It was late at night when Lincoln came home after his failed mission to capture the White Dragons. His parents tried to ease his frustration over falling into such an obvious trap, but they were also dealing with the fact that their son was caught up in an explosion & buried under tons of rubble. Lincoln assured them he was fine, trying his best to ease their own worry. Unknown to them the girls were upstairs & heard everything. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping, the girls retreated into Lori and Leni's room.
"O.M. Gosh, did you girls hear what happened to Lincoln?" Said a scared Leni
"We were right there; we all heard it, Leni." Said Lola.
"Ease off, Lola." Said Lana.
"Yeah, she's just worried." Said Luan.
"Should we be worried? I mean, you heard him; he shook it off." Lynn said.
"But what happens when he can't shake it off? If he has to fight that Mr. Atom or a monster like the one Ronnie Anne fought this evening?" asked Luna. The news about what happened at the Twelve is Midnight concert had been quick to get out, along with what few details about Mr. Mind they could acquire.
"*sigh* I wish we could help and that he trusted us to let us." Lucy lamented.
"Well, he doesn't at this point. Right now, he'd be more willing to believe we'd help the guy he's fighting." Said Lola.
The girls began talking over each other until Lori turned them back into focus.
"Girls, I know we're all scared for Lincoln, but there is literally very little we can do; the best we can do is stay out of his way & pray he can handle what is happening. And if he can't, what can we do that Ronnie Anne can't do a thousand times better? And a thousand times more preferred?"
The girls didn't like their option, but it was the only one they had; with no other choices, they headed off to bed. That night all the girls had a hard time sleeping; they were all dreaming the same things. Some kept having nightmares of Lincoln fighting various monsters, only to be eaten. The next day it was safe to say no one got a good night's sleep, not even Lincoln, who was still fuming over August.
"Rise 'yawn' and shine, girls; it's 7 am. We need to be on the road by 9!"
All the girls came out of their room & began rushing to the bathroom, as usual. Lincoln stayed in his room, not wanting to get involved figuring he'd wait until they were done. Somehow by 8:40, the girls & the parents were ready to go as they ate breakfast before leaving. Lincoln finally came downstairs, yawning and greeting Lily while the other girls remained silent. Lincoln made a bowl of cereal for himself, and as he was about to leave, Lori called out for him.
"hey, Lincoln, there's still time if you want to come with us." Offered Lori.
Everyone became a little nervous, wondering what he would say. Some were expecting a hostile response & others were expecting him to say nothing & leave.
"no, thank you, Lori. I have something I need to do today." He said calmly.
"Okay, have a nice day."
"you too & good luck." He said before leaving.
Later
The Louds were on their way, having left precisely at 9; they were on their way, though they were sad Lincoln didn't come but relieved he wasn't hostile about it. Although they felt it was probably because he was too focused on Shazam's business to be. As they drove, Lori wanted to finally ask something she's been wanting to ask her parents since she learned Lincoln's secret.
"Mom, Dad, I, no, we want to know, how are you guys so okay with Lincoln being Shazam?"
Rita & Lynn Sr. looked at each other before facing the road as Lori continued talking.
"I mean, all the dangers he'll face & the enemies he'll make, how can you guys be so calm about it?"
"not to mention he was blown up last night." Said Luan.
"so you girls heard about last night?" asked Lynn Sr.
"We all heard, daddy." Said Lola.
"you wanna tell them or me, Rita?" asked Lynn Sr.
"I'll do it, sweetie. To be honest, girls. Your father & I aren't all the way okay with your brother doing something so dangerous & neither is Ronnie Anne's family." said Rita. "Ever since we found out, we wake up wondering what he will face today & fear if he'll be okay."
"Then why let them do it?" Said Lisa.
"It's not like we can stop them. Honestly, that was one of the first points we brought up with the Casagrandes. Besides, if it weren't for those two & those powers, we wouldn't be here today." Reminded Lynn Sr.
The girls all remembered how Lincoln & Ronnie Anne saved a crashing plane and them as well.
"instead of worrying about the weight of the world being placed on their shoulders, we're doing what we can to support them, so they know their family is there for them, so they won't lose touch with who they really are," Rita explained.
"So you'd feel that way if it had been one of us instead of Linky who got powers?" Asked Leni.
"...To be honest, dear, that depends on what you'd do with them. Lincoln likes comics, so we already know he'd pursue being a hero and doing what's right. While I don't see any of you becoming villains, I must admit I'm not sure any of you would jump at the chance to be a superhero either."
"Hey, I'd be an awesome superhero." Defended Lynn.
"No offense, but you'd probably end up in the antihero category." Said Lucy.
"Why's that, Spooky!?"
"Because you'd be too reckless and don't know how to pull your punches. Just think of the damage you'd cause when you're strong enough to punch through steel like cardboard." Explain Lucy.
Lynn thought for a moment, then let out a grunt sitting back, not wanting to admit Lucy was right but did anyways.
"Face it, dudes, none of us would be interested in being superheroes, at least not at first," Luna said.
"We'd probably use those powers to improve our lives first before we thought of others." Said Lana.
"Lincoln would probably be the one to convince us to stop using them selfishly." Remarked Luan.
The girls started feeling down again, wishing their brother was there with them.
"Okay, so we don't have Lincoln with us, but I brought a piece of him with us." Said Lori.
Reaching into her bag, Lori pulled out none other than Bun-bun, Lincoln's beloved stuffed bunny.
"Lori, why do you have Bun-bun?" Asked Leni.
"Because Lincoln threw him out."
"He did?" Asked everyone.
"It was a week after this whole mess started. I rushed outside to throw out some last-minute garbage, and I found him, so I took him, cleaned him up & kept him." She explained.
"Did you keep the doll because a part of you deep down knew Lincoln was innocent? Or did you keep it because you thought you could hurt him with it later?" Asked Lana.
"No, Lana, I just kept it; I don't know why I just did."
The older sisters just stared at Bun-bun; they had a deeper connection to him than the young sisters since they were the ones who gave him to Lincoln. They remembered how he was still a baby; they gave him Bun-bun after he had been crying non-stop. Lincoln instantly stopped as he hugged his new bunny, never letting him go. Even as Lincoln got older, he never lost his love for Bun-bun, at least until now.
"Dudes, we really messed up."
"Speaking of which, I think I finally know why I believed that photo." Said Lori.
"You do?" Asked Leni.
"I think deep down I still resented Lincoln for the time he & Bobby started hanging out with each other & I started feeling like a 3rd wheel."
"Oh, Lori!" Said Rita.
"I know mom, it's not a good reason, especially since I'm the one who pushed them to hang out with each other," said Lori. "Bobby wanted me to go with him to the monster truck rally & I refused, pushing Lincoln off on him instead of giving it a try." She said with shame.
"Lori."
"Then I got jealous because of how much they connected with each other on a sibling level. I never once tried connecting with Ronnie Anne, I guess because I have so many sisters, I couldn't see that maybe Ronnie Anne wanted a sister too. Just like Lincoln & Bobby wanted a brother, but I couldn't stand not being the center of his attention & Lincoln ended their friendship just to make me happy."
"So you believed the photo was real... because you wanted to believe that our brother was more selfish than you are?" Luna asked.
"It's bad, but I'm willing to admit I was stupid and wrong. And I'm willing to do something about it. Can the rest of you truly say the same?" Lori challenged.
"None of this now, girls." Lynn Sr said before the others could reply, leaving them to stew in their own thoughts and ask themselves the same question Lori asked herself, why did they believe that photo over their brother? Why did they want him to be a bad guy? And what were they willing to do about it?
Later,
After a 3-hour journey, it was about noon when the Louds made it to Great Lake City, all they had to do was pass through & Fairway university would be a few miles away.
"Well, fam, we made it with time to spare."
"Dad, since there's time, do you think you could make a stop at the Mercado?" Lori asked.
The rest of the family cringed upon hearing Lori's request, fearing something terrible would come of it.
"Sweetie, we're not sure if that's a good idea." Reasoned Rita.
"I just want to apologize to Bobby & Ronnie Anne myself. I know I asked Lincoln to do it on my behalf, but I'd feel better if I did it myself."
Hearing his daughter's reasoning, Lynn Sr. reluctantly agreed as he headed to the bodega. Parked outside of the Mercado, Lori stepped outside of Vanzilla while her family promised to be outside if needed. Walking inside, hoping to see Bobby at the counter, she instead saw Hector, Carl & CJ. The three had different expressions upon seeing Lori; CJ's was sad, Carl's was angry, and while Hector's didn't show any hostility, Lori could tell he wasn't happy with her either.
"Hello, Mr. Casagrande." Said Lori rubbing her arm.
"Hola, Lori."
Lori then readied herself, taking a deep breath, "I know you & the rest of your family don't want to see me now & I don't blame you. I have no excuse for what my sisters & I did and for what we tried to do."
"No, you don't." Said Carl.
"Carl!" Said CJ.
"I'm not looking for forgiveness because I don't deserve it,but I just want to say how sorry I am for how I acted."
"You sure don't!"
"Carl!" Said CJ.
Hector's expression softened as he saw how Lori legitimately regretted her actions.
"Lori, while mi familia & I are very disappointed in you & your hernamas, that doesn't mean you don't deserve to be forgiven eventually, you must work for it."
"I understand; I just want to apologize to Bobby and Ronnie Anne personally. Are they here?"
"Well the thing is-." Said Hector, hesitating to say anything.
"I'll say it, Ronnie Anne went on a date with Lincoln and Bobby is on a date with another girl, so they're both not available!" He said coldly.
"Carl!" Yelled CJ and Hector.
Lori felt as if a knife had gone through her; hearing that Bobby was dating another girl was not something Lori was ready for.
"What? Bobby deserves a better girlfriend."
"You shouldn't stick your nose into other people's-" scolded Hector.
"No he's right, Bobby does, please give him my message and tell him I hope his new girlfriend makes him happy, and don't worry I won't bother him anymore," said Lori leaving the store."
Carl looked satisfied feeling he struck a blow, but both Hector & CJ were scowling at him.
"What? What did I do?"
Lori climbed back into Vanzilla quietly sitting back in her place, asking Lynn Sr. to go.
"Lori, what happened?" Leni asked.
"Bobby is out on a date with another girl."
The whole family gasped, while Lori remain emotionless.
"But you guys haven't been broken up that long. Why would he-?" Luna started to ask.
"It doesn't matter Luna, he moved on, it's what I deserve, you're going to have to face that too with Sam." Lori interrupted.
Luna dreaded that, but she knew it was true; Sam had most likely moved on by now.
"Lori, sweetie, if you need to let it out."
"Thanks, mom, but I literally just need to focus on the tournament now." Replied Lori.
A short time later...
The family headed out to the back end of the city & head straight to Fairway University, which was another hour away. Coach Niblick waited outside as more guests arrived when the Louds pulled up.
"Good afternoon, Loud family & especially Lori, ready to wow the other schools with your golf skills?"
"It's the only good thing I'm still good at, Coach Niblick," Lori remarked before she walked off to get changed, confusing Coach Niblick & saddening her family.
"Uh, Mr. & Mrs. Louds, is Lori okay?"
"she's been going through some things," replied Rita.
"If she's unable to play, I can get a replacement." offered Niblick.
"No, she can play. She needs something to focus on and bring her mood up." replied Lynn Sr.
Niblick decided to take their word for it as he left to oversee preparations for the tournament. Both parents knew Lori wasn't in the right frame of mind but being denied the last thing she has to look forward to would just be too much. Lori needed to play & win; in truth, their whole family needed a win.
Later,
The tournament was underway, Royal Woods was sponsoring the whole tournament, & among the audience was Mayor Theresa Davis. The tournament is a four-way match between the star rookies of each school, with Lori representing Fairway. After Mayor Davis gave her speech, Lori readied herself for the first hole.
'Okay, Lori, you may have lost Bobby, but you won't lose this!' She thought as she swung her club.
Later,
After 4 hours, the tournament had finally reached the last hole, Lori was up & she needed an eagle or birdie to win. Despite Lori's numerous mistakes, she still managed to stay in the top two. Most people thought it was due to the jitters, but those who knew her knew something was wrong. Coach Niblick asked a few times if she was okay, but she assured him each time she was. Her family continued cheering her on & giving encouragement. Unknown to everyone, Lori's shaky golfing was about to become the least of everyone's concerns. During the tournament, people began moving stealth fully around. Taking out security & replacing them with others.
"Sir, we're all in place." Said a false security guard over a radio.
"Good. wait for my signal, then move in."
As Lori was a few inches from the hole, if she could sink this shot she'd win, she couldn't afford any more strokes.
"Ok Lori just one tap & you got this."
As Lori went for the swing everyone started hearing a whistling sound above them followed by a large explosion, causing Lori to miss.
"Oh for the love of-!"
Suddenly, men wearing dragon masks came charging in like demons firing at the sky, screaming, "Get down!" Mayor Davis immediately called security; however, upon arrival to her shock, they turned their guns on her, telling her not to move. Lori quickly reunited with her family, knowing who these people are. Both parents tried calling Lincoln but were stopped by a fake security guard.
"Handover all your phones, now!" He said, cocking his gun.
"Okay here, just don't hurt my family." Said Lynn Sr., handing over his phone along with the rest.
The fake guard looked them over and grew a smile none of them liked. "You know what? I think I'll make sure they stay nice and safe."
No member of the Loud family liked the sound of that.
In no time, everyone not holding a gun was forced to their knees with their hands on the back of their hands. Many were crying in fear, trying their hardest not to give their captors a reason to shoot them.
"Why are you doing this?" Leni asked.
"Oh, you're about to see." The fake guard answered as a group of cameras got in position.
A sound similar to a jet could be heard closing in, but few dared to look up. Those that did saw what looked like a robotic dragon flying in and landing on the platform where the judges sat, and the winners would be announced.
"Hello everyone, do not be afraid; you get to be the honored ones who will witness my glorious return to power. I am August Smith, the head of the White Dragons."
Rita and Lynn Sr froze, horrified at the fact that this terrible man had chosen here and now of all times and places to make his public appearance. They both prayed that Lincoln would find out and get here as soon as possible, preferably faster than that.
"You're probably wondering why I chose a golf tournament of all places to do such a thing. Royal Woods was responsible for my downfall, and I intend to make this town pay. I'll start by dealing with one of its biggest mistakes."
Two armed people then forced Mayor Davis up and to walk, guns practically digging into her sides as she moved. Then they made her stand before the man in the mech suit.
"For some reason, you people have elected an inferior into a position of power. You let a [redacted racial slur] have authority over you. A [redacted racial slur] of all things! And it wasn't like you didn't have an alternative. The opponent was a proper Aryan. Yet you chose this black woman to be the one who calls the shots? Now, I can be merciful. I am willing to believe that you all knew better, and this descendant of jungle dwellers tampered with the results or took advantage of your 'white guilt'."
August Smith paused to scoff as if the very notion of 'white guilt' was both ludicrous and morally offensive to him.
"Anyway, I will give you a chance to prove that you know this woman is unfit to be in charge of anything other than what's on a man's stove. I will kill every single one of you here... unless you simultaneously agree that she should die in your place."
"You racist piece of garbage! Who are you to judge anyone?!" Yelled Rita.
"Who am I? I am an apostle of God, sent to right the wrongs of this world, to restore his favored people to power. I am the savior of this world, I am THE WHITE DRAGON!" Yelled August.
All his men started cheering loud as the guests became even more afraid. However, this only angered the Louds more.
"You're just a bully! A racist bully!" Said Lynn Sr.
"You're literally everything wrong with this world!" Said Lori.
"Your suit is ugly, just like your soul!" Said Leni.
"You sound like a sour note, bra!" Called Luna
"You and your whole organization are nothing but jokes and not the funny kind." Mocked Luan
"You're lucky there are guns on me, or I'd take you down myself!" Threatened Lynn.
"Your soul is an empty void of nothingness, if you even have one anymore." Lucy said.
"You stink, you creep! Said both Lana and Lola.
"Poo-Poo!" Said Lily.
Lisa was the only one who didn't speak; she was caught up in observing August, never taking her eyes off of him. Unknown to everyone, Lisa was scanning and analyzing the white dragon's armor with her glasses and sending data back to her bunker, to Todd, hoping to find a weakness. While no one could see, August was annoyed. Usually, he would have his men execute them for disrespecting him, but a better idea popped in.
"Seems we have a family of unclean. I would usually put people like you out of your misery, but I have a better idea, bring those three onto the stage." Said August pointing to Rita, Lori, and Leni.
Forced to their feet, all three were pushed to the stage with guns. Lynn Sr. Instinctively tried to save his wife and daughters, but the sound of guns cocking behind the heads of his other daughters stopped him. Once on stage, they were forced to stand next to Mayor Davis, facing everyone.
"My brothers and true believers, these four are the prime examples of the corruption infecting this world, whores of the corrupt. I leave their fates in your hands, the hands of gods chosen."
"if they wanna be whores let's treat them like whores." Said a masked man.
"Make ' em strip." Added another,
All the men began chanting, "strip" over to the horror and disgust of the other hostages.
"You heard them whores, entertain my men strip now." Command August.
"You're crazy. There's no way we'll degrade ourselves, and you can't make us." Said Mayor Davis.
"Fine by me, you may not have anything to lose, but they do," August said, snapping his fingers.
Suddenly the man standing behind Lynn Sr. kicked him in the back, forcing him to fall forward face down; before he could get up, he was pinned down by the man's foot and a gun pointed at his head.
"Dad!" cried the girls.
"Lynn!" cried Rita.
"Your choice, ladies, you can lose whatever you consider your dignity, or he can lose his life,"
"Fine, you win, I'll do it; just don't hurt him," begged Rita.
"Of course, I win. Those who are on the side of God always win. But I didn't say only you strip, your daughters will too." he cheered to his men.
"They're minors!" Rita defended.
"I'm a 'racist piece of garbage' as you so kindly put it, do you really expect me to care?" August remarked. "Now take off your clothes or become a widow."
Afraid to press their luck, the girls began removing their clothes piece by piece; Rita looked to see that Mayor Davis was hesitant but gave her pleading eyes, forcing her to concede as she began stripping too. All the other hostages either averted their eyes or closed them out, not wanting to see what was happening. The rest of the Loud sisters did the same, not wanting to see their mother and sisters be humiliated like that, except for Lisa who kept scanning until a horrible realization came to her.
Unfortunately for Lynn Sr., the position he was in forced him to see everything as he watched his wife & eldest daughters be humiliated. He could see the pain on the faces of his other daughters as not even Lynn Jr could hide while the masked men around began cheering & laughing. This was filling Lynn Sr. with rage he had never felt before as he vowed to make them all pay. In a matter of seconds, all four women were standing on stage in their underwear while clothes and shoes were sitting in a pile in front of them until August turned them to ash with his flamethrower. Scared, all four women could do was try & cover themselves with their arms.
"My brothers, witness the filth that has infected our world; even their choice in underwear proves what whores they are." Shouted August.
"Lori." Squeaked Leni.
Suddenly two floating orbs were ejected from the armor and began floating around the women revealing that they were cameras as they moved. Giving perfect views of their bra-covered breasts & panty-covered rears.
"What are you doing now!?" asked Mayor Davis trying to keep the orb from seeing too much of her breasts.
"I'm streaming not only to all my followers on the dark web; everyone will bear witness to your filth and shame."
"No," said Leni, tears running down her face as one orb took a close-up of her cleavage.
"Take solace in knowing you are entertaining God's people."
Leni was on the verge of breaking down; Lori was there too but wouldn't allow it; even as the orb zeroed in on her butt, she knew she needed to be strong for Leni.
"My people are you not entertained?"
August's men cheered & began chanting for more, as one suggested, for them to remove their bras, to which the others agreed. The four put up no resistance as they reached behind their back to unclasp their bras with one hand while holding them in place with the other.
"When I count to three, you whores will drop your arms & let them fall for all to see, then I when I snap my fingers, you will about face bend over and pull your panties down, you understand?"
"Yes," they replied.
"One….Two….Thre-!"
Suddenly a loud boom of thunder seemingly came out of nowhere, confusing all the men, even August. Quickly clouds started rolling in lightning surging all around them as the clouds covered the area; no one could explain this phenomenon. However, the Louds knew exactly what was happening as Rita coldly said to August.
"You bastards are in for it now."
Two lightning bolts came crashing down, blasting the orbs/cameras, without harming the women. As the flash faded, Lincoln & Ronnie Anne were now standing back to back as Shazam and Lady Shazam, staffs in hands with Lincoln facing the White Dragon. The rage on his face is unmistakable as electricity crackled off his body from his mask.
"YOU!" Growled Lincoln
End Of CH. 14