Chapter XIX: Turning Point

As the Thursday morning slowly shined on Royal Woods, and the rising orange sun climbing over the horizon, the first rays of daylight peeked through the window blinds of Lynn and Lucy's room. The young, fiery jock, who was at the moment slumbering like a baby, found herself being woken up thanks to the gold-orange sunlight beaming onto her unsuspecting face. With the light forcing her awake, the disgruntled Lynn peeled the covers off her body with a groan, relinquishing the comfort of a good night's rest for the start of another school day. Peeling her eyes open, and wishing that it was Friday already, Lynn took a quick glance at her clock wondering how early she was getting up at. It seemed to be a recurring thing in this house nowadays.

5:58 AM. Not too far from when she would normally wake up, considering she was usually the first of the sisterhood up and running.

"Hey Lynn."

The real surprise however was hearing the groggy, barely audible voice of her younger sister Lucy at this waking hour. Lynn turned to see the little magic goth rubbing her eyes while she leaned up, still halfway covered in her dark purple quilt.

"What the-? Lucy?" Lynn asked, keeping her voice low to not wake up anybody else. "What are you doing up so early?"

Lynn knew that it wasn't like Lucy to be awake at this hour. Normally, Lucy was one of the last members of the Loud family to get out of bed and ready for school. The goth was a very heavy sleeper, that she knew for sure. It took quite a bit of effort for Lucy to be a morning person. She could vividly recount the sheer amount of times her parents had called for her to get her roommate downstairs and ready for school like clockwork. Lynn couldn't help but begin to draw a connection between their sleep schedules and their powers; Lynn was a morning person with the powers of the sun, while Lucy was a night owl who could wield dark magic. Quite an interesting thing.

Lucy awake at this hour, however, did send some concerning vibes within Lynn. If she knew anything about Lucy, and the rest of her sisters and brother, was that any sort of strange deviation from normal, "scheduled" behaviors meant that something was going on, and with what was happening to them, there was a chance that it was nothing good.

Lucy pursed her lips before she answered Lynn.

"I couldn't sleep." Lucy softly said, and Lynn felt her eyes instantly widen at what her sister said. Hearing those words made her draw to some dangerous ideas.

"Did you get another nightmare, like the ones Lincoln and I had?" She nervously said, hoping she was wrong.

"Sigh. No, it wasn't a nightmare, as much as I wished it was."

"Oh, thank goodness," Lynn let out a sigh of relief, and then suddenly turned to her sister, "And what do you mean, you wished it was? Those things were freaking terrifying, Lucy. Not the sort of stuff I want to see again, and neither should you."

"Lynn, how long have you known me?" Lucy deadpanned.

"Okay, okay. Sure. So," Lynn drawled, "what is the real reason why you're up so early? It's not like you, sis."

"I know. I take pride in my slumber. But last night was different, at least more different than usual. I couldn't sleep because my magical essence was acting strange last night." Lucy answered. Lynn felt her brow furrow at her sister, wondering what else could have possibly kept her sister up at night other than her usual spooky self.

"Your essence? What do you mean?"

Lucy sighed, clutching her quilt as she did.

"Lynn, you know how spiritual energy is drawn to me." Lucy began.

"I mean, yeah, I've seen some of your stuff before we got our powers. Ghosts and whatnot." Lynn plainly responded, but then came to a sudden realization of where this conversation was going. "Wait, has your magic been making you do more of, like... what you used to do?"

"I still practice paranormal activity, Lynn. My magic allows me a greater connection to the astral planes, or the spirit worlds, on a far more powerful scale through my own soul," Lucy explained as clearly as she could to someone like Lynn, holding up a hand with a glowing teal glyph, "And the astral planes are where my magic comes from. It's essentially the building block for my powers. And last night, it was... w-was like..." Lucy began to get quiet as she spoke, and much to Lynn's continuous surprise, Lucy stopped herself from going any further. The little goth went silent, and then became distant, staring down at her bed as she tucked her knees up to her stomach and wrapped her arms around them. At first, Lynn was confused, but the sight of Lucy shuddering instantly made the hairs at the back of her head stand up.

There was no doubt to Lynn as to what was happening to her younger sister; for once, it was Lucy on the brunt end of a scare. Something had shook the young goth to the core and was now quite plainly too terrified to keep talking about what she had been through last night.

Lynn knew that this was far beyond anything considered to be normal, even with the recent stuff going on, from them growing superpowers to the nightmare experiences that both they and Lincoln had shared. Lucy had made it well known that she had enjoyed the bizarre dreamscape, unlike her brother and sister. But this? This was new, and felt very, very wrong. Lucy's magic was arguably the least understood power out of all the Loud family's, and Lucy was the only one who seemingly had a clue of what her magic really was, and where it came from.

So having Lucy, the gothic mage, spooky spectacular and lover of all things horror, now suddenly afraid to speak up about a single moment deeply troubled the fiery jock. Her big sister instincts kicking in, Lynn quickly ripped the covers off herself and made her way over to her scared little sister.

"Lucy!" She gasped. The goth quickly inched backwards, away from her sister.

"Don't, Lynn. Please." Lucy whispered, her voice full of fear as she put her hands out to stop the jock from approaching her. "I... I don't want to talk about it."

"Luce-"

"No. I don't want to, so don't start." Lucy quickly shot down her sister, and sucked down her fears. "Let's just get up and get ready for school."

Lynn paused in her attempt to help her sister. In all her years living alongside Lucy, she had never heard her talk like that. In that moment, she didn't see a young, eager magician or a roommate looking for a quick scare. This was her little sister, scared to the bone over what appeared to be nothing at all, but for Lucy it was enough to be utterly terrified of whatever she had felt, or perhaps even sensed, the night before.

Her time sharing a bedroom with Lucy had made Lynn somewhat skeptical of any sort of magical or otherworldly things that Lucy talked about before, but that was then, when she and her siblings weren't able to stand twenty feet tall, teleport around the house, or in her own case, shoot superheated plasma from her hands. And just like that, Lucy's magic suddenly became a very powerful and very real phenomenon, and with it all of the mystical sayings and prophecies that Lucy spouted out suddenly had a grain of truth to them.

But she wasn't about to let her younger sister wallow in her fear. That wasn't how Lynn Loud Jr. worked. To her, any and all problems were meant to be confronted head-on. For Lucy, Lynn would do anything to keep her spooky sister from feeling down. It was her job as an older sister, to keep her younger siblings happy. And that meant dealing with these issues here and now.

"I get it. I do." Lynn quietly said as she hopped up on Lucy's bed. The goth turned to give her an incredulous look.

"Oh, do you? Do you, Lynn? Last time I checked, you weren't the that could use magic in this family." Lucy sourly shot back.

"No no, not the magic thing, Luce. What I mean is not telling anybody about what you're feeling because you don't want them to worry about you." Lynn replied, and sure enough a look of guilt etched over Lucy's already gloomy face. Lynn placed a gentle hand on to Lucy's shoulder. "Listen, I've been there before plenty of times, sis. Trust me. It's not a fun place, but neither is keeping secrets from us. We're your family, Lucy. You can trust us, and if that doesn't work, you can trust me. I'm here for you, Lucy. Always have been."

Despite all of what her sister was saying, Lucy still didn't say anything. A wave of concern washed over Lynn.

"Luce?" She asked again, and after what felt like an eternity of waiting for a response, Lucy sucked in her breath and finally broke her silence. It seemed that Lynn's sweet talking had won her over.

"Okay. I'll talk."

A part of Lucy was desperate to keep what she knew from Lynn, but her heart had enough of secret-keeping for one morning. It was time to let her sister in.

"There we go. Lay it on me, sis. And don't spare me the details." Lynn gratefully said.

"Alright. I... I know I'm going to sound completely crazy, and you should feel that way too," she began, her voice quivering at what she was about to recall, "But last night, while I was sleeping, it felt like my magic was trying to... talk to me, but the only thing I could even try to get out of it was this overwhelming sense of impending doom, as if it was seeing the future. I didn't know that my magic, or magic at all, could even do such a thing." Lucy could easily remember the amount of tossing and turning she did the night beforehand, trying desperately to quell her magical essence, but nothing worked. Eventually her body did tire enough for her to fall asleep again, but not without having left the young goth in a perpetual state of fear, a fear that she remembered the moment she woke up.

"Your magic was trying to warn you? Of what?" Lynn asked, as startled as could be.

And that wasn't all, as Lucy turned to face Lynn directly, her dark blue eyes connecting with Lynn's dark brown.

"I don't know how, but I get the feeling that there's someone or something out there, something coming to get us. And now I can't help but feel like something really, really bad is about to happen to us. All of us. You, me and the rest of our siblings."

Lynn's throat dried up the moment Lucy stopped speaking. She swallowed what little moisture was left in her mouth in a deep, unsettling gulp.

But what Lucy said next made Lynn's flaming heart stop dead cold.

"And I think Lincoln has something to do with it."

...

-Coleman Young International Airport-

The crisp morning air of Michigan hit the jubilant form of Major Vassallo the moment he stepped out of the airplane and into the government-owned hangar. The agent had flown to the Great Lake State using one of the several small private Learjets that Starwatch owned for business ventures or quick travel across the country. At the moment, with how urgent his new mission was, it was simply a better alternative than buying a ticket on a commercial airline. That, and Vassallo enjoyed flying alone. It gave him time to think.

And think he did, plenty of. The closer her got to Michigan, the more excited he felt. This was the beginning of a brand new era for Starwatch. Every manned mission across the globe, all the hard work he, his associates and everyone else back at the Pentagon had all lead up to this one crucial moment in time. The culmination of Starwatch itself was finally pulling through into what may be the greatest mission he was about to undertake. Through his dark black shades he could spy his strike team waiting for him, numbering around several dozen agents, field scientists and armed black-clad soldiers waiting for the Major to arrive, along with a handful of jet-black unmarked SUVs and two large, armored utility vans.

All in all, it was the perfect set-up for the mission, and a damn good start to his morning.

"Major, sir!" He spied both Aidan and Joshua giving him a salute, the two young agents responsible for delivering him the video evidence of real, living metahumans.

"Fulton. Clancy. It's good to see you two. You've both earned high honors in getting that video to us. Without you two, the metahumans living in Michigan would have gone completely under our radar, threatening our society. Well done. Starwatch owes the both of you a debt of gratitude. After today, I'll make sure the both of you are well compensated for your actions." The major said, nodding to the pair.

The two agents gave each other a surprised look to each other. They certainly hadn't been expecting that sort of news. Praise was one thing, but a potential bump up the ladder in Starwatch hierarchy? That was a welcome bonus.

"T-Thank you, sir!" Josh gleefully replied. Aidan shared her friend's excitement.

"You're very welcome. Now then, let's get this show on the road." Antonio put on his business face before addressing the rest of the strike squad, raising his voice to make sure they could hear him clearly. "Listen up, agents. As all of you are aware, approximately thirteen hours ago, Starwatch managed to secure vital evidence involving the existence of true living metahumans residing within the United States. They are a large family, numbering up to eleven children, with the youngest being a mere two years old. To the eyes of any normal citizen, they are little different than the average American. But that is not the case. We believe, to our researcher's best understanding, that the children of this family have been infected with a mutagenic pathogen that has granted them their metahuman state."

"Pathogen? That's like a virus, right?" A confused agent wondered out loud.

"Correct."

"Sir!" One of the other agents raised her hand up high. "Can we view the video evidence that we were notified of? Perhaps it could bring us a better understanding of what we're dealing with here, rather then just hearing about it."

"That's not a bad idea, agent. Aidan, Josh, if you may?" Vassallo turned his head to Fulton and Clancy, who eagerly began to set up a projector behind the Major. "The video you're about to see, caught by these two agents here, is all the proof you need to believe me. It is the reason why we are back here in Michigan in the first place."

Once the two agents had finished wiring a hard drive to the projector, they pressed play, rolling the footage on a white screen placed near Vassallo. Everyone around, including the Major, watched intensely as the video slowly flickered to life. Silently it played, and once the scene cleared up, it had given them all the evidence they wanted to see for themselves; a young boy, under the cover of night, suddenly launching himself up to the sky like a superhero straight out of a comic book. The reaction was near-instantaneous for the strike team, some letting out gasps of surprise as they muttered to themselves and each other.

"Oh my god..."

"Did you see that?"

"That kid just flew!"

"I believe this video has given you all you need to see. I was just a surprised as the rest of you when I saw this footage. And, mind you, this is currently the only footage we have of them, and this only shows what the boy can do. Clancy and Fulton have been scouting out the metahuman's home for the past several days, and based on their reports, each of the children possess unique, specialized superpowers, each potentially as powerful as the rest." The major explained to the strike team.

From where he stood, Vassallo could see that there were a sudden amount of anxious looks that the agents were sharing as they watched the footage, some of them whispering to each other. He could understand why. Hearing that there were ten other children just like the one in the video would have made anyone's survival sense go off. If just one of them could fly at supersonic speeds, what else could the rest of the family do?

Fortunately for him, Starwatch agents were known to be tough, and slowly that shock transformed into a sense of awe.

"Sir!" Another agent called out. "Do we know how this kiddo managed to get his powers? How does a kid get that from a bug?"

Vassallo rolled his shoulders, easing out some of the tension from standing upright for so long, before he spoke.

"We currently have a rather radical but evident-based theory to that question," he began to say, "Our scientists over at the labs in the Pentagon believe that these ten children have, unintentionally or not, managed to stumble across a device of... otherworldly origin that gave them their abilities, much like how we get colds or viruses. And yes, I do meant that kind of otherworldly. Not of this Earth. We do not know if they are the only ones currently in that town that are currently infected, but we cannot run the risk of having them spread such a dangerous pathogen to hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people. The end results would be nothing short of catastrophic, and it is our job to make sure it hasn't already happened."

There were several surprised glances that the agents shared once Vassallo was done speaking. None of them were prepared to hear such an answer. It was almost too insane to even consider that eleven kids from a small town had managed to grow superpowers from what sounded like a piece of alien tech, but the Major was as sound as he was serious. There was no doubt in his voice.

And if Vassallo was anything, the man was never one to fool around while on the field. Nor was he considered a liar.

"I understand that this sounds crazy, and to most people it should, but like it or not we are not most people. Our job here at Starwatch to make sure that the unexplainable become explainable, and that such things are contained and studied for the safety and security for the men and woman of this nation. And... there is the other manner that I wish to talk about." Vassallo said, noticing that there were many uncomfortable looks that were being given to him. It wasn't about the superpowers that the kids had. Instead, it was the mission itself: the reality that their targets were now unsuspecting American children, a few still in their elementary years.

While having no kids of his own, Vassallo was far from heartless and would not go out of his way to intentionally harm young ones. And neither were his agents, some of them he knew that had kids of their own. From his personal experience, any sort of mission that involved children were bound to be troubling and very intense, and often than not it were ones that they wished they could all avoid, but not today.

For the good of the United States and the safety of her people, their morality would have to be pushed aside.

"I can see it on many of your own faces. To many of you, the idea of hunting down children in a rural town is morally wrong, and I would be inclined to agree with you. However, our job today cannot afford such luxuries." Vassallo said, pointing back at the screen as it displayed the eleven targeted kids. "Make no mistake. These children can and will defend themselves with whatever powers they might wield, and they are to be regarded as extremely dangerous. It is up to us to make sure that their containment is swift, efficient and as clean as possible."

"How do we bag a kid that can fly like Superman?" Fulton wondered out-loud, getting the attention of everyone around him. "I mean, all we've got is a bunch of cars and one chopper. Can't exactly chase him down."

"Sir? He has a point. How will we be doing that?"

"The armaments we have in store for us are loaded with modified tranquilizer darts, along with regular bullets as a last resort." Vassallo replied to the agent who asked, holding up one of the small darts in his hand. Inside was a lime green liquid, each containing a strong and cost-effective sedative. "It'll take several shots to put each kid down. My best guess, at should take least five of them. So be precise with your aim. And don't you worry Fulton, the chopper has the same stuff that we do. One shot from a sniper is all we'll need."

"Nice." Fulton nodded, and the Major went back to speaking to the crowd.

"Once they're sufficiently knocked out we'll be able to safely load them into one of our containment trucks and rendezvous back here at the airport for transport, and then return with our captives to Starwatch HQ. Any further questions?"

No one else raised their hand. Vassallo took it as a sign that the meeting was officially over.

"Excellent. We move out at thirteen-hundred. Let's get it done, agents. We have a country to protect."

"YES, SIR!" The agents all shouted, and proceeded to start gearing themselves up for the mission.

"Clancy? Fulton? I'd like a word." The Major turned his head to the duo. Without a word he marched on over to a containment truck, a modified box truck with blacked-out windows and reinforced steel plating. A quick pry of the heavy handles at the back entrance gave way to the inside, which was outfitted with various modules designed to keep any anomalous objects, or beings, secured within. It would do nicely.

"You wish to speak with us, sir?" Joshua asked, holding a KRISS Vector in his hands.

"Yes, it's about the recent scouting the two of you were doing beforehand." Vassallo replied, still gazing at the interior of the truck. "Are you both certain that you haven't seen any other forms of metahuman activity within the house?"

"Sir, if we knew anything else, we'd have told you. But we do currently have a live feed of the house." Aidan reached into her backpack and pulled out a tablet of the Loud family home, live-streamed to her personal device across multiple hidden areas that she had planted around the house. She had also inadvertently revealed to the Major that the eleven children were already on their way to school, hopping in to an old-school white and teal minivan while the mother and father waved goodbye. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the two adults in the video, already feeling a sense of apprehension bubbling in him.

"And the parents. Are they remote working?" Vassallo asked.

"I believe so, sir."

"Of course they are," Vassallo grumbled as he continued to watch the screen in front of him, letting out a sigh to alleviate his frustration, "We'll have to deal with them when the time comes. Though I think I can manage their cooperation if need be." The Major scratched his chin as he watched the parents return to the house. "Yet I can't help the feeling that something tells me that the parents don't have metahuman statuses like their children."

"What makes you say that sir?" Fulton wondered what the Major was implying as he watched alongside him.

"Think about it. Bring me any normal, loving parent in our country. Now give their kids superpowers that can make them fly, shoot lasers, or something crazier. You'd really think that they'd send their kids to school if they knew what was going on with them? I highly doubt it." Vassallo replied, reaching for the power button to shut the video off before handing the tablet back to Aidan. "Which also leads me to believe something else: these kids are playing it smart. Not using their powers at all, trying to keep a low profile from any prying eyes."

"Yeah, until the boy decided to go ahead and ruin it for them." Clancy humorously said.

"Better for us on our end, then. If he hadn't decided to go for that night-flight, you'd never had gotten that video, and we'd never know what sort of people would be living right under our noses. A stroke of luck on your parts." Vassallo evenly replied.

"Is there anymore we can do for you, sir?" Joshua asked.

"Join up with the convoy. You'll be our eyes and ears for the rest of the team while we secure the house before the kiddies come back home. No doubt their folks will have some questions for us, and we can't have them spilling the beans to their kids."

"Aye, sir. C'mon Josh, back to the truck." Aidan nodded, tugging on her friend's shoulder to whisk him away. The Major, on the other hand, made his way over to one of the SUV's waiting for him at the front of the pack. The man hopped in the shotgun seat and gave a nod to the driver.

"Let's roll."

Upon his command, the agent put his foot on the pedal and drove out, a line of black vehicles following with the SUV's leading the way, and the two trucks in the back. Overhead, a single dark helicopter flew above them, manned by several agents with two on the window seats armed with long-scoped sniper rifles rigorously checking the ground below. Back in the lead SUV, Vassallo absent-mindedly looked at his phone for the time, which read 9:42 AM, as the Starwatch convoy reached the exit ramp of the airport and finally entered the busy streets of rush-hour Detroit.

If things went well, then this would be a glorious day.

...

BRRRRRRRRRRRIIING!

"Alright, class dismissed! And don't forget to turn in your essay topics for tomorrow's lesson!"

"Yes, Ms. Johnson!" Her class dutifully replied as the final bell rang. The Thursday school day had gone by like a breeze, especially for one surprisingly jovial Lincoln Loud. He wasn't complaining, though. Today was just one more day done before the weekend. The white-haired boy snagged his backpack off the floor and zoomed out the hallway, eager to meet up with his friends over by the lockers.

But there was one thing still on his mind, something that had lingered there all day.

Earlier that morning, when he was getting ready for school with his sisters, he couldn't help but feel like he'd done something wrong, namely because of the looks that Lynn and Lucy were giving him. The sole brother of the Loud family was startled with the amount of side-glances and stares that the two of them were giving him. It also didn't help that they had pretty much ignored him for the entire day, even in the car ride to school when everyone was chatting. Any attempt to get them to talk was meet with either a quick leave or the silent treatment. He ignored it at first, but his investigative side wasn't satisfied with such a change in mood. Yesterday was fine, so what happened between then and this morning was a mystery to him.

It was the stares that really got to him, though. If his sisters were really trying to ignore his presence then they would not even bother to so much as glance at him. He had dealt with that sort of thing beforehand. While he couldn't really see Lucy's eyes underneath her black bangs, he could sense when she was eyeing him. And she intensely so, all morning. It was like she was boring lasers into his back every time he turned around.

Lynn was no better. In fact, it seemed like she was behaving even stranger than Lucy for once. That was something that truly befuddled him. He remembered every time he so much as tried to get to her, she'd turn the other way. Whatever their reason might be, he sensed that it wasn't a malicious one. He'd know if it was. Lynn was one of the most expressive members of his family, and Lucy had a tiny but recognizable range of emotions. He knew what she looked like when they were irritated, sad, or dealing with an upset stomach.

But he saw clearly, even if they tried to hide it.

He saw fear. They were scared of something, something that might have to do with him. Or just him entirely. What it might be, Lincoln had no idea.

Lincoln was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he didn't even register that his friends were trying to get his attention.

"Hey, space case!"

That is until Rusty decided to snap his fingers in front of the white-haired boy's face. Startled, the Loud slapped away his friend's hand with a shout.

"Gah! Rusty!"

"See? Told you guys that'd snap him out of it." Rusty said with a smirk to the rest of the friend group.

"You've been doing that empty-stared, I'm-too-deep-in-my-own-head look again, dude." Zach pointed out with his arms crossed, leaning on the lockers.

"I'm sorry about that guys. I guess it's becoming a new bad habit of mine." Lincoln apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

"Anything you want to tell us?" Stella asked.

"Well, you see. Something's going on with my sisters," Lincoln rushed to explain after he saw the concerned looks that his friends were giving him, "Well, just two of them really. Lynn and Lucy. They were acting kinda weird this morning to me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"Lucy? Ain't she your odd goth sister that Rusty's little brother fancies?" Liam asked, eliciting an annoyed cry from Rusty.

"Hey!"

"What? It's true."

"Did you get into a fight with them? Maybe you did something that got on their nerves." Stella wondered. She knew about Lincoln's immense family, and any of that size was bound to have some conflicting egos, especially with his older sporty sister.

"No. At least I don't think so." Lincoln said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Are you certain? Perhaps you unintentionally did something that wronged them. My dads always say that sometimes it's the little things that get on people's nerves the most." Clyde piped in with some hopefully helpful advice.

"No, no, that's not it. It's just so out of the blue." Lincoln let out a sigh before he went to explain what was happening. "They were ignoring me all morning, but yesterday they were fine with me and then all of a sudden, poof! Like I don't even exist, but worse. The rest of my sisters were fine, but Lynn and Lucy were looking at me like I was some sort of monster in their midst." Lincoln went on to say, getting some surprised looks from his friends.

"Ouch. The silent treatment from your own family? That's rough." Zach whistled.

"Yeah, and I have no idea what I did wrong!" Lincoln said, kicking a forgotten pencil left on the hallway floor. It was one thing to be given the cold shoulder from his family over an incident that he could remember, but doing it over something he had no idea what of was utterly frustrating. And from his closest sisters, too. Lucy he could understand, but Lynn? That was a bit of a gut punch. If only he could just figure out what they were ignoring him for.

Unless...

No. No no no no no. They can't know. How can they know? I covered my tracks, didn't I? Didn't I? Lincoln felt the cold sense of doubt and fear creep into his body, like an icy hand gripping his guts. Lori was the only one who knew that he had snuck out that night. Surely that was the case, but suddenly Lincoln wasn't so sure anymore.

"Linc? You good there?" Liam asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm... I'm good. Just overthinking some bad thoughts, is all." Lincoln said with a shaky voice, managing to swallow his fear just fast enough to answer his friend. It didn't seem to do him any favors.

The sound of Lincoln's phone vibrating with an incoming text managed to divert his attention from his friends. Quickly reaching into his right pocket, he flicked the screen on to see who was the one texting him at the end of the school day. The moment he saw who it was, Lincoln felt his stomach plummet to the ground.

Lynn: LINC.
Lynn: We need to talk
Lynn: Meet me in the woods after school

Lincoln spent so much time staring at his phone that some of his friends cracked a look to see what was up, with Clyde and Stella leaning over to take a peek.

"Ooh, a slightly threatening, ambiguous text? Now I now for certain that she's mad as heck at you, buddy." Clyde winced, patting Lincoln on the shoulder.

"You might want to give her call rather than meet her in person. Maybe try to calm her down so she doesn't beat you up?" Stella offered some advice for her friend.

Lincoln didn't even seem to register that his friends were talking to him, his mind now clouded with fear.

"I-I gotta go. I need to go now. I'll catch you guys all later! Bye!" Lincoln sputtered at mach speed, jamming his phone into his pocket before breaking out into a panicked run and leaving his friends in the dust. The five of them watched as Lincoln slammed his way out the front door of the school with a shoulder bash, catching the attention of a few other students. His friends all the while stood there confused with how their white-haired friend was behaving. First his constant spacing, and now a sudden family issue between him and Lynn.

"So, about that." Zach mumbled.

"Y'know, between Lincoln spacing out all the time, and now his family acting all weird, I'd say there's something really odd going on with our friend." Clyde sternly said with his arms crossed over his chest. The more he gave it thought, the more Clyde felt compelled to figure out what Lincoln's deal was. And the rest of the friend group shared his feelings. Whatever Lincoln's deal was, they were going to find out one way or another.

...

It didn't take long for Lincoln to reach the woods, not with how fast he was running. The woods that his sister was waiting for him in were not the dense woodlands like the hiking area he and his family had went to some time ago, but rather a tree-lined buffer area between the schools and the rest of the neighborhood. By the time he crossed the sidewalk and onto the student-made trail that was made from countless other kids like him, he was already panting up a storm thanks to his already skyrocketing stress level. Normally a quick trip would be no problem.

From where he stood against a tree, he couldn't see or hear anyone else. He would have to venture deeper once he managed to get his breath back. Shuffling his backpack to a more comfortable spot, he began his trek into the woods to find his sister.

"Lynn?" He called out, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Lynn, are you there?"

"Over here, stupid! And keep your voice down!"

The recognizable hiss from his older sister made Lincoln turn his head to see Lynn poking her head out from behind a bush, waving for him to come closer. For the first time talking to him all morning, having it be an insult of all things did not sit well with the sole brother. He had to fight back the urge to throw his backpack at Lynn.

"My voice? You're the one who's been avoiding me all day!" Lincoln argued back, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"Whatever. Now get over here, Lucy's waiting." Lynn merely shrugged off Lincoln's ire and walked off, leaving the flabbergasted Lincoln to simply follow. Thought it was a surprise to hear that Lynn had dragged Lucy into whatever she was doing now. Today held no sense of normal for him, leaving Lincoln to wonder if their powers had somehow given his sisters a sudden shift in their personalities.

Trailing the jock, Lincoln found Lucy sitting in the middle of a small clearing, surrounded by a handful of purple candles and tarot cards scattered around her. Hearing the sounds of footsteps made the goth raise her head to see the arrival of Lincoln and Lynn.

"Good. You're here," she said, placing her tarot cards down, "Let us begin the-"

"Hold it, hold it!" Lincoln yelled, stopping his sister from speaking. He needed to get to the bottom of this whole ordeal now before his sisters decided to deflect again. "Okay, I've had enough of this mystery stuff for one day. Can the two of you please tell me what's going on here? First you both ignored me all morning for no reason, and now you're doing some sort of ritual? Is there something I did to you two?"

Lynn gave her brother a deadpan look before she spoke up.

"You want to tell him, Luce? Or should I do the honors?"

"Go on ahead."

"Lynn?" Lincoln couldn't hide the concern and worry in his voice, wondering what sort of revelation that the two of them were going to throw his way. From what he could gather, it was not a cheery one. And Lynn only amplified his fears once she started to speak.

"Lucy had a vision last night, bro. Turns out that magic of hers has a sixth sense of sorts and gave her a warning that we're all in some deep crap. You, me, Lucy, and everyone else in the family. Spooked her real good, too. Now we're gonna try and figure out what that means for us, because I'm not taking a chance with what's happened to us over the past two weeks." Lynn went on to explain, and Lincoln felt his eyes widen. Lucy was known to be an attractor of the supernatural, only more so thanks to her magic, but a vision? That was new.

"You mean like the dreams we had?" Lincoln asked, remembering that the three of them had similar nightmares regarding bizarre landscapes and a talking white ring.

"Maybe. I don't know. You'll have to ask Lucy once she's ready."

"Okay, Lucy had a vision that freaked her out. Gotcha. So, what does this have to do with me?" Lincoln asked, trying to tie this all together with how strange his sisters were acting at him today.

"Because, apparently, you're the reason why we're in danger."

Lincoln straight-up balked like he had just been accused of murder. It took his brain a moment to wrap around what Lynn just said before he could even make a reaction. This could not possibly be the reason why they had shut him out.

"M-Me?! What did I do?! I haven't done anything wrong!" He cried out, indignant at what Lynn was telling him. While he sounded angry, Lincoln knew that he was lying through his teeth, for one. The little incident of him sneaking out late at night to play with his newfound powers and subsequently getting caught by Lori in his own room was forever fresh in his mind. And even then he hadn't told Lori the complete truth. Lincoln wasn't the only one that was flying around that night. The white-haired lad doubted that he could ever forget the strange, gray jet that chased him then. It was something that he wished he could keep a deep secret for as long as he could.

"And that's what we're here for, and the reason we've been ignoring you. We didn't want the rest of the fam to get suspicious and things start getting heated. If we'd come out this morning and announced," Lynn changed her tone to a fake, cheery one, ""Hey everyone! Guess what? Turns out our bestest brother Lincoln will usher in the freaking apocalypse on our doorstep! Just lettin' ya'll know!", how do you think they'd react?"

"Pretty poorly, I'd imagine." Lincoln said back, realization kicking in. His sisters were doing it to protect him, in a sense. "So that's why we're doing this in secret. You didn't want everyone else to start getting scared over something that may or may not be true."

"Now you're getting it."

Saved by the skin of my teeth. Looks like I'm still in the clear. Lincoln internally let out a sigh of relief that his secret was still a secret before facing his fiery jock of an older sister.

"Lynn, do you really think I'm responsible for whatever Lucy thinks I've done?" Lincoln genuinely wanted to know how his sisters felt about him right now. Lynn and Lucy shared a special bond with him thanks to their powers, and he did not want that tarnished over some speculation.

"Look Lincoln, I love you, but I'd rather just get this done and over with. I'm doing this for Lucy's sake."

"Okay, fine." Lincoln was a little hurt by what Lynn had said, but he could understand at least. "And how are you gonna do this, Lucy? Do you have any hidden spells that you've been working on?" Lincoln asked as he faced his younger sister. Lucy finished shuffling her tarot card deck before giving her brother with what may be the worst answer ever.

"I'm going to create a luminal gateway into your mind and see your memories."

Oh no.

"M-My memories?" Lincoln sputtered. He felt his body go cold.

"Yes Lincoln. If what I believe is true, then I will be able to view your memories and your dreams for myself. Like Lynn and I, you have been gifted a vision from a world unlike that of our own. If I am able to venture there by projecting my astral self, I might be able to conclude if what the magical forces have been speaking to me is true. Please, don't be alarmed. I am perfectly capable of navigating your spirit without permanently damaging you." Lucy reasoned as she began to lay out several tarot cards in front of her, arranged in a diamond shape with one in front, two behind it, and another at the end. From what he could see from the way her mouth moved, she did not appear to be happy with the cards she arranged, letting out a huff of air from her nose.

"And you're fine with this?" Lincoln stressed. "I mean, I get magic is your thing Lucy, but this sounds kind of dangerous."

"We'll be fine, brother. Please, sit down." The goth gestured to the spot in front of her for her brother.

Lincoln could not find the strength in him to move his legs. After all the dodging and lying and playing pretend to the rest of his family he knew that there was a chance, a big one, that his little adventure may just be let out because Lucy had some sort of premonition. Lincoln didn't want his family to find out like this, not under these events like he was a bad guy. Lori had an understanding with him, but only after he'd told her a half-truth. If Lucy managed to see what really happened to him, then she was bound to tell Lynn, and then the rest of the family would find out. The reaction would be thermonuclear. He could just play it safe and say he had homework that he urgently needed to be doing or a test to study for, but with the way Lynn was looking at him meant that she wasn't going to let him out of this one.

The boy was trapped, and he knew it. Slowly, and with the acceptance that it was better to simply face the consequences no matter how horrible than to let it simmer and grow into something worse, he stepped forward to Lucy and sat down in front of her, Lynn standing off to the side while watching them both like a hawk.

"Let us begin." Lucy said. With a spin of her arms, a ring of blue-white fire trailed around both brother and sister into a circle, lighting the candles. The four cards in front of her began to shine, rising from their resting spot on the ground to form a barrier in front of Lucy in the same shape, revealing their arcane symbols to the boy. Before she began, Lucy reached under the floating cards to take her brother's hands in her own to create a physical connection.

"The Lovers. The Wheel of Fortune. The Tower. And Judgment. The path has been made clear. Spirit worlds, guide me through the past of my brother's thoughts so that we may ascertain his innocence from your calling. You have shown me your virtues through the cards I have dealt, now reveal to me the truth! Show me why my brother is the forthcoming of our doom!" Lucy shouted, getting louder by the second. Right as she was finished a great swirling mist of teal flames shot out from the ground around them, shielding the two siblings from the world as Lucy's magic flared in strength.

Lynn, caught by surprise, jumped back with a yelp. At first she was ready to dive in and save her younger siblings, but it appeared that they were unharmed by the fire.

Lincoln remained caught in a silent scream while his mind opened up, and Lucy felt her very spirit jump from her body into Lincoln's.


It was cold. And wet. The first things that Lucy was able to sense as her vision, now in the same space as her brother's, cleared up to see a blur of colors.

The spell had worked, but now she needed to focus.

With her spirit now in the reflections of Lincoln's past, Lucy ventured forward, or was it backward? It was hard to tell, but from what she could see, she was in the middle of a large cloud. Dark from the absence of the sun. The world shifted again, but not of Lucy's doing. She was following her brother, or where her brother was before, like a footprint left on fresh snow.

"Go away!"

His voice. Scared of something. It felt like a cry, reverberating through the void of his thoughts. A surprise for Lucy.

This memory was crystal clear. Hidden away and preserved out of inner fear. She could sense it. Was this the dream he had? Or something else? Lincoln said that he had followed the halo in his vision, so why was he demanding it leave him alone? Or was this the same dream?

More uncertainty. Lucy went on, only to come across what appeared to be a different sky than before.

No, not different. Similar, actually. This was their home. She knew that white body in the black sky. This was Royal Woods under the light of the moon, stars and clouds overhead on this cloudy night.

When was this? Where was this? This wasn't part of the dream like he had told them.

No. This was a memory. Fresh, untainted. Left in the back of his head.

"Go away!"

The same cry again, only much closer. That, and something else. A scream, a mechanical roar from an aircraft.

What had she uncovered?

Lucy focused again, following the trail of a memory that Lincoln had done his best to bury. Why, though? Why had he hidden this from them? What was he trying to hide?

From here, she could see the forest below. The same forest where she and her siblings had gone to test their new powers. The hiking trail. Why was Lincoln here at night?

A sudden shift of light, blocking the moon.

Lucy could feel her brother's fear. Something was wrong. Dreadfully wrong. She saw her brother above her, barely a hair's length away, soaring over the forest.

And he wasn't alone.

A large, gray jet. A pair of yellow eyes staring at him - at her - through the cockpit. A sentient force.

It all came crashing down on her.

Something had found her brother while he was out flying.


Meanwhile, in the realm of the living, Lynn nervously watched as Lucy and Lincoln's little show began to change the very environment around them. A sudden darkness began to set in, something that Lynn caught on as Lucy's magic show went on. Eerily the light around her began to dim, blanketing the three siblings in a fog of black, almost like a fake nighttime. Lynn, thinking on her feet, quickly used her powers to create a light from her right hand as it got unnaturally gloomy.

The only thing that didn't change was Lucy and Lincoln, which did not sit well with the jock. She could feel it deep within her.

"Something ain't right..."


Lucy began to realize that the connection was destabilizing once her brother's memories became more erratic. Damn her emotions, they were causing this and she knew it. She had to leave, warn her family. They were all in danger!

But try as she might, the world that she was exploring suddenly transformed, taking her with it. This time, however, it was not of her doing. Landing on solid ground, the goth found herself underneath the pale moon again, but trapped in the midst of a dead forest of black, stony trees. This was no dream. Not anymore. Something was wrong, and she could sense it. Lucy was no longer existing as an ethereal visitor to her brother's now exposed memories, but now somehow her entire spiritual self had been transported to a completely separate plane of existence.

She felt a sense of deja-vu coming on, like the dream she had not long ago of a forest and a black tower. This was bad. From what she could gather, her raw emotions had left her stranded in what she could only believe to be an interstice, a world between worlds connected by magic, a distant realm that she had been warned about by her fellow practitioners of the arcane in the Mortician's Club. She needed to leave now to tell her family of what she had seen, and Lincoln needed to know that his secret could spell their doom. She had to warn them.

And then she heard it. A dark, heavenly voice from behind her.

Y̸̟̊͆͝Ǒ̴̹͚̘͕͌̕͠Ủ̶͉̟͙́̐̇̕'̷̩͙̾̽̒V̷̢͕̰̥̇̅Ȩ̶̓ ̵̡̯͉̙͍͗͑̄C̸̣̏̓̀O̶̱̤̓͜Ḿ̵̨̡̬̎̀̈́̕͜E̸͉̐̐̑͌̆͜ ̵̙̦̪͂͠Ấ̸̩͌T̴̡̩̐̆͘ ̴̲͉̈́͋L̶̙͍͋͊͑A̴̳͐͠S̴̢̟̈́͂͋̆͠Ṭ̴͈̮̗̿̿̈́́.̴̥̥̳̗͎̍̎͐ ̷̛̮͕̝̑̄̅Ị̵̡̫͇̽͐̆͊̚ ̵̛̰͍̬͙̳̑̕Ṡ̷̢̛͕̣͖̞Ẽ̸̝͗̒E̴̯̗̫̗̋̕ ̶̨̛̲̹̳̫̔Ỷ̵͎̽̚Ǫ̸̮̫̞̓̈́͝Ủ̷̢͓͉̟̈̏ͅ.̴̛͇̻̮̉͗

She slowly turned, and all Lucy saw was sheer black. An all-encompassing blackness, and the burning visage of two enormous glowing white eyes that shined like hellfire. It dwarfed her, in size and in spirit, looming over the far smaller goth in its midst. Lucy felt utterly miniscule compared to this... being, like a candle put against the sun itself. So small, defenseless, and all Lucy could do was try to crawl away, fueled by her terror it encroached her, still speaking in that soul-grating voice while those terrifying white eyes and the darkness it bonded with swallowed everything around her.

M̸̧̦͚̘̙̐͆̕Y̴̺͉͓͑ ̵̤͓̝͖͈͛B̸͉̓̆͑̌̕E̴̥̞͎͖͉͌͌͘Ą̵̈́̓̈́͂̕Ù̷̧̖̰̞͐ͅT̶̩͇͉̏̀́̕̕I̸̟͙̞̓̋͝F̶̗̦̝͔̀͌͒ͅU̵͈̹̍́Ľ̴̡̯̖̙̉ ̷̢̡̦̣̃͊͋͘͝C̶̯̳̮͙̏̀̔͒̆ͅR̴̨̨̦͙̘̈̉̎Ë̷̛͚̻̫̖͆͝͝Ȁ̸̛̫͉̳̌́͜ͅŤ̶̨̗̖̿Ǐ̸̧̺̚O̴͖̬͂̽͝N̶͕͚͗̿̿̍̅.̷̱̀̈̾͠ ̴̛̗̗̱̙͔̆H̶̝̀͂͛̚͝O̷̰̍͊̅̽͊Ẅ̶̤̘͙̗ ̴̥̥̜́̀̀͐̽M̴͚͖͓̳̑U̴̧̪̯͛̓̌̔̇C̷̫̗̟̰͗̉̆̋͠ͅH̸͉̱̯̹͈̀ ̴̨̡̤̄͜Ÿ̸̨͕̣́́O̴͍̜̝͍̽͒̑Ư̷͇͎̩̦͂ ̴̺͙͎͇́͐͊̂͠H̶̪͖̼̩͒̉͗Ḁ̸̳͔̯͗V̵̧͇̻̥̗́̾̍̂E̵̢̔̉ ̴̖̭̱͈͌͐͗͜͠G̷̮̻̺̀̈R̶̛͛͗̔͜Ò̵͈̫̘W̷̢͚̆Ǹ̷̤̙̠̓́ͅ.̷̛͈̯̦ ̸͓̀̀͋̎̀

S̷̰̞̖̜͎̓͐̉̿Ô̷̖̦O̵̮̙̬̤̺̐̑͑́̍N̴̰͛͌,̴̛̜͑̉̈͌ ̶̤́͂̓́͒Y̵͖̮̾Ọ̵̘̣̌͐͛́Ū̷̡͇̖̥͛͝R̸̡̢̫̂̅̎ ̸̞͖͈̝͠S̷͕͖̩̎O̸͍͕̊́̾̋Ų̴̯͈̉̓̈́̚L̴͉̱̙̆̈́̽̋ͅS̴̱͎̖̹͗͝ ̶̨͍̩̠͋͒S̷̝̦̊̿̑̅H̴̼̰̯͈͌̋̉̓̚Ä̵̲̳̳̙̰́͆̈͂L̴̼̅̆L̸̟͌̎͠ ̵̦̻̚B̵͈̌E̷͔̤͗͛̅ ̸̞̖̍̅̆͒͆M̶̢̝̞̒͗̇̋I̵̢̞͕͙̅͊͒Ñ̷̈̑̑͝ͅË̵̺̬̫͈̜́̈́.̶̮̘̐͗͜ͅͅ

And all Lucy could do was scream in terror as her soul finally managed to escape...


"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Lynn felt her blood chill from the scream that abruptly exploded from Lucy's mouth, the cry catching her completely off-guard. And at the moment Lucy let it fly from her lips, the magic that surrounded Lucy and Lincoln instantly dissipated, leaving the flames to flicker away while the tarot cards dropped to the floor, no longer held aloft. Along with that, the darkness that was once devouring the woods vanished as quickly as it came, as if cast away by Lucy herself. Speaking of the goth, both she and Lincoln fell backwards the moment the connection was severed in a flash of white plumes, leaving them flat on their backs.

"Lincoln! Lucy!" Lynn cried out, dashing over to her disorientated siblings. "You guys okay?!"

"W-What happened...?" Lincoln said as he slowly leaned upwards, gently rubbing his aching head. It felt like his brain was swimming in his skull.

"I-I don't know, Linc. I don't know." Lynn earnestly shook her head as she gently spoke. "Whatever magic stuff that you two were doing looked like it was working well, but then Lucy started screaming all of a sudden and there was this darkness everywhere. It was so weird. Do you know what was going on while Lucy did her magic on you?"

"No, no I don't. I can't even remember when Lucy-"

The instant he said Lucy's name, Lincoln felt his fears return again.

"Lucy? Lynn, is she-?"

Lynn and Lincoln looked to see how their little sister was doing after what happened. Lucy was thankfully still alive, but she lay there unmoving, eyes wide to the sky above and her breath as soft as a whisper. The deep black bangs that once covered her face were brushed aside from where they normally were, revealing one of her dark blue eyes to the world. To Lynn and Lincoln, they recognized a face of blank terror when they saw one.

"Lucy!" Both of them said as they rushed to check on her, kneeling at her side. Lucy barely registered their presence.

"Lucy, are you there?" Lincoln gave her a soft shake to try and get her attention. There was no response, and so he did it again, only a bit more rougher as he got desperate, Lynn nervously chewing on her fingers. "Lucy!"

Lincoln's desperate cries had apparently worked as the young goth's consciousness steadily returned, eyes fluttering as they focused on her brother and sister leaning over her. She pursed her lips, wetting her dry throat with some spit before she spoke.

"Lynn? Lincoln?"

"Oh, thank goodness," Lincoln gasped, relieved that his little sister was alive and well, "You said that it wouldn't get dangerous-!"

That was as far as Lincoln got before Lucy reached up with a hand on his cheek.

"Aw."

Followed by her slapping him across the face. Hard.

Lincoln never saw it coming. Even Lynn was stunned, wide-eyed and open mouthed by the sight of Lucy hitting her brother like that.

"YEOW!" Lincoln shrieked, cupping his stinging flesh from the sudden attack. "What the hell was that for, Lucy?!"

"It was you. It was you. You - you lied to me. You lied to us! Do you realize what you might have done?!" Lucy said, her mouth forming an uncharacteristically angry snarl as she stood up to her brother, jutting her finger at him. Lucy had a sinking sensation that she would find some dark secret inside of Lincoln's mind, but nothing had prepared her for this. Her own brother, someone she trusted, accidentally revealing their secret to an unknown force of darkness. As much as she wanted to deny it, her magic had indeed spoken true.

It wasn't difficult for Lincoln to know what what she was getting at. She had seen his memories, including the ones that he wanted to hide. Now he wished that he should have told them. He should have at least told Lori of all people the whole truth, the other member of the family that had found him out. But instead of telling her and his sisters, he caved into his fear, and now he was paying the price. The boy shamefully cast his eyes downwards, unable to bring himself to look her in the eyes.

"I-I know, Lucy. I'm sorry."

Lucy's fury instantly dampened at the sight of her brother's defeated stare. She could feel her palm stinging with how hard she hit his face, now feeling guilty over acting so obscene. She let out a sigh as her anger slipped away. Getting mad at her brother over the past wasn't going to fix anything now. And she knew that he never meant for this to happen. She did not mean to slap him, but her emotions were running high, a dangerous thing for the witch. Seeing his face after what she had just witnessed in the interstice triggered some sort of reaction out of her, one that she was already regretting.

"I'm sorry too, Lincoln."

Once again, Lynn found herself completely lost by what was going on between her brother and sister.

"Am I missing something here?"

"No, Lynn. I got what I needed." Lucy plainly said, offering her brother a hand which he gladly accepted. "And now I know for certain that we're all in serious danger."

"How serious?" Lynn asked, not liking where this conversation was going.

Lucy's answer chilled both of them to the core.

"One that spells doom for our family."

...

-Lake Huron-

Meanwhile at the bottom of the lake, the two occupants of the resting alien starship were keeping themselves busy, either by tinkering with a device that might be of some use later down the line, or continuing their research into the locations of the infected humans. A sudden ping echoing from the main console caught their attention, along with the words of an incoming message, and a series of numbers.

THE TIME HAS COME.

FIND THEM.

"What is that?"

"Coordinates," her friend gleefully responded, typing away at the console, "For where our quarry hides. It seems her benevolence has found them for us."

One last command placed in the computer shifted the screen from the entire state to a single large neighborhood, which then zoomed in to one house located within. And with it, the details of those who called it home: the boy and his sisters, all laid out in excellent detail.

"And there they are. All of them."

"Ready the containment cells." He said to her, and she giddily complied, knowing full well what was coming next.

"Today, the hunt begins."

...

-Royal Woods-

Back in Royal Woods, the parents of the Loud family were in the middle of doing their own business while the children were out at school. Lynn Sr, ever the humble and skilled cook, hummed a happy tune to himself as he prepared a welcoming homemade meal for his wife and kids. Lynn had decided to close his restaurant for the day in order to spend some time at home with Rita and Lily, and god knows he needed a break. Lynn's Table was a smash hit around town. Still, the man loved to make delicious food. The mouth-watering aroma of a fresh cheese casserole filled his nose as he leaned down to the old oven to take a long whiff.

"Ah, perfection. Nothing beats the long day like a good dinner." He happily said, donning his oven mitts.

"Honey! Casserole's ready! You want me to make you some tea?" Lynn called out to his wife.

"I'll be over in a sec, dear." Rita said back from her place in the living room before turning back to play with Lily. She was currently holding up a large picture book to the infant, and pointed at one of the creatures drawn on the page. "Okay Lily, do you know what this animal is?"

"A wy-on!" Lily giggled, clapping her hands together. The baby would have used her telepathy to answer had it been asked by one of her sisters or her brother. But she knew the rules, and that she couldn't use her mind-talk when her parents were home.

"Good job, Lily! Now, sit tight. Momma's just gonna get her drink and be right back." Rita said, giving the baby a gentle pinch on the cheek before heading to the kitchen. Her husband was busy using a fan to cool the casserole for dinner later tonight. The kids always loved whatever Lynn cooked for dinner. Casserole would be no different.

The thought of her beloved children did happen to make Rita stop for a moment. The mother of eleven stared into the emptiness of her cup, thoughts on her mind.

"Hey Lynn?"

"Yes, honey?" He asked, blowing away some steam.

"Have you noticed that the kids have been acting a little, I don't know, strange lately? Or am I just imagining things?" Rita asked. She just couldn't help herself. While she knew it was just a gut feeling, her motherly instincts were rarely wrong.

"Psh, honey, they're our kids! Of course they're acting strange, it's who they are!" Lynn playfully replied. "And I mean that in the nicest of ways. If the kids want to have some bonding time, I say let 'em. Plus I doubt anything super weird is gonna happen to them if they decide to hang around each other. Who knows, maybe something good will come out of it for once."

"If you say so, Lynn."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Both of the parents froze at the sound of someone knocking on their front door. They shared a look. Neither of them were expecting company, and the mail was delivered on Tuesdays and Fridays. Even Lily, playing with her blocks and stuffed animals, stopped what she was doing after she heard the knocks.

"Well, I wonder who that could be." Lynn mumbled as he went to check the front door.

The Loud patriarch opened the door to reveal a man standing before him. He was tall, tanned and quite muscular with a trimmed goatee on his chin, and wore a pair of black shades over his eyes. His arms were tucked in his equally black suit, and on his left breast pocket lay an emblem of government origin. Flanking him were two other people, a man and a woman, both of them having the same emblem on their suits as well. And behind him, which gave Lynn the most concern, were a fleet of unmarked black vans and trucks parked outside his home, crowing the street, each carrying what appeared to be a number of elite government agents. There had to be dozens of these people around, some leaving their vehicles while others meandered about, waiting for orders.

Lynn swallowed some spit to speak up, but was beaten to the punch by the man in front.

"Good morning, sir." He carried an accent, which confirmed that he was definitely not from around here. "Are you Lynn Loud, Sr and Rita Loud?"

"Um, yes. Yes, we are." Lynn arched an eyebrow at the man. "And just who are you? What is all this?"

"Yes, where are my manners? My name is Antonio Vassallo." The man, Antonio, leaned forward to flash his pearly white teeth in a dangerous smile.

"Mind if I came in?"


What are word limits? Please review.