AN: The good news is I'm done with my midterms (and feeling pretty good about them), and I'm currently on Spring break. The bad news (for you guys, I guess), is I ended up with a pretty good-sized chapter (by my standards) when I'd only gotten about halfway through the planned material I have left for this story, and I really like where the cut off ended up being for this chapter. So I think I'm just gonna post this as is, and let the story drag out into a third chapter. The upside is that the writing on this is going pretty quickly, so I'll probably be able to crank out the last bit within a couple more days. Definitely before my break is over and I have to start dealing with school stuff again. But even then I've still got another month and some change before I'll have to worry about exams again, so odds are pretty good that I'll be able to do a few more updates of something before I have to take another mini-hiatus.
Really happy to see how positive the reception to this story has been. Episodes like Project Loud House, where Lincoln runs around and gets into shenanigans with his sisters are my favorites, and I'm having a lot of fun writing something in that vein. Still don't know what the long-term plans are for this thing, but it seems like the majority of people are okay with it being a lighter and softer alternate continuity to Stupor, which is good to know. Oh, and if you want more Stupor material, my buddy Zeobide274 has taken a shot at writing a prequel to the story, called Stupor Heroics: Incursion. As the name implies, it's his take on what might have gone down during the Incursion event that gets referenced in Stupor, but happens before the start of the story. The first chapter's out and I think it's pretty good, so check it out if you're so inclined.
Oh, and also also, I got a chance to read the new Loud House Super Special comic. Fans of Stupor who haven't read it might be amused to know that there's a story in there where Lynn undergoes a similar transformation to the one she undergoes in Stupor. I certainly was. Naturally it was my favorite story by far, and an easy reason for me to recommend checking out the new comic.
Cookie Warlord: Well, at the moment I'm not planning on drastically changing anything like established powers. In the future? Maybe. But I did sit down and plan out a lot of the background for Stupor once I realized it was going to go beyond my initial premise of "Lincoln has his door kicked down by a She-Hulk-esque Lynn and funny stuff happens", and be a long form fic, including what's been going on with characters who haven't shown up yet in the main story. So I'm drawing on that stuff as material for this story. So stuff like the powers the sisters have here is "canon", as far as the main story is concerned. Unless I come up with an idea I really like, and a way to retrofit it into the main story, I guess. The real purpose of this story is to let me play around with characters who probably aren't going to be showing up in the main story any time soon, but I know people have been curious about (like the other sisters), and also to let me mess with elements that get mentioned in the main story but aren't relevant anymore in the present day (like Lori's reliance on her limited energy supply, which she's already found a workaround for in Stupor proper). But we'll see what happens. Ditto for the Saide Hawkins girls, who I'm fairly fond of for the most part (especially Tabby), but generally can't find a place for in my stories. We'll see what, if anything I end up coming up with.
Nobody245: As I said, this story is drawing upon stuff that I already had in mind as background material when I was writing the main story. So at the moment, I'm not planning on changing the powers of anybody who has already shown up in Stupor, or who I'm planning on introducing eventually, since I've generally come up with concepts for all those characters already. But we'll see how I feel in the future. I'm not opposed to making changes to my plans if it results in a better, or funnier story. I do like some of your guesses though, there's one or two I wish I'd come up with earlier, hehe.
Mr. Haziq: You won't be seeing that. If this is an AU, that event likely won't come to pass, because it'd defeat the purpose of the AU. And if it isn't an AU, then it's going to be a flashback that's limited to this one particular point in time
Mr ChubbySnorlax619: Thanks man. Glad to see you're still reading my stuff.
darkkrt: I'm leaning toward it being an AU, because it'd give me an outlet for writing Stupor stuff that isn't constrained by the main timeline. But we'll see if I'm able to come up with more material for it in the future.
NoSoul01: Thank you for the well wishes. I'm fighting for the top spots in most of my classes, so I'm not super worried about how I did on my exams. But it still takes work to prepare for those things.
Thanks for the reviews, folks. Seeing people enjoying the story makes it that much easier to sit down and write the next installment. Hope you like this one too.
"Gaack!" Lincoln articulated as the vice-like pressure around his chest somehow got even tighter, causing spots to swim in his vision. What little of it wasn't currently obstructed by lacy green lingerie, or the soft, feminine flesh that lay barely concealed beneath said lingerie. It occurred to the white-haired boy, as his brain slowly began to shut down from oxygen deprivation, that what he could really use right now was some kind of superhero.
"Leni! You'd better be wearing clothes!"
Lori's upper half lurched upward, with the eldest Loud sibling making a heroic effort to sit herself upright. Unfortunately, still weakened as she was, even that minor feat seemed beyond her, and it wasn't long before she collapsed once more, breathing heavily.
"You—" Lori panted, her voice sounding strained as she craned her head, trying to get the younger blonde in her line of vision. "You know mom's rule. E-Especially when Lincoln's around!"
Leni pursed her lips, held Lincoln away from her body, and gave herself a once-over. Which, mercifully, allowed the younger Loud an opportunity to breathe deeply.
...and also afforded him an eyeful of Leni's shapely form, which was outfitted in fashionable, but surprisingly threadbare undergarments. He allowed his gaze to linger for a moment, before he jerked his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut, trying in vain to ignore the burning that was spreading in his cheeks. It was hard to say for certain, but he could have sworn that as he was attempting to turn away and preserve his sister's modesty, their eyes met, for just an instant, and the edges of Leni's lips curled into a smirk.
"I am totes wearing clothes," Said Leni. Lincoln opened his eyes the tiniest amount he could manage and hesitantly turned back toward Leni, angling his head so that only lovely face was in view. Their eyes met for a second time, and the older girl held up one finger against her lips.
That was...confusing.
"You'd...better be," Lori muttered, once again going prone. "Honestly, at least Lynn has the excuse that she's constantly outgrowing her stuff. No brother in history should see as much of his sister as Lincoln's seen of you."
"Oh! That reminds me!" Leni squealed, pulling Lincoln so close that their faces were practically touching. "Linky! Come see what I made!"
"Oh no," Lori groaned from where she lay on her bed.
"Oh no," Echoed Lincoln, as Leni tucked him under her arm like a football, and ran him over to her closet. Which seemed wholly unnecessary, given that it was literally only a few feet away.
"Wait right here!" Said Leni, planting Lincoln on his feet, and disappearing into the closet. The Loud boy wobbled a little but managed to steady himself before embarrassing himself further. Fortunately, Leni's abrupt disappearance kept her from seeing the sweat that suddenly broke out on Lincoln's brow.
Leni's powers were as...unique...as the girl who now wielded them, and their exact nature continued to mystify even Lisa, who had dedicated a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how they worked. The surface-level analysis was simple enough, even for the less learned Louds. Leni, who had spent most of her life designing and creating fabulous outfits, had developed the power to imbue those same outfits with strange and fantastical abilities (emphasis on strange). What was puzzling, even to the accomplished scientist, was what Leni's powers were actually doing. As in, on a mechanical level, because the logic at play seemed to very...Lenian, in nature. Which was why Lincoln's body was presently occupied with moistening itself in anxiety, as a demonstration of his sister's designs rarely came without some kind of collateral damage. Her Boxer Shorts had left multiple members of the family with black eyes and bruised tempers. The new and improved Tank Top she'd whipped up for Lori had ended up blowing a large hole through the kitchen wall (along with the fence, Mr. Grouse's house, his fence…). And her Bow Tie demonstration (designer arrows included) had left Lincoln pinned to the side of the house, scant inches away from being punctured in a much more permanent manner. After hours of painstaking research, the best conclusion Lisa could come up with was that there was some degree of low-level reality alteration at play. Which she'd later confided to Lincoln was the scientific community's equivalent of a confused shrug.
"Ta-dah!"
Lincoln's breath hitched in his throat as Leni burst from the closet and struck a pose, his body simultaneously seizing up in panic and attempting to scramble in three different directions at once. Which essentially just left him confusedly wobbling in place, for the most part. But his utter failure to do anything allowed him to get a glimpse of his talented, but eccentric sister, and that allowed him to calm down ever so slightly.
It was a dress, not too dissimilar to the one she normally wore, being substantially identical in color, and length. At a glance, the most noticeable difference seemed to be that it hung a lot more loosely than the girl's favored garment. Which, Lincoln noted in embarrassment, exposed considerably more of her upper body, specifically in the chest area. He was initially inclined to think that the looseness meant it was made for someone other than Leni, perhaps someone taller, or a little rounder, but the fact that it was in her signature color seemed to suggest that it was, in fact for her. So...maybe it was meant to be worn over something?
"So?" She asked, doing a little twirl so that Lincoln could view the dress in its entirety, the movement causing the bottom of the dress to flap up, briefly exposing her gorgeous legs before she abruptly stopped, and struck a different pose. "What do you think?"
"It...uh, it looks...nice...Leni," Lincoln said, discretely wiping away a small amount of liquid that was now trailing down his nose. "But...what does it...do?"
The fact that it didn't look dangerous was of little comfort. After all, the family was still missing possessions that had disappeared into the bottomless pockets of Leni's Cargo Shorts.
"It's a dress, silly." She giggled, shaking her head in bemusement. "It dresses me."
"Oh. Well, it's doing a really good job of...that."
"Thank you."
Lincoln let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding until this point.
"...oh! And it also does this!"
"W-wait, a dress!?" Lori's shout of alarm drew Lincoln's attention back to her bed, where the older girl was now struggling anew to push herself up, visibly struggling against her weakened body. "Leni, wait! Please don't use the—!"
SMASH
Lincoln's jaw slid open, as he now found himself staring at the spot that had been occupied by his sister only an instant earlier, but now contained only dust, and bits of plaster tricking down from above.
"—Jumper," Lori concluded, plopping back down on her bed with an annoyed groan. "Please don't use the Jumper in the house. Again. Is what I was going to say."
"Bit late for that." Said Lincoln, casting his gaze toward the Leni-sized hole that now adorned the ceiling.
"Literally," Lori muttered. "She's gone now, isn't she?"
"Yep."
"Is there a hole in the ceiling?"
"Yep."
"Not again!" The older girl moaned, clasping her hands to her face. "We just got Lana to fix the last one!"
"Should...we...do, something?" Lincoln asked, glancing anxiously at the hole in the ceiling."
"She'll be alright," Lori said, waiving dismissively in Lincoln's general direction. "She did this before and she was fine when she landed. Apparently, that thing lets her land safely too. Which is good, because even if I wanted to fly after her, I couldn't."
Lincoln winced at the reminder of his elder sister's condition. "Yeah...about that. You were actually supposed to drive me to school today but—"
"AW...SHOOT!"
Immediately Lori began her struggle anew, this time wriggling back and forth, trying to build up enough momentum to swing herself upright. Under other circumstances, it would have looked pretty funny, but...actually, it was still pretty funny. Like watching a turtle try to turn itself over, but without the inherent tragedy Lincoln watched, uncertain as to whether he should help or not, until Lori finally sagged back to the bed once more.
"Uuuuugh!" She groaned, slapping one palm across her face. "I'm sorry, little bro! Honest! I Can't believe I spaced on that!
"It's...it's fine, Lori," Said Lincoln, trying to sound reassuring as he edged closer to the hapless girl. "You've been dealing with a lot lately. I guess something had to fall through the cracks."
"But it wasn't supposed to affect you!" Lori beat her fist against the mattress. Another bit of weirdness, considering that Lincoln had personally seen her put that same, deceptively dainty fist through the wall of their family van like it was made of rice paper, and now it barely made a dent in her soft bedding.
"W-what's my charge at?" She asked trying to peer over her body, a task that was far more difficult for her and Leni...and now Lynn, he supposed, than it would be for his other sisters.
"Looks like...fifteen percent," Said Lincoln, peering at the device clamped to his sister's toe. Lisa had modified the charger to include a handy display that estimated their older sister's energy level, both as a numerical readout and in the form of a tiny digital Lori. Currently, lil' Lori was collapsed to the floor with X's where her eyes would normally be."
"Feels more like twelve," Muttered flesh and blood Lori, sighing in frustration. "Sorry Linc, but it's gonna take me a bit before I can even stand up. And I'm gonna take a while guess and assume we don't have much of that."
"Not…" Lincoln glanced at his phone again. "Yeah. Definitely not enough."
"And mom and dad are already gone for the day, or you wouldn't be here." She chewed on her lip, irritably. "That doesn't leave us with a lot of options."
"I could get Luan."
"And what? Have her come up with a whole routine about how you guys caught me 'laying down on the job'?"
"To give you a jump." His eyes involuntarily leaped to the hole in the ceiling. "The electric kind, not...not the—"
"Not the Leni kind, right," Lori finished for him, sighing. "I hate using Luan for that. It makes my skin crawl. Plus, her electricity tastes weird."
"I don't...really know what to do with that," Lincoln confessed, shrugging awkwardly, knowing full well that the blonde couldn't see him. "But come on Lori, please? I can't miss another day of school! Bolhofner will kill me!"
"He'd have to get through me first," Muttered the blonde, clenching her fist. Or trying to, anyway. Her fingers couldn't quite manage the full range of motion she needed, and eventually spasmed and fell weakly at her side.
"Alright fine!" Lori shouted, glaring at her traitorous hand. "But only because it's an emergency!"
"Thanks, Lori!" Lincoln said, nodding gratefully as he turned to leave.
"But...maybe see if you can duct tape her mouth shut or something before bringing her over. Please?"
"No promises," Lincoln replied, chuckling in spite of how dire the situation was. Then he darted out into the hallway.
"It's not too late," Lincoln thought to himself as he closed the mercifully short distance between Lori and Leni's room, and Luna and Luan's room. "It's not too—"
BWAAAAAAAAAM
A wave of force tore through the air and slammed into the boy, completely invalidating his forward momentum and knocking him flat on his back.
"...late," He wheezed, waiting for the world to stop spinning. As his eyes regained focus, he noticed an outstretched hand in the corner of his, held out as if to offer him a hand up. His brain still rebooting from the hard crash he'd just suffered, Lincoln reached out with one shaky arm and accepted the help.
ZAP!
And immediately regretted it.
"YEOW!" He shouted, instinctively leaping to his feet as a spark of electricity erupted from the point of contact, sending a short, stinging sensation through his hand.
"Luan!" He growled at the brunette, who stood giggling about an arm's length away.
"Heya, Linc!" She managed to squeeze out between peels of laughter. "What's up? Something got you a little...short?"
She punctuated the last word by snapping both sets of fingers, setting off another burst of sparks as she transitioned into finger guns pointed right at him, managing to hold the pose for somewhere between one and three milliseconds before bursting into laughter once more.
"Funny," He muttered, rolling his eyes. "I thought you were gonna quit it with the human joy buzzer routine."
"I was," She protested. "Honest. But I saw you laying there, and it got me all charged up. I just couldn't help myself."
Lincoln frowned. "Speaking of which—"
BWAAAAAAAAAM
Again Lincoln found himself losing his footing, but before he could, Luan's arm snapped out, grabbed him by the elbow, and yanked him close. The next thing he knew Lincoln found himself being held protectively against the older girl, her arm wrapped tightly around his waist, and her smiling face only inches away from his own.
"See?" She asked, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "No more shocks. And I kept you from getting grounded. We good?"
"Y-yeah," He muttered as she loosened her hold on him, keenly aware of the particular shade of red his face was turning.
"What is that?" He asked, trying to change the subject.
"Luna's experimenting with her powers," Luan replied, rolling her eyes. "She's trying to see if she can use them to make new sounds with her guitar...or something. I couldn't really hear her over the noise, and having to listen to all that was driving me nuts."
She paused, as if politely waiting for Lincoln to interject. He had a few ideas, but he needed a favor from the comedienne, so he held his tongue.
"Anyway, that's why I'm out here," She concluded. "So, now that we've got that out of the way, why are you here, little brother? Anything in particular, or are you just making a...circuit, of the house?"
"Sounds like you're making good use of those books Lisa loaned you on electrical theory." Lincoln deadpanned as the girl burst into a fresh round of laughter.
"I-I t-try," She snorted. "But seriously, what's up?"
"I need a ride to school and Lori's drained and I need you to get her back on her feet," Lincoln said quickly, shooting a quick glance to the room behind the brunette, bracing himself for another shockwave. Thankfully, one didn't seem to be forthcoming. The steady stream of noise coming from behind the door remained low and bassy, but not explosive.
"Forgot to plug herself in again, huh?" Luan asked, before rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "I dunno. I mean, I want to help you out. But if Lori's laid out and helpless, that's a golden opportunity to inflict some prankery on her. I'd hate to miss out on that."
"You realize she's eventually going to recover, and destroy you, right?
"That would be future Luan's problem." She said, waggling her eyebrows at him. "And I'm feeling mighty impulsive right now. Anything you can do to...sweeten, the deal?"
Uncertain of what to make of the knowing smirk on his sister's face, Lincoln mentally ran through what assets he had available. Given that he was a kid, that didn't take very long, and he seriously doubted that Luan would be interested in the pocket change he could scrounge up. Although…
"I...guess…" He said, leaning in closer. He was mildly surprised when the older girl followed suit. "I guess...I could…"
"Yeah?" She asked as their faces drew nearer.
"I guess...I could...ohm you one?"
All movement ceased, Luan's eyes widening in surprise as Lincoln could swear he heard the faint sound of a record scratch in the distance. And then…
"Pfffft! HA HA HA!"
Lincoln nonchalantly wiped the spittle from his face, as the brunette suddenly launched into raucous laughter.
"Good one, lil' bro." She chortled, slapping him on the back. "Alright alright, I'll go get miss cranky pants out of bed."
Lincoln breathed a small sigh of relief, before leaning in and pulling Luan into a quick side hug.
"Thanks, Luan. You're a lifesaver."
"Anytime, Linc." She murmured, before returning the gesture. "But I am gonna collect on that promise. Count on it."
He'd take it. After all, that was future Lincoln's problem. Lincoln spun around and made to head back to Lori's room, only to be stopped by Luan's hand grabbing him by the shirt collar and gently tugging him backward.
"Gimme a minute or two alone with our sister resistor," Luan said, giving him an affectionate pat on the head. "My aim isn't all that great yet, and I don't want to zap you by accident."
"Oh. Yeah, alright."
Giving him a cheerful nod, Luan stepped around Lincoln and made her way toward Lori's room. As he watched her go, feeling just a little more optimistic, Lincoln felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. Wondering who would be texting him this early in the morning, the Loud boy whipped out the device and thumbed the on button.
"You may want to duck", read the screen.