Homecoming
A picnic was often a bright and cheerful occasion, especially with the oldest back in town from college and on Thanksgiving no less.
Not so in the case of the Loud family. Their plans to spend the holiday with the Casagrandes had been postpone until the next year, with none of them having the spirit of the holiday, unless one called recalling all the good Lincoln did part of the festive spirt.
The Casagrandes understood their reasons; Ronnie-Anne and Bobby had taken Lincoln's death just as hard as Clyde and the Loud Sisters; the girl watching her and Lincoln's Vlog and Bobby recalling his hangouts with Lincoln. Lori had shared some memories of her brother with her boyfriend, finding they didn't hurt so much if she shared them with the man she loved.
The Latin family distracted themselves distracted themselves by hosting a charity pot-luck and a call to the Louds that morning, thanking them for having Doyle pop by and blow up interest in the pot-luck on his social media.
Myrtle's presence was appreciated in the Loud House; the younger sisters hovered to her for comfort, and she helped Rita with her novel. She also started helping out at Lynn's, entertaining children by reading the comics Lincoln had started and getting them to continue them in his place, with Lisa choosing 'the most likely' and making them match her brother's art style.
The fresh air did help the family a bit, the pets appreciating it and playing with Lily and Lana in the fallen leaves. Leni was helping designing a gown for Lola's next pageant while Lori gave Lynn tips on golf and Luanne tried breaking the ice with some jokes.
Suddenly, the barking of a dog startled Lily as she saw a familiar black and white dog racing to her.
"Charles!" The baby babbled, making her way over to the doggie, who nuzzled with her. Lana spotted the dog and raced to him as well, the two licking each other and getting everyone's attention.
"Charles?! What are…where did….How did?!"
The dog barked and ran back into some bushes, where the sounds of struggle could be heard.
"No! Charles, not yet! I don't…! Stop pull…!"
Out stumbled a young boy being pulled on the sleeves by Charles. His arms were bandaged, but his face?
"Lincoln?" Lola gasped, praying this was real. Hearing that name, everyone dropped what they were doing and headed over to Lana's location. They froze at the sight.
There, with Charles circling around him, was their son/brother/grandson, an awkward smile on his face and tears welling up in his eyes as he managed:
"…..Hi guys."
They'd all had dreams like this: Lincoln suddenly reappearing out of thin air and explaining how he'd escaped the explosion, sometimes with amnesia, sometimes in a coma…but just when they reached to hug and or kiss him, he either changed into a skeleton than fell into his grave, or someone else.
So, taking a page from the comics they recalled the boy read? They started asking questions only the real Lincoln would know the answers to:
"How did we get past airport security after Legends of the Hidden Temple?" His father asked, getting a blush on the boy's face.
"We….we rushed them to get to our gate and Kirk Frogg showed up to explain." Lincol recalled.
"Who really plugged the toilet with the Unicorn book that made you miss the Ace Savvy convention?" Lucy asked.
"…You did." Lincoln said.
The family rushed to hug their wayward son, who wept as he hugged them back. Everyone was so taken aback and in tears they failed to notice that Lincoln was lifting the entire Loud clan by himself as he returned the hug.
GRUMBLE!
The awkward rumbling of a stomach broke up the tearful reunion, which lead to some chuckling as the Louds fed their wayward son/brother.
LH-DM
Half an hour later, the family returned to the Loud House. The first thing Lincoln saw was a small shrine that was located beside the TV; a memorial of him.
"Guess we don't need that, anymore!" Lynn said, speaking for many as she lifted a baseball bat.
"Wait a sec!"
Lincoln and Lucy both snapped a picture of the memorial on their phones.
"Okay. Go for it." Lucy motioned her sister to do what needed tp be done. This would be the ONE time she'd be okay with her and the Mortician's club's hard work being destroyed.
Lynn then kicked the memorial away, with Lori and Luanne joining in dismantling it. Lily meanwhile, made her way over to hug her big brother, who accepted the embrace, as he did the ones from Luna and Leni.
"What the heck happened, Linky?" Leni, no longer able to hold the thought in, asked when she took a good look at her brother. Judging by his wrapped arms, he obviously did not come out of the explosion unharmed….
Lincoln tensed, recalling what had happened to him….
"Lincoln."
He turned to his genius sister who was looked at him with worry in her eyes.
"Is…Is the skin?" The genius inquired, trying to find the right words and NOT reveal her fear so quickly.
Lincoln sighed and shook his head as his phone suddenly began to beep. His eyes widened when he saw the countdown.
00:98:40
"No!" The Loud boy shouted. "Not yet!"
Lincoln grabbed his backpack and raced upstairs, paying his family's cries of concern no mind as he dashed into the washroom, his face already beginning to sizzle as the skin began to fall apart. He then pulled off his face and whipped out the device, pressing a button. The familiar whirling and steam escaped it before a new copy of his face, tossing the now goopy one into the flushing toilet and slipping the fresh one on, along with gloves that resembled his arms.
"Whew!" Lincoln let out a gasp. "That was way too close!"
He then opened the door, seeing his whole family outside before they went in.
"Lincoln." Rita started. "Let us see."
Lincoln shook his head, his voice lost. He'd known this would happen, but not now! Not so soon!
"Lincoln, please." Lori begged, yes begged. "We have literally spent weeks worrying about you. Please! This is the only way we can help."
Help?
How could they help him?! The whole reason he stayed away from them for so long was to keep them safe from…No. Stop that. Stop thinking like that. He told himself.
Lisa was smarter than him. She could and would help him fix the skin. He missed his room. He missed the chaos his sisters brought. His parents had Doyle Tetherby in their Social Circle. And if Lincoln had to dumpster dive one more time…!
Lincoln let out a sigh and reached for his face, only to see Lily looking at him. Fear filled him: Lucy and Lisa could handle what was under the fake skin, but Lily and the twins?
"Um….Lana? Lola? Could you take Lily outside and close the door?" Lincoln asked, pointing to his face. "What's under this is not pretty."
A whimpering Lily reached for Lincoln, but the twins obeyed their brother's command. One the door was closed, Lincoln reached for the back of his head and pulled upwards, his face moving upwards..
POP!
Gasps and brief screams filled the room from the outside. The twins would've rushed back inside, but when she heard a scuffle, they decided to stay outside. When the door suddenly almost was punched off its hinges, they grabbed Lily and raced towards their room, trying to ignore the screams and wails that came back in full.
And then they heard the sobbing of one member alone: Their brother. Lily forced herself out of Lola's arms and waddled over to Lincoln's door. She didn't care what she saw; her big brother needed her help.
"Lily, wait!" Lana called out, rushing towards the baby.
"Lana, come back!" Lola followed, worried for her sister as Lily managed to turn the door knob on Lincoln's door, just as Lana grabbed her. The door swung open, barely on its hinges and revealing an expected sight inside:
Lincoln, tears in his eyes, being hugged my Gran-Gran, mom, dad and their other sisters. The only thing the twins and baby saw out of the ordinary about their brother were his hands, which cupped his face: Reddened and blackened flesh with pale finger nails.
The Loud son hand managed to force his face back on after revealing it to the others: When he'd heard the gasps and screams, he had tried to run away, but Leni and Luna were quick to hold and try to comfort him, even as he screamed to be let go. The screams grew when Rita, in an attempt to calm her son, hand clasped his hands in her own….only for the skin to come off like gloves and reveal his hands.
Ordinarily, Lana and Lucy would've been intrigued the sight of their brother's scars. But Lucy had also seen Lincoln's scarred face. All she felt was heartbreak and some rage for whatever had caused the deformation of her brother.
Once again, a family hug embraced Lincoln. However, this one was more tragic than the last.
LH-DM
The Loud family ordering Pizza was usually a celebration on the kids' end. But today, they were all exhausted and needed something quick and easy before heading to bed; they'd figure this all out in the morning.
"Linc?"
The boy stirred, seeing Lynn poking her head through his door.
"Lynn?"
His older sister made her way over to him, gently stroking his cowlick and kissing his forehead, tears in her eyes as she took him into a hug, her tears breaking through.
"I'm sorry, Lincoln! I'm so, so sorry! I should've been there! I could've….!"
Lincoln felt his own eyes well up with tears and he hugged Lynn back
"I'm sorry I took so long!" Lincoln responded.
The two siblings ended up crying themselves to sleep, Lynn shielding her brother the rest of the night. The sight was what warmed the hearts the louds the following morning, before Lynn Sr loaded everyone up into Vanzilla and they drove away.
LH-DM
The Dump was one of Lana's favorite places to go, and it served as the perfect for the prodigal son test his limits.
Picking up a pipe Lynn struggled with, Lincoln, now wearing fresh bandages over his face, easily lifted it over his head and then bent it, tossing it aside. The bent pipe ended up hitting a pile of trash that headed towards the Loud parents, who Lincoln managed to get to and push out of harm's way.
Lana spied an old tool box and scanned it's contents before she spied a steel sheet that kept it stuck. Lincoln speid this and punched the sheet: He didn't send it flying like he'd hoped, but he did leave a visible handprint.
LH-DM
"In conclusion," Lisa announced when they returned home later. "Lincoln has low grade superhuman levels of strength, speed and endurance. If a comparison is needed, he's physically strong as an Olympian athlete."
"Um, yeah. We can literally see that." Lori said, pointing downwards, where their brother was holding the Couch over his head with a single hand. Lynn was smirking in pride and Lily declared Lincoln a superhero and Leni started jotting down ideas for costumes and clothes for Lincoln's now very sensitive skin.
Lisa continued with her findings:
"Lincoln is also fast enough to keep up with a healthy horse and with the adrenaline running throughout his body his stamina is by all intents and purposes, limitless. The adrenaline and severed nerves prevent him feeling the pain of his burns, so it would be un-wise to attempt to fix them with the machine I used on Liam's nervous system…..Still not sure on how he can enunciate and change his voice considering….what we saw, but for once not looking a gift horse in the mouth."
Lincoln placed the couch back down. He wasn't remotely tired or winded, but considering the serious look on Lisa's face? It needed his full attention.
"Dearest male sibling, have you had any…. unusual bouts of extreme emotion?"
Lincoln recalled his anger at Durant and his gang and his breakdown over learning of Pop-Pop's death. He nodded.
"As I feared." Lisa sighed. "A side effect of the pain numbing severance is that your emotions are amplified. This is probably what lead to you running away in the first place and while not in the manner of that one green hero you like, will probably affect your strength."
Lincoln didn't know how to take that, but that worry was gone with Lynn Sr gently placed a hand on uis son's shoulder and asked him.
"Did someone named Durant do this to you?"
Lincoln's eyes widened.
"H-how did you know?"
To be continued…
A full run-down on Lincoln's powers this chapter and a family reunion much sooner than many were expecting. Next time we show Lincoln's life at school while he plots to take down Durant, possibly with some help from his family and friends.
Sorry, no description for Lincoln's face just yet. In keeping to the spirit of the first Darkman movie, that'll have to wait until the climax: Another five chapters.
How did I do on the Lynn moment? Felt as I've done more 'telling' than showing with her regret in what happened, so I hope this was a good moment between the siblings. More moments will follow in the coming chapters.
An update for those interested: There will indeed be an Evil Dead crossover within this universe! Toying with the idea of crossing over with the Raimi Spider-Man movies as well. Open to suggestions for how both ideas go, along with suggestions for criminals and or monsters for Lincoln to face off against. Leave your ideas in reviews or PM me.
Until then, keep safe!