Marsha got up from the table, walking a few paces away from the scene with the other girls to do her search in quiet. It only took a bit of social media searching to find what she was looking for: an image of Reina and BJ Santiago. They weren't the most active on social media, which wasn't the weirdest, considering their pages said they were 9, but Reina did at least have some pictures on her page. Twins, black hair, girl with glasses, boy…yeah, Marsha agreed that 'scared' was a good description of his resting face.
Within a few clicks, Marsha had copied the image and was forwarding it to her contact network, along with the message, "Looking for these two. Request from Scout L. No trouble, white gloves." With the simple message out there, she started making a few calls to some of her best eyes. "It's me…yeah. Yeah, they're good, it's not trouble. Right. Ok, keep me posted."
She hung up, and scrolled through her list until…hmm. The name she was looking at…well, she wouldn't call her a source, per se, but she was a very effective pair or eyes. And this situation involved her as well, so…
With a shrug, she tapped the name and put the phone to her ear. It rang twice before connecting, with the voice on the other side replying, "Whatcha want, Lackey B? I'm a little busy at the moment."
"I'm sure you are, Lupa." Marsha brushed off the insult with her matter-of-fact tone. "But this actually concerns you a bit, so I figured you'd be interested. I'm looking for a couple of kids."
"That so? Well, finding a couple kids ain't that hard. Unless you're looking for specific ones, that is, and not just any random kids you can harvest." Lupa wasted no time in taking the situation to the macabre place she was so familiar with. "So, which is it, specific ones or ones that won't be missed?"
"Specific ones." Marsha didn't miss a beat. This was just the kind of conversation one had to expect when chatting with Lupa Loud. "I actually just sent a picture out to the network you can check, if…"
"Yeah, like I said, little busy, so I can't really check things at the moment." Lupa cut Marsha off. "Why don't you just go ahead and tell me what I should look for?"
She didn't sound hurried, Marsha thought, but arguing that point would be just the most incredible waste of time. When dealing with Lupa, one must be prepared to also deal with her particular brand of bullshit. "Alright…it's a pair of twins. Girl and boy, Leia's size. Light brown skin, black hair, the girl wears glasses, and the boy looks…how should I say this…?"
"Mmhmm. Here's a question." Lupa responded before Marsha could complete her thought. "Would 'constantly on the brink of tears' be a solid description of this boy?"
Marsha's eyebrow arched as Lupa's fairly spot-on description came through. "Yes…I suppose it would. Lupa, you wouldn't have…"
"Heheheh…well, aren't we both lucky today." Lupa's signature cackle from the other end confirmed Marsha's suspicions. "As fortune might have it, yeah. I've seen those kids. The boy is standing just a few feet away from me and the girl is…hang on…yep, still trying to bite my hand. Again."
...
As soon as the phone call had gone through to Lupa, a second window had popped up on Z-29's screen. There, the alternate Lulu could indeed see a rather clear image of Lupa holding a young girl at arm's length, as the younger girl snapped unsuccessfully at the hand keeping her at bay.
An intriguing scene, but not exactly an illuminating one. Lulu began working the console, rewinding the video feed from that side of the conversation a few minutes. Once she had reached a suitable moment, she hit play again, and the feed resumed.
...
"Okay, just being sure…you're not following me, right?"
"For the last time, no, I'm not following you, Marla." The feminine boy behind her rolled his eyes as he replied. "I swear, I'm just going to check out a place that sells archery equipment, and it's a total coincidence that it's near your house. That's all."
"Kay. Cool. Just checking." Marla turned her eyes forward again, back to the sidewalk. She had left school not that long ago, having blown off track club racing because she just really didn't want to deal with Lacy today. As luck would have it, as she left, Lyle was walking behind her, also leaving school for the day. She gave a customarily terse greeting…which was more than most people got, but Lyle was her new morning training neighbor of sorts, so he got just a smidge more politeness out of Marla…and started walking towards home.
Lyle, however, was still following behind her as she started walking out. When she turned to head towards her house, Lyle turned at the same time. After a few minutes, she had flat-out asked if her was stalking her, to which he replied with his 'archery store' cover story. A likely excuse.
"I'm just sayin', if we make it to my street and there's no archery store, your ass is getting karate'd so hard." Marla glanced over to Lyle as she made her threats.
"How very good for my ass, then, that there is indeed an archery store that I am walking to." Lyle retorted, shrugging off the intimidation attempt. "One of my goals for the day was to avoid any karate-ing, after all."
"Mmhmm. Right." Eyes forward again, Marla walked on.
"Good that we have an agreement." Lyle too continued his brisk walking pace.
The two of them walked side by side, silently, until Lyle leaned in closer and whispered to Marla, "In any case, if you're worried about being stalked, am I…really the person you should be talking to?"
Marla didn't respond immediately, though she immediately knew what he was talking about. Without trying to give it away, she threw a quick glance behind her at the person following the two of them. About eight, maybe ten feet behind them, walked Lupa Loud, her snowy hair unmistakable as she followed the two of them, a bemused smirk on her face.
Marla quickly snapped her eyes back to the front as she whispered, "…Just keep acting like you haven't seen her. Maybe she'll get bored and go away."
"I'll admit I haven't known her as long as you, but my read on her is that she's not the type to be dissuaded by the cold shoulder treatment." Lyle's eyes didn't waver from the road ahead. "Quite the opposite, actually."
"…hah…I mean, you're not wrong, but…just, let me believe it will work, ok?" Marla sighed. "At the very least, it'll put off dealing with her for as long as I can."
"If you say so," murmured Lyle, still leaning in close to Marla. "Though, from what I know about her personality, the odds are she's enjoying watching you squirm over whatever it is she's planning."
"Well, then maybe I get lucky and you're the one she's got in her sights." Marla grumbled back. "Then I can just make a break for it once she makes her move."
"I doubt that whatever she's planning involves me. I bumped into her in the halls during school, and she didn't have anything to say to me then." Lyle retorted. "Also, on the off chance she is after me, if you think I'll let you slip away to deal with her alone, you've got another thing…"
"Just fuck already, you two."
"GAH!" Both Lyle and Marla jumped at the sudden voice right behind their ears. They spun around to see Lupa, as expected, who had apparently closed the distance between her and them in about a hundredth of a second, wearing a much more mischievous grin on her face than the one she had before she teleported behind them.
"Goddammit, girl, cut that shit out!" Marla was the first to respond. "You know how much I hate that damn 'right-behind-you' trick!"
"Oh, do you not like it? I had no idea, Marla." Lupa replied, with a smirk that suggested she might have had some inkling as to Marla's opinion of said trick.
"And furthermore! There is nothing like…THAT…going on here, alright?" Marla pressed on with her rage as she grabbed Lupa by the collar. "So don't you even start with me, you hear?"
"Mmhmm. Whatever you say, Marl." That damn smirk only grew wider on Lupa's face. "Just for the record, though, all that leaning in close and whispering into each other ears might make people just a little suspicious."
"There…is…nothing…going…on…!" Marla was now punctuating her statement by shaking Lupa with each word. "Get…that…through…your…head!"
Lyle hung back slightly as he watched Marla's throttling routine, which Lupa did…not seem fazed by. For a moment, he had thought about deflecting Lupa's insinuations a bit by mentioning Marla was, y'know, technically his sister, but then remembered who he would have been talking to and realized that that would have been just the stupidest thing to say.
So instead, he simply put his hand on Marla's shoulder and said, "Marla, not that she doesn't deserve it, but if you keep this up, she's just gonna develop a whole new fetish. And neither you nor I are gonna want to deal with that."
Marla's first thought had been to tell Lyle off for the physical contact, but his words got through to her before she could. Also, a quick look at Lupa's face backed up what Lyle was talking about. Oh no, she was wiggling her eyebrows. Good lord, no.
Without another word, Marla dropped Lupa, who fell on her rear. She turned to go, saying, "Right…well, anyway, you get it. Now then, if you don't mind, I'm going home now."
"And I'm going to an archery store. Which is admittedly in the same direction, but, and I can't stress this enough, that fact is a total coincidence." Lyle also turned to leave. "In any case, we'll be going now, so…"
"Ah ah…not so fast." Before they could take more than a step or two, Lupa had teleported again, this time right beside them, wrapping her arms around their shoulders. "It just so happens I've got business with you today. With both of you, that is."
At this exact moment, Marla and Lyle's reactions were in tune, as they both simultaneously thought, "Dang it."
"Now, don't get mad at me for this one, ok? I'm just the messenger here," continued Lupa. "But your attendance has been requested at Lulu's second birthday party later today, and neither of you have RSVP'd. So I was dispatched to ensure that you will be attending."
"Oh…right. Lina told me about it at lunch." Lyle recalled his conversation with his other sister and band-mate earlier today, and was grateful that Lina's methods involved less stalking. "Yeah, I already told her, I'll head over once I'm done at this store."
"Oh, did you? I suppose I must have forgotten that she had relayed that to me." The look on Lupa's face made Lyle believe she probably thought it would be more fun to 'forget', but he didn't press the point as she turned her head and said, "Well, that's one yes, sooo…Marla?"
"Hard. Pass." Marla shrugged off Lupa's arm as she tried to get away. "Ain't no goddamn way I'm going to any goddamn party at Dad's goddamn fuck-palace. ESPECIALLY not if Lacy'll be there."
"Please stop calling it that. It gets my hopes up, only to be dashed later." Lupa managed to switch her grip from Marla's shoulders to her waist before she could get away. "Also, like I said, I'm to ENSURE your attendance, not hear your excuses, so…"
"Don't need no…excuses!" Marla struggled against Lupa's surprisingly tight grip. "I just…ain't…going, so…!"
"Hey! You three!"
The girls were still busy struggling against each other, so Lyle was the only one to hear this new voice. He turned in its direction, where he saw a pair of kids standing in front of him. A girl and a boy of about elementary age, who looked strikingly similar to each other…well, except for their expressions. The girl had a somewhat annoyed look on her face, and was glaring straight at Lyle, occasionally glancing at the girls behind him, though the fact that they were ignoring her only soured her mood further.
The boy, meanwhile, was standing directly behind his sister, keeping her between him and the strangers. He was practically hiding behind her, and shot her a nervous glance as she addressed the older kids, asking, "Reina, maybe we shouldn't…"
"I'll be fine, Bobby." The girl reassured her brother before turning back to Lyle and asking, "Hey, you can hear me, right?"
"Oh, yeah…sorry, just thinking." Lyle replied, glancing back at the girls still entangled behind him before he addressed the kids again. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, you can. I'm looking for somebody." Reina got straight to the point as she walked up to Lyle, her brother trailing faithfully behind her. "We're looking for our sister…we kinda got separated earlier. About your age, blonde hair, dressed like she just rolled out of a cardboard box. Any chance you've seen her?"
"Huh…" That last bit was certainly a colorful description, and Lyle was very curious as to how she could be dressed to earn that description, but knew he hadn't seen anyone who would fit it. "Sorry, I don't think I've seen her. Do you have a picture or anything like that? I can check with those two," he added, pointing to the girls behind him.
Reina shook her head. "No, I don't…I left my phone at home. Bobby, do you have one?"
"No…my phone's new, so…I haven't taken any pictures with it yet." Bobby copied his sister and shook his head. "Sorry…"
"It's alright…honestly, from your description, it sounds like I'd probably know if I saw her once." Lyle tried to reassure the kids, especially Bobby, who looked like he was liable to cry at a moment's notice. "Anyway, if you give me a bit, I can check with…"
"Elementary kids? Man, Lyle, guess your strike zone really is crazy wide. That's a bit much, even for me."
The cheery expression Lyle had been putting on while talking to the kids faded in an instant. He glanced over his shoulder, where, yup, there was Lupa, ghoulishly grinning as always. Marla was being dragged along with her, desperately trying to unwrap her arm from the goth's. Lyle tried to mask his annoyance as he muttered, "Really wish you wouldn't joke like that."
"Right, right…'jokes'." Lupa chuckled. "Anyway, what's with the twerps?"
"They're looking for their sister. Apparently, they got separated." Lyle quickly explained. "Any chance either of you have seen a blonde girl who looks like…how did it go…"
"Just rolled out of a cardboard box." Reina helpfully added.
"That. Right." Lyle pointed at Reina. "That sound like anyone you've seen?"
"No, but shit, now I sure want to." Lupa shrugged. "Sounds like she'd be a fun running buddy."
Marla just barely managed to get her arm free from Lupa's grasp before she answered, "Yeah, same. I can't remember anyone like that."
"Alright…sorry, guys." Lyle turned back to the kids with an apologetic look. "Don't think we'll be able to help."
"Right…well, it's fine. She should be able to take care of herself." Reina shook her head. A thought briefly flew through Lyle's head that the kids were treating their older sister the same way an adult would treat a lost child, but he put that thought away when Reina continued, "Anyway, she's not the only person we're looking for, so maybe you could help us with the other one?"
"What, you got a human scavenger hunt going or something?" Lupa joked. "Because I've tried those, and it gets hard once the captives start kicking and…mmph phh…"
"Ignore her." Lyle had put his hand over Lupa's mouth to quiet her for a moment. She was probably enjoying it, of course, but he could deal with that once the kids were gone. "Go ahead and tell us about him."
"Okay, sure." Reina nodded. "We're looking for a man named Lincoln Loud. Know where we can find him?"
The three older kids froze the moment the name left Reina's lips. Even Lupa stopped her playful struggling against Lyle's hand to stare at the girl. They were all totally silent, outside of Marla's uttering a single, exasperated, "What."
"Wh-what?" Reina glanced at the older kids, a bit defensively. "Have you heard of him before?"
"Have we…boy, there is just a lot to that answer." Lyle muttered under his breath. He tried to collect himself quickly, getting the smile back on his face as he asked, "I think I might have, but…Reina, Bobby, why are you looking for Mr. Loud?"
"Because he's…ahem." Reina coughed, apparently rethinking what she wanted to say. After a moment, she finished her statement, "He's our dad. Apparently."
At this moment, Lyle somewhat understood why Lemy had blown up the way he had when Lyle first met Lincoln.
"Are you…fuuucking kidding me…" Marla's hand went straight to her forehead.
"W-well? Do you know him or don't you?!" Reina was starting to get agitated. "You sure sound like you know who I'm talking about!"
"Reina, calm down…" Bobby tried to soothe his sister's temper. "There's no need to yell…huh?"
Bobby went quiet as Lupa had taken the distraction they had provided and escaped from Lyle's grasp. She was now standing next to the kids, looking straight down at Bobby, her grin gone, and an oddly blank expression on her face.
"U-um…" Bobby's nerves were not eased by this development. "Wha…what can I…eep!"
Before Bobby could finish his stammering, Lupa had grabbed his head, gently turning it side to side, up and down, as though she were analyzing his face. After a moment, she started murmuring, "I mean…I guess I can see it…a little bit…"
"Wha…hey!" Reina turned and yelled at Lupa. "What do you think you're doing to my brother, you…mmp!"
Again, without waiting for the kid to finish, Lupa grabbed her head, analyzing her the same way. She muttered once again, saying, "It's a little harder to see with you, though. Then again, it's different with girls, so…I guess."
"Lupa." Lyle walked up to the goth and pulled one of her hands away from Reina's face. "That isn't helping right now. Leave the kids alone for a sec, okay?"
"I'm just checking, alright?" Lupa defended herself. "I mean, there's no reason to doubt it, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't…"
*CHOMP*
This time it was Lupa's turn to be interrupted before finishing her thought. A growl came from the kid between her and Lyle, causing the two of them to look down. Apparently, having one of Lupa's hands pulled away freed Reina up enough to take defensive measures.
She wriggled away from the hand that Lupa had kept on her face, and bit down on the side of Lupa's palm.
There was a silence of a moment or two before Lupa smacked the top of Reina's head with her free hand, calmly saying, "Leggo, kid."
"Ow!" The smack was sharp enough for Reina to release her bite-grip, as she recoiled.
"Don't hit the kid, you idiot!" Marla shouted at Lupa.
"Hey, that one was self-defense." Lupa replied, still calm as she shook the hand that was just being chomped on. "I'd rather not have her drawing blood, cool as that might look."
"Grrah!" Reina snapped at Lupa again, but this time she was caught, as Lupa grabbed her head with the unbitten hand and held her at arm's length. The younger girl struggled to get at her again, but Lupa held her firmly in place.
There were a lot of questions Lyle wanted to ask at the moment, yet somehow, the one that managed to clear his brain and escape his mouth was asking Lupa, "Why do you look like you have experience doing that?"
"Because this was Leia's go-to tactic not too long ago." Lupa replied, simply enough. "Before she started getting lackeys to fight her battles fo…"
Lupa was interrupted as music started playing from somewhere, a loud guitar riff with…violin backing? Lyle couldn't place it, but when Lupa took out her phone, he realized that he probably should have guessed that it was her ring tone. "Well, speak of the devil…" Lupa chuckled, before she tapped on the phone and put it to her ear. "Whatcha want, Lackey B? I'm a little busy at the moment."
Which brings us, neatly, back in line with the other side of the phone call.
"…and the girl is…hang on…yep, still trying to bite my hand. Again." Lupa continued her conversation with Marsha, still holding Reina at arm's length. "Anyway, this is just me hazarding a guess, but this doesn't sound like something Leia'd ask about, so who…like she rolled out of a carboard box in the gutter, right? Yeah…no, that kinda pieces together with what we've heard here. Mmhmm…oh you've got a picture? With…their dad…yeah, we might have already figured that part out, Sherlock…yeah. Ok, right. I'll call you later."
With that, Lupa hung up the phone and slipped it into her pocket. She looked to be deep in thought for a moment, which contrasted well with the actual image of her trying to keep a still-somewhat-scrapping Reina at arm's length, before she sighed, looked down at the younger girl and asked, "Hey, could you stop? It's time to play nice now."
"Shut up!" Reina snapped back. "All you've done is tease me and Bobby! No way am I gonna play nice with…"
"Ah, come on." Lupa smirked at Reina. "That's no way to talk to your big sister, is it?"
Reina's struggling stopped all at once. She looked up at Lupa, mouth agape, and just barely managed to get out, "…big…sister?"
"Mmhmm. Now then…" While she was distracted, Lupa pushed Reina towards Lyle, walking away from the two of them as she continued, "…play nice with your big brother for a second. Big sis has work to do."
"Big…wha…" A flustered Reina looked around, first at Bobby, who had no idea how to handle the situation and was seemingly just trying to hold himself together, then up at Lyle as she yelled, "What is she talking about? What's going on?!"
"Hah…yeah, I uh…I know the feeling, Reina." Lyle tried to calm Reina down, though he too was putting together the pieces of what exactly was happening here. "Well, there's a lot we should talk about, so…for the moment let's just…"
Before he could continue, the loud screech of the guitar/violin riff hit again, as Lupa pulled her phone back out of her pocket. "Dammit, why am I blowing up now of all…Hello, this is Lupa Loud, I'm busy at the moment, so please…augh, fine, Lina, I'll shut up, but dammit, this better be good, I'm dealing with some serious shit at the…what? Are you…what."
Lupa went quieter as the phone call went on, causing Lyle and Marla to exchange nervous glances, before finally the goth said, "Okay then…I'm close enough so I'll…yeah. I'll be in touch." She hung up the phone and quickly put it away, staying quiet for a moment before she glanced at Lyle and Marla and said, "There is apparently a giant Russian girl chasing down Lemy in the streets."
The other two stared at her, exchanging a quick look of disbelief before Marla asked, "Okay, NOW you're shitting us, right?"
"Man, I wish I could pull shit this insane." Lupa replied quickly, before starting to walk off. "The kids' sister is in the park by the elementary. You two take 'em there. This is officially above my pay grade. I'm gonna go grab the boss, this is her problem now."