CHAPTER 32: SELL OUT
[Soundtrack Cue: Dire Straits - Money for Nothing (Album Version)]
Lincoln Loud was Ace Savvy.
Once, he was a hero dedicated on using his newfound powers for helping people and defending the city against superhuman threats, whether they be serious threats or mildly obnoxious morons. His primary motivation, aside from completing his summer school assignment, was to find a purpose in life to fill the hole in his heart that was being dug out by his mind expanding with age.
But, after being shared a story of a traumatizing experience lived by his primary rival, the Silver Sentinel, he has finally decided to hand off all responsibilities to the shiny superman. Being only a boy, he could not picture any such horrors in his own life, and it drove him to hang up the cape and give up his life as the spade-spannered hero.
With his identity made public after his battle with the superhuman bounty killer known as Pubic Enemy, he was expecting much opposition from his critics and those who chose Silver Sentinel over him, but never did he expect what else came his way. The company known as Key Comics, the owners of the intellectual property of Ace Savvy, had sent a representative on their behalf.
Where the family were expecting a lawsuit from Lincoln's unauthorized usage of the image of Ace Savvy for his superhuman escapades, he instead brought them a check with an extremely large number written on it. After Lincoln's identity as Ace Savvy had been exposed, the sales of products relating to the fictional equivalent of Ace Savvy skyrocketed to a historic new high.
Now, under the employ of Key Comics to be their mascot and spokesperson of the character, Lincoln Loud lives the high life of luxury and excess, a large step from the humility of his old life.
Following numerous commercials for Yahoo Soda, Good Burger, and other commercial brands, Lincoln Loud, once hated by the people of Royal Woods, had found a new popularity with the country. Over the weeks, this popularity only increased with every public appearance, every comic signing, and other publicity stunts.
Conversely, the so-called superhero known as Silver Sentinel has his own growth of profit ensue. On the surface, he appeared to have a decent amount of control over all crime in the city, and all the citizens of Royal Woods believed in his capabilities quite well. Of course, none knew of his alliance and leadership over the 5 'serious' villains of the city, and blindly and obliviously put their trust in him.
To the general public, he did seem to do a very good job of handling all super-crime in Royal Woods. Villains like the Carrot King, Achoo-Tissue, and the Flatulent Flashlight, all coming to Royal Woods to fulfill their insane goals and ideals, all fell before the man of silver without trouble or difficulty. With each villain falling under his defeat, Silver Sentinel caught up numerous praise and admiration by the public and media, even if the threats eliminated were less than threatening.
For every defeated minor supervillain, however, the 5 other villains under Silver Sentinel was more than free to do whatever they pleased. No longer encountering any difficulties from Ace Savvy to stop them, the collective of villains were free to rob any bank or jewelry store as they pleased, destroy any part of town they felt like, and just generally do whatever they wanted without any consequence.
The people of Royal Woods, having harbored so much hatred towards Ace Savvy and redirecting all praise to Silver Sentinel, barely even complained once about these incidents, believing that he was still doing all he could. Those who did question why these villains were still roaming free had their concerns put down by platitudes of heroism and duty by the man of silver; vowing to catch the supervillains at all costs, and, of course, lying.
So, as the supervillains were able to roam free and commit any crime they wished, taking in all the wealth and resources of the city for themselves, Silver Sentinel was quick to put away any minor supervillains that were not affiliated with them. By having the man of silver acting as their personal, one-man mob enforcer, the 5 supervillains managed to hold their very own oligarchy on super-crime in Royal Woods.
As grand as the reaping of their pillaging were for the supervillains, just as grand were the rewards for Silver Sentinel's efforts against the minor supervillains. With business being good in the area of crimefighting, catching the glamor and attention of the people of Royal Woods, Silver Sentinel, too, found much profit with the major companies, receiving numerous endorsements, not unlike a NASCAR driver.
Lincoln Loud, being a Royal Woodian, was no stranger to many of the battles and fights taking place in his hometown. Taking a pass from the Burpin' Burger, Lincoln caught eye of Icebreaker making off with several thousands of dollars in his hands, freezing cop cars during his escape. Just exiting from Gus' Game and Grub, Lincoln witnessed Nailbomb blow a museum of fine art to pieces. While shopping at the comic store in Royal Woods Mall, he took notice of Killer Crab pinching off streetlight and slicing through random cars.
Once, he would have been quick to don his cape and fight against these madmen.
Once, he would have jumped at every opportunity to do battle against any threat that came to his town.
Once, he would have basked in the thrill of the fight and the glamour of victory.
But, now, he does nothing at all. Staying true to his promise, Lincoln does not act against these villains, entrusting that duty to Silver Sentinel, unaware of his true nature. Watching the affair go on, he simply sits back and ignores the affair, focusing only on his own affairs.
Being a celebrity now as the world's first publicly-known superhero, Lincoln concerns himself only with continuing to advertise the Ace Savvy brand. He does not mind the lack of action nor does he even miss it; the promise of wealth and fame have brought him to ignore the troubles and problems in his home town. Instead, with his home being brought to shambles with the attack of Pubic Enemy, he has his own problems to deal with.
Or, rather, he had to deal with them for a span of seconds until that check arrived. With the new source of income brought to him from his celebrity status, the Loud House was repaired within days, back and standing better than it ever was, with the Louds staying in a 5-star hotel during the wait. Of course, having suffered 11 rowdy children tearing it apart for over 18 years and never having any true repairs, this wasn't saying much in terms of improvement.
What says far more is what Lincoln had planned for the backyard. After incorrectly overhearing that their parents were planning to rid themselves of all but one of the children, when in actuality they meant some ugly ties, Lincoln had a dream of making the house into his own, personal, one-man theme park. Trying to buy back the approval of his family for abandoning the cape and mask, Lincoln had a personal theme park installed in the backyard.
Before, the sisters had disapproved of his early retirement, wishing that he would still somehow come back to the realm of crimefighting. Adding things like a rollercoaster, a go-kart racetrack, a teacup ride, a shooting gallery, a large pool, and other such attractions to the park, the silence was easily bought by the sisters; children being easy to satisfy with simple distractions.
The parents were just as approving of the entire affair: Not only had the house been completely improved from the ground up, and not only had they their own personal theme park in the backyard, but also their son becoming extremely financially successful. Also, a heaping addition to both his own college funds and that of his sisters was sure to make everyone happy enough.
Just as the Louds were happy enough with their new financial situation, Silver Sentinel and the supervillains had found themselves happy with their own improved situation. With Ace Savvy no longer present to stop them, the 6 would rob the town blind with no way to be stopped; and no one even aware of their true intentions.
On the surface, Silver Sentinel would display himself as the savior of Royal Woods; vowing to protect it from any attacking supervillains, and, on the surface, appear to do so well. Underneath, the supervillains under his thumb would be free to rob, pillage, and plunder all they wished. With Silver Sentinel showing far more charm than Ace Savvy, the protests towards his lack of approach to them are nearly non-existent, and benign at that.
For now, evil is his true business... and business is good.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Currently, having stolen nearly millions of dollars worth of goods, the supervillains decide to take themselves a sabbatical from their mayhem and chaos; relaxing to reflect on their victories and counting their blessings. Tommy Gunn, the one most dedicated to the classics of supervillainy, spoke up his own praise aloud.
"Well, I gotta say, the boss really pulled this off job well. To think I woulda still been in the big house if he hadn't brought me in. Now, I got more cabbage and ice than I could ever spend." Tommy Gunn said.
"Same here. If anything, I'm just glad I don't have to hear any of you guys bitch, especially not you whining about losing your great-grandpa's tommy gun." Killer Crab said.
"Hey, man, that gat was sentimental to me. But, at least I got a new one. Maybe I'll get myself a second one at it and go double-gun."
"Maybe I'll get some better subwoofers; see if I can cause earthquakes." Decibel said.
"I'm thinking I might go for a GBU-43 or 2. You can never have a big enough bomb." Nailbomb said.
"And how the hell are you gonna do that? You can't just buy one of those in a store, you know." Icebreaker said.
"No, but you can get one second-handed in some second-world country. Hell, I found a nuke for sale once."
Arriving back from a few photo ops and disposing of some unwanted and unwelcome supervillains, Silver Sentinel flew back into the warehouse, taking note of his subordinates laying back and relaxing. Remembering how many of them were all too eager to get out and cause mayhem, the man of silver inquired on why they were sitting around and not having more fun.
"Do my eyes deceive me? Are all of you actually just sitting around and doing nothing? After whining for months about sitting around and doing nothing?" Silver Sentinel asked.
"Hey, man, we've never gotten this far on a crime streak or gone this long without you throwing us in jail. You play hard, you gotta rest hard." Nailbomb said.
"Fair point. In any case, everything's working perfectly. See what happens when you stick to the plan and don't do anything stupid?"
"Hell, yeah. This is easily the best idea you've ever had. To think we were all trying to kill you after all those years, now, we're the best business partners ever. So, how goes your end?" Killer Crab asked.
"It's great. I'd forgotten what it's like to be in the spotlight like this: To be heralded and praised from everyone, looked up to by all the kids, and, let's not forget the main reason; all the corporate endorsements. The wife just went and got herself some new jewelry, and took the kid out for cheesecake."
"Cheesecake? Why so fancy?" Icebreaker asked.
"Break-up, and a bad one. Needed some spirit-lifting."
"Ouch. Well, speaking of kids, how's our old pal, 'Ace Savvy'?" Tommy Gunn asked.
"Yeah, he's not gonna come back any time soon, is he? I thought for a minute he'd blow this whole thing up." Decibel said.
"Oh, don't worry about the kid. I made sure he won't be returning. Besides, right now, he's become filthy rich. Fighting any bad guys is probably the last thing on his little mind right now." Silver Sentinel said.
Before, Lincoln Loud had hung up the cape of Ace Savvy, vowing never again to return to the life of the spade-spannered hero.
Before, Lincoln Loud lived only a life of leisure and convenience; too rich to be bothered by any problems in his hometown.
But that was before, this is now.
Now, Lincoln, once again wearing the garb of Ace Savvy, enters the hideout of the villains that have been threatening his hometown; ready to put a stop to their evil deeds once and for all.
Readying a set of cards in his hand, Ace Savvy stared his foe right in the eye; standing off and ready to pounce at the first sign of a fight.
"You really thought you could get away with it in my own city? This is my town. I made a vow to protect it long ago, and I intend to keep that promise until the end. That little plot of yours didn't stop me. You've only helped me realize just how important it all was to me." Ace Savvy said.
The villain responsible for all the wrong that happened in his life and to his city, amused by Ace Savvy's speech, looked back at the spade-spannered hero and gave a smile in mockery.
"Oh, really? Then, tell me, what is the world's savviest crimefighter going to do now?" The villain asked.
"Now? Now, it's time to... deal out some justice." Ace Savvy said.
After letting out his lines as given to him, Ace Savvy walked off the set, taking a seat in his 'main star' chair. Having done his part, the stunt double, an elderly fellow who strongly resembled Lincoln, stepped in his place, preparing himself for the scene.
"Now, prepare to feel my- URGH!" The stunt double said.
Being an old man in his late years, the stunt double felt a heart attack come on, driving him to fall on the floor. Acting immediately to save the life of the elderly stuntman, a medical crew came in to bring him first aid, tirelessly working to prevent any serious illness from occurring.
"CUT!" The director shouted.
With the heart attack of the stunt double putting the production to a hold, all lights came on the set, putting the mood and environment to the film to an end. Having come so close to having this scene finished, Lincoln swung his head back in annoyance, letting out a loud, exaggerated groan.
"C'mon, old man, how many times do we have to do this scene without you dying on us?!" Lincoln complained.
"Help... Heart medications... Left them at..." The stunt double let out.
"That's it! Feige, I'm going to my trailer! Don't bother me until we get this set up again!"
Annoyed by the production of Ace Savvy: The Movie coming to a stop, Lincoln began heading off to his trailer, hoping to ventilate his frustrations there and ready himself for the character when the time was ready. Not having spoken to you, the reader/viewer in a while, Lincoln found this a pristine opportunity to share his recent experiences.
"You know, I wasn't really sure about quitting, but, now that I'm rich, I'm loving this new lifestyle. I've got commercials and advertisements with me all over them, I've made dozens of variant covers for Ace Savvy comics, I get as much Yahoo Soda or Good Burgers as I want; this really is the life." Lincoln said.
Stepping inside his trailer, Lincoln closed the door behind him, giving himself a place of privacy away from the woes of film production behind him. Not able to stay within the tight Ace Savvy costume designed for the film, Lincoln began stripping it off, allowing himself to relax without it.
"Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Lincoln, you can't just give up that easy! You've wanted to be a superhero your whole life!' Well, guess what? I can give up that easy. You heard what Silver Sentinel said. You think I really want someone's death on my conscience? I didn't think any of this through, and things could've been really, really bad. But, it all worked out anyways, because, now, I'm rich." Lincoln said.
Disrobing himself of any constrictive clothing, Lincoln laid back in his trailer's bed, relaxing himself from any stress that accumulated during the shoot. Alone and undisturbed from anyone else, Lincoln laid across his bed spread-eagle, allowing his uncovered extremities to breathe in the open air.
"Ah... Now, this beats having to fight off weird naked terrorists and poop monsters any day of the week. Just sitting back, relaxing, no tight clothing; just taking it easy." Lincoln said.
In the midst of his nap, the front door to his trailer loudly swung open, startling Lincoln out of his nap. Not wanting anyone to view him taking a nap in the nude, the white-haired boy leapt up in fear, instinctively covering his crotch.
"AAH! Who the-?! Who's bothering me during my nap time?!" Lincoln shouted.
Looking downwards, Lincoln saw Lisa looking back at him, wearing an extremely unimpressed look on her face.
"Again with your nudity taboosh. I've performed multiple shurguriesh and exshperimentsh on you, I'm well-aware of what you look like shansh clothing." Lisa said.
"Oh, it's only you, Lisa. What do you want? I've got a shoot to do soon." Lincoln asked.
"I thought you might wish to shee thish."
Taking out a newspaper and tossing it to a small table adjacent to the bed, Lisa offered the paper to Lincoln to witness current events happening.
"A newspaper? Really? Haven't you heard of the internet?" Lincoln asked.
"Jusht read it, will you?" Lisa asked.
Taking the newspaper in hand as requested, Lincoln began reading the front headline, and the article it addressed. Pertraining to Silver Sentinel and his exploits as Royal Woods' official superhero, it documented the many 'failures' on capturing the serious supervillains; a rarity for the news regarding the shiny superman. Not interested in returning to the cape, Lincoln took the news rather lightly, as if not finding it serious.
"Okay, why am I reading this?" Lincoln asked.
"Haven't you found it intereshting that the Shilver Shentinel hashn't done anything at all to shtop theshe villainsh? If you take a look at the namesh, you might notishce that the onesh that Shilver Shentinel hash not attacked in any way are the shame villainsh that not only had you fashced actual danger from, but alsho the shame onesh you fought without having Shilver Shentinel even sho much ash appear to help?" Lisa asked.
"What's your point?"
"My point ish that I think that Shilver Shentinel ish working with theshe shupervillainsh, and perhapsh hish entire motivashtion to get rid of you wash for their benefit and not your own. Get it?"
"Uh... Yeah, I think you're overthinking this a little bit. Lisa, look. I'm done being Ace Savvy for real, okay? I had fun, but things could've gone bad. Now, I'm making some money, so why ruin this for no reason?"
Tossing the newspaper back to Lisa, Lincoln turned away in ignorance, not wanting to hear any more of the subject. Dedicated to get Lincoln back to the task of fighting crime and using his new superpowers, Lisa continued on her own arguement, not stopping herself until Lincoln would don the cape yet again.
"Lincoln, do you remember what we promished when you firsht got theshe powersh?" Lisa asked.
"What?" Lincoln asked.
"You convinshced me to allow you to keep your powersh, and I reluctantly agreed. I thought it wash a horrible idea, but you managed to convinshce me anywaysh. I alsho shaid that there wash no way that you were going to talk me out of it, either. What happened when you tried to give up again when you thought you killed Larsh Rodriguezsh? You shaw Leni in danger, and you roshe to the occashion. I even gave you a non-lethal way of dishplashcing him. This new attitude of yoursh, it's beginning to shignify shomething, shomething that shaysh shomething about your character."
Finding some mix of intrigue and curiousity from what Lisa had last said, Lincoln turned back to her, wanting a clearer answer.
"What about my character?" Lincoln asked.
As Lincoln turned back to Lisa, a long, thick, 2-pound limb had swung its way over her head, leading Lisa to duck and avoid a nasty strike from it. After taking a moment to avoid the strike, beginning to question whether she should have tested her male enhancement formulas on Lincoln at his age, Lisa caught her composure to finish her sentence.
"It showsh cowardishe in you, Lincoln. Shurely the real Ashce Shavvy would never fall victim to cowardishe?" Lisa asked.
"Lisa, I told you before, I am the 'real' Ace Savvy. Now, you're infringing on my naptime before our next shoot, and I've still got that school project to finish, so would you mind leaving the main star to his duties?" Lincoln asked.
Angry with her brother over his arrogant attitude with the subject of returning to superherodom, Lisa left the trailer as she was asked, leaving Lincoln to continue his nap. Having ridden himself of any further interruptions, Lincoln began to lay back down, continuing his nap. Before fully dozing off, Lincoln shared one last word to leave to you, the reader/viewer.
"I know, I know, that was kind of mean, but it's for the best. I'm not qualified to do this kind of stuff. Besides, Lisa's had all kinds of weird theories, it's probably nothing." Lincoln said.
Some time later in the week, at the Loud House, Lincoln spent a few hours of the afternoon counting a large pile of cash, reflecting back on the money he had made with his new stardom. In the midst of running the numbers through his head, Luna had popped into the doorway, carrying an acoustic guitar with her.
"Yo, bro, check it out! I came up with a few theme song ideas for your big return as Ace Savvy! Check this out!" Luna said.
Playing her guitar to the tune of the theme song to the 1966 Batman show, Luna began coming up with her own lyrics pertaining to her brother.
"Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln... Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na, Lincoln!" Luna sang.
"No, Luna." Lincoln said.
"Oh, that's cool, I got another one."
Playing now to the tune of the theme song to the 1967 Spider-Man animated series, Luna made new lyrics once again for her brother.
"Lincoln Loud, Lincoln Loud,
Standing stall and he's standing proud,
Throws his cards really far,
Ace Savvy, he's a star,
Look out,
Look out for Lincoln Loud!" Luna sang.
"Luna, no theme songs. I am not coming back." Lincoln said.
Disappointed by not motivating Lincoln to return, Luna left his room, shutting the door behind her. With Luna's attempts put down, Lincoln returned to his money-counting, finding it far more important than what the others claimed to be important.
Needing a bathroom break, Lincoln made his way down the hallway upstairs, making his way to the restroom to relieve himself of his bodily wastes. On his way to the toilet, Lola began making a mock runway march, wearing his Ace Savvy outfit.
"What do you think, Linky? I've been trying to put some more flair into the suit. We can't have you going out there again all ugly, now, can we? How's it look?" Lola asked.
"I'm not coming back as Ace Savvy, Lola. Drop it. Also, I haven't washed that in weeks." Lincoln said.
Within the instant of hearing Lincoln's warning, Lola immediately ran back in her room in disgust, quickly tossing the dirty uniform off. Ridding himself of Lola, Lincoln made his way to the toilet to relieve himself in peace. Zipping down his fly and aiming for the bowl, Lincoln let out a light stream of urine, hoping that he would find some peace with this relief.
"Hi, Lincoln." Lucy said.
Upon hearing Lucy appear behind him without warning, Lincoln shot in the air in fear; his light stream turning to a forced, bursting rush. While his bladder was now empty, his peace was once again taken away by his sisters.
"Ugh, Lucy, what are you doing here?! I'm trying to tinkle!" Lincoln said.
"I came here to ask for some of your semen. I'm concocting a potion which'll make you want to become Ace Savvy again." Lucy said.
"First of all: Ew. Second: No. Third: NO. Fourth: I'm not coming back as Ace Savvy, okay? Drop it already!"
Not having the peaceful relief of the bladder he was hoping for, Lincoln angrily left the bathroom, hoping to go at least a few feet without being bothered by a sibling trying to make him return to the cape of the spade-spannered hero.
Within seconds, his hopes are crushed, met by a set of cards flying his way. Ducking underneath the flying cards, Lincoln saw the tosser of the cards was Lynn, carrying with her a few decks' worth more of cards.
"Hey, Lincoln, check it out. I was reading up on some card tricks and trying to figure out how to mix them with some of our martial arts. I've got a few ideas, want to see? It'll come in handy when you make your big comeback." Lynn said.
"No, Lynn, I will not becoming back as Ace Savvy, I won't be needing any more card tricks again, thank you very much." Lincoln said.
Walking past the disappointed Lynn and making his way down the stairs, Lincoln tried to find something downstairs to occupy his mind away from the sisters trying to make him become Ace Savvy again. Once again, he was met by yet another member of his family trying to convince him to return, this time by Lana swinging a metal staff in the air.
"Hey, Linc, check it out, I fixed your staff! I also worked some more titanium into the allow to make it more resistant to cuts like before. Wanna try it out before you use it on some bad guy?" Lana asked.
"No, Lana, I won't be using it again." Lincoln said.
Moving past Lana as she stood in disappointment and moving to the kitchen, Lincoln prepared to obtain himself a snack to forget the constant annoyances of the sisters trying to get him to return as Ace Savvy. Upon stepping inside the kitchen, Lincoln was met with Luan dressed up in various foods, pretending to be a supervillain for Lincoln to battle.
"Beware, Ace Savvy, for I am the Food Pyramid! You'd better watch out, kid, because you're really gonna get cooked out here! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it?" Luan asked.
"Not gonna work, Luan. I'm not coming back as Ace Savvy." Lincoln said.
Taking a slice of pizza, a bottle of caramel sauce, and a jar of pickles off of Luan's costume, Lincoln began making himself a snack from the foodstuffs, covering the pizza slice in the pickles and caramel. After snacking down on the slice, Lincoln moved to the living room and sat back back on the couch, reaching for the remote.
In the hopes of trying to rid himself of the persistence of his sisters, Lincoln's attempt to turn on the TV was interrupted by Lori and Bobby cramming themselves next to him on the couch.
"Hey, bro, guess what we got? The entire DVD collection of Ace Savvy: The Animated Series!" Bobby said.
"And I've literally got the trade paperbacks of the original comic run! How about we do a little research for getting you back in the game?" Lori asked.
"What?! You two, too?! Weren't you guys on Mom and Dad's side on getting me to quit? And shouldn't you be back in Great Lakes City?" Lincoln asked.
"We're staying for a little while longer before heading back. Besides, Lisa told us about that conspiracy with Silver Sentinel and the supervillains, and she literally has a point."
"Yeah, bro. We can't just sit around while you can stop those guys." Bobby said.
"Of course Lisa put you up to this. Listen, I'm not going to go back no matter what you do, okay?! Just forget about it!" Lincoln said.
Avoiding the two and preparing to head outside to the backyard, Lincoln was met by both Leni and Lily stopping him; the most innocent of the sisters trying to convince him to come back.
"Linky? We really would like to see you come back. I mean, I'm totes sorry that I... well, you know, at Dairyland, but, I meant what I said back at Reininger's. You really are my favorite superhero, and I think you should keep being Ace Savvy." Leni said.
More impressive than the fact that Leni was able to clearly express a thought in complete sentences, Lincoln also felt Lily tug on his pant leg, catching his attention towards another detail towards the baby. Lily had been dressed in an Ace Savvy costume, trying to encourage Lincoln to return, looking back at him with watery eyes.
"Ace Savvy." Lily said.
The efforts of the two last Loud sisters might have resulted in more pause from Lincoln, but neither were quite enough to convince him to return. Unable to continue this conversation with his sisters or face this affair any further, Lincoln looked away with a face of a mixture of discomfort and displeasure.
"I can't do it. I'm sorry." Lincoln said.
Walking past the sisters and making his way to the backyard, where his own theme park still laid, Lincoln placed himself near the pool for some relaxation. Stripping down to his red underwear, Lincoln laid back on a beach chair, hoping to find some peace and quiet in the warmth of the sun.
"Okay, so, my sisters all want me to come back because of Lisa's insane conspiracy theory. Big deal. They'll get over it. After all, I bought them an entire theme park and gave them all college funds; they'll learn some appreciation. For now, I just want to sit back and relax a little, and not have to deal with anybody trying to get me to come back as Ace Savvy." Lincoln said.
Putting on a pair of sunglasses, Lincoln began basking in the sun, hoping to have no more troubles related to superherodom or Lisa's conspiracy theory. No longer able to get sunburned, his body absorbing both the solar radiation and heat, he was free to enjoy the warm summer sun lightly heat his body and provide him with comfort from his own troubles. The only downside he has is that he can't get a tan, which he could live with.
His sunglasses might have provided some decent coverage from the sun, but an object appeared in his line of sight that blocked him off from the sun completely. Taking his sunglasses off to see what was blocking his sunlight, Lincoln found an angry-looking Ronnie Anne glaring at him down at his chair.
Before he was able to bid any sort of greeting to his significant other, Ronnie Anne picked him up out of his chair, carried him to the edge of the pool, and threw a hard punch to his face. Feeling the pain of bare knuckles force against his face, Lincoln flew backwards into his pool, leaving him to barely recover mentally from the blow he had received.
Not satisfied with her first strike, Ronnie Anne climbed into the pool and continued to beat Lincoln senseless; landing more punches to his face and dunking his head in the water repeatedly. Unable to process the very beating he was receiving, Lincoln had even less brainpower to process why Ronnie Anne was hitting him in the first place.
The Louds, hearing the commotion from outside, all came to the back porch to see what was unfolding between the two. Watching Lincoln get beaten senseless by Ronnie Anne was not exactly a new occurrence to the family, but never did her beatings come without reason, leaving them to wonder what the meaning was.
Between the two partners, the reason starts to come forth by way of dialogue.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?! What did I do?!" Lincoln asked.
"What did you do? You haven't done anything, that's the problem. You've just been sitting on your little pale ass all day while Silver Sentinel lets those 5 roam free to tear up the city!" Ronnie Anne said.
"Oh, no, you too? That's just one of Lisa's conspir-"
Not allowing him to finish his sentence, Ronnie Anne dunked his head under the water again, lifting him back up to cough up the water from his mouth and recover.
"It is not just a conspiracy theory. I didn't trust Silver Sentinel the instant I saw him, and I still don't. He is lying to you to try to get rid of you, why can't you see that?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Didn't you hear his story? There's no way that was a lie. Anybody could see that kind of emotion was genuine." Lincoln said.
"Bullshit. You know and I know that silver son of a bitch was lying."
"But what if he wasn't? He was right, I didn't think this through. What if somebody went and died on me because I couldn't save them? I couldn't live with that."
"Because you decided to call it quits, people are getting robbed and attacked countlessly. How does that lay on your conscience? It doesn't sit well, does it? So why don't you just put on the costume and show that silver stupidhead what's what?"
"Because I don't want to anymore."
"Oh, you don't?!"
Dunking his head in the water one more time, Ronnie Anne held him under for a slightly longer period of time, wanting Lincoln to lose some of his breath. Letting him back up again, Ronnie Anne let Lincoln breath in once again, driving him to cough up water to recover.
"I can't believe you, Lincoln. I can't believe that I can actually have any sort of feeling for some kind of coward that'll just shrivel up and die like you're doing. The boy I love wouldn't just give up." Ronnie Anne said.
"So what if I come back? People are just going to yell at me and blame me all over again. Nobody believes in me anymore." Lincoln said.
"I believe in you, Lincoln. I believe you can do it!"
"Well, I don't!"
Hearing Lincoln's admission come out so bluntly and clearly, the entire group observing the conversation all went dead silent; none daring to speak at the revelation that came from the 12-year old boy. More impressive than the silence of the family and of Ronnie Anne was the silence of Lincoln, barely able to believe the words that came out of his own mouth.
Where he was expecting the fist of Ronnie Anne to strike him once again, she instead released her grip on him, letting him float back in the water. Gone was the look of anger in her face; an anger meant to bring back his motivation as a hero, and in its place was left only disappointment.
"Well, you said you didn't want to be left a loser, but, look at you now: A loser, just like you said. Congratulations." Ronnie Anne said.
Climbing out of the pool, Ronnie Anne proceeded to head back home, unable to face the pathetic and cowardly Lincoln Loud any longer. Watching Ronnie Anne leave him in the pool, Lincoln began to reflect on what he had just said; still unable to believe that he had just said those words.
For many years, the one and only fear that remained in his life was the fear of becoming a nobody. Being surrounded by an entire family that pursued their own passions, he never had any real passion of his own. Having found one now, he had simply let it go; no longer having the drive to pursue it.
Now, he has become his worst fear, and he was forced to live with it.
"She's right. I'm a loser." Lincoln said.