5 years ago
A man in a black suit slowly stepped out of his black SUV, having just pulled up outside the old suburban home of 1216 Franklin Ave. of Royal Woods, Michigan. It had been a trip that he had made before over the years. As the Loud Family Parole Officer, Daniel Rogers, a barrel-chested man of 40 years, made periodic visits to the Loud Parents to make sure that they were following the conditions of their Parole. Even though their Parole ended five years ago, his superiors still liked to have him check in once or twice a year, just to be sure.
Knocking curtly on the door, he was surprised to see upon it opening he was greeted by a young blonde woman in a business suit whom he recognized all too well. "Mayor Loud!" Said Officer Rogers, coming to attention. "What a surprise to see you."
"Officer Rogers," Said Lori Loud, nodding to him. "I take it you're here checking up on my parents again?"
"Yes Ma'am," said Rogers. "Following procedure."
"Procedure ended five years ago," said Lori. "Now you're just babysitting."
"Sorry, ma'am, I have my orders," said Rogers. "I'll just make a quick visit and I'll be...." Rogers stopped dead as his eyes wandered to the right of the Mayor: a young, white-haired boy, looking to be no older than 11 or twelve years old, sitting on the couch in the living room. Rogers stared at the boy, completely dumbstruck and at a loss for words. Lori followed his gaze towards the young boy, and quickly cleared her throat, getting the officer's attention.
"You remember my little brother, right?" Said Lori evenly.
"...No," said Rogers. "I haven't had the pleasure."
"Really?" Said Lori. "I'm sure I've introduced you several times. Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to introduce you again, but maybe you should see a doctor about that memory of yours." She led the officer into the living room. "Lincoln," she said. "You remember officer Rogers, right?"
Lincoln looked from Lori to Rogers with a confused look on his face, before nodding in understanding. "Y-yes," he said, standing and shaking the officer's hand. "Its nice to see you again, sir."
"What's your name, son?" Asked Rogers.
"Lincoln Loud II, sir," Said Lincoln.
"The second?"
"We named him after his older brother," said Lori somberly. "I'm afraid that we've sheltered him a bit since he was born, due to....what happened." She paused, choking up a little. "We didn't want that to happen again."
"I see," said Rogers. "Well, I suppose I'll be on my way."
"But didn't you want to meet with my parents?" Lori asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"No...no I think everything is in order here," said Rogers, nodding to the Mayor. "Thank you for your time, Mayor Loud." With that, he turned on his heel and left, leaving the two siblings bewildered.
Officer Rogers lay crouched behind a large bush outside the residential home he had visited hours earlier. Night had fallen and allowed him to conceal himself. He had been waiting for at least two hours now, camera in hand, waiting.
He finally saw movement by the front window. The parents had returned home an hour ago, and it appears that the father had just finished making dinner. The kids were now making their way towards the dinner table. Rogers raised his camera, poised and ready. He began to take several pictures once the white-haired boy walked past the front window. Once he had finished taking the pictures, he quickly made his way back to his SUV, practically trembling as he started it up.
Of all the things he was expecting after all the years of monitoring the Louds, this was the last thing he ever would have seen coming. He had to get these pictures to his superiors. There was no way they would believe him without them. If it wasn't for the fact that he had seen the boy with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe it either.
"Dr. Farroway!"
Marcus Farroway was walking down a long hallway with his personal assistant, Army Lieutenant Malorie Baker, when he turned at the sound of his name, observing one of his subordinates, Captain Bradbury of the US Air Force, quickly approaching him. "Sir," he said, saluting once he reached him. "I need to speak with you."
"I'm on my way to a meeting with the Secretary of Defense, so make it quick, Captain," said Farroway.
"It's about the Lincoln Loud case," said Bradbury.
Farroway paused, considering if he heard him right. "All right, you have my attention," he said.
"We've been keeping an eye on the Loud family periodically, just as you ordered," said Bradbury. "For the past five years, since their parole ended, things have been quiet, nothing out of the ordinary....until now."
"I want a full report on my desk by 0900," said Farroway, checking his watch. "In the meantime, keep watch on the Louds, and keep me apprised of all their activities."
"With respect, sir," said Bradbury, handing him a manilla envelope. "I think you're going to want to see this now."
Farroway took the folder and observed its contents, his stoic face quickly morphing into that of shock as to what he was seeing. It was an image of a young boy, no older than 12 years old, with short, sheet-white hair, covered in old scars and bruises that looked to be still healing. To the untrained eye, he looked identical to the boy who disappeared ten years ago.
"Baker," Farroway said to his assistant. "Tell Secretary Albertson I've been detained indefinitely and will need to reschedule." Baker nodded and pulled out a cell phone, continuing down the hall as her boss and the Captain remained behind.
"When was this taken," asked Farroway quietly as Baker walked away.
"Yesterday, sir," said Bradbury.
Farroway continued to study the affidavit before him. What he was seeing shouldn't be possible, perhaps easily dismissed as a coincidence or a trick, but a man like Farroway was not easily fooled, and in his line of work, he didn't believe in coincidences. "Did we pull an ID on the boy?" Asked Farroway.
"Yes, sir," replied Bradbury. "According to records the boy is Lincoln Loud II the 11-year-old youngest of the Loud family. We were able to pull a birth certificate, hospital records, and even dental records. To the untrained eye, or even medical professionals, everything seems rather ordinary. This image is destroyed, however, when compared to the first Lincoln Loud's own records."
Farroway took the files and compared them to each other. It was clear as day, everything was the same, right down to the medical records, between the "two" Lincolns' files. It was one thing to create a fake identity for someone, but faking dental records was extremely difficult to do. There was no doubt in his mind: the medical and dental records, the white hair, the cuts and bruises that aligned his face, and the fact that the boy hadn't looked like he aged a day.
This boy was Lincoln Loud.
"Sir, we should bring him in," said Bradbury.
Farroway thought for a moment. "No," he said finally.
"But sir! The Institute could–"
"How long have you been on this case, Captain?" Farroway asked suddenly.
Bradbury blinked in confusion. "Three years, sir?" He said.
"I've been tracking this case for over ten years now," said Farroway. "Ever since I took over the job. It's kind of become a pet project of mine. Have you seen them?"
"Seen what, sir?" Asked Bradbury.
"The videos," said Farroway, his voice growing dark. "The videos we recovered from Dr. Schroder's lab."
Bradbury paused, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "No sir," he said.
Farroway sighed, his eyes returning to the picture of Lincoln. He still vividly remembered the last time he saw Dr. Schroder. He had worked for him ever since he had joined the Department of Defense. Max had been a mentor to him, almost like a second father. He was a passionate man and staunch patriot. His views on America's greatness passed to his son, who followed in his father's footsteps and became a soldier for the United States Army. But his son was killed in action during his tour in Iraq, which had left Dr. Schroder changed. He began to grow obsessed with the idea of a "perfect soldier", one that could withstand any attack against America's enemies. He vowed that none would ever die from the "Godless horde" that was their enemy. He began to petition clinical trials on a new super soldier drug, but the Secretary of Defense would not approve human testing of an unknown drug. This caused Schroder to descend even further into his obsessions, which frightened Farroway greatly.
As time went on, Farroway was approached by the Secretary of Defense, Ben Albertson, that Schroder had become too unstable, and was to be relieved of duty, and Farroway would take his place. Farroway was opposed to the idea at first, still loyal to the man who took him under his wing, but in his heart he could no longer deny that the mentor that he once knew and loved was no more, replaced instead by an insane radical.
Schroder was quickly deposed, but vanished before Farroway could speak with him. He had hoped that he could talk some sense into his friend, but he never got the chance. A few months later, he was appointed as the new Director of Research and Development. Upon appointment, Farroway immediately opened an investigation to find the whereabouts of Dr. Schroder. He knew that the man was a danger to both himself and others around him, and he needed to be detained and submitted for treatment.
It was then the search led to an abandoned hospital in Detroit, Michigan. They had followed a lead on a Confidential Informant for the FBI stating that a man fitting Shcroder's description was seen purchasing illegal drugs from him. As they stormed the building, they were shocked and horrified to discover his butchershop of a laboratory, but even more shocked to see the man himself sprawled on the floor. His neck was broken, and there were signs of a struggle. Upon further investigation, they had found a damaged camcorder on the floor of the laboratory and quickly delivered it to their team of digital forensic investigators.
After some time, they were able to extract several videos from the device, and their contents had shaken Farroway to his core. His one time friend and mentor had kidnapped a poor little boy only to torture and experiment on him for a week in an effort to prepare him for his "program." Farroway had watched every single one of the videos, growing sicker and angrier with each one. He was a family man himself, and actually had a daughter around Lincoln's age, and the thought of this madman performing this grotesque experiment on her made his blood boil.
But something happened as he watched the last video that surprised him. Halfway through it, Schroder was suddenly tackled by an unknown assailant: a woman, maybe early twenties, wearing a strange white jumpsuit. The camera was knocked aside, but they could hear the ensuing scuffle, the mix of shouts, clatter of equipment and blows landing. Eventually, the woman managed to release Lincoln, and from what he was able to gather, Schroder used the opportunity to overpower his assailant, only for Lincoln to step in, injuring him in the process. After this, Schroder and the woman came back into view of the camera, with the woman shouting that he would never hurt the boy again before she snapped his neck. The woman then held Lincoln in her arms as the boy sobbed, picking him up and carrying him out of range of the camera.
He was only able to capture a glimpse of the woman's face, but that was enough. He ran her picture through every database he could find, and while he was able to come up with several potential matches, in the end, none of them turned out to be her. What's more, the mystery woman seemed to know Lincoln personally. Her attacks were almost feral, as if killing this man was personal to her. But to this day, he was unable to find who the mystery woman was. But now that they had found Lincoln, he was able to piece two and two together. Lincoln's sudden appearance would explain why he wasn't able to find this woman. Now, he had what he needed to continue his investigation and finally put this case to rest.
But for now, he had to wait.
"I strongly suggest you watch them," said Farroway, closing the file. "And you'll know exactly why we are unable to move on the boy."
"But sir-"
"Think, Bradbury," said Farroway firmly. "The boy must be suffering from post-traumatic stress based on what he experienced. He was stolen from his family-"
"A family that abandoned him over 'bad luck', sir," Bradbury muttered.
"A family that made a mistake," Farroway countered. "And has paid the price and then some for the past ten years. He was taken to a strange location only to be tortured by, for all he knows, some mad government scientist. If we were to move on him, how would we be any better than Schroder? Not to mention it is likely to spook him and whoever brought him here, and I would much rather find out just who they are and how they accomplished it."
"But he was administered the serum," Bradbury insisted. "We don't know what it could do."
"Which is why we're going to keep an eye on him," said Farroway. "For all we know, it won't do anything. But until we have more information to work with, we need to wait and watch for now."
"So, do we have Rogers keep watch?" Asked Bradbury.
"No," said Farroway. "He'll drop by a few more times and then he'll inform the Louds that he's received new orders. No, I have someone else in mind to keep an eye on the boy."
Present Day...
"Okay Lincoln, if you're ready, let's begin the experiment," Came the lispy voice of Lisa over the speakers in the underground bunker laboratory. She was behind a large pane of tempered glass, sitting at a large control console. Standing next to her, a slightly worried look on her face, was Lynn Jr. On the other side of the glass was Lincoln, who was sitting in a chair, staring at an odd contraption on the table before him. It looked like a radio with two large metal rods sticking out of the top.
"The device before you is an electrical generator," said Lisa. "Controlled amounts of electricity are fed into the exposed diodes. Simply place your hands upon the diodes, and I will begin at 10 volts. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Let's do it," said Lincoln, wrapping his fingers around the diodes. Lisa turned a dial on the control panel, and the machine before Lincoln hummed lightly as it came to life.
"That's 10 volts," said Lisa. 'How do you feel?"
"I don't feel anything," said Lincoln. Lisa recorded his response in her notebook: 10 volts - no reaction.
"Okay Lincoln," said Lisa. "I'm going to increase it to 20 volts. Are you ready?"
"Ready."
Lisa increased the dial, and the voltage increased. "How does that feel?" She asked.
"Still nothing," Lincoln replied.
Lisa made a note of this, then pondered for a moment before speaking into the intercom. "I'm going to increase it a little more this time to 50 volts. Is that okay?"
"50?!" Said Lynn, startled.
"That's fine," said Lincoln, nodding.
"Very well," said Lisa, increasing the dial. "How does that feel?"
"Nothing," said Lincoln, shrugging.
"Hmmmm..." said Lisa, scratching her chin. "An average humanoid would definitely feel something with this amount of voltage. Even as low as 45 volts can be fatal to the right person. Yet he doesn't feel a thing. Fascinating."
"I don't know about this," said Lynn nervously.
"I'm okay, Lynn," Lincoln reassured her.
"Would you be comfortable doubling the voltage?" Asked Lisa.
"Hang on a second–" Lynn began.
"Go for it," Lincoln affirmed. Lisa complied, increasing the voltage. Lincoln finally was able to feel something, but only just. If he had to describe it, it was a slight tingle, like you get when your foot starts to fall asleep. "I feel something this time," said Lincoln. "But only barely."
Lisa jotted down the result in her journal. "Do you wish to stop now?" She asked.
"No," said Lincoln.
"Are you sure?" Asked Lynn.
"Let's keep going," said Lincoln. This time, Lisa increased the voltage to 200. Lincoln felt a stronger tingle, but it didn't hurt at all. Next, she increased it to 300 volts. The feeling became stronger, but there was still no pain. Lisa stroked her chin in thought.
"It appears that the density of your skin is vastly greater than that of the average human," said Lisa. "Perhaps rivaling that of a rhinocerotidae, street name: rhinoceros. However, your dermatological layer has not increased in thickness at all. Shall we continue, or do you wish to stop?"
"Continue," said Lincoln.
"Hold on, this is getting dangerous!" Lynn objected.
"It's okay, Lynn," said Lincoln. "It doesn't hurt."
Lynn was unsure, but nodded. Lisa turned the dial on the control panel. "I'm increasing it to 500 volts. This is beyond what humans can normally tolerate before serious injury or even death. How do you feel?"
"I'm definitely feeling it this time," said Lincoln.
"Are you hurt?" Asked Lynn.
"No," said Lincoln. "But it feels weird. Like my hands are vibrating or something."
"Fascinating," said Lisa, jotting down her notes before shutting the machine down. "I think that's enough for today."
"We're stopping?" Said Lincoln, surprised. "But I can do more."
"While I am fascinated at what the upper limits of your tolerance to electricity would be, I do not wish to play with fire, in the proverbial sense, of course," said Lisa. "And Lynn has yet to forgive me for shooting you with rubber bullets."
"I told you that it was my idea," said Lincoln.
"But she still agreed to it," said Lynn, shooting her genius sister a small glare. Lincoln stepped through the door and joined his sisters in the control room. The trio stood and made their way up out of the bunker and back towards the house. It was nearing dinner time, and ever since their father opened his diner, they made it a tradition among the family to eat their evening meals there. That way, their father can be present for the dinner rush, but he could also enjoy a meal with his family, which he always made a priority, ever since getting out of prison.
As they pulled into the driveway of "Lincoln's Table," they were able to see several cars they could recognize, belonging to their sisters, Lori, Leni, Luna and Luan. Lincoln had to reflect on how much had changed over the past five years. Ever since he had returned, along with his weekly therapy/gaming sessions with Clyde, he had frequent visits from his other best friend of his old life: Ronnie Anne Santiago. To say that she was shocked to see her old friend and former crush alive was an understatement. Not to mention the fact that he looked like he hadn't aged a day in ten years. At first, Ronnie Anne thought Lisa had managed to clone the boy and nearly attacked her, but after explaining the situation, she and Bobby, who had accompanied her, were simply at a loss for words, crying as they embraced their long-lost friend after so long.
Ever since that time, the Santiago siblings had become regular visitors of the Loud House. They were the only ones outside their family, besides Clyde and Haiku, that knew the true nature of Lincoln's return. Bobby and Lori, having been estranged for many years, began to reconcile and eventually started dating again, maintaining a long-distance relationship. While Ronnie Anne was initially distrusting and against this, she soon began to relent as she saw how much the family had changed and suffered. She and Lynn had even managed to strike up a friendship, though she was still on icy terms with the Loud parents. After a few years of dating, Lori and Bobby had happily announced their engagement earlier that year. Lori was planning on finishing out her term as Mayor before moving on to live in Great Lakes city with Bobby, where she was planning to run for the City Council. With her political experience and leadership skills, and Bobby's influence as the city's most prominent business leader, she was already looked upon favorably by potential constituents.
When Lori announced her plan to leave, Luan was asked to run for mayor in her stead, but she politely declined. She had already started planning to enter the private sector for a few years, having purchased a local comedy bar, which she planned on running once she retired from Office. When Lincoln had returned, he had noticed that was no longer cracking jokes or puns. In fact, all sense of humor seemed to have left her completely. He had attempted to set her up for a couple jokes to test this theory, and when his attempts landed flat, he was forced to confront her directly as to the reason for her lack of mirth.
He remembered how difficult of a conversation this was for his ex-comedic sister. She immediately began to tear up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, pouring her heart out as to why humor had lost all meaning to her since he disappeared. She explained her reasoning behind going along with the bad luck claim, and how wanting to see the humor in others suffering, particularly her family, forced her to reevaluate her life choices. Lincoln was touched by her sincerity and how remorseful she was for her actions, but at the same time, he could not stand by and watch his sister give up on something that made her happy for his sake. With lots of talking and encouragement, he was able to convince her to give comedy a try again, and much to the family's delight, the old jokester Luan seemed to return to them. However, she still practiced significant restraint, having learned her lesson from the bad luck incident, and dreading a repeat of such a horrific time in her life.
Leni and Chad were doing great. He and Lincoln had bonded after his return, and the two had a close brother-like relationship, one that Leni found absolutely adorable. Chad would often take Lincoln on trips to the arcade and hang out and play video games with him whenever they came to visit. What's more, having Lincoln around again had finally convinced the two of them what they had been talking about for years: having a family of their own. After a few years, they were able to conceive a beautiful baby girl, which they named Laura. She and Lincoln had become thick as thieves, and the now one-year old absolutely adored her "Unca 'Incon," who would spoil her rotten every time they came along.
Luna and Sam were also getting along great in their relationship. Their band had reached great heights ever since Lincoln's return. His presence seemed to awaken a fire inside of Luna, and her passion returned to her music. Lincoln had been devastated when he learned how far Luna had fallen when he had disappeared, even going as far as to result in using narcotics to dull the pain of losing her beloved baby brother. Lincoln immediately made her swear to him, on her life, that she would never use again, and to this day she had kept that promise. Whenever the two rockstars were in town, they would spend all their free time with the family, and would often take their brother to concerts, and even use their musical connections to give him a VIP experience, even having a meet and greet with the bands themselves.
Lynn, Lincoln and Lisa stepped out of the car and walked into the restaurant, a heavenly aroma reaching their nostrils as they entered. The restaurant, as per usual, was packed, and the employees were working busily as they moved to and fro from the kitchen. They saw their family, including Bobby and Ronnie Anne, in their usual booth and made their way over.
"Hey dudes!" Said Luna, perking up as they approached. "Good to see you!"
"I didn't expect you to be here," said Lynn. "I thought you were still in Vegas."
"We just got back yesterday," said Sam. "The gig ended early, and we were long overdue for a vacation. Come here, little man! You owe me some sugar!" She added to Lincoln, opening her arms and smiling at him. Lincoln rolled his eyes and returned the smile, embracing her as she gave him a smooch on the cheek. Sam had always spoiled Lincoln since his return. Her own brother had passed away several years ago in a car accident, while she was on tour. It was an incident which had left her completely shattered, and it was one of the things that helped increase the bond that she and Luna had for each other, as they both knew what it was like to lose someone they loved. When Lincoln returned, a sisterly instinct was awoken inside of her that she hadn't felt since she had lost Simon, and she wasted no time in showing her affection for her new "little brother."
"Someone wants to see you, Linky!" Said Leni, passing her happily giggling toddler to her brother.
"Hey Laura!" Said Lincoln, tickling her belly as she laughed. "Are you happy to see me?" He continued to coo and play with the baby when Lynn Sr. and Lola appeared from the kitchen. Lola had been working at the restaurant ever since she graduated High School, in between her modeling gigs. When she first gave up pageantry, she developed a love of cooking along with her father. Lincoln was impressed with her level of maturity that she developed over the years, but also was able to convince her to get back into pageantry. It was like old times again for the pair, and with Lincoln's help and encouragement, she was able to become Miss Michigan, and was getting ready to participate in Miss America next year. She used her newfound fame to promote her family's restaurant, and it quickly became the most popular eatery in the town. But she always remained humble, attributing her success to her "little" brother and pageant coach, Lincoln Loud II. She and their father began bringing out mouthwatering plates of food.
"It smells delicious, honey," said Rita.
"Wait, we're missing someone," said Lynn, Sr., looking throughout the table. "Where's Lana and Lucy?"
"She's called me, she's running late," said Lola. "She's still at the track with Bobbi Fletcher. I'll keep her steak on the hotplate until she gets here."
"Sounds like you've got a real beef with her," said Luan, laughing. The rest of the family rolled their eyes but joined her with light chuckles. The puns were terrible, but they were just happy that she had reconnected with her comedic roots after years of despondency.
"Lucy had a last-minute book signing, so she won't be able to join us tonight," said Rita. "But she'll be sure to join us tomorrow night."
Without further ado, the Louds all gathered at the table and began their feast. As Lincoln was eating, he felt a sudden chill run up his spine. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt as if someone was watching him. He looked around the restaurant, and noticed a portly man with a bowl-cut hairstyle picking at his meatloaf and potatoes. Their eyes met for a moment, but the man returned to his food and didn't look back up again. Lincoln felt strange, but shrugged it off. He supposed that it was just a fluke thing and returned to his meal.
The next day, Dr. Lisa Loud was humming to herself merrily as she worked in her lab at Michigan state university. She had just finished a lecture and was eager to get back to work on her research. She heard the door open behind her, but she was working with dangerous chemicals and didn't dare break her concentration, so she didn't turn to meet whoever it was.
"I don't have available office hours today," She said. "You'll have to come back tomorrow between 4 and 8 P.M."
"Not even to see an old friend?"
Lisa froze. She had an eidetic memory, so it was quite impossible to forget anything once she had seen or studied it. However, even if she didn't, there was no way she would ever forget the voice of the person behind her. She slowly put down the chemicals and turned to face her visitor, a middle-aged man wearing a black suit and tan overcoat. He had neatly parted white hair and a close-cut beard.
"Dr. Farroway," said Lisa, aghast.
Five years ago
Lisa was found basking in the surroundings of her new laboratory, courtesy of the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University. She had just accepted a tenure-track professorship position, once that was immediately offered to her when she had returned to Michigan from her time at CERN. The lab was not as state-of-the-art as the one she had back in Switzerland, but that didn't matter to her. It was a nice change of pace to have a steady teaching and research job where she could relax and reflect on her work while staying close to her family, especially in light of recent events.
She was shaken from her thoughts at the sound of the door opening behind her. A middle-aged man in a black suit and tan overcoat stood in the doorway. "Good morning, Dr. Morgan," said the man cordially. "Or rather, I believe that you go by 'Dr. Loud' now. Quite an unusual name."
"We're an unusual family," said Lisa. "Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
"My name is Dr. Marcus Farroway," said the man. "I am the Director of Research and Development for the Department of Defense."
Lisa was immediately put on guard. "If you're here to offer me a job, I'm afraid I must decline," she said cooly.
"No, nothing like that," said Dr. Farroway, absently picking up an empty beaker and examining it. "I just wanted to ask how your brother is doing?"
Lisa didn't reply, but inside she was beginning to panic. "My little brother?" Asked Lisa. "He is doing well, why do you ask?"
"'Little brother,'" said Dr. Farroway, chuckling. "I have to admit, you're an exceptionally good hacker. You did a great job covering your tracks. Most security analysts wouldn't have discovered the alterations you made to the Federal Service Data Hub, and even fewer would have known to look for it." He walked over to her and handed her a manilla envelope. "However, the people who work for me are not like most analysts."
Lisa hesitantly took the envelope and examined it, blanching in horror as she did. Inside was a biopic file of Lincoln, along with still images of the horrible torture he was put through at the hands of Dr. Schroder. "What do you want?" She said sharply. "I won't let you hurt him!"
"Easy, Dr. Loud," said Farroway, raising his hands in defense. "If you think I'm going to bring harm to the boy, you're mistaken."
"Then what do you want?" Lisa asked again.
Dr. Farroway didn't answer right away. "You know, I attended your conference on the regenerative effects of gekkonidae cells on human tissue. It was quite insightful, if a little ahead of its time."
"My theory works, in case you were wondering," said Lisa.
"I know," said Farroway. "You did a remarkable job regrowing Lincoln's finger."
"How do you know that?" said Lisa.
"I have my ways," said Farroway evasively. "But we're getting off track. As you're no doubt aware, I'm obviously here to talk about Lincoln."
"What do you plan to do with him?" Asked Lisa.
"I believe what you want to ask me is if I plan on taking the boy to some top-secret facility to perform experiments on him," said Farroway. "As I said, I have no interest in harming the boy. He is still a human being, and he has rights. Not all of us government scientists are like Dr. Schroder."
"Forgive me if I don't take your word for it," said Lisa.
"Understandable," said Farroway. "I wouldn't trust me either. After all, you had to break time and space to retrieve your brother from the hands of the madman. It only makes sense you would do anything to keep him safe."
Lisa was at a loss for words, something that rarely happened. "How....how did..?"
"You're not the first scientist to crack that formula, Dr. Loud," said Farroway. "Time is delicate, like a finely-tuned watch. It doesn't take much to misalign the cogs. We keep a close watch on all time-travelers."
"You still haven't answered my question," said Lisa, regaining her composure. "What do you want with Lincoln?"
"Actually, nothing," said Farroway.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I'm not a monster, Lisa," said Farroway. "I have been keeping track of the boy's case for a decade now. I've become quite fond of him. Rather, I just want to offer my support."
"How do you mean?" Asked Lisa.
"I just want you to monitor him, and report back to me," said Farroway. "I am interested in his recovery, and will offer whatever you need to see to it. If you desire, I will maintain my distance, but I want to make sure that Lincoln doesn't pose a danger to himself or others. I have seen the schematics for the nanites that Schroder injected the poor boy with. We still don't know the full effect they'll have on the boy. It is in his best interest, as well as yours, that he be kept an eye on."
"And what happens if he becomes dangerous?" Asked Lisa.
Farroway paused. "Let's hope that it won't come to that, but we have a place for him," He said. "Somewhere he will be safe."
"And what would happen if I refuse?" Asked Lisa.
"You're not going to," said Farroway simply. "You are his sister, and I know you care about his well-being. You can continue to study the boy and explore the effects the nanites will have on him, but I urge you to be careful, and report to me if there is any sign that he is becoming unstable." Farroway turned on his heel and walked towards the door, pausing once he reached it. "We'll speak again, Dr. Loud."
"What are you doing here, Marcus?" Asked Lisa.
"The situation has become dire," said Farroway, handing Lisa another envelope. She quickly perused the contents, her eyes widening in shock as she did.
"You found him?" Asked Lisa.
"Yes," said Farroway. "And he may already be here. If he is, Lincoln is in danger."
"He's at school," said Lisa. "Royal Woods High. We have to get to him now."
Farroway and Lisa immediately left the lab, without even bothering to clean up the chemicals of the experiment she was conducting. That didn't matter to her right now. The one man who posed a threat more than anyone else in the world to her and her family could now be in Royal Woods, and there was only one person he would be searching for. They had to get to Lincoln before he did.
At all costs.
A/N: Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait. I am still alive and working on the next chapters, but they will be slow going. However, I will not abandon them and will not stop until they are complete. Thank you so much for your patience, and thank you for reading.