Dawn: Decimation

by Outsider316

Fourteen years after a fire destroys the Loud family, the children, now older, are reunited by a mysterious party that aims to stop a rising threat in the form of Lisa Loud, the genius behind a domestic science division, and are thrown into a world where all choices have consequences. Reiteration of the original 2026 trilogy.

10. Chapter 10

Lyrics to It's The Right Time by Daichi Miura

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May 27th, 2030

"Freaks with Vial-?" Lynn could barely see the figure under the rays of the sun. "Hold on, I-!"

Lincoln centered the crosshairs on Lynn's forehead, having the patience of a rock. He fired a kill shot, waiting for the superhuman tango to fall. First the Freights, now some more physically-powered people were coming out of the woodwork. Mutated freaks who could abuse what they've been given from that Vial Corp shit. First this, and then them, worth investigating for obvious reasons. He loved this job.

Lynn slowed time when the sniper bullet moved rather slowly at her, a strange occurrence for her. "Holy shit..." She plucked it out of the air, then dropped it before looking up. "You wanna play big boy, huh?"

Still in league with lawful order, Lynn raced out of the alley, moving at an alarming rate, it seemed, shown to her when passers-by moved at some scary, synchronized level of slow-motion, but it didn't stop her once. She entered the building the shooter was dug in, running up the stairs, coming with the resistance of the air that felt like she was pushing through a cold force that almost acted to repel her. She went a little too fast, trying to stop at the door of the rooftop, but only crashed through it, feeling like it was a breakable surface.

Lincoln was startled in shock and awe, looking at the noise before he processed what happened. "Fuck-" He picked up the sniper rifle and spun it her way.

Lynn was more visible and clear up close; the brunette was sweaty, covered in blood that he didn't know if it was here or not. He didn't stop to hold the rifle high and aim at the frozen speedster. And his finger met the trigger again, until the freaky woman said one word that stopped him long enough to subdue him. "Lincoln?"

His blue eyes twitched, blinking. The next second, Lynn grabbed the sniper rifle, yanking Lincoln over her head for a swing. She didn't let up, sending him smashing right into the ground which broke from his impact. She dropped the gun, unbelieving of the fact that this was Lincoln. Couldn't have been... Lincoln was a Freight, and she had seen for herself what and who he and Lori Loud were in the bigger world; monsters.

White hair and freckles, just like that old Lincoln. She studied his face, while he, stunned yet angry, growled menacingly at her. "You have my attention."

Lynn raised an eyebrow, which confirmed his identity by that comment. "Is... Is it really you?" Lynn did see a woman with white hair, and the trademark color scheme of his, in a way. That had to mean she'd be bumping into Lincoln eventually. But not this fucking fast. "Are you done trying to kill me-"

Lynn moved away from his sight, turning her back to him. He rebounded and punched up again for another kill attempt.

"-Your dear sister Lynn?" Lynn moved to the side, hearing him approach her, and tripped him hard on his stomach and chin.

"L-Lynn?" Couldn't be right. Lynn was in Royal Woods the last time he'd seen her. But Lincoln faced the freak brunette again, feeling bested but eager to show his worth to the world, the atonement for his role in the Freights. This Lynn was taller, had the freckles, but it was her hair that was different. She cut it sometime along the later years. Well, the ponytail was gone, leaving most of her hair looking the same, actually. "No, I don't buy that, fuck you."

Lynn scoffed, crossing her arms. "Hey, I'm not accepting of you and Lori either!" Lynn yelled back. "You two are... Y-you're..." Lynn wandered into deep territory again.

Lincoln was no fool to overlook it, having felt a struggle in her. "Hm?" Maybe this really was Lynn after all... And then, at the same time, was she his Lynn? Did he have a Lynn? "If this is about the Freights-"

"You're..." She had no words to express, and ended it there with a hurtful sigh. He and Lori, of the opposite side Lynn had ever tried to be. If only... If only they didn't run away, then they wouldn't have fallen. This family wouldn't have fallen if they stuck together the one time they truly needed each other. But it was only Lincoln and Lori who sided with the devil and worked for him. "You... You are under arrest-"

"What the fuck?"

"It just so happens that I'm an FBI agent, little brother," Lynn calmly explained, albeit hurt. "And you just tried to kill me-"

"Yeah, and I would have succeeded if you didn't use your... What is it, speed powers?"

Lana and Lola had entered the reunion unbeknownst to the two siblings.

"You're one of those escapees I've seen on the news-"

"Don't know what you're talking about! And, you can't prove anything, Lincoln. Who's gonna believe a murderer like you?" Lincoln got up and sensed the twins' presence as Lynn, oblivious to them, kept talking over him. "I've been hoping I'd run into you, but I heard that you died while Lori and her group went into hiding. Stupid of them to have made a deal with her in exchange for freedom! Nothing but a disgrace for our family! And to think... To think I share that blood with you..."

Lynn sniffed, tending to a personal tear, not hearing a peep out of Lincoln behind her. "You have no idea how much some of us were worried sick-" She turned around to face him again, seeing the twins sticking to both his sides.

"Lynn? Lynn!" Lana sprang forward and hugged big sister Lynn, finding that they were almost the same in height. "Wouldja lookit that?"

"L-Lana?" Lynn was less expecting to bump into the twins like this today. "Twins! Oh, my God, look- Look how big you are!"

"Look how short you remained!" Lola sassed savagely, making Lincoln laugh mentally.

"H-hey," Lynn defensively cried. "I can't help it if my body growth stunted! So, what are you doing here?"

Lola grabbed Lincoln by his arms and sped away with him downstairs to the Division-manned truck away from here.

"You guys can do that, too?!" Lynn could see stars forming around the twin in the white suit.

"Yeah! Wait, too?! You mean-?!" Lana became excited by the sound of that.

"Lead the way!" Lynn cheered, challenging herself to learn her newfound ability as fast as she can, and at all presentable opportunities. Of course, there were many questions that were raised on her. How did the twins know to come? How did they get the powers? What was Lincoln doing before she got there? And... Was this all set by the people of the future?

As she ran after Lana, she placed a small one to the must-know category; the red, bright blur that stopped that Lizy person the albino girl had called her, was that... Future Lynn herself?

Get captured by this Division, she instructed herself, the order from the albino girl. The order that would seal the fate of Lynn and some of her siblings. That mean Lincoln. Lincoln, the ex-Freight, a cold-blooded inhuman who should be in a supermax somewhere in hell. What part did he have to play in this Patriots thing? Still, he might be useful, but it didn't change that he was a deadly one.

Lana came slowing down into another alley, past the parked truck the twins had come in, where she stopped Lynn when the latter failed to successfully come to a halt. "You need more practice!" Lana suggested. "Lola and I've been doing it for two years!"

By then, Lynn pieced it together. "Y-you! You two are those heroines I hear about!" She went a pale white which made Lana giggle.

"Darn tootin'!" Lana bowed. "I'm honored that you've heard of us! And since you have super speed like us, you can join us if you want!"

Lynn nodded in agreement. "That'd be nice-"

The trailer of the truck swung open, revealing Lola and a sophisticated control panel on one side of the trailer. "Save the talk for later! Boss wants us rolling out with our catch, so get in already!"

Lynn jumped in after Lana, moving deep inside as Lola submerged them into darkness. The complete inside of it was like a step way into the future; such technology eluded Lynn's knowledge and sight, arousing her enough to wonder if she could get ahold of such tech for herself. Above her head, there were loose handles dangling around for standers inside, when the only two seats in front of the systems were taken. At the end of the trailer was a cell smaller than that of those Vial Corp facilities installed, currently occupied by a handcuffed Lincoln, stared with hostility by Elmont.

"Lincoln fucking Loud, as I live and breathe..." Elmont croaked out through the titanium bars.

"What do you want, a haircut or an autograph?" Lincoln insulted with pleasure. "So nice to have me a fan."

"I've got many friends in many places wishing they've met you before your death, Freight."

Lynn stood idly by, watching the heated showdown between law and destruction forces clash through them.

Lola was quick to notice Lynn didn't seem all too surprised nor confused about this, but maybe it meant nothing. "Hey, Lynn?" Lola grabbed onto a handle above.

"Yes?" Lynn and Lana both hooked up to handles as well, swaying randomly around.

"How've you been?!" Lana filled in for Lola. "It's- It's been so long, Lynn!"

The last the twins had seen of the jock was eight years ago, when she left to continue her education, the only one Loud sibling who advanced beyond high school with great success. And not, did Lynn look older today, as did the twins to her. "I can say the same for you both! And, I've been alright for the most part."

Lana flashed a thumbs up. "I'd hope so."

"What about you guys? What's, uhhh... Well, what happened?" Lynn pointed at them with a wobbly finger. "How did...?"

Lana's ecstatic smile faded away, head bobbing down in pure guilt and shame. Lola pulled her away before Lana could struggle to out with the horror they lived through when everyone had gone, leaving them and little Lily alone with Aunt Rinn.

"You know, I've tried to call Aunt Rinn a few times but she'd never pick up. So, you guys know why that is?"

Lola forced a fake smile but shrugged her shoulders. "I... I don't-"

Lincoln noticed the act from the distance. "No use lying, girl. I can see it in both of you guys' eyes."

Elmont pulled himself away, moving to the surveillance station, setting himself comfortable as the truck continued to drive back to base. "Be out with your little secrets now or forever hold them in," Elmont professionally suggested. "This field of work is not suited for emotions, and you of all people understand that, don't you, Lynn?"

"Know who I am, do you? File on me?"

Elmont shook his head. "No, your disappearance made headlines, actually! Yours and the other three team members on your watch have as well."

And it made no sense when he put it like that. She had only been gone for awhile, not anything longer than that. Not the length he implied it to be. "What do you mean disappearance? I didn't vanish, I-" She noticed the monitored screens, seeing a date on the corner of one such monitor. Today was not the 5th of May, but the 27th. The... Actual... 27th of May... Her lips quivered in shock.

She had been missing for twenty-two days, not a few hours. Twenty-two days, when she was told otherwise by Lincoln's... Daughter? Had Lynn really been lied to? Or was this intended on their part?

"Oh, God..." Lynn shuddered to think what happened in between. Four FBI agents going missing one afterbbob inexplicably, who could ever answer what really happened? How could Lynn return and explain what dark and twisted fates Paula, Polly and Margo met in the future? Paula, the only she believed was still alive, away from Lynn... Alone with that Lulu monster. But where? And when?

Did everyone she know think her dead? Was Lynn Loud Jr dead to the world?

"Lynn?" The life drained from her face, noticed by Lola. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I've b-been gone f-for-" Lynn spoke out loud with a stutter.

"It appears she has not been aware of her absence," Elmont gathered, telling the twins. "What happened, Lynn? Are you able to remember?"

It wasn't what she could recall, but rather what she could say... Or not, in this truly strange case. Time travel, encounters with aliens and mutated folk, the deaths of her unit's members, and all the madness she experienced... Nothing like that should have been possible outside fiction, but what did she know? Lana and Lola, the beings known as Velocity and Momentum, were a clear indication of insane science mumbo jumbo in real life. And that meant it all happened like she remembered it.

Lynn shook her head, unsure of how to lie about it. Sure, maybe it wasn't impossible, and there was no reason to keep it inside, but that she saw, and those women she met- it all looked truly important, a perilous outcome of a deadly future at work. What was she here to do, in actuality? Apart from being told to come across the Division? The Patriot Division, which she was sure this man and the twins were part of. "I don't... I don't remember..."

"My guess is it would be Lisa's doing," Lola thought. "She's gotten her grip on them all, it's the only explanation I can see, although I can't explain her amnesia."

Lynn's body had gone haywire with stress, calming only by portions when Lola did the wetwork for her. There was more Lynn needed to know, and, while juggling that with what she did know, it'd make more sense while leave her head spinning non-stop. Someone had to pay for her team, that much was certain. "Sorry..."

Lincoln sat down on the floor, rattling about. "Hey, big man, where are you taking us? You don't look like any authority official I've ever seen."

Elmont spun to Lincoln's direction in his seat, wiping away at his moustache. "That's classified intel, Loud, so I'm afraid the ski masks are not optional."

"Ski masks?" Lincoln watched the mysterious man in lightly plated armor pull out two black ski masks from a secret rack underneath the surveillance control panel, giving one to Lynn. "Oh, joy."

"You'll both be putting these on until we step foot in the base, as part of our security measures," Elmont announced. "Will not compromise the base location around a criminal."

"Look at Boy Scout over here," Lincoln scoffed. "He preaches white like a lapdog. Sad man."

"Not sad like you, mass murderer," the Division leader hissed with quiet rage. "Tell me, how does it feel to have harmed and killed countless innocents? You and your little fuckwits terrorists have gotten leniency from the law, and if it were up to me..."

Lincoln cocked a smirk. "You believe in that, do you?" He lifted his arms to show the handcuffs. "Why are you wasting your time to capture me when you could have a chance to kill me?"

"Don't get me wrong, I may just be inclined to do so!" Elmont pulled out the handgun hanging on the holster on his right, aiming the sights at Lincoln. "Just so you know, I had a cousin. Married, two great kids and a husband, one district attorney of over ten years. Met him, good qualities. Her name..."

Lynn and the twins looked on with gleaming nervousness.

"A late night shopping spree during the winter holiday. She was there... And so were the Freights."

Lincoln narrowed his eyes, reaching into his memories. "Was this at a mall in Delaware?"

"For the record, her name was Cassie," Elmont finished, pulling the trigger just once.

Lana yelped, looking away to avoid seeing a bloody mess of her brother. Lola shut her eyes, gently comforting Lana, shushing her calmly. Lynn, however, didn't look away. She expected a bloody corpse rolled on its side, with the wall of the cell painted with the gruesome red of his insides, already accustomed to some bodies here and there. But that wasn't what happened; Lincoln was alive and well, and the bullet had been stopped by his superhuman skull, although it stung him.

"H-how-?" Lynn let her thoughts loose, computing this phenomenon.

The twins looked back at Lincoln again, astonished to see nothing had happened.

Lincoln shook it off. "Did you think you would kill me? Or did you know all this time?"

"Report of a break-in at a Vial Corp facility some years ago which people still wonder about. The two suspects were supposed members of Five, but I know it was really you and another Freight who got in. Question is, what was it that you took?" Elmont put his gun away. "Or, what did you do to yourself to become invincible beyond basic human levels? And what did you see?"

"It's been four years since I broke into that one," Lincoln barely replied. "Is that what this is about?"

"Vial Corp is nothing but pure evil," Lana croaked while being consoled by Lola. "They kidnapped us and placed us in cells, giving us shots, making us run for their tests!"

"I'm down for payback time!" Lola enthusiastically roared. "It's been a long time coming from us, but we were only two women versus..." She tried to do the math. "Many, I guess."

"Well, that makes three of a kind!" Lana joyously chimmed in, shaking Lynn's hand. "Welcome to the club! We need a nickname for you!"

"Hey, Lincy, you one of those...?" Lola eyed Elmont to help her out.

"Phenos."

"...Phenos?" Lola completed.

"Is that the official name for the powered freaks? Phenos?" Lincoln clanked the crushed bullet against the floor. "I guess that's a logical inference, yes. I am."

"Um, excuse me," Lynn called to Elmont. "But I still don't know what's going on. And I don't think you've introduced yourself to me."

"Oh, good gracious, where are my manners?" His handshake was firmly gripping, strong enough to crush little Lynn's finger hones. "My name is Alexander Elmont, leader of government-sanctioned off-grid agency known as the Patriot Division."

This! This is those I've heard about! Lynn realized alarmingly, hiding her exploding revelation from forming face.

"Lynn Loud Jr," she introduced back with a blank expression. "Don't even say it, I know I'm a girl. And no, I'm not a transgender, I've been female all my life."

Elmont chuckled, humored by the FBI agent. "I didn't accuse you of being one, Lynn."

"Good," Lynn flirtatiously teased.

Lana coughed at that, and Lola whistled in another direction. Lincoln just flat-out said, "Disgusting."

"Don't worry, you'll get the proper debrief back at HQ. I trust that I don't have to place handcuffs on you?"

"Not at all..." Lynn went back to mind her own business when she remembered she was in the midst of catching up with the twins. "Where were we?"

"Listen, c-can we call a rain check?" Lola hoped. "At least for now, but we'll tell you later, okay?"

Lynn sensed something was off about the sound of Lola's voice, and further suspected wrong when picturing the change in Lana's face. Maybe something happened while she was gone, which also explained unanswered calls. It made her gradually nervous, if she were to be honest. "Yeah, sure..."

Lynn wasn't the only sibling the twins kept in the dark. Luna and Luan were already back at the base, having been there long enough to learn the ropes of the Patriot Division.

With the six, a team had been assembled, one that would soon have a huge hand in helping to take down Lisa Loud and her illegal monopoly of Vial Corporation and the many connections it had; Five and Scythe domestic terrorist organizations, which paved the way to small-time gangs and other criminal associations. They made the goods, and the blood money that came back went through various transfers before finally being at Vial Corp's disposal.

As of yet, Elmont suspected a connection between Lisa Loud and a middle-aged state denaotr named Peter McMahon. McMahon was a controversially important figure within and beyond the states, having been there of over twenty years in bed with them. If you'd have to ask a description of him, he'd be compared by many people to someone like Nick Offerman but shorter and lighter hair color, or, as one person had said before, Commissioner Jim Gordon pulled out from a Batman comic book. Elmont had bet someone out there had used Ned Flanders as one silly description, even. You'd never really know.

He still had to confirm whether or not McMahon was partnered up with Vial's nefarious schemes, and the only way to verify that, as well as get any information, was through an infiltration operation. That called for these guys, and not any soldier he could use, for it had to look like it was a pheno-based operation; on the likely chance any of them were killed or captured, they'd be seen as escapees from Vial Corp. Luna, the twins, and now Lynn; these four could be captured and never raise red flags within the system. Lincoln and Luan were another thing to organize for.

Lincoln... Would he comply?

Later

The twins escorted Lynn while Elmont handled Lincoln as the group walked casually to the base; the Division HQ ran underneath a nice strip of land that stretched out and ended at the sea, around Long Island. The ground trembled heavily as a concrete tunnel, concealed with the green grass, came rotating up. The three girls entered first, wandering down the cement corridor. Fifteen feet in from the entrance, white lights flashed on, showing them the way to a titanium blast door ten feet later.

"Why did we stop? And what's with the lights?" Lynn couldn't fully tell what was happening. "Twins?"

"Hold on..." Lola addressed, waiting for the blast doors to open. "This takes like a minute."

"I'll say," Lana agreed.

"I'm feeling hot under this," Lynn complained. "Can I take this off now?"

"Not until we're in," Elmont denied. "Best behavior, unless Lincoln here wants to make me look good for the cameras."

"No, thank you," the strong albino revved out, maintaining calm order.

He considered it quite good luck when being detained by this Elmont figure to possibly be of help for some sort of mission, gathered when he, and his sisters, were rallied under the same reason of fighting against Vial Corporation, the collective mastermind behind these pheno beings, including those three, and even himself. He used to call himself super every now and then, but now being an official pheno, it validated his idea outside his mind, but also pitted countless others on his level. For all he knew, and as far as he did, maybe he had never been alone. Bah... What difference did it make?

He asked of fate to give him a sign, and it answered, directing him to fight these types of beings. The Freights, a part of his life that ended in bloodshed and harmed innocents, had come to show him who he was, what he was, and why he was. With this chance, he would be able to right the wrong of his past sins, and redeem himself.

He had a purpose once more, so no blowing it.

The Patriot Division HQ's top floor was the only odd one, constructed like the bridge of a ship. On entry, they came to a blue-lit level, meeting men and women walking around the floor. Te middle of the floor had a flat, oval table, with a holographic image of the planet hovering over it. On the other end was a large white screen, just over some monitors that were in use by people. At either side of the screen were passages that led over the obstruct. Beyond that lied a simulation room, the medical bay, the armory, the debriefing room, the interrogation room, and his private office, with the elevator leading to two more floors. The middle one housed the technicians lab, where the creation of advanced technology happened, as well as the maintenance room and bathroom being there, and that included built-in showers as well. The bottom one was the living quarters, with the lunch room at the far end of it. I missed that the first time.

Elmont slipped off the ski mask and left it on the oval table, pushing him down towards one of the passages, leading the twins to do the same to Lynn.

"Whoo! Thanks, I was really sweaty!" Lynn giggled humbly, exaggerating over the top.

"With me," Elmont instructed the twins.

Walking into the hall, a familiar clown girl had come out of the medical bay after taking her special stabilizing medicine. It didn't take Lynn long to recognize older sister Luan who still had a ponytail and her classic widow's peak intact. Luan turned to them and met Lynn once more. "Oh, my God!"

Lynn pushed past the twins and jumped fot a hug. "Y-you?! Where- Where the fuck did you go after all these years?!" She broke into tears, being so broken up by this sister who went missing from the Royal Woods hospital a lifetime ago. Luan, in the living flesh, not dead, but- "You're alive!"

Luan was happy more than ever to be reunited with both Lynn and Lincoln, but before she could reach Lincoln, Elmont took them both into the interrogation room.

"Listen- We'll... We'll talk later, I hope-" Lynn vowed before she, Lincoln and Elmont went into the middle room on the left.

The interrogation room was of a high-end, updated design. The steel table came with two handcuffs strapped to it, designed for bad guys, while the table itself was reinforced into the ground. Four cameras on all corners maintained visuals of it, including the audio feed sourced from the equipment built underneath the table.

Lynn and Lincoln sat with their backs to the hall. Elmont took to the other end and sat down in his tough armor. "This doesn't happen like the movies, but I don't mind dirtying my hands if need be."

Lincoln kept his sour face. "Just tell us what you want already."

"Patience is a virtue," Elmont stated. "Now, what I'd like is to know more about what experiences the both of you had at Vial. Lincoln, you've seen the layout of one, I need some description, an idea of what I'm looking at."

"Planning something, huh? Well, the infrastructure from inside, I don't fondly remember, so this is a waste of time."

"Talk about waste of time when you can simply bust out of here like nothing? Tell me why you're still bothering playing weak man with the cuffs?"

Lincoln smiled, ripping them apart right after. "I was just humoring you, big man."

Lynn nearly had a heart attack, jerking in her chair.

"Then you understand what it is I am looking for," Elmont declared.

"You want leverage-" Lincoln guessed. "All the information you can get your hands on. The master data to steal under their noses, and... I can also surmise that you'd want to put some of that to good use if it's not incriminating enough to pass along. This is a government body after all, and knowledge is all the difference in wars."

Lynn's lips spread apart, herself being astounded by Lincoln's thinking.

"Under the surface, yes," Elmont admitted. "But my current goal is to find evidence that Vial Corporation is conducting illegal crimes in utter secrecy. Of any such person I could have used, whether it be soldiers, mercenaries, or better phenos, I specifically wanted people in the same family tree as the true head of Vial Cop's brilliance."

Lynn knew who he meant.

"The mastermind Lisa Marie Loud, one of your many relatives!"

Lincoln thought he misheard. "Lisa? That can't be, I've read it belongs to-"

"James Shepherd is just a puppet, acting for Lisa. Lisa isn't even twenty, of course she could not publicize herself as the brains of the science firm." Elmont coughed. "Emails were intercepted from Shepherd. Encrypted ones, but not hard to decipher, and it painted a new image for us when we believed Shepherd was who we were after."

"If it is Lisa behind all of this as you say, there won't be anything that will fully connect her to Vial. You're lucky to have caught emails through the traffic, but none of that will help you, will it?"

"I believe it can."

Lincoln pointed out something. "Why not just hack Lisa to begin with? It can't be that complicated, right?"

"Ooooh," Elmont tisked, shaking his head. "Logically speaking, yes, but that would draw attention, and would make them move by the time we have confirmation. You'd have to also be really dumb to not notice your assets getting backdoored."

Lynn was there with a poker face expression. "Uh-huh..."

"I'm confused..." Lincoln addressed. "You went out of your way to form a little team of, phenos, was it? So that we can do what you can't and won't to cover your assets and avoid being liabilities? But you're telling me that we're here because we're related to her? What, you think we can make her cry with memories and bring her out in the open to you?"

Elmont raised his hands. "I find that emotional attachment can always be leveraged. Good thing that you six are not normal siblings."

"Yeah? Well, talk about-" Lincoln paused and then backed up. "Wait, six?"

Elmont pointed downward. "The one you know as Luna Loud is at the lowest level."

This made Lynn curl her hands into fists and bang them on the table. "Luna... Is here?"

"Of course. Would there be a problem with that?"

"We didn't leave off on good terms," Lynn admitted.

"Oh?" Lincoln paid attention to her. "What drama went on when I left, I wonder?"

"Hush up," Lynn recommended. "You abandoned ship after Lisa, you aren't even a Loud anymore."

"I'd need for you to resolve your little family debacles post haste," Elmont cleared up. "Simply don't do, now-"

Lynn figured it would be time to ask a question she had been wondering about. "Am I dead? I... I wish to go back to my department."

Below, Luan and the twins met Luna who greeted them. "Hey, dudes. Welcome back."

"Luna, oh my God!" Luan rushed the rocker to tell her the good news. "You'll never guess who's here!"

"What? Who?" Luna let her hopes get high with joy, grinning from cheek to cheek.

"Lynn and Lincoln, sis! They're up-" Luna's smile flipped upside down, a look that washed the atmospheric tone to a gray, depressing one. "L-Luna?"

The twins knew why this was when having a pensive moment. "Oh, no..." They blurted in unison.

"Wait-" And the last one to be hit by the painful memory was Luan. "No, wait... L-Luna..."

The rocker formed red eyes and backed away from Luan, retreating to her room, unable to face the music.

"Luna..." The poor comedienne had yet to tell her sister that she had forgiven her. Forgiven her by letting go. Forgiven her for the accident she caused that placed Luan in the hospital. But Luna herself clearly didn't... "Wait, don't leave- Don't..."

Lana and Lola came to her aid, each holding a hand of the heartbroken comedienne.

"I don't understand..." Luan cried. "I- I- I thought she'd be happy that Lynn and Lincy-"

"Hey, don't think about it, Luan! The bright side is that we're all here!" Lola tried her best.

"And it's wonderful, too! I no longer get to feel alone with Lola all the time!" Lana joked.

"What?! How dare you, woman?!" Lola felt insulted.

Luan laughed as Lana wiped away her tears.

"I know Luna must be happy to see you again too! You guys shared the same room, you know? You had to have been close..." Lana pointed to Luna's own room. "I think you guys need to talk is all."

"I..." Luan had concern and fear that Luna would close up on her. "I don't know-"

"I think it's worth trying..." Lola agreed. "Come back to us if it goes nowhere."

The twins put on strong smiles and returned to their room, the first one on the left. They had decorated the place to make it feel right at home, even adding two dressers at the end of the room, connecting to their beds on the sides of the walls. They'd have it no other way.

"Lola... Seeing that... You know, the Luna thing, I hope that Luna knows-" Lola pressed a finger to Luna's lips.

"Hush, dear sister!" Lola said as if she were in a drama play. "Let the girl find her voice again!"

Luan entered the quiet, empty room of Luna Loud. There in the middle of the room was a being of green skin, bigger than normal Luna, all curled up with its head buried onto her knees, arms around it. Luna had blossomed into her ugly form out of anger at herself, succumbing to heartache.

"Hey..." Luan had met this side of Luna once, but wasn't too scared of it, although she thought it freaky the first time she saw this form of her. It didn't get any less freaky, but she grew accustomed into it. "C-can we talk?"

The beast's tail wiggled randomly, not acting on her behalf. The younger sister Luna had potentially fucked up didn't seem to be bound by the past, unlike her. The curse of Luna's descent came alive again when hearing Lynn's name uttered by the ex-prankster, proving that personal demons had yet to be defeated once and for all.

She was more than sorry for playing the big role in Luan's injury and running away. Forgiveness, what she wanted to ask of Luan... But what would it do for her? It still happened, and the scars would not fade, she believed. They couldn't yet.

"Luna, it... It happened so long ago..."

The guilt-ridden Loud brought her tail upwards only to drop it down hard, growling softly. "And yet," she groaned in her monstrous voice. "And yet, I still..."

Luan grew closer. "Sis, I can't ever imagine what you've went through, but-"

"Luan?" Luna brought her huge face pointed upwards. "D-do you blame me?"

"No. No, of course not!" The comedienne went on her knees just short of Luna, hugging her. It was almost like hugging a tree, and she would know, having done that a few times before. "It happened, but- But-"

If she let Luna know who was responsible for Luan's path in life...- She blinked. No way she could ever say it to avoid devastating Luna's emotional state of being.

"No, I don't, Luna," Luan confessed from her heart. "I could never do that to you. I forgive you!"

Luna slowly reverted back to her regular form, still being held on by Luan. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again! The twins told me you went missing, s-so I went looking for you! Me, Chunk, Tabby and Terry spend months trying to-" Luna pulled herself back, shaking Luan. "WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU ACTUALLY GO?!"

Luan sniffed her breath, caught in the range of it. "Oh, God, d-don't you use toothpaste?" She laughed, covering her nose from the stench.

"I'll do it later!" Luna promised. "Now tell me..."

"I... Left Royal Woods, just wandering wherever the wind took me."

"That..." Luna sniffed. "That sounds too simple... I know they said they caught you murdering, but I don't know, I refuse to believe you could do such a thing. You don't look like a psychopath."

Luan sighed harshly, looking down at her hands. "There is some truth to that... L-Luna, I lost control of myself... The grasp, it-"

"You broke, I can see that. You simply broke, and-" This was where she panned the blame onto herself. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I-"

Luan stuck a firm hand on her shoulder, giving a smile. "But I've gotten better, Luna! And I still am, but what's more is that I get to see you again! And..." She let out joyful tears. "That makes me so happy."

"Y-you are? B-but-" Luna stammered.

"No buts, Luna," chuckled the old clown. "Just remember something from me."

"Y-yeah, what's that?" Luna wondered.

"Remember that I love you, alright? No matter what you do, or whatever you have done, it won't ever change my perspective of you." Luan kissed the latter's forehead before standing up. "I don't want you to be hurt ever again."

Luna nodded, following her cue. "R-right... You're right, Luan. I love you too."

Exiting the room, Luan escorted Luna by her hand, moving to the twins' room when the elevator pinged, opening up its sliding doors to reveal Lynn and Lincoln inside. The second Lynn identified Luna, she lost control and sped right into her, grabbing her by her shirt. Luan was blown away by the violent rush of air, hair frizzling out of place, fully bewildered by Lynn's power.

The FBI agent acted on her negative impulses after being told she could not return to the FBI, with what being legally declared missing but thought dead, killed by Five when only after being caught. The headlines made it out to tell that four agents went missing, but it was code for death in the end. Death for Lynn, replaced by a speedster pheno in her place. The glowing rage from that, mixed with the sight of Luna, fueled Lynn past a full hundred percent with hot-red rage.

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE!" Lynn repeatedly threw her punches onto Luna's stomach after backing her into the wall of an empty room. "I WOULDN'T HAVE STAYED IF I WERE YOU, FOR LUAN'S SAKE!"

Luna took over thirty punches that burned into her body. She let out a harsh cry as Lynn continued hurting her, not letting up. Luna tried to bolt, but the opposing force kept her at bay, right where Lynn wanted her. "Stop!"

"NO!" Lynn had missed her chance to deliver a punishment long overdue for the rocker the first time, but here was different. No Rinn Reagan to kick her off the premises this time, just a nice beat down to pound the sense back into her.

Luna pulled out her tail again without fully turning, wrapping it around the unsuspecting Lynn's legs. She yanked the speedster back in one jerking move, sending her falling down on her face. This broke Lynn's nose, spurting blood on the white tile floor.

"YEOW!" Lynn's elbows, chin, and knees stung with dear agony, halting her long enough for Luna to continue her advantage. One second, Lynn was moaning on the ground, and the next transcended to her being picked up by her neck, tail of Lizard Luna tightly gripping it. "Hrrrck! Grah!"

Luna returned the favor, punching Lynn away in the same place she received physical pain. "Giving it back, you little shit!"

Luan and the twins stood at the doorway, peeking into the room.

"Hey!" Luan shot a hand out, shaking it for Luna to see. "Stop fighting, please! Let her go!"

Lynn swung a kick right in Luna's private area, the move that retracted her tail to separate them. "Fuck you! You owe us all a grave apology for all of your bullshit!"

"Maybe, but not to you!" Luna retorted.

Lincoln moved past Luan and the twins, getting in the middle of the girls' little skirmish. He spun Lynn and punched her in the gut, and then in the face, sending her down onto the floor again. "Enough of this. Either make up or shut the fuck up."

"L-Lincy-" Luna gave herself a few seconds to mentally update his face and appearance, as well ad recall the last time she had seen. "She started it-"

"I don't care," Lincoln coldly snorted. "Use your fucking words, not fists... Or whatever that shit is." He pointed to her tail, not fully fazed or surprised by it.

"Y-you are one to talk!" Lynn spat, sitting upright with a bloody, runny nose. "You've done worse than us, you inhuman! Don't you think you can talk down to us, Lincoln Loud! You may have destroyed the Freights, but you're just as bad, and so is Lori! When I get my hands on-"

"I don't know where you've been at when you went missing, but I've already taken care of Lori and the final four Freights just days ago," the albino man revealed, cracking his knuckles.

"You...?" Lynn called it a bluff. "Bullshit, you're lying-"

"Bomb went off three days ago on a commuter rail line. I can guarantee three Freights-"

Lana and Lola both gasped, having been there at the scene after it happened. "Y-you mean that was you?! You were behind that?!" Lola was digusted to the max.

"Lincy..." Lana's heart sank with disappointment, shaking her head in pure disbelief. "So, its true... You are evil."

Lola found reason to cross her arms. "I don't know why Elmont wants you here, but with us three..." She exhaled sharply. "You're a sick human being, Lincy."

"So, they talked about me, huh?"

"We knew of the Freights, but what fun should it be for them to tell us you and Lori were part of that," Lola continued. "That and the death of them in Twenty-Six, as well as your supposed death."

"Imagine it, Lincy," Lynn added in. "The desecration of our family name, soiled away by the likes of you and Lori, and you know something funny?"

He raised an eyebrow. "No, what?"

"You were the mature one, and Lori was the most responsible of us-"

"You're talking about our past selves," Lincoln pointed out. "Before the fire, and before our lives went to absolute shit. All of that means nothing to me."

"Lincy..." Luan gulped. "No..."

"Maybe not to you, Lincoln, but to us it holds sentimental value, and it always will."

Luna joined Lincoln's side, challenging Lynn via eye contact. The three speedsters have settled that Lincoln, actually alive to everyone's surprise, was really the bad person Elmont and the rest of the Division had painted him as. Lynn knew she'd bump into him, but had no thought to formulate around him. Back then, when Lynn had found out Lori's role in it, she looked into the mess and was greatly appalled by it. That put her in jeopardy of losing her job if or when her superiors made the connection. Maybe they had, but Lynn was a good woman, only pushing herself harder to remain with the department.

Luan came in and went over to Lincoln and Luna. "Why?" Her scarred heart did the talking for her. "Why is it that we're the monsters?"

Luan went unstable, Luna went ravenous, and Lincoln, the worst of them all, went berserk longer than them, embarking on a selflessly fueled crusade, motivated by rage he held against the world. They were on the other side of the sharpest line, parallel from Lynn and the twins, the three who acted in the name of good and justice through less violent means. Luna had potential to be with them, but a malice form of vengeance consumed and controlled her, and not to mention she had maimed some Vial Corp staff with the intent to kill, making her more qualified to be under Lincoln's side.

Lincoln, Luna, and Luan, the three Louds with fractured mortality and state of minds remolded from a chain of events made possible by one house fire. At the moment, it seemed balanced almost like fate at work. Three saviors, and three fallen- for now.

"We're not," Lincoln believed. "It is them three who have yet to suffer enough to break." He pointed a finger at them, making an assumption. "You three, what did you do in the world?"

"Lana and I stop crime," Lola confirmed. "We've been known for sometime, and New York became a popular stop for tourists who want to see us."

Luan smiled with pride behind Lincoln.

"Lynn?" Lincoln switched.

"With the Feds," Lynn revealed to them.

"What? As in the FBI?" Luan looked to Luna with shock. "Does that mean you-?"

"I walked out with a degree that got me in there," Lynn explained. "It was hard, and I thought I'd never get there, but I did and I will never stop being proud of myself..."

"C-congratulations, sis!" Luan cheered. "You went... Further than-" Her dreams were killed and she knew that, but Luna reached out to her with loving arms.

"None of that, sis," Luna eased. "So, how's Aunt Rinn? Haven't seen her since... Well, you know."

Lincoln crossed his arms. "I don't. Someone fill me in."

The twins both broke away from Lynn and moved to the bed on the right, figuring it was the right time to tell them, but only after they all caught up with each other.

"Right, you were the first to leave, Lincy," Luna uttered. "You missed a lot."

"You really did," Lola added. "Who wants to go first?"

"I know," Lana planned out. "From oldest to youngest!"

This way they'd be the last to tell them the news of Rinn's death. This put Luna as the starter. She looked around, gasping when it turned out she was first. "Oh, fuck..." She sighed. "Fine."

Everyone moved to a seating position. Lynn placed herself next to Lana, and the other three arranged themselves on the other bed, all focused on Luna.

"For context," she told Lincoln. "Lynn and I had a fight... And, it put Luan in the hospital. I don't- C-can't remember, but Aunt Rinn punished me and kicked me out, so... Me and my band, we went on gigs and stuff to help the family. You know Aunt Rinn was single, she couldn't-"

"Yeah, too big a family for her to raise..." Lincoln nodded.

"Luan was gone one day, as Lola told me, and I went all over town to look for her. The guilt..." Luna's breath shook with her words. "I couldn't ever live with myself if something bad happened to her."

The rest of the girls' had their heads bob down, touched by Luna's count of desperation to find her sister. Lincoln listened on, not moving a muscle.

"And then... You know about Vial Corp, right? What they've been doing?"

"I've gathered the connection," Lincoln replied. "Saw some attack in Dadetown, too. A live broadcast."

Luna sniffed. "D-Dadetown... I was there, I was the one who broke out the other phenos."

"Dadetown?" Lynn hadn't the foggiest.

"It's the town a Vial Corp facility is in. The place I was kidnapped to, experimented and tortured... And even raped."

"Are you serious?!" Lola exclaimed.

"No way!" Lana screeched.

"Oh, God... L-Luna, I'm so sorry..." Words were the limit of expressing such a distasteful human act like this. "J-Jesus."

"B-but I... I got away, I had to," Luna went on through broken panting. "I had to get away, and so I did. They wanted me, and only me, dudes. Chunk, Tabby and Terry are dead- They weren't taken. J-just me... Just me."

"So, what's the deal with that tail?" Lincoln's eyes centered on the green, scaly thing behind Luna. "What the fuck did they do to you?"

"Show them, Luna," Luan suggested for show.

Lynn's lips twitched to say something, but she had no idea what words would come out. "Mmmm."

Luna got up, showing off the carnivore locked inside. The white clothes on her did not rip out on her this time, modified to sustain the expanding size of her transformation. Only, her tail pushed her white pants down a little when it popped up, a minor nuisance for her.

Lynn nearly gagged at the sight of her, turning away and coughing violently. Lincoln raised his eyebrows, blinking like he didn't believe it. "Holy shit," Lincoln let out.

"This is what they've done to me, and I don't want this. I don't know what this even is, but... I can hear everything, I can smell everything, and I can see from afar. All of my senses raised, and... I can't stop feeling-"

When she took her pause, it was only twenty seconds later when they decided Luna was finished, unable to continue her talk.

"Luan?" Lynn urged. "Your turn."

"Right..." Luan cleared her throat. "Nothing happened before that, really. Just know that Lori went out-"

"I know all about Lori," Lincoln interrupted.

"Uh... I guess you do, don't you?" Luan went on with her tale. "I woke up alone, and I thought there would be someone to wake up to. I wasn't at home, but in the hospital. And..."

Lynn closed her eyes.

"Turns out I've been there longer than it felt. The damage-" Luan squealed a high pitch whimper and shed her skin with tears. "Oh God, I remember feeling so alone-"

Luna leaned herself right into Luan, both of them comforting each other. "You're not alone anymore! And you won't be again!"

Lana locked her hand with Lola's strengthening their bond with smiles to each other. Lynn stared at her brother, and he returned the favor, sparking different forms of hatred with one another.

"I don't think you need to share if it's too much, Luan," Luna informed. "It's in the past now."

Lincoln's turn. "Well, you know my story, I guess. Lori came to me and found me, and we've done some messed up things-" Lynn narrowed her eyes with more anger at him. "-But I had a change of heart, knowing well that all I've done to everyone I've hurt was not methodical or morally correct."

Only Lola, Lynn and Luna could hold their stomachs enough to look at him while he revealed his stuff.

"You can hang me for being one of them to begin with, but I'm here to make right for my sins, and you will not stop me from having my own atonement."

Lynn was prepared to fight with him on the matter. In her mind, Lincoln was undeserving of a second chance, especially since he'd done committed despicable and vile crimes around the states. Little girls and boys, teenagers and family members of the dead, victimized and broken. Did he do it just to get them to feel his pain? The Freight ideals were selfish ones carried out by literal grown babies who cried unfair in her opinion. "I know enough about them, and I've gotta say they're all a bunch of idiots with guns and weapons, as are you."

Lincoln grumbled, but had no mind to fight Lynn. "I wanted out when my eyes were opened to understand what we really were, and I wanted Lori to come with me. I made it a choice, a choice she turned down. Them over me, and this was when I decided she wasn't worth saving."

Luan and Lana had the most trouble accepting what he and Lori were involved with at first, and now it turned out there was more that happened with them.

"I got myself in a bit of a pickle and wound up in a coma after bombing their hideout. Woke up literally recently, learned who made it out alive, and killed them."

"You did it with extreme force, Lincy..." Lola snorted. "Do you know that? A bomb, in a train-"

"That was them, Lola," Lincoln raised his voice. "That was Lori, and I had no idea they'd be packing due to their off-leash privilege."

Lynn laughed. "I'm almost convinced you're a good guy, brother. I really am, but you've got so much to answer for, now that they know you're alive. And I'm going to enjoy your sentencing."

The white-haired sibling did not say anything else, only keeping his stone-faced look around them.

Luan was rubbing her forehead, processing the news. "Sweet Jesus Christ, what the fuck is wrong with all of us? Seriously."

Luna wiped her eyes, sniffing. "I didn't want to resort to harming anyone, but for me, they just pushed it and pushed it to no end."

"I snapped too," Luan confessed. "Lynn, I lost my mind for a long period of time, and here they fixed me... Well, they're reconfiguring my messed up head, but it's a second chance I didn't think I've earned. If you had to ask me, no, no I won't ever believe I earned it. All those killing sprees and bodies I left behind was because of something in me understood a new concept..." And that concept happened to be that the conformities of life was but an illusion that made everyone believe they were saved. It pushed Luan to defy that idea by killing, which proved no man was immortal or saved for a natural death. This would also come to strike the hearts of their loved ones, waking them up from their own heaven. It was for this reason that she could compare herself to Lincoln and agree she was similar to a Freight. "If you're gonna keep doing that to Lincoln, I'm deserving of it as well, Lynn."

"But he-" Lynn tried to reason.

"All I see is that you're being unfair. He's being given the second chance, the same one I did, and you are just being petty." Luan had some truth to her words. "I trust Lincoln, as should you, even if I don't approve of what he has done."

"And those days have been long over," Lincoln reminded them again. "Freights are over, and I'm done with tossing my shit into the world."

"Hmph!" Lynn looked the other way, arms crossed. "Whatever."

"Twins?" Lincoln eyed the blondes in white suits, implying for their turn.

Lola coughed, looking downwards before starting. "We've been left alone in the end," she disclosed. "Most of you were gone, either ran away or moved on with your lives, and Lynn was the last one to leave Aunt Rinn's, and it was the hardest goodbye I've- I mean, we've had to say to her. The house was really quiet with us and little Lily-"

Lincoln squirmed at her name, which Lola caught and mentally noted. "-But we handled it well when we were on our own... Until Vial happened." She shook her head, folding her hands into fists, banging them against her knees. "Damn it, damn it!"

"What happened?" Luan stood up, feeling the storm coming.

Little Lana's lips quivered, a few words away from feeling the downpour of rain.

"They- They came in... We all fought them off long enough for Lily to run away, b-but Aunt Rinn-"

"THEY KILLED AUNT RINN!" Lana exploded at long last, falling right on her back, hopelessly weeping and screaming. "THEY SHOT HER, AND LILY- WE LOST HER! WE LOST LILY!"

Luna cupped her mouth with horror, shaking her head with denial, eyes refilling with tears again. "No, no... Not them... Please, no-"

Luan dropped to her knees, unable to cope with this tragic update. She soaked the floor beneath her wet with her fresh tears, and then started maniacally laughing. "Why duh-duh-does this have to happen to us? Why did Aunt Rinn die? I don't understand-"

Lily... Lincoln was the only one of them all who knew where Lily went, and yet- He decided to keep it to himself as to not further make them suffer. He didn't really react to Rinn's death, but did rub his arm in a guilty fashion. "Oh, fuck."

Only Lynn and Lincoln were the only ones not crying, but Lynn had reason to mourn. "Man... I really liked Aunt Rinn..." The pieces came fitting for her now. All those missed calls were because no one could actually answer. She had also fault for not looking into it with the resources in her hands. This was all Lisa's doing, and that alone gave her all the motivation to fight against Vial Corporation and its backed powers and connections. And with her special zoom power, it was possible. No more Lynn Loud Jr bound by human limitations. "We'll make Lisa pay for this."

"Yes, yes we will," Lola sobbed. "I've never been more thankful for a chance like this."

"Lily could still be out there," Lynn believed. "We've got more help at our disposal, so we'll do whatever it takes."

"We'll do it," Luna triumphed. "We'll get Lily back and be the family we once were, at long last."

Lincoln only had just two more questions they didn't answer, much to his surprise; where was Leni? And what happened to Pop-Pop? For the latter, he made a safe guess and assumed the grandfather had been deceased for an unknown number of years now. But Leni was another thing, maybe a story for another time. Meanwhile... He didn't what to expect when they came to know that Lily had died under his watch. Bad enough that the three speedsters, which he labeled them cookers, were opposed to him, seeing him as a clear hostile. It would be fine, if they didn't instigate war against him.

"Can't wait for the mission," Lynn stated, eager to get back on the field with her special gift. She got up and moved out of the room to practice her running on the hall. She needed to burn out her anger after today's grave news. Rinn dead, and she didn't ever manage to say a proper goodbye to her under the assumption they'd be meeting up again later in life. Rinn, her surrogate mother who pushed the kids with words Rita would never unleash for the sake of making them better. Rinn, a woman who truly cared for them all, giving them a roof and food even as crowded as it was going to be.

Why? Why did she, a best damn woman to label a mother, have to die? Be killed like that? Why couldn't Rinn be one of those Vial Corp guinea pigs and be here with them?

Lynn zoomed back and forth, going fast enough that only the twins would see her crying. The twins who were in the same area as her, allowed to see Lynn mourn for Rinn. She wouldn't hold it against them for being quiet up to here, knowing how terribly hurt they must have been, and maybe even scarred to see it go down. But they were a strong set of girl's, dependant on each other, and maybe that was why they never fell into their own fractured hell like the others. And by that logic...

...Lynn had also fallen into her own hell. Did she know what it was?

Luna and Luan assembled on the twins' behalf, all of them grieving for their fallen motherly figure. Bad enough they lost one mother.

Lincoln sank back into the bed, curling himself up for rest. The long day so far had left him tired, and badly beaten by Lynn, the sooner who had seemingly only gotten her powers today, if not activated them. What perfect timing that an operation had come as a blessing. He sought to join in to get every bit of info he could on Lisa's operations and systems.

Lisa and the army and connections she helmed with power, those were the ones to cut off via the funding and supplies, the effective way to take on and dismantle even a terrorist cell. He was thinking that phenos were the enemy until now, where it was already known at this point that the biggest fish to fry was those responsible for them. An actual conspiracy happening right under the nation's nose, and only the truth was known within the Patriot Division.

The man was stretched out his arms and legs, ready for an assignment not of his own choosing, but indeed of his interest. By now, he hoped the sisters all gathered where his allegiance was and the grasp of an idea of his strength.

Later

They all gathered at the debriefing room under Elmont's request. The man with the long, wavy brown hair awaited his crew of phenos patiently, nodding to each of them before going over the mission's objectives and planning. He stood in front of an oval table, just like the one in the front of the base, letting the Louds assemble around it.

"Now, since Lynn Loud Jr is the only one with real experience under her belt, I'm appointing her to the team leader, and you will be following all orders and objectives, is that understood?"

No one peeped a word.

"Okay, so-" Elmont touched the table and began sliding his fingers across it, revealing a holographic version of a Vial Corp facility. "This one is upstate in Maine, the one we believe Lisa Loud is currently visiting. If you guys haven't been keeping up with the news, but it seems some phenos have taken vigilante roles and going around attacking other facilities. It simply cannot be contained much further, but they're doing the best they can to deny the existence of phenos."

Lola and Lana had no idea other phenos revolted in retaliation.

"It all started with Luna here," Elmont valiantly complimented. "You are the one who's given everyone back their freedom, and us a chance to end Lisa's reign. You are a hero, Luna."

Luna curved a smile, to which Luan flashed a thumbs up to, radiating pride of accomplishment. The twins also joined in, tossing their smiles, showing off the pair of teeth they were missing.

"Now, that's where you six come in. Being phenos, you can get in and attack this base and free the captured ones. That's gonna be one objective, but not the main one. At the crime scenes of past incidents, we've recovered a couple of unforms for you to use. This goes for Lincoln and Luan here."

Elmont touched the hologram of the facility and stretched it out, revealing a flat rectangular shape, the layout of the first floor. "They never have security on the outside, which my guess would be because it would look too suspicious. Why would they beef up security on the outside if it were an ordinary place? They want to steer clear of suspicious conspirators, but that is just one flaw in their security. It's the inside that's going to be tricky. You've got people who know each other well, cameras and metal detectors making sure you aren't trying anything funny, so you know what that means."

"Great..." Lincoln moaned. "No fucking weapons."

"Correct, but not on you, so much as actually with you. Lincoln and Luan, all you have to do is make it inside the lobby. And don't worry about being caught, we'll have fake passes to get you clearance at all levels." Elmont fiddled with the hologram again, splitting the entire infrastructure into four rectangles. "This one has four floors, and the top one is where all the data is stored. Depending on how much data exists, there will be one or multiple hard drives in the databanks. You're looking for a room that looks like its full of black-"

"I got it." Lincoln knew what he was looking for.

"As for the four of you ladies," Elmont referred to Luna and the zoomers. "Shortly after Lincoln and Luan enter level three, you all barge in and start a riot. Subdue all guards as fast as you can, and leave some bodies around if you can. This has to look like a pheno attack, nothing to give off the idea that someone else is behind this."

"We're going to have to blow up the facility if that's the case," Lincoln strategized. "They'll know their stuff would be gone, right? That's also accounting for the surveillance capturing it all. Unless you have an EMP-" He stopped as Elmont snapped his fingers and pointed at him.

"An airborne drop carrying an EMP will be made and set off when the show starts. Luna, I don't know what to expect in the lower level apart from knowing one exists. You're on liberation duty. Lynn covers the main floor, and the twins are on the second floor. Drives must be captured before the phenos are let out time the getaway right. After that, the second airdrop will be a bomb strong enough to wipe out the whole area up to a mile."

"Well, that sounds simple enough," Lincoln thought. "Lynn?"

"I'm against this idea of k-killing just to steer suspicion away, I don't know-"

"Haven't you been thrown in those situations where you had to kill to survive? You know, when a wound shot wouldn't cut it?" The albino struck.

Lynn circled back to her last assignment from the Bureau. "Yeah, once so far! But that was necessary, and this-"

"Lynn, this is necessary," Elmont dropped. "I appreciate your good intentions and morality, but this is not a casualty-free operation, so it's not optional. However you do it, does not matter. Whoever does it, does not matter. Maybe if you are fast enough, the phenos will be doing the work for you."

It wasn't that Lynn didn't want to get their hands dirty by committing a massacre, but she kept resorting to the rules by the book she still believed in. No one had to die because of one's own personal vendetta, for there was a functioning system. Lisa, her staff, and all else under the pyramid, they could still be arrested and sentenced. It had to work, it just had to.

She was visibly upset, sighing. "Yeah..." Whether or not the others were on board, she knew it had to be done.

Lola and Luna had the dirty thoughts cloud their minds, thinking only of themselves and what they've done to Rinn. Of course they weren't going to hold back their fighting, but the clearance to kill was a certified bonus. Lola had yet to know if its consequences however, while Luna, with blood-stained hands and a thirst for vengeance, could tap into her anger and let the beast do what she could not.

"Make sure you get out of there on time, there will be no delay for any of you, so you make everything count. Is that understood?"

"Yeah," the twins agreed.

"Simple enough," Lincoln stated.

Luna and Luan gave some unsure nods, and Lynn just looked on wordlessly.

"And one more thing," Elmont added in last minute. "Do not make an effort to capture Lisa if she is spotted, no matter how bad you want to. Priority is the intel, nothing more and nothing else. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"I think we're all okay," Lincoln hoped.

"I'd heavily suggest that some of you learn proper fighting techniques. Lana, Lola, while your powers are at a great advantage, would you be able to fare an enemy of the same ability? We know it's possible now, meaning there might be more..." He thought of a name to give them.

"Zoomers," Lincoln suggested. "Calling them that."

"Hm, not a bad name," Elmont paused. "Alright then, as I was saying, it is imperative you sharpen your skills. You just might never know when you'll find yourself in a grave situation such. Better to be safe and sorry, right?"

Lana looked at her own two hands. "You do have a point... We've always been running around, dodging attacks and bullets."

"I guess we do need some of that..." Lola confessed with some shame. "We need to get better."

"And I need to master this shit." Lynn swung her legs around in the air.

"I trust you all can handle it from here. However, we are kicking the operation off in two days, so get to it right away."

May 28th, 2030

"I know how it feels like those first times where it feels like something is pushing you as you run," Lola described. "The trick is to not push against the force with all your might, it's like some illusion. You can move with no problem, it's just the air being very still and hard, but nothing we can't handle."

She and Lynn were down the hall of the living quarters floor, going over the basics of a zoomer.

"So, it's just the same as normal movement in all senses?"

"Yes, exactly! Don't be tricked into pressing yourself. And another thing is to slow down-" Lola's hair blew back from the windy after-force of Lynn's super sprint. When she came back, the poor field agent plowed right into the elevator and hit her nose again, breaking it. "Hey, you okay?"

Lynn covered her nose as she bled again, letting the pain burn out through her sniffer. "Ungh."

Luna came out into the hall, detecting a tasty odor. "What smells so good?"

"Uh-" Lola directed her hands on her hips. "There's nothing-"

Luna referred to Lynn's blood, but Lola didn't realize this yet. Lynn's zoomer healing repaired her nose in a matter of seconds, which also explained how she was good as new after Luna had fought her yesterday. Lynn wiped the blood off her new white clothes, a generic choice she wish she could customize.

Lynn held off in figuring out her own problems, which were quite a few but impossible ones she needed help with. There was her grew and returning them to the past. Time travel was possible as she found out in the deadliest way possible. Not only that, but she also believed that she could have her status set back to the living side. Lynn still had her mind fixated on returning to her old life... And when she was thinking about it, she found herself in a pickle. This was more of a powerful agency that went after the big game, while her own department only answered to terror cells and big street gangs. Here, she stepped into a world where things were not as they seemed, and where truths were lying down in the unexpected of places. She would have never found out about Vial if not for the blue portal that sucked her in.

Luna came up to her and opened her hands, thinking she had a treat. "Share what you've got-"

Lynn pulled back her hands. "What are you doing? Weirdo!"

Luna didn't expect to see the blood, but her nostrils identified its smell as something wonderful, like a pastry. "Oh."

"D-did you seriously smell my blood?"

"S-sorry, dude... It's my other self." Luna then noticed Lynn's different hairstyle for the first time. "I see that you've cut your front hair, but the ponytail's still there."

"Mmm, sometimes I bring it out for show, but it's more usually all down."

Luna found a chance to get some closure with her. "If you're done here..."

Lynn was still holding onto the grudge, but allowed Luna to talk. "Lola, give us a minute?"

The blonde went away for an unscheduled break. "Five minutes only."

"Thanks," Luna expressed, walking into a room with Lynn. "I know you hate me, and you have every reason to, but I just want to say that I'm sorry."

Lynn exhaled through her nose, hands hanging on her sides. "Luan seems to appreciate your presence, so I guess I can't really be a bitch now, can I?"

Luna viewed it as good words, humbly pleasing her. "I'm gonna try hard for you guys, you know? So much I've gotta-"

Lynn levitate her hands up high. "Save the talking, sis. I understand, just don't hurt Luan again." She didn't believe she said that at first, then pressed a hand on her temple. "Ooooh, I'm going soft."

"I won't, alright?"

"Keep in mind I hate that you've done that to her, but I don't hate you," Lynn reminded. "Just stay on our good side. Anyways-" The zoomer returned to her practicing, not having a desire to talk to Luna, leaving the latter having hope for the incoming days.

May 29th, 2030

They rolled out, riding away in the trailer. Elmont and Lynn were seated at the surveillance control board, looking through the four angled monitors up on the screen. The other four Louds were moving about while they clinged to the handles above, either one-armed or using both to keep from rumbling. Lincoln and Luan were dressed in the same labcoat attired Luna and the twins recognized and hated with passion. All of them had earpiece communicators placed on their left ears, connecting them to each other and to Elmont.

The facility in Maine was far enough to make this a long ride for them. Lana and Luan were the most nervous of the faction, worrying about any potential screw-up should it to sideways. And since there was no guarantee it would be in their favor-

"No pausing or thinking if any of you get scared! Just believe in yourselves, you've survived through worse conditions!"

Luna felt a little queasy, picturing the labcoats who had their way with her. Dirty sons of bitches had to have been among this one, too. It churned her stomach just as bad as she felt the last time. If it went well, she'd save helpless girls from being violated within Vial Corp walls. With the whole data, the little empire disguised as science firms would fall. All phenos would return to society, and that meant her and the other siblings. Back into whatever life they could start anew.

"Don't worry, Luan," Lincoln squeaked into her ear. "I'll protect you."

"You know, I don't think I'm just as qualified as the rest of you. Uh, Mister Elmont, sir, I'm only a scrawny woman-"

Lincoln grabbed her hand and stroked at it gently, rubbing to drive away her fear. "It's okay to be scared, Luan. It's okay, I promise."

"L-Lincy- I-" Luan didn't let go of his strong hand, trembling and sweating with no end. "I don't want to lose any of you again."

"We won't lose!" Lynn hurled out. "We're phenos!"

"Nothing to fear, dude," Luna brushed off.

"Guys, I've been thinking..." Lana pondered whether they take codenames for themselves. It was only fair when the twins had already accepted some they'd been given. "Hero names!"

"Oh-" Luan laughed uncontrollably. "Oh, God! I'm sorry, I don't think I could-"

"Oh, that's easy! I'd have to pick... Adrenaline! Or... Adrena-Lynn?" Lynn gave it some thought and decided shortly after. "Nah, Adrenaline sounds fine, I guess."

Luna sighed, shaking her. "What makes you think we'll be full-time heroes? Or heroines? It's just one mission, right?"

Elmont raised his shoulders and turned his head to say he didn't know, which meant something else entirely.

"Can I pick it for you?" Lana begged. "Pretty please?"

"Sure, Lans. I don't see why not!"

"Drum roll, please!"

Lola raised a knee and one-handedly tapped at it with her zooming ability.

"The carnivorous! The ultimate! Theeeee... Supreme beast of Royal Woods!"

"Supreme- Hmmm... I've got one better," Luna suggested, modifying Lana's name. "How about just... Superbeast?"

"Superbeast?" Lana put a finger on her chin. "Well, it's shorter, I guess. Okay! But I want a piggyback ride on you in beast form. I've always wanted to ride a big lizard."

"Erm..." Luna winced.

"She's not lying," Lola revealed. "Her bucket list has never changed."

"Fine, if it'll make you happy."

Lana grinned widely, which made Luna feel great inside. "Thanks, Lunes."

"Luan?" Lana was selective. "Hmmm... What can yours be?"

"Clownie!" Luna teased. "You still love jokes, right?"

"I've always... Wanted to be a comedienne," Luan admitted. "Maybe that. The Comedienne."

"Five down, now it's-"

"No nicknames, ever," Lincoln finalized.

"...Oh," Lana went.

"Ladies and man, we have arrived at our stop."

The truck pulled into a siding behind some trees, stopping slowly. Lincoln let go of Luan's hand and moved to the exit, opening the trailer. "We know the drill."

"Ten minutes do get it done, understood?" Elmont looked over his pheno team, and set a hand to Lynn's shoulder. "Counting on you."

"Roger that, keep us posted on our time."

"Luan, with me," Lincoln commanded, jumping off the trailer. He moved to the facility, jogging fast towards the road that led to the parking lot in view. Looking behind him, he failed to spot the trailer, but are Luan appearing from nowhere which then told his brain that the entire truck was cloaked with an invisible shield.

"Damn it, Lincoln!" Luan cupped her mouth, forgetting that they had different identities today. The day was a beautiful one, set in the afternoon. Maybe if it knew shit was going to go down, it might have been raining. She caught up to him just in time for them to enter the facility, climbing up past a small set of stairs.

"Swallow your fear," Lincoln hissed from in front.

They entered, seeing many other labcoats walking around, not taking notice of the two strangers. Luna gulped as she followed Lincoln to the check-in point in front of them, a metal detector followed by a facial recognition scanner he identified when another labcoat was going through the same process.

"Elmont, you fool," Lincoln growled into the earpiece. "They've got biometric scanners."

"Inconceivable! Stall or improvise! The EMP and the phenos are inbound!"

Lincoln was motioned into the metal detector by one of the guards stationed beside it. "Move it along, sir!"

The albino extended his hands and walked through, passing it with flying colors. "Done?"

"Yes! Towards the scanner, please!" He guided Lincoln before switching to Luan. "Ma'am, pass through, please."

Luan followed, getting nervous as she struggled to watch Lincoln come up with a viable response to the scanner. "We need them, now..." She whispered into the earpiece.

Lincoln was just about to step foot into the cylinder scanner right before the action started. A force of nature plowed through the few guards around the lobby by the trio of zoomers. Luna had come carried by Lana, dropped off at the stairs. She transformed just as the multiple labcoats started their scaredy screams of terror, running around like teens in an 80s horror movie. The alarm was activated, blaring away as a voice on the intercom alerted the faculty of intruders.

Through the commotion, Lincoln and Luan ran to the staircase after the other four went to their posts. Lynn remained on the main level to handle reinforcements, the twins took to the second floor, and Luna went to break out her pheno brethren after nabbing herself one poor labcoat.

Lincoln encountered four armed guards at top level coming down to tango with his sisters, but he was having none of it. The man picked one guard up and threw him down to the bottom of the stairwell. The other three were stunned and fixated their shotguns at him. He kicked one shotgun, making it go off into one's waist, which opened a gory wound.

Luan stepped away as the body rolled down near her. "Oh, my God!"

Lincoln fought the other two, hands grabbing their weapons, raising them up as he kicked them away to make them let go. One of them fell easy than the other, making Lincoln let go of the tough cookie with a forceful push of the shotgun he had to let go. "TAKE IT!"

"LINC-!" Luan looked away as Lincoln fired a shell at the other guard before he could fire at them. His head exploded, painting the wall red with brains, and the fleshy sound of death made Luan squirm disturbingly. Lincoln did the downed one in before moving.

"Guys, we've got this girl in black on the second floor. She's- She's dressed like, I don't know, a dang ninja? Swords and everything."

"Lisa employing murderous children? I'll see to that, bring her along," Lincoln answered to Lana. "You take the guards down?"

"We're clear down here-"

"EMP in fifteen seconds!" Elmont notified. "And you are now under six minutes, make the most of it!"

"Hey, are these comms made to withstand the grid-fryer?" Lincoln wondered.

"Yes, indeed. Ten seconds before total darkness. Stay wary."

Lincoln ran down the hall with the shotgun, not caring about being caught by the camera that he blew his cover officially. "Good idea, Luan! Keep me covered!"

Luan concealed her face from looking at the bodies, scarred from that which she had done.

At the sub-level, Luna had her hostage open up the cells like the first time. This one, a redhead younglings who looked innocent to even be here under orders of an evil woman, was spared with a measured punch that knocked him out. She carried him, having no intention to kill this one, and made an effort to save him.

Not a killer... Not a beast...

She took him while running to the freed phenos wandering about cluelessly. "I AM YOUR SAVIOR! BE FREE!" Right on cue, the lights went out, meaning the EMP had hit and done its purpose. She called to the crowd, leading them to the stairs. "AFTER ME, MY PHENOS!"

The twins, with Lola carrying the unconscious Carly, and Lana with the girl's weapons, advanced back down when they saw the stampede of trapped phenos coming out behind Luna, all of them making a united commotion that echoed right to Luan's location. "Are those-?"

"FREEDOM, LOVE! FREEDOM!" Luna pushed through the doors, bumping into Lynn. "OUT THE WAY, ZOOMY!"

"Watch where-!" Lynn then screamed and slipped on her back, startled by the angry battalion. "Oh, okay then!"

"RAGE, MY PHENOS! SCREAM, MY PHENOS! FIGHT, MY PHENOS!" Luna hollered into the lobby, pointing to the exit.

"THAT SHOW ENDED YEARS AGO, GODDAMNIT!"

"That's the last time we listen to Lincoln's anime suggestions!"

"Three minutes left until the bomb is dropped!"

Lincoln found the data room and took off his uniform, setting it on the floor. He dug around for two hard drives from two different databanks, and found them, quickly placing them down on the uniform and closed it by the corners. "Package received, we're coming out!"

Luan took slow steps down, trying to avoid the nasty bloodshed Lincoln left in his wake, when a brunette woman with a green shirt underneath a lab coat came running by downstairs. "Ma'am, pleashe evacuate the premishes," the young woman said with a clear lisp.

A lisp! Is- Is this Lisa?!

Lisa thought she went unheard, and turned to Luan, thinking she was traumatized by the bodies. "Ma'am-"

Luan made the mistake of freezing up, letting herself be identified by Lisa. And the sadistic super-intellect sought to make a problem go away when she pulled out a concealed revolver on Luan, aiming right at her face.

"What ish the meaning of thish?!"

Lincoln came back out, saw Luan standing there at the halfway point like a statue. "Hey, Luan, what the-?"

Lisa looked right up and recognized the voice. "Lincoln Loud, ish that you?!"

Lincoln gasped and then set down the drives, jumping down as Lisa fired. She panicked, missing Luan by three inches from the left. Lisa dropped her gun and ran into the second floor, while Lincoln fired but missed. He reloaded, and was just about to fire when Lisa looked behind and ducked into a room. A blue flash of light followed immediately after, urging Lincoln to pursue her. "We're compromised! Lisa spotted both of us! Requesting permission to kill on sight!"

"L-Lisa-?"

"Saw you?!"

"Negatory! The drives will suffice! Pull back for extraction, leave this to the phenos! Less than two minutes, hurry!"

Lincoln didn't listen, crashing into the room with one goal. He came across what appeared to be an infirmary room, finding only cabinets and drawers filled with medicine, a hospital bed, but no Lisa. He could have sworn she jumped in here. "Oh, shit..."

Below, Luna had led the many Vial Corp slaves to freedom, watching them escape after being thanked by some of them. Lola and Lana, carrying the ninja girl and her weapons, had come out following the stampede.

"Is that the ninja you mentioned?" Lynn inquired. "She doesn't look older than fifteen!"

"Wait till Elmont sees this," Luna laughed.

"Forget this one, who the fuck is that? And where did the rest of the staff go? It's like they disappeared."

"Saw them all escape to the stairs, but..." Luna began pondering it as well. "Did we seriously not notice it? And oh, I knocked this one out. He's lucky to be alive."

The misfortune of Lucky was soon realized when Lincoln fired a shell into his head, which also hit Luna's shoulder. Lana and Lola were redecorated with the young man's blood on their faces and suits, horribly shaken up by it. Luan had fallen even more sick when Lincoln had killed another one. Luna had fallen on her good side, yelping away. "NO, NO, NO! L-LINCOLN, WHY?!"

Lynn was dismayed and angered, forming fists.

"LINCOLN, HE WAS JUST A CHILD!" Luna pushed the body off of her, while her body tossed out the slug fragments and healed. She turned back to her regular self, very upset at her brother's nature. "No... No, I wanted to save-"

Luan went down and comforted her. "You did good... You did good, Luna. You tried..." Luan looked at her younger brother, a monster worse than even Lisa, with a different look in her eyes. "Unlike you."

"Give me a break, the brat signed on to be one of our enemies. Everyone a part of Vial is evil."

"No, no, I don't buy that," Luan defied. "They can't be... Can they?"

Luna snuggled her sister closely. "I want it to stop... Why can't it stop?"

"Lana, Lola, take the girl and those back to Elmont, now!" Lynn boomed, driving the twins away.

Lincoln dropped the weapon, holding the drives. "I don't see why you're all broken up. People die every fucking day, you don't bat an eye, but you see me kill this one boy younger than me and you cry."

"What's your point, Lincoln?"

"I just think you're being hypocritical and completely uncaring. It makes you just as bad as-"

Lynn rushed in and threw a punch after snagging the drives from Lincoln, right into his chest. But he caught it and tossed her back. "-How you say I am."

Lynn shook her head. "The difference is, we can stop you from this. You didn't need to, and you knew that. You had to have known that. We had him and he would have faced legal action! Legal, Lincoln, and a guaranteed one, too!"

He maintained his silence.

"I can't... I can't do this with you, Linc."

Luna and Luan moved up and joined Lynn's side, leaving Lincoln all alone this time.

"We can't do this with you..."

"Is that your final thought?" He raised a finger. "Because... It isn't up to you, it's all up to Elmont. After all, I did what none of you did. I left bodies." The bomb had finally dropped behind Lincoln as he extended his arms out wide. Lynn gave Luan the drives before picking her up and running away from the blast range, leaving Lincoln and Luna to take the full force of the blast. The facility exploded in a fiery inferno just as Lincoln had stated his last piece at the height of the grand finale. "And I am the-"

The debris flew around and over their heads as the intensity of the blast blew away at them, messing with their hair. Luna blocked out the rushing airs with her hands as Lincoln remained put like nothing had happened. They withstood the full force of the blast but were left with an incinerated mess where the facility had been.

Lincoln walked away, clothes torn apart messily. If anything, he helped block Luna from the explosion, as well, but didn't care. "Come on, let's go."

Luna looked to the body of the dead redhead boy, touching him gently and apologized before leaving. It was here that she had learned again what life really meant, and what privilege it was to feel alive. And she wanted it again more than anything. Again, with her family.

Lynn had delivered the drives to Elmont, sitting down on the chair next to his, awaiting Lincoln and Luna. Luan closed her eyes, still haunted by the image of Lisa holding a gun to her face, and if not for Lincoln- She threw up at long last, pouring out green slime all over Lola's shoes.

"Oh, ewwwwww!" Lola cried out. "LUAN!"

"Luan? Are you okay?" Lynn rubbed around her back, then sniffed the atmosphere. "Aw, who's got gum or something?"

Luan shook her head. "S-sorry..."

"Damn it," Elmont evaluated the situation again. "Are you positive that Lisa has identified you and Lincoln?"

Luan nodded. "Y-yes, she- She pointed a gun at me-"

Lincoln and Luna had returned by then. "You're kidding me, right?"

"N-no. L-Lincoln jumped in and-" Luan vomited again. "Oh, G-God, I thought I was gonna die-"

"Hey, take her out of the team," Lincoln decided. "She is now unfit to serve in her state of mind."

Elmont brushed away at his long, mane-like hair and then came to an agreement. "Very well. Luan, you are relieved of the team, but all of our resources shall be open to you as long as your siblings continue to serve."

"I guess it's just five now," Lynn figured clearly. "Worry no more, Luan, you're out of the battlefield."

"Th-thank you..." Luan wiped her mouth fresh from any saliva around her lips, taking slow breaths now. "S-sorry for the mess..."

"Just take it easy, Luan. You can sit in the front if you'd like."

"Will the driver be okay with m-my smelly breath?"

Elmont laughed. "I don't think so, our driver is an A.I."

Lincoln blinked with shock. "An... An A.I.? Are you fucking kidding me? Th-that's a thing?"

Lynn rolled up a hand and coughed into it. "Nerd."

Luna and the twins laughed.

"You want in, too? Go on ahead!" Elmont allowed.

Lincoln carried Luan like a precious baby and took her to the front cab of the truck, where they were greeted by a female voice. "Welcome to Model 76! My programming has been preset to serve the Patriot Division, so my functions are limited."

"Hello, um, yes, we're done with our mission here!" Luan notified the A.I. "You mind taking us... Home?"

"Calculating route."

"Hold on, if it responds to orders, then who was giving the orders?" Lincoln asked Luan.

"Did you get all that?" Luan asked the A.I.

"Elmont, of course. Orders are usually preset for all missions."

Luan laughed. "So, we're not in control of you?"

"Affirmative. Would you like some music playing in the background?"

"By all means," Lincoln offered.

"Play something upbeat yet mellow, please."

"Locating music choices, standby."

The truck turned on by itself, and the A.I., taking control of the truck, began pulling off as a song began to play, and the atmosphere went from a dark to light one as Luan let herself sink with the tone of the music. And before long, she was vast asleep, sleeping with her head resting against his shoulder. Not once did he move, and would not, until she woke up eventually.

---

Act I: Enter The Dawn, Chapter X: The Patriots

---

Every word that you say

Echo on in my head

It's the only hope I got

Drowning out, open seas

My own words make me sink

But you keep me afloat

But sometimes I lose my mind

One answer is all I need

Say you're still here with me

I whispered will you let me hear?

But now, I really need to see

To know you're a part of me

Now is the right time

To take step forward

Now is the right time

You don't have to be afraid

I know over that hill there's something waiting for me

But I cannot get there alone

---

AN: Act I officially ends here, and with many themes packed into this, I open the door for future debacles, dynamics and some more family drama. Things are still being hidden on purpose, like, Leni's whereabouts, the truth about Lily, and what Lynn has seen. Meanwhile, there's also the matter of where Carol, Lyle, Lindsey and Lucy are. They're out there still, wandering about, as well as Sam, who's coming back in the next Act. There's lore aplenty in this fic.

The Louds may have won their ticket to dismantle Vial Corporation, but it won't be that simple. It never really is.

Act II: Blood Ties, coming in July. Enter, the clones.

---

"Your brother and sister, you said?" The middle aged man in a business casual suit entered the room Lisa Loud was in, joining her. "Does that mean they're digging into this?"

"I am unshure, but my shource shayshhh there ish an agenshee after me. Bad for me, unleshhh..." Lisa stared at five golden chambers. Four were assembled in a perfect square, and the fifth one was oddly out of place, standing in the middle of the four.

"You can drop the stutter, I know how you really sound like."

Lisa coughed. "I suppose you do. Well, in any case, I may just be inclined to release them, starting with A."