AN: Hey look. I finally did that thing I kept promising I'd do!
Sorry it took so long. Like I keep saying, this is a hard story to write. And that means I can't guarantee when I'll get chapters out, I'm kind of at the mercy of my muse there. But despite school taking up a lot of my free time, this semester I'm finding it a lot easier to write. It really helps to have a permanent place to live again, so hopefully that means I'll get the next chapter out sooner than later.
In the meantime, I'm planning on working on another, lighter in tone story next. And then I'm planning on working on a Stupor-adjacent story after that. Not entirely sure how I want to handle it yet, but I want to give it a try regardless. And then maybe I'll try giving some attention to my other neglected stories. We'll see how things go.
Thanks for being patient with me.
Lynn groaned as she slid out of the reinforced car that had been serving as her transportation all day, and drew herself up to her full height, sighing in relief as she felt her spine begin crackling like bubble wrap. She'd used to get around by just flinging herself in the general direction of wherever she needed to go. But jumping good wasn't an exact science, and her landings were anything but graceful. Initially, city officials and the Department of Metahuman Affairs were willing to overlook the, in her defense, fairly minor amount of property damage that tended to result from her trips around the city, but after that whole debacle (which her legal counsel still strongly encouraged her to remain vague about), and her resultant "sabbatical", she was on a somewhat tighter leash now. Admittedly, being forced to be shuttled around in a fully stocked, luxury car wasn't the harshest punishment they could have inflicted on her, but while the vehicle had been reinforced to accommodate how...solidly, she was built, her height made sitting in the car a fairly tight squeeze. She'd been assured that R&D was already working on a revised model with more headroom for her, and as far as she was concerned, that couldn't happen fast enough.
"Gonna have to incorporate more stretching into my workout routine," Lynn muttered, as she started towards Lincoln's apartment and was immediately stopped by a sharp ache in her joints. Her pride was irreparably wounded. Over the course of her career, Lynn had personally verified that a wide variety of ballistics, and all but the highest grade ordinance would simply bounce off her superhuman physique, rarely even registering as a tickle, and sometimes leaving a rather pleasant tingling instead. But apparently, she could be defeated, quite handily by just trapping her in a slightly too small box for a while.
The fact that since she'd made her triumphant return to super heroing, her days had been mostly spent catching up on the abundance of paperwork that had built up in her absence, and sitting in boring marketing meetings didn't help matters. By the time she'd made a big enough dent in that stuff, there was barely enough of the work day left to squeeze in some real hero work. Admittedly, in hindsight, she could have made a lot of this much easier on herself if she'd bothered to weigh in with her advisors and estate managers while she was on her impromptu vacation. And yes, her reluctance to do so had largely been due to laziness. Frankly, having the excuse to unplug herself from all of that, even for that relatively short amount of time had been incredibly refreshing, something she hadn't realized she'd needed as badly as she did until it happened. But more than that, was that Lincoln's place was...special. She'd gone there on a desperate whim, and in doing so she'd reclaimed a part of herself that she'd long thought to be gone. That apartment was their space. She didn't want it to be sullied with work, and all the weird baggage that came with her career. It was a sanctuary, one meant just for her and her brother.
...and Lori, she supposed. And sometimes Stella. Which, she didn't mind nearly as much. But it was mostly just her and Lincoln.
With a familiar warmth blossoming in her chest, Lynn started towards the apartment building, her steps suddenly feeling lighter as her powerful legs effortlessly propelled her up the stairs.
Because regardless of what happened out there, right now, Lynn was home.
"I'm—!" Lynn began to announce as she barged into Lincoln's apartment (remembering to first open the door this time).
"...home." She concluded, her mood immediately taking a downward turn as she took in the sight of her siblings.
Lincoln and Lori were on the couch. The former laying down, his head resting, quite comfortably from the looks of it, in the lap of the latter. Lori cradled her brother's head in her hands. Hands, which were quite capable of tearing steel apart like tissue paper, were instead holding the object of her affection with the utmost care. The TV was on, but neither was paying attention. Rather, they had eyes only for each other. Their gazes locked with a strange, passive sort of intensity, the stupid grins plastered across their faces leaving little to the imagination as to their feelings for each other. It was a sweet scene. Sickeningly so, a kind that the pair had shared far too often for Lynn's taste when they were kids. The old Lynn (who was, oddly enough, also the young Lynn) would have been rendered blind with fury at seeing another girl get so chummy with Lincoln, especially if that girl had been Lori, blessed as she had been with curves that Lynn could have only dreamed of possessing in her pre-meta life. And indeed, it still irked her a bit that not only had Lori taken to wearing a facsimile of her old, trademarked outfit while she was hanging around Lincoln's place, but she filled it out far better than she ever had in their previous lives.
In spite of all that, however, it was not this display of lovey-doveyness that had earned Lynn's ire. Lynn had grown in the time since she'd forcibly reinserted herself back into Lincoln's life. Not just in terms of the several extra inches that she'd found had been added to her already superhuman stature (which was a happy surprise, even to her, though it did require another round of adjustments to Lincoln's doorways), but also as a person. The present Lynn was supremely confident in her power, her sexiness, and in the love that she shared with her brother, in no small part due to the frequency with which Lincoln affirmed all three of those qualities to her, and so much more. Long, passionate affirmation sessions that left both of them weak in the knees (as well as a number of other places), but thoroughly, joyously enraptured with each other. So it was of little consequence to her to see Lori take her turn at bat. Lincoln's heart was big, and Lynn knew for a fact that she owned prime real estate there.
No, what irritated her so, was the sight of the large ice pack that was currently resting on her brother's crotch.
"Dammit it, Lori!" She yelled, storming into the apartment and only just managing to avoid slamming the door behind her. "You broke our boyfriend!"
"Excuse me!?"
"You hearrrrrrd…" Lynn's retort stalled, fading away as her gaze met Lincoln's mid-stride. His eyes lit up as he caught sight of her, a happy grin forming on his face causing her heart to skip several beats. And suddenly, Lori didn't seem so important anymore.
"Gimme," She said instead, stopping in front of the couple. She reached down and snatched Lincoln from his perch ("Hey!"), lifting him up to her eye level, and taking a moment to admire him.
"Lynn!" He exclaimed happily. "I—"
And that was as far as her self-control went. Before he could finish his greeting, Lynn's head darted forward, and she pressed her lips against his. The kiss was brief, but passionate. A day's worth of longing and desire crammed into a matter of heartbeats, and when, through a great deal of willpower, Lynn managed to pull herself away, her brother now looked several degrees more disheveled than he had before their union. But that smile was still on his face.
"Sorry," She said with a nervous giggle. "I just...I really missed you."
"I did too," Said Lincoln. It looked as though he had more to add, but a sudden hiss of discomfort cut off whatever was forthcoming.
"Oops," Lynn winced. "Sorry. Did I—?"
"No, no." Lincoln said, reassuringly. "It's just the…"
He glanced down, and Lynn followed his gaze with her eyes.
"Ah," She said, fixating on Lincoln's sore spot for several seconds longer than was strictly necessary, before wrenching her eyes away and meeting Linc's eyes once more.
"Poor Linky," She murmured, pulling him close and hugging him to her bosom as gently as she could manage. Stroking the tuft of white hair that was now poking out of her cleavage, she turned her attention to the very annoyed-looking Lori still seated on the couch.
"What did you do?" She growled, frowning at the older girl.
"I made him the happiest guy on the planet, thank you very much," Lori grumbled, rolling her eyes. One of Lincoln's arms raised, delivering a thumbs up which seemed to corroborate the claim.
"Besides," Lori continued. "I don't want to hear anything about that from you. Remember when we had to rush Lincoln to the emergency room because you got the bright idea to crush his head with your stupid thighs?"
"H-hey!" Lynn protested, trying to ignore the rush of heat that was pouring into her cheeks. "My social media is flooded with people begging me to do that to them! I thought he'd like it!"
"Oh, sure! I bet he loved his fractured—"
"GUYS!"
Superheroine and superheroine turned their attention to the young man who had managed to wriggle his way out of Lynn's grasp enough that he was able to speak again.
"Can you not?" He asked, looking between them. "Please?"
Though she didn't want to, Lynn clamped her mouth shut. Much as she'd have liked to tear Lori a new one (possibly in a literal fashion), it felt like a Lincoln Moment was coming on, and in spite of her irritation towards her sister, she couldn't deny that she wanted to see how it played out.
"Look, Lynn." He said, placing one hand reassuringly on one of her powerful forearms, the gesture disproportionately soothing relative to how minute it was. "I had some alone time with Lori, and I came out of it with a few dings."
"It had better have been just a few," She muttered to herself.
"But the exact same thing happens with you." He continued. "There's a reason I get regular checkups from my chiropractor now."
"Who I put him in touch with," Lori offered. "You know, just for the record."
Lynn's head jerked in Lori's direction once more, but before she could even begin to formulate a retort, she felt Lincoln's touch on her cheek, and she allowed him to guide her gaze back toward him. And immediately, a familiar, pleasant warmth replaced her irritation.
"I know what I'm getting into with you guys." He said. "I'm very familiar with the risks that come with...being with you. Lori too. But it's worth it, because I love you girls. And everything that comes along with you. Even when its the occasional hospital visit."
Not trusting herself to speak, Lynn wordlessly brought Lincoln close and hugged him. Not the protective hold she'd pulled him into previously, but a mutual embrace. Her cheek resting against his, her heartbeat beating in rhythm with his own.
A soft sniffling broke the spell, and drew Lynn's attention back to the space beyond her and her brother.
"H-hey, Lynn?" Lori called from the couch, her arms outstretched, fingers grasping futility at the air. "D...do you think you could bring Linky back over here? Please?"
The urge to simply flee (preferably back to Lincoln's room) was a powerful one. But nevertheless, Lynn plodded back to the couch and sat down, placing Lincoln between her and the elder Loud. A moment later, she adjusted her grip on her brother so as to leave his opposite side free. The blonde slid in and joined them, the trio now sharing a mutual embrace.
"Think we could stay like this for a bit?" Lincoln asked, his voice strangely quiet, despite the three of them having the apartment to themselves.
"...Yeah, alright," Lynn muttered, planting a quick kiss on the young man's cheek before resuming the snuggling position. Lori merely rested her head upon his opposing shoulder, letting out a quiet sigh of contentment.
Dinner at Lincoln's tended to be simple fare. While the girls could easily find better food elsewhere, they'd made it clear that they preferred Lincoln's cooking. Though their brother had not inherited their father's gift for cuisine, years of solitary, modest living had given the younger Loud a thorough enough education in the basics to give him a solid command of his kitchen. And while the food was far from fancy, it tasted of home, and as far as either of them was concerned, that was enough.
Tonight's meal was no different in that regard; a communal bowl of pasta for the trio to share, and a salad that Lynn and Lori had collaborated upon. And another bowl of pasta solely for Lynn, heavy on the meat sauce. And a plate of stakes, also for Lynn.
Conversation tended to be more subdued when Stella wasn't joining them for dinner. There was chit-chat, but it was largely performative, something to fill the space. Not because there was nothing to say, far from it, but because in the absence of their resident outsider, there simply wasn't much need for the Louds to speak to each other. The siblings knew each other intimately, familially and then some. A brush of the hand, a gentle touch, a warm smile, and an occasional low-yield energy to remind Lynn that she had her own food, was more than sufficient for the trio to converse with each other. The ritual of eating dinner together was exactly that, an opportunity for the siblings to enjoy each other's company. Conversation, with words, would only get in the way.
Which is why it came as a bit of a surprise when Lori sat up straight and cleared her throat, drawing the attention of her brother and sister.
"I have something I've been meaning to bring up..." She began, somewhat tensely. Though she clearly had more to say, she delayed just a fraction of an instant too long, giving Lynn the opportunity to groan loudly (and Loudly), cutting off her train of thought.
"PLEASE tell me it's not more drama," Lynn grumbled sinking down to the tabletop and resting her head in her arms. "We were having a pretty good run until now."
"Come on, Lynn," Lincoln admonished her, giving the larger girl a jab with his elbow. It was completely ineffective, other than causing his elbow to throb painfully. Nevertheless, the brunette still pouted at him.
"I'm sure it isn't anything bad," he said, looking back at Lori.
"...It's not, right?" He added after a moment of hesitation. "You haven't been...challenged to a fight by an arch-enemy or anything, right? And I'm pretty sure I would have heard something if Lynn had broken another landmark—"
"HEY!"
"No, and no, surprisingly," Lori deadpanned. She rolled her eyes at Lynn, and Lynn stuck her tongue out at Lori. Their ritual now complete, Lincoln and Lynn looked to their older sister expectantly. And, for the former, with a small amount of trepidation, despite her assurances.
"I'm going back into space at the end of the week." Said Lori.
A polite silence followed, but nothing else seemed forthcoming.
"Is...is that it?" Lynn asked, cautiously.
"That's it."
"And you mean...temporarily, right?" Lincoln asked, his eyes widening with worry. "You're not being relocated to another planet or anything, right?"
"No, I'm not," Lori giggled, reaching out and taking Lincoln's hand in her own. "It's a routine mission, they need me to move some satellites around or something, and apparently it's cheaper and safer to send a hero to do it. But there aren't too many flight-capable heroes who can survive in space, and I drew the short straw. Trust me, if they tried to relocate me, they'd have to drag me kicking and screaming."
A reassuring squeeze from the blonde made it clear as to why she was hellbent on remaining terrestrial. And despite such declarations of affection being far from rare between the duo, Lincoln smiled, his cheeks darkening ever so slightly.
"Fine by me," Said Lynn, grabbing her fourth steak and tearing into it. "More room to spread out in Lincoln's bed. Dunno why you needed to make such a big deal out of it."
"I'm bringing it up because while it should be a simple mission, I am going to be gone for a few days."
"Like I said—"
"And that means," Lori continued, gritting her teeth as she attempted to maintain her composure, "That you'll be solely responsible for keeping Lincoln safe."
Lynn scoffed as she tossed the remainder of her steak into her mouth, swallowing it whole.
"What else is new?" She asked, as she slid her arm around Lincoln and pulled him close, flashing Lori a cocky grin. "In case you haven't noticed, I already do that."
Lori opened her mouth to respond.
"Hospital visits don't count!" Lynn interjected quickly. "Come on, Linc, tell her!"
"It's true, Lori," Said Lincoln, chuckling as he leaned into Lynn. "Pursuant to the matter of Loud v. Loud—"
"Alright, alright," Lori replied, waving her hands dismissively. "I don't want to fight about it. Just…"
She flashed Lynn a pained look.
"Please. Take care of him, Lynn."
Lynn leaned down, resting her head on Lincoln shoulder, and wrapped her other arm around him.
"Trust me, Lori." She said, suddenly all business. "Nobody's getting our little bro while I'm around."
The sisters stared at each other, silently.
"Alright then." Said Lori, breaking the spell. She favored her siblings with a small smile, and then returned her attention to her meal.
"So…" Lynn drawled, still not relinquishing her hold on Lincoln. "With a mission like that coming up, you're probably gonna have to run off and prepare, right? Read your dossier, pack an away bag—"
"Dream on," Lori snorted in amusement. "I'm actually on leave until the mission starts. I'm not going anywhere until then."
"...Fair enough," Lynn replied, nodding in agreement. She nuzzled her cheek against Lincoln's affectionately. "So what's the word, Linc? You gonna need more recovery time, or…"
"Nah." Hooking one arm around Lynn's neck, Lincoln pulled himself to his feet and gave his waist an experimental wiggle. "Think I'm good to go."
"Atta-boy," Lynn chuckled, leaping to her feet and scooping her brother up off the ground.
"Last one there is Lori!" She announced, dashing off toward Lincoln's room.
"Hey!" shouted the blonde, floating up out of her seat and flying after her siblings. "That's not fair!"
"So that's that then," Said Luna, silencing their transceiver with a flick of her wrist. "We'll do it this weekend."
"Already?" Sam asked, hesitantly. "Don't you think it's a little soon?"
"You heard them," Luna waved vaguely at the now silent device. "Lori's always been the biggest problem. She's the thing we couldn't fully account for. Her being off planet removes her from the equation entirely, we can't pass that up."
"I...I guess," Sam said, reluctantly. "Though, Lynn's no slouch herself, you know. Your powers have never been all that effective against her, she's too tough."
"Which is why we'll make our move when she's out on the job." Said Luna. "We do it just like we planned, we'll be in and out without her noticing. And by the time she finds out what happened, we'll be long gone.
"And if she catches us in the act?"
Luna looked to her girlfriend, her lips curling up into a small smile.
"Well, obviously I'm not going to go down without a fight. But that's what we have your...friend, for. Right?"
Sam winced. But after a moment of hesitation, she nodded.
"I...I suppose we do."
Rising from her spot on their bed, Sam made her way to the closet. The other closet. And with a reluctant sigh, she submitted herself to the small battery of tests she'd designed to ensure that she would be the only person to ever open the thing.
A lock of her hair, a scan of her eyes, scans of two different fingers, a short rendition of Mick Swagger's Double Duty in a very specific key, and the simple, physical key she wore around her neck at all times, was the bare minimum required to assure her hiding place that she was who she claimed to be. Thus satisfied, the door slid open, revealing a long, black case.
Taking a moment to disarm the tripwire that stretched across the lower half of the closet space, a final bit of insurance she'd installed to ensure that anyone who'd gotten this far would be likely to walk away intact, if at all, Sam reached in and withdrew the case, stepping back, and laying it across the ground.
She crouched down and placed her hands upon the locks to the case; simple latches that could be discharged by anyone with a working pair of thumbs. There was, after all, a point where even well-founded paranoia became impractical.
"I was kinda hoping we wouldn't need this." She muttered to herself, as she released each latch with a loud click. "But Luna's right. Better to be safe than sorry."
The lid swung open, revealing a guitar. Her guitar, as it happened, one of the few things she'd been able to retain from her old life. She experienced a slight pang of yearning as she gazed upon her old friend, running an appraising eye over its hot pink finish, its spotless exterior. And, of course, the glowing, crystalline shard that sat in its center, tucked safely behind its strings.
After a moment of hesitation, Sam took the instrument in her hands. A calm overtook her as she felt its familiar weight, and instinctively she began to examine the instrument with her fingers, tightening it's knobs and checking the strings for obvious signs of wear.
But of course, there was only one test that truly mattered.
Sam took a deep breath, steadied herself, and plucked one, singular string on the instrument.
The tone that emanated forth was low, some might say ominous, but far more important was the shard that blinked to life in response, sending crackling tendrils of electricity coursing across the surface of the guitar. Sam's breath hitched in her throat as the electricity made contact with her skin, shuddering in delight as the power surged through her. Without conscious effort, her fingers adjusted themselves, and she desperately found herself wanting to play the remaining notes, so bring the song to its crescendo.
...but it was a need that she had dealt with before. And with a great exertion of willpower, she pushed the guitar away from herself, placing it back in its container, and counting the seconds until the shard finally grew dim once more. Finally, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not yet," She cautioned herself, as she closed the lid, and secured the latches once more. "Not until...show time."