Lisa Loud, she was a prodigy, a girl gifted with great knowledge and an insatiable curiosity. Despite being all of four years old, Lisa had a strong grasp of all the sciences, even the "soft sciences" as she would put it. However, this gifted genius did have the tendency to perform the occasional hazardous experiment from time to time, so an explosion or two was not out of the ordinary on any given day. Today was different though, as Lisa Loud was busy working on cross dimensional portal device.
She had her big brother, Lincoln, use a prototype to send him into an alternate dimension where he had ten brothers instead of sisters. Or as the internet would call it, "Rule 63".
After that achievement, Lisa shelved her invention for a time, until now. She had grown a interest again in the theory of a "Multiverse", her older brother would jump at the chance to talk about such things, but his interest in the theory pertained more towards the fantasy part of it. Whereas Lisa's was more aligned with the possibilities, realms within realms, tangent histories and drastically altered events. Every action and inaction always carried with it a reaction that affected the world, no matter how micro or macro it was, it could always change the course of human history, for better or for worse.
Although, if Lisa was being honest with herself, her intentions weren't just focused on the scientific, no, there was another reason, a selfish reason, but one that she wanted an answer to, and Lisa Loud would not be denied her answer.
Her current invention was large and took up at least half of the room. There Tesla coils that were mounted on both sides, releasing arcs of electricity as the machine powered up. Lisa had donned her white lab coat and eye protection, with a switch in hand, ready to activate. Lisa's left hand rose up as she prepared to press the button with her index finger, but then she paused.
Is this really something I should be doing? To use science for such a trivial desire? Lisa looked at her device again, and her resolve was steeled. It's not only for that, this is also to further our knowledge of the universe!
With that, Lisa pressed the button, and a series of things happened after. A green portal opened before her, it was made of energy for a moment before the center changed. Like an old TV trying to get a good signal, the image was fuzzy. Lisa tweaked one of the dials on the remote, making the image come in clearer. After a few seconds, Lisa was finally able to see one of the worlds that Lincoln was sent to awhile back.
She could see several male counterparts to her female siblings, including herself. What struck as interesting was the fact that Lincoln's counterpart was not male but female.
"Hmm, I suppose this answers that one question we all asked ourselves. Suffice to say, rather cute."
But that wasn't what she was looking for, so Lisa "changed the channel", dimensionally speaking. She kept flipping through multiple dimensions trying to find the right one, the closest to their own without being too radical. However, with each flipping of the "channel", the alternate dimensions were getting more out there, chaotic, and at some point Lisa was certain that she wasn't viewing her dimensional plain anymore.
It has to be here, Lisa thought. Just one more then.
Lisa turned the dial once more, and that's when things went downhill. The portal became unstable, an influx of power was being expelled from the portal, or more accurately, from something on the other side of the portal. Fearing what this might do to the fabric of space and time, Lisa hurriedly ran to the machine, opened a panel, and yanked out the power core. When she did, an explosion went off that rocked the entire house, along with releasing a flash of light. Lisa groaned as she found herself jettisoned against the wall, her lab coat, along with much of her room, was black and charred.
"I'M OKAY!" Lisa yelled.
Lisa peeled herself off the wall and landed on the floor, now this wasn't the first explosion that Lisa had created when conducting experiments or fiddling with her latest invention, in fact it had become commonplace. So long as the pint sized genius responded to them, the family was somewhat alright as Lisa did also have extensive knowledge regarding the human body and could easily diagnose herself if she was injured or sick, and if it was anything major, she would let them know.
But that did not stop at least one of her siblings from coming to check on her, someone she could always rely on to do so, even if it was not required.
A knock came at her door as Lisa's older brother, Lincoln Loud, popped his head in. "Hey, I know you said you're alright, but…that was kind of a louder and flashier explosion than usual. Are you sure you're okay?"
Lisa smiled and then sighed. Good old dependable, if not predictable, Lincoln. "I appreciate your concern elder sibling, but I assure you, I am perfectly alright."
The white haired boy nodded. "Okay, but, uh, what is that thing? Is that what caused the explosion?"
Lisa looked in the direction of her brother's gaze, believing he was referring to her dimensional device. However, that was not it. The device was in ruins and would need several weeks of work to repair by Lisa's rough estimates. But there was something else standing in the middle of its ruins.
The object was at least ten feet tall, a god-like figure was carved in the unknown metal that comprised it, and in the middle of this idol, was a mirror or what looked like a mirror.
"No, that is to say, I don't know what that is…" Lisa admitted.
Lincoln approached the object and was about to touch it, but Lisa quickly swatted his hand away, making Lincoln hiss in pain.
"Lisa, what the heck?!"
"I do not recommend touching this object until I have ascertained its origin!" Lisa warned.
"Wait, 'origin'? Lisa, what were you doing in here earlier?" Lincoln asked in an authoritative tone.
Aside from their oldest sister, Lori, when it came to managing the younger Louds, Lincoln was the unspoken second in command to Lori. So, she relented and told him what she was doing, albeit leaving out the real reason why she was conducting her experiment. When she was done, Lincoln stood there with a look of awe and amazement at the object.
"You're saying this thing's probably from an alternate universe?!"
Lisa rubbed her chin and hummed in contemplation. "Possibly. The 'multiverse theory' has been proposed by many top researchers in the field of quantum physics. What was once relegated to mere science fiction, does actually have merit, as I was just proving not too long ago. But, I was merely viewing, I had no intention of bringing anything to our dimension. This requires further study, until then, I suggest keeping this from our siblings and our parental units."
Lincoln looked at his sister with confusion. "And why's that?"
Lisa adjusted her glasses. "Because, I would like to analyze this object and have a better idea of what it can do before we expose the rest of our family to it. If it indeed turns out to be dangerous, I know of some people who can dispose of it post haste."
Lincoln looked at the mirror, and then back to Lisa. She was a certified genius, but he did worry, as there have been times when Lisa's scientific curiosity outweighed her concern for her own safety.
"Fine, but the second you find something out, or you need help, you come and get me. Okay?"
Lisa nodded. "I can agree to those terms."
Lincoln sighed as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. When he did, Lisa looked back at the mirror with a narrowed her gaze at it.
"Alright, let us see what you're made of."
Lincoln put his fists on his hips as he looked at Lisa's door, he still didn't think it was a good idea to leave her alone with that mirror, but he was going to trust his little sister's judgment on the this one.
"Lincoln." The white haired boy turned to see his right and saw his the oldest Loud child, Lori. "I know it's Lisa and all, but is she okay?"
"Oh, yeah, don't worry she's fine! But she did ask that we not disturb her for a bit," Lincoln half lied.
Lori sighed in relief. "I swear, I'm literally growing older just worrying about her. Anyway, I'm heading out with Bobby. You're in charge while I'm out."
That made Lincoln pause. "Wait, I'm in charge?! What about Leni?"
"She's out with her friends."
"Luna?"
"Competing in some kind of music contest."
"Luan?"
"Cheering up sick people with her Patch Adams comedy troupe."
Lincoln gulped before he asked, "Lynn?"
"Out with her team – one of them – at practice."
Lincoln blinked. "Wow, how did I not notice that half my sisters are not in this house?"
Lori knelt until she was looking Lincoln in the eyes. "Listen, Linc, I need you to be more attentive, okay? Pretty soon, all your big sisters are going to be off to college or whatever else they want to do, and soon you will be the one looking after all your younger siblings. I'm telling you this because I know you can be responsible, since, let's be honest, you literally look out for all of us."
Lincoln blushed a little, it was true, as the only brother of ten sisters, Lincoln felt a strong urge to protect them. Even though he knew that most of them could take care of themselves, he still felt that it was his duty stand up for them.
Lori hugged her little brother, feeling a strange fluttering in her heart. One that she recognized, but at the same time was not wanting to acknowledge. Lori released Lincoln and said, "Okay, so, like I said: you're in charge."
Lincoln watched as his sister descended the stairs and out through the front door. "Well, Mom and Dad are gone with Lily, and it's just me and the rest of my little sisters, along with a strange mirror that looked like it came from 'Ace Savvy and the Remarkable Mysterious Mirror'. Okay."
2 Hours Later…
"CONFOUND IT ALL!" Lisa yelled in frustration, restraining herself from using her more vulgar vocabulary, although right now, she felt it was warranted.
Lisa had run every test she could within her mini laboratory, metallurgical tests found that the metal matches nothing on the periodic table, spectral analysis showed the object was giving off a peculiar radiation signature, but again, it didn't register with any known energy known to man. Even the mirror at the center of the idol was unknown. If one looked closely, it would appear as if a piece of space itself was carved and fitted into the idol, but still managed to show a perfect reflection of Lisa.
"This thing defies logic! Hmm, perhaps I should consult Lincoln…at this point, this object is verging more towards the realm of science fiction rather than science fact! But then again, if it did come from another world, then all the more reason why it doesn't make sense…"
Lisa continued to look at the mirror, and then she focused more on her reflection. Her eyes were being drawn to it, almost hypnotically so. Lisa took out her recorder and began taking notes.
"Entry 10: I…for some inexplicable reason, find myself staring deeply into the mirror affixed to the idol. I…I don't know why."
Lisa's reflection began to change, the image became distorted as the whole mirror seemed to swirl with light. In less than a few seconds, what Lisa saw wasn't her, or rather, it was her, but different. What she saw was an older version of herself, her body had seemed to have aged about ten years, putting the reflection at fourteen. She wore a green leotard, and black leather-like spandex that covered her arms up both of her arms. Her legs were fitted into boots that came up to her thighs, and both the boots and the gloves had a circuit board design that pulsed with emerald light.
Upon the reflection's back was a pair of translucent wings, six in total, and each featuring the same circuit board design on them. Lisa's short bob cut was grown past her shoulders and came about midway down her back. Her glasses were gone as she sported a green visor over her eyes. This version of Lisa Loud, for some reason, felt right, felt powerful, intelligent, everything that Lisa envisioned herself to one day be, something a akin to a digital goddess.
"Perhaps it is due to the strange radiation it is exuding, but I may be experiencing a case of mild delirium. But as of right now, I am staring at…well…myself…but another version of myself I suppose…my potential realized you might say…"
Lisa felt drawn to the image of herself, she dropped the recorder and walked towards the mirror, and her reflection did the same. Lisa came face to face with herself as she placed her left hand against the mirror, with the reflection mimicking her movements. The young genius felt a great want swell within her, she wanted to be this girl before her, she wanted to be cute, intelligent, and powerful, and she felt that's what this version of herself was. But how was she to become this?
The reflection began mouthing some words, Lisa tried to lip read, but there was no need. It was like a whisper carried on the wind, brushing her ear ever so faintly, but still heard all the same. It was then that Lisa Loud uttered six words that would begin a chain reaction that would suck in the rest of her family, and bring about great change to the Loud House and possibly the world.
"I submit to the Black Vortex…!"