I do not own The Loud House. All rights belong to Nickelodeon.
Chapter 17
Lincoln had several colored pencils in a wide variety of shades and colors. He was wearing an artist's apron. His hands were a little dirty, with pencil shavings and residue. Clyde, Stella, and his friends gathered in the art room to see Lincoln work on his next piece. It was really something, and it was big. It was a large drawing of soldiers, not just any soldiers. They were American soldiers who fought in every major war the US fought in, from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. They were looking toward the viewers.
The soldier from the American Revolutionary War was standing on top of a hill. He was wearing a Continental Army uniform with the blue and red coat that they wore. He had a tomahawk in his left hand, and in his right was his musket rifle, which he was using as a pole holding the American flag that was tied to it, like the cover of the second season of Turn: Washington's Spies.
An African American soldier in a blue Civil War Union uniform was just a little below the hill. He had a cavalry saber sword in his right hand, with the blade resting on his right shoulder and his rifle in his left hand. On the other side were two WWI soldiers. One looked like a regular infantry soldier with a flat helmet, and the other was a sniper. The sniper had a scoped Springfield rifle in his hands and a ghillie cape and hood. The infantry had his sleeves rolled up and an M1897 trench shotgun with a bayonet knife attached to it in one hand – he had his other arm over the sniper's shoulder.
There were two WW2 soldiers; one was a soldier of the 101st Airborne and the other a tanker of the 761st Tank Battalion – a.k.a. the Black Panthers or Patton's Panthers, the best tank division during WW2 and they were all African American which not many people know about. The Airborne trooper had a Thompson submachine gun in his hands while the tanker had his arms crossed while leaning against an M4A2 76mm HVSS Sherman tank. There was a Korean War soldier in his winter clothing sitting on a rock next to the other soldiers with an M1D Garand sniper rifle in his hands with the buttstock resting on the ground. There were more soldiers from the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, and the Afghanistan War – each soldier had their weapon and uniform from that era. The soldiers were all slightly dirty and showing signs that they'd been in a battle. They all had serious expressions as they held their weapons or had an arm over each other's shoulders. Lincoln went the extra mile by doing his research to draw the uniforms correctly with the right gear, camouflage, weapons, and patches. On top of all of them were broken light rays from the sky and big words that said:
"Remember Us"
"Wow . . . Lincoln, this is stunning," Clyde spoke.
"The colors blend together so perfectly and so alive," Stella added in amazement.
The others were in awe. The drawing wasn't complete, and yet it took their breath away.
"Holy smokes, Lincoln. This is really something," Liam said with a smile.
"Yeah, this looks professionally made," Zach added with wide-open eyes.
"It's amazing," Rusty uttered.
"I wanted to do something big, both literally and metaphorically. That's why I had to ask Ms. DiMartino for extra-large paper," Lincoln replied.
Girl Jordan walked in, and like the others, she too was speechless. Lincoln's latest art took her breath away.
"I'm with them. This is astonishing. I have a question, though. Why soldiers? Is this for something or just what you felt like drawing?" Girl Jordan questioned.
"There's a big art contest coming up. Its main theme is Veterans for the Royal Woods Art Museum's new exhibit on American history. The first, second, and third place winners will have their art in the museum," Lincoln explained.
"No way. Lincoln, if you win, that'd be huge," Clyde said.
"Wait, I know about that contest. The competition is fierce. That museum has high-quality art," Stella said.
"Like other artists are competing? Grown-ups?" Rusty asked.
Stella nodded.
"I'm surprised your age wasn't a problem when you signed up," Zach said.
"I didn't sign up," Lincoln responded.
Everyone turned to him, slightly surprised.
Lincoln turned to them, "I was invited. Clyde, Stella, you remember Bill Buck's agent, Rachael Fields?"
"You mean the woman who said Amberwood University is offering you a full scholarship? Yeah, I remember her," Clyde said.
"She invited me to this art competition, and many big players will be there, including art professors from Amberwood and other famous artists and comic book artists. She has been talking about me to all of them, and they're coming to see me and my art."
"Shut up. No way!" Rusty uttered.
"Holy cow! That's huge!" Liam said.
"You're really moving up," Girl Jordan said.
"Yes, way. Also, Clyde, I'm bringing that comic you and I worked on – the one with the two samurais. I hope you don't mind," Lincoln said.
"Not at all. When's the competition?" Clyde asked.
"In two weeks. I haven't told my family yet."
"Will you?" Stella asked.
"Yeah, but I'm debating whether I want it to be a surprise."
"It's up to you. However, keep this somewhere safe. We don't want your family to mess it up with their shenanigans."
"True that," Zach agreed.
"I already told Rachael about how big this is. She said to tell her when it's ready so that a truck can pick it up since there's no way it can fit in a normal car," Lincoln said.
Stella nodded, "Good," then she asked with her face beside his while leaning over his shoulder, "So, we doing Gus's Game and Grub later?"
"Totally, my lady," Lincoln said.
"Goody," Stella said before kissing his face.
Lincoln turned to face her so he could kiss her lips.
"Tomorrow, you're welcome to swing by Mazzy's place. I promised Luna that I'd spend some time with her, and she wants to improve my guitar and bass skills," Lincoln said.
"That sounds fun," Clyde said.
Later
Lincoln and his had some fun at Gus's Games and Grub. They enjoyed the arcade games and some pizza there. Lincoln's friends also brought their girlfriends, and they all had fun playing arcade games and the grub. Of course, Lincoln and Stella made out a little with a few cute selfies taken. The boys did the same with their girlfriends as well. There was a great 'feel good' sense in the air. Everything was chill.
Once the day was over, everyone headed home. Even though Lincoln ate, he helped Luan cook dinner for the others. They had become the house chefs, and the kids loved them changing the menu every so often, unlike their father, who was consistent and fixed. Luan continued to find it less of a chore and more of a hobby. Lincoln knew that her passion for cooking would be found once she found her signature dish.
After dinner, it was time for bed. Since Rita was added to the bedroom clock, she was after Lisa and before Lori and Leni. As usual, Lincoln kissed all his sisters goodnight before heading to Rita's bed. As he sat down on the bed, Rita pulled him in from behind, planted a long kiss on his face, and hugged him. Lincoln returned the same, but just before he was going to turn off the lights, Rita asked him a question.
"Lincoln, I have to know," Rita spoke.
Lincoln turned towards her.
"Those men that were going to hurt Lynn, the ones you and Lori killed . . . when you said they would have hurt her . . . were they just going to mug her . . . or were they going to—?" Rita asked.
"Yes . . . I'm afraid so. I can't tell you how horrible it was to see the vision of it. Seeing Lynn in the hospital was awful. If Lori and I hadn't done what we did, they would have done terrible, awful things to her. She's barely alive when the police find her," Lincoln answered.
Rita shivered with a long blink. She held Lincoln's hand while fighting back tears.
She spoke hoarsely, "Do I even want to know what Lynn's life would be like afterward?"
Lincoln sighed and explained, "It's about as much as you'd expect after something like that. She goes into shock, depression, PTSD, and sports are down the drain. I don't know why I looked further into that future. I guess I was curious whether or not she'd be suicidal."
"Would she?"
Lincoln nodded. Rita looked away and inhaled deeply before exhaling through the mouth. Then she slowly nodded.
"I see. I understand. I'm proud of you, Lincoln," Rita said.
Lincoln's eyes widened slightly.
"Killing is not something to celebrate about, but if I had to choose between my children and those lowlife scumbags, I'd choose you and my daughters without a second thought."
"Truth be told, I chose Lori not because she's the only one who would handle killing, but this is what would have happened if I had shown you the bad future," Lincoln said as he handed her a light orb.
The light orb showed Rita with Lincoln in Lori's place with a gun in her hand. Only she wasn't nervous like Lori. Instead, she had a determined and angry face as she savored the death of each of the men's deaths. Rita's eyes widened with surprise.
"If I brought you instead of Lori, you would have enjoyed their deaths a little too much and gone down a dark path. A mother's inner rage to protect her children. I didn't tell you this sooner because I thought you wouldn't want the others to see this," Lincoln explained.
"You made the right decision to show me this privately, honey. Your sisters are going through enough stress as it is," Rita replied.
"Especially Lynn. What's going on with her?" Lincoln asked as he got under the blanket.
"Probably her nightmares, and I think she's still hurt from her sisters sabotaging her ballgame," Rita answered while also getting under the blanket.
"Well, I hope she feels better soon."
"Me too, sweetie," Rita kissed his face, "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Mom."
Lynn's dream
Lynn stood in the median holding a cardboard sign that said, 'Homeless. Please Help. God Bless.' Only a few were willing to offer money, but they were primarily ones and some quarters with dimes. The weather was miserable, with a grey overcast, cold wind and a light sprinkle of rain. Lynn collected what she could and bought a water bottle and a bag of chips at a nearby gas station. The sight of all the food and drinks inside made her mouth water and her stomach ache, but what caught her eye the most were the magazines and newspapers.
The newspapers showed sports, and her older sister, Lori, was on the front page. She was standing on a podium on top between two other golfers who had won second and third. She was holding a big, shiny trophy, and the headlines said, 'Lori Loud takes LPGA Championship!'
One of the magazines for fashion and models had her sister, Lola, on the cover. She looked amazing. She was healthy and beautiful, with clear tan skin and gorgeous long golden hair. Lola was in a posse, showing off her curves while wearing a bikini at the beach. Another magazine for trucks and racing showed Lana. She was leaning in front of a badass trophy truck with some other mechanics and the driver with Monster Energy as their sponsor.
What made Lynn freeze was the Entertainment magazine. On the cover was her one and only brother, Lincoln. Below his name had captions like, 'Hollywood's Next Steven Spielberg!' and 'From comic book artist to academy award-winning director and producer.' Lincoln was wearing a white collared shirt with a deep blue suit jacket. Even with those on, you could see the muscles underneath. Lincoln was smiling with a neatly trimmed beard and had his big arms crossed while wearing a pair of black and blue sunglasses slightly down to reveal his eyes.
Lynn opened the magazine and read the section that talked about him. It talked about how he started as an artist for comics, how his comics leaped off the shelves, and how later he made them into movies and started making movies that won awards. The magazine showed pictures of Lincoln going to Amberwood, drawing, signing autographed copies of his comics at conventions, and working behind the scenes of his movies. There were captions from reviewers of his films.
"Groundbreaking and Epic!" – The Rolling Stones.
"An Absolute Powerhouse!" – The Los Angeles Times.
"A Perfect Storm of everything we love in movies," – The New York Times.
Reading it all made Lynn feel so small and insignificant. Here she was, a jobless loser hobo, and her sisters were successful as they were living their dreams, and Lincoln had become a god in cinema. When she put the magazine back, her hand trembled. She gripped her hand hard to stop it.
"At least he's doing okay making a name for himself. At least . . . none of them are like me," Lynn whispered to herself.
When she walked out of the gas station and pushed her cart, she saw billboards of Lincoln's movies.
Lynn sighed, "Jesus Christ," she looked up at the sky, "You don't have to twist the knife, God."
She pushed her cart into a nearby alley behind a dumpster and sat down against the sidewalk wall with her sign on her lap. The people passing by either turned their eyes away or pretended to be on their phones.
"Spare some change?" Lynn asked.
No one answered or even looked at her.
"Can you spare some change? Help a soul out?"
"What's the point of giving you money if you're just going to piss it away on drugs and alcohol?" the woman replied.
"Mommy, who was that lady?" her kid asked.
"Oh, just some loser bum who's too stupid to get a job or keep one."
"Hey! None of us deliberately want to be here! We're homeless because we've got nowhere else to go!" Lynn shouted while giving her the middle finger.
Lynn slumped against the wall and exhaled a heavy sigh while looking up at the sky. Those words hit hard like a kick to the nuts. Why'd she have to say all that? It's bad enough that Lynn had no job and no home, but no respect either? Life can really suck. She closed her eyes and groaned.
Then, the sounds of a sports car were heard as it came to a stop. Lynn opened her eyes to see a sleek and shiny red Chevy Camaro. However, the two people in the car caught Lynn's eye. It was Lynn's childhood best friend, Margo Roberts, and her old crush, Francisco. Margo looked great with her long hair and healthy, athletic, toned body. Francisco looked just as good in a similar state as her but with short hair in a hot buzzcut. They both had wedding rings on their ring fingers. They were laughing while listening to music.
Lynn's eyes widened, and her heart sank. In brief, flashbacks of her childhood appeared before her eyes—all the victories and wins. Lynn felt nostalgic for the good old days when she had everything. However, that good moment lasted only a few seconds until she was snapped back to reality. Lynn couldn't bear them seeing her like this. So, she quickly got up while pulling her hat down tight to hide herself. She quickly rushed back to the nearby alley where her cart was, but the zipper of her jacket got snagged on one of the staples from a nearby post. Lynn frantically tried to get her jacket free without drawing attention until she finally got it off with a hard tug. She didn't care that she tore the jacket. Lynn didn't dare look behind her or over her shoulder. She bent down and pretended to tie her shoes.
'Come on, light. Turn green!' Lynn thought.
Finally, the streetlight turned green, and Lynn waited until the rock music from the car was far away. Then, slowly, she got up and looked around the corner. Margo and Francisco were out of sight, and Lynn breathed a sigh of relief. Lynn let out a glum face as she imagined what would have happened if they had seen her and recognized her. For the life of her, Lynn wouldn't be able to explain herself to them – the same way she couldn't to her family, whom she hadn't seen or spoken to in years.
As Lynn headed for her cart, something on the pole caught her attention. It was a poster of her sister Luna and her band, The Moon Goats. The old poster was a flyer for a previous battle of the bands, listing all the big names who attended, and below Luna's band said, 'Five-Time Battle Band Champs!'
She breathed a heavy sigh. She tore the poster off, crinkled it up, and threw it in the dumpster. Then she pulled out a half-empty bottle of whiskey from her cart and gulped a mouthful. She lay down on a long piece of cardboard to rest.
The day turned to night. Lynn lay there, staring at the stars in the night sky. Whether it was the booze or Lynn's depression that manipulated her imagination, Lynn saw the stars connect into the shape of a man. Then she saw Lincoln in the stars looking down at her with a satisfied grin and his eyes squinting. Lynn's heart skipped a beat as her eyes widened.
"Well, look at you. Rock bottom. Down in the gutters. Talk about bad luck, huh? I guess we know who the real jinx is, don't we?" Lincoln spoke.
Lynn desperately rubbed her eyes to clear her vision, but he wasn't going away for some reason.
Lynn sighed, "Why are you kicking me while I'm down?"
"Right now, I'm not your biggest worry because you might want to get up, Lynn," Lincoln answered.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, and you'll need more than luck. My advice: keep your guard up."
Before Lynn could ask what he meant by that, two homeless guys grabbed her. Lynn struggled to get free as they slammed her against the wall. One of them held her while the other was punching her hard in the side and in the face. Lynn grunted angrily until she headbutted one and then kneed the other in the crotch.
"Get off of me, you fucking son of bitch!" Lynn swore.
She grabbed one and shoved him hard against the other wall. Lynn clenched her fist, delivered a hard right hook to his face, and then kneed him in the gut.
He tried to get free, "Let go bitch!"
"Fuck you!" Lynn yelled.
She continued to punch him in the face until his nose was bleeding. The other guy grabbed a beer bottle and smashed it against Lynn's face. Lynn cried out in pain as she fell, feeling the pain from the hard impact and the stinging of glass shards in her face. Once she was down, he kicked and stomped her hard on the side. Lynn tried to use her arms to protect herself, but it didn't do much. Eventually, he was done, and Lynn held her sides as she writhed in pain and was bleeding from the side of her face – she spat out a tooth. It was hard to tell whether or not her ribs were broken.
"Stay the fuck down, bitch. Unless you want some more," the man panted.
"Come on, man! I got the cart. Let's go!" the other man said.
The two men took Lynn's cart and left the alley. Lynn tried to chase after them but collapsed on the sidewalk. Lynn's vision blurred, her breathing was abnormal, and she felt oozy. As she was blacking out, she faintly saw a car's headlights and heard a man's voice.
"Hey! Are you all right?" the man asked.
Then everything went dark. The last thing she saw was her brother. His sweet smile, snow white hair, and that cute little tuff of hair on top of his head. Lynn faintly muttered his name, "Lincoln," before passing out.
End of Lynn's dream
Lynn woke up from another terrible dream. Her body was cold, damp from sweat, and still dark. Never before had Lynn felt so groggy. She sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes. Her whole body felt sore and stiff. With a heavy groan, she got up to go to the bathroom to wash her face and drink some sink water. Lynn looked up and stared at herself in the mirror with a glum look. There were black bags under her eyes and some noticeable red cracks in her eyes.
"Why am I getting these dreams?" Lynn asked.
Lynn staggered back to her room and collapsed on the bed. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, questions running through her mind. Why the nightmares? Why of her as a hobo? She knew why she saw everyone making great successes for themselves: because of the visions Lincoln showed everyone. With each passing dream, more of her confidence was fading away. Lynn hasn't won a game since Lincoln was hospitalized before the trial. Lynn couldn't help but wonder if this was her punishment. Did she deserve this? Her mind immediately traced back to the visions showing the bad luck incident. To the event so horrible and inhuman that it would destroy the family. The fact that Lynn was capable of doing such a thing gave her an ungodly chill, leaving a hole in her chest.
"Maybe I do deserve to be homeless . . . I'm not good at anything besides being a sore loser. That's just different than a jobless loser, is it?" Lynn whispered to herself.
While Lynn rolled over on her side facing the wall, Lucy slowly and quietly peeked through her coffin to gaze at her roommate's sister.
'It's strangely ironic. I carried such hatred for you when I learned what you would have done to our only brother. Now I'm worried for you,' Lucy thought.
Meanwhile
Lincoln woke up suddenly from a vision he had. It was so sudden that it jarred him awake, and he sat up straight in the bed. Then he breathed a heavy sigh.
"Dang it. It's one thing after another. I really got my work cut out for me when it comes to saving my family," Lincoln said.
Lincoln got up from the bed and used his telekinesis powers to carry his mother out of the bed. Rita opened her eyes and noticed she was floating in the air with her body engulfed in that turquoise light.
"Lincoln! What did I say about using your powers?" Rita stated firmly.
"Sorry, Mom, but it's an emergency. I had another vision of a bad future happening. We're having a family meeting," Lincoln replied as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Whatever it is, can't it wait until tomorrow morning?"
"Nope, because this terrible future involves you."
Rita's eyes widened, "Me?"
"Yep. Like how we worked together to save Lori, now we have to work together to save you . . . and possibly dozens of innocent people from a disaster. I'll explain when we wake up the others."