Chapter One: A Young Hero

Lincoln sighed. This wasn't his first or even his tenth time patrolling the city. Royal Woods had grown a lot since he was twelve. He was twenty-one years old. Ten years had seen major changes to the former town of Royal Woods. Urbanization had taken place. Even Flip had sold his business. A major arcade was now in its place. Lincoln had Lisa to thank for him surviving so long as a vigilante. Bionics, bone density enhancing material, electronic devices that allowed him to do what few others could.

Unfortunately, tonight he'd gotten arrogant. He was a strong fighter. He'd trained with Lynn of all people and Lynn Loud didn't go easy on you just because you were a white belt. You had to fight and learn to rise to her level because if you didn't, she'd give up and you were on your own. Lynn wasn't a patient teacher. Lynn had agreed to train Lincoln because he was her brother. But she didn't have much hope for him at first. He was above average physically, whether because he worked out more than he let on or because he was just naturally like that she didn't know.

But she gave him a chance and by the time he was eighteen, he was exceptionally talented in martial arts. He mostly trained in Hapkido, Taekwondo and Parkour. Lynn was a master in those styles, so she set out to teach him and he learned quickly. Unfortunately, even the greatest fighter can be brought low by arrogance and carelessness. And Lincoln certainly was. He'd been fighting three thugs who'd been harassing and intimidating a seemingly wealthy family into giving them their money.

Lincoln's bionics and mask could easily have told him that there was a fourth thug in the shadows. If he'd paid attention and looked around for just a minute, he would have seen the thug and seen the modified high caliber gun and the thug that was holding it. He would have seen into the gun and seen the explosive rounds that it had. Why a common street thug was using a 50. Caliber Smith & Wesson with explosive rounds, Lincoln had no idea. But he only realized it when the thug shot him in the back. Right on the spine. The suit, which was supposed to be able to dispel the kinetic energy of bullets was overwhelmed.

Even with it protecting him, his spine was at the very least damage. Pain was radiating over his whole back. It was likely that he would never walk again or if he did, he would need assistance. He lay there in the wet and muck on his stomach with the four thugs gathering around him.

"You know, I actually admire you, Loud Knight. I admire that you put your life on the line to protect the people of the city. You seem like a good person. Unfortunately, you're bad for business. Look, we're just trying to make a living. Not all of us can make a living as a vigilante like you." One of the thugs said.

Lincoln struggled, rolling onto his back, feeling it explode with pain as he tried to sit up.

"Hmmm… You're tougher than you look. I guess you'd have to be. Take off his mask. Let's see who this guy is." Another one said. The thugs moved in to remove his mask. As they did, a young woman dropped down, rolling and getting into a standing position.

"Back away! The Loud Knight might not kill. I have no such prohibition." The woman said, though Lincoln recognized the voice as one of Lisa's androids she'd been building for combat.

The four men backed away slightly, hesitant to fight this new person. If the Loud Knight got up and was able to fight… Two against four seemed like good odds, but apparently the Loud Knight had beaten bigger odds than that. He was a fairly new agent within Royal Woods, having only been on the scene for a little over a year, but he seemed to be taking his job seriously. He was taking hints from Batman, though it was hard to tell what in his past was, he seemed to be taking a note out of Batman's book, though he wasn't as violent as Batman often was in the comics.

He would fight as little as he could, hurt his enemies as little as possible. Right now, Lincoln was panting, gasping as he desperately tried to stand up, his spine sending debilitating pain through his back. The android stopped for a moment and shoved Lincoln back onto the ground while it finished off the bad guys and bound them, calling the police, sending a message to them about what they had done and where they were. It then took Lincoln over its shoulder and leapt between the walls, onto the roof and fleeing.

-0-

Lincoln moaned as he woke up, looking at his arm, struggling to sit up.
"Stay lying down, Elder Brother." Lisa said.

"I'm still healing you. Your bionics are insufficient to repair your spinal cord on their own. Even the nanomachines aren't sufficient. You really 'screwed the pooch' as you people so charmingly say. Fortunately, I have several treatments that I'm going to provide you with.

"I recommend that you remain relatively stationary for three days. But within that time, I'll avail you of the very pinnacle of technology, at least the highest-level of bionics that I have available for you." Lisa said.

"Sorry, you probably aren't interested in talking right now. I'll let you rest." Lisa said.

"What do you have to implant me with?" Lincoln asked.

"Well, I'm glad you asked. Various nanotech bionics that will be attached to your spine that will enhance your reflexes, speed, coordination and other aspects. I could cut off your arms and legs and implant you with bionic arms and legs that will not only have the sensation of touch, but will be far more advanced than your flesh limbs. But you might not want to go that far. If you don't, I fully understand." Lisa said.

"There are other bionics that I could avail you of. Nanotech that would attach to various lobes of your brain that would enhance your cognitive abilities well beyond human levels." Lisa said.

"You've already been invested with my most advanced bionic organs as well as UDOM, which helps your body resist damage. Honestly, it was foolish of you to become a vigilante without consulting me directly on the topic first." Lisa said. Lincoln hesitated.

"Of course I knew. Did you really think you were being subtle when you asked for a model of my advanced combat suit?" Lisa asked.

"I admire your dedication to this city. You probably think yourself a less traumatized version of Bruce Wayne. Oh so smart and dashing and cunning and good at fighting and with access to high level technology. But unlike Batman, you are not peak-human level. You need the suit I gave you to enhance you to the levels you're at when you patrol the town. Fortunately, I've hidden any data I have of your exploits and our parents have not figured out that you're the Loud Knight. That's a wonder. Perhaps you should consider changing your hero name." Lisa said.

"I'm sure that our sisters could help you think of noms du guerre if you want their help." Lisa said. Over the one year and five months that Lincoln had been a vigilante, he hadn't told his sisters what he was doing. They worried about him. They knew he was doing something at night. And most of them had a feeling that The Loud Knight was Lincoln. He really needed to come up with a better name. But this wasn't Superman, where taking off his glasses would completely hide who he was.

"Oh, you haven't told them yet. Have you?" Lisa asked.

Lincoln sighed, shaking his head. He hadn't even told Jordan and Stella, and he was dating them. They didn't live together. But there would come a time when he would need to tell them. They were definitely getting suspicious of the scars that he was acquiring. He told them that he was in some intense martial arts classes and cuts and bruises and scars were just going to be part of the deal.

"Well, whatever hero name you choose, anything with the word Loud in it probably isn't the best choice. There aren't many families named Loud in the area or indeed, even in the United States. It's an uncommon name." Lisa said.

"How about the White Crusader? Your relatively merciful and ethical methods could account for the 'White' aspect while you are a crusader against crime, striking where the police can't be or simply aren't." Lisa said.

Lincoln nodded.
"Good. I'll modify your costume. Your new combat suit will be more advanced than your old one and will be able to dispel more damage than the old one was. In addition, the addition of new bionics will further enhance your abilities. Still, I'll need to put you under for a while. You'll be in the equivalent of hibernation. I'll still administer anesthesia to prevent you from feeling pain. But it's likely that you won't be able to wake up for about 6-8 hours." Lisa said.

Lincoln nodded.
"I do need your consent for the application of these new bionics. You'll want to read this pamphlet detailing the procedure I'll need to undertake, the benefits of the bionics and the potential dangers that they have. I've tested them on various Special Forces soldiers from various countries. Few can afford to outfit more than a squad or two with these bionics. But I give them to you for free because you're my brother and I know that regardless of my warnings, you'll continue your nightly crusade." Lisa said.

"I'd rather have you alive. You're one of my most successful and most extensively outfitted subjects. Plus, you're my brother and I love you." Lisa said. Lincoln nodded, quickly scanning the pamphlet, gathering everything there was about the new upgrades. Some of them were a bit extreme. But they would definitely allow him to take his vigilante work to the next level. Lincoln laid there for a long minute and for the first time since he started, he was reassessing whether this was really a good idea. Whether he shouldn't give up his nightly 'job'.

Maybe it would be better to simply be a normal citizen and write and draw his comics. He made money off that. Nobody was expecting him to be a hero. Nobody appointed him. Who gave him the right? But he was protecting his town. He remembered when the worst crime in Royal Woods most days was someone not picking up their dog's poop. Sometimes there were robberies. But it was hardly a common occurrence and he knew that now that Royal Woods was becoming urbanized, it was unlikely to go back to that. But that didn't mean that he couldn't do what he could to keep the budding city a little bit safer.

And if not him, then who? The police who were still getting used to the newly higher levels of crime, just like the rest of the city was? Another citizen who didn't have his advantages? Namely a sister who could train him in advanced martial arts and a sister who could create tools for him to fight crime with? And people recognized him now. He'd been arrested once for his vigilante work, but had escaped police custody and they hadn't really tried too hard to catch him. To them he was just a well-meaning citizen. He didn't really do collateral damage and he didn't beat people to a pulp like some vigilantes might.

"I'll do it. I appreciate what you do." Lincoln said. Lisa may never have specifically charged him for what she invented for him, even the advanced bionics and nanotech that she implanted him with. But he donated to her every year. 20% of his trust fund went to her. He had a trust fund that was started for him when he was 11 and he first created the Full House Gang. He still got 30% of the proceeds from anything to do with the Full House Gang. They'd had to negotiate with lawyers and everything to get that 30%. Bill Buck was a good man. But he had other people that were part of the process.

And the lawyers of the comic company low-balled them at 10%. Lincoln's lawyer demanded 50%. It took almost four years altogether. But by the time he was 15, he was getting retroactive money from the time the Full House Gang became an official comic. Now he made his own comics and was working with a different company and having them published. His current comics were less campy than the Full House Gang was. Some were superhero comics and some were science-fiction or fantasy.

But needless to say he had a comfortable life. He was fairly modest though, despite his wealth. His house was far more advanced technologically than most people's. He had a car that Lisa and Lana made that was exceptionally advanced. But overall, he didn't flaunt his lifestyle. He sighed as Lisa injected him with the sedative and he felt himself drifting off.

Lisa shaved his head fully. His hair would grow back quickly. His hair had always grown quickly, but with his fast healing, all his cells divided quickly, including hair cells. She cut his head open, looking at his brain, taking out the nanotech implants and beginning to attach them to the various lobes of his brain. Lisa had only used these implants on maybe 100 people so far, so her experience with potential side effects was limited. She had no idea of what these new implants, in combination with his current bionics would awaken in him.

She finished up with the brain implants, putting one on his brainstem and then closing him up, turning him over onto his stomach and opening up his back along his spine, looking at the damage to it. She would need to repair the damage first. She injected nanomachines laced with regenerative serum and watched as his body began to knit itself back together. It would take a while, but she had a few hours. She watched as it healed and then carefully implanted various nanotech along the spine, testing their effectiveness, watching as his body moved in a surprisingly agile and coordinated manner.

"Good." She said as she injected some UDOM to repair the damage to his bones and then closed him up, letting the regenerative nanomachines inside him rush to the locations of his incisions and healed him, simultaneously destroying any bacteria or other infectious agents that might have gotten in in spite of how clean her laboratory was.

-0-

Seven hours later, Lincoln woke up, stretching and yawning as he got to his feet, testing out his new bionics for himself. Things did seem strangely clearer to him. His body felt lighter, stronger. His brain seemed like it was moving at a faster pace than it did before.

"Hello, Elder Brother. If you would at least put on some underwear, I would appreciate it." Lisa said, looking away pointedly. Lincoln looked down, blushing heavily and covering himself up.
"R-right!" Lincoln said, putting on his clothes.

"Good. I'll let you go now. But I recommend that you take the next week off. That's seven days, not the next work week." Lisa said.

"I'll have your new suit ready along with some new tech for you within those seven days." Lisa said. I assume you still don't want any weapons that can do lethal damage?" Lisa asked. Lincoln nodded.

"Just because they tried to kill me doesn't mean I have the right to do the same to them. Thank you by the way for sending that android." Lincoln said.

"I didn't. I merely connected the servant androids in your home to your suit. When the damage was done to it, an alert was sent to them that you might be injured. You don't think I would let you go out without multiple failsafes, do you?" Lisa asked.
"Wait, so my whole staff was out there looking for me?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes. Your whole staff of five. Not exactly a big staff, but yes.

"The coordinates could be a little off, so they coordinate and close in on the suggested coordinate from multiple angles in case you're somewhere else." Lisa said.

"You'll be fine. I recommend that you tell Jordan and Stella of your nighttime activities. And make sure that they don't go out with you. They're athletic, but they don't have the advantages that you do even discounting your super suit." Lisa said. The 'super suit' alone enhanced his strength by almost ten times and allowed him to take attacks like a boss.

The suit's material was designed to dispel incoming kinetic energy, sending some of it back at the attacker and spreading some of it to the rest of the suit so that no one location took too much damage. As a result, the suit occasionally needed repairs done on it, but far less often than if the suit had no such failsafes.

"Now, you can go home. Your car is in the driveway. I had Lynn drive it over. Don't worry, she was careful." Lisa said. She had inspected the car when Lynn got there.