Forward: There's already a story called "Without Sin". It's written by an author by the name of Red Herald. It explored a very interesting concept, two Lincolns switching places, but mainly focused on a childless Lincoln finding himself in a world where he'd had several children with his sisters. For whatever reasons, Red Herald decided to stop writing and abandoned the story, leaving it for others to adopt. My collaborator and I originally thought about picking up where it left off and continuing it, fans of the story as we were.
That Collaborator wrote a very detailed outline (Like really detailed, seriously it's long and covers everything), one I assisted with but he took primary charge of. His name is FicAlthusserist and you can find some of his stories on this site too. FA created the road we would follow, one also dedicated to trying to turn the story in a direction we both wanted it to go, and to explore aspects of the setting we were interested in. But after speaking to a few other Loud House content creators, we decided to follow their advice.
Start over from the beginning. Use the idea, but really make it our own. This Is the start of that result. If you've read the original 'Without Sin' you'll notice some similarities. The idea is the same, some of the story beats will be the same, but there will be a few important differences. The most important of which is simply my writing style is very different from Red Herald's own. Because of that, I emphasize different things. That being said FicAlt and I have a great story planned for you, at least we think it's a great story, and we hope you'll all come to enjoy it.
For those who are already familiar with my own stuff, "Shadows" isn't going anywhere, I just wanted to do something different for a moment to help clear my head. I'll be posting the next chapter of that before I jump back to this story. But Fic and I have been working on this project for a long time, and he's been holding me back from just plowing right into it already after all the groundwork we did. Think of him as editor in chief for this foray. But here we are, read on and let us know what you think!
They wanted to make Strong Suit fucking trans.
Correction, they were going to make her trans, that decision had already been approved by the editors of Timely comics, publishers of Ace Savvy, The Crimson Chin, One eyed Jack, The Full Deck and many other (formerly) fine series. It was all at the behest of the new writer they'd put in charge of Full Deck a few months ago. The brainchild of some YA author who was popular with the twitterati because she said all the right things and had all the right opinions. Her books weren't very popular, nowhere near as popular as his sister Lucy's were, but she had a social media presence and the bosses wanted to leverage her perceived popularity as the new writer on The Full Deck to make them look good and boost sales. She hadn't brought in any new sales, but within 6 months she'd managed to upend any dignity the title had left.
It was clear she'd never written a comic book in her life, let alone actually read one.
But she was only the next in a long line of 'fresh new talent' that had started to be picked up by Timely in order to appeal to the perceived injustices of the modern era. Fresh new talent with the trendiest skin color, sexuality, and gender identity.
As far as Lincoln was concerned, she was Just some chick, some non-comic book fan who came in with no previous knowledge of the characters, history or lore and decided she was going to 'shake things up', throw in 'more diversity' and 'shine a light on inclusion', just like all the others before her. Whatever the hell that meant.
No, he knew what that meant, at least what she meant by it. It apparently meant retconning Strong Suit into having been trans ALL THIS FUCKING TIME despite there being no hints of it or mention of it in the character's nearly two decades of existence.
It was just one more nail in the coffin, one more disappointment, one more unneeded and cringed based change for superfan Lincoln Loud. Combined with the decision to make Royal Flush and Queen of Diamonds into lovers two years previous, 8 of Clubs race being inexplicably changed to black, and One Eyed Jack declaring himself a Muslim. Change for the sake of change, change because the comics were too white, too heteronormative, too regressive.
And Lincoln? 29-year-old Lincoln Loud, the guy who actually created Strong Suit back when he was 11 years old? He was supposed to draw it all.
Fuck, the irony was not lost on him.
Times like this Lincoln wished he could dig up the corpse of Bill Buck and kick it over and over again. For hooking him into the superhero fandom and for taking advantage of him. The old man had swindled him back when he was 11 years old. Back then, Timely was holding a contest for the best new character to add to the Ace Savvy line.
Lincoln at the time, and still today, was a dyed in the wool Ace Savvy fan and had provided not one, but ten new characters to add to the Ace Savvy family, all of them based off his sisters. All that resulted was a credit in their creation and a meeting with Bill Buck. Lincoln never saw one damn red cent for his creation of the Full Deck, and now they were in comics, on merchandise and in movies, almost as popular as Ace Savvy and One Eyed Jack themselves.
Only now, the new direction Timely was going with was seeing one of his beloved creations being changed in a manner that neither himself, nor he was certain Bill Buck would have approved of. But that was business, and Timely decided they wanted to try and chase the 'new crowd' of wokites they were sure were going to start really buying up the new Progressive Ace Savvy any day now!
Never mind Strong Suit was based off his sister Lynn, and he was pretty god damn certain she wasn't Trans. A tomboy, a pain in the ass, but his own vague memories of bathing with her, and the fact she had given birth to her daughter was pretty good God damn proof she wasn't trans.
FUCK!
Lincoln frowned.
He could complain about it, but nothing would come of it.
He didn't have creative control of the Full Deck, and they didn't know she was based off his UFC champion sister. He was just an artist, not a writer. He didn't get to make these decisions. He wanted to write too, but they wouldn't let him, he didn't have the right skin color, or the right sexuality for the bold new direction Timely was going in.
He was just supposed to be happy drawing the pages of his favorite superhero for a pittance and the prestige it brought. Maybe in a few more years they'd put him on better titles, let him write something, and contract him to be exclusive and he could finally make some real god damn money.
Then he could get to work trying to undo the damage that had been done to his favorite Superhero universe.
If it survived that long.
He really needed a cigarette.
10 minutes later Lincoln Loud was sitting in a lawn chair in the backyard of the home he'd spent more time in than any other in his life. The Loud House hadn't changed much since he was a child, it needed a little more upkeep and it was far emptier, but the two-story home with one bathroom and 6 bedrooms remained as it always was. The difference being he'd moved into his parents' old room and out of the converted linen closet he'd called his room as a kid.
There had been a period where he'd gone off to college and left it behind, thinking he'd only return to it to visit family, but the life of a freelance artist didn't pay the best. After floundering alone for a while barely being able to afford his apartment, he found himself moving back in after a few years.
Lincoln hadn't changed terribly from the kid he used to be. He'd mostly grown up tall and trim, and the good genetics he'd inherited from his Mom and Dad had certainly helped stave off the worse effects of his bad habits for a while, but now those habits were beginning to have an effect on his body. He'd gotten something of a belly, a small one, but it was there all the same, probably from the frequent beer he drank and unhealthy food he snacked on. His sedentary lifestyle didn't help any either. He had back pain from being hunched over his tablet and not getting enough exercise. His white hair was usually greasy from need of a shower, and he was in desperate need of a cut. It wasn't that he didn't care about grooming himself, it was just he couldn't afford to get a haircut all the time, and he rarely left the house these days unless it was to pick up cigarettes or beer, so he didn't see a reason to shower every day anymore.
The house he'd grown up in had seen a series of 11 children in total go through it, with him as number 5, smack dab in the middle, the only boy in a sea of girls. All those girls who had gone on to, or in the case of the youngest were currently going into bigger, better and brighter things. His sisters were talented, his sisters were skilled, his sisters were amazing, and his sisters were pulling down bank. Lori was a pro Golfer living in Florida with more trophies and licensing deals than he could remember. Leni was a world-renowned fashion designer living in Paris. Luna had gone multi-platinum and was a household name. Luan had her own successful sitcom on Fox, already in its fourth season. Lynn was kicking ass and taking names in the UFC and pulled in more viewers than any other fighter. Even his younger sisters had achieved levels of fame. Lucy had a series of incredibly successful YA novels that were in talks of being optioned into movies, Lola was the highest paid model on the planet residing in New York, and Lana was a Nascar driver with several victory cups sitting on her shelf in Nashville. Even Lily had gotten a full ride scholarship to U of M.
But Lincoln? Ole Lincoln Loud, man with the plan? He was living in the old family home by himself, barely able to make ends meet.
Case in point was the stack of bills between his legs. His last check had barely cleared in time to make the payments before they were past due, and now 90% of it was gone. He was already wondering how he was going to make next month's bills. He'd have to take on some extra work, see if he could sell off some of his original art, hope there were still some whale collectors interested in it.
He was lucky, damn lucky he wasn't completely by himself, he had Clyde.
Clyde Mcbride was Lincon's best friend, the one he'd had for the longest he could remember, and the only one from School he still talked to regularly. All his other friends had moved on, but Clyde was still there. Clyde had moved back to Royal Woods a few years ago after spending some time in the city. A year after, he decided to move in with Lincoln, saying he wanted familiar surroundings again. He paid rent, and more importantly, he took care of the groceries.
Clyde was an accountant and a good one at that. He had a job with a firm in downtown Royal Woods and was pulling in good money. Maybe it wasn't as interesting as 'comic book artist' but Clyde could afford a much better place than a rented room in his best friend's old house.
Lincoln wasn't dumb, he knew the real reason Clyde was hanging around. Clyde was worried about him. Clyde felt some strange obligation to watch over him, help out, and nag him about his unhealthy habits.
At times Lincoln hated him for it. He hated knowing that Clyde could pick up at any moment and have a better life than Lincoln had ever managed for himself. He felt envy and jealousy over it. At other times he loved Clyde for it, he loved the one person in his life he felt had never truly abandoned him, and he woke up in cold sweats sometimes worried about what he'd do if he ever lost his one final companion in life.
He couldn't make up his mind on the issue, but he knew Clyde could do much better, and it made him so angry, so frustrated when he thought about it. His best friend was limiting his own life because Lincoln couldn't take care of himself.
Lincoln knew he had been the cause of Clyde's breakup with his long-time girlfriend Penelope. She had told Clyde she was ready to get a place together, ready to take their relationship to the next level, they were nearly 30, it was time to talk about marriage and kids.
Clyde had said he wasn't ready yet. Penelope had told him he could choose between being with her or being with Lincoln. Clyde had said that wasn't fair. Penelope left him, with a nasty message to Lincoln saying 'I hope you can at least suck his dick as good as I could, fucking loser.'
Lincoln the loser, ruined his best friend's relationship, couldn't survive without his help, barely had any money to try and save, had to live in the house his parents gave him out of pity, and whose sisters barely talked to him anymore.
And now he had to draw a fucking trans Strong Suit.
Widen her shoulders, increase her jaw line, decrease her hip size. Downplay her breasts.
Heh, not like Lynn was always packing in that area anyway.
Lincoln finished off the can of beer he'd been drinking, took a long drag off his cigarette and leaned back staring up at the setting orange sun in the distance with a long drawn out and sad sigh.
If he didn't do it, Timely would find someone else who would. He was replaceable.
Nobody cared he was the original creator of the Full Deck, or at least, the fans that did care had stopped buying Ace Savvy two years ago, after enduring a few years of Timely making 'changes' to the series in the name of diversity and inclusion.
There was a line of hungry young artists just waiting to take his spot, waiting to work for even less than he did, just to say they had drawn Ace Savvy or One Eyed Jack or any member of the Full Deck. He couldn't argue, he couldn't raise his concerns, not if he wanted to keep his job and maybe get a shot at writing one day.
He was supposed to be the head writer and artist on the main Ace and Jack title by now. That had been the plan, he was supposed to make it big with his own creator owned title under the 'Icon' label. But he'd come into the industry being told he had to make way for others and his first creator owned title, 'Basic Destiny' had failed to capture an audience despite some critical acclaim. The failure of his first original work to capture a wide audience had also been disheartening, and after 22 issues of little revenue return for the work he put in, the title had gone on indefinite hiatus. Icon kept telling him they'd love for him to bring it back, but he'd just been too discouraged to try.
It was all more evidence he needed to count his blessings with what he had and not rock the boat. He was doing art on a major label, sure it didn't pay enough, but he already knew he was a failure when it came to his original creations.
A voice cut through the silence interrupting his self-pity.
"Hey buddy, you want some dinner to go with that beer?"
Lincoln looked up from the lawn chair he'd been lounging on, catching sight of his best friend and currently one of his two roommates.
Clyde, much as Lincoln, had grown up tall and trim but even more so had grown up handsome. High cheek bones, chiseled features, it was hard to believe the little nerd he used to be when they were both so young. The ebony skinned man had grown much more confident from his days as an anxious child and had traded out his glasses 5 years back for Lasik surgery that had corrected his vision. Much as Lincoln still favored orange as his favorite color for clothing apparel, Clyde had stuck with dark blue and dark yellow-greens as his own.
Clyde took a seat in the lawn chair next to Lincoln, his eyes glancing down to the empty six pack next to his best friend, then back at the empty can in Lincoln's hand before handing a plate of chicken and green beans over to him.
That was another advantage to having Clyde live with him, Lincoln was eating much better. Before Clyde he practically lived off hot pockets, ramen, and PB with Sauerkraut sandwiches.
Lincoln grunted his thanks as he took the offered plate.
Lincoln knew what Clyde was implying with that glance, he was disapproving of Lincoln polishing off the six pack so quickly. Clyde had been expressing his worry as of late about Lincoln's drinking, but Lincoln was from Scottish stock, it took a few more brews to give him a buzz, more than the average person.
Lincoln always blew Clyde off when he began to nag him about these things. He knew he didn't have a problem. It wasn't that he needed the alcohol, but shit what else was he going to do all day when he finished drawing? He just needed something to help him relax after dealing with all the stress he had. Soon as he got ahead of things, he'd be able to cut back a little, but with everything he dealt with on a regular basis, he deserved to knock back a beer when he wanted to.
Clyde spoke up, Lincoln could tell his friend wanted to talk about something else, but he was going to beat around the bush about it first with other topics.
"So…Strong Suit is trans now huh? They're really gonna pull the trigger on that one?"
Lincoln sighed, lifted his beer can to his lips before realizing he'd drank it all then nodded, "Yup."
Clyde gave a little smirk, shook his head, "I really wonder what Lynn would think of that."
Lincoln placed another cancer stick between his lips, brought his zippo up and lit it. The zippo was one of Lincoln's prized possessions, a vintage Ace Savvy lighter, discontinued back in the 80s, he took it everywhere with him and treated it as his lucky charm.
As he took a puff he stared forward, "I dunno Clyde. I doubt she'd even care. Lynn's too busy to pay attention to things like comic books drawn by her little brother."
Clyde could detect the slight…bitterness that resided in Lincoln's words. That was another thing that was so strange about Lincoln Loud in the eyes of his best friend Clyde.
Lincoln was a man who'd grown up unbelievably close to all his sisters, and all of them close to each other. Up through his teens and early twenties they all seemed so close. Now Lincoln barely acknowledged he even had sisters.
Yet conversely, he seemed to burn with pride in all they accomplished and had no trouble talking about all their achievements when they came up. While at the same time he never reached out to them, as they seemed to never reach out to him.
It was difficult for an only child who was always slightly jealous of his best friend for having all those siblings, to understand. Clyde couldn't fathom why Lincoln didn't spend more time with his sisters, or them with him, but it just seemed like they didn't really exist in each other's lives anymore.
Lincoln had once told him he didn't want to bother his sisters anyway, they had their own lives, just as he had his. They'd all grown up and making your own way in the world was part of that. But Clyde could tell, Lincoln didn't want to admit it openly, but he seemed…angry about it all. Like he felt betrayed.
Clyde continued trying to sound helpful, "Maybe you should give her a call, let her know. When's the last time you talked to her anyway?"
Lincoln took another drag and fired back as if his mind was elsewhere, "Christmas, with some of the others. We didn't talk too much, mainly spent my time with Lori's son. BJ's the only one of my sister's kids who's impressed by what I do. Anyway, I'm not gonna call Lynn about some stupid comic book, she's busy with that promotional tour with her husband or something. I don't pay attention."
Clyde gave a slow nod of understanding. He still felt like he had to try to get Lincoln to acknowledge his family, thought it might help somehow.
Lincoln just found it dang annoying to be reminded of his sisters. Reminded of how much better they were than he was. He was proud, very proud of their accomplishments, but he didn't need it rubbed in his face all the damn time. Couldn't Clyde understand that?
But it was then Clyde got to the real crux of the matter, the real topic he wanted to talk about, the only other sibling which seemed almost as much of a failure as Lincoln was.
"So, about Lisa…" Clyde said slowly.
Lincoln sighed, stubbed out his cigarette and looked back towards his friend, "What about her Clyde?"
Clyde frowned, fixed Lincoln with a hard stare, "Come on Lincoln, you know what I mean. She's doing it again."
Lincoln frowned in return. He knew exactly what Clyde was talking about. Lisa was scaring him, scaring the neighbors too probably. Hell, she had been the reason why all his tenants except Clyde had left.
Things had been better for a minute there for Lincoln. The house was so big, and he didn't need all the room in it, Lincoln had been able to rent out the extra space and pocket the money. It was one of the things that had let him get ahead a little, stay afloat, even afford the occasional luxury and upgrade his drawing tablet.
That was until Lisa got out of Prison and returned home.
Shortly after Lisa had turned 18 and graduated from High School she vanished on the family. There was a general sense of worry until she sent a few emails assuring everyone she was fine, and simply working in a highly secured area on projects she couldn't talk about.
She even showed up at Christmas that year and everyone just realized this was always going to be the most likely path for a Genius of her caliber. Whether it was a government or megacorporation, she was most likely working on things she couldn't talk about. The family was happy for her.
Until a year and a half later she was seen being led away in cuffs by a joint FBI and NSA team for suspicion of illegal cloning and kidnapping of several high-profile people. The story made the circuit for a few weeks, with the interesting details on it being a military tribunal rather than a traditional court but eventually was forgotten.
A year later, Lisa was released as part of some plea deal she made. The family didn't know all the details, but she'd be under house arrest for the next few years, remanded to her family's care. No one else in the family wanted to take her or could for that matter.
Lucy was currently residing in London, doing research for her latest book. Luna was typically on tour so that was out too. Lori and Lynn also traveled too much to put up with Lisa and didn't want her around their kids. With Leni in Paris, and Luan busy on the set in L.A. they were also no gos. Lola outright refused, she was not going to subject her husband to Lisa's eccentricities, and Lana just made excuses, but it was clear she didn't want the burden either.
That had left Lincoln.
Lynn Sr and Rita had moved into a smaller home years ago, they argued they didn't have the room, and here was Lincoln with the old family home. Wouldn't it be best for Lisa to be back in a familiar environment? Back with the brother who used to take care of her so well anyway?
Lincoln could read between the lines. The family was off loading one burden onto another burden and hoping both would just go away and not cause any trouble.
Lincoln still remembered his father's words echoing in his head, 'Least you can do after losing Vanzilla'.
In the four months since Lisa had moved in with him, she'd mostly kept to herself. She'd located herself into the basement and set up her makeshift lab down there. She didn't pay any rent, and didn't contribute in anyway, but Lincoln was responsible for taking care of her.
But her notoriety as a felon accused of committing crimes against humanity was enough to get one tenant to leave right away, and as soon as the occasional explosion, strange noises and lights started emanating from her area the others quickly followed. It didn't help the washer and dryer were down there and she had asked some of the other residents if they'd be willing to volunteer 'samples' to her.
Lincoln had tried talking to her about it before, but she always blew him off, just as he blew Clyde off. Maybe it was because he was too much of a soft touch and as much as he didn't enjoy her presence and intrusion in his life, he knew he was stuck with her.
Lincoln looked back to Clyde and gave a weak smile, "Come on Clyde, you used to think it was fun when Lisa would get up to her shenanigans."
Clyde frowned again, "That was before she was a felon and before she drove all the other tenants away. Linc, buddy, you're not going to get anyone else to move in here if she's scaring them away, and that's one of your best streams of income right now."
Lincoln sighed, looked down between his legs at the empty six pack and stack of bills, silently cursing he didn't have any more beer, "I know Clyde, I know, I just don't want to make things more difficult than they have to be. You know I gotta live with her."
Clyde breathed out sounding slightly annoyed, "I know, but your also her landlord and her older brother, you've got to put your foot down about this stuff."
Lincoln slowly nodded. He knew Clyde was right, and they really did need the money. He always just felt so awkward talking to her, he barely spent more than 20 minutes at a time doing so. Ironic, considering he used to make her favorite PB and J sandwiches when they were younger and how much he took care of her. Now she felt almost like a stranger in his home. It didn't help she was so introverted and barely went out of her way to speak to him as it was.
"You're right Clyde, I know you're right. I'm going to do it this time, I'm going to head down there and put my foot down. No more explosions, no more weird sounds, no more harassing the other residents."
Clyde smiled, "That's it buddy, you can do this! I believe in you!" They'd had this conversation before, and each and every time Clyde cheered him on, and each and every time Lincoln failed him.
Lincoln resolved he wouldn't fail his friend this time. Besides, how was he going to keep the lights on at this rate?
Lincoln held his fist out towards his friend, giving an unsure smile as he did so, "Clincoln Mcloud?"
Clyde gave a weak smile in return. Evidence that as much as he was trying to support his best friend, he wasn't sure if he could believe in him here, even though he wanted to, "Clincoln Mcloud."
They exchanged fist bumps and Lincoln was on his way.
Lisa had originally erected a privacy curtain around her claimed area of the basement to better let the other tenants gain access to the washer and dryer, but after the last one had moved out, she hadn't bothered keeping it up. She'd sprawled further across the basement, claiming more and more space for her make shift lab.
Lincoln didn't know where she'd gotten half of the stuff she had set up. Beakers, Bunsen burners, tables, microscopes, and a mini cyclotron among other things Lincoln couldn't recognize were littered about. He knew part of it was her building and refurbishing things on her own. His sister was a genius, and even limited with the junk she scavenged, she seemed able to still create what she needed.
The most interesting thing was a large oval passageway sticking out of the floor, just over 8 ft tall and 4 ft wide. It rested in a metal base, and countless wires ran from it, to a series of car batteries on the floor, and the computer she'd built from spare parts. Strange long thin metallic spokes wrapped in copper wire radiated about 6 inches inward around the portal, each capped with a small iron sphere.
Lisa was currently standing at her computer, focused on typing something up.
Lincoln's second youngest sister hadn't grown to be terribly tall, but she still had a few inches on the shortest sister among the Loud brood at about 5'4. Her figure relied upon the good genetics that came from her parents, much like Lincoln did, in that for as sedentary as she was, and as bad as her eating habits were, she wasn't overly fat. She did carry a little extra weight though, her butt and hips a little wide, causing the loose trousers she wore to strain some. She had a tiny tummy and her breasts were large for her small height, but didn't approach anywhere near a level of obscene, drooping downward ever so slightly in the long-sleeved green turtle neck shirts she enjoyed wearing. Her hair matched her brother's in terms of shagginess, if not color, being a deep brown. Her most noticeable feature was the thick glasses she typically wore that covered her brown eyes. Her more fashion-conscious sisters had been convinced Lisa would have ditched the glasses when she turned 12 and the chance to get contacts had come up, but she never expressed interest in doing so. Indeed, her act of rebellion seemed to be to focus on them as being part of her core identity, and she ended up switching to a pair with even more pronounced frames than she had as a child.
Lincoln had been preparing himself for this moment. He'd let his little sister slide out of a sense of, what, lingering familial love? Because part of him had felt a little sorry for her having been imprisoned in the first place? It didn't matter, the point was, he'd let her slide for awhile now. But he knew Lisa was a reasonable person. He knew if he just talked to her calmly, just explained the situation, she'd have to listen this time. She'd have to understand the gravity of keeping a roof over their heads.
Lisa didn't even bother to look up from the keyboard she was furiously typing at, "Greetings male sibling, I regret to inform you that I can't entertain you with conversation at the moment as I'm at a critical point in my research. Please leave my customary meal on the table where you usually do."
Lincoln was often the one who brought Lisa her meals after she moved in. Sometimes it was Clyde, but most of the time he ended up doing so. Lisa didn't like to leave her lab, and rarely ventured upstairs to fetch dinner. It only took Lincoln a week to realize she was practically starving herself as she only ventured upstairs twice to get the meals they left out for her. This resulted in Lincoln beginning to bring her breakfast and dinner.
It was annoying, and he more than thought a woman her age should be capable of feeding herself, or at the least, getting her own god damn plate, but for some reason he kept bringing down her food, and bringing up her empty plates.
It annoyed him that he had in fact, actually made a plate of Clyde's food for her, and brought it with him without even realizing he'd done so. He was supposed to be lecturing her right now, not serving her.
Lincoln grunted a displeased sigh and went over to the table he typically left her food on. It was an old scavenged card table, probably garbage picked by her. He knew she would leave home late at night on her own to find materials. Somehow it didn't set off her ankle monitor. He set down the chicken and green beans next to the empty plate that had formerly been covered by that morning's breakfast.
"Lisa, Lisa, we need to talk."
Lisa didn't seem to pay much attention to him, still typing away, looking over at the large metal gate-way now and then as a light on it blinked or shut off.
"Yes, yes, I understand Lincoln, I shall endeavor to create less noise and stop disturbing the residents of this home and neighborhood. I have nothing but the utmost respect towards you as master of the proverbial castle."
It was the typical response she gave him, and the way she said it, without even seeming to put any real emotion or even belief in it finally seemed to push Lincoln past his breaking point. It was just like them, all of them to walk all over him, take what they wanted and be on their way. It was what they had always done.
Lincoln had had enough.
"No Dammit! That's not good enough anymore Lisa!"
Lincoln had yelled those words, and it was enough he saw Lisa physically flinch in response, and look back towards him with slight…was it worry in her eyes? Fear?
Lincoln was so angry right now, he didn't care. He had more to say.
"I took you in because nobody else in the family was willing to put up with your insanity anymore! I didn't have a choice in the matter, it's bad enough I'm barely scraping by, but you had to go and chase away everyone else who was living here too! It's enough, you need to fucking stop!"
Lisa physically flinched again. She shrank before him for a moment. This had been the first time Lincoln had ever raised his voice at her since she had moved in.
He saw the real fear well up in her, shock as if she wasn't sure what to say. Lincoln began to feel slightly guilty, old memories, ghosts of feelings from their shared childhood flitting through him, before they were overpowered by the sheer annoyance, inconvenience and hardship she had created for him since her arrival.
Slowly Lisa turned fully and faced him. He couldn't see her eyes as the reflection from the light caught in her glasses and shined back. She adjusted them as she spoke in a softer more apologetic tone.
"Lincoln, it's not lost upon me the level of difficulty you've had to endure since my release from Prison. Please understand dear brother, I'm sympathetic to your concerns but all of it has been done in the pursuit of getting back on my feet and more, creating something I can sell and return the kind gesture you've given to me with some form of monetary compensation."
Lincoln folded his arms, staring back at her with an unbelieving look.
"Isn't part of your parole to stay away from this kind of stuff?"
Lisa acted as if she didn't hear him, instead turning to look back towards the gateway she had constructed, a near manic smile on her lips, "I'm at the cusp of a break through that will change all of human history Lincoln! A new technology that will revolutionize the entire world! You came down just as I'm here during the last step, if, no when, it works not only will every government and corporation be begging for the secrets of the technology, my name will go down in the history books alongside of Newton, Tesla, and Einstein!"
Lincoln still didn't look convinced. He knew Lisa was a genius, he knew she was conceivably the smartest person on the planet, only her more out there experiments often resulted in damage to herself or those around her.
Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose, "Right, right, change the world, make you rich what-ever, I don't care anymore. Just cut it out, alright? I'm tired of the complaints from the neighbors and Clyde."
Lisa turned and looked back towards her brother and scoffed, frowning, "Lincoln I'm talking about cutting you in on at least a percentage of this as a show of gratitude for putting me up! Once I perform the last test, they'll end my house arrest just for the rights to the machine and I'll be out of your greasy hair!"
Lincoln frowned, sighed and rolled his eyes, "Okay Lisa, you've got my attention…what is it?"
Lisa ignored her brother's clear look of doubt, certain she would put him at ease with her breakthrough.
"Teleportation Lincoln, actual transmission of matter from one area to another, bypassing conventional space in-between. Instant movement between two points!"
Lincoln stopped then looked at his sister skeptically. He looked back towards the device and then her, beginning to put it all together. "So that, that's what this GalaxyGate looking thing is?!"
Lisa rose her eyebrow, "GalaxyGate wha-? Oh please Lincoln, don't insult my attempts to push scientific knowledge forward with references to the inane science fiction shows you enjoy."
Lincoln frowned again, Lisa sighed, adjusted her glasses before looking away and continuing.
"Alright, yes, like a Galaxy gate. A portal that will change everything."
Lisa stepped back to her computer and picked up what looked to be a heavily modified TV remote control. She pointed it at the gate and pressed a button. A moment later the iron balls on the end of the spokes began to glow red, there was a crackle of blue light within the gate, and a vision of the Yates yard across the street from Lincoln's home appeared.
Lincoln gasped, he took a few steps forward until he was standing next to Lisa, looking down at her then back again, "This is what you've been working on?! This? The whole time?!"
Lisa nodded her head while looking up at her brother, he could see a small measure of pride on her lips, "Yes Lincoln, this. It's what all of this is about. I've already run several tests, sending items through and them coming out the other side just fine. There's only one more test I need to run. I have to send myself through."
Lincoln looked back down at his sister, frowned and then back up at the gate, before he looked back towards her once more, "Wait, yourself? Lisa are you sure you should be doing that? Shouldn't you find someone else? Shouldn't you be here to make sure everything works right?"
Lisa gave a slight shrug, "Perhaps, but I've written an algorithm that should handle all of the necessary adjustments, so it should be fine."
Lincoln listened, looked back towards the portal once more and then to Lisa again. The wheels in his head turning.
For all she annoyed him, for all the problems she caused, here was proof that Lisa was absolutely brilliant. With scavenged material and under house arrest she had created a new technology that would change the entire world. Here it was, another example of one of his sisters ready to outgrow him again. Ready to prove everything she was to the world, that she was important, that she mattered, that she made it better just by living in it, and here he was, ready to be left behind all over again.
It was a reminder of just how...small he felt in the face of his sister's and their tremendous talent.
Lisa would prove her technology, sell it off, and then she'd be out of his life once more, and what would he be known as?
Just the guy who draws comics.
The loser in the Loud family.
No, there was one area he could make a difference in, one thing he could do that would mean something.
It was a team of engineers that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, but they were the two history remembered. They were the first ones through. Maybe he wouldn't be as famous as them, but as the first human being to ever be teleported? The brave volunteer who proved his sister's theories? That would count for something wouldn't it?
He didn't want to take a hand out from Lisa either. He didn't want to take a hand out from any of his sisters. He didn't need their pity, and Lisa selling this off and giving him money? That would just be pity from her. No, if he did this himself, the notoriety alone would be all he needed. The exposure, that would be enough. He could leverage that into his own opportunities and at least be proud he actually did something, SOMETHING and didn't need one of his god damn sisters taking pity on him.
"You're sure it's safe, that it's gonna work Lisa?"
Lisa looked up at her brother, putting a determined expression on her lips, "About 99.999% certain with a 2% margin of error Lincoln. It'll work."
Lincoln closed his eyes as he looked at his life up to this point. It was a series of failures, a series of middling success, a series of watching the people he once loved more than anything else grow greater than him and forget he even existed.
This was his one chance to try and do something important, as small as it was. The one chance to say his life mattered.
His mind was made up.
"I'll go."
Lisa looked towards her brother, surprise on her lips.
"What?"
Lincoln looked back, "Send me. You said it yourself it's an algorithm that's designed to work like you, wouldn't it be even better if it was you? Didn't you say this is a sure thing?"
Lisa put her hand to her chin and looked in thought, "Well it would probably lower the margin of error by another .5% if I were manning the controls."
Lincoln nodded, "Exactly, besides if something does go wrong, you're the best one to fix it, not me."
Lisa still looked as if she was mulling a few things over, her brow furrowed again, and she looked back up to Lincoln and smiled.
"Well I shuppose, I mean suppose..." Lisa trailed off, Lincoln had caught her old Lisp slipping out, but decided to ignore it. He saw a small, cautious smile come over her as she continued, "It'll almost be like old times between us."
Lincoln felt a slightly awkward warmth come over him as he noticed the smile, and reflected on the way things used to be. Maybe it was like old times, better times.
He stepping up closer towards the gate and its picture of the freshly mowed lawn of the Yates family home just across the street.
"So what do I do? Just step through?" He asked.
Lisa walked back over towards her computer, taking position behind it, "That's exactly it. I have all the coordinates set, the power level even, and the portal is stable. You can just walk through any time you're ready Lincoln, and then you should appear across the street."
Lincoln looked back towards his sister, then towards the portal, sighed and breathed in. It was time to make something of himself.
"Well, here goes nothing."
He didn't hesitate, he didn't take it slow. He ran towards the portal, he ran full tilt as if he was chasing a better life, as if he was running after the relevance, the meaning, the importance that he always craved. He touched the portal, felt a sensation like tiny pinpricks running over his skin, there was a bright blue light…and then everything went dark.
…..
He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he knew it had to be at least a few hours, because when Lincoln woke up it was dark. He really needed to pee, and he was wondering how he ended up in bed. The last thing he could recall was stepping through the portal, the light and then he must have blacked out. Now here he was in bed and…naked on top of it all?
It took Lincoln a moment to collect his thoughts, his hand sliding up into his hair as he frowned, rolled over and reached for his phone. Sliding his thumb on the unlock button he glanced at the time, 12:15.
Jesus it was after Midnight?! What the hell had happened? Was the experiment a success? Did he teleport, did something go wrong? Why did he pass out, and why the hell was he naked?! He lost the entire day and he still had work he'd needed to get done!
Slowly he put his phone back on the nightstand next to his bed, kicked his feet over the side and sighed. Something must have gone wrong, he must have blacked out, and Clyde and Lisa must have brought him to his bed. His clothes must have been destroyed or something to that effect, it was the only explanation he could think of for why he was naked. But why the hell didn't Clyde or Lisa call an ambulance?
Then again, maybe it was best they didn't, Lincoln knew he wouldn't of been able to afford the trip anyway, and he didn't have insurance for a hospital stay either. He could probably go talk to Lisa about it now, she often stayed up late, but he didn't want to deal with it. It was best to take care of it all in the morning. He just wanted to piss, and go back to bed.
Standing up from the bed he made his way over towards his dresser, opening it up hoping he had some clean drawers to put on. When he was younger, he had preferred wearing undies but Boxer shorts were better for lounging around in.
But that was the thing.
There were no boxer shorts in his underwear drawer. In fact, it was full of undies. Neat, clean, folded, underwear. No whitey tightey kind either, but red and greys, adult, man kind of underwear. When the hell did he buy these? Did he buy these? Was this some sort of gift from Clyde maybe?
Fuck it, he was tired and still needed to pee, but he wasn't about to wander out into his living room naked, just in case Clyde or Lisa was out there waiting for him. He grabbed a pair of red underwear with a grey waistband and slid them on. They fit well enough, even if they were a little snug around his balls.
With his nudity taken care of, Lincoln made his way out of the room, climbed the stairs up and into the hall, before he stepped into the bathroom he was all too familiar with. As Lincoln relieved himself, he slowly glanced around and began to notice something was off about the bathroom.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the black and white checkered floor, the mirror hanging over the sink and porcelain bathtub was bothering him.
After he finished relieving himself and shaking off, he closed the toilet lid and looked around.
It was clean.
That's what was bothering him, it was sparkling clean. There were no stains in the toilet, the floor practically shined, no toothpaste flecks on the mirror. The toilet paper was actually placed on the roll rather than sitting on the floor next to the toilet. A fresh hand towel hung near the sink. It was all very clean. More than that was a shelf he didn't remember being there against the far wall opposite the bathtub too. A shelf that contained an array of cups and different kinds of toothpaste and a multitude of toothbrushes of various colors.
When the hell did that get there?
Did Clyde do some renovating while he was out? Lisa clean the bathroom out of some sense of 'sorry' for messing things up? Were those toothbrushes always there and he never noticed? Maybe they were left behind by the old tenants?
More and more Lincoln began to feel unsettled by his surroundings. Maybe there were side effects from the experiment, minor bits of memory loss. Maybe he'd just ate something he wasn't supposed to, and it was messing with his head, or maybe it was nothing and he was just tired. He'd worry about it all in the morning.
After flushing the toilet and heading back downstairs he stepped to his bedroom and opened the door only to be greeted by a sight which stopped him dead in his tracks.
With the moonlight streaming in through the living room window it provided just enough light to illuminate the bedroom and he was able to make out the form of a sleeping woman in his bed. It was hard to make out all of the details but she seemed to be pretty short in stature, with long chestnut hair.
She had one arm stretched out from the blanket she was curled up in, laying in the spot he had been occupying only a few minutes earlier.
Lincoln's blood ran cold.
Okay, what the fuck was going on here? There was that movie with the guy who couldn't form any more long term memories, holy shit did that happen to him? Or that episode of Star Pioneers where the second in command's memory of the past several years vanished because of an experiment gone wrong, was that it?! How long was he out?! He didn't remember taking a woman to bed with him, shit the last time he'd gotten laid was 2 years ago at his High School reunion!
He looked over his arms and legs, and put his hands up over his face, checking them over. Alright he didn't look or feel older, his hair felt the right length, no surprise beards or anything. The house seemed slightly off, but not completely alien…so what if…
Oh fuck what if this was some crazy person who'd snuck into his house and crawled into bed with him!? What if it was a Stalker?! Yeah he wasn't a huge artist, but he did have his fans, was this one of them?!
As he stared at the sleeping form in horror and uncertainty, the bedroom door open, eyes wide, a feminine voice interrupted him.
"Dad?"
Turning towards the voice Lincoln was struck by the sight of what was clearly a young teenage or pre-teen girl. Possibly 11-13, he couldn't be completely sure, but what was uncanny was just how familiar she looked. So familiar it stunned him momentarily from the shock of finding a random young girl in his house.
She was just under 5ft, lanky, and had a smattering of freckles on her cheeks. Her hair was a very light brown, almost greyish in color and long, coming down to just over her shoulders. She had a pair of big blue eyes looking up to him curiously, and she wore a long night shirt that came to her knees with red sleeves, a white trunk and the number 2 printed on it in red.
Lincoln stared at the girl, trying to process so many different things at once. Who the hell was she, why did she look familiar, why was she wearing pajamas that looked like his older sister Lynn's at that age? Before he could even say anything, the woman in the bedroom was starting to stir, making soft mewling noises of wakefulness accompanied by the sound of her hand patting the empty space where Lincoln had been sleeping earlier.
Her groggy voice came from the bedroom, followed by a yawn, "Stinkin, come back to bed, I wanna cuddle."
Lincoln turned and looked back towards his bedroom and stared in absolute horror when he realized who was in his bed. The toned arms, the chestnut hair, the freckles on her cheeks.
It was Lynn.
And she was naked in his bed.
Lynn sat up, the blanket falling to her waist, her soft small perky breasts visible as she rubbed her eyes and looked back at him standing in the doorway.
Lincoln's mouth fell open as his mind refused to comprehend what it was seeing. His ears refusing to hear what she had just said. He didn't know what was going on, or what was happening, who this girl was, why his older sister was in his bed naked. He didn't know anything anymore except that he needed to get away. He needed to run.
The girl had stepped behind Lincoln, looking past him as she smiled towards his sister, "Hi mom!" she called into the bedroom. At the same time Lincoln's arms began to pinwheel back behind him. His elbow came up and caught the pre-teen right across the face, smacking into her nose, and sending her falling back where she cried out.
"Ow! Dad! What gives?!"
Lincoln's first reaction was to look down towards the girl who was now holding her nose and begin issuing apologies, "Sorry! I'm sorry! Sorry Kid, I! I, who are you what are you doing in my house?!"
Lincoln put his hand down towards the girl, palm flat as he began to backup, "Never mind just, just stay back!" He almost tripped over the large couch in the living room as he moved, falling back against it and grabbing the edge, as he looked towards his bedroom yelling into it, "Lynn!? What the hell are you doing here?! Why are you in my bed?! Where are your clothes?!"
Lynn had cried out the moment she heard the girl give her yelp of pain, "Lacy!"
Lynn was getting out of bed and racing to the girl who was sitting up on the floor then, a look of concern on features. Her arms came around the girl in a comforting hug, completely heedless of her own nudity, "Lacy, sweetie, are you okay?!"
The girl whose name was apparently Lacy nodded her head as she pulled her hands away from her nose, a small trickle of blood coming down from her nostrils, "I'm okay mom! Dad didn't hit me that hard!" She gave a bright smile, as Lynn returned it, before looking back at the increasingly frightened and bewildered Lincoln.
"Linc?! What the heck!? You know why I'm here, it's my turn this week! Are you just going to stand there while Lacy bleeds?!"
Lincoln stepped around the couch, continuing to back up, obvious fear in his eyes as he looked at the two, "I don't know what that means Lynn!? What do you mean your turn, who's that girl!?"
Lynn's expression began to look more and more concerned as she stood up and helped Lacy to her feet, her voice taking on a comforting tone, "Lincoln, baby, you're having a bad dream, it's okay. Just calm down, calm down…"
The way she was looking at him, the way she called him…'baby'…it was all just wrong, so wrong, it felt, sick. Lynn had never called him that before, and why was she just so casual with her nudity, he had to force himself to look at her face, and not towards her body.
"I'm not having a bad dream Lynn! What the hell is going on?! Who is that?!"
The young girl, Lacy apparently, began to look frightened as she turned towards Lynn, and wrapped her arms around her waist, looking at Lincoln with hurt in her eyes.
"Mom, Dad's scaring me."
Lynn's own eyes took more concern and fear, before she brought her hand down to gently caress Lacy's hair reassuringly and whisper back to her, "It's okay Lacy, Dad's just having a bad dream, that's all." Her voice took on a wavering quality as she spoke up and the two of them began to step closer.
"Lincoln, it's Lacy…our daughter. You know that. Stinkin please, you're with your family, it's okay."
'Our daughter'.
Those words echoed in Lincoln's mind as he looked at the girl once more, and then back at Lynn again. There was no mistaking the family resemblance, none at all. She looked exactly like Lynn's daughter should, but more, he could see his traits in her too. Especially her eyes. They were his eyes, looking right back at him.
Lincoln felt sick to his stomach.
He cracked a smile, a mad desperate smile as he refused to accept what he was hearing. He laughed, a soft, bitter laugh as he began to shake his head.
"No, no, just just no. I don't, I don't. No. No, Lynn I, this is sick, this is wrong. This has to be a dream, this has to be a dream, this has to be a dream."
The sound of more feet coming down the stairs accompanied by a jumbled chorus of questions as to what was going on drew the attention of the three in the living room. Someone flicked on the stairway light and Lincoln was greeted with the sight of multiple children and teenagers making their way down stairs.
It was like some kind of surreal nightmare. Some twisted funhouse mirror of his old life being played back in front of him. He saw a couple tall blondes who looked to be the oldest, some brunettes that seemed to come next in line, and down in height, a white-haired girl of all the fucking things who looked to be in the middle, and some younger blondes rounding things out. The strangest thing which seemed off though were the two boys.
Between all of them he counted at least ten. They were all in various sleep wear of some kind, and they were all staring directly at him.
"W-w-what, what, what's wrong with Dad?" The tallest blonde girl said, she was wearing a big oversized sweater and grey sweatpants, and was shaking a little nervously. She looked like Lori.
The tallest brunette whose long hair fell over her shoulders and down her back, was wearing a long dark purple nightgown and clutched a silver crucifix around her neck. She reached over to the nervous looking blonde and began to rub her back soothingly, "It's alright Loan, Aunt Lynn has it all in hand."
One of the boys, the older looking one, who had a large mop of frizzy brown hair mumbled in a tired tone, "Aunt Lynn needs to put some clothes on."
Lynn seemed to latch on to what the Brunette was saying, she turned and looked towards the children as they finished coming down the stairs, shooting them all a comforting smile, "It's alright kids, it's alright, your Dad is just having a bad dream, I have it handled."
Lincoln shook his head, looking at all of them. He kept hearing them say that word.
'Dad'.
They murmured it among each other as they looked at him, looked at Lynn, looked at Lacy.
But Lincoln wasn't a father. He didn't have any children. At least none he knew about. He kept shaking his head, "No, No, this isn't right. This isn't right. I need to wake up, I need to wake up." He slapped himself and only managed to cause himself to wince in pain.
Lynn turned back towards him, looking at him with worry, her face contorting briefly in emotional pain, "Lincoln, you're scaring our kids, please…"
Lincoln fired right back, heedless of any concern, "I don't have any kids Lynn! I don't have any fucking kids, and I wouldn't have any kids with you! Fuck! This is Lisa, this is all Lisa's fault! The experiment, I must be stuck in some kind of coma, and can't wake up!"
The kids who were watching everything unfold began to shirk back as who they perceived as their father continued with his outbursts and was now pacing back and forth looking crazed. The youngest, a little blonde wearing a long t-shirt with a Dinosaur on it, simply began to scrunch up her face and bawl on the spot.
"Daddy! Daddy doesn't love us anymore!"
A slightly older blonde girl, her hair in curlers, wearing a pink robe, turned and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl reassuringly, "Shhh, Lizy it's okay, Daddy is just confused right now."
"Hit him in the head with a shovel! That should jog his memory!" The white haired girl called out with glee and a sadistic smile.
This was followed by one of the girl's with auburn hair and large clunky orthodontal headgear in yellow plaid pajamas giggling in response, shoulders hitching up and down, "Lupa!"
Lincoln froze up, trying to ignore the words of the children, his arms outstretched in Lynn's direction, "Besides, come on Lynn.." He chuckled desperately, "I couldn't of had all these kids with you Lynn! There's just too many! How could you give birth to them all!? How?!" His eyes were practically pleading with her, pleading to please tell him this was all some kind of joke, or a misunderstanding.
Lynn's own eyes only looked right back at her brother, pleading in their own way, big brown eyes looking as if they were ready to well up in tears, "Lincoln, they're your kids with our sisters. All of us. Together. Please Stinkin, you have to remember! You're with your family, we love you..." Lynn looked away for a moment as she frowned and finally caught on to something he had mentioned only a moment ago.
"Lisa did this to you?! She's the one who made you forget?! I could kill her! I swear Lincoln, I'll make her fix all of this!"
And before he could say anything else, Lynn was on him, she had released her grip on Lacy and rushed against him, pinning his body up against the front door.
Lincoln felt the sensation of his sister's athletic toned form pressed against his body. Her hands sliding up over his back, as her lips smashed into his. Lincoln's arms went out in front of him no idea what he was supposed to do, only to go into shock as he felt his sister's wet warm tongue plunge between his lips and kiss him with absolute passion and desperation.
It'd been two years since he'd felt a woman's tongue in his mouth, and of all the people to break the dry spell...it was Lynn.
His sister was making out with him.
Lincoln felt like he was going to throw up.
Moments later she broke the kiss and pulled back, looking towards him with some look of hope or expectation. Her eyes met his, and he saw the desperation in them, the yearning need, "Please Lincoln…" She whispered a hair breadth from his lips.
His reaction was not what she was hoping for.
Lincoln grabbed his stomach as the world began to spin around him. Kids? With his sisters?! All of them?! What was going on?! What kind of nightmare world was this?! The number of them?! How could he have…with all of his sisters, with all of them?! Fucking every single one of them?!
"I think… I'm going to be sick… just stay away, all of you stay away, I need to call the Police, or wake up or, or…" He trailed off, feeling pale, dizzy, but before he could say anything else there was the sound of highly compressed air being released, and Lincoln felt a sudden sharp pain in his neck.
"Owww! Dang it!"
Lincoln's hand came up to his neck, and felt around. Sticking out of his skin was a small metallic dart with an orange tip. He turned slowly to the direction it came from. It was the kitchen, and standing there holding some sort of gun was Lisa… or at least he was sure it was Lisa…
"What the fuck…Lisa?"
Lincoln muttered as he felt groggy and tired, and fought to keep his eyes open. Slowly he fell to his knees, before unconsciousness claimed him.
Lisa looked over towards her sister, Lynn looked absolutely furious. The still nude woman stomped over to Lisa and grabbed hold of her by the labcoat, practically shaking her "What did you do to him Lis?! What did you do!? You better fix him if you know what's good for you!"
Lisa, remained calm despite the threats and shaking from her older sibling, "I assure you Lynn, our brother husband's behavior is just as irrational and surprising to myself as it is to you. I've done nothing to him, but I will promise you one thing, I will find out why he's acting this way. Help me bring him to my lab."
For 29 year old Lincoln Loud, his nightmare was just beginning.