Hi Everyone! Sorry for the long wait. The next chapter is finally here! Enjoy!
"Split up?" Liam repeated Lincoln's suggestion.
"Yes," Lincoln confirmed. "Most of us are normal humans that have less combat experience, we'd just be getting in the way."
"Speak for yourself," Lynn retorted. "I'm more capable of taking care of myself than the rest of these softies."
"Hey!" Lola felt insulted. "I may have the face of an angel, but I sure ain't one!"
"I've wrestled gators," Lana argued. "There's nothing I can't handle."
"Boo!" Lucy said in her monotone voice spooking her younger tomboy sister.
"I possess an IQ of 180," Lisa boasted. "I have invented cryogenic chambers, tracking chips, virtual-reality simulators, and produce with brains."
"Did you invent anything that bores people to death?" Lola insultingly asked. "Oh right, you already do that!"
"Guys, I'm the oldest, I'm more capable of taking care of myself and the rest of you," Lori said.
"Yeah, but only when you're not focused on your phone," Lynn retorted. "Do you even remember when the last time you focused on anything else was?"
"Well, she can always gas em', if you know what I mean," Luan chuckled.
"Luan, how many times have I told you?!" Lori angrily yelled at her comedian sister. "It was my shoes!"
"I can take care of myself," Leni said.
"Yeah right," Luna disagreed. "You're almost as helpless as Lily."
"Poo-poo!" the youngest Loud sister angrily snapped.
Shadowcat and Colossus watched the girls argue with disgruntled expressions. They should've expected this much from a large family like this.
"Guys, enough!" Lincoln yelled stopping the argument and getting everyone's attention. "This isn't accomplishing anything!"
"Nice to see the boy has more sense than most of you," a gruff Canadian voice was heard.
Everyone turned to see where the voice came from. It was fellow X-man, Wolverine, who had finally caught up with them. However, the possibility that this could be Mystique in disguise crossed their minds and they prepared themselves for a fight.
"Easy guys, it's me," Wolverine assured his comrades.
"Prove it," Kitty challenged.
"Scott is a big doofus who doesn't deserve Jean."
"I'm convinced," Kitty said easing up.
"Me too," Colossus agreed.
Now that they were sure it was the real Wolverine, the two X-Men were relieved to have one of their best fighters ready to lend a claw.
"Everyone, this is Logan, also known as Wolverine," Kitty introduced their companion.
"He's a good comrade," Colossus added.
"I remember, the guy from the parking lot who was with Kitty," Lincoln recognized the X-man. He walked up to him and politely extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, my name is Lincoln Loud."
"I know who you are, kid," Wolverine bluntly replied not returning the gesture. "I'm already familiar with your scent."
"Scent?" That caught Lana's attention. "Is your power the ability to track people like a bloodhound?"
"One of them," the X-man answered.
"What else can you do?" Lynn Sr. asked curiously.
The X-man answered the family patriarch's question by raising a fist and sprouting three sharp, metallic blades from his knuckles much to the intimidation of everyone except his teammates.
"We see your point!" Luan nervously cracked a joke. "Get it?"
"Wait a minute," Lisa said and stepped forward to get a closer look at X-man's claws. "Is that adamantium?"
"Adam-what?" Lynn Jr. asked.
"Adamantium, the strongest known metal alloy in the world!" Lisa explained with amazement in her eyes. "Virtually unbreakable, and your claws are made of it?!"
"This stuff is infused to my entire skeleton," Wolverine corrected.
"But… how?" Lisa asked flabbergasted. What process in the world could make it possible to bond the strongest known metal to a human skeleton?
"That's a long… and very painful story," he replied and retracted his claws. It was clear he wasn't in the mood to talk about his past.
"Does it hurt?" a concerned Leni asked staring at his fist.
"Every time, girlie."
"Doesn't look like you're bleeding though," Liam noticed no blood dripping from his knuckles.
"He has a very fast healing factor," Kitty said.
"Ooooooo!" the Louds and Lincoln's friends all exclaimed in amazement.
"Now if we're all done gawking at the man with the claws, can we get back to a more important matter at hand?!" Wolverine impatiently requested.
His attitude and lack of manners greatly contrasted with the more friendlier X-Men. Lincoln could also tell that Wolverine was hiding a lot of painful secrets behind his demeaner.
"We need to be careful about who we trust, one of the Brotherhood has the ability to shapeshift," Lincoln informed everyone. "She tricked me by making herself look like Lori."
"So that's what happened," Lori put that information and the information given to them by Ernie earlier together.
"Mystique's doing no doubt," Wolverine said. "I can easily spot her. She may be able to change her appearance and voice, but she can't change her scent."
"Too bad the rest of us don't have a sense of smell as advanced as yours," Lisa replied.
"We need some sort of code," Zach suggested.
"That's a good idea," Stella agreed. "If we get separated, we'll need a way to make sure we are who we say we are."
"Something that only we would know," Rusty added.
"I have a few ideas," Lincoln excitedly announced. "How about Ace Savvy, One-Eyed Jack? Or for Academy of Really Good Ghost Hunters? Or maybe…"
"How about Stinkin' Lincoln?" Lynn Jr. mockingly suggested getting tired of her brother listing references to all his favorite things that the rest of the sisters didn't care much for.
"Stinkin' Lincoln sounds easy enough to remember," Lisa commented.
"It has a fun ring to it too," Lola added in agreement.
"Alright, Stinkin' Lincoln it is," Lori declared. "That will be our code word."
Lynn snickered at her brother's expense while he shot her an unimpressed glare.
"At least some things haven't changed after being exposed as a mutant," Lincoln said to the readers.
"Lynn, you and Luna take Lincoln's friends outside and find someplace for them to lie low until this is all over," Rita told her husband.
"You got it, Honey," the family patriarch replied.
"I'll watch over Lily, Lori, and Leni. Kitty will look after Lincoln and LJ. Lola, Lana, and Lucy can be with Mr. Rasputin." Most of the other Loud sisters groaned in disappointment at not being able to go with the Russian hunk. "And Luan and Lisa can go with Mr. Logan."
"And if anyone gives us any trouble, he can just stick it to them!" Luan chuckled at her joke. "Get it?"
"This is going to be a barrel of laughs," an annoyed Logan sarcastically commented.
"Alright, let's do this," Kitty said.
The large group split up into their designated smaller groups and went their separate ways.
Cyclops, Jean, and Storm were still in conflict with Pyro and Toad. Despite the X-Men outnumbering their foes by one, the two Brotherhood members still held their own. Suddenly, Toad's phone made a sound. He took a moment to look at it and saw an important-looking text.
"Hey, we're wasting too much time with these bozos when we should be getting the kid," the English mutant told his comrade.
"Well then let's not waste anymore," Pyro replied. "Time to turn up the heat!"
The mutant pyromaniac began to manipulate his flames to create a huge fireball the size of a 28-inch beach ball. The X-Men stopped their fighting to gauge what their foe was trying to do. Then with a snap of his fingers, Pyro made the fireball explode. The explosion was so bright, the X-Men had to avert their eyes to avoid being blinded. Jean used her telekinetic powers to manipulate the flames away from herself and her companions. A sprinkler system was activated dowsing the flames. However, Pyro and Toad were nowhere to be found.
"Dang it! They got away!" Cyclops angrily said.
"They're likely going after the boy," Storm deduced.
"Then we need to start moving," Jean added.
"Let's track them down," Cyclops said.
The three X-Men wasted no time and took off down the mall.
Lynn Sr., Luna, and Lincoln's friends had made their way safely outside the mall. However, as their looked behind a corner, they saw a squad of police cars and dozens of cops talking to a large group of anxious and angry-looking civilians.
"Looks like the rumors are true," one officer said to another. "Mutants do exist."
"And they're causing trouble here in the Royal Woods Mall," the other officer added.
"Alright men, create a perimeter," the police sergeant ordered his men. "Don't let anybody in or out. And remember, we're dealing with mutants, so be prepared to shoot on sight!"
The two Louds and the five kids did not like what they just heard.
"This isn't good," Liam said nervously.
"What'll we do now?" Rusty asked.
"You five stay out here where it's safer," Lynn told the preteens. "Luna and I need to go back inside and warn the others."
"Don't worry Mr. Loud, I'll call Lincoln on my walky-talky and warn him," Clyde said.
"Come on, Lunes," the patriarch said to his third eldest daughter. "We got to get back to the fam."
"Right with ya, Pops," Luna replied.
The father and daughter left to reenter the mall before anyone saw them.
Back in the mall, Colossus was looking after Lucy, Lana, and Lola. The smitten twins were asking a lot of personal questions, much to the towering hero's discomfort.
"So, what type of body oil do you use?" Lola asked.
"Uhhh…" Colossus stammered confused by the question.
"Do you also polish your metal skin too," Lana asked her own question.
"I'm afraid I'm not quite following, little ones."
"I'm already thinking of a poem to write about you," Lucy announced. "Colossus, With metallic skin so cold, Who would've thought, It could harbor a heart of gold, Colossus."
"That is good, malen'kaya devochka," the metal-skinned Russian complimented genuinely impressed by her poetry skills.
Elsewhere, Wolverine was with Luan and Lisa. Luan spent the time cracking jokes and puns while Lisa expressed her scientific interest in Wolverine, both much to the latter's irritation.
"We feel safe when we're around you, Mr. Logan," Luan seemingly assured. "If anyone tries to mess with us, you'll just stick it to them!" Then she burst into laughter. "Get it?" The X-Man groaned in annoyance. "I bet you never needed to ask for a kitchen knife."
"Kid, you're lucky I'm one of the good guys."
"If you're done irritating our bodyguard with your incessant witticisms, elder sister," Lisa interrupted. "I have some questions I would like to ask him." Then she spoke to the X-Man. "I've become recently aware that mutants are born with extraordinary abilities, but having such a rare and powerful alloy bonded to one's skeleton doesn't come naturally."
"You're definitely the smartest one here, kid," Logan sarcastically commented.
"Can you tell me what process caused this phenomenon?" Lisa curiously asked.
"Not a good bedtime story for toddlers."
"Please don't treat me like most of the underdeveloped peers of my generation. Knowing the strong density of adamantium, it would've taken a great deal of heat to melt it down into a workable substance."
"Can we get off the subject?" Wolverine patiently requested, but Lisa continued while Luan continued to crack more jokes in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"It would have to remain in constant heat in order to maintain its manipulable state."
"Bet walking through those metal detectors in an airport must get you into a lot of trouble."
"Seriously, drop it," the X-Man said desperately trying not to lose his patience.
"Then the liquid substance would have to be injected deep beneath the skin and –"
"I bet you must've gotten kitchen magnets stuck to your –"
"Enough!" the Canadian mutant finally lost his patience and snapped at the two girls causing them to go silent and step back in fear. After taking a moment to regain his composure, the gruff X-Man spoke to them in a calmer but more stern tone. "Some things aren't a laughing matter, and some things are personal and should be left alone. Life is hard for people, but life for mutants is even harder. Your brother is going to have a tough road ahead of him filled with experiences that will make what happened today look like one of his better days."
With that, the trio continued walking. This time, there was silence. Luan wasn't telling anymore jokes and Lisa wasn't asking anymore questions. Logan looked back to see they both had looks of shame and sadness on their faces. He didn't mean to be so hard on them, but these were dark and troubling times. They will need to take them seriously.
Rita was walking around accompanied by Lily, Lori, and Leni. The matriarch was eagerly awaiting the return of her husband and third daughter.
"Dang it!" Lori said fiddling with her phone. "What happened to the signal? It was fine a half hour ago."
"You can worry about your phone later, Honey," Rita assured her eldest daughter. "Right now, see if you can locate your father and Luna."
"There they are," Leni announced pointing toward what looked like her father and Luna running toward them calling their names.
The two groups were about to exchange hugs when Lori stepped between them glaring at her father and sister with suspicious eyes.
"Stinkin'…?"
"…Lincoln!" both Lynn Sr. and Luna said together.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged hugs.
"Lynn, you got Lincoln's friends out, okay?" Rita asked her husband.
"Safe and sound," he assured his wife. "But we've got more trouble now."
"The cops have arrived and they're surrounding the mall," Luna informed everyone.
"And judging by what we've heard, they're not mutant-friendly."
Rita, Lily, Lori, and Leni gasped when they heard the news.
"We've got to warn Lincoln and the others!" an anxious Leni said.
"I can't call him, my phone's not working!" Lori said.
"Then let's find him and regroup quickly," Rita suggested.
"Everyone stay together!" Lynn told everyone as they all took off down the mall.
Little did they know was a pair of bright yellow eyes had been lurking in the shadows behind a pillar near them and had heard everything. A sinister female chuckle was heard.
Shadowcat was walking with Lynn Jr. and Lincoln when the latter heard the voice of his best friend on his walky-talky.
"Clyde, is that you?" Lincoln responded relieved to hear his friend's voice. "Are you and the others okay? How's Luna and my dad?"
"Lincoln… Police… Surround…" Clyde's voice was heard but there was a lot of static that was making it hard to understand what he was trying to say. Something was interfering with the signal.
"Clyde? Clyde?!" Lincoln called desperately into the walky-talky, but then the signal went dead.
"What was that all about?" Lynn asked.
"I heard something about the police and surrounding…" then it hit him. "The police have arrived and are surrounding the mall!"
"This isn't good," Kitty said. "Most cops aren't exactly friendly with mutants."
"What do we do?" Lincoln asked.
"Kids!" they heard a familiar voice and turned to see Lynn Sr. approach them. "I'm glad I found you."
"Stinkin'…?" Lynn Jr. said.
"…Lincoln!" the father replied.
While Kitty and LJ were relieved, Lincoln wasn't. Not because of insulting code word, but something about his father didn't feel right.
"Dad, the police are here," Lynn informed her father. "We gotta get out of here now."
"Don't worry, kids," he assured them. "Follow me, I know a safe way out."
The trio began following the family patriarch. But while Lynn and Kitty felt comfortable, Lincoln watched his supposed father suspiciously. He had a familiar presence that the boy felt.