Reversal of Fortune: Chapter 29: A Tale of Two Comics

(Scene Change: Sweetwater Manor, Dining Room)

The Silencers, along with their guest of the day in Bertrand, were wrapping up discussions on their plans for the following week.

Brian started, "So, it's settled. With Leni's plan already in motion, we're targeting Lucy next."

The rest of the Silencers nodded and murmured in agreement, except for Lincoln. Lindsay, who noticed Lincoln not nodding along with him, asked, "Lincoln?", causing the rest of the people in the room to turn to Lincoln.

However, Lincoln was so focused on doodling in his sketchbook that he offered the rest of his co-conspirators no response.

An irritated Lindsay shouted, "LINCOLN!"

This caused Lincoln to look up from the sketchbook he was doodling in and quickly close it and shift it to its backside before murmuring, "Huh, huh, what?"

Lindsay groaned, "Lincoln, ever since this meeting started, you've been distracted by… whatever you're doodling in that notebook all day. You need to focus!"

Lincoln sighed, "I know, it's just-", before Lindsay interrupted him, "What's wrong? You can tell us. Remember, Linc, we're doing this for you!"

As the rest of the Silencers uttered words of support, Lincoln placed his head on top of his sketchbook and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Lindsay asked, "What?", before walking closer to Lincoln and telling him, "Couldn't hear you, say that again."

Lincoln looked up from his book and yelled, "I SAID I'M SORRY, OKAY?!", startling Lindsay and the rest of the Silencers, who gasped.

Lindsay croaked, "Lincoln… i-i-if t-this is about the thing you saw with Luan… we told you-," to which Lincoln interrupted her, "I know, it's not my fault, she's a psycho and the real monster here. Honestly, I'm kind of over that. Not that much different than anything she's done to me… or the rest of my ex-housemates."

Lindsay sighed, "We know. Look, I can tell something else is bothering you. So, spill."

Lincoln admitted, "It's this whole thing with weird goth girl." The rest of the Silencers' eyes widened as Lincoln explained, "I mean, of all of my sisters, she was the one I'd actually expect to stand up for me the most."

Paige asked, "Why? Because of the whole Princess Pony thing?"

Lincoln answered, "Well, yeah, that. I mean, I took the fall for a secret that would completely destroy both her home and social lives. I endured weeks of teasing from my ex-housemates that she should have taken, honestly. I did it because I know that deep inside her black heart is a sensitive soul. And what do I get as thanks for it? Of all my ex-housemates… all of them… spooky's easily the most superstitious. You think red's obsessed about that stuff? Spooky regularly tries to summon spirits, reads tarot cards, and does all sorts of other weird, dark, voodoo things. So you would think she'd be most clued into what actually causes bad luck, right? No. When red comes after me and says I'm bad luck, she doesn't say anything in my defense, or do anything to work with me directly when she 'figures out' that I 'am bad luck.' She just goes right along with my ex-housemates and offers to sell my furniture to get rid of the bad luck. She was… erm… the first person, if you can call her and the rest of those evil witches that, who came into my old house after I was born. And for eight years, she was like my sister. But then again, I shouldn't be disappointed, you know? Because disappointment implies that spooky didn't fulfill any expectations that I had. Really, I should have no expectations of her or any of her accomplices."

Paige started, "Lincoln-", before Lincoln scowled, "I mean, after that video I made, remember what she told me? 'I have no brother.' And she told me that she, and I quote, 'said that a lot,' right before telling me, 'this time, she meant it.' After I help her and red resolve their room feud. I just thought she was mad, but looking back, that should have tipped me off. I wonder how many other times she meant it."

Haiku contributed, "That's why we're doing this. If you don't mean anything to her, why should she mean anything to you?"

Lincoln snapped, "Because I cared about her, OK? Or at least I did, before… you know… all this happened."

Paige grumbled to herself, "Oh yeah," causing the rest of the Silencers to turn to her and Becky to ask her, "What?"

Paige quickly said, "Oh, nothing."

Lincoln then sighed, "Alright… I know I haven't exactly been paying attention throughout this whole thing. Please, fill me in. This time, I'll pay attention. I mean it."

Haiku sighed, "Alright." She then started, "Tomorrow morning, we're going to expose Lucy's 'Princess Pony' secret to the whole school by planting Princess Pony posters, comics, and other merchandise in her locker room. My club and I will even publicly state that Lucy loves 'Princess Pony', making her the laughingstock of the school." Lincoln nodded, causing Haiku to interject, "Lincoln, what did I just say?"

Lincoln repeated, "Tomorrow morning, you and your friends will plant Princess Pony stuff inside Lucy's locker room and even say that the stuff is Lucy's, which should make her the laughingstock of the school."

Haiku blankly replied, "Good," before adding, "The Morticians Club will back her up, offering her emotional support and claiming, 'We all have our sins and guilty pleasures.' If we stick by her through that, she'll certainly stay with us, remaining unaware of the next steps in our plan. Since she clearly doesn't see what she did to you as wrong, and probably wants you dead to exploit your ghost for her own ends, I don't see her realizing the meaning behind this. As a matter of fact, she might even blame you and convince us to somehow 'harvest your soul' for our purposes."

The rest of the Silencers gasped, causing Haiku to defend herself, "What? I've heard it all."

Melissa defended Haiku, "Yeah. I mean, knowing Lucy, if you guys don't step in, Lucy's gonna isolate herself and try to deflect blame to avoid continued mockery until L-Day. So, we'll need to watch her closely to make sure she doesn't sneak up on us. Now, I would've made Haiku do this, but it looks like we've got some extra eyes in the sky in Paige. Thanks, Paige, by the way."

Paige replied, "You're welcome," before adding, "And once I get in touch with Clyde, I'll have him spy on Lucy, too."

Haiku then resumed, "At lunch, I'm going to go to Principal Huggins and suggest an assembly to stop the bullying against Lucy."

Lincoln groaned, "Great, another assembly?"

Paige deadpanned, "Glad you've been listening, Lincoln," causing the room to erupt in laughter.

Bertrand added, "Moving on. After school, I'm gonna give Lucy a new pet bat that I've been training to bite Principal Huggins." He then turned to the Sweetwaters and continued, "I would've told these people I'm against it, but they insisted that they never intended to kill the Loud pets, so, here I am."

Lincoln responded, "Makes sense. Lucy probably misses Fangs… another pet bat would probably give her comfort."

Haiku stated, "From there, we're going to spend the next couple of days 'investigating' who revealed Lucy's secret. We're going to come up with theories as to whether it was her other sisters, some other kids, or someone else like maybe even YOU."

Lincoln groaned, "Great, getting blamed for more stuff. Story of my life."

Haiku consoled Lincoln, "If it makes you feel any better, it'll distract her enough with paranoia and hate for us set the next part of the plan in motion. Like Lindsay said, we have to act normally until the time is right. On Wednesday, we're going to schedule an emergency meeting. In said meeting, we're going to 'reveal' that Principal Huggins revealed Lucy's secret, but we'll tell everyone to stand down and resolve this 'diplomatically.' In doing so, we'll contrive a reason for Bertrand to bring his principal-biting bat to school on Thursday: 'Pet Appreciation Day.'"

Lincoln asked, "Thursday? Why Thursday?"

Bertrand explained, "If we execute this plan properly, Thursday should be the day of the assembly. Once we're there, I'll release the bat on Huggins, chomping on his nose. We blame Lucy for it, claiming she did it as revenge for her 'secret being revealed.' Lucy gets expelled, the news reports on it, and the state forever knows her as the 'girl who assaulted a principal over Princess Pony.' Essentially erasing your reputation as this town's 'Ponyboy'… forever."

Lincoln summarized, "OK, so let me get this straight. First, you guys are gonna out Lucy's Ponyboy secret by rigging her locker. However, you're gonna stand by her and launch a fake investigation as to who did it, which may or may not implicate me. While all this is going on, Paige and Clyde are gonna spy on her to make sure she doesn't attack me. Then, on Wednesday, you're gonna frame Principal Huggins, and then on Thursday morning, call both a 'Pet Appreciation Day' and an anti-bullying assembly where Bertrand's bat bites Principal Huggins. Then, you're gonna frame Lucy for the bat biting Principal Huggins, outing her as the Princess Pony girl once and for all."

Lindsay deadpanned, "Good job, Lincoln, so you finally were listening."

Lincoln snarked, "Yup. Anyone else you guys got for me?"

Skippy spoke up, "While the investigation into the Princess Pony thing is going on, I'm gonna convince Lana to start an 'Anti-Marcus Quick' club. We're gonna get all the jocks to sign up for it, and Coach Pacowski to be the teacher who runs the club. Then, on the first meeting, we claim that the club was Lana's idea, and sit back and watch the fireworks. I'll start this tomorrow at lunch, and we should have this done by Thursday, maybe Friday."

The rest of the room stared at Skippy before Lindsay asked, "And what exactly does that accomplish?"

Skippy started, "I think-", before Lindsay interrupted him, "You know some of those jocks are animal lovers, right? Have pets of their own?"

Skippy replied, "Yeah, so?"

Lindsay cried, "You could get some Loud supporters out of that! And that's the last thing we need right now! I mean, we all just saw what Lincoln's psycho prankster ex-sister did."

The rest of the room murmured in agreement.

Skippy sighed, "OK, I guess," before asking, "What should I do, then?"

Lincoln told Skippy, "Your goal will be to keep Lana away from me while we're at school together. Can you do that?"

Skippy nodded, "Yeah."

Lincoln smiled, "Alright," before asking, "What about Luna?"

Carol assured Lincoln, "Don't worry about that. I've been in talks with Sam and the rest of the Moon Goats, not to mention Melissa… they've got something special planned for Luna at her concert this coming weekend. That is, of course, assuming she gets the gig. We're gonna make it go completely wrong for her, and draw a big crowd to watch her fail! Again, we couldn't do much about Luna for now because of what she does, but just you wait, little buddy!"

Lincoln asked, "What's my part in all this?"

Lindsay explained, "Simple: lay low, try to stay out of trouble, and like last week, we'll protect you if your sisters are nearby. Paige and Clyde will always be by your side… except when you have to go to the bathroom, of course."

Brian and the kids laughed at Lindsay's joke while Linda and the teen girls rolled their eyes.

Lindsay then urged Lincoln, "Remember what we talked about the first time you explained your situation? Stay strong, no matter what they do. Remember, Lincoln: Improvise. Adapt. Overcome."

Lincoln nodded, prompting Brian to ask, "Anything else?"

Paige suggested, "You know, thinking about what we saw when the house went thermonuclear, what if Lucy does figure it out? You know, that maybe she was in the wrong."

Lincoln bitterly laughed, "Paige, Paige, Paige. You have to understand: Lucy's a Loud sister. And Loud sisters never admit when they're wrong. As Lisa would say," before mockingly lisping, "Icht's a nacht-ural law of the universe." This cause the rest of the room to erupt in laughter before Brian chuckled, "Anything else?"

Lincoln's stomach rumbled, causing Brian to joke, "That's all the answer I need." The rest of the room laughed uproariously before Brian chuckled, "Alright, this meeting is adjourned on account of Lincoln here wanting pizza," causing laughter to ring through the room once again.

Brian then asked Lincoln, "What pizza do you want?"

Lincoln replied, "You know, same as usual. Like last time. Extra large pepperoni pizza from Little Nero's."

The rest of the room cheered, with some girls even yelling, "Thanks, Linky!" Linda chuckled, "Alright, for the rest of you, we'll take care of pizza once we're with everybody. Now come on, let's go see what everybody else wants."

With that, everyone in the room stood up from their seats and walked out of the room. However, because of the effort Lincoln put into concealing his sketchbook from everyone, he ended up being the second-to-last of the Silencers to tuck his chair in and leave the room. To make matters worse, as Lincoln turned around and began to walk away from the dining room, he dropped his sketchbook on the floor.

Lindsay, who was walking behind Lincoln, noticed Lincoln's sketchbook falling to the ground. She groaned before squatting down to pick up the sketchbook. As Lindsay straightened, she started, "LINC-", before gasping when she saw the drawing on the front cover of said sketchbook.

The front cover of the midnight-blue sketchbook was drawn on as if it were a comic book cover. The traditional Ace Savvy logo, with a black club with white "ACE" lettering on top of it and a yellow "SAVVY" just beneath it, was on the top of the cover. Dominating the cover page was a front view of Lincoln as Ace Savvy, Clyde as a Rastafari version of One-Eyed Jack, and what appeared to be superhero versions of the Sweetwaters, Melissa, Carol, Dana, Jackie, Sam, Ronnie Anne, Haiku, and Margo posing in fighting stances while staring down evil versions of the Full House Gang. Each of the characters had shadows projected onto an apparent cement ground. A white version of the traditional "Ace of Clubs" lettering and symbol adorned both the top left and bottom right corners of the front cover. The word, "VERSUS", was written in white text on the left side of the comic book in a vertical alignment. On the right side of the comic book, the words, "THE TEN-HEADED BEAST", were written in white text. Given the alignment and appearance of the superheroes, and the views of the backs of the opponents they were facing, it was obvious to Lindsay who the "Ten-Headed Beast" was meant to represent.

Lindsay's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets as she stared at the drawing in awe. She absentmindedly flipped the book open, hoping that the drawings inside Lincoln's sketchbook would be even better than the astounding cover art she had just seen.

When Lindsay opened the comic, she gasped in awe. The opening panel of the comic, on the top left corner of the first page, showed a happy picture of Ace Savvy alongside the Full House Gang with the caption, "Not long ago, Ace Savvy and the Full House Gang worked together to solve crimes across Decksuit."

In contrast, on the top right corner of the first page, the second panel showed a side view of angry Ace Savvy in a fighting stance against the even angrier Full House Gang. The caption on this panel read, "However, as time went on, their alliance fell apart as a series of unfortunate events befell the people of Decksuit."

The third panel, on the bottom left corner of the first page, showed Wild Card Willy, who looked like Principal Huggins, urging the sickly-looking patrons of a high-class restaurant, who looked like Lincoln's classmates, "GET THEM! THEY POISONED YOUR FOOD AND PUBLISHED YOUR INVITATIONS TO COME HERE!"

The very next panel, on the bottom right corner of the first page, showed a huge crowd of angry restaurant patrons chasing Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack out of the restaurant with torches and pitchforks. One even appeared to hoist the silhouette of an end-table over her head. Lindsay gasped at this image and whimpered to herself, "It's not your fault, Linky. It's not your fault."

(Scene Change: Front Lawn, Remains of the Crowley House)

Back at the burnt remains of the Crowley house, EMT's and nurses were checking for a pulse from the charred bodies of the Crowleys. The charred bodies were those of a bespectacled man identified as Ken, a chubby woman with thick glasses identified as Sammie, a chubby middle school girl with pigtails who was identified as Sophie, and a bespectacled boy who appeared to be Lincoln's age, identified as Kevin. They had set up a security perimeter filled with barrier tape around the Crowley house to prevent onlookers from getting too close. Unfortunately for those on the scene, the Crowleys had sixth-degree burns all over their bodies. Their faces, hair, and the lower halves of their arms and legs, had been completely charred to the bone. With that much skin exposed to burns that severe, the Crowleys seemed to be as good as dead. Due to the state of their injuries, their unresponsiveness, and the lack of a pulse from any of them, Ken, Sammie, Sophie, and Kevin Crowley were pronounced dead on the scene.

A blonde, fair-skinned nurse named Janice Mikovits asked the Royal Woods Fire Department, "Are these really the Crowleys?"

Battalion Chief Jerry Burns, a tall, fair-skinned, dirty-blonde-haired man with a prominent mustache, informed Janice, "The sizes of the bodies and the address seem to match the description Sammie gave at the time of the call. Unfortunately, the bodies are too badly burnt to completely identify whether it was them, so we're gonna have to check their dental records."

Janice sighed, "Looks like we're gonna have to call a forensic dentist to confirm their identities."

Chief Burns asked Janice, "Are you sure? It's Columbus Day, and I'm pretty sure most of those guys are off."

Janice pointed out, "Not in the event of a dental emergency, which this might be."

Chief Burns admitted, "You're right. I think we should call Dr. Feinstein right now."

Chief Burns then went to his fire truck, got his cellphone out of the cupholder, and called Dr. Feinstein.

Dr. Feinstein answered the phone, "Hello, Dr. Bunsten Feinstein speaking."

Chief Burns responded, "Good afternoon, Dr. Feinstein. This is Battalion Chief Burns from the Royal Woods Fire Department. We need you to come down to 1215 Franklin Avenue immediately. House fire. 4 people dead. Sixth-degree burns all over their bodies."

Dr. Feinstein gasped, "Oh my god."

Chief Burns nodded before continuing, "The bodies are burned beyond recognition, but given the location of the fire, we presume them to be the bodies of Ken, Sammie, Sophie, and Kevin Crowley. Do you have dental records of any, or all, of these people?"

Dr. Feinstein stammered, "I-I-I don't know. I-I'll have to go to my office to check."

Chief Burns told Dr. Feinstein, "You do that. How long do you think it'll take you to figure that out and get here so we can identify them via their dental records?"

Dr. Feinstein responded, "A-about 45 minutes to an hour."

Chief Burns replied, "OK, see you then," before hanging up.

When Dr. Feinstein hung up, Chief Burns instructed his team, "Alright, I want this place thoroughly investigated. Judging by the initial 911 calls, which said that the fire started on the outside, this might get hairy." He then called out, "Kemp! Cook!"

Calvin Kemp, a middle-aged man with a half bald head with light brown hair, a small mustache, and eyebags, and Tyler Cook, a young, muscular, blonde-haired, fair-skinned man, answered, "What is it, Chief Burns?!"

Chief Burns instructed Firefighters Cook and Kemp, "Stay with the Crowleys and our EMT's just in case anything changes."

Firefighters Cook and Kemp nodded.

(Time Skip: 30 minutes later)

When Lindsay closed Ace Savvy versus the Ten-Headed Beast, her mouth remained agape as she stared in amazement at what Lincoln had drawn.

Lindsay yelled in astonishment, "BECKY! PAIGE!"

Anyone who could hear Lindsay gasped while Becky and Paige ran over to the dining room. When Becky & Paige finally met with Lindsay in the dining room, Becky panted, "We heard you scream! Are you OK?!"

Lindsay stammered, "L-L-L…", causing Paige to worriedly ask Lindsay, "What?! Tell me!"

Lindsay exclaimed, "L-L-LINCOLN!" She then flashed the front cover of Ace Savvy versus the Ten-Headed Beast in Paige and Becky's faces while frantically crying, "You girls HAVE to read this! Linky made this! This is incredible!"

When Paige and Becky glanced at the cover of Ace Savvy versus the Ten-Headed Beast, their jaws dropped and they initially gasped in awe.

Becky stammered, "L-L-Linky drew this?"

When Lindsay nodded, Paige scowled at her, "Give it back to him."

Lindsay stuttered, "W-w-what? But this is-," before Becky interrupted her, "Look, as amazing as this is, and as much as he likes to pretend that he's fine, Lincoln's still really insecure. About everything. As it is, we dodged a bullet last night when we eavesdropped on him singing with Clyde."

Paige agreed, "Yeah," before warning Lindsay, "We're already on thin ice with Lincoln. This whole town is. If we don't give that book back to him… we could lose his trust forever."

Lindsay whimpered, "B-b-but Linky-", to which Becky sighed, "We know. Lindsay… you're forgetting the stakes here. If Lincoln loses our trust… then he goes back to them. And you saw what one of them… that monster, Luan, just did to the Crowleys. And what Lisa's doing to Lucy on a regular basis. And neither the Crowleys, nor Lucy, are bad luck to the rest of the Louds." Becky then sniffled, "If Lincoln goes back to that madhouse because he doesn't feel he can trust us, and something like that happens to him, do you really think you could live with yourself? Huh, Lindsay?!", before yelling, "DO YOU?!"

Lindsay pleaded with Becky, "B-b-but," to which Paige threatened Lindsay, "If you don't give that book back to him and tell him you read it, I'm telling him myself. And I'm telling Mom and Dad."

Lindsay stared down Paige and Becky for a few moments before backing down and sighing, "Fine. I'll give the book back to him."

Paige and Becky's stances softened as Becky told Lindsay, "Good choice."

Lindsay then asked Paige and Becky, "But where are we gonna find him?"

Paige assured Lindsay, "I'll text him." Paige then pulled out her phone and texted Lincoln, "Meet us in the dining room."

(Scene Change: Home Office, Sweetwater Manor)

Lincoln was helping Brian and Melissa insert Linda's footage of Saturday's Thermonuclear Sister Fight Protocol when he noticed the "tweet" text tone coming from his pocket. Lincoln gasped before immediately pulled out his phone and reading Paige's text.

After reading Paige's text, Lincoln told Brian and Melissa, "I'm gonna be in the dining room with Becky, Paige, and Lindsay. Give me a couple of minutes."

Brian smiled, "We will," before Melissa waved, "See ya, Linky!"

Lincoln waved to Brian and Melissa before walking out of the office to meet with the Sweetwater siblings.

When Lincoln walked into the dining room, he noticed Lindsay, Paige, and Becky attempting to stare somberly at him. However, the excitement in their eyes betrayed them.

Lincoln asked the Sweetwater sisters, "What? What's going on?"

Paige and Becky whispered into Lindsay's ears, "Go on, tell him."

Lindsay walked up to Lincoln and handed him his comic book, sighing, "Here you go. You dropped this when you were walking out of the dining room."

Paige and Becky pressed Lindsay, "And?"

Lindsay sighed, "I… read it."

Lincoln frowned before questioning Lindsay, "How much did you read?"

Lindsay stammered, "E-e-everything." When Lindsay noticed Lincoln deepening his frown and crossing her arms at her, Lindsay pleaded with Lincoln, "B-b-but I-I had t-to! I-I r-read your comic because-", to which Lincoln challenged her, "Because what, Lindsay? Because you're just like pink?"

Lindsay gasped, "What?! NO!"

Lincoln growled, "Then, why, Lindsay?"

Lindsay blurted, "B-b-because it was AMAZING!"

Lincoln started, "Well, that's no excuse to-", before Lindsay interrupted him, "I-I saw the cover and I just couldn't look away! I-I just kept turning page after page after page and… WOW! I just had to keep reading! These drawings are professional-level! PROFESSIONAL-LEVEL, LINKY! The story is gripping and emotionally moving! I cried for half of the story! There were times the villains made me so mad, I wanted to throw your comic against a wall! And if I ruined your comic because of my tears… I'm so sorry, Linky! It was just so good! So good!"

When Lindsay saw Lincoln's body language relax and his facial expression soften, she implored him, "Linky… you can take the rest of the day off if you want to. We'll take care of it all, we swear!"

Lincoln started, "Lindsay-", before Lindsay interrupted him, "I-I'll tell you what. Finish this comic book. L-let me show this to Daddy, and maybe he can get you in touch with Bill Buck and get this published. I mean, I'm not the biggest comic book fan in the world, but I know talent when I see it. And you, you've got it, Lincoln."

When Lindsay saw Lincoln remain unmoved, Lindsay offered, "I-If you want to. This can be our secret, if you want it to be, as well. No one has to know. It's your choice, Lincoln."

Lincoln admitted, "Well, I'll give you this. Pink, and the rest of my ex-housemates, would have laughed at me if they found this and told me to, and I quote, 'get a real, non-nerdy, non-lame, non-babyish hobby.'" He then sighed, "I'll tell you what: you, Becky, & Paige can sit here, and I'll read this comic to you guys."

Lindsay, Becky, and Paige gasped before Lindsay immediately squealed, "EEEE!" Lindsay then gave Lincoln's comic to Paige before tightly hugging him and cheering, "THANKS, LINKY!" Lindsay then gushed to Paige and Becky, "I promise you girls, you won't regret it!"

Lincoln chuckled, "Alright, alright, calm yourself down, Lindsay." He then jokingly scolded her, "Remember what you said… this can be our secret? You're doing a bad job of that right now, Linds."

Lindsay quickly let go of her hug and sheepishly chuckled, "Heh-heh, sorry-", before gasping, "Wait… did you just call me Linds?"

Lincoln ruffled Lindsay's hair as he laughed, "Sure did, Lindsay. Sure did."

A touched Paige and Becky gushed, "Aww!", before pulling Lincoln into a group hug which Lindsay later joined.

When they broke the group hug a few seconds later, Lincoln told them, "Come on… let's read this comic."

Lindsay, Becky, and Paige cheered, "Alright!", before hearing Linda call out, "Pizza's here, everyone!"

Lindsay sheepishly chuckled, "Looks like your first reading of this comic is gonna be a mass group performance."

Lincoln assured Lindsay, "It's OK. As long as I have you guys by my side… I should be good."

The Sweetwater sisters gushed, "Aww!", before hugging Lincoln. Becky assured him, "Regardless of the criticism you might get out there, we still love you."

Paige backed Becky up, "Yeah. And if anyone tries to make fun of you, they'll have to deal with us first."

Lincoln chuckled, "Yeah, you're right. Now come on, let's go grab some pizza."

With that, Lincoln and the Sweetwater sisters walked out of the room to join their parents and friends for a massive pizza lunch.

(Time Skip: 10 minutes later, Dining Room)

As Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, Girl Jordan, and the rest of the Silencers ate pizza together, the Sweetwater sisters smiled at Lincoln.

Lincoln gave Lindsay an unsure glance, to which Lindsay encouraged him, "Linky, it's gonna be OK."

Lincoln sighed, "Alright, if you say so."

Lindsay smiled, "Good," before interrupting the crossed conversations at the table by raising her voice, "Everyone, Lincoln has something he'd like to show us."

Lincoln paused for a moment, causing Lindsay to whisper to him, "Go on."

Lincoln sheepishly and slowly stood up, pulled his comic book from his chair, and plopped it onto his desk where everyone could see it. When Lincoln returned to his seat and showed the comic book to the rest of the table so that everyone could see it, they gasped in awe. They muttered things amongst themselves like, "Wow," or, "Who drew this?" A few of the more observant members pointed out, "Hey, those people on the cover look like us!"

Lincoln sheepishly chuckled, "Heh-heh, yeah…", before stammering, "I w-w-wasn't p-paying attention earlier today because I was working on this comic book I made of you guys. And… well… my ex-housemates."

The rest of the table gasped before Linda asked Lincoln, "Wait… you drew this, sweetie?"

Lincoln nodded. The Sweetwater sisters nodded as well, with smug smiles adorning their faces.

The rest of the table gasped once more before chattering amongst themselves in amazement. Many of the table's members exclaimed, "WOW!", or, "Unbelievable!"

Lincoln bashfully replied, "Heh-heh, it was nothing really. I just got distracted, started doodling, and-", to which Brian interrupted him, "Lincoln… this is professional-level stuff! This isn't 'just doodles', this is incredible!"

The rest of the table murmured in agreement, to which Lindsay proclaimed, "And there's plenty more where that came from! Just wait until you read what's inside!"

Lindsay walked to Lincoln's seat and whispered, "Come on, Linky! Show us!" She began chanting, "Read it! Read it!", while looking to her sisters for support. Paige and Becky quickly joined in on the chant, and not long after, all of the kids and teenagers at the table were urging Lincoln, "READ IT! READ IT! READ IT!"

As Lincoln blushed at the support he was getting, Linda urged the frenzied children, "Kids, it's Lincoln's choice whether he wants to read it to us." Linda and Brian then walked up to Lincoln, with Linda assuring him, "Sweetie, it's your choice."

However, the kids refused to listen to the Sweetwater parents and continued to urge Lincoln to read his comic to them. Lincoln obliged with a chuckle, "OK, fine," causing the kids and teens at the table to raucously cheer. The Sweetwater sisters were the loudest among them, and Linda and Brian laughed at how everyone else was supporting Lincoln. Brian chuckled, "OK, now let's see what you've got!"

Lincoln chuckled, "Alright, alright, here we go," before opening his comic book. When he showed everyone seated at the table the first page of his comic book, they gasped once more before cheering in amazement.

(Time Skip: 2:00 PM, Loud House, Lori's Room)

As Lori threw the last piece of prank-related debris into her garbage bin, she smiled to herself, "Literally done." When she noticed her stomach rumbling, she groaned to herself, "Dang it," before making a mad dash for the toilet.

When Lori saw Lana walking out of the toilet, she asked her, "Is it all clean?"

Lana smirked, "All yours, Lori BrownPants," before laughing at Lori.

Lori growled and gritted her fist in anger before slamming the door shut and doing her business.

(Time Skip: 10 minutes later)

When Lori walked out of the bathroom, she sighed to herself, "Alright… now that I'm done that…", before calling out to the house, "Everybody ready?!"

The rest of the Louds' room doors opened at once as everyone chirped some variation of, "Yeah!"

Lori smiled, "Great! Now, let's get in Vanzilla and find our parents!"

The rest of the Louds cheered as they followed Lori to Vanzilla before taking off. Meanwhile, across the street, Dr. Feinstein sighed, "Yup, these are indeed the remains of Ken, Sammie, Sophie, and Kevin Crowley. I'm so, so sorry."

Janice shook her head before telling Dr. Feinstein, "Looks like we're gonna have to notify their next of kin."

Dr. Feinstein nodded, "You've got that right," before asking Janice, "But since the entire Crowley family is dead, who do we notify?"

Janice answered, "Ken and Sammie's parents… if they're still alive, that is."

Dr. Feinstein responded, "OK. I might still have their numbers on my file."

He then pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, opened the name, "Doug King," and pressed his listed phone number.

(Time Skip: 5 minutes later, Spokes House)

As Lori parked Vanzilla on Starley Avenue, she sighed, "Well, here we are. You know, Lisa, I'd literally be mad that those tracking chips are inside our parents' jaws, but considering the circumstances, I'll allow it."

Lisa scoffed, "Pish-posh. No need to thank me. Thank science."

The Loud sisters walked up to the Spokes house and rang the doorbell. Rodney opened it and chirped, "Well, if it isn't Lincoln's sisters! What's up, girls?"

Lori replied, "We're literally looking for Mom & Dad."

Rodney smirked, "You mean your new Mom & Dad?"

He then dramatically stepped aside and put his hands out, allowing for Lynn Sr. and Rita to walk to the door.

The rest of the Loud sisters cried in relief, "Mom! Dad!"

In return, Rita cried, "Babies!", before she and Lynn Sr. were crushed by a group hug from the Loud sisters, sans Luan.

As Lynn Sr. burst into tears, Rita chuckled, "Not on the new dress, honey!", causing the Loud sisters to break the hug. When they broke the hug, they gasped in awe.

Leni burst, "O-M-G! I TOTES LOVE the new look!"

Lynn Sr. confidently chuckled, "Yup! Mr. Spokes here saw us running down the road, and decided to give us new clothes! For free!"

Luna asked, "New clothes? For free? But why would he…", before her eyes, and the eyes of many of her sisters, widened in horror.

Lori cringed, "You know what? I literally don't want to know."

Rita shrieked, "Forget that! Girls.. what's happening with Luan?"

The rest of the Louds traded nervous glances before Lisa explained, "Maternal unit, I simply turned our Colon Storm pills into a lethally potent liquid, fed them to Luan in the form of a pie, covered the toilet with plastic wrap, and made her wipe her anus with toilet paper from dendrocnide moroides. Street name… the Australian gympie-gympie plant."

The Loud parents traded glances before Lisa continued, "The most painful plant in the world. According to those that have been stung with it, its sting feels like being burnt with hot acid and being electrocuted simultaneously. Luan is subdued, writhing in her room in an indescribable amount of pain right now."

The Loud parents' jaws briefly dropped in horror, but in the end, they decided to humor Lisa, with Rita chuckling, "Oh, my little scientist and her crazy experiments. Come on, let's go home!"

Lori then tossed Vanzilla's keys over to Lynn Sr. as she told him, "Here you go, Dad!"

Lynn Sr. smiled, "Thanks. Alright, gang, let's go take our house back!"

The rest of the Louds cheered in unison as they walked away to Vanzilla. As they buckled up, Rodney ran out the door and waved to them, "Bye, guys! Come back if you need anything else!"

The Louds joyfully waved back, "Bye, Mr. Spokes!", before driving home.

As the Louds drove off, Rodney sighed to himself, "And now to pick Rusty up from the hospital. I sure hope he learned his lesson."

(Time Skip: 5 minutes later)

By the time Rita and Lynn Sr. parked Vanzilla inside the Loud House's driveway, Lynn Sr. was tightly gripping the steering wheel in horror whie Rita had fallen back into her seat.

Lisa said, "Yes, parental units… that's what happened while you two were absent."

Rita stammered, "O-OK kids… just… go inside."

As the Loud sisters slowly exited Vanzilla, Lynn Sr. and Rita heard the pained screams of Luan. Luan's wails made them gasp in terror.

Rita whispered, "So Lisa wasn't…", before Lynn Sr. finished her sentence, "No."

The Loud parents quickly ran out of Vanzllla and bolted for Luan's room, following her screams. They screamed in worry, "LUAN!"

When the Loud parents finally reached Luan's room, the horrifying state they saw Luan in instantly relegated their memories of Luan's previous pranking sprees to the back of their minds.

Luan was curled up on her side in a fetal position, albeit with her arms spread out so as to not touch anything. Some patches of hair appeared to be ripped out of her scalp, causing prominent, red, boil-like patches to protrude from it.

Luan was basically lying naked on the feces-stained floor, with red spots covering her body. Luan held out her hands as she shrieked in pain, showing the same red spots scattered throughout her fingertips and palms. Due to her sheer overwhelming pain, Luan couldn't describe it, so her loud howls and ear-piercing screams did the talking for her. The natural light of the sun shining through the clouds pierced her eyes like daggers digging into her skull. Luan's face was frozen in despair and horror as she tried to shut her eyes as tightly as possible to relieve the stinging pain already in her eyes from having tried said pain mitigation strategy. Luan also appeared to be struggling to breathe as her face slowly turned purple, as to her, the very act of breathing felt like inhaling acid. To make matters worse, Luan's stomach hurt as well, her lips and skin were drying rapidly, and she felt so weak she could barely move.

Lynn Sr. panted, "Luan… what the heck happened to you?", causing Luan to shriek even louder due to the pain of the sound of Lynn Sr.'s voice hitting her ears.

As Rita inhaled the air, she covered her nose and winced, "What is that smell?"

Luan gritted her teeth and let out a long, continuous, deafening wail of agony as she slowly spread her legs, revealing the same red spots mixed with poop stains covering her crotch, groin, and thighs. Luan then rolled over to reveal boil-like red spots all over her buttcheeks, and a few red spots on her feet, which had been used to kick Mr. Coconuts out of her house.

Lynn Sr. and Rita gasped in horror before Lynn Sr. whispered, "Oh my god… oh my god."

Rita ordered Lynn Sr., "Quick! I'll lift her by her legs, you lift her by her shoulders and her head! We've got to get her to the hospital ASAP!"

As soon as Rita and Lynn Sr. made their move to lift Luan, the rest of the Loud sisters slammed their room doors open and yelled, "DON'T HELP HER!", briefly stopping them in their tracks.

After the rest of the Loud sisters closed their doors, Lisa warned Lynn Sr. and Rita, "We already discussed that I will not be of assistance regarding the medical complications Luan is experiencing right now. For your own safety, I again suggest that you leave Luan alone," before slamming her room door shut.

The Louds briefly traded nervous glances before hearing Luan wail, "SA-AAP!", immediately reinvigorating their determination to help her.

As the Loud parents sprinted towards Vanzilla, Rita tried to assure Luan, "Shh… it'll be OK…. baby… it'll be OK," but the worried looks on her and her husband's faces were anything but reassuring.

Lynn Sr. and Rita proceeded to hastily set Luan down on the front row of Vanzilla before opening the windows and driving to Royal Woods Hospital's emergency room.

(Time Skip: 10 minutes later, Royal Woods Hospital Emergency Room)

As Lynn Sr. and Rita carried Luan into the emergency room, Karla asked them, "Can I help you," before looking at the state of Luan and hearing her yell in anguish.

Karla shrieked, "OH MY GOD! WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?"

Rita explained, "One of Lisa's experiments gone horribly wrong. Apparently, Lisa gave her extra-strength Colon Storm and made her wipe her butt with a gympie-gympie plant. According to Lisa, the hairs from the plant are all over her body! She's in so much pain that she can't talk, walk, or do anything! And to make matters worse… Lisa's not going to help her!"

At that precise moment, Luan's stomach rumbled, and she screamed as she pooped on the hospital's floor, alerting everyone to her horrid situation and causing them to gasp in horror and disgust.

Karla informed the Louds, "Hmm… alright… that'll be a 4-hour wait time. Go take a seat in the waiting area over there."

Lynn Sr. shrieked, "4 HOURS?! LADY, IF YOU DON'T GET ME A ROOM…", before Karla interrupted her, "I can keep you waiting all day."

Rita stepped in, "We can wait 4 hours… right, Lynn?"

Lynn Sr. nervously nodded, "Umm… yeah… definitely!", before he and Rita carried Luan to the waiting area. Lynn Sr. and Rita then proceeded to take their seats while propping a limp, feverish Luan up in the seat between them.

After taking their seats, Rita suggested, "Go see if they have any Energade for Luan! She needs the electrolytes and body fluids to stay hydrated!"

Lynn Sr. gave Rita a military salute as he proclaimed, "On it!", before scouring the hospital for a vending machine that would give Luan at least a couple of Energade bottles to get through her wait.

(Time Skip: 3:00 PM, Attic, Loud House)

As Leni finished reorganizing her room, she heard the doorbell ring. She chirped, "I'll get it!", before pulling out her attic ladder and walking downstairs.

When Leni opened the front door, she saw a dark tan-skinned UPD employee with short black hair at the doorstep with a ton of cardboard boxes at his feet.

Leni waved, "Hi, Mr. Delivery Man!"

The man replied, "Package for Leni Loud?"

Leni confirmed, "That's me!"

The man presented a digital pad and pen to Leni and told her, "Sign right here."

Leni asked, "A sign?", before telling the man, "I'm not holding one right now."

The man groaned, "No, write your name on this screen."

Leni replied, "OK!", before taking the pen and writing her signature on the line.

As Leni signed for the packages, the man brought them into the house, setting them against the wall right by the front door. After Leni gave the man his digital pad back, she helped him put the rest of the boxes inside the house.

When the two of them finished, the man chuckled, "Such a sweetheart!"

Leni gushed, "Aww… thanks!"

The man then walked off and waved, "Bye!"

Leni smiled and waved back, "Bye, Mr. Delivery Man!", before the UPD employee went back into his truck and took off. Leni proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes dragging each of the boxes she had received to the attic.

(Time Skip: 15 minutes later)

When Leni dragged the last of the boxes into the attic, she said to herself, "Okey-dokey, let's see if I got everything that I ordered."

She opened the smallest box on the top of the pile and saw black gloves with the Nazi eagle embroidered on them. When Leni saw the gloves, she squealed in delight before trying them on.

Leni put the gloves on and gasped, "Totes the perfect fit!"

Leni would be just as satisfied with the rest of the things that she received.

(Time Skip: 4:00 PM, Home Theater, Sweetwater Manor)

Lincoln closed his comic and told the rest of the co-conspirators, "Heh-heh, that's all I've got right now."

Everyone seated in the home theater cheered loudly and gave Lincoln a standing ovation.

Girl Jordan boasted to Mollie, "See, this is what I was trying to tell you! Lincoln's comic is awesome!"

Mollie gushed, "Just awesome?! Girl, this could be an official issue! A movie, even!"

As everyone stood and cheered for Lincoln, the Sweetwaters stood beside him to bask in some of the adulation as well.

Becky whispered to Lincoln, "What did we tell you? We knew this was gonna hit!"

Lincoln gave the Sweetwaters a touched smile before Brian tried to hush the co-conspirators, "Alright, alright. Everybody calm down."

As the crowd continued to cheer, Linda chuckled, "You're too kind. Now come on, we have an important announcement to make."

While the rest of the crowd quieted down a little, the cheering did not stop. Lindsay laughed, "Come on, guys! I know Linky's comic is amazing, but he has something he needs to say, too!"

Finally, the crowd gradually quieted down before taking their seats. When they did, Brian chuckled, "Alright, alright. So, I can clearly tell everyone liked Lincoln's comic." The rest of the crowd uproariously cheered and stomped their feet in approval.

After about half a minute of that, Brian told the crowd, "See, this is what we're about here. Neutralizing the threat the Loud sisters pose to us all is one thing." He then gestured to Lincoln as he continued, "But this young man has shown us that there is far more to him than being the 'only Loud boy.' Due to his status in his old house, his gifts and talents have been ignored at best, and mocked at worst." Sensing the crowd about to erupt in loud, angry jeering, Brian reminded them, "And not just by the Loud sisters… many of us in this room have been guilty of this as well."

Those seated in the crowd, and even the Sweetwater siblings themselves, traded glances. Brian tried to console them, "Now, I know pretty much everyone in this room has personally apologized to Lincoln for… erm… our past transgressions. But, for everything this young man's ex-sisters were wrong about, they were right about one thing: actions speak louder than words. And I say it's high time that like his ex-housemates, Lincoln's gifts and talents finally get the recognition they deserve."

Brian then turned to Paige and called his middle daughter's name, motioning for her to step up. Paige nervously winced, but the rest of the Sweetwaters encouraged her, "Come on, Paige, you've got this," or, "We've got you," as Paige nervously stepped in front of the family and faced the crowd.

Paige stammered, "W-w-while w-we w-were eating lunch, I-I s-saw on my phone that the Bill Buck Royal Woods Comic Contest is still going on."

The rest of the crowd gasped before Paige said, "Melissa, if you please." Melissa quickly stood up before walking over to her computer and Googoling, "bill buck royal woods comic book contest." Melissa clicked on the first search result, and a webpage instantly displayed the Bill Buck Fan Club website. On the top of the page lay a poster advertising the Comic Contest, "ROYAL WOODS COMIC CONTEST!" The headline text beside it read, "ROYAL WOODS COMIC CONTEST DEADLINE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11 AT 5 PM."

Lincoln turned to the screen and gasped before stammering, "A-a-a comic contest?"

Lindsay smiled, "That's right, Linky! We feel like your comic's totally gonna win! It's well-drawn, well-written, has an unbelievably moving story… GO FOR IT, LINKY!"

Lincoln stuttered, "I-I-I d-don't know-", before the Sweetwater sisters quickly interrupted him with a chant of "Do it! Do it!"

Catching on, the rest of the crowd immediately echoed the Sweetwaters by raucously standing up and cheering, "DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"

Carol screamed, "You'll finally get a trophy like your sisters, Lincoln!"

Dana yelled, "Something they won't destroy!"

Kat encouraged, "And it'll be your own hard work!"

Cristina urged Lincoln, "Come on, Linky! Put the video contest behind you!"

Joy contributed, "And the Girl Guru thing!"

Whitney smiled, "This is your chance!"

Girl Jordan begged, "Get Bill Buck's autograph for me!"

Ronnie Anne challenged, "What's it gonna be, Lame-O?!"

Linda comforted a flushed Lincoln by assuring him, "It's your choice. You don't have to do it if you don't want to, sweetie."

After a few more seconds of chanting, Lincoln chuckled, "OK, fine. If you guys really think my comic is that good, then I'll enter the contest."

Everyone in the room, including the Sweetwaters, burst into loud, raucous applause and cheering that lasted for the next couple of minutes as they again gave Lincoln a standing ovation.

When everyone calmed down, Brian told them, "Alright, now go on and have fun. Lincoln, you've got the rest of the night off, so get to work!"

As everyone dispersed, Brian and the other fathers present in the room met with each other. Walter Wetta, a fair-skinned, clean-shaven man with curly blonde hair, a purple cardigan, black dress pants, and black dress shoes, started, "So,", to which Brian interrupted him, "Yup. It's grilling time!"

The rest of the fathers cheered before walking off to the backyard to prepare a barbecue dinner for everyone at the Sweetwater Manor.

As Lincoln started to walk towards the basement's stairs, Paige walked alongside him and asked, "You gonna be OK, Lincoln?"

Lincoln smiled and nodded, "Yup. For what it's worth, you guys all cheered for me. You don't know how scared I was to say yes back there. My ex-housemates would have outright laughed at me for considering something like this."

Paige cooed, "Aww… Linky," before tightly hugging him.

Lincoln smiled, "It's alright. At least I have you guys behind me, so, I should be good."

Paige giggled, "That's what I like to hear."

Meanwhile, as Melissa walked into the house's main corridor with her laptop and its wirings in hand, she noticed a sudden, dull pain in her stomach. It was enough for her to stop in her tracks, which Dana noticed.

When Dana noticed Melissa wincing, she asked, "You OK?"

Melissa held her stomach as she assured Dana, "Yeah, sis, I'm fine. It's just… all this. It's so stressful, you know? I just wish things could go back to the way they used to be."

Dana sighed, "Yeah, I know. But we have to do this. For Linky."

Melissa's stomach pain went away as she muttered, "Y-yeah. For Linky," before absentmindedly walking to Brian's office.

As Dana saw Melissa trailing off, she walked up to Dana and asked her, "Girl, you gonna be OK?"

Melissa gave Dana a strained smile before nodding, "Y-yeah. D-definitely."

Dana murmured, "Alright. You know, I'll be with the rest of the girls in Becky's room if you need us."

Dana then hugged Melissa while telling her, "Take care of yourself, girl."

Melissa chuckled, "You know I do."

Dana replied, "I mean it. Anyway, you know what's right, sis. But if you need me, I'm here."

Dana and Melissa exchanged worried glances with each other as they went their separate ways: Dana to Becky's room, and Melissa to Brian's office.

(Time Skip: 5:30 PM, Remains of Crowley House)

As Fire Investigator Ted MacFarlane, a tall, slim, fair-skinned man with light brown hair, and a long, brown fussy mustache, walked back to Chief Burns, he told him, "Yeah. Judging from the pattern of the burns, as well as this charred paper bag filled with what appears to be melted human feces at the former front porch of the house, I can safely presume that this was either arson or a prank gone horribly wrong."

Chief Burns nodded, "Noted. But who would be so disgusting as to do something like that?"

Ted shrugged, "I don't know."

Chief Burns then asked Ted, "Also, if this is arson as you claim it is, then how come no one called the police yet?"

Ted shrugged, "I don't know. Probably because when a fire goes off, people's first reaction is to call the fire department. I mean, as firefighters, our first thing is to put out the fire and save the lives in danger because of that fire, not catch the guy who did it. As for no one calling the police, well, I guess we'll have to do that on our own. I'll get right to it."

Chief Burns responded, "You'd better. If this is arson, we're going to need to start interviewing potential witnesses."

Ted nodded, "OK."

Closing A/N: In all the feedback, both positive and negative, I've received on Luan's humiliation last chapter, I've noticed that almost NONE of it pointed out the fact that Luan's sisters laced her toilet paper with the leaves of a GYMPIE-GYMPIE PLANT. I even explained what kind of pain it caused. Anyway, for more information on that, there's a YouTube video titled, "Gympie-Gympie – The Plant That Makes You Kill Yourself." Just watch it, or just look up the gympie-gympie plant on Wikipedia. It'll make you have a better understanding of Lisa's revenge on Luan, and why one of my readers suggested that I put it in there. So, Luan didn't exactly get away with her arson and second-degree murder of the Crowleys.

A/N 2: The "weird goth girl" line comes from how Heather refers to Gwen in Total Drama Island. Figured I'd bring it back here to show Lincoln's resentment towards her.

A/N 3: On the Crowleys: Remember, "Future Tense" hasn't happened yet, so the Yates don't live in the house across the street from the Louds yet. And Lincoln did mention that they "moved into the Crowleys' old house." So, the Crowleys still live there. And here's the explanation for the rest of the members, since their bodies were charred and burned beyond recognition:

A/N 3.1: Sammie Crowley is a recurring extra in The Loud House in canon.

A/N 3.2: Ken Crowley is this world's version of Ken Mu's avatar. I saw Ken Mu sitting next to Sam Crowley's avatar in "Fool Me Twice" and decided, "Why not make Ken & Sammie a couple?"

A/N 3.3: Sophie is the short, blonde fat member of the "Belchin' Ballers" from "Net Gains." She looked enough like Sammie I decided to make her Sammie's daughter.

A/N 3.4: Kevin is the "younger caricature of Ken Mu" from "Lincoln Loud: Girl Guru." Pre-burn, he was a tall Asian kid with messy black hair, freckles, and a plaid-patterned green shirt.

A/N 4: Nurse Mikovits is a reference to Judy Mikovits, the discharged nurse who espoused the theories that COVID-19 was caused by bad reactions to flu vaccines, and that masks would activate COVID-19.

A/N 5: Fire Battalion Chief Burns was such a nice play on words. I had to use it. Also, he's the father from the "tall family" in "Not a Loud."

A/N 6: Firefighter Kemp is meant to be Billy's dad from "Two Boys and a Baby." Firefighter Cook is Tyler from "The Boss Maybe."

A/N 7: It's said that David, Lisa's love interest in the Loud House, was inspired by David King. A popular fan theory is also that Dexter, who Lynn Jr. was using to act like she had a boyfriend, is David's older brother. I mean, the two look alike. So I ran with it and had them basically be the Crowley/King family.

A/N 8: I know, I know, it's going to peeve people that nothing's been done about Luan. But I looked up how arson investigations work, as well as recent news articles for arson arrests, and typically, it takes about 1-2 weeks from when the arson is alleged to have happened to when someone actually gets arrested. Even if it's open-and-shut like this one appears to be, there's still a lot of considerations to go through when someone dies. Notifying next of kin, death certificates, coronary reports, taking time off from work, etc. And it was only a single arson attack.

A/N 9: The Spokes' home street, Starley Avenue, is a reference to the inventor of the modern bike. Figured I'd keep the bike references going.

A/N 10: I looked up average wait times at the real-life Royal Oak Hospital in Michigan, and they said 3 hours and 50 minutes. Round it up… you get 4 hours! Lincoln got to skip the line because of the Sweetwaters' connections. The Louds… not so lucky. Bureaucracy is beautiful.

What will become of Lincoln's comic? The investigation into the Crowleys' deaths? And will Luan survive? Stay tuned to find out!