just got out of the hospital, dude."
"Uh... the arcade."
"You're in a hurry to get to the arcade?"
"I'm planning to meet with Clyde on working on the summer school project."
"Oh, okay. You need a ride?"
"No, thanks, I prefer to walk."
"Oh. Well, can I just talk to you for a second before you leave?"
"Sure, but I can't stay too long. I don't want to keep Clyde waiting."
"No, I won't keep you, Linc, I just want to ask about Ronnie Anne."
"You, too?! Does everybody want to talk to me about her?!"
"Well, look, dude, it's just that we know how much you really miss her ever since she moved away, and not being able to hang with her made it harder to catch up with her. I mean, I know it sucks, but you still talk to each other a lot, or, at least you used to. I heard she really wanted to talk to you after the hospital thing, but you never called her."
"I said I'm fine and you guys said I'm fine, what else is there to say?"
"I mean, she cares about you, dude. She probably just wanted to hear your voice to make sure."
"Whatever."
"And, look, I know you like spending time with Stella now, and she's a really nice girl, but all we're really saying about is that you should at least try to be friends with Ronnie Anne if you can't be a couple."
"It's nothing like that, Luna, please. I just..."
"Just what?"
"Forget it. I'm running late."
"Oh, sorry, dude. Well, then, I guess I'll see you at the concert next week?"
"Sure, yeah, yeah."
Dismissing his sister's concerns, Lincoln made his way out the front door, making his way not to Gus' Games and Grub as he claimed, but towards Flip's, hoping to meet with Clyde there. While trying to make his way to the gas station, however, Lincoln found himself accompanied by The Guy, appearing right alongside him as he walked down the streets.
"You've been awfully conflictive with your family, Lincoln. If I didn't know any better, I'd start to think that this was turning into some kind of sappy, sad fanfiction. That scene at the hospital was already starting to remind me of one of the popular ones." The Guy said.
"Oh, no, you again?! What did I do this time?!" Lincoln asked.
"Nothing. I just wanted to come check up on you. If the writer went through the trouble of creating me, the least he could do is actually use me. Just think of me as the Clown/Violator to your Spawn; showing up for some laughs and to keep you on track."
"Well, could you at least tell me what the whole idea is with this whole thing with Ronnie Anne being mentioned by all my sisters? Didn't you tell me that you'd let me be with Stella already?"
"I said you could enjoy your time with Stella now, but you'd still be with Ronnie Anne by the end. Why are you going out of your way to defy the writer's will and make things harder on yourself? You know you like Ronnie Anne, and you know Ronnie Anne likes you."
"As a matter of fact, being forced into a relationship with someone against my will isn't really helping me to get with Ronnie Anne, and, if I can still maintain some kind of freedom from you by keeping away from her, then that's what I'm gonna do."
"But you know and I know that's not the real reason you're staying away from her. Sure, you might be tempted to test the waters against me as much as you can, but, like I said, it's predetermined by the writer and the fans that you're gonna be with Ronnie Anne, so why fight?"
"I don't want to talk about it, okay?"
"Why not? Is it actual insecurity, or are you just delaying a big revelation to give a big dramatic scene later, giving more substance to the plot?"
"If you have an answer that specific, then you already know what the deal is, and I don't have to say it."
"You know, that's still not answering the question, and still delaying for the big drama scene."
"Will you just shut up and go away? Or, at least, can you just... I don't know, teleport me to Flip's?"
"And what makes you think I can teleport you?"
"Because you're an overpowered self-insert character, so of course you're going to have that."
"Of course I have that, but I can't just help you like that."
"Why not?"
"Ever read 'If You Give A Mouse A Cookie'? First, it's gonna be 'Can you teleport me here'? Then, it's gonna be 'Can you make this bad guy go away for me'? Then, it's gonna be 'Can you do the whole damn story for me'? Well, no, I can't do that. It's your story, that means you have to play it through. I'm just your Jiminy Cricket."
"Fine. Could you at least cut to a transition so it won't seem like a long walk?"
"That can be done."
One transition later, courtesy of the writer and The Guy, Lincoln made his arrival at Flip's, reaching the roof to find Clyde sitting on his beach chair, sipping on a Flippee. Seeing his best friend reach the top of the roof, Clyde's period of waiting finally came to an end, allowing him to embark on another adventure as One-Eyed Jack.
"Hey, Linc, took you long enough to get here. Ready for another patrol?" Clyde asked.
"Whenever you are, One-Eyed Jack. It's time to put our chips back in and see what we get today." Lincoln said.
"Great, but can we wait about 10 minutes first? Flip's about to toss out some fried chicken, and you know how crispy they get after sitting in the heater for so long."
"Ooh... Better make it 20 minutes, I'll need to charge up some energy for whatever we fight later."
Another transition later, following the consumption of overcooked chicken washed down with Flippees, Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack made their patrol of the streets, seeking out evil to defeat in the city and protect the innocent. Having nothing better to do but commune with one another during their patrol, Ace Savvy shares the details of his battle with Nailbomb with his sidekick, telling of his first defeat.
"Wow, so that guy knocked you out cold?" One-Eyed Jack asked.
"With my own explosive blast, no less. Of all the days you had to check out an antique sale." Ace Savvy said.
"Sorry, Ace. If it makes you feel any better, I found something really cool that you'll like."
"Out of an antique sale?"
"Yeah. Turns out this one person was selling a bunch of vintage Ace Savvy collectibles from the '60s, and they were suprisingly cheap considering the status and how much you've made Ace Savvy popular again."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. You know, there's a lot more Ace Savvy toys being made now, thanks to you, have you been getting in on some of that merchandise money?"
"I haven't."
"You should, man. If it wasn't for you, nobody would've cared about Ace Savvy. Now, people love Ace Savvy, especially you."
"Hey, Ace Savvy, you suck!" A bystander said.
The pair, not used to bystanders giving rude and mean remarks, both gave looks of confusion; having received their first remarks of criticism.
"Uh... Well, you know, there's always that one guy that ruins it for everybody. Look, here's some other people right here." One-Eyed Jack said.
Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack approached a pair of bystanders on the street, bidding the group their greetings.
"Afternoon, citizens, having a good day?" Ace Savvy asked.
"Oh, hey, you're like, those Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Snake guys, right?" One bystander asked.
"That's One-Eyed Jack, but, yes." One-Eyed Jack corrected.
"Yeah, didn't you, like, let that Nailbomb guy rob the bank?" Another bystander asked.
"Oh... Well... Uh... I tried to stop him, really, but he was really tough to beat." Ace Savvy said.
"I heard you opened the vault for him with one of your explosive cards." The first bystander said.
"That was an accident."
"Yeah, well, you know that guy made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars?" The second bystander asked.
"Uh, question time is over, thanks for you support, but we've really got to be on our way." One-Eyed Jack said.
One-Eyed Jack proceeded to bring Ace Savvy with him away from the bystanders, preventing him from being asked any more difficult questions. Despite being away from the hard questions, Ace Savvy was still left slightly uncertain in himself regarding his superhero status.
"Oh, man, Jack, those guys are right. I really screwed up with Nailbomb. The guy got away scot-free with all that money. How am I supposed to answer for that?" Ace Savvy asked.
"C'mon, Ace, don't focus so much on that. You tried your best, and you'll always have another shot at that guy when he comes back. Now, you sound like you could use a candy bar right about now. How about we stop at the supermarket and get some Reptar Bars?" One-Eyed Jack asked.
"But we just ate at Flip's."
"But he doesn't have Reptar Bars. This place does."
"Sure, I guess so."
The dynamic duo made their stop in Super Mart, preparing to obtain themselves some Reptar Bars to take their minds off the harsh criticisms of the bystanders they passed. Unfortunately, the pair found that Lincoln was not the only Loud in the store; as there were two more family members within doing their own shopping. Luan was seen near the baking supplies gathering items for banana cream pies, and Lana was seen in the auto parts and hardware department looking for the caurberator needed for Vanzilla.
"Crap! Not again!" Ace Savvy said.
"What?" One-Eyed Jack asked.
"My sisters are here. They could recognize me in the costume and expose my secret identity."
"Oh, man. Well, okay, no need to panic, the candy bars are right at the register, and it looks like they're both still shopping around. All we have to do is head to the registers, grab the candy, and cash out."
"Easy for you to say, but you don't know what's at stake. Forget the candy bars, we're leaving."
"I don't think so, Lincoln. If I have my eyes set on a Reptar Bar, then I'm gonna get one. Let's go."
Trying to keep themselves unnoticed by others as they made their way to the cash registers, a task not that easy for two costumed superheroes, Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack made their approach to the one of the cashiers, both selecting a Reptar Bar each. The cashier, like many others in America, gave no enthusiasm to the two clientele, handing them their candy bars and receipt with no care at all, not even for two costumed heroes.
Having obtained their candy bars, Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack prepared to make their way out of the store, munching on their candy bars to resume their patrol on the streets. Despite having an impossible task of being undetected by Luan and Lana, the pair achieved this goal quite well; getting ready to leave without any issue. Ace Savvy, having no confidence in this plan, found himself pleasantly surprised as to how well it worked.
"Well, I guess you were right, that was pretty easy after-" Ace Savvy began to say.
Before Ace Savvy could finish his sentence, a large expansion of ice made its way through the glass door entrance of the Super Mart, completely sealing it off from exit. The customers within, not knowing how to protect themselves from the strange threat that appeared in the store, all began running to the back of the store, seeking out safety there.
Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack, the ones most qualified to handle threats such as this one, readied their weapons and took the front lines against the mass of ice, awaiting whatever new threat could come from within. After a short period of waiting, the two heroes found the cause of this threat, watching a new supervillain make a tunnel through the block of ice and step through.
This new supervillain was a man dressed in a sleek blue and black sleeveless body suit, with his skin a pale very nearly . His hair was a very light blue, with his eye color matching in tone. Icicles also protruded from various parts of his body, and his fingernails seemed to resemble icicles as well.
"Sorry to put a freeze on your activities, shoppers, but I came here to fight Ace Savvy. Hope you don't mind if I put these two on ice." The supervillain said.
"Great. Just when I was hoping we'd avoid Luan's puns. And what's your name, ice guy?" Ace Savvy asked.
"Well, sir, my name is Icebreaker. I'm a friend of Nailbomb's, and he told me how easy you were to beat, so I wanted to see for myself just how easy. You up for a little fight?"