A/N: Sorry for taking too long, I was just brainstorming before deciding to extend the prologue. It was meant to be longer but I remembered it was just an extension.
I should also say this chapter has more focus on Lincoln, with Stella appearing around, considering this is an extension from the prologue. The next chapter will show them focused at the same time.
I have no problem with depicting already unlikable and antagonistic characters as more evil than their canon incarnations since Adaptational Villainy is one of my favorite tropes but ONLY if done well.
There's not much to say except to read the chapter.
Prologue: Old and New Beginnings Pt II
"These stupid pawns of mine, they can't do anything right." The redhead groaned out of frustration, throwing his fists. He split from the duo a while ago.
"I have to get back at my enemies somehow." The redhead pondered, entering an alleyway for his house to plan whatever he wanted to do. However, someone heard him and knowing it was his chance, the person revealed himself.
"I see you want revenge."
"What?" Chandler looked at where the voice was heard, seeing a kid close to his age in the dumpster.
He has blonde hair and flecks on his cheeks. He is wearing a dirty green jacket above a white shirt, black shorts and white boots. The boy looked like he was living there for a while.
"Who are you, hobo?!" Chandler asked, mocking the boy, but he just chuckled and came out of the dumpster, showing he has a belt holding bombs, making the redhead wide his eyes in fear.
"I imagined you would call me that, Chandler, but my name is Mike, Mike Bell." The mysterious boy revealed his own name to him.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" He asked in surprise.
"I know a lot of things and I know you have two idiotic pawns, and I know you want to get back at Lincoln and that girl." He chuckles in amusement before continuing. "Well, I can help you with that, you don't need these two idiots anymore."
"And how will I know that your bombs aren't fake?" Chandler questioned the bombs held by his belt, but Mike knew what to do to prove it.
"Follow me, let me show you something." Mike prompted, walking to the end of the alleyway. Chandler follows him, curious about what he is planning to do.
Once there, the duo are watching the street and Mike pointed to a small bomb planted on the street.
"Just… watch." Mike simply told him.
Chandler heard a motorbike passing through the street, and before anyone could react, the vehicle stepped into the bomb, blowing up and launching the person and the motorbike in opposite directions. Normally anyone would be mortified but Chandler ended up grinning in amusement.
"Deal accepted, with your skills I…we can rule over the remains from this town after we blow up the rest." The redhead tells Mike, still amused with what the bomb did with the poor driver.
"Let's blow this shitty town up." Mike complemented his phrase.
The driver was still trying to get up but he fell unconscious but a bunch of citizens saw that and someone pulled out the phone to call the ambulance.
-l-l-l-l-l-
Stella is writing in her notepad future ideas for inventions; these ideas ranging from a glideable umbrella to shoes with spring coils. After writing some ideas in it, she put the notepad inside the drawer, trying to find something to do, seeing it is 8 PM.
"Hum, I can see Girl Jordan's profile to see when that pool party can start." She remembered that detail, she then picks up her phone on the table and goes to her Facebook, she then searches her name and clicks on it, only to be shown a sticked post saying the date of the party.
"Only two more weeks, I have plenty of time to prepare for this day." She remarked to herself but another idea came to her mind to enjoy the extended summer.
She decides to search for the secrets from Royal Woods so she can explore these places with her neighbor Lincoln. It is a new era in Stella's life, forgetting the brats who made her childhood hell back in her country.
Researching on her phone, she found something interesting about the sewers from the city, reading that it is said to hide many secrets from the town, the same thing about the forest around the town and the sea.
"Maybe I should research about these places later, I don't want to drag him into these out of place and weird places." She thinks back on this idea, not wanting to put him into trouble, but then another idea comes to her mind to spend time with him.
"Maybe I should introduce him to the junkyard."
Suddenly, her grandmother knocked on the door, caughting her attention and moving there to open it.
"Grandma, what is the subject?"
"I only went there to warn you your parents arrived." She merely spoke to her. Stella is still trusting on her hiding her secret trip.
"Thanks for the information, I will go see them." The filipina told the older woman, but she continued to talk.
"You know, maybe you should spend more time with them during this summer." She suggested before walking away from her bedroom, leaving Stella there.
-l-l-l-l-l-
Sometime after dinner in the Leal house, Lincoln and Liberty are playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate with the Nintendo Switch, and he is winning the round while Liberty is struggling, finally ending when he launches her character into the pit.
Lincoln isn't wearing his fingerless gloves and hoodie out of convenience.
"Looks like my skills didn't rust very much." Lincoln commented while the victory screen was being shown.
"Well, at least I tried my best." Liberty remarked, putting away the controller on the sofa. Lincoln did the same before she turned off the console and the TV.
The white-haired boy got up from the couch to go to the kitchen, leaving his cousin behind in the living room. He picks up a cup to fill it with water before drinking, putting the cup into the sink after finishing it.
But his uncle Lucas was sitting on a chair in the kitchen, wanting to have a talk with the boy.
"Lincoln, come sit on a chair close to me, I want to have a small talk."
The boy turned to face the adult and did what he was told, now sitting on another chair, ready for what he wants to talk about.
"You know I brought you because your parents didn't bother to pick you up, right?!" He started to talk, remembering Lincoln that detail despite him not really caring.
"I know and I'm not surprised my family don't want to do anything with me anymore, I was a shitty boy." He remarked, still retaining his neutral tone as if it wasn't a big deal but he continued to talk.
"Except Lucy since she sent a letter to me stating she wants to restart things with me." He revealed it to his uncle, with his eyes half-lidded.
"That's good to know, but you know we will probably have to move away from this town permanently." He told him, seeing that the boy's expression has not changed, as if nothing affects him anymore but continued to talk regardless.
"So you have to finish any business you have here before we move away after summer vacation." He finished.
"...Ok." Lincoln replied, not knowing what to say anymore.
"Good, I'm going to take a bath before sleeping." The man finished, getting out of his chair to move to the living room for the staircase, leaving the boy alone in the kitchen.
He is thinking about it, thinking about the "unfinished business" and remembered his neighbor Stella. He gets up from the chair and adjusts his hair, making it more similar to his original hairstyle except it's more massive and still messy, the boy doesn't bother fixing his hair due to thinking it fits him now.
-l-l-l-l-l-
Simultaneously, it was dinner time in Stella's home, with everyone present at the table. Stella is still without her hoodie and is eating the meal her father prepared for tonight.
"How your grandmother informed you, we are on vacation." Zen told Stella before continuing to eat the meal. "This means we can finally be with you for the time being." Judy continued the conversation.
"That's good, and I also met the new kid in town, he is a cool kid." Stella revealed to them, finally finishing eating the food.
"We would like to meet him and his family too, maybe they are nice people." Zen said in return, also finishing his meal.
"Except his cousin." The filipina remarked in her thoughts before deciding to get out of the dinner table, but not before grabbing her dishes and putting them in the sink.
"They are next door." Stella told them their location before climbing the staircase and moving to her bedroom, once there, she picks up her phone from the drawer, goes for the messenger and goes to talk with Lincoln.
ShiningStar1: Lincoln, it's me, Stella, and how is everything going in your house?
Dark_Spade11: Good, me and my family already ate dinner, and about my cousin, she wants to apologize to you.
ShiningStar1: Ok, but do you have any plans for this summer, especially after it was extended?
Dark_Spade11: Nothing in particular, I just want to stay at home since Royal Woods isn't for amateurs and losers like me anymore.
ShiningStar1: You're not a loser Lincoln, I was also a loser back in my old country but I don't let it affect me anymore. And how about we get a sleepover into my house?
Dark_Spade11: Not a bad idea but I have to talk with my cousin and uncle about it.
ShiningStar1: Ok, I'm going to sleep, good night.
Dark_Spade11: Me too, good night.
After finishing talking with Lincoln on the messenger, the girl puts the phone and smartwatch on the table and goes out of her bedroom, ready to take a bath before seemingly falling asleep, she grabs her hoodie to put on the basket alongside her own clothes, and her towel too. She puts the clothes inside and goes inside the curtain and puts the towel in the support close to her.
After multiple minutes there, Stella comes out of the bathroom, already finished taking a bath and is already wearing her red and white pajamas. The filipina picks up her cellphone and sets the alarm for 1:00 AM for her next adventure and lays down on her bed.
"Another night for my adventures." Stella thought before falling asleep before waking up not too soon.
-l-l-l-l-l-
Lincoln put the phone in his right pocket, he is on the couch with Liberty and she is watching a cartoon about a boy and his sisters, while drinking a soda can, but she didn't enjoy the show.
"Apparently a charming show equals being boring." Liberty deadpanned, turning off the TV. "There's no interesting show anymore." She turned to face her cousin, seeing he was close to falling asleep so out of amusement, she approached him and clapped her hands, startling him and making her giggle.
"Linky Linky, always distracted." She told him before giggling once again but he was just being apathetic, so Liberty decided to talk with him.
"Sorry for that. But about this Stella girl, you're planning to talk with her?" She asked, now being serious and wanting to apologize for her too.
"I was going to talk about her since she invited me to a sleepover tomorrow, and I will reveal it to my uncle later." Lincoln continues. "Maybe I'm doing that to make a new start in my life without the shenanigans from my family."
Liberty thinks for a bit and decides to end the conversation and see how late the night is. "Ok, but what are you planning to do now?"
"I'm just going to fix my messes, see Lucy, and find a goal in my life before moving on." Lincoln answered her, wanting everything to get over and start a new era in his life. Lincoln gets up from his couch and goes to the staircase but not before announcing his exit.
"I'm going to sleep, good night."
He walks upstairs and goes to his bedroom, leaving Liberty alone in the living room, still not feeling tired.
He goes to his bedroom to pick his towel from the closet, he moves to the bathroom in the end of the hallway, holding the clothes he was using to put into the basket. Once inside, he did exactly that and went for the bathtub, putting the towel into the support and began his bath.
After some minutes there, Lincoln exits the bathroom, feeling refreshed and wearing his towel. He goes to his bedroom and locks the door, he picks up his orange pajamas and changes his clothes. The boy picks up a comic book, the thing that he likes so much.
He heard his cousin walking through the hallway but he didn't care, he only wanted to pass his time. He is now under his blanket and using his phone to illuminate the comic. Despite loving his comics, he has canceled all of his fan projects and is a casual fan nowadays.
So he continues to read his comic from his favorite series called Ace Savvy.
-l-l-l-l-l-
It is 1:00 AM, and Lincoln is still reading his comic books to pass the night since he can't fall asleep. He is nearly finished reading it but he still doesn't feel sleepy.
"Damn it, why l can't fall asleep?" Lincoln complained while holding his fingers between his eyes before putting the comic on the bed after finishing it, so he turned off the light from his phone and got out of the blanket.
With the insomnia not passing away anytime soon, Lincoln goes out of his bed and opens the window to breathe some fresh air, his eyes still half-lidded. He is seeing the full moon on the horizon.
However, he saw that his neighbor was exiting her house through her bedroom's window, carrying the same weapon and covering her eyes with the same goggles.
Despite his situation, curiosity overtakes him and seeing his pajamas on his body, he goes to the closet to change his pajamas for his normal attire. After changing into his normal attire, he grabs the steel pipe under his couch, puts the hood over his head and runs towards the window and jumps for a nearby tree, using his L-shaped pipe as a hook to spin in the tree branch and lands in the ground. After doing that acrobacy, he goes for where Stella went.
…
Stella is back on the alleyway she always went through, using her common attire and with the hood over her head. The filipina is looking towards the trash bin hiding her hideout, seeing it wasn't tampered with. She looks towards the exit from the alleyway, ready to venture through the town (at least the proximity), but before she starts moving, a hand taps her shoulder.
"Stella, you know you shouldn't be up these hours."
Stella turns around, holding her metal bat to attack the person, only barely holding back when she sees it was Lincoln.
"Lincoln, why are you here?" Stella rapidly asked, seeing the steel pipe he was holding in his right hand.
"I couldn't fall asleep and I tried to watch the sky." Lincoln looked towards their houses to check if anyone woke up before continuing to speak. "But then I saw you exiting your house, so I decided to follow you because why not."
"But you can end up in trouble."
"I don't care." Said Lincoln as if that wasn't a major business, Stella found it weird but shrugged it off since he couldn't find out about her hideout; thinking about it gave her an idea. "Ok, I was going to explore the town and since you're here, we can go together."
"Deal accepted." Said Lincoln before nodding in agreement. The two kids start to walk to the other end of the alleyway to see what the town has for them.
Stella plays a small jingle in her smartwatch before saying. "Lincoln joined the party."
The boy chuckles in amusement, due to her treating the situation like a RPG game but decides to go along with her little fantasy.
"So I'm now part of your party, I wonder who will be the future members."
"We have this entire summer to discover, let's go." Stella told him, happily running away in this empty and dark town, with only lampposts illuminating the streets. The two kids run through the streets for whatever adventure they will have.
But a girl on the rooftop saw them with a binocular, hearing their conversation and once she heard the name 'Lincoln', she furrowed her brow in resentment.
"So that delinquent and thief returned, and is possibly using that girl for his plans."
The girl observing them has curly reddish-brown hair and an orange headband. She is wearing the same clothes she always wore since the past year.
She picks up a walkie-talkie to contact her friend and partner to inform them of the news. "Cookie, the trash bag returned and is accompanied by that newcomer."
" My name is Cynthia but you can still call me that, so that white-haired asshole returned huh." The person on the other end answered her, saying with spite in the last line. Cristina replied 'yes', seeing they weren't in her view.
"That duo already departed, so we need to expose him like what we are planning to do with his sisters, these siblings caused enough trouble." Cristina told Cynthia, remembering their other goal.
" Yeah, we have to end this bullshit." Cynthia answered, wanting to see their lives ruined but she continued. " That dumbass is a thug like his sisters and he won't hurt anyone ever again, let's do this."
"Good, let's start Operation: Quiet Silence." Cristina finished the conversation (and Cynthia chuckled with the redundancy), so she turned off the walkie-talkie and went downstairs, now with the knowledge Lincoln returned.
"I don't care if you changed or regretted that video incident, you're still a crappy fucking classmate, Lincoln L. Loud."
Chapter End
A/N: The story finally starts for real and remember when it was stated Royal Woods is not for amateurs?! Because of shit like Chandler and my other OC Mike planning to blow up the city, a duo of underrated girls wanting to expose their enemies, and kids venturing around the town at midnight. They won't be the only ones with ambitious plans like these though.
More details:
1) Lincoln lacks most of his canonical traits due to his changed psyche and apathy, meaning he doesn't like ghost hunters and magic and while he still has a minor liking for superheroes, he isn't a major fan anymore but I have some plans for him.
2) If anyone is expecting a forced reconciliation between Lincoln and all of the Loud Sisters, sorry to inform you but this will NEVER happen, maybe he can end the relationship with some of them in better terms. This story will have a bittersweet ending at best.
3) Considering it is Pride Month, I will reveal some sexualities from the main cast: Stella is bisexual as a homage to Luz, my OC Liberty is lesbian, Lucy is aro-ace, Luna and Sam retain their sexualities, while Lincoln and Girl Jordan are still straight. If you don't like that, you can screw yourself (considering this fandom, I'm not surprised XD).
I will take another break.