AN: I'm preparing for midterms, and I needed to vent some stress by writing something cute and goofy. So I wrote another one of these.
JRC1700: Cool. Glad I was apparently able to win you over.
biob1: It could be. We'll see how it goes.
Mr. Haziq: He'd have to find out about them first. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen.
SonicMax: It's the purest kind.
Guest: I was considering something along those lines for a future chapter, we'll see what happens. Also, something vaguely along the lines of the Rita thing, but not quite that.
wollyworld: You only get partial credit then. Kidding! Glad you liked it.
Guest No. 2: I subscribe to the idea that Loudcest is a natural evolution of the relationships Lincoln already enjoys with his sisters (and which some of them enjoy with each other), which already border on romantic at times even in canon (I will never shut up about Heart and Soul. There's literally no other explanation). She and Leni will probably work things out eventually. I'll get to Rita in time, but suffice to say that she was put in an extraordinary situation and had to make some gut decisions. Not all of them worked out, but they were usually made with the best intentions in mind.
nobodyreallyimportant: I try to add my signature zing to my dishes, thank you.
UnderratedHero: You're a fantastic writer and an amazing friend, and everyone should pay you money to draw pictures for them. That said, I didn't notice the Invincible parallels until you pointed them out post chapter posting. *shrug* Maybe I'll eventually think of something interesting to do with that.
darkkrt: Thank you. I was hoping to manage a somewhat different take than other stories of this type, even from the ones I've written myself.
Luna closed her eyes, and with a sharp intake of breath, focused on her hearing, gradually casting her enhanced senses outward. When explaining this particular application of her powers to her, Lori had described the process as being similar to sending one's fishing line out into the water. Granted, Luna had never been fishing herself, and she was pretty certain that Lori hadn't either, but the concept was easy enough to understand (especially with Leni helpfully providing "fishy noises" as an illustration). Rather than simply surrendering oneself to the chaotic din of noises that made up the world around her (a surefire way to give yourself a splitting headache when you had super hearing), the idea was to start small and gradually allow sounds to filter in, selectively adding or peeling away the layers of noise to her expanding consciousness as she searched for whatever it was she was trying to find. It wasn't too dissimilar to what she did when she'd previously used her finely tuned musician's ears to disassemble a song she'd been listening to, selectively picking out the various harmonies and rhythms that combined together to make music. Just, on a much, much grander scale.
It was almost like flying, but without having to go anywhere. By starting small and allowing sounds to gradually filter into her consciousness, she could "follow" the noises, almost like a trail, gradually painting a picture of the world beyond which continued to fill in with greater and greater detail. While initially, it had been difficult to wrap her mind around the concept, practice, and experimentation had filled the gaps in her understanding, and it wasn't long before her ears could take her on a walking tour of Royal Woods from the comfort of wherever she happened to be at the moment.
Initially, Luna had questioned the value of developing this skill. Being able to fly was obviously the best thing in the world, and was something she now couldn't imagine being able to give up, should the opportunity arise. Super speed was insanely useful for everyday stuff, and even ignoring their combat applications (something she still wasn't super enthused about having to deal with…), the positives of being super strong and durable usually outweighed the downsides of how careful she had to be to avoid breaking things (or people). Her enhanced senses, on the other hand, were hit or miss at best. Being able to peel away the layers of the physical world was helpful when it was helpful, obviously, like when she'd misplaced her phone, or her lucky guitar pick, spying them buried underneath the clutter of her room or picking up telltale vibrations that she otherwise would have missed due to having left the sound off for the umpteenth time, but it seemed far more frequent that she's pick the absolute worst time to loosen her grip on her senses, and end up seeing or hearing something that she'd desperately wished she hadn't.
This, on the other hand, was different. Partly because, by its nature, it was a much more controlled experience. She could pick out problematic areas, like her parents' bedroom, or the family bathroom, and, generally speaking, what was left was pure novelty. It was like checking her social media, every time Luna went "sound surfing", she found cool and interesting things. And much like in the aforementioned example, it quickly became...well, not addicting, per se, but certainly habitual. After all, if she was stuck somewhere with nothing better to do, why not send her ears wandering in search of something more interesting?
...There were probably plenty of good reasons, but why ruin her fun?
On this particular trip, Luna felt her way around town, drifting past the sounds of traffic and barnyard animals (probably an interesting story there, she'd have to ask her mom for the deets later on…), until finally, she'd found what she was looking for.
Boop Boop Bap Bap, Boop Boop Bap Bap.
Even focused as she was on her task, Luna could still feel a smile spread across her face. That was the strangely, but pleasantly melodic sound of her little brother's heartbeat. Taking herself to find him from a distance had started as a game, of sorts, something to help sharpen her skills. But even as her proficiency grew, she still found herself returning to that particular well more often than she'd like to admit. But the sound that was Lincoln was a real toe-tapper, no matter how many times she her its reprise. And besides, it was a big sister's job to keep an eye on her siblings, right? Especially when they were as...shanigan prone, as her little brother was.
...Speaking of which, she found that the tempo was bothering her a bit. Lincoln should be at school right now, if anything, he should be in a lowered state of activity. Hopefully, everything was okay…
"Ugh," Lincoln's hushed whisper drifted into her ears as naturally as if he'd been right at her side, confiding to her directly. "Why didn't I bring a spare pair of pants on sloppy joe day? This is so embarrassing…"
Luna choked down a snort of amusement. So Linc was in distress, after a fashion. Well, lucky for him that she just happened to be listening in. It would have been a bit of a trip to get home by driving, but fortunately, Luna was a bit beyond that now. If she was careful, she could slip out a window, fly on home (sticking to the back streets, naturally), pick up a fresh pair of jeans for her little bro, then dash on down to—
"LUNA!"
"Ghhheck!" Luna recoiled as the utterance of her name forcibly snapped her back to her immediate surroundings, leaving her momentarily dazed. Which was unfortunate, given that this moment of hesitation—
"LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
—prevented her from reasserting control of her enhanced hearing before a second shout sent fresh waves of torment coursing through her. The voice, magnified innumerable times over by her superhuman senses, echoed painfully in her head as she fought down the urge to let out an agonized scream.
Fighting through the pain, she rounded on the invader, trembling with barely repressed rage.
"WHA—" She began shouting angrily, only to choke on her bile as she found herself staring into the guileless face of her girlfriend.
"—aaaaaaaht's up?" Babe?" She said, hoarsely, forcibly plastering a smile on her face, desperately trying to not look like her head felt like it was about to explode. It was as much for her own pride as it was to protect Sam's feelings. Luna had shrugged off a gunshot the previous night, it would be beyond embarrassing if she died now, simply because her best gal had raised her voice at her. And Lori would never let her live it down.
"Are...you...okay?" Sam asked, cocking her head quizzically. "You've been staring off into space for a while now. I was starting to get a little worried.
"O-OH. Yeah, I'm totally fine," Luna tried to assure the blonde, surreptitiously glancing around as she tried to remember what they'd been up to before she'd taken her little jaunt. She was in a hallway lined with lockers, with nearly every square inch of free space filled with teenagers yammering to their fellows as they immersed themselves in various states of distraction.
Oh, right. It had been a school day for her too. She winced as the ambient hallway noise began to filter into her consciousness, gingerly poking a pinkie finger into one ear as she asserted control of her senses, and forcibly shunted out the excess noise, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as the noise abated.
They were between classes, and Sam had needed to get something from her locker. Luna had dutifully followed along, but as she'd stood there, leaning against the adjacent lockers as Sam busied herself with her task, Luna's attention had started to wander, wondering what Lincoln was up to. And before she knew it, her attention had literally wandered off to sate her curiosity.
It was at this point that Luna noticed her girlfriend smiling at her in a manner very much resembling the figurative cat-eating canary.
"So how's Lincoln doing?" She asked, a smirk of unparalleled magnitude blossoming onto her face.
Luna blanched, her heart pounding painfully in her chest, and for the second time in as many minutes, a seemingly innocuous remark from her girlfriend made her feel like she was dying.
"W-WHAT?" Luna said, laughing nervously. "W-w-WHY would you even ASK that?"
"That goofy smile you were sporting while you were off in Luna Land," Sam explained. "That's usually Lincoln-related."
She stepped in close, and gently nudged Luna in the ribs. "What happened?" She asked, conspiratorially. "He sneak into your bed again? Little guy scare himself silly with a horror movie or something?"
Visions of cuddling with her little bro flashed through Luna's mind. "S...something like that," She muttered, feeling her cheeks heat up.
"Daaaaw!" Sam cooed, slipping one arm around Luna. "You guys are so cute!"
Luna felt her blush deepen. "Um…"
"Treasure it while it lasts!" Sam shouted, cutting her off, punctuating her exclamation by pulling Luna into a tight, side hug. "Give that boy every ounce of love you have to give! Because SOMEDAY…!"
Seconds passed as Luna patiently waited for some kind of conclusion to follow, but nothing seemed to be forthcoming.
"Someday?" She prompted.
"Hm?"
"Just...seemed like you were going somewhere with that thing you were going on about."
"Oh. Uh, something about Simon being a jerk." Sam said, sounding distracted. "And I'd...trade...you...if I could…"
The blonde was looking past Luna now, absentmindedly squeezing Luna's arm.
"Sam?"
At the sound of her name, Sam's head snapped up, her eyes blinking as if she'd awaken in a stupor.
"Oh. Sorry about that, babe," She said, her eyes gradually drifting downward again. "Just...I know I keep harping on this, but you've gotten so, freaking, firm! It's nuts! Seriously, what's your secret?"
Luna swallowed, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Prior to her birthday, she'd always wondered how Lori, Leni, and their mom, all managed to stay in such fantastic shape. Mom in particular, who, objectively speaking, managed to consistently look amazing, with a body that would spark envy in a woman half her age. The answer apparently turned out to be superpowers, as following the emergence of her own abilities, Luna quickly found herself transitioning into being in the best shape of her life, her previously unremarkable physique rapidly becoming lean and toned, accentuating the plush curves she was now sporting. It wasn't indicative of even a fraction of the feats of strength she was now capable of performing, but it was a pretty big departure from her old body.
"Do the thing," Sam whispered, huskily. And obediently, Luna bent her arm into a very light flex, causing a sizable bulge of muscle to emerge, much to the delight of her girlfriend.
"Yes!" Sam squealed, rubbing both hands across Luna's bicep, to the brunette's exponentially growing embarrassment. "I love it!"
Abruptly, the blonde halted and fixed Luna with a pointed look. "Seriously, what's your secret?"
"Turns out my mom is an alien, and I've inherited her freaky alien physiology," Was the thought that initially jumped into Luna's head. Which would, of course, be the most wrong thing to say.
"Like, I told you, I've been hitting the gym," She said instead, privately wincing at the little white lie. "Lynn's been bugging me to start going with her for what feels like forever now. She's been wanting to step up her game with some night sessions, but the Rents won't let her go at night without a chaperone. I finally let her talk me into it and...yeah. She does good work."
"I'll say," Sam murmured, giving Luna's bicep another squeeze. And then another. And then one more, just for good measure.
"Maybe I should start going with you guys," Sam continued, thoughtfully, flexing her own far less impressive arm, which barely seemed to register the motion. If anything, it sagged. "I could use a little toning up myself. If I'm not careful, someone's gonna steal you away from me."
Luna snorted in amusement. "Aw come on—" she began, intending to be reassuring…
"Oh!" Sam shouted, her eyes lighting up in realization. "Lincoln!"
...only to choke on her words as she suffered another mini-heart attack.
"W-what?" Luna wheezed. "Lincoln? What? Lincoln?! What?"!
"He can come with us," Sam clarified, allowing Luna to let out a sigh of relief. Disappointment? No, that was definitely relief. Definitely.
"It'd be nice if we had another normie in the group," She explained, glancing down at her arm again and smiling ruefully. "It'd help me feel a little less self-conscious around you amazon."
"Hey!" Luna began to protest. "You—"
"Are twice the size of Lynn, and she could snap me in half," Her girlfriend smirked, laughing good-naturedly. "I'm not offended, Lunes. I know where I stand. Oh!" Her eyes lit up, and she pounded one fist into the other, excitedly. "And maybe while we're there, we can find him a gym cutie! Linc seems like the sophisticated type. He'd probably appreciate a gal who could bench press him."
Luna could feel the scowl manifesting as it twisted her features into the personification of displeasure. She didn't like that. She didn't like that one bit. However, before she could articulate her feelings, the warning bell rang, signifying that classes would be resuming in a few minutes.
"And that's our cue," Sam remarked, clucking her tongue distastefully. She offered her elbow to Luna. "Care to escort dainty, lil' old me to class?"
"Nnnnno." Said Luna. Seeing the confused look on her girlfriend's face, she elaborated. "I think the burrito I had for breakfast might have had a bit too much kick to it. Gonna hit the can real quick while I have a chance."
"Oh. Got it," Sam replied, nodding in understanding. "Then I'll see you when you get there."
She leaned in close, and gave Luna a chaste kiss on the cheek.
"Take care of your tum-tum," Sam said, placing one palm against Luna's stomach, causing her shirt to mold itself to Luna's tight, toned abdomen. "Umf. More like yum-yum," She added, with a wink, tracing a quick circle around the area with one finger, before pulling away and heading off towards class.
Luna allowed herself a few moments so that the fresh wave of embarrassment she was experiencing could fade, at least a little bit, before spinning on one heel, and fast walking towards the nearest bathroom. As she pulled away from the crowd of students, each subsequent footstep became progressively faster, her footsteps accelerating into a rapid staccato as she seemingly became a purple and brunette blur…
Moments later, Luna found herself hovering high above the school, courtesy of the easy-to-open bathroom windows which frequently served as a quick exit from the school for the slacking and the desperate. Getting her bearings, she pointed herself in the general direction of the Loud House, and prepared to accelerate—
FWOOSH!
—only to find herself bowled over by a sudden blast of turbulence.
"H-HEY!" Luna shouted, quickly righting herself, and glaring in the direction of the disturbance. Instinctively, her vision magnified as she locked eyes on her target. A...green and blonde blur, speeding away at a rate that fighter jets could only envy.
"Sooooorrryyy Luuuunaaa!" Leni's voice drifted back to her, the older girl already vanished from her sight by the time the sound reached her. Nevertheless, Luna remained in place, frozen in puzzlement by something her inhumanly acute vision had caught sight of as Leni sped away. The older girl had waved at her with one hand, and clutched in that hand...was a pair of jeans, sized for a small boy.
"...Huh," Luna uttered, blinking in confusion. Uncertain how to qualify the...irritation, she seemed to be experiencing.
Begrudgingly, Luna floated back down to ground level, slipped back into the bathroom. And went to class.