Chapter Text
“Well here it is kids!” Lynn Sr, father of the Loud family, announced to his kids as he looked forward with a big, excited grin on his face currently he and his family, consisting of his wife and their 10 kids. Yes, that right, 10 kids. And this wasn’t even all of them! They had another that wasn’t with them right now! The entire family consisted of 10 daughters and only one son. “The city of tomorrow…Metropolis!”
“Woooooah…” Most of the daughters let out as they looked out the windows to see one of the greatest cities in the entire world before their very eyes. They’ve heard countless things about this city but none of them thought they’d ever get a chance to visit it!
Let alone live in it!
“This place is totes amazing!” The 2nd oldest daughter of the Loud family at age 18 spoke up with sparkles in her eyes. Especially when she noticed all the amazing cloths the people on the streets were wearing. “This place has, like, some of the best fashion I’ve ever seen! I’ve gotta take notes of all these!”
“Man, this city is wicked man!” Luna, the third oldest child at age 17 grinned as she took in everything around her from all the buildings, various stores and restaurants, and just various things and people they found on the streets. “It feels like a whole new world!”
“It seems far too bright for my taste,” The fifth youngest of the Loud family at ten years old spoke up with her usual monotoned voice. While most of the Loud family was excited for moving to the city of tomorrow, Lucy was not one of them as she felt this place was far to happy and full of sunshine. “I can feel everyone’s positive attitudes…”
“Well I am positively sure that from here on out all of our lives are gonna change for the better!” The comedian of the family and fourth oldest at 16 Luan Loud joked with a large grin on her face. “Hahahaha! Get it?!”
This got groans coming from everyone in the car. “New city but still the same bad jokes from Luan, why am I not surprised.” The smartest members of the Loud family yet the second youngest of the family at 6 years old said with a stoic voice. But despite her usual attitude she couldn’t help but also give an excited smile as well. “But being in the city of tomorrow is sure to be quite the experience, the famous Lexcorp has been known for its incredible technological advances. With any luck I might just meet Lex Luthor himself!”
“Pfft, forget about chrome dome I’m looking forward to meeting any potential bigtime athletes!” The 5th oldest in the family at age 15 and biggest sports lover in the family Lynn Loud Jr yelled out as she punched a fist into an open palm. While Lynn was at first upset that’d she’d have to ditch her teams back home to move to a new city, once she found out what city it was she was more then up for it. “Metropolis has created some of the best all stars of all time! And I plan on being its next big star!”
“Well it’s good to hear that you kids are so excited about moving here,” The mother of the family, Rita, said as she turned to her kids with a smile on her face. Rita and Lynn having to reveal that they were moving was certainly one of the hardest things they’ve had to do in their lives. Both for their kids and themselves. Royal Woods was pretty much all they’ve ever known and while they did take the occasional trip outside their hometown this would be something else entirely. “Just remember that moving to a new city is gonna be hard on all of us, but just take your time, adjust, get to know your new surroundings and make some new friends.”
“It did kinda blow that I had to leave the band and Sam behind,” Luna said with a small frown on her face. There were tears shared between her and her girlfriend when Luna had to break the news to her, but both agreed to make a long distance relationship work and they vowed to get the band back together someday. “But being in Metropolis is gonna be wicked! And it’ll be worth it for you dad!”
“Aw shucks Luna, thanks.” Lynn Sr blushed as his kids followed up on what Luna said. He had to admit he has been killing it as of late. “I still can’t believe how big my restaurant has grown since I opened it up! Already opened up 6 locations outside of Royal Woods and then I’m given the chance to expand even further then that and have Metropolis has my base of operations? It feels like a dream come true!”
“…” Meanwhile one of the only siblings that hasn’t spoken up the entire time was the only son of the parents, Lincoln Loud. Being the only boy of 11 kids wasn’t the only thing that made Lincoln stand out, for he also sported snow white hair on top of his head despite being only 13 years old. Ever since being told they were moving away from their home of Royal Woods Lincoln has been…quiet. He’s hardly spoke up to anyone, and just seemed to not care about anything that was going on. It was almost like he turned into Lucy.
But beneath all of that…Lincoln was completely devastated.
He was gonna have to leave everything he’s ever known behind. His school, his teachers, all the spots he loved to hang out at, the fun events Royal Wood had sometimes, and most importantly of all…his friends. Rusty, Zach, Liam, Stell,a and of course his best friend Clyde…he was gonna be living miles and miles away from any of them. If this was how Ronnie Anne felt like when she learned she was moving to Great Lakes City, then he seriously owed her an apology for thinking she overreacted to the whole situation back then.
But just…didn’t know how to take it at all. It was like his entire life was starting over from scratch. A new city filled with new and unknown places to him and of course no friends to help get him through it. The most he now had was being able to call and text his old friends back in Royal Woods and sure he did have his family but, it was most likely they were gonna try and focus on their own thing for the most part which would still leave him all on his own.
‘Hey Lincoln, are you ok?’
Lincoln heard a voice speak up in his head. ‘You aren’t looking so good,’ Another voice spoke up, once again inside his head. But instead of freaking out over hearing voices in his head, Lincoln simply looked next to him at the two siblings sitting by him. The eight-year-old twins Lana and Lola.
Despite being identical twins Lana and Lola couldn’t possibly be more different than each other, they were pretty much exact opposites. Lola was as girly as they come and loved wearing pretty pink dresses and tiaras and competing in beauty pageants while Lana was a complete and total tom boy and loved being dirty and muddy while also being a total grease monkey.
But there was one thing that the two twins had in common, a rather strange ability that no one else in the family knew about except for their big brother.
Telepathy.
That’s right, a true Metahuman ability the two shared with each other. The ability to communicate with each other and others through their minds alone. Not the most powerful ability true, but it had its uses. Like arguing with each other after their parents told them to stop when they were actually talking and shouting, or spooking their siblings by having voices speak up in their head. But right now they were using it to help comfort the only other person who even knew they had these powers.
‘You still bummed out about having to leave home?’ Lana asked as she leaned closer to her brother, keeping their conversation mental as to not attract the attention of their other siblings. They knew Lincoln didn’t really want them all to confront him about this, even if they would have the best intentions. ‘I’ll admit I’m bummed out about it too but hey think about the new possibilities!’
Lola nodded her head as she rose her head up to smile at her brother. ‘She’s right! We’re moving to Metropolis! The city of tomorrow and endless possibilities!’ Lola tried to bring up the bright side to this. While she was also a bit upset about leaving home she was also greatly looking forward to what Metropolis had to offer, especially with the potential beauty pageants. ‘Pretty much a chance to start all over and create a whole new life for yourself!’
‘Yeah I guess…’ Lincoln mentally sighed, still not all that excited for what was going to happen. What new life would he even have to make for himself here? Not like he could do anything noteworthy…well except for one thing but…there was no way he was just gonna go and show them off! No freaking way. ‘But what am I even supposed to do to make a new life for myself? I don’t have any of my friends with me, and it’s not like I have talents like all of y-‘
‘Heeeeeey…’ Lola and Lana said in unison as they narrowed their eyes at Lincoln. They’ve heard that plenty of times from him and they weren’t about to hear it again. ‘What did we tell you about saying that?’
‘Besides you have do so have plenty of talents.’ Lana nudged Lincoln a bit as she tried to perk him up. Lincoln was good at many things; she just doesn’t get why he thinks he’s hardly anything compared to her and the rest of their sisters. ‘Come on you know that.’
‘And there’s one thing you have that no one else does!’ Lola grinned as she brought up one aspect about Lincoln that none of their other sisters could possibly do as well, even them. They knew Lincoln’s own special ‘talent’ far surpassed their own abilities and was really something remarkable. ‘Maybe here you can actually make something with them other then just talking with me and Lana!’
‘…You girls now I can’t do that…’ Lincoln frowned as he hugged himself and curled into a ball while looking down at the floor of Vanzilla. Honestly he wasn’t sure what to make of his abilities. On one hand he was positive that most people would love to have abilities like his but on the other hand…he can’t help but think most people would think he was some kind of freak if he actually showed them up. It’s not like they were normal, heck he was an 11-year-old with white hair and that already got a lot of strange looks from people…though it did help him get the senior citizen discount at a movie once. ‘I mean come on? What am I supposed to do? Just go in the middle of the city and show them off? What do you think is gonna happen if I do that?’
‘…I…guess that’s true…’ The twins couldn’t help but admit. It was pretty much the same reason why they haven’t revealed their abilities to anyone. They didn’t want anyone to think they were freakish or anything like that, and with Lincoln’s being far stronger and more potent it might be worse for him then it would be for them.
‘Just…try and see the bright side ok Linky?’ Lola tried to encourage her older brother with her and her twin giving him supportive smiles.
‘I…I’ll try…’ Lincoln gave a small nod but still couldn’t help but be worried about things going forward. Hopefully at least he can make at least one hand.
“Alright gang! We’re here!” Lynn Sr called out to everyone as the van stopped, snapping the twins and Lincoln out of their mental conversation. Almost immediately the entire family exited the van, with Rita taking the youngest at three years old Lily out of her car seat and carrying her. Once out of the van the entire family, other then the parents, looked in aw at what was in front of them. “So what do you think of our new house!”
“House? This is more like a mansion!” Lola yelled out with stars in her eyes as she and everyone else looked at the place they would be living at from now on. It was easily over two times bigger than their old house and it looked so nice and actually fully intact! She could only imagine how it looked like on the inside! “We’re actually gonna be living here?!”
“How can you even afford this dad?” Lana asked with stars in her eyes as well. There was gonna be so much room to run around in, it was like having their own little castle.
“Weeeell, when you own multiple restaurants you do tend to rack in the green,” Lynn Sr couldn’t help but brag a little bit about that. Before at his office job he and Rita, with her dental assistant job, were able to make enough to support their large family. After opening up his first restaurant he was starting to earn much more money than before allowing their family to treat themselves a little more. And once he started opening up more restaurants, he really started to make plenty of cash. “And your mother’s book’s certainly selling well helps a lot to!”
“And it was all worth it to be able to afford a place where we could all live comfortably!” Rita grinned eagerly, glad that their move to Metropolis was starting off on a great note like this one. She knew a big house was gonna win the kids over, especially when it comes to this next part. “And the best part about this house is…there’s gonna be a room for each of you!”
“WOOHOO!!!” Pretty much all the kids cheered, it even got a small smile out of Lincoln. After so many years of having to share their room with another sibling, or in Lincoln’s case having his room just be a walkin closet, they will all finally have a space all to themselves!
“Um, for the most part actually…” Lynn Sr then spoke up with a bit of a sheepish tone and nervous smile. All the kids immediately stopped cheering and looked at their dad with raised brows, even Rita gave him a bit of a confused look. “Turns out the real estate agent got the number of rooms wrong, and there’s enough rooms for most of you. I’m afraid two of you will still have to share a room.
“…” All were silent as the Loud sisters looked at each other, silently daring each other to see which two would still have to share a room and give up the chance to have a room to themselves.
Lana and Lola looked to each other with the former lightly nudging their twin with an elbow. Lola let out a loud sigh in response. They were gonna have to be the ones to step up weren’t they? “Alright, alright,” Lola slumped down as she was pretty much forced to give up her chance at getting a room to herself. “Me and Lana will share.”
Everyone watching couldn’t help but look at the twins in disbelief. “Wait, seriously?” Luna asked with a bit of a shocked tone. Her and pretty much their whole family figured the twins would be the ones to most refuse sharing a room again given well…it’s them. “You two are cool with continuing to share rooms?”
“Eh, we’re twins. We’re used to sharing things.” Lana stated as she wrapped an arm around her twin and pulled her close. “It’s just what we do…”
‘You so owe me for this…’ Lola mentally told her twin, getting a mental chuckle from Lana. “Yeah, I guess we do. Besides it won’t be for too long I can totally wait to get my own after Leni goes off to-“ But Lola cut herself off as she looked to Leni and saw her ditzy older sister being distracted by a butterfly flying around her. “…After Luna goes off to college…” Lola slumped down even more with another sigh.
“Well…alright then if you girls are sure,” Lynn Sr smiled and breathed a sigh in relief. He was expecting a full on dust cloud fight over who would have to share a room, but he was very much pleasantly surprised with how well and how quickly that whole thing turned out. “Welp I’m sure we’re all tired after a long drive here so why don’t we head inside and explore the house! The moving truck won’t be here until tomorrow so we can just relax for the rest of the day and me and your mother will find a pizza place to order from for dinner!”
“And call Lori to make sure she knows we got here safely.” Rita brought up their oldest daughter at age 19 who was currently living at Fair Way College all the way in Great Lakes City.
“Alright!”
“Dibs on the room with the best view!”
“My rooms gotta have some killer acoustics!”
“Bet I’ll get to my new room first!”
And so all of the sisters rushed into the house, eager to call dibs on their new rooms. The last one to enter the house being Lincoln himself who was carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder with pretty much his carry on stuff, all of his and his families other stuff in the moving van. Lincoln didn’t get a good look at his new house as he simply wanted to get to his new room and head to bed, but he did briefly glance at everything he passed by. A big living room with two couches and a large TV connected to a large kitchen with a fridge that was certainly bigger than their old one.
Upon walking up the stairs to where their new rooms were. Lincoln looked around and saw the upper hallway was a lot like the one at his old house, just with a lot more doors and all but one of them closed. “Guess that’s my new room…” Lincoln muttered as he went to the open room and walked inside. While it was empty, aside from a bed and a nightstand, it was easily far bigger than his old closest room, heck it was probably bigger than his sisters’ old rooms. “Guess this is pretty cool.”
Sure Lincoln should probably be excited about getting his own room which wasn’t a freaking closet, he just couldn’t find it in himself to truly be hyped about it. Yeah it was a bigger room…but he still did like his old one back home. It just felt like everything did in Metropolis so far. Yeah it was bigger but…it didn’t feel better then Royal Woods. “Think I’m just gonna take a nap.” Lincoln whispered to himself before closing the door and, upon noticing there was a lock, quickly locked the door so no one would bother him. He was feeling a bit lazy and tired right now so…he decided he was gonna make his bed the easy way.
Setting his bag down and opening it up, Lincoln took a deep breath to focus himself. Lincoln held his hand out and suddenly a neon blue glow came from it as well as his eyes. A sheet, pillow, and blanket then came floating out of his bag also covered in a neon blue aura, Lincoln directed the bedding to the bed and uses his abilities to place the sheet on the bed, and then the pillow and blanket.
While Lola and Lana had telepathy, Lincoln’s powers were many steps further than that. He was psychic. No not that kind of psychic that somehow see the future after looking at someones hand, that was just a scam. He was a psychic in that he can move things with his mind, such as what he was doing with his bedding. Once his bed was made, Lincoln used his powers to levitate himself to the bed before lifting up his blanket and setting himself done with it, and getting comfy in his new bed.
“Maybe I should at least give this place a chance…” Lincoln whispered as he closed his eyes in an attempt to escape into dreamland. “I’m going to the middle school here next week…maybe that won’t be so bad.”
ONE WEEK LATER
“…I’m not ready for this…” Lincoln was currently standing in front of Metropolis Middle School and currently he felt like he was ant-sized compared to both the building in front of him, and all the people going into it who were most likely far more used to coming here every day of the week. It was strange, when he was preparing to enter his hometown middle school, he wasn’t afraid at all. Heck, he was excited to take the next big step in his life…granted it ended up with him being sent to Canada briefly and then getting banned there but still!
But here…he felt like a pig being lined up to be slaughtered.
The only difference between then and now was…he had his friends with him. Back then they were the scared ones and he was the one who helped pick them up when they were scared but now he was all by himself with no one to bag him up. Not even his sisters as his younger sisters were at the elementary school and his older ones were at the high school.
He was all by himself.
“Excuse me, are you Lincoln Loud?”
“AH!” Lincoln jumped up, similar to when Lucy would speak up out of nowhere, as someone suddenly spoke up to him leading to him falling on his butt.
“Woah! Sorry about that man, didn’t mean to spook ya there.” The voice spoke up again as a hand was held out to Lincoln. Looking up, Lincoln saw the hand belonged to a boy his age wearing a red shirt with a yellow lightning bolt on it, blue basketball shorts, and red and white shoes. He also had blue eyes and blond hair and a kind smile on his face. “Names Barry Allen!”
“Oh, uh, well nice to meet you,” Lincoln greeted Barry in an awkward tone as he took the blond boy’s hand, allowing Barry to help him up. “And yeah I’m Lincoln Loud, but how’d you know that? I’ve only been in Metropolis for a week, and this is my first day here,”
“Well that’s exactly why I’m here!” Barry grinned as he put a hand on Lincoln’s shoulder. He could feel how tense Lincoln was right now and hopefully he’d be able to help with that. “I was assigned to be your guide through our glorious middle school! I know you’re just gonna love it here!”
“O-Oh…” Lincoln stuttered a bit in surprise. He…wasn’t expecting something like that. Normally when you’re at a new school you are pretty much left to fend for yourself so having someone help guide him was certainly a welcome surprise. At least he wouldn’t have to walk through the doors alone. “I…appreciate that thanks. Guess it’s pretty easy to see that I’m kinda nervous huh?”
“Yep, but that’s why I’m here!” Barry told Lincoln as he gestured for the white head to follow him towards the middle school. Lincoln gulped a bit nervously but managed to work up the will to take the steps towards his new life at Metropolis Middle School. “Trust me, I’ve lived in Metropolis my whole life and you won’t find a better city than this one! And our Middle School has lots of nice and friendly people in it, you’ll fit right in!”
“Maybe but…I just wish I had my friends here…” Lincoln sighed out as he put his hands in his pockets and kicked a nearby pebble. He just couldn’t get it out of his mind. Whenever he turned in any direction he was expecting to see all of his friends back in Royal Woods right there by his side, all of them helping each other to get through the day. “I know it’s only been a week but…I really miss them. Especially Clyde, we always had each other’s backs.”
Upon hearing this, Barry sent Lincoln a sympathetic smile as he walked next to the Loud boy and wrapped an arm around him in a side hug. While they had just meant, Barry couldn’t stand by whenever someone needed help. Including emotional help. “Hey, I know it might seem hard at first but trust me when I say this place really is full of nice people, you’ll make some friends in no time!” Barry reassured Lincoln in a calm tone, that friendly smile still on his face. “In fact how about at lunchtime I introduce you to my friend Oliver! I’m sure you will really hit off.”
“Huh, you really mean it?” Lincoln asked as a small smile came to his face. While it was true that Barry was acting as his guide for the school, Lincoln was able to tell that he was being genuine about all of this. And no he didn’t read his mind to tell if that was the case, Lincoln made a vow to never use his abilities to read someone’s mind. “W-Wow…thanks Barry I really appreciate that.”
“Just know if you ever need someone to talk to I’m always here.” Barry reassured Lincoln with a pat on the back before he started to walk towards the school again. “Now come on, let me show you where your first class is!”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Lincoln couldn’t help but smile a little bit. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
LUNCH TIME
Despite being in a new city, Lincoln was at least relieved to know that the lunchroom never changes. It was filled with students of all grades in the middle school all eating and chatting it up with their respective friend groups.
“Ah I see you are the newest student to tread the grounds of our middle school!” And currently Lincoln was face to face with the person that Barry first mentioned to him that morning, Oliver Queen. Like Barry Oliver had blond hair, though Oliver’s was a bit dark, with green eyes and wore mainly green clothes. A moss green suit with a light green undershirt with a dark green ascot along with pale yellow pants and brown loafers. “Well young Lincoln Loud it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, I hope we may make merry companions.”
“…Um…nice to meet you too Oliver and…same?” Lincoln shook Oliver’s hand while looking at Oliver strangely, but still trying to be nice. He was currently sitting in between Barry and Oliver as Barry introduced Lincoln to his friend just like he promised, although maybe he should have told Lincoln about Oliver’s…quirks. “So Barry, um, told me you two were good friends?”
“Yes, me and Barry have been faithful companions for many a years,” Oliver confirmed, still talking as if he was from a renaissance fair. “And may I welcome you to our school, may we also become great and trustworthy classmates as well!”
“…Barry?” Lincoln quickly looked to the other, normal-talking, blond boy.
“Yeah don’t worry about that, that’s normal for Oliver.” Barry chuckled a bit, enjoy Lincoln’s reaction to meeting his friend for the first time. This was pretty much how everyone acted when they first met Oliver, they just needed to get used to it. “He’s in theater and likes to keep up with his dramatics.”
“It’s called staying in character dear Barry, all the great actors do it.” Oliver stated in a matter-of-fact tone as he put a hand to his chest. What many claim to be weird he considered to be professional. All the best actors should be able to stay in whatever roles they are playing both on and off stage, a way to constantly practice and hone one’s talents. “I’m sure our new comrade agrees do you not young Lincoln?”
“Uuum…yeah sure,” Lincoln decided it was best to just agree and appease the theater kid. He knew that kids in drama can be quite…well…dramatic. “You go Oliver.”
“Ah I feel like we are going to be very merry friends Lincoln!” Oliver grinned and wrapped an arm around Lincoln and pulled him into a friendly embrace. Barry sent Lincoln a nod and a smile, gesturing that he did the right things. Lincoln couldn’t help but smile as well, so far the day has been pretty good. The classes were more or less the same, the teachers seemed nice so far, and so far he’s already got two friends. While Oliver was a bit odd, he’s dealt with odder things before, and Oliver still seemed like a nice guy. “So what’s on the agenda first my good friends?”
“Simple!” Barry spoke up first as he rose a finger. He had this idea since his first talk with Lincoln and knew it would be good for the white-haired brow. “Lincoln is gonna make a new friend!”
“Huh?” Lincoln let out with a raised brow.
“For what do you mean by that Barry?” Oliver asked, just as confused as Lincoln. “For he already has us, and it is only his first day.”
“I know, I know, but just hear me out on this,” Barry began to properly explain things to his two friends. “I think it’ll be good for Lincoln to make a new friend all on his own, that’s all.”
“I…guess that makes sense…” Lincoln admitted, seeing what Barry meant by that. While he was happy that both Barry and Oliver were willing to be his friends even if they pretty much just met him, it would be nice to make a friend all on his own and not pretty much have it been handed to him. “Alright then Barry who did you have in mind?”
“Anyone in the cafeteria!” Barry yelled out loud as he grabbed the sides of Lincoln’s heads and directed him to look over the entire cafeteria. “Ok here’s what I want you to do, just close your eyes, move your head from side to side a bit, and then open your eyes. Whoever you see first, you’re gonna walk up to them and try and make them your friend!”
“Well if you’re sure about that…” Ok that did make Lincoln nervous a bit. Just the first person he saw at complete random? What if he ended up looking at a bully or some mean jock guy? But still, if he really wanted to get comfortable in his new school and new city then he was just gonna have to man up and take a few risk like that. Besides he might even look at someone nice. “Ok…Ok here I go…”
Lincoln took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He did just what Barry told him to do and look around the lunchroom in complete darkness. He could still hear everything of course but he had no idea who his eyes were directed at. He counted in his head up to ten, and once he finished he opened his eyes to see who met his gaze first.
It was a girl.
A very pretty girl.
She was a girl his age of slightly below average height with long purple hair with lavender-streaks, light violet eyes, and apricot skin. She appeared to be dressed rather fancy like as she wore a black suit with a white undershirt and purple sparkly bow tie, a dark magenta skirt, and sparkly heel shoes. The girl didn’t seem to notice Lincoln looked at her as she was busy applying lipstick with help of a compact mirror.
“So whose the luck soon to be friend of Lincoln Loud?” Barry asked with a rather excited grin. He always loved seeing new friendships bloom, especially if he was able to help with them.
“Its, uh, her…” Lincoln couldn’t help but blush as he pointed to the purple-haired girl he was still looking at.
Both Barry and Oliver looked to the girl in question and while Barry smiled and nodded, Oliver has a…different reaction. “NO!” Oliver dramatically shouted as he slammed his hands on the lunch table, making Lincoln flinch all the while Barry was fully expecting this after see the girl in question. “Lincoln you must look elsewhere! For that girl is nothing short of a witch!”
“Wait what?” Lincoln rose a brow as he took in what Oliver said. “What does that mean? Is she mean or something?”
“Oh nah, don’t worry about it Linc,” Barry reassured Lincoln before pointing a thumb to the purple-haired girl in question. “That girls name is Zee Zatara and while I don’t know her personally she is a good person, she and Oliver just have a bit of a rivalry going.”
“Is she a performer too or something?” Lincoln probed for more information about this.
“Tch, she may be a performer, but she does not compare to a true actor like me!” Oliver claimed as gestured a hand towards himself. Barry couldn’t help but roll his eyes in amusement, Oliver always got like this when Zee was involved. Pretty much ever since they entered middle school those two have had a rivalry going and always seemed to be at each other’s throats. “She is merely a ‘magician’ who thinks simple parlor tricks are enough to really entertain people.
“A magician huh?” Lincoln looked to the girl now known as Zee and smiled a bit. He was always a fan of magicians and ‘parlor tricks’ as Oliver put it. He was even one himself, granted he was a bit of amateur still but he knew how to do a few things. “Neat, but…are you sure I should approach her Barry? She seems to be one of those…popular girls.”
“Pfft, you’re overreacting.” Barry waved off Lincoln’s concerns as he stood up, grabbed Lincoln by the shoulders, and began pushing him to Zee. “Zee’s a nice girl! I’m sure you two will hit it off as soon as you show her what Lincoln Loud is all about!”
“But-But-But…” Lincoln repeated as Barry continued to push Lincoln towards where Zee was sitting.
“Barry no!” Oliver called out as he tried to reach out to his friend. “You’re pushing Lincoln to his doom! His doom I say!”
And before Lincoln knew it he was only a foot away from Zee. Barry quickly rushed back to his and Oliver’s table so Lincoln could do this one on one. Lincoln gulped a bit in nervousness as he looked at the girl right in front of him, he couldn’t help but blush as he noticed just how pretty she was now that he was this close to her. Looking back to Barry and Oliver he saw the former nodding his head while giving him two thumbs up with the latter shaking his head and giving him two thumbs down.
Lincoln sighed and decided to rip the band-aid off, he had to just hope for the best when it came to this. “Um, h-h-hello there…” Lincoln finally spoke up. He flinched a tiny bit as Zee finally looked up from her mirror and looked at him with a neutral look.
“Oh, uh, hey there,” Zee greeted Lincoln as she looked over him for a moment. She’s never seen this boy before anywhere in school, was he new? “What’s up?”
“I-I…wanted to i-introduce myself to you, I-I’m L-Lincoln Loud…” Lincoln stuttered as he tried to properly introduce himself to the purple haired girl. Normally he was usually cool with introducing himself to new people, including girls. But now he felt himself shaking in boots over just trying to talk to this girl he knew pretty much nothing about. “I’m…kinda new here.”
“Ah I thought I didn’t recognize you,” Zee nodded her head, looks like she was right about this boy being new here. “Well I’m Zee Zatara, welcome to Metropolis Middle School.”
“Thanks…” Lincoln didn’t exactly know what to do or say next. He just seemed…stuck.
“……” Zee looked around awkwardly for a bit as Lincoln just kinda stood there. “So, hey, I’m kinda trying to eat here so if you don’t mind…”
“Right, right, sorry…” Lincoln hung his head low and began walking away from Zee. “Have a nice day…”
And thus Lincoln returned to his seat next to Oliver and Barry and quickly face-planted on the table. “Well that went awfully…” Lincoln said, his voice being muffled by the table. “Guess that was a strike out…”
“I tried to warn you my friend, that woman is nothing more than a vile she-demon.” Oliver tried to reassure Lincoln as he patted him on the back. “You’re better off without her.”
“Don’t listen to Oliver Lincoln, no friendship happens instantly.” Barry actually tried to reassure Lincoln in the correct way. Encouraging him not to give up after just one try. “You just gotta keep at it, trust me everything will work out in the end. I’m positive!”
“You really think so?” Lincoln asked as he looked up from the table, Barry giving him a strong nod.
And so Lincoln had kept trying to actually socialize with the magician girl but to…very little success.
For an entire month he would often try and walk up to her and start a conversation with her, but he would either not be able to think of anything to really talk about, or she would shoot him down and sending him away. While she always did try to be polite she always did hold a bit of annoyance in her voice every time.
Lincoln also tried kind gestures to get her to warm up to him but she didn’t seem to appreciate those too much either. Whether it was just holding the door open or picking up something she dropped, while she did always say thank you there was always a sigh her rolling eyes adding to it.
And eventually Zee decided to finally confront Lincoln about this in the hallway just as school ended…
“Look Lincoln…this needs to stop.” Zee spoke up to the frowning Loud boy as she laid this all down on him. “Listen, you do seem like a nice boy but…I just don’t think we’re all that…compatible.”
“W-What do you mean by that?” Lincoln asked with a quiet tone. He supposed that he should have expected this but…didn’t make it any easier. “I’m not trying to hit on you or anything I just-“
“I know, I know, but still.” Zee cut Lincoln off before she could finish. Both her tone and expression were completely professional, almost like a boss talking to their employee. “We’re just a little too different is all, besides I’ve seen you hanging out with Barry and…Oliver…you seem to already have some friends with you.”
“I…guess so but-“ But Lincoln was once again cut off by Zee.
“So I think it’s for the best if you just…stop what you’re doing ok?” Zee told Lincoln who only looked down in response as he tried his best to keep it together since they were in public. “Let’s just stick to our own groups, ok?”
“…Yeah…ok…” Lincoln just nodded her head. If that’s what she wanted…then he’d go along with it. “Sorry…”
“It’s ok,” Zee finally smiled as she got this all cleared up. This was for the best for both of them. “You have a nice day now,”
And with that, she walked away…leaving Lincoln alone.
LATER THAT DAY
“…” Lincoln was completely quiet as he walked through the streets of Metropolis. He just really wished he was back in Royal Woods again. Everything was just so much easier back home. He had his friend group and they alone made life there nice and easy.
But now without them, he was just lost. Sure he had Oliver and Barry and they were nice but it just…wasn’t the same.
And then there was Zee…
Lincoln didn’t get it. Why was he so upset about being shut down by her? It’s not like with Stella where he was trying to get her to like-like him at first, he just wanted to try and befriend her. And earlier when she said to stop trying to come up to her and stop trying to be her friend…it just hurt. He just wanted to try and make some friends in his new city and maybe try and fit in but…it just wasn’t working.
All of his sisters were already able to form friend groups. All due to their interest and talents. Leni found a group of fashionista, Luna found a group of music lovers, Luan a bunch of other jokesters, and so on with his other sisters, and he practically had nothing…
“I wanna go back home…” Lincoln whispered as he wiped his eyes to try and keep the tears from coming.
As he rose up his head he ended up seeing that, on the opposite side of the street walking ahead of him and next to a construction sight currently invested in her phone as she walked forward. Part of Lincoln was tempted to go up to her and try and talk to her…but the memory of their last conversation replied in his head and he kept his head low and slowed down a bit as to not have her spot him and think he was following her.
“The line’s breaking!”
“Get it under control! It’s gonna fall!”
“Huh?” Lincoln looked up towards the construction site and his eyes widened at the sight. Some debris from the sight being held up by a crane connected to a strong piece of steel wool…well it was supposed to be strong but as one of the construction workers pointed out the line was breaking…
And Zee was walking right under where the debris was hanging.
SNAP!
Time seemed to slow down for Lincoln. The steel wool line snapped and the debris the crane was carrying went falling down towards Zee, threatening to crush her and take her life.
Lincoln didn’t even get a chance to think as suddenly…he dashed forward. “LOOK OUT!!!” Lincoln ran faster than he ever has before jumping towards Zee with his hands out and managed to push her out of the way as-
CRASH!
“AH!” Zee let out as something pushed her rather strongly down, making her go forward a few feet and nearly drop her phone. She grunted a bit as she sat upright and preparing herself to glare and yell at whoever had the nerves to do that to her. “Alright I don’t know what you’re deal is but-“
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!” A shout of complete pain cut Zee off as she saw everything behind her. Lincoln laying on the street in complete plain…and one of his legs trapped under the pile of debris.
“Lincoln?! What happened?!” Despite Zee’s thoughts on the boy she couldn’t help but be concerned over the state he was in now. But upon looking up and see the broken steel wool cable as well as the construction debris…Zee put it all together. “Wait…did you…save me?” If Lincoln had pushed her out of the way…she would've been crushed.
“AAAAA…AAAAAHHH!!!” But Lincoln was only able scream in pain as he felt his leg being crushed, his ears were ringing, and he wasn’t able to hear Zee’s words.
“O-Oh my gosh! H-Hang on! I’ll call someone!” Zee wasted no time in quickly dialing up 911 on her phone, Lincoln needed some help and fast. “Hello! 911, I need an ambulance! It’s an emergency!”
THE NEXT DAY
Luckily Lincoln’s leg was gonna be fine…after nine months. After he was freed from the debris and taken to the hospital where the doctors quickly got to work looking at his leg. Despite being crushed under a pile of debris Lincoln’s leg could have been far worse off. It was still broken and needed to be cast up, but it wasn’t completely crushed and disabled.
So Lincoln was to remain in the hospital for a few weeks but he can at least say he wasn’t bored. His family of course came by to see how he was as well as leave him a few stuff to keep him entertained while he was here.
And currently…
“I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” Oliver ranted as he paced back and forth in front of Lincoln’s bed as Barry sat down on a chair next to his friend. “I told you that woman was nothing but trouble and look where you are now!”
“Ok Oliver just try and calm down,” Barry told his friend with a bit of a worried look. As soon as they got word that Lincoln was in the hospital they were quick to visit him and make sure he was ok and hear what happened. Needless to say Oliver was quite angry after hearing who was involved while Barry was proud of Lincoln for saving Zee like that. “Are you sure you’re ok Lincoln?”
“Well other then the broken leg, yeah I’m doing fine.” Lincoln reassured the blonds in the room as he looked to his cast which was signed by each member of his family as well as Barry and Oliver, who were quick to do it after showing up. “And Oliver, please don’t get upset at Zee. It was my choice to save her and my legs gonna be fine after nine months, it’s all ok.”
There was a reason Lincoln’s leg wasn’t completely crushed. Right before the debris landed on his leg Lincoln instinctively put up a psychic barrier around himself to mostly protect himself from the worst of it. “Still, you got involved with the witch and you got cursed!” Oliver claimed dramatically while raising a finger up. “I swear the next time I see her I’ll-“
Knock, knock, knock.
“Um, hello?” Opening up the door to Lincoln’s hospital room was none other then Zee herself. She sported a concerned look on her face and in one hand she held a stuffed bunny holding a heart on it that said ‘Get well soon’ on it and in the other hand had a small pot of orange flowers. “May I come in please?”
“The witch has returned! She’s come to finish the job!” Oliver yelled the second he saw Zee. He quickly grabbed a nearby chair and rose it up at her, similar to a lion tamer. “Remove yourself from our presence, you vile woman!”
“Grrrrr…” Zee immediately started to glare and growl at Oliver. Just great…he was here.
“Zee…you’re here?” Lincoln was a bit surprised to see the purple-haired girl here. After everything, he wasn’t expecting to see her coming to visit her.
“Y-Yeah…hey Lincoln…” Zee looked down as an expression of guilt crossed her face. “I just…wanted to see how you were doing is all.”
“…Hey Ollie let’s leave these two alone for a bit.” Barry smiled as he got up and went over to Oliver. After managing to get him to drop the chair Barry began to walk Oliver out of the room, going past Zee. “Think they need to talk.” Oliver grumbled but went along with it, but not before giving Zee a ‘I’m watching you’ gesture.
“…Ok seriously.” Zee let out as she looked to Lincoln again after Barry and Oliver left. “How are you friends with him?”
“He’s a nice guy when you get to know him.” Lincoln said with a small chuckle.
“I doubt that,” Zee rolled her eyes before giving Lincoln a small smile and sat down in the chair Barry was sitting in and looked over Lincoln, especially when it came to his casted up leg. “So are you…ok?”
“Well a lot better than I was yesterday,” Lincoln answered with a small smile. This managed to get a small chuckle out of Zee as Lincoln looked at the items in her hands. “What’s that stuff?”
“Oh I got em for you!” Zee put the stuffed bunny down next to Lincoln’s head and put the pot of flowers on the tray connected to his bed. “Thought it was the least I could do considering that you…saved my life…” A look of guilt once again came to Zee’s face as she asked a question that hasn’t left her head since yesterday’s events. “So…why did you do that anyway?”
“Huh?” Lincoln let out as he gave Zee a confused look. “What do you mean?”
“Well…I think it’s safe to say that I haven’t exactly been the nicest to you since you came to my school…” At first Zee thought Lincoln was some nerdy kid just trying to have a chance with her. I mean who could blame him she was quite the catch. But even after she kept blowing him off and not even give him a conversation and then just telling him to leave her alone yesterday, he was willing to risk his life to save her own. “And when you pushed me out of the way…a lot worse than a broken leg could have happened to you. So…why?
“…I just…didn’t wanna see you get hurt.” Lincoln’s answer was simple but it was completely true. When Lincoln saw she was in danger he acted practically instantly. “When I saw you about to be crushed…my legs just kinda acted on my own and I didn’t even think about it when I went to save you.”
“…You didn’t…” Zee found her cheeks heating up a little bit. Despite how she treated him…he didn’t even think about saving her life? He was fully willing to protect her even if it meant he got hurt, or even worse? “Lincoln I…I am so sorry for how I’ve treated you this past month…” Zee bowed her head and gave the sincerest apology she possibly could before looking up and smiling at him. “If you want…maybe we could try and start over? Be friends?”
“Really? Are you sure?” Lincoln didn’t want Zee to just force friendship between the two just because he saved her. But Zee assured him that she wanted this as she nodded her head and looked him right in the eye. “I’d…really like that. Thanks.”
“So then, I got nothing else to do today, I wouldn’t mind staying here and keeping you company.” Zee said as she leaned back in her seat and put her hands on her laps. “So maybe we could get to know each other a bit?”
And so after a month of trying. Lincoln was finally able to get a proper conversation with Zee. And more so as she made sure to visit him in the hospital everyday until he was able to be released.