My name... Is Lori Loud.
An accident at a fieldtrip gave me powers beyond my imagination. I can fly, I have super strength, and who knows what else is hiding inside me now.
With college looming, and the mistakes of my past rearing their ugly head, I realized these powers gave me a fresh start, to be a better sister, daughter, person.
So I will protect the people I love from the freaks and criminals that are attacking us.
I will be... The Guardian.
The rain drops cascaded down the bus window, and if she looked hard enough, Lori Loud could just about make out her reflection in the miniscule beads of water. She placed her palm near the drops, the slight moistness spreading onto her hand, just about picking up the feeling.
She observed the beads with a silent and sympathetic sigh.
Small.
Insignificant.
And powerless to do anything against the inevitable push back of reality.
She slowly wiped the beads away, and returned her attention to her own problems, as the bus continued to hit every bump on the way to Pingrey Enterprises. The students who were mere months away from graduation were on the big science field trip of the year, as insisted by their teacher, Mr. Fenrisulfer. There he was right now, his plaster filled jaws bouncing around in reprimand, damaged from constant "shaving accidents". He was going on about some old "Kids should look less at their phones" crap.
Lori would almost have found it funny if she wasn't so down in the dumps. "I am LITERALLY being such a downer.", she thought, frowning. She had been fine at first, when graduation was still so far away. There were other things to think about, and a whole YEAR to pretend nothing would ever change.
But it was mid February now. The time to close one's eyes and hide in the dark and hope no one found you was running out. Soon, she'd have to go to Fairway, and while she truly wanted to…
"God, Lori, I thought you'd be happy to have some freedom! Of course I knew I'd miss my family, but this is your chance to make your mark!", Lori's rational side intervened, cutting off her depressed spiel with a disapproving stare. "You're a strong, confident, independent young woman. You have a big life ahead of you!"
"Big life, full of big let downs.", Lori's stressful side chimed in, her panic oh so relatable to the eldest Loud. "You know how the pressure gets to us."
"We've learned to overcome that! That's why we even got accepted to Fairway!", Rational Lori retorted.
"So what if we overcame that? Have you considered whether or not we deserve this?"
Lori's rational side didn't answer, and Lori knew why. Her depression had many reasons as of late, but her most recent was the one making the weight on her shoulders more noticeable than usual.
"I almost wish it was just this one thing I did, something that I could analyze, learn from, but it's never that simple.", Lori groaned, as she thought of it again.
Lori wasn't just feeling guilty and morose over one single event, but countless little ones from over the years she had spent as the big sister of the Loud House. While she hadn't realized it at first, it had come to her attention that she had been a little… Well, more than a little bit of a bossy and vain sister.
While Lori had always intended to be a kind and caring big sis, she had a tendency to be vain, selfish, and even mean to her younger siblings. Call it anger, call it cynicism, call it a mistake, it didn't matter.
What mattered was that Lincoln had let it slip during another argument, one they had had after she had tried to help him get together with a girl she thought he liked, and now she couldn't get it out of her head.
"You can be really selfish, you know that, Lori?", he had said, in the way you say something you've been holding in for your chest so long, a mixture of freedom, bravery, and resentment.
"I was just trying to help, you ungrateful twerp!", she had retorted.
"Then why didn't you stop when I told you to? Why didn't you just listen to me? Because you know better? Because it makes you feel better about yourself if you "help" me? Every time I think you've improved, you end up just being a jerk again! Sometimes I wonder if you even WANT us to be around, or you just like to have people who look up to you!"
That statement, that thought, had buried itself near her heart in a painful, throbbing area. It pulsated with dark reminders in her quietest moments at night and it popped up to her every time she found herself smiling or laughing again, hanging over her like a cloud of regret.
So now Lori found herself wondering if she even had any time to make up for her mistakes, when college was around the bend.
"I really WAS trying to be better.", she thought to herself, holding back tears. Her arms shook, but she couldn't stop them. "I never meant to hurt any of them! I was just trying to help, honest! Oh, what am I gonna do to make this right? I'm supposed to be the solution, not the problem!"
She saw Lincoln's face again, his sad, hurt face, one he seemed too comfortable wearing. "I didn't mean to be selfish, Lincoln. I really thought I was being a good big sister."
But of course, reality did not leave anyone to wallow in their sadness for too long, and Lori was soon brought down to it by their arrival at their destination.
"Come on, everyone, march outta here! You're not gonna learn anything with this attitude!", Mr. Fenrisulfer practically barked, urging them to leave with a clap of his hands. He seemed even more impatient than usual, so Lori knew she didn't have much of a choice.
Standing up from her seat, she soon found herself standing next to her former enemy now… sort of BFF, it wasn't very clear, Carol Pingrey. The blonde haired girl with a smile that sparkled more than it probably should have waved cheerfully at Lori. "Hey, Lori! Where were you, I tried talking to you and you seemed kinda, well, spaced out?"
Lori suppressed a chuckle, trying to keep her cool. She didn't want Carol to know what was going on with her, surely it was selfish to load her with that burdon. Right now, that was the LAST thing Lori wanted to be.
"Oh, you know, just thinking about college!", not exactly a lie, after all.
Carol had a knowing look and she nodded like a bobble head. "Mood, girl! I've been thinking about it too, like, I BARELY made it to Fairway myself!"
Lori gave her an encouraging smile and nudged her a little. "Well, lucky your mom helped out!"
Carol's laugh was a little off, but Lori didn't comment on it. "Heh, heh, yeah…"
The two teens then turned their gazes towards the Pingrey Enterprises building as they stepped outside of the bus and joined their class at the square near the entrance. It towered above the city, let alone themselves. 101 stories tall, just below the Empire State Building, something that was not to be mentioned next to Carol's mom at any time.
Lori and Carol nearly fell from having to look up to it, it was so tall. It's windows were opaque, it's glass was blinding, and it's shape was rigid and firm. In the middle of the building, just barely visible to the kids, was a sign that simply stated "Pingrey Enterprises", it's mere mention enough to remind you of its power. It was practically perfect in every way.
"Gotta be weird seeing your last name on such a big sign every day.", Lori commented.
Carol averted her gaze. "Weird is right.", she muttered, feeling a knot in her stomach, but she didn't want to talk about it, so she simply walked inside with Lori.
Inside, the building was even brighter somehow. The glass white surfaces were reflecting and blinding, apparently designed to bring about a soothing work atmosphere. The voices of hundreds of employees, telephones and computers was less relaxing, to put it mildly. It took a whole minute for their guide to finally reach them.
"Why, you must be the field trip! Hi, I'm Nancy, your tour guide!", Nancy, a red haired woman with a cutesy hat and a near Cheshire cat grin, beckoned them to follow her. "We're real busy bees here at Pingrey Enterprises, so we better hop to it!"
"And be attentive, class. I didn't bring you all here so you could just forget it all and go "ooh" at the cool new phone models.", Mr. Fenrisulfer reminded assertively, eyeing Lori in particular. "Some of us may be set with their college, but I'm still expecting hard work out there!"
Lori was quick to salute, a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. Fenrisulfer, sir!"
"Good.", he replied, his eye remaining on her as he walked to the front of the group and followed Nancy to their first destination, a showcase of enhanced weaponry.
Lori sighed in relief when he finally let her out of his sight, making Carol laugh. "He's really got it out for you, huh?", Carol asked, not even bothering to look around.
Lori, busy taking notes, nodded. "I don't blame him. I never did take his class seriously."
"Or my role as a sister…", her brain thought, and she shushed it.
"Yeah, well, I know you've got this Lori! You're way smarter most of the students here!"
"That is LITERALLY so sweet of you, Carol.", Lori replied with a smile, but compliments weren't gonna clear her guilt. She still felt horrible about what Lincoln had said, and this field trip wasn't helping her solve the problem, it was just another distraction. If there was only something she could do to make it up to him, to prove to him that she cared…
And suddenly, an opportunity presented itself.
"Oh, and before we resume our tour, I am delighted to inform you that our generous CEO Melanie Pingrey is handing out a free Ninmendo Twitch to whoever gets the best score on this little worksheet quiz we're handing out to you!", Nany announced excitedly, handing out said worksheets.
Lori's ears perked up and she ran up to Nancy, perhaps a little TOO excited. "WHAT did you say?"
"A Ninmendo Twitch! She wants to instill a spirit of giving into our youth…", Nancy began to prattle on, annoying Mr. Fenrisulfer, but Lori wasn't listening, instead beginning to formulate a plan in her mind.
"If I can win that Twitch for Lincoln, he'd see that I really DO care for him! After all, it's not like I want it, and I'm horrible at science! If I can work hard enough, I can ace this!", she thought, her smile growing wider. She could see it now, his gleeful smile as he held the portable console in his hands, looking up and thanking her, all would be well with the world!
Lori returned to the back of the line, clutching the worksheet with determination, while Carol raised her eyebrow quizzically. "I didn't know you wanted a Ninmendo Twitch so badly, Lori!"
Lori was quick to shake her head. "Oh, what, no! I mean, I do like to play sometimes, but this is for Lincoln! He hasn't shut up about this one for months now!", Lori explained, a small smile as she remembered the pie chart Lincoln had used trying to convince their parents that the Twitch "increased the chance of stumbling onto a pile of a million dollars by 87.3 percent!"
Carol's eyes sparkled as she cooed. "D'aww! You're such an awesome big sister, Lori! I'm lucky I don't have any siblings myself, I doubt I'd handle it as well as you do!"
Lori bit her lip and tried her best to ignore how unearned that compliment felt, instead trying to focus on the quiz. The words and phrases danced mockingly in front of her eyes, most of them sounding like a foreign language. "This is gonna be tricky, but I HAVE to do this!", Lori thought, biting onto a pencil now and wracking her brain as she listened to the instructor talk about the exhibits they were being tested on. "Don't overthink it, relax and sink it, don't overthink it, relax and sink it, don't overthink it…"
For the next couple of hours, Lori worked the hardest she had worked since the showcase that got her accepted into Fairway. She hung on every word Nancy and Mr. Fenrisulfer uttered, she asked all the right questions, and she read and re-read every piece of info the exhibits held. Lori was in the zone, and there was nothing that could shake her.
Now, I know what you're thinking: So now something is gonna shake her, and she'll fail, right?
Well, you'd be wrong!
"I LITERALLY can't believe I did it! I mean, I'm pretty smart as it is, but still!", Lori enthused to Carol, as she waved the brand new Ninmendo Twitch, shining like a diamond in her hand.
Carol smiled brightly at her friend, though there was a shakiness to it. "Great job, Lori! Though the competition wasn't fierce! I was SO far off!"
Lori eyed the paper. Carol had only gotten one question wrong. Assuming it was sarcasm, she chuckled. "Good one, Carol!"
Carol wasn't laughing, but Lori was too distracted by her success to notice. She could see herself reflected in the casing, and she didn't hate the sight. "I came through, see? I AM a good big sister!"
But just when it seemed like all was good, coincidence, bad luck, whatever you would name it, struck Lori Loud hard, changing her life FOREVER.
As Lori and Carol waited with the group near the entrance for Mr. Fenrisulfer to return from the men's room, two guys who had been annoyed by Lori's success decided to get some revenge.
"Yoink!", the tall brown haired jock named Derek exclaimed, grabbing the Twitch and waving it just out of Lori's reach, which was impressive with how tall she was.
"HEY! Give that back!", Lori shouted, leaping into the air and failing to grab the Twitch back. Derek just laughed and threw the Twitch towards his partner, a ginger haired wall of muscle named Aaron who caught it and taunted Lori. "What are you gonna do about it, Loud?"
Lori's ears were steaming and her heart was racing. She was gonna fail her siblings AGAIN, and sure, it wasn't her fault this time, but she couldn't care less. Lincoln was gonna get his Twitch if she had to pry it out of his cold dead hands!
"Oh, you DON'T wanna mess with a big sister when she's angry!", Lori warned Aaron, making him laugh. Carol, worried, tried to create some peace. "Guys, come on, let's think about this…"
Nancy wasn't helping. "Now, young Ms. Pingrey, your mother encourages such competition. One must know how to pass every obstacle."
"HOW ARE YOU A RESPONSIBLE ADULT?", Carol asked, confused.
Lori, meanwhile, began to fight back, charging at Aaron and headbutting him in the chest, which hurt her way more than it hurt him. Mocking her, he threw the Twitch back to Derek.
"Look at that, a love tap! She's got a crush on me!"
Lori was dazed, but not backing down. Getting back to her feet, she ran at Derek and tried to trip him up, but once more failed, yelping in pain when she met the side of his shin.
"Wow, this is so sad, I might actually cry!", Derek teased her again, as he prepared to threw the Twitch towards Aaron.
Lori growled as she stood up, her head pounding now and her legs a little weak. When it came to fighting, she was no Lynn, she wasn't a weakling but she wasn't exactly a superhero.
And Lori wasn't always the best thinker under pressure.
But when it came to endurance, to keep going no matter what…
Lori was unsurpassed.
"Give. That. BACK!", She shouted one last time, leaping into the air and catching the Twitch in mid air…
Only to smash into a wall and suddenly disappear into its secret room.
"Oh my god, Lori!", Carol shouted in worry, as the group all stared wildly at the mad occurance.
Where had Lori gone?
It took Lori a moment to recover from the screaming, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was in a strange room, more like a basement than anything else.
But this was like no basement she had ever seen: The walls were dark green, the lights were dark blue, and all around her were beakers, computers, and giant tubes with what looked like… Corpses?
"Um, excuse my French, but what the fuck?", Lori whispered, shaking and shivering. This was easily the scariest thing she had ever seen, and she couldn't even begin to comprehend what it all meant.
It only got scarier, however, with screens showcasing images of Himalayan jumping spiders, elephants, eagles, a strange banshee looking creature, and what looked like the hull of a small space shuttle.
"I literally walked onto the set of a really weird sci-fi show.", Lori mused, trying to make her way out of the maze. She could barely see anything, and she had no idea where there would be a door. She could go back to the secret door, but who's to say she could open it? Perhaps it had auto locked, perhaps you needed a certain velocity, perhaps she had just gotten unlucky.
"Come on, come on…", Lori thought, getting more and more worried.
And then she saw something REALLY disturbing.
In the largest glass tube of all, swimming in a sickly green liquid that lit up the dark corridors, was what looked like a man, only he was completely light blue, and wearing some sort of strange unitard.
He seemed dead, sort of, but one of his eyes were open. It was hard to tell if it was simply open by force or because he was trying to communicate, but nothing else moved.
Lori felt her heart in her throat, and she stared at the sight with horror and a little sympathy. He looked like he was really suffering.
What WAS going on here?
…Was it bad? Was it something wrong? Should she tell someone?
"What am I talking about? This has nothing to do with me, I should just stay out of it!", she thought, annoyed at herself.
But then she felt a twinge of guilt.
Sure, this had nothing to do with her.
Yet here she was.
By misfortune she found herself in some Lisa style mad laboratory.
And someone was suffering in front of her.
Someone HAD to do something.
"But would anyone believe me?", Lori thought, before realizing she had her phone on her.
"Yes! As always, phones to the rescue!", she cried, putting it on selfie mode. "Oh please that they don't think it's some new filter…"
She then apologetically turned to the alien man. "I'm sorry if this seems disrespectful btdubs."
But just as Lori was about to snap the pic…
"GRRRRR…"
A chill went down Lori's spine as she violently turned to her left and spotted yet another insane sight that made her wonder if she had hit her head too hard.
Standing before her, with rippling muscles and a torn shirt, huffing and puffing, was a gigantic werewolf.
"…I don't want to live on this planet anymore.", Lori quipped in fear, struggling not to scream her lungs out.
The Werewolf than roared at her, and that did the trick.
"AAGHHH!", Lori screamed her lungs out, trying to run off, and accidentally tripping on her legs, and smashing head down onto one of the many giant computers.
An alarm blared loudly, and the Werewolf dashed off, making Lori clam down for a moment, but only a moment, as suddenly she found herself strapped down by robotic arms onto a chair.
Lori kept on panicking, scrambling to escape but still being restrained, as mini tubes sprung out of the larger tubes and connected to Lori, injecting into her body the strange liquids that were in the tubes, the screens flashing the DNA strands of the animals being held inside the corridor.
Lori's eyes widened with panic, but there was nothing she could do, she was stuck, trapped, helpless…
"No, NO! I'm not dying here! I'm not letting them down!", Lori thought with determination, and she pulled and pulled at the tubes, trying to remove them. It seemed impossible at first, but suddenly, without warning she broke one off easily.
"Takes some persistence.", she smirked to herself, and with swift action she removed the others, leaping off the straps of the chair way too easily, not that she had time to notice. All that was important was to leave the room NOW.
Eyes moving wildly, she remembered the Werewolf. He had run off to the left. Perhaps the exit was there?
Dashing off as fast as she could, she felt like was almost walking on the air, freedom in her grasp. It increased her confidence, so she tried harder and harder, leaping the moment she saw a bright light..
And with that, she was out of the secret room, finding herself again in the main building.
"Well, I guess I'm less scared of college now. Thanks, I think?", she turned to the now seemingly normal wall.
"LORI!"
Lori turned to the source of the noise, which was Carol, of course, running to her BFF and tugging her tightly. "Lori, I was SO SCARED, are you okay? What happened to you?"
Lori saw the student group behind Carol, all looking disturbed and terrified, even Derek and Aaron. Nancy was strangely calm as always, as she received a radio confirmation from someone that whatever happened to her, she hadn't been in the room according to the tapes.
Lori opened her mouth, ready to spill the beans on the whole ordeal, until she noticed her hands and pockets were empty.
"I… NO… MY PHONE?! AND THE TWITCH?!"
Lori felt a hole in her heart. Not just because she had lost her beloved phone (though it meant a lot to her); she had lost the Twitch, and now had NOTHING to give Lincoln. Her chance to make things better, lost somewhere she probably could never return to.
"Do you happen to have another one of those?", Lori asked sheepishly.
"Oh, hundreds! But Mrs. Pingrey doesn't believe in "hand outs", you'd have to earn it again, and sadly, our field trip is done!", Nancy cheerfully replied.
Lori felt like she could have choked Nancy right there and then, but opted against it. She'd have to find another way.
Sighing, she slumped off to the exit, Carol comforting her, while Mr. Fenrisulfer reprimended her for "strolling off like that, what were you THINKING".
"Now, there's someone back home AND someone in there who are suffering because of me.", Lori thought, full of guilt, the clouds in the sky grayer than ever.
Meanwhile, unbeknowest to her…
Her life was going to change completely.
For inside the secret room, as the lab began to assess the new data…
A screen flashed the results of the tubes transferring the strange formula into her body.
"Operation: Metamorphosis. Super Soldier test number one. Results: Successful."
Vanzilla on average would take 10 minutes to drive from The Loud Residence to Royal Woods High.
10 minutes. More than enough time to resume feeling guilty about all your mistakes and not nearly enough time to wallow in it.
Lori stood in the pouring rain, her dark as the night hoodie getting pelted, her hands shivering from the cold, but also from what she had… Seen.
The moment Lori got on the bus and rejected Carol's generous offer to buy a Twitch for her as a compensation, her mind was barraged with flashes of what she had happened.
The tubes…
The injections…
The sickly greens…
The light blue man's body floating there…
Had she imagined it all?
"I must have…", she whispered, ignoring her heart's pounding. "Yeah, that's it, I must have! It's not real, I probably knocked my head real hard in there when I landed and hallucinated the whole thing! That's the logical thing!"
Her heart quickly hammered back "But why was there a secret room in the first place? Why does your body still hurt from where you were injected?", but Lori refused to listen. "I have enough on my mind as it is.", she thought sadly.
"Besides, who would believe me? I have no proof."
"And no phone.", she suddenly remembered, dreading telling her mom about that little fact.
Lori sighed, looking up at the grey clouds and feeling an overpowering emptiness. "Amazing. My phone is gone, and that's not even half the reason I feel like crap."
For so many years, Lori had seen herself as the glue that kept the family together, the strong, smart, awe inspiring big sister who saved the day, who was there when people needed help, a hand, a hero.
But now she couldn't tell what was true anymore. Lincoln had a tendency to overreact and exaggerate, but when he was truly disappointed, you knew that at least to him, it was true.
And if he thought it was true, then maybe Lori WAS doing something wrong? After all, he FELT like she was being a jerk.
"I can't deny it, I have done some pretty nasty things in the past. I shout and I mock and I've done things I'm not proud of.", she thought, gripping her hand and feeling a tear droop down her face.
"But I was sure that at least the good things outweighed the bad! Now I don't know what to do! How can I prove to you that… That…"
"That I love you?", she whispered, her soul crushed by the realization that her baby brother, who had been so close to her once, who had once called her…
Well, that was for another time.
But her little brother who had thought the world of her now seemed to think that she didn't even care.
What could she do to fix this? Sure, the Twitch would only have helped a little, but just one smile from Lincoln would have given Lori hope for the future.
Unfortunately, that would have to wait, as would her self pity, as Vanzilla finally arrived.
"Hey, honey!", Rita Loud called out, waving apologetically. "Sorry for taking so long, I had to quickly drive Leni over to Reiningers!"
"It's literally okay, mom.", Lori reassured her, and as she looked in, she saw the usual sights: Lynn slapping her knees in an attempt to stay active, Lola and Lana bickering over some old argument, Luna playing air guitar…
And then there was Lincoln.
The white haired boy turned his face to her for, and for a split second, there was the tiniest greeting smile, but then he remembered their little spat of sorts, and once more turned away, his eyes taking on a tired, glazed look of annoyance.
Lori sighed as she saw the daunting car seat that was left for her. "Coward…", she thought with resentment.
"…Mom, I'm really sorry to be a bother, but I think I'd rather walk home. Exercise, ya know? VERY in right now.", Lori lied, failing to look Rita in the eyes.
Rita looked at Lori, knowing more than she let on. She had a sympathetic smile on her face. "Of course, sweetie. And hey, I bet that soon you'll feel like you… Don't need the exercise."
Lori couldn't help but smile back. Mom could be really amazing sometimes.
Vanzilla drove past, and Lori, with the weight of the world on her shoulders, began to walk down the street, hands in her pockets, clouds in her mind.
Royal Woods was mostly out of winter by this time, the snow no longer popping up regularly, but the winds were still chilly and the winter coats were still ever present. Kids ran by shouting in glee and cars drove quietly past, their lights making the afternoon look a little less gloomy.
Lori, however, only felt worse. Now she had a splitting headache, and her arms still hurt from the injections. "Ugh, and I feel kinda sick… God if I puke now I will LITERALLY have the worst day ever!"
Stopping at a crosswalk, Lori placed her hand on a sidewalk post to rest for a moment. Her mind kept on all the things that made her upset. She just wished…
"If only I had a way to fix it all. I'd make it right if I knew how."
And just like that, the words echoing in her brain…
Her life changed forever.
A strange cracking, breaking sound could be heard from somewhere, and Lori jumped because of it. Her nerves were already a little one edge after all that had happened.
"What the hell…", she started, looking around, before suddenly sensing that her arm was lower than before. Slowly, she stared down and realized…
That she had somehow cracked the post with her hand.
Bringing her arm to her face, she stared at it with fear and confusion. How could she possibly have done that? "No, no way…", she muttered, hoping no one saw her. "Calm down, Lori, you're probably… Still hallucinating, yes, that's it! Gotta be that!"
Lori chuckled nervously, and found herself practically jogging when she finally saw the green light.
Now on a different street, Lori tried to hide her arm and just walk her worries away. "It's just your head playing tricks with you, you didn't destroy that thing, you're just walking on the street, just walking, just walking, huh, that's odd, I can't hear any footsteps…"
Her eyes widening, Lori looked down with one eye open, but it saw yet another impossibility.
Her feet were not on the ground… But just floating above.
She was floating.
Lori's pupils shrunk and she let out the only appropriate reaction.
"AAAAGHHHHHHHH!", she screamed, bolting down the street, eyes closed, her heart pounding in her rib cage.
"PLEASE BE A DREAM, PLEASE BE A DREAM, PLEASE BE A DREAM…"
And while it wasn't a dream, Lori did end up getting a rude awakening, as she smashed headfirst into… Something.
Despite the noise if the impact, Lori saw that she was still perfectly fine, balanced on her feet and everything. Her head didn't throb.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the thug she had just run into.
The muscular man, dressed like he was going to the gym, was on the sidewalk, breathing with difficulty. "I think she cracked my ribcage!"
"OMG, I am SO sorry, sir, let me…", Lori apologized and offered her hand to help the man up, but then she looked up and saw the tracksuit bros besides him, all looking a little suspect, who quickly unsheathed their knives from their pockets, the metal sparkling despite the cloudy day.
Lori gulped. "So… Definitely not a dream."
With another scream, Lori darted away from the men, cursing how suddenly deserted the street was. Her breathing was ragged and she scurried in panic searching for some sort of hiding place, as the men comfortably began to close the gap on her, their threats drowned out by the cacophony of fear reverberating in Lori's head.
Suddenly, luck seemed to smile at her, as she spotted an alleyway. Perhaps she could go through a door, get into a public place and be safe that way! A smile wrapped itself on her face, and she took a few turns to confuse her would be assailants before ducking into the alleyway.
"Not too bad, Lori, not too…", Lori started, admiring herself, before coming face to face with a total dead end. No doors, no ladders, no nothing, just one massive brick wall that stretched up to the sky, a skyscraper sentencing her to death.
Lori yelped and wracked her brain for ideas, but she had nothing. No phone to call for help, no skills to save her, no hero to swoop to her rescue. Nothing. Nada. Zip.
She was dead meat.
Lori got more and more desperate, the horror of her situation grasping at her consciousness, and she began to scratch at the wall, trying to climb it in vain, more like a cornered mouse than a person.
"Come on, come on, COME ON!", Lori wheezed, her heart stopping for a second when she heard the tracksuit bros appear.
"No more games, little girl. Nowhere to run."
The knives glinted and clinked, and Lori could see her life flashing past her eyes, standing in the muck and grime of the alleyway, the smell of expired food and badly binned trash surrounding her.
And Lori saw nothing but regret.
Her eyes narrowed as she saw her beloved Bobby cry at her funeral. Her parents and siblings mourn her. Even Lincoln, despite his recent problems with her, would feel a pain in his heart.
And it would all be so pointless, for she had given them no reason to mourn.
Lori looked at the wall. Her fists clenched. If she had to go, she would at least go down swinging. She would at least try, for once, try her best and not give in.
Bending her legs, she jumped as high as she could, but failed to latch onto the wall.
"Come on, girlie, stop playing games."
She jumped again, her fingers feeling no pain from scratching at the wall.
"Time to get what you deserve."
Lori closed her eyes. This was it. She had to jump with all her power, all her belief.
"No! I still have TIME!"
Once more, Lori jumped.
This time, however, she didn't land.
At first, Lori didn't understand, as she felt her hands on the wall, but she had failed to latch on. What was happening?
When she opened her eyes, she realized, and gasped.
She wasn't just floating.
She was straight up in the air, soaring up…
Flying.
The tracksuit bros' reaction was more than understandable, Lori thought.
"THAT THING'S A FREAK! GET OUTTA HERE!", They all screamed, running for their lives, their footsteps echoing in the alleyway.
Lori, meanwhile, was freaking out too, and she immediately landed and began to hyperventilate. Her stress was rising exponentionally, and she desperately tried to block out the impossible feats she had accomplished.
"Don't overthink it, don't overthink it, DON'T OVERTHINK IT, DON'T OVERTHINK IT!", she repeated, but she couldn't calm down, not when she knew deep down that this wasn't a dream or a hallucination.
Her legs were hurting from the landing, after all.
As her breathing slowed down, Lori looked down at her hands in half fear, half disbelief. "I don't understand… I am super strong, I can fly… It doesn't seem like I hurt, at least not easily…"
Lori shook her head, letting out a tired chuckle. "I must be going mad. This is like one of those silly comic books Lincoln loves."
Standing up, Lori knew that she had to test once more, just to make sure.
Next to her, reeking of waste, was a trash cart. It smelt horrible, and Lori had to hold her nose at first.
"This is LITEARLLY gross…", Lori expressed, but sighed. Not much choice.
Bending her knees, Lori placed her hands down on the bottom of the cart. If she was truly super strong, this would be a sinch.
And sure enough, it was. Her hands shook and it took a little effort, but after a few seconds, she felt herself lifting the thing up, it was more like lifting a chair. It was… Too easy.
Lori set the thing down, looking at her now dirty hands. "Eww…", she whined, annoyed at the sight. She'd have to wash her hands pronto.
But first…
Looking up at the sky, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Just do it, Lori. Rip the band aid off."
Exerting her mind, she imagined herself lifting up into the sky.
And sure enough, she was once more flying in the air.
Slowly, quietly, almost majestically, she went up and up and up, feeling the wind in her hair, the breeze near her face, the wind pressure failing to keep her down like… Like normal people.
"I'm not normal anymore.", the thought passed her, but she had no time to acknowledge it. Not every day did you fly for the first time.
It felt terrifying. It felt horrible. It felt wrong and right and strange and exciting.
And it was even, just a little bit fun.
Soon the building was gone as she had reached the top, and she could see and touch the clouds. She tried to.
"It barely feels like anything at all.", Lori noted, amused.
A bird suddenly flew overhead. Lori couldn't help herself. "Hey. Who, me? Just flew in here."
She let out a snort, shaking her head at herself. "Luan would either applaud me or cringe at how bad that was."
But once more reality hit her. She sighed as she descended down, staring at the people below her, little ants on the street.
"…What do I do now?"
Telling anyone was out of the question. Either they'd think she was mad, or they'd try to experiment on her. What would her family think? They'd be ruined if she did something dumb like that!
But she couldn't just ignore her powers either! She had to control them or everyone would notice! One wrong move, and she's smashed something she shouldn't be able to smash, and it would all be ruined!
And that was without mentioning the scary lab at Pingrey Enterprises! Surely she had to check that at one point! But if she made things worse…
Lori shivered and hugged herself, feeling so utterly alone. "And I thought college was daunting."
But what could she do? What could possibly be the right choice?
And then, for once today, luck seemed to truly be on her side.
A flyer hit her in the face.
"SERIOUSLY?!", She complained, removing the flyer and staring at it.
Her eyes widened with curiosity. "Amateurs welcome! Local wrestling arena looking for exciting new prospects! 50 dollars a night for 5 nights, and if you're lucky, you could get a professional contract!"
Lori's mind raced. Even she knew the Twitch would cost around 300 bucks, which she would be able to make by doing the 5 nights. And with her powers, a contract would be a steal! "Sure, this isn't exactly my idea of a job, but it's only temporary! And with all the money I can make out of this, I would be able to give so much back to my family! Maybe even enough to make up for all my mistakes!", Lori thought excitedly.
"Not to mention the practice to hide my stupid powers and never use them again!"
This was her chance. Her ticket to a normal life again, just like that!
Things were suddenly looking up.
For the first time that day, Lori truly felt happy.
Her hands on her hips, she grinned wildly.
"Look out, world! Lori Loud is literally gonna fix it all!"
The next day, after telling a necessary fib (read: lying through her teeth) to her parents that she was going to "job hunt", and a bus trip (she wasn't yet used to her strange new abilities, and a part of her didn't really want to acknowledge them), Lori, wearing her black hoodie with some mascara to disguise her eyes, found herself standing in front of Little Caeser's arena, which was… Well, not little.
Sure, there were WAY larger stadiums, but this was the one that hosted the Detroit Pistons for crying out loud! An amateur night here was almost hard to grasp!
Lori gulped as she felt oh so small next to the imposing arena that bolstered big names and bigger athletes. "Even with my… These powers, how am I gonna survive this?"
She was beginning to regret this plan. Maybe there was a nicer, less violent way to get all she needed to get! "Yes, that's it, I'll just… Start a lemonade stand! I bet all that lemon wringing will really have an effect, and who doesn't wanna buy lemonade?", Lori asked herself lamely, before sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Lori, this is EXACTLY the lack of commitment Lincoln is disappointed about! If you REALLY wanna make it up to him, you need to be ready to make sacrifices!", Lori rationalized to herself, getting a little more determined. Her fists clenched and her chin up, she marched into the arena, destiny awaiting.
Thanks to the bus, she was pretty late, but the event was still underway, as shown by the rabid screams and loud body slam sounds that echoed even inside the entrance area with the sign up lady. Lori gulped as she nervously approached the sign up lady, a bored looking African American woman with bangs.
"Heh heh, gosh, that sounds pretty painful! Good to know it's mostly acting, right?", Lori prayed for this to be true, she had heard rumors to that effect and she would gladly take a script right about now.
"Oh, it's all real.", the sign up lady yawned, as a stretcher passed by them with 5 mangled bodies.
"Tell my wife that I can't tell her I love her for the next few days. My jaw is disconnected.", one said, or well, showed with a sign.
Lori's eyes widened. "Okay, then this is definitely real. Good to know."
The sight of the broken bodies momentarily filled her with dread, but she knew what she had to do. "Think of Lincoln, think of Lincoln, think of Lincoln…", Lori kept repeating to herself as she grabbed the pen for the sign up sheet and wrote down…
"Wait, if I use my real name, I'm toast! Gotta come up with some silly nickname!", Lori thought with a slight panic, her mind racing.
"Um… Say, you work here! What should my dumb name be?", Lori asked politely, her eyes signaling the urgency. Another scream could be heard, and Lori tried to ignore it.
The sign up lady pushed her glasses up and shrugged. "I don't know, call yourself 'The Hood'."
Lori considered it for a moment and nodded. "Ooh, not bad! Thanks! I'll remember you when I win tonight! Promise!"
"Don't lose any sleep over it.", the lady rolled her eyes, and Lori, taking a deep breath, joined an ever dwindling line of future contestants, all garbed in colorful costumes and gimmicky concepts. There was a boa constrictor luchador from Great Lakes, a woman dressed like a pirate, and a guy who looked a lot like Bruce Campbell for some reason.
The boa onstrictor turned around to observe the new comer. Lori shyly waved. "What's your gimmick?", he asked right out.
"Um… Not much of a gimmick? I'm just 'The Hood', apparently.", Lori explained, eying his costume. "Cool costume, by the way!"
"Thanks! I tried getting in at the Great Lakes wrestling scene, but those are the big leagues here in Michigan! Better to start at smaller leagues like this one. You've already made your first good choice, 'Hood'.", the boa constrictor explained, flashing her a smile.
Lori smiled back. It was nice to know she was on the right track, sort of. "Thanks, um…"
"La Serpiente!", he replied, shaking her hand vigorously.
Lori chuckled, enjoying his enthusiasm. "Well, hopefully my opponent is as nice as you!"
La Serpiente's eyes drooped and he bit his lip in worry. "Hate to break it to ya, 'Hood', but you're not coming up against a nice guy. Not even close."
The pirate lady chimed in, having listened to the conversation up until now. "Serpiente's right, 'Hood'! 'Bonesaw' is the toughest of the toughest in this pond!", she exclaimed with a shudder. "I heard that he brushes his teeth with the blood of his victims!"
"I heard that 7 out of 10 therapists consider him the main reason people can't sleep at night in Royal Woods!", Serpiente added.
"I heard he once bench pressed a trash cart!", the Bruce Campbell look alike shouted out.
Lori blew a raspberry. "Big deal, so did I.", she bragged, before remembering that was meant to be impossible, especially for a thin teenager wearing an old hoodie. "Um… I mean… Yeah, right! That's impossible!", Lori lied, laughing in discomfort. "I really gotta keep my mouth shut."
The three wrestlers comforted her. "Don't worry, no one wins their first fight! There are loads of other opportunites! I think there's one in two months at Cobo Center!"
Lori cursed silently. She didn't HAVE two months to spare! She had to get the training done now, not to mention that the sooner she could dispel her guilt the better!
Leaning back on a wall, as the line moved faster and faster, Lori embraced a mask of confidence. "Well, he's never met ME before!"
Serpiente couldn't help but admire that confidence. "With an attitude like that, 'Hood', you'll be going places! I can tell!"
"La Serpiente, you're up!"
As a stretcher with the pirate lady and Bruce Campbell dude passed by, Lori felt fear again. She looked at Serpiente and felt a twinge of fear for him too.
"Hey… Good luck.", she said, with utmost sincerity. Sure, she wanted to win, but Serpiente had been strangely nice to her, and she wasn't some heartless monster.
Serpiente winked. "You too!"
SMASH!
SOCK!
OUCH!
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THE SCENES I'M WITNESSING TONIGHT, FOLKS!", The wrestling announcer, dressed in a golden jacked and somehow ALSO looking like Bruce Campbell screamed into his microphone as Bonesaw spun La Serpiente as if he were some spinning plate.
"LA SERPIENTE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE CLEARNES, THEY COULDN'T PAY THE BILL, AND NOW BONESAW IS SPINNING HIM ROUND AND ROUND LIKE A WRECKING BALL ROUND AND ROUND SO THAT THEY CAN COLLECT ENOUGH MONEY TO CLEAR THE DEBT! AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT IT SAYS IN THE MOVE GUIDE, THESE ARE AWFULLY SPECIFIC, LIKE MY ALIMONY CHARGESSSSSSSSSSS!", his deep voice boomed as La Serpitente was beaten senselessly, one of his teeth flying at the crowd. A crazy looking woman grabbed it and hissed.
Signs across the arena were waved wildly, saying things such as "Marry me Bonesaw, I could use the publicity", "Hit him with a chair, like, a really hard one, ya know? Like the ones at a school library or somethin'" and ofc, "I'm Kevin Gobi, I lost my chicken nuggets box here 5 years ago, if found please contact this number, thanks".
Lori, who was peaking in, felt a rising panic coming in. This was even scarier than what they had described! And La Serpiente had wrestled before! Even with powers, what chance did she have?!
"This was a mistake! I should just go, and live like a hermit! I'll make my own bread and I'll get a fake beard, and I'll change my name! Catherine Taber… Yeah, that'll work!"
Lori's legs were itching to race out of the place, but just before she could, she caught the sight of a two kids, an older girl around about 17 and a younger boy around about 11. The boy was hoisted on her shoulders, eyes in wonder at the carnage.
The girl looked up at him and smirked. "Not bad, huh?"
The boy cheered. "This is awesome! Thanks, sis! You're the best!"
Lori crossed her arms. "Wow, that is so convenient."
She then sighed. "But also true. I can't… I can't let him down again, and I can't just abandon my family. I HAVE to do this."
Tightening her hoodie string, Lori took a deep breath, ignoring the pounding of her heart. "For Lincoln."
Predictably, the stretcher carrying La Serpiente quickly passed by. "Careful out there, 'Hood'. This guy's crazy."
Lori nodded, and fidgeted, almost a little excited, as she was guided behind a curtain to wait for her big reveal as the final challenger of the night.
"WE'VE GIVEN YOU A REAL HUMDINGER TONIGHT, TRUE BELIEVES!", the second announcer, a little older, with a wild grin, yelled out to the audience "FIGHTS, DRAMA, TITANIC SCENES! AND NOW, WE PRESENT AN UNDERDOG STORY! OF ALL THE AMEATURS TONIGHT, THIS IS OUR BIGGEST ONE! REIGNING FROM ROYAL WOODS, AT THE TENDER AGE OF 17, SHE'S HERE TO TEACH BONESAW SOME MANNERS!"
Walking into the ring and presenting his mic to Bonesaw, the announcer tried to hype the event even more. "BONESAW, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO THE LITTLE LADY HELLBENT ON GIVING YOU A BAD TIME? ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?!"
Bonesaw took the mic and grinned evilly. "Bonesaw is readyyyyyyy!"
The crowd screamed in delight at Bonesaw's catchphrase, and the older announcer was loving it. "TERRIFIC STUFF FROM BONESAW! BUT NOW, THE CHALLENGER! SHE'S THE DUBIOUS DARKHORSE! THE UNREALISTIC UNDERDOG! THE ABSURD ADVERSARY!"
The curtain parted, and the bright as the sun lights blinded Lori.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… THE HOOD!"
The crowd instantly went into a chorus of boos, whistles, and jeers, as 'The Hood', shivering and shaking, slowly walked towards the ring.
"Wow… These guys are LITERALLY intense.", Lori thought in unease. Her stomach twisted and turned, but even if she wanted to it was too late to turn back.
"WELL, COME ON, 'HOOD', DON'T BE SHY!", the younger announcer beckoned her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the ring. Bonesaw growled at her with a mad look in his eyes. "I like this! I could use a break!"
The crowd applauded, once more worrying Lori. "Am I also supposed to banter, or…", Lori started, and the Announcer nodded. "Yeah, kid, part of the experience, give a little back, makes it seem like you even have a chance. I've got the medics on red alert for you, so tap out if you need to."
Lori tried not to scream as she walked up to Bonesaw and wracked her head for a comeback. "I need something cool, badass, amazing!"
Bonesaw than cracked his knuckles and rolled his eyes to the back of his head.
Lori let out her panicky honk, making her blush red with embarrassment. "Dang it.", she muttered, as the audience hollored at her. Even the younger Announcer cringed. "Maybe we should just call the medics now, I can't see this lasting more than 10 seconds tops."
Lori hated how everyone was mocking her, which made her resolve strengthen with anger. "Grr… I'll show them!"
With the two wrestlers in the ring, and the crowd all set, the referee rung the bell, and the match was on.
The moment he was unleashed, Bonesaw was like an animal. He charged immediately at Lori, laughing maniacally, inciting a fight or flight response in Lori.
Understandably, it was flight.
"OH GOD OH GOD THIS WAS A BAD IDEA!", Lori screamed, running around the ring, Bonesaw chasing her, causing the audience to laugh and jeer at her even more.
"This is doing wonders to my self esteem!", Lori shouted back at the audience, as she ducked an oncoming punch.
Bonesaw laughed even harder than, as he narrowly missed her jaw a second time. "No use in running, you can't hide from me, and you can't fight me!"
Lori, who was already running out of breath, found herself stuck. She couldn't climb up on any of the turnbuckles because she'd surely get slammed onto the mat, and she couldn't leave the ring. She had nowhere to go, and she DEFINITELY couldn't fly.
So, accepting her fate, she braced herself, her eyes closed and waiting for the first hit.
"Nighty night!", Bonesaw quipped, and with a mighty punch…
"YEOWCH!"
Lori opened her eyes cautiously, unsure of what had happened. She didn't really feel anything, really just a light whap, more like a pat on the cheek than a punch. Standing before her, gripping his fist in pain, was Bonesaw.
The audience was shocked, all audibly gasping. Even the commentators were amazed.
"DID SHE JUST HURT BONESAW WITHOUT TOUCHING HIM?!"
"OMG, are you okay?", Lori asked, concerned at first, putting a hand on Bonesaw's shoulder. This caused the previously aghast audience to laugh out loud, adoring the teen's reaction.
Bonesaw heard this and got even angrier. "Now, it's personal!", he roared, preparing another punch. "That last one was simply a love tap cause I took pity on ya! Not gonna make that mistake again!"
This time, however, Lori wasn't flinching. "I knew I was pretty durable, but not THAT durable! I can use this for my advantage!"
Hands on her hips, she cockily grinned at Bonesaw. "Give me your best shot!"
Letting out a primal scream, Bonesaw struck her as hard as he could in the chest…
And went stumbling backwards onto the mat.
The crowd, previously against Lori, found itself cheering enthusiastically. Whoever this was, she was sensational!
"UNBELIEVABLE! IN ALL MY YEARS AS AN ANNOUNCER, I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH ENDURANCE!", the younger commentator declared, bouncing with excitement.
"MARVELLOUS!", the older one added.
Lori couldn't help but soak up the praise a little bit. It was nice to feel like a winner for once without any guilt.
Walking over to the audience, she waved her hands to "raise their cheering". "YEAH! ALL RIGHT! NOT SO PATHETIC NOW, HUH?!", Lori shouted out, the audience agreeing with her.
Bonesaw, meanwhile, was getting back up to his feet, Lori having forgotten to pin him. "I'm not done with you yet, freak!"
Lori gazed at the audience and yawned, playing up the taunting. "Making him angry can only help to distract him! I need to tire him out so no one suspects too much!"
"Hey, Bonesaw, what's up with your name? Like, are you a chainsaw or something? You're not even dressed like it! Work on your gimmick game!"
The crowd was eating it up, and Lori beamed with happiness.
Bonesaw was less agreeable. "I'LL KILL YA, YA LITTLE MAGGOT, AND I'LL MAKE IT LOOK LIKE AN ACCIDENT!"
"Accident is right. What is that costume? I mean, I know I'm pretty casual myself, but your leotard is SOO late 80's."
More laughter reigned, and Bonesaw had had enough. Charging at Lori with a scream, he tried to spear into her chest. Lori decided not to move, but this time, the momentum was enough to hurt her a little bit, as she got smacked and stepped backwards a bit, struggling to catch her breath. The crowd found this exhilarating, as did the announcers.
"WELL, IT SEEMS AS IF 'THE HOOD' ISN'T TOTALLY UNSTOPPABLE! SHE JUST TOOK A NASTY SPEAR INTO THE CHEST!", the younger one described.
"YEAH, BUT SHE'S UP AND AT 'EM QUICK! WHAT DO THEY FEED THOSE KIDS?", The older one replied.
Lori, meanwhile, had a few seconds as Bonesaw tried to get back on his feet. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's probably a good thing that hurt a little. Makes me seem less… Weird."
Lori really did feel in pain, and knew she couldn't rely on just letting him hit her forever. She had to come up with something else. "If only I could fly…", Lori started thinking, as Bonesaw received a chair from the audience.
"LOOK OUT, HE'S GOT A CHAIR!", the younger announcer shouted out in alarm.
Lori shot backwards and gasped. Bonesaw charged at her with the plastic chair, ready to know her into kingdom come.
"Gotta fly, but how, how…", Lori panicked, looking for options. Her brain flashed one of the old nimtendo games Lincoln used to play with her, and inspiration struck.
In a flash, Lori kneeled down and leapt up into the air the moment Bonesaw tried to strike her. Using her new powers, she then moved through the air as if that was her plan all along, and landed gracefully, leaving her all the time in the world to take advantage of Bonesaw's position.
Bonesaw, who caught what she had done with the corner of his eye, was shocked completely. "I can't believe it!"
"Continue to do so, it would really help!", Lori whispered, punching him in the back as lightly as he could, which of course, meant that Bonesaw flew onto the mat and broke his nose.
The crowd roared in appreciation, they hadn't witnessed anyone beat Bonesaw like this in years!
"IT'S HAPPENING IN FRONT OF MY VERY EYES, BUT I THINK I'M DREAMING! IS THIS THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT WRESTLING SUPERSTAR?", the older announcer declared.
"Literally flattering.", Lori blushed, waving at the audience again. "I could get used to this.", she admitted.
"Not for long."
Lori turned once more, and there was Bonesaw, still up for one more chance. "I'm gonna beat you if it's the LAST thing I do!"
Charging one more time, Bonesaw managed to grab Lori instead of going for a punch, taking her by surprise. Using all his effort, he began to squeeze her as hard as he could, a sort of extreme choke hold on the chest.
"AND BONESAW HAS FINALLY PULLED OUT HIS SIGNATURE MOVE, THE BEAR GRIP! TO THIS DAY, NO WRESTLER HAS EVEN MANAGED TO PULL OUT OF IT, AND THE LAST TIME SOMEONE BEAT HIM, THAT WAS BEFORE HE CAME UP WITH THAT MOVE! THIS IS SURELY THE END FOR 'THE HOOD'!", the younger announcer explained, on the edge of his seat.
Lori was feeling the power of the grip. Even she was struggling, her new powers letting her down. "What's the point… of super powers… if they let this happen…", Lori thought to herself, feeling her body give in.
"It's the end for you, clown!", Bonesaw laughed mercilislly.
"No…", Lori choked out, thinking of what she had promised.
The audience was so loud, she could barely hear anything, even her pounding heart.
"No…"
She thought of her mistakes. Of how she so often took the easy way and gave up, or acted selfishly. So often she didn't try hard enough for her siblings, for reasons she herself wasn't sure of. So often she couldn't tell what was the right thing to do.
…But she couldn't let them down this time. Not this time.
For once, Lori Loud was gonna be the big sister they deserved. No compromises or broken promises or vain desires.
Lori would do the right thing, because it was what her siblings needed.
"I… won't… Fail… This… TIME!", Lori suddenly shouted out, which made Bonesaw loosen his grip for some reason. Getting her faith back, she began to push back on the grip, nearly breaking his fingers.
"What the…", Bonesaw exclaimed, as Lori pushed and pushed.
"NO… NO WAY!", the announcers screamed.
The crowd held it's breath…
Lori closed her eyes and thought of Lincoln's disappointed frown…
And of his smile when he showed up for him.
How she wanted to see it once more.
And with that…
"'THE HOOD' JUST BROKE FREE OF THE GRIP!"
The crowd still remained silent, in total shock, as Lori looked at Bonesaw with a determined stare, and began to do something even more impossible.
"AND NOW… NOW SHE'S…"
Lori began to use all her power, but she didn't need to. Bonesaw was barely the weight of a trash cart after all.
"SHE'S PICKING BONESAW UP WITH HER BARE HANDS!"
Sure enough, Lori had managed to lift Bonesaw into the air, the wrestler now shivering like a scaredy cat. He stared at Lori with fearful eyes.
"What… What are you?!", he cried.
Lori looked at the crowd, and grinned. This felt right.
"I'M THE HOOD!"
And with that, she slammed Bonesaw onto the mat, and pinned him.
"1, 2, 3, YOU'RE OUT!"
And the silent crowd erupted like a volcano, cheering their voices hoarse for the new hero of the ring.
"THIS MIGHT BE THE MOST AMAZING MATCH I'VE EVER SEEN! WHAT DO YOU THINK?", the younger announcer enthused.
The older one simply smiled. "Nuff' said!"
Lori, meanwhile, was catching her breath, and smiling at the praise. Everyone was applauding for her, calling her name, and showering her with love.
It felt nice, and for once… Earned.
"Just a few more nights of this, and the Twitch is Lincoln's. I'd say… Pretty worth it.", she thought, and she raised her fist in celebration.
"HOOD! HOOD! HOOD! HOOD! HOOD!", the crowd shouted out.
"Hell yeah.", Lori thought with a grin.
So, for the next four days, Lori felt happier than she had felt in a long, long time.
Every day, she impatiently awaited for school to end so that she could run off to the "golf course", change into her hoodie and applied mascara disguise, and don her new identity once more.
Looking at herself in a gymnasium mirror, where she was doing some stretches, Lori couldn't help but admire herself. There was something strangely freeing about it. No one knew who she was, so she had no worries. No one she could let down, no one she could fail.
She was free of responsibility.
Perhaps that is why she began to lose track of her original mission. While she was still trying to get a grip on her powers (she wasn't smashing post anymore at least, though she got very lucky with how shoddy the door knobs back at home were), and she was still gathering up the money for the Twitch, Lori was starting to get the attention into her head.
The crowd loved her, more than they had ever loved a wrestler before: She had pizzazz, panache, a punch to her. Her hooded identity only added to the intrigue. How could some seemingly normal teenager be so strong, so brave?
Lori liked the idea that she could be that way. She liked the possibility that had opened up to her that she could come close to such ideals.
And she loved how they saw her.
Every night the wrestling promoter, getting more and more stressed by this seemingly unstoppable girl, would send his strongest wrestlers, savage brutes with no mercy or brain, to tear her apart.
Every night, they would be bloodied and beaten, while she had no scratch, no pain.
The depth of her power, of what she could do, it had not sunk into Lori's heart yet. She was so caught up with everything else, she had even forgotten how she had gotten her powers. The oddity was slowly dissapting, replaced with the joy of success.
And while Lori deserved a break from all her pain, reality and responsibility could only be delayed for so long.
Back in the Loud House, the siblings were all very confused by Lori's absence, but most let it slide due to her stress with college. It was understandable.
Lincoln less so.
Ever since he had snapped at Lori, he had felt super guilty about his words. Sure, he had his reasons to be mad, and Lori could be every way he described her.
But he knew it was more complicated than that. She had so much going on, she had so much more pressure, and he knew how horrible and soul crushing just a little could be.
Lincoln knew that Lori was better than he had given her credit for. He saw how sad she was a few days ago, outside of 'Vanzilla'.
"Maybe I should go talk to her. Fix things. I don't want her to think I hate her or something.", Lincoln thought to himself, sitting in his room, alone with his thoughts.
The decision made, he decided to confront her the next day, which happened to be the last night Lori had to go to the arena before she could get enough money to buy the Twitch for him. She even felt like she had a pretty good grasp on her powers, so the taste of victory was on her lips.
After the final bell rang, Lincoln dashed out of class, shouting out a quick "See you guys at the arcade, just gotta get something done!" to his friends, his legs rushing him over to the Royal Woods golf course.
Lincoln was surprisingly fast, so when he reached the course, Lori was just beginning to leave.
"I wonder what chump they'll give me this time. Ooh, I should come up with some good burns! Maybe, like, HOOD did you think would win?"
"Lori?"
Lori jumped into the air and, after making sure she wasn't floating, turned around to see Lincoln, holding onto his backpack straps, looking at her in confusion.
Letting out a fake laugh, Lori tried to hide what she was doing and divert the conversation. "Why, hello, Lincoln! What brings you to this neck of the woods, the royal woods that we live in, halelulijah!"
Lincoln raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "What?"
"God, I need to get better at lying to my family.", Lori thought, ignoring how bad that sounded, and instead she asked "That is, what's up?"
"Oh, well, I just wanted to see you, but why are you leaving the golf course?"
Lori snatched at the first excuse she could come up with. "Um, I… Got hungry! Yes, hungry! Just needed to get myself a sandwich or something!", Lori explained, gesticulating wildly.
Lincoln, however, bought it. "Ah, okay!"
Trying to ditch Lincoln quickly, Lori pressed him to do what he came for. "So, why did you wanna see me?"
Lincoln perked up, before looking a little guilty and remorseful. "Well, to be honest, I came to apologize to you."
Lori's eyes widened. She definitely didn't see THAT coming. "Apologize? For what?"
Lincoln rubbed his arm, struggling to look at her. "Look, what I said a few days ago… I wasn't really thinking, I got mad. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, honest!"
Lori smiled back sympathetically. Lincoln was always trying really hard, especially when he messed up. "It's okay, Lincoln. I mean, you made some good…"
"I bet that's why you've been real absent recently. I can be a real jerk sometimes."
Lori stopped talking and felt some pressure. "Crap! If Lincoln realizes why I'm really absent, I'm in deep trouble! I have to come up with another lie!"
Lying about what she was doing was one thing, though. Lying to Lincoln that he was the reason she was absent was another. And while it was true in a very abstract way, it didn't make it any easier.
Struggling to look at him, Lori gritted her teeth and choked out the lie. "Yeah, um, sure. That's totally why."
But this time, Lincoln was more attentive. He had spilled his guts out and Lori seemed so strange, aloof. It was off putting. Seriously off putting. "Lori… Is everything okay? You kinda seem like…"
"So, yeah, um, nice seeing you, I better get my sandwich!", Lori blurted out, trying to get away, but it was too late, the gig was up.
Lincoln, crossing his arms, seemed very suspicious and annoyed. He was already putting on a frustrated tone. "Lori, I know you. I can tell when you're lying to me. You suck at it, even more than me."
Lori grunted in anger. This was SO not the time. "Lincoln, just leave it, okay?"
"No, not okay! You're not around recently! I wanna know why! Is it because I hurt you, or is it because I'm right, and you don't wanna be with us when we point out your mistakes?", Lincoln shot at her, making Lori feel angry and hurt. She'd been doing this for him the entire time, who was he to go around and say what she was doing?
"Lincoln, it's not like that, if you'd just listen to me!"
"Then what is it like, Lori?"
Lori then bit her lip. She couldn't answer, or he'd know.
Lincoln glared at her, sighed, and turned his back on her. "I figured."
"Oh, just shut up, Lincoln! You think it's easy to be a big sister?!", Lori growled at him, tired of all of this drama.
"Of course I don't think that! And believe it or not, I don't expect you to be perfect! But you do, Lori! And you can't handle the idea that you could be better! That you can be selfish and mean, like everyone!"
"I can't be, Lincoln! I'm supposed to be good enough for you! And it's tiring to keep trying and be told you're not!", Lori shouted at him, almost turning red. He had once seen her so highly.
Lincoln growled too, and pointed at her angrily. "Well… Well right now, you're not, Lori! Right now you're just ignoring what I feel because you just wanna help me in the way that suits you most! Always, you're always so confusing! I can't tell if you really love me or not!"
Lori, feeling betrayed, turned around. Her chest was hurting, her heart was racing, and her eyes were tearing up.
And she said something she'd forever regret.
"Yeah, well, college can't come soon enough! Because sometimes, I wish I wasn't your big sister!"
Lori had meant all of them, but she was especially thinking of her complicated relationship with Lincoln at that moment. Lincoln had understood that, and, trying to hide how hurt he was, he turned away from her.
"…I'll leave you alone, then. See you when you get back home, I guess."
Lincoln began to trudge off to Gus' Game and Grub, hands in his pockets.
Lori, meanwhile, felt the tiniest sting of regret, and almost felt like calling him back.
But she chose not to.
"I'm so tired of all of this. So tired of needing to be perfect. What was I worried about? College will be amazing. I'll be rid of all of them, and free to be myself.", Lori thought to herself with venom, as she walked over to the bus station.
"I think I'll enjoy tonight's fight very much."
That night, everything seemed darker yet clearer for Lori as she competed in her bout. All she could hear were the cheers of those who truly appreciated her. All she could see was opportunity in her future. This wrestling thing was not just giving her a ton of cash and a chance to train her powers, it was rewarding. She could take out the anger she had at a world that saw her as some kind of villain, when she was clearly the victim.
BAM! A ringing punch left a black eye on her opponent, who looked more pathetic than angry.
"I literally deserve this. I worked my butt off for my family, and what do I get? Nothing but shit. They think they can just ask and ask and ask, they don't see how hard I've tried. They don't care.", her mind echoed, her eyes narrowing in rage.
BOOM! Lori shoved her opponent onto the mat, and started punching away at his face over and over, the crowd screaming at each one.
"I'm smart. I'm pretty. I can fly for pete's sake! Why do I have to suffer? Why do I need to feel bad? I did my part, I did my share! They can pick up the slack now!", She thought to herself, her chest pumped, her ego inflated.
"Please… Please stop…", the opponent begged for mercy.
Lori, her face almost shadowy, almost sinister, her black mascara eyes staring into his soul, smirked.
"No one is standing in my way anymore. I'm done being the universe's chew toy. From now on, 'The Hood' gets what she wants. And everyone else can go fuck themselves."
And with that, 'The Hood' shattered her opponent's nose, blood gushing from it, covering the center of her hoodie.
The bell rung for a K.O, and the crowd roared in approval as Lori raised her arms in victory, sharing in the enthusiasm. Taking a mic from the younger announcer, she shouted into it. "WHO'S THE BEST?"
"THE HOOD!", cried the audience.
"WHO'S THE BEST?", she asked again, her voice nearly hoarse.
"THE HOOD!", the crowd shouted back even louder.
"WHO'S THE BEST?!", Lori screamed, her arms cast wide to accept the adoration.
"THE HOOD!", They repeated one last time, Lori bathing in it all.
Finally, she was on top of the world.
"You're god damn right.", she thought, grinning.
But of course, reality wasn't just gonna ignore Lori, and neither was responsibility. She came crashing down to earth mere minutes later.
SLAM! A contract was whapped down onto a desk.
"You're rejecting ME?!", Lori practically growled, staring in disbelief at the Wrestling Promoter, garbed in a dark mustard coat and a brown fedora. He sighed, and pointed at another pile of papers.
"Medical reports, kid. I saw what you did tonight, and the other nights. You're the strongest wrestler I've ever seen, you made Bonesaw look like a baby with one leg, and everyone out there thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread."
"So? Doesn't this just prove you should sign me up?", Lori asked back, frustrated. She was crushing a part of the desk. The promoter glared at her, and she slowly removed her hand, worried that he'd comment on the impossibility.
"Kid, I don't care how you're this strong, I don't care what's your story, it's none of my business. And to tell you the truth, I don't care that you destroyed my best wrestlers."
The promoter shook his head in annoyance. "But I can't sign you up. There is no gain for me here."
"What do you mean?", Lori asked, confused.
"Kid, how long do you think I can keep you here and make money off of ya? A week, two weeks tops? By the time I announce you in the roster the other leagues and federations will send scouts, they'll see you're some kinda super human freak, and they'll immediately wanna get ya. I don't get any money outta this since you'll be signed in as a total newcomer. All the advertisement, the sponsorships, the attention, it's not comin' to me! Better I do nothing about it."
He then had an evil little smirk. "Oh, and just in case you get any ideas, I took the liberty of sending someone to see who you really are. You should really look behind you when you walk down the street, Lori Loud."
Lori gasped, horrified at this development.
"So if you think you can just walk to those other guys and try and sign up for them, I'll let out your little secret. I might not get any money outta this, but neither will they. Capisce?"
Lori was almost white knuckled in anger. She almost wanted to hit him right there and then, show him her true strength. Stomping her foot down, Lori breathed venom at him. "This isn't fair! I won this stupid thing, I beat your wrestlers, I earned at least the prize money! I'm the best!"
"Yeah, well, that's not my problem.", the promoter smirked, showing her the suitcase full of her cash and closing it forever.
Lori could have killed him with the stare she gave, but even in her current state of rage she knew there was nothing she could do. Turning away, she walked off angrily and slammed the door behind her.
"Good riddance.", the promoter whispered, preparing to lock the suitcase, when he suddenly heard the door open again.
"Kid, take a hint, or I'm calling the police…", the Promoter stated, but he met not the face of Lori but the face of a gun.
"Only one calling anything here is me. And I call the shots now. Hand over the case."
Standing in front of an elevator, Lori felt even worse. Now she lost all the money, and what she had hoped was a future for her powers. Now what was she gonna do?
"Whatever. Who cares? As long as I can get to college, I'll be fine. I'll find a way. I deserve to.", Lori thought darkly, pressing the button and seeing the doors open. She felt nothing but cold anger at the world. She'd show them all soon enough. She just needed to think.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps dashing behind her, and the promoter's voice in despair.
"STOP! STOP HIM! HE STOLE MY MONEY!"
Lori turned to look at the scene. A man, dressed in a black hoodie, dark eyes piercing at her, was waving a gun and running with the suitcase she had deserved. The promoter was chasing him, looking scared and distressed.
Lori smirked. It was what he deserved. And what she deserved was a little revenge.
"KID! KID, TAKE HIM OUT!", the promoter begged, his eyes pleading to her soul.
Lori didn't care.
Stepping aside, she let the criminal slide past her. She even pressed on the button to close the doors automatically.
"Thanks.", the criminal smirked as the doors closed.
The promoter, out of breath, stopped besides her and raged. "YOU COULD HAVE EASILY STOPPED HIM! WHY DIDN'T YOU?!"
"Not my problem.", Lori simply replied, as the elevator returned for her, and she walked into it alone.
The promoter wanted to say something, but a part of him knew it was probably what he deserved. Still, he stared at Lori with disappointment.
She didn't care.
"I'm done letting the world step on me. He deserved it. And he's lucky that's all I did.", Lori thought, revenge clouding her judgment.
It was still evening as Lori's bus arrived back home. Police sirens had blared the entire journey, which really annoyed her. "God, I hope they catch whatever dumbass is behind this.", she cursed as she stepped off, but instead of seeing her house, she saw something very different.
The police hadn't just followed whoever they were following, they had also arrived at the Loud House.
For a moment, Lori felt a twinge of fear. Had the promoter sent the police after her as an act of revenge?
Cautiously stepping over to the yard, she suddenly saw Lynn Sr. and Rita, both with red eyes that bore a hole into her soul. What were they crying about? Her?
Seeing Lori, they nearly had a heart attack. "Oh, thank god you're okay at least!", Lynn Sr. shouted, clinging onto his daughter. Rita, a little calmer but no less sadder, placed a hand on Lori's shoulder, afraid of the next moment.
Lori, crushed by the hug, got herself out of it. "Dad, calm down! Wait… What do you mean at least?"
Rita and Lynn Sr. exchanged glances. "We weren't planning to tell anyone else but you anyway… The others would react badly."
Lori was beginning to get real scared. If this wasn't about her, then who was it about? What was going on? Why did she feel impending dread in her heart?
"…It's Lincoln, Lori. He got shot."
The trip to the hospital had been very quiet. The waiting had been even quieter. It was only when the doctor had told them that they could see Lincoln, who had just recovered from being in shock, that words were uttered and tears were shed.
The sight of Lincoln in the bed, his leg in a cast, the bone slightly fractured by the bullet… It was a sight that would not leave the loud family for the rest of their lives.
Lynn Sr. was constantly apologizing, Rita was constantly comforting, and the other siblings were offering their own kind of affection. Lola was promising Lincoln that she would give him anything he wanted, no matter the price, Lisa was ensuring Lincoln she could upgrade the temporary wheelchair he would receive so he wouldn't suffer from it, and Lynn had even brought some of his favorite comic books, looking away as she said "I thought maybe you'd wanna distract yourself.".
Only one of them had stayed silent.
Silent and solemn.
And it was Lori.
It was a mixture of shock, horror, grief, and rage.
Rage at the monster who had hurt her little brother, who she loved so very much, at the boy who she cared for more than anyone, even Bobby.
Lori just stood there and stared, failing to move even a little, to say anything. Lincoln was barely awake, but he could see her. He seemed guilty, and she hated every moment of it. That stupid fight they had had, just before… Before…
Lori's fist clenched, and she fought back the tears. No. She had to be strong. She had to be strong for him.
After a while, Lynn Sr. and Rita agreed that Lincoln would need some space. "We can't crowd him for too long, he needs his rest. Let's head back to the waiting room and get ready to drive back home.", Lynn Sr. said quietly.
Lori, however, finally spoke up. "Dad… Can you just give me a few minutes here with Lincoln? Alone?"
Lynn Sr. and Rita exchanged glances. Lori clearly needed this.
"Of course, honey.", Rita replied quietly. Lynn Sr. nodded. "Should we keep the car waiting or come back for you?"
"Come back for me. The others need to get into bed."
Lori sounded so cold and distant, but they decided not to press her. She was going through enough.
As soon as they left, Lori took a seat next to Lincoln's bed, the boy barely awake, his eyes slightly open.
"Lori… I'm sorry…", Lincoln started, but Lori shushed him immediately.
"No, Lincoln. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ever made you feel that… That I…"
Lincoln nodded. "It's okay."
Lori shook her head, though. "No. It's not."
Her voice was hard, firm, hiding something almost dark in it. "Whoever did this to you… If I could lay my hands on them…"
"Lori, it's okay, really. I'm just… Happy you're here."
Lori tried to ignore how that sounded. "Of course I'm here! No matter what happens between us, no matter how angry or selfish I get… I'll always care for you. I promise."
A tear finally cascaded down her cheek as she remembered a moment between the two of them, a moment long ago that she held onto when all hope was lost.
"…Lincoln… I just… You know that… That I'll always try to protect you, right? That I'll always be your guardian?"
Lincoln, despite the pain, nodded. "I know that, Lori. I always know that."
Lori let out the smallest sigh of relief. At least that.
Suddenly, the TV screen flashed a news alert. "Breaking News in Royal Woods!"
Lori rolled her eyes playfully at Lincoln. "I bet you'd rather listen to something else, huh? Wanna see if I can find a real awesome episode of Blarney?"
"Lori, I don't watch that… Anymore!", Lincoln retorted, letting out a small laugh. Lori was overjoyed to hear it.
But before she could change the channel…
"Police seem to have tracked down the recent Gus' Game and Grub shooter, who was responsible for the attack on a local resident, one Lincoln Loud."
"Oh, that's good to hear! I hope they stop him.", Lincoln commented, nonchalantly almost.
Lori, however, had an all together different reaction.
Her facial expression changed dramatically, now determined, even… Terrifying.
Her heart and soul felt empty, void, searching only for one thing.
Her tears stopped.
And her fists clenched harder than ever.
Slowly, she stood up. "Lincoln… I need to go now so you can get some sleep, okay?"
"Sure thing, Lori.", Lincoln replied, half asleep as it is. "I'd rather you shut the TV off anyway."
Lori did so.
Looking down at him, she saw that he was already sleeping. She took a deep breath.
His cast was still slightly bloodied.
When she quietly hugged him as he snoozed, he shivered. She could feel it. The fear. The pain.
He was broken.
Something inside Lori snapped.
"Ms. Loud, your parents texted me, they'll be here in 10 minutes…", a nurse entered the room, but when she looked up…
Lori was gone.
Faster and faster, across the night, Lori ran. Her hoodie and mascara were already equipped, making her appear like a dark shadow zooming down the street.
She had no super speed, but it seemed that night as if she did. Every time she stumbled or tripped and fell onto the hard pavement, Lincoln's frail body returned to her mind's eye, and she got back up and set off again. She saw nothing but the mission, and didn't even notice people pointing at her as she ran, or the bus stop she practically ran over with her sheer strength. Glass fell off of her, it couldn't hurt her, she wouldn't let it.
Not until she found that scum and wiped him off the face of the earth.
Her heart was screaming by the time she finally spotted police sirens, lighting up the dreary night, the rain that had begun now turning stormy. Lighting would strike soon, and so would she.
The area was an abandoned warehouse somewhere in the industrial district. It was disgusting down here, the heavy pollution and low maintanence had led to a higher crime rate recently. The policemen were so used to this by now that they were lax, and this gave Lori her opportunity.
"You think this guy is gonna give up already? I could use a drink.", one said, lighting up a cigerrate.
"Bastard seems to enjoy it. He's got some serious firepower there, and the whole place is super unstable. It could easily collapse if we all went in there. In for the long haul.", another replied, rubbing his tired eyes.
Without a word, or even a thought, just pure instinct, Lori sneaked past the police, without making a sound.
Dashing past, she reached the side of the warehouse, where there was enough darkness to mask her from any onlookers. There was a door with long winding stairs, and a window. Flying would be faster, but even now Lori didn't find it natural yet. She had avoided it ever since that first day. She just wanted to get this over with, and with as little attention.
Opening the door, Lori saw a dusty, empty floor, with a single staircase. The place really was abandoned, it wasn't even being used as a hiding place for anything illegal. Lori's breathing was quiet, as she began to climb the stairs, searching for any sign of the shooter.
Up and up and up she went, past walls with torn wallpaper and dead ceiling fans, until a door presented itself. Opening it quietly, Lori saw some cardboard boxes that were in bad shape, some cracked mirrors that were hanging about the place, and the shooter himself, his back to her, staring out the curtain as carefully as he could.
"They're still doin' nothin'. If I can pick em off before they can call any reinforcements, maybe…", he whispered to himself, his trigger finger ready…
Lori didn't find it necessary to talk, or to even growl. She didn't see the need for any prelimenaries, threats, or explanations.
Simply seeing him, seeing the gun that had shot Lincoln, was more than enough to get her started.
A powerful punch sent the shooter flying towards a nearby wall, dust and small wall chunks now in the air. The shooter could barely grab his senses when he was picked up again only to be punched again, now to the opposite wall.
"What the fuck…", he thought to himself, trying to reach his gun in vain, but his hand was stepped on, instantly breaking it.
Before he could scream, Lori picked him up again, and stared him in the eyes, her stormy orbs peering into his soul. The shooter didn't even recognize her at first. "Who the hell are you?", he asked, terrified and confused at the strange visitor.
Lori simply growled, the desire to see him bleed and suffer like Lincoln only growing. "Vengeance."
Another resounding smack, and two of his teeth went flying out of his mouth. Blood splatters hit Lori's face, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Vengeance for what?", the guy asked, shaking on the floor, and Lori replied with a swift and powerful kick to his chest, cracking his rib.
"There's a little boy lying in the hospital because of you, that's what!", Lori was so angry she didn't even sound like herself. She sounded like a monster, and she appeared as if she was a creature of the night.
The shooter, tired of being beaten senseless, suddenly swiped her from her feet, and Lori fell, not hurt, but startled. "Guess I can be taken out in surprise. These powers sure have some annoying weak spots.", she thought.
"Oh, great, some sort of hero, huh? Yeah, well, I ain't goin down like that.", the shooter spat, and he began to kick her over and over in the chest. He barely hurt her, he was nowhere near as strong as Bonesaw, but Lori knew she had lost the upperhand, and so far had NO IDEA if she could survive a bullet. She had to think.
Suddenly, they could hear movement in the floor. The weak structure of the building had already been impacted by Lori smacking the shooter around, and if the floor took a hard hit, or, perhaps, if someone fell down thanks to a bullet, a hole could open up in it.
The shooter smirked, and he picked Lori up by her hair, which actually hurt. She yelped in pain, hating how she was now the victim.
She stared daggers at him. He didn't care. "You know, that's the thing about heroes. They always fall."
Lori didn't understand, until she saw his hand on the trigger. It was surely too late.
BLAST!
The bullet went sailing over to her, in terrifying speed. Lori closed her eyes, turning back into a frightened teenager again.
Luckily, the impossible happened once more for Lori: the bullet bounced off her chest.
Unluckily, just because it bounced off didn't mean she wasn't hurt. It was the equivalent of getting kicked hard in the chest. You wouldn't die, but you would fall down.
And so she did, crashing down thanks to the weak floor.
The bottom of the warehouse was no longer empty, as Lori laid there with the wood splinters, the dust, and her unbearable pain. Even with her powers, that packed a punch. Nothing was broken or bruised, it seemed, but she was still in pain.
"So stupid… So stupid…", she thought of herself, of her stupid revenge scheme, of her childish desire for revenge.
How could she stop him? She wasn't strong enough, she wasn't…
"No.", she suddenly thought to herself, getting angry. "Here I am again, giving up when it gets hard, not doing all I can do. I can do more with these powers. I can stop him. I MUST stop him."
She wiped a tear. "For Lincoln's sake, I must."
Her eyes narrowed. "…I'll do everything I can do to protect you. I promised. I won't break it this time."
Dashing away her fear, her unfamiliarty, her need to keep it secret for now, she focused all she could on her other power.
Meanwhile, back upstairs, the shooter retreated to the back of the room, happy to have just about survived that. He sighed in relief. "That was close. She was crazy strong. Such an idiot, though. Did she really think she could come over with some stupid disguise and play hero?"
Suddenly, lighting struck.
It flashed, blinding him momentarily.
When he opened his eyes, the sight shocked him to his very core.
Floating above him, cast in shadows, with a look that could kill, was a dark avenger, Lori almost looking like an angel of death.
"That's… That's impossible!", the shooter cried out.
"Not anymore.", Lori whispered darkly, and she swooped down and picked him up, punching him over and over and over again, wanting to see more blood, more anguish, more pain.
The shooter's pain worsened and worsened, and his arrogance replaced itself with fear for his life. "STOP! STOP! PLEASE STOP!". He didn't care anymore about the police getting him, he didn't want to die here in her hands.
"WHY?! WHY SHOULD I?! WHY SHOULDN'T I KILL YOU RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW?!", Lori screamed, busting a hole in the building by smashing him onto it, opening light from the hidden side of the building onto the shooter's face.
And that was when Lori had a horrible realization.
His face… His hair… His clothes…
It had to be him. It had to.
"No… No…", she sputtered in dread.
It was the man from the wrestling arena.
The man who had robbed the promoter.
The man who SHE had let go.
She had let him get away.
And because of that…
"Lincoln…", Lori could barely speak, frozen in the air. She slowly landed on the floor, barely holding onto the shooter.
"Lincoln?", the shooter muttered, too weak and broken to fight back anymore, resigned to his fate.
Lori's eyes widened with guilt. It… It was her fault. She could have stopped him, and she chose not to, out of petty revenge. And now, Lincoln was in a hospital bed, with a fractured leg, facing months in a wheelchair…
"All because of me. All my fault.", she said the words, but they sounded insane. A nightmare.
But it was true.
She was at fault.
She was responsible.
"I… I failed him."
Lori's tears, waiting so long to escape, finally did so, covering her face, making her mascara run down.
She still held the shooter, who was moaning in pain, as she stopped being a figure of vengeance, as she was once more Lori Loud, a disappointment to herself.
Anger and guilt mixed over, and Lori screamed at the shooter. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU SHOOT HIM?! I SHOULD… I SHOULD THROW YOU DOWN TO THE STREET, I SHOULD KILL YOU!"
Lori's rage nearly consumed her, she could feel it, this would feel so right, revenge, revenge for her mistake.
She held him aloft over the pavement, and the shooter begged for mercy.
"NO, PLEASE, SPARE ME, I BEG YOU!"
Lori breathed heavily.
She was about to kill a man.
She was about to murder someone in cold blood.
For her mistake.
Sure, he had done his share.
But she was responsible.
"…What would Lincoln think? Is that what he would want? Is this… The right thing to do?"
Lori's brain demanded blood.
But her heart… Her heart could feel it was wrong.
She gripped onto his shirt, looking down.
She had to make a choice now.
Lori took a deep breath…
"…No."
She moved back into the building and laid him down gently, the shooter staring at her confused.
"…I'm tired of making the wrong choice. I'm tired of fucking up."
Lori stared down at the blood on her hands. It was dark red.
"…I'm gonna do the right thing, for once. And this… This isn't the right thing."
"Well, I'm thankful, really.", the shooter said, before realizing Lori was now walking towards the other wall, where the police were still situated behind. "Wait, what are you doing?"
Lori felt her soul. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't easy. So this must be the way to go. "…The right thing."
And with that, she punched a hole in the wall, opening up the police siren lights to expose the shooter, and a dark figure that was already floating above.
"The hell is that?!", one police officer cried, but before they could aim their guns, the figure fled the scene, so fast that no one could even make a single detail later that day..
But they did arrest the criminal, whose testimonial was hard to believe, but hard to disbelieve. After all, who had hurt him so badly?
And where was she now?
It was Saturday morning, but no one wanted to sleep in, not they it was an option, seeing as no one slept at all that night.
Least of all, Lori.
She had just managed to convince her parents when she had come back late to the hospital that she had needed some time alone to digest the situation, so at least she didn't have to deal with that as well, but right now, she didn't care about what happened to her.
She cared about what she had done, and almost done.
There was no other way of looking at it. Lincoln had been shot because of her negligence, her selfishness.
Lori's hands shook that morning when she sat in the waiting room, and when she stared at them, she could see the faintest traces of the shooter's blood. She felt a lump in her throat. "To make matters worse… I almost killed somebody. Sure, he was a bad person, but… I almost took someone's life. I… I can take someone's life so easily."
Lori stared down at the waxed floor, white as chalk, and she let out a brief and melancholy sigh. "He was right. I am selfish. I am vain. I could have stopped him, I could have stopped this. Who knows how many people could have been hurt because of me? How many could have died?"
The pain would not leave, and Lori didn't want it to. She deserved to feel this way, she felt, she deserved to feel like a monster. She wanted to remember what she had done, what she had let happen because she was just so…
"Lost."
Lori was lost. Trapped between trying to do what others needed and what she needed, trapped between looking out for herself and hating herself, trapped between college and the safety net of her family that was slowly being pulled away. She was falling, and even her powers didn't seem to be enough to pull her away from the damning ground.
"I can do these amazing things… And of course I messed up.", she thought to herself, sitting next to Lincoln as the others decided to get some lunch and give him space. Lincoln, on the other hand, was buried in one of his comic books. He almost seemed too calm.
Or was he? Perhaps he was sad, hurt, angry even. How could she know? She didn't care, did she?
"No, I… I do care. I…", Lori started, before closing her eyes and changing her tune. "…I will care more. Now. No more excuses."
Lori looked at his cast and grimaced. Her fault. Her responsibility.
"…I might as well try and make him feel better. It's better than doing nothing, as per usual.", Lori thought with self directed frustration, and she softly placed her hand on Lincoln's shoulder.
"So… What are you reading?", she asked, as genuinely as she could.
Lincoln's eyes widened. "You wanna know?"
Lori nodded, and Lincoln understood the meaning behind the gesture. He let himself muster the smallest smile, but it was more than enough for Lori. "I'll be happy to tell you, then!"
Repositioning his comic a little too enthusiastically, which made Lori giggle quietly, Lincoln quickly began to info dump. "Okay, so this hero is called Chameleon Kid, he was just a normal kid until he was bitten by a radioactive Chameleon."
"Better than an injection, that's for sure.", Lori thought with a shudder.
"Anyway, so he gets all these chameleon powers, specifically shapeshifting, but he uses them at first just for fun and to get popular, and he gets on a show, and that backfires cause he gets all egotistical about it and then his uncle dies because he wanted to get back at his manager for not giving him enough of the money he wanted, so he didn't stop this criminal who robbed the manager, and the criminal killed his uncle…"
Lori couldn't help but feel how oddly similar that was to what happened to her, give or take some details. Her cloudy mood returned, and she could feel the tears threatening to come out. "Oh… Wow, that's… That's really horrible, what he did."
Lincoln nodded, but then, he said something that changed Lori's outlook. "Well, yeah, but he didn't mean to! It was a bad choice, but it was a mistake!"
Lori, however, was still unsure. "I don't know, Lincoln, I mean, he has powers, he could have stopped the guy, I sho… He should have.", she trailed off, trying to hide her shame.
Lincoln shook his head, however. "Well, yeah, but that's the point! He didn't realize that these powers come with a duty, and that he has to do better, but now he does, and he works hard to keep at it!"
Lori's face softened ever so slightly. "…So… It wasn't too late for him?"
"Of course not! We all make mistakes sometimes, after all! What matters is how we respond to them! And he responds well! He saves people, he stops criminals, he doesn't let anyone else get hurt by him again!", Lincoln explained, a smile on his face. Lori admired his optimism.
Then, he added, with non chalance, "After all, with great power comes great responsibility."
And it was those famous words that sort of made a click in Lori's head, that unlocked the box and solved the puzzle of her powers, her guilt, and her attempts to make amends.
It WASN'T too late.
She could still fix things.
She could.
…She must.
It all made so much sense now to Lori, and a grateful smile was on her face. "…Yeah… You're right, Lincoln."
Lincoln smiled back, before yawning. "Oh man, I feel so tired all the time now. You mind if I take a nap?"
Lori lovingly ruffled his hair. "Take all the time you need."
Lincoln made himself more comfortable, before looking up at Lori softly. "Lori… Thanks for being so nice recently. I can see that you're trying. I just… Wanted you to know."
Lori's heart almost melted. She let one tear slide down. "…Thanks, Lincoln."
Lincoln fell asleep, and Lori slowly stood up, and walked up to the window.
She could see so many people outside.
The TV, that had been softly playing the entire time, brought on yet another news bulletin. Crime rates were rising for a while now, and according to them, it was getting even worse. Lori had heard of all of it and hadn't cared too much.
She did now.
So many people. Little. Weak. Defenseless.
How many Lincoln's were out there, getting hurt? Getting killed?
How many assholes were out there, ruining lives, thinking only of themselves?
Not to mention that lab she was in. There HAD to be something going on in there.
Only Lori knew, and only Lori had the powers to do something about it.
"…With great power, comes great responsibility.", she whispered, feeling the meaning of the words in her soul.
She looked back at Lincoln, sleeping peacefully, and she let herself remember a moment she never forgot.
It was many years ago. Lincoln was only 4 at the time, she was 10. They were playing in the park, Lori on the swings, Lincoln in the sand pit, when Rita had asked her to supervise him in the for a few minutes while she got baby Lucy to sleep.
Lori however had gotten distracted by a pretty flower, and she stopped to observe it. She wondered if it would look nice in her hair, and she applied it, admiring herself. "I'm so pretty!", she thought, giggling. Everyone at school made fun of how awkward she usually looked, so to feel pretty was very nice indeed.
Then, she heard a cry, and jumped. Was Lincoln okay?
Well, he was, sort of, but he was still in trouble. A bully had walked up to him and had pushed him away from the sand pit, making him sad. The bully mocked him for being a crybaby, which only made things worse.
Something suddenly woke up in Lori, a fierce anger and rage. NO ONE messed with her siblings, NO ONE. How dare he hurt her baby brother?!
"Hey, leave him alone, you jerk!", she cried out, walking up to the kid. She was way bigger than him, so she had that advantage.
The bully, however, refused. "You're just a girl, what are you gonna do, cry?", he mocked her.
Lori suddenly growled, and she seemed almost taller, stronger, scarier. She clenched her fists, and puffed her chest, and stared the bully right in the eyes. She had no powers back then, just her love for her brother.
It was more than enough. Something about her was so clearly genuine and threatening that the bully just ran off without a word, fearing for his health.
Looking back, Lori saw Lincoln and asked him if he was okay. Lincoln, his eyes wide with wonder, clung onto her leg and grinned. "Thanks, mama!"
Lori smiled back, eyes closed. "Happy to help!"
And suddenly, she realized what he had said.
For little Lori, it hadn't meant too much. It was more silly than anything, Lincoln confusing her with mom.
But a few years later, the significance of the moment dawned on Lori, and it never left her heart.
In a small way, Lincoln looked up to her as another mother, and maybe the others did too.
They needed her love, her care, her affection, her wisdom, her…
Her strength.
Looking down at the sleeping Lincoln, Lori felt in her heart that she had to do better from now on. She had to.
"I won't let you down again, Lincoln. There are people who need me now. I can… I can make things better, I can save people now."
Lori's fist clenched, and she made a vow. "…I will do the right thing. I will be responsible. I promise."
Turning around, she looked out the window again, feeling a chill in her heart. She hadn't set out to be some kind of superhero, or vigilante or whatever the proper term for her was.
But here she was, with these powers. Sometimes you have to roll with the punches.
"…I will be their hero, Lincoln, like I was once yours. I will do to them what I should have done to you. I will be their protector, their savior…"
She smiled with determination, feeling the light in her heart, the doorway to redemption opening up. She would not fail this time.
"…Their guardian."
This is the first chapter of MANY to follow, with Chapter 2, a sort of "part 2" to this one, coming out hopefully in a fortnight! Any questions will be answered in the notes section of future chapters, as a letter column of sorts! Make sure to look out for easter eggs and teases, as they're all over this story!
