Hello everybody!
I hope you all are doing okay and staying safe during these hard times no matter where you are.
The other day, the final film in the X-Men series, The New Mutants, was released. It's kind of sad that after 20 years, this film series is officially over. Thanks a lot Disney. But never the less, it's been a pretty good run, for the most part.
Back to the story, our gang of mutants are now in hard times after what happened after the last installment, but fortunately there's a positive result from it.
Unfortunately, along with something good also comes with some bad, one of which is in the form of a familiar face to the X-Men.
But enough of that, here's my latest chapter and enjoy.
Chapter 14: Family Ties
About an hour after he was attacked by a mysterious women along with two classmates, Steak Stankco was resting in a hospital in Hollywood.
The Police quickly responded to Steak's hang-up 911 call he made earlier that night and found him near a dumpster. The street in which he was found had broken street posts, a shop's window was broken, as if it appeared to have been hit by a rock and with small drops of blood on the sidewalk and the street. It looked like it was the sight of a street fight. They called for an ambulance and rushed to boy to the hospital.
As soon as the hospital staff got an ID on the boy, they quickly contacted his father Stan, who arrived at the hospital shortly after he got the call. By now, the father found his son in a hospital room with bandages around his forehead, cheek and left arm, lying unconscious, "How is he?", he asked the doctor.
"Just a couple of cuts and bruises and minor concussion. If all goes good by the time he wakes up, he should be fine to go home."
Stan let out a sigh of relief hearing the news, "Good. What happened?"
"Looks like some kind of assault and animal attack", the doctor added.
Stan was confused, "Animal attack?"
"That's what see", the doctor then led Stan into his son's room with a nurse, "Out of all the injuries your son has, this was the most compelling. He has three slashes on his left check. It's not from an animal i've ever seen. Nurse", he told the nurse to show him the wounds on his face.
The nurse pealed back the bandage slightly, Stan saw the three slashes on his son's face. Once he saw them, it reminded him of something familiar. Three slashes that he hasn't since he was younger. He knew what this was.
The doctor noticed Stan's look of recognition on his face regarding this, "Mr. Stankco? Do you know anything about this?"
"Huh?", Stan then snapped out of it, "Uh, no, no i-it's nothing."
The nurse then put the bandage over Steak's cheek, "Mr. Stankco, would you like to contact anyone for you?"
"No, i'll take care of it", Stan then walked out of the room into the hallway. The doctor raised an eyebrow at the father's reaction of the scratches and the shift in behavior as if he were hiding something. Realizing what this might be, he didn't bother hesitating, he quickly pulled out his phone and called an old friend, "Hey Mike, how soon can you get here?"
The next morning, Lincoln slowly opened his eyes. The bright light and his vision blurry, it was hard to tell were he was. He then saw the shape of a person watching over him. As his vision started to correct itself, he saw that it was actually his sister Luna.
"Hey bro. You okay?"
"L-luna?", the boy slowly sat up and saw that he was sitting on his bed at the house and was still wearing his formal clothes from last night except for the gloves. Sam came inside offering him with a glass of water which he accepts, "H-how'd I get here?", Lincoln asked sounding weak.
"Some lady called and said were you were", Carol said, "You two were lying in a lot up the road."
"We were?", he then gasped as he remembered about Ronnie Anne, "Wait, what about Ronnie Anne?!"
"She's okay", Luna reassured her brother, "Dude what happened?"
"W-we were heading to the bus stop and then he...", Lincoln stopped himself as he remembered what else happened last night.
Neither Luna nor Carol knew what Lincoln meant by 'he', "...He who?", asked Carol.
As Lincoln thought back of last night, his whole mood quickly changed from being dazed to furious. He growled in anger as he got out of bed and immediately stormed out of the room.
"Lincoln?", Luna said as she, Sam, and Carol followed him.
He headed downstairs and soon reached the back yard. There, he immediately picked up one of Lynn's wooden baseball bats lying nearby.
By this point, Luna, Sam and Carol followed Lincoln but didn't get close due to his current emotional state. Clyde and Liam both saw from the living room veranda Lincoln in the backyard. They quickly moved downstairs to ask the girls what was wrong.
Lincoln then came upon a tree in the backyard. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath with the bat still held tightly in his grasp. He then swung the bat with great force it smashed as Lincoln let out a rage filled yell, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!". He then hit the bat against another tree and and the bat broke even further, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!", he then threw away the remains of the bat and popped his claws and them started scratching and carving claw marks into it, "FUCKING!", he then went to the nearby lawn chairs and started throwing them all over the place, "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With some of it out of his system, Lincoln then just stood there sweaty, breathing heavily, facing away from everyone.
Seeing as Lincoln apparently stopped his temper tantrum, Liam and Clyde quickly appeared right behind their friend, "Uh, Lincoln?"
Lincoln turned his head towards them and the two boys saw the pure rage and anger on his face like he had rabies. Neither of them knew Lincoln had that kind of anger in him.
Terrified by his face of anger, both boys didn't want to escalate their friend's mood, "You know what, this an't the time", Liam said as he and Clyde slowly backed away from Lincoln.
"Y-yeah, we'll just come back later to see if your..."
Lincoln let out a frustrated growl, "I FUCKED UP!"
Clyde and Liam were confused, "Huh?"
"H-he just... pushed me over the edge! He insulted her and I couldn't stop myself!", Lincoln then kicked a nearby bush out of frustration but hit something hard inside it, "OW!, he held his foot in pain and parted leaves to see what his foot hit, "There's a rock in there."
"Who pushed you over the edge?" asked Clyde.
"Who do you think?!"
"Stankco?"
"No Liev Schreiber, YES IT WAS STANKCO! He insulted Ronnie Anne, and he saw my claws were real and he kicked the crap out of both of us! And because I couldn't control my temper, were screwed! It's all my fault!", Lincoln once again kicked another bush but again hit something hard inside, "OW!", he held the same foot in pain and parted the leaves to find he hit an outdoor electrical outlet post, "THESE FUCKING BUSHES ARE FULL OF THINGS THAT ARE HARD!"
Great Lakes City International Airport is one of the busiest airports in all the great lakes region.
Lori and Bobby had already checked in for their flight for Los Angeles to find their siblings. Lori's siblings and Bobby's cousins had to buy their tickets in the terminal due to them joining at the last minute.
With their bags checked in, the nine of them headed for the security point. While waiting on line, Bobby was looking very uneasy. It wasn't a fear of flying, it was a fear of going through security, he was worried that the body scanners would see his mutated gifts. His worry started to grow as they got closer to the scanners.
A security guard nearby noticed Bobby looking worried. That along with him racially profiling him, gave the guard reasonable suspension, "Excuse me sir, can you come with me please?"
"What?! Why?!"
"Reasonable suspicion on your nervous behavior, and you have a Mexican haircut."
Bobby got offended and confused, "What's a 'Mexican Haircut'?"
"Yours", the guard then grabbed Bobby's arm, "Come with me."
He then pulled Bobby out of the line as Lori saw the guards took Bobby away, "Bobby?"
Bobby turned his head back and mouthed, 'Help Me!'
The guard then brought Bobby to a private screening room in the airport were there were two more guards.
One of the guards was giving him a pat down to see if his suspicion was correct. Bobby was very uncomfortable and even more nervous.
But as soon as the guard started, he felt something off about the teen's back, "What's on your back?"
"U-uh, n-nothing."
The guards didn't believe it, "Get his clothes off."
"What?!", the guards then put on rubber gloves as they prepared to strip him down, "Oh, come on guys this isn't necessary, I've got a bad back."
One of them tried to remove his green shirt, but Bobby quickly grabbed it trying to keep it on, "No! Please! I don't give consent! I'm too young to go to browntown!"
"LET GO!", one of the guards said.
"No! It's a bad idea!", Bobby tried to warn them, but moments later, the three of them then managed to pull his jeans down, and take off his shirts and to their surprise, some kind of harness.
But nothing was as shocking as what they saw then.
They saw the Hispanic teen in his yellow boxers, but they also saw on his back a pair of massive bright white feathered wings.
As shocked as they were, none of them could even say a word. Bobby was the most shocked out of all of them.
"U-uh. I-i can explain."
The guards didn't respond, they just kept looking at Bobby. It was very awkward for them. Until they all dropped to their knees looking worried.
"I'm so sorry beautiful angel!", the main guard cried, "Please forgive me!"
The other guards were apparently saying prayers.
Bobby had no idea what was going on, but then looked back at his wings, and he finally got it. They actually think he's real angel. Then he got an idea to get out of that situation quietly.
"Calm down!", Bobby said trying to speak in an angelic tone, "You don't have to fear me. Just...uh...don't think someone's suspicious just because of what they look."
"Okay! Okay, I promise I won't do it ever again. I'm sorry!", the guard cried on his knees like he was begging for mercy.
"Plus what you were about to do to me is just gross and very disturbing", Bobby then grabbed back his clothes and put the harness back on and tucked away his wings, "Now, you must not utter a single word to any one of me, or else...uh...y-you shale be punished!"
"Yes! Yes, we promise!", one of the other guards said.
"Good", Bobby then finished putting his clothes back on and headed towards the door, "Peace be with you."
He opened the door and a in a rush of wind, Lori ran incredibly fast, around the speed of sound and punched each guard out cold in an instant, with the one who brought Bobby in still barley conscious. She grabbed him by his shirt up to her face, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BOO BOO BEAR!"
"Lori! Easy, he didn't do anything!", Bobby tired to calm his girlfriend down.
"Oh", Lori still punched the guard in the face, knocking him out cold, "Let's get out of here."
Bobby agreed, "Yeah, we should."
The two of them quickly exited the search room before any more airport security guards show up. They calmed walked away, as if nothing happened.
By this point, Lincoln had already calmed down to the point where it was physically safe to be near him without the risk of him slashing out. He was sitting outside in a lawn chair still in his formal clothes from last night but still looked angry.
Lincoln explained the whole story to everyone except Ronnie Anne who was still unconscious. Outside with him were his sisters Luna, Lynn, and Lana along with Clyde and Sam.
"Sorry your night was ruined Lincoln", Clyde said sitting right next to him.
"How the hell did that little bastard take you and Ronnie Anne down, Stinkin'?", Lynn asked. Lincoln then angrily growled at Lynn, "You know what just forget I asked that", she smiled nervously.
Luna then placed her hand on Lincoln's back to comfort him.
At that same moment in the Living Room, Carol told Wade what happened. In fact she told everyone in the house.
"Now what are we gonna do?", asked Tabby.
"Our flight's tomorrow morning at nine", Carol said, "We can't just leave yet."
"Sure we can", Rusty said, "Wait. Wade, your the ultimate mercenary."
Wade was flattered, "Well I don't know if I'd say the ultimate, but yeah I am."
"Why not go over to their house and ...you know, make sure they don't talk."
"You think I haven't done that already Russ-man", Wade replied, "On my way here I had gut feeling that those pricks had something to do with this and I stopped by their house to break their teeth in. But they weren't home so I just trashed the place."
"So we're screwed?"
"Probably yeah."
"Wade that's not helping", Carol replied, "We gotta do something."
"Let's inject him with Cockroach larva!", Zach suggested.
"Ew", Carol said in disgust.
"You do know that's physically impossible", Lisa added.
"How do you know? Did you ever try it?"
"Did you ever try it?"
Zach then just stood there, knowing he couldn't come up with a come back, "Touche."
Lisa saw this and knew her triumph, "I rest my case."
"No offense Lisa", Wade said, "But if your a genius and know what you can or can't put in a needle, why not build a time machine and go back in time to when punk human Rufus was a baby, and change or kill him then. In fact head back a little further, stop his father from even being conceived. And go back even further, kill baby Hitler."
"Well, that I can do, but interfering with the past would drastically alter the future. And the journey would result in our butts being in front."
"You say it as if it was a bad thing."
"Ugh", they heard someone slowly coming upstairs, "Please don't tell me you want that."
They turn around to see it was Ronnie Anne who was in her usual new outfit with Sid by her side.
"Ronnie Anne? Are you okay?", Carol asked as she quickly ran over to her.
"Yeah", she replied, "Banged up at first but i'm fine now", the young mutant girl then noticed someone wasn't around, "Wait, where's Lincoln?"
"He's outside in the backyard blowing off some steam", Carol answered.
Lisa then walked up to her brother's female friend, "Ronnie Anne, what do you remember?"
"Uh, we were heading back home and then Stankco was messing with us and Lincoln snapped and he saw his claws. He knew who Lincoln was and said he was gonna call the cops."
"He did call the cops?" asked Stella.
"H-he tried to but, Lincoln tried to stop him and so did I."
"And...?", asked Liam.
"H-he was just so fast. Not as fast as you Liam, but...we couldn't take him. He threw me into a lamp post and it fell on my head...then everything went dark."
"So we are screwed", Margo said.
"We're not screwed", Carol said, "Hopefully he didn't call the cops. I mean, we haven't seen any so far. So they don't know about it, right?"
"Either that, or they just don't give a shit", Wade replied, "A lot of the time whenever I give someone a pavement facial, cops don't come t'ill the next day."
"Doesn't anyone call them?", asked Carol.
"Only when people find them the next day. And me when I just really don't like them."
"That doesn't really help us, Wade", Francisco said.
"Did anyone find them before you did?"
"Some lady called us and told us where they were", Carol said, "But we didn't see anybody else there."
Just then they heard an alarm coming from the front gate.
Back outside, Lincoln is still venting to his sisters, Clyde and Sam.
"Now he really knows who I am, and what I am! He's probably already called the police!"
"Maybe he didn't", Clyde suggested, "It might just be an empty threat."
Just then, Liam then rushed over in a split second, "Uh, fellas. We got the fuzz at the door."
"What?!", they all said in uniform.
They quickly went back inside to the living room and saw from the camera at the front gate. The fed showed a police officer ringing the bell.
"Aw crap", Lynn said.
"LA PD", the officer said into the intercom.
Looking at the feed, Lisa noticed something off about the cop. She appeared to have a black eye, but the thing she found interesting was that she saw that the women's eyes flashed yellow. Lisa gasped, "That women is a mutant!"
Everyone gasped, "Mutant cop?!", Sid said.
While everyone was worried, Lincoln started to smell the scent of the cop, "Smell something dude?", asked Luna.
Lincoln just kept sniffing, apparently someone left a window open which helped him pick up the scent. "You smell it?"
Luna, Lynn and Lana picked up the scent of the cop, "It's that cop lady", Lynn replied.
"Yeah, just mutant police on our back", Luna replied.
Lana sniffed too, "She smells worried."
"Really?", asked Carol, "Why would she be worried?"
To his sisters, it was just another mutant. But to Lincoln, it was a very familiar scent. He kept sniffing trying to recognize who had that scent, as if he's known it all his life. He let out a faint gasp as he then knew who it was, "It's her."
"Who?", asked Clyde.
Lincoln didn't say who it was, but he trusted his gut on what to do, "Let her in."
"What?!", everyone shouted.
"Have you lost your frontal lobe!", Lisa exclaimed.
"Lincoln we can't just let some mutant stranger cop in", Carol said.
"She's not, trust me. Please."
While Lincoln apparently trusted the lady, the others didn't, "We're sorry Lincoln", Carol said, "But we can't take a risk."
Their mind was made up, but Lincoln trusted his gut on this. With a straight face, he opened the front door and headed outside, "Lincoln?"
They boy headed towards the front gate but to his surprise found that the cop was gone. But Lincoln sensed she was still nearby. Following his nose, he turned to his right were there was a large lot of trees next to the driveway. He slowly move towards the lot, "Hello?"
As he moved closer, he could just make out the shape of a women in the shadows come towards him. Then like a ghost, she walked out of the shadows and into the light.
Lincoln couldn't believe it, she was looking out for him and his sisters, and he never knew it until now. "Mom?"
The police lady smiled as she then started change, literally change. She began to transform from her feet up, like a wave going over, the police uniform slowly changed into blue skinned women with yellow eyes wearing black shorts and a black crop tank top with the face and body shape of a very familiar women with blond hair from Lincoln's past. "Hi sweetie."
Lincoln started to tear up as she knelled down to his level and and opened her arms, they both gave each other one of the biggest hugs they ever had. Mother and son were back together again.
"Your a mutant too?", asked Lincoln.
"I'm sorry Lincoln", Rita replied, "I didn't want any of you to be afraid of me."
Lincoln smiled at his fellow mutant mother, knowing that he wouldn't be afraid of his own mother in her true form.
"HEY!", the moment was soon shattered when they both heard Lynn yelling nearby as Lincoln saw her with Luna, and Lana, "Get your hands of my little brother or else!"
"Lynn wait!", Lincoln tried to stop them bu the three of them popped their claws and were about to pounce.
Then all of a sudden, "WAIT!", the three of them couldn't move. As if something or someone was restraining them, they couldn't move a muscle. They struggled to move but saw their younger sister Lisa running towards them with her right hand held out and open.
"What?! Lisa, let go of us!", Lynn shouted.
"Don't any of you see who that is?", Lisa exclaimed.
"Guys, it's okay. See.", Lincoln showed his sisters who the 'cop' was. She stood back up and were shocked to see that it was their mother, Rita, and she was a mutant too.
"Mom?!", they said simultaneously.
Rita smiled, "Hi kids."
Lisa then gently placed her sisters down and the three retracted their claws. They quickly rushed over to her and gave her a big group hug. Lincoln even joined in again.
"Normally I wouldn't express visible human emotions, but...", Lisa started to cry as she quickly joined the group hug and hugged her mother.
At 35,000 feet in the air, Lori, Bobby and their families were now onboard their flight bound for Los Angeles.
They all made it through security without anymore incident and boarding went easy.
Lori and Bobby were sitting together while everyone else was scattered throughout the plane do to them buying their tickets at the last minute.
While they settled themselves in for the flight, Lori and Bobby were discussing that the plan was for once they land. "Okay, as soon as we land, we'll rent a van and split out into groups and spread out to cover more ground."
"Yeah, but babe where do we even begin to look", Bobby said, "This is one of the biggest cities in the world."
"We start in places that they literally would go, comic book stores, skate parks..."
"Alright", Bobby agreed but then he started to look out the window and saw the clouds pass by as their plane soared through the sky, "Hey babe."
"Bobby, what's wrong?"
"D-do you think I'm useless?"
Lori didn't understand, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that...", he then whispered into his girlfriend's ear, "... I have wing but I can't even fly. If I could, wouldn't it make this easier. I could fly around town and try to find them."
"Oh Boo Boo Bear, your not useless. Everyone goes through things at different times. You'll learn to fly."
"But when?"
"Someday, I know you can do it. I believe in you."
Bobby felt better hearing Lori's reassurance. She believed he can fly, maybe he just needs to believe in himself.
Having found out that their mother was a mutant too, the siblings and their friends invited her inside.
"Mom, why didn't you tell us you were a mutant?", asked Lincoln.
"Oh sweetie I'm sorry", Rita replied, "I hoped none of you would ever see me like this. Not even your father."
"Wait a sec, Dad didn't know either?", asked Luna.
"No, right after you left I told him... and he didn't take it well at first."
"He screamed?", Lisa said nonchalantly, knowing how their father was.
"And fainted."
"Ah yes. Typical."
"What, you ran away too?", asked Lana.
"No sweetie, your father was hurt a bit at first but I explained why I hid it, I've had these powers ever since I was a kid. Pop-pop was worried how others would react if they saw me like this so I always had my human form on. Whenever my mother came home, she'd help teach me how to control my powers and be proud of my gift."
"A-are you?", asked Lincoln.
"For most of the time yes, but I was always afraid if someone I cared about saw me like this."
"Well I am a bit... shocked, to see you like this, b-but in a good way. I guess we really are a family of mutants."
"I still can't believe this", Lynn spoke up, "So what are you doing here in California?"
"After you kids left, I told your father the truth and we both came up with an idea that I would keep an eye on you. I saw on the news that Carol ran away with you kids, so I talked to her father and asked if there was any place you would go and he told me where you were staying. I few out here a couple of times and I was in disguise whenever I came out here."
"And you were here last night", Lincoln said, "It was you I smelled at the restaurant."
Rita nodded, "I told you I was gonna keep an eye on you, and I saw what happened", Rita explained that she saw the the fight between her son and Ronnie Anne against Steak Stankco. She saw the moment when that punk stepped on his claws and called the police. While disguised as an accordion player, she wasn't gonna let him rat out her son to the authorities. She personally fought Stankco even though he managed to fight back a bit, even giving her a black eye. He was knocked out, Rita believed he would have no memory of what happened and quickly took her unconscious son and his best friend back to the house safely before the police arrived.
"Your the one who brought us back? And you stopped him from calling the cops?", Rita nodded as this was a relief to everyone, "Mom, thank you, for keeping our secret and us, me safe."
"A mother always cares."
Lincoln then got an idea, "Hey, tomorrow we're all going to New York to that Xavier School, you should come with us."
Rita was surprised as the rest of the Loud sisters were all onboard for that idea, "You really want me to go with you?"
"Yeah mom!", Lana said all excited, "It's a place for mutants, and your one too, like us. You gotta come, please?"
Rita took a moment to think about it, but the thought that quickly came to her head was that she would be going with her lost kids somewhere safe for them, and that was all she needed, "Alright, I'll come."
The Loud kids cheered and hugged their mother once again knowing that tomorrow she'll be going with them to Xavier's school, "This is gonna be great!", Lincoln said, "I guess Professor X will be surprised to see another mutant with us."
"Well, he might be surprised to see me", Rita said.
"Why? Do you know him?"
"No, I've never met him, but your grandmother was a part of the X-Men. She was their team leader and she worked along with him She was even one of the founding members."
"No way!", Lincoln couldn't believe it, neither could Clyde, "I've got two grandparents in the X-Men?! And one of them started a superhero team, that's amazing!"
"People are always amazed by someone who can do crazy stuff like mutants", Wade said to Zach on the side, "Someday i'm gonna find a place of people that are worse than me at everything. Just a whole bunch of functional idiots, I'm gonna go there and i'm gonna be their Superman."
"Isn't that Canada?", asked Zach.
"You shut your goddamn trash mouth."
Throughout the day, Steak Stankco's injuries were enough for him to go home that same day.
Because he was found by the police, they interviewed him at the hospital and asked questions regarding what happened. But before the police came to question him, his father told him not to tell the police anything about being attacked by mutants or that one of them was his classmate Lincoln who the government was after. When the cops talked to him, Steak said he didn't remember what happened, he was just walking home and he was bashed on the head from behind and that's it. After that, the police decided that the incident was a gang assault.
Soon after, Steak was discharged as he and his father waited outside the hospital on a bench for several minutes, waiting for an old friend of Stan. Steak had bandages around his head, left wrist and cheek.
Then a car pulled up and parked along the curb nearby. Stepping out of the driver's seat was Agent Fowler, "Stan!"
Stan then got up and walked over to his old friend, "How ya been Mikey?"
"Good. But not completely. Seems you've got a special mutant your hands here."
"Looks like", Stan then turned over to his son still sitting close by, "Steak come here", the son then got up and stood right next to his father, "This is my son Steak."
"Nice to meet ya", Steak couldn't extend his right arm for a handshake but couldn't due to it being in a sling.
"Nice to meet you too kid. Wish it was under better circumstances", Fowler then turned his attention back to Stan, "Stan do you think we talk privately?"
"Yeah sure", Fowler then lead the two Stankcos into his rental car to talk privately.
Lori's plane landed later that afternoon. Her, Bobby and their families deplaned at LAX and collected their luggage.
Lori was at the rental car counter and rented a van for everyone. A valet then brought the van to the curb of the arrivals level and the nine of them jumped in.
"Alright guys, here's the plan", Lori said, ""We're gonna go the hotel and check in. Right after that, we're gonna split into groups: Me, Bobby, CJ, Lola, and Lily are gonna look north and find the school where that picture is, Leni, you, Carlota, Luan, and Carlitos check out south, anywhere where they literally would go."
They all agreed on the plan. Lori then started the van and they headed for their hotel.
Steak explained to Fowler Lincoln and Ronnie Anne's attack on him last night. He told him that their his classmates and that there were always hanging around other kids.
Fowler knew instantly what those other kids are, "Those other kids are mutants too."
"How do you know?", asked Steak.
"Their all from Royal Woods. When we were close to catching them in a railyard they attacked us. Ice powers, laser eyes, fire powers. Ring any bells?"
"Their X-Men?" asked Stan.
"Well no, but the boy's like Weapon X."
"You think we don't know?", Stan replied sarcastically.
"Actually, he might be really close to him", Steak added.
"What do you mean?"
"He's got the claws just like him, he call's himself The Wolverine, and he said he's got a grandfather whose called that too."
"What?!", Fowler couldn't believe what he just heard, "He's Logan's grandson? That doesn't make any sense, none of his parents look like him."
"His father couldn't be", Stan said, "He's a wimp."
"Nevertheless he's related to him, and he's with a bunch of young powerful mutants. The president called off my search but that's not gonna stop me from doing my job. I'm gonna find them, and I want you to help me."
Stan was surprised, "You want me back in?"
"Of course. Stan you were one of the best Sentinel Agent I've ever known. Don't you ever think about taking down mutants again? Chasing them down? Showing that no mutant can overpower the true dominant species on the planet."
All those thoughts then began to flood Stan's mind as they reminded him of when he was younger. The time with the action and satisfaction of catching a filthy mutant and putting them away and in their place. Now with the thought of doing it again, his son might get to take part in it too and that 'Undies' and his friends are mutants just made this even better.
"So what do you say Stan?"
Stan smiled as he turned to his old friend, "You know damn well what the answer is."
Fowler got his answer, "Welcome back", but the thought with his best friend back and of taking down the boy's group again when last time was a bloodbath. He needed all the help he can get, and he knew of the best person, "You know, if we're gonna do this, we're gonna need all hands on deck."
Neither Stan nor his son knew what Fowler meant, "Okay, who?"
"Buckle up boys, we're going for a ride."
Both Stankco's didn't know what Fowler was thinking or who he's talking about, but Stan trusted him so both complied. Fowler then drove them off, heading north.
By nightfall, after hours of searching all over the city, Lori and Bobby returned to the hotel with no luck. The searched all the places their siblings would go to, but didn't find them. The only things they found was Lola trying to see the famous spots in the city and even trying to sneak into Disneyland. CJ even found himself with a very nice blue pirate coat that matched his pirate hat, but nothing that gets them closer to finding their family.
It wasn't luck on Leni and Carlota's group either, they didn't find them. What they did manage to do was take a couple of very nice selfies art popular spots and even some with a few celebrities.
Both parties were exhausted after a whole afternoon of searching by the time they got back to their hotel, it didn't take long for all of them to be fast asleep. Well, almost all of them.
Bobby was the only one who was still awake, but was lost in thought. He stared out the window, looking out into the Los Angeles nighttime skyline. He felt useless, with wings like his he could have had a much better chance at finding his sister, but he couldn't. Just knowing that he can't fly just makes him feel even worse. But then, he decided to do something about it.
He changed his shirts into the special ones his abuela and tia Frida that had holes in the back to let his wings out.
He then quietly snuck out of the room and headed upstairs towards the roof.
Standing on the edge of the roof, Bobby took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. He was preparing himself for something he saw in a movie of unlocking his full potential with his gift, a leap of faith. In the movie, the hero with amazing gifts took a leap of faith and in a split second, unleashed the full force of his powers and lifted up before he could hit the ground. If a leaf of faith is all it takes for him, it could also work for Bobby.
With a determined face, he was about to jump. Then he looked down to see the immense height he was about to jump from.
He then got scared, and took the stairs instead.
Now safely back on the ground, Bobby looked around and saw a much shorter building right next to the hotel.
He then raced up that building's stairs and made it to the roof.
Now with a much shorter height, he felt less scared and more determined. After a few last minute stretches, he finally was ready.
He started to run towards the edge, nothing was gonna stop him. But as soon as he got close to the edge, "Woah! Woah! Woah!", he got scared again and tried to stop himself. He stopped right on the edge but lost his balance, "AHHHHHHHH!", Bobby then fell off the edge of and then landed face first on a gargoyale. He then felt himself starting to roll off "Oh no!", he quietly said to himself and fell again, "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!", he then landed on his back on top of a car directly below, crushing the roof down and alarm going off.
In so much pain, Bobby just remained there as a few people walked by. Fortunately for him, none of them really cared that he just fell off a building, totaled someones car or the fact that he had the wings of an angel.
"Don't pay any attention, just pretend i'm not here", he said faintly as the people just casually walked by as he just lay there, "Okay. Thanks LA."
Somewhere nearby in a small apartment in Hollywood, a blind old lady was making herself a cup of tea while she was listening to the radio. Due to her not having any eyesight and her laughing from the the comedy playing on the radio, she didn't notice her nephew Wade sneaking in from the front door.
He silently entered, making sure the door wouldn't squeak, even putting on his crocks. As she sat down on the couch, her nephew was kneed down with his head on the arm right next to her.
He waited until the next line, "I'm thinking it over."
She was startled and pulled out a gun, "Mother Fucker!", but she knew who it was and didn't pull the trigger, even though the gun wasn't even pointed at him, "Fuck! The hell you do that for? Don't you know how to knock?"
Wade stood up and moved to the middle of the living room, "I thought you saw me,...with your ears."
"Lucky I didn't shoot you in the..."
"The wall? The refrigerator? It smells like old lady pants in here", the teen then fell to the floor and just laid there on the rug.
"Yes, i'm old, I wear pants."
"But your no lady", Wade then looked at the reader, "My Aunt Al. She's like Robin to my Batman, except she's old, and blind, and I think she's in love with me. That's incest right there. Wait, pretty sure Batman loves Robin too", the teen then shifted his attention back to his aunt, "So tomorrow I'm going to New York with Carol and her family and I'm gonna be gone for a while."
"When are you not running off somewhere on some no good dare-doo?"
"Well, if you don't like it, then why don't I stay home and build the cheap Bob's furniture while you give me your social security for my needs", her nephew said in a tone.
"Why you such a douche today?"
Wade then got aggravated and got up, "Let's recap. The Cockthisels who've been picking on my girlfriend's family slash made my life nothing but an endless running river of piss blood knows one of the kids is the wanted kid from the news."
"That whited haired boy?"
"Oh yeah. And i'll be dammed if those mohawked asswipes ruin his life too."
Al knew why her nephew's so worried about the boy, "Wade, I know what your doing. But helping this boy, isn't gonna bring Connor back."
"I know this isn't gonna bring Connor back. I don't want anyone to be fucked by those two ever again."
"He reminds you of him doesn't he?"
"Yeah, he dose", Wade was starting to get a bit emotional, "He's a good kid. It's bad enough he already experienced the hell that comes in the form of Stankcos..."
"And he's fine."
"He's lucky, cuz people like him despite what viewer ratings and haters say online. He's just a victim of bad writing and Lincoln torture."
"Sweetie, you need to move on. Conner was happy when he was with you."
"But he wasn't in the end", Wade even started to shed a tear as thoughts of an old friend started to come back. But he quickly changed his tone and wiped the tear away, "And I'm not gonna let it happen again", the teen stood back up and headed to his room to start packing his bags. While he stormed out, he let out a fart, "Hashtag drive-by."
Around midnight, most of the mutants in the house were fast asleep. Tomorrow's a big day and they needed all their rest for their long flight to New York and meeting Professor Xavier.
There was however one who wasn't asleep.
While everyone else was sleeping peacefully, Lincoln had been tossing and turning ever since he went to bed, but not from having a nightmare like he usually had. The boy kept moving in bed out of some kind of discomfort. He tried to get comfortable, he just couldn't. After many hours, Lincoln then opened his eyes and walked out of bed and headed out to his room's balcony.
He stood out there and took a deep breath of fresh air in an attempt to calm himself of his nerves. But it didn't work. He just looked out at the night sky with his head on top of the railing and sighed, lost in thought.
While out there, he neglected to notice that his bedroom door silently creaked open and someone entered his room.
He smelled the intruder, but he knew who the intruder was, "Ronnie Anne, i'm not in the mood for a surprise prank or training."
Ronnie Anne then walked up behind Lincoln onto the balcony, "I'm not here for that. You okay?"
Lincoln sighed, "I got a lot on my mind."
Ronnie Anne then placed her hand on Lincoln's back, comforting him. "What's wrong?"
"It's a lot. I'm nervous about going to New York tomorrow."
"Why? You afraid of airport security guards?"
"No, I got over that. I-it's about meeting my grandpa. What I've heard from Pop-pop, he's really tough, i'm just worried that... he might not want to meet us."
"I thought Lisa told that Professor guy not to tell him?"
"She did, but sooner or later we're gonna have to tell him. What if any of us go up to him and say, 'Hello Logan, we're your grand kids who you never knew existed', and he just shrugs us off and what's nothing to do with us?"
"Okay, I get it, your worried he won't accept you. But shouldn't worry about this too much. Maybe once he gets to know you and your sisters, he'll understand."
"But what if he doesn't?"
"At least you know that you have friends and family who will already. I accept you."
Lincoln was touched by Ronnie Anne's statement, "Thanks Ronnie Anne. I'm sorry."
"What are you apologizing for?", Ronnie Anne asked confused.
"About the fight last night, it ruined the special night I had planned for us."
"Dude, you didn't start the fight."
"But i'm the one who tried to punch him. He insulted you and made you cry. It felt like the time when I did the same to you. I didn't what you to go through that again."
"Well, I gotta give you that. At least you didn't say any racist slurs. But if someone said anything like that to you, they'd be eating out of a straw for a year."
Lincoln smiled, "Thanks, but no one should ever say that to you. Especially him."
"I know, but it was really nice that you stood up for me."
"But it got us exposed. He saw my claws. It's my fault."
"Lincoln, your mom already took care of him. He probably won't even be able to remember his own name. Besides, your not a wanted fugitive anymore, remember. We're going to New York tomorrow, just relax."
Lincoln then realized that Ronnie Anne dose have a point, "Yeah, I guess your right. I just don't wanna see you guys get in trouble because of me."
"We're not", Ronnie Anne then yawned as she was getting tired, "Come one let's get some sleep."
"Hey, Ronnie Anne. Uh, w-would you, stay with me tonight?"
Ronnie Anne wasn't expecting Lincoln to ask something like that, but she could see that Lincoln needed someone, "Sure", the two tweens they crawled into bed ready to get some much deserved shut eye, "Hey Linc, even though things didn't end the way you wanted, I really enjoyed last night."
"I just wanted to do something special for us. After everything we've been through since we got here, we should just have a night just to enjoy a nice night to ourselves."
"Yeah, I know. And if you plan on doing another one, you can always count me in."
Lincoln smiled, "Thanks", with a yawn and both their eyes starting to get heavy after a long and worrisome day, they finally called it a day as the two then lye down side by side, "Night Ronnie Anne."
"Night Linc."
And with that, both tweens then closed their eyes and drifted into slumber.
This day was full of mixed emotions for Lincoln. First he was furious and embarrassed that he and Ronnie Anne got their asses kicked by the Stankco boy despite them both having what Lisa described as vicious and deadly mutant features. Not to mention that they got exposed and the bully even had the nerve to threaten them by calling the police. Which he actually did.
But fortunately for them, his mother stopped him before he could even say a word to the authorities. That was a pleasant surprise for him and his sisters. His mother was a mutant too, and a shape shifting one at that. She was watching them in disguise the whole time to make sure they were all okay since they left home. She even carried them both back to the house herself after the fight so the cops wouldn't find out their mutants. And that their grandmother was mutant hero who saved the president's life back in the 70's, and was even the team leader of the X-Men.
So Lincoln's got two grandparents to this mutant team, one on each side of his parents. That's quite the legacy's to live up to, and so far his only legacy is going on two game shows, stealing a cat, a small role as the same cat's personal litter-box cleaner in a bad movie and oh yeah attacking two teens in a park in public, slaughtering a bunch of cops, getting his ass beat by one of the biggest jerks in town and let's not forget that he's the reason why people have been more afraid of mutants since ever before. It felt like he just undid everything the X-Men and what his grandmother wanted to accomplish, a chance for mutant equality.
Was this going to be his legacy? The one he thought his family saw him as, a black sheep, a screw up, nothing but bad luck? He always wanted to be a true hero like the ones in his comics. Maybe someday he actually could be. If his grandparents were, then why can't he?
Around the same time, after about five hour drive up the California coast, the Stankcos and Fowler arrived at a cathedral in San Francisco.
While Fowler drove them here for a reason, Stan wasn't exactly sure if this was true, "You sure he's here?"
"Positive", Fowler replied as he and the Stankcos got out of the car.
The three of them entered the cathedral as there was a mass was going on, nearing it's end. They sat towards the rear were they still had a good look at the reverend. The reverend was an old man with short brownish-grey hair and trimmed facial hair wearing glasses.
"Saint Michael, the archangel, defends all on earth to help man protect themselves from all types of creatures from hell", the reverend said to the church goers, "Created by the devil to wreak havoc upon the earth and inflict sin to man. The archangel gives us all strength for the lord's will to defend themselves form the wickedness and evil of the devil and the devil's creations. God wants brave souls who want to live the lives he gave them, without fear of evil. With the lord's love, that part of him will always lead to those strong of will to triumph over evil, forever and ever."
The organist then played the closing song, and the mass was over. The Reverend then exited to a hallway behind the altar.
As the visitors exited the church, Fowler rose from his seat and headed towards the altar
"Wait here", Stan told his son.
Steak on the other hand didn't really want to stay put, "What? And what an I suppose to do?"
"I don't know, pray or something", Stan then followed Fowler, leaving Steak board as hell in the nave.
Fowler followed the Reverend behind the altar as he headed further down.
"Excuse me sir", the Reverend didn't acknowledge Fowler as he kept on his way, "Colonel Stryker."
The reverend then finally stopped and turned around to see agent Fowler, "Michael Fowler, I'll be damned."
"I think your gonna be even more damned", Fowler replied with a smirk.
Just as he said it, Stan then walked up next to Fowler, "Good to see you Colonel."
Styker couldn't believe it, "Stanley Stankco, well this certainly is a surprise. I never thought I see two of my best soldiers coming to see me. Please, please, come in."
Both Fowler and Stankco followed Stryker into his office in the rear of the cathedral.
"So, how've you boys been?", Stryker said as he removed his stole and rosary.
"Good so far", Stan replied, "Been keeping busy."
"Any children?"
"A son, Steak. He's out in the church."
"Congratulations. Is he...?"
"No, he's not thank god."
"Good", Stryker then sat down at his desk and turned to Fowler, "What about you Michael?"
"Sentinel Services still going strong sir. That's actually why we're here. We want you to help us Colonel Stryker", Fowler placed a file folder on Stryker's desk. Stryker opened it and found it was a file on the boy Fowler's looking for, "It's about the boy from Royal Woods."
"Is that right?"
"You know about it?"
"Saw it on the news. I always pay attention whenever a mutant makes the headlines."
"So you know what he is?"
"You never forget a mutant with claws like that."
"Well this might just be another reason sir", Stankco added.
"Prey tell."
"He told my son that he's got a grandfather whose called 'The Wolverine'".
"Is that right?", Stankco nodded, "So the Wolverine had a child."
"We saw his parents", Fowler said, "They don't appear share any similar features to Weapon X, no known mutant abilities."
"So either one parents' abilities are dormant or it skips generations, nevertheless it passed on to grandchild."
"Grandchildren, he's the sixth of eleven."
"Eleven?", Fowler nodded, "So there's more."
"Yes, and it appears most of them have abilities too. Not just of Wolverine. We caught one. Along with other kids who tested positive as mutants."
"And what about the rest of his siblings?"
"One of them is away at university, we have no information on any of her abilities if she even has any. We believe four of them are with him already, while the remaining four got away, last seen heading west."
"Looks like someone's planning a family reunion."
"Stan said he goes to school with his son, and I found the address. The last time we tried to catch him, he launched an attack with other mutants who fled town with him."
"Well then, you know where he is, I'll give you the best thoughts how to intercede.
"Your gonna be with us when we intercede", Styrker was caught off guard when he heard what Fowler said, "No one knows Weapon X better than you sir. If he's as hard to take down like Logan, your the best way to catch him. I'm even bringing Stan back for some extra muscle. We're gonna need all the help we need, and there's no one who knows this better than you sir."
Stryker didn't know what to say, "You sure you want me?"
Fowler smiled, "I wouldn't have came here if I didn't."
Stryker then stood up and looked out his office window to think. Weapon X, The Wolverine, has a family of mutants, one of which for sure appears to remind him of his failed experiment. A fugitive mutant boy, who was also living with other mutants in southern California, could be the possibly of him correcting his failure with The Wolverine and all those whose affiliated with him by either relationship and blood or even putting one or the other to an end. Maybe even both. A chance to do things differently, Fowler and Stankco were two of his best soldiers and shared in his views of mutants. With Fowler being the head of Sentinel Services, and Stankco being one of the strongest men he knew returning to the field, so many possibilities Stryker had to finally finish what he started years ago.
The former military man then turned around and grinned, "Then we better get started."
And there you have it.
So that shape shifting mutant who's been following Lincoln and his friends was actually the Loud's mother, Rita. Rita was the love child between Albert and Raven Darkholm, aka Mystique. Rita was born in 1973 right before Mystique freed the mutants in Vietnam and attempted to assassinate Boliver Trask. She has her mothers powers of shape shifting and blue color but not her scales. Unlike her mother, Rita doesn't walk around naked in her true form (that's actually something that got passed down from Raven to Lincoln as he always likes being in his underwear and Lily for constantly throwing off her diaper), but she wears an all black version of her workout clothes just without the sweatbands. If you've seen X-Men: Dark Phoenix, then you know what happened to Raven.
Lori and Bobby also have mutant gifts. Bobby has the wings of Warren Worthington III, aka Angel/ Archangel, but he dosen't know how to fly. Lori's powers are those Callisto, meaning she has superhuman reflexes and speed.
Also, Agent Michael Fowler and Stan Stankco are friends. They were both soldiers under William Stryker by the time of the Weapon X project in 1983 (X-Men: Apocalypse). After Stryker went to prison, both Fowler and Stankco were members of Sentinel Services before Stan retired for his family shortly before Steak was born.
If that wasn't enough, we also see William Stryker himself, played by Brain Cox. If you read the original comics, then you know that Stryker at the time of his introduction was actually a reverend. Here, Stryker is currently a reverend in San Francisco after Fowler secretly broke him out of jail for his crimes from X-Men: Apocalypse. Now trying to find Lincoln who's got the same abilities as Weapon X, Fowler is bring along his old friend Stan and their mentor Stryker to hunt him down.
I'd also like to give a big Happy Birthday to Lincoln's first two voice actors, Sean Ryan Fox and Grant Palmer.
Before I close out, if some of you heard, Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman passed away at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. I can't even begin to express this as such a terrible loss, he was a great actor and I would like to pay my respects to him and his family. I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to him too even though Black Panther isn't in this story (this isn't a spoiler, I'm really upset about his passing).
Leave a comment and tell me what you think, and share this story.
See you guys soon.
In loving memory of Chadwick Boseman: 1976-2020, R.I.P. Wakanda Forever!