Do to….certain reasons, I've had a lot of free time lately to work on this fic, so here comes the next chapter.
Fair warning though, cuz this chapter might get a little dark.
"Lana? What's going on?" Lincoln joined Lynn, as did Renee, who studied the tomboy carefully. Something wasn't right.
"Going-on?! I-dunno-what's-going on! Hey! Do-you-wanna-race-back-home? Then-we-can-race-back-here!I feel-like-running!Does-anyone-else-feel-like-running-real-fast?No! Let's-race-on-pogo-sticks! I-bet-I-can-bounce-higher-than-anyone! Bounce-bounce-bouncy-bounce!" Lana giggled, talking a mile a minute.
"What did you eat?" Renee asked in a steely tone, noting the smears around her face.
"Chocolate! Yummy-chocolate! I-love-chocolate! It-tasted-weird-but-it's-still-chocolate! Everyone-loves-chocolate!" Lana laughed. "Why-do-you-ask-why-I-eat-chocolate!"
"Chocolate?" most of her siblings gasped. Letting the twins eat too much candy was a blueprint for disaster.
"How did you find chocolate in the latrine?" Renee asked, her tone still steely. From his table, Flip lowered his fedora while smiling to himself. The distraction he needed was about to come into play.
Maggie also watched them from a distance, not so much curious as simply fulfilling her task.
"She probably found it in the toilet, the disgusting pig!" Lola thought, wanting to puke.
Lana's only response was even more mindless giggling.
"Where did you find the chocolate?" Lynn repeated the question, her brow dropping. "You don't look so-"
"Ugh! These-things-are-so-annoying!" Lana pulled on her straps and tore them off. "They-chafe-so-bad!" That action caused her overalls to fall down, revealing her naked legs and blue undies.
Her siblings gasped. "Lana?" Lynn blurted.
With a queasy expression, Lincoln stepped back and shielded his eyes with his hand, as did Caleel, the waiter.
"Ma'am, can I please ask for you and your friends to leave the premise?" he pleaded Renee, who ignored him as she glowered at the indecent 5-year-old, who shook her overalls off her feet and giggled to herself.
"Whoooo….hihihi…" she cupped her face and watched her legs swinging. It was so mesmerizing. Her siblings stared at her incredulously, except for Lola, who snickered with glee at the sight of Lana acting like a fool.
"If only I brought a camera…." The princess lamented.
"Oh, for crying out loud…." Renee pinched her forehead and grumbled.
"Guys, we have to restrain her. She's having a sugar rush." Lincoln warned them. Hearing that, they all went on edge, knowing what that meant.
"Oh, no…." Lynn muttered. How could a sugar rush kick in this fast?
"We can't pay for another restaurant's renovations." Luan blurted.
"You imbeciles…." Renee cut in scornfully. "This isn't a sugar rush!" she pointed at Lana who was now bouncing up and down. "I've seen those plenty of times."
The siblings gawked at her, disconcerted. Even Lola's look of joy faltered a bit hearing that.
Lynn took a second look at her sister. She had seen the twins overdosing on sugar, and it never got this extreme, or at least not this quickly? "If it's not a sugar rush, then what is it?" she demanded to know, worry etched across her features.
Renee narrowed her eyes, looking peevish. As much as it annoyed her, they would have to take Lana to a doctor. If Lana's parents found out about this, she could kiss her career as a babysitter goodbye. Good thing her own parents knew of a good house doctor, just so she could keep things discreet.
"We'll know soon enough." Renee barked and grabbed Lana's arm. "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Lincoln asked worriedly.
"Hey! Whatcha-doing!" Lana laughed. "Lemme-go!"
"Put these on, and move it!" Renee ordered her and tossed the discarded overalls into her hands.
"I d'wanna!" Lana giggled and threw them away. "I-wanna-play!"
"Lana, just please listen to her." Lincoln begged her, peeking through his fingers. "I think we need to-"
"Poo-on-you! I-wanna-play!" Lana laughed and swiftly freed herself by slipping out of her teal shirt, so fast even Renee didn't react fast enough. Lincoln gasped and covered his eyes again.
"Get back here!" Lynn chased after her, as Lana laughed and ran across the place, quickly throwing a chair into Lynn's path, making her fall over. Lynn hit the floor with a thud and clutched her knee in pain. Lana ran passed Collin, yelped and covered his eyes as well.
"Don't just stand there, you cretins!" Renee yelled at the remaining Louds. "Get her!"
Not needing to be told twice, they all chased after her. Except for Lincoln, who didn't move an inch.
"But I can't watch my sister in her underwear?!" He desperately wanted to help, but there were some things about your sister a boy was never supposed to see.
The speeding tomboy flipped a table, causing Lisa to collide with it, knocking her glasses off her face. "Owww…." She groaned as she pushed herself of its leg. Flip meanwhile, smiled and pulled out a small club from his trench coat.
"Just gotta wait for the right moment." He braced himself. The brat was causing pandemonium, as planned.
Maggie jumped out of her chair as Lana zapped past her, barely dodging her. "I'm out of here…" she shook her head and made a hasty exit.
'Oh, no, no!" Grant panicked while peering from the counter, as Lana was chased through the restaurant, running like Speedy Gonzales. "I knew this would happen! I just knew!"
"Enough of this!" Renee cornered the fleeing Lana, but she bolted past her before Renee could grab her.
"Too-slow, slowpoke!" she found the tomboy laughing and jumping on a table. Lana noticed Luan trying to grab her from behind and swiftly jumped out of the way, backflipping across the place, leaping over Lola and Lucy, and landing on the old couple's table, prompting the startled elders to fall out of their chairs.
"Catch-me-if-ya-can!" she laughed manically and grabbed the old man's bowl of oatmeal and tossed it at Lucy, who ducked and it hit Lola in the face. Lana laughed like crazy. Renee took the opportunity to blindside her.
The princess threw the bowl of her face and hissed. "Oh, now it's on!" she charged at her twin.
Lana jumped high, evading both Lola and Renee. Lynn staggered to her feet and saw Lana whooping and swinging on the ceiling lamp. That action made the old light bulb within it start short-circuiting.
Grant clutched his head as the light in the restaurant started flickering on and off. "Will somebody get her! She'll tear off the lamp!" As the light went out again, Grant was bludgeoned in the back of his head.
"You think we're not trying!" Lynn snapped at him, rubbing her aching knee. She received no response, not that she was paying attention to it.
"Ya-look-dumb-Muck-Face!" Lana laughed down at her twin, who fumed, as did Renee.
"Has anyone seen my glasses? What's wrong with the lighting?" Lisa shouted while wandering aimlessly through the restaurant.
Renee moved the table out of her way and tried to snatch Lana, but the light went out and she only felt her hands clutching air. As her feet made contact with the floor, the light came back on and she just saw the lamp swinging by itself.
Everyone looked frantically for Lana, not noticing an unconscious Grant lying face down on the counter or that the cash register was missing.
Flip snuck through the back door of the restaurant, closing it before checking out the content of the register's drawer.
Seeing all the money made him grin ear to ear. "Cha-ching!"
Chuckling, he tucked the register into his coat and walked off discreetly with his hands in his pockets.
"I might avoid the cement shoes after all." He thought with relief.
"Where is that miscreant?!" Renee ranted as the light kept flickering. The sisters searched in all directions, and Lincoln and the waiters allowed themselves to peek.
"Where is she?" the boy asked worriedly, when he heard a breathy chuckle behind him.
"Think-fast!" as he turned around he caught a piece of cloth. Surprised, he looked ahead and saw Lana standing four feet away from him, at the entrance, and he soon realized what he was holding.
"Oh my god, she's naked!" he screamed and dropped her undies, shutting his eyes tight and blushing madly, while holding his soiled hands as far away from him as possible.
"Don't let her escape, you idiot!" Renee ran up to him but it was too late. Lana had run out of the restaurant. Shocked gasps and yelps were heard from the outside.
"No!" Renee clutched her hair before pushing past Lincoln and running out, only to find a few shocked pedestrians exchanging horrified glances.
The Loud siblings followed her, and immediately after, heard the door behind them closing shut and getting locked.
"I believe we can add that establishment to the list of locations we're blacklisted from?" Lisa deadpanned.
"Lana! Lana!" Lynn shouted frantically but saw no sign of her little sister.
"I don't see her anywhere?" Lucy spoke up.
"At her pace, she's probably reached Chicago by now?" Luan joked nervously.
"This can't be happening!" Renee stomped the ground, her neatly combed hair now sporting random strands sticking out of it, as her eyes bulged and she grinded her teeth.
"Damn it! Damn it all to hell!" the others stepped back, unnerved by her change of mood, except for Lynn.
"Quit bellyaching, we gotta find-"
"Where is he?!" Renee looked around for Lincoln and found him kneeling next to a public faucet, washing his hands.
"Never be clean, never be clean…" he rambled feverishly when Renee stormed towards him.
"You imbecile, you let her get away!"
Startled, Lincoln turned around and cowered under her glare, wilting with shame.
"Back off!" Lynn came to the rescue and pushed her back. "He saw his little sister flashing her you-know-what! How was he supposed to react?"
Her words of support did little to encourage him however, as Lincoln felt guilty for letting Lana get away.
"Lincoln?" Lucy kneeled next to him. "Get a hold of yourself; a girl's undergarments aren't toxic. We have to find Lana before she hurts herself."
"For once you're making sense, Lucy." Lynn had to admit and pulled Lincoln up by his shoulder. "C'mon, Lincoln, nobody's blaming ya, we gotta find the squirt, fast!"
Lincoln's face hardened, he couldn't wallow in self-pity now. "You're right, we gotta find her."
"You think!" Renee snapped at him before turning around and continuing to curse to herself. "If that brat hurts herself, my reputation will be tainted beyond all repair!"
Lynn's eyes narrowed, the nerve of this cunt? Lincoln saw her ready to snap and spoke up hastily. Not that he felt any less appalled by Renee's attitude.
"Well, if you want to preserve your reputation, might I suggest we get her back before anything happens?" he asked coldly.
"Way ahead of you." Renee scoffed and looked at the rest. "Alright, all of you….wait a minute?"
She noticed someone missing. "Where are the blonde idiot and the punk hooligan?"
Lisa, Luan and Lola looked among themselves to find Luna and Leni missing. Renee seethed, while Lincoln's jaw hit the pavement.
"You gotta be shitting me?" Lynn clutched her head. "That moron ran off to her precious concert!"
"Perhaps she and Leni just ran ahead to find….?" Lincoln suggested in a moment of dumbfounded denial before realizing what had happened.
"No, she defiantly ran off to her concert." Lucy shook her head dejectedly. Lincoln facepalmed.
"I'm going to….." Renee was on the verge of exploding, requiring every bit of will power she had to remain collected. She counted from ten to one to calm herself. She couldn't lose her cool now, not while things were still in the ballpark of being salvageable.
"Listen up!" she shouted, earning everyone's attention. She looked at Lynn. "You! You're coming with me to catch that runaway brat!"
Before Lynn could reply, she turned sharply towards Lincoln. "And you! You're looking after the rest while you go and retrieve the other two! We know they're heading towards town center."
"Wait, wait!" Lynn raised her hands. "Who died and made you-"
"This makes me boss!" Renee reminded her by holding up the contract Lynn Sr. had signed.
"Wouldn't it be more logical if we all dispersed so we can cover more ground in a shorter time span?" Lisa suggested.
"No! I don't trust you miscreants." Renee shot her down. "And Lynn's the only one physically fit enough to have any hope of catching and wrangling that overcharged little rat, besides myself of course."
Lynn boiled, but she knew that her little sister's well-being was more important than Renee's ego.
"Fine." She sighed in defeat. "Let's not waste any time."
"I agree…" Renee nodded before glowering at Lincoln. "The others are your responsibility. I trust that you're aware that if you fail to retrieve your sisters and bring them all back home together, you'll be held accountable for it, and if you fail…." She paused and shook her head "….I will make you regret it."
"You can't dump all that responsib-"
"Lynn! It's okay." Lincoln reassured her and nodded to Renee. Time was of the essence. And it seemed he had earned some semblance of trust in Renee if she had appointed him leader of the pack, not that it was reassuring in any way. "I understand, I will keep the girls in line and bring them back home. I take full responsibility. You two just find Lana."
"Very well, follow me." Renee nodded. "We'll stay in touch in case….." she stopped as realization dawned on her.
"Huh, I guess taking all our phones wasn't the smartest move?" Lynn scoffed and folded her arms.
"I considered the possibility." Renee retorted curtly and pulled a second phone out of her pocket and handed it to Lincoln. Lincoln looked at the phone, as a thought occurred to him.
As much as he hated to admit it, it sure would have been great if they could call Ryan for assistance right now.
"I'll call you when we catch the brat. Let's go!"
"Perhaps you should take this with you?" she stopped and saw Lucy holding Lana's clothes, neatly folded, and offering them to her. Renee glowered at her and silently took them.
With that, Renee went ahead. The jock was reluctant for a second to follow her, but a nod from her brother reminded her that they had no time to spare.
"Good luck, Linc." She sighed and followed Renee, but Lola jumped in their way and offered the bottle of lotion in her hand to Renee, pointing at it and grinning desperately.
Renee didn't say a word and just sidestepped her. Narrowing her eyes, Lynn punched the spoiled brat in the arm, not holding back, before following Renee. Lola glared at them while rubbing her bruised bicep and stuck her tongue out.
"How are we supposed to track her?" Lynn asked Renee.
"We just follow the shocked pedestrians." Renee said evenly as they ran down the street, past the shocked and gaping people.
Lincoln sighed. Lucy gently took his hand. "I'm sorry she left you with the heavy burden of responsibility."
"Don't be…" he exhaled. "I doubt we'll have trouble finding Luna and Leni, I'm more concerned about Lana." The sisters looked at each other, sharing his sentiment.
Lincoln rubbed his temples, trying to stay optimistic. "Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. I'm sure Renee and Lynn will find Lana and she'll recover from that "sugar rush", and everything will be okay."
"Perhaps you're right." Lisa spoke up tentatively. "If Lynn and Renee don't find her, statistically the chances are high that some civilian might rescue her, or she might get apprehended by the police for public indecency…." She stopped as Lincoln gave her an uneasy look.
Lisa rubbed the back of her head. "Well, at least she would no longer be a danger of hurting herself?"
"You sure that was a sugar rush?" Luan asked. "She looked more like she was tripping out to me?"
"Unlikely…." Lisa retorted. "But now that we're on the topic of alternative causes behind Lana's frantic behavior, it is possible that she has consumed some form of unlawful substance that can cause hazardous physiological changes in a person. Public bathrooms aren't known for their high standards of sanitization."
Luan's eyes widened. "I was kidding about her being drugged? You're not saying she actually is?"
That comment made Lincoln's skin crawl. Good lord, don't let that be the case?
Lisa rubbed her chin. "Could be. That's, admittedly, not a field I'm particularly familiar with-"
"Lisa, just drop it." Lincoln told her, trying to push those horrible thoughts aside until they had caught Lana. "We'll know what's going on with her after she gets back, let's just find Leni and Luna."
"I can't believe Luna's nerve." Lucy said coldly. "Abandoning us in our time of need?"
Lincoln couldn't deny that and silently balled his fists. "We'll discuss things once we find her…."
"You're right. Leni too." Luan scoffed. "But given Luna's obsession with that SMOOCH band, I can't say I'm all that surprised."
"Well, in Leni's defense, she is a certified cretin." Lisa shrugged. "They were cuffed together and Luna had to convince her to cooperate. She probably told her that they're handing out SMOOCH t-shirts at the concert and that they are the most in-demand fashion accessory?"
Lola didn't contribute to the conversation, not that she could, and just glared at bottle in her hands. Her revenge didn't come into fruition, again!
"Let's find them." Lincoln told the others and went ahead. The girls followed him, except for Lola who stayed behind, looking crabby.
"Quit sulking and be helpful for once." Luan told her, but made no attempts to make her come along.
Lola glared at her and stuck her tongue out, wishing to defy her and stay behind just to spite them, but she realized that it was getting dark outside and her siblings were leaving her behind without a second thought.
As they slowly turned into tiny specks on the horizon, the princess grew anxious as she found herself alone in the dark, empty street surrounded by scary, towering buildings.
Gulping, Lola swallowed her pride and ran after them. She'd help them find the runaway sisters, just because she was a good person.
Maggie watched them from afar, discarding her hat and wig in the nearest trash can.
"Huh, another convenient coincidence Lyle might want to take advantage of?" She sent her cousin another text message, only to receive another one from him before she could finish.
"Taylors a dead man! I finally gotim LOL!"
The emo rolled her eyes. "Good for you…" she mumbled apathetically.
"This is going to be so good." Lyle was as giddy as a schoolgirl while sitting atop a tree, looking through his binoculars while munching on popcorn. His excitement was slowly undermined by his impatience, as the show was taking forever to get started.
Ryan was forced to sit down, sporting a peeved expression and folding his arms, as Hawk's huge hand was grasping his head, holding him in place and sitting next to him under a tree in the Hogans' backyard, while Hank was still rummaging through their garage, looking for fitting instruments of torture and throwing out various sports equipment and other junk.
Ryan glanced at his captor, who was watching him like a hawk, pun intended, as his brother had instructed him.
"So…you're going to hurt me real bad?" Ryan asked casually.
"Yup." Hawk nodded, stone-faced.
"For talking trash about your mom?" Ryan rolled his eyes, having given up by now to try and reason with these rage-fueled meatheads.
"Yup."
"And you're won't believe me if I repeat that I didn't say anything-agh!" the pressure on his head intensified.
"Stop you're lying!" Hawk roared petulantly. "We're not dumb!"
"Alright! I will!" Ryan obeyed, before Hawk loosened his grip just a bit and resumed his task of guarding him.
Ryan groaned. He didn't know what was more aggravating? Having this nitwit's smelly and sweaty hand crushing his head or the fact that they were taking forever to beat on him?
After another long silence, Hawk grew impatient again and called for his brother. "What's taking so long! I'm getting bored!"
Ryan grumbled under his breath. Of all the times he had gotten himself into trouble, this was perhaps the stupidest. Two overgrown momma's boys wanting to pulverize him because some asshole told them that he was talking shit about their momma? Ryan had been the target of wrongful accusations in his hometown many times, but at least those had the courtesy of fitting his character. Spouting "your mom" insults was for dipshits like Lyle, he had more class than that.
"Lyle?" Ryan had a hunch who that asshole was, given how he had technically only recently moved in here, there was only one enemy he has made so far…..or maybe two…..that could talk. Or perhaps it was Kathleen who had put a hit out on him? Manipulating people seemed above Lyle's mental capacities. If this was the case, these two hired goons sure gave it their all acting as if had some legit reason to be mad at him?
Regardless of circumstances, Ryan would be damned if he didn't try talking his way out of this sticky situation, as he has always done.
"Bored, huh? Do you wanna talk?" he offered only to have his face slammed into the tree.
"No! I'm not chatting with the likes of you!" Hawk roared.
"Really? My apologies." Ryan ignored the pain as he was yanked back into his original position. "Did I offend you that much?"
"Yes you did, dumbass! You insulted our momma!"
"Come on, Ryan, just think, it can't be that hard to dupe the incredible dolts. Lyle has more brains than them." The boy told himself, and kept the conversation going.
"I can see that…" he continued casually "….I guess you guys must really love your mom?"
"Sure we do." Hawk admitted proudly. "Our momma is our world. She brought us into this world, clothed us and fed us, gave us a roof to sleep under, bathed us when we were little, kissed our fingers when we stubbed them…."
Ryan rolled his eyes. He couldn't allow them to beat him up, not these sad sacks. Just his luck though, running into the only two momma boys in the world who had muscle instead of being like Lincoln.
"…spoon fed us soup when we had the measles, taught me how to ride a bike, encouraged Hank to continue his piano lessons because that was his passion despite being mocked by his classmates-"
"I see, she sounds like a great person, if you're willing to pulverize anyone who talks ill of her? I mean, can't say I can fully comprehend that, I don't really know what's like having a mom in your life-agh!"
"You talk too much!" Hawk slammed his face into the tree again, causing his nose to bleed.
"Sorry, it's a bad habit." Ryan said weekly, sneezing up a little blood. "But I gotta know, when are we gonna get to the pulverizing? We've been sitting here for half an hour? I don't want to be rude, but I think we can both agree that sitting here is super boring?"
"How do I know? Hank's the one looking for rope!" Hank retorted. "But yeah….waiting here is super boring."
Ryan gulped. "Rope, eh? So, you're going to strap me up like a piñata?"
Hawk scowled. "No. We're gonna use you as a punching bag."
"Creative. Was this your idea or your bro's?"
Hawk blinked. 'Umm….it was Hank's idea, why'd ya want to know?"
"So you didn't have any input when deciding my punishment for insulting your mom?" Ryan asked coyly. "She's your mom too, so shouldn't you have some saying in this?"
"I…eh…"
"Or does your bro get the final word because he's the favorite?" Ryan quickly regretted the question as the enraged Hawk nearly crushed his skull again.
"No way! I've always been more considerate than Hank! She says she loves us equally, but it's an unspoken truth that she likes me just a tiny bit more." He huffed.
Ryan winced in pain but kept his smile. "So she would want you to be judge, jury and executioner?"
"Huh…" Hawk scratched his head with his free hand.
"If you've been the better son, shouldn't you decide on my punishment? Seems only fair-"
"I couldn't find any rope! But I have the bats." Hank returned and tossed one bat at his brother, which bounced off his gut.
"Wut?" Hawk was caught off guard and glared at him. "No rope? How are we gonna strap him up as a punching bag?" he pointed at the branch above him.
"Dunno? We don't have to." Hank reasoned, throwing the bat over his shoulder. "Just throw him to the ground and we can beat him up with these bats."
"Now wait a minute!" Hawk stood up, lifting Ryan up by his scalp. "You said we could use him as a punching bag."
"Well, we can't strap him up without rope. I don't see how we can do that?" Hank shrugged.
"Why don't you ask your bro for advice?" Ryan gestured at Hawk.
"Yeah, I have an idea! How about we just tie his legs into a knot on the branch?" Hawk huffed, feeling smart about it.
Ryan cringed but played along. "That's a smart solution for your rope shortage."
"You dummy! You can't tie someone's legs into a knot!" Hank retorted and pointed at Ryan. "He's not made of rubber! The bones would jut out everywhere and would be all gross and stuff."
Hawk scowled. "Well, maybe we can beat him up some other way? You never asked me for any suggestions? Why does it always have to be your way?"
Hank groaned. "Alright, if you don't want to beat him with a bat, what do you suggest?"
Hawk smiled and was ready to respond, but he blanked on an answer. "We could….eh…we could…..?"
Hank snorted. "Typical! You're too dumb to think of something."
"Insults, great." Ryan smiled to himself.
Hawk growled. "No I'm not! You didn't give me any time to think!"
"We don't have all day for your dumbass to come up with something! It's wasting daylight!" Hank retorted and pointed at himself. "I say we beat him up with our bats here and now!"
"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Ryan commended him. "Your mom must be proud of your sense of urgency?"
"Sure she is, she always said I was perceptive." Hank huffed proudly, making Hawk fume.
"She's proud of me too!"
"I never said she wasn't." Hank replied irritably. "Quit whining."
"Oh…." Hawk shrank sheepishly.
"Ughhh…." Ryan thought, he was banking on Hank claiming he was their mother's favorite.
"Wait a minute?" Hank suddenly jabbed his thumb into Ryan's chest. "Are you trying to turn us against each other?"
"What? I would never?" Ryan grinned nervously.
"Then why are you praising us? Why aren't you shitting your pants!"
"Well, I just feel bad for making you guys angry…..that's all…." Ryan improvised, when an idea hit him "….which is why I want to help you, help you make sure that I suffer for my misdeeds."
"We're gonna pummel you with baseball bats! How is that not suffering?" Hank questioned.
"Eh, no offense, but I have a high pain tolerance." Ryan answered cockily. "If you want me to feel pain, you're gonna have to hit me extra hard. Put your back into it. Which one of you is handier with the bat?"
"I am!" the brothers said simultaneously before glaring at each other. "No, I am!"
"Mom said I'm a great baseball player."
"She just said that to make you feel better! I hit harder!"
"Gentlemen, there's no need to quarrel. There's an easy way to settle this." Ryan spoke up. "You'll just have to beat on me independently, to see who can cause me more pain."
"Huh, guess that makes sense?" Hank reasoned.
"But wait a minute?" Ryan rubbed his chin. "Which one will get to pummel me first? Considering I insulted your mom, it wouldn't be just for one of you to get the honor of pummeling me first and have the other guy wait his turn? Wouldn't that imply….favoritism?"
He saw the nervous look on Hawk's face and smirked inwardly.
"Our mom doesn't pick favorites!" Hank roared.
Hawk looked at him uneasily before adding, "Yeah!"
"Let's just get this over right now!"
"Wait, maybe, he has a point?" Hawk interjected and scratched his head. "It wouldn't be fair if one of us got the first hit?"
Hank blinked. "Yeah…but…eh…"
"He's absolutely right. If you hit me first, wouldn't imply you're the favorite?" Ryan said quickly, noting the growing anger Hawk was trying to hide.
"Yeah, you're not saying that?" he narrowed his eyes.
"But if you hit him first, does that mean you're implying you're the favorite?" Hank retorted, making his brother wilt a bit.
"No….but…eh…"
"Easy, you just hit me once, with all your might, at the exact same time." Ryan told them. "You take your stance, grip your bat, swing it and hit me at the same exact time. Then you take turns pummeling me for real. So you can figure out who can inflict more pain on me?"
"What's taking them so long?" Lyle growled from his perch.
"Good idea." Hawk nodded. "Okay, Hank, let's do that."
Hank groaned but gave in. "Alright, let's do it like that.""
"Glad that I could be of help. Now, could you release me so I can count down for you? You can't grip your bat with one hand?"
"Wait? How do we know you won't make a run for it?" Hank asked suspiciously.
"I'm sandwiched between the two of you, if I tried to run off you would just strike me down?" Ryan shrugged.
"Huh….okay, Hawk, let the little shrimp go."
Hawk did so, and Ryan stumbled forward as he rubbed his throbbing head, stuck between the hulking brutes.
"Okay, let's make this simple." Ryan braced himself. "At the count of three, you hit me."
"Yeah, yeah, just start counting so we can get to the part where we bash your brains in." Hank said impatiently.
Ryan cleared his throat. "Very well, take your stances…."
The brothers did so. "One…."
"What are they doing?!" Lyle lowered his binoculars. Even he could see what Ryan was tricking those jugheads into doing. "No! No! No!"
"…..two….." the brothers gripped their bats and aimed them.
Ryan smirked. "…three!"
The Hogans swung their bats, Ryan bent back and the wooden clubs flew over him and past each other, colliding with the respective brother's face.
As if playing limbo, Ryan swiftly moved below them as they fell against each other and saw stars and birds circling their heads.
"Uhhh….perdy birdie…." Hawk mumbled before him and Hank slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Ryan straightened himself and wiped the blood from his nose, before erupting with laughter.
"Oh, man, I can't believe these neanderthals fell for the oldest trick in the book?"
From his perch, Lyle roared with rage and jumped down, running toward Ryan, who pulled out a marker and wrote "Dumb" on Hank's gut before moving over to Hawk and writing "Dumber" on his.
The stood up and kissed his fingers. "A masterpiece." He said before stroking his chin. "Nah…something's missing?"
He kneeled down and also gave them each a mustache. "Voila! Now it's a work of art."
Hearing footsteps, he turned around sharply and saw Lyle lunging at him.
"AHHHH!" Lyle tried tackling him but Ryan dodged him and he hit the ground with a thud.
"Lyle….so it was you who sent these goons after me?" Ryan chuckled, honestly surprised. Knowing it was the middle-class lout who had put a hit out on him was defiantly reassuring.
Lyle looked up at him, teeth bared, shaking violently and looking like he was on the verge of crying.
"This is impossible!" he started beating the ground. "You should have been dead meat by now! How did you do it!" he glared at the unconscious Hogans. "You morons! You had one job! One job!"
"Pfffftttt…..don't act so surprised, Zit Face." Ryan pointed at himself smarmily. "I'm a smartasss, you know that. You sic a pair of muscle-bound goons after a diabolical mastermind like me, what did you think was going to happen?"
Lyle stood up, glaring at him with silent rage. "They were slamming your ugly mug against a tree! How are you still conscious!" he asked incredulously.
"You saying you couldn't take punishment like that?" Ryan grew a cocky smile, relishing his foe's bashful snarling. "No wonder I always kick your ass with ease."
"But speaking about you sicing goons on me?" Ryan added. "I'm pretty sure this is a violation of our spit-shake? Don't you have a shred of honor?"
Lyle seethed, before chuckling in a desperate attempt to gain some sort of victory over Ryan. "I didn't violate our agreement! I said I would leave you freaks alone but I said nothing about giving others the idea to beat you up by feeding them some little white lies."
Ryan gestured at himself, sporting a flattered expression and whistled in amazement. "You found a loophole in our agreement and orchestrated this entire scheme while still technically respecting our deal? My, my, I'm impressed, Lyle. This was almost a smart plan…. by your standards."
He chuckled as Lyle growled at him. "Okay, okay, enough of this." Ryan smiled at him. "As much as I'm flattered that you consider me your personal nemesis and went above and beyond to pull this off, this senseless feud needs to stop."
"Oh? So you're ready for a rematch!" Lyle took a fighting stance and raised his fists.
"No, you dolt. That's the farthest thing from what I meant." Ryan scowled, slowly getting tired of this for real. "You might be surprised, but me and my buds have some important business to take care of, and you've been a real pain in our asses. We're tired of you constantly getting in our way."
"In your way?" Lyle sneered. "You mean you and the ponytailed broad? Say, did you two…." He hugged himself and made kissy noises.
Ryan didn't bite and smirked. "Almost, I've got Lynn wrapped around my finger and she's eager to spend plenty of alone time with me all summer. But so much stuff keeps getting in our way, including you; ever since you came down to throw rocks at us at the peer."
Lyle chuckled mischievously and shot him an approving finger gun, and Ryan returned the favor in a moment of mutual understanding between two hormonally-fueled tween boys, and they shared a crass laugh.
"Wait? What am I doing?" Ryan shook his head.
"Did you canoodle with her while she was in her swimsuit?"
"Listen, numbskull. This feud between us has gone on long enough. It's getting tiresome, and I'm willing to cut a deal."
Lyle scowled. "What deal?"
"Whatever you want, as long as it makes you happy enough to forget about your beef with us and get off our backs." Ryan told him seriously. "If you want, you can ask me for any favor. I'm good at getting stuff I want, no matter the means. Listen, I know a good house doctor? Maybe he could look over your head wounds before they get infected?"
Lyle didn't answer immediately but he did relax a bit, seemingly contemplating.
"C'mon, think about it? I'll gladly do anything as long as you finally stop with this bullshit."
"Hmmm….lemme think about it." Lyle actually considered and rubbed his chin. "NOT!"
Before Ryan could react, Lyle swung his leg and kicked him where the sun don't shine.
Yelping, Ryan collapsed on his knees and clutched his groin as Lyle laughed.
"In your dreams, freak! I won't rest until I get my revenge! I'll never give up!" he boasted loudly. "Ever!"
"Figures….." Ryan deadpanned in a high-pitched voice.
"You know what, Taylor?" Lyle leaned down to face him. "I thought about what you said about me having honor? Honor is for chumps!"
"And what's that supposed to imply?" Ryan rolled his eyes while fighting tears.
"It means I don't give a damn about our agreement! So what if I break it? If anyone gives me shit about that, I'll just beat them up, got nothing to lose!"
"In fact…." Lyle laughed as he remembered what Maggie had texted him. The freaks had split up and the wimpy ones were all alone. "This is the perfect opportunity to get my revenge?"
"How?" Ryan inquired.
"Aw, that would be telling, ugly." Lyle laughed. "You'll know soon enough."
With that, he kicked Ryan in the head, making him fall over. Lyle took the opportunity to dart off before Ryan could get up and follow him.
Ryan shook his head and pushed himself up, only to find Lyle gone. "Where the hell is he going? Why did he leave me….oh, shit!"
Groaning in annoyance, Ryan fell on his back trying to overcome the pain that was coursing through his testicles. "This is what I get for listening to the pipsqueak's BS about diplomacy."
The trail of gasps, screams and shocked citizens led them to the park.
"She was here." Renee kneeled at the gate to inspect some tiny bare footprints in the dirt. Next to them was a pair of discarded tiny sneakers.
Picking them up, Lynn saw a shocked family at a picnic table, the parents shielding their small children and staring into the distance.
Sighing, she ran up to them. "Excuse me…" she started sheepishly "….you didn't see a little girl streaking and-"
The father just silently pointed towards a trail leading into a patch of woodland. "Eh, thanks." Lynn awkwardly gave a courteous nod.
"Can we borrow this? Much appreciated." Renee snatched the picnic and went ahead. "Don't just stand there, you miscreant."
Lynn scowled but kept her cool, and followed her. "What do you need that thing for?"
"You need a net to catch a rabid animal, this is the best we can find." Renee replied matter-of-factly as she folded the sheet, irking Lynn further.
"She's not an animal!"
"All evidence to the contrary."
"Ugh!" Lynn lost it and pushed her. Renee stumbled forward but held her balance, before turning to Lynn with an icy glare.
This brat was unbearable, but she kept her temper even. She had to let this act of defiance slide, at least while her work performance was at stake.
"Could you refrain from doing that? Infighting would be very counterintuitive to our mutual goal." She said dourly.
"Then could you refrain from being a bitch?" Lynn spat.
Renee's mouth evened but she was unfazed. "You do realize you just broke two rules-"
"I don't give a damn about your freaking rules! Not while my sister is running amok out there!" Lynn exclaimed angrily and threw her arm up. It felt incredible finally saying that to her face, if only her sister wasn't running crazy right now.
Renee rolled her eyes. "Then perhaps you could afford to calm down and stay focused? Our motives might be different but they converge on the same goal. We want to retrieve the brat."
"Her name's Lana! How about you bother to remember the names of the kids you're supposed to be babysitting?"
"How about we keep going." Renee brushed her off and went on. Seething, Lynn trailed after her. As they followed along the trail, visibility grew fainter, as the canopy hid what little light was still shining from above.
"I can hear your heavy breathing." Renee commented as they walked through the dark forest. "I would advise you to keep your emotions in check. As I've told you before, they cloud one's judgment and hinder their performance."
Lynn scoffed. "You still don't have a shiner, so I'd say I've been doing a great job."
"How reassuring." Renee snarked. "But I appreciate the effort. As long as you focus on what matters."
Lynn tried to control herself. Lana's well-being had to come first, even if it meant putting up with this bitch. But she was making it increasingly harder.
"You're unbearable." She ended up grumbling. Renee ignored her and checked her phone, but she got no calls, irking her more. That Lincoln better find his sisters and drag them back home if he knew what was good for him.
Seeing the phone sparked another thought in Lynn. "Huh…" she scoffed "….you know who would be really helpful right about now? Too bad his phone is in a bag back home?"
"Ryan's not needed here."
Lynn doubted Renee seriously thought that. "Why not? Isn't he fit and quick on his feet? Or do you just not want him to see that you made an oopsie-daisy? He would never let you live it down if he saw how his control-freak sister doesn't have things under control?"
Renee stopped and looked at her, the light from her phone casting her face in shadows but and extenuating the barely-concealed anger she was holding back. Lynn was unnerved by the sight but wouldn't allow herself to show it and held her ground.
"What are you trying to accomplish by provoking me?" Renee said in an icy tone. "Do I need to remind you yet again that infighting would be very counterproductive for us?"
There was a threat behind her words, Lynn could hear it. "Or are you trying to sabotage my efforts in order to taint my image as a responsible caretaker? You do realize this could come at your little sister's expense, should she hurt herself?"
It was an attempt to appeal to Lynn to cooperate without any self-imposed difficulty, but Lynn read it differently and tensed up.
"Do you even care if she gets hurt?!"
Renee was surprised by the question. Surprised because it seemed random and irrelevant to the conversation, but also because she had made it abundantly clear to all the siblings how she felt about them?
"I don't, I didn't think you were unaware of that?" She said coldly, infuriating Lynn further. "But we both wish for her safe return. I do because otherwise my reputation will be soiled and I will lose three hundred dollars worth of revenue that I could be adding to my savings."
That was it! With a growl, Lynn dropped Lana's clothes and swung her fist, which Renee easily dodged. Lynn quickly sent a swing kick but Renee caught her foot and threw her off balance. Lynn landed on her back and Renee immediately pinned her down and restrained her.
"I fail to see how my answer warranted such a response?" she said evenly.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Lynn struggled.
"It's called working a job." Renee grimaced. "That's what I'm doing. Babysitting you is a job I'm being paid to do. That's something adults do to earn a living, unless your infantile mind failed to make the connection?"
"You don't care if she gets hurt? Do you!"
"I don't understand how this is relevant to our current situation?" Renee answered and only received more grunting and struggling in response. She rolled her eyes, they were wasting precious time and this conversation was going nowhere.
"You wish to know why I don't care about her?" she gave in and exhaled, Lynn stopped and glared at her intently. Renee continued. "Let me explain this in a way you will hopefully understand. Imagine working an office job, something you get paid to do, and having to take care of some documents. If someone were to grab those documents from you and throw them into a fire? Would you shed tears for those destroyed pieces of paper? You wouldn't, but you might be concerned about your boss finding out and firing you for losing those important documents. That's how I feel in this situation."
Lynn glared at her incredulously. She was comparing Lana to stacks of paper?
"You're sick! You know that! I see why Ryan can't stand the sight of you!"
Renee sighed in annoyance. No progress. Until they heard splashing behind some nearby bushes. That caught Lynn's attention. Some girlish laughter confirmed it wasn't some animal.
"It's her." Renee focused in the direction of the sound and stood up, releasing Lynn, who recognized Lana's laughter.
"I hope you can quell those emotions of yours long enough to catch your sister." Renee told her in a business-like manner. "Unless you want to squander the opportunity to save her from hurting herself?"
Lynn glared daggers at her as she sat up. This was no "benign" attempt to reason with her, it was a ploy to get her to be cooperative by toying with her emotions. But it was a trap Lynn had to walk into for Lana's sake.
Hearing her laughter made her realize how she had been wasting precious time quarreling with Renee. Swallowing her pride and locking up her feelings for the vile bitch in front of her, she stood up.
"Alright, I'm game." She nodded begrudgingly. "But this ain't over."
Renee wanted to make a remark in the form of a question about if Lynn was comfortable spending her night in a cold, damp bunker, but held it back. First things first.
Making a shushing motion, she went ahead and crouched in front of the bushes. Lynn did the same, staying absolutely quiet, and saw it. Lana was I the middle of a large mud hole at the edge of the lake, splashing and laughing, her face and the rest of the body covered in mud.
"What's your plan, boss?" Lynn snarked.
"You don't mind getting dirty as far as I understand?" Renee replied in a similar manner. "You go in and try to catch her. Should she escape, I'll nab her and throw her into this." She held the picnic blanket up for emphasis.
"Oh, you're leaving nothing to chance, huh?" Lynn continued.
"I do not. Get going." Renee said simply and left her.
"Take this." Lynn threw her Lana's clothes, which she threw into the sheet as a makeshift sack.
Sighing, Lynn turned back towards Lana and made her move. The hyper tomboy heard the faint rustling and snapped her head in her direction. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was still grinning madly. Lynn froze, being just twenty feet away from her.
"Lynn! What-took-ya-so-long!I-was-waiting-FOREVER!"
Lynn made no sudden moves and slowly approached. "Hey, Lana? Take it easy…."
"Where-are-the-others! Slowpokes! Let's-have-a-dirt-war!" she grabbed a lump of mud and threw it at the jock, who ducked.
She let out a phony laugh. "Great idea? But…eh…." A plan came to her. "You wanted to practice wrestling, right? How about we mud-wrestle? I always wanted to try that!" she suggested as she walked into the knee-deep mud.
"Mud-wrestle?" Lana tilted her head before nodding frantically "Okay!"
Lynn smiled and moved towards her, bracing herself. "Great, you start by trying to tackle me-"
"Ready-or-not!" Lana lunged at her and Lynn seized her, ignoring the muck that splattered all over her jersey in the process. At the edge of the mud hole, Renee saw it happen and felt like celebrating, but the fleeting moment of joy vanished like a slippery fish, as the mud-covered girl was squeezed out of Lynn's grasp and flew upwards, grabbing hold of a branch above them.
Lana whooped and laughed as she swung around. "I-m-slippery!"
"Oh, come on!" now sporting a dirty jersey for her efforts, Lynn lamented as Lana climbed up the branch and stood up.
"Lana!" Lynn called her. "Get down her so I can kick your butt at wrestling!"
"Okay!" Lana nodded when she noticed something in the corner of her eye. "Wait-a-minute!"
"What?" Lynn scowled impatiently as her sister sent her a mischievous look.
"It's-a-set-up! You-are-working-with-the-downer-patrol!" Lana exclaimed and pointed at Renee, who was trying to hide behind a tree. Lynn looked in the direction Lana was pointing but couldn't spot her. How the hell did Lana see her?!
"What? No! I would never-"
"Can't-fool-me-filthy-traitor!" Lana laughed and scaled up the branch with inhuman speed. With her cover blown, the enrage Renee ran up towards them.
"Lana! Get down here before you slip!" Lynn shouted, but Lana climbed up to the top of the tree where she pounded her chest and yelled like Tarzan. With astounding speed, Renee jumped and grabbed a branch, pulling herself up, following after Lana. Even Lynn was struck with awe seeing her do that. She really was Ryan's sister.
"Can't-catch-me!" Lana swung on a branch, and Lynn gasped in horror as she threw herself into the air, barely evading Renee's grasping hand. Her silhouette flew across the darkening sky, but luckily, she landed on another tree and dove into the canopy.
Lynn's jaw dropped.
"Don't gawk! After her!" Renee barked as she jumped down and ran past her. Shaking herself out of her state of shock, Lynn followed her.
Unfortunately for them, Lana swung through the canopy faster than a spider monkey on crack, the diminishing light making visibility next to nonexistent until they finally lost her, without even the rustling of branches to guide them.
The reptiles and amphibians scurried into their glass cages as they noticed Marceline's hungry eyes leering on them. The cat went after them but Charles jumped in her way, blocking her path.
Growling in annoyance, Marceline tried to sidestep him to his right but he blocked her again, holding his ground. She tried it to his left and he blocked her yet again.
After locking eyes for a bit, Marceline turned sharply to her left, raising her ears in alert. Confused, Charles did the same, only to have Marceline use him as a springboard to vault herself onto the drawer. Sucker! She hooked her claws into its edge and pulled herself up only for Charles to seize her and bite into her side, not hard to puncture skin, just hard enough to hold on to her.
They fell down and Marceline clawed him, forcing him to let her go. As she ran towards the drawer, he tackled her to the floor and they tumbled around in combat, like a pup and kitten fighting over a chew toy.
Marceline kicked the dog off her and ran, only to be grabbed by the tail. Marceline's pupils dilated and she swatted at the dog, but as she turned around he clung on to her tail with his jaws, knowing better than to let go now. Pulling a cat's tail was a death wish. The two ran in circles with Marceline trying to attack him for half an hour, until she wore herself out.
Charles let her go as she sat down and slouched, panting heavily. Cats didn't have the greatest endurance, but dogs didn't know the meaning of "tired". He sat down some distance from her, looking proud of his accomplishment. Marceline growled at him, realizing he had duped her.
As sudden ribbiting noise drew her attention to a corner, where she saw Hops hopping towards a tiny puddle. Charles raised his ears as Marceline moved towards the frog and outpaced her, pushing Hops away from the puddle with his nuzzle and blocking Marceline's path again.
The feline growled in agitation, making him back away and accidentally step into the puddle. Feeling the slimy sensation on his paw, the dog turned around and sniffed the weird puddle. As strong odor assaulted his nasal cavities and he felt a sudden surge of adrenaline.
Marceline tilted her head as the dog's head snapped up like a loose spring, his eyes bulging and all the muscles in his body tensed and started flexing. Charles barked loudly and wagged his tail faster than a humming flapping its wings. Marceline's eyes widened as the bull terrier did a perfect backflip in place and landed on his feet.
Charles felt charged up like never before. He felt like burying a hundred bones and marking about three hundred fire hydrants. Marceline jolted as a sudden crack was heard. Charles' neck muscles bulged, flicking the stitches out of his neck and making the cone crack in two pieces and fall off, revealing no wounds underneath it. The gashes on his legs also closed up.
He turned to the dumbfounded Marceline with a wide rectus grin and ran at her, his eyes flashing green, ramming her and slamming her into a wall. Charles barked happily and jumped on his hind legs, balancing himself like he was doing a dance. Marceline rose to her feet and shook herself, looking at the deranged canine with fear. He dropped on all fours and barked at her, still wagging his tail.
Marceline darted towards the door but was grabbed by the tail again. This time, however, Charles somehow had the strength to lift her up and spin her in circles like he was doing a hammer throw. Marceline's screech echoed through the room as she was released and thrown across it, landing on the wooden frame of Lana's bed. Her face hit the soft mattress, but the rest of her slammed into the solid wood.
She groaned feebly and fell down, plopping on her back. Her eyes widened in fear as Charles came looming above her, smiling and drooling like a mad dog. The cat tensed up with fear when….Charles became dizzy and fell on her, completely limp. Marceline freed herself and crawled away, scrambling to her feet and saw the dog lying down, as if he had run out of batteries.
She observed him nervously for a few moments when he started squirming and shook his head in a groggy manner. He rose to his feet and looked around. His mind was fuzzy and he had a splitting headache. He saw Marceline backing away from him and he didn't know why?
Shaking his head he realized something was different? There was no pressure around his neck. Turning towards Lola's mirror, Charles did a double-take as he saw no cone on his neck. He walked up to the mirror and noted that his neck also seemed well again, with no stitches or scars.
He looked at his leg and found it to be as good as new, with no bite marks to be seen. Marceline was still on edge as he started barking and wagging his tail again, hissing viciously and unleashing her claws, minus her bravado, which was replaced by blatant anxiety.
Charles looked at her, wondering what her issue was? Then they heard Hops ribbiting again and looked to find him in that small puddle again, this time bathing in it, with his amphibian skin absorbing most of the liquid substance.
The frog slowly turned towards them, eyeing them with his bug-like eyes and slit, horizontal pupils.
Then, he shot his long tongue out and lassoed the two together. Pressed against each other, the cat and dog were then lifted by the super long tongue and screeched in fear as they were swung across the room!
With night encroaching, the neon-lit stage in the town center, surrounded by cheering crowds and accompanied by stage lights beaming high into the sky, was easy enough to find, especially from the road overseeing it, where Luna and Leni had arrived, both panting after having run all the way here, more so the latter.
Luna's eyes lit up as she saw the spectacle in front of her. And the band currently playing was just the opening act, she could still make it!
"I can't believe I'm here." She shed a tear and clutched her hands, with downright childish awe.
Leni wasn't so chipper though and looked over her shoulder, still having second thoughts.
"Luna? Are you sure we should be here? Shouldn't we help the others deal with Lana's sugar rush?"
Luna bit her lip, feeling a twang of guilt in her chest, but it was overridden by the sheer joy she felt from the concert she was marveling at.
"Don't be ridiculous, it's just a sugar rush." She tried to rationalize her decision. "The twins have had it before and nobody got hurt? Not much anyway. They just caused a lot of havoc."
Leni didn't look so convinced. "Yeah…eh…but still…"
"And it's only one of them, the others can handle her." Luna waved her off, though she herself didn't quite believe in what she was saying. Yet again, she felt guilt welling up inside of her. She knew deep down she was being selfish, she couldn't suppress the reality of it. Exploiting the disarray in her family to escape their babysitter's clutches? And Renee would be pissed beyond all belief once they returned, and she had undoubtedly doomed herself and Leni, by association, to a night in the bunker, if Renee was feeling charitable. She was starting to have her own reservations.
That is, until she spotted a familiar face down below, joining the lively crowd. Seeing her made Luna push those ugly thoughts back to the corners of her mind, being reminded why she had risked so much to be here in the first place. Her best friend Samantha Sharp, the person her tyrannical babysitter was trying to keep her away from.
"Sam?" Luna beamed, thoughts of bailing on her siblings fading away with it. "It's Sam!"
"And who's that with her?" Leni asked idly, squinting. "Hey, isn't that another one of your bandmates? Sully, was it?"
"Sully?" Luna's face dropped as she noticed him walking next to Sam, and they linked arms. "What's he doing with her?"
"Well, duuuhh…" Leni giggled "…he must be her date. She had two tickets and she couldn't take her bestie, so next best thing, get a hunky guy to escort her."
"A d-date?" Luna's right eye twitched and she clenched her fists.
"Hey, we should say hi to them?"
"Eh…yeah…" Luna narrowed her eyes and went ahead "…let's say hi-hey!" she was forced to halt as Leni didn't move. "Bra, what gives?"
"I was thinking?" Leni scratched her head. "How are we supposed to get in if we don't have tickets?"
Luna's eyes widened. She really hadn't thought this through, and shut her eyes as she silently fumed. She needed to think fast.
"No problem, I'm….I'm kind of a local celebrity, they'll show some leeway." She said tentatively. "And I'll put in a good word for you."
"You are?"
"Sure I am, as is my band, we're the Detroit Heartthrobs, most of the blokes down there probably watched us play and are fans." Luna insisted, pointing below. "Fans can help you get things."
"But this isn't Detroit, is it?" Leni made a face.
"We're still working on the name." Luna groaned. "Point is, people know us, we've garnered a lot of good will with our fellow rock n roll enthusiasts, and we'll get the VIP treatment, trust me. Now come on!" she yanked the cuff.
"But why did Sam and Sully need tickets then?" Leni asked, being more confused than reassured by Luna's words.
"Will you just go!" the rocker grew impatient. "Do you want those SMOOCH shirts or not, man?"
"Or right?" Leni found a new sense of urgency. "I don't want to wear clothes that are so last Monday."
With that, they ran down the hill towards the concert, unaware that they had been spotted.
"I see them!" Lucy called for her siblings as she tried catching up with the former two, but by the time she reached the spot where they had stood seconds ago, they were already down, rushing towards the crowd.
"Sigh." Lucy said in annoyance, as the rest caught up with her.
"There they are." The goth pointed down.
"How is she hoping to get in without a ticket?" Lincoln wondered. "Sam only had two tickets and I kinda doubt she went there alone."
"And Luna has a plus one, whether she likes it or not." Luan snorted before grimacing. "That idiot, we'll be in a boat load of trouble, all because she couldn't keep that SMOOCH fangirl inside of her under wraps."
"It's not just that. She also seemed anxious to be there with that Sam girl specifically." Lucy added inquisitively, remembering what an utter mess Luna had been after being forbidden from coming here.
"Yikes, maybe she has a thing for her?" Luan joked. She always thought her sister's fondness for Sam was borderline romantic.
Lisa rolled her eyes at the absurdity. "Naturally, and I assume Lincoln has "a thing" for Bobby's sister?" Her brother shuddered at the remark.
"Fair point. Sorry for thinking such lunacy." Luan joked but then frowned. "Still. She's risking Renee's wrath just to pal around with Sam? Sheesh, and I thought Clyde was clingy with his bestie."
"Knock it off, will ya?." Lincoln shot them a quick glare. "At least we found them, they can't get far now."
"No, not if they lack the slips of paper necessary to gain admission to this particular event." Lisa deadpanned, echoing her brother.
Luan snickered. "Cool. We'll just wait for the bouncers to toss them out and then we'll pick them up."
Lucy grew a small smile. "Serves the deserters right."
"Let's…let's not make this personal between us…." Lincoln reluctantly disagreed, despite the disapproving glances from the comedian and goth. He did add though, "Considering what Renee will have in store for them, we should show them some mercy."
"Fair point. Hope the bunker is cozy." Luan laughed with glee.
"I wouldn't laugh yet, Renee might still punish all of us because of them." Lucy reminded her, and the teen gave her a look that said "party pooper".
Growing tired and annoyed, Lola stepped ahead and gestured wildly for them to move it.
"Lola's right. Let's get them." Lincoln said. This task was as good as over.
"Surprise, Ace." Someone hugged him from behind and held him in place. "Didn't peg you guys for rock and roll fans?"
The sisters froze hearing the strange voice. Lincoln recognized it and it made his blood run cold. Lucy and Luan felt the same and turned to see Lincoln in the arms of Lyle Owen.
"You?" Luan gasped.
"Miss me?" he smirked at her.
Lola and Lisa looked at the stranger with confusion. "Eh…who is this person-ump!" Lisa started but was silenced by Lucy's palm.
"Don't anger him." She warned her grimly. Lisa immediately noted that this wasn't Lucy's usual "gloom and doom" tone, she sounded….scared?
"What are the odds of bumping into you here?" Lyle started casually, nearly choking Lincoln in a headlock.
"That's because we followed them." Maggie chimed in apathetically, still in her sundress.
"Shut it, Margaret!" he chastised her curtly. "Don't ruin the moment."
"What do you want from us?" Luan said angrily. "I thought we had a deal?"
"Deal?" Lisa and Lola thought.
"Yeah, about that…" Lyle shrugged "…eh, I lied."
Lincoln was sweating in his grasp. Lucy had been right, he knew she was but didn't want to believe it for the sake of completing his mission. And it had come to bite him in the ass.
"Lyle, you don't want to do this, you know Lynn and-"
"Don't be coy, twerp." Lyle applied more pressure on his neck, choking Lincoln and relishing it. "I know they are not here, I'm partially to blame for that."
"What?" Luan scowled. "What did you do with-"
"Oh, don't worry. Ghoul Face will catch up with us… eventually." Lyle smiled cryptically, toying with her fears. "But he's not here now and I know your brute of a sister is also away, trying to catch your little sis from streaking across town." He sniggered.
"I spied on you." Maggie raised her hand to quell any confusion, not that she cared much. "And it cost me dearly." She pointed at her dress, which some of the siblings recognized.
A shiver ran down his spine, and Lincoln swallowed a lump. Lyle knew? He knew they were defenseless this time. Luan and Lucy realized that too, and the latter edged closer to the former and hugged her.
"Awww….poor little freaks? No one here to defend you this time."
"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Lisa stepped in.
Lola joined her, nodding her head in agreement. Whoever this weirdo was, his sense of fashion was atrocious. Who in their right mind still wore jeans with holes in them?
"Whoo….dhis…chreep?" the princess croaked and pointed at Lyle. He glared at them, seemingly irked by the lack of acknowledgment, which scared the others, especially Lucy. But Lyle grew a sadistic grin.
"Kept in the dark, are ya, little one? Kay, here's the gist. Your family and a certain Ryan Taylor have done me wrong. So I'm getting my revenge, and unfortunately for you and Princess Peach over there, you're guilty by association. You get that?"
Lisa stepped back nervously. Was this a threat? It sure sounded like one. "What are you talking about? Lincoln? Luan? What's the meaning of this?"
"You're in for a world of hurt, that's what." Lyle laughed. "Now, if you would be good little freaks and listen-"
"Why are you doing this? What did we do to you?" Lucy spoke up, much to everyone's surprise. Lyle turned to her, still restraining the squirming Lincoln.
Luan tried to shush her. "Lucy, please don't-"
"It was Lynn and Ryan who shamed you in your inane feud." Lucy let go of her and stepped up boldly, facing Lyle. "We were just your victims, caught in the crossfire. What possible satisfaction could you gain from hurting us?"
"I dunno…." Lyle pretended to ponder, when his fist collided with Lincoln's gut.
His sisters' gasped. "Lincoln?!" Lucy cried as her brother keeled down in pain, his breath punched out of him.
"But this sure felt pretty satisfying to me." Lyle said gleefully.
"You piece of shit!" a furious Luan charged at him, but he easily stopped her by planting his foot in her belly and pushing her away, throwing her into the wall. The others cringed, including Lola, and Lincoln glanced at the teen desperately, as she slumped to the pavement. Lucy sent Lyle a hateful glare, hidden behind her bags, not that he was even looking at her, as he was in stitches from laughter.
"Aww….still need your big butch sister to save the day, wimp?" He mocked the younger boy and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up in a headlock yet again.
"Hey…..noh…ohne huhrds dem…but me!" Lola hissed.
"Let him go!" Lucy cried but was kicked away for her troubles.
"Uhhhh….wanna save your sissy brother? Have at it!" Lyle challenged them and dragged Lincoln away, over the street and into an alleyway.
"Lucy?" Lisa helped the goth up.
"Wha….he…dohin…." Lola asked in a strained, raspy voice, unable to stay quiet even with how scratchy her throat was.
"We gotta help him." Lucy said immediately.
Luan nodded. "C'mon!"
"What are we supposed to do against that brute?" Lisa questioned following them, as did Lola.
"We have him outnumbered, dogpile him!" Luan said curtly.
Following Lyle's mocking laughter, they ran into the dark alleyway, where Lyle held their brother.
Choking in Lyle's grasp, Lincoln tried to warn them. "It's a-ugh!"
"Shut it, dork." Lyle growled, now confronted by the sisters.
"Let him go!" they yelled unanimously.
Lyle couldn't keep a straight face. "Or what?"
"Let him go or you'll regret it!" Luan growled.
"Oh, and are you going to give me a bad makeover if I don't?" Lyle laughed. "Or pummel me in a pillow fight?"
Luan ran at him, but was tripped by Maggie.
"Ah, finally taking an interest in our blood feud?" Lyle approved of her action.
"I'm just making sure you're not way over your head, as usual." The emo deadpanned, annoying her cousin.
"Over my head? Me!" Lyle laughed. "I'll show you." he lifted Lincoln by his collar.
"Be back in a sec." Lyle's fist collided with his gut, sending him into a bunch of trash cans. Lyle jokingly saluted his limp form before strolling over to the girls.
"So you want to play hero, eh?" he leaned towards Luan, who was trying to get up with Lucy's help.
She froze as Lyle's hateful gaze appeared inches away from hers. "Then who am I to stop you." he forcefully pulled her up by her arms and held her close to him. "A girl needs a firm hand for guidance."
Lucy tried grabbing a trash lid, but Maggie grabbed it too, and easily overpowered her and threw her down.
Lyle chuckled at the sight. "Cute." He turned to the terrified Luan and raised his fist. "Now, where was I?"
"Heyuh!"
Lola's voice cut in and Lyle looked down to see the enraged princes marching up to him, neither Lucy or Lisa tried stopping her.
"Huuuu…yuh…..fink yuh argh?" she croaked between coughs, only confusing the bully.
"…..noh…ohne huhrds dem…but me!" Lola hissed, wheezing for air. She had no clue who this ruffian was, but who was he, threatening her and her family? "Yuh….nohe who ah am?!"
"You get any of that?" Maggie asked her cousin idly.
"No idea." He shrugged and gave Lola the boot, throwing her against a dumpster and landing in a pool of ….something icky and smelly next to it.
Lyle laughed merrily, who knew ankle-bitters made such great substitutes for soccer balls?
"Muh dress!" Lola screamed.
Lyle's laughter was cut short as he was tackled to the ground, letting Luan go in the process.
"Lincoln?" she blurted, stumbling to get her footing, as she saw her little brother on top of Lyle.
"Run! Now!" he shouted before getting decked in the face and thrown to the side. Lucy and Lisa rushed to his aid.
Lyle rolled over and looked at him with a smirk. "Uhhhh…..tough guy?"
Lincoln knew what he was in for as Lyle pushed himself up. He was banking on that.
"So you finally grew a pair?" the bully cackled cruelly.
"Yes, I have." Lincoln stood up, surprising the former. "Let's do this mano a mano!" he made his challenge in the toughest and boldest tone his soft prepubescent voice could muster.
"Lincoln, are you crazy!" Luan cried as Lyle laughed incredulously.
"Your scrawny ass wants to take me on?" he gestured at himself.
"AHHHHHHH!" Lola lunged at him, but Lyle swatted her away like a fly, never breaking eye contact.
"Are you deaf!" Lincoln yelled. "I did!"
"Lincoln?"
"Run." Lucy heard a fleeting whisper from him as he snuck his phone into her hand, before locking eyes with their adversary.
"Ha! Last time you challenged me to save your faggot friend; things didn't go so swell for you." Lyle happily reminded him. "And you don't have your heroic tights to hide your wet little crotch!"
"Lincoln! You're not fighting him alone-"
"Yes, I am, Luan!" Lincoln snapped at her. "This is a man's job, you stay out of my way!"
He turned to Lyle. "So are you up for it, or are you a pansy?"
"As you wish, dorko." Lyle shrugged before cracking his knuckles. "This alley could use a good mopping!"
He charged at him, and Lincoln dodged the first swing but was not so fortunate with the second one, which struck him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and making him stumble back.
His sisters gasped, including Lola as she recovered.
"Get lost! Now!" he yelled at Lucy and Lisa.
"Not much of a hero but a zero, are ya, Ace?" Lyle laughed as he prepared another punch.
Lincoln braced himself. If he ever learned anything from comics, it was that a lack of strength or skills could be compensated with trickery. Waiting until the last second, he ducked, causing Lyle to punch the wall.
Lyle screamed in agony, clutching his hand and Lincoln dove past him to see his sisters still there. "I told you to run!" he snapped at them. "I'm stalling to-ah!"
"You little turd!" Lyle grabbed him by the collar with his other hand and slammed him into the ground. Lincoln gasped as the bully pressed his foot into his belly.
"Didn't know superheroes fought dirty." He grinned with a hint of admiration. "But now you've really pissed me off."
He lifted Lincoln and gave him an uppercut. Lincoln stumbled back, barely holding on to consciousness, and saw Lyle standing still, coyly gesturing at himself.
Lincoln knew he was fighting a losing battle, but he was out of options and threw a punch, which Lyle dodged with ease and struck him in the gut. Lincoln grabbed him by the torso, trying to tackle him again, but Lyle wrapped his arms around him and threw him off like a sack of flour.
Lincoln hit the cold hard pavement, and Lyle snatched him by the arm, lifted him up and decked him again.
"Lincoln, you're the worst hero ever!" Lola watched it, feeling an odd mixture of fear and embarrassment.
Holding him by the throat and pinning him down Lyle slammed his fist across Lincoln's face again and again, his excitement rising with every punch.
"Awww…am I being too rough?" He cooed at the younger boy's bruised face. He only received a half-conscious groan in response.
"No? Good know." Lyle laughed and threw another punch.
"NO!" Luan tackled him from behind, throwing all her weight on him, but not fast enough to stop his fist from connecting with Lincoln's cheek.
Lincoln slumped to the ground as Lyle stoop up with Luan trying to restrain him. "Leave my brother alone, you sick bastard."
Lyle only laughed in response. "This ain't the place to get intimate, sweet cheeks."
"Muh dreh!" Lola jumped at him, grabbing his neck and biting into his ear, making him scream. Nobody ruined her dress!
Lisa grabbed his left leg and Lucy grabbed his right one, pounding on it as hard as her little fists would allow. Despite their combined weight, Lyle managed to stand up.
"A little help here?" he called for his cousin, who was leaning against a wall.
She just pumped her fist, very unenthusiastically. "You go, Lyle." She "cheered" him on.
"Bring him down, girls!" Luan yelled. "He can't take us all at once!"
"I beg to differ!" Lyle snorted and spun around, knocking Lucy down and managing to shake Lola off.
He pushed himself and his attackers towards a wall, slamming Lisa between it and himself, prompting her to let go. With only Luan left, Lyle easily turned the tide and threw her to the ground and kicked her in her flank. He took a second to wipe the blood from his ear before looking at her.
"Stupid bitch!" he exclaimed as he kicked her harder, not noticing Lucy grabbing the trash lid from before and tossing it at him.
"Aggh!" it hurt but it did nothing to slow him down. "You miserable cunt…." He growled, glaring daggers at the goth. She tried to run but was backed against a wall as he advanced towards her.
"Leave her alone!" Luan cried and attacked him, slamming her fists on his head, but Lyle quickly grabbed her left hand and twisted it down, before jabbing her in the face.
Luan fell down and he turned to Lucy. "Now you get yours!" he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards him before backhanding her. The force of the impact nearly knocked her out.
"You ugly little bitch!" he slapped her even harder, making her cry. He smacked her again and let her drop.
"Aghhh!" he was hit on the head with the trash lid, courtesy of a livid Luan.
"You piece of shit! I'll kill you!" She swung the lid while he was on his knee and hit him across the back, but Lyle turned around and caught the edge of the lid as she swung it again. They fought over it until Lyle tore it out of her grasp and rose to his feet.
"A little fight in you? How lovely!" he laughed as he smacked her across the face with the lid. Luan stumbled back from the force and hit a wall. Lyle swiftly grabbed her by the collar and pinned her against it.
"Let me go!" Luan cried, her eyes watery and struggling in his grasp but he was way too strong.
"Why? You just got here!" Lyle retorted in a lively tone, his hair messy from the sweat and sporting a manic grin as he slapped her.
"What are you gonna do, girly? Cry about it?" he laughed and smacked her again, excitement coursing through every fiber of his body.
"Stop!" Luan choked on her tears before being smacked again.
"Ha, you can't boss me around! I'm in charge here!" Lyle said proudly. "Me! I'm the toughest kid on the block! I can do whatever I want! You hear me!"
Luan sniffed, fear in her eyes. The other Louds lied across the pavement, Lincoln motionless and the other sisters groaning. Lyle grew annoyed by the lack of a response and slapped her again. "I said, you hear me!"
"Ryan will make you pay for this!" she cried, her eyes red and puffy, her heart thumping from fear and the feeling of utter helplessness. Lyle clenched his teeth and giggled, savoring her terror.
"Oh really?" he knew what was coming and was eagerly anticipating it; let them duke it out like men. "Then I better make sure he's extra pissed so he'll be in the right mood!"
He considered slapping her harder when another idea hit him, a better way of demeaning this broad who supported his hated foe. Luan's blood froze as he gave her a creepy smile and licked his lips.
He leaned in and their lips connected. Lyle enjoyed the sensation immensely but Luan was horrified and wanted to puke. She let out muffled cries of protest only to be pulled closer into his embrace, smacking him with her hands but to no avail. He finally let her go and she spat and wiped her mouth in disgust.
"Mmmmmm….." hearing Lyle's lecherous response, she furiously smacked him in the face but he kept his smile and pinned her again, chuckling as he restrained her arms.
"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it?" He told the weeping girl. "Who would touch an ugly skank like you?" he said it as his arm slithered below her shirt.
"That's something, coming from you."
Startled, Lyle turned to the voice and got his face smashed in, releasing Luan as he stumbled back.
"Ryan!" she gasped, but Ryan had no snarky remark in line as he rushed past her and towards Lyle.
Whipping the blood from his nose, Lyle grinned at him. "Ah, Taylor, about time you show-ou!" another punch sent him hurtling towards the dumpster, slamming against its wall.
A livid Ryan grabbed him by the collar and punched him again, and again. Lyle seized him by the throat and got a hit himself. Locked in combat, they struggled through the alleyway. Lyle punched his opponent again but that barely fazed him, and Ryan delivered a stronger punch that made Lyle release him. Luan watched the scene in shock, as did the other sisters as they recovered. Even Maggie couldn't keep a straight face seeing this, and covered her mouth in shock.
Pulling Lyle towards him, Ryan dug his knee into his gut before lifting him and slamming his fist into his cheek. He threw Lyle into the wall and continued punching him.
"Taylor stop!" Lyle cried but Ryan kept going, making him spit and sneeze blood, before throwing him into a pile of trash bags. Ryan jumped on him, grabbed him by the neck and continued pounding his face.
"I give!" another punch. "Please, I surrender!" another punch, and another, and another. Ryan continued this in a blind rage, battering Lyle's face and only slowed down once Lyle ceased struggling and his head fell back, barely conscious. He groaned in pain as Ryan panted and slowly got off him.
"Your mom never taught you how to treat a lady?" Ryan spat bitterly before turning around and seeing the Loud girls looking at him, but Lincoln was on the ground just two yards away from him, groaning feebly.
As Lincoln finally came to, he felt someone helping him up, he soon recognized the person's voice.
"You okay?" Lincoln didn't know if this was because of his throbbing head but Ryan almost sounded concerned.
"He didn't break anything important, did he?" Ryan gently slapped his back, back to making light of everything.
"What happened?" Lincoln asked, barely able to stand up until his head stopped spinning.
"It would appear I was late to the party." Ryan sighed when Lucy approached them.
"Lincoln?" she shook her brother by the arm. He barely noticed her, his head still aching.
"He'll be fine, Spooky, just a little banged up." Ryan reassured her, having plenty of experience with people during and after a brawl, the fact that Lincoln could sit up and talk clearly was a positive sign.
Lucy turned to him, shaking and sniffing before jumping into his embrace. "Whoa! Easy there." The confused boy told her. "He didn't hurt you too?"
Lucy's quiet weeping answered his question and made his blood boil. He looked over at Lyle's limp body as his emo cousin came to check on him. Ryan regretted that he went so easy on the bastard.
"Can I take your merciless assault on that barbarian and the current serenity as a sign that we're no longer in peril?" Lisa came to them, as eloquent as ever but just as shaken. Lola joined her, looking more peeved than scared.
"It's okay, we're safe now." Lincoln reassured her. The genius gave him a concerned look and edged closer.
"Brother, I will need to look you over once we return home."
"That won't be necessary." He brushed her off, rubbing a massive bruise on his cheek.
"Lincoln, I'm serious!" Lisa retorted. "You might have suffered-"
"Oh, don't demean him, Brainiac." Ryan snarked. "For any man, bruises are like badges of honor."
"Is that a compliment?" Lincoln asked dryly. With Ryan you could never tell.
"Sure it is. I mean you volunteered to get your ass handed to you so your sisters wouldn't suffer the brunt of Lyle's wrath, that takes some kujones." Ryan nodded. "Sorry I couldn't get here sooner, but that dickweed got me into some trouble that I had to weasel my way out of. It's quite the story."
Lincoln didn't respond, feeling like a total wimp. Yet again, he proved to be as useless as ever when his siblings were in danger. He turned to Lucy, who let go of Ryan and looked at him.
"I told you girls to run, why didn't you listen to me?" he asked brusquely, upset that they couldn't even have taken up his offer to let him get beaten up to save themselves.
"Because that was stupid of you." She sniffed. "Look what he did to you!"
"And look what he did to you!" Lincoln raised his voice, eyeing her reddening cheek. "Why couldn't you listen to me for once!"
Lucy wilted, taken aback by his response. Lincoln quickly regretted it but was still angry at them for disobeying him.
"Yeesh, what's gotten into you? You're berating her for trying to save your bacon from that psycho?" Ryan raised an eyebrow.
Lincoln shrank and looked down, turning silent. His sisters stared at him but Ryan looked over to find Luan slowly approaching them, looking mortified and hugging herself.
He let go off Lucy and faced her. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you too bad?" he asked in an uncharacteristically gentle manner. Like the goth, Luan had visible darkening blotches on her cheeks.
"No…I…" Luan fumbled over her words before embracing him and sobbing on his shoulder. "Thank you…."
Ryan hugged her and patted her back. "Hey…it's okay…you're okay now. He won't hurt you again, I promise."
Being in his arms, Luan eased up a little and gave a nervous snicker. "You…came to my rescue."
"Yeah, sorry I couldn't reach you quicker; I got entangled in some stuff thanks to Mohawk Moron there." Ryan replied with more levity.
"What did he do to you?" Lucy asked. She made out a number of bruises on Ryan's face, and they obviously didn't come from Lyle.
"Eh…I'll explain to you back home, how about we find the chained bimbos first?"
Hearing that, Lincoln looked up. "You know?"
"Sure I do." Ryan shrugged, still embraced by Luan. "Stopped by a phone booth, but Renee didn't feel like chatting, just told me to find you here, near that concert? So where did she go, and where are Lynn and Lana?"
No one spoke and Lincoln just sighed and nodded.
"I'll explain later. Let's find Luan and Leni first, then we can help find Lana." Lincoln explained, confusing Ryan.
"In a nutshell, Lana is streaking across town and your sister and Lynn are trying to retrieve her." Lisa explained, only confusing Ryan further.
"Streaking?" He clearly missed some stuff.
The girls didn't elaborate on it, they wanted to leave this wretched alleyway, and so did Lincoln.
He stood up and dusted himself. "We'll explain, let's get out of here first."
"We better hurry, considering they lack concert tickets, Leni and Luna were likely thrown out by now and might have left the general area." Lisa pointed out.
"What are you doing!" they heard Maggie shout, followed by raspy laughter, and then an anguished cry.
They turned around and saw Lola jumping off Lyle, who clutched his face and screamed, "My eyes!"
Lola backed away from him and Maggie and blew a raspberry.
"Lola!" Lincoln rushed and grabbed her hand. "What did you do!"
Lola scowled at him and tugged her arm free as the other joined them, soon noting that she was holding a bottle of lotion in her other hand.
"Sehves ihm right…." Lola coughed "….now…..wahsps atta…" she coughed heavily "….wahsps attack ihm!"
"Wasps?" Lincoln blinked. "What do you mean wasps?"
"Wait I have…or rather, had a flask of wasp pheromones in my laboratory!" Lisa realized.
Lola nodded. "Ah….toohk it….a wheek ago…"
"You did what?!" Lincoln blurted.
"Ah, so that's why you were trying to make Renee use your "face lotion", you little psycho." Ryan shook his head, but his tone was one of amusement.
"That's not possible. I checked on the chemicals that I had stored in glassware three days ago, including the wasp pheromones I had collected from a local hive." Lisa argued indignantly. "You couldn't have taken it!"
"Ah soh did…" Lola retorted before massaging her aching throat.
Lincoln's eyes darted between them. "Lisa, what's she talking about?"
Lyle started squirming and thrashing. Ryan looked at him. "She didn't just poison that moron?"
"What?" Maggie blurted.
"Lisa, are you sure Lola didn't take your flask-"
"I'm 100% positive, I distinctively remember cataloging that specific flask three days ago." Lisa insisted.
"And was anything else missing?" Lucy asked, causing Lisa's scowl to drop, replaced by a concerned look.
"Well….I…" she scratched her chin, pondering "…I believe there was one flask missing."
"Which one?" Lincoln demanded, feeling dread in the pit of his stomach as he looked back at Lyle.
"Eh….I'm not sure, I believe it was one chemical compound I was meaning to discard because…"
"Lyle?" Maggie's shocked response drew their attention back to the fallen bully. Unnerved, Maggie stepped back as her cousin sprang back to life and grinned at the Louds and Ryan, giggling while he did it.
Only Maggie was close enough to notice something off about him. All his bruises that had littered his face minutes ago, they all seemingly vanished. Ryan stepped up, standing in front of his comrades protectively.
"Why, Ghoul Face? You're one hell of a bruiser!" Lyle clapped his hands and jumped to his feet. "Did I finally piss you off enough to forget your lameass one-liners and unleash your true potential?"
His grin widened. "Was it because I kissed the broad?" he pointed at Luan, who hid behind Ryan and grabbed his hand fearfully.
Lyle snickered. "You sly cheat. Does Lynn know that you have your eye on her sister?"
Ryan narrowed his eyes. "Shut your trap, asshole. If you know what's good for you, you better take a hike."
The alleyway erupted with maniacal laughter. "Oh, that was just round one! You won this round but you didn't win our rematch!" Lyle boasted, punching his palm.
Lincoln observed him nervously. Something was off. Just seconds ago he had been a broken mess lying on those trash bags, now he was up and spry as a sprite, and laughing despite the beating he just received. It didn't take someone of Lisa's IQ to figure out why.
"I'm not fighting you again, Lyle. I kicked your sorry ass enough times for one week." Ryan scoffed. "And you're outnumbered, idiot. And Emo Girl ain't gonna be of much use."
Lyle didn't pay attention; instead, he balled his fist and flexed his arm, showing bulging muscles.
"Damn! I don't know why but I feel like a million bucks!" he exclaimed and turned towards them, revealing green irises. The others stepped back at the sight.
"That's…..that's not normal?" Ryan's brow fell. "I'm not the only one seeing the green eyes, right?"
"Sweet Galileo…." Lisa covered her mouth in shock. No. Not again. Not again.
"What did you do?" Lincoln lamented, glaring at Lola.
Lola looked at him in disbelief. She gets payback on the creep who attacked them and beat Lincoln to a bloody pulp, and Lincoln's scolding her for it!
"Lyle, you need to cooperate with us." Lisa stepped up urgently. "You've been doused with unstable chemicals and-"
"Who made you boss!" Lyle yelled, not in anger, but with manic glee and swung his fist at Lisa.
"Not so fast!" Ryan intervened and grabbed it.
Lyle turned to him, a massive grin plastered to his face. "Oh, you wanna play!"
Before Ryan could react, Lyle's fist connected with his face with the force of a freight train.
Then everything went black.
Cliffhanger! Damn Lola, the fight with Lyle would have been over then and there, but you singlehandedly prolonged it into another chapter.
So if you haven't figure it out already, the flask Lola stole didn't contain wasp pheromones but some experimental psycho super strength serum, and the already unhinged Lyle has just been doused with it! So to recap, Lyle is more powerful and crazier than ever and he has the Louds at his mercy, Renee and Lynn are no closer to catching a nude Lana running rampant, and Hops has gone nutso at home and is using his tongue as a lasso. This can't end well. At least Charles was healed. All while Lynn Sr. and Rita are having a nice visit in Great Lakes City…..sans the attending a funeral part. Will Lincoln, Lynn and Ryan be able to cover up all of this by the time they return, as well as keeping it a secret form Renee? Not likely.
Well, this chapter wasn't made for the faint of heart, child nudity, violence against children courtesy of an unhinged bully, and said unhinged bully sexually assaulting a girl, and 5-year-old Lana getting drugged up on chocolate with meth chips or something by a creepy old conman. Shit, I went into some dark places here, didn't I? Even more if you count Renee's lecture about her rather…sociopathic views on what babysitting means.
Oh well, next chapter will be more fun….sort of.
