DATE: APRIL, 30, 2015, LAWRENCE FAMILY'S HOUSE, NEW YORK, 15H26M

"And then he said: 'Royal Woods, Michigan.'" Luna spoke with a little suspense, creating a mysterious atmosphere. "After that, everyone did not say anything until he said he had to finish his job and hung up."

Her audience, consisting of her band and Kade, listened carefully to everything she said, being deeply shocked by what they heard. The five were in the Lawrence family's living room for a rehearsal of the band, but they gladly accepted when Luna decided to tell what happened to her family. Anyone else would question Luna's sanity by telling what happened to other people, but she trusted her best friends, and she felt she could totally trust Kade.

Luna's friends and her boyfriend were a little thoughtful about what they heard, but they still had doubts.

"So that's why we can not rehearse at your house this week?" Ashley asked, more confused than surprised. " If it were not for you, that would seem more false than saying that the dog ate your homework."

The other members of the band did not say anything, but agreed with her. If there was one thing they were sure of, it was that Luna's family was very strange, and that anything could happen to them. Still, this seemed to be even crazier than usual.

"Well, the old man got super-paranoid, rummaging the whole tower." Luna reached out and took Kade's hand, blushing a little. "I even thought it best to put the rehearsal aside, but Kade was so excited to meet you that he offered his crib."

The boy blushed a little, becoming embarrassed. Although Moonblast was still a garage band, he was proud to be their biggest fan, and even though his focus was the lead singer, he admired the way they played together.

He just did not want to admit how important this was to him.

"It was no big deal." The boy scratched his head uncomfortably, praying they would not see how much he was blushing. "I did not have any work."


.


Yesterday


.


Kade was lying on his bed, practicing with his guitar a little when his phone rang. He was so entertained by the guitar that he did not even look at who was calling. But after a brief "Hello" he was surprised to hear Luna's voice.

"What's up, K?"

"L-Luna?" Kade froze, totally taken aback. "I'm great. How about you?"

"Not very well, dude." Luna took a deep breath, taking courage to say what she needed. "I know I promised to take you to the band rehearsal tomorrow, but I'm going to have to cancel it."

"What?" Kade was surprised. Although he did not admit to being a stalker, he had already followed Luna enough to know she would hardly cancel a band rehearsal.

"I know you wanted a lot to meet the guys, but I wanted to make it up to you. What do you think of going out with me tomorrow afternoon? My treat."

The boy's head began to process information at startling speed, trying to understand what was happening. Each week, the band members took turns for which house they would perform the rehearsal, and although he had never saw what was happening inside the Loud Tower, he knew Luna loved when it was her turn. For her to cancel the rehearsal and invite him to a date, something should be happening in the Loud Tower, and that should be serious enough for Luna's friends to stay out.

He would be more than grateful to have another date with Luna, but he knew something was not right, and he could not get some time alone with Luna without knowing what happened.

"What's up, Luna? You're not sounding like yourself."

"W-What?" Luna was taken aback, a little embarrassed. "It's okay, dude. I just had a little problem, that's all."

"Luna, I can hear the tone of voice of someone with problems. I know that we are not very close yet, but I really care a lot about you, and you can count on me for anything."

Silence took the line, and Kade was afraid to have ruined his relationship with the rocker girl. However, after a few moments, he was relieved to hear an answer.

"(Sigh) Sorry, K. I'm still new to this dating thing and I did not want to dump my troubles on you. My father discovered that a friend of our mother invaded his computers, and today he decided that for now no one outside the family can enter the house."

Though surprised, Kade could now see the whole picture of the problem.

As each member of Moonblast had a tight schedule and a house with strict time to make noise, the only day and time for rehearsals was on Thursdays afternoons. If Mr. Loud had warned her before, Luna might have rescheduled with one of her friends, but with such a short time it would be almost impossible to reschedule the rehearsal.

Unless...

"What if you guys come to my house?"

"Wait, are you serious?" Luna was surprised, but at the same time excited. "I do not know dude, that would be asking too much."

"No problem at all. My brothers spend most of their time in the restaurant where they work, and the only thing I planned for tomorrow was to accompany you to the rehearsal."

"But what about the gear? Do you have enough space?"

"Of course. It's just the three of us here, and the house is quite spacious." Kade paused a moment to think, and remembered an important detail. "Actually, I already have drums and amps, so you just have to bring the other instruments."

Across the line, Luna felt static. Although she had a dozen instruments in her room, she was impressed to learn that her boyfriend had another instrument besides his guitar. She could almost understand what Lori meant when she said Bobby and she were meant for each other.

"K, if I was there, I would kiss you right now."

"Well, I can wait until tomorrow." The boy smiled smugly, blushing slightly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll clean the shack."


.


Back to the present


.


After remembering the events of the previous day, Kade turned his attention to his guests, who were now ready to begin the band's rehearsal.

Kade was happy to finally get a chance to see a rehearsal of his girlfriend's band, and although they only had four songs, he would listen to them countless times just to hear Luna's melodious voice.

After two hours of what seemed like a private show for the boy, the band finished the rehearsal and after a brief lunch everyone said goodbye, except for Luna.

The girl just had to call the driver, but wishing to show her gratitude to her boyfriend, Luna decided to help him after the others left. The two of them chatted distractedly as they tidied the room until they were finished with the cleaning.

They sat on the couch to rest and talk some more, when Luna realized that the boy was a bit tense, with a slight blush on the cheeks.

Grinning maliciously, she moved slowly, drawing closer to him. The moment he leaned against him, the boy was as stiff as a board, utterly frightened, but not as much as he got when she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You know, I think we could take advantage of being alone and taking a step forward in our relationship." Luna curled up against the boy's shoulder, pressing her chest against his arm. "What do you think?"

Kade mumbled meaningless sounds, making Luna even more excited. She slid slowly until her lips were about to touch the boy's ear, letting him hear her breath. The boy's heart was already beating at a dangerous pace, when he heard her whisper the words that made his mind explode.

" I wanna know what love is, and I want you to show me~"

As soon as she finished speaking, all the shyness of the boy disappeared and he advanced against the girl.

Assuming a dominant stance, he hugged her and laid her on the couch, standing over her. Luna's lustful look and smug smile showed him how much she liked him to take the initiative, and he immediately placed his lips against hers, kissing her with intense passion. Luna started to touch Kade's lips with her tongue, and he immediately opened the way to his mouth.

They quickly began to slide their hands across each other, increasing the excitement that their bodies received. Both seemed to be increasingly entertained in their passion, with their hands playing dangerously close to certain areas, when...

"Ahem!"

At the front door, holding some bags with takeouts, were Kade's brothers, somewhat embarrassed to have arrived during their younger brother's make out session.

The teenagers froze as they realized they were no longer alone, but then they became nervous and separated, blushing violently.

Luna looked at the young men in front of her, a little surprised. They looked a lot like Kade, though older and with no freckles.

The older one had long straight hair, which had a lighter shade of brown than the other two brothers. He had a scar on the left side of his face, which ran from above the brow to the cheek, past the eyelids. Despite that, his eye looked good.

The other brother was younger, which indicated that he must be the middle child. His hair was slightly darker than Kade's, cut in military standard. Even so, he had a cheerful and playful face, making Luna immediately think of an older and masculine version of Luan.

The impression was confirmed, for soon he assumed a highly smugly expression, looking at both with malice.

"What a shame, Kade. Next time, go to your room. That's one of the reasons your room is sound proof."

Kade blushed even more and looked at the floor with deep shame, while Luna was slightly curious to know what Kade was doing in his room. The joke irritated the older brother, who punched his brother's shoulder.

"Do not take him seriously, miss. Our brother has a somewhat inadequate sense of humor." He took a stern tone, looking straight at Kade. "Even so, I did not expect such a behavior from my youngest brother. You are too young for... certain things."

The lovebirds looked at each other, turning even redder. The night before, both Kade's brothers and Luna's parents instructed the rock lovers to go slow, and on the first chance they did the opposite.

The older brother looked at them with compassion, feeling pity for the way they seemed to be ashamed. Despite all the responsibility he had for taking care of his brothers, he was not old enough to forget how it is to be young and impulsive.

"(Sigh ) Well, I think we should introduce ourselves." He set the bags on the ground and approached Luna, then bowed. "I'm Kurt Lawrence, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Luna Loud."

He took the girl's hand and kissed it, making her even more embarrassed than she was, while making Kade calmer.

"N-Nice to meet you, Kurt." Luna tried to meet his gaze, though she was still a little embarrassed. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

The three then looked at the middle brother, who looked at them in confusion. He folded his arms in an arrogant posture, staring at his older brother.

"What? I will not do it. It's too kitschy." He took a relaxed stance, looking at the girl. "I'm Kyle, and I'm sorry you like my foolish brother." Kyle winked, wearing a wry smile. "So, if some day you come to your senses and want to break up with him, you can count with my support."

While the other brothers were angry at Kyle's joke, Luna had to suppress a laugh. Despite his terrible sense of humor, he at least managed to ease the tension.

"I'll take that into account." She stood up, holding out her hand to the boy. "I'm glad to finally meet Kade's brothers."

Kyle returned the gesture without delay, smiling happily.

"I liked you, kid. I think we're going to get along just fine."

The tension completely disappeared from the room, so that everyone could feel more relaxed. Kade then noticed the bags his brothers brought in and became apprehensive.

"What did you bring in there?" He asked, his voice a little shaky.

"Oh, that?" Kurt took the bags off the floor, getting a little excited. "We brought dinner."

Upon hearing this, Kade got a bit uncomfortable, while Luna was surprised.

"Is this all dinner?!" She stared in amazement at the bags, impressed by the amount. "It looks like a banquet!"

"It's not that impressive." Kyle took the other bags, going into the kitchen. "Employee discount is one of the advantages of working in a restaurant."

Luna was intrigued by the comment, but she did not have time to delve into her thinking.

"Actually, since you brought it up, would you like to have dinner with us?" Kurt asked, smiling captivatingly. "If it was not evident, we have plenty of food."

Luna was taken by surprise, but got enthusiastic.

"Sure! It would be awesome!"

"That's great. I'll prepare the table and then we can eat."

Kurt went to the kitchen to help his brother, leaving the teenagers alone again.

The lovebirds were a little perplexed, until Luna lightly punched her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Your siblings look cool, dude. Why did not you introduced me to them before?"

"It is not that simple." Kade scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "They do not work in a simple restaurant, they run the New York branch."

"Are you serious?!"

"Does that surprise you?"

"No offense, but they do not look like the ones in charge. My mother runs the family company and my sister Lori works in real estate, and it is easy to see how it makes them stressed, but your brothers looks very fine."

"Well, you could say they love what they do." Kade spoke automatically, even though he felt he was forgetting something. "Actually, I help them from time to time. Kurt said that when I finish school I can go to work with them."

Luna was impressed. She could not imagine Kade working in a restaurant, but she was touched to see how the three brothers were close.

The boy was a little embarrassed and decided to change the topic of the conversation. He stood up and tried to act casually, but only showed how nervous he was.

"W-Why do not we go straight to the dining room? Styrofoam packs do not keep food warm for ever."

"Sure, K." Luna smiled, following her boyfriend. It was then that she realized something important. "By the way, at what restaurant do they work?"

"Oh... well..." Kade felt even more embarrassed, averting her gaze. "They work at Jean Juan."

Luna froze.

Only the name of the restaurant already had painful memories for her stomach.

"I have a bad feeling about it."


Later, in The Watcher...


A little unsure, Bobby advances through the aisles of the helicarrier. Although he had been on the ship for two whole days, he had not yet become accustomed to the quiet of the place.

Although he had been on helicarriers before, they always had SHIELD agents pacing from side to side, always ready for an emergency. But on board of the Watcher there was only one person besides him, not counting the robot with emojis and tons of ants. Bobby shivered as he recalled the tour he had made with his "superior" on the first day, when they entered where would be one of the dining rooms of a normal aircraft carrier, but in this madhouse was a room full of anthills, whose occupants was each more sinister than the other.

Not that the young man was afraid of ants, after all he was invulnerable.

The problem was insects in general.

Ever since he was little, Bobby has always been disgusted with all kinds of insects, especially caterpillars, ants and spiders (though Mr. Loud and little Lisa insist that spiders are not insects).

As he was about to reach the bridge (or in this case, the living room), he was startled when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Hello, Agent Santiago." Larry greeted him, showing a happy face on his screen. "How is your day?"

"G-Great, L-Larry." The boy stuttered, recovering from the fright. "He's as stealthy and sinister as Lori's little sister." The boy forced a smile, trying to look friendly. "I'm just having a bit of trouble with the inside of the HQ, but I'm enjoying the place."

"I'm glad to hear that. Despite the training of the young heroes, this place is a little deserted most of the time."

Larry's screen changed to a sad face, which made Bobby feel a little sorry for the artificial being.

"You look very emotional for a machine." Larry showed a confused face, making Bobby think he said something wrong. "I mean, I've run into robots and LMD's before, but-"

"Are you comparing me to these inferior things!?" Larry's screen turned red, with an angry face. "I'm not a mere object! I am the most advanced artificial intelligence that this world has ever seen, and not even your most advanced computer can be compared to one of my circuits!"

Larry turned his back on Bobby and walked away, making the boy remember the times when Lori got angry at him.

"You messed up. Big time."

Once again, the boy took a fright that almost made his heart stop.

Looking back, he saw Dr. Pym leaning against the doorframe, arms folded and a smile on his face.

Bobby was beginning to suspect that Pym and the robot were plotting to scare him, when he realized that what the scientist said made little sense.

"What do you mean? He's just a machine, is not he?"

Pym tsked and shook his head in a negative way, then entered the room and motioned for the boy to follow him.

Although confused, Bobby followed, until they sat in armchairs side by side. Pym turned on the television in the living room, then picked up a tablet and looked for something, until an image appeared on the television.

The image appeared to be a 3-D representation of a brain, but the structure resembled a circuit board. Next to it appeared another image, which, unlike the other, appeared to be really a brain, and then another image appeared, which appeared to be the inside of a computer.

Bobby was confused to see this, making the scientist smile. He took a laser pointer from the pocket of his lab coat and drew attention to the computer parts.

"That is part of a computer, responsible for processing information. The machine is not only durable but makes the information efficiently processed, but it has certain limitations as well as its organic equivalent." This time he pointed to the brain. "The human brain is also capable of processing an immense variety of information, but it has the disadvantage of deteriorating over time."

"But what about the first image, the weird brain?"

"That, my dear Bobby, is Larry's main matrix." He put the pointer on the picture, smiling with pride. "Using my expertise, I was able to develop a processor that would perfectly emulate the functioning of the human brain."

Bobby was speechless, watching closely the strange brain-circuit hybrid. It did not seem great thing, but he had the impression that Mr. Loud would be impressed by Larry's matrix.

It was then that an idea occurred to him. If Larry processed information in the same way as a human being, then...

"He has feelings!?" He looked at the scientist in disbelief, hoping he would deny it.

Which was not the case.

"Exactly!" Pym was excited, removing the other images and zooming in on Larry. "As you can see, I not only gave to him what is certainly the best way to process information, as well as the ability to process such information as a person. As far as I know, the only thing Larry does not feel is physical pain, and at the moment, he's feeling completely offended."

Bobby was speechless.

He had seen a lot of crazy science thanks with the Loud family, but he had never seen a robot capable of feeling emotions. And above all, to know that he had hurt such a creature. The young agent felt guilty, wondering how he would feel if someone said something offensive against his mere existence.

"Do you think I should apologize to him?"

Pym looked at him in surprise, but then snorted casually.

"Do not worry about it. Knowing Larry, he'll erase it from his memory and leave you a note on your bedroom door telling you never to repeat what you said."

"Are you serious?" Bobby looked at him doubtfully, questioning the man's sanity.

"Of course. Larry literally does not hold grudges." Pym paused a moment to think and remembered something important. "Speaking of grudges, I have a favor to ask of you. Could you tell your parents and the Louds that I'll be ready for our tour this weekend? If they can all be at the Loud Tower tomorrow at 5:30 PM with luggage for the weekend would be great."

"Wait, are you going to call them for the tour? I thought you were going to do that while traveling to Royal Woods."

"And we're really going." Pym stood up, stretching. "It was exhausting, but I managed to locate four possible locations for our hacker to be acting. If everything goes as planned, we will have completed the mission before Saturday afternoon."

Bobby did not know how to react. On the one hand, he was pleased to finally take part in a mission, since he had not had any field assignments since the Beetle incident. On the other hand, he did not feel comfortable knowing that his little sister and three of the Loud siblings would be in danger again. The boy feared not being able to keep them safe, and that consumed him from the inside.

When Pym realized that the boy was pensive, he placed a hand on his shoulder, taking on a comforting tone.

"Hey, you do not have to be like this. I know it sounds scary, but the kids are more than ready for this mission. When you and others see what they are capable of, all this concern will vanish."

Bobby felt a little better. Although he did not know the scientist well, something in his tone of voice had incredible comforting power.

"Thank you sir." Bobby stood up and saluted, standing at attention. "I'll let they know immediately."

"Thank you for that, Agent." The scientist also saluted and then yawned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get some sleep. Searching for the Royal Woods hacker depleted me completely."

Pym walked out the door, leaving Bobby alone in the living room. The boy immediately picked up the cell phone and dialed his father's private number, but he got no aswer.

"He must be talking to someone important. Better call Mom."


Meanwhile, in the Office of the Director of the SHIELD...


"How did they do that? That should not be debatable."

Wearing his pajamas and slippers, the SHIELD's director spoke on the phone, separated from his wife and daughter by the soundproofing of the room. He did not usually pick up calls at the time to spend time with his family, but the matter was urgent.

"..."

"I do not care what the lawyers said, they should not be able to do that. If he is released, we will have nothing to work with."

"..."

"Then at least put a tracker on his ankle."

"..."

"Damn it! You can't-"

"..."

"Okay, I will, but I'm warning you, it will not end well."

Roberto hung up the phone and took a deep breath, totally overwhelmed by the stress.

He looked around, looking at a picture of his children. He took the frame and brought it close to his face, looking at them with concern.

"(Sigh) If Pym does not put you in danger, these idiot bureaucrats are sure to."


TO BE CONTINUED...


Intermission completed, next we will have the new arc. I added Bobby's data on Deviantart, although he is not a member of the team officially.

Other than that, we met Kade's brothers.

I thought it would be funny if all three brothers had names beginning with K, since all Loud siblings have names with L.

Kurt, in particular, has the name inspired at the great Kurt Russell, one of my favorite actors. He is responsible and loves his brothers very much, and is willing to do anything to protect them. Kyle has a name I like, and a playful personality in contrast to his serious and disciplined appearance.

They have appeared before, but I have not put much emphasis on the fact that all the three brothers are Hellfire Club soldiers. Kurt is the current lieutenant of the New York group and talked with the White Queen at the end of Meeting the Secret Admiror, and Kyle is the elite soldier who spoke to Kade in Spring Break Shorts(phone) and Sore Losers 1(wearing mask).

As for Larry's brain, I do not understand much about circuits, but considering it's science fiction I think it makes at least a little sense.

The next chapter will arrive soon, and the Loud and Santiago families will be very impressed with the mission of the young avengers.