Archetypical Behavior

Disclaimer: I do not own the Loud House or any comic franchises referenced in this fic.

AN: The Siege Perilous let me take a swing at his Loud House fic Archetypal. Let me know what you think.

"...so, we're going to assign everyone to work in pairs," the teacher finished.

Sid raised her hand and waited to be called on before asking, "What if we have conflicting archetypes?"

"You can't always choose who you work with," Mrs. Johnson pointed out, "so I'm going to assign you to work with a conflicting archetype and remember this assignment counts for three quarters of your grade so if you fail, you'll have to take summer school to make it up." She smirked evilly as the class collectively shuddered.

"But you say that about every one of your assignments," Chandler complained before wincing and slapping at himself, as his name was written on the chalkboard for speaking out of turn.

"Life isn't fair, get used to it," Mrs. Johnson suggested smugly before listing off pairs of names.

Ronnie Anne began to perk up as everyone was paired off, sure that the Pervert's archetype was the opposite of hers, but slumped a little as instead she was paired with Sid.

"We have conflicting archetypes?" Sid questioned.

"Well, Brujas are known for their healing abilities," Ronnie Ann pointed out.

"And assassins are good at hurting people," Sid admitted with a sigh.

Ronnie Ann reached over and gave her friend an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you have to," she reminded her.

"Yeah," Sid said, her normally cheery personality reasserting itself.

"Excuse me," Lincoln said with his hand raised, "you didn't assign me anyone."

Mrs. Johnson looked at her clipboard. "Yes, we have an odd number of people in class and too little is known about your archetype to quantify yet. Oh well, I'll stick you with Girl Jordan and Stella, you're sure to conflict with one of them. Now everyone switch seats so you can begin."

Lincoln got up and joined Stella and Girl Jordan at a table. "Hey guys."

"Lincoln," Stella said with an evil grin, "it is good to have you on my side once more, for with your help we'll vanquish-"

"Assignment first," Girl Jordan said firmly, "I don't think any of us want to end up in summer school."

"Vanquish our assignment!" Stella said dramatically, changing what she'd been about to say.

"Sounds good to me," Lincoln agreed. "It's a lot of work and we only have until Monday to do it, any ideas?"

"I will place my Citadel of Doom at our disposal," Stella said grandly, "forted up in it we can crush our assignment with no interruptions!"

"If it's for school, my mom won't mind me staying over," Girl Jordan agreed. "Lincoln?"

"As long as the citadel isn't lead lined, I should be able to spend the night," Lincoln offered.

"Lead lined?" Girl Jordan asked.

"As long as Lori can peek in and make sure we're okay, my parents are pretty easy going about wherever me or my sisters spend the night," he explained.

"Oh yeah, your sister is that Lori Loud," Girl Jordan said with an understanding nod.

"Lead lining is surprisingly expensive and I have a small budget," Stella told him, "so we're good there."

"Excellent," Lincoln said, "then we should be able to knock this out over the weekend."

"You'd think they'd start us off with something easier," Girl Jordan said with a sigh.

"Being a hero is not supposed to be an easy task," Stella disagreed, "you are tasked with preserving not only the lives of innocent civilians but with the future of society itself. To be a hero is to stand up against unknowable dangers and complete monsters and declare 'you shall not pass!"

As Stella completed her passionate speech most of the students broke into applause causing her to blush and sink into her seat.

"Well said, Miss Zhau," Mrs. Johnson complimented her, "many so called heroes don't learn that until half way through their careers."

"Your house at three?" Girl Jordan suggested, trying to help Stella escape her embarrassment.

"That would be great," Stella said with a small smile.

"Works for me," Lincoln agreed.

0o0o0o0o0o

"I'll be sure to look in on you, just call me if you need me," Lori told Lincoln as she set him down in front of the unassuming two-story house.

"Will do," Lincoln said, giving his older sister a hug, "and thanks for the ride."

"Anytime," Lori said with a smile before turning to look at something he couldn't see. "Duty calls, be good."

"I will-" Lincoln began before Lori vanished in a blur of speed, the wind of her exit almost knocking him off his feet.

"You're early," Stella said as she rushed outside, looking excited to see him, from the way her spaded tail was waving back and forth.

"Caught a lift with my sister," Lincoln replied, "it really cuts down on the commute. Is this your Citadel of Doom?"

"No, it's my house," Stella said, "the citadel is in the back. Do you wanna see or should we wait for my nemesis?"

"Let's wait for Jordan, so we can both 'ohh and ah' at once," Lincoln said.

"Okay," Stella agreed. "So… as a harem king do you require anything special? I mean like a huge bed and silk sheets?" she asked curiously.

"Not that I've noticed," Lincoln said as he considered it. "Getting my archetype hasn't really caused any changes at home from when I was just a normal boy… I just seem to get hugged a lot more and occasionally drug off to use as a plushy for naps."

"That sounds nice," Stella said, "I thought your archetype would involve more… energetic actions."

"Not at home," Lincoln said. "I'm not really sure what being a harem king involves since Lisa is still nailing it down, but it seems to be mostly sharing power with the people I live with, who are all female, and I'm close to."

"Sharing power?" Stella asked as a station wagon pulled up and Girl Jordan got out, stopping to grab a duffel bag from the back before joining them.

"Hey guys," Girl Jordan said as the car pulled away.

"Hey," they replied before returning to their conversation.

"Yeah, I've managed to temporarily boost Lori's power, share and boost Leni's and finally share and boost Luna and Sam's," he listed off. "Sam doesn't normally live with us, she's Luna's girlfriend and they're usually on tour, but she was staying with us when I did it… so I'm not sure what that means."

"Sounds confusing," Girl Jordan said, "it must be hard figuring out new archetypes, thankfully ours are pretty well known. I mean sure, there is some personal variation, but we know what ours generally do."

"Yeah," Stella agreed, "I have physical and magical gifts that make me superior to all but the most puss… something and if I rule an area I can turn all the weaker archetypes into minions so long as I reign."

"While mine are mostly physical with a luck component and if I lead a group, they get slightly enhanced," Girl Jordan said. "Haven't figured out any interesting variations I may have, just a standard run of the mill hero so far." She shrugged.

"You are my arch nemesis, I'm sure your powers will grow to make you a formidable rival!" Stella declared passionately.

"Yeah," Girl Jordan agreed, perking up. "So, is this your Citadel of Doom?"

"No, it's out back," Stella said, eager to show it off. "Come on!"

The two followed the excited dark lord into the average looking suburban home.

"Are these your friends?" Stella's mother asked, looking up from the book she was reading and examining them over the rim of her glasses.

"Yes, mama!" Stella said happily, a bright smile on her face.

"Grandma is in the kitchen preparing cookies, so why don't you collect them while I meet your friends," she said.

"Yes, mama," Stella agreed before heading to the kitchen.

"So, you're my daughter's classmates?" Mrs. Zhau asked.

"And friends," Lincoln said. "Stella is one of the few people who doesn't look at me funny for my archetype or at least look at me funny in a bad way," he corrected himself.

"More rivals than friends," Girl Jordan admitted, "since she is trying to destroy me and I'm trying to foil her. I'm new here so I don't know many people, so I've ended up spending a lot of time either foiling her or helping her plot, like yesterday where we had lunch together and ended up discussing the pros and cons of moats. She even had a whole bunch of lines for when someone was stuck in the moat that were pretty funny..." her voice trailed off for a moment. "We've become friends, haven't we? Is that even allowed? I mean, I'm a Hero and she's a Dark Lord."

"Dear," Mrs. Zhau said warmly, "your archetype defines what you can do, not who you are. Would it surprise you to learn that Stella wanted to be a hero until she was nine?"

"Really?" Lincoln asked curiously.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Zhau said, "despite her archetype she was dead set on becoming a hero. From birth we knew what her archetype would be, those adorable little horns and cute little tail made it obvious, but she didn't care."

"So, what happened?" Lincoln asked.

"A meet and greet with Steel Jaw Sam," Mrs. Zhau said with a sigh. "She was in line for his autograph and told him she was going to be a hero just like him."

"And he objected," Girl Jordan guessed.

"Told her she could never be a hero period because she was a dark lord and destined to be defeated by a hero like him," she said gently. "It broke my little girl's heart."

"That bastard!" Girl Jordan growled while Lincoln frowned and tried to unclench his hands which had instinctively balled up into fists.

"So, my little girl decided if society said she couldn't be a hero then she would remake society into one where she could be," Mrs. Zhau explained. "It's hard for Stella to make friends, people don't treat those with darker archetypes that well."

"Yeah, I've been getting a taste of that," Lincoln said with a sigh.

"I have acquired our sustenance," Stella said grandly as she returned with a big bowl of cookies.

"Off to the playhouse with you, call me if you need anything," Mrs. Zhau said with a smile.

"Mom," Stella whined, "it's not a playhouse, it's my citadel."

She smiled. "Of course dear, now go work on your assignment."

"This way," Stella said excitedly, gesturing with her tail before quickly rushing through the house and into the backyard with her two friends in tow. "Behold, my Citadel of Doom!"

Lincoln and Girl Jordan had been prepared to find a pre-assembled fort of some kind, but not for the sight before them.

"It's a castle made out of black rock," Lincoln said in disbelief.

"Zoning laws restricted me to two floors," Stella complained, but I was allowed a full basement, so it's actually three!"

"It has a moat," Girl Jordan said in wonder as they approached the small castle, with its tiny moat, the drawbridge laying across it.

"You could probably jump it easy," Stella said, "if not just use one of the ladders. Zoning laws say for safety sake it can be no wider than six feet and ladders must be placed every fifteen feet or it would be labeled an attractive nuisance."

"Doesn't matter, still awesome," Girl Jordan said firmly.

"It really is," Lincoln agreed as they crossed the drawbridge and entered the courtyard, which turned out to be just one large room with a ceiling at least twenty feet overhead and a massive throne at one end.

"The stairs down are behind the throne," Stella told them, "I've only really decorated down there, haven't been here long enough to get everything else set up."

"We just need wi-fi and a place to sleep," Girl Jordan told her.

"I have all that and more," Stella promised as they crossed the room which was the size of the gymnasium at school. "I was going to build a dungeon downstairs, but it was a bit cozier down there, heating and cooling was easier without the huge, vaulted ceilings so I ended up putting everything down there instead."

"How much did it cost to import all this stone?" Lincoln asked.

"Not a penny," Stella said proudly, "as a dark lord I can manipulate fire and stone!"

"I always wondered how dark lords got such awesome fortresses," Girl Jordan said, as they reached the massive obsidian throne that Stella probably needed a boost to be able to climb up on so she could sit on it.

"Hard to be a dark lord without a castle," Stella said with a smile, "it took me weeks of exhaustive work to make it… and another six weeks to get a city inspector to come by and approve of it."

They circled around the throne and found an arch in the back of it that led to a spiral staircase going down into the dark.

"Heroes don't get awesome castles," Girl Jordan said, "do harem kings?"

"I don't think so," Lincoln replied thoughtfully as Stella urged them on. "I suppose if I end up with a dark lord in my harem I will, but I'm still not quite sure what constitutes a harem or how that all works out. I guess I could ask Lori to build me a castle, she probably has a super power for that, but I don't seem to have an inbuilt castle building power."

"Have no fear," Stella told him, "I've done research so I can aid you."

"Really?" he asked, surprised before they reached the bottom of the stairs and he was distracted on seeing what looked like a normal living room with a huge TV and entertainment center. "Whoa!"

"If not for the burning torches on the wall this could be my front room," Girl Jordan said. "Also, the TV is four times the size of mine."

"I had to watch various shows in Japanese," Stella said, "but they all seemed to agree that a harem king needs access to a sauna of some sort."

"You have?" Lincoln asked, trying not to blush as he recalled some of the shows he'd seen that fit that description.

"Indeed," Stella said, "and with my control over the elements it was easy to create an underground hot spring. It's through that door there." she gestured to the left.

The two guests quickly dropped their bags on the couch and rushed over to look, Girl Jordan's heroic stats ensuring she reached the door first.

"Wow," Girl Jordan said as she stared.

Lincoln peeked over her shoulder and couldn't help but gape as Stella had created a rocky cavern the size of the living room, filled with hot water that steamed slightly in the light from the ever-present torches with a number of roughhewn rocky surfaces that looked to be the perfect place to soak on.

"And best of all, no one can prove it's not natural, so I didn't have to get any construction permits!" Stella announced before breaking out in an evil laugh.

"I don't mind saying I'm kinda envying her archetype a little," Girl Jordan admitted, "cause that looks awesome!"

"It's why I told you to bring a swimsuit," Stella said.

"You didn't tell me to bring a swimsuit," Lincoln pointed out.

"According to my research you should either be naked or wearing a loincloth if you're in there with us and not just peeping through a fence," Stella said.

"I don't have a loincloth," Lincoln said with a sigh.

The girls both looked at him and blushed.

"I don't normally carry one with me, but I'm pretty sure I can make one out of a towel or something," he said, closing the door to the hot springs.

"I was sure you'd have one with you," Stella said apologetically.

"I've never needed one before," Lincoln said, "and other than this particular situation, I can't see myself wearing one."

0o0o0o0o0o

"Bless you," Lori told Carol as they flew over the city.

"Thanks," the blonde amazon replied, "must have been some pollen on the wind. So, have you given any more thought to-"

0o0o0o0o0o

"Are you sure?" Girl Jordan asked. "Cause it kinda sounds like something a harem king wears, at least at home."

Lincoln paused and considered it. "Maybe," he said with a shrug, "but I don't think my parents would be too enthused with the idea and truthfully… my power has been providing me with outfits lately and that hasn't been one that's come up."

"It's a good backup in case of a wardrobe malfunction," Girl Jordan pointed out before wondering why she was trying to get her classmate into a loincloth. 'Maybe it's part of his power,' she decided, not wanting to admit she wanted to see him dressed that way.

"It probably wouldn't take up much space in my backpack," Lincoln said thoughtfully. "I suppose I can get Leni to make me one to carry around for clothing emergencies."

"Well, as much fun as trying to figure out the various aspects of Lincoln's power is, I suppose we should start on our assignment," Stella said, taking a seat on the couch.

"Yeah, it's a tough one," Girl Jordan agreed, sliding in next to her.

"We could ask one of my older sisters or some other heroes, but I think we're supposed to figure it out on our own," Lincoln offered, taking a seat on the other side of Stella.

"I suppose the best place to start is to collate various places where husks are known to regularly appear and the last time they've been cleared out," Stella suggested.

"Low hanging fruit and a bit risky," Girl Jordan pointed out. "If they are hit before we turn in our prediction we'll fail. No, we need some place which husks have been known to regularly appear in the past and haven't been cleared out in quite some time. We can scout the area and report it in to make sure our prediction comes true."

Stella leaned forward and pulled a keyboard out from under the coffee table, the TV turning on and switching to monitor function as she started typing. "Police reports would be our best bet for the information we need, but we don't have a hacker in our group so we'll have to rely on the online archive for the local papers."

"Are we allowed to make our prediction come true by calling in heroes?" Lincoln asked. "I mean, I thought we were trying to predict the heroes as well as the husks."

"Maybe, but it'd be downright stupid to let husks build up just because we want an A," Girl Jordan said, "so I can't see them complaining."

"The Bearded Clam looks to be a good prospect," Stella said as she cross referenced a number of old newspaper articles on the closed down bar.

"We hit that a couple of nights ago," Lincoln said, "it'll be a while before they build back up."

"We?!" the girls chorused.

"My older sister Luna and her girlfriend Sam came back early from tour and wanted to show me one of their old hangouts," Lincoln explained. "It turned out to be full of husks, thankfully no tainted or corrupted, though there were a lot of husks. Luna doesn't have the power Lori or Leni do, so I tapped into her and Sam to transform and we cleared the place out."

Stella started typing and a recent article from a rock journal appeared on screen, showing Luna, Lincoln, and Sam all decked out and slaying husks on stage, though the picture appeared to have been taken through a dirty window.

"I don't think half our class put together have the experience taking out husks that you do," Girl Jordan said in disbelief, partially distracted by the sight of Lincoln as a battle idol.

"It just sort of happens," Lincoln said with a shrug.

"When we check out our leads, we better go armed, just in case," Stella decided.

"Yeah, better safe than sorry," Lincoln agreed.

Stella's watch beeped and she set her keyboard down to lean over and hug Lincoln who automatically hugged her back. After a few seconds she released him and picked the keyboard back up.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" he asked.

"Regular hugs seem to be part of your power from what you've said," Stella replied, blushing lightly as she typed, "so I've set a timer to ensure your power is in top form.'

"Better safe than sorry," Girl Jordan said, hiding a grin as she planned on being next to him the next time the timer went off.

"Oh, this looks promising," Stella said, as she enlarged another article, "it's one of the state's early theaters that they are turning into a heritage site and are busy restoring to be used as a museum of early stage productions in the state. It was closed down due to damage from attacks over the years and they just got permission and state funds for the work. It says the public is welcome to stop by."

"The Rising Sun theater," Lincoln said with a smile. "My older sister Luan is planning to take me there sometime next week."

The girls exchanged glances, seeming to have a conversation with just a look.

"Your older sister Luan is a hero?" Stella asked with a smirk.

"She's an exorcist," Lincoln agreed.

"Your older sister who's a hero is going to take you someplace that hasn't had a husk attack recently but has been known to have them in the past," Girl Jordan said with a nod. "Does this situation sound familiar to you?"

Lincoln opened his mouth to argue, then closed it and looked thoughtful for a moment before sighing. "Alright, you may have a point."

"We can check it out tomorrow," Stella said. "This assignment was a lot easier than I thought it would be."

"So, now what should we do?" Lincoln asked.

"Hot spring," Girl Jordan said instantly. "We can look for some other spots husks may attack just to cover our bases, but ever since I saw the springs, I've wanted to try them!"

"That was less than half an hour ago," Lincoln pointed out.

"I didn't say it was a long time," Girl Jordan said with a grin. "Now, let's go!"

"I still need a loin cloth," Lincoln said.

Stella typed away at her keyboard and a video appeared showing how to fold a towel into a loincloth. "Is this sufficient?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it looks like it'll work," he conceded seeing they were so excited to use the hot springs and not wanting to disappoint them.

"I'll loan you a towel," Girl Jordan volunteered with a grin.

0o0o0o0o0o

"What in the hell?!" Lori exclaimed, stopping in mid-flight.

"What?!" Carol demanded trying to look everywhere at once.

"Lincoln is wearing a loincloth and soaking in a hot spring between two of his classmates," Lori said, clearly confused.

"Since when have there been hot springs in this state, much less this city?" Carol asked.

"Since his classmate, a dark lord, made one," Lori said, distracted by the sight.

"He's hanging out with a dark lord?" the amazon asked, thinking that was drastically out of character for the white-haired young man.

"She's in his class and they are doing an assignment together with a chosen hero archetype," Lori replied.

"And where is he?" Carol asked.

"She is in a bikini on the other side of Lincoln," Lori replied with a frown.

"Sounds like they could use some chaperoning," Carol offered with a grin.

"What?" Lori asked, finally taking her eyes off the three to look at her friend.

"Three teens their age in a hot spring," Carol replied, "that is just the sort of situation where a chaperone should be involved as I'm sure their parents would agree and what better chaperones than the two of us? We grab some bikinis and drop in to remind them that 'big sister is always watching."

Lori grinned evilly. "It's things like this that remind me why you're my best friend."

0o0o0o0o

The three young teens looked up as the pair of blonde bombshells walked into the underground hot spring and slid into the water.

"Hey twerp," Lori said, sliding next to Lincoln and somehow taking Girl Jordan's spot without disturbing the water, the young heroine finding herself on the other side of Stella with no idea how she'd gotten there, "Mrs. Zhau let us in to check on how you three were doing."

"What is the assignment you're supposed to be working on?" Carol asked 'innocently' from Lori's other side.

"We were supposed to accurately predict a husk attack, preferably one that hasn't occurred in some time," Stella said, refusing to be intimidated, though acutely aware of how well filled the bikini tops of the blonde duo were, "which we believe we have accomplished. Tomorrow we are going to do the leg work to insure we are correct."

"It's best to check these things out in the light of day," Lincoln reminded them, "not all of us have super vision and we'll need to report it if we find them."

"We're putting in all the work necessary to make sure we score well," Girl Jordan agreed, grabbing Stella's hand under the water and giving it a squeeze.

"All roads lead to victory if you have prepared the field of battle sufficiently," Stella said, giving her hand a squeeze in return.

"You can't always win, but experience will teach you that," Carol offered, "and we've had a bit of experience in battle." She bounced a little in the water to draw everyone's eyes. "Of course, overwhelming... power does help determine who wins."

"Power does have its perks," Lori agreed cheerfully leaning into Lincoln.

Lincoln kept quiet, confused and dazed by all the flesh on display. The girls all sounded pleasant enough, but there was an edge to what they were saying that seemed… not so nice. He wasn't sure what he was missing, but he was sure of one thing… next time he was going to ask for a larger towel.

Typing by: fyrewolf5

TN: Lincoln has the best and worst luck.