Luna Loud pulled up to the therapy center and parked her car, sighing deeply before getting out. She had been attending therapy sessions since she was released from the hospital. Her family had caught her using again, and wanted to nip the problem in the bud as quickly as possible before it got out of hand again. Luna was more ashamed than anything else, as she broke her promise to Sam to never do narcotics again.
Not like that mattered anymore.
Thoughts of Sam brought horrible pain to the former rocker's heart. She paused briefly as she felt a lump form in her throat. Her world was spinning out of control. Nothing made sense anymore. Her wife was gone, and what's worse, she was killed at the hands of her brother, turned into a homicidal terrorist because of a mistake that she allowed to happen despite her gut telling her to put a stop to it. Sam was dead because of her. That was never going to wash out.
She knew her family was worried about her. She wasn't using the drugs just to not feel anymore, but she was secretly hoping that it would help her drift away into eternity. In the end, however, she was too afraid to actually go through with it, and her family was able to convince her to get help. She knew she was feeling selfish, as killing herself would only bring more pain to her already suffering family, but the reappearance of her brother, coupled with the death of her wife, brother and brother-in-law, was too painful to bear. She didn't know what she was going to do–
Luna jumped as she suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath her, shaking her from her thoughts. She looked in terror as a large wall of energy was enveloping the city and approaching her at an alarming speed. She turned to flee but was unable to escape the blast. She covered her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable.
It never came.
She slowly opened her eyes, confused. That confusion only grew as she surveyed her surroundings. Several of the cars in the parking lot that were there before were missing, replaced by different cars. The building adjacent to the care center, which was undergoing construction, suddenly looked brand-new. Even the sky looked different, having been cloudy with a chance of rain before, now it was bright and sunny.
Luna took several deep breaths, trying to steady herself. She turned and entered the care center building, approaching the receptionist hurriedly. "Good morning!" Said the receptionist cheerfully. Luna paused, as she noticed that the woman she had met every time she arrived at her therapy sessions looked different. Instead of the bob-style haircut and blue dress, she was wearing her hair in a long ponytail in a white blouse and black skirt.
"Hey, dudette," said Luna, hurriedly pointing towards the transparent office doors and windows. "Did you see that just now?!"
The woman looked outside and then back to Luna, confused. "See what, ma'am?" She asked, bemused.
"Something weird just happened!" Said Luna. "A giant wave of some sort. You didn't see that?"
"No. . ." said the receptionist. "Did you have an appointment?"
"Uh. . . yeah," said Luna. "I'm meeting with Doctor Lopez."
The secretary looked confused. "I'm sorry," she said. "Dr. Lopez left the center to pursue other opportunities 6 months ago."
"What?" Said Luna, stunned. "That's impossible, I met with her here last week!"
The secretary looked thoroughly confused now. "Can I get your name, please?" She asked. "Maybe I can look it up."
"Seriously, dudette?" Luna asked. "You've seen me every Thursday for the past four months. It's Luna Loud!"
"Luna Loud," said the receptionist, pondering. "Oh! My daughter listens to your music! I thought I recognized you."
Luna sighed, turning and leaving the center. She sat in her car for a few minutes, trying to collect herself and keep from panicking. Was she going crazy? Things didn't just change suddenly. And what was that strange wave that enveloped her? Could this have been the cause of this? Luna was interrupted from her thoughts as she heard her phone ring. Normally, she would have ignored it at a time like this, but soon felt her heart jump into her throat as she checked the caller ID. Her mind rebelled against what her eyes were telling her. It was impossible. This couldn't possibly be happening. With her hands trembling, she slowly answered the ringing phone.
"Hello?" Luna whispered.
"Lunes!" A familiar voice said happily on the other side of the phone. "Where are you, babe? Are you coming home?" Luna felt as if her mind had completely left her body as she heard the voice speak to her, tears streaming down her eyes.
"Sam?"
"Please refrain from squirming, Lincoln," said Lisa, holding a stethoscope to her brother's chest as she listened to his heartbeat.
"It's cold!" Said Lincoln crossly. Lynn and Lori stood outside the examining room, watching Lisa perform Lincoln's physical evaluation. Lynn could still hardly fathom that he was really here. He had passed out soon after he had arrived, and Lynn had to carry him to the examining table. Lisa had noted that he was suffering from malnourishment and sleep deprivation. When coupled with his injuries, Lisa was surprised that he was able to even stand after Lynn had rescued him. After letting him rest for a while, Lisa began her evaluation after he had finally woken up.
Lynn shot a sideways look at Lori. She continued to stare at her little brother, barely blinking, as the examination continued. Lynn noticed her eyes began to shine, fresh tears dropping from her cheeks.
"Hey," said Lynn, placing her hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Those burns," said Lori in a hushed voice. "And his poor hand. What kind of monster could do something like this to him?"
"He won't be hurting anyone ever again," said Lynn confidently. "I made sure of that."
"How could we let this happen?" Said Lori despondently. "He must hate us so much."
Lynn sighed deeply. She had been thinking the same thing. "Maybe," she said. "But at least he's home. At least he's safe."
Lori continued to sob to herself. Lynn embraced her, rubbing her back. She really admired her older sister. All this time, ever since Lincoln disappeared, she had to shoulder the burden of caring for this family, keeping it together as best she could. She couldn't allow herself to fall to pieces, even when Bobby left her. She developed some bad habits, yes, but she never let it get in the way of taking care of those important to her. Now that Lincoln was here, now that he was safe, all those years of pent-up grief seemed to finally catch up with her.
The door to the medical bay opened as Lisa stepped out. "My medical exam has yielded some. . . interesting results," said Lisa.
"Interesting how?" Asked Lynn.
"Dr. Schroder was a madman, but he was certainly a genius," said Lisa, looking at a 3D rendering of Lincoln's skeletal, circulatory and muscular systems. "He injected Lincoln with some sort of nanotechnology, years ahead of its time. It seems to have been slowly altering his musculoskeletal system."
"In what way?" Asked Lori.
"Even as we speak, his bones are getting denser," said Lisa. "His muscles are getting thicker and stronger, and his nervous system seems to be changing, making him more resistant to pain."
"So it's making him stronger?" Asked Lori.
"Affirmative," said Lisa.
"Can you stop it?" Asked Lynn, alarmed.
"Unfortunately it will take further research," said Lisa. "But it appears that this technology is what made Wild Card so strong and durable." Lynn rubbed her neck unconsciously, remembering how Lincoln's insane counterpart was able to hoist her off her feet with little effort, and how attacking him had little effect in getting him to release her.
"Is he in any danger?" Asked Lynn.
"He does not appear to be," said Lisa. "But I will keep monitoring him until I can find a way to destroy or at least disable the nanomachines."
"Can. . . can we see him?" Asked Lori, uneasily. Lisa nodded, leading them into the medical room. Lincoln looked up as he saw them approaching. Lisa had placed his injured hand in some strange, egg-shaped device that was humming and glowing as it operated. She had also placed healing salves on all the burns and bandaged the cuts.
"H-hey, little bro!" Said Lynn nervously. "How are you feeling?"
Lincoln said nothing, simply looking down. Lynn and Lori exchanged guilty looks before they sat down next to him. "Stupid question, I know," said Lynn, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "I'm. . . we're really glad you're here."
"Why?" Lincoln asked quietly.
"Pardon?" Asked Lori.
"Why did you bring me here?" Asked Lincoln, suddenly turning angry. "Why can't I go home? What's going on?!"
Lynn sighed deeply. "It's kind of complicated," She said. She didn't know how much she should tell him. How do you break it to a child that they grew up to become a murderous terrorist? But Lincoln wasn't dumb. They couldn't keep him in the dark forever.
Before Lynn had a chance to answer, the egg-shaped device holding Lincoln's hand let off a small "ding" sound, causing them to all direct their attention to it. "It's done!" Said Lisa, walking over to the device. She pressed a couple buttons, causing it to open. When Lincoln lifted his hand from the device, he, Lori and Lynn marveled in shock to see that his finger was no longer missing.
"My finger!" Said Lincoln, surprised.
"How did you do that?" Asked Lynn in awe.
"With my biomolecular reconstitution machine," Said Lisa, patting the device fondly. "It was the subject of my thesis during my time as a biochemical engineering student. I was able to isolate the regenerative power of the gekkonidae lizard, street name 'gecko', into an injectable serum, which I administered to our brother while he was unconscious. Then, the BMR was able to stimulate the cells in his injured falange, creating a replacement digitus medicinalis."
"You injected him with lizard cells?!" Said Lori, shocked.
"It's perfectly safe," said Lisa, adjusting her glasses. "Although side-effects may include a sudden craving for crickets and other small insects, that should subside once the serum has passed through your system."
To be honest, Lincoln didn't care. He continued to marvel at his regrown finger. It was hard to believe that just a week ago it was taken from him by that. . . he felt his heart sink as he remembered his captor. The pain and fear he felt was still fresh in his mind. The fear then turned to anger as he looked at his sisters. "You still haven't answered my questions," he said. Before any of them could answer, they were again interrupted, this time by the growling of Lincoln's stomach.
"Let's get you something to eat," said Lori. "I promise, we'll explain everything after that."
Lincoln simply nodded. As much as he wanted answers, he hadn't eaten in a week, and he just realized how hungry he was. Lynn helped him from the surgical chair and provided him with new clothes, and they made their way to the small kitchenette in the bunker. As they did, Lori felt her phone vibrate. Upon examining it, she saw it was from Luna, texting the group chat with just three words.
Family. Meeting. Now.
"Okay, I want to know what's going on," said Sam. She and Luna had just arrived at the Loud House, and the entire family was gathered around in the living room. When she and Luna had entered, everyone looked at her as if she had just grown a second head. They did the same thing with Chaz when he and Leni finally arrived.
"Same here," Chaz agreed. He and Leni woke up this morning, just as they did every day, only today she let out the worst blood curdling scream he had ever heard upon looking at him. He chased her around the apartment for a half hour, trying to calm her down while she screamed and shouted "zombie husband" over and over. After finally convincing her that he was, in fact, her very-much-alive-and-not-undead-husband, she collapsed from exhaustion and slept in his arms until he received a text message from Luna, demanding a family meeting.
"Did you guys see it too?" Luna asked her parents and siblings.
"The energy wave?" Asked Lucy. She had indeed seen it too. She had woken up early that morning to tend the flowers in Clyde's garden, something that brought her a semblance of peace in the past 6 tumultuous months, when the same energy wave that Luna described had suddenly enveloped her before she had a time to react. When she opened her eyes, the purple tulips that she was working on had suddenly turned to black roses. She began to notice several small changes around her as well, such as neighbor cars being different colors, or wearing different hairstyles. Upon seeing Luna's text, she immediately rushed over to the family home to find out what was going on. When she got there
"Luna, you're really scaring me," said Sam. She had never seen Luna act this way before, not even when she was using drugs. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"
"I can elaborate on that," interjected a lispy voice. They all turned to see Lisa, Lynn, and Lori standing in the entryway to the living room. Lynn and Lori looked shocked upon seeing Sam and Chaz, but Lisa was as stoic as ever. "But in order to adequately do so, there is someone you need to meet first." As she stood aside, the family jumped back, gasping in collective shock, as the 11-year old boy they thought to be taken from them walked into the room. Everyone stood in stunned silence until Rita alone finally approached her son.
"Lincoln?" She said, kneeling next to him and placing a hand on his cheek. "My baby. . . is that really you?"
Lincoln nodded slowly. "Hey, mom," he said finally.
Rita sobbed uncontrollably as she embraced her son. "My boy," she cried through her sobs. "My boy has come back to me!"
One by one, the Loud family encircled the young boy, embracing him as they cried. They didn't care right now why he was here, or how he had come to be here. Right now, all that mattered to them was that he was here.
He was home.
After their reunion, the family gathered around to get down to brass tacks about the situation. There were so many unanswered questions, and they all turned to the best person to answer them: Lisa. She explained to the family about the time machine she crafted in the bunker, and Lynn's escapade to the past to rescue their kidnapped brother, but that brought on more questions.
"But why did you bring him back here?" Asked Lola.
"As I explained before, Lincoln's disappearance was the fixed point in time, not his death," Lisa explained. "Because of this, Lincoln had to disappear to keep the timeline intact. However, because there are currently no fixed points in time in the present, bringing him here was the best way to bring him home without destroying the timeline."
"And is the timeline stable?" Asked Luan.
"More research is required," said Lisa. "But preliminary data suggests yes."
"But what was that wave that passed over us?" Asked Luna. "And how are Sam and Chaz. . . here?"
"What do you mean?" Asked Sam, confused. "We've always been here."
The family exchanged dark looks. "I think we should address the elephant in the room," Lori said.
"What do you mean?" Asked Lincoln.
"In order for anything we say to make sense, we have to explain the events of six months ago," said Lisa. "Or rather, what happened six months ago in the previous timeline, as well as the past ten years." She began to tell Lincoln, Sam and Chaz everything that had happened: Lincoln's disappearance leading to the family breaking apart and their parents going to prison. Lincoln was shocked at how much his disappearance had affected the family, but that couldn't compare to how he felt with what they revealed next.
Lincoln had returned to them, but not in the way they had hoped. He had become a comic book villain out of his worst nightmare. This "Wild Card Lincoln" had killed a lot of people, including Sam and Chaz. He saw Luna and Leni grip their spouses tightly as Lynn recounted what she had found in the bunker, tears streaming down their faces. What shocked him the most was learning what happened to Bobby and Ronnie Anne. Lincoln felt a wave of guilt pass over him. He knew it didn't make sense, but he felt responsible for what happened. This other Lincoln had killed two members of his own family, and was going to kill more. Killing all those cops and civilians was bad enough, but all of it was to get revenge on his family for what they did to him, and what they allowed to happen to him, and Sam, Chaz, Bobby and Ronnie Anne.
"But if that's what happened," said Chaz. "Then how are we still here? And why do you remember all of this, but Sam and I don't?"
"Because we extracted Lincoln from the past and brought him to the present with us, he never became Wild Card," said Lisa. "Thus, the events that led to your deaths never transpired. As for your second question, that is a little more difficult, but I have a theory: it's because of our brother here."
"Me?" Asked Lincoln, surprised. "Why me?"
"You are what we in the scientific community would call a temporal anomaly, brother," said Lisa. "You are not supposed to be here. The energy wave you all experienced was the timeline correcting itself based on the events, or lack thereof, that occurred when we took Lincoln from the past. But because Lincoln was not supposed to be here, the timeline simply treats him as a non-factor."
"What does that mean?" Asked Lana.
"Lincoln's presence here has diverted the time-flow, changing things, albeit minimally," Lisa explained. "But the timestream simply doesn't know what to do with him, so it leaves him alone."
"But that doesn't explain why we remember everything," Lily pointed out.
"Which brings me to my theory," said Lisa. "Because the timestream has chosen to ignore Lincoln's presence here, I believe that it, by the same token, has chosen to ignore us, save Sam and Chaz, when it comes to the temporal changes as well, thus allowing us to retain our memories of previous events."
The family still looked confused, but Lincoln suddenly perked up. "I get it!" He said. The family turned to him in surprise. "It's Flashpoint!"
"It's what?" Said Lynn, Sr. "What are you talking about, son?" Lily immediately perked up at Lincoln's words. She excused herself and bolted up from her seat, running up the stairs. After a few moments, she ran back down stairs, carrying a book in her hand.
"It's one of my comic books," said Lily excitedly. "The Flash goes back in time to save his mother from being killed, and it puts him into an alternate timeline where he doesn't have his powers. Everything is different, and he is the only one who remembers what it was like before. But he soon finds out that his arch-enemy, the Reverse-Flash, is able to remember as well, because of their shared connection to the Speedforce."
There was a collective sound of acknowledgement from among the rest of the family. Lisa adjusted her glasses, looking at Lincoln appreciatively. "An accurate summation of what I was attempting to explain," She said, impressed. "Very good, my elder and younger siblings."
"But what makes us special?" Asked Leni. "Why wouldn't Chaz and Sam remember?"
"It's still just a theory," said Lisa. "But I believe that it is because we all share Lincoln's same genetic makeup, so by ignoring his presence, the timestream ignores us as well, as it may have mistaken us for Lincoln. But, like I said, this is just a working theory. There may very well be more to it than I can anticipate."
"You talk like it's some sort of living creature," said Lucy.
"The universe holds many mysteries that have baffled the minds of scientists for eons," said Lisa. "In many ways, it behaves as a living organism would."
"I'm just stoked that everything turned out okay," said Luna.
"'Okay?'" Lincoln repeated darkly. "You think everything is okay now?"
Luna looked at her brother guiltily, knowing she had just stepped in it. "I'm sorry, bro," she said quickly. "I didn't –"
"I wonder how you would define 'okay' if you just heard that you were responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people," said Lincoln, tears welling up in his eyes. "Including some of your best friends and people who were most important to you. I wonder if you would feel 'okay' after being tortured and starved for a week, only to be plucked from your life to be sent ten years into the future, knowing that all your friends and family have grown up without you, that I'll never see Pop-Pop again."
"Lincoln, honey–" Rita began, but Lincoln cut her off.
"You think that I feel 'okay?'" Lincoln cried. "Do you have any idea what I've been through?! Do you know how it feels to. . ." he choked on his words. "To have your family send you away? To be afraid that you'll never see them again? To. . . to. . ." Lincoln couldn't finish his words, sinking to his feet and sobbing uncontrollably. Lynn immediately moved to him and wrapped her arms around him, followed by Rita, Leni and Luan.
Luna felt tears run down her face, regretting her choice of words. Of course things seemed to have worked out for the best, but Lincoln was still dealing with the traumatic fallout from what he went through. To them, the bad luck incident was ten years ago. But to him, it was little more than a week ago. The pain was still fresh, coupled by the horrific treatment at the hands of his insane captor.
The family exchanged worried glances at each other. It was clear that a lot had to be done to regain Lincoln's love and trust. They had their work cut out for them.
Lynn, Lori, Luan and Lisa were gathered in the kitchen of the Loud house with their parents. The family had just finished dinner, and Lincoln had gone up to his room, exhausted from the day's events. Leni, Luna, Chaz and Sam decided to stay over tonight. They were sleeping in their old rooms, wanting to keep close to Lincoln so they could keep an eye on him. None of the family wanted to be away from the young boy, but they figured it was good to let him have his space, considering everything that had happened. Lori had just returned from the living room, having just finished a phone call.
"I just got off the phone with my secretary," She said. "She confirmed that I'm still the mayor, but not before she asked me if I had been drinking."
"George texted me earlier today wondering where I was," said Lynn. "I told him I was sick."
"My business partners called me today wanting to know where I was," said Luan. "I told them I was dealing with a family emergency."
"I expressed the same to my colleagues at CERN," said Lisa. "It appears that our careers and reputations have been restored with the timeline correction."
"I called Bobby before I called my secretary," said Lori. "He was shocked to hear from me, but he and Ronnie Anne are okay. It was. . ." she paused, wiping her eyes. "It was good to hear his voice." Even after six months, the images of Bobby's death were still fresh in her mind. She still had nightmares about it sometimes.
"This is all so weird," said Luan. "Just yesterday our lives were falling apart. Now Lincoln is back home and it's like nothing ever happened."
"That's because it didn't happen," said Lisa in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Still, that conversation with Lincoln could have gone better," said Luan glumly.
"What do you expect?" Asked Lynn. "He thinks we abandoned him. And to be fair, we kind of did."
"As surreal as it is, this is the best-case scenario that I could have hoped for," Said Lisa. "Things could have been much worse. But, I regret that I was unable to refine my calculations to send you back less than a week after his capture," she added sadly. "I was off by only 0.00002%. Temporal mechanics is a notoriously difficult beast to master."
"What are we going to do?" Asked Lynn, Sr. "How do we get our son to forgive us?"
"Lincoln is most likely suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," said Lisa. "He will require extensive therapy to overcome his issues."
"How do you expect that to happen?" Asked Lori. "He can't exactly tell anyone that he just got here from ten years in the past. They'll think he's crazy and have him committed."
"That does indeed pose a problem," Said Lisa. "My knowledge of psychology is not inconsiderable, but I am not a professional in the field."
Lynn pondered for a moment before a sudden idea struck her. "Clyde McBride!" She said, snapping her fingers.
"Clyde?" Asked Lori. "He's still in Royal Woods? I thought he moved away."
"He and Haiku got married," came a voice from behind them, causing the group to jump in fright. They turned to see the source of the voice to be Lucy, standing in the entryway to the kitchen.
"I'd hoped you'd outgrown that habit of yours," said Rita, her hand clutching her heart as she steadied her breathing.
"But Lynn's onto something," said Lucy. "Clyde is a talented therapist who has been helping me for the past three years."
"How do we explain to him that Lincoln is not only alive, but hasn't aged since the last time he had seen him?" Asked Luan.
"We tell him the truth," said Lynn simply. "He has a right to know anyway."
"Do you think he'll believe us?" Asked Lori.
"Once he sees Lincoln, I don't think he'll have a choice but to believe us," said Lynn.
"So where do we go from here?" Asked Rita.
"I need to get back to City Hall tomorrow morning," said Lori. "I doubt 'time-travel mishaps' are covered by paid time off."
"I got a job as a beat poet at a java bar," said Lucy. "Clyde and Haiku are letting me stay until I find a permanent solution. Are you going back to California?" She asked, turning to Luan.
Luan paused for a moment. "No," she said. "I'm going to ask my partners to buy out my shares tomorrow."
"Are you sure, sweetie?" Asked Lynn, Sr, surprised.
"I'm sure," said Luan. "I need to be here with you guys. But I'll have to find a new job."
"Well, you can come work for me," said Lori. "As of tomorrow I'll need a new assistant mayor."
"Really?" Asked Luan. "What about your current assistant?"
"Oh, he's fired as hell," said Lori. She and the family all chuckled at her remark.
"I too will not be returning to CERN," Said Lisa. "I have decided to accept a professorship position at Michigan State University. They've been trying to recruit me for years. And. . ." she added, looking at the floor sheepishly. "I'll be changing my last name back to Loud tomorrow."
Lynn Sr. cheered, hugging his genius daughter happily. Lisa returned the hug, surprising the rest of the family. Lynn couldn't help but feel her heart swell with happiness. She knew that her family had a long way to go, but they were together again, and that was the important thing. She knew that she would have to go back to her life tomorrow as if nothing had happened. Come to think of it, since the Wild Card events didn't happen, that meant that Salvatore Bianchi and his associates were still alive as well, and the investigation against him was probably still ongoing. This gave her an idea.
"Lisa," Said Lynn, getting her sister's attention. "I wonder if you might be able to help me with something."
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting, gentlemen."
Salvatore Bianchi wasn't easily taken off guard. It is one of the reasons he had stayed alive in his line of work for so long. But even he was taken aback when he saw the slender woman in a police uniform waltz into his weekly sit-down with his associates like she was invited. He wondered if she was one of the cops he had on the payroll, though he didn't recognize her.
"Is there something I can do for you, Officer?" Asked Bianchi, keeping his tone cordial.
"Loud," said the woman. "Officer Lynn Loud. And yes, there is something you can do for me. You can come quietly without a fuss."
The group around Bianchi chuckled at Lynn's words. "Is there a particular reason you're harassing me at my place of business in front of my friends, officer Loud? And don't suppose you can produce a warrant for me before I call security to escort you out of here?"
"Actually, I can," said Lynn, sliding an envelope across the table to him. Bianchi took the paper out of the envelope, showing a fully signed and watermarked warrant for his arrest. "And I wouldn't dream of embarrassing you in front of your friends. That's why they're coming with you."
The door behind Lynn burst open as several armed S.W.A.T. officers stormed the room, quickly apprehending Bianchi's associates. "What are the charges?" Said Bianchi as Lynn slapped handcuffs on his wrists.
"Racketeering, wire fraud, extortion, murder," said Lynn. "An anonymous Good Samaritan left us an interesting little file of documents with us, breaking your illegal activities wide open. You better use what money you have left to get a good lawyer if you want to avoid the death penalty."
"You're going to regret this," said Bianchi.
"Not as much as you," said Lynn. She began to read him his rights as she escorted him out of the building.