A dark aircraft flew through the night air high above the sky. It resembled a Lockheed SR-71, but larger and more advanced. Inside there were six passengers. One of the pilots was a man with brown hair wearing a blue bodysuit with yellow gloves, boots, gear, and a visor. The other pilot was a dark-skinned, most likely African, woman with long white hair wearing a black bodysuit with a cape and a black tiara. One of the passengers was a man wearing a yellow and blue suit with no arm sleeves, blue gloves and boots, and a yellow and black mask. Another passenger was a woman with long red hair wearing a blue and yellow bodysuit. Another was a tall, handsome young man with black hair wearing a red and yellow suit, red boots, and red bracers. The last passenger was a teenage girl with brown hair wearing a black and yellow suit.
"We all know the mission, correct?" the male pilot asked the other passengers.
A Few Hours Earlier
The six people along with the wheelchair-bound professor were seated together in some sort of war room around a large circular table. The man in the black and yellow mask was the only one not seated, instead leaning against a nearby wall.
"Beast told us there is an important matter you need to discuss with us, Professor?" the man with the visor asked.
"Indeed there is, Cyclops," the Professor answered. "Cerebro has detected a new mutant signature. It is originating from a town in Michigan called Royal Woods, and it is very powerful."
"I take it you want us to head there and find this new mutant," the man with the black and yellow mask said in a gruff Canadian accent.
"That is correct, Logan," the Professor confirmed.
"Do you know who the mutant is and what he's capable of, Professor?" the red-haired woman asked.
"His powers are difficult to determine, Jean," the Professor explained. "The mutant is a boy of 12 years of age. I had Beast writeup and print out a file measuring the boy's power level based on Cerebro's analysis." He placed an envelope containing some papers onto the table.
The man known as Cyclops picked up the envelope and opened it while the rest of the team gathered around to read the contents. They all gasped in surprise at what they saw written in the files.
"A child that young already displaying this much power?!" the white-haired woman asked in disbelief.
"I was also rather surprised as well, Storm," the Professor confirmed. "And I feel this is only a small taste of what he could be capable of in the future. The Brotherhood has already sensed his power and are en route. If they find the boy, they will try to use his powers for their own nefarious purposes. Which is why we must get to him first."
"Don't worry, Professor," the brown-haired girl assured. "We'll find him and make sure he's safe."
"Excellent. You have your mission, X-Men. God speed."
Present Time
"Still almost hard to believe a little kid who just discovered his mutant abilities already has that much power," the brown-haired girl remarked.
"Which means he could potentially be a danger to himself and everyone around him if he doesn't get the proper training," the red-headed woman known as Jean said.
"He will also need protection," the tall, handsome young man added in a Russian accent. "The Brotherhood will not overlook such an opportunity to have someone this powerful join their cause."
"Which is why we're going to beat them to it," the masked Canadian man known as Logan said brandishing a fist. Suddenly, three long metal claws emerged from his knuckles.
"Save it for when we encounter the enemy, Wolverine," Cyclops told his comrade.
"Brace yourselves, we're almost there," the African woman known as Storm informed the team.
The jet began descending out of the sky as they drew nearer to their destination.
The following day was busy as so many people were gathered at the Royal Woods Mall. The place was usually a little noisy due to many customers going to-and-fro shopping, eating, and looking for things. However, things were even louder when the entire Loud family were there. Lori was either looking for shops that sold good golf clubs, shops that sold low-cal bean chips, or looking for a spot where she could get good phone service. Leni usually looked in clothing shops, Luna looked in music shops and often tried out their guitars, Luan looked in gag shops or went around telling jokes to people, Lynn Jr. either looked for sports shops or things to make a sport out of, Lucy was looking in shops that sold macabre stuff, Lana visited pet shops, Lola visited princess-themed stores, and Lisa visited electronics stores. Lynn Sr. checked out cooking shops for tools and new recipes or clothing shops looking for ties. Rita stayed with Lily as she played in play areas with other toddlers.
After a half hour of shopping and fooling around, the sisters all sat at a table together in the food court having lunch.
"I've literally missed coming here since I went to Fairway," a satisfied Lori told her siblings.
"I am totes happy I got that job at Reininger's," Leni said. "Now I get to be here a lot more often."
"It is quite an occasion when all of us meet at this place of consumers and proprietors," Lisa added.
"If only I could make this place my castle," Lola said.
"There's always something good in store for us here," Luan chuckled at her pun. "Get it?"
All her sisters groaned at her lame pun.
"Hey dudes, our bro's performance is going to start pretty soon," Luna informed them.
"Hang on, let get rid of my stuff," Lynn requested taking the paper and cardboard from her meal and crumpling them into a ball.
The early teenage athlete saw a trash bin twenty feet from their table that was practically begging to be used as a goal area.
"Lynn Loud goes for the goal!" she said making a dash for the bin. "She's in the clear!" Then she leaped into the air holding her trash ball. "She shoots!"
Lynn was just about to throw the trash directly into the bin, when suddenly a huge overweight man wearing a hoodie walked in front of her. She collided with the man's shoulder and fell to the ground dropping the trash ball.
"Thanks a lot, Big Boy!" Lynn yelled at the overweight man. "You just cost me a goal!"
"You want a piece of me, Shrimp?!" he angrily responded looking down at her.
"No, I'm not into fatty meat!"
"Why you…!" the huge man angrily glared down at Lynn. This little pest was really starting to get on his nerves.
"Hey, Fred!" a man with blonde hair and an Australian accent wearing a red and yellow jacket called to the huge man. "Get over here, I want to talk to ya'."
"But I was just…" the overweight man called 'Fred' tried to argue, but his friend gave him a look that let him know he was serious. Groaning in annoyance, he reluctantly complied and walked away.
"Yeah, you'd better run!" Lynn yelled after him. "You look like you could use the exercise!"
"Lynn, come on!" Lori called her younger sister.
As the young athlete rejoined her sisters, the two men were having their talk.
"Are you nuts, mate?!" the Australian man scolded his friend. "You want to blow our cover?!"
"Did you hear what that girl said?!" Fred argued.
"Did you hear what the other one at the table said?" his friend reminded. "She said their brother is going to be performing at this mall. You know what that means?" He sported a devious smile.
"Oh yeah!" Fred understood and sported his own devious grin. "They must be talking about that mutant we're here for."
"You're bloomin' right, mate," his Australian friend agreed. "We'd better let the others know and follow those ladies. They'll most likely lead us to the kid." With that, he pulled out a cellphone and started texting a message to three names: Raven, Morty, and Victor.
Lynn Sr., Rita, and Lily had met up with the rest of their daughters and were heading to where Lincoln was going to have his magic show.
"Isn't this exciting, everyone?" Rita said. "Lincoln's going to put on a big show for everyone."
"That's great, Mom," Lori agreed. Although she was texting on her phone and not paying attention to where she was walking. "Just trying to send a text to Bobby." Unsurprisingly, she ended up bumping into someone. "Hey! Watch where you're going– Ba… ba… ba…"
The eldest Loud daughter was taken by the sight of a tall, handsome, muscular, black-haired young man wearing a jacket. He was twice her height. She hadn't felt like this since she met Lincoln's tutor, Hugh.
"I'm sorry," the tall man apologized in a Russian accent. "I hope you are not hurt."
Lori was speechless. The accent made him even more charming.
"Come on, Lori!" Lynn called. "Everyone's moving. You don't want to get separated and–" Then she spotted the tall, handsome man. "Ba… ba… ba…"
"Can I help you?" he asked.
Now Lynn was rendered speechless by his charming accent.
"Well, I'd better go," the handsome Russian bid them a polite farewell.
"Bye," the two sisters replied softly and waved as they watched him leave. They couldn't take their eyes off him.
"Lori! Lynn!" they heard their mother calling.
Snapping out of their love induced trances, the two girls ran to rejoin their family. Suddenly, Lynn bumped into someone.
"Hey buster! Watch where you're going!" the young athlete barked.
The person happened to be a rugged-looking man with a strange hairstyle, long sideburns, and wearing a jacket.
"You'd better watch what to say to strangers, you little punk!" the man retorted in an angry Canadian accent.
Both Lynn and the man glared and growled at each other for a moment. Then the man stared at her with a suspicious look and sniffed her much to the young athlete's discomfort.
"I'd better be going," she said and left to rejoin her family. "Weirdo."
The Canadian man watched her leave while still wearing the suspicious expression on his face. He was approached by a man with brown hair wearing a coat and red sunglasses.
"Something wrong, Logan?" he asked. The man was actually the X-man known as Cyclops in disguise.
"They're here, Scott. I can smell them," the man called Logan replied. He was the X-man known as Wolverine. "The Brotherhood got here faster than we thought."
"Then we'd better find the boy quickly."
"I wonder where they're all heading to," Logan said watching the Louds, and the girl he got the sent from, walk down the mall hastily.
"You think they might be able to lead us to the kid somehow?" Scott asked.
"Positive."
"Then I'll let everyone else know."
At the center of the mall, a big stage was being setup by Lincoln's group of friends. They included Clyde McBride, Rusty Spokes, Liam Hunnicutt, Zach Gurdle, and Stella Zhau.
"So Clyde, what magic tricks is Lincoln going to be performing?" Liam asked in his thick Southern accent.
"Is he gonna saw someone in half?" Zach asked.
"He's not gonna pull a rabbit out of a hat, is he?" Rusty asked nervously. "We all remember what happened last time."
"You'll see," Clyde promised.
A large group of people had gathered in front of the stage to witness the big show. Many members of the crowd included Chandler McCann, Flip (who was working a hot dog cart), Scoots, and the Louds.
To help some of the smaller sisters get a good view, some of the taller members of the family allowed them to sit on their shoulders. Rita held Lily, Lynn Sr. held Lola, Luna held Lana, and Leni held Lisa.
Then a tall black-haired man stood in front of Lola and Lynn Sr. obstructing the pageant princess's view.
"Hey buddy, down in front!" she barked at the man. He turned around and was revealed to be the Russian man Lori and Lynn Jr. encountered earlier. "Ba… ba… ba…"
"I'm so sorry, little one," he apologized. "I'll go stand somewhere else and not obstruct your view."
"No, wait! Come back!" Lola called after him, but he was gone.
Meanwhile, Lincoln's friends had just finished setting up the stage and had walked off to the side away from the crowd. On the stage was a table with sheets of paper, a basket of fruit, and all sorts of colorful flowers.
"Okay, everything's all setup," Liam said.
"But where's Lincoln?" Stella asked.
"Shouldn't he be here?" Rusty said concerned.
"Did someone ask for me?" They turned around to see their friend standing behind them wearing a magician's outfit with a hat, cape, and a confident smile.
"Lincoln!" his friends greeted him.
"Everything's all set up," Clyde informed his best friend.
"What are you gonna do?" Zack asked.
"Just watch," Lincoln replied.
Back at the stage area, other people had joined the crowd. The disguised X-Men, who were all wearing jackets and coats, as well as the overweight man and his blonde Australian friend from earlier. The two was also accompanied by a short man with brown hair and sickly greenish skin wearing goggles and a jacket and a tall, muscular man with blonde hair, long sideburns, fangs, and long sharp fingernails wearing a long coat. A middle-aged man with gray hair moved in to join the crowd, but after walking behind a nearby person, suddenly became a teenage girl with brown hair.
"Hot dogs. Only 5 bucks," Flip advertised holding one in his hand.
The green-skinned man with the goggles spotted the hot dog he was holding. The man opened his mouth, then in the span of a second, unnoticed by anyone, a long tongue shot out of his mouth, grabbed the hot dog out of Flip's hand, and returned.
"What the…?!" Flip exclaimed baffled by the sudden disappearance of his product.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!"
Everyone heard Lincoln's voice. Then with a puff of smoke, the white-haired boy appeared on the stage.
"I am Lincoln the Magnificent," he proudly introduced himself. "And it's with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the greatest magic show you've ever seen!"
This earned him some applause from the crowd, mostly from his family and friends. Everyone else, including the two mysterious groups of undercover strangers, watched in anticipation.
"This oughta be good," Chandler remarked sarcastically.
For his first trick, Lincoln took the basket of fruit and toss it all in the air much to the crowds' shock. But before the fruit could fall to the ground, the boy used his powers to stop them in midair. The crowd gasped in surprise as he waved his hands and distributed the fruit to them.
Then for his next trick, Lincoln took five sheets of paper and folded them into paper airplanes. Then he tossed all five of them into the air and let them glide around. As they began descending to the ground, he used his powers to make them ascend again and circle and soar through in the air above the crowd who stared in awe. His family, friends, and even Chandler couldn't help but look impressed.
"Looks like we found what we're looking for," Wolverine whispered to Cyclops.
The other group of strangers smiled deviously as they watched the show. Apparently, they had also found what they were looking for as well.
Jean and Storm watched with concerned expressions. The boy was indeed talented, but he had just recently discovered his powers and was already performing elaborate tricks with them without the proper training.
Lincoln made all the paper airplanes fly back to the table.
"And now for my final amazing feat!"
He took a bunch of sheets of paper and folded them into birds and butterflies. Then with one hand, he used his powers to make them fly around in the air like real birds and butterflies. Lori was so impressed, she started taking pictures and recording it with her phone. Then with his other hand, Lincoln made the flowers float around in the air and had the paper butterflies start interacting with them as if they were real.
"This is amazing!" Lynn Sr. said proudly.
The crowd started clapping and cheering which warmed Lincoln's heart. Inspired by the praise he was getting, the young junior magician decided to step up his game. He moved his hands around causing the flowers and paper creatures to move in sync to his gestures. This made the crowd cheer even louder, except for a certain group of people.
"Oh no!" Jean said fearfully.
"He's overdoing it; he's going to lose control!" a nervous Storm said.
"We have to stop him!"
Immediately, Jean and Storm started shouting for Lincoln to stop, but he couldn't hear their voices over the crowd's cheering and kept intensifying his act with his powers.
"Hey Buddy," Clyde whispered to him in a concerned tone. "I may not know a lot about mutants or their powers, but I think you might be overdoing it."
"Finally! I'll be just as great as my sisters!" Lincoln said excitedly as he waved his hands around faster causing the flowers and paper creatures to move around at the same speed.
Everything was going spectacularly. But then, a kid eating an ice cream cone suddenly had his treat sucked right out of his hands. People's hats, glasses, jewelry, and any loose items were suddenly sucked away from them and started flying around in the air with the flowers and paper creatures. Once impressed audience started voicing angry complaints.
"Don't worry, I got this," Lincoln nervously assured the crowd. Fearing his stardom was in danger, the young magician continued waving his hands even faster. This would prove to be a dreadful mistake.
Suddenly, everything in the air started spinning around in a circle. Everyone watched in horror as it transformed into a huge cyclone before them.
"Oh no!" Lincoln exclaimed in horror.
The cyclone grew so big and powerful that it burst through the ceiling. Nearby shops were being torn apart. Things and people were being sucked into the vortex. Some people held onto heavy and bolted down objects to keep themselves from getting sucked in.
Lynn Sr. held onto a potted plant in a heavy stone pot while Lola held onto the collar of his sweater for dear life. Lynn Jr. grabbed onto his pants and ended up pulling them down to his ankles revealing his boxers and hairy legs. Rita held onto a railing with one arm whiling holding Lily in another. Lana held onto her mother's ankles. Luna and Luan both held onto the same railing for dear life. Lori held onto a pillar near the entrance of a nearby store with one arm while holding Lucy's hand in the other. Lucy, in turn, held onto Lisa's hand to keep her from being sucked into the vortex. All of Lincoln's friends held onto parts of the stage.
Wolverine slid across the floor toward the cyclone. But suddenly six long sharp metal blades emerged from the knuckles of his hands. He plunged the claws into the floor to keep himself from being sucked in.
"Lincoln, you have to stop it!" Clyde cried.
"I'm trying!" Lincoln cried back as he held onto the stage with one hand while anxiously waving the other one around in a desperate attempt to regain control of the vortex.
"This is not the kind of show I was looking forward to!" Wolverine yelled.
"If he doesn't stop this, people will get hurt!" Storm said holding onto a bench.
"He's panicking! He's losing control!" Jean yelled also holding onto the same bench.
"Jean, you have to stop this!" Cyclops yelled holding onto a railing.
Jean looked over her shoulder and saw the panic-stricken boy desperately trying to stop the cyclone. She closed her eyes tightly as she concentrated.
As he tried to regain control of the situation, Lincoln suddenly felt as if something had entered his mind and took control of his body. His free hand went down. A moment later, the vortex vanished. People, flowers, paper, and other objects fell to the ground. Lincoln rubbed his head as he got up, only to see how much damage was caused. The entire area was a mess. Nearby stores were wrecked, various items and objects had been flung all over the place, some people looked seriously injured, and there was a big hole in the ceiling above them. Many people started standing up and they did not look happy. A nervous Lincoln put his hands up defensively as the people started angrily demanding to know what just happened.
"I know what happened!" Chandler yelled and pointed at his white-haired rival. "My family's been hearing it on the news recently! He's one of them! A Mutant!"
"Freak!"
"He's too dangerous!"
"Get outta here!"
The crowd that had not too long ago been praising his name was now cursing it. This wasn't the first time a large group of people had gotten angry at Lincoln but hearing their shouting and seeing their faces. There wasn't just angry in their eyes, there was fear and even hatred. It was more than the boy could take. Tearing up, Lincoln jumped off the stage and ran past the crowd as they continued shouting angry and hateful things at him.
"Lincoln!" Clyde called after his best friend.
"Lincoln!" Lori called after her little brother.
Both their cries went unanswered as the poor preteen ran as far away from the scene of the disaster as fast as his legs could carry him. Even with the crowd's shouting, they could all clearly hear him sobbing his heart out as he ran off.
The undercover X-Men had gotten back their feet and watched this heartbreaking scene with looks of sympathy.
"That poor kid," Kitty said feeling like she herself was about to start crying as well.
For the older members of the team, this kind of scene was nothing new. But it was still hard to stomach. Especially when the victim was someone so young.
"What a disaster," Leni said sadly staring in the direction her little brother had run.
"Total bummer," Luna agreed.
"Come on everyone, let's go find him," a concerned Rita told the rest of the family.
They all started walking off in hopes of finding their only son and brother. They didn't fully understand the situation, but one thing was for sure, Lincoln needed them. Badly.
"Wait up, guys!" Clyde called wanting to join them in their search.
"Clyde, is it true what Chandler said?" Zach asked.
"Yes," he reluctantly confessed much to the shock of the others.
"So mutants are real, and Lincoln's one of them!" Liam said.
"Yes, but that's not important right now. We need to help them find him."
"Hold on, Clyde," Rusty said with reluctance in his eyes. "We should think about this first. Lincoln is… different from us. Very different."
"I don't care how different he is!" Clyde replied fearlessly. "He's still our friend and we should make sure he's not hurt."
"Clyde's right," Stella agreed. "Mutant or not, Lincoln is still our friend."
"And a friend in need is a friend indeed," Liam added taking Clyde and Stella's side.
"Yeah!" Zach also agreed.
Rusty thought for a moment and then came to a decision. "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go find our friend!" To which the others cheered.
They then started following the Louds in hopes of helping them find their dear friend. Little did they know was that they weren't the only ones getting ready to look for Lincoln.
"We'd better move," Cyclops suggested. "Now that he's alone, the Brotherhood will surely take this opportunity to try and kidnap the boy."
Wolverine sniffed the air. "I can track the kid down."
"Then there's no time to lose," Storm said.
The undercover X-Men took off after the boy's family and friends.
Elsewhere, a heartbroken Lincoln sat behind a trash can hugging his legs and crying into his knees. What was supposed to be the best day of his life turned into the absolute worst. All he wanted was to be recognized as special like his sisters. But now he would be recognized as a dangerous freak.
"Lincoln?" he heard Lori's voice say his name. He looked up with his teary eyes to see the concerned face of his eldest sister looking down at him. "There you are, I've been looking all over for you." She sat down beside him. "Are you alright?"
"No," he tearfully answered. "This has been the worst day ever. From the worst magician ever."
"Lincoln, is it true? Are you a mutant?"
"Yes, I am," Lincoln confirmed sniffling.
"Oh no," Lori said concerned. "It's just like the rest of the family feared."
"What's wrong?"
"You're a mutant, Lincoln. Mom and Dad and the rest of our sisters are really upset. I don't know what they'll do to you."
A wave of fear washed over Lincoln. Would his own family reject him for being a mutant? It wouldn't be the first time. He remembered the bad luck fiasco. The thought terrified him. Despite everything he had to put with on a daily basis, he deeply loved his family and didn't want to lose them.
"What do I do?" he asked his sister with eyes full of desperation.
"Come with me, Lincoln," Lori said with a reassuring smile. "I know a way we can make all this better."
"You do?"
"Trust me," she insisted offering her hand.
With no other option, the white-haired boy took his sister's hand. They both got up and she started leading him away. Lincoln followed Lori without question. He was usually the 'Man with the Plan' in these situations, but not this time. He hoped that whatever she had in mind would be enough to turn this whole disastrous day around.
As Lori led her 'brother' away, he failed to notice she had a devious smile on her face and her eyes had turned a sinister yellow.
