CHAPTER 20: ACE SAVVY 2.0
Before recently, Ace Savvy was a forgotten comic book character. Despite its top-notch writing by Bill Buck putting it high on the names of comic titles, expanding to numerous merchandise and media, it could not survive the Hillwood Effect; falling into yesteryear like every other popular superhero franchise. Its glory days were surely over, never to be seen again.
This all changed with the actions of a young, die-hard fan named Lincoln Loud. Having an undying love of the show instilled from him almost near birth, the young boy grew up to be one of the biggest fans of the character, especially in the days where he was no longer as popular as he once was. In this solitary love of Ace Savvy among his friends, Lincoln felt some degree of alienation; his friends choosing to indulge in other sorts of entertainment.
Having a summer school project to finish and a sense of misbelonging driving him to seek out desperate measures to his issues, Lincoln Loud sought to become the character himself. With Lincoln gaining abilities of energy absorption and redistribution, and a few successful supervillain fights under his belt, Ace Savvy was reimagined and reborn for the real world, with his fictional counterpart receiving a large boost in sales like never before.
The fictional Ace Savvy may be finding much success with his popularity, but the real-life Ace Savvy has found his success dwindling as of recent. A few successful fights with Z-list supervillains might have placed him highly in the eyes of many, especially being the first official superhero of Royal Woods, but this success has dropped steadily in the midst of facing off against more serious and capably supervillains, all who claimed to be part of a larger group.
As a result of one of said fights, clashing with a sound-oriented villain named Decibel, Ace Savvy had faced not only another defeat, but was left completely humbled before the villain, completely ruining his credibility and legitimacy as a hero. These problems may cloud the young mind of Lincoln Loud, but they are not the worst thing on his mind at this moment.
That is, as far as his mind can function at the moment can tell.
Laying in a soft surface that he could recognize as a bed, Lincoln's consciousness began returning to him, with his eyesight following suit. Having exposed his secret identity to yet another one of his sisters, Luna, Lincoln only hopes that his gamble had managed to save his life without resulting in his secret being revealed to the world.
"Hey, bro, you okay?" Luna asked.
Having his eyesight begin to clear in from the blurred mess that his conscious mind was receiving, Lincoln recognized the voice as Luna Loud, with his eyes telling him the same message. As his vision began to clear, however, Lincoln found that he was not alone with Luna; his numerous other sisters being present in the room.
Additionally, seeing the wall color and decorations of this small room, Lincoln recognized the room as his own, with the sense of the soft bed below him being his own bed. His mind, becoming more and more clear by the moment, managed to piece together that his sister had saved him, as he hoped. Unfortunately, the presence of his other sisters left him to ponder on how secret his life as Ace Savvy stayed.
"Luna... Did you..." Lincoln began to ask.
"I brought you back here after that supervillain guy nearly killed you. Don't worry about Sam and Chunk, they promised not to tell anybody." Luna said.
"But what about..."
"Everybody else? They, uh... Well, you guys wanna tell him?"
"Yeah, uh... I kind of... told Lola." Lana said.
"And I told Lynn." Lucy said.
"And Luna dealt me that information as well. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it?" Luan asked.
"Luan, this is not the time. Need I remind you he nearly died?"
"Oh, right, sorry. I should've guessed those cards were off the ta-"
Luna gave an angry stare towards her pun-loving sister, mentally signalling her to not finish her pun.
"Uh, sorry, force of habit." Luan said.
"What about Mom and Dad? And... and where's Leni?" Lincoln asked.
"We didn't tell them, dude. You think we're crazy enough to tell them?" Lynn asked.
"Yeah. I just told Mom and Dad you were just really tired after the concert." Luna said.
"And no one in their right mind would tell Leni anything meant to be a secret. I mean, I might have been a tattletale, but Leni is just loose-lipped; far worse." Lola said.
"Now, now, will you all pleashe shettle down? I have shtill have shome work to be done on our brother." Lisa said.
Lisa hopped on the bed, inspecting Lincoln carefully and writing down various notes on a clipboard. As Lisa continued to observe her brother, Lincoln began sitting up straight on his bed, finally fully coming to and recovering from his past battle.
"So, I take it Decibel got away scot-free?" Lincoln asked.
"Correct. Looking over your vital shtatsh, it sheemsh that you were on the verge of not doing the shame. Had you shuffered any more head injuriesh, and had Luna not brought you back here exshpediently, you jusht might have perished." Lisa said.
"Dangit. I don't get it, how could that guy just take me out so easy?"
"That particular enemy, which you shay ish named 'Deshcibel', hash the ability to abshorb and redirect shound, much like how you do with energy. Shound and energy are two different forms, and you could not abshorb his attacksh like you did with Nailbomb or fight towardsh hish weaknesshesh like Icebreaker. Whoever this group that theshe shupervillainsh belong to sheems to have been shtrategically trying to shtop you."
Angered over his own loss in battle, Lincoln laid back down in his bed, covering his face with his blanket to forget his troubles.
"Lincoln? What's the matter, bro?" Luna asked.
"Don't you guys get it? I'm finished. I can't beat any of these real bad guys that are showing up. I keep this up, and I'll be dead before summer's over. I give up." Lincoln said.
"But what about protecting the innocent and standing for justice and all that superhero crap you love so much?" Lynn asked.
"And what about dressing in that fabulous outfit as you fought?" Lola asked.
"And what about instilling fear and terror in the hearts of your enemies?" Lucy asked.
"And what about fighting giant poop monsters?" Lana asked.
As no one in their right mind would find this to be a positive trait of being a superhero, the other sisters looked to Lana in a mix of confusion and disgust.
"What? I see that as a win." Lana said.
"Look, Lincoln, maybe the problem isn't with you, maybe it's just that you're... inexperienced at this." Luna said.
"And how do you propose I get experienced? There's not exactly a superhero school for kids out there, and Mom and Dad would definitely not approve of me joining one if there was." Lincoln said.
Realizing that Lincoln was right in the way of not having any real way to sharpen his skills by guidance of another superhero, the girls looked to each other to find a way to solve this problem. While none had an answer at first, the group suddenly began thinking of an idea that would surely help bring Lincoln back to a path do superherodom, in a way that would be guaranteed to assist him in gaining his popularity once more.
"Maybe a superhero can't teach you anything, but we can." Luna said.
Not understanding their reply at first, Lincoln sat back up and pulled the blanket down again. Now giving his sisters his full attention, Lincoln inquired further into their proposal, listening carefully for the response.
"You are gonna teach me about being a superhero? Me, who's read comic books and learned from superheroes my whole life? And exactly what do you think you're gonna teach me that could help?" Lincoln asked.
"Well, you know how big an athlete I am. I can whip you in shape and give you some more strength and endurance against those bad guys." Lynn said.
"I can move around in the shadows like they were my own world. I can teach you how it's done, and you could sneak up on bad guys." Lucy said.
"I'm good with gymnastics as well as modeling. I could teach you how to be more agile, and be a lot more fashionable as you do it." Lola said.
"I know tools like no other, but I can teach you how to swing one as a weapon. You could improvise weapons better on the battlefield." Lana said.
"I might be able to help you sharpen up your zingers against bad guys. Imagine the kind of great lines you could ace! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it?" Luan asked.
"You know how good I am with a guitar. I can teach you some better hand and finger coordination. You could be more efficient on tossing cards." Luna said.
"I concur with the shiblingsh. If they already know of your shecret identity, the leasht they could do ish offer shome shupport and aide. You jusht might be able to bounshce back out of thish temporary drop in popularity." Lisa said.
Lincoln's enthusiasm towards his sisters' suggestion might have been witheld by skepticism at first, but hearing their plan in full gave him a change of heart. Where he had previously had to face the path of being a superhero alone and figure it out for himself, having the prospect of help sounded more than appealing to him. Just as they always did, his sisters came through in his time of need; and, just as he always did, he accepted their help.
"Okay. You guys say you can teach me? I'll give it a shot." Lincoln said.
[Soundtrack Cue: David Reilly - Quest for the Best]
As the day began, the first one to give Lincoln his training was Lynn, being the one most experienced in physical fitness. He was no stranger to Lynn's training routine or her extreme health habits, but experiencing the worst of what she had to offer was nowhere near close in comparison.
Tasked with a goal of accomplishing 300 pushups a day, above average for even a Navy SEAL, the enthusiasm put towards the exercise was strong, but his performance was less than strong. Known more for sitting on his bed rather than performing any sort of physical activity, Lincoln's muscled had faced some serious atrophy; barely able to finish a set of 5 pushups.
Giving him a negative reinforcement to continue through his pushups, Lynn Loud pushed her brother on to another set, aiming for a goal of 20, adding one feature to get him moving. Removing her jockstrap from her pants, Lynn placed it underneath Lincoln's face, adding the imminent threat of being met with a faceful of her sweaty minge if he failed.
Putting even more effort into his pushups, Lincoln found a few more reps cranked out of him, breaking his maximum with every new pushup. Unfortunately, while his efforts were valiant, and backed by the threat of falling into a used jockstrap, his body could only take so much, even with a good charge of energy backing it.
With his muscles giving out, Lincoln lost the ability to support himself, and, therefore, suffered the imminent face-plant into Lynn's jockstrap. Within seconds, Lincoln immediately moved away from them, gagging and coughing to remove the stench from his mind. He did not manage to remove the smell from his memory; only finding it reinforced with the laughs of Lynn humiliating him.
Speaking of laughs, his next teacher was Luan; offering him to up his wit on banter when facing off against supervillains. The concept of useful banter might seem impractical within a battle against supervillains, but it serves quite well in many ways. Not only is it good practical relief for the hero, but it sends the target in a misfocused mess; their pride being hurt too hard to focus on the fight.
Luan, being the one most versed in jokes, had no lacking in means of insults and mockeries. Propping up a picture of a generic supervillain on an easel, one themed around brooms and other cleaning supplies, Luan prepared her worst jokes against the villain, having Mr. Coconuts as her 'sidekick'.
"You don't look so tough, I outta sweep you up no problem!" Luan said.
"Hey, pal, looks like you're about to get dusted." Mr. Coconuts said.
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Good one, Mr. Coconuts! Now, that's how you make some good banter with supervillains. Take a look at their getups and their gimmicks, and think of a joke you can make about it."
"That's it? Sounds easy enough." Lincoln said.
"Easel said than done, Lincoln. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it? But, seriously, you're up."
Luan changed the picture on the easel to another supervillain, not giving Lincoln a chance to repeat her jokes. This one was a book-oriented supervillain; his costumed comprised of many famous literary works. Despite being exposed to Luan's comedic attempts on a daily basis, Lincoln had some trouble coming up with his own quips for the villain.
As no one ever found Luan's jokes funny, many going as far to say none were actually jokes, most of the Louds (save for Lynn Sr.) blocked them out of their heads. Now, after spending years of moving the numerous bad puns made by his older sister day after day, Lincoln wishes he would have at least listened to a few, perhaps able to pick up a few that would help here.
"Uh... So, read any good books lately?" Lincoln said.
Unsurprisingly, neither Luan nor Mr. Coconuts found this joke good, both giving looks of disapproval.
"Really, kid? That was the best you got? My left leg is funnier than that." Mr. Coconuts said.
"He's right, Lincoln. That was pretty bad." Luan said.
Not having any good banter to come up with, Lincoln gave a frustrated sigh, signalling the end of this lesson.
As that exercise had its long ways to go, the next trainer Lincoln had to take from was Lana; teaching him how to weild heavy weapons in battle. No stranger to large tools and equipment, Lana picked up a 14" wrench, swinging it around as if it had no weight at all. For an 7-year old girl, this was no easy feat, and Lincoln would surely have a better chance at it.
Sadly for Lincoln, this was not the case. Putting aside the weakened state that he was left in after being subjected to more pushups than he was used to handling, he still lacked much strength in his body, leaving him unable to even pick the wrench up. While not easy to give up on picking up the wrench, Lincoln soon fell back to the ground, not able to pick up the wrench.
Trying to give him an easier tool to work with, Lana exchanged the wrench with an 8" one instead; a pitiful downgrade, but one that at least gave Lincoln a starting point. Taking Lana's instructions, Lincoln watched carefully on how to wield it, ready to try it for himself. Lana, more than capable of handling a wrench from her years of mechanic work, swung it around as if it were part of herself, striking at the air like her tool was a club striking down its enemies.
Attempting the same on his own, Lincoln swung the wrench in the air, only to have its weight throw him to the floor in one swing. Not impressed with Lincoln's failure, Lana placed her face in her hand in annoyance.
Moving onto Lucy, Lincoln observed on how he would soon learn to sneak through the shadows and scare his enemies from behind. His first lesson was provided with Lucy appearing from behind, giving him a scare and an example on how a master performs their art. After shaking off his own fear, Lincoln directed his full attention to his teacher, awaiting his lesson in stealth.
Giving her next lesson, Lucy stepped backwards into a shadow on the wall; the shadows engulfing her in darkness and hiding her from any prying eyes. Lincoln, checking to see if his sister was still there, placed his hand through the shadows and felt around for her, only to not find her.
Lucy, offering the last portion of her demonstration, appeared behind Lincoln, tapping him on the shoulder. Once again, Lincoln, scared of Lucy's sudden appearance, screamed and jumped back, landing on the floor. Unable to take two shocks in a row, Lincoln continued to lay on the floor, passed out in shock. Shaking her head in disapproval, Lucy saw that Lincoln's first lesson here was at its abrupt end.
Needing a break from the hard and trying lessons that he was put through, Lincoln's next teacher would be Luna, providing him some basic music lessons to sharpen his finger and hand coordination. By accomplishing this, Luna set him up to learn piano; one of the easiest instruments to learn, but capable of far from the simplest music.
Setting him up with a basic electronic piano, Luna used it first, providing him a demonstration of what he would be performing. Giving him one of the most well-known beginner songs on piano, Luna played a rendition of Euphemia Allen's Chopsticks. As she was skilled in practically every instrument she played, performing the song was no trouble for Luna, having played it numerous times in learning.
When it came for Lincoln to try, however, the task was far more difficult than he was expecting. Where the past goals were physically tasking in the extreme, this new task was mentally tasking. Barely experienced in the realm of music, staring at the sheet music for the song resembled less of musical notes and more of some manner of gibberish... written in Korean.
Giving the song his best attempt, his rendition came out sounding less of music and more of the results of a rabid monkey bashing against a keyboard, thinking it was its sworn enemy. After giving the piano an undeserved punishment, Lincoln looked to Luna for approval, only to find her staring back with a look of concerned disapproval hidden by an attempted smile; telling him all he needed to know.
Finally, as the day came near an end, Lincoln's last lesson was in acrobatics, taught by Lola. Lola, being the second most physically fit of the family (short of Lynn, of course) to keep her figure well for pageants, was more than versed in tasks like acrobatics, keeping her body slim and limber.
Providing a narrow plank elevated off the ground, Lola demonstrated her first lesson, giving Lincoln a goal to shoot for. Being a girl obsessed with pageants and displaying her full talents, Lola spared no opportunity to show off; performing various flips and backflips, handstands, and splits on the narrow plank. Upon jumping off, Lola patiently awaited her brother to attempt the same, eagerly awaiting his imminent failure to gloat about it.
Giving his first attempt at acrobatics, Lincoln carefully stepped across the plank, trying desperately to keep his balance. Having been taught how to deal with narrow walkways before by Lola herself, the task was fairly easy, but not what he should be aiming for. Lola, letting out an unamused stare, gave a signal wanting to see him try actual stunts.
Following his sister's order, Lincoln tried for a flip, carefully balancing himself before doing so. Leaping off his feet and flipping his body forward, Lincoln seemed to land the aerial portion correctly, but, speaking of 'land', his efforts at doing so came at a large price.
Or, should I say, two large prices... Or small ones, depending on how you see it.
Rather than land upright on his feet, Lincoln slipped and fell with the plank between his legs, sending his extremities hitting hard wood, and not in the fun way. Feeling his testicles take the blunt of the impact, the two berries made their way back up the tree, looking for a place of safety and security in their time of pain.
Although looking forward to seeing Lincoln suffer, Lola could not stomach the fall he had, instinctively covering her own crotch, despite not having the same equipment.
As the day came to an end, the broken and batter Lincoln crawled his way back into bed, hoping to sleep away the agony and pain that he had suffered. Every injury he had suffered was telling him to give up, and every part of his mind was thinking of as many reasons as he could to follow through on that idea.
However, despite all logic telling him to stop, Lincoln made no such plans to do so. Ever since he was a boy, he wanted nothing more than to be a superhero; and, here and now, he will do whatever it takes to fulfill his dream. Also, because if he doesn't, he will fail his summer school project and fail 7th grade; costing him the opportunity to remain with his friends.
Having a long day ahead of himself tomorrow, Lincoln closed his eyes and placed away all thoughts of failure and loss, instead placing them on his imminent victory. Thinking only thoughts of winning and succeeding as a superhero, Lincoln makes his way to sleep, even though the racing thoughts in his head make that task a challenge.
The next week was much of the same deal; starting with Lynn on strength training, no delay to the harsh conditioning. Just like before, Lincoln was still short of 300 pushups, but came very close. Regardless, most of his sessions ended the same way: With a faceful of sweaty jockstrap. Even though he had faced the smell and taste each time before, never had he gotten used to it.
With Luan, still not much progress was found; not a single good joke or zinger coming from the lips of Lincoln Loud. Despite having great material to work with by way of villain choices, not one line Lincoln threw at the picture could cause Luan nor Mr. Coconuts to laugh, even with the two lowering their standards.
With Lana, Lincoln had finally managed to get the wrench up, even if it were a smaller size than Lana was using. While getting his 8 inches up all by himself, Lana still held high her 14 inches with ease. Being made look to be smaller is one thing, having a sister with one larger is worse. Regardless, although getting his wrench up somewhat easily, wielding it was still too high a challenge, leaving him falling to the ground once again.
With Lucy, Lincoln tried his hand once again at stealth; finally managing not to get a heart attack from Lucy's random appearances. Attempting her means of stealth was still a massive challenge, however, leaving a lot to be learned. Being the master of stealth within the very walls of the Loud House, none were sneakier than Lucy Loud, making it look easy. However, Lincoln's attempts mainly ended with him stuck in the shadows, needing Lucy to guide him back out.
With Luna, Lincoln managed to make his way onto using the piano; sounding more like an actual human being behind it and not the aftermath of it being forcibly shoved up someone's anus by a rabid gorilla. Although significant progress was made towards managing to play the instrument, there was still much progress to be made. Lincoln may have actually learned how to properly use the instrument, but he was still off-key, leaving much room for improvement.
With Lola, Lincoln made extremely sure not to land between his legs again, knowing that he would surely suffer a low sperm count later on if this was repeated. Of course, he only concerned himself with this after the awkward and disgusting 'talk' from his father, wishing he never knew such thoughts. He may have managed to keep his gonads unharmed, but his glutes suffered many upon many falls. If he did not absorb the impact as it occurred, his buttocks would surely be a dark purple from their bruises.
Upon going to sleep, however, he still puts aside all doubts and fears, knowing that he had indeed made progress. Closing his eyes and placing all thoughts from his mind, Lincoln readied himself for the next regiment of training.
The following week showed significant improvement; a true testament to his tireless training efforts. Starting with Lynn once again, his pushup count was met in full, reaching the full 300 pushups. Having accomplished just one part of Lynn's exercises, there still lasted much more to be done. Moving onto exercises like planks and pullups, along with a jog around the neighborhood, there still went a long ways to finish.
With Luan, his progress towards making witty comments was still not perfected, but gaining some ground. Following lesson after lesson taught by Luan and her powers of observation, watching her numerous stand-up tapes over and over, there was much Lincoln learned in the way of comedy, giving himself a lot more material to work with. At the moment, he had but old and cliche jokes to work with, but it was still better than naught.
With Lana, Lincoln managed to make his stand with the 8" wrench, managing to use it against his sister in a duel. Ever since the first and early days of mankind, human beings utilized objects like clubs to fight one another, and it only evolved over time for the species. Lana, knowing her way around a tool like no other, succeeded in bringing Lincoln on his way to using a weapon in his hand as such; like helping the first neanderthals take their first steps out of the caves. Knowing Lana, of course, she'd probably prefer to stay in the cave, where it's nice and dirty.
With Lucy, Lincoln managed to navigate the shadows much more efficiently, finding his way around quite nicely. The shadows may have hid his figure, but they were not able to conceal his sounds, as his footsteps were still heard quite audibly, and his general clumsiness caused him to knock over various objects within the shadows. In comparison to the deathly silent Lucy Loud, there was still much to do in the ways of completing his goal.
With Luna, Lincoln managed to improve his key, working also on his timing and rhythm. There were many notes still missed and misplayed, but they were still far above average for the typical piano student, showing great promise for the young boy. With 'Chopsticks' relatively comprehended, there were many other songs that Lincoln was ready to learn as well; Luna making sure to teach them all.
With Lola, his acrobatics also saw improvement, partially due to Lola giving her standard authoritarian approach to teaching. Facing major improvements in this area, which means that he fell significantly less, Lincoln found his way to better body flexibility well within his reach. His tricks and flips may have been somewhat amateur, but, being an amateur himself, this was expected, and only expected to get better.
Falling back to sleep that night, the doubt and desire to quit began to fade to a non-existence, with sheer, pure confidence in its place. Returning to bed once again, the only thing that kept Lincoln Loud up was his eagerness to continue in the morning.
Now, on this third and final week, the progress that Lincoln Loud had been making had come by in full; all his efforts paying off the price of a new man. Starting once again with Lynn, his physical challenges found themselves become challenges only for Lynn; his body able to hold far more energy than hers. Fulfilling his assigned pushups, pullups, planks, runs, and running some successful lessons on kickboxing, the work of Lynn Loud was done.
With Luan, the time for comedy came to the hour, with the aforementioned sister sitting in anticipation for the show. Placing a photograph of a light-oriented villain for Lincoln to banter with, Luan and Mr. Coconuts watched in eagerness for the insults to be thrown; their standards raised to their highest to judge with. Lincoln, having more than enough insults to throw at the villain, spared not one thought in his head to shoot at this made-up enemy.
"Hey, pal, you seem like a bit dim, like you've got a bad bulb somewhere in there!The electric bill's up, and it's long overdue for you! It's gonna be lights out for you, buddy! Hope this lesson gave you a little illumination! So, tell me, how many of you does it take to change a lightbulb?" Lincoln asked.
More than impressed with the banter thrown at the villain, Luan let out a strong and hysterical laugh; proving that her work was done. Mr. Coconuts, being the hard case that he was, gave light praise, but enough to signal his approval.
"Eh, not bad, kid. But as long as I'm around, yule always be second best, see?" Mr. Coconuts asked.
"You know, yule is refers to burning wood. Would you call that remark burning yourself?" Lincoln asked.
"...Dangit. You are good."
With Lana, his skills were not only sharpened with an 8" wrench, and not only a 14" wrench, but had even progressed their way to an 18" wrench; a size that Lana herself could not even wield. Lana had fended off many hostile animals against herself and her own pets in the past, but never before had she faced opposition like Lincoln was giving her. After being knocked to the ground with one last swing by her brother, it was clear that Lincoln had surpassed his teacher, more than capable of holding his own with a weapon.
With Lucy, his stealth had reached a near-perfection, something that he had craved for years on how to learn. Sneaking into the shadows, Lincoln's movements were dead silent and completely unseen, hidden to even Lucy herself. Amidst pondering where in the shadows Lincoln might have been, her question was answered with her brother appearing behind her, giving her a fright and falling to the floor, finally giving the frightener a taste of her own medicine. Seeing her student succeed in an area that not many others dealt in, the closest thing to a smile appeared in the corner of Lucy's mouth.
With Luna, Lincoln had not only managed to play all of the beginner songs that Luna had provided him, but moved his way up to some of the most advanced compositions, playing Mozart and Beethoven like Guitar Hero. Luna always had managed to see some decent musical talent among her brother, but never saw it fulfilled in this way before, giving her a sense of pride and a stronger bond with Lincoln than before.
With Lola, his acrobatics were at the best they could be for a boy his age; his young age being a perfect condition for performing well. Not only had he managed some of the most difficult tricks and flips on such a narrow piece of walkway, but his performance in doing so was filled with a sense of grace and debonair, making Lola herself jealous. Ending his performance with a landing light on his feet, the last of his lessons was complete.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
The next day, it came for Lincoln to face the 'graduation' of the trials that he was put through. While he always enjoyed spending time with his sisters, and always learned from his experiences with them, he never before learned how to apply these skills to his superhero fights. Now, after acting as an amateur hero to Royal Woods, it came time for Lincoln to make his return to fighting for justice.
"Well, Lincoln, I musht admit, watching this metamorphoshish wash quite the shpectacle." Lisa said.
"Yeah, bra, you totally rocked this whole training period." Luna said.
"Dare we say, you aced it. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it?" Luan asked.
"You did great, Linc, looks like I can't make fun of you for being weak anymore." Lynn said.
"You did fantastic. I'm so proud of you. You can tell by the look on my face." Lucy said.
"Hmph. Not bad. I've seen better, but not many." Lola said.
"Great going, Lincoln. You really came a long ways." Lana said.
"Gee, thanks, guys, I'm just glad that I'll be ready when I get back out there and fight again. I've got a long ways to make up for my failure period. So, Lisa, you got my costume?" Lincoln asked.
"Indeed, and I've made a few alteratshionsh." Lisa said.
Pulling out a remote and pressing a button, Lisa activated a wardrobe behind the group, causing it to open. Upon seeing the contents inside, Lincoln's eyes and mouth went as wide as can be; laying eyes on a brand-new and redesigned Ace Savvy costume. From out of his mouth, something of an orgasmic squeal could be heard, not unlike a fangirl seeing her favorite actor.
"I've created you a brand-new Acshe Shavvy shuit, with a redeshign created by Lola." Lisa said.
"Anything to help my family stay fabulous." Lola added.
"And, additshionally, I alsho crafted you a new weapon to fight with."
Lisa handed Lincoln a metal baton, holding it to display a button on its side. Lincoln, his curiosity guiding him, pressed the button, showing its purpose to himself and the others. Upon pressing the button, the baton began to expand telescopically on both of its ends, turning into a small staff.
"That fight you had with Icshebreaker gave me an idea. With thish shtaff shlash baton, you can not only ushe the weapon normally, but you can charge it up with energy and ushe it ash a heat-emitting weapon, without having it exshplode. I crafted it out of an allow made with tungsten, the metal with the highesht melting point on Earth." Lisa said.
"I helped with the blacksmith work." Lana said.
"Yesh, and all for the shmall pricshe of a dog bone, I might add."
"Well, guys, this has been awesome, but I can't stay any longer. I've got my pride to take back, and bad guys to fight. If you'll excuse me, I've got a mission to carry out." Lincoln said.
"We hear you, Linc. Back in the saddle again!" Luna said.
"Uh, no, I'm about to change. Can you guys please leave?"
"Oh, uh, right, we knew that." Lynn said.
Giving Lincoln the means to change in peace, the sisters left Lisa's room, allowing their brother to disrobe and redress with privacy. More than intent on wearing his brand-new Ace Savvy costume, Lincoln had no hesitation jumping out of his clothes, hopping right into the new ones right in front of him.
Zipping up the last zipper on his suit and placing his mask over his face, Lincoln Loud made his way back into the mind to give way to Ace Savvy; the boy now taking on his heroic indentity once again. Taking his new baton/staff and placing it on his utility belt, alongside a fresh deck of cards, Ace Savvy jumped out the window to the room, allowing his cape to fly through the air during his descent.
Landing on the ground, absorbing a light charge of energy from the impact, Ace Savvy began making his way into the city, ready to take on whatever threat laid in wait for him.
Meanwhile, within the undisclosed hideout of the 'serious' villains, said supervillains began to grow restless in the confinement of their base, holding back a craving to cause more mayhem and destruction throughout the city. With no one villain able to keep their mind on the mission for another minute, tensions began to grow high, just as their irritation levels were.
"Ugh, goddammit, how much longer do we have to wait on this damn kid to make his way back, already?!" Icebreaker asked.
"Hell if I know. Last time, he came right back the next day. It's been, what, 3 weeks? Decibel, are you sure you didn't kill him?" Nailbomb asked.
"I wish I did. I was this close, you know? I could feel it in my hands." Decibel said.
"Yeah, well, need we remind you that if you had killed him, you'd screw up everything we've been working for... What, nearly 2 years now?" Another supervillain asked.
"Yeah. And where the hell do you get off killing kids, anyway? What are you, The Freak?" A different supervillain asked.
"Hey, don't compare me to that psycho, I don't need this crap! You know, I remember, back in the old days, we had a hero around, we'd just kill the bastard and get on with our lives." Decibel said.
"Well, if you'd actually remember why we're on this little plan, you'd remember that those old days didn't work. You screw this up, we all go down, and we're back to square one. Is that what you want?"
"No, but I'm thinkin' maybe I want to see you go deaf for the rest of your life. Seeing as your outfit looks like shit, you're probably blind already, so I might as well make you the next Anne Frank."
"That's Helen Keller, dumbass. Anne Frank's the girl who hid from the Nazis."
"You'd know, wouldn't you, you Nazi prick?"
"Nazi?! My great-granddaddy fought the Nazis at Normandy, you son of a bitch, I outta-"
"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!" The head supervillain shouted.
As the head supervillain's voice echoed through the halls of the building, every dissenting voice instantly died down, none wanting to face the wrath of their leader. The head supervillain, keeping his subordinates in line, gave them a short speech of reassurance, letting them all know that the plan was well underway.
"None of you worry about a thing; the plan's moving along just fine. I've just gotten word that the kid's back in action, and he's making his way downtown now." The head supervillain said.
"Ooh, cool, so, who's next? Me?" One supervillain asked.
"No way, man, I should go next." Another supervillain asked.
"Forget you two, I'm going next." Icebreaker said.
"Are you kidding me? You just had your shot at him!"
"And I almost had him, too. You give me another shot, and I'll-"
"No one is going after him again." The head supervillain said.
"WHAT?! C'mon, boss, please?" Icebreaker asked.
"No. He's not your concern anymore. Now comes the easy part of the plan. Once we get him softened up on these fights, he'll be out of the picture in no time. All we have to do now is just make him quit."
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that, boss?" Nailbomb asked.
Underneath the shadows that covered his face, the head supervillain gave a sly smile, anxious but patiently awaiting the next part of his plan.
"You won't be doing anything. Someone else will take care of it for us. And... it looks like he'll be heading in soon enough." The head supervillain said.