A/N: Hello everyone! Guess what, this story ain't dead!

I know I have kept you guys waiting for too long, and I apologize for that. But with my recent hiatus from my other two fics, I can come back to this story.

I do not have a release schedule for this fic, I'll be working on it here and there and updating it at random. So, make sure you follow or fave it so you can be notified when I do.

Alright, so, like I said, Luan was hard to do as the comedy, but I think I did alright. Also, I'm going to have to make some small changes to the other chapters to keep it consistent. Taking a step back has allowed me to see some things that need tweaking.

So, without further ado, I give you the Luan chapter!

Luan bounced giddily around in her room/pocket dimension, for today was the day she and her brother would go on their date. And when I say she was bouncing around, I mean that literally. Luan was bouncing up down, side to side, right, left, and all around.

"I'm so excited! I'm so excited! Today's my day!" Luan cried out into the unending space that was her personal dimensional room. "We're going to have so much fun! We'll paint this town red!" Luan stopped atop of a floating triangle and pulled out a paintbrush out of thin air. "And then blue!" Luan pulled out another paintbrush. "And green, yellow, orange, pink!" You get the gist.

Luan threw away all her paintbrushes and made her additional arms disappear as she leaped off the floating triangle and swan dived down to the rubber ground below, landing feet first before bouncing up again and then coming to a stop.

"Kinda sucks that we can't use our powers, I could've taken him somewhere really fun!" Luan shrugged. "Oh well, I'll just have to figure out something to do here. Hmm…but Leni already took him to Dairyland, and Luna took him to that music festival outside of town…Lori took him to Great Lakes City…Where else is there?"

As Luan began to ponder this, a phone went off. She reached into her pocket and pulled out cellphone, noticing that the caller ID read "Dr. R. Williams." That was odd, as he usually did not call unless it was for their Patch Adams Comedy Troupe, and the next hospital visit was not for another week.

Luan answered the phone and said, "Hello, Dr. Williams."

{Hi, Luan, I'm sorry to ask, but is it possible for you to come and do a little work at Royal Woods Hospital? I'm trying to gather some of the other performers, but some of them are still a little scared after all the craziness that's happened over the last few days. And of course, this has scared some of the kiddos at the hospital, too, so I thought that we might cheer 'em up a little,} said Dr. Williams.

Luan inwardly hissed, knowing that her and her sisters were the primary cause of said craziness. With the benefit of hindsight, Luan was now able to see that their little battle to get Lincoln was extreme. If Lincoln had not put himself in danger like he did, then Lori would've killed Lynn, and then the rest of them would have probably continued the fight without so much as batting an eyelash that one of their siblings had been killed by another one of their siblings.

Wow…maybe the mirror did mess with our heads? As bad as our fights have gotten in the past, we never went that far. Either the mirror did it to us or all this cosmic power is going to our heads?

{Luan? You there?}

The comedienne shook her head as she snapped herself out of her reverie. "Oh, uh, yeah! I am! Um…" What was she to do? She did not want to disappoint Dr. Williams, but today was her date with Lincoln. Today was her one shot at showing her little brother why he should choose her as his lover. But if she chose Lincoln over the kids, how would that look to him? It was a lose-lose situation, but at least she could say was cancelling for a good reason. "Okay, Dr. Williams, I'll head over to the hospital as soon as I can."

{Thank you, Luan, you're a life saver! I'm still going to try and contact the others and see if I can get the crew together. I know you probably had other plans today. Most teenage girls do. But what we're doing helps those kids.}

"I know, and it's alright! See ya in a bit!" Luan hung up the phone and then sighed heavily. "Guess I should go and break the news to Lincoln. Wonder if Lynn is up for taking my place today?"

Luan took a moment to concentrate, focusing on Lincoln's room. A door of orange light appeared before her, indicating that Lincoln had allowed Luan to enter. The cosmic powered comedienne walked through the door and appeared in her little brother's room, and then awkwardly bumped into him and knocked him backwards. Luan quickly stretched her right arm and caught him before he could hit the floor and whipped him back up into a standing position.

"Gee, Lincoln, I want you to fall for me, but not literally, heh-heh," Luan giggled.

Lincoln chuckled and said, "So, are you ready to go?"

A look of disappointment appeared on her face. "Actually…I'm going to have to cancel our date."

That caught Lincoln off guard, all his sisters were looking forward to their little dates, and now she was going to cancel her turn. "Why's that?"

"I got a call from Dr. Williams, he wanted to go and cheer up the patients at Royal Woods Hospital, and that he's shorthanded right now. So, he called me, and I said, 'yes'. I don't want to disappoint him, but I'm even more sorry that I'm disappointing you. You can go and tell Lynn that she can take my turn."

Lincoln stood there and thought for a moment, and then an idea popped into his head. "Why don't I come with you then?"

Luan's brown eyes widened. "You want to come with me?!"

"Yeah, why not? We're a pretty good comedy duo, you know, when I'm not falling on my rear," said Lincoln.

"But it's not a romantic date, you'd just be working," said Luan.

Lincoln shook his head. "The whole point is of these dates is to spend time with each of you individually. Who says cheering up a bunch of sick people in hospital isn't a date?"

Luan's heart swelled, and then she went rubbery, stretched herself out, and wrapped herself around her little brother before giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Lincoln, you're a peach!"

Lincoln blushed.

The cosmic comedienne unwrapped herself and said, "Alright, we have no time to lose! Let's get over there and spread some cheer!" Luan walked towards Lincoln's bedroom door, and when she opened it, instead of it leading into the hallway of their house, it instead opened up into the hospital itself. "Oh, shoot, I need to tell Mom and Dad!" Luan shut the door and then opened it again, revealing the hallway.

Lincoln's jaw hit the floor, literally, it dropped and hit the floor. After a moment it returned to normal, and allowed him to ask, "How the heck did you do that?!"

"One sec little bro!" Luan stretched her neck into the hallway, down the stairs, and stretched herself into the living room. Her father was there with Lily, the little baby giggled happily when she saw her big sister's stretchy neck and head appear behind their father. "Hey, Dad, Dr. Williams called and asked if I could help him cheer some people up at the hospital. It's short notice, and he doesn't have a lot of people to help, so I'm heading there now."

"Okay, honey, that's alright, just make sure you're – WAAAAAHH!" Lynn Sr. yelled and flopped onto his back, sending Lily flying into the air, flipped once, and then somehow miraculously landed on a pile of her stuffed toys. Lynn Sr. shook his head and said, "Jeez, honey, you almost gave me a heart attack with that!"

"Sorry, Daddy. Oh, and Lincoln said he wanted to go with me. So…is it okay if he does?" Luan asked.

Luan could see that her father was thinking. It kind of bummed her out that he had to, before, neither of her parents would have batted an eye at any of the Loud sisters dragging Lincoln away to do something, but now that their parents knew of their incestuous feelings, and the fact that they were so powerful that it would take nothing short of a god or God Himself to stop them. They were powerful, and that meant that, if they so wished, they could do whatever they wanted with Lincoln and there would be nothing that their parents could say or do to stop them. But at the very least they should not have to worry, they loved Lincoln, and the last thing they wanted to do was to hurt him by forcing themselves onto him. Although, they did hurt him, all of them, and Luan still needed to apologize for her part in that incident.

"Alright, but just be careful," said Lynn Sr.

"Will do!" Luan retracted her neck like a tape measure, her head and neck snapped back into place and spun around for a bit before Luan used her hands to stop it. "Whew, that was a trip. Alright, Dad said you can come with!"

"Uh…Luan, I've been meaning to ask, what exactly are your powers?" Lincoln questioned. "I've pretty much got the gist of everyone else's. Lisa's is techno-quantum-super-science, Lana's is animal based, Lola's a living diamond, Lucy's a sorceress, Lynn's like a character out of Dragon Claw X, Luna's a musical storm goddess, Leni's a healing shield, and Lori's a powerhouse. But you…?"

Luan tapped her chin for a moment before saying, "Well, if I had to put a label on my powers, I'd call it 'Toon Force'."

Lincoln scratched his head. "'Toon Force'? Like cartoons?"

"Basically, I can do almost anything I want so long as I find it funny. Like say…" Luan reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a stick of dynamite that was already lit. "Pulling out this handy little stick of TNT."

"LUAN WHAT THE F–!"

A small explosion went off in the room, and thanks to the sound proofing that Lisa had done, no one outside the room could hear that. Lincoln thought that that was it for him, but somehow, he was still alive. His hair was a little messy, and he had black soot all over the right half of his body, but otherwise no burns or anything. He understood why Luan was in the same state, she was cosmic powered, nothing short of another cosmic powered person was going to hurt her.

"H-How did…?"

"I thought it would be funny if I pulled out a stick of dynamite and let it blow up, and I also thought it would be funny if we survived with only some messed up hair and black soot everywhere," said Luan.

The living cartoon wiped away the soot with a swipe of her hand, making it as if nothing had happened. "And I was right, your reaction was funny!"

Lincoln was starting to understand how her powers operated now. "I get it…If you find it funny, then it happens. But how did I survive?"

Luan leaned down and said, "Because I can also affect other people and things around me. That's why you're not injured, and why there's no burns or holes in your room."

Lincoln found the concept of his big sister's powers to be very interesting, and simultaneously disturbing. The former fourteen-year-old was known for her over-the-top, bordering on war crime pranks. Now that she was cosmic powered, and could affect reality around her, April Fool's Day was going to be literal hell for the Loud family.

"Okay, now that that's settled! Let's head to the hospital!" Luan opened the door back up and showed the inside of the hospital. She then turned her head and looked directly…at…us? "And we'll back after this short break!"

"Uh, who are you talking to–?"

Back at the military FOB, Lisa was still doing her best to lowkey sabotage their efforts into locating her siblings. Although, if she was being honest, something about this felt off. Despite all their delays, the General did not seem angry or disappointed that they have not made much progress. Then there was that incident at Dairyland, the way he spoke, it made it seem as if the General had a hand in making that accident happen. But doing something like that would have been a huge gamble, he had no guarantee that Lincoln and Leni would be there to save the people on that coaster, and if they had not been there, several people would have died.

Right now, Lisa was confined to this tent with the rest of the researchers. Thanks to the glamour spelled ring, they saw her as just a four-year-old child, instead of the fourteen-year-old cosmic powered being she was now. Lisa contemplated duplicating herself, creating a hard-light clone that could act as her stand-in while she investigated the General and what he knew or did not know. For now, she did some research on the man via her mental connection to the internet.

Let's see, General Andrew Thaddeus Ross. Born April 7, 1969, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mother and Father deceased, graduated top of his class in military school and head of the ROTC program. Has been deployed to many active battlefields and employed unique and diverse tactics against enemy combatants. Rose through the ranks and received many awards and medals from many different administrations. Let's see…assigned per request to the U.S. military's Anomaly Investigation Department, known as AID, back in 2008.

Hmm…by request. He wanted to be placed in that division. Lisa searched through more information, trying to understand who General Ross was. With his rank as General, he could have assigned himself or requested to work in any division of the military he wished, but specifically chose the one that investigates unknown phenomena. For what reason?

Dr. Sanders, who was sitting right next to Lisa, sighed heavily. "Ugh, these energy readings are all over the place. They keep changing and shifting so much that it's hard to pin them down long enough to analyze them."

"I understand your frustration, but we might be getting closer, little by little, but we are," Lisa replied.

Dr. Sanders, the twenty-five-year-old brunette, smiled down at Lisa. "You're right, if you're not frustrated then I shouldn't get so worked up either." Dr. Sanders reached out with her right hand and gently stroked Lisa's left thigh. "I'm so happy that you agreed to help us out."

Lisa knew what she was doing. She had long suspected that Dr. Elizabeth Sanders had a thing for her. She could tell it did not stem from a purely sexual place, it was more about Lisa's intellect, she found that attractive, even though Lisa was far, far younger than her. Perhaps she was thinking that this kind of touching was her first step into grooming her.

Dr. Sanders, if I were of the same age, and if I did not have feelings for Lincoln, perhaps we could have had something. But that's in another universe somewhere. Right now, you serve as a necessary tool should the need arise, so, for now, I'll allow you to think you are "grooming" me.

Lisa put on a little smile and replied. "Thank you, Dr. Sanders."

Dr. Sander's blushed and removed her hand promptly.

Too easy.

A couple of hours passed, bringing it to lunch time. The scientists were escorted to a tent that the soldiers and scientists shared and ate their meals in. It would be hard to use her Omni-Code, because no matter where they went, the scientists were escorted. If they wanted to use the bathroom, they would be taken there by an armed guard, if they wanted to grab something to eat from the meal tent, they would be taken to it. And when they left for the day, they were all escorted to their cars.

General Ross seemed to want to keep them under close surveillance, but none of the other groups that were brought here showed as much security. That was another thing that she wondered about. On the outskirts of Royal Woods there were several ideal locations for AID to setup a FOB for investigating the town, but they were set up in the woods, with large tents. With supplies and equipment being brought in via Humvees and large trucks. Was there something special about this spot that made it easier to conduct these operations? Or did was there another reason?

It frustrated Lisa, for some reason General Ross was an enigma to her, and that was bad. If he managed to discover their identities, some hard decisions would have to be made. She knew Lincoln would not approve of disposing of the General, or anyone. If worst came to worst, Lisa could wipe his memory, and Lucy could use a spell to do the same. Their bases were mostly covered.

As they got their food, who should be there but General Ross. The man was about six feet even, with black hair that was cut in a high and tight fashion, and hazel green eyes. The General looked down at Lisa and said, "Ah, Miss Loud, how goes your work?"

"It is going, General, Sir," said Lisa.

"Very good. I have heard you're having some setbacks, nothing too major I hope."

Lisa shook her head. "No, not a all. They are inconveniences at most, frustrating ones, but otherwise inconveniences all the same. Nothing to be concerned about in the end. I do apologize that they are delaying the creation of the detection device."

General Ross nodded his head in understanding. "You're quite the brilliant young lady, Miss Loud. Only four and you're able to keep up with your senior associates. I can scarcely imagine what you will be capable of as you get older."

Lisa was not able to get a read on this man. He kept his tone even, nothing that would indicate that he was upset, happy, or hiding something. And that's what unnerved her. "I hope to contribute greatly to the scientific community."

"Well, if you ever want to explore the unknown, don't hesitate to contact AID, we'd be more than happy to have a young prodigy on our team," said General Ross as he got his tray and walked on.

Who are you really, General Ross?

"And we're back folks!"

"Luan, who are you talking to?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to, Lincoln!" Luan happily remarked.

The two of them arrived in the lobby of the hospital, despite the way they entered, no one seemed to care that a girl and a boy just walked into a hospital lobby, through a door that appeared out of thin air, and disappeared just as quickly. Lincoln decided to just roll with it, if Luan's "Toon Force" powers were to be believed, then she was affecting the entire area, making them ignore their entrance outright. The two of them walked up to the front desk, Luan took the lead and asked, "Hello! Is Dr. Trudy on duty today?"

The nurse at the front desk then replied, "She is, can I help you?"

"Yes, you can! I'm Luan Loud, I'm here as one of the members of the Patch Adams Comedy Troupe. Dr. Williams should have called ahead," said Luan.

"Oh yes, he did! I'm sorry, let me page her right now."

After a couple of minutes Dr. Trudy walked out of an elevator and to the kids. She was a tall woman with dark brown skin and flowing black hair. "Hey there, Luan, and who's this?"

"Oh, this is my little brother, Lincoln! He'll be by helper for today."

"Hi there," said Lincoln.

"Nice to meet you, your sister really helps brighten the kids' days," said Dr. Trudy. "Let's get you set up then."

Dr. Trudy led Luan and Lincoln upstairs to the room where they brought all terminally ill children. "I'm sorry for asking you and Dr. Williams to come back before your normal time, but some of these children have been a little scared after what's gone on these last few days, and well, some of them have taken a turn for the worse."

Luan's smile faded a little, and so did Lincoln's.

"They love your comedy routines, so I hoped this would ease their fears a little," said Dr. Trudy.

"No problem, we're glad to help," said Lincoln.

"I'll go and tell them you're here, give me just a moment."

As Dr. Trudy walked away, Lincoln glanced over at his big sister, who looked a little down. "Hey, you alright?"

Luan sighed. "Yeah…You kinda forget that for this kind of audience, this might be their last laugh, ever. I know it's selfish, but every time I'm here, I'm grateful that you're not one of them. I don't know what any of us would do if you were as sick as them."

Lincoln looked towards the room they'd be entering soon, after a moment to think, Lincoln turned to his big sister and asked, "You said your powers can affect whatever's around you. And that includes people, right?"

"Yeah, it does. Why?" Luan asked.

"Maybe you can heal them?!" Lincoln suggested.

Luan's eyes widened. Could she do it? Was it possible? She always believed in the healing power of laughter, but could her powers heal all those kids? Leni had the healing powers, not her. Would it be funny if all those kids who were terminally ill suddenly became healthy and live? It would be something to be happy to about, but if she looked at it from the prospective of their illnesses being living beings, then yeah, it would be a funny way to "prank" their illnesses by going "Psych! They're not going to die; they're going to live! So, ha-ha!"

"Huh, y'know, that doesn't sound half bad. I mean, it's worth a shot," said Luan.

After they heard Dr. Trudy announce them, Lincoln held out his hand to Luan and said, "Let's knock the sick out of them!"

Luan blushed a little, but then took off her glamour ring, took hold of his hand. And as she did, both he and Luan began spinning around, creating a mini tornado of yellow and orange as they spun out like a Tasmanian devil onto the stage. The kids and even some of the nurses and Dr. Trudy were surprised by what they were seeing. After a moment, the tornado ceased, and out popped Luan and Lincoln. The white-haired boy was wearing an orange ring master's outfit, complete with a tall black hat, black pants, red jacket, and a cane. Luan's outfit was the same as his, except her jacket was yellow, and the pants and hat were white as well.

"Thank you all for coming out here today!" Lincoln stated.

"We've got a fun time in store for all of you, so, let's get to it!" Luan added as she tapped her cane against the makeshift stage.

Suddenly, a wave of yellow energy washed over the entire room, making it go dark for a moment before a huge spotlight shined on Luan. At the same time, music began to play in the background, much to the audience's confusion as it was only Lincoln and Luan there, and none of the other nurses had instruments. Luan began to tap her foot to the beat of the music, and with a wide smile, she began to sing.

"My name is Luan Loud – hello!"
And I am here to say –how you doing?"

Luan started to rapidly move from one kid to the other, shaking their hands or patting them on the head.

"I'm gonna make you smile
And I will brighten up your day~"

Luan waved her hands, and the entire room was filled with light, but when it was illuminated, everything was different. It looked as if they had been transported to some cartoon world. The sky was pink in color, the ground felt soft and bouncy like a bounce house, and there were bubbles floating in the air, their surfaces catching the light and giving them a rainbow sheen.

"It doesn't matter now – what's up?"

Luan grabbed a kid that was in a bed and tossed him up into the air. The nurses and doctor were about to yell at her, but then a brightly colored cartoon bird came out of nowhere and caught him, allowing the child to ride on its back as the kid yelled in excitement.

"If you are sad or blue
'Cause cheering up you guys
Is just what I'm here to do~"

The kids started to feel different, the aches and pains that they were feeling, the stresses brought on them by their diseases and treatment, all of it was gone, they felt…normal.

"'Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile
Yes, I do
It fills my heart with sunshine all the while
Yes, it does
'Cause all I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From this happy crowd of mine!~"

The kids started to stand up, and Lincoln, waving his cane around, started to create rides, games, and more cartoon animals to join in on the fun. It seemed that Luan somehow granted him a portion of her Toon Force, allowing him to do some of the crazy things that she could. Lincoln could see that some of the adults were worried about what was happening. With a tap of his cane, the adults were transformed into their childhood forms and whisked away into the fun.

"I like to see you grin!"

Luan watched as one of the children raised a mallet and struck a strength tester game, sending the weight flying up and striking the bell, and then sent said bell flying into the distance.

"Awesome!"

Luan practically teleported to a nurse and child he took care of jamming out to a Guitar Hero game.

"I would love to see you beam! Rock on!
The corners of your mouth turned up
Has always been my dream!~"

"But if you're kind of worried."

Lincoln saw that Dr. Trudy was still a little apprehensive about what was happening.

"And your face has made a frown."

Lincoln took off his top hat and pulled out a baby elephant with large wings. Dr. Trudy gushed at the sight of the flying pachyderm and got on its back as it flew her into the fun with the rest of the nursing staff and kids.

"I'll work real hard and do my best
To turn that sad frown upside down!~"

"'Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Yes, I do
Bust it out from ear to ear, let it begin
Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin
And you fill me with good cheer!~"

"It's true some days are dark and lonely…"

Luan appeared as a double, looking blue and sad. But then the original Luan reached out her hand and brought herself back up before merging into the cheerful original again.

"And maybe you feel sad
But I'll be there to show you that it isn't that bad."

Luan twirled her cane around and began marching, Lincoln was at her side as they led the adults and kids, some having partnered with an animal companion or were driving in bumper cars.

"There is one thing that makes me happy'
And makes my whole life worthwhile
And that's when make you laugh and get you to smile!~"

"I really am so happy
Your smile fills me with glee
I give a smile; I get a smile
And that's so special to me!"

A rocket appeared under Luan, and then she grabbed Lincoln and had him sit in front of her, and within a few seconds the rocket blasted off into the sky. The same power that allowed the cartoon animals to move around also allowed them to fly, even the ones who weren't on animals suddenly found themselves getting whisked into the sky along with them.

"'Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam
Yes, I do
Tell me, what more can I say to make you see
That I do?
It makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam
Yes, it always makes my day!~"

"Come on everybody smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine!~"

"Join in everyone!" Lincoln called out.

"Come on every body smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine!~"

The travels took them across their solar system, greeting each of the planets, even sad and lonely Pluto. But he was not sad for long as the group flew around him and got the other planets and even the stars to join in on the song. Luan jumped off the rocket and began dancing in the middle of space, waving her hands to and fro as she felt the music and the happiness of kids around her.

"Yes, the perfect gift for me
(come on everybody smile, smile, smile, fill my)
Is a smile as wide as a mile
(heart up with sunshine, sunshine)
To make me happy as can be
(all I really need's a smile, smile, smile, from these happy)
Smile, smile, smile, smile, SMILEEEEE!~"

Fireworks started to go off, along with blasts of confetti and sparkles as everyone was dancing and making merry all around her, along with Lincoln who was dancing alongside his big sister. Making her smile comically bigger than it normally was.

"Come on and SMILE!~"
Come on and smile!"

And just like that, the entire room reverted to normal with both Luan and Lincoln striking a pose on the makeshift stage, like nothing had ever happened. The kids blinked for a second, and then the half that were originally the nurses and doctor poofed back into adults. After that, all of them broke into huge cheers and wide smiles, along with chants of "Do it again! Do it again!"

"Well, Lincoln, they want an encore. Should we oblige?" Luan asked.

"I think we should give the crowd what they want," he replied.

Luan twirled her cane around, and said, "From the top then! A-five, six, seven, eight!"

It was at least two hours since they arrived and did their little show. Afterwards, the kids walked out of the room on their own, as if nothing was wrong with them at all. They looked so much healthier, the color having returned to their cheeks, and some who looked emaciated from their treatments looked fuller, and not just skin and bones. The nurses and Dr. Trudy could not believe what they were seeing, it was truly a miracle as far as they were concerned.

Luan slipped her glamour ring back on as she walked up next to Lincoln. "How was that?"

"That was really fun," said Lincoln.

Luan blushed and smiled at him. The cosmic comedienne walked over to Dr. Trudy and said, "Um, Dr. Trudy, this may go without saying, but…do you mind keeping what happened here a secret? I kinda want to keep this under wraps, geddit? Seriously, though, can you not tell anyone?"

Dr. Trudy turned to look at Luan and said, "Luan Loud, after what you've done for these children, you have my word I will not say anything to anyone. I'll have to run tests to make sure that they're all really okay, but…" Dr. Trudy was getting choked up. "These kids just may've gotten a second chance at life thanks to you two. None of us are going to say a thing. Right?"

The nurses agreed, adding that that was the most fun they have had since they were kids.

"Thank you, everyone, it means a lot to us that you'll do that," said Lincoln.

"If you don't mind, Dr. Trudy, can you call Dr. Williams and tell 'em he doesn't need to come by?" Luan asked.

"Yes, of course, but why can't you?" she asked.

Luan wrapped her arm around Lincoln's shoulders and answered, "Because I promised my little bro here that we'd spend some time together today. And since the kiddos are all healed…"

"Say no more, I've got you. Go and have fun," said Dr. Trudy.

With their work done, the two siblings left the hospital, once they were far enough away from the hospital, Luan brought Lincoln into a tight hug. The white-haired youth found himself blushing as he was being squished against his sister's breasts, and was about to ask what she was doing, but stopped when he noticed that she was crying.

"L-Luan, what's wrong?!" Lincoln asked in concern.

The cosmic comedienne released her little brother and wiped her tears as she smiled at him. "I'm sorry, Linc, I was just really happy that I was able to help them." Luan sat down on a bench, which materialized out of nowhere, and Lincoln copped a squat next to her. "I've done these for the last two years now, and this is the first time I've honestly felt as if I did something for them."

"What do you mean? You make them laugh and smile! You help them to forget about their troubles," said Lincoln.

Luan shook her head. "It's not the same. Dr. Trudy, the nurses, they're doing all the hard work to actually save their lives. All I can do is make them forget about their possible death or pain of their treatments."

Lincoln reached over to Luan with his right hand and placed it against her shoulder. "That's still good, isn't it better that they're happy instead of sad and miserable?"

"It is…But I can't help feeling like I could do more. Even though I know I couldn't, I wanted to help them…so, yeah, the best I could do was make them laugh and smile, and I do believe in laughter being able to help heal." Luan looked up in the direction of the hospital and sighed. "It's just that it's hard to keep thinking that when each time you come back, you see one less face. It's different with the old folks at the senior center, they're older, they've lived a full life. And I'm not gonna lie, it's sad to sometimes go there and not see one of them because they died, but you can expect it. With them…"

"They're young like us, and younger, and haven't had the chance to live long. And you think it's unfair that they haven't had that chance," Lincoln finished.

"And I kinda feel bad, 'cause after I'm done, I always say in the back of my head, 'I'm sure glad none of my siblings are sick like them.' Especially you, Lincoln."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of, I'm sure none of those kids in there would wish what they had on anyone."

Luan wiped another tear. "You're right. But today, I finally did something. I healed them; my powers were able to cure all their illnesses!" Luan's smile broadened. "I want to help more of them! Maybe I can ask Leni if she'll help me and start healing people?!"

Lincoln just looked up at his big sister and smiled.

"What?"

"If you didn't get these powers, I could so see you as becoming someone like Dr. Williams, a doctor and comedienne," Lincoln remarked.

Luan thought about that for a moment, it was not something she had ever thought about before, but it was something that piqued her interest. Who said she could not be a comedienne and a doctor? The more she thought about it, the more she started to like the idea. "Dr. Luan Loud Ph.D., and comedic superstar!" Luan stood up and waved her hand through the air, creating a sign that read just that. "I like the sound of that." She turned back to Lincoln and smiled at him again. "You really are the best, you know. You helped me out the same way back when, too. This is about the time for the obligatory 'why I fell for you story'. I'm sure you heard the other's, too. You don't have to hear it if you don't want to."

"I don't mind, really. I kinda look forward to it, 'cause it helps me understand how we got here," said Lincoln.

Luan chuckled. "You're right, gotta find out how you so innocently led your sisters into choosing the path of incest."

Lincoln blushed. "It's not like I wanted to make you guys fall for me…"

"I know, I'm just messing with you. Anyway, let's transition to a flashback!"

X***********************X

I was still getting the hang of standup comedy, and of course in such a business, rejection went hand-in-hand with success, and I was on a bad rejection streak.

Luan Loud, nine years old, and already trying to become a comedic star in the making. Of course, her journey to that stardom was met with…less than favorable results. Some people either did not get her jokes, or just rolled their eyes at her. What was worse was the patronizing replies, she was a kid, she was making a joke, so they just laughed, but even for a kid, Luan could tell the difference between a genuine laugh and one that was just forced to make someone not feel bad.

"I'd rather someone just not laugh or roll their eyes at me than pretend to find what I said funny. Ugh, it kinda irritates me that some girls actually do that to guys they like. It's fine if you know his jokes are bad, and he only does them to you, but don't let him make a fool of himself if he tries to tell those same jokes to someone else!"

"Yeesh, remind me never to tell a bad joke around you," Lincoln remarked.

"Eh, you get a free pass."

It was summer and Luan was busy working on her comedy routine as she jotted it down on paper. She was looking after Lincoln while Lucy was with their mother. The white-haired child was playing with his toys on the living room floor while Luan sat on the couch and wrote down some jokes. From time to time, she would stop and look at her adorable little brother, the first boy to be born into their family. It still made her giddy to know they now had a little brother to look after. Although, it seemed that he was doing the looking after sometimes.

He helped Lori when she was feeling down about her first boyfriend dumping her and became her boyfriend for a bit before he got hurt. Despite knowing that Lori gave him one hell of a Falcon Punch to the face, which did not stop her from devising plans for the upcoming April 1st. That's right, Luan was going to take a break from tormenting her family and was instead going to break out her Luan Loud brand of psychological and physical torture to that boy for hurting her little brother. And may God have mercy on his soul.

"Now that I think back on it, I noticed a severe lack of any pranks and boobytraps that April Fool's Day…You mean…?"

"Let's just say he's no longer with us–"

"LUAN!"

"–in this zip code! Gotcha! He and his family moved to New York. I may or may not have had a hand in that."

Another thing she was trying to get off the ground was her business venture, aptly named, "Funny Business Inc.". She advertised entertainment at children's parties, using this business as a way to not only earn some money for herself and the family, but also to practice some of her material and build up her confidence. Despite wanting to be a professional, Luan was ashamed to admit that she still had some stage fright, which resulted in her messing up her own jokes or routines.

It was times like this she admired her big sister Luna, she was rocking like a true musician, unafraid of the crowd. In fact, she seemed to revel in it. Right now, she wished she could tap into even a fraction of that courage. Just then, Luan's phone rang, it was not her personal cellphone, it was her business line. A simple burner phone for Funny Business Inc. until she could afford her own proper cellphone that could also act as a way to keep her future events and schedules on.

Luan picked up the line and said, "Funny Business, Inc. Your fun is our business! Luan Loud speaking…Uh-huh…Yes…A birthday party? Of course! Yes, thank you for booking me! I'll be there with bells on! Literally!"

"Can I come with?" Little Lincoln asked his big sister.

Luan was not sure, this was her first gig as an entertainer, and she did not want it to go south. However, she could also use a friendly face and some support out there. "If you promise to behave, then yes, you can come. I'll just ask Mom first."

"Yay!"

So, of course, Mom said yes. I was happy that she did, it was Funny Business Inc.'s first job, and I wanted it to go well. Unfortunately, when I got there, I panicked…

"Oh God! Oh God, why am I panicking?!" Luan whispered.

It was a little makeshift stage, not very big, but nothing to sneeze at either. Everything was setup in the backyard of the house, the kids were all busy playing around while the birthday boy was at the center of the attention. Meanwhile, Luan was having a bit of a panic attack, which was stupid as far as she was concerned. She had made several impromptu standup debuts in public, and to her family. So, why was this any different?

That panic was mostly due to the fact that I was worried that my first ever business venture was going to defined by how well I did that day, and if I failed then my business would fail, and somehow, I felt as if that would be the albatross of my entire career.

"You had a panic attack?"

"I know right? Me? Have a panic attack? But, yeah, I did, and I felt as if I was about to choke before I even hit the stage. Then you did something. Something that you brought back when I needed an assistant."

Lincoln saw that his big sister was getting nervous, she was pacing back and forth, muttering to herself. The young boy decided to go and break the ice, he saw one of Luan's gag banana peels and tossed it out there. With all the confidence in the world, Lincoln walked onto the makeshift stage, waved to the group of kids, and then stepped on the peel. Just as predicted, he slipped, flipped in the air a couple of times, and cried out "Hiawatha!" before falling on his back.

That snapped Luan out of her funk as she looked out into the stage, she thought the kids were going to start laughing, but they did not. They just looked confused as to why he so obviously slipped on the banana peel that was clearly out there for all to see. Lincoln glanced over in her direction and winked at her. Lincoln you little scamp!

Luan slid out onto the stage from stage left and said, "Wow, Lincoln, looks like the crowd didn't fall for your act."

The birthday child and their friends began to laugh.

"Guess the point slipped by them!"

More laughter ensued.

"You've got to be kidding me…You mean that time when I did my whole fall act when I became your assistant, it wasn't the first time I've done it?!"

"Oh-ho-ho no, little brother. That moment all those years ago, was the first day you ever tried it. Imagine my surprise when you did it again years later. Anyway, thanks to that, it allowed me to get the party off the ground, bringing in the laughs, using all my gags and pranks, I turned that party on its head!"

After the party was over, and Luan was paid for her work, the two Loud siblings returned to their home where Luan managed to be alone – miraculously – with her little brother and spoke to him.

"Lincoln, thank you for that, really, it helped me a lot," said Luan.

Little Lincoln smiled up at his big sister and said, "I'll always help you, and our sisters! I have to protect you!"

Luan blinked in confusion. "What? Lincoln, that's sweet, but we're your big sisters. It's our job to protect you, silly."

Lincoln shook his head, "Nah-uh, it's the brother's job to look after his sisters! And now I'm a big brother, so I have to protect all my sisters! Just like Ace Savvy!"

I know it's silly, really, but that's what did it for me. Somehow, despite you being younger than us, it didn't stop you from trying to do whatever you could to help us out. We all saw it when you helped out Lori, and then as the years passed, I saw and experienced all the ways you've helped me and the rest of our sisters. That day was the spark, but it's been building up into a flame this whole time.

X***********************X

Luan snapped her fingers and now we are back to the present as she…stares at us. "And that concludes the mandatory flashback, folks." The cosmic comedienne then turned her attention back to her little brother. "I decided then that I always wanted to see you smile. That I wanted to be a ray of sunshine in your day, even if you were having a bad one." The brunette's expression fell as she remembered the infamous incident of the past. "Which is why I hate myself for my part in what happened to you…I waned to be your sunshine, and in the end, I became part of the dark cloud that almost lost you…"

Lincoln's anger towards that day was slowly starting to fade, he had always kept that locked and buried, figuring that it was better to just forget that it happened. With all this stuff happening, it was dredging up those old memories. But with each newly dated sister, he was starting to feel as if that they were truly being sincere when they said they regretted that day, and that he was not the only one who was hurting.

The white-haired youth reached out with both of his hands and poked the sides of Luan's mouth, forcing them up into a smile. "Smile, Luan, you're cuter when you do."

Luan's heart thumped as a small bit of tears formed. Her mouth smiled on its own, allowing Lincoln to pull back his hands. With another comical use of her powers, Luan reached up and pulled down a curtain around them out of nowhere, obscuring herself and Lincoln from everyone's sight. And with this new privacy, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. Lincoln's reaction to these kisses was becoming less confusing, as if each one was slowly eroding whatever bit of apprehension or doubt, he may have had about his plan to date his sisters and be with one of them.

Lincoln and Luan slowly parted their lips as the older Loud gazed at him lovingly. "I promise, Lincoln, no matter what happens, I'll always be there to cheer you up. And this time, I'll protect that smile of yours."

"I'm okay with that. We still have some time, wanna do something else?"

"Oh yeah, the date's not over yet!" Then she stares at us, again. "Unfortunately, that's all you guys are getting. The rest will be left up to your imagination as we cut away to nighttime!"

Night had settled over Royal Woods. After having another of their date progress reports, the girls parted ways and left for their individual room dimensions. Meanwhile, Lincoln was in his room, looking up at his ceiling, he was already four dates in, four out of his five big sisters, and tomorrow would be Lynn's turn.

Lincoln was still unsure about this one. Since the resurrection of the "Bad Luck" incident memories, he had been wondering what Lynn was going to say to him, or what she would do to try and atone. For Lincoln, he was not sure what he wanted from her exactly. Yes, apologies were made back then, and the incident better left forgotten, but forgiveness had not been completely given. Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan have, in their own way, sworn to never let that happen again, and vowed to protect Lincoln from ever experiencing that or any similar misfortune ever again.

But there was a part of Lincoln that was…afraid. They were saying all these things, but was it really them? The part about them being in love with him was a hard pill to swallow, but he did it, and accepted that they were in love with him. And it was true that the Black Vortex was the key reason why they felt bold enough and confident enough to finally profess their love for him, since, as they put it, there was not a force in this universe now that could stop them from being together or tell them that it was wrong.

However, if the Black Vortex had never appeared in the first place, would they have made such a declaration of protection? Or would they have just done as he did, kept the incident locked away in their minds and never speak of it again? And what's worse, what if Lisa did manage to find a way to reverse the effects of the Black Vortex, would that mean they'd go back on what they said to him? Lori's promise to never hurt him. Leni's promise to be his shield? Luna's protectiveness? Luan's promise to never let him be sad. Would that all disappear?

Mom and Dad want the girls go back to normal, and on some level I agree. Nine superpowered people – cosmically superpowered people – are more than the world can handle. They can shake and shatter dimensions, rewrite the laws of science, and blow up the planet on a whim. But if they did return to normal, then none of them would be able to be with me, and that's all they want. Maybe only one of them can stay like that? The one I choose? I'm pretty good at convincing Mom and Dad about stuff, so, maybe I can convince them that having at least one of my sisters stay how they are would be more beneficial to us?

Lincoln sighed heavily.

At least then, maybe, I can be sure that one of them will keep that promise. If it's only because of the Black Vortex.

It was times like this that Lincoln was wondering if he should submit to the Black Vortex and become a cosmic powered being. Then any doubts or fears he had about this whole plan would just evaporate, his confidence at its peak. But then there was another part of him that feared what he would become. It was clear that the Black Vortex altered the personality a bit, and if that was the case, would he lose the part of himself that cared about his family? The kindness that endeared him to his sisters, would that be gone?

These thoughts swam in the eleven-year-old's mind, thoughts that would make even a grown adult tear their hair out in frustration. Still, he did not have to think about them right now, he had a date with Lynn tomorrow, he had to focus on that. After her, there were still four more sisters to date before he had to make his decision. For now, he just had to enjoy the dates, focus on the girls, and once all was said and done, make the decision that would determine the course of his life, and whichever sister he chose as his girlfriend – and more than likely his eventual wife, lives.

"No pressure…"

Months Ago…

Yelling could be heard coming from the Loud House, but that was nothing new as that house was notorious for its noise complaints. However, tonight was different, tonight was not just any night of loud sounds. The sounds inside were the sounds of fighting, of things getting knocked over and shattering. Again, nothing new, as was the case, a house full of nine sisters and one brother, such brawls were expected.

Expletives were released, which was not normal. Mixed in with the sounds of fighting were also the sounds of pleading, as if someone – a lot of some ones – were trying to break up a fight. Eventually the brawling sounds stopped, and more expletives were released before the front door to the Loud House was slammed open and Lincoln walked out, scratched up, his hair a mess, a blackeye, and a tear along the side of his orange shirt. The boy was stomping down the steps of his stoop, continuing as he made his way down the paved walkway to the sidewalk and continued walking in a random direction.

It took about three minutes before someone ran after him, in this case, it was Luna. The rocker ran like a madwoman and got in front of her little brother as she said, "Linc, dude, stop! Just calm down for a sec!"

"NO! I'M SICK OF THIS…THIS…BULLSHIT! Yeah, I said it! BULLSHIT!" Lincoln yelled. "You guys threw me out of the house along with my stuff! And then you made me wear that stupid squirrel suit for a month! I can't take it anymore! If it's not one thing, it's another!"

Lincoln shoved his big sister aside and kept on walking.

"Bro, where are you even going?!" Luna asked.

"Somewhere! I don't know!"

Luna caught up with him again and got in his way. "Dude, you can't just go out wandering around at night! Royal Woods may not have that high a crime rate, but that doesn't mean there aren't pedos and sickos out there waitin' for someone like you to be alone at night!"

"What the hell do you care?! It obvious you don't give a damn about me!" Lincoln retorted.

Luna's expression was one of hurt as she started to cry. "That's…That's not fair, little bro…I do give a damn about you! I love you!"

Lincoln rolled his eyes and laughed mockingly. "Oh-ho, really, you do? Yeah, I felt a whole lot of lovin' from you and the rest of my 'family'! Just leave me alone Luna, just…go away!"

Luna wanted to say more, but the look in his eyes, the look of utter betrayal and anger, it broke her inside. The person she was in love with, the boy she had come to care for, no longer saw her as someone he trusted.

Lincoln shoved her out of the way again, but this time managed to knock Luna onto her rear, the shock still in effect and sapping the strength from her legs. For a moment, Lincoln turned his head to look at her, and for that moment, there was a look of concern on his face, not expecting his big sister to be easily pushed to the ground like that after she managed to shrug off his first attempt. But Lincoln's anger won out in the end, plus, he could tell that she only landed on her butt, she did not hit her head or anything. So, with that in mind, he continued walking away, leaving Luna sitting there on the sidewalk.

The young rocker's tears came heavy as she cried, "What…What have we done…?"

After about a couple of minutes of crying her eyes out, Luna returned to her home, finding that the rest of her siblings had helped in cleaning up the mess. Sitting on the bottom step of the stairs was Lynn. Despite being the toughest and physically strongest of their family, Lincoln managed to get in a couple of decent blows to the jock. She had a dried-up trickle of blood coming down from the left corner of her mouth, she was also clutching her stomach a bit, as earlier Lincoln donkey kicked her there, sending her flying to the other side of the room. Other than that, there were a small number of scratches, and her jersey was torn from the collar down to the right side of her breast, exposing some of her sports bra.

Their parents were out a date that night, leaving Lori in charge. Lisa thankfully had put some headphones on Lily when she started hearing the commotion downstairs, so their baby sister did not hear any of the swearing that was going on, nor did she hear the brawl. When Lori saw Luna enter through the front door she quickly asked, "There you are! Where's Lincoln?"

"He's gone…"

"I see that, my question is why isn't he with you?!" Lori asked again.

"He doesn't want to be here…"

"Goddammit, Luna, I know he's pissed right now, but you can't just leave him out there!" Lori growled as she threw down the broom and said, "Forget it, I'm going out there and bringing him back myself! You're in charge until I get back."

Luna shook her head and blocked the entrance with her body. "Just leave him alone…he…hates us."

Lori looked shocked when she heard that, even Lynn turned her head up upon hearing Luna's words. "What did you say?"

"You should've seen it, Lori…he hates us! What's worse, he doesn't trust us anymore! He didn't even believe me when I said I loved him! My own little brother didn't believe that I cared about him at all!" Luna began crying again as the sadness of that realization hit her. "We lost his trust, Lori! Do you really think he's going to come back just because you go out there?!"

Lori took a step back as Luna's words sunk in. Lincoln did not trust them…he did not trust that they loved and cared about him. The person she was secretly in love with…What…What have we done…?

Luna's sadness turned into seething anger when she glanced at Lynn. "This is all your fault!"

Lynn's brow furrowed. "Shut up…"

"You and your goddamn bad luck shit!" Luna continued.

"I said, shut up, Luna!" Lynn shot back.

"Or what?! You wanna go lil' sis?! Bring it on then! I'll finish what Lincoln started!"

Lynn took that as a challenge as she shot to her feet, but winced and hissed when she did, feeling the pain around her stomach.

Luna smirked. "What's the matter, LJ? Lincoln kick your ass too hard?! Good!"

"Shut the hell up, Luna! I've been hit harder by girls and boys twice Stinkoln's size and with twice the muscle mass in hockey, rugby, and football! It'll be a cold day in hell when Lincoln can even do half as much damage as those guys! So, you're dreaming if you think you can take me!" Lynn stated.

Luna advanced a little on Lynn. "Oh, I don't know, I think Lincoln may've even the playing field enough for me!"

"ENOUGH!" Lori shouted as she got between them. The rest of their sisters were watching on with worry, Lana and Lola were hiding behind the couch, while Leni had Lucy behind her, and Luan had Lisa hiding behind her as well. "Both of you chill out! Luna, sit on the couch and stay down here! Lynn, go up to your room and stay up there!" Lori pinched the bridge of her nose as she sighed in frustration. "I need to call Mom and Dad and tell them what happened. This is too big not to get them involved…Luan, go out there and see if you can find Lincoln. It's fine if he doesn't want to come back to the house, but at least make sure he's not alone. I don't even think he has his cellphone on him."

Luan quickly ran out of the house to do just that. Luna walked over to the couch and sat down, arms crossed and a hard scowl on her face. Lynn had a neutral expression as she walked up the stairs, she shut the door behind her and plopped herself onto the bed. Once she had, Lynn dragged her pillow over to her, placed it over her mouth, and screamed into it. Lynn briefly removed it from her face, showing that she was crying.

DAMMIT, LYNN, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! Lynn screamed in her mind. How could you do that?! You stupid bitch! You just…You just drove away the boy you love! You just fucked up your whole relationship!

Lynn threw the pillow away and began wailing on the wall next to her bed, striking it again and again until she smashed through the drywall and opened a whole through the wall. Lynn looked down at her knuckles, which were stinging and bloodied, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling in her heart. The jock teen curled herself into a ball and cried even more, cursing herself for what she had done.

Present…Late Night

Lynn opened the door to her room, quietly peering up and down the hallway to see if there was anyone there. Thankfully there was no one. The cosmic warrior girl quietly stepped out of her room and closed the door behind her, with a backpack slung over her right shoulder. Lynn started to walk downstairs, but when she got there, she noticed a faint light. Curious, Lynn kept going and stopped once she reached the foot of the stairs.

"Lori?!" Lynn harshly whispered.

Indeed, the eldest of the Loud siblings was leaning on the couch, her plasma flame hair being the cause of the faint light. "Lynn."

"W-What the – how did you know I'd come down here?!" Lynn asked.

"I knew something was since my date with Lincoln. You've been acting quiet and a bit distant, not like you at all." Lori noticed the backpack and sighed. "Are you seriously running away?"

Lynn looked away from her big sister and said, "I have to…"

"Have to what?"

"I have to leave. I have to be away from Lincoln," Lynn replied.

Lori raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Seriously? Why?"

"You said it yourself, I'm dangerous. After everything I did, there's no way he'd choose me. I mean, heh, I was deluding myself thinking that I even had a chance! Of course, he won't want me, I doubt he even wants to do anything with me!" Lynn argued. "I hurt the person I love, Lori!"

Lori crossed her arms as she thought about Lynn's words. She was not wrong about her part in what happened, Lincoln was the one who came up with that hairbrained idea, but if it was not for Lynn, it would not have ballooned into the fiasco it ended up becoming.

"And you think that running away is the best option?"

"It's not like I'll be in danger or anything. I'm powerful enough to put anything and anyone who tries to mess with me six feet under. Lucy can have my turn, honestly, any one of you would be better than me." Lynn walked to the front door and was about to open it.

"You think Lincoln will be okay with this?"

Lynn paused.

"He'll, literally, blame himself for you leaving. You'll only make him sad."

"…Heh…then I haven't changed at all then. You guys will be able to cheer him up."

Lori's eyes shined azure blue as she said, "You know I can, literally, stop you right now. I've already proven that I can put you down if I need to. So, restraining you will be little trouble."

Lynn turned her head slightly, her eyes shining red in response to Lori's threat.

However, after a moment, the glow in Lori's eyes faded. "But Lincoln asked us not to fight. And, honestly, considering how we are now, we'd end up destroying the entire town and then the state before it was over. So, for his sake more than anything, I won't."

"Well, at least I can honor that much. Goodbye, Sis."

Lori watched as Lynn opened the front door and closed it behind her. A moment later a red glow ignited outside before a streak of red light shot into the sky.

The eldest Loud sibling sighed heavily as she walked up the stairs and muttered, "Lynn, you're such an idiot."