Lisa groaned at the familiar feeling of the stiff mattress on her back.

Based on the sterile smell, the I.V. in her arm, and the aforementioned uncomfortable bed, Lisa concluded she was in a hospital.

This wasn't her first stint in intensive treatment. Lisa's last visit was at the age of six, when she broke her leg testing a prototype rocket car. The doctors and nurses were sickly sweet to her, the food was revolting, and the bed felt like she was resting on a plank of wood. After that unpleasant experience Lisa took it upon herself to learn self care medical treatment, and so she never had to visit again. Until now.

Lisa squinted vainly at her surroundings, the world a blurry mess without her glasses. A white blur darted past her bed and sound started to trickle into existence. Whispers became talking became incomprehensible shouting. Lisa struggled to pick out any words. "Doctor!" she heard frequently called, along with 'accident', 'burns', and 'breathing'.

A heartbeat monitor started beeping rapidly. Hers? No, it was coming from across the room. "Get the sedative!" came a shout. Was someone screaming?

Lisa closed her eyes. It was all too much for her.

She slept, or so it seemed. Consciousness came in and out like the tide. Lisa woke up again, head pounding with a migraine.

The surrounding figures were now a variety of colors, pink and blue and black. Most of them lay far back draped against each other, and Lisa could faintly hear what sounded like snoring. Two of the figures were murmuring to each other, one green and one salmon, male and female.

"-we'll figure it out." Said the male. "Like we always do."

"We barely have anything in the bank." Replied the female.

"I'll get another job, I'll call in some favors, I'll take out a loan, I don't know. That doesn't matter right now."

Lisa squinted. Who was that speaking? Damn her short sightedness, she should finally get around to fixing her vision after this. It was just always a question of how to fix it that stopped her. Laser eye surgery? Clone replacements? Cybernetic implants? So many conflicting solutions buzzing around in her head- oh no, it was coming back again. Schematics for cybernetics which when implanted into the retina would boost her vision to far exceed-

Lisa shut her eyes and shook her head. No no no, not now, please not now she thought vainly. Nothing she tried ever stopped the barrage of information, it had a mind of its own. Sometimes it'd last minutes, sometimes hours, many times until she finished constructing the product of her inventive mind.

Thankfully after only a minute the white noise retreated. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief and opened her eyes again. She was sick of the visual kaleidoscope.

"Excuse me, can someone give me my glasses?" Lisa asked aloud.

The voices fell silent. Then... "She's awake!" cried the male voice. Her father's voice, she now recognized. The surrounding colors shifted, startled shouts and cheers erupting around her. They crowded around Lisa, pressing against her, choking her….

"Shh, shh." shushed the female. Her mother. "You're all overwhelming her." The salmon silhouette moved closer. "Here, honey. I brought a spare pair."

Lisa's mother carefully put the glasses on her face. The world snapped back into focus and Lisa blinked at her now visible surroundings. Around her bed were her siblings and parents in various states of exhaustion. Lily, Lola, Lana, and Lucy stood to her left, rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, and on her right stood mother and father looking like they've aged ten years.

Why was she here again?

Lisa groaned at the pain in her head. Her mother was by her side in a flash and grabbed her hand reassuringly.

"How do you feel, sweetie?" Mother asked.

Lisa felt many things: tired, uncomfortable, confused..."Parched." She answered.

"I'll get some water!" Lily announced and dashed through the door before anyone could stop her.

Lisa took the time to observe her family. Her sisters' eyes(except for Lucy's, of course)were red and puffy, doubtlessly from crying, and the dark circles underneath suggested a lack of sleep. Still, they all wore smiles for her. Lily returned with a styrofoam cup of H2O, which Lisa accepted and greedily sucked down.

Her sisters began talking aimlessly about whatever inane topics entered their heads. Pets, photography, school, etc. Lisa nodded politely, still trying to piece everything together. As Lily was prattling on about the most amazing photograph she took of a sunset it suddenly occurred to Lisa that someone was missing.

"Where's Lincoln?" She asked.

Lily instantly clammed up and looked at the floor, the other sisters sharing uncomfortable looks with each other. Lisa felt a pit form in her stomach.

"Where is he?" she pressed. No one wanted to give her an answer.

"He's resting, dear." Mother finally said.

Resting? Why would he-Lisa jolted forward. The QMH. The overload. The explosion. "What is his condition? How long have we been here? Why didn't you wake me sooner!" The eleven year old ripped the I.V. out of her arm and tried to get out of the bed as her sisters hurried to hold her down.

"Whoa!" "Take it easy, sis!" "Lisa, honey, you'll hurt yourself!" Mother pleaded.

"Where is he?! Let me see him!" Lisa cried as she pushed Lily and Lana out of her way and leapt to her feet.

She pushed her way through the crowd and finally laid her eyes on the other bed in the room. Lisa's heart stopped.

It was Lincoln, in an almost unrecognizable form. Bandages coiled around his entire body with horrible burns peeking out from underneath. Every inch was covered except for his face, ghostly pale, with a perfectly blank expression. He may as well have been a corpse.

This is your fault. The thought was hammered into her head. Your fault your fault yourfaultyourfaultyourfaultyourfault-

Lisa collapsed to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. She did this, she hurt her brother. Her damned experiments caused this to happen. Her parents picked her up and carried her back to her bed, whispering soft little lies to her, yet Lisa's eyes remained locked onto her only brother.

In the corner of the room another pair of eyes glared at the genius. Who did she think she was fooling with those crocodile tears?

Lola grit her teeth. She was getting sick of pretending to be worried about Lisa. Everyone else fawned over her. 'Oh poor Lisa, you who could have seen this coming?' Anyone with half a brain cell could have.

Lola watched the little sociopath blubber about the 'accident' and wanted to gag. It was so obvious what really happened, but she couldn't say anything, no one would believe her. Even Mom, who knew just how fucked up the little freak was-

Breath. Lola thought. First rule of a pageant princess: keep your cool. Breath, in, out.

She'd get her chance soon. Soon Lisa would learn not to mess with Lincoln ever again.

Lisa remained by Lincoln's bedside day and night.

She next in a chair next to him, eyes fixed on his chest as he slowly breathed in and out. That was proof, proof that he was alive, proof that she wasn't a murderer. Lincoln was comatose state. Lisa consulted the doctors to learn the full extent of his injuries. He was completely covered in 2nd and 3rd degree burns, with the worst damage being to his arms and back.

That would be because he shielded me. Lisa thought guiltily.

Her own injuries were negligible in comparison(minor head trauma and shock). She had been officially discharged the previous day but she refused to leave Lincoln's side, not after he almost died for her. It would take months for Lincoln to heal, some parts of him likely never would. His back would remain scarred for the rest of his life. She held Lincoln's hand. A pulse, a heartbeat, life. It was horrible what happened to him but he was still alive, he would survive and overcome this. Her other sisters had nodded off one after the other, laying on the floor or in cheap plastic chairs, but not her, she didn't need sleep. This was nothing to her.

"Lisa, sweetie." Her mother knelt next to her.

"Yes mother?" Lisa said.

Her parents shared a look. "I think it's time to go home." said Father.

Lisa remained silent.

"Honey, this isn't healthy. It's been days, and you've barely eaten anything, you're not sleeping…" Mother trailed off.

"I can't." Lisa said simply.

Father approached from the side and sat down in the chair next to her. Lisa's eyes never left Lincoln.

"Lisa." Beat. "Lisa, look at me." Her eyes met his, and he put his hand on her shoulder.

"You're worried about him, we get that, but you need to take care of yourself." Reasoned Father. "Lincoln wouldn't want you to kill yourself worrying about him."

He was correct, this was physically and mentally destructive behavior she was partaking in...but Lisa didn't care. It was illogical, she knew it was, but she couldn't fight the overwhelming urge to stay with her brother. Was it guilt? Protectiveness? Something else? Whatever it was was irrelevant, all that mattered was that she wouldn't leave Lincoln's side.

Lisa's grip on his hand tightened. "Not until Lincoln regains consciousness." She said.

Father shook his head. "We can't wait that long. We don't know how long it's going to take for him to wake up."

"But-" Lisa protested.

"No buts about it, young lady." Said Mother authoritatively. "We'll come back tomorrow, we promise, but you need to rest first."

"And maybe shower too." Father added. Mother smacked his arm.

"Lynn!" "What? You smell her too, don't you?"

Lisa lifted her arm and gave a whiff, gagging. Perhaps her father had a point, Lincoln wouldn't want to wake up to smell that.

"Very well." Lisa acquiesced. Her parents shared a sigh of relief and began shaking her sisters awake.

They stumbled their way through the doorway, Lisa last in line. She gave a lingering gaze at the bed before following her sleepy siblings to the elevator. Once she was away from her brother's bedside exhaustion hit her with the force of a particle accelerator. Lisa barely had the energy to make it to Vanzilla, and just as they were pulling out of the parking lot she nodded off unceremoniously.

She was back in the hospital. Or at least, her body was. Lisa couldn't do anything, she was trapped as her body went through the motions.

"Excuse me, can someone give me my glasses?" her lips moved by themselves. The scene played out just like before, the silhouettes, the shouting, the focusing.

"How do you feel honey?" "Parched."

Lily volunteered again and dashed out of the room. Her sisters babbled just as they did before and Lily returned right on time with the water. Lily was prattling on about the most amazing photograph she took of a sunset when Lisa interrupted her again. "Where's Lincoln?" They tensed and fell silent.

Then something different happened.

Lily let out a heart wrenching sob, and that was the signal for the rest to break down. Every sister cried and wailed around her.

This was wrong. This wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Where is he?" Her body asked.

Mother couldn't speak, overcome with her grief. Father took her place. "Lincoln-" he choked out. "Lincoln's dead."

Lisa bolted upright in her bed, hyperventilating. She tried to calm her breathing as her eyes flickered around wildly at the surroundings.

This wasn't the hospital, it was her room. She was home.

That wasn't real. It was a dream, it was a dream. She reassured herself as her breathing normalized. Lincoln was alive, she knew it, she felt it. But that scene felt so terrifyingly real. The sights, the sounds, the touch, even the sterile smell were exactly as she remembered it. It was like she re-experienced that moment for the first time again.

Lisa wiped her forehead, feeling drops of perspiration. Hmm, she was experiencing diaphoresis, a.k.a. cold sweat. Commonly induced by fear, nervousness, or illness. She was completely covered in it. The genius laid back before sitting up again with a sound of disgust. The sheets were soaking wet and cold to the touch. She couldn't sleep in that. Lisa briefly considered retrieving a new set of sheets before remembering she had just the device to solve her problem.

The insomniac stood up, walked over to the storage closet and began searching for something inside. She rummaged around for a minute before finding her target, what looked like a vacuum hose attached to a small, black cube with a large red button on it. Experiment 117: The Demoisturizer. To anyone else it was a miracle of technology, to her it was a simple appliance.

Lisa hefted the invention over to her bed and pressed the large, conspicuous button. The cube hummed to life and Lisa pointed the hose at the damp linen. Drops of water started rising from the bed before quickly phasing out out of existence, and within minutes the bed was completely dry. Another press of the button shut off the machine and she deposited it back in the closet.

The genius laid down in her now dry bed, yet try as she might she couldn't sleep. The nightmare continued to haunt her. Lincoln might not be dead but he was still comatose, and his injuries were quite severe. He came incredibly close to dying, both of them did. They could have been vaporized, or ripped a hole in the space time continuum, or something else beyond her comprehension.

Lisa shivered and hugged herself.

This wasn't the first time one of her experiments went wrong. Lincoln words came back to her. That's the problem. You do all of these experiments because you can, you never stop to think if you should. And now her entire family was dealing with the consequences, again. She was a danger to them. Lisa turned and looked at the closet again. She'd left the door open. Hundreds of inventions spilled out of it, haphazardly piled on top of each other. It resembled a child's toy box more than a scientist's storage.

Too many times her careless pursuit of knowledge resulted in disastrous consequences for her family. Lawsuits, government investigations, ostracization from the rest of the town, and worst of all, injury. If her luck was just a fraction worse- "Lincoln's dead." Her father choked out.

Lisa leapt to her feet. She had to make sure this would never happen again.

Lynn Loud Sr shuffled his way into the kitchen with a yawn.

He could barely sleep last night. Or any night, for that matter, after the accident. All of that stress does that to you. He prepared the coffee pot and looked at the clock on the microwave. 6:05 it read. Lynn shook his head as bitter black drops filled his mug. Damn, not even four hours of sleep.

He was just taking his first sip when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Lynn turned and looked through the glass door to the backyard. It was hard to tell in the early morning light but he saw what looked like...Lisa?

His eleven year old daughter was dragging a giant sack that must have been twenty times her size. It was filled to the stretching point with its contents bulging out through the material. Lisa was struggling to drag it any further.

Lynn rubbed his eyes, half hoping it was just a tired hallucination.

Nope, Lisa was still there. In the backyard. With a giant sack. At six in the morning.

The father of eleven sighed and opened up the patio door, walking over to the little girl with his mug still in hand. "Curse these weak limbs." Lisa grumbled to herself.

"Uh, Lisa?" Lynn called. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, good morning Father!" Lisa waved at him. "I'm simply storing all of my scientific equipment in the bunker." Lisa gave another forceful tug on the sack to no effect. She stared up at him imploringly. "Would you mind lending me some assistance?"

Lynn blinked and looked down at his mug, then to the sack, then wordlessly walked back inside to the coffee pot. He was going to need a lot more caffeine for this.

Lisa(with her Father's help) successfully stored all of her tools, her lab equipment, her samples, her chemicals, all of her inventions from storage, and even her lab coat in the bunker that she had constructed in the backyard seven years ago. She welded the door shut and chained it up for good measure, giving the key to her father and telling him in no uncertain terms to never give it back to her, no matter what she says or does. Father accepted it and grumbled again about 'not having enough coffee' for this task.

To repay him for his assistance Lisa helped him make breakfast.

It was the standard Loud family fare, pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. Wonderful smells wafted out of the kitchen and up the stairs, waking up her sleeping sisters with promises of delectable food. One by one the rest of the family were drawn to the dining room and sat down at the table. Breakfast was served, and Lisa announced her vow to never experiment again to the general approval of her family. Everyone congratulated her for her decision-except for Lola.

The blonde teen's face flashed with a glare for a split second before it morphed into a smile like the rest of the family. Lisa narrowed her eyes. What was that?

Over the next week a sort of routine took shape.

The family visited the hospital every day for at least an hour, and cared for the fallen Loud in their own special ways. Lily was making a photo album of her favorite pictures to gift to Lincoln when he woke up. When Lisa wasn't occupied holding her brother's hand she lent her sister some assistance selecting photos. She quickly noticed that many of the pictures focused on Lily and Lincoln together, usually in a selfie. Lisa smiled to herself and said nothing.

Lana smuggled in Geo and Hops in her shirt and let them scurry around on Lincoln's arm. "Whenever I'm sick, these little guys help me feel better." she said, shrugging. "Maybe it'll help Lincoln feel better too?" Meanwhile, Lola prepared multiple 'get well soon' cards with her own special flair for decoration(read: copious amounts of glitter).

Finally Lucy read him pieces of her poetry, surprisingly uplifting compared to her normal material.

'White phoenix, white phoenix,

Bathed in fire, clothed in gauze,

Soon to rise again from death's jaws

Soon to take to the air once more

And burn brighter than ever before

White phoenix, white phoenix….'

Lincoln's condition remained unchanged, yet Lisa thought he would appreciate their visits.

When at home Lisa mostly remained in her room, except of course for meals and to use the latrine. She preferred to remain alone with her thoughts and her books. Lisa didn't spare her textbooks in her cleanup, but she did keep the few pieces of fiction that she owned(War and Peace, Atlas Shrugged, Ulysses, etc). It was refreshing to read fiction again, and it helped to take her mind off of recent events.

Most of her sisters kept their space, except for Lily. Everyday Lisa's little sister would knock on her door with some new excuse to bother her. She would want her advice for developing film, or ask her if she wanted to go take a walk, or play a game, or watch a nature documentary on tv. Lisa would always politely refuse and she'd return hours later with another request. There was no denying her persistence, but the ex-scientist was beginning to grow weary of it.

As for her other sisters...Lucy was Lucy, keeping to her room. They were happy to leave each other alone, and Lisa appreciated her gloomy normality.

Lana occupied herself with a new project to completely fix Vanzilla, getting it back up to its old efficiency. Father would certainly be happy to not have to make another expensive trip to the mechanic.

That left Lola...who was suspiciously quiet. She was planning something, and Lisa knew it wouldn't bode well for her. It was best to avoid being alone with the pageant princess for the time being.

There was a knock on her door.

Lisa sighed and bookmarked the page she was on, setting her current book(Les Miserables) down. Doubtlessly it was her little sister again. She answered the door and to her surprise it wasn't Lily, but Lana.

"Uh, hey Lisa." said the grease monkey, looking slightly uncomfortable. Is something bothering her?

"Greetings, Lana." Lisa spotted a black stain on her shirt. "How goes the repairs on Vanzilla?"

"What? Oh, it's going alright." Lana briefly regained some of her spirit. "She's getting old, you know. That engine's hanging on by the skin of its teeth."

"Do you require my assistance?" Lisa asked. While she didn't enjoy it she was a proficient mechanic, and her and Lana had worked together on several projects in the past.

Lana deflated slightly. "No, uh, not with Vanzilla. I was wondering if you could help me fix Geo's feeder?"

Geo was Lana's pet hamster, and most likely her 2nd favorite pet(not that she'd admit it around any of the others). Six years ago Lana had asked Lisa to build an automatic feeder for him. The genius easily fulfilled the request before she noticed the state of the pet. It was old, almost three years old. Hamster life spans rarely extended long past that. Lisa knew he would die soon, as surely as she knew E=mc squared. Lisa took the opportunity to secretly make some (minor) genetic modifications to the hamster to extend his lifespan. Lisa could only delay the inevitable, the most she could give him was another eight years, maybe, but it was enough to spare her older sister the trauma of loss for just a little longer.

"Uh, Lisa? You there?" Lana waved a hand in front of her face.

"What's the problem with it?" Lisa asked suddenly, causing her sister to jump back.

"Oh, I don't know." Lana recovered. "It's spitting out too much food. Geo's getting fatter, see?" She held up the rodent in question. It blinked at her curiously. Lisa couldn't notice anything different about the hamster, but then again she wasn't an expert like her sister. And maybe those modifications had some effect too?

"You are aware that I've forbidden myself from further experimentation, correct?" Lisa asked.

"It's not experimenting, it's fixing." Lana corrected her.

Hmm. Minor maintenance should be permissible. Lana was correct, she technically would not be violating her vow. "Very well, lead the way." said Lisa.

Lana seemed relieved as she smiled. "Thanks, his cage is in my room."

Lana turned and led Lisa down the hallway, pigtails bouncing with every step. Wait, Lana had her own room now, right across from hers. Why was she-They stopped in front of a familiar sparkly door. "Uh, Lana, this is Lol-" Lana suddenly shoved her inside and shut the door. "Sorry sis!" came her muffled shout.

Lisa staggered inside and looked at her surroundings. Terror struck her heart. She had to get out of there, quick. She turned and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. Something, no, someone was blocking it.

Lisa pounded on the door desperately."Lana!" She yelled. "Let me out of here right now or-"

"Or what?" came a sultry voice from behind her.

Lisa froze and turned to look at the other twin. Lola was reclining on her bed, a fashion magazine laying forgotten on her lap. She had long outgrown her little pageant dress, now instead sporting a pink tank top and jean shorts. Pink socks stretched up her calves and conditioned blonde hair fell down to her shoulders.

Lola sat up and started stalking towards Lisa, a predatory grin on her face. "Or what little sis? What are you going to do to her?"

"I-I.." Lisa sputtered as she backed up against the door.

"You going to blow her up too?" said Lola.

"N-no, I didn't-" Lola grabbed her arm, painfully, and dragged her over to a small table in the center of the room. An old teapot lay on top of it and two chairs sat on either side.

"It's been ages since I had a tea party. Come on, sis. Join me." Lola sneered the last two words.

Lisa knew she wasn't a match for her older sister in a fight, the door was blocked, and she wasn't fast enough to reach the window. With fight and flight both unavailable she had no choice but to obey. They sat down across from each other, a steaming teapot between them.

"There we go." Lola gave her a sickeningly sweet smile. "I can't remember the last time you had tea with me."

"September 9th, 2016. You were angry when I tried to test the tea for traces of plastic." Lisa recalled.

"Right, I think that's when I realized just how much of a freak you really are."

She was attempting to provoke her. Lisa fixed her sister with her usual stoic look. "I'd say I was insulted if I hadn't heard that insult an innumerable number of times before." she responded.

Lola's smile flickered for just a second before returning in force. "Tea?" Lola offered a steaming cup to her.

"No thank you." Lisa declined.

"Oh come on." Lola rolled her eyes. "You really think I put rat poison in it or something?" She took a sip. "Hmm. Tea. Have some." She insisted.

Lisa reluctantly took the offered porcelain cup. Lola gestured for her to drink. She raised it to her lips when Lola suddenly slammed her hand on the table, causing Lisa to flinch and spill hot tea down her front.

"You've been avoiding me, Lisa." said Lola, smile now completely gone.

"I've been avoiding everyone, you're not special." Lisa winced as she wiped at the brown stains on her sweater. She had to remain composed, she wouldn't give Lola the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her.

"It doesn't help your case. Innocent people don't hide." said Lola.

"My case? Am I on trial for something?"

Lola growled at her. "Let's cut the bullshit: you hurt Lincoln."

"You think I'm responsible for the accident."

"Oh I don't think, I know you're responsible for what happened. And we both know it wasn't an accident."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

"Suggesting? Who's suggesting anything?" Lola leaned forward. "I'm telling you. You hurt Lincoln, and you did it deliberately."

Lisa's eyes widened. How dare she?! She opened her mouth to angrily retort before forcing it closed. Don't play her game. "I would never do that to him." Lisa said coldly.

"But you did it before." Lola smiled. "You did it so many times before, what makes it different this time?"

"Despite what you may think, I have never intentionally hurt anyone, not Lincoln, not you, and not any of our sisters. Any injuries i've regretfully caused were accidents."

"Oh, and you just so happen to walk away without a scratch every single time? While Lincoln gets burned to a crisp? Do you think I'm fucking stupid?" Lola snarled.

"So what is your logic? I deliberately injured my brother, why?" Lisa asked.

"'What is your logic?'" Lola mocked with a heavy lisp. "Can you stop talking like a robot for five minutes? 'My logic' is that you're a nutcase who gets off on hurting people, that's why you make Lincoln to help you all of the time. You like hurting him."

Lisa blinked. Really? That's her line of reasoning? I'm some kind of sadist? She almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

"I do not 'make' Lincoln do anything, he voluntarily assists me." Lisa pointed out.

"Really? You never manipulated him? Not once? Not even just a little bit?" Lisa opened her mouth to deny it before she remembered the last experiment. She had appealed to Lincoln's empathy to conduct the QMH test trial. Lisa's expression must have given her away, because Lola leaned back with a smile.

"When was the last time you ever hung out with him without your science shit? When was was the last time you did something he liked?"

"I-I-" Lisa wracked her memory. The movie theater? No, she used the visit to conduct research for a new project. There had to be something else…The genius remained silent to Lola's pleasure.

"I knew it. That's all Lincoln is good for, to be your fucking guinea pig. You don't love him, not like the rest of us. Not like me."

"I do care about him." Lisa said feebly.

"You care about him?" Lola trembled with fury. "Lincoln's in the hospital because of you, Lincoln almost died because of you! And you can't even say you love him, no you care about him." Lisa winced. That sounded bad. It was best to get to the point and end the conversation.

"What do you want, Lola?" Lisa asked.

"I'm not letting you hurt Lincoln ever again. No more using him as a guinea pig in your experiments." Said Lola.

"I've locked up all of my-" "You can lock up whatever you want, but that's not gonna stop your freaky little urges."

Lisa froze. She knows. Ice flooded her veins. She knew about the static that buzzed in her head. How did she know? She didn't tell anyone except-

"That's right, that little heart to heart you had with Mom?" Lola looked positively glowing in her chair. "After the camping trip? The one you ruined? I heard it, I heard all about your dirty little secret."

This was bad, very very bad. Lola had the greatest of all pieces of blackmail against her, and what she'll use it for- "I wonder what Lincoln's going to think when he finds out?" Lola purred.

Nonononono he couldn't find out. He'd treat her differently, he'd fear her, he'd pity her. "Please don't." Lisa begged her sister.

"Don't what?" asked Lola.

"Don't tell him, please."

"Why? I think he deserves to know the truth about his little sister." "No, you don't understand-"

"Oh stupid little Lola doesn't know anything, not like you. You're just so brilliant compared to the rest of us." Lola sneered. "Newsflash, freak, I understand everything." Lisa's fear was slowly being replaced by pure, irrational rage. She has no idea what she's talking about! Pressure started to build between her ears.

"You get these urges, right? And then these little voices in your head whisper to you." Lola leaned forward and started whispering conspiratorially. "They tell you all about how to make those crazy machines, but not that's it. They want you to hurt people too, don't they?"

Pressure building. "Shut up."

"You're like a schizo, no a druggie. A dirty, disgusting druggie trying to get her next high!"

Pressure building. "Shut up." Lisa repeated, trembling in her seat.

"You're a freak! A monster! A psychopath! You should have never been born!"

"Shut up!" screamed Lisa. The pressure was reaching its peak. It was taking every ounce of her self control not to strangle her sister.

Lola smirked. "Or what?"

Lisa gave a yell and tackled her older sister out of her chair.

The two sisters grappled and clawed at each other wildly, the genius's surprise advantage quickly being lost as adrenaline started pumping. Lola snarled and threw Lisa off of her, her face impacting the floor. Lisa flinched as the right lens of her glasses cracked. I'll need another replacement pair. The genius squinted back up at Lola who picked up a teacup from the table and dumped it on her. Lisa screamed and rolled on the ground, her chest covered in a horrible burning pain.

"There!" Lola laughed. "Now you know how he feels right now!"

Lisa spun and kicked the table over, spilling the entire teapot all over Lola's legs. The blonde screeched and fell onto her back, rolling back and forth as approximately 24 ounces of boiling liquid streamed down her to her feet. "You bitch!" She screamed.

Lisa stumbled to her feet, fiery temper quickly evaporating. She wasn't going to win this fight, she had to escape while she still could. With the door blocked- Lisa dashed over to the window and struggled to open it as her sister's wails of agony drifted to her ears.

So much for not hurting my family. Lisa thought. But there's no denying she deserved it.

The genius unlocked the hatch and slowly managed to pry it open. Just as Lisa stuck her head outside and began calculating the distance to the ground she felt a hand grip her foot. "No you don't!" Lola roared and yanked her back inside. Lisa fell back in a heap as Lola pounced on her again. Her older sister attacked her wildly, striking her multiple times in her head, neck, chest, and stomach as Lisa tried to shield herself.

Lola finally pinned Lisa to the floor and grabbed her right arm. "Don't you ever go near Lincoln again." she said, breathing heavily. "Understand?"

Lisa remained silent. "I asked you a question." Lola twisted, causing Lisa to cry out. "Do you understand?"

"Y-yes!" Lisa gasped.

Lola twisted even harder. "Speak up! I can't hear you!"

"YES!" "Yes what?!" "Yes I understand!" Lisa cried. "I'll stay away!"

"Good." Lola let her go and stood up. "I'm done with her, Lana!" She called before stopping and looking down at Lisa. Lisa received a strong kick in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. "Now I'm done." The princess said before gingerly walking through the door.

Lana peered inside at Lisa then glared at Lola. "I thought you said you just wanted to talk to her!" shouted the tom boy accusing.

"I did, she's the one who attacked me. I just defended myself." Lola turned and called back into her room. "And don't forget, freak, if you try anything I'll tell Lincoln all about your little problem."

Lola turned away before Lana grabbed her arm, holding her in place. "Hey, wait! I did what you wanted, where's Hops?" the grease monkey asked desperately.

"You'll get your stupid frog." Lola pulled her arm away. "I just need an ice bath first." The princess hissed as she started walking to the bathroom, angry red blisters covering her legs.

Lisa remained laying on the floor, cradling her stomach, as Lana entered the room. The older twin offered her hand to her. "Need some help?" Lisa glared at her and pushed herself up, alone.

Lana winced and withdrew her hand. "I-I'm sorry sis. She made me do it, she had Hops." she said.

Lisa's glare remained. "I don't care." She staggered into the hallway, Lana following after her. "Lisa, wait!" she begged.

"Good luck repairing Geo's feeder, if it even required maintenance in the first place." She responded coldly. "I expect to be left alone from here onward, if that isn't too much to ask?"

Tears sprung from Lana's eyes. "I-I'm sorry!" she wailed and dashed into her own room. Lisa felt the smallest flicker of remorse before quickly smothering it. It's her fault this happened to me. She took advantage of my helpful nature, she deceived me. Let her cry.

Lisa continued down the hallway until she reached her room. Lily chose that exact moment to reach the top of the stairs and spot her sister. "Hey Lisa!" she called. "Wanna-" "Not now, Lily." Lisa snapped and slammed her door shut. "O-Okay." The little photographer deflated.

Lisa lay on her bed, lost in her thoughts as her eyes traced the ceiling through cracked lenses.

It seemed she no choice but to obey Lola, at least for the time being. The threat of Lincoln learning of her...quirk…it was too high to risk disobeying her. Lisa briefly considered telling her parents what happened before quickly dismissing the thought. She was old enough to fight her own battles, she would not run to Mother and Father and tug at their pant legs like a child. Lola would face justice by her own hand. It would be difficult without her science, but Lisa wasn't completely disarmed yet. She still had her brilliant mind to work with.

Lisa turned on her side uncomfortably, feeling a particularly tender spot beneath her sternum with her fingers. That will certainly bruise.

Information started flowing into her brain unbidden. Ointments, healing powders, auto-docs, vita chambers-

Lisa closed her eyes. Was Lola right? Was the static making her do things she didn't want to do? Lisa never really questioned it until now. It was there for as long as she could remember, as part of her as any of her limbs or vital organs. Why was it there? Where was it coming from? How could she even begin to treat it?

These were questions Lisa couldn't answer, and that worried her. She was dealing with something beyond a mere mental illness, it was a completely unknown, alien force. The implications were disturbing. What other effects might it have on her? Higher brain functions, memory- you don't really love him - emotions, all of them and more could be influenced by these strange urges.

-combination of plasmids reconstructed within a quantum field entanglement would in theory allow a subject to-

Lisa shook her head clear of that particular flow of information and a hundred other threads quickly replaced it.

She would have to conduct further research, which could prove rather difficult without any of her equipment. First thing's first, she had to take notes. Lisa retrieved a notepad and pen from her desk drawer and started to write.

White noise continued to bounce around inside Lisa's head as she wrote down her observations.

Elsewhere, in a very uncomfortable hospital bed, Lincoln Loud opened his eyes again.

AN: Here's chapter 2, finally. This was originally going to be longer until I realized just how long it was getting(over 6k words, shit).

Just like last time leave a review if you like what you've read. The support is appreciated.