DATE: APRIL, 26, 2015, LOUD TOWER, NEW YORK, 22H54M

In the living room, nine of the ten siblings who still live in the tower look at each other with tension, while little Lily plays with some colored blocks while waiting for sleep to come.

Though no one dared to keep eye contact for more than a few seconds, those in which the eyes are focused is Leni, Lynn and Lincoln, who among the three, is the one who feels worse about himself. Suddenly, he notices the reader and feels he has a chance to be distracted.

"Hey, how's it going? I have not done that in a long time, but I think you know very well that lately I have not had much free time." He slowly gets up, while time seems to freeze for his sisters. "As you may have noticed, my family has found out about us being avengers, and now the things are very tense around here."

Lincoln walks up to an armchair and sits, folding his arms behind his head and placing his feet on the arm of the chair next to him.

"If you read the last chapter, then I do not have much to explain. After Dr. Pym fainted, our father and Mr. Santiago sent him for medical care at the helicarrier, but they did not know what to do with him. Dad said that the best option would be to take him to his lab at Loud Tower. "The boy looked at the ceiling, getting a little depressed. In his brief summary, he ended up getting to the part he wanted to forget. "It took just under three hours to arrive in New York with Skystalker at full speed, but once we got our father brought us home and Mr. Santiago sent some agents take Ronnie Anne to their house. Once we arrived, Dad told everything to our family and went to the lab trying to figure out what happened to Dr. Pym. After that, we stayed here in the living room while our mother left Leni and Luna in charge while she went 'solve something'."

Lincoln was so distracted he did not notice that his father was entering the living room.

"Lincoln, get your feet off the chair." Lynn Sr. spoke sharply, avoiding eye contact with his son. He looked around and saw that someone was missing in the room. "Where is your mother?"

"She left the residence shortly after you went to the medical lab." Lisa adjusted her glasses, feeling a certain curiosity growing. "However, I believe that our focus should be on the current state of metabolic functioning of our extraterrestrial guest."

The other siblings looked at Lisa with some confusion, trying to understand what she said.

"She said the priority is to know what happened to Dr. Pym." Lincoln got up, looking at his father head high. He knew he was in trouble, so he would not let his father intimidate him. "He'll be fine?"

"(Sigh) I honestly have no idea." The patriarch was a little uncomfortable, scratching his head in an embarrassed way. "Apparently, his body is working perfectly, but I detected no brain activity."

The siblings were a little concerned to hear this, though Lisa just rolled her eyes and groaned. At the moment, she lost all confidence in her father's ability to build machines.

Lynn Sr. wanted to discuss what would be done, but looked around and realized that his children seemed to be tired and cheerless. Other than that, he knew he could not take any action before discussing it with Rita. Thinking deeply, he realized that he himself did not know what to think about the current situation, so he decided to leave it for the next day.

"Kids, I think we've had too much emotion for a day." He tried to speak in the most loving way possible, though he sounded like he was having a stomach ache. "Go all to bed and leave it for tomorrow."

Although they were not tired, the siblings had no energy to argue with their father. Slowly, they got up and went upstairs.

Lincoln was at last and turned to look at his father again. The boy felt bad to see the disappointment in his father's eyes, but at the same time know that there is no use trying to talk at that time. He turned and went upstairs, finding all ten doors in the hallway closed.

Without much encouragement, he entered his room and closed the door, heading straight for his bathroom. After locking the bathroom door, he began to fill the tub as he took the clothes. After removing the last piece, he realized that he was still wearing his symbi-watch and sighed.

"I do not think we'll see each other for a while, little guy." He glanced at his watch with some sadness, feeling the synthetic creature squeeze his wrist like a snake. "I know, I did not want it to happen either."

Lincoln then removed the watch and placed it on top of the bathroom sink, slowly entering the bathtub. He knew he should take this moment to relax, for he would not have peace for a long time.

After spending some time in the tub, he felt the water start to cool and decide to end the bath. He got up and took a towel to dry himself, then put on his pajamas. When he was about to put his hand on the handle, he felt a slight chill run down his spine, making him gulp nervously. He opened the door and prepared for anything, though he was still surprised by what he saw.

His sisters were in the room, looking at him with some anxiety. Leni, Luna and Luan were sitting on his bed with Lily, while his other sisters sat on the floor with crossed legs. From what Lincoln learned by watching movies, it seemed that they were about to make an intervention. He went to his computer desk and picked up the chair, sitting in front of his sisters.

"(Sigh) I guess I do not even need to ask what happened."

Lisa got up, putting her arms behind her back and glaring at Lincoln. "Indeed. After a brief conversation with Leni and Lynn, we came to a consensual understanding that this whole situation could have been avoided if you had more confidence in your siblings."

"Dude, you hide a big secret from all of us." Luna looked at Lincoln in a disappointed way, making him feel even worse. "And worse, you did not tell Lynn even after she told you she had a crush on her own brother."

Lincoln looked to the side, realizing that Lynn was blushing, while Lucy patted her older sister lightly. Apparently, he was not going to escape as easy as he tought.

"Look, I know it sounds terrible, but I did not know what to do." Lincoln scratched his head and tried to find a way to tell the truth without hurting his sisters, but realized that this time nothing would solve the problem without hurting some feelings. "To be honest, when Lynn told me that Dad wanted a spy in the Avengers, I thought that, if I told the truth to her, she would tell him everything."

"Is that what you think of me?" Lynn got furious, immediately getting in front of the boy to face him in the eye. "I would certainly feel awful to discover the truth, but I would never tattle on one of my siblings by impulse!"

Lincoln looked around for support, but the looks of her sisters showed that they agree with Lynn.

"Even though this is relatively traumatizing, I think we are forgetting the main issue." Lisa once again looked at Lincoln with some suspicion, attracting the attention of all others. "How could you hide your powers for so long?"

Everyone looked at Lincoln, this time with curiosity. Despite LynnXMarvel Boy issue, the fact that Lincoln had hidden his powers was even more impressive.

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea." Lincoln rubbed his chin and began to think. "I myself have thought a lot about it, but I could not find an answer. All I know is that Dad started studying me before I even used my powers for the first time, and even after I discovered that I could shoot energy, he could never figure out that I already had powers."

The girls were puzzled, especially Lisa. She could not understand how her older brother managed to fool as sophisticated equipment without even realizing it. Was it possible that he had even greater powers? Or did he had outside help?

"And why did not you ever tell us?" Lana felt hurt, almost ready to cry. "We always tell you our secrets."

Lincoln felt even worse as his sisters looked at him. It was as if he had stabbed them all at once with a huge dagger that finally reached himself.

"I'm sorry." He stared at the floor, feeling a deep shame, not having the courage to look at his sisters. "I did not want to hurt you, but I ended up really enjoying hiding my secret, and after Lucy started using her powers, Dad became even more obsessed with studying your powers. I tought that, if he found out what I could do, he would do even more experiments with me."

The girls looked at each other, uncertain about the situation. Although they were upset with their brother, they knew, deep down, that they would have done the same thing.

Still, they did not know if they should forgive him so soon.

"I think we should end this for today." Lisa adjusted her glasses and looked around, realizing that they were all equally depressed. "As our father said, it's best if we wait until he and Mom decide what to do."

All the siblings looked at each other, then stood up. Lincoln was lying in his bed, while the sisters went to their rooms in silence. Lynn left last, looking one last time at Lincoln. They shared an embarrassed look, both blushing slightly at the current situation between them. At last the brunette turned and closed the door, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts.

"It was not so bad." He looked at the reader, a little more excited. "It looks like we're going to sort it out over time, though we still have to figure out what our parents are going to decide. (Yawn) I have to sleep now, but I'm sure it has something more for you to read before the chapter is over. Night."

He slowly fell asleep, leaving his worries aside.

After all, he would have a long day ahead of him.


Meanwhile, Aboard The Watcher...


Inside Ant-Man's lab, Rita sits in a strange chair connected to several devices. Larry closely monitors the machinery, while an ethereal version of the ship's owner floats in the room.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Rita looked around, a little insecure. "I know you're wary, but that already seems like an exaggeration."

The astral Pym looked at her with some concern, approaching her. "Rita, I tested your husband earlier, and he's a nervous wreck. As soon as you do your part of the operation House Divided, he is likely to lose control. At this point, you need to be immunized against his gravitational powers."

"(Sigh) I still can't believe we've come to that. You assured me you would keep Lincoln safe, and now three of my children are involved in an investigation of SHIELD."

"Rita, there will be no investigation from SHIELD." Pym smiled victoriously, lying in the air. "Your husband and Director Santiago can not tell SHIELD to investigate my team, for President Ross himself ordered the government to sort our files so that even the SHIELD director does not have access to our data."

"You know Lynn can-"

"Invade my server? He can try, but I use a closed network for all my systems. Without an access ID card, he has no way to get any information, and the cards I gave to your children only work with them."

Rita could not deny that the situation seemed under control. Although she had been in this secret partnership for years, she was still amazed at how Pym prepared for eventualities. It was almost as if he were as much a tactician as he was a scientist.

"I think you're right. Still, there's something bothering me. After all, what happened to your body?"

"Spector built a multidimensional machine, with which he tried to kill me. The problem is that I am, in a way, stuck in that dimension, so that the cage where he held me was transported while I was left behind. After that I teased your husband to see how angry he was, and he crushed me with a gravity more than ten times higher than normal."

"He did what!?" Rita looked at him in amazement, not believing what she heard.

"Do not worry, this is not enough to cause me serious damage. At least, not alone. This, combined with the effect of Spector's machine, eventually caused some internal bleeding, so I decided to pretend to faint in that helicarrier and I came back here." Pym smiled, wondering how the Loud patriarch was doing. "By this time, Lynn must be trying to figure out what's wrong with my body as I'm getting ready to start the next step in training our young heroes."

"Actually, that's not guaranteed." Rita took him from his explanation, leaving him slightly confused. "If all goes according to your plan, only my children will continue in the Avengers. Knowing Roberto, I'm sure he will not let Ronnie Anne return to the team."

Pym smiled, floating closer to her. "You have no idea how wrong you are, Rita. In fact, he himself will realize that it is best to let her actively participate in the Avengers."

"How can you be sure?"

"If Ronnie Anne and your children have freedom to speak freely about the Avengers, Roberto and Lynn will occasionally get information about me and the Watcher. Believe me, as they are now, they would sell the soul to know what you know, and, as I said, you only know the basics."

Again, Rita was speechless. Despite all the secrets, she did not tought that what she knew was so important. Even so, she could not deny that knowing what would happen in the future was a great advantage. Since she allied with Dr. Pym, he was of great help giving advice on what business she should or should not do.

"We're done." Larry said, turning off the equipment.

As soon as she got rid of the cables, Rita rose from the chair, a little disappointed. After all the time she'd been stuck in that machine, she'd expected to feel at least a little different.

"Do not worry, that's the way it is." Pym realized what she was thinking, then decided to stay in front of her. "The machine has increased the resistance of your body, so that you can move freely since you are in an environment with a gravity up to thirty times normal."

Rita looked at him worryingly. "Do you really think he can do that?"

"As I said, your husband is very angry at the moment, and you're about to tell him that you've helped me in his back for almost a decade. I do not think he's going to hurt you on purpose, but we need a precaution if he loses control."

"(Sigh) Well, wish me luck then." Rita took a deep breath and started walking, leaving the laboratory.

As soon as she left, Larry took a sad expression, looking at the astral form of his master. "Do you think she'll be all right, sir?

"Honestly, I have no idea, Larry. Her husband is an obstacle not only to the kids but also to himself. If he does not change his attitude, he will end up pushing the family farther until he becomes bitter and lonely."

Larry's screen shifted to a happy face, blinking with one eye. " You understand well about loneliness, don't you, sir?"

"Do not try to be funny, Larry." Pym gave a brief smile, crossing his arms. "After all, if it were not for my loneliness, I would not have made you."

The two looked at each other for a moment, until the robot bowed briefly and left the lab. Pym stood alone in the lab, getting thoughtful. When he assumed the astral form, he became more in touch with the powers of the universe, so that he could feel something was happening around him.

He did not know exactly what, but something was happening, and that involved a great danger not only for the humans but also for his tournament.

"What are you doing, brother?"


TO BE CONTINUED ...


It was shorter than I wanted, but I did not have much else to put in this chapter. Soon, we'll see how the Loud family reacts by knowing that their mother has hidden a secret even greater than Lincoln's.

I do not know if I'll post a chapter next week, because I'm going to travel with my family, but when I get back, I'll definitely post.