It was another day at the Loud House. Another noisy day. The girls were going about their day creating mischief and anarchy. Lori and Leni were fighting over clothes, Luna was playing loud music, Luan was walking around pulling pranks and making bad puns, Lynn was practicing extreme sports indoors, Lucy was sitting in dark corners writing poetry, Lana was outside playing in some mud, Lola was inside practicing for her next beauty pageant, Lisa was experimenting with unstable chemicals, and Lily was coloring on the walls. Just your average day. However, the quietest one there was Lincoln who was still feeling very down from last night.
Unable to think with all the noise, Lincoln decided to head downstairs and watch something on the TV. He exited his room and made his way to the stairs walking by many of his sisters and their antics. He was only stopped by Luan.
"Hey, Lincoln," the teen comedian got her younger brother's attention. She had her favorite ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Coconuts, with her. "If we all didn't have any noses, how would we smell?" she asked through her dummy.
"How?" the white-haired boy reluctantly replied. He was not in the mood to deal with any of his sisters' antics at the moment, but knowing Luan, it was best to just see the jokes through when she asked them.
"Awful!" she answered and burst into laughter. "Get it?"
"Very funny," Lincoln responded sarcastically. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to go downstairs and watch some television."
"Wait, Lincoln," Lucy said appearing behind him.
"AAAAGGGHHH!" the startled boy screamed. He regained his composure when he saw it was his creepy, gothic younger sister. "What is it, Lucy?"
"I need your help with a new poem I'm writing," she explained. "I don't know if I have the right words."
While he was still not in the mood to deal with this, Lincoln still felt he had a responsibility to be the helpful brother he was known for. "Alright, let's hear what you have so far?"
"There are smiles all around
But I feel very down
Everyone is full of success
Yet I feel so less
Everyone does so well
I wish I could feel special."
"Uh… Sorry Luce, but I have a program to catch," Lincoln anxiously responded. This poem was sounding a little too personal for him. "Talk with you later."
Both Luan and Lucy watched their brother hastily make his way down the stairs wondering what was going on with him.
Now that he was away from his siblings, Lincoln took a seat on the couch and turned on the TV with the remote. He found himself watching a local news report.
"Yes, it was a spectacular day for the Royal Woods Kangaroos yesterday," a male reporter said. "And it's all thanks to their dedicated team captain, Lynn Loud Jr."
Lincoln grumbled in annoyance before changing the channel.
"Here I am at the Royal Woods Mall checking up on the latest fashion trends," a female reporter said before turning to an elderly woman for questions. "Ma'am, what fashion style do you find yourself leaning toward?"
"Well, I think I'd go with that style that young lady, Leni Loud, presented at that fashion show a couple days ago."
Next channel.
"Once again, young Lisa Loud's presentation on the study of scatology has impressed those working in the many fields of science."
Next.
"As you can see by this chart, mutant activity in New York is at an all time high."
Next.
"And we'd like to once again congratulate Lori Loud for outstanding sportsmanship in yesterday's golf tournament. I can see a bright future for that young lady."
Unable to find anything on TV that didn't make him feel worse than he already felt, Lincoln turned off the television and left the house. He decided to take a walk to the park where he could clear his thoughts. But along the way, he passed by posters and people chanting about his sisters and how great they were.
The boy sat alone in a field of dandelions with a miserable expression on his face.
"Hey, Lincoln!" he heard a familiar voice. He turned to see Clyde McBride, his best friend, coming to join him.
"Clyde!" he happily called back. "What are you doing here?"
"My dads like to take a stroll around the park during this time of day." His white-haired friend scooted over and offered him a place to sit beside him. "So, what brings you here?"
"Just needed a quiet place to clear my thoughts," Lincoln explained sadly.
"Things haven't been too well at home?" Clyde asked picking up on his best friend's feelings.
"You could say that."
"Well, well, well, look who it is!" they heard an annoying voice behind them.
"Tell me that isn't who I think it is," Lincoln pleaded in an irritated tone.
Clyde looked behind and sighed in disappointment. "It is."
"If it isn't Lincoln Lame!" The owner of the annoying voice was revealed to be Chandler McCann, Lincoln's obnoxious school rival. He was accompanied by two of his friends, Trent and Richie. "Fancy running into you here."
"What do you want, Chandler?" Lincoln asked clearly not in the mood to deal with his jerky rival at the moment.
"Just wanted to say your sisters were pretty awesome yesterday," he condescendingly complimented. "It must feel great to live in a family of so many superstars."
Chandler's praising of his sisters in his presence was making Lincoln feel even more down than he already was, and he knew it.
"Don't you have someplace else to be, Chandler?" the white-haired boy asked not wanting to put up with Chandler's slander any longer.
"Yeah, me and the guys are gonna head down to Gus' Games and Grub," the brown-haired boy replied smugly. "But before we go, I just wanna say don't feel too down because your sisters are better than you, Lincoln. Way better then you. You may become a great person like them someday… in the next 50 years give or take!"
Chandler and his friends walked away laughing mockingly and leaving Lincoln even more disheartened than he was when he arrived.
"Don't listen to Chandler, he's a big jerk who doesn't know what he's talking about," Clyde tried to cheer up his friend.
"No, Clyde," Lincoln sadly disagreed. "While Chandler may be a big jerk, he's not exactly wrong." The idea that his best friend would agree with such nasty words directed at himself was unthinkable to Clyde. "Each and every one of my sisters have something that makes them special and famous. But not me. Not plain old, ordinary, unremarkable, uninteresting Lincoln Loud."
"That's not true! There's tons of things that make you interesting," Clyde insisted.
"You're just saying that because you're my best friend."
"No, it's true. You know every Ace Savvy comic you've ever read."
"Well, some people don't find that very interesting."
"You're one of the best arcade players at Gus' Games and Grub."
"So are other people."
"You're the fifth best junior magician in Royal Woods."
"And yet, people would still rather interview and get autographs from my sisters!"
Lincoln plucked a dandelion and stared at it with a very dispirited expression. "Let's face it, Clyde. There's nothing special about me. Never has been, never will be. My sisters will all be remembered while I'll just be overlooked and forgotten." Lincoln's words made Clyde feel sad that, despite his best attempts, he couldn't cheer up his best friend. "Sometimes I feel like I could just blow away in the wind and no one will ever notice. Except maybe Lucy, who could write a poem about it. The future just doesn't look very bright for me."
To illustrate his point, Lincoln lightly blew the seeds off the dandelion's stem. He watched with eyes on the verge of tears as every last seed flew farther and farther away, never to return, never to be remembered, just like he would eventually be. Lincoln held his hand after them as if hoping that something would bring them back as a sign that the fate he thought he was destined for would not come to pass. But just as he was about to give up all hope completely, something did happen.
Suddenly, the seeds changed course and started flowing through the air in the opposite direction they came. Both Lincoln and Clyde watched in bewilderment at the bizarre phenomenon happening before their eyes. The dandelion seeds flew closer and closer toward the boys. Lincoln put his hand down just as they were feet from where they sat, and at about the same time, the seeds stopped approaching the boys and resumed their natural course and blew away in the wind. Both Lincoln and Clyde sat silently for a moment, confused and flabbergasted by what they just witnessed.
"Did you see that?" Lincoln asked his friend.
"Yeah. Did you?" Clyde replied.
Lincoln plucked another dandelion and blew the seeds into the air. Both boys watched them soar away into the distance hoping for the same anomaly to happen. But it didn't this time.
"That's odd," Clyde said confused. "Why didn't it happen again?"
Lincoln thought for a moment. Then he plucked another dandelion and blew its seeds into the air. This time, he held his hand up toward them and watched as the seeds began flowed together and formed a floating, spinning sphere right before them.
Clyde observed that Lincoln still held his hand up toward the floating sphere of seeds.
"Lincoln, are you doing this?" he asked for confirmation.
"I think I am!" Lincoln replied astonished.
The white-haired boy held his other hand up and aimed it at the floating ball of seeds. He slowly moved his arms in opposite directions and watched as the ball of dandelion seeds split into two. Lincoln made all sorts of hand movements, from up-and-down dips to circular motions, and watched as the seeds followed his every movement. Eventually, he put his hands down and all the floating seeds drifted away in the wind.
"How did you do that?" Clyde asked in amazement.
"I don't know!" Lincoln replied just as amazed. "It seems to happen when I aim my hands at them."
Then Clyde gasped as a realization came to him. "Lincoln, have you heard the stuff on the news about mutants lately?"
Yes, Lisa said they were probably just a bunch of hoaxes." Then he gasped as he realized what his friend was most likely thinking. "You think I could be one of them?"
"From what I've seen, it looks like that may very well be the case."
"Wow!" Lincoln exclaimed amazed. He never imagined such rumors to actually be true, let alone be one of them. "I guess Lisa's theory was wrong this time."
"Man, with a trick like that, your status as the fifth best junior magician could go up a little."
Clyde's words suddenly gave Lincoln an idea. Suddenly, the answer to his problem became quite clear to him now.
"Clyde, you're a genius!"
"I am?"
"Yes! With these mutant powers I have, I will put on the greatest magic show Royal Woods has ever seen!" Lincoln explained with great excitement.
"Hold on Buddy, you just discovered these powers." Clyde tried to be rational and cautious about this. "Do you even know what they are?"
"If I know my comics, I'd say it must be some kind of telekinesis," Lincoln deduced. "Let's be sure."
They both walked over to a tall nearby tree. Noticing a small acorn on a branch several feet above, Lincoln lifted one arm and reached for it. Even though it was clearly out of his reach, he was still determined to get the acorn. After concentrating a little harder, a strange grayish aura appeared around the nut. Lincoln pulled his hand back a little and the nut nudged at the same time. Pleased by what had happened, he concentrated harder and pulled his hand back a little more. Following the movement of the hand, the acorn nudged a bit more before completely snapping off the branch. Concentrating, Lincoln made the nut slowly float down and into the palm of his hand.
"It looks like we have our answer," Lincoln proudly said holding the acorn.
"Wow! My best friend's a mutant with really cool powers!" Clyde said amazed and excited. He could see them having lots of fun, interesting, and slightly risky adventures together. "So what now?"
"Well…" Lincoln pulled his friend closer and whispered something into his ear. Clyde's jaw dropped in surprise as he listened to his newly discovered mutant friend's plan.
"You think that'll work?" he asked.
"Clyde my friend, tomorrow you, my family, and everyone else will be talking about a new superstar in Royal Woods, and it won't be any of my sisters this time," Lincoln confidently reassured. "What could go wrong?"
A few states away, in Westchester, New York, beneath a big mansion, a wheelchair-bound man was sitting on a platform in the middle of a widely spaced, spherical room. The man was in his 60s, bald, and had blue eyes. He wore a brownish green suit and strange-looking helmet connected to a machine on the platform.
Suddenly, the helmet started glowing blue and the man's widened as he gasped in shock.
"Incredible!" he exclaimed taking the helmet off and catching his breath.
The wheelchair-bound man exited the room through a automatic circular door with a big 'X' on it and into a shiny hallway. There a big man covered from head to toe in blue fur was waiting for him. The blue furred man also had fangs and claws on his fingers and toes. He wore a white lab coat and spectacles.
"Is something wrong, Professor?" the beastly-looking man asked noticing the concerned expression on the wheelchair-bound man.
"A new mutant has just discovered his powers, Hank," the Professor said. "And from what I've felt, he has yet to discover the full extent of his abilities."
"Any details you can provide?" the hairy man called 'Hank' asked curiously.
"Well…" The Professor gestured his colleague to lean closer so he could whisper something into his ear.
"Oh, my stars and garters!" he exclaimed surprised by what he heard. "Are you sure? At that age?"
"Yes," the Professor confirmed.
"Do you suppose he will notice this as well, and try to take action?"
"Most definitely," the Professor agreed with concern. "Summon the team. We need to act quickly if we're going to find this mutant before the Brotherhood."
"Right away," Hank agreed and took off down the hall.
"All that power in one small child," the Professor thought to himself. "And I can sense that this is only the beginning of what he is capable of."
Back in Royal Woods, the entire Loud family was sitting in the dining room having dinner. Lincoln happily hummed to himself while enjoying his meal. While he was doing that, Lola kept a suspicious eye on him. The pageant queen noticed that ever since her brother got back, he's been in a very cheerful mood. While she didn't have any problems with Lincoln being in a good mood, sometimes, he was making it very obvious which was starting to annoy her.
"Okay, what got you in such a good mood today?" she finally asked having had enough.
"Let's just say tomorrow at the Royal Woods Mall you're all going to witness the most spectacular show you've ever seen," her big brother confidently answered.
"Oooh! Like, is it a new reboot season of The Dream Boat?" Leni excitedly asked much to her brother's pity.
"Actually…" Then Lincoln threw a smoke bomb onto the ground. When the colorful cloud dissipated, he was standing in his seat wearing his magician's hat, cape, and holding a wand. "It's going to be the greatest magic show Royal Woods has ever seen!" For emphasis, he waved his wand and a bouquet of flowers appeared in his hand which earned him applause from most of his family.
"Cool! Who's the magician going to be?" Leni asked excitedly and completely missing the point.
Lincoln stared at his second eldest sister for a moment before turning to the readers with an expression that said 'Really?!'
"Me of course!"
This caused his sisters to burst into hysterical laughter. Their brother may be the fifth best junior magician in Royal Woods, but it would be a long time before he could reach the very top.
"Yeah right, Stinkin'," Lynn Jr. said doubtfully. She did not find her little brother's magic tricks very impressive. "What are you gonna do? Pull a rabbit out of your hat? Because we all remember how that went."
Flashback
Lincoln was in the living room holding his magician's hat in one hand and making gestures with his other in sync to the words he was saying.
"Hocus, Pocus, Presto!" he chanted before sticking his hand into the hat and pulling out a very angry-looking white rabbit by its ears.
The boy held the animal proudly. Until it started growing viciously and suddenly leap out of his hand and started attacking him.
"Aaaah! No! Help! Stop! Ow!" he cried as the angry animal bit and scratched him.
End of Flashback
"Mere child's tricks," Lincoln dismissed keeping his confident composure. He wasn't going to let his athletic big sister's naysaying get to him. "I'm talking about real magic. Stuff you've only seen in your dreams."
"What, are you going to levitate a building?" Lynn asked still unconvinced.
"Let's not get crazy. I'm still working up to that."
"Well, your father and I are very excited to see your big performance tomorrow, Honey," Rita expressed her support to her son.
"Yeah, we'll all be there to cheer you on, Sport," Lynn Sr. added.
The rest of the sisters voiced their support as well, even though a few of them still had their doubts. Lincoln smiled as he felt really good about himself. This was his big break. With his newly discovered mutant powers, he would finally make a name for himself in his hometown. No longer living in his sisters' shadows. Getting the spotlight all to himself. It would be a day he would never forget.
"So, who wants to help me clean the kitchen after dinner?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"Dibs Not It!" Rita and the girls said touching their noses.
Lincoln hesitated and touched his nose too late, meaning he would be the one to do the deed.
"Dang it."
