"Guess who's home?!"
Lori raised her arms in the doorway. Front door kicked open, waiting for the rush of hugs and hello's to knock her down.
Still waiting…
"They're not home, honey," Rita followed her through the door. "Or, they're holed up upstairs."
Rita muttered as she set her purse and keys aside. "Honestly. I don't know what those kids are up to."
"I'll go say hi," Lori volunteered, making her way up the stairs.
"Dad's at the restaurant today!" She called from the living room. "He'll be home with dinner a little later!"
Lori smiled. From what she'd gathered, people were scared to go out into the city for a little while. The fact that Dad's busy running Lynn's Table means that people are starting to relax a little. Maybe they should go see him. If, for no other reason than to say hi. With Lori being given a brake from school, at least for a little while, maybe she could work there again. A little extra money never hurt.
She reached the top of the stairs and looked around the hall.
"That's weird," she wondered out loud. No noise. No horseplay. No music, or jokes, or threats. Honestly, where's the chaos? Are they even in the right house?
"Leni?" Lori pushed on the door to her shared room. Empty. She didn't have any more luck with Luna and Luan's room. Nor Lynn and Lucy's. No one in the twin's room. She took a second to look out their window to make sure no one was in the back yard.
"Over here."
Lori spun around with a chill in her spine.
"Luan?" she crept forward. "If this is one of your pranks, I swear, I will literally…"
She didn't finish the thought. The rooms she hadn't checked were Lincoln's room, the nursery, and the bathroom. She doubted everyone was hiding in the bathroom. She decided to check the nursery first.
"Hello…?" Lori slowly opened the door. She gasped in horror. All her siblings. They were here. Strewn about the floor. Either passed out… or dead! Only Lily seemed conscious, leaning against the bars of her crib. She looked at her with a question in her eyes.
"Oh my god," Lori breathed. She started panicking. "Mom!"
She turned to see the imaged of a sickly teenager she didn't recognize.
"Mommy's taking a nap," he informed her. "You are too."
Lori didn't even have time to scream. The stranger lifted his hand, spraying her with a cloud of noxious air. Lori involuntarily breathed in. She started hacking and coughing, and her thoughts were going blank. She collapsed to her hands and knees, trying to fight a losing battle for her lungs.
"Ugh," the boy complained, as Lori lost consciousness. "So many bodies. Ink better get here soon."
"Welcome to Lynn's Table! How can I help you today, sir?"
Meltdown looked up from his menu, making it a point to be as friendly as possible.
"Hi there," he greeted. "My name's TJ. I was wondering who I have to talk to for getting a job here?"
"Oh," the waiter blinked. "We're still a little understaffed at the moment, so we'd appreciate the help. Did you have a position in mind?"
"Uh…" Meltdown chuckled. "Fry cook?"
"Oooh," the man joked with him, "You'll have to take it up with the boss on that. He's very serious when it comes to his dishes. I'll see if he's up for an interview for you."
"Thanks."
It took a while, but soon he was escorted through the restaurant and to the back room.
"Hi there!" another joyous man greeted him. "Hope you don't mind me cooking while we talk, I've got a lot of orders to fill out."
"I can see that," Meltdown nodded.
"So what to they call you?" the man asked, juggling a couple of frying pans at once.
"Tobias Valentino Jr." he answered, "Everyone calls me TJ."
"Well, a pleasure to meet you TJ! My name's Lynn, as in Lynn's Table, you might have noticed." He joked, but it was clear that he was standing in the man's pride and joy.
"I did," TJ nodded. "I heard you opened up last year. And almost every good thing about it."
"You're acing the interview so far, bud," Lynn laughed. "So what position are you interested in?"
"Oh, uh, none of them," TJ dismissed. He looked around the kitchen, looking at all the tools, and noticing the fire alarm. "I actually wanted to run a few things by you."
"Okay…?" Lynn sounded confused.
"You got a lot of kids, right?" he asked. "One boy, and a lot of girls. Right?"
Lynn set the pans he was working on down on the stove tops. He grabbed a ladle and shoved it into TJ's face.
"If you came here for a fake interview," he threatened, "Just so you can ask for my daughter's number, you wouldn't be the first. And you can get the hell out of my kitchen."
Meltdown just looked at the man. He reached up and grabbed the ladle, snapping it in his fingers like it was made of wet clay. Lynn blinked and watched as the young man wadded the metal up in his fingers, making a orange ball of scrap. He dropped it down next to him, the heat from the ball cracking the tiles.
"Not really interested in dating, Mr. Loud," he explained to the man. "I just want to talk."
He held his hands up in front of him, lighting them ablaze. He reached up with one arm, and a stream of flames at the alarm immediately set it off. Sprinklers set off throughout the restaurant. A wave of complaints filled the building, and the crowd rushed out in an instant. Even the help, just the two kids looking for an opportunity to make some more money, rushed with them.
It was just the two of them now.
"Now," Meltdown smiled. "About your daughter…"
Leni drifted down slowly, doing her best not to scream.
This was a mean old cat!
Thankfully, the cat had enough sense to not dig into her new costume. After her most recent escapade with Mole-Man, she decided to update her look. She brought out the old costume she used when they were trying to win that comic-con contest. She kept the sleeveless turquoise top, white skirt, and black belt, but she replaced the scarf with her cape. She added some white gloves, but the bow and glasses had to go. She still kept her hair back in a ponytail. While she wore shorts with it, she wished she thought to add some sort of leg-wear aside from her boots. The others were torn, but it's October, and it's only going to get colder!
When she set her boots on the ground, she leaned down to hand fluffy off to the old lady who owned him.
"Here you go," Leni cheerfully let go. The cat did not. "Ow."
"Oh don't mind Larson," she took the cat away from her. "He's just scared of heights. Isn't that right Larson? Say thank you to the nice girl."
The cat meowed (actually it was more like a cry for help), in response.
"Happy to help, ma'am," Leni waved off. "Take care, Larson."
She flew above the street and away from the neighborhood. She took a breath.
"Whew," she breathed. She rubbed the cat scratches on her arms, already sealed and fading. "Like, what is the deal with cats and trees? Just… why?"
She expected to get an answer from her earpiece. She got none. She tried calling directly while flying listlessly.
"Hello?" she called with one finger to her ear. "Luna? Guys? Anyone there?"
No answer.
What happened? They were talking to her a minute ago.
"Luna?" she tried again. "It's Leni. You said you wanted to talk."
Nothing.
"Oh…kay…"
Leni set down on a nearby roof, pulling out her cellphone.
"What's going on over there?" she wondered.
Before she got the chance to call anyone, the phone started ringing. It was her Dad. She answered it without thinking.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hey, Leni," the voice on the other end greeted. "How're you doing?"
"Hey Dad," Leni's brow furrowed. "Your voice sounds kind of different. You're not sick, are you?"
"No, no," the voice assured. "He's fine. Your dad's right here. So's the rest of your family."
Then it started to hit Leni. Something was wrong.
"Who-" she hesitated. "Who is this?"
"You take out my crew and you forget who I am?" he laughed. "I'll give you a hint: you made my costume for me."
Leni didn't answer right away.
"You gave me my name."
Leni was still quiet.
"I have fire powers," he sounded impatient now.
"Meltdown," she realized.
"Now she gets it," he sighed. "My friends and I were just talking about you, and we heard that your dad had the best restaurant in town. So we thought we'd meet up and Lynn's Table and invite you over."
Leni's skin ran cold. How did they know? How does he know?
"And wouldn't you know it?" Meltdown continued, "We found your whole family here too. All nine of your sisters, and your little brother too.
"Don't keep us waiting."
He hung up, and Leni was left unsure of what to do.
It suddenly occurred to her how alone she was. No advice. No family. No backup.
Wait. Hobbs.
She unlocked her phone and found her way to the dial screen, but she hesitated. What would he tell her to do? Not move? Don't do anything? There would be a hostage situation that could take hours or days to resolve. Or, by the time they show up, they'll have abandoned the restaurant with her family in tow. Or worse yet, they decide to do something to take their revenge out on them.
She doesn't have the time.
"I'll… I can send him a text on the way there." She decided, taking to the skies.
Lynn's Table was one of the few locations in the city Leni could tolerate. She loved seeing her dad so happy. She loved that Lori was able to work there for a little while, even if Leni herself couldn't.
She set down at the front entrance, unable to see the inside of the building. Normally there'd be loads of families here. She entered the front door, only to see Ink at the front counter.
"Table for one?" she mockingly offered. "Or twelve."
Leni didn't answer. She only followed the teen girl to one of the seating areas. The building was abandoned, with half eaten meals left behind. Puddles of water were everywhere, even squishing the carpet where they walked. Their family was split up among the booths, with Nox at the opposite end watching the crowd. Ink joined his watch as she escorted Leni to the area. Mom and Dad were in the booth closest to her, facing away from her, and towards the rest of the kids. Mom held Lily, trying to console the infant.
The next booth had Luan facing her parents across two tables. Lisa was next to her, away from the isle. The toddler had her face buried in her sister's side, sobbing heavily, while Luan tried to comfort her. Lynn sat across from Luan, her teeth clenched and fists on the table. It seemed like Luan was trying to talk her out of doing something stupid. Lucy was in the dark next to Lynn.
Lori sat in the next booth with her back to Luan's. Lincoln sat across from her. He noticed Leni first, and only nodded with a determined look in his eyes. Leni could only guess he was trying to give her a reassuring message, but she didn't know what.
The final booth had Luna sitting at the edge of her seat. With the twins sitting across from her. She noticed Leni as well, and the older girl could swear she saw her lip quiver.
Leni choked back a sob. No. She needed to be strong.
She stepped forward and into the side of their vision. The gave a start.
"Oh!" Rita gasped. She then blinked and squinted at her. "Leni?"
Leni didn't deny it. She lifted her hands to her face and pulled the domino mask away from her eyes.
"Hey, Mom," she greeted. "Dad."
She felt like she was going to die standing up. The shocked look on her mother's tired face was like a knife in her chest. It only dug deeper when she saw the state of her father. A nasty bruise across his cheek like he'd been slugged. She took a shaky breath and did everything in her power not to cry. A couple hot tears streamed down her face anyway.
"It was you," Rita realized. "I should have… Oh honey, I should have known…"
"It's okay, Mom," Leni lied. She looked over to her father. "Dad? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine sweetie," he tried to reassure her. He reached out across the table and Leni grabbed his hand. He gripped tightly. "Whatever you do now, just be careful."
She nodded. Lily was looking up at her expectantly. Leni took a moment to kiss the baby's hand as she reached out for the older girl.
"Bloody hell," Ink mocked her. "Get on with it already!"
Leni flashed her a look she almost never gave. The villain didn't back down, but Leni didn't move right away either.
"It'll be okay," she promised her parents. "I promise."
She moved on to the next table. She asked the comedian if she was alright and she nodded solemnly. Leni stroked Lynn's hair, and that seemed to calm her down significantly. Lucy wrapped her arms around Lynn.
"I'll fix this," Leni told them.
Lori stood up when Leni approached them. She stared at Leni in awe.
"Oh my god." She breathed. "It's you. I mean… of course it's you."
"Lori…" Leni embraced her sister. Her best friend. "I'm so sorry. I-"
"Don't you dare," she said into her ear. "Don't you dare be sorry."
She pulled away. Tears were in her eyes and a loving smile on her face. "I've been watching you. Before I knew…" She wiped the tears away. "I think I always knew… I'm so proud of you, Leni."
Now Leni really did cry. She sobbed into Lori's shoulder, while the older girl patted her back.
"I missed you," Leni sobbed.
"I know," Lori shushed her. "I missed you too."
Leni stepped back and pulled herself together as much as possible. She slid the mask back over her face and turned to Lincoln. He was trying to be so brave, his chest puffed out. His fists rested on the table.
"Leni… I'm…" he tried to say.
"It's going to be alright," she told him, stroking the side of his face. "I promise."
"Make too many of those and you'll really be in trouble!"
Leni snapped her gaze over to Meltdown, stepping from the back room in full costume.
"Sorry for the wait," he said without apologizing. "I couldn't do this without the suit."
Leni straightened her back and rolled her shoulders.
She was ticked off!
"Why are you doing this?" She demanded. "What could justify…"
"You did this!" he pointed at her. "Not me! I'm trying to rid the city of its cancer, and you don't have the backbone to go through with it!"
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then, Meltdown pulled a chair at one of the tables.
"Come," he gestured at her, his voice much calmer. "Sit."
She looked to Lori, who nodded, and walked over to the table. The table was set next to Lori and Lincoln's booth.
She sat down on a wet seat, but ignored the discomfort. She watched Meltdown's every move. He could detonate himself right here, and everything Leni cared about would be gone. She needed to find a way to get him out of here.
"Let's talk about family," he said with false sprightly vigor. "I'm an only child, so I learned that my friends kind of had to fill the void of boredom in my childhood."
"You had one of those?" Lola chirped up.
Heads turned to their table, while Luna shushed her and told her to be quiet.
"Nice family," Metldown nonchalantly laughed off. "You all related, or adopted?"
"Related," Leni answered, anger growing with the tightness in her chest. "Why'd you take them?"
He threw his arms up, like he was saying "Seriously?"
"You started it, actually," he chuckled. "I was kind of pissed, with Spider getting away and all. Then you refused my offer. Then you go after my guys, taking them out one by one-"
"And that gives you the right to… to…"
"Brutalize," Lucy piped up.
"Brutalize my family?!"
"I'm not done," he continued. "Then, you get in the way of my recruitment. David could've been my the biggest gun in my arsenal."
"He's eight years old!" Leni argued. "He doesn't need to be in a gang war!"
"I was!" he shouted back. "When I was eight! They started a war with me… and I'm going to finish it. I'll run the city and make sure that it doesn't happen again."
"I thought you were going to protect the city," Leni reminded.
"Leni," he shook his head, like he couldn't believe he had to explain this. "There's no such thing as superheroes. Only the dead get to be heroes. The rest of us… have to deal with this city and the sacks of sh-"
"Language," Leni interjected.
"You just don't get it, do you?!" he laughed at her again. "God, I can't see you as a student. Did you sleep, during history?"
"I try my hardest," she bit down. "At everything."
"Right, right…" he nodded. "Let's get back to the topic at hand. Your family."
"What do you want with them?"
"I want to know… who's the favorite?"
Leni just stared at him.
"…That's not how families-"
"Wrong!" He slammed the table. "There's always a favorite. Every functioning family has one. It's easier for me. It was just me and my mom, so I know it was me."
"That would change," Leni answered. "If she were here."
Meltdown frowned. Instead of answering it, he moved on.
"It was a little harder, figuring it out for you," he told her. "Through the…myriad of selfies you'd taken with your family."
Leni blinked. He looked her up? All her stuff can be looked up at any time, anywhere? She never thought it'd go to this extreme.
"And I think I figured it out," he continued. "It's not your parents. Not enough time in the day for all the little rugrats. Can't be the baby, either, because they don't trust you alone with her for too long. If I read that tangent you posted correctly."
Leni looked down, ashamed of herself. She typed that out when she was angry. She thought she deleted it.
"I thought maybe it was the Jimmy Neutron clone over there," he carried on, "But she experiments on all you constantly. It's actually kind of alarming.
"The twins are cute, but they're brats. The goth girl is forgettable, and the she-ape over there can't chill out to save her life.
"And those other two, the go-nowhere rocker and the comedian with the stupid jokes. They're so, so desperate for attention, it practically a red flag for neglect.
"So, who does that leave for us, Leni?" Meltdown asked. When he got no answer, he answered for her. "That leaves one Lori, and one Lincoln, Loud."
They both looked over to the booth, where the two people in question sat staring at her in horror.
"Which is it, Leni?" Meltdown asked her. "Who's your favorite?"
"I…" she shook her head. "Families don't work like that! We all love and support each other equally!"
Meltdown just stared at her. He held up two fingers and stood up. The tips glowed orange.
"You better answer," he said, going over to Lori. "I can melt holes in steel, you know. No reason I can do it through someone's head."
"Meltdown," Leni pleaded. "Stop."
"Is it Lori?" he questioned. "Roommate, gal-pal, advice giver, and all around bossy personality?"
"TJ, that's enough!"
He moved over to the other side of the table.
"Or is it Lincoln?" he waved his deadly digits at the boy. "The caring younger brother who puts up with anything?"
Leni went to scream something, but the words died in her throat. The only thing that came out was a hoarse croak.
"We have a winner," Meltdown decided.
He yanked the boy out from the booth and Leni jumped from her chair. Lori stood with her.
"Ah-ah-ah," he held his fingers next to the boy's temple. "Careful now. Don't want to do anything you'll regret later."
Leni froze. She didn't know what to do. Lori had her hand on her arm. Lincoln's breathing was shallow, and his eyes flicked back and forth between Leni and Meltdown's hand.
"I didn't plan on killing anyone today," he mused. "but I can see it in your eyes. You're dead set on being a superhero. Well, you know that all those heroes have an element of tragedy to them, right? Something that motivates them? It can be anything from a disaster…
"To a death in the family," he finished.
"Please," Leni begged. "Please don't."
"This is what's going to happen-" Meltdown started to order.
It happened faster than Leni could process. Luna jumped from the edge of her seat, brandishing some silverware she must have swiped off the table. She jammed the fork into Meltdown's shoulder, making him cry out in pain. He let go of Lincoln, who ducked and scrambled away. Meltdown turned to Luna, his face contorted in rage and reaching out with flaming hands.
Leni lunged forward, using her super speed. She grabbed Meltdown's hands and pointed them upward, just as two streams of fire erupted and started lighting the ceiling ablaze.
Her family screamed and got up to move. Ink stood in the way.
"You're not going anywhere."
"Vibe check!" Lynn shouted as she smashed a chair into the villain's face.
Ink fell over, and Lori ushered most them out the front entrance.
Leni fought to keep Meltdown's arms in the air, while Luna scurried past with her with the twins in her arms.
"Hey!" Nox chased after her.
Leni, practicing the flips and maneuvers Lynn had taught her, threw Meltdown's body over herself, slamming him over Nox's body, and smashing a table in the process.
"Alright," Ink declared, nursing her head. "Screw the family! Just kill her already!"
"I'm starting to agree," Meltdown muttered as he pulled himself off his comrade.
"I'm already down," Nox turned into the cloud and swarmed over Leni's face. "Suck on this!"
As Leni coughed and staggered away, she saw their leader shoot flames at her head. As she ducked away, the back wall was set ablaze.
Ink moved in closer, swiping at her with her black arms. With every movement, they left fading marks hanging, like she was staining the air itself for a few seconds. She clawed at Leni, one mark burning her arm, and barely zipping by her face.
Leni balled one of her fists, and threw a right cross into Ink's jaw. She stumbled away, cursing.
"She hits like a ton of bricks!" she complained.
Nox only got more persistent. More of his gases filled her lungs to the point where Leni couldn't breathe. She collapsed to her hands and knees. Tears blurred her vision, and… something else was making it hard to see.
"Choke her out, Nox," the fire starter ordered. "Make it hurt."
"Uh… Boss?"
"What?" Leni could here him step around. "Police? That's fine. We can handle them."
"Not that!" Ink exclaimed, "Look!"
Leni felt lighter. She couldn't take this for much longer.
"Oh," Metldown realized. "That is… spreading faster than I would've guessed."
Suddenly, the slamming of footsteps could be heard, followed by the hissing of a fire extinguisher.
"Get away from her!" Leni could here the voice of her brother.
"Oh come on!" Ink complained. "Forget this! I'm out!"
"Don't piss me off, kid!" Meltdown shouted. It was followed by more hissing.
Suddenly, Leni's lungs cleared, she sputtered and hacked on the ground, as Nox reformed in front of her.
"The hell's going on out- Whoah! Time to go!"
Leni was able to blink enough to see. Nox disappeared and smoke had filled the building. She could see a boy in an orange shirt stumbling towards her.
"Leni!" he knelt down, under the smoke. He coughed harshly. "We- We have to go!"
Leni nodded. She could barely breathe. She could barely move.
"Leni!" Lincoln pulled one of her arms over his shoulder. "Come on!"
She managed to get her feet under her and, leaning on her brother, stumbled throughout the restaurant. The wood creaked and groaned over them.
"Almost there," Lincoln reported. "Almost out-"
"Leni!"
The girl looked behind her.
"I'm not done with you!" Meltdown formed another fireball over his head. This one was the size of a yoga ball. He chucked it over his head, missing the two kids, but hitting to the already fragile roof above them.
Lincoln got behind Leni and shoved her with all his might. Leni fell back, hitting her head. She raised it up just in time to see the flaming debris fall…
On top of her brother.
"LINCOLN!"
Leni put her feet under her. She staggered over to the heat. The flames singed her hair, it blackened her gloves, but she pressed on, pushing against the support beam that collapsed. More debris fell on top of her, turning the task from difficult to impossible.
There was no way he survived. Leni failed.
Lincoln is…
He's dead.
She looked up at Meltdown, still standing where he was before. He appeared to be in shock.
Leni felt… cold.
With a rush of adrenaline, she flew over to Metldown, hooking her arms under his, and flying out of the newly formed hole in the roof. She looked down, seeing a single police car with her family surrounding it. Firetrucks were pulling in, and already had men scrambling to douse the flames. Paramedics were up the street.
Not that it mattered.
Leni looked around, and willed herself to fly as fast as possible. She didn't know which direction she was flying towards, but she didn't care.
She flew onwards anyways.
