AN: Another chapter down. Happy to see people cautioning me to pace myself if I need to, hehe. Feels nice, shows that you guys care. And yeah, my schedule is gonna be a bit more hectic for the next five weeks or so because of this class. So yeah, I might need to delay updates at some point during that period. But I managed to get this one out at least, so that's something.
Oh, speaking of things that make me happy, Stupor Heroics now has a tvtropes page. This is now the second tvtropes page for a story I've written, and the first one for a story where I don't have to share the credit with anyone. So that's a really cool milestone for me. If tvtropes pages are you kind of thing, head on over and check it out. It's already had a lot of work put into it, and it looks great.
Mr. Haziq: Not likely. I mean, the only way that could happen was if the Loud girls were obsessed with their brother for some reason...
Mr ChubbySnorlax619: Lucy's off in a dimension of horror and darkness. So...you know, enjoying herself, presumably.
Chaosneobreakage: Stella is actually based on Kamala Khan, not Mr. Fantastic. I'm not up to date with her comic, catching up on her stuff is one of the many things on my to do list, but she has similar powers to Mr. F, with the added benefit of being able to alter her size, which also grants her proportionate strength to her current size. Lori's sort of a combination of Power Girl and Captain Marvel (Carol, not Mar-Vell or Shazam). Whitney and Carol aren't based on anybody in particular. Though, I think I gave Whitney telekinesis because that's what Auto gave her in Archetypal. I haven't worked out a precise timeline, but since Lincoln hadn't met Stella in this AU, assume the point of divergence happens after Season 2, but before Season 3. So the Santiagos were around at some point, they just aren't now.
dogbertcarroll: Carol's time travel powers aren't limitless, her powers only allow her to affect time a fairly short ways into the immediate past or future, and the effect is extremely localized. She's just become really good at planning ahead :).
Lori's jaw clenched involuntarily as she stared as Lynn from across the room. So smug. So cocky. Never thinking about the repercussions of her actions. Well no more! This time Lynn had gone too far, and just as it had when they were kids, it fell upon Lori to teach Lynn the error of her ways. Though, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to this, just a little bit. This confrontation was a long time coming. Now confident she was making the right decision, Lori raised one of her energy clad firsts, and prepared to rush forward and ram it straight into wayward little sister's stupid, grinning face—
...Only to abruptly halt as she noticed an unfamiliar girl who was staring up at her, from well within Lori's comfort zone, eyes wide like saucers and an enormous grin on her face.
"Can I...help...you?" Lori asked awkwardly. Literally, because she was in the middle of charging at her wayward sibling, one fist cocked and crackling with energy, which wasn't exactly the most comfortable position from which to hold a conversation from, but also due to the fact that this girl (a hero herself, given the costume she wore), seemed to have zero issues with approaching someone in such a state. The girl's response was to thrust a small notebook and a pen in Lori's direction. Strange, she could have sworn the girl's hands were vacant only nanoseconds ago—
"I-I'm sorry, but...can I have your autograph!?" The girl squeaked, vigorously waving the proffered objects around. "I'm just...just such a fan!"
"Hey!" Lynn called out, displeasure clearly written on her face.
"I'm still your fan too Lynn, honest! But come on, it's Luminary! I've been pinching myself since the second the exploded her way in here—"
Lori winced as she took in the rather substantial portion of apartment she'd vaporized on her way in. Yeah, she might have overdone her entrance just a bit...
"—Ouch! See? She's still here! With you! This is the best day of my life!"
Lynn's response was to cross her arms across her chest and scoff. "She's not so great." The athlete turned superhero grumbled sullenly.
This was only getting weirder. In the interest of pushing past...whatever this was, Lori dismissed the energy being stored in her fist, then reached down and plucked the notebook and pen out of the girl's hands.
"Sure thing." She said, flipping past several pages of Lynn signatures before she finally found a blank one. "Who should I make this out to?"
"Stella!" Cried the girl. "No, wait...Polymer? That's my hero name, but...then I wouldn't be able to show it to anybody. But it's not like I have a ton of people to show it to anyway—"
"To Stella." Lori recited as she scribbled down her message. "Heroes are not born, they're made. Looking forward to seeing what you make of yourself." She gave it a once over to make sure everything was legible and spelled correctly (no need for a repeat of the "Have a knife day" incident), then added her signature at the bottom. Satisfied with her handiwork, she slid the pen into the notebook and handed the bundle back.
Stella took back her possessions, saying nothing, but the rapturous look on her face spoke volumes. And in spite of everything that had lead to her standing here, in her little brother's rubble-strewn apartment, Lori found herself smiling. There was something oddly nostalgic about this strangely mundane brand of weirdness.
And yet...something was bothering her. While Stella seemed pleasant enough, Lori had no idea who this girl was. Granted, she'd been off planet for several days now, and hadn't yet gotten the opportunity to meet with her surveillance team and find out what had happened during her absence, but Lori prided herself on keeping herself abreast of her little brother's affairs.
The ugly truth of the matter was that Lincoln was related to a number of prominent metas on both sides of the law, and that made him a target. There were a lot of people out there looking for ways to get at their family, sometimes with truly evil intent, but mostly out of simple greed, or spite, and it often wasn't long before those types of people hit upon the a mundane, non-meta member of the family might be an ideal way of achieving those goals. Those people were wrong, sometimes tragically so, but only because Lori made it a point to watch her little brother from afar, and quietly intercede whenever the it seemed necessary. Stella was an anomaly, something that should have been intercepted and gently diverted before she could make too big of an impact. After all, the last thing Lincoln needed in his life was more metas. Cute, female metas prancing around in skintight outfits least of all.
"Hey, Stella?" Lori asked, trying to keep her voice level. "Can I call you Stella, by the way?"
"Absolutely!"
Oof, the sheer amount of enthusiasm in that statement actually made her wince. This was going to be like kicking a puppy. But somehow worse.
"Great." She continued. "Listen, this is gonna sound a little weird, but I'm gonna need you to..."
Lori trailed off as she sensed movement behind her, and she spun around, all thoughts of the strange girl quickly forgotten. She caught a glimpse of her younger, but much larger sister looming over her, and darted to the side—
FWOOSH
Barely avoiding the kick that had been aimed squarely at where Lori had been floating only moments earlier.
"Don't even think about it." Lynn growled, as the pair squared off once more.
"Think about what?"
"Whatever you were going to say!" Lynn retorted as she launched a haymaker right at Lori's face. The blonde simply drifted sideways, easily avoiding the blow. She prepared to return the favor, but hesitated, choosing to instead throw herself backwards, and in doing so just barely avoided the real attack, a low strike at her solar plexus. Classic Lynn. People saw La Furiosa's size and strength and tended to write her off as a lumbering brute, and Lynn's general attitude towards life didn't help matters much. But those people didn't know that Lynn Loud had been small and scrappy for most of her life, forced to make up for her shortcomings with a combination of grit, cunning, and the kind of skill that only comes from dedication to one's craft. A potent combination, and one that had only gotten more dangerous once Lynn had gotten powers that leveled the playing field.
"I was going to tell her to keep her hands off Lincoln!" Lori retorted, rocketing towards Lynn and sending a flurry of blows her way, seeking to test the younger girl's defenses. None of them hit their target, as Lynn moved with surprising speed and managed to catch each and every one on her large forearms.
"Don't pretend you weren't thinking the same thing!" Lori continued as she floated back up in the air, trying to deny Lynn the opportunity to counter attack."It isn't hard to guess why you're here!" To her surprise, the larger girl visibly flinched.
"D-don't pretend you care what I do!" Lynn shouted back.
"I care when your impulsiveness puts other people at risk!" Lori shot back. "I care when you're willing to throw away his happiness because of your own selfishness!"
"It's not like that!" Lynn scooped up a hand full of debris and flung it at Lori. This time she didn't even bother to dodge, simply opting to summon her aura instead. The energy field blazed to life, incinerating each of the improvised projectiles long before they could reach her.
"It's exactly like that." Lori replied, a bit more smugly than she'd intended. "It's always like that! And it's always going to be like that, because you can't help yours—GAH!"
Lori's moment of triumph was cut short as Lynn launched herself into the air, wrapping herself around the airborne blonde and using her greater mass to yank the pair earthward. Lori was barely able to exert enough counter force to prevent them from crashing through the floor, but that meant taking the full brunt of Lynn's unorthodox body slam. She let out a wordless cry as they hit the ground, the flooring still creaking in a very distressing manner despite Lori's best efforts, and for an instant her world went dark. Then, vision returned, and she could see Lynn straddling her, one meaty fist cocked and ready to be driven home.
"He can't be happy!" The brunette hissed, her body quivering with barely repressed rage. "None of you have ever understood that! He can't be happy if he doesn't have me!"
Lynn's fist shot forward, falling upon Lori like a meteor. Unable to dodge at this range, Lori wrenched her arms up and crossed them in front of her face. At the last possible second, she pulled her arms back and pushed forward as hard as she could.
There was a sound like a small thunderclap as Lynn's fist met Lori's outstretched palms, the unstoppable meeting the unstoppable, and though it forced her to leverage every ounce of strength she could muster from her current position, Lynn's fist stopped.
"Typical Lynn." Lori wheezed. "Always trying to muscle your way through things. Good thing I'm not exactly a slouch in that department myself."
"I have another hand!" Lynn growled, now bringing her other clenched fist to bear. "Good luck stopping this one!"
"Don't need luck." Muttered Lori as she concentrated. Her hands, still clasped around Lynn's began to shine, and angry crackling cutting through the air as Lori began drawing on more and more of reserves, channeling them into her fists. Lynn's eyes widened, seemingly realizing the predicament she now found herself in, and Lori allowed herself a small, victorious smile. All she needed was a few more moments, and then she'd—
"What the hell happened to my wall!?"
Lori's eyes locked with Lynn's, sky blue meeting hazelnut. And then a phenomenon occurred, one which had not been seen in many years now, long before the arrival of the comet that had irreversibly changed all their lives. Loud Sister High Speed Telepathy.
The untrained observer would merely see two girls staring at one another, but in the space between thoughts an extensive debate was being waged. Points were argued for and against, evidence presented and dismissed, and there was a short break for cake and coffee while the minutes from a previous meeting were retrieved from deep within stage. Eventually, the girls were able to come to a mutual agreement.
"The only thing that could possibly make Lincoln more angry at this point, would be watching one of us kill the other." They silently concluded.
"Well, to be fair, I wasn't actually going to kill you."
"No, you weren't."
"Because I was only planning on beating you unconscious. Just wanted to make sure we were clear on that."
"Fat chance. I had you right where I wanted you."
"Only if you wanted me to kick your teeth in. Because I was clearly—"
"—For a few hours! That's all! I thought you could go at least that long without—"
"Wow, he's still going."
"We should probably get up off the floor now."
"Lets."
In silent agreement, the Loud sisters released each other, rolled a short distance apart from one another and leapt to their feet. Each desperately trying to look nonchalant, and not like they had just been in the middle of a heated battle.
"And now my wall is gone!"
...Which, admittedly, was going to be really hard, given the state of the apartment.
"Honestly!" Lincoln flung his hands out in exasperation, seemingly having exhausted himself for the moment.
It occurred to Lori that Lincoln hadn't actually looked at her by this point. It seemed like it was entirely possible that he hadn't even realized it was her who had intruded upon his life once more. She looked towards the far end of the apartment, and gauged the distance. Right now he was distracted. If she made her move, she could simply leave, with Lincoln none the wiser. It's not like Lynn was going to tell him that it was Lori of all people who'd shown up. That wouldn't fit into her plans. Stupid plans, to be sure. Dangerous plans. Plans which Lori would almost certainly need to deal with at some point. For Lincoln's sake, of course. But today didn't have to be that day. All she had to do...was leave.
Lori had been on the cusp of doing exactly that. But then, Lincoln stumbled.
In all likelihood it hadn't been anything serious. The Loud boy had come home from a long day at school and proceeded to scream his lungs out. Anyone would be fatigued in those circumstances. If left to his own devices, it was extremely likely that he simply would have caught himself, and carried on.
But Lori had never been the type who was capable of thinking rationally when her siblings were involved. She saw her brother's brief moment of weakness, and her heart said "Save him."
Faster than a human eye could follow, Lori rocketed towards the unbalanced Loud boy, and gently slid to a stop behind him. Her arms outstretched, hand waiting, expectantly. They would never know how far Lincoln Loud would have fallen that day, because it was only millimeters into his descent that he found himself supported by a pair of strong, protective arms.
Lori's body moved on its own, this was a procedure that Luminary performed on a daily basis. Gently push the victim back up on to their feet, keep your arm around them just in case they weren't quite ready to stand on their own yet, then look them in the eyes and confidently reassure them that everything was going to be okay. It was that last step that made Lori falter. The words died on her lips as she found herself staring into her little brother's sweet, freckled, and utterly dumbfounded face.
"Lori?" His whispered hoarsely.
Aw...dang it.