Two hours ago…..
"I'm just saying we could have avoided this detour all together if you had just remembered to fill up your emergency fuel tank before driving off. It's always better to stay prepared if case you run out of gas." Lynn lectured his daughter while carrying the portable gas tank in his hand.
"I'm not talking to you." A surly Lori replied as she entered the gas station, followed by her father.
"Lori, listen to me." The father's voice grew sterner. "If you want to be independent and drive your own car, you'll need to learn a thing or two-"
"I'm not listening to you!" she turned around sharply. "You made me ditch Bobby for nothing! I won't forgive you for that!"
The clerk at the counter tried to speak up but the family argument continued in front of her.
"It wasn't for nothing." Lynn put his foot down. "We talked about it thoroughly and your mother gave you the option-"
"She forced me to come with you, that's what she did." Lori crossed her arms and looked away. "And why did you come with me? Not like I need a freaking chaperone to fill up a fuel tank! I'm sixteen dammit!"
"Because…you're not acting your age!" Lynn said exasperatedly "…and because you clearly upset her and she wants some space." In actuality, he was pretty sure Rita had chosen to stay because she didn't think he was "manly" enough to guard Lori's car, which had run out of gas on the highway, but not before getting a ticket for speeding 100 km/h, in an attempt to get away from her parents' car as fast as possible. An act of spite that backfired on her spectacularly.
"Excuse me?" the clerk spoke up irritably. "Are you going to buy something or are you just going to make me watch your stupid squabble?"
"Whatever!" Lori turned away from her father and forked over the cash. "We just need to fill up that tank. Didn't get the fuel because my stupid parents were in SUCH a hurry."
"Hurry!? Now listen here, young lady!" Lynn stormed up to the counter, confronting her. The clerk rolled her eyes.
"You are not going to talk to us like that. Do you hear me!"
"Uhhh…I'm literally so scared." Lori humored him mockingly. "Are you going to diss out a stern lecture in retribution?"
Lynn was just seconds away from blowing a fuse, when a new voice entered the conversation.
"Excuse me, man, but can you hurry this along? I need to make a withdraw."
"Withdraw?" a puzzled Lynn turned around. "What withdraw?"
He was faced with a guy in a ski mask, who was pointing a gun at them.
Lori gasped while Lynn screeched and stumbled back, his back slamming into a stack of cans, knocking the whole pyramided over and burying himself underneath ensuing avalanche.
The robber laughed in amusement before pointing his gun at Lori and the clerk, who both held their hands up.
"Nobody move, this is a stick-up!" he told the blonde, who nodded fearfully, before turning to the clerk and throwing a bag to her. "Alright, tutz! You know the drill!" The clerk obeyed and filled up the bag with the money from the cash register before handing it to him.
The robber stepped back, still aiming his gun at the three. He got out of the station but then noticed the Louds' car. And the driver door was open. And the key was still plugged in.
"I'll be…" the masked man laughed in disbelief. A smooth heist, a getaway vehicle and a free show? "This must be my lucky day!"
Just a mile down the road, Rita was leaning against the hood of Lori's new car, waiting impatiently. She wanted to go home so bad, as crazy as that seemed. Not just to see if everything was okay with her kids, but also because it was such a long and tiresome day. Mainly because of Lori. She could really have used some of Lincoln and Lynn's courtesy and consideration right now.
"Where are they?" she grumbled. "How long does it take to fill up a fuel tank and pay for it?"
Suddenly, she saw her car speed past her, so fast that it made her jump. "Lynn? Lori?" she blurted when she noticed a registration plate spinning through the air and hitting the asphalt with a loud clang.
Rita grabbed it and saw that it was indeed hers. The implications were clear to her.
"Mom!" Lori appeared behind her, with Lynn struggling to keep up in the distance. Lori panted and rested on her knees.
"There's something…" Lori panted "….your car…"
"Oh, please no!" Rita threw the plate away and clutched her head in anger. They were not just carjacked!
Present…
"Mmmmmphp! Hmmmmphp! Hmmph!" Luan struggled against her binds, wedged in the small closet.
Her phone had started ringing in her pocket. "Mmmmphph!" she cried, in vain trying to reach it until it stopped ringing. She had no idea how much time had passed between that and finally hearing the door getting unlocked.
"Mppf!" Luan frantically leaped out and, big shock, immediately toppled over. Luckily, Ryan caught her.
"Luan!" Lucy blurted in shock. Ryan, on the other hand, didn't look even mildly surprised.
"Figures." He said as he put Luan down. "Renee came to interrogate you, you knew squat and she decided to store you someplace save until she wrangled up the rest of us? Am I a 100 % correct?"
"Mphpmmmph!" Luan squirmed angrily while Lucy tried to untie the binds on her waist.
"Right, right?" Ryan pulled the bandana down. "Guess that gag isn't to your liking?"
Luan coughed before giving him an annoyed look. Ryan held his hands up sheepishly.
"Oh, come on. You'd have loved that pun if ya hadn't just spent a few hours tied-up in a closet."
"These knots are tight." Lucy couldn't undo the binds.
"Course they are, Renee did them." Ryan replied before popping out his trusty switchblade. "Don't worry, I got this."
Luan winced fearfully as Ryan cut through the rope and she was finally free to move. Luan stood up on wobblily legs, shaky and disoriented.
"You alright?" Ryan asked more gently. The girl looked at him forlornly before embracing him tightly, still trembling.
"Hey, hey, it's cool. I won't let her lay a paw on you again." Ryan awkwardly tried to reassure her, while also trying not to get too excited. Lynn. Remember, Lynn.
Luan let go but then went agape after seeing his black eye. "Your eye? Wha-"
"A little scuffle with Renee, nothing serious." Ryan said in a self-assured tone.
Lucy cleared her throat. "I came to look for you too."
"Oh, sorry." Luan said bashfully and kneeled down to hug the younger girls. Lucy hadn't been asking for a hug, but she didn't mind it.
"Are you okay? Did Kathleen or Renee hurt you?" Luan asked.
"No, but Scoots did a little." Lucy explained while rubbing the bruise on her arm.
"Scoots?"
"Long story, been working at the children's hospital, then at your gramps's nursing home." Ryan told her.
"Good news, now that Renee's hospital bills and some other bills are covered, Kathleen should be out of our hair, for now." Lucy explained but then fidgeted. "Well…unless…"
"Bad news, or good news, however you want to look at it…" Ryan shrugged. "…she took Pinky with her after my sis nearly snapped the brat's neck."
"Just take one step at a time. Slow and steady." Lincoln guided Luna into the living room, a very dead-eyed, lethargic Luna. When they had opened the hatch, Luna had been catatonic and it took some slapping from Lynn to get her to start moving again.
Leni, on the other hand, had been the opposite. "So what have you been up to? I want to hear everything!" she skipped in cheerfully.
"Leni, do you even remember where you were?" Lynn asked her with a look of utter disbelief.
"Huh?" the blonde looked at her, before smiling. "Oh, the bunker of course!"
"Yes, the bunker." Lynn replied exasperatedly. "You were locked up there last night and you've been stuck in that place this whole day."
"Whole day?" Leni looked surprised. "Huh? It didn't really feel that long? Or maybe it's because I spent the time thinking about where to take Chad on a date?"
She squealed. "Oh, it was the most romantic daydream I ever had! I planned everything out perfectly!"
"Didn't you need to use the bathroom?" Lana asked idly.
"Bathroom?" The moment that thought entered Leni's pee brain, her bowels and bladder started hurting like crazy and she started doing the pee-pee dance while clutching her lower half.
"I totes have to go to the little girl's room. Talk later!" she ran up the stairs, leaving her siblings stupified.
"Ignorance really is a blessing, Lana." The jock snarked to her sister. "If only I had such iron focus while dealing with all those jerkface teachers that won't fork over a hall pass, even when your bladder has grown to the size of a basketball."
"I totally thought they would have made the bunker smell worse than Cliff's litterbox by now." Lana sniggered.
"B..bhh…bra…" Luna started mumbling "…where…am…I?"
"Luna?" Lincoln grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her. "Luna! Snap out of it! You're out, you're free!"
Luna looked around, her eyes not seeming to focus on anything, until her hand started feeling Lynn's face.
"Knock it off!" the jock stepped back and slapped her hand away. "What are you doing?"
"All those colors? All those shapes? The light, there's so much light?" Luna rambled. "All I remember is the dark, man! Pitch-black, empty darkness. Black everywhere I looked? All I heard were voices, just voices?" the rocker rambled as she stumbled around as if she were in an alien environment.
"I think her time-out took a heavy toll on her?" Lincoln told the others worriedly.
"Yeah, no kidding?" Lynn put her hands on her hips. "She looks messed-up."
"I feel kinda bad for her, guys?" Lana admitted.
"Me too." Lynn shrugged. "But then again, she flaked on us while you were running amok. So I don't feel too bad for her."
"Lynn!" Lincoln gave her a scolding look. "I don't condone her actions either, but this is way too severe. She didn't deserve to have her brain reduced to mush from solitary confinement."
"You're right…" Lynn rubbed her chin. "But lemme try something to snap her out?"
Lincoln grew a concerned look. "Lynn, it's not something physical, is it?"
"As if!" the jock laughed him off before turning to the rocker.
"Hey, Luna? We forgot to tell you something?"
The rocker glanced at her, looking twitchier and more bug-eyed than Gollum on crack. Lynn just hoped this would divert her sister's attention away from the bunker stuff. She remembered being pretty annoyed when Margo, Paula and the others were caught up ogling the boy teams instead of focusing on winning. Judging from her clear fixation on Sam, Luna was no different.
"That Sam girl? Your best bud, that you were dying to take to that SMOOCH concert?"
"Sam? What about Sam?" that name earned her Luna's immediate attention.
Score! "Well, looks like she didn't care too much about sharing that special experience with her BF. She went out with some guy named Sully, me and Renee ran into them. Some friend, huh? Ditching you for a cute guy?" Lynn shrugged jokingly. "Pals before gals, too bad girls don't have a similar motto."
"Sully?" Luna remembered now, and her demeanor changed to one of frustration. "I can't believe Sam did me dirty like this, this was supposed to be our moment! Bloody hell!"
Lincoln couldn't believe it. "Lynn? Color me impressed."
"I know, wasn't sure myself." Lynn shrugged. "Guess no girls likes their best friends bailing on them for some stinking boy….eh, no offense, Linc."
"None taken. Not like I enjoy seeing Clyde eyeballing some pretty girls. I mean, I don't mind him dating but…..it's not like he has a chance with any of them. He doesn't handle rejection well."
"Really? I'd think Clyde not focusing on you would be a good thing?" Lana asked snidely.
"True that." Lynn laughed and high-fived her sister. Lincoln was annoyed but just rolled his eyes. They did sort of have a point, in that being less fixated on him would do Clyde some good.
"What did you see them do!"
The three were caught-off guard by the question. Luna was looking at them with frantic focus.
"Me and Lincoln never saw them?" Lana explained, confused. "Only Lynn did."
"Eh…they were going on a date?" Lynn cocked an eyebrow. "I mean, Sam said they were just going as friends, but any idiot could read between the lines."
"I mean, what did you see them do?" Luna came uncomfortably close to the jock, looking as serious as she ever did.
Lynn stepped back. "Eh, I just saw them leaving the concert, I think they said they were going for a smoothie? What's it to ya? That ain't our business."
"Yeah, isn't that Sully guy one of your bandmates too?" Lincoln asked. "You said he was a pretty cool guy if I recall?"
"That's not…" Luna became tongue tied and turned away. "You blokes don't ge….ge..ge-RENEE!"
She panicked at the sight of their babysitter sitting in the armchair just a few feet away from them.
Luna fell to her knees and shielded her head and neck with her arms. "Please don't hurt me, master! I've been good! I sat out my time! Just don't hurt me, great, glorious one! I beg you!"
Renee was unresponsive, only resting her head in her hand with a bland expression, but Luna crawled up to her, pleading. "Please don't hurt me! I've been good! I swear I've been good!"
"Guess where we found Luan-wow?" Ryan arrived and halted, along with Luan and Lucy. "Did we miss something?"
"I'll be good." Luna bent down and kissed the shoes of the still unresponsive Renee. "I'll be good. I'll be good. Just down throw me back into the darkness." Luna continued her groveling and feet-kissing.
The others watched this with confused and/or squeamish expressions.
"Eh, Renee?" Ryan spoke. "Could you order Moon Girl to stop that, it's…..weirding us out."
"Meh.." was Renee's response, much to the others' collective confusion.
"Luna? Luna!" Lincoln called her. "Can you please stop that?"
Luna looked at him like a cowering rabbit. "Can't stop. No have master's permission." She said in a raspy…well raspier, Gollum-esque voice.
"Guys, I'm scared." Lana took a step behind Lynn.
"I'm somewhat fascinated." Lucy admitted.
"Well, I'm just creeped out." Lynn shuddered. "Can someone take her to her room? She obviously needs lottsa bed rest."
"I ain't touching that." Ryan snarked.
"Me neither." Luan took a step behind him.
"Don't look at me?" Lynn pointed at herself.
"Fine! I'll do it." Lincoln volunteered, unable to look at this any more than the others.
"C'mon, sis." he grabbed her by the arm and forced her up. "Let's get you to bed."
"No! Master no give permission!" Luna cried, still talking like Gollum. "Master. Me sorry. Me not doing this!"
"Do whatever you want…" Renee dismissed them monotonously, still looking in the same direction.
Laboriously, Lincoln led Luna up the stairs.
"I have a hunch she won't be causing noise complaints for a long time." Ryan deduced.
"I think it will take years of rehab for her to even touch a guitar again?" Lucy added with morbid fascination. "The inner workings of her mind must be in shambles."
"Forget her, Ryan. What's the deal with your sister?" Lynn pointed at Renee.
Ryan looked at her, likewise confused by her behavior. The five of them approached the babysitter, who was still as lethargic and unresponsive as ever. It was she like she didn't even register their presence.
"Oh, I get it now?" Lynn crossed her arms. "You're sulky because Kathleen made a fool out of you? Is that it?"
"Kathleen did what?" Luan looked at the jock.
"Meh…" Renee responded blandly. The others didn't know what to say to that? They had already given her a major dressing-down, what more was there left to say?
After a prolonged silence, Ryan asked her, "Are we supposed to go to bed or something? I'm pretty sure it's past our curfew?"
"Meh….do whatever you want?" Renee waved her hand dismissively.
Everyone was confused beyond belief. "We…what now?" Ryan was besides himself.
"Are you giving us permission for autonomy?" Lucy asked.
"What the hell are you talking about, Pasty?" Lynn asked the goth in annoyance. "Use English."
"Meh…."
"Guys, did I miss something here?" Luan stepped up, studying Renee. "Did she get a lobotomy while I was tied-up or something?"
"One way to find out?" Ryan replied. "Let's try and provoke her. Any volunteers?"
The girls looked unnerved and all took a step back. Ryan rolled his eye. "Fine. Always me having to take the risk." He snarked. "Way to profile me as the token person with balls here."
He turned to Renee, trying to think of a way to piss her off? That was his forte. But idle insults didn't work on her. What to say?
"Damn, Kathleen sure made a monkey out of you back there? I mean, losing your temper like that? How retarded do you have to be? Self-discipline and maturity my ass!"
He immediately jumped back and flinched, as did the girls. But Renee didn't move a muscle.
Ryan was confused. "Nothing? Alright, lemme try something else? You're a shit valedictorian, you know that? Eh….you only became class president all those times because you rigged the votes! Eh…remember how that Abigale chick got an invite to Yale but you didn't!"
Nothing. "I used your toothbrush to clean the toilet! I let Marceline sleep in your closest while you were away!"
Still nothing. Ryan grew frustrated. "That B- you got in home ec? Pathetic! Eh…I burned all your books back home out of spite! You're fat and ugly!"
"Let me try." Lynn stepped up. "Look, we're about to wreak havoc in this house and break a lot of stuff. Mom and dad will be pissed and you'll reputation will be over!"
"Meh….it already is…" Renee said dully. "Do whatever you want. I don't care."
Annoyed, Lynn swung her arm and smacked her in the face. The others all gasped in shocked, she had done it now!
But Renee, despite the big red hand mark appearing on her cheek, just uttered a dull "ow."
"Guys?" Ryan looked at the other sisters. "I think something broke in her."
"You mean she's totally docile now?" Luan asked. Ryan just shrugged.
The comedian scowled and approached Renee, anger bubbling up. "What the hell is wrong with you! You tied me up and gagged me and locked me in a closet! Are you crazy! Who does something like that!" she yelled, her spit hitting Renee in the face, but still not inciting any reaction.
"You know who does that? Lyle does that! A mental case like him! A total psychopath!" Luan raved before clutching her head in horror. "Oh, god! I can't believe I've been kidnapped three times this week and tied up two times! How does that happen! I'm only a kid!"
"Luan…" Lucy grabbed her arm and caressed it. "Take a deep breath, everything will be alright."
"Sociopath, not a psychopath." Renee said blandly. "There's a difference."
"I don't care what you are! Take this!" a vengeful Lana kicked her in the shin (of her good leg) with all her strength, but Renee didn't even flinch. Therefor Lana found no satisfaction in her attack, neither did Lynn.
"Guys!" the tomboy complained. "How are we supposed to get payback when she won't even feel pain!"
"We won't be taking payback." Ryan told her sternly.
"But-"
"But nothing. He's right, Lana." Lynn agreed. "Watching her like this is creeping me out. If we're going to be free tonight, let's do it away from zombie girl here."
"Zombies? What zombies?!" Lincoln came back, looking alarmed.
"Chill, bro. There are no flue zombies here." Lynn explained, much to Lana's confusion. Luan was still too worked-up to hear any of that and was being calmed down by Lucy.
"Only something is wrong with Renee?" Lynn jabbed her thumb in the babysitter's direction. "I smacked her in the face and she did nothing."
"You smacked her?" Lincoln's eyes widened until he noticed how placid and unresponsive Renee was. "What's going on here?"
"She has gone catatonic." Ryan shrugged. Lincoln examined her and waved his hand in front of her face, with no response.
"Don't you have video games to play?" Renee suddenly spoke, making Lincoln flinch a little. "Or to hit each other with pillows?"
Lincoln noticed the mark on her face, and realized Lynn hadn't been joking about her physical assault.
"Ryan, what's going on with her?"
"Hell if I know?" Ryan shrugged, when it hit him. "Wait? I think I….I think I've seen her like this before?"
"Huddle time." He told the others and they all moved away from Renee, except for Luan, who stood in place still shaken and breathing heavily.
"I'll take Luan to bed, I'll be back in a minute." Lucy volunteered and took the comedian upstairs.
The others huddled into a ring, except for Lana, who could only look up from below.
"So what's going on with her?" Lynn asked.
"As you said, she's sulking."
"Sulking?" Lincoln asked.
"As you may have noticed these last two days, Renee is very strong-willed. But the thing about people like here, if someone does manage to break them, they crumble like wet newspaper. I remember her acting this way when she got that B- on her report card. Though it never was as bad as this."
"So…so you're saying we did this to her?" Lincoln asked.
"Not sure. Depends if what we said meant anything to her. I'd wager it has more to do with Kathleen one-upping her by claiming Pinky. Renee doesn't think she can be outsmarted, especially not by someone she would call an "airheaded bimbo". Though I guess us calling her a failure and a phony in the immediate aftermath probably didn't help."
Lynn broke away and put her hands on her hips. "So in other words, this is just her way of wallowing in self-pity? That's pathetic."
"Guys! Guys!" their conversation was interrupted by Lisa's voice. They all looked up and saw her standing on top of the stairs. "Have any of you seen Fenton? I can't find his husk where Lincoln last dropped it?"
"Right here." The kids turned and saw Fenton standing to their left, and holding a dart gun. Renee sent a lethargic glance at the fox-bot. The other's gasped as they saw Fenton aiming his gun at Lisa, who likewise froze upon realizing that.
"Shit! He's finally turned evil!" Lynn blurted. "And he's trying to kill his creator!"
Acting fast, Lynn grabbed the first thing in reach, an empty vase and threw it at the robot. It shattered upon impact and made Fenton fall down, but it was too late. He had pulled the trigger and the dart now flew towards the group. They all jumped out of the way, causing it to bounce off a wall mirror.
"Ah!" they heard Lynn cry and the jock saw the dart sticking out of her arm. The others gasped, while she instinctively pulled it out and throw it to the ground.
"Lynn!" Ryan cried.
"Oh, god!" she panicked. "What was this stuff was it-agh!" she winced in pain and stumbled back, grabbing the telephone table for support.
"Lynn?" Lincoln approached her, along with Ryan and Lana.
"No, no, no, no!" Lisa rushed down the stairs and joined them. Had one of her creations finally killed one of her siblings?
Lynn erected herself and looked back at them. They were all taken aback upon seeing a familiar sight. Her eyes flashed green.
"Guys? What's happening?!" Lynn cried. "What's going on!"
"Your eyes? They are green?" Ryan responded. "Like…like…"
"Like with Lyle!" Lincoln finished.
"Lynn, how are you feeling?" Lisa asked worriedly.
"I…" Lynn tried to focus. Her heart was beating at a rapid pace and she could hardly stand still. "I feel like I just chugged down ten cans of energy drinks?"
She didn't feel any pain, she just felt very hyper-stimulated. The thought occurred to her to run 100 laps around the house.
"Everyone, stay calm." Lisa advised them. "You too, Lynn. Just let the serum run its course and you should be fine."
Lynn grew a strained grin, looking crazed. "Run its…." But suddenly, all that new energy ebbed away in an instant and she was overcome by fatigued.
"…course." She fell on her back. The others quickly encircled her. To their relief, her chest was rising up and down.
"Guys, what's going on?" Lana's voice cracked, she looked like she was on the verge of crying. "Is Lynn alright?"
"Do not fret. I did not change allegiance. Only following orders." They heard Fenton's robotic voice.
The others backed away in fear, as he was still holding the dart gun, but Lisa stepped up.
"Following orders? Fenton!" she ranted. "What in Tesla's name were you doing!?"
"No reason for alarm. You were in no danger." The robot reassured her. "Temporary Master Renee. Instructed me to. Shoot you with serum X-54 against. Your will, Subject Lisa."
"You told him to shoot at us?!" Ryan gave his sister a furious glare.
"Yes. A poorly thought-out act of desperation." She said lamely. "Forgot to tell him to abort the mission."
"What do you mean by "shooting me against my will"?" Lisa interrogated the robot.
"I was restarted by Temporary. Master Renee and she requested. That I synthesize a distilled. Version of serum X-54 in order to. Accelerate yours and hers. Fracture repair. She designated you as. First test subject."
"You wanted to use this stuff to cover your tracks?!" Lincoln glared at their babysitter.
But Ryan stormed up to his sister. Lincoln felt nervous. There were few things that would legitimately piss Ryan off, and hurting Lynn was one of those. He knew he had no power to stop him, and frankly, in the moment, he didn't want to.
"This was all your stupid plan to save your skin?!" Ryan growled at his sister. "You couldn't accept defeat, could you? You had to have another ace up your sleeve! And what you said to me at the nursing home? That was just to throw me off?"
"Yes." Renee said simply. "A flawed idea clearly. Befitting a failure."
Ryan fumed. He had half a mind to break every bone of hers that was spared during her fall. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
"The only reason I'm not beating the shit out of you right now is because you're practically in a bodycast as it is." He hissed wit barely contained anger.
"Do whatever you want. I don't care." Renee remained absolutely apathetic.
Ryan turned around in a huff and rejoined the group. Lincoln grabbed the dart gun away from Fenton.
"I'll be taking that!" he barked.
"C'mon, let's get her to bed." Ryan looked at Lynn sullenly. As they took her up the stairs, they forgot about Fenton, who walked over to his current master.
Except for Lisa who stopped and looked back, only to see Fenton reveal another dart from a compartment in his left arm and hold it up.
"Temporary Master Renee? I saved a second dose of. The serum. Do you still wish that. We use it on you?"
"Meh…"
Lisa's eyes widened.
"Lyle woke up pretty quickly? Why is she still unconscious?" Lincoln worried, as they watched Lynn lying on her bed.
"Maybe that has something to do with the serum being "distilled"? I'm not seeing any side effects?" Lucy noted.
Ryan watched in silence, nibbling on his finger nails. "Come on, Lynn. You're stronger than some stupid alternative roids."
"Will she be alright?" Lana asked.
Charles reared up on the bed frame and licked the tween. It caused Lynn to stir, much to everyone's relief.
"Ughh…." She sat up, rubbing her head. "Where am I?"
"Lynn, are you alright?" Ryan was by her side like the speed of light, gently touching her hand.
"I…ugh…where's Pop-Pop?" she opened her eyes and looked around. "It this my room?
"She's having amnesia?" Lincoln realized. "Just like Lyle?"
"Yeah, but she only forgot what happened for the last hour or so?" Lucy noticed.
"Forgot?" Lynn shook her head, when her memory flooded back. "Wait, I remember? We came back home, Renee….she was acting weird but…wut…what happened after that? I feel like I blacked out?"
Ryan chuckled a little. "That's because you did? That pintsized Foxy shot you with a dart, you see? Knocked you out cold."
Now she remembered. "Fenton?" she started losing her cool. "What did he pump into me? Poison?"
"Relax, Lynn. He hasn't turned evil, he was just following an order." Lincoln explained. "And it wasn't from Lisa. You, in fact, saved her by accidently taking the bullet, so to speak."
"So Renee sent him to do that?" Lynn realized, no longer groggy. "Why that…ugh…I'm gonna…"
"Lynn, I'm glad you're alright…" Lana hugged her other arm. The jock glanced aside and smiled a little.
"I'm fine, squirt. Just got knocked out."
"Yeah…" Lana's attention was diverted to something else. "Say, what's that?" she picked something up that she found behind Lynn's back. "Is this a new pet?"
Lincoln raised an eyebrow. "No, looks like…..why is it the same color as Lynn's hair?"
Lana now held it up with one hand. As it dangled, both Cliff and Marceline jumped at it and started playing with it.
Squinting, Lynn recognized the distinct ponytail shape of the object. She also felt a strong breeze on the back of her head.
Her blood ran cold and a look of terror flushed across her features. "My hair? No….nope…" she felt around the back of her head anxiously but only felt naked skin.
"My hair!" she turned her head around, revealing the back of it to the others, who all recoiled at the sight of a large bald patch covering most of her scalp. Lynn's touching caused more strings of hair to fall off.
"Lynn, don't touch it. You're making it worse!" Ryan warned her. Lynn stopped, and looked at them, stunned and mortified.
"Please tell me this a hallucination caused by the serum!" she pleaded to them.
"I don't recall that as a side effect with Lyle." Lucy said matter-of-factly. "But he did go as bald as Nosferatu?"
They all covered their ears as Lynn screamed like a banshee. Marceline, Cliff and Charles all ran out of the room.
They zapped past Lisa in the hall, who was accompanied by Fenton, and missing her arm cast. The scream made her cringe.
"It would appear there. Were side effects with her." The robot deduced.
Albert was rummaging through an old chest in his room while holding his old-fashion cell phone to his ear with his shoulder.
"I'll find that money even if it kills me." The grandfather grumbled. "Eh, don't fret, Lincoln. I'll be there by morning. That's a promise from Pop-Pop!"
Albert didn't really like that name, but that's what Lori and Leni called him when they were toddlers and it quickly caught on with his growing pack of grandkids. He just didn't have the heart to tell them to knock it off with the nickname. Seymour was the one who was into poppin' n lockin' and hip hop in his prime, Albert couldn't stand that stuff.
Speaking of that guy, he was currently having another dispute with Scoots in the hallway.
"This is a democracy, Scoots! Now get off my back!"
"You primates have no business touchin' a ballot paper! Now where's that riffle you smuggled!"
"I told you, I don't have one! And you're a primate too!"
"I am NOT! Evolution is a conspiracy theory preached by hippies!"
"Pop-Pop? Is something wrong there?" Albert heard his grandson.
"Nah….just some friendly banter." Albert replied. By Scoots' standards, that was friendly banter.
"Anyway, I think I'll bribe my way into an extended leave of absence. I'll be there to help." He told Lincoln.
"It's okay, Pop-Pop. Some stuff happened." Lincoln said from the other end of the line. "And we kind of have things under wraps for now. You can take your time if you're having trouble."
"I'll try to anyway. This place has been a bit too hectic lately, especially with those "Teens of Tomorrow"." Albert replied. "Take care of yourself until then. See you."
They ended the call and Albert sighed. He really needed a vacation from this crazy place. Senile, cankerous seniors and meddling teens were a recipe for disaster.
"That stash has to be here somewhere?" He looked around.
"Get your stinkin' paws off me, you red menaces swine!" Scoots yelled flippantly as she was carried under the arm of a muscular woman with her hair styled in two buns. "I know you are one of the spies infiltratin' our government!"
"Spokoynoy nochi, Albert." The caretaker waved casually.
"Goodnight, Olga." Albert waved back before resuming his search for his stash.
He went to look under the mattress, while he heard Olga's voice from the end of the hall, "Stop biting my arrm, babushka. It's annoying."
Lincoln tucked his phones into his pocket. They had to surrender those to Kathleen while on duty, much like with Renee, so they could focus on their task entirely. If Lori was any indicator, he couldn't really fault Kathleen for taking that precaution. But he knew now how much he had needed it.
He wondered if their parents tried calling them and couldn't reach them, so they called the babysitter in the end. He still wondered what their delay was, but he knew that it would be hard to squeeze out an answer out of Renee now.
But there was another issue they had to deal with. But this one was more….hairy. Or lack thereof.
One misfired dart of faulty alternate steroids later, and Lynn had lost her ponytail….. and most of the hair on the back of her head. Understandably, the jock freaked out and covered her patch of shame with a beanie, the same one Ryan had used for his "Brian Tyler" disguise.
"Lynn, will you please open up?" Ryan knocked on the bathroom door, which was locked. No response.
He sighed despondently. "I think she'll stay there all night, guys."
Lana started knocking too. "Come on, Lynn? We promise, we won't laugh at you!" Still nothing.
"Could have been worse?" Lucy told her half-heartedly. She wasn't Lynn's biggest fan, clearly, but even she thought this was too harsh of a punishment for her sporty sister. "I saw what happened to Lyle, at least you have half of your hair intact and no acne."
"Any progress?" Lincoln rejoined them.
"Gee? She's still locked up in the bathroom and won't talk, take a wild guess!" Ryan told him belligerently.
"Hey! You think I'm happy about this?" Lincoln retorted just as irritably.
"Don't fight, please." Lucy came between them. "It won't accomplish anything."
"Lincoln, did you call mom and dad?" Lana asked.
"Not yet, I called Pop-Pop first to tell him he shouldn't hurry to be here by morning, because we have things under wraps for now. I don't think mom and dad will be upset, with us at least, once they come home."
"Lincoln?" Lucy looked at him oddly. "Did you forget about Renee, Lisa and Lynn's conditions?"
"No, but I don't think the first two will be an issue now." Lincoln sighed in resignation and stepped aside, revealing Lisa and Fenton.
"Hey?" Lisa waved awkwardly, with the arm that should have been in the cast.
"You little!" Ryan stepped up but Lincoln jumped between them.
"Calm down, it's not her fault." He told the other boy. "Your sister gave Fenton the command to open fire, and he's just a soulless machine that simply follows orders from his designated master. Nothing personal."
"Once more. If I had emotions. My feelings would be hurt." Fenton said robotically.
"Lisa? Your arm?" Lucy noticed.
"Yes, it's healed again, I suppose you can figure out how I accomplished that."
Ryan sneered. "You injected yourself with that crap too?"
"Yes, I didn't want to unnecessarily upset mother and father upon their return. So I took the chance. Fenton scanned me and Renee, and has found all our vitals to be functioning properly. A brief black out was worth the instant recovery."
"Wait? Renee took that stuff too? But where's the side effects?" Ryan asked.
Lisa lifted her hair and showed a small bald patch on the right side of her head. "I did experience some, but it seems that by injecting the serum in my damaged arm, its properties were mostly focused on refusing the bone. And since your sister had so many broken bones, she suffered no side effects."
"So Renee is completely healed again?" Lucy asked.
"Completely. I supposed we won't have to explain the window incident after all?" Lisa gave an awkward smile. "Lucky, right?"
"A real deus ex machina that was." Lincoln sighed. He should have been happier about it, but he had a sneaking suspicion that whatever caused their parents and Lori to delay their return would more than make up for the "window incident"?
"So my sister's up and running again?" Ryan narrowed his eyes.
"Eh, she's making tea right now, I think?" Lisa fidgeted. "She didn't seem any happier after her miraculous recovery, still very despondent based on my observations."
Ryan wanted to go down to the kitchen and kick his sister's ass all cross the living room floor. But that would have to wait. Right now, he was more concerned about seeing Lynn again.
Speaking of that, he glared at Fenton. "Lizzie, would you be kind enough to get that abomination out of my sight before I lose my cool." He said passive-aggressively.
"Eh….sure." Lisa didn't take his unsubtle threat lightly. "Fenton. Go and….stand in my room and do nothing until I return."
"As you wish, Master Lisa." Fenton turned around and waddled away.
"Master? So you're back in charge?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes, Renee relinquished command. Actually, I asked her to give me back command of Fenton and she just said "Meh…Fenton, go back to her". She's seemed fairly apathetic about it."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm ever so slightly relived about that." Ryan snorted. The lesser evil controlling the killer robot was still preferable to the greater evil being his master.
"But what about Lynn?" Lana spoke up. "Lisa? Can't you mix up some kind of hair-growth serum?"
"No, no…" Lisa raised her hands. "Too many variables, I would need to test it two dozen times before I could be absolutely certain that it works and has no dangerous side effects. By the time I perfected that, Lynn's hair would grow back naturally."
"But then, what are we going to do about it?" Lana asked.
"Nothing, I'm afraid." Lincoln shook his head. "Lynn will have to calm herself first. All we can do for the moment is give her space. Besides, I want to know what happened to mom and dad, but maybe it's better we hear it from Renee first instead of calling them, better prepare ourselves."
"You think it's bad?" Lucy asked.
Lincoln sighed. "Only one way to find out. It can't be too bad. Renee did say nobody was hurt."
"Unless she was lying." Lucy said bitterly.
"Let's hear her out first." Lincoln insisted.
"Yeah….I'd rather not see her again." Ryan crossed his arms.
"Fair enough." Lincoln admitted. "Can you just wait somewhere? There's nothing left to do but go to sleep anyway."
"Fine by me." Ryan shrugged. "I'll go take a snooze."
"And don't bother Lynn. Just let her breathe."
"Alright, I promise." Ryan nodded, while crossing his fingers behind his back.
"You know, I think I'll go to bed to." Lisa said. "All the teleportation and the serum took their toll on me."
Nobody argued against it, so Lisa took it as her cue to leave. Lana yawned.
"Lana, you should go to bed too." Lincoln advised.
"No way! I want to know what happened to mom and dad too!" Lana complained, before rubbing her eyes.
"Fine, let's go." Lincoln gave in and led his two younger sisters down the stairs. Ryan pretended to go to Lynn and Lucy's room, only to make a sharp U-turn once the others were out of sight and pulled a hair pin from his pocket.
He carefully picked the lock and the bathroom door opened. He found Lynn sitting on the toilet, curled up in a fetal position. She opened one puffy eye to see who it was.
"I heard everything." She sniffed weakly. "Liar."
"It was just a little white lie." Ryan insisted sheepishly.
"Beat it…" she grumbled, pulling the beanie over her eyes.
Ryan, unsurprisingly, didn't listen. Rubbing the back of his neck, he came closer and crouched next to her.
"You deaf?" Lynn grumbled, her face flushing red.
"Look, Lynn….I'm sorry…"
"Of course you are…" she muttered.
"Lynn, accidents happen, okay?" He really wasn't good at this sensitivity crap, but for her, he was willing to push the limits of his capabilities. "With all the crazy shit we've endured, some damage was inevitable."
"And as Lucy said, it could have been a lot worse. It will grow back, y'know? Remember how I lost my pinky?" Ryan wiggled his hand in front of her, showing all five fingers.
"That wouldn't grow back, but I learned to live with it."
Lynn grunted, but she gave her friend a cautious peek with one eye. Her cheeks were still crimson.
"And don't worry. You'll be avenged." Ryan patted her shoulder. "I'll kick Renee's keister for it, but at a better time. You did hear what the crazy cow did?"
"I did…" Lynn muttered. "Now we have to thank her and Kathleen for covering up our screw-ups."
"Yeah, I love an easy way out, but not like this. Sure blows. But better something than nothing, right?"
"I guess. Wasn't all bad. It was kinda nice lifting that kid's spirit and offering to help him and his peers hone in their athletic skills, so was seeing Pop-Pop again. That guy knows how to be inspirational." Lynn smiled a little.
"See." Ryan's finger came close to her limps. "That's what I want to see. You're looking at the bright side already."
"I get it, sheesh." Lynn pushed his hand away. "I know there were going to be sacrifices, but I'd rather have some broken bones, than…"
"Is this about me?"
"What?"
Ryan grew tongue-tied and he glanced away from her. "Well….I….you and me? Y'know? I was just thinking if you were worried that I…"
"You what?"
"That I wouldn't think you're pretty anymore?" Ryan scratched his neck feverishly, still not looking her in the eye. Yeah, he was defiantly nervous, but Lynn found it kind of cute.
"Cuz I personally don't think you could ever look not-pretty. You'd look pretty with a bag over your head…" he paused and pursed his lips. "God, that sounded horrible."
But to his surprise, he saw Lynn blush again, but this time accompanied by a smile. She lifted her beanie up a little, revealing both eyes. Before he could process it, Lynn jumped down and hugged him, making Ryan blush like crazy and feel all jittery.
"Thanks."
"Eh…sure. Just s-stick with me. Nobody will think you're ugly w-when y-your next to me." He tried to speak, when Lynn leaned back and looked him in the eye.
"That might just work." She smiled.
"I..sure…if you think it will?" Ryan tried to respond, looking beyond moronic at this point.
Neither could peel their eyes away from each other that moment, or let go.
"Ryan, I really want to kiss you right now." Lynn said without any thought.
But they suddenly heard steps and Ryan instinctively grabbed Lynn in a headlock.
"Hey, guys. Whatcha doin'?" Luan appeared, trying to be casually, but sounding anything but casual.
"Oh, no…" Lyn grumbled inwardly. How much did she hear? She was SO not in the mood to deal with Luan's whining right now.
"Eh…just practicing lucha libre." Ryan improvised, as Lynn pulled her head free.
"Really?" Luan forced a smile. "In the bathroom?"
"Pffttt…you know Lynn?" Ryan stood up. "Always launching sneak attacks when you least expect it."
"Eh…yeah, that." The jock played along, standing up and dusting herself. "I thought you were sleeping or something?"
Luan did not look convinced, and her amicable façade melted to reveal a look of suspicion.
"I'm pretty sure I heard the word kiss being said by you."
Lynn paled. "What? No! I…I said diss. I really wanted to diss him, at wrestling…but his skills are improving, so it's getting harder."
"Don't be paranoid, Lu." Ryan sweated. "I told you, I'm not ready for that kind of stuff…too much commitment and all."
"And maybe that's a bad idea?" Luan suggested. "What's wrong with commitment?"
"You're right. So why can't you commit to minding your own beeswax." Lynn retorted, jealousy already bubbling.
"Girls, girls. No need for hostility." Ryan tried to smooth things out. "We are all friends here."
"No, we're not." The sisters said simultaneously, while glaring at each other, when Ryan put an arm over both of their necks.
"Oh, but you are my friends. Both of ya." He told them awkwardly. "I just wanted say…I just wanted to say what great pals you both are. You're both fun, cool, awesome and you've been so nice to me. It's not easy being the new kid on the block, but you made me feel so welcome, like I have a place where I belong. I feel so privileged having met the both of you, why I-"
"Okay, you're really getting smolzy now…" Lynn grumbled, while Luan had been caught up in his speech.
"Typical Lynn. Always "too cool" to express her feelings." She scoffed at her sister.
"Yeah, she sure is girlf…..eh I mean friend material. If you ever try to open up to her, she'll just punch you in the arm and mock you for having human emotions."
"Now, now, that's what I like about her." Ryan let them both go. "It's fun to have a…varied group of friends; jocks, comedians, goths, dorks. That way it's never boring."
"I have a varied group of siblings." Luan crossed her arms. "And it was never boring, but it was seldom fun either."
"But speaking of your folks?" Ryan slapped his forehead.
"I never mentioned them?" Luan looked at him oddly.
"But NOW that you've mention them? Where are they anyway?" Ryan stepped out of the bathroom. "I'm pretty sure Lincoln just called them? My curiosity sure is piqued? Let's find out!" He whisked himself away, leaving the sisters to exchange side-glares.
"What's with the hat?" Luan asked accusingly.
"It looks cool. What's it to ya?" Lynn grumbled while blushing with shame, securing the beanie on her head before ditching the suspicious Luan.
"They were mugged? And carjacked?" Lincoln still couldn't wrap his head around that info, sitting opposite of Renee at the kitchen table, together with Lucy and Lana.
"Meh…that's what they told me." Renee droned, taking one last sip of tea. They weren't technically mugged, but Renee cared little about elaborating.
"And you're saying they were then interrogated by the police? And now they are too tired and shaken to go on and decided to stay in a motel?" Lynn asked, her anger towards Renee taking a backseat in her mind the moment she learned about what had happened to her parents.
"Was someone shot?" Lucy asked, earning a lot shocked/scolding looks. "What? Just checking?" she said innocently.
"No." was Renee's answer. The siblings didn't know what else to say to that. It was a bombshell if there ever was one. Lincoln just quietly got up and left the room. Lucy watched him go before going after him.
"So much for a happy reunion…" Ryan said dryly. "They won't be coming back in a good mood, that's for sure. When are they coming back?"
"Didn't ask about it." Renee droned.
Lynn's brow dropped. "Whatever, not like you give a shit about it." With that, she too left the table, the others following her, leaving Renee alone, who still just glanced at her cup and didn't even blink.
"I can't believe this. How? How does something like this happen?" the jock ranted incredulously.
"Gambling debts? Drug money? Shitty economy?" Ryan listed these thigs off his fingers. "Or maybe he just did it for the thrills?"
"I wasn't asking for that!" Lynn snapped at him.
"Are they going to be alright?" Lana asked.
"Don't sweat it, squirt." Ryan reassured her. "Witnessing a robbery and getting your car nabbed is a really, really bad inconvenience, but nobody was hurt, probably because your folks and Blondy listened to the robber's threats and didn't try to play hero."
"A smart maneuver. Whoever carries a lethal weapon calls the shots." Lucy explained, standing next to Lincoln, who was pondering in the armchair. "Otherwise, they'll make good use of those shots."
"How did this happen?" the boy asked himself, repeating his sister's sentiment. "This was supposed to…"
"Shit happens when you go on a cross-country tour." Ryan shrugged. "Just count yourself lucky that goon wasn't trigger-happy."
"You're not helping." Lynn narrowed her eyes at him.
"What do you want me to say?" Ryan retorted sarcastically. "Oh, what a pity it was that Ace Savvy didn't swoop in to foil that crime?"
"He's right, Lynn…" Lincoln sighed. "At least no one was hurt. I just wish…"
"Well, it did happen, can't do nothing about that now. I'm sure mom's not going be in a chipper mood now that her car is gone?" Luan finished.
"Yeah, no shit." Lynn snorted. "She said she worked herself to the bone back in her college days to scrape together the cash to buy a car. Been using that thing to get around for twenty years, only for some punk with a gun to nab it. I hope he gets caught."
"Don't get your hopes up." Ryan shook his head. "Trust me, if he isn't found within 24 hour or so, the cops will just forget about him. Not like they are crusaders for justice, unlike Linky's tights-wearing idol. Heaven help us if they come across a donut shop during their investigation."
Lynn wanted to argue but held herself back. If most cops were anything like that Tucker guy, her mother's car was a lost cause now.
"Maybe we can cheer her up? I dunno, how about we all pinch in to buy her a new one?" Lana suggested helpfully.
Lincoln chuckled a little, but then frowned. "That's not so easy, Lana. Cars are pricey. Very pricey. Our piggy banks won't cut it."
"Correction, Twinkle Toes. Cars were pricey in our folk's day." Ryan told him, ever the "optimist". "Nowadays, they cost a small fortune. Unless you strike gold, you might as well get used to public transport."
Luan huffed. "With our luck, Kathleen will probably show up again and buy mom the latest, most fashionable model to weasel her way into her heart. She already snagged her and dad with that shiny, new van."
Lincoln made no comment. He didn't want Kathleen getting entangled with them once more, but a new car might just be the only thing to make their mother happy after this. He just hoped this incident wouldn't lead to more infighting between her and their father.
Lana looked dejected. She couldn't think of anything else that could serve as compensation for their mom now that she was carless.
"So what do we do now?"
Ryan yawned and stretched his arms. "Get some shut-eye, we've earned it."
"Yeah, we need to be rested if we're going to comfort mom and dad tomorrow." Lynn agreed. "Nothing else left to do."
"What about her?" Lucy pointed at the kitchen, where Renee was still sitting at the table, in the exact same position they had left her in.
Ryan waved his hands. "If she wants to stay there and collect dust, let her. Not our problem."
The others exchanged glances and wholeheartedly agreed. "Agreed, let's go to bed." Lincoln nodded and they went upstairs.
"Wait?" Ryan stopped at the bottom. "Where's Marceline?"
"Chill, I think the fuzzballs had the same idea as us?" Lynn pointed at Charles's bed, where the dog and Cliff had fallen asleep together.
Lana went googly-eyed and cupped her cheeks. "Aww…that's so cute! They haven't slept together since they were a pup and kitten."
"But where's Marceline?" Ryan didn't see her, but then heard a muffled "meow".
He looked to his left and saw the savannah approach him, her cheeks puffed and a pair of tiny black wings sticking from her mouth and fluttering.
"Fang!" Lucy blurted.
"Marcy! Spit him out!" Ryan ordered her, but the cat sat down and growled stubbornly.
"I said spit him out!" Ryan quickly kneeled down and pried her jaws open. Fang fell out and landed on the floor.
The traumatized bat was lying on his back, covered in saliva and fluttering his wings weakly.
"Fang, are you okay?" Lucy scooped him up in her hands. "Don't let your soul ascend to the great beyond." The bat just chirped meekly.
Marceline hummed and licked her chops, eyeing the flying mammal like the tasty treat he was, causing Fang to jump and dive headfirst into Lucy's ebony locks.
"Okay, missy. You're coming with me." Ryan hoisted her up. "You need a time-out before you eat half the pets here."
"What do you mean "half the pets"?" Lana asked.
"Eh…just a figure of speech." Ryan smiled nervously.
After saying goodnight to Luan and Lana, Lincoln motioned for the others to follow him into his room.
"It's a little cramped here now." Lynn noted disapprovingly as she locked the door, now that there was a fourth member to their group.
"That's clubhouses for you." Ryan quipped, once more reclining on the door. Marceline was with them and walking around them aimlessly.
"This is where you have your meetings?" Lucy asked.
"What were you expecting? A high-tech HQ?" Lynn snorted.
"Maybe we should find one?" Ryan joked. "I don't think a brickhouse like Old Al will fit in here."
"We haven't been here since we talked about initiating you, Lucy…..which….was yesterday, and it was our first meeting here?" Lincoln explained as he rummaged through the clothes rod and pulled out a chart board from a row of identical orange polo shirts.
Lucy read the five categories; fixing marriage, fixing sisters, damage control, setbacks and future disasters, as well as everything written underneath each title.
"You were working hard, I see?" She saw "Operation Fine Cosine" and "Ninja Money Retrieval" circled as successes. The "damage control" section also had "DeMonet Disaster" crossed off and a few positive notes under "fixing marriage".
"Oh, yeah. We were given a once in a lifetime chance to fix things and we were going to slack off." Lynn said sarcastically.
"Lynn, please stop trying to start fights with her." Lincoln said evenly. "She's just absorbing it."
"And being a smartass, as usual." Lynn huffed, eyeing the goth.
"Lynn, can you at least try to get along with her? You three had it easy today, which you should be grateful for. I was the one who was beamed right into One Eye's clutches."
"And I'm the one who looks like One Eye now." Ryan snarked while pointing at his black eye. "Don't act like we were picking daisies. You don't know what Spooky had to do."
Rolling his eyes, Lincoln turned around and wrote "Pop-Pop is in" under the "fixing marriage" section and circled it for emphasis. "I can't express how relived I am that Pop-Pop is on-board for this." He smiled before giving Ryan a snide look.
"I almost bought your bunk about grandparents hating their in-laws, but I guess I knew better." He told Ryan with smug satisfaction.
Ryan just huffed. "What was that about us getting along?" Lynn asked snidely.
"What about the setbacks?" Lucy asked. "I see there's a lot written down there? What about a "worst sibling war"?
"That…." Lincoln looked at it. "It hasn't been too bad so far, no serious conflict. Besides Lana and Lola that is. And Luan still isn't on great terms with the rest."
This was especially true with her and Lynn, but Lincoln was not about to reference that. Given how Lynn had left the bathroom surprisingly quickly, he didn't want to think about what her and Ryan were doing there.
"And Lu swore off her April Fools tradition?" Ryan reminded them. Lincoln sighed and cautiously crossed that off too.
"And you thought I was going to be a tattletale?" Lucy glared at Lynn from under her bags after reading from the char board again. She knew Lynn had written that.
"That obviously won't be an issue now." Lincoln smirked a little at the jock, savoring the fact that he was right about Lucy all along. He promptly crossed off that concern.
He also erased the goth's question mark from the "fixing sisters" section. He also tentatively added Lana to it, upon Lynn's insistence.
"There's been progress." The boy continued. "We had some setbacks with Renee and Lisa but they, well, they sorted themselves out. But there are plenty of others.
He wrote down "Lola in Kathleen's evil clutches", "Folks had VERY bad trip" and "Mom's car got jacked", but then he looked at another one.
"What about Lyle?"
"What about him?" Lynn laughed. "Bitch got what was coming to him. He doesn't remember shit and he's in the slammer. Right?"
"Yes, unless he remembers again." Lincoln retorted, remembering the daydream he had while at the children's hospital.
"We haven't heard anything from him since yesterday." Ryan shrugged. "And even if he remembers anything, who will believe him? They'll think he's crazy."
"I guess you're right." Lincoln admitted. "But I still have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach."
"You're being paranoid, Lincoln." Lynn stepped up and grabbed his marker. With a wide grin, she crossed off Lyle's name. "Lyle Owen is yesterday's news."
"Maybe we should still try to check in on him?" Lucy suggested. "Lincoln's right that we shouldn't celebrate prematurely."
"What should we do?" Ryan asked her. "Pay him a visit in juvie? That just might spur his memories or make us look suspect."
"No, but we could look into it somehow? Since he caused so much havoc and all, there must something about him on the news or in newspapers?"
"You are right, Lucy. Or we can look online." Lincoln nodded. "A story like "A 12-year-old Midwestern boys gets hands on steroids, wrecks the neighborhood and demolishes a warehouse" is sure to draw some attention."
Ryan rubbed his chin. "I agree, I'd love to know what kind of punishment awaits ol'Monobrow. Do they have electric chairs in juvie?"
"You want him to die?" Lucy asked him.
Ryan blinked. "Well…I…"
"Because I wouldn't mind him getting the chair." Lucy smiled morbidly, unnerving her brother.
"Right on it, let them Green Mile his ass for all I care." Lynn laughed. "The world's better off without him. Nobody at school will mourn him, probably not even Maggie, I doubt she has feelings to being with."
Lincoln wanted to object but remembered how Lyle not only assaulted them, but also kidnapped them and outright tried to kill them. Ace Savvy did teach him that killing is wrong, but that it was not a superheroe's place to meddle with legal affairs, let the villains serve their time for their crime.
"I wouldn't go that far, guys…" he started while the other three gave him unamused looks.
"But….oh what the heck." Lincoln found himself smiling a little. "I'd love to have him rot in juvie too. He's a whackjob and a menace. No doubts about that."
The others chuckled and pointed at him approvingly. Finally, the newly-formed quadrat agreed on something full-heartedly. Of course, Lucy had to ruin it.
"But speaking of the death penalty." The goth turned serious, stood up and pointed her finger at the chart board, specifically the "One Eye still on the loose" section.
"What about him? We talked with grandfather, now are we going to talk about him?"
The others turned silent. None of them really wanted to talk about that wolf. Even Ryan had said what he said not really expecting to have his plan be greenlit.
"You said he's a "loose end", Ryan?" Lucy turned to him. "You proposed we…" she did a slitting gesture with her finger "…him."
"Yeah, guess I did…" Ryan scratched his neck. Lynn glanced away, likewise unsure (and scared). Lincoln felt no different, but right then, memories started flooding back. Memories of the horrors he saw in that cave. They could make a difference. A meaningful difference.
"Maybe we can…" he said tentatively, shocking his older sister and Ryan.
"You? You want to go through with it?" Ryan asked.
"Only if you guys are willing to do it?" Lincoln said seriously. "I told you what I saw. This doesn't just concern us. He's a danger to everyone. But no grownup even knows about him and we have no evidence of his existence."
"So you want to go through with Ryan's plan?" Lynn asked.
"Only if all of you agree."
"I'm all for it." Lucy agreed without much thought.
Ryan was hesitant, but he wouldn't let them think he was a pansy. "I guess, if you're feeling ballzy?"
Lynn was the only one who still hadn't answered. Her pride urged her to speak. "I'm not scared…but…we should prepare ourselves."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. For better or worse, we know that beast better than anyone. We need to take every possible precaution. Make this as safe as possible."
"What's with the sudden courage?" Ryan asked, standing up too. Lincoln locked eyes with him.
"Let's just say that I've learned the hard way that letting problems just fester never works out. It always blows up in your face." He came closer and put a hand on Ryan's shoulder.
"I trust you with this. I trust you know what you're dragging us into?"
"You trust me?" Ryan was surprised.
"I'm trying to." Lincoln nodded.
"Well…sure I know what I'm doing." Ryan put his hands on his hips. "And don't think I'm some reckless daredevil, I did consider plenty of precautions. As I said." He tapped his head. "He might have brawn but have plenty of brain."
To emphasize that, he pulled out a voice recorder. "For one, we know what he fears."
The recorder let out a loud roar, which made Marceline freak out and jump around, claws extended. The kids ducked and Ryan shut off the recorder.
"Sorry about that." He chuckled sheepishly as the others glared at him.
"But this here will be useful. We already know he's terrified of bears. And you got your pepper spray?"
"I do." Lincoln nodded, touching his pocket. "I don't think it ever left my pocket."
"Would a dog whistle work on him?" Lynn asked. "I know it drove Charles crazy?"
"Sure does! A wolf has even better hearing." Ryan smirked. "Too bad for him."
"Then it's settled." Lucy smiled with anticipation. "The final confrontation is nigh. One Eye has a date with the preverbal silver bullet."
The others tried to keep a brave face and agreed with her, but deep down, they were all scared shitless.
Shit just got real. The heroes are going on the offense now and it's wolf hunting season. Will they succeed? Given how this is not the end of the story (though we are getting close), probably not. And coming to mess with One Eye might have some unforeseen consequences. Not just that timber wolves are on the endangered species list in Michigan. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And poor Lynn. I had this cruel little accident in store for her for quite some time, but didn't know how to make it happen, until I married it with Renee's last-ditch attempt to save face. Now, if nothing else, Lynn fits in more with her team of deformed weirdos.
But as it turns out, Lynn Sr. and Rita don't need their kids to run into trouble, though brining Lori along probably didn't help. They really should have left her with Bobby and his family, their other kids (minus Leni maybe) would probably have approved of that, especially with the "incident" being on the horizon. The carjacking sure made the fact that Lisa's science once more erased any evidence of the siblings getting into trouble a hollow victory, and spoiler alert, the three eldest Louds aren't out of the woods yet. Rita will be really pissed upon returning home.
Too much pride can kill a person, and it sure did that to Renee. She's a broken woman now, metaphorically that is but no longer literally. Good thing all the Loud siblings currently have little inclination for causing trouble, especially Luna, who is an emotional wreck now. Not sure if the prolonged solitary confinement with the annoying chatter box Leni or her angsting about her crush getting away (and ignoring the evidence that Sam isn't into girls) was the bigger blow to her. But Leni's stupidity saved her from suffering a similar fate. Her imagination sure made spending 24 hours in total darkness with no food, water, teen magazines or bathroom in sight a picnic.