DATE: FEBRUARY 14 2015, NEW YORK, 07H48M
After a few minutes, Lincoln went into the living room, meeting his sisters. As expected, they did not wait for him to eat. Except for Lisa, who was still eating, his younger sisters were watching cartoons while the older ones were chatting on the table.
"I think we should go to the park to run a bit." Lynn suggested.
"After the last time? No, thank you." Lori answered.
"Yes, I think I'll pass this. Haha, get it?" Luan could not please her audience.
"Guys, I've heard of a great rock musical at that Broadway theater!" Luna proposed.
"Luna, whenever we go with you to something that involves music, you get carried away and embarrass us." Lori said, rolling her eyes.
They then perceive Lincoln approaching, and receive him smiling.
"Lincoln, finally." Lori said, serving a plate of pancakes. "Why took so long?"
"Sorry, I had to clean up."
She then noticed how he was dressed. His usual polo shirt and jeans.
"You're not taking this day seriously, are you?" Lori smirked at her brother.
"What do you mean? I waited months for this day. Nothing would make me more excited."
"And when will your girlfriend arrive?" Lynn exclaimed teasingly.
At that, the younger sisters turned their attention to the scene that was only ten feet from the couch. Though her intention was to irritate Lincoln, he just seemed bored.
"Guys, how many times have I told you? Ronnie Anne and I are just friends!"
"Then answer me: why, of all people, will you spend this day with her?" Lori challenged.
Lincoln looked confused. He did not understand where his sister wanted to go. Since moving to New York almost seven years ago, he met Ronnie Anne, the youngest kid of an old friend of his father's, and they became best friends.
It had become customary for his sisters to suggest that they were more than friends, but he did not see her that way, and he was sure she thought the same.
"Well, to be honest, I was considering calling one of you, but I thought she was a better option for company."
His sisters were silent, with a mixture of confusion, embarrassment, and disbelief. None of them understood what he meant by that, until Lori remembered a crucial fact: none of them asked what Lincoln was going to do with his "friend".
"And where are you going?"
"I did not tell you?" For a moment Lincoln felt ashamed. "We're going to the inauguration of the Captain America Museum!"
All the girls were shocked, with their mouths agape. They thought their brother would eventually admit that he was in love, but he invited a cool girl to do the most nerd thing possible.
"Have you lost your mind?" They said in unison.
Again, Lincoln was confused.
"What? So you want to go too?"
This time, all, even Leni and Lily, facepalmed. How could their brother be so naive?
"Lincoln, do you know what day it is?" Lori tried to give Lincoln's brain a chance to figure out what was going on.
"Yes, today is the second Saturday of February, I have been talking about this new museum since July."
"Lincoln, today is Valentine's Day!" They screamed together.
For a moment, Lincoln assumed a confused expression, which soon became a smile, and he laughed. He had finally understood why his sisters reacted in this way.
"Oh, so you thought... I confess I did not even notice. But come on, did you really think I was going to have a date with my best friend?"
They stared at their brother, not believing what they heard. Then, suddenly, Lola realized a terrible truth to the sight they had of their brother. She pointed at him and said desperately,
"Gasp! Guys! He really believes they're just friends!"
Lincoln was confused, his sisters looking at him as if he were some stranger in the house. He did not understand why it would be a problem for him to believe they were just friends.
"Lincoln, please tell me you told her where you're going and what you're going to do!" Lori was on the verge of despair now.
"No, I just said I had a special surprise for her."
This was the final blow, now his sisters knew it was all over.
"I'm going to prepare his funeral!" Lucy
"I'm going to play the funeral music!" Luna
"We'll bring the first aids!" The twins said in chorus
"I'll lend you my jock!" Lynn
"I'd make a joke, but it looks like he already blow that one himself. Haha!" Luan then took a serious look. "But seriously, you're dead!"
"What are you talking about?" Lincoln still did not understand what was going on. "Why should I worry?"
"Linky, you, like, called a girl to go out on Valentine's Day, without even considering her in a romantic way!" Leni, surprisingly, left everyone quiet
If even Leni realized what was happening, Lincoln should be ashamed of not realizing what he did. But then a thought popped into his head.
"But do you really think she thought I called her on a date? I mean, we always do things together, why would she think today would be any different?"
His sisters did not have time to answer. At this time, the television changed to a warning.
The driver's here. Miss Santiago is about to go up.
At this moment, everyone panicked. As they lived on top of a building, their personal visits were allowed to take the express elevator, which checked the individual's biometrics to authorize his visit. The exit from the elevator was at the other end of the immense living room, where everyone stared. Thanks to Lisa's improvements to their father's original project, it only took three minutes to get to the house's entrance on the 87th floor.
"Lincoln, quick! Go to your room and put on your best clothes" Lori ordered
"But why should I..."
"Do not argue, dude! We'll try to fix your mess!"
Luna did not usually raise her voice at him, so it was a sign that the situation was really bad. Imitating Lynn, he ran like there was no tomorrow.
"Okay guys, let's keep her busy while he changes." Lori shouted.
Following Lori's command, they saluted and prepared for the arrival of their friend.
Until Luan made an observation.
"What if she thinks they're just friends too?"
This thought aroused curiosity in Lori. Was it possible they were both so naive not to realize what all the Loud sisters were already sure of?
"Well, we'll know soon enough."
Lori barely finished speaking and they heard the sound of the elevator stopping. When the door opened, the sisters allowed themselves a sigh of relief.
Ronnie Anne was dressed almost as usual. Purple hooded sweatshirt, jeans shorts, the only difference was her ponytail, which was stuck with a red, white, and blue scrunchie, and a blue button with Captain America's face in her sweatpants.
"Good morning guys!" She exclaimed excitedly.
"Good morning, Ronnie Anne." The sisters said in chorus.
"Beautiful scrunchie you're wearing." Leni was the first to speak. "I've never seen you wearing anything like that."
"Well, I bought it on the internet a few weeks ago, and it finally came. It is a limited edition in honor of Cap."
"Does your mail take so long?" Lola was amazed.
"Well, after my dad's last promotion he got a little paranoid, and sends all our mailings to SHIELD's screening."
The girls were not surprised. When they were young, their parents told of the times when Mr. Loud and Mr. Santiago worked for SHIELD in the superhuman sector. Spending so much time working for an organization of this size can make someone very paranoid. Mr. Loud himself was no exception, since everything that entered the tower went through a screening involving x-rays, magnetic resonance and even gamma-ray measurement.
"I can not say it's strange. Although your house is secret, ours is a target for our parents' old enemies. It's been two years since the last time, but we still do panic room exercises every week."
Ronnie saw that the television was off, and an idea occurred to her.
"Hey, can I show you something?"
The girls became curious, and readily accepted. Ronnie Anne activated the Bluetooth of her cell phone and passed a video to the television. In it, some people were being held hostage on a bank, and, out of nowhere, they were acting as if attacked by some invisible force.
"It's a bank camera, an assault last week. The police asked SHIELD to investigate, and I picked up in my father's computer."
"Gee, is this another Invisible Guy's footage?" Lana asked excitedly.
"Well, no one knows his name, or how he does it exactly." Ronnie replied. "They are sure that he is not a speedster or telekinetic. But it must be a cool power."
"Speaking of which dude, how are your powers going?" Asked Luna.
Like Lynn, Ronnie liked to show off, but she never let anyone but her mother and Lincoln know what she could actually do. She looked closely at Luna, and her eyes changed color. Her appearance began to change, and she became a minor version of Luna.
"I am getting better. I just can not change my height, but my imitation is almost perfect."
"Wait, like, so you're not like Luna?" Leni said confusedly. "They look identical to me."
All, except Leni, and, of course, Luna, laughed at the silly sister. Even if it were not the different clothes, the height was more than obvious. Luan did not miss the chance to try to be funny
"Well, we can say we have some little differences. Hahaha. Get it?"
Except for Ronnie, they all just moaned. She even found it a bit funny, but eventually she remembered why she was there.
"Hey, did not Lincoln wake up yet? I thought we'd get to the museum early."
"Wait, how do you know he's going to take you to a museum?" Lucy was surprised, but her voice did not show.
"Well, I know he said it was a surprise, and at first I thought it was something according to the date, but then I remembered how much he talked about this museum and that he wanted to go there at the grand opening."
The sisters noticed a sad tone in her voice, but before they could say anything, they heard hurried footsteps on the stairs. Lincoln was now wearing khakis, with an orange shirt and blue tie, and his best pair of shoes.
"Ronnie Anne, I'm sorry, I... um... I had a problem."
"Hey, okay, you know I like talking to your sisters. Are you ready to go?"
"Sure." He looked at his sisters with concern, but they all give a thumbs up, motioning to go on. "I bet you will not guess where we're going today!"
"If it is another place that is not the museum that you have been talking about since last year, and that will be inaugurated today, I will be very surprised."
Lincoln could not believe his ears.
Was he so predictable?
"Well, it may not be a surprise, but it's sure to be amazing." She added, with a smile. "After all, we will spend the day in the museum of the greatest hero the world has ever seen."
"Well, then what are we waiting for?" He turned to his sisters. "Have fun, guys."
They just waved at their brother as he and his friend entered the elevator.
"At least she's not angry." Lynn said as she threw herself on the nearest couch.
"I think she, like, likes him very much." Leni seemed to be dreaming. "I bet they'll be dating by the end of the day."
"Leni, be realistic." Lori crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "You've seen the way they act with each other. It looks like they'll be stuck in the friend zone for a long time. I just hope everything goes well today."
"Come on, Lori!" Lana had a carefree tone as she put the cartoons back. "It's Lincoln's we're talking about! What could go wrong?"
ON THE EXPRESS ELEVATOR
"Hey, you okay, Lincoln?"
As they stepped into the elevator, Lincoln undid the mask he'd been wearing since his conversation with Lisa. He wanted to vent his problems with Ronnie, but he knew that the elevator had, in addition to a biometric scanner, a camera on each of the four sides and one on the ceiling.
"Ronnie, is it all right for you to walk to the museum?" Lincoln winked slightly.
She noticed how he winked, and realized that he wanted to talk about something he would not say in the reach of his father's vigilance.
The Loud Tower was next to the museum, so they would only have to walk for about twenty minutes. Considering it was Valentine's Day, hardly anyone on the street would pay attention to two kids talking.
"Sure, Lincoln. It's fine by me."
They got out of the elevator, and next to it, a driver waited. Lincoln explained that they would walk to the museum, and if necessary, they would call him. He was not very willing to let the son of one of the world's most influential men and the daughter of a SHIELD agent hang out alone, because if anything happened, it would be his neck on the line, but eventually he accepted. After all, what could go wrong?
As they crossed the street, Lincoln felt safe to speak.
"Today, I caught Lisa trying to get a sample of Lily with a syringe. Because of the size of the needle, I imagine it was not just blood."
"I thought she stopped doing that kind of thing."
"Me too, but what matters is that I solved the problem. But that's not the worst part."
"What do you mean?"
"She told me about something they discussed at a secret sisters's-only meeting."
Ronnie was curious. She knew she should not talk about the secret club of the Louds, she only knew of this because Lincoln ventured on the times when he was left out because of the subject of the meeting being about him or if the girls did not want him to listen because was "girl stuff".
"What did she say?"
"(Sigh) Ronnie, they're already suspecting."
It did not take much to understood what he meant. She had been his best friend since they were five. Everything they did not tell their families, they told each other. She was only surprised that it took they so long to be suspicious.
"So what are you going to do? Are you going to tell the truth to your family?"
"I still do not know. It's a miracle to have managed to hide my powers from my father, yet I do not understand how no machine of his perceived. And last year, when he decided to quit "wasting time with me," I figured he'd removed the rope from my neck, but after today, I feel like I'll be hanged as soon as I get home."
"Try not to worry too much about it now." She looked at her cell phone and saw that they should turn on the next corner. "We're almost there."
Lincoln smiled, and decided to leave his troubles for later.
Arriving at the museum, Lincoln took out of his wallet the tickets he had bought online. There were a few people besides the security guards, but it was understandable, since it was a day where couples would seek out more romantic sites instead of a tematic museum.
Inside the building, the kids, dazzled, saw the objects that told the life of their favorite hero. His childhood, his health problems, his determination to be given a chance to defend the liberty of the world.
Among the various sections, there was one that left them both sad and inspired.
Among the scale replicas, there was a small Captain America riding a huge aircraft.
"How did he feel? I mean, Baron Zemo was going to release that Adhesive X all over the world, but even so, he sacrificed himself to bring that thing down at sea."
Lincoln thought for a moment. He also had doubts about what it would be like to be in this situation. But then he remembered his sisters, and how he would do anything to make them safe.
"I think he was very selfless." He finally said. "I know I would do anything for my family and friends, but I do not know if I would do something as big as that."
They did not realize it, but there was no one else in that room. Suddenly, the door closed, and a gray gas came out of the vents.
Instinctively, Lincoln took Ronnie by the hand and headed for the other door, which led to the fire exit. He felt his body grow heavy, and he realized Ronnie was getting sleepy. When he had come down the stairs, he was carrying her, bridal style, as he tried to stay awake. As soon as he opened the door, however, he received a sharp blow to the head, and he lost consciousness.
DATE: FEBRUARY 14 2015, ABANDONED WAREHOUSE, NEW YORK, APPROXIMATELY 16H
Slowly, Lincoln begins to regain consciousness. The last thing he remembers is a blow in his head, and then only darkness. He quickly notices his surroundings, and realizes that he is tied up in a chair. He saw about eight men, dressed in a strange blue and red uniform wearing beige masks that were checking their weapons, while another, probably the leader, was talking to someone on the phone.
"Yes, Miss Frost, according to the plan, we are aiding Tombstone's thugs. They have already prepared the boat, and we are going to take the kids to the sea."
As he looks to the man's left, he sees Ronnie tied, next to the possible leader. She was wearing a gag, and by the way her face was swelling, they sure hit her. Lincoln knew from experience that she would pulverize them if she let go.
"Very well, you idiots!" The man said, after hanging up the phone and then shoot it. "Let's stick with the plan and put the kids in the boat, the boss wants their kidnapping announced in less than an hour."
Lincoln is no longer thinking like the disciplined boy he is. Just seeing Ronnie Anne hurt and unable to fight back made him furious. He does not care anymore to hide his secret.
He just stands up, and the ropes breaks with his strength. Before the men turn, he closes his fists, and fires a powerful energy blast against them. Although most have fallen, the leader and two more are still standing.
Before Lincoln prepares to fire again, the leader points his gun at Ronnie, and Lincoln becomes paralyzed.
"No sudden moves, kid, or she pays the price." He signals his henchmen to tie him up again. "Was not it for him not to have powers?"
"Yeah, it's very interesting." A voice said, out of nowhere.
Everyone looked around, as surprised as Lincoln himself.
Suddenly, the leader seemed to be hit by something and flung himself unconscious on the ground.
Lincoln and Ronnie thought the same thing: the Invisible Guy.
Before the henchmen could react, one of them seemed to take a blow to the belly, and as he squirmed, he carried another on his head, and fell.
The latter was terrified. He started to shoot in the direction that his companion had fallen, then shooted on the floor and up to the ceiling until the gun ran out of ammunition, and tried to pick up another cartridge in his belt but then he heard a voice coming from below.
"Are you looking for me?"
In the blink of an eye, a man appeared, as if it had sprouted from the floor, and left the other knocked out. He wore a strange red and black suit, and had a silvery helmet with antennae, which left only his mouth visible.
Lincoln was speechless, but he remembered that his friend was still tied up.
As he untied her, he saw the man take some darts in a secret pocket on the right glove, and then hurled them at the three men he had overthrown.
"Who are you?" Ronnie asked as soon as she got rid of the gag
"Call me Ant-Man!" He replied, putting his fists on his waist, to look heroic. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"
TO BE CONTINUED. . .
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