The school is closed for Spring Break.

It's time to relax and have fun until classes start.

Or at least, that was the intention.


DATE: APRIL 8, 2015, 6th DAY OF THE SPRING BREAK, NEW YORK


The Watcher is practically a mess. Alarms ring loudly, red lights blink madly, and smoke is spreading everywhere.

"Help!" Leni yells, flying wildly through the helicarrier.

"Calm down Leni, I'm coming." Lincoln, dressed as a Marvel Boy, was flying after her.

"Next time we'll do it outside, where there are fewer things for her to crash." Ronnie Anne ran after them in the form of a small black wolf. "It's even worse than when you tried to teach her to drive."

Despite the harsh words, Lincoln had to agree with his friend.

Since Spring Break began, Leni has been practicing with her Iron Lady armor, and despite her silliness, the fashionista was doing well. So well, the Ant-Man thought she was ready to learn how to fly. Big mistake.

As soon as Leni was in the air, she started crashing at the walls until she began to move too fast, and completely lost control of the armor. As she flew down the halls, the two preteens followed the armored fashionista, leaving a stunned Ant-Man behind.

Lincoln was already wondering what had happened to their leader when he heard his voice on the communicator.

"Linc, how close are you to your sister?"

"What?"

"I want to know if you're close. I can reboot the armor, but I need to know if you're close."

"I'm almost reaching for her! If you have a way to stop it, then do it now!"

Lincoln did not see what he did, but as soon as he looked ahead, he saw that Leni's armor was totally immobilized, and then it was once again a simple purse. He advanced even faster, and picked up his sister before she fell to the ground.

Leni looked in shock, so Lincoln immediately led her into the Watcher's living room, where Larry prepared a mug of hot chocolate for her.

"Well, I admit it did not go quite as I expected." The Ant-Man entered the room, once again wearing a lab coat over his hero suit.

"Really?" Ronnie said sarcastically, with a fake smile. "I never would have guessed."

"What I mean is that I did not expect everything to go well with the first flight test, but it was not a total disaster yet. Larry and I can easily fix some crumpled walls, and now we know Leni is not ready to fly into the danger room."

The young heroes became depressed, especially Leni. She was progressing a lot with the armor, and now it seemed she had made no progress. The Ant-Man realized what was going on, and tried to correct himself.

"Look, I did not say we're going to give up, I just think we need another approach. More specifically, from a professional's advice."

"Do you know how to fly?" Leni asked excitedly.

"Well, yes and no. I do not really fly, I ride ants that fly, which is a totally different method. Anyway, I was not talking about me, but about a SHIELD's flight instructor."

"Wait, you want to involve SHIELD in this?" Ronnie was worried, thinking her father might find out.

"No, no. A retired instructor. Although this may be a little embarrassing."

"What do you mean?" Lincoln crossed his arms and took a serious stare.

"Well, our flight instructor's name is Rita Loud." The scientist smiled as he watched the reactions of the young heroes.

Lincoln and Ronnie Anne were amazed, thinking that he had finally gone crazy for good. Already Leni on the other hand was intrigued.

"What a coincidence. This is the same name as our mother."

Lincoln and Ronnie facepalmed.

"Leni, he's talking about your mother." Ronnie exclaimed in frustration.

"Oh, sure. Makes more sense."

"Dr., you're not serious, are you?" Lincoln looked at him doubtfully, though he tried to understand what the scientist wanted. "If my mother finds out that Leni and I joined the Avengers, she will get mad."

The scientist smiled, and walked to the television.

He searched through the DVDs until he found one and placed in the DVD player. The young heroes stared at the screen, confused until a young Rita Loud, with little less than thirty years appeared on the screen.

"Hello, young recruit!" The young Rita said, smiling. "Welcome to SHIELD's Flight Training program. I'm Agent Loud, and I'll be your instructor. You have the incredible ability to fly, and when we finish this 10-lesson training, you will be an elite flyer."

The Ant-Man paused the video, leaving his pupils astonished.

The three of them looked at the screen in disbelief, trying to process the information before them.

"What is it?" Lincoln asked as soon as he was out of his trance.

"As you may know, after Lynn and Rita were married, he worked in the research and development area, while she took care of the training of new agents along with Maria Santiago." The scientist sat in his chair, and smiled presumptuously. "What you should not know is that Rita recorded a series of training videos, especially that about flight. It's actually funny to be showing you this video."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, that was her last video series, and when your mother recorded this training, she was in the second month of her pregnancy, waiting for your sister Leni."

Lincoln was shocked, while Leni was amazed. It was almost as if her mother had made this video for them.

"Wow, that's really awkward." Ronnie said, breaking the ice. "So you want her to learn to fly using her mother's flying lessons without her knowing she taught her own daughter?"

"Actually, I think this video will be good for both Leni and Lincoln." He looked at the boy, who was blushing. "Although you are making progress, you can also learn a lot from your mother."

Lincoln just said nothing, and looked at his older sister.

Leni's excited smile was enough to make him agree.

The four spent the next hours watching the first two lessons of the DVD, paying attention to Rita's instructions.

Although Leni was paying attention, Lincoln was lost in thought. Since he was verry young, he rarely saw his mother use her powers. Seeing his mother flying with such joy in the video, he remembered how bored and exhausted she looked in recent years. It was as if so many responsibilities were keeping her on the ground, like a heavy anchor.

He wondered if there was going to be a way to make his mother as active as she was back then. However, he knew that taking care of a house full of super children was a heavy duty.

After the fifth hour of training, they had to stop watching, since Leni was among the three children who would make dinner tonight.

Before they headed for the teleporter room, the Ant Man gave them SD cards, which left them confused.

"Before you ask, they are copies of the training to see on your cell phones." The scientist smiled smugly, with an air of superiority. "While you were paying attention on the screen, I copied the video lessons to those cards."

"Wait, is not that, like, illegal?" Leni asked worriedly.

"Do not worry about it, Leni. This is not piracy, and after all, according to SHIELD, this video does not even exist."

The siblings just shrugged, and went to the teleporter.

They were teleported to an alley near the Loud Tower, and they walked home. While Leni went straight home to prepare dinner with Luna and Lucy, Lincoln decided to stop at his mother's office.

Although Rita had a busy schedule, she always made time for her children. As soon as Lincoln came in, she realized something was bothering him, and she stopped everything she was doing to pay attention to him.

"Sweetie, what happened?"

"Well, that may sounds odd, but I wanted to know if you're happy."

The question made Rita totally pale, making her feel guilty.

"Why do you think I would not be?"

Lincoln picked up his cell phone, and put the video of the flight training. As soon as she saw such a thing on her son's cell phone, Rita was astonished.

"I got it with the Ant-Man when I went to the Avengers helicarrier. You seemed much happier then, so I thought-"

"Lincoln, I do not want you to even think about continuing that phrase." Rita looked at him sternly, and took him by the shoulders. "Your father and I have left SHIELD to be able to provide a comfortable and safe life for you and your sisters. In all those years, I've never regretted the choice I made, and even though I'm always busy, I know it's worth it when I see the smiles on your little faces."

Rita hugged her son, who promptly returned the gesture.

After a brief silence, they parted and Rita smiled again.

"Now, stop worrying, and get ready for dinner. In less than an hour I'll join you."

Lincoln smiled, and left Rita's office.

As soon as her son closed the door, she took out her cell phone, and texted to someone.

Lincoln came here with an old video and doubts about my happiness. What did you do?

After a brief moment, she received a response from an unknown number.

I tried to teach the Avengers with your training. I thought it would be good.

Rita was relieved, but she was still angry at the person.

You promised me he'd be safe. I hope you do your part.

Again, she waited in silence until she received another message from the unknown number.

Do not worry, Rita. I guarantee you that I'm taking good care of your Marvel Boy. Just wait and see