CHAPTER 32: ACE IN THE HOLE, PART 1
Clyde McBride is the best friend of Lincoln Loud, so much of one that the two have created a name for their dynamic duo: Clincoln McCloud. Where Lincoln was the mastermind behind their activities and plans, Clyde served as the support system; usually helping with resources, having two caring dads to care for him.
In simpler terms, if they were gay, Lincoln would be the butch, and Clyde would be the bitch.
Following a rather nasty fight with troubles that had been brewing during their time together as Ace Savvy and One-Eyed Jack, the friendship seemed to come to an end; leaving Lincoln to return as Ace Savvy on his own and Clyde quitting altogether. However, acting true to his 'bitch' nature, Clyde quickly turned his lack of empathy around for his best friend, not allowing him to fall victim to the supervillains on his own.
After a short period of trying to locate Ronnie Anne's new home, Clyde ran to the new address, frantically beating on the door and pressing the doorbell repetitively; all while yelling incoherently. Not expecting any sort of guest with such an urgency, Maria Santiago opened the door in a mix of confusion and annoyance; both of which lowered themselves upon seeing Clyde.
"¿Qué, qué? Clyde, what's all the hurry about?" Maria asked.
"Need... Ronnie... Anne... Really... Important..." Clyde panted.
While still not understanding the hurried arrival of Clyde and his frantic attitude, Maria let the young boy in all the same, trusting him well enough as a mutual friend of Lincoln and Ronnie Anne. Having made his way inside the house, Clyde ran to the nearest door in his sight, believing it to be Ronnie Anne's room.
"Ronnie Anne, big problem, Lincoln's in-!" Clyde began to say.
Rather than being greeted by Ronnie Anne, Clyde was instead greeted by a shower and toilet; signalling that this was not her room, but the bathroom. After taking a moment to overcome his embarrassment, Maria had informed him of the true identity of the room.
"That's the bathroom, Clyde." Maria said.
"Yeah, I figured." Clyde said.
Running across the hall to the next door, Clyde again burst it open and prepared to share the bad news with Ronnie Anne, but again found that it was not her room. This time, he had not even opened up the door to a full room, but a closet filled with shirts, suitcases, and a vacuum cleaner.
"And that's the closet." Maria said.
"Right." Clyde said.
Running across the hall to a different door, Clyde opened it as well, hoping that the third attempt would be the lucky try. Once again, however, he opened the door to yet another closet, this one filled with various sports equipment and power tools, and still no sign of Ronnie Anne.
"And that's the other closet." Maria said.
Giving out an annoyed groan, Clyde rushed to the next door in his sight, preparing to open it as well. Before his fist could pound against the door, however, Clyde's fist stopped in place and turned to a pointing finger; his head turning to Maria to ask if this was the correct door.
Answering nonverbally as Clyde did, Maria nodded in confirmation.
Now having the correct door in front of him, Clyde let out a sigh of relief; not repeating his same mistake again. Upon finishing his brief moment of levity, Clyde immediately began beating on the door to Ronnie Anne's room, incoherently shouting panicked phrases as he called for her to answer.
"RONNIEANNEOPENUPLINCOLN'SINTROUBLEINEEDYOURHELPIDON'TKNOWWHATI'MSUPPOSEDTO-" Clyde shouted.
Before Clyde could finish any further on his incoherent ranting plea for help, the door to the room had opened up, no longer there to have him to lean against. Falling to the ground face-first, Clyde looked up to see an annoyed Ronnie Anne looking at him as he laid on the floor, seemingly not amused with the frantic beating he had left on the door.
"Hey, Clyde, decaf. Try it. Now, what do you want?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"I need your help. Lincoln's in trouble." Clyde said.
"So what? That Lame-O's probably busy doing a movie shoot or something, what kind of trouble could he be in that he need me for?"
"We found out Silver Sentinel is the bad guy. He's the one that's been allowing the other supervillains to roam free. You were right. Now, Lincoln went out to fight them all by himself, and he'll get killed. I've got to help him, but I can't do it by myself. I need your help. Please."
Having a large dose of information to process, Ronnie Anne slowly took it all in to think over, leaving Clyde to watch in anticipation.
Before, Ronnie Anne had shunned her boyfriend for his acts of cowardice and lack of self-confidence; the two things that took away all that loved in him. Now, hearing news of the opposite happening, and his death sure to follow with this news, it proved hard to think over in her young mind.
Finally, after a short period of thinking over the information, Ronnie Anne picked Clyde up off the ground; placing him firmly back on his feet and dusting him off.
"We'll need some more help. Let's get back to the Loud House; we'll get some more help there." Ronnie Anne said.
"Got it. Right behind you." Clyde said.
Rushing out the front door to make their way to the Loud House, Ronnie Anne grabbed her skateboard out of the sports-supply closet.
"Mom, I'm gonna go save Lincoln from doing something dumb again, see you at dinnertime!" Ronnie Anne said.
"Oh, okay, sweetie, have fun!" Maria said.
Stepping outside, Ronnie Anne threw her skateboard to the ground, subsequently hopping on it.
"Question: How good are you with handling fast?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Uh... not at all?" Clyde said.
"I thought you'd say that. Well, hop on. I can get us there faster than on foot."
Reluctantly hopping onto Ronnie Anne's board and gripping onto her, Clyde braced himself for a ride wilder than anyone could ever hope to have on a skateboard. Pushing the board forward with her foot, Ronnie Anne sent the two flying down the street at speeds unseen before in many other skaters, save for maybe Otto Rocket.
While Clyde was preoccupied with trying to hold his sanity intact during the insanely fast ride he was put on, Ronnie Anne occupied her own mind with the safety for Lincoln, pondering how he would handle himself on his own. Turning to you, the reader/viewer for some listening ears for her concerns, Ronnie Anne lets some of the thoughts in her mind out.
"Good to see that Lame-O's got his moxie back, but I wish he would've said something to me beforehand. I just hope he's doing okay right about now." Ronnie Anne said.
Ace Savvy has returned.
Having his drive and confidence stolen by the supposed superhero known as the Silver Sentinel, Ace Savvy has discovered the true identity of the man of silver, his ploy no longer working on the spade-spangled hero. Pushing his 4th wall breaking abilities to a stretch rarely seen in fiction, Ace Savvy has found the true nature of Silver Sentinel, vowing to take down the supervillain and his lucrative plot on Royal Woods.
While only receiving information that Silver Sentinel and his 5 supervillains had chosen some unspecified abandoned industrial park as their hideout, Ace Savvy had located it relatively quickly; the city of Royal Woods housing not many. With his repaired tungsten baton and several decks of playing cards, Ace Savvy continued his way through the industrial park; seeking out the specific warehouse where the villains were located.
"Okay, I admit I've been kind of a prick these last few chapters. ...Okay, pretty much throughout the whole story a bunch of times, I'll admit. I've been an idiot about this whole thing, a jerk to everybody, and I've botched a lot of my own attempts to fix everything. What did you expect? I'm 12. Were you some kind of angel at 12 years old? Yeah, I didn't think so. But none of that matters right now. I seriously dropped the ball by letting Silver Sentinel take over everything, and, now, I'm gonna personally fix it up. I'll apologize to Clyde and Ronnie Anne and everybody way later. Right now, I've got way more important things on my plate to deal with: Like beating all these bad guys and finishing this stupid story." Ace Savvy said.
As Ace Savvy continued his approach to the supervillains' hideout and begin his attack, the self-insert apparition known as The Guy appeared out of thin air, yet again showing himself to correct the story on its proper course once again. The methods by which Ace Savvy had discerned the allegiance of the Silver Sentinel were not part of the plan of the story, and, therefore, required some correction by The Guy.
"Hey, kid, what the hell do you think you're doing?" The Guy asked.
"I'm gonna beat the bad guys now. This is the part where you want the big showdown, right?" Ace Savvy asked.
"Not now, kid. You weren't supposed to just go and cheat like that."
"Then how did you want me to find out?"
"Detective skills? Believing Lisa? Interrogating one of the bad guys? I don't know, kid, this was way too early for you to find out who he is! We could've gotten at least 3 more chapters' worth out that!"
"Well, that just spared you the work, thank me later."
"No, asshole, I'm not giving a 'thank you' for mucking up everything! A story's supposed to be about following a character and taking a journey with them, not trying to get it over as soon as possible. If you order yourself a nice steak dinner that tastes delicious, is your strategy to eat it slow and enjoy it, or as fast as possible and not enjoy it?"
"Metaphors don't equal arguments, and they're sure as heck not working for you here. As far as you're concerned, I'm following the story. You wanna stop me for following the story, do another pseudo-porn scene to stop me. Of course, you'll only do that when I'm not following the story, so you can't do that. Now, beat it, will you? I've got 6 supervillains to beat."
Walking past the protesting Guy and continuing his way to fight off the supervillains, Ace Savvy ignored all other calls of the self-insert, ready to complete the story and free himself from this state of purgatory that he was trapped in. Realizing that there was nothing he could do to stop Ace Savvy anymore, The Guy was forced to back off of the main character, now thinking of a new way to solve this dilemma.
"Alright, kid. If that's the way you wanna play, then I can do that, too." The Guy said.
Disappearing from existence at this moment in time, The Guy left the story, having his own plans to complete later on to correct the course of the story. As the apparition left Ace Savvy, the spade-spangled hero continued on his search for the supervillains, ready to face off against the lot and complete the story for his own sake.
Not too far away from the boy superhero, the supervillains continue to relax at their own hideout, still continuing their sabbatical from terror and mayhem in the city of Royal Woods. With the new arrival of Lars Rodriguez to their team and a mystery interdimensional partner added to the mix, there was much to discuss about these new guests, but little to agree on.
"I thought for sure that chicano was dead. Didn't Ace Savvy drop him off a rollercoaster?" Tommy Gunn asked.
"Apparently not. Besides, the kid's got something against killing. You know, the whole 'better than you are' crap. I'd still watch the slurs like that, if I were you." Icebreaker said.
"What, you a bleedin' heart for Mexicans all of a sudden? Especially that one who killed somethin' like 50 people down in Ocean Shores?"
"No, but I'm not a racist prick, either. Can we hate the guy for being an asshole and not for his skin color?"
"Why not both? It's a free country, ain't it?"
"Look, man, say what you guys want, but can we just say something about that plastic mask? It freaks me the hell out. Like, this guy couldn't serious still be alive like that, can he?" Nailbomb asked.
"Apparently so. From what I hear, the guy survived shit like getting eaten by sharks." Killer Crab said.
"I heard they just ate his legs. And, from what he's complained about, his dick, too. Said that he got a smaller one."
"Whatever, I'd just be thankful to be alive, anyway. In any case, that is pretty wild to survive bleeding out like that and getting his face burned off. This guy's either the luckiest guy on Earth, or some kinda demon."
"I vote for the latter. He claims he walked across different dimensions, came back with that other guy. I mean, you saw the guy, he had to be from some parallel dimension; who could he find like that?" Decibel asked.
"It's a big world, who knows? Lying or not, what was that shit with 'twerking ducks'? Sounds like some crappy kids' show." Icebreaker said.
"A kids' show? What kind of kids' show would that be?"
"One some coked-up executive thought up, maybe. You'd be surprised the shit that companies churn out on TV for kids to watch. I grew up on the good old days of Looney Toons and golden age cartoon, before people got too big of pansies for what they put in 'em. So what if some blackie had big lips or if Bugs Bunny said 'slant eyes'? It's all just cartoons, right?" Tommy Gunn asked.
"Hard pass on the racist shit, but otherwise I agree with you. I miss the good old days of real cartoons that actually tried to be funny and outrageous for laughs, not that sissy shit that's on TV nowadays. Boss, you're our age, you grew up on the good stuff, too, right?"
During the entirety of the conversation, Silver Sentinel paid no mind to the exchanges of ideas, putting his mind elsewhere during the debate.
Along with several other of his powers, most of which were blatantly ripped off of Superman, not only because every single other superhero writer does it, but also because the writer has no originality of his own, the man of silver also possessed a wider range of enhanced senses.
As such, the thought-to-be undetected approach of Ace Savvy was heard by the shiny superman, with Silver Sentinel locking onto his location.
"Uh, boss? You listening?" Decibel asked.
"He's here." Silver Sentinel said.
"Already?" Killer Crab asked.
"So it seems."
"How the hell did he even find us?" Nailbomb asked.
"Same way the other kid did. Doesn't matter, though. He's here now."
"Well, what do we do now?" Icebreaker asked.
"What do you think we do now? Go get him and bring him to me. Alive, if possible."
"Shouldn't we get the kid and the cholo on this? They both want in on killin' Ace Savvy." Tommy Gunn said.
"I said I want him alive, so, no. I have some other business to attend to with our little snooper. Go get him."
Following the orders of Silver Sentinel, the supervillains armed themselves up and prepared out for the capture of Ace Savvy, intending to bring him back to their hideout so that their leader may do whatever they wished with the boy. Awaiting the return of the supervillains to bring him back, Silver Sentinel continued to stare off into his own space, pondering on how he would deal with the spade-spangled hero now.
You're more persistent than I thought, son, and, apparently, a lot more... 'savvy', as it were. Well, then, I suppose I'll have to deal with you in the way I should've in the first place, now, shouldn't I? Especially now that you got me doing the obligatory villain monologue in my head. Silver Sentinel thought.
Unaware of the coming threat of the other supervillains, Ace Savvy continued on his search for the specific hideout of Silver Sentinel and his subordinates, wanting to defeat them all and put an end to the story. Keeping his hands close to the cards on his belt like an old western gunfighter, Ace Savvy continued on his journey to the hideout, treading softly as he kept on.
His journey did not take too long, as he was eventually met with the 5 goons of Silver Sentinel ambushing him in the middle of the industrial park. Cornering him from all sides and angles, Ace Savvy was forced to come to a stop, playing the situation as cool as possible for the time being.
With each villain readying their weapons and charging up their powers, the spade-spangled hero watched every target closely, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Seeing no chance of escape in this situation, Ace Savvy held his hands in the air; showing no signs of resistance.
Waiting to see who would speak up for his appearance first, Tommy Gunn was the first to let loose a few words towards Ace Savvy, readying a new tommy gun in hand.
"One more step, kid, and I put you into the big sleep." Tommy Gunn said.
Looking to from his left to the position of Tommy Gunn to his right, Ace Savvy was met with Nailbomb readying his explosives, aiming his launchers for his face.
"Don't even think about it, kid. I brought more low-explosives. You won't have much to absorb outta these." Nailbomb said.
Darting his eyes back and forth to see Icebreaker and Killer Crab behind him, Ace Savvy watched forward to see Decibel at his front. Being the only one who could defeat him without any real trouble during their first encounter, it made sense to keep him as frontman for their ambush.
"You're good right there, kid. Now, you mind sharing with us how in the hell you managed to find this place?" Decibel asked.
"I'm the world's savviest crimefighter, I can figure out a few things on my own. Really, I'm surprised I didn't see it too clearly at first: A new superhero comes to town, steals all my fans, and he drives me out for his own profits. Pretty mad that I wasn't quick to catch on, but, hey, I got rich from it. Not sure what his whole game is, but I'm here to make up for my mistakes and stop it." Ace Savvy said.
"That's pretty cute, kid, because I really don't see how exactly you're going to stop our plans when we've already put them in full effect without any problem. If your idea is thinking that beating us all up is gonna stop us, I got some news for you. You might have beat all of us in groups, but not all at once. Right now, you're surrounded, and not going to get too far on your own. The odds are stacked against you now."
"If you've read the Ace Savvy comics, then there's one thing you should know about the character. If there's one thing Ace Savvy knows, it's the odds."
With a simple magic trick, Ace Savvy flicked his index and middle fingers to show a playing card, which soon began glowing with energy.
"And one thing he always loves... is when the odds are stacked against him." Ace Savvy said.
[Soundtrack Cue: Iron Maiden - Aces High; Starting from 0:25]
Throwing his energized card to the ground, Ace Savvy let out a large explosion, sending sand and dirt flying through the air. Blinding his opponents with the cloud of dust getting in their eyes, the spade-spangled hero let out a blast of energy to his feet, shooting himself up into the air and leaving spots of glass where his feet once were.
Just barely gaining their eyesights back in time, the supervillains all immediately began firing back at Ace Savvy, making sure not to make any killshots with their gunfire, explosives, and other attacks. What attacks Ace Savvy did not dodge, the few that managed to strike him, only landed to be absorbed into his body and used again towards the attackers.
Landing back on his feet, Ace Savvy prepared to do just that. Taking a playing card in each hand, powering up both as they lied between his fingers, he sent them both flying towards Tommy Gunn and Icebreaker; the two villains least able to stand his energy attacks.
Temporarily downing the 2, the remaining 3 villains began attacking in his place, firing all other means of projectiles at him.
First on his plan of attack was Killer Crab; the only one not able to fire any sort of projectiles, but more than able to attack with his giant claws. Swinging his claws at the spade-spangled hero and snapping his pincers at him, the massive crustacean crook tried to rip and tear at the boy, but all to no avail.
Hopping atop Killer Crab and shrouding his eyes with his cape, Ace Savvy began using his enemy as his own new attack against the others.
Throwing a card behind him to scare the blinded Killer Crab, Ace Savvy sent the supervillain rushing towards one of his colleagues, running straight into him like a charging bull ready to gore a victim. With the blast directing him just right, Ace Savvy sent Killer Crab charging towards Decibel, arguably the most dangerous to him personally in the battle.
Seeing the strategy implemented by the boy, Decibel tried to repel the oncoming attack with a soundwave blast, but the blast only gave minor damage to Killer Crab and made no actual impact on Ace Savvy. Being housed in a massive shell with armor proportionately as strong as a real crab's shell, the firing of soundwave blasts had no effect on the destructive decopod.
Jumping off the back of Killer Crab, Ace Savvy sent the enemy crashing into Decibel, temporarily downing both of them in one hit.
Landing back on his feet, the spade-spangled had no time to relax in his resting position, the sound of gunfire coming his way and bullets following driving him to move. Dodging the bullets as they flew towards him, Ace Savvy noticed the recovered Tommy Gunn, attacking the hero once again.
With a leap behind the downed Decibel and Killer Crab, allowing them both to take the rounds for him, Ace Savvy readied another set of cards to toss at the mock mobster, making good on those plans shortly. Hearing the approach of Nailbomb come near him from the back, Ace Savvy leapt up in the air once again to avoid an explosive from the mad bomber, not able to afford any lucky hits to his head.
Just as he avoided two different attacks at once, there was still one more to be dodged. Recovering from Ace Savvy's initial attack was Icebreaker, catching up with the depowered Tommy Gunn. Firing a series of ice blasts towards the spade-spangled hero, the sub-zero scoundrel aimed to freeze the boy in place.
Avoiding these attacks yet again, Ace Savvy had thought of a way to make use of these attacks as they flew by him. It would be safe to assume that Nailbomb would not allow him to get close enough to detonate his suit again, or perhaps even found some way to proof it against his energy attacks...
...so Ace Savvy thought of a new way to dispose of the mad bomber. Positioning himself just right between Icebreaker and Nailbomb, Ace Savvy awaited an ice blast from the former of the two supervillains, leaping out of the way at just the right time for it to hit the latter.
Within an instant, Nailbomb's suit was completely frozen in, preventing any means of escape. Having made use of the ice-powered villain to dispose of one enemy, Ace Savvy prepared to take out that same villain; no longer having a use for him against the others.
In the midst of thinking over how to defeat this foe, another downed enemy rose up again to fight, this one being Decibel.
Wasting no time to strike back at the spade-spangled hero, Decibel fired a soundwave blast his way, but only managed to fire at Icebreaker instead. Having a body made up soley of ice, Icebreaker was not able to withstand the blast, being blasted into chunks of ice and shard, still alive, but very angry.
With 2 villains down and 3 soon to go, Ace Savvy continued his attack streak, ready to put down the mere cannon fodder standing in his way towards Silver Sentinel. As Decibel was not the easiest to face off against, the spade-spangled hero would have to take care towards defeating him, Killer Crab's attack not being enough.
Noticing Tommy Gunn prepare another volley of fire towards him, Ace Savvy crafted another idea to down the supervillain of sound.
Leaping towards Tommy Gunn and grabbing him in a chokehold, Ace Savvy aimed the replica racketeer's signature weapon towards Decibel, changing the direction of the fire. Leading Tommy Gunn to fire at the multiple speakers on Decibel's suit, the bullets destroyed the speakers in seconds, reducing all of them to shreds.
Upon rendering the enemy's primary weapons useless, Ace Savvy readied his baton for his next attack.
After swinging the baton to Tommy Gunn's face, knocking him out almost instantly, Ace Savvy began spinning it around by its side handle, charging some energy in it while doing so. Running up to the supervillain of sound, the spade-spangled hero jumped up in the air and landed a strike to his chest, sending all energy built within at him and sending him flying on his back with a smashed suit.
With one last villain remaining, Killer Crab, the fight was all but over for the boy wonder. As Killer Crab readied his claws to attack once again, Ace Savvy extended his baton to its staff form, preparing to use it against the crustacean criminal. Taking another swing towards Ace Savvy with his claws, the spade-spangled hero deflected each strike with parries and blocks; the two being stuck in a temporary deadlock.
Finally, grabbing both ends of the staff, enclosing his pincers around it, Killer Crab seemed to have his opponent's primary weapon trapped, and leaving Ace Savvy unable to fight back. Containing a good charge of energy in his body, Ace Savvy was not so quick to fall defeat, having a few more tricks to use.
Charging the staff to its maximum capacity, Ace Savvy pulled himself up onto the staff, giving it a kick as he leapt in the air. With the kick distributing all the energy within the staff towards its intended direction, the blast went straight for Killer Crab, sending a huge amount of energy being blasted towards his face.
Having been completely stunned by the blast of energy sent towards him, a chunk of his suit being taken with it, Killer Crab, the last of the supervillains, had fallen in defeat.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Retracting his staff to its baton form and placing it back on his belt, Ace Savvy stood tall and proud, asserting his victory over the other supervillains, accomplishing what he had desired since his first encounters with the cabal, and leaving nothing but empty space between him and Silver Sentinel.
"Well, that's that. Now that the small fry's out of the way, my only job now is to get Silver Sen-" Ace Savvy began to say.
Before he could finish his sentence, a pair of solid hands landed on both sides of his head, sending the spade-spangled hero to a mental state of unconsciousness and a physical state of falling to the ground. Standing behind where Ace Savvy once stood was the Silver Sentinel himself, forced to resolve the issue of the boy superhero for his subordinates.
"I should've guessed you 5 wouldn't be able to take care of him." Silver Sentinel said.
Slowly beginning to pick themselves up off the ground, the subordinate supervillains began thinking of whatever excuse they could to their leader.
"Uh... Boss... We, uh... We were just about to... Uh..." Decibel began to say.
"Save it. You, unfreeze Nailbomb. Gunn, you pick up Icebreaker. Now that we've got the boy, here's the part where I handle things." Silver Sentinel said.
While Decibel was tasked with the mission of breaking Nailbomb from his pillar of ice, Tommy Gunn followed through on his order to pick up the remains of Icebreaker, starting with his head. Not being too keen on handled so precariously by his comrade, Icebreaker shared his content with the wannabe gangster.
"Hey, careful, that's my waist! I don't want my dick broken!" Icebreaker said.
"Relax, Iceman, I'll handle your parts fine." Tommy Gunn said.
"That's what she said!" Decibel said.
"You shut up!"
As the other supervillains continued to free up their comrades, Silver Sentinel took one last look at the downed Ace Savvy, contemplating on the next conversation the two would soon share. Grabbing his inanimate body off the ground, Silver Sentinel held it limply in his hand, letting the body hang loose.
"You've been enough trouble for me. I hope you had your fun, because, now, my boys are gonna have their fun." Silver Sentinel said.
Meanwhile, at the home affectionately known as the Loud House, the hurrying Ronnie Anne and Clyde McBride make their arrival outside the aforementioned house; Ronnie Anne flipping up her board and catching it. Having just been sent at speeds that are not normally capable to be reached on a skateboard, Clyde clutched tightly to Ronnie Anne's back in fear; quivering in terror like a baby panda.
"Okay, Clyde, we made it, you can get off me now." Ronnie Anne said.
Clyde could not reply to the request, still too terrified to move at all.
"Wow, you are such a pussy." Ronnie Anne said.
Pulling out a crowbar, Ronnie Anne proceeded to pull the still-clinging Clyde off her back, needing him off to enter the house again.
Inside the Loud House, a much different affair goes on in the foyer of the home. Sharing with them the news that Lincoln had returned to the life of superherodom, Lola and Lana both frantically hopped down the stairs in excitement; unable to contain themselves.
"WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" The twins shouted.
The rest of the Louds, most contained in the foyer, looked on the excited twins in confusion to their unspecified cheers. Inquiring on the triumphant cheers of the twins, the other sisters gathered around to the two to find out what put the two in an excited state of mind.
"Whoa, whoa, will you two literally calm down?! What do you mean, you 'did it'?" Lori asked.
"Yeah, guys, don't leave us dazed and confused for so long." Luna said.
"Lincoln came back as Ace Savvy! He did it!" Lola said.
"Yeah! We turned away for a second, then, his costume and baton were gone. We got him to go back at it!" Lana said.
Hearing the good news of their brother returning as Ace Savvy, the sisters all collectively cheered together; accomplishing their task of bringing their brother back to his caped crusades. Unfortunately, their victory cheer was not the only thing heard by the Loud parents, also having caught ear of the news of their son's return to fighting crime in costume once again.
And seeing them stand in the hallway with unapproving looks, their victory cheer is cut short.
"So, Lincoln decided to turn on his promise and go off behind our backs, you say?" Rita asked.
"Well, then, that means one thing now. We're going to find him and bring him back home ourselves." Lynn Sr. said.
All disagreeing with their parents' plan to bring Lincoln back, the sisters began to try pleading with them to do otherwise.
"What?! Mom, Dad, you can't just stop Lincoln from doing his superhero thing. This is what he does best." Lynn said.
"It's far too dangerous, no matter if he thinks that this is what he's supposed to be doing." Rita said.
"C'mon, guys, hasn't it occurred to you that this is who he really is? He totes loves to be Ace Savvy." Leni said.
"It doesn't matter. We can't just stand by and let Lincoln endanger himself. That Silver Sentinel is doing that job now, and Lincoln can just be a normal kid for once."
"You can't just take away Lincoln's ability to be Ace Savvy; it's his driving force. To rid him of that would be to torture him. ...On second thought, let's go get him." Lucy said.
Before any more arguments could be held on the subject of Lincoln and his double life as Ace Savvy, Ronnie Anne finally made her way inside, bringing Clyde behind her. Finally able to relay her own information on the debate, she informed the group of the current status of Lincoln Loud and his escapades as Ace Savvy.
"Lincoln's in trouble! He's going to fight Silver Sentinel!" Ronnie Anne shouted.
Where the arguments between the family were loud and chaotic at first, no two sentences clearly distinguishable through several spoutings of countering thoughts, all immediate thoughts and arguments came to a stop once Ronnie Anne had spread this news.
The parents, caring most for the safety of Lincoln Loud, came to the young girl to hear the rest of her story.
"What? Ronnie Anne, what are you talking about?" Rita asked.
"Lisa was right. Silver Sentinel's in charge of all the bad guys: Nailbomb, Decibel, Icebreaker, Tommy Gunn, and Killer Crab. I don't know what his plan is, but I do know that Lincoln had a huge guilt trip about what I said to him about being a loser, and, now, he's going off to fight them all on his own. With someone like Silver Sentinel, he could be dead or captured already." Ronnie Anne said.
With none of the family able to fathom the mere idea of Lincoln being dead, the lot all collected into one pained gasp. The sisters all took this possibility heavily enough, but their concern was pale in comparison to that of the parents, who went into a state of shock comparable to witnessing any real death itself.
"AH! My baby, dead?!" Lynn Sr. shouted.
"And, that also means we have an indestructible, unkillable bad guy trying to take over Royal Woods." Ronnie Anne said.
As Lynn Sr. was far too sensitive to handle such an affair, and the sisters all looked to one another in uncertainty of what to do, it fell upon Rita to make a decision on behalf of the whole family. Where she once stood on the hard-line position of being against any sort of superhero activities, it came apparent that there was no more avoiding it...
...and it came time for all the family to partake in it as well.
"Then we won't try to stop Lincoln from being Ace Savvy anymore." Rita said.
"What? Really?" Lori asked.
"In fact, I think it's time that he stopped having the fun all to himself. If he can put on a costume and save people, then we're going to do the exact same thing. Are you kids with me?"
All instantly agreeing to their mother's proposal, the children all cheered in unanimous praise, not one sparing an iota of energy to express their excitement.
"We're with you, Mom! That's a real super idea! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Get it?" Luan asked.
As none of the family found Luan's jokes amusing, the collective all shared one annoyed groan, cringing at the poor, predictable puns of their unfunny sister. Except, of course, for Lynn Sr. who, as a father, was a total sucker for poor jokes, and still a supportive father no matter what.
"Ha-ha! Good one, honey! That's the spirit!" Lynn Sr. said.
"Lisa, do you still have the Full House Gang costumes?" Rita asked.
Pulling a remote out of her pocket, Lisa pushed the button on said remote, activating a hidden compartment in the home. A portion of the wall extended to show various costumes on a rack; each holding the sisters' costumes for Lincoln's Ace Savvy comic project.
"With the money that Lincoln'sh been pulling in, I wash able to make a few new coshtumesh and alteratshionsh to our original onesh for a posshibility shucsh ash thish." Lisa said.
"Just what I was hoping to hear. Luna, I believe that this is the part where you give us some motivational music?" Rita asked.
Pulling out her guitar and a pick, the two always ready at her side like a gunfigher with his revolver, Luna prepared a song for the family to save Lincoln.
"Thought you'd never ask. Ramblers, let's get ramblin'!" Luna shouted.
Moving her pick to the guitar, Luna began letting out an energetic song to get the entire family ready to move out.
[Soundtrack Cue: Pantera - Proud To Be Loud]
Author's Note: The next portion of this chapter uses lyrics from the aforementioned song: 'Proud To Be Loud' by Pantera, from their album 'Power Metal'. The songwriting credit belongs to Marc Ferrari, and the distribution rights belong to Pantera through their independent label of Metal Magic Records. No copyright infringement is intended.
With each family member taking their costumes off the rack, all began quickly dressing themselves up for battle, making sure each were properly suited for the fight to come. Having an energetic rock song to motivate them on, their itch for the battle only grew stronger by the second, their drive to save Lincoln rising with it.
"Listen up good,
I got a lot to say,
I know what I want,
And I get my own way..." Luna sang.
Pulling on a familiar light-blue suit with a pair of racing goggles and gloves to accompany it, the eldest sister, Lori Loud, readied her own costume, completing her look with a white scarf and a pair of pearl earrings. Dressed within her garb for battle, she is the High Card.
"I call 'em as I see 'em,
I don't play by the book, no I don't,
One dose of volume,
That's all it took..." Luna sang.
Not quite smart enough to dress herself properly in her new superhero costume, Leni Loud placed the battle dress over herself, placing the white girdle and heart-shaped ribbons over her current attire, mixing it in an odd way that still stayed fashionable. Dressed within her garb for battle, she is the Eleven of Hearts.
"Ive seen it, I've done it, I've heard it before,
Now it's my turn to settle the score,
I'll sing it, I'll shout it, I'll say it again,
I don't care if they never give in..." Luna sang.
Applying black and white makeup over her face, drawing the shapes of clubs over her eyes, Luna Loud changed out her current attire for a purple leotard and leggings, also swapping her current guitar for one shaped like a card. Dressed within her garb for battle, she is the Night Club.
"'Cause I'm proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
You know I'm proud,
Proud to be loud..." Luna sang.
Attiring herself in a black and yellow, jester-like dress, Luan Loud readied herself for battle just as the others; her comedic tastes not subsiding, but instead given the covering of a mask with diamonds in the eye sockets. Dressed within her garb for battle, she is the Joker.
"Well, I've always believed in freedom of speech,
And I've always been the one to practice what I preach,
Love it or leave it, I'll give you the choice,
But it'll snow in Hell before I lower my voice, yes it will..." Luna sang.
Placing on a sweatband and several pieces of safety equipment for sports play, Lynn Loud suited herself for the fight, her outfit catering to her athletic abilities and immense strength and showcasing it with her choice of attire. Dressed in her garb for battle, she is the Strong Suit.
"I live it, I breathe it, I gotta have more,
It's full blast and this means war,
The power, the glory, it's callin' my name,
I won't start to play their game..." Luna sang.
Shrouding her face and body in a dark grey cloak, Lucy Loud let whatever innocent and cute little girl that might have been found within her appearance fade; wielding a shovel in hand to use against any threat that may come her way. Dressed in her garb for battle, she is the Eight of Spades.
"'Cause I'm proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
I'm proud to be loud,
And Il'l never turn it down again, no,
Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
I'm proud,
Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
Oh..." Luna sang.
Taking a temporary break from the lyrics, Luna moved onto a guitar solo, letting her catch her own breath. While her voice might have had a pause from the song, her hands did not cease once during her performance, continuing on to keep up the music as each family member suited for battle.
The twins known as Lola and Lana Loud, two polar opposite but heavily bonded siblings, prepared their costumes for their own specific tastes. Where Lola dressed in a glass tiara and pink dress, Lana fitted herself with a red cape and tool belt; but both more than ready for the fight. Dressed in their garbs for battle, they are the Queen of Diamonds and the Royal Flush.
Looking forward to using the outfit she had specifically fitted for herself, Lisa Loud grabbed her own suit off the rack to place on. Placing on herself the suit, topping off with a scarf and pair of gloves, Lisa had readied her simplistic but effective costume for the battle to come. Dressed in her garb for battle, she is the Card Counter.
"Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
I'm proud to be loud,
And I'll never turn it down,
Never, never, never turn it down..." Luna sang.
Being only a baby and no real need to hide her own identity, Lily tied a simple red mask around her face and fitted on a bulletproof bib, placing a 2 of spades atop the mask, keeping a simplistic design that still demonstrated that she belonged to the team. Dressed her garb for battle, she is the Deuce.
"Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
I'm proud, proud to be loud,
Turn it up..." Luna sang.
The second-to-last of the group, the parents, Lynn Loud, Sr. and Rita Loud, prepared their own costumes. Both wearing green visors atop their heads and harlequin masks over their faces, the two put on matching tuxedos; each wearing identically similar costumes. Dressed in their garbs for battle, they are Mr. and Mrs. Dealer.
"Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud,
Proud to be loud..." Luna sang.
Putting back on his blue sweater, unnecessary but stylish eye patch, and reattaching his poker chip launchers, both having gained a significant power boost with Lisa's work, Clyde applied his own costume back on once again. Dressed in his garb for battle, he is One-Eyed Jack.
With all the group ready for battle, it came time for a roll call for the heroes; each shouting aloud their names in readiness.
"THE HIGH CARD!" Lori said.
"THE ELEVEN OF HEARTS!" Leni said.
"THE NIGHT CLUB!" Luna said.
"THE JOKER!" Luan said.
"THE STRONG SUIT!" Lynn said.
"THE EIGHT OF SPADES!" Lucy said.
"THE QUEEN OF DIAMONDS!" Lola said.
"THE ROYAL FLUSH!" Lana said.
"THE CARD COUNTER!" Lisa said.
"The Deuce!" Lily mumbled.
"ONE-EYED JACK!" Clyde said.
"MR. AND MRS. DEALER!" Lynn Sr. and Rita said in unison.
"And, introducing the all-new..." Ronnie Anne began to say.
Wearing an Ace Savvy costume almost identical to Lincoln's, Ronnie Anne attired herself in a slightly modified version of the classic spade-spangled hero: This one having a leotard and skirt combined with leggings for more feminine tastes. Dressed in her garb for battle, she is...
"LACE SAVVY!" Ronnie Anne finished.
All striking a heroic pose with their new outfits, the family all came together in one combined move of carefully planned choreography: Serving no actual purpose whatsoever to their plan to save Lincoln, but looking so goddamn cool while doing it to where you don't give a shit.
"TOGETHER, WE ARE... THE FULL HOUSE GANG!" The family shouted.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Walking in back in the house from finishing an errand elsewhere, Bobby Santiago joined the family once again, having went through a long, unspecified ordeal, soon to be specified by the latecomer to this gathering. I don't know what the hell he was doing out and it doesn't really matter, it was just an excuse to make this shitty joke.
"Hey, guys, I'm back. You wouldn't believe-" Bobby began to say.
Having his optical senses receiving the view of the entire Loud family dressed in a bunch of costumes like strange cosplayers was a tad too much to take in for Bobby's brain, especially when seeing them in such impractical poses. After a brief moment to overcome his confusion, Bobby finally mustered up the question to put his confusion to rest.
"Uh... What are you guys doing?" Bobby asked.
"Long story short, Lincoln's fighting the Silver Sentinel and we've got to go rescue him." Lace Savvy said.
"Really? Oh, cool! I mean, it's bad that Lincoln's in trouble and all, but we all get to go in and save him in cool costumes! Where's mine?" Bobby asked.
As all eyes fell on the Card Counter to answer this question, the eyes of the young genius grew wide and her mouth curved downwards, displaying a lack of an answer.
"Oh... Yesh... Shee... I, uh... didn't make one for you." The Card Counter said.
"What?! You made one for Ronnie Anne, but not me?" Bobby asked.
"I ran out of material and my shupplier'sh on backorder. Didn't have time."
"Oh... crap. Well, what am I supposed to do, then?"
"You, can... Uh... You can drive Vanzilla to get us to the hideout!" The High Card said.
"Oh. Okay, that's cool. By the way, babe, you look totally hot in that costume."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, it looks real tight around your ass. It looks huge in that."
What was intended as a compliment from the horny bastard ended up backfiring completely, gaining himself unamused reactions from both Lori and her parents.
"Excuse me, young man. That's our daughter you're talking about." Rita said.
"Yeah, and I'm seeing a severe lack of a ring on either of your fingers to hear any talk like that." Lynn Sr. said.
"And since when is my ass 'big'? Are you calling me fat?!" Lori asked.
"Uh, no, no, no, babe, not at all!" Bobby stammered.
"Ahem. Young romantic partnersh, if you pleashe? Lincoln in trouble? Pleashe shpare ush of your reproductive habitsh." The Card Counter said.
"Oh, right, sorry. Alright, let's move you guys out!"
Taking the front seat of Vanzilla with the High Card at the passenger's side, allowing the rest of the family to cram themselves in the back, Bobby took the keys to the van in his hand and stuck it into the ignition, ready to start their journey into battle and save the captured Lincoln.
"Alright. Full House Gang, prepare to deal in!" Bobby shouted.
Upon turning the ignition, Vanzilla seemed to have a good start to their journey, but had suffered a large explosion at the hood; quickly putting a stop to the trip. Turning the key a few more times, Bobby hoped that the problem was only minor, but found that whatever had exploded had put a serious halt to the drive.
"What? What's wrong?" The High Card asked.
"I don't know, the car's not starting." Bobby said.
Remembering an unfinished task run through her head, the Royal Flush recognized the problem, regretting that she did not complete this task previously.
"Crap." The Royal Flush said.
"What?" The Queen of Diamonds asked.
"I never replaced the carburetor. That was the old one that just blew."
Are you laughing at that joke after that long set-up? Yeah, me neither.
Realizing that their highly-anticipated drive to go save Lincoln was put to a more permanent stop than they were hoping for, the family all gave out an annoyed groan, their task of saving Lincoln put further away in terms of accomplishment. Creating a resolution to the problem, the High Card pulled out her phone, requesting a service to fill the place of Vanzilla for their hour of need.
"I'm literally calling an Urban to drive us. I hope they still have an XL driver available at this hour." The High Card said.