I don't own the Loud House.

First off, sorry for the long semi-unannounced hiatus that I've taken. I can't really say much other than that life has gotten in the way and I'm also recently recovered from a sickness. But I feel much better now and I've also been playing Hogwarts Legacy which also extended my hiatus. Once more, Sorry for making you all wait and I am back. I'll be posting at least once a week for the next four weeks, normally on Friday. After that I'll let you know either in an update or on twitter. Follow me on there if you want updates. ;)

Second, this is a new story that I've been working on for the last few months. If the title seems familiar then you're not seeing things. As most of you will know, The Siege Perilous is a very good friend of mine and I'm a big fan of most of his works. As such, I asked for his permission to write a prequel alternate universe of his story "Stupor Heroics". And Siege said yes. After months of work, I am happy to introduce this story to you. I have finished it. And for the foreseeable future, there will be an update of this story as well as some surprises coming soon.

As for what to expect, Siege mentions in his story that there was an incursion before the start of his story and I was inspired to write that incursion. The story will mainly follow Lori and Lynn and expect to see less of the other sisters as the story continues. Hopefully you will all enjoy this story and if you haven't already, go and read Siege's story and let him know that I sent you. He gets a kick out of it lol.

Stupor Heroics: Incursion

Chapter 1

Lori woke up with a start. Taking in her surroundings, she saw that she wasn't in her room. And for a moment, she was scared that something had happened to her. But that only lasted a moment before the memories of why she was there came flooding in. Her home had been destroyed and the cause had been her and the rest of her sisters reckless behavior and use of their powers.

A couple of months ago during a camping trip, a meteorite had fallen near their camp and Lori along with the rest of her sisters had gotten super powers. Unfortunately, Lincoln had been away when it happened and by the time he had returned, the meteorite's radiation had been spent. So he missed out on the chance to have any powers, much to his dismay.

And since then, Lori and her sisters had been struggling to learn their powers despite their parents' orders to not use them. By some stroke of luck, Lori's powers were the strongest so far so she was still able to maintain some semblance of order but it was still shaky at best. That is until a couple of days ago.

Lori still couldn't believe how out of hand things had gotten. In her attempt to reign her sisters in, Lori had lost control of the situation and they ended up destroying their home and damaging the nearby properties. But worst of all, their only brother had been caught in the crossfire and he was in the house when it collapsed. He survived but it was a close thing and Lori had almost lost the most important person in her life.

After that, a government representative approached her family and gave them two choices. Either join a newly developed training program that would help them learn to control their powers or face the consequences of their actions and possibly go to jail. They had not only caused significant damage to their own home and the surrounding area but they had also caused injuries to their neighbors as well. There would surely be a criminal and civil lawsuit that would ruin their family.

Having little choice, the Louds decided to accept the offer. They had moved into a nearby government base and were now waking up to begin their training. The alarm clock beside Lori's bed told her that it was four in the morning. Looking around in her small room, Lori couldn't help but sigh. So far this arrangement wasn't looking too good but they didn't have a choice. They were also doing this so that Lincoln would be safe.

Lori got up and went to take a shower. Thankfully, the dormitories in which they were staying had a small bathroom attached to each room. There was a shower, toilet, and sink. Once she was ready, it was nearing 4:30am and Lori was already dreading what was to come. She got dressed in her military training uniform which consisted of camo pants, shirt, white undershirt, a black sports bra, and combat boots. She also had a camo jacket but she didn't wear it, she didn't feel cold much anymore.

As Lori made her way towards the courtyard, she could see that some of her sisters were already awake. With the exception of Lily, all of them would be receiving the training with the focus on the five oldest Louds. Lori and Lynn especially needed to get a handle on their physical strength. They were all dressed the same with the exception of Luna. She hadn't wanted to be there and had only come because their parents had made her. Lori had a feeling that Luna would be a problem.

"Morning ladies!" A voice called out loudly from the center of the courtyard.

Lori had been so focused on her thoughts that she failed to see the man standing a few yards away from them. From the looks of him, he was probably in his late 40's, early 50's. He had short white hair that looked unkempt and his features were hidden behind a dark blue mask that covered most of his face leaving only his forehead exposed. The mask wrapped itself around his head, covering his ears as well. It had a red visor lens attached to the mask above the eyes and it seemed to glow in the early morning. The rest of his attire was normal by comparison. He wore a black t-shirt, camo pants, and black combat boots. From what they could see, he was heavily scarred as if from a lifetime of battle.

"I am Captain Ace. You can all call me Captain Ace. From now on, you ladies will be serving under me. Is that clear?" He barked. His voice was being masked by a voice modulator so they had no idea what he really sounded like. Lori couldn't help but think that this man must've been paranoid with all of the secrecy.

The Loud sisters mumbled and grumbled with Lori being the only one who said 'Yes, Sir!'.

"Now that won't do. You girls do understand why you're here, right?" Ace asked them.

"We're here because we're being punished." Luna said as she crossed her arms.

"Wrong!" Ace barked, startling the younger girls. "You're here because you lack control of your powers! You're here because you don't know the first thing about discipline and control. You're here to learn how to become heroes!"

Lynn was the one who scoffed this time. "I can already control my powers." She said, glaring at the masked man. "I don't need you to tell me what to do."

"Oh really?" He asked, his tone clearly mocking her. "Well, if you think that you don't need me then why not prove it? You strike me as the girl who would rather let her actions speak for her."

Lynn grinned. She cracked her knuckles and took a few steps towards the man. "Now you're speaking my language. Just don't let your fragile male ego crack too much after I kick you butt."

"I'm sure I'll survive." He said, sounding amused. He crossed his arms and waited for her to attack. "Come at me with all that you've got, kid."

"Lynn, maybe this isn't such a good idea? He doesn't have any powers." Lori spoke up.

But Lynn just ignored her. She let out a battle cry and charged at the masked man. The ground shook as she took off, creating a small crater in the ground. In a blink of an eye, she crossed the distance between them and aimed a practiced punch to the man's face, hoping to break his mask to pieces. What Lynn didn't expect was for the masked man to simply step out of the way and trip her at the last second. Shocked, Lynn was unable to stop herself as she face planted into the ground and ate dirt. She formed a trench in the ground that was several yards long before her momentum was stopped.

The rest of the Louds watched with wide eyes as they saw the sporty Loud basically get dunked into the ground. They had never seen Lynn fail so spectacularly before and it was a sight to behold.

"That was a cheap trick!" The Sporty Loud shouted as she pulled herself from the dirt. With an angry shout, she launched herself again at the man that had humiliated her.

Lynn slammed her fist into the ground, cratering it and launching debris into the air. Ace expertly dodged the chunks of dirt heading his way and then leaped backwards to distance himself from Lynn. The girl let out a growl before grabbing a chunk of dirt and hurling it straight towards him. It seemingly landed on him and exploded in dust and debris. The Loud sisters who were standing on the sidelines couldn't see a thing. But then they heard a cry of pain and when the dust settled, Lynn was lying on the floor while holding onto her throat.

"Let that be a lesson to you. No matter how much power you think you have, it means nothing if you can't control it or land a hit." Ace said, placing a foot on Lynn's chest.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Lana shouted, glaring at the man.

"She wanted to prove that she didn't need training, remember?" Ace asked them. With a shrug, he placed his foot beneath Lynn and then launched her towards the Louds. "Here, help her to her feet. We're going to start training now. Unless any of you feel like you can take me on?"

What surprised Lori was that Ace looked directly at her. Once she might've fought him to defend her sisters. But after what had happened when she last used her powers and how she had failed her promise to Lincoln, Lori just lowered her head.

XXXXXXXXXX

That night, Luna made her move. She had never wanted to be a hero or to be trained as one. The only thing that mattered to her was her brother and he was gone. With the rest of her sisters exhausted, Luna knew that this was her best chance to escape. She would say goodbye to Sam before going on a journey to find her brother. Then she would take him to the farthest corner of the world where no one would ever find them. And she would keep him safe, just like she told Lori she could do in the first place. The only reason that their battle had gotten out of hand was because all of their sisters had joined in. Otherwise Luna could have…she could have…

Luna stopped. After blowing a hole in the wall to make her escape, she saw that she wasn't alone. Standing just outside of her room was Ace. He was leaning against the building next to their sleeping quarters and he was patiently waiting for her. Cursing her luck, Luna glanced around to see if there was anything that she could use to escape.

"So…" Ace began, his tone casual if a bit disappointed. "You're leaving…"

"S-So what if I am?" Luna asked, sending him a glare. "You gonna stop me?"

To her surprise, Ace shook his head. "No. If you want to leave then go. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to help you if you don't want to be helped."

"Help? Don't you mean brainwash?" Luna scowled.

"I mean help." Ace said firmly. "After all, the desire to help others is the mark of a true hero." Despite having a mask on, Luna could tell that he was scowling at her. "You are no hero."

"I never said I wanted to be one, bruh." Luna shot back.

"What about your brother?" Ace asked.

"What about him?"

"He wanted to be a hero. Dreamt it all of his life." Ace said, his tone conversational but still condemning her all the same. "Don't you want him to be proud of you for doing what's right?"

"I don't know what he wants! He was taken away from me!" Luna shouted. "I'm gonna get out of here and then find him. Then we'll disappear and no one will ever hurt him again."

"Like how you hurt him when the house was torn apart?" Ace asked, the accusation clear in his tone.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Luna snarled. "I would never hurt him on purpose!"

"But you did hurt him because you can't control your powers." He shot back. "His ear drums were ruptured, Luna. That didn't happen because he slipped on a banana peel."

Luna balled her fists as she shook with rage. This asshole was accusing her of hurting her little brother, the person who mattered most to her in the whole world.

"That's why you're here, Luna, to learn to control your powers so that you don't accidentally hurt anyone ever again. You're dangerous. And without training you'll end up hurting yourself and others. Last time it was his ear drums, next time it could be his brain."

Luna took a step towards Ace and prepared to use her powers on him when she felt a hand on her wrist. To her surprise, Ace was standing to her right, his hand gripping tightly on her wrist.

"You're out of control, Luna. But you're also not my problem anymore." Ace said as he released her wrist. He turned around and began to walk away. "Go. Get on out of here. Just know that if you leave that you will never be his hero."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lori got in line for training the next morning and noticed that there was another Loud missing. She glanced around hoping to see Luna but the musically inclined Loud was nowhere to be seen. It was then that she noticed that Captain Ace was walking over to them, his posture serious.

"Morning Ladies. I'm afraid I have some bad news." Ace said once he was close enough. "Luna Loud has run away."

The Loud sisters gasped at the news, Lori just couldn't believe that her sister had done something so incredibly foolish. Didn't she know the consequences of such an action? She'd be making an enemy of their entire government!

"As you all know, you're all here because you lack control of your powers and I'm going to help you learn to control them. It's that simple. Without proper training, you're a risk to the public at large." Ace continued. "But most importantly, you're here to learn how to become a hero, if that's the path that you choose."

"You're saying we have a choice?" Lynn asked, frowning at the man that had kicked her ass the day before.

"You always have a choice, Lynn." Ace told her. "It's our choices that determine who we are, not your powers."

"And if I just want to live a normal life?" Leni asked. "C-Can I?"

Ace nodded. "Yes. But you must learn to control your powers. Once you complete your training, you will be given a certificate that will be signed by the President. That certificate will be added to our databases and everyone will know that you're not a danger unless provoked."

"But why be heroes?" Lola asked. "I mean, it's not like there's any monsters to fight."

Ace was quiet for a moment. It was hard to tell where he was looking at exactly because of his mask but Lori got the impression that he wasn't staring at them.

"With the emergence of meta humans, some will undoubtedly turn to crime and villainy. Some will do it for money, others for power. But the truth is that one day, probably real soon, the Earth will need heroes and I believe that you all have what it takes to be among the best and brightest of heroes."

Lori couldn't help but feel like his eyes lingered on her as he said that. Did he really think that she would go out and fight crime like one of those spandex wearing dorks from Lincoln's comics? But the sudden reminder of her little brother put a damper in Lori's mood. Had he received powers, this whole training camp would have been up his alley. She could just imagine her little brother doing his best to get stronger so that he could one day stand tall and with a smile as he rescued people in need. With a sigh, Lori waited to see what Ace ordered them to do next.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A week had passed and things hadn't progressed much further. They still did drills in the morning, had their classes in the afternoon, then another hour of training before dinner. It was a routine that Lori adjusted well to. It wasn't as if she enjoyed it but it was good to keep busy. If she was left alone with her own thoughts for too long then she'd think about her brother and about how much she had failed him. She was supposed to have been the responsible one yet despite her oh so great power, she still failed to protect him.

Ace still ran them to the ground, his training as grueling as ever. But for some reason that Lori couldn't explain, he seemed to be targeting her especially hard. During their combat training where they learn to defend themselves, Lori had been used very liberally as a punching bag. Ace would rarely let up on her and if she showed signs of wanting to stop, he would push her harder. But Lori didn't want to be pushed, she just wanted to complete their training so that she could go and live a normal life. She wasn't a hero, she would never be able to save a life. After all, she couldn't save her own brother.

"Lori!" Ace barked right behind her.

Lori yelped and a flash of light emanated from her hands, blasting the ground in two places. She spun around to face her masked captain and lowered her head slightly. "Y-yes, captain?" She asked.

Ace was a head taller than her and with his impressive physique, he towered over her. "Chin up, Loud. You're going to get special training soon."

Lori winced. So far special training meant that she'd be getting her ass handed to her again in some way or another. "Yes sir." She answered but her heart wasn't in it. She was just going through the motions.

"For now, hit the showers and get lunch. You look like shit." Ace told her.

And Lori nodded before she made her way to her room. After her shower, Lori went to get lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of her sisters. They were adjusting as best they could as well. It was hard to be separated from everything that they knew. Leni especially was having a hard time since she missed their brother. They all did.

"Hey Lori…" Leni said, her eyes downcast as she idly picked at her food.

"How are you holding up, Leni?" Lori asked her younger sister. Lori looked Leni up and down and she noticed that despite being in the same training program, Leni barely had any bruises.

"I'm okay. I just miss Linky…I miss our house." Leni admitted. She looked at her sister and her eyes widened. "Lori, what happened to you?"

Lori knew that she looked rather beat up. She and Lynn were the ones who seemed to be bearing the worst of the training. Ace seemed adamant on making them heroes even if it killed them.

"I'm fine, training is just hard after all." Lori told her with a small smile. And she was telling Leni the truth, mostly. Because of her powers, Lori had also received increased durability and an accelerated healing factor. Lisa theorized that as she mastered her powers, Lori would also be able to boost her healing as well. Just by being out in the sun, Lori could feel herself start to get energized. She wasn't exactly solar powered yet but she figured that she could work on it little by little.

Lori continued to converse with her sisters and she learned that each of them had started doing their own specialized training to learn to control their powers. Even Lynn was already hard at work to control her powers. Ace had apparently given her an egg and she was to do her training without breaking the egg. So far, Lynn had cracked 357 eggs and counting. Yet Lori was still in basic training so what was going on? She figured that she would probably know why when she next saw Ace.

After Lunch, Lori had been instructed to go into a training warehouse on the far side of base. And as Lori made her way over there, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of special training she would do. But thoughts of training were quickly forgotten once Lori entered the room. Her heart stopped and her blood turned to ice as Lori looked to the center of the room.

Standing in the center of a large warehouse was Ace and he wasn't alone. With his left side facing Lori, Ace was standing with his right hand outstretched in front of him. And clutched in his hand was the throat of a boy. A white haired, 11 year old boy with an orange polo and blue jeans. The boy's eyes glanced towards Lori and she could see the fear in his eyes. And it was that moment that Lori exploded.

She didn't even know that she had moved, one second she was holding the door open and the next she was in front of Ace, her fist cocked back and aimed at his face. She didn't even feel the power that was coursing through her body nor the face that she had flown the whole way there. No, all she felt was the urgent need to save her little brother from the masked man who was about to kill him.

All of that had happened in less than a second and when Lori finally released her punch, she was shocked when Ace turned to face her and blocked her fist with his left hand. The blowback from her attack blew the air around them back like a shockwave and Lori was sure that her sleeve was completely destroyed. But Ace didn't look like he even felt it, all he did was look at her.

"Good." Ace told her. He sounded pleased, almost as if he had expected her to react that way. "Good."

"Good? Good!? You attacked my brother!" Lori screamed as she turned to look at his right hand and stopped. "W-What?"

Ace had lowered his right hand but her brother remained floating in the air looking as though he was being choked. Then the Lincoln in the air flickered before it vanished.

Lori's mouth dropped. "I-It was a fake?" She asked.

"Hologram." Ace confirmed. "Lisa made it for me."

Lori glared at him. "Why!?" She demanded, her hands balled into fists and electricity crackled around her.

"To help you, obviously." Ace answered. He pointed towards the door before he spoke again. "You had yet to unleash your full power so I wanted something to give you a shock, so to speak. Like jumpstarting a car, you needed a boost and nothing is more shocking than seeing a loved one in danger."

Lori growled. "You scared the hell out of me just so that I could use my full power!?" When Ace nodded, Lori lost it. She screamed as she charged at him, her fists glowing with energy. She swung at his head with her right and Ace ducked out of the way. She spun around in midair and brought her hands down in a double hammer fist but once again Ace dodged out of the way. Lori was idly aware that her attack had created a crater in the ground where she struck the floor. But in her fury, she barely registered it.

Lori flew towards Ace, energy crackling in her hands and without thinking, she began to throw energy blasts at the masked man. With a curse, Ace began to leap and dodge out of the way. The energy blasts created small explosions where they hit and Ace was doing his best to not be where they landed. But each time that Lori missed, she grew more frustrated. With an angry shout, she raised her hands above her head, focused her energy in her hands, and she fired a concentrated blast towards Ace.

"Oh Shit!" The attack shot towards Ace even faster than before and he did the only thing that he could do. He stood his ground and braced himself for the attack.

There was an explosion when the blast hit and it was then that Lori realized that she might've gone too far. With a gasp, Lori lowered herself to the ground and waited to see if the masked man was okay. The smoke was thick in the air and for several moments, Lori was afraid that she might've killed him in her blind fury. Then she heard laughter coming from the smoke.

"Now that's what I've been waiting for!" Ace called out. Lori could see his silhouette as he walked towards her. "With some training, you could definitely be a great hero."

Lori watched as he came out of the smoke and she saw what he had done to him. His clothes were torn, though his mask was still pristine much to her annoyance. And in his left arm he now wielded a white round shield. The shield had a gold trim around the edge and a large red spade on the center with an A on it. Ace stopped a few feet from her and he looked around the training room.

"You have a lot of power, Lori. You have the potential to be the most powerful Hero. But you need training and discipline." Ace told her. "If I hadn't been ready, you might've gotten my mask dirty."

Lori's left eye twitched. "Your mask?"

"Yea, my mask. Maybe once you get a handle on your powers, you might be able to scratch it."

Lori took a deep breath. "I know that you're trying to play me."

"Is it working?" He asked in a playful tone.

Her response was to quickly try and snatch it off of his face but he caught her arm by the wrist. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Just tell me one thing, Captain, why are you trying so hard to push me to be a hero?" Lori asked him in a huff. She was still angry with him for the stunt that he had pulled and the crack about his mask had also wounded her pride a bit. Yet there seemed to be more to his actions and now seemed like the perfect time to ask him.

"Honestly? It's because I believe in you, Lori." He said as he released her wrist. He looked down at her and even though she couldn't see it, she figured that he was smiling fondly at her. "You've been blessed with great power and with that comes great responsibility. And besides, I spoke with your little brother, Lincoln, and he also believes that you can be the greatest of heroes."

Lori seemed uncertain until she heard him mention Lincoln. "H-He really believes in me that much? Even after I failed him?"

Ace sighed before he looked up at the ceiling. "Lori, you didn't fail him. You tried your best to do what you thought was right. I know that he doesn't blame you for anything and that he still loves you." He then placed a hand on her head, ruffling it a bit. "Besides, do you know how hard it is to make your little brother hate you? It's basically impossible. I should know, I still look up to my big sisters."

"You have sisters?" Lori asked, surprised. None of them had ever learned anything about Ace since their training began except that he was their trainer and that he looked like he'd been in over a dozen wars.

This time Ace's shoulders slumped a fraction of a bit. "I had sisters." He answered, his aura changing to one of melancholy. He seemed to be thinking about his sisters with a bit of sadness but also happiness as well. He clearly remembered them fondly. "But sadly they aren't around anymore. It happens."

"I'm so sorry." Lori said, feeling terrible for asking such a personal question.

"Don't worry about it." Ace waved her off. "We're going to be training together for a while so we might as well get to know one another." He then held up his shield. "Now, let's see if you can do that charging beam attack again. It was freaking cool!"

XXXXXXXX

That night when Lori went to bed, she was exhausted and drained both physically and spiritually. But she went to bed with a smile. That talk that she had with Ace had really helped her improve her mood. And knowing that Lincoln believed in her also did wonders because if he believed that she could be the greatest hero then she would do it. Not just for him, obviously, but so that he could look at her from afar and be proud that she was his big sister.

Because from afar would be the only way that they could ever interact from now on. They had promised after all.

End of chapter.