The Tangled Web of Lincoln Loud

Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams

Chapter Text

The Tangled Web of Lincoln Loud

Series 1 - Beginning

Chapter 1 Sweet Dreams

General notes: This fanfic is a translation from Spectacular Lincoln Loud a Spanish fanfic that mixes The Loud House with Spider-Man, the translation for this first chapter was made by ManuJm, but from chapter 2 will be done by Krishbandicoot.

Because this fic was made 3 years ago, originally the music was going to sound at the same time for the characters and spectators, but because this was not working after chapter 4 this was change to a better experience, modify this in the translation can give problems to the narrative overall, so we decided to keep this experience for the first 3 chapters. Hope is not an inconvenience.

The 12-year-old found himself humming the song he and his sister had written as he 'strolled' the city.

He had long decided that the summit of a building was the perfect place to do so. The wonderful vistas that one won at such height were worth it, not to mention it was a good way to observe his beloved New York in its entirety. Even the polluted neighborhoods, full of smog, had a certain charm to them.

He placed himself right at the border of the building, not a hint of fear on his eyes as he casually walked around its perimeter.

Before pressing a button on his right gauntlet and plummeting to the city below.

"Living on the edge, fighting crime, spinning webs, swinging from the highest ledge, he can leap above our heads"

He continued to be utterly unconcerned, his thoughts entirely concentrated on the song, cause he already knew he had nothing to fear.

And just a few meters before he crashed to the ground, he raised his right hand and a sling web shot out of it, sticking itself to a nearby building, and pulling him up at high speeds.

"Ahhh ahh ahhh ah ahhh Ahhh ahh ahhh ah ahhh ah"

And before the web pulled him back, he once again pressed a button on his right gauntlet, which suddenly cut the web and left him once again free, only for him to do the same process with his left hand, sticking himself to another building. And so, with each swing, he traveled across the city faster than any car could even imagine.

"Villains on the rise, and the city's victimized. Looking up with no surprise, arrivin' in the speed of time"

One downside of such 'method' of transportation was that it quickly tired him, even with his enhanced physical characteristics. His mask did not help either, as it somewhat blocked his breathing.

On the other hand, it managed to hide his very distinctive white hair, so he simply accepted it and moved on.

"Ahhh ahh ahhh ah ahhh Ahhh ahh ahhh ah ahhh ah"

Suddenly, he felt all the hairs on his body stand up, as his Spider-Sense practically screamed at him that something bad was going on.

And so, Lincoln Loud concentrated his entire mind to the task at hand, and so could hear bombs detonating and chunks of rocks flying three streets west, followed soon by the screams.

It was a job for him.

"Spectacular Spectacular Spider-Kid!"

His trusty suit worked wonders once again as it allowed his moves unlimited freedom as he quickly jumped towards the bank. Red and blue, made of a more flexible variant of latex, and the mask with two white clothes in place of the eyes, both detailed with spider web motifs.

Of course, the suit had its disadvantages, like the mentioned problem of sometimes breathing, and it also was not as comfortable as his old 'suit' (which really was little more than a pajama with spider motif).

Regardless, both fulfilled their primary roles of hiding everything about his identity, especially his snow-white hair that would give away who he was almost immediately. He had seen enough movies to know that if the criminals knew who he was and where he lived, he would endanger not only himself but his family.

Fortunately, such competent criminals tended to belong only in movies, and although some organized crime and metahumans could be a somewhat big problem, they were not numerous enough to truly destabilize the balance. Most of the criminals were only street gangs that barely knew how to utilize knives and pistols, much less use them effectively against someone with advanced physique and reflexes as Lincoln.

However, that was changing.

New evildoers were rising, much more agile and intelligent. And while they still were not able to compete with Lincoln directly, they were the prelude for the one true menace that soon came.

The Green Goblin.

The news's last darling, he was as strong as Lincoln, as agile as Lincoln, and if he was being honest, smarter than him. He was his nemesis, spreading chaos and fear just as Spider-kid brought hope and peace. He could make buildings blow up with pumpkin-shaped grenades, and moved with a hoverboard from the disaster with a smile in his ugly green face.

—Lincoln? Lincoln?— he heard directly on his ear —Can you hear me?—

—Loud and clear Peter, no pun intended— responded Lincoln as he once again swung with his left hand —Isn't it a bit risky to call me from the bus?—

Indeed, the 12-year-old brunette was sitting on the school bus, wearing a plaid shirt. He was totally concentrated on his cell phone, using his bag to hold himself and make it so that the shaking of the bus didn't interrupt him.

—It's an emergency, I heard Liz talking to Chandler about the avenue bank being attacked— said the boy in a half-whisper.

—Don't worry Pete, I'm halfway there— informed Lincoln with a chuckle.

—Spider-Sense?—.

—Spider-Sense— reaffirmed Lincoln jumping from traffic light to traffic light, gathering sounds of awe from the people below —By the way, when did Gwen have her try for cheerleaders again?—.

—Today before class begins— answered Peter adjusting his glasses, waiting for an answer. When none came, he continued —You forgot, didn't you?—.

—I, uh, can't hear you, I'm near the bank kshhh, there are interferences...— he covered his mouth with his hand and began making strange sounds.

—I can't keep watching your back forever. I'm already doing your homework alongside mine— said Peter somewhat annoyed.

—I'll find a way to pay you back dude, I swear— promised Lincoln before doing a pirouette that landed him near the bank —Ok, I'm near the scene—.

—Do you think it might be the Green Goblin?— asked Peter with a tint of nervousness —He's the toughest of all the villains you've faced—.

—Well, last time I was wearing a pajama and the web launcher malfunctioned. He didn't really beat me...—.

—Yes, he did—.

—Well, he won't manage twice— Lincoln now could directly see the bank —Can't talk anymore, Pete, tell Gwen I'm sorry—.

—Wait, no Lincoln...— he stopped at the sound of a deadline —Great, this can't get any worse—.

And as the young Parker tempted fate, he was answered.

—Hey! Who were you talking to, Petey Porker?— a redheaded child approached, making his way through bus by pushing and ignoring the bus's vibrations.

—None of your business Chandler— answered Peter as he hugged his bag even tighter —What do you want?—

—Oh ho ho, looks like this dog bites now, don't you?— Chandler stirred Peter's hair —I want to know what's on today's menu, I don't want to buy the cafeteria's trash—.

—Uhhh...turkey sandwich or apple?— Peter knew he was screwed.

Spider-kid felt the explosion down to his every bone and could perfectly imagine the pumpkin like grenades being thrown around, and a green-skinned man laughing maniacally.

—Damn, it really is him...— he stopped a second to check the bank's wall clock —Gwen's gonna kill me...—

He had promised his friend, Gwen Stacy, that he would be there to support on her try to join the school's cheerleaders, but between winning Gwen's appreciation or saving people and possibly even capturing his nemesis, the decision was clear.

Besides, his sister Lynn was going to be there as well, and she knew Gwen was his friend. He was sure they would get along and Lynn would support her...probably...he hoped.

Inside the bank, chaos reigned.

Chunks of stone filled the floor, results of the explosions that also created fumes that blocked the vision of all the people inside. Screams were plentiful, and the policemen inside had their guns unholstered, ready to fire at the assailant at any moment.

However, at a speed faster than the eye could follow they were hit by something that was hovering in the air, a distinctive buzz being the only signal that it was even there between all the smoke. And with each hit, a police officer fell unconscious.

When finally, non were left awake, the fume dissipated and allowed to see a man standing there, as if he had always been there.

He was green skinned, with a big nose and yellow eyes making him look fairly distinctive. He was wearing a purple metal like suit, and a too-wide smile. His hands were crossed behind his back, and his stride was casual as if nothing were happening for him.

Such a vision caused all the screams to stop, as everyone looked with muted horror as the man approached the counter and stopped right before it, resting his arms on it.

—W-w-what can I do for you good sir?— asked the terrified man behind the counter's class, his hands raised in surrender.

—Well, you see, Mr...eh...—

—L-Larry, sir—

—Right! Well, Mr. Larry, nothing too complicated. You only need to...— the masked criminal whistled, making his hoverboard come to his side —...I know it's here somewhere...— he murmured as he opened a compartment on the table, from which he started to take out various kinds of weapons, some of which were javelins, grenades, evenshurikenand a flamethrower —I'm pretty sure it was here— he said, almost as offering as an apology —Presto!—.

The villain celebrated as he finally brought out a sack and put it on the counter.

—Now, Johnny, I want you to take as much money as you have and put it there— the Goblin ordered, —Also, tell your partner that if she keeps activating the alarms, I'm gonna blow this place to Kingdom Come— he threatened as he looked at the woman with annoyance.

The Asiatic looking lady stopped pressing the button, and she too raised her hands as she started to pray for help.

—Good choice Miss— praised the Goblin before throwing a shuriken right towards the young woman, only missing a few inches, but managing to cut a few of her hairs —Oops, sorry. Slipped outta my hand— he apologized —Won't happen again, I promise—.

Everyone on the bank lost hope after seeing the man's lack of remorse or mercy, the clients hiding beneath chairs, behind plants, or anywhere they thought they could be concealed. The employees, however, didn't have such a luxury, and they both trembled with fear as they filled the Goblin's bag with money, with the latter humming in satisfaction.

—Thank you, Jason, now let's see...— he took out a one hundred bill and started inspecting it —Looks like money— he brought it closer, right next to his nose —Smells like money— he started rubbing it on his hand —Feels like money— finally, he put on his mouth —And tastes like money— he concluded before spitting out in Larry's face. He then looked once again to the employee.—Congratulations Frank, you and the darling over there have won yourselves around thirty seconds ahead— he announced as he mounted his hoverboard —If I were you, I would start running...— he said in a singsong manner as he started to gain height.

—Really Goblin? A bank? That's painfully average for someone like you—.

A voice cut the entire scenario on the bank in half, and a lot of the clients searched with hope to where the voice was coming from, but none managed to spot it.

And yet, they knew exactly who it was.

—Welly, Welly, Well— hummed the Goblin with satisfaction, searching around on his hoverboard —If it isn't Spider-kid. I'm so disappointed, I thought you would be studying in school like a good boy— the villain almost sounded genuinely disappointed —Well, no matter. Once I'm done with you, homework will be the least of your worries!—.

—Oh please— snorted Spider-kid before falling from the bank's roof, hanging upside down thanks to one of his webs —Are you really sure this is going to be the threat you manage to deliver? Or should I add it to the long list of times you've said I'm going to be killed, exterminated, and/or destroyed? Personally, torn apart is my favorite— he mocked while he discreetly made some web and molded it into lasso form.

—Indeed, you're right— finally said the Goblin before unleashing some of his grenades alongside maniacal laughter —Tearing apart sounds so much fun!—.

The grenades were directly launched towards Spider-kid, but with quite simple acrobatics he managed to dodge it, sticking to one of the pillars.

—You missed— replied the superhero, sarcasm dripping from his voice. To add insult to the injury, he proceeded to make a makeshift reverence —C'mon Goblin, catch you off on a bad day?— he followed the question with some web shots, that failed to hit either the aforementioned or his hoverboard.

The Goblin merely continued with his laughter as he threw more bombs to both sides, always following Spider-kid. He simply kept jumping between pillars and shooting webs at the villain, hoping for at least one to hit him.

When that happened, he threw himself as he could, managing to catch his nemesis and grabbing him by the neck.

Beneath the mask, Lincoln was smiling widely. Finally, after so much time, pain, and difficulties, he had managed to catch the Goblin.

—Looks like I've finally got you— stated Lincoln, moving the Goblin's face closer to his own.

But the Goblin's smile did not falter.

—Ah ah ah— sneered the villain before pointing up, where the smoke was no longer impeding the visibility.

And so, now it could be seen that almost all pillars for the bank were gone, and the entire structure was dangerously close to falling apart, only needing a bit more shaking or damage for that happen.

—Spider-kid, it's either my capture or the life of these poor innocent people. Hurry, the clock is ticking— said the Goblin with malicious glee.

Spider-kid quickly hit him, hoping that he would fall off the hoverboard. However, when he jumped from it to save the civilians caught in the crossfire, the apparatus went flying, with his owner still firmly planted on it.

—So long Spider-kid!— said the Goblin before throwing one his grenades to the roof, which opened a hole from which the villain escaped.

—Not again. — said Lincoln at the same time in his headphones started to sound an 80's song —Oh, I love this song.

The Goblin's granade finally made the roof start to crumble at the same time a well-known music was sounding inside the 4 crumbling walls, Lincoln could see almost in slow motion the chunks falling, some directly over civilians.

"Sweet Dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree?"

Lincoln used his web lasso to attract a lonely woman that was directly on the path of collapsing stones, bringing her directly to his side.

An idea struck Lincoln, and shot more webs, quickly grabbing all the people inside the building, some wearing business suits and other more casual clothes (there even was one wearing a lab coat) and managing to stick them alongside the woman, almost like a web ball.

"Travel the world and the seven seas"

The remaining columns finally started to collapse, and Lincoln wasted no time in breaking the crystal on the counter and rescuing the Asiatic looking woman and the man named Larry that had been terrorized by the Goblin. He managed just in time, as just after he picked them a rock fell on where they previously had been sitting.

He was just going to escape from the place with all the civilians before he noticed the security guards and policemen, unconscious on the ground and too at risk of being crushed by the falling debris.

"Everybody's looking for something"

Without thinking, Lincoln shot webs at them, but these were different. Instead of merely sticking, they expanded almost like a balloon, catching all the unconscious people. He picked them, and alongside the other nine people that were webbed together, he moved to the entrance of the bank.

—C'mon don't fail me now...—

Thankfully, he still had some web left, and without hesitation, he shot it to a nearby building and grabbing all the people, he was pulled, finally managing to leave the bank before the structure ultimately collapsed, ceasing to exist.

The day had been saved.

"Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to get used by you"

However, Spider-kid's elation did not last long as he remembered another thing.

—Oh man.— he said looking towards someplace far away.

—What's wrong Spider-kid?— asked the person that was closest to him inside the web ball, the guy named Larry. Lincoln noticed some sort of admiration on his tone.

—I really need to get going— he answered as he started to climb the building next to the bank, leaving the people still inside the web ball.

—Wait a second!— shouted a woman —Aren't you going to untangle us!?— she demanded with anger.

—I'm really sorry, but if I'm late again my teacher's gonna kill me...— said Lincoln, stopping himself a moment —Don't forget about the guards and policemen! They're still unconscious and they have around 10 hours of breathable air there!— he finally said to someone at the distance before he left.

"Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be abused"

That someone turned to be a couple of police cars, that found themselves looking at a bunch of people stuck together with web slings, and a giant ball of said webs from which some limbs stuck out.

From one of the police cars came the police captain, a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes, which proceeded to ask one of the victims over what happened. Said victim turned out to be Larry, who couldn't help but shower praise on Spider-kid for saving them under three minutes.

—I see— said the man with a sigh before pinching his nose —That kid is fast but careless— he muttered —At the very least you're all okay, I'm gonna send my men to rescue our comrades trapped inside that and untangle you all— he reassured with a smile.

—Captain Stacy— called a man, another policeman. He was of Afro-American descent; he was slightly overweight and was noticeably balding —I think I found something that could help us with the Goblin—.

—Show me McBride— he said before being led to where once the bank had been, where a small pool of blood was already drying —Excellent, but we can't run our chickens before they hatch. That could be anybody's blood—

—But what if it's the Goblin's?— asked Harold McBride to his commander —George, it's what've been looking for so long, evidence, something that can lead us to his real identity, we could end this madness...—

—I know, but even if it's his, it could be contaminated. And we've got no guarantee, it could be from any of the victims...or Spider-kid's— he said before picking some of the blood that hadn't dried with a small tube —Keep searching, I'll handle this—.

Meanwhile, Lincoln had already arrived at the school, climbing it, and looking for somewhere he could hide and change. If he could just finish before the bell sounded, it would be perfect-

And then the bell rang.

—Damnit— he cursed before entering through a window to an empty room and quickly changing. When he had already put his pants on, he looked through the door's glass to see if anyone was walking on the corridors.

Once he assured himself no one was, he left the room and started to dress in his orange shirt. It, however, became stuck and had Lincoln struggled for quite some time before he finally managed.

—Ah hah!— he celebrated before grabbing his bag which he had already taken out and started running towards class —The pajama didn't give so many problems...—.

In the classroom, Peter Parker was already sitting on his desk, alongside Lincoln's best friend Clyde McBryde. He was of the same age as them, Afro-American that wore glasses and frizzled hair and a voice repeatedly described by some as 'totally irritating', who sat alongside Peter and the missing Lincoln.

Clyde noticed something strange, their other friend Gwen wasn't sitting alongside them, and she wasn't one of arriving late. He searched through the classroom before he noticed her sitting at the back of the class, her blond-haired, glass wearing appearance being unchanging. What did change from her normal cheerful expression, though, was the anger that now showed at her face.

It was then that Lincoln entered the class.

Gwen's gaze turned even more angry as she looked at the white-haired kid up and down, almost as if judging him.

If Clyde had to guess, it was all about how Lincoln had sworn that he would attend her trial for cheerleader that same morning, after having failed to show up at so many things because of his supposed extracurricular activities that no one knew what even were.

Lincoln smiled awkwardly and waved, only earning an even harder gaze from his friend.

—Lincoln Loud— said the teacher from behind Lincoln and getting his attention —I see for once you've arrived before me, what a pleasant surprise— sneered the woman before motioning him to sit.

—Thank you, Miss Simian— said Lincoln while sitting, hiding a chuckle.

—It's Sinlian!— shouted the woman —I see you want another evening of detention—.

—I'm there every day, what would even be the difference this time?— asked Lincoln with annoyance.

—That this time it wouldn't be because of arriving late— answered the woman with a malicious grin —Seems it won't matter that much—.

Lincoln limited himself to an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms, ignoring the teacher. He tried to seek comfort in Gwen but stopped himself at looking back as he remembered he had failed her.

But Peter and Clyde did smile at him, and Lincoln saw that they would join him in insulting the teacher during lunch break.

Classes were starting to become a heavy burden for the young Loud, he preferred to think about the sensation of jumping from building to building before learning why gravity was one of the main forces of the universe.

And so, classes drag on and on, slowly eating away at Lincoln before he was saved by the school bell signaling lunch.

Clyde excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Peter and Lincoln alone.

—You've got it?— asked Lincoln pointing at Peter's pockets.

—History homework, done by computer as asked— answered Peter before giving Lincoln a USB —I'm sorry, but I think I'm gonna start raising the price—.

—Peter, I'm already giving you my allowance, please don't— pleaded Lincoln —You know why I ask you...—-

—I know, but Aunt May is having financial problems again, and between that— he pointed to the web-slinger —that— he now pointed at the USB —and this— he picked his homework —I don't have much time to do anything to gain money—.

—You're twelve Pete, what could you even work at?— reasoned Lincoln before starting to whisper —You know, you saved everyone today with your web bomb— he praised while patting him on the back —When I become of legal age, I can start earning money in this hero business—.

—I dunno Lincoln— Peter sighed —Do you think we'll even become adults.

—Don't you worry Pete, I'm Spider-kid, what could even happen to me?— he said without worry as he crossed his hands behind his neck.

—Besides the Green Goblin—.

—...Touché— conceded Lincoln somewhat annoyed —But really Peter, please don't raise the price, I swear I'll find a way that we can both benefit—.

Finally, Clyde returned, and they both stopped any talking about The Spectacular Spider-kid (they both disagreed over that name), and he looked particularly unimpressed, showing both of them a video taken from the cameras at the bank attacked that morning that had been released by the media, in which Spider-kid took a lab wearing person and stuck them with the rest.

Lincoln couldn't help but smile seeing his job well done from an objective point of view at the same time he hummed "Sweet Dreams are made of this".

—Are you smiling?— Clyde's question was tinted with reproach —Lincoln, these people could have died because of Spider-kid's carelessness and arrogance— he explained —Mutants shouldn't be allowed to walk around freely, they-they're unnatural—.

—Exactly, they should be all locked up— Lincoln's laugh was low, and the way he looked at Peter denoted mischievousness.

Lincoln's rest of the day was mostly uneventful, his mind focused on his actions and the song he and Luna had made up for Spider-kid. Luna had expressed a desire to instrumentalize the song. Something rock or punk, she said, would be greatly enjoyable for him and his friends.

When he asked Peter for his opinion, Lincoln didn't fail to notice either how Clyde looked at them with disapproval as they discussed the song, or that Gwen still wasn't sitting with them, not even said a word to any of them (or really anyone) at school.

When the detention's time came, Lincoln didn't bother to say goodbye to his friends, as each went to their extracurricular activities (Chemistry for Peter, Chess for Clyde, and the Cheerleaders for Gwen).

Lincoln felt bad knowing that once again nobody would be with Gwen. Aside from him, Clyde and Peter, Gwen didn't hang out with anyone, and he guessed that she wanted to join the cheerleaders to have someone else to be with. Lincoln guessed that said loneliness was a product of Gwen's father, Police Captain George Stacy.

Lincoln was familiar with him, not only as one of his daughter's best friends but also as somewhat of a work pal, considering how he seemed to be the officer assigned to any trouble involving Spider-kid.

Detention finally came, and Lincoln barely managed to remain awake by remembering all his adventures defeating criminals, struggling before Miss Sinlian caught him sleeping (which would only result in more detention). The woman was really getting to Lincoln's nerves, but he knew there was nothing he could do.

Finally, detention ended, and Lincoln walked away as quickly as he could, wanting to get away from Miss Sinlian as soon as possible.

Suddenly, his Spider-Sense triggered, and Lincoln quickly moved his head aside, managing to dodge a paper ball covered in saliva. Annoyed, he looked to the direction from where the paper ball had come flying from, and he found Chandler's mocking smile right there.

Ever since primary, Chandler had mocked Lincoln and his friends and bullied them, and now that he was part of the football club he had worsened.

The only reason Lincoln hadn't wiped the grin off his face ever since he won his powers was that he was better than that.

Finally, as Lincoln started to walk away, an idea struck him, and he started to quickly write a note, which he then asked a classmate to pass it to his cheerleader friend, while also asking said classmate to not reveal who had sent the letter.

Once that was done, he sighed and hoped that Gwen would receive the letter and go where they would meet.

If Lincoln were being honest with himself, he knew that this whole idea was stupid, something that he would regret later on. Sometimes hehadthought of Gwen as more than a friend, but his shyness had always kept him from voicing said ideas.

But now that he had failed her so much, he supposed this was the least he could to her, to show her how much she really meant to him.

He quickly moved towards the wall and started climbing towards the school's roof, looking for a place where he could change to his Spider-kid costume.

Once he managed to do so, he moved along the school, silently and as stealthily as possible, towards the place where he would meet with Gwen: the school's abandoned broom cupboard.

Lincoln stuck himself with his webs to the cupboard's roof, waiting for Gwen to appear and finally come out. Each second of the clock was almost torture for Lincoln, as each little sound that came from out of the cupboard made him think Gwen was already there, and the anxiousness was building up inside him.

Lincoln wasn't sure if he could stay there more, his brain was constantly telling him to get away.

His mouth, which was freed from the mask, was panting, and Lincoln could feel the sweat build up all through his body. He couldn't wait for Gwen to come and him do the deed to take the costume away and share his second-biggest secret with her.

Finally, the door opened, and Lincoln's impulses and anxiety got the better of him, as he shot up as quickly as possible to pop a kiss to the female that had entered the room, his eyes closed meanwhile.

—I love you— finally declared Lincoln, the words he had for so long wanted to tell Gwen finally being released.

However, when he opened his eyes, he found himself not looking at his best friend and crush, but someone else.

—What? Me? You? Me!?— in front of him was the figure of Lynn Loud, his immediately older sister, and the best sportswoman in the school —I...I'm flattered— Lynn was blushing as she said that —A-A superhero likes me?— she brought her hands to her face to her embarrassment.

Lincoln's sheer impact after what he had done made his mind go overdrive, remembering how Lynn too was accessing to the cheerleaders, and how he had forgotten to tell the classmate which cheerleader he actually wanted the note delivered to.

He felt like the world's biggest idiot, and the sheer magnitude of what he had done made him freeze, allowing his sister, unknowing of his identity, to take the sides of his head and kiss him, long and full of tenderness.

Lincoln continued to be unmoving, completely ignoring his brain screaming at him to end this...thingbefore it got worse. And yet, his body didn't respond, either because of the shock...or perhaps because he was slowly liking the feeling.

Finally, the second kiss ended, and Lincoln moved like a bullet, retreating to the darkness of the cupboard's roof, and pulling down his mask again.

He saw his sister smiling, blocking the door from which his now so desired and coveted escape could be done, and he sighed, deciding to address the...eventbefore it got out of control

—I'm...sorry, Miss., but...— he tried to speak, but looking at his sister's radiant smile and happiness, Lincoln found himself unable to crush her bliss. He knew that her jock like attitude made her 'undesirable' by the schoolboy's standards and that this was possibly her first kiss. He just couldn't —I shouldn't have stolen you a kiss— he finally said —I...I should be going—.

And with nothing more to say, Lincoln jumped from his position, ran past Lynn who moved aside at seeing his speed and left the cupboard, shooting a web to tier's roof, quickly leaving behind the school with feelings of nothing but shame in his head.

Lynn, meanwhile, didn't move an inch from where she was, her mind still replaying the encounter with a giddiness that she had never experienced.

—He really is just a kid...— the realization finally dawned on her —And that kid loves me,me—.

The TV at the Loud House was usually a very contested commodity, with 10 siblings all normally wanting to watch each their own thing. However, on that evening the sofa was unusually empty, and the only occupant on it (and the only person watching the TV) was a five-year-old girl, that seemed rather unimpressed with what was being shown in the apparatus.

—The great Spider-kid-—

Channel change.

—The Green Goblin's menace-—.

She didn't care

—The avenue's bank-—.

That was supposed to be a cartoon's channel.

She finally left the TV on the music channel, the only that wouldn't be babbling about stupid heroes or villains.

Now with that out of the way, she looked at the drawing again, a sketch of her wearing a harness connected to various mechanical limbs, a marvel of engineering like few there were in the world.

—Lisa, your inventions will change the world, revolutionize it— she made an impression of an older, deeper voice, with clear annoyance— Yes, of course...— she crossed her arms —The world prefers histories of children wearing Halloween costumes over true progress—.

The phone rang, and being the only person at the house, Lisa sighed as she got off the couch and walked to pick it up.

—Loud House, Lisa Loud speaking— she said in a monotone tone.

—Miss Loud, just the woman I wanted to speak with— A professional and calm voice answered her from the other side of the phone —My scientists have been reviewing your new thesis and have been particularly captivated by your proposal for a four-armed mechanical harness. I must ask, have you built it? Have a functioning prototype at the very least?—.

—I'm sorry, but as of now is just a pipe dream. Because of my biological age, I lack funds, a laboratory with the correct equipment and basically everything I would need to...wait a moment, to whom am I speaking?—.

The voice on the other side merely chuckled.

—Have you heard of Oscorp Ms. Loud?

To be continued…

Chapter 2: Here's to never growing up

Chapter Text

The Tangled Web of Lincoln Loud

Chapter 2 Here's to never growing up

─And don't forget, you little delinquents. ─the teacher said when the bell rang ─Finish your science projects for next week, WITH the research, I know you'll forget about the research.

─Team? ─ Lincoln asked the person in the seat next to him.

─Team. ─answered the little Parker before Clyde could say anything, causing Clyde to snort ─Too late Claude─ Peter said with a porcine laugh.

The bell stopped ringing and a tide of students rushed out the door, the only two left behind were both Lincoln Loud and Peter Parker, both excusing themselves by arranging their backpacks.

─So, how did it go with the goblin? ─Peter asked, lowering his voice while introducing the book "Advanced Germanium Concepts and their implications in elastic polymers" in his backpack.

─Shhhh...─ Lincoln shushed Peter, seeing that teacher Sinlan was waiting for them to close the door, they both left and went through the corridors in a confidential tone ─Well, good, no one got hurt from what I heard...─ Lincoln answered smiling and sticking out his chest in front of some cheerleaders.

They looked at him and laughed under their breath, one of them greeted him effusively, his sister Lynn, who seemed quite changed since he had kissed her three days ago. Peter instead just nodded and waved at the girls and many of them looked at him with disgust, causing Peter to lower his head and walk again.

─Hahahaha... ─ Parker started laughing, recovering his smile, as soon as they passed the cheerleaders ─If your sister finds out, she'll kill you...

─She won't. ─ Lincoln said, his face burning red in shame─ For my own sake, I hope so.

The hallway began to fill up more and more, as the rest of the students left to change classrooms, some having classes from one end of the building to the other, which was the case of a boy running down the same hallway in the opposite direction.

─Coming through! ─ shouted Clyde, almost colliding with Lincoln, but with his spider-sense, Linc unconsciously dodged without seeing Clyde, causing him to continue running and inadvertently push another student.

─Should we tell him he doesn't need to run? ─Peter asked a little uncomfortably, ─He looks like a child.

─Clyde has had this obsession with unpunished attendance since elementary school, in fact, he won a contest and everything. ─Lincoln said half-smiling─ I guess he plans to do the same thing in middle school, he'll be fine, those who make fun of him, won't.

─Would you use your... powers against defenseless twelve-year-olds? ─ Peter asked, disapprovingly.

─They are no longer "defenseless" when they use their own "powers" to intimidate others, it's just giving them a taste of their own medicine. ─ said Lincoln, emphasizing the word "power" to his friend.

Although the answer didn't really satisfy Peter, he just folded his arms as he watched down the hall as Clyde bumped into a locker and gathered momentum to turn the corner. They both said goodbye with a brotherly high-five and parted down the halls, they had different classes, as Lincoln had preferred art class and Peter had preferred programming. Both are very basic but optional at Everdeen Middle School, located near uptown Queens.

Lincoln went to art, where one of his middle school friends was sketching in his notebooks, a year younger, so he could be considered cannon fodder. Orange-haired, cut in a mushroom shape and barely reaching three feet tall, his name was Liam, a boy raised in the country farm until he moved due to family problems to Queens.

─H-hello Lincoln. I'm glad you came again...─ said Liam, crouching down, without even turning to look at him, with little interest.

─I need to come Liam, or else I'll fail, and I can't fail drawing, it's the only thing I'm really good at. ─Linc said and sat at the shared desk with Liam, knowing he was a great liar, he was also pretty great at crime-fighting.

─Looks like we can agree on something, Lame-o.─ said a girl in the next table with a purple hood who looked at the white-haired boy with mockery.

─Ronnie, weren't you suspended? ─asked Liam, clenching one of his fists while continuing to draw with the other in his notebook, although the lines now came and went with more strength.

─Nah. They couldn't prove that I was the one who threw the eggs at the principal's car.

─Mhhh. I thought Artie Fitzgerald ratted you out. ─ Lincoln said while taking his pencil to his mouth to chew it a little.

─And I told him that I don't like gossipers. Especially when they try to pass for anonymous, HA, pitiful. ─ Said Ronnie, taking her notebook and finishing her drawing ─People who don't have the courage to show their faces are the ones that bother me the most.

─That means you don't like superheroes, right? ─Lincoln asked to taunt ─I mean if we take it literally about hiding your identity.

─Oh, of course, don't doubt it for a second, all those "heroes" should show their faces, who's to say they're not thieves? Or that they are aliens trying to pass themselves off as humans, imagine a planet full of Benjamins Grimm's. ─Ronnie began to ramble─ Thousands of stone men and women.

─I think they do good deeds. ─ Liam said without taking his eyes off his drawing.

─Well, I don't and Lincoln and Clyde are with me. ─Ronnie said before playfully punching Lincoln on the shoulder, a blow that hurt the girl more than the boy. ─Wow, are you training?

─I'm glad you noticed. ─ the white-haired lad answered, with a pretty smug smile ─And of course, down with the heroes, buhhh...─ he said without noticing his particularly loud tone of voice.

As Ronnie laughed and Liam seemed to be annoyed, the art teacher approached, who seemed to have only heard Lincoln's last sentence, and was raising his eyebrow a lot.

─I see, Mr. Loud, that you don't appreciate the hard work and sacrifice those heroes have to go through, do you? ─ he said, approaching Lincoln and Liam's table.

─He's not the only one who believes that. ─Ronnie Anne jumped in his defense─ A self-righteous man in a mask won't help as much as a policeman, or a fireman. ─ She folded his arms in front of the teacher.

─What about the Fantastic Four? ─added a boy at some tables near them.

─How many times have you seen them save someone? ─shouted another boy in the group, banging on a table.

─Because they save the world from cosmic threats!

─Yes! ─ shouted another girl in support.

Accidentally, Lincoln started a discussion about heroes, where half of his group was against them, while the other half were grateful, that actually bored Lincoln, it was quite common for the last three years, when all the mutant races started to appear, that there was those kinds of discussions in children as well as in adults. Of course, he was in favor of the heroes since seven months ago, when he became Spider-Kid, but he still remembered his time as the simple Lincoln Loud and his anger when his grandfather...

─POP-POP! ─he heardechoing in his mind, uselessly stretching his arm before he...

But it had been years since the incident, Lincoln had had to learn to live with the pain.

─Silence! ─ their teacher exclaimed as he was walking back to the board— As I see that there are still classmates with incorrigible habits, your next assignment will be a drawing of a superhero you admire. We need them in this corrupt world, people who take the trouble to clean up the streets.

—What is this...?!—a student was about to shout.

—I am your teacher. — He said to calm the waters and writing on the blackboard —How difficult can a drawing be? There are dozens of heroes, there must be one you like...—seeing many annoyed faces, he let out a long sigh —The Fantastic Four? They show their faces...—he said turning his eyes to Ronnie, who only shook her head.

The teacher tried his best to bring the class together, but clearly, the discussion at the beginning had divided the students too much. The teacher, to avoid a second discussion, went back to check some homework, and got the students to finally agree on a single reaction, the one of dropping their heads on their desks because they clearly didn't want to show their homework, some exceptions of course, but not Lincoln, or Ronnie, or Liam. All three were sitting all the way to the back, looking at their individual papers.

Lincoln had drawn a picture of a spider spinning a web because being subtle was not his forte. The theme for the week had been red, so of course, he made a reference to his costume causing the web to have a dominant red with some blue.

—Good work kid. —The teacher congratulated him, approving his work in the notebook and proceeding to check Liam's notebook—Oh...—he put a hand to his mouth worriedly—Did you do this, Mr...?

—Liam. —The boy said dryly, looking in the direction of the teacher, but without raising his head.

—Liam...—the professor picked up his clipboard and began to rummage through the list of names—Liam Kasady, I see. — He said, putting a hand on his chin and then looking back at the orange-haired boy's —Would you like to talk to me after school?

Finally, Liam turned upwards, his gaze said nothing, it was as if everything was indifferent to him, Lincoln had only met a slightly similar gaze in his sister Lucy, but Lucy's gaze wasn't so dull.

—No—Liam replied dryly, picking up his notebook and looking down again, —Thank you. — He looked back down at his desk.

Both Ronnie and Lincoln were puzzled, the latter felt a twinge in his spider-sense, causing him to turn away when the professor handed him his notebook, causing him to turn his head away with a jerk.

—Mr. Loud, nice reflexes. — The teacher complimented —You have ten, both of you. —He said to the table and went to check the next table.

Inside Lincoln's notebook was a green sheet of paper that he didn't recognize, when he opened it, he noticed it was written in cursive "Try to help him and your grades will go up."As if he needed the high grade, after all, he only had to draw something picture next to the homework for history, politics, literature, and, his real arch-nemesis, math.

"The green goblin is not as cruel and ruthless as the perfect square binomial" Lincoln thought—Maybe a few extra points wouldn't hurt...— said Lincoln believing he was still in his thoughts.

—Extra points? — Ronnie approached him.

At that moment Lincoln showed her the paper, and then they both turned to look at Liam, and nodded, he wasn't a guy they knew very well, but he didn't look bad either. The class continued, in the middle of the class one of Liam's pencils fell and he went down to look for it, and in the moment, Lincoln checked his notebook out of curiosity about the drawing and saw the body of a red-haired woman swimming in a red river with pleasure.

Once that class was over, Lincoln went back to meet his friends Peter and Clyde for lunch, both of whom seemed eager to keep talking nonstop.

It was lunchtime not only for the middle school, but also at Midtown High School, where Lori Loud, the oldest of Lincoln sisters, was walking with her boyfriend Bobby on her way to the school cafeteria, one of the few times of the day they could see each other, considering Bobby had two jobs.

—So, Boo-boo bear, what are we having for lunch? —Lori asked, hanging onto his neck and letting her head rest on Bobby's shoulder.

—I have beans and bread, babe. —said Bobby, which was a nickname since his name Roberto at the beginning was difficult for Lori to pronounce.

—Aren't you going to buy something from the cafeteria? —Lori asked puzzled— Literally you're the only one in the whole school who likes those things they try to pass off as food...— Lori said, trembling slightly as several images of the so-called food came to her mind.

—I know, I know, but you understand, the bills, the house, my parents can't handle it all alone. — said Bobby with his best smile on his face.

Before Lori could answer, they both heard a scream coming from a hallway in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. They both approached curious, not understanding why the commotion, when they arrived, they saw that there was a crowd surrounding a girl who was with her back against some lockers while the high school principal was trying to approach her cautiously.

—We just want to help you, Miss Pilgrim. —the principal said, getting closer with caution while holding some books to shield himself of any harm—But you must come with me, they sent Agent Carter for you and she'll be here any minute. Do you know Agent Carter? She is a good woman; nothing will happen to you...

—Stay away! —shouted the blonde girl as she closed her eyes and several light bulbs exploded in unison, causing screams and mass hysteria.

—Please! Stop! — begged the director, unintentionally slipping.

—Carol? — Lori let go of her boyfriend's arms, ducked and walked through the tide of students until she reached the front, where most of the students tried to stop her —Let me go! —she demanded as she squirmed and was finally in front of the students.

As soon as she reached that point Carol stopped crying and moved closer to Lori, but several pairs of arms tried to push them both away, causing Carol to let out another scream and the hand she reached out for Lori teleported from her wrist into Lori's hair.

That action caused several screams to break out, as some students shouted "Monster", others tried to escape from the sea of heads, while a few sane ones and the teachers restrained the students to avoid more cases like Lori's. The principal almost fell to his knees as Carol's hand disappeared from its owner and appeared holding that other girl's blonde hair.

But of all, the most shocked was Lori Loud, who only saw Carol's hand disappear, then feeling a weight in her hair, she fearfully brought her hand and it collided with the girl's hand. Lori made that hand let go of her hair and held it as if it were something delicate, but Carol only turned red with embarrassment and with a movement her arm returned the hand to herself, as if it had never come off.

—What? —Lori said not fully understanding but trying to smile —You have nothing to be ashamed of, girl... —she said trying to sound friendly, but failed miserably—Carol...

She got closer and gave the other blonde a hug, and the mutant accepted the hug, although several tried to yell at Lori that Carol was dangerous, the girl didn't care, she didn't even care that until just five minutes ago she had been a bitter enemy of Carol Pilgrim, the most popular girl in school, who betrayed her at twelve after having been childhood friends, humiliating and making fun of her. All those 9 years of constant teasing and warfare disappeared, and they went back to being just two sillies ten-year-old girls who got lost in the mall and thought they would find their parents together, or the ones who went out to improvised concerts of bands made up of "tall and mature" fifteen-year-old boys, the kind of best friends that even when the bond was broken it is hard to forget, and in that moment seemed to have been rebuilt.

—I'm sorry...—said Carol, frightened.

—Don't be. — Lori said in her ear, —Can you escape? —she said in a very low tone —I can buy some time, whatever it takes...

—I don't know if I can, I don't want to know if I can disappear completely, not yet...— Carol tried to tell Lori something barely audible to her ear, but it sounded more like sobbing.

—On the count of three Carol, run as far as you can...—said Lori squeezing her tighter, showing her that there was no choice—Look at it like those Christmas presents we didn't give each other.

Finally, they separated and could see each other's faces covered in tears, Carol's usually beautiful makeup was ruined. Her eyes had a helpless look, you could hear the screams, although Lori was confused, she knew what they did to people like Carol in those special prisons, she didn't wish that on anyone, not even after what happened to Pop-Pop, if he taught them anything, it was to forgive...

—On...—Lori pressed both foreheads together—Tw...—she barely moved her tongue, but it was more than clear in Carol's head ─Three. —they broke off.

And she closed her eyes to disappear her full body in front of all the students, knowing that there was no other wat to hide. There was a general shock and silence seemed to reign.

—Ahhhhhh! — Lori screamed, squirming on the floor—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! — she screamed louder when she saw that not everyone was paying attention to her.

—Miss Loud, you...— the director tried to approach.

—Should we look for the mutant?— a student from the soccer team interrupted him.

—They are risking our safety!

—She could have killed us!

—Look how it turned out!

—AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! — desperately shouted Lori trying to add confusion and give her friend Carol time.

The principal told everyone to shut up, even Lori, and was fed up with the commotion in the corridor of his nice high school.

─But... My head...─ Lori tried to say, faking pain.

─You're not fooling anyone Loud; you just helped a runaway... You're in a lot of trouble! ─The principal said to her seriously while he ordered the teachers to close all the exits as soon as possible, they could not allow a mutant to escape, otherwise, all the students...

─Hurry up!

He ordered knowing the ultimate consequences of not delivering mutants to justice, much more taking into account the number of students in the corridor.

While he worried for everyone's sake, Lori cried on Bobby's shoulder, no longer hungry at all, just sad for her friend, and sorry for herself. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, just hugged her while repeating:

─You did the right thing... Don't regret it... Everything will be all right...

The day had just ended at Everdeen Middle School, and Lincoln had two options, go back to detention, after teacher Sinlian had once again unfairly punished him, if by unfairly meant Lincoln had been late to class because he got stuck with his web-shooter in the middle of a department building. Or the option of avoiding detention, and apologizing to Gwen Stacy for missing her commencement tests a couple of days earlier.

─Lincoln, Lincoln... ─ He was reached by Peter, who was agitated and sweat was pouring down his forehead to the mole on his face ─There you are, I went to look for you in detention, here. ─ He handed him a small bottle with a white liquid.

─Won't it get stuck in a fifth-story window this time? ─ asked Lincoln, looking at the canister and tapping it lightly with one of his fingers ─Yes, it looks like good quality...

Behind them stood a boy younger than them, who had only heard the last sentence, saw Lincoln out of the corner of his eye and then Peter and then ending up looking at the little white bottle. He blinked a couple of times and turned around without the others being able to say anything in their defense.

─Put that thing away. ─ Peter said as he adjusted his glasses─ Someday they'll think we're selling drugs...

─Or worse, they'll link us to the spider. ─ Lincoln said more quietly and looked from one side to the other─ With things the way they are today, frankly, I'd rather look like a drug addict than Spider-Kid.

─At least for the police. ─ Peter Parker tried to add.

─Yes... The police...─ said Lincoln starting to whistle absentmindedly ─Well, I'm going with Gwen, I must apologize to her, bro...

─I thought you were going to detention. ─Parker was a little surprised.

─What's the worst they can do to me? ─ said Lincoln, smiling and hanging his trusty backpack on his back ─See you tomorrow, if you hear anything, you know.

─Direct call. ─ answered Peter with a thumbs up and a half-smile.

In the training fields, the cheerleaders were in the middle of the field, raising their pom-poms to the rhythm of the music, most of them doing it in a decent way at least, there was a couple kissing, and there was one that was sitting in the bleachers. Well, you couldn't say she was a cheerleader, considering she wasn't wearing a cheerleading uniform, just her pink sweater and her disheveled hair tied back in a headband.

The arachnid boy climbed up the bleachers and slowly walked up to her, noticing more and more details, like Gwen hugging the backpack, or tears running down her face as some cheerleaders at the bottom occasionally pointed at her.

As he approached, the song they had been listening to stopped and the cheerleaders changed to a new one, causing Lincoln to turn to look at them in intrigue, but his gaze returned to Gwen, barely hearing them in the background with the recording blaring.

"Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs".

─Hi, Gwen. ─ he greeted shyly.
"With the boom box blaring as we're falling in love."

─Lincoln? ─ she said, genuinely surprised to see him there.

"I got a bottle of whatever, but it's gotten us drunk".

"Singing here's to never growing up".

─What are you doing here? You should be there...─he pointed to the court.

There was a silence in which Gwen turned back to her backpack, and then, without even looking at Lincoln again, she began to speak.

─Well, I kind of lied to you a little bit, to everyone, I didn't get accepted into the cheerleaders. ─ Gwen said with a sad smile─ Lincoln, I've never let my dad down... I feel dirty. ─ She leaned back on her backpack.

─So, are you here waiting for them to feel sorry for you? ─ he said, turning to look at her in disbelief for her attitude.

─No, it's just that I have nothing better to do and if I go back home, my dad will notice. Besides, the fresh air helps me to think about my science project, I must be good at something, right?

"For no damn reason, I don't think we'll ever change."

It looked like an awkward silence was about to set in, but Lincoln clenched his fists, knowing he had nothing to lose.

─I think they are jealous. ─he said while pointing at the other girls─ Why else would they not accept you? You're the most talented girl I've ever met, Gwendolyn.

─Don't call me Gwendolyn. ─said the girl laughing while hiding her head, this time because she was blushing ─That reminds me, I'm mad at you. ─she said still red and turning away.

─Oh come on, you're not. ─ said Lincoln reaching over to hug her shoulder, only causing Gwen to shake her shoulders in an attempt to push him away. ─Well, maybe you are, but you can't be mad all the time...

─Try me─ She said, still turning to the other side.

"We don't ever stop, and we're never gonna change."

─What if I do something to make it up to you? Something big...

─You always say that. And it's always the same, there was something important with your sisters, or the subway was attacked by the green goblin...

─That's a plausible thing to say. ─ Lincoln said, offended.

─It would be if you hadn't used that excuse three times in the same month. ─ Gwen said, laughing a little at the situation.

"Say, won't you say forever stay".

─It was a complicated month, okay? ─ Lincoln tried to continue, though even he felt bad about lying to Gwen like that.

Silence was about to reign again, the conversation seemed to be going nowhere until finally Gwen continued:

─There is something you can do... Although it may be asking too much...─ she said nervously, though anxiously.

─It doesn't matter Gwen; I must pay for having been a bad friend.

─And pay for the detention you skipped...─ she said, now it was her turn to joke.

The cheerleaders were still going on with their music,"If you stay forever hey,"but those were things that didn't matter to Lincoln Loud, he at that moment only had ears for anything Gwen could ask of him.

─Lincoln, do you want to be my partner in the science project next week? ─ she said hurriedly while still red with embarrassment.

─I... ─he froze at that question, he was about to answer affirmative, when he remembered ─I'm already with Peter... Gwen... I'm sorry...

─Parker? said Gwen, squinting her eyes.

"We can stay forever Young!"

─It's okay Lincoln. ─ Gwen said, standing up with her eyes closed and definitely turning anywhere else but in the direction of the white-haired boy.

─No, no, I mean I can tell Peter that we're not teaming up anymore and... ─that same boy could dodge bullets, but not the kind Gwen was throwing at him at that moment.

─No, I wouldn't want to interrupt the idyllic friendship that you guys are trying so hard to maintain. ─ Even the cheerleading squad stopped singing and watched the whole thing from the fence, ─Why don't you go to Peter and ask him how he is? Maybe he's lonely! ─she shouted down the bleachers and ran off.

Loud stood in place, pale and staring blankly at Gwen's trial, unable to know what else to do or say. The cheerleaders looked on amidst whispers and laughter.

The boy looked at the other, in these his sister Lynn was calling him, possibly to meet him outside, worried about him, but he didn't want to listen to yet another girl, what was Lynn going to know about his problems? As far as he knew, his sister might just be trying to give him another kiss... No, no... He couldn't keep thinking about it, he wasn't Lincoln Loud at that moment, he was... He was... Spider-Kid!

There was one place where he could do something to alleviate that feeling.

"Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs."

Swinging with his web from building to building, humming the cheerleader song to try to clear his mind, though not even the pure, clean air of the New York streets could... Pure and clean? Yeah sure, he actually was getting intoxicated because of the smog between Fifth Avenue.

─Ahhh, Batman didn't have to go through this in Gotham, that's for sure...─ said Spider-Kid leaning against the window of a building to cough loudly.

"With the boom box blaring as we're falling in love"

Suddenly he felt a tingle, his spider-sense activated again. He closed his eyes, but no, he didn't hear the pumpkin bombs, the goblin had failed him again, for the safety of the city.

"I got a bottle of whatever, but it's getting us drunk"

The Spectacular Spider-Kid hung again from his web, and pressing a button began to swing out into the streets, looking for the source of the tingle among all the smog.

─A jewelry store, it always has to be jewelry stores or banks. ─ Spider-Kid said standing in a pole─ Now let's see... eeny...─he looked with extreme speed from one side to the other ─meeny, miny...─he sharpened his gaze until he saw a guy in a crowd pushing another one away from the scene ─ Mo…

"Singing, here's to never growing up."

That man heard the spider's web and ran off in a hurry, pushing more people out of the way in desperation and beginning to use more strength, causing one of his victims to fall into the street. The sound of the spider webs was getting closer.

A child walking with his father on that street was one of those victims, being pushed by the criminal, at the same time that a truck was trying to stop, the sound of the tires slamming on the brakes flooded the air. The truck slowed down, but the boy was still hurt on the ground and the object was moving at a considerable speed.

Chapter 3: Why don't you get a job?

Chapter Text

The tangled web of Lincoln Loud

Chapter 3 Why don't you get a job?

─Oh come on Lincoln, I've invited you to twenty tea parties, but you're always busy. ─ Lola insisted again after his third refusal.

─No! It's my turn to play with Lincoln, it's been over a month since... ─ Lana was about to complain.

─Girls, girls. ─ Lincoln tried to stop them, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. ─There will be time to play together, I promise.

─You always promise it! ─ they both said in annoyance.

That caused the little arachnid boy to let out a sigh of disappointment, he had always liked spending time with his sisters, but he knew he had to go out on patrol, even being Sunday, if he wanted to be recognized as a hero, he had to take himself seriously, also Sunday were usually when more people go out the street so they could see him, although that was totally a business strategy, he definitely didn't like people speaking well of him, not at all.

It was one thing his desires to patrol and another to fail his sisters so often and constantly, Lincoln had always been there for them and now it seemed he had no idea how to deal with them.

─Look, I must go out with Peter and Clyde because we had some plans to hang out, but I promise I'll be back with you, okay? ─ Lincoln reassured, smiling slightly.

─How can we be sure that this time you will come to Lincoln? Mademoiselle Cosette miss you. ─ Lola said, making puppy eyes and kneeling in front of young Loud.

─My scorpions miss you too. ─ said Lana imitating her sister's pose.

─I... ─ Lincoln tried to wriggle out of the situation, though guilt was eating him up inside-out.

─Girls, girls, calm down. ─ Mr. Loud, who had heard the pleads from the kitchen, came into the living room, wearing an apron and a chef's hat ─ Are you going out, Lincoln, on Sunday? ─ he said quizzically.

─Of course, I asked mom for permission. ─ He said, smiling in a very prolonged, almost nervous way ─ with my friends.

─Does that include girl-friends? ─ said Mr. Loud in a slightly more confidential tone.

But that was enough to startle Lola and Lana, an imminent talk about girls, both ran up the stairs and slammed the door shut. Both Mr. Loud, as well as Lincoln, stood watching that scene.

─No, I promise there will be no girls Pa. ─ answered Linc, raising his hand as if he were to swear at a book or the flag ─ Just Peter, Clyde and me, peacefully playing a game where we'll beat crooks, along with some healthy sodas and lots of candy.

─Hahaha. ─ Mr. Loud let out a laugh. ─ You remind me of when I was your age, well except I wasn't allowed to play video games. ─ he said, remembering the old times ─Son, I'll just remind you to come back before sunset, you made a promise to your sisters and real men never break a promise, right?

Lincoln felt the weight of his father's hand on his shoulder, he knew it was all a lie, that in reality, he might not return until late at night, that he might even die at the hands of a petty thief, and they could never see him again. All because he had to prove his worth as a hero, he could not leave that task he had imposed on himself, much less when his career was just beginning, he had to get it before others tried to take his domain.

So, he smiled and with all the nerve in the world and said, not without grimacing in annoyance:

─I will be here before sunset, I promise.

─I know I can trust you. ─ said Mr. Loud, turning around and starting to sniff ─ Does it smell like something is burning?

─You were cooking. ─ Lincoln reminded him.

─My meatballs! ─ The oldest Loud said in a panic, running to the scene of the incident with a spoon in hand.

Lincoln removed his smile and looked carefully at all the corners of his house, it was a three-story wooden dwelling, like most of the residential area of Queens, on the first floor there were four rooms, on the middle five, although technically his room had been a second bathroom that they had to modify because he was the only boy between all the siblings. The third floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom, his family barely managed to get into that house, but that was his nest, his place of origin.

─I hope to at least try not to break the promise. ─ He said to himself, turning around, getting out of his house and started running down the avenue to the nearest alley, and then he began a dial a number on his phone as he put on his wireless headset.

From another of the city alleys, young Peter Parker was using his cell phone placidly, trying to capture what was clearly not a Ratata on his cell phone, although of course, the Queens neighborhood only had those beasts, not counting the other one that looks like a spider, the boy thought he knew why, and the sound of a spider web above his head confirmed his thoughts. He closed the app and picked up a wooden box next to him with his other hand.

─Totally random citizen, what are you doing in this back alley? ─ asked the masked boy, as he walked down the wall, as if gravity was no match for his body mass.

─Oh, Spider-Kid, you caught me illegally catching a bunch of Pokemon. ─ answered Peter, putting his hands in the air.

─No, Peter, you have to run, or at least shout "It wasn't me", it's funnier when I catch them like that. ─ The spider said at the same time he put his feet on the floor, looking from side to side ─ We should stop meeting in alleys, especially for your safety. he said a little more seriously.

─My house doesn't have access to the roof, and this is as close to privacy as we'll get in this town, plus, I always come prepared. ─ He said, showing that under the sleeve of his sweatshirt he was carrying a web shooter.

─Did you make one for yourself? ─ said Lincoln indignantly. ─ They are my personal mark, traitor!

─Ha, I never leave home without this baby, it's more practical than yours─ He said, showing that the bottle where he kept the spider web was a rather small jar.

─Because it is of little use. ─ The spider said with mock annoyance ─I'll trust you for this one. Ready for the morning patrol?

─Radio in hand. ─ He lifted the wooden box. ─ and merchandise at hand. ─ He patted his shorts. ─ Shall we go?

The young spider grabbed Peter by the shoulders with his feet and threw a web toward the roof of the departmental building, propelling them both into the air. Lincoln managed to avoid the idiotic impulse that commanded him to do somersaults in the air, at least until he reached the departmental buildings, where he flung a web up to one of the skyscrapers, and with great force of momentum shot all the way up with young Parker.

They could both feel the wind breaking against their faces and finally the momentum their bodies felt as they went further up the building, until the seemingly painful fall, where Lincoln let go of Peter's shoulders and they both went into a nosedive. Smoothed by an inflatable, carefully placed after having learned the hard way that the laws of physics were painful, the fourth time up that building, it seemed so far away that moment only months ago.

─Wow, the wind is strong today. ─ Peter commented while breathing some fresh air ─ I love it up here, it's cleaner than the sewers. ─ He said and then looked under aboard for a folding chair ─ Can you help me, hero?

─All for a good citizen who doesn't increase the cost of his friend's homework. ─ he said with a wink.

─Lincoln, we've already discussed this, it's only temporary, Aunt May isn't feeling well, I don't have a job, and doing double homework is no fun. ─ Peter said at the same time he was making a rope with the web ─ Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to tie myself to this concrete pole, if the wind keeps up like this, I'm going to fall off the roof.

Quickly Lincoln helped him by grabbing the webbing thread and spinning it around the concrete pole several times, causing Peter's stomach to be secure, as well as the radio and the folding table.

─Everything is ready, now we turn this baby on and... ─ said Peter happily, but as soon as he turned on the radio, a familiar sound began to play in the distance ─ Really? Not even five minutes and there is already a danger? ─ Peter complained.

─Oh great, this is a job for the tangled webs of Spider-Kid. ─ He said in a heroic pose, trying to determine where the explosion came from ─ My spider-sense fails me, Peter, the radio.

─One moment, I can't find the frequency of the... This must be it. ─ He said moving a knob on the old radio, which finally transmitted.

─... as soon as possible. ─ a voice relatedly familiar reported ─ I repeat, this is Captain Stacy, the Green Goblin is flying over Jackie Robinson Avenue, at the corner of eighty-one, chasing a black van, we need reinforcements as soon as possible...

They didn't need any more information.

─Heist music. ─ Lincoln said excitedly, striking a triumphant pose and then jumping off the building in a free fall.

On the corner of 81st, there was a patrol car going full speed ahead, driven by a sturdy man, and his superior a blond policeman. They were pursuing the figure of a highly notorious criminal, the cursed Green Goblin, who was once again wreaking havoc, trying to blow up a black van that was going even faster than a hoverboard.

─Careful Harold! ─ shouted Officer Stacy when they had to dodge an oncoming car that was skidding due to the driver's certain fear of such a scene.

─I know, George! ─ shouted Harold turning the steering wheel several times, shifting into gear, and managing to accelerate for a few seconds before an imminent crash ─Not today, I have a delicious dinner, with my beautiful husband, and NOTHING can ruin it for me. ─ He shouted in euphoria due to the dodge he somehow managed to do, shifting gears again to continue the chase.

Both barely noticed as they advanced behind the goblin, they could at that distance hear its shrill laughter, even above the air-breaking glider. The exploding pumpkins went from one side of the road to the other, trying to follow the complicated dance the van was doing, zigzagging to avoid being hit. Before they knew it, they were crossing a street where on one side was a residential area, and on the other a small wooded area, a prelude to the forest in front of them.

They crossed a bridge over Woodhaven Avenue when suddenly, going by two-story houses built of wood and bricks, ending in a small apartment building, the incredible Spider-Kid leaped into action, arriving at the corner of Woodhaven Avenue, before the bridge, throwing a web at a lamppost and approaching it with force to use it as an impulse and landing right on top of the policemen's car.

─The brat again? ─ said George in annoyance.

─ Frankly, we need all the help we can get, George. ─ Harold reminded him as they finished crossing the bridge and saw the forest ahead of them.

─Hello officer. ─ Spider-Kid greeted from outside the window. ─ I mean, officers... Always you two, aren't their others for the job?

Officer Stacy rolled down the window as Harold McBride made a miraculous move to avoid another vehicle that shot out sideways.

─Brat. ─ Stacy said, greeting the kid ─ Came to bother police again?

─Yep. ─ Spider-Kid said enthusiastically, ─ Although that's just a bonus, my main vocation, as you know, is to take down evildoers.

─Then do it! ─ shouted Stacy sharply ─ And be careful, we don't know who's driving the van.

─I'm sure everything will be-

Just at that moment, bullets began to sound from the van and hit the air, most of them dedicated to the green goblin, missing or causing no damage on the target.

─Not okay. ─ The policeman and the boy finished the sentence.

If the chaos was unbelievable before, now it owned every spot on the road, unleashing dozens of tires trying to swerve out of the fatal path the bullets were leaving, the only ones crazy enough to follow the path being the three of them in the police car.

─Well, here we go, by the way, we should get together more often, our conversations are nice. ─ He winked under his mask and with a spider's web he propelled himself into a tree.

─My friend's got a girlfriend, man he hates that bitch...─ he sang to the melody of the song in his headset ─He tells me every day.

He continued the chant as he reached the top of a tree, and from there he aimed his web at the green goblin's glider, trying to calculate the changes in speeds, missing by a fraction of a second, noticing the failure, he cut the web and hung again from a tree branch. Bullets grazed the air, causing him to be unable to climb to the top, from the black van they were shooting at him as well, which caught the goblin's attention.

─The spider! ─ He laughed and dodged a web from Lincoln. ─ How wonderful that you are joining us, even though you are not in your comfort zone, right? ─ he said, showing that the trees were getting farther and farther apart from each other.

Again, a couple of bursts of bullets tried to hit them both, dodged in a single moment, the fast-paced action continued for tireless minutes on all four sides, nothing could overcome the...

─GOT YOU! ─ shouted young Parker from the rooftop of the building as he captured a flying bird ─ And with that, Parker, you're king of the hill. ─ he said celebrating himself and noticing that his cell phone battery was low ─Oh oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, I have to have something for...Here. ─ Peter said while pulling out from under the table a small portable charging port with a note ─Dear Peter, I used this one night when my battery was low, accept my arachnid apologies...Lincoln! ─ shouted Peter Parker in annoyance.

The boy smoothly untied himself from the web, having already prepared a special chemical that could corrode it immediately, something that would probably make him a lot of money if he sold it to the bad guys... But Peter would never do that, he appreciated Lincoln, and he still wasn't that desperate for money, after all, his Aunt May had demanded him not to worry.

Once untied, he put the small table back where he had found it, and with the radio in hand, he opened the door that gave him access to the building, revealing a dark and small abandoned room, almost no one ever passed through these parts of the place.

─Rats? In the daily bugle? ─ He said ironically when he saw one of them on his way to the fire escape. ─When they're in a newspaper it's normal, but in a restaurant, that would be news, right, little one?

He hurried down the stairs, desperate for his cell phone battery not to die while humming "She sits in her ass, he works his hands to the bone, to give her money every day", it was a song that incited him to move his head to the rhythm, but his earphone fell out of his ear down the stairs.

─No…─ He covered his mouth, and a barely audible scream came out of it.

The earphone traveled its way until it reached the next floor, Peter quickly picked it up and sighed in relief to see that it was still working, although that small moment of silence was what allowed him to hear the screams of a man on the other side of the landing.

─What do you mean you can't get to the scene!? ─ The man screamed. ─ I'm paying you over five hundred dollars a month for the best pictures and you won't even bring me one of the spider rat! ─ it must be horrible hearing all of that for the people that were close to the man ─ No excuses about the law! I'm paying you! GET PICTURES OF THAT KID OR I'LL FIRE YOU IN EXACTLY NINE-POINT FIFTY-SEVEN SECONDS!

Peter continued to listen, interested, but it seemed that the shouting had stopped, until:

─Miss Valmer! ─ shouted the man again ─ Becky, Becky! ─ shouted the fed-up man.

─Sorry Mr. Jameson, here is your coffee. ─ He managed to hear the voice of a frightened young woman.

─Thank you, although point twenty-six seconds late, and two degrees above what I asked you. ─ the man said while he appeared to open a door, or that what Peter thought he heard ─Prepare to announce we have a photographer vacant.

─But Mr. Brock has delivered wonderful ph…─ Becky tried to persuade him, but was interrupted.

─Fired, he is not capable of taking a simple picture of the arachnid menace. ─ The so-called Jameson said in anger and without mercy ─ Offer a thousand dollars to the first knucklehead who can get me a picture of the insect, we can't go on like this...

─All right, sir.

Peter didn't need to hear anymore, he quickly paused the song and dialed Lincoln as he came down the stairs.

The bullets were not a problem but running through trees was inexplicably more complicated as the road progressed, to the extent that they traveled almost half-mile in the same situation, the only good thing was that the cars seemed to be no longer in the way of the crazy gunman in the truck. When he suddenly heard the phone call from his ear, it was not the best time, since he was hanging from a branch, so he climbed up and answered it without further delay, it must be important.

─Lincoln great news! Where are you? ─ he heard Peter from the other end of the line.

─Not the best time Peter, what's so important? ─ Lincoln shouted.

─I need to know where you are! ─ shouted Peter as he struggled to breathe ─ It's urgent Lincoln.

─At Jackie Robinson, I think near Willow Lake? ─ he answered confused.

─Oh great I'm just going on the subway! Try to stop the Goblin when you get to the station!

─What?! ─ Lincoln shouted, not quite understanding what was going on, ─ You don't understand, this is very...! ─ but he was interrupted.

─I know, I know, but this will make sense later! ─ After saying this, Peter hung up the call.

─Peter?! PETER?! ─ Lincoln shouted in desperation, but knowing he wasn't going to be able to call him back to explain that there was a damn van firing hundreds of bullets into the air ─You can do it Lincoln, stop the Goblin, stop that silly van...

A bridge suddenly blocked the van, and both the Goblin and the Spider continued their way over it, causing several cars to skid over the peculiar scene, and in turn, the goblin threw a pumpkin bomb at Lincoln, a bomb that was returned almost disdainfully back, of course exploding in mid-air.

"Well my friendo, you gotta say..." Parker hummed with his eyes closed as he approached the crowded subway, he was at the 75th Avenue station, standing on his feet, he should just get off at the...

─Peter? What are you doing here?

─Gwen? ─ said the surprised Parker as he removed his headphones ─What are you doing here too?

─Didn't they teach you at home that answering a question with another question is rude? ─ She said sharply and with her arms crossed, lifting her backpack a little more ─I went with Liz...─ she said finally indignant and turning away.

"I guess all his money, well it isn't enough,to keep her bill collectors at bay."

─Liz? Chandler's girlfriend? Why? ─ Peter tried to understand, rather annoyed. ─She's a bully, a natural enemy of our...

─If you complete that sentence, you will leave this train with a bump on your forehead. ─Gwen warned him, crossing her arms, just in the wrong moment because the subway made a sudden movement and she almost fell flat on the floor, if she hadn't grabbed Peter's sweatshirt.

─Careful, I only have two others like this one. ─ He said, checking to make sure his sweatshirt wasn't torn.

─Eh? I'm sorry, I'm sorry...─said Gwen quickly regaining her composure, only to look at Peter's sleeves ─ What have you got there?

─Nothing. ─ the young man said, hiding his hands behind his back in a way that was too suspicious to even attract the attention of some of the passengers next to him ─So, Liz... she is quite a case, isn't it?

─Don't even get me started! She...─ Gwen began to complain as the train moved forward and promised to be on the verge of stopping.

"I guess all his money, well it isn't enough,'Cause that girl's got expensive taste"

After passing over the bridge, the road continued in the lane below and both goblin and spider continued on the lethal path. The police car no longer seemed to be driven by a human, Harold McBride was constantly making sharp turns to avoid various cars, but they were still losing their way.

─You must speed this up! ─ shouted Captain Stacy, holding on with both hands from whatever surface was available to him, because it was frankly difficult to keep his body still.

─Next time you'll be driving behind the bomb-throwing lunatic and the armed van! ─ McBride shouted at him in annoyance, causing him to be distracted for a second, but that was all that mattered before a car full of bullet holes blocked their path just as they were about to exit the woods. ─Dang it! ─ he slammed the horn, emitting a shuddering beep.

─Officer down, hahahaha, I repeat, officer down. ─ The Green Goblin laughed when he saw that the undercover patrol stopped chasing him ─ Now I only have to get rid of the...

Too late, a web covered his mouth, causing him to barely spin in the air to avoid the flurry of webs that came from the leafy side and the bullets that came from the road in front. Finally, as they emerged from the wooded area was when Spider-Kid took advantage of his distraction to propel himself and come face to face with his greatest foe. Now they were both on the glider.

─You know, I never liked your jokes. ─ Spider-Kid said as the goblin tried to zigzag to see if he could get the scum off, only succeeding in getting Spider-Kid to punch him square in the stomach, forcing him to his knees ─ You don't know how satisfying that felt.

Finally, he had beaten it, he finally did it!... Spider-sense! Lincoln almost instinctively formed two webs and put them on the front ends of the glider, using them as reigns to pull it away from the path of bullets still coming from the black van.

─Oh come on, I can't even enjoy this moment...? ─ but again his distraction caused the green goblin to grab him by one of his heels and pull out a knife from under his purple suit ─ That's not fair!

Without realizing it, they had again reached an area full of buildings where Spider-Kid took the opportunity to throw a web and cause a rebound effect when it tightened while the glider tried to move forward, causing the goblin to throw the lethal dagger and had to bite the boy's leg.

─Bites? Really?! ─ said the young Loud in desperation, because it freaking hurt ─ I got you! You have no escape! ─ he said, throwing a blast of the web because the blasts from the van wouldn't stop.

Lincoln had now officially entangled the Goblin in his own shenanigans, and...

─Well, well, you annoying spider, you seem to think you've won again. ─ the Goblin said, totally tied to his glider, unable to move a muscle except those of his face.

─Why are you so interested in those third-rate crooks? ─ said the Spider-Kid, dodging more bullets.

These impacted on a green sign indicating the speed at which vehicles should go in that area, by that time they should be practically doubling this speed. And the street was getting narrower and narrower, more and more enclosed, causing unbridled cars full of innocent people to cause more car accidents, most of whom could not stop to make sure everything was okay.

─A victory always entails a loss, child. ─ The goblin said to him in a superior tone ─ Do you want to stop those criminals? For once we are on the same side, ironic, isn't it?

─Oh, yes, you're going to move me with your charming speech, what's next? Are you running for Mayor?

─That's... An excellent idea! ─ The Goblin said always smiling as he remained confidently tied up and seeming to enjoy himself ─I always force you to make a decision, right?

─Why are you chasing them?!

─You're not my only archenemy, kiddo. ─ he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, causing Spider-Kid to let out a surprised gasp.

─I thought we had something special.

With that said they went back to dodging bullets, they seemed to be approaching a multi-lane intersection, they would pass underneath, right near the exit of the Turnpike subway...which was on the same route Peter had taken! And the bursts of bullets seemed not to run out, as the boy controlled the glider as if he was riding a horse, they were about to enter the subway area, as he dodged the bullets that now were hitting the glider and the goblin smiled placidly, even when he was almost reached by some shots, he did not move a muscle.

"I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way.Why don't you get a job?"

He could hear in his ear as he moved his head to the rhythm, realizing that by doing so the flying vehicle moved faster, using those sudden changes in speed the bullets would not be able to hit him, Lincoln was grateful to learn that when he finally entered a tunnel that passed just below one of the main streets.

"Say no way, say no way, no way.Why don't you get a job?"

He again dodged the bullets with a lot of effort, now causing the concrete on top to begin to fall on his forehead due to the speed. A subway train could be heard slowing down.

"Well, I guess it ain't easy doing nothing at all.But hey man free rides just don't come along.every day"

─Ahhhhhh! ─ shouted the terrified people in the train with the emergency brake and the sounds of bullets echoing everywhere.

─Yes! ─ shouted Peter anxiously as he opened his cell phone camera.

─PETER! ─ Gwen shouted, pushing him as the train stopped and they both fell to the ground along with the rest of the people in the train, a burst of bullets shattered the windows where Peter would've placed to take the pictures.

As most of those inside the train suddenly fell, the bullets did not stain the glass red, but there were wounded people, as well as screams and cries from passengers, however, Peter Parker was still holding his cell phone, if only he was able to get up...

─Stay down! ─ demanded a terrified Gwen Stacy, surprised by the boy's sudden bravery... ─They're going to kill you...

─A thousand dollars... ─ the boy repeated to himself, picking up the camera and watching the scene practically in slow motion.

From their position Lincoln could be seen riding the Goblin's glider, as well as a black van in the air while bursts of gunfire raced in all directions, the Green Goblin strapped with spider webs to his own glider let out a laugh so raucous it was capable of capturing the sound in a photo. The subway was dark, the light coming from the two exits only gave it a darker tone, it was perfect. The flash on his cell phone kicked in and finally covered his head before the blasts headed off again in dangerously close directions.

─Are you crazy?! ─ Gwen shouted from the ground as she checked to make sure he hadn't been shot. ─ AHHHHH! ─ she shouted as a part of the blast hit the metal of the subway.

But that didn't matter to Peter, he had the photo, and when he saw it on his screen, he saw it, perfect.

On the other side in that same place, Lincoln definitely did not expect, at all, that the van would crash into the train that was unscrupulously going straight to stop it. Despite the horrible spectacle of bullets flying in all directions, it was all over, for once Lincoln had won...

─Low battery. ─ He heard a voice in his ear.

─Oh come on! I wanted some victory music or... ─ he began to celebrate in relief when he suddenly noticed something strange, the Goblin smile had become wider.

─You won, isn't that enough for you? ─ said the Emerald Elf happily ─ Now, let me take that smile off your face, it will be very simple, horizontal cut!

Just as he said those words the glider opened as if it were a razor, causing two saws to come out from the horizontal half of the board, instantly cutting the arachnid's ropes. Before Lincoln could react, the goblin released one of his arms, using it to hit Lincoln in the knee.

Spider-Kid, however, was not going to let himself be defeated in hand-to-hand combat, so he tried to hit the goblin with his fist on the back, causing the goblin to dodge it, and with his neck he squeezed the fist between his head and shoulder.

─Let me go! ─ Lincoln shouted, but the goblin didn't listen, and his body was freed from the webs when Lincoln managed to free his fist ─ You're not human... ─ he said, frightened to see that even though he had practically broken his neck, the goblin was still alive and kicking.

─Ahhh, you broke my neck, nothing that... ─ he said grabbing the back of his neck and chin to adjust his head ─ A chiropractor can't fix, unlike what I'm going to do to you...

No longer needing to dodge a kick that Spider-Kid threw at him, the goblin grabbed his foot, leaped with his elbow at the ready and in one motion tried to break Linc's leg, failing only because of the hardness of the mutated bones themselves.

─A tough opponent, no doubt. ─ said the smiling goblin and then pushed the boy violently into the van, leaving him alone as the owner of the glider ─ But not cunning, an old fox would have seen that coming.

The goblin reproached him by taking a bomb and exploding it against the roof, destroying the upper part. As the top was an avenue, several cars braked at once, and others took longer, hearing several simultaneous car accidents, just because the Goblin had broken the floor of one of the main avenues of New York.

Clearly, that action could not go unpunished, so even though the goblin started to fly away, a spider web... was cut in mid-air by the laughing Goblin's glider.

─If I were you, I'd go after those in the black van, and help the bullet wounded. ─ He said, looking down with contempt ─Congratulations on the "victory", hero ─. And he flew away laughing, leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

Knowing that there was no point in following the Goblin, not when there were so many people to help, Lincoln clenched his fists and ran in the direction of the black van, which was knocked over, with some of its tinted windows broken and empty magazines surrounding the area where it had landed. As he approached the front, he noticed the body of the driver, bleeding from his head, and when he touched his neck, he felt no heartbeat. Next to him was another of the pursuers, although this one's head had gone through half the glass.

The young Lincoln turned away, preventing himself from vomiting, although he had to get on his knees because of the scene he had just witnessed, he would have no answers, and he had failed to protect civilians and the lives of these criminals.

He was about to give up when he heard a whimper from the back seats, there was only one guy there, carrying a submachine gun in each hand, although he was half-conscious, he seemed less damaged than his other two companions, so at least the spider was going to get answers to what he wanted.

─Why did the goblin want you dead? ─ He approached him and saw that the belt was excessively tight on the guy.

─Long live the King...─ was the only thing that little thief was able to say ─ Long live... the King...

─What king? What are you talking about? ─ Lincoln tried to persuade him to go on, but it was too late, the man fainted. ─ Dang it!

Without wasting any time, Lincoln ripped off the belt, and tied him up with his webbing, leaving the others in their positions so that forensics could do a better job than him. Now all that was left to do was to check that no one had been shot in the rampage of bullets that occurred at the end of the chase. To his fortune or misfortune, all those who had received gunshot wounds had been superficial, as far as he could tell. Although the screams were coming from all directions, from families who were just looking to go out and have a family dinner and ended up running into a wall to avoid being shot without any consideration by a maniac, or blown to smithereens. And Lincoln couldn't have been more careful, he thought only of his safety from bullets before the people he swore to protect. He felt a twinge in his stomach as he went from car to car, looking for wounded and seeing what he could help with, at least until the police arrived.

─Officer Stacy, I'm so glad! We have a few people who have been shot and need an ambulance urgently…

But he was interrupted when the police captain got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at him.

─Stop there or I'll shoot!

─Oh come on, we've been through this. ─ Linc said with his hand up ─ Officer McBride, you call the ambulances, as soon as possible...

─Hands where I can see them! ─ Stacy ordered him as he saw Spider-Kid trying to explain himself. ─ Where is the Goblin? ─ The captain demanded.

─... He escaped...─ said Spider-Kid with the head down.

─What a coincidence any ordinary guy you can take them down with no problem, but a maniac got a hover board and suddenly is invincible, what a lovely coincidence, let me doubt it. ─ he said, removing the safety from the gun.

─Are you saying that I work for the goblin? ─ said the boy indignantly.

─I'm saying that you came to find us in a too convenient way, just when we detected the Goblin, the fact he almost didn't throw obstacles in your way, oh sure, and that you caught his enemies, seeing the webs inside the vehicle ─ Meanwhile the goblin is not here and there is a hole in the roof, gives a lot to think about, doesn't it? ─ The captain said and finally, smiled ─ You have no escape kid.

─Interesting, but haven't you considered the banana variables? ─ Spider-Kid tried to defend himself.

─…Bananas? ─ Officer Stacy raised his eyebrow and shook his head, when he opened his eyes again, the boy had disappeared.

Without further ado, he pointed to the roof, shining his flashlight between the columns and calling out to his partner McBride, who was busy trying to help some passengers in a car that had crashed in the middle of the tunnel. As he finished pulling a young woman out of the unit, police sirens finally began to wail.

─Backup, always on time… ─ He said to himself ─ Well, at least I'll be able to enjoy Howard's dinner.

Knowing that Officer Stacy was going to look for him on the roof, Spider-Kid jumped to one of the columns, and from there to another, using his speed, in a moment he reached the central car of the subway, knowing that the police would have a hard time finding him, he gave himself the task of helping the passengers by opening the doors.

He didn't stop to think that, although there were many grateful souls, most of them began to push each other, and pushing him, he barely made the necessary effort to open them, causing a stampede effect. When the pushing stopped, he could see that there were only a few people left on the train, looking at all the people he noticed two specific kids.

─Mommy...─ a small boy said shyly hiding behind his mother.

─The police are outside. I'm glad to see that everyone is all right, but I must leave. ─He said and then felt the light of a flash on his face ─Huh?

─Smile for the camera! ─ said Peter Parker bending down to take more photos at different angles, his friend Gwen tried to stop him while she was burning red embarrassment.

─I don't think the mask would let you see─ Lincoln said playfully, the footsteps of the policemen sounding closer ─Do your homework kids, and sir ─ he said looking at a man behind his friends ─ striped shirt with shorts?

─I'll not allow a child to tell me how to dress.

─Right, not even a child dresses like that. ─ He said clearly trying to sound buffoonish, failing miserably because it only caused a shouting in response ─That's my call to leave!

And shooting a web to the ceiling, he propelled himself to start running through the subway tunnels. The train passengers were rescued by the police, but not before undergoing some medical examinations, in which neither Gwen nor Peter were injured.

─It seems that we are safe... ─ Peter said, happy to be with her, but Captain Stacy was approaching with a firm step towards both of them ─Well, only from the bullets...

In spite of the hard-fought battle, Lincoln returned to the skyscraper, feeling helpless that Peter was not there to notify him. Lincoln didn't fully understand the radio, he could tune in, but barely, his signal was almost always cut off by the police filter.

─Come on, you piece of trash, I still have some time left...─ he said annoyed while he slapped the device a couple of times in annoyance, which translated into giving a strong blow to the device ─... Maybe I could go back home...─ he began to think after being unable to use the device for almost ten minutes.

He looked toward the horizon, thinking of his sisters, while futilely he kept trying to tune the radio, moving the knob from left to right, achieving a rhythm similar to the song he had heard.

"I won't pay, I won't pay ya, nooo waaay..."he hummed as he thought about his homework ─Damn you, Peter... ─ he whispered to himself, turning to the side in fear for swearing ─Oh right, I'm alone... And maybe it would be good to do homework on...

─We need backup in the…─ He was interrupted in his thoughts by the radio.

─Music to my ears!

He thought again about the alternative, being in front of a stupid notebook, hoping it would somehow solve a complex advanced science problem, where he would have to be constantly consulting the internet... Or kicking the ass of some idiots who deserved it.

…

The decision was clear, Lincoln jumped in a dive again, feeling the air under his mask rush through his body. There was still a lot of work to do, it was a big city and he was just a kid.

But Lincoln wasn't surprised, that's how Sundays were for him, while the other citizens lived placidly, hoping the precious Sunday wouldn't stop, being a break, he had to put his life on the edge of the seat, with pleasure, to protect the weak, the innocent and stop the criminals. He was the spectacular Lincoln Loud, or even more, the Spectacular Spider-Kid in his Tangled Web.

The homework could be done by someone else; he threw a web at a nearby building, that was not his future, and if Peter wanted to raise the price:

"Honey, why don't you get a job?"

Unaware that his actions had affected the fate of someone very close to him, he continued to work, while little Lisa Loud fixed her hair and fiddled with her legs in a waiting chair too high for a five-year-old. Clearly not feeling nervous, she hummed a happy tune to the waiting music as she ran through the questions in her head.

"Her greatest weakness was that she couldn't bear to see mistakes made, and had a compulsive disorder to fix them," "hired," said in her head the businessman her head imagined would interview her.

─Nah, very common, I must look for something else... ─ she said without meaning to out loud, meditating.

─Lisa Loud. ─ but she didn't have much time, she was called into the office.

So, Lisa jumped from her seat and started to walk with her little feet through the offices, these were of a whitish color and were full of various busts and masks, in the corner there was one that looked like an allegory to the African natives made of wood and with big feathers on the head. Also, next to it was one of Japanese appearance, probably Chinese, which looked like a white dragon with black and large pointed teeth and astral white eyes, as well as a pointed beard.

─Mr. Norman was nice on the phone Lisa, you can do this, show the robotic arms, talk about the future, get hired and you'll be fine! ─ she said to herself while her heart accelerated with steps close to the door that had been assigned to her ─Norman Osborn here I come...─ she sighed and took firm steps.

The door was closed, unaware that everything was about to change.

To be continued...

Epilogue

Someone was running through the backstreets of Queens with more happiness than was the norm in that seedy neighborhood. A small boy was carrying a light square bundle in his hand as he jumped uneasily as the door to the first floor was opened.

Finally, it was Lola Loud who answered the call, as she was watching a program of little princesses on TV, she tried to continue watching while walking, and finally opened the door, finding an unpleasant surprise.

─Is Lincoln at home? ─ asked Clyde, excited about his new video game.

─Wasn't he with you and Peter? ─ Lola said surprised, while her heart was pounding and she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

─Peter? What are you talking about, Lola? ─ he didn't understand either ─ Lincoln isn't home? ─ Clyde said a little annoyed.

Without further ado, Lola slammed the door shut and ran up the stairs amidst silent cries, when the sound of the door to her room being shut, her father, Mr. Loud, heard the commotion as he cooked dinner, left his "father #1" apron by the side and rushed to the front door where he met a confused Clyde.

─Lincoln is not here, I'm sorry…─ he said as he gently closed the door.

Mr. Loud looked out the window at the trail of a crestfallen Clyde returning home, the night was about to fall, and no sign of Lincoln, so he went upstairs, not caring that dinner was beginning to burn, but no food was worth more than his daughter's feelings.

Chapter 4: Secrets (OneRepublic)

Chapter Text

The tangled web of Lincoln Loud

Chapter 4 Secrets (One Republic)

The usual noise of telephones and murmuring at the police station was being drowned out by the shouting inside one office, in which a man was holding two kids, sitting next to each other.

—How did you think it was a good idea?!

—But dad, we didn't know about... — the girl tried to speak with great effort.

—Don't interrupt! — Captain Stacy said as he passed a hand to his hair — Gwen, if I work as a policeman, it's to know that you're safe at home, not in the middle of a gunfight!

Peter just looked at the floor while breathing heavily, he knew that if they searched his backpack, they were going to confiscate the Spider-Kid photos, so until he had the money from the buggle he shouldn't do anything that could make him look suspicious, which would work if he wasn't sweating so hard.

—I went to Liz house to do my homework! — Gwen raised her voice as she stood up and Peter hugged his backpack — How did you want me to know that a gunfight was heading right to the subway?

—Don't talk back to me like that, young lady!

The officer dropped his hand on the desk, spilling coffee on the floor, which caused both Peter and Gwen to look at him in shock. Captain Stacy noticed and quickly put a hand to his forehead and with the other wiped the mess with a napkin.

—I'm sorry kids, it's just that…. I'm concerned about your safety, especially yours Gwen. — He admitted looking at his daughter in the eyes — I don't expect you to understand, but nowadays since that spider boy has been going around everything got worse...

He stopped for a second to look out the window of his office, the light of one of the street lamps was the only thing that illuminated the street, because most of them had been broken by direct order of The King... Just thinking that such a man was free, made his heart tremble, and even more because of King's fury since the appearance of Spider-Kid.

—You are right Gwen; you had no way to know what was going on. — He admitted closing his eyes and clenching his fists — And I'm glad you are both safe, don't get me wrong, but it was a very complicated day, and seeing you there in the middle of it all, made me nervous, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you...

Gwen looked down at the floor with a blush, and Peter looked from one side to the other hoping the bells would save him. To his luck, Clyde's father, a kindly man, quickly walked through the door.

—Sorry to interrupt Stacy. — Harold McBride said with a half-smile — But the results of your blood sample are ready. — He said bluntly, knowing that the captain appreciated being direct.

—Finally, how many were injured in today's incident? — said Captain Stacy, trying to relax and placing the coffee-soaked napkin in the trash.

—Not a lot, some minor car accidents, one gunshot wound, nothing serious, although the insurance companies are going to have a bad time... — he paused for a second to glance at the children, which Captain Stacy quickly noticed.

—Kids, I'll take you both home, just go outside while the grown-ups talk. — Captain Stacy said, and both Peter and Gwen left without complaint.

Once the door was closed Harold was able to continue, albeit in a more discreet, almost listless tone.

—Six casualties, two of the drivers of the van. — McBride said reading the reports —The rest were hit by bullets, except for one, who seems to have hit a tree while trying to evade the van with his car.

From the outside Peter was close to the door to listen, Gwen tried to stop him, but seeing that Parker paid her no attention, she folded her arms and continued walking until she sat down in a wooden chair.

—This is going to take a lot of paperwork —The captain said quickly, the other man tried to say something before being interrupted — No, Harold it's okay, don't think about staying overtime, you've done too much for today.

—You too George. — Harold said putting his hand on George's shoulder — Your daughter is out man; the report can wait until the morning.

—You know it can't wait. — The captain answered while taking the handoff his shoulder — And no, I don't want you to stay, I have a better idea, why don't you take Peter home and ehm… — he paused for a second, while he adjusted his tie — Could you take care of Gwen one night? I don't think I am coming home today.

—What? — Harold was surprised — I mean sure, no problem.

—Thanks, old friend, I'll stop by before school.

Peter could hear the sound of a shake of hands, so he quickly stepped away from the door and pretended to stand next to Gwen, looking down the hallway with intrigue.

—Kids, change of plans, Mr. McBride will take you, Peter to his home and Gwen...

Captain Stacy explained to Gwen that she would be staying that night at the McBride residence, which made Gwen a little sad, but she gave her father a hug and without complaint, obeyed the order. The two kids and Mr. McBride walked toward the man's car in silence.

Meanwhile, in the heart of Queens, a young spider was finishing his daily ass-kicking routine, so he approached the alley to hide his super-suit. He left it in the usual place, a broken pipe that was supposed to be a replacement for one of the pipes that carried hot water to the apartment below, but he had always known that few people designed to solve this kind of problems or pay someone to solve them.

Keeping an eye out for anyone in all directions, he put his white T-shirt and orange jacket back on. To cover up the sweat he took a wipe and ran it all over his face and hair, he left the backpack with his suit hidden from view, though no one had to see it, after all, unless the devil of Hell's Kitchen decided to go out of his zone, his secret identity would be safe.

—What a productive day. — He said, taking his wireless headphones out of their case and putting the music player on random mode.

He heard the sound of violins as he walked down the street and reached his residence, despite being in an apartment building, he and his sisters had the entire second floor of the building where they lived and part of the second floor for the younger girls and their parents.

"I need another story"

He hummed the rhythm as he opened the door with one of his keys, it must be almost eleven o'clock at night, two hours less than last Sunday, seriously, crime should learn to rest.

"Something to get off my chest."

He closed the door to the main street and dodged the stairs to enter his house noticing that the lights in the main hallway were off and there was no one in the apartment, which was odd for the time of day. Once in the living room, Lincoln began to sense that he was not alone, so he ran to the switch, crashing into a table and making a crashing noise.

"My life get's kinda boring"

Already on the floor, he could hear the lamp on the bedside table in the living room is turned on and, on the one-piece sofa was sitting his father, staring at him with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.

—Oh... Hi — Lincoln said, laughing slightly nervously.

"Need something that I can confess"

He turned off the music by pressing one of his headphones and trying to keep smiling in front of his father, but that look on his father's face wasn't helping.

—It's about eleven. — said Lincoln, looking at his cell phone — Is there a problem?

—Eleven, Lincoln, by any chance, is that "before sunset"?

With those words alone he had managed to make Lincoln feel as if something fell inside him and his skin filled with goosebumps.

—Lola and Lana! — Lincoln shouted, hitting himself in the head.

He tried to get up to go apologies, but noticed that his father gave him a serious glare to stay still, then invited him to sit on the couch to continue the reprimand:

—Lincoln Philip Loud, I guess I don't have to tell you how disappointed I am in you, how disappointed your mother is too. — Lynn Sr said and proceeded to take a paper in the table beside him — It's from the school — said Mr. Loud — How is it possible that you've ended up in detention over twenty times this year when it hasn't even been a month since school started?

—You don't understand… — Lincoln tried to explain.

—Clearly, I don't understand, because your teacher also reported to us that almost all your homework doesn't even have your handwriting on them.

—That's easy to explain. — Lincoln tried to continue but was interrupted.

—There is nothing to explain. — His father told him sharply — Save your breath, and listen, you are grounded, you will leave this house alone ONLY for school, and you will come straight back from school. — He looked at the kid in the eyes — And if I hear that you're back in detention for being late, or another one of your assignments doesn't have your handwriting on it, I'll be forced to think about military school. — He said with a clear grimace on his face.

—You can't do that to me... — Lincoln tried to deny trying to breathe, but he had too much snot clogging his nose — You don't know how hard I've tried... I've tried so hard.

—You tried what? — His father raised his eyebrow at him — Because your efforts don't seem to be directed at school.

Lincoln was silent, staring at the floor as he clenched his fists and hid his sleeves... It would be as simple as showing him his web shooter, climbing the walls, or finding his suit and getting him to shut up and support him... But no, he couldn't do that, no one could know the secret, not even his father.

—The worst thing is that today your friend Clyde came to see you, but weren't you with him and Peter? — he continued — I'm not interested in where you were, because it doesn't look like you were doing anything wrong, I'm interested in why you're lying Lincoln.

That was the last straw, he had nothing to add, nothing to contradict, not without at least exposing the truth as it was.

—…every day? — Lincoln asked, trying to sound calm — …I understand. — he wiped a couple of tears before they came out — And where are the girls?

—Lincoln, they went out to dinner, Lisa got the position as a junior researcher at Osborn. — Lynn answered, showing a small smile, although it was clear that it was not directed to him — You could learn from her.

—Can I…— Lincoln was tired — Can I go to sleep?

—Yes, tomorrow you will be at school all day young man, I hope you act like a man and accept your responsibilities. — the father answered, plopping down on the sofa and putting his hand to his forehead.

—…Alright — the kid jumped to his feet and stridden to his room.

There he made every effort not to break the door out of rage, which he almost succeeded in doing by closing it and locking it. He gritted his teeth and sat down in the middle of the cramped room, his room had once been a large bathroom, but when he was eight years old it was been remodeled to be his room.

Lincoln was breathing heavily as he tried not to exhale pure anger and removed his clothes, put the cobweb launcher away on a small desk, picked up his cell phone, and collapsed on his bed. As he leaned his face back on his pillow, he noticed that he still had his headphones, he decided the best way to let it all out was to simply wait for tomorrow.

"Till' all my sleeves are stained red. From all the truth that I've said".

Of course, he needed to lie, he had an exhausting day, after the Green Goblin chase, he stopped approximately five robberies, two kidnapping attempts and saved a kitten in a tree, anyone would think that cats would be smart enough not to climb high branches, but it was rather more common than he would like to admit…

And now he wasn't sure if he would rescue any kittens again, at least not for a while, although he tried to distract his mind, imagining the grateful faces of the many people he had saved, just today, he couldn't stop all those smiles from being overshadowed by the disappointed face of his father.

"Come by it honestly, I swear"

If only he could tell his father that he wasn't concentrating on school, because he had a gift, an ability that others wouldn't be able to have, and he couldn't waste it. True, he liked spending time with his sisters and friends, but if he spent all his afternoons stopping nearby threats, it was to protect them.

"Tell me what you want to hear"

Was this what he earned for doing his best? A bunch of bruises and family members who, instead of being sympathetic, would criticize him for failing in other areas? Sure, they didn't know he was Spider-Kid, but Lincoln wasn't the worst student in the class either, and sometimes he even did his homework. Which wasn't free in any case, he had to give his allowance to Peter...

Definitely, his father's words were unjustified, he had not wanted to fail Lana and Lola, but he had to prevent an old woman from being assaulted by a thug who tried to attack her with a knife to take everything from her. If Lincoln had not been there, that woman would no longer exist, or all the prisoners he left for the police to catch would still be free, ready to do more harm when possible.

"I'm sick of all the insincere. So I'm gonna give all my secrets away"

He could save himself all this if he would just open his mouth, he tried to imagine the reactions of his family, his parents worried about everything they hear on the news, some of his younger sisters asking him not to go out again. Because it's dangerous, the older ones are probably upset that he didn't tell them anything. He could particularly see Lynn's face among the tide of angry heads... His jock sister would open her eyes in surprise and put both hands to her mouth to turn around and throw up. He had the suit on for some reason and was trying to remove his mask so his face could get a good look at his family, but the mask was stuck on with some kind of strong invisible glue.

—Did you kiss your sister in the mouth?! — his father shouted at him while he kept spouting nonsensical words — Monster! Animal!

He wanted to run away, but behind him, a giant, impassable wall would not allow him to escape the angry and sad looks of his family. His sister Lily was yelling "poo poo" at him as he felt the ground beneath him turn to mud, or so he liked to think it was. He tried to escape, but he felt that one of his feet was impossible to move, he tried to use his web shooter and it still wouldn't work.

—Peter! — he shouted full of rage as Peter came closer, without being plugged into the mud — Help me!

Young Parker looked down from above at Lincoln, then turned to look at the family, extended his arm, rummaging through Lincoln's shirt, and taking his wallet as he counted the dollars and turned his back to him.

Finally, Lincoln finished sinking into Lily's poop, discovering that underneath it was an abyss where he plummeted into nothingness. He could, at the same time, see the heads of his sisters complaining to him for not telling them the truth, for lying to them, for being a lousy brother, and other things he couldn't stop hearing even if he tried to cover his ears.

—Spectacular, Spectacular! — he could hear Luna's voice distorted and increased in the range — Spectacular Spider-Kid!

—No, Luna... — she tried to fight her sister's chant.

—Living on the Edge... fighting crime...

Lincoln opened his eyes and in one motion he was sitting up in his bed, he put a hand to his head and turned from one side to the other, he discovered that Luna's voice was just his alarm... He remembered how a few days ago he had asked his sister for a song of Spider-Kid, which he set as his alarm tone, but it definitely still confused him every time he woke up, especially after the night he had. He reached out his arm to turn off the device and then stretched out both arms.

—I hope this day gets better soon...

All morning he avoided talking with his sisters, he didn't even try to say hello, he didn't want to be in a place where he wasn't appreciated, and he was begging for every second to get to class.

—Hey Stincoln. — His sister Lynn approached him as he was leaving the house, —Where do you think you're going?

—School. — He answered not looking at her, he wasn't mad at her, but he still felt bad just looking at her.

—Not so fast sheriff, I have direct orders from dad to accompany you and make sure you won't be late again. — She said quickly with a half-smile — Oh come on Linc, don't act like that.

She punched him in the shoulder, although he noticed that the blow ended up hurting her more than him because Lynn started rubbing her fist.

—What's that in your arms, kid? Some kind of metal bar? — Lynn asked, closing her eyes and squeezing her hand — Did it hurt?

—I didn't feel it. — Lincoln replied dryly, turning toward the end of the street — Shall we go?

With no other choice, Lynn and Lincoln set off down the main avenue in total silence, though not because the athlete wouldn't try, but because Lincoln didn't seem inclined to open his mouth. In fact, he was looking up at the roof of the alley where he usually changed to dress up as Spider-Kid.

—It's just a roof. — Lynn said, turning to look in that direction — Are you feeling right?

Lincoln's response was a snort as he quickened his pace, which surprised his sister, who noticed that Lincoln was constantly leaving her behind, definitely shouldn't happen since Lynn was clearly a highly trained athlete, and her brother a skinny middle school kid.

Or so she thought...

—Good morning, kids! — Howard McBride, a red-haired, lanky, rather tall gentleman, entered his son's room — Aren't you ready for school?

—The what…? — Gwen woke up, she still had her glasses on and was sleeping on some sheets spread out next to Clyde's bed — School! — The girl said quickly looking for her glasses in the sheets.

Gwen had spent the evening playing with Clyde the video game he had bought yesterday, and that he couldn't play co-op because his friend Lincoln was with Peter, although Gwen denied it, and told him that Peter was with her all afternoon at the police station.

—You've got them on, Gwen. — Mr. McBride let out a small laugh while turning back — I made you breakfast for the road and Gwen your dad will be here in thirty minutes, he offered to drive you both to school, isn't that great?

He was interrupted because at that moment Clyde woke up and let out a cry of surprise, Mr. McBride turned around hoping his son wouldn't talk about...

—Dad, what happened to your neck? — asked Clyde, putting a hand to his own.

... And of course, Clyde talked about it.

—An incident at the hospital, honey, nothing serious. — tried to soften the man as he adjusted a neck brace he was wearing — I sprained my neck badly and I have to wear it for a few days.

—Mister McBride, you going to be alright? — Gwen asked, concerned as she realized the situation.

—Of course, I will, but you have to go to school youngsters, don't worry about me. — he smiled and turned back again — Oh and Clyde, hurry up, you still have to take a bath, better run!

"Tell me what you want to hear. Something that'll light those ears. Sick of all the insincere. I'm gonna give all my secrets away."

—I'm going to beat you, Lynn! — shouted Lincoln, doing a somersault just to look cool in front of his sister.

—When did you learn to do that?! — Lynn shouted a few feet behind him, sweating profusely and trying to catch her breath.

—I learned it on the internet. — Lincoln replied, arriving at the school entrance and turning around with his eyes closed and folding his arms — Looks like I won.

But he was interrupted from his boasts when Lynn threw her backpack at his face and Lincoln having his eyes closed, didn't dodge it. Lincoln stumbled and was on the ground at the same time Lynn overtook him and touched the entrance.

—You were saying? — She said with a clear smile on her face — Leave my backpack with the trainer, I have baseball today.

And without further ado, she disappeared behind the door. Lincoln grabbed his sister's backpack, rolled his eyes, and walked into the school, half an hour earlier than usual, he felt in such a weird environment, with all the students looking half dead and trying to arrange things in their lockers.

Maybe the day was going to get better, he just had to be more optimistic... After all, it was true what his dad said, in part, he had given up too much on school, and all for petty criminals, which the police could take care of... Maybe, if he concentrated on being Lincoln Loud for a couple of weeks, nothing bad would happen.

"This time, don't need another perfect lie. Don't care if critics never jump in line".

—Is everything ready for the show, Karen? — he spoke into his communicator.

—That's right, sir. — a digital voice replied — You want me to cancel your dentist appointment?

—No, leave it, it will look too suspicious if I cancel just today. — He said as he turned off the communicator on his arm.

His purple cloak billowed in the wind at the top of the building, all his traps were ready, his illusory gases ready and hidden in the compartments he had in the sleeve of his golden gloves. Not forgetting of course to put on the sphere to hide his face.

He jumped from the top and began to descend gracefully while keeping his arms crossed, heading towards the front. It was gratifying to see the others from above, barely visible as the ants of this hierarchical society to which they belonged. Not him, he was the anteater, capable of getting rid of them all, but no, first things first. He made his way to the building in front of him as he searched for his enemy's thermal imprint. Odd, he was with someone who had dwarfism... Or a child... Why would they bring a child into the confidential labs of Osborn Tower?

"I'm gonna give all my secrets away"

Captain Stacy stopped suddenly, it was to see and not believe. They were only a couple of minutes away from the start of classes, and yet he found a little girl practicing on her skateboard in the park on the main avenue, with no intention of going to school. She seemed more focused on getting a skate-trick on some stairs.

—Ronnie Anne? — said Clyde and Gwen at the same time, surprised to see their friend decidedly skipping school.

—Ahh! — shouted Ronnie Anne, unsettled by hearing her name and falling off her skateboard, rolling a little on the ground — Ouch ouch ouch ouch...

—Is she a friend of yours? — Captain Stacy asked, and they both nodded — So, she's skipping school?

Both Clyde and Gwen froze and looked at each other as their lips curled up. The captain needed no further indication, got out of the vehicle, and helped the Latina girl to stand up.

—You should be in school kid.

—I'm sorry oficial... — the girl spoke with an attempt of a lousy Mexican accent, — —I'm not in an escuela, mis padres are looking one for me. — She said with a lot of mimicries and showing confidence in her words.

Normally a liar would be nervous, her pulse would increase, she would be sweating, or she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes on him because of that stupid feeling of guilt at the moment of lying, she was good at it.

—I know you — he said, putting a hand to his chin.

—No, yo ser nueva en Nueva York. — said Ronnie, putting both hands on his hips with a wide smile.

—You are my daughter Gwen's friend — The captain declared, waiting for her reaction.

—Juen? I don't know ninguna Juen. — Ronnie said too quickly and started to slip on her accent.

—So, girl, your name is not Ronnie Anne? — Stacy questioned, squinting his eyes and flashing a half-smile as he opened the back door of his patrol car.

From the back of the vehicle, Clyde waved at her with a sly smile, while Gwen hid her face behind her backpack. Ronnie opened her eyes wide and then turned back to the captain, then to his skateboard.

—Dang it... — She tried to escape jumping onto her skateboard, but was stopped by Captain Stacy's arm — Hey, let me go! Help, this man is trying to kidnap me! — Ronnie shouted at the top of her lungs causing several people on the street to look in that direction.

—I'm a policeman. — said Captain Stacy, pulling out his badge with his other free hand, if you added Clyde waving nervously in the back, the context was more than clear.

The bystanders then walked past the whole scene and went on with their lives as if nothing had happened. The captain then took the skateboard and released Ronnie, he had spent a sleepless night just to have to babysit as the first act of the day, all in all, he would rather it than have a shootout again.

—Well, it seems that when you need to ask for help, you talk English perfectly. — he said putting the board in the back seats— I'm sure that when you lost your memory you also forgot the way to your school, as well as the fact that if you don't cooperate you won't get your skateboard back.

—Oh, come on, man! — replied an annoyed Ronnie as she clenched her fists and got into the back of the vehicle, shoving Clyde out of the way and hugging her skateboard.

Her face was totally red, her arms were crossed and her eyes were down, Clyde tried to make a gesture to greet her, but Gwen stopped him silently as she slowly denied... She wouldn't see them if they didn't move.

—Does everyone have their seat belts on? — The man questioned, looking in the rearview mirror, without a clear answer — I don't think you guys are understanding me, are you all wearing seat belts?

Ronnie let out a long sigh and obeyed the officer, sending him a narrowed gaze that clearly meant "I hate you". The captain, so used to that look from the back of the vehicle, smiled back and began to drive to the middle school.

"I'm gonna give all my secrets away"

On the thirty-seventh floor of the Osborn Tower, there was a tall red-haired man giving little Lisa Loud a tour of the different research centers. Lisa, at that moment, admired Norman Osborn, an intelligent businessman, with good looks and willing to make a mark in the world. He didn't seem to have any flaws in Lisa's eyes, even everyone greeted him with a smile that didn't feel forced, no exceptions, from the receptionists to the cleaning guy. The only "flaw" that Lisa could see was that Mr. Osborn had the habit of putting a hand to his neck. When Lisa asked him if he was okay, after seeing him do it several times, he answered that he had a bad night. But apart from that detail, it was difficult to find anything wrong within the Osborn Tower facilities.

—Here we have the planning room. — Norman continued as they entered a giant room filled with blue paper and half-assembled robots, as well as several tables, a couple of soda and candy machines, and a small tool center. — I like to think that by stimulating the imagination of our workers, we'll get better results than by keeping them under constant stress.

—Wow Mr. Osborn, I'm impressed. — Lisa said only to look through the large window to the floor — I will definitely see several of my blueprints around here and... — she stopped, surprised at what she saw at the other side of the window —Is this window a kind of projector Mr. Osborn?

But she quickly noticed how Norman was petrified as he struggled to take a couple of steps backward. Once close, Lisa Loud could see up close a man dressed in a green checkered suit, wearing two golden metallic gloves, carrying a purple cape that rippled in the strong winds and instead of a head covered the upper part of his body. His arms were crossed, moving along with a green mist that seemed to emanate from the bottom of his suit.

—Osborn! — The mysterious person shouted from the outside of the building; with a wave of his hands, he made the lights in the room go out. —How dare you to continue walking around these parts with all the warnings I gave you?!

There was a rumbling behind the figure, at the same time one of the windows was broken.

—I don't know who you are, but if you have a personal problem with me, or my company, make an appointment! — Osborn replied, trying to keep his composure, he wasn't going to let himself get intimidated by some freak in a Halloween costume —And I recommend that if you want to be heard, you will pay for the damage you have caused or I will have to call the police!

—The police?!

The mysterious man began to laugh loudly as he put his hands to his stomach to restrain himself. Osborn truly believed he was capable of stopping him or reasoning with him!

—If you don't want me to blow up your precious tower, you'll have to comply with my sacred demands, Osborn, or else... — he said, raising both arms and from his back came a green flying dinosaur that flapped its wings with force and with a single blast all the windows were broken.

Lisa could only see how all the glass seemed to fall on top of her when suddenly her backpack was broken and a mechanical arm began to spin in an accelerated manner, managing to deflect the pieces of glass that were about to hurt her into the void below the building.

—What is this, a girl?! HAVE YOU FALLEN SO LOW, NORMAN?! — the man screamed furious, making the mist at his feet to turn red —I have seen for eons kings fall low, and have more honor than the one here!

—That's enough, sir! — Osborn replied to the screaming —I demand that you stop right now or you will see how far my arm hangs, because I will not rest until you pay the consequences of your actions. — He pointed his index finger at him.

—You mean to refer to me as an equal?! —shouted the figure without any good intentions —Me? Mysterio, the sorcerer supreme!

A thundercloud approached and thunderclaps lashed the side of the pavement, causing dread among those present.

—There is no such thing as magic! — Norman said, taking a hand to rub his neck, apparently if he was going to die at least relax that muscle.

—You will pay for such dishonor!

He generated in his right glove a metallic smoke beam and launched a horizontal attack that shattered a good part of the wall and made a giant rock collapse to the asphalt and caused Mr. Osborn to destabilize and fall to the ground, but the mysterious man was stopped by Lisa's mechanical arm, that shot out towards Mysterio and wrapped itself around him like a snake to prevent him from moving, causing the magical red cloud to disappear and Mysterio to plummet downwards while Lisa sighed in relief and helped Mr. Osborn to get up slowly.

"All my secrets away"

Moments earlier, on one of New York's busy avenues, Captain Stacy was beeping loudly and holding back so as not to curse at the usual New York traffic, it was almost five minutes since a class should have started.

—I don't think the shortcut was such a good idea, Stacy. — Ronnie Anne said, still with her arms crossed, but happy to at least have a victory and not get to her classroom first thing in the morning.

—Oh goddamnit! — He used the horn twice to see if it would make the driver in front of him move — I shouldn't have taken the shortcut. — He hit the steering wheel when he saw that his technique didn't work.

—I told you so. — scoffed Ronnie from the back looking out the window —Is it raining?

That startled Captain Stacy, who turned to his left side and also noticed how small drops of some substance were falling at great speed down the sidewalk, taking passersby by surprise.

—It's…rain? — asked Captain Stacy, but when he saw that many people were bleeding and shouting in all directions he knew immediately, it wasn't rain —Kids, stay inside the car!

Before anyone below could understand what had happened, two thunderclaps struck the pavement, generating a shockwave that caused many people to stumble and become blind and deaf as they tried to recover from the concussion... Captain Stacy was among the first to recover his senses.

—Is everyone all right? Gwen? Clyde? Ronnie? — it was the first thing he could ask.

—My ears... — Clyde complained, and you could tell they were slightly swollen, that was enough, something very bad was happening and the captain was the only policeman around, he opened the door and was about to get out when he heard something heavy fall.

—AHHHH! — the three children shouted from the back as Captain Stacy dove backward, narrowly dodging a giant boulder falling on top of him.

In the back of the vehicle, the three children were hugging each other, with Clyde in the middle of the two girls. While Captain Stacy was trying to recover, they heard another object falling at high speed, but fortunately, this time it fell in front of the vehicle.

With pain, Captain Stacy managed to get back to his feet and made the effort to start the vehicle, but stopped when he saw what was in front of him. A man in a strange suit stood up from the ground, turning from one side to the other. They all stood watching as the captain tried to activate his radio, but by the sole action, he managed to cause a reaction in that strange individual.

—Lucky policeman, you will pay Mysterio for having seen his greatness, fulfilling a request for him. — He climbed on top of the vehicle and without anyone having time to think about anything, they began to levitate — You will lend your metal vehicle to Mysterio to complete his revenge!

—There are children inside, stop! — the officer clung to the steering wheel while trying to ignore the fact that the door on his left side was broken.

—A sacrifice Mysterio is willing to make, just to see a man like Norman Osborn fall. — The man said from the top of the vehicle as they all rose into the air.

"All my secrets away"

Lisa and Norman were walking towards the exit of the room feeling the cold wind from the heights affecting their movements. Norman was practically crawling and they would have left if they hadn't heard screams behind them.

Mysterio, with a half-wrecked police car, levitated back and lit up his light set, ready for a second round.

"All my secrets..."

To be continued...

Chapter 5: Your Best Nightmare

Chapter Text

The Tangled Web of Lincoln Loud

Chapter 5 Your Best Nightmare

Series 1 – Finale

"THIS IS IT"

Lincoln didn't know why... But suddenly he began to feel as if his whole body was vibrating, it was as if his spider-sense was activated to avoid a bullet. Except he was in the middle of a history class, next to his friend Peter Parker and Clyde McBride's empty seat. It was already the second hour of the school day and Clyde; Gwen and Ronnie Anne were absent. It was worrisome for Lincoln, he believed that's why his spider-sense was so active.

The best thing to do was to concentrate in class, otherwise he wouldn't be able to pass the exam, and if he failed the next month's test, he'd have no choice but to repeat the year, or maybe even worse, he could get summer school. His only choice was to keep paying attention.

"Close your eyes"

Only a second had been enough for the police car to float, Captain Stacy could not believe it. Not only he was in the car with three civilian children, his daughter and two of her friends. And to top it all off, that masked sorcerer didn't seem to care who he had to kill, as long as he kept attacking that millionaire Norman Osborn...

—Kids, hold on!—the captain shouted while he had both hands on the steering wheel and was uselessly stepping on the brake pedal.

They were moving quickly towards a broken window in the Osborn tower, at the first contact with the structure the air bags were activated, relieving any blows he could get, while in the back the three children hugged, together with the belts managed to stay in place a little. However, everything got worse for the members of the vehicle when they hit a wall and the car tilted to one side until it was completely dragged on the side opposite the driver's side, precisely on the side where Ronnie Anne was, who received a heavy blow to her shoulder.

That didn't matter though, nor did Clyde's bloody nose, the fact that Gwen had lost her glasses from a blow she took against her father's backrest or that Captain Stacy was beginning to suffocate due to being fully propped up on the protective pad. They had all suffered so much in such a short time that they were slumped over, barely held in place by their seat belts and breathing heavily.

They were barely alive, but the danger had only begun a nightmare overcoming the Osborn's Tower.

"Feel this pain"

—MISTER OSBORN!—Lisa shouted at the same time that her mechanical arms were paralyzed, probably some contaminant particle had managed to sneak into the device and had interrupted the connection—Not now!

But to her surprise, Norman Osborn, at fifty-eight, managed not only to dodge the vehicle by ducking, but was already using a large rock to stand up, although Lisa felt that a man like Osborn wouldn't need it.

—Lisa, I'm glad you're all right, now get out of here!—shouted Norman, somewhat annoyed to see her still there and walking back towards the shattered windows.

The figure of Mysterio entered the building among the ruins of what had once been a room full of life. He was looking from one side to the other, and although she couldn't see his face, Lisa could distinguish his straight walking, sticking out his chest to look important, looking from one side to the other, as if rejoicing that he almost killed those present.

Lisa then turned her eyes towards what looked like a normal car, but by the way its taillights were blinking, vacillating between blue and red, she knew that it was an undercover patrol. She saw for a split second that there were people inside that vehicle but knowing the materials with which those cars were made, she was sure that if there were passengers in there, they should be fine.

Which relieved her somewhat and allowed all her attention to be on Mr. Osborn, she had just gotten her job, she wasn't going to abandon such a good man, and she had the means to fight.

If that "stupid neanderthal infant in ridiculous tights" could take on thieves, assassins, and the Green Goblin himself, this problem should be a piece of cake with her mechanical arms... Or so she thought until she heard fierce roars, hisses like those of an insect and various other sounds, what kind of implausible science did this man handle and why did she feel too afraid to move forward as confident as Mr. Osborn?

One thing was for sure, if Norman continued walking, Lisa was going to have to say goodbye to her boss, so, against all common sense she breathed and ran in the same direction as the Oscorp owner.

—Miss Loud? It's too dangerous for a child!—Norman shouted as he heard her footsteps nearby.

—Careful, Mr. Osborn!—Lisa shouted while running and hitting the central box of the robotic arms, hoping to activate them again.

Mr. Osborn ducked quickly, felt how something brushed over his head and cut the top of his scalp. Without even turning he began to run forward, feeling now how that same blade having failed to cut horizontally did so vertically. Too fast, so Norman continued running towards a paralyzed Lisa who was looking behind him.

"Never look back" that's the way Norman was raised, from his earliest childhood, his father always repeated it to him, what already happened can't be changed, what matters is the future, in this case, if Norman didn't escape, there would be no future for him.

He arrived right next to Lisa, and without much effort he took her by the hand, and together they started to run while behind them that bladed weapon made loud sounds that cut the air right behind them.

—Why are you running Osborn, face your demons!—Mysterio shouted with excitement—Or are you afraid of death and his scythe?

So that was the weapon... If the idiot in the suit had chosen a sword, machete, or even a dumb axe, Norman would already be dead, but he had to choose such a useless weapon... Even he didn't have those weapons in his private arsenal.

He suddenly felt himself being lifted into the air.

—I did it!

Lisa's scream frightened him terribly at first, but when he saw what had happened, he calmed down, the little girl had managed to activate her mechanical arms and while one of them lifted Mr. Osborn, the other two arms ran across the floor at a much faster pace.

—No!—Mysterio shouted as both figures escaped through the doorway long before he could reach them.

The villain brought his fingers to one of his gloves and after typing something his speed began to increase, Norman was not going to escape from the great mystical wizard.

"Say goodbye. Melt in tears"

—Of course, without Alexander Hamilton's intervention, and this is something that few know, the third president, Thomas Jefferson, could not have won the election. This is because Hamilton announced his support for Jefferson at a critical moment in the election, affecting Mr. Burr's reputation...

Why was it so hard for Lincoln Loud to keep his eyes open? He was aware that it had to be important, those gentlemen were on the ten-dollar and two-dollar, although he didn't remember having many two-dollar bills in his life. Why would anyone want two-dollar bills? Everything was simpler and less mathematical with basic numbers and...

—Mr. Loud!—The teacher suddenly shouted, causing Lincoln to wince and the small stream of drool running down his face to suddenly stop.

—I'm here?—he said with his heart racing and trying to identify where he was.

—We were talking about the history of the founding fathers, so I see you were so concentrated that you imagined them in your mind and needed to close your eyes, didn't you?—his teacher said mischievously.

—Yes?—Lincoln answered with his eyes wide open.

Why couldn't someone be pointing a gun or something at him? That would be much simpler, the bullets would activate his spider-sense, making him more alert, but not in a classroom, those skills were not going to save him from what was about to come.

—Then, if you were really paying attention, as you have just stated, I believe you will have no trouble telling us who ended Mr. Alexander Hamilton's life?

There was that feeling that told him in his gut "dodge". So useless being in a class, after all, Lincoln had barely paid attention to the meaningless words and names Miss Sinlan had said... There was only guessing.

—Burr?—he said, closing his eyes and remembering the last thing he had heard before getting lost in his thoughts.

The teacher was silent as her cheeks turned red, Lincoln knew his answer had been correct, but for some reason that seemed to become dangerous. If he knew his main teacher well enough, and he did know her well enough, he was prepared to get an entire quiz on the subject seen in class to make a fool of him and...

The school principal walked in, breaking out in a cold sweat and looking at all the students, who had clearly turned to see him when he knocked on the door.

—I need to talk to you, Miss Sinlan. We need to gather all the students in the gym, right now—The principal said in a serious manner, getting close to her ear so that no one would hear them, but of course, that failed.

The whispers in the classroom born quickly, everyone exchanged surprised looks at those words so out of nowhere, in the midst of a sea of boredom, there was no one even minimally asleep. Except Chandler, but that boy was a case apart.

—Peter?—Lincoln approached his friend with a serious tone as he adjusted his wrists, they both knew what that meant.

Parker nodded, picked up his cell phone and searched several news web portals, to his surprise, he soon found the news that was shocking the press at the moment, some lunatic had detonated explosives in the Oscorp tower, little was known, except that all access to the upper floors was blocked and that nothing was known about the status of Mr. Osborn and a new "unnamed" employee, who were the only ones in the laboratories, according to a receptionist who managed to get to the bottom.

—Lisa was going to Oscorp today...—Lincoln whispered as he felt as if something cold was running down the back of his neck and all his hairs were standing up all at once.

—We have to accompany the principal to the gymnasium.—The teacher announced—We have something important to say, which has to do with your missing classmates and the Oscorp tower...

The teacher didn't need to say any more. Both Lincoln and Peter ran out the door, ignoring the principal and the teacher's complaints.

—What is the problem with those two?—The principal said annoyed.

—They're the nerd group.—Chandler said, surprisingly, as his girlfriend Liz Shawn nodded energetically—The ones missing today are friends of both of them.

Several in the room nodded at the same time, not so much because they were afraid of Chandler, but because that was the truth. Gwen, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, Peter Parker and, the common thread, Lincoln Loud, were all known to be their own group of weird friends.

—They are young.—The teacher said—They are just scared, Mangel.—She said while looking at the principal—They'll come back, they are good kids...

"Time to die!"

The headache was so strong that Captain Stacy felt that his hours of sleep instead of helping him had screwed him up so much, his whole body ached, and he couldn't open his eyes because he felt his head throbbing like hell as he moved it slightly. Although it was on top of a cloth, he immediately knew he was not in his bed. In fact, the memories came to him as occasional little flashes, until he finally snapped his eyes open, not caring that the vein throbbing in his head was about to explode.

—Gwen!—the man shouted, trying to move from his seat to turn back, but when he did so he realized that the car was turned on its side.

For a moment he thought ridiculously that the insurance company did not cover damages against supervillains, as if his mind wanted to follow a plot line to return to a state of deep sleep and try to repair all the pain, or at least silence it. But no, Captain Stacy would not be defeated, much less with his daughter at risk.

He slapped the bag, and after moving around a lot he managed to unbuckle his belt, feeling as if some muscular arms had released him. He plummeted to the opposite door of the car giving himself a hard blow to his back, but nothing fatal, he could still move, he could still save his daughter and the other children, there was nothing more important at that moment.

Still, he allowed himself to breathe for half a minute until he began his slow ascent. In which he held on to the passenger seat and the radio until he could stand up. He took a look in the back, both his daughter, and Clyde looked calm, quite injured, but fine overall. What he couldn't say for the Ronnie Anne girl he had picked up in the park, he couldn't help but feel as if he had swallowed mercury in his stomach as he looked at the painful angle the Latina girl's arm was at, she was also sweating heavily and seemed to be gritting her teeth.

—Damn.

He took his daughter first, removing the belt and carrying her with great effort with both arms until he left her in the front, in the process she woke up, with the same or greater confusion than her father, but conscious enough to stand up. Something similar happened with Clyde, although when he woke up, he began to cry quickly, without any explanation, he only cried without speaking, if it were not for the other girl's condition, the captain would have paid him more attention, but now came the hardest part.

His arms ached from carrying both Clyde and Gwen, who were still disoriented in front of him, afraid to move. He had to bend down, feeling almost like his vertebrae were bursting from the effort, but he didn't care, he released Ronnie's belt and took her in his arms, but this time it was different, Ronnie Anne began to scream outrageously.

At first everything seemed relatively normal, the way he had found her, but he quickly realized that her shoulder was dislocated as he tried to stand her up, but she was screaming so much in pain, that he knew that at any moment that stupid masked man was going to go for them, if only he was a doctor or...

—AHHHHHHHHH!—cried Ronnie Anne, unable to move from the pain.

—I'm sorry!—shouted the captain, stretching out her arm and hearing something similar to the cracking of the knuckles of the hand, but much louder.

Ronnie Anne only felt her right shoulder burning like hell before she passed out again from the pain, she was barely aware of everything around her.

—Dad?—Gwen asked in pain as she hugged Clyde to try to soothe him from crying—What happened?

—We have to move.—the man said, carrying Ronnie Anne in his arms, still unconscious and with her right shoulder area an unnatural red—To lower ground!

The passengers passed through the front window, now shattered, being in terrible condition, but not enough to prevent them from advancing slowly and safely. When they got out of the vehicle, they saw that everything was covered by a layer of greenish mist, moved only by the strong wind coming in from the window where they had entered the building.

The captain positioned himself in front of the children, carrying the wounded while Gwen and Clyde trembling grabbed him by the edge of his shirt. They made it a couple of meters before they heard sounds coming from the thickest parts of the fog. Giant insects, ferocious wolves, or at the very least some kind of monster determined to exterminate the lives of the four of them.

—Stay together!—the captain said, trying to stand firm, but hesitating whether or not to advance to the front.

His knees were shaking, he didn't have his gun, only his fists... And he was so f*cked up that he knew that, if he tried anything by going deeper into the mist with those monsters, he wouldn't win.

—Mr. Stacy?—Clyde tried to ask, but was interrupted by a gust of wind.

The mist was pushing them back right back into the hole where the air was coming in in cold, strong gusts. If they kept this up, all four of them were going to fall.

"There will be hope as long as you're breathing"

Thwip, Thwip... That sound so characteristic for Lincoln, coming from the web-shooters, now sounded accelerated as he did the impossible to pass from Queens to the upper boroughs and finally to the administrative part of New York, among the skyscrapers of the city. He climbed for a second through the windows of Stark Industries, took a leap falling almost a hundred meters in the air, catching himself before falling to the ground at the top of the Empire Building and after two unnamed skyscrapers, he was finally able to get to the place he was interested in.

—Peter, I'm at Osborn's Tower, what did you find out?—the white-eyed masked figure asked, as he somersaulted and returned to hang from another building to boost his speed.

From the middle school bathroom, Peter Parker used his laptop computer, along with a modem he always kept in his locker and kept an eye on the phone in case Lincoln contacted him. To avoid possible intruders, he put a yellow sign in front of the door that meant they were cleaning inside. That usually bought him half an hour.

—Bad news, it seems they haven't identified whoever this is up there, it must be some new super villain, at the bottom they were able to describe him as someone in a gold suit and some kind of fish tank with smoke on his head.—Peter answered, while speed reading a newscast, skipping all the opinion parts on the increase in crime because of super heroes and such nonsense, he was looking for real information.

—A new villain? What kind of human could do this?—Lincoln asked over the earphone, feeling foolish, they both knew the answer.

—Maybe it's not a human Lincoln... Maybe it's a mutant or...—Peter Parker began to theorize.

—No!—Lincoln fell back at him, not being able to conceive the idea that someone like him would use his powers to hurt people he knew—it doesn't matter whatever it is, whoever it is, I have to stop it! I'm in Peter! You'll have to cover for me.

—Are you out of your mind? I'm going to hear everything, so you'd better not turn off the communicator—Peter threatened him from the toilet.

—Okay, but shush.—Lincoln ordered, crashing into a concrete wall and running along the wall, doing somersaults to get closer to the goal, which was the broken window.

Finally, Lincoln reached the broken window, peering from one side to the other, but unable to see anything due to a thick green fog that covered almost the entire floor they were on. He took a big breath of air, used his web to propel himself towards the nearest door until he heard movement coming from the fog. He jumped up to the roof, sticking without much difficulty with his feet and approached the masked figure, there were four human beings, surely the cause of all that disaster, so without warning he jumped to the floor and fell in front of the figures that were trying to escape through the window.

—Well, well, well, what do we have here?—said the boy, clearly seeing the mist spawn.

One of the creatures was a fleshy pink being, with a yellow head and large white eyes that reflected the light, it moved erratically and wailed. This pink being held another one of a blackish color with large fly eyes and a mouth that seemed to spit venom.

But neither of those two creepers could be compared to the creature behind them, a creature of pure darkness, full of tentacles and with two heads, each loaded with large teeth. That creature, as if it were the leader, was the first to stampede towards him.

—Yuck!—Spider-Kid shouted, jumping to the nearest wall so he wouldn't have to touch it and aim his web-shooters at the creature.

—Lincoln? Lincoln, what happened?—Peter shouted from the other end of the line.

—What kind of monster are you?—the police captain asked frightened, when he saw that in front of him was a giant spider with tentacles in its mouth—Ahhh!—it threw a kick, which was barely dodged by Captain Stacy—Damn, this thing is quick...

—LINCOLN?!—Peter struggled to be heard, quite frightened by everything he was hearing.

—I told you, shush!—Lincoln shouted into the earpiece, feeling his heartbeat quicken.

—The animal wants to fight... Gwen, Clyde, take Ronnie and take her inside the building, avoid contact with other monsters, I'll take care of this freak...—the captain said, carefully leaving Ronnie on the floor next to both of them.

That action horrified Lincoln, since what he saw was that the two-headed creature, after making several shrieks of pain, began to splash blood and split in two, leaving its other head and part of its body next to the smaller ghouls, which quickly approached to eat part of the corpse, it was horrifying, and the voice in his ear began to distort...

—Stay there, monster!—Spider-Kid shouted, launching an erratic web that almost hit the monster.

—It can shoot webs out of its mouth!?—shouted the perplexed police captain, distracting the monster long enough for his daughter and Clyde to drag Ronnie Anne's body away.

The captain would have smiled at that instant, but he had to dodge a punch (which from his perspective was a slashing claw) that Spider-Kid sent at him, followed by another, and a third that he could no longer dodge, but which, although it hit his forearm, managed to leave him pinned to the ground. Spider-Kid put his foot on his chest to smash it.

—Gross...—said Spider-Kid, thinking that he was getting some juice out of that kind of slimy monster.

—LINCOLN, STOP, YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!—It sounded like Peter's voice in his ear, although quite distorted, Lincoln was breathing rapidly.

—Yeah, that's the point!—He lifted his foot to stomp hard and put the thing out of its misery, when a new shout from Peter was heard.

—IT'S CAPTAIN STACY!

—Wait, what?

His eyes glowed green for a moment under the mask, he put both hands to his head and backed up until he hit the wall, he opened his eyes again and that green glow was gone, now he could see him clearly, in front of him stood Captain Stacy, pretty badly hurt because of him directly, Gwen was going to kill him if she found out he had hit her father, what was he thinking, he was going to kill himself if he had done any harm to the poor man!

—What have I done?! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!—He began to repeat over and over again.—Alright, alright…Oracle, you can hear things, can't you?

—That's right.—Peter said, turning up the volume—But I don't understand why?

—I'll describe everything I'm seeing and you'll tell me what it is!—Lincoln said decidedly—This green gas must be an hallucinogen.

—Green gas?—Peter asked, not fully understanding—It doesn't matter, Lincoln, our friends are inside, there are already several media outlets reporting that they saw you enter...

—First, I have to get Captain Stacy to safety, he's so badly hurt that one more blow could...—he didn't even dare to finish that sentence—Sometimes all it takes is a leap of faith.—He confessed to Peter over the phone, carrying the body with both arms.

He took a dive from the broken window, feeling the wind against his mask, Captain Stacy seemed to be bleeding from the mouth, that motivated him to, against all logic, lean further forward acquiring greater speed, throwing two spider webs fifty meters from the ground, causing them to tighten as he descended, slowing his fall until he ended up floating a meter above the ground, making force so that the web did not propel him back up.

A tide of reporters tried to get close and take pictures, but Spider-Kid grabbed Captain Stacy by his feet and pushed down further with his knees to put the man on the ground. He then turned to the cameras, winking (although those reporters couldn't tell) and the moment his feet came off the man's shirt he shot upward like a bullet.

When he was already at the height of the window, he threw a new web towards the floor of the broken window and stretched so that his body changed direction, landing back on the floor, albeit quite painfully.

But there was no time to think about whether he had broken a bone, his friends and even more importantly, his sister, were scattered around with a madman on the loose.

—Do you want some music, Lincoln?—Peter asked inappropriately.

—No, this is serious.—Lincoln answered decidedly and stepped into the green mist again.

"There is a happy ending."

"Fighting your way, embracing your feelings."

"Reach victory by dreaming."

As soon as they left the room and crossed the corridor, in the opposite direction to the elevator, they hid in a meeting room, the whole floor seemed to be full of that green gas, which Lisa deduced that it must have not very good properties, but she knew that taking the elevator was very dangerous, her arms would not resist a descent of so many floors, also, it would be the first place where an attacker would check. Lisa made a barricade with her arms while Mr. Osborn tried to catch his breath.

—Miss Loud, I ordered you to leave, even though it's your first day, I inform you that disobedience is not well valued in Oscorp.—Lisa turned to see him with a very arched eyebrow.—On the other hand, if it wasn't for you, maybe I would be hurt pretty bad, so I'll ignore the little mishap.

Lisa deduced that this must be Mr. Osborn's way of saying thank you, although of course, he would never let go of that fierce pride that for so many years had helped him stay at the head of such a large company.

Although those abilities were useless when a guy who could levitate and throw lightning from his hands, tried to kill you for... reasons. Lisa allowed herself to think during that second, she was listening through the thin wall in case that human being took steps. She thought that, at least as far as she knew him, Mr. Osborn seemed to be someone good, although by force, he had to have his defects or insensitivities, it was not for nothing that he could build an empire with hardly anything.

When researching his biography, she learned that Mr. Osborn worked as a child on a farm, studied at a generic university and then, developed cutting-edge technology, for that time, a small security camera that detected patterns to predict movements, or the first to invest in developing magnetic flotation technology, among many things. All always in pursuit of the security of the United States and its citizens.

—Watch out!—Lisa shouted, suddenly turning away from the wall, she hadn't heard any footsteps approaching, but she heard a mechanical sound.

Mysterio's fist went through the wall, at the same time the room filled with green smoke. In a matter of moments both Mr. Osborn and Lisa began to feel the world literally spinning. The room, and they, were spinning ninety degrees until suddenly, despite still being on the ground, the floor had become the glass window to her left, where her feet tried to guide her by the weight of her body, while the top was now the wall where Mysterio had broken enough to make his triumphal entrance. Both Lisa and Mr. Osborn held on to the table in the center, feeling how each time gravity threw them towards the glass, but the rest of the objects in the room continued without the changed gravity, only they seemed to fall at the same time that Mysterio descended with his arms crossed.

—Do you see Osborn?—the self-proclaimed "deity" said, as he repeatedly clicked his tongue in an accelerated manner and moved his head from left to right—No matter how much you run, Mysterio always wins. He raised his gauntlet, forming the scythe again—Let's continue where we left

—At least let the child go! If you want to kill me, God knows I've lived long enough, but the girl is five years old.—Osborn said indignantly, beginning to tremble with the effort of not falling towards the office window.

—WHAT?—Mysterio shouted in a high-pitched tone, clearly outraged and throwing the scythe towards the window, breaking it on the spot and causing the air to start trying to suck them both in—Norman Osborn feeling compassion for a human being! Are you trying to bribe Mysterio with emotional quackery? NO!—his voice had changed to a demonic one and almost caused Lisa to let go and fall into the abyss in a scream—Tell her the truth Osborn!

—I don't know what you mean!—Osborn shouted, letting go of his sore left arm, holding on to the table by only three fingers—Please, this is ridiculous.

—Mr. Osborn!—Lisa shouted at the top of her voice—You'll have to trust me!—she shouted taking impulse and jumping towards the man hooking herself to his clothes and activating her mechanical arms with one she held Mr. Osborn and the other two she used them as legs.

She thought the arms would fall towards the glass, but instantly realized, they had fallen to the floor, their gravitational center had not changed. She sighed in relief, barely noticing that Mysterio had taken a swivel chair from the office and transformed it into a sort of miniature tornado.

—We have to get out of here!—she said, trying to see an escape, but the only one seemed to be the wall behind the figure with the lethal scythe and the tornado chair.

Lisa then dared to turn to her right, in what would normally be the roof there was a vent, big enough so that she and Mr. Osborn could pass... Although Mysterio could also pass, but at least they would be ahead of him. It was too risky, but if she got...

—I'm getting desperate with that stupid girl!—Mysterio shouted, taking his scythe with both hands and giving a vertical attack to the elongated executive table, breaking it in two without much difficulty.

—Ahhh!—Lisa shouted, pretending that she was going to attack with her two tentacles, provoking Mysterio to take a defensive pose, which was a pleasant mistake, since Lisa took the opportunity to rest her arms on a part of the broken table.

These arms acted as best as possible as a spring, propelling them towards the ceiling, but when Lisa thought, they were going to get there, she began to feel her whole-body losing speed. They were about to reach the ducts, but the momentum of her arms had not been enough.

—Good job!—Osborn shouted, grabbing hold of the slit and causing it to fall under his weight—Push yourself!

She understood the order almost without problems, Lisa moved her body and both arms to swing, at the same time that Mr. Osborn kept firm in his position, causing that when Lisa and the mechanical arms returned, the two entered the duct through the impulse, although in a way a little more violent than expected.

—How did she do that?—Mysterio shouted in growing exasperation—Osborn come back here!

He took his scythe and floated in the air to make a cut in the duct before they left the room, but it was useless, although the metal structure fell like lead, the arms had been faster and had already entered the main ventilation system, getting out of sight.

—They don't pay me enough to put up with these things.—the villain muttered, walking out into the hallway and holding the row of his ghostly scythe aloft.

"WAKE UP! COME FIGHT ME, WHY ARE YOU HIDING?!

I'M YOUR BEST NIGHTMARE, STAND UP, IF YOU DARE."

—AHHHH!—Ronnie Anne cried, still not taking her eyes off the table.

—What do we do? What do we do?—Clyde said as they navigated the green gas-filled offices.

—Let's leave her in that chair.—Gwen tried to speak calmly, but stopped mid-sentence, looking fearfully around for something behind Clyde.

The boy turned around but found only a stack of papers piled up. But when he looked back at Gwen, her eyes were wide open in shock, practically trembling, and he could swear he could feel her heart pounding. Clyde didn't know why, but he began to feel his knees shaking. And he didn't think it was from holding Ronnie's shoulders.

—Gwen?—he asked, trying to talk some sense into her.

—Don't move, Clyde. —She spoke with barely a whisper of a voice.

Clyde saw his back again, the same pile of papers, nothing special, although the green hue was something that flooded the atmosphere. He began to understand that his knees weren't going to stop shaking without him succumbing to what was behind him first. He swallowed dryly and stood still.

—There's nothing Gwen, okay?—he said to try to calm her down, or to try to calm himself down—Everything will be fine, your dad will beat that freaky monster and we...

It was then that Clyde blinked several times, did the monitor behind him suddenly turned on? And why was it displaying a sequence of images ordered specifically for him to see?

…

Again and again, fast enough to be considered instants, but slow enough for Clyde to read the message without much trouble. They had to keep running, they couldn't just stand there.

—Let's go.—He suggested to Gwen, but she was no longer listening to Clyde, her eyes were lost not in the papers in the background, but in something that was approaching them—Gwen...—he said trying not to look directly at the monitor that no longer showed letters, but images of himself falling from a great heights.

He did not know that Gwen saw from her position, an amorphous creature that absorbed pieces of office, such as pencils, papers, or cardboard boxes, forming a kind of large slug, which at any second was going to fall on Clyde.

—Ahhh!—Gwen cried hysterically.

They couldn't move, even if they wanted to, while the computer showed bloody images in which Clyde was decapitated, or lost an arm, or had his eyes gouged out, and only those he could see with his eyes. Gwen kept seeing the slug getting bigger and bigger.

Suddenly the ceiling began to collapse, both Clyde and Gwen ran in the same direction, with Ronnie almost as an impulse, not realizing that the figure that had fallen from the ceiling was not a giant octopus, moving its tentacles erratically, but Lisa Loud and Mr. Osborn having exceeded the weight inside that part of the structure.

Although the part about the tentacles moving erratically was true, for at least two of them, which had had to bear the full weight of the fall. They were not designed for so much, so Lisa had no choice but to turn them off.

—I can see why you want to improve your project. —Mr. Osborn said, who was held by the only mechanical arm left on Lisa's set.

Both hid when they heard Gwen and Clyde's scream, interpreting it as different signals, for Lisa it was a siren similar to the ones that sound before a bombing. While, for Osborn, it sounded like the cry of a baby, his little baby... If only Osborn had...

—Enough!—shouted the figure of Mysterio entering the circular room without any scruple, always floating—Osborn, this is low, even for you.

—You won't do anything to Mr. Osborn!—Lisa shouted, barely standing up and showing both fists next to the third arm that was already throwing sparks.

—No?—Mysterio then floated up to be in front of her—And what are you going to do to stop it?—he asked, grabbing Lisa by the head and lifting her up by her disheveled hair—You stupid little vermin!

—Ahhh!—Gwen screamed when she saw Mysterio's figure holding a three-armed aberration—No more!—she shouted, grabbing a keyboard and throwing it to the fish bowl.

To the surprise of everyone in the room, that blow had managed to make a long crack in Mysterio's "fish bowl". The villain was surprised and completely forgot Lisa, releasing her and letting her body crash to the floor, leaving the child on the floor, breathing hard, Mr. Osborn approached.

—Another girl? This wasn't in the...—he stopped in mid-sentence, looking at the little blonde trembling—How many children did Norman bring?—he whispered so quietly that only Gwen could hear him—Oh well, I guess I'll have to teach her that you don't mess with adults, right?—he said and then spoke to Gwen as if he was cuddling a dog.

—Get away from her!—Clyde shouted, having taken a stapler and shot at the cape of the monster made of computer tentacles, causing the cape to tear—There is more where that came from!

—They are brave, of course, they were in the patrol, they survived.—Mysterio said, putting a hand to his chin, or at least he tried to—They have already suffered too much—He raised both gloves pointing them both causing them to turn pale—Goodbye...

A charging sound was heard from his gloves, at the same time they seemed to be ready and aiming at both children. Mysterio felt lightning bolts coming from his gloves, but suddenly something pulling him from behind, causing him to miss the shot to the ceiling.

—Who dares to interrupt Mysterio?!—he shouted, turning his half-cracked "face" and seeing a sticky substance on his gloves fall.

—Mysterio? Did they not have better names available?—A high-pitched voice, that didn't seem to care at all about the villain's threat, said coming from the ceiling—Or were you more busy checking the costume store for the most ridiculous they could get?

Three desks away from him, the source of the web appeared. Nothing more and nothing less than the ridiculous kid who dresses up as a spider and goes around defeating trashy villains, but Mysterio had a power far greater, as long as the other inhaled the gas.

—Ahhh, the little spider. I'm surprised you came; shouldn't you be in pre-school?

—Uhh good one, where did you hear it? Your granny?—laughed Spider-Kid, smiling and hearing a chuckle from the other end of the line.

—Yes, her, do you want to join her?—Mysterio suggested, having already turned to the boy.

—My service to help ladies cross the street is from three to four in the afternoon.— Spider-Kid said while pointing his web-shooters at Mysterio.

—Oh don't worry, you won't be follow her across the street.—Mysterio said, disappearing into the mist as Lincoln's eyes flickered green—but to the grave!

Mysterio punched from behind his back with his golden glove and threw Spider-Kid into the wall face first.

"I'm a God, I command. And you don't, Stand a chance.

See the truth, it's the end. Say goodbye to all of your friends."

Moments before their first meeting, Lincoln was trying to cross a clown parade in the middle of the aisle, but Peter had told him that no such thing could be heard.

—Oracle, I swear every shadow is trying to murder me, don't you hear all that demented laughter?—Lincoln said covering one ear, Peter's voice was the only thing keeping him sane.

—Lincoln, you have to be strong, for Gwen, Clyde and Ronnie.— Peter said while reading in the news—The news already updated your appearance with Captain Stacy and ehhh...he is angry.

—You are alright, Oracle?—Lincoln asked as he managed to get out of sight of the red-haired half-spider clown.

—You just let people take pictures of you...—complained Peter.

—It's really not a good time for that. —Spider-Kid said, hanging from the ceiling as he heard noise to his right—Did you hear a scream?

—Don't try to change the subject Lincoln. —Peter said with his arms crossed.

—Peter, my sister was possibly in this building at the time of the attack, or maybe she is here having visions of her worst fears, do you really think we need to talk about this right now?

There was silence for a moment on the line.

—You're right, I'm sorry.—Peter said, calming down—Besides, they all took practically the same picture, hehe, but seriously...

—I hear something.—Lincoln said, interrupting Peter and being in total silence.

At that moment Lincoln was sure he heard a voice, not a ghostly one or in his head, but in his ears, his eyes were not necessary in this mission. It was a powerful and loud voice, so he continued crawling on the ceiling without even doing anything but listening and moving forward. He entered a room with his eyes closed, causing something to be heard on the line.

—That voice... Lincoln, I hear it too!—Peter shouted in his ear.

—Get away from her!—a voice shouted, they both recognized instantly with a twist in their hearts, it was Clyde.

He prepared his web-shooters.

And almost a minute later he crashed into the wall due to a strong blow from the villain.

Contrary to what it might seem, Lincoln wasn't hurt that much by the blow, when he had learned to use the web, he almost broke a knee by miscalculating and crashing at full speed into a building.

But at that moment he was alone, him against a real villain. Not just any other bad guy from the street, but one of the big ones, the kind that only Captain America, Fantastic Four or Iron Man face. But none of them had come, he was alone now.

—Is that all you got?—Spider-kid said, getting off the wall, making a loud sound—I have to admit, you punch hard...—he said rubbing his face, curiously he felt no pain in his back where he had supposedly received the blow.

—Hit hard? Lincoln? What are you talking about?—Peter said, having only heard the crash.

But Lincoln had to use his senses to defeat him, he couldn't let Mysterio get away with his plans. He had to at least slow him down long enough for another hero to come along and put him in his place.

—What's the matter kid, are you scared? —Mysterio mocked, appearing in the fog in front of him.

—I can't hear anything—Peter Parker began—Where is he?

—In front of me!—Lincoln shouted, spinning around to dodge a kick that would have crushed his head.

—In front of you?! —Peter said, not understanding, hitting his head—Lincoln, that's a projection!

—A-what? —Lincoln asked uncomprehendingly, getting distracted for a second and causing Mysterio to finally give him a powerful right hook, causing him to go flying up to the ceiling and stick to it—It felt very real.

—Placebo effect! It hurts because you want it to hurt...

—What?—Spider-Kid shouted, getting up and trying to get closer to the shadow of Mysterio.

Then Mysterio shook his fists, and it was heard how they charged energy, which caused Lincoln to try to dodge with backflips, but those attacks were remote-controlled, because there was no human way for them to remain in the air waiting for the moment, he stopped to give the three attacks at the same time.

—Is he still shooting?—Peter asked from the line.

—The lightning is following me!—Spider-Kid then shouted, almost crashing into a wall, but ducking at the last moment, and one of the lightning bolts hit the wall, surprisingly it was undamaged.

—That's right, kid, the shots follow you!—Mysterio said with a laugh.

—No Lincoln, he only fired once and they hit the ground, or so I think, you could clearly hear something break immediately after the shot.

It was then that the other bolt of lightning finally hit Lincoln, he closed his eyes and surprisingly... He felt nothing, if at most a little warmth.

—Thank you Oracle, but I will need my sense of direction one hundred percent.

He said from the floor and with his eyes closed, hoping that this was the solution, the call ended with a sudden "Good luck, Lincoln". Although from under the mask Mysterio had no way of knowing that. Lincoln opened his eyes again, he had to get closer first.

—Ahhh!—he threw a web at the figure in front of his eyes, but the web pierced Mysterio's formerly ethereal body.

—You seem to have discovered a part of my Achilles heel.—Mysterio said, reappearing in front of SpiderKid to take the web and tried to pull the boy's body.

Spider-Kid quickly cut his own webbing, but the pull made him to slam his face into a desk, but as he tried to stand up Mysterio had disappeared in a green cloud that slowly turned light blue, the cloud next to him turned red and another orange, until he officially had a swirl of clouds around him. At first nothing happened, until one began to spin, and they all followed suit, accelerating faster and faster. Until finally they were spinning fast enough for her eyes to see every color.

Lincoln tried to run away from the rainbow whirlpool, but only succeeded in getting hit by the colors and returned to the epicenter. He closed his eyes and leapt forward, thinking that this way he would get rid of the swift colors and although he succeeded, he suddenly began to feel as if he was falling into an infinite abyss with the wind crashing into his disguise as he fell.

He opened his eyes again, expecting to see the illusion, but he was actually totally in the dark, falling against the wind, somewhere unknown, at the same time hearing a raucous laughter as he fell.

—Fight, you coward!—Lincoln shouted, trying to move in the void, punching forward, rather awkwardly because his head seemed to be deforming until it became square.

—Who do you think you're talking to?—Mysterio's voice shouted as his fist broke through the darkness and he began to fall into a sitting position even in the void.

But from where Lincoln could see everything, only the giant torso of Mysterio's figure began to appear, which not only had seeped into the darkness, but also stood with his arms crossed, as if it was not costing him any effort at all.

Lincoln threw a spider's web to go back up, surprisingly he felt like he could rise to be at the height of Mysterio's giant head. With that crack covering a portion of the glass surface, and the interior filled with multicolored lights causing an incessant dizziness. If only Lincoln knew he was tangible, that both Gwen and Clyde managed to take a swing at him.

—Give it up kid, I won.—He said, starting to charge his fist to launch a direct attack.

But what Lincoln didn't know was that while he was having this mystical encounter, from the office his little sister Lisa was standing up again, with the help of Mr. Osborn, who was quietly offering to leave the place.

—Come on, it's not safe for you here anymore, Miss Loud.—Osborn insisted quietly as Lisa shook her head.

—No, he's going to kill the spider.—Lisa said looking at the scene from a distance.

Spider-Kid was wearing a box on his head as he hung from the ceiling with one hand and gawked as Mysterio charged energy.

—None of our business—Osborn said, opening the fire escape door.

—This is personal.—Lisa said, moving her last remaining arm.

Several months later, without knowing it yet, Lisa would totally regret the decision she had just made. Although at that moment, with her nobility intact, she shot out her last arm, hitting Mysterio in the lower part of his sphere, breaking it on the spot and being able to see his jaw when the glass fell to the ground.

—He's human...—Osborn said in surprise.

—Of course he's human.—Lisa confirmed—Mr. Osborn, there were other kids in here, the ones that were in the car that this freak crashed. —Lisa said in a pleading tone.

—You're too noble for your own good, Miss Loud.—Norman rolled his eyes and quickened his pace, always crouching down next to Lisa.

From Lincoln's perspective, a futuristic spaceship crashed into the underside of Mysterio, revealing an astronomically impossible jaw and human teeth the size of mountains.

Part of the effect of the multicolored lights had been lost, he could feel that he was recovering some mobility in his body, so he decided that the most logical thing to do was to remove his head, his sister Lisa would have said that square heads could not exist.

He was not shocked when he took off that mask and the space, together with the giant figure of Mysterio disappeared. And in front of him was the office environment with many desks and Mysterio trying to hide his jaw with his cape, which had two holes where you could still see enough of his flesh.

—How dare you get rid of Mysterio's spell?—the figure in front of him said, he felt his ears vibrate, it was the real one.

He took advantage of the web he had to propel himself backwards and put both legs together, Mysterio could see the blow coming, but in his position, he didn't have time to dodge it, and now it was the man's turn to fly away until he landed on a desk that he broke in two and the back of his helmet continued to break.

Lincoln tried to throw more webs, but noticed that he had run out, he had moved all over the city at great speed, in addition to all used throughout the day. Only a small line of no more than a meter in length came out.

Both Lisa and Mr. Osborn took advantage of this distraction to finally find both Clyde and Gwen, who had burst into tears over the body of Ronnie Anne, who was sweating profusely and writhing in pain.

—I know them... —Lisa said, lifting Gwen's head, she noticed that it was as if Gwen didn't realize it and kept crying as if she was leaning on Ronnie—Interesting prolonged effect of the gas.

Lisa slapped Gwen's face, causing her to react and a hint of green glow was lost from her eyes. It was as if Gwen could finally see the girl in front of her.

—Lincoln's little sister?—Gwen confused, holding a hand to her head.

—My pleasure, now come with me if you want to live. —Lisa said while helping the older girl to get up.

Mr. Osborn slapped Clyde too, causing the greenish hue to lose it too, but the little boy looking at the figure in front of him, instead of stopping crying brought both hands to his head and said:

—I was a good boy this time, don't puni…— he said trembling, but was interrupted.

—A surprise to see you again, but there's no time, we're going to escape from this building, champ, do you understand that?—Norman said, not caring about that attitude and taking Ronnie's pulse—She's still alive, what happened to her?

—Her right shoulder was...—Gwen tried to explain.

—Enough explanation. —Norman said, listening as behind him Mysterio kept getting up from the blow SpiderKid had given him—I'll take her.

And although Lisa was about to protest him, Mr. Osborn simply lifted Ronnie as if she were a pile of laundry. It took seconds for everyone to get to the door of the emergency stairs, with Clyde to the end of the line, always as far away as possible from Osborn.

—Osborn is escaping!—Mysterio shouted furiously, hitting the wood and still trying to recover from the blow.

Mysterio tried to float towards that direction, but a something red got in his way, it was Spider-Kid, with no green glow in his eyes, at least not until he absorbed enough gas again. But from the pose Mysterio knew the kid didn't want to prolong his visit to Oscorp.

—Forgetting about me already? not even a goodbye?—Spider-Kid said trying to throw a punch.

It was too fast for Mysterio, causing him to not be able to dodge it and it was his turn to be the one to see black, because he had to close his eyes due to the pain of the punch.

Besides, he was now also inhaling the gas, so he was beginning to feel the effects coming on, if he didn't hurry...

—Do you think you've defeated me spider? Do you?—He disappeared into the fog again, fortunately for him the glow was green so he ran for three seconds, got into the same position and kept walking backwards—You haven't seen the last of Mysterio yet!

—AHH!—Spider-Kid tried to reach it with his web-shooter, but it only made a mechanical sound while he remembered that it was empty.

—What happened? Itsi bitsi spider can't make more webs anymore?—Mysterio said, seeing again the gleam in the eyes and moving further away until he reached a door. —Is there nobody left?—he said, seeing that the room was emptying of the green gas, brought to it by black dots that furrowed the floor until they passed under Mysterio's half torn cloak.

—No! You idiot!—Spider-Kid shouted trying to reach him, but with the last remnants of gas left in his body his eyes glowed green again.

—Goodbye little spider—Mysterio said, turning around in the corridor and continuing floating until he came out again from where he had entered with a certain mastery—What a productive morning I had today.—He said to himself, still floating on his green cloud in the air—Now, to collect my payment. —He said to himself as he pulled out a cell phone— Two hours in the agreed point?

—Yes, yes, Quentin, we're fine. —Norman Osborn answered the phone, already several floors down—Thank you for calling, but I can already hear the ambulances.

—Then my job is done. —He said while getting away from the building, he couldn't afford for anyone to know where Mysterio was, or that annoying kid try to follow him. But no one would, not Spider-Kid, not the Fantastic Four, or Captain America.

Mysterio had triumphed.

And Lincoln, he was just waking up from his trance with a pounding headache and a bitter taste in his mouth. He had never been able to stop the green goblin, and now there was another maniac out there at the very least who could match him. He couldn't find a way to become a better student either, or chances were that since he got out of class, they would report everything to his dad. To top it all off, he had not only failed himself, but his sisters, his father, the city.

Lincoln had lost.

"Even if all these souls try to help you. You're nothing but a child.

Even so young, you're begging to die. My powers will going wild!"

END SAGA I

Epilogue

"There will be hope as long as you're breathing. There is a happy ending

Fighting your way, embracing your feelings. Reach victory by dreaming".

The press was abuzz when Mr. Osborn came out carrying the unconscious body of Ronnie Anne with a red arm. The lights were bright everywhere you looked, dozens of reporters trying to get past the police lines. The paramedics did not have to wait long and arrived almost immediately, despite all the commotion, attending Ronnie Anne from one moment to the next, while Osborn climbed on a pedestal to explain the situation, claiming that he had not been touched.

—Citizens of New York!—He shouted into the microphone as all the cameras pointed at him—Today, October 4th, a terrorist attack occurred at my facility while I was quietly going about my day—he explained fiercely.

Lincoln trudged back to school, badly wounded from the fight and without web-shooters. Luckily for him, everyone was inside the gym, so he and Peter Parker could excuse themselves to the bathroom while everyone else watched the news and prayed for their friends. To Lincoln's surprise, his teacher gave him a sidelong smile and his sister Lynn came over to hug him in tears. "Lisa was there." Lincoln, though, reacted calmly.

—Attack by a mutant who called himself Mysterio!—He shouted at the top of his lungs—First that goblin, then this? Are we going to continue to accept this rising tide of crime?

The first thing George Stacy did when he saw Gwen was to hug her and cry for not being there with her, but both Gwen and Clyde didn't seem to want to talk, they were more concerned about Ronnie Anne's health. To no one's surprise, she had to go straight to the hospital. Hours later, her older brother, Roberto Santiago, would have to go pick her up on his motorcycle, because her parents never answered the phone.

—I say no! I say they've given too much free rein to these masked people! —He said pointing up—Maybe there are some good ones, like that spider boy who saved our lives, or that devil man from hell's kitchen, there are, there are good men.

Many hours before all these events, Harold McBride spoke to the owner of the local bank that had been robbed by the green goblin a few weeks ago, indicating that they had traces of blood from their cashier, one Larry C. Queen. The banker disassociated himself from such an accusation, but just in case, he fired the cashier with an angry call, as if he was to blame for the crimes.

—Yes, good men who are affected by these infernal beings who cannot control themselves. —He said, his face reaching a tone almost as reddish as his hair.

Near the dumpster of a pizzeria, there was a homeless teenager, she had been on the street for more than fifteen days, Carol Pingrey's stomach was roaring, but she knew they would not give her anything, not even for pity... But if only she used her ability to...Screw it, why did it matter? Her whole life had already been ruined; she was a mutant. So, she made her right hand disappear and after a few minutes it reappeared again, with three pieces of hot pizza which flooded her stomach. If she was going to have this power, and if society was not willing to accept her, why should she respect society?

—For my part, I've put up with it, but NOW! You've tried my patience! I'm not going to let Mysterio or the Green Goblin get away with their acts again! And for all the mutants out there, good or bad, remember this face!—He said as the crowd roared in agreement, chanting his name—Because this is the face you will see when you are judged! I will not stand idly by! The mayoral elections are next January! And I don't see these politicians trying to fix this whole mess!

There was silence from Norman, which was filled by a crowd of people shouting and chanting —Osborn for mayor, no more mutants!

—I'm running for mayor!

Lincoln watched the television they had in the gym, while he listened as all his colleagues began to support Osborn's words, to a greater or lesser extent. Only he and Peter exchanged looks of genuine concern, this transcended their duties, it was Lincoln's freedom they were attacking.

And Norman Osborn looked right at a specific camera, perhaps unintentionally, but that network, precisely, was being broadcast in his school gym.

For just a second Lincoln could look into Norman Osborn's eyes and trembled, or at the very least, feel nauseous. He didn't know he wasn't the only one, many others like him, people who wished only to do good, were beginning to feel afraid that someone, especially someone with as much power as Norman Osborn was after them.

Both he and a private investigator who threw her bottle of whiskey against a wall, a lawyer who had gone deaf as well apart from blind for several seconds due to the impact of hearing.

And worse, that message had caused someone to laugh, a rather tall, bald man, who just wiggled his fingers on the rest of his golden chair.

—I see Norman, you looked for a way to break the rules.—He said with a deep and slow voice—But when a king runs out of pawns, he begins to send out his most lethal pieces.

And on the streets of New York, it could be heard, almost unanimously in many corners:

"Osborn for mayor, no more mutants! "

Chapter 6: I Can't Stop Loving You

Chapter Text

The tangled web of Lincoln Loud

Series 2 – Patternity

Chapter 6 I Can't Stop Loving You

"So I've made up my mind"

—Osborn for mayor, no more mutants!

The crowds could be heard even from the eighth floor of the hospital, where Ronnie, Lisa, Gwen, and Clyde ended up. Captain Stacy claimed to be fine, but X-rays showed broken ribs.

—I have to see my daughter!—the captain demanded.

—I'm afraid the right thing you've to do, is to rest.—Doctor Howard McBride ordered—The kids will be in good hands, but keep moving like that and you will lose mobility.

—It's my daughter... —Stacy said, putting a hand to his head and laying it on the hospital bed located on the third floor.

—And my son is there too.—Mr. McBride said coldly—I'm as concerned about him as you are about Gwen, but if we are weak, what example are we setting for them?

—You were the one who got worried at the last field trip when Clyde got stung by a bee.—The Captain laughed, then grunted in pain.

—Since the incident with my neck, I had to relax more.—the doctor said, finishing the "routine check-up".

They talked quietly while on the eighth floor it took the kids about hours to talk, exchanging only occasional awkward glances until Clyde confessed in the afternoon:

—I can't sleep even though I'm exhausted.

—Me neither.—Gwen admitted as Ronnie let out a deep snore.

—I shouldn't be in this hospital, I was supposed to work with Mr. Osborn, I already declared that I'm fine.—Lisa said trying to move, but lying down again because of a strong pain in her back.

After almost another half hour in the hospital, several visitors entered the room with the four children, although only two were left per bed:

—Lisa, is that you my baby?—her mother came up to hug and kiss her while trying not to touch any of the bandages with wounds—What happened to you?

—Hello maternal unit, paternal unit.—Lisa greeted simply as if she were sitting on a chair in the dining room.

—Always a difficult one, aren't you sis?—Lori said while holding her boyfriend's hand—I had to get through to Ronnie, or we'll get kicked out, but I'm relieved that you're okay.—She squeezed the hand lightly.

The eldest Loud sister was trying to be calm, but her boyfriend was stretching her hand because he was impatient to cross to the other side of the room where Ronnie Anne was resting.

Bobby Santiago took a seat next to his little sister's bed and held her hand as he cried a little from the shock of seeing her whole arm resting on a special device. They waited in silence, both Bobby and Lori, she even arranged Ronnie's hair quietly.

Then both Lincoln Loud and Peter Parker came in, those two had gone first to Captain Stacy, so that he would give them the permission to see Gwen on top, Peter went straight to her, while Lincoln tried first hugging Lisa, but his mother was already hogging all of Lisa's space and his father refused to support him, he knew perfectly well what his father was thinking: "Why do you always wait to show interest until it's too late?"

He moved away crestfallen, thinking that surely it was his fault that they were all there, if he didn't inhale the gas that made him hallucinate, his priority would have been to get them all out, but no, he almost broke the police captain's ribs, left his best friends in mortal danger and his sister was hurt. To top it all, the culprit was still out there, roaming free.

…

From his penthouse in the heart of New York City, Norman Osborn was relaxing, with no unnecessary doctors checking his vital signs and just a bandage on his forehead that he wanted to remove as soon as he could because it ruined his appearance so much.

Norman was smiling after that "traumatic experience", if he was taught anything it was to never look back. He took his cell phone to dial that genius girl, she could have a place among Norman's ranks, he had a very big and ambitious project with sinister consequences.

Moments before, at the hospital.

—Clyde!—Harold McBride approached without his police uniform, along with his husband Howard, who was wearing a doctor's coat, and asked the receptionist in the children's ward that, unless it was an emergency, no one interrupt the visit.

—Dads!—he opened both arms for them to hug him, which they both did without hesitation, although being careful not to hurt him.

Right on the opposite bed, Lincoln and Peter were on the side of a less than animated Gwen Stacy:

—Oh come on Gwen, say something.—Lincoln tried to encourage while touching her chin.

—Watch out, buddy.—Peter tried to lightly punch him, but Lincoln instinctively stopped him in a hurry, causing Peter's hand to almost hit the wall in front of him.

Gwen's eyes went wide as she looked from one side to the other, then Lincoln quickly came up with an idea.

—Hahaha, good one Peter.—He winked—You did better than when we rehearsed it...—Then winked a second time as he turned his face away so Gwen couldn't see him.

The young Parker rubbed his hand, he was sure his finger was going to have a bruise, he was tempted to complain about it to Lincoln, in front of his parents and Dr. McBride so he would have to explain his strength and get in trouble, but a promise was a promise. He simply pretended to stop rubbing his reddened fingers and began to laugh a slow, forced laugh, convincing enough to get Gwen to stop paying attention to them and look straight ahead again.

—At least everything will be back to normal from now on.—she said, inhaling and exhaling.

—Yep, Lincoln and I will be at school all day for you.—Peter told her sincerely, at the same time showing her a smile.

—And also after school, just let us know when you need us, that we are doing our project in... somewhere.—Lincoln tried to quickly think of a credible location, seeing that he couldn't, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

—Thank you, guys, I'll keep it in mind. —she gave Peter a kiss on the forehead, followed by a kiss to Lincoln on the cheek, too close to his lips, so close that Lincoln could almost taste it.—But I want to see my dad…

—Yeah, I get it.—Peter said, getting a little comfortable in the pillow—Remember when the four of us were sitting in a bench just outside my Uncle Ben's funeral? —he looked especially at Lincoln, knowing that he would remember that day.

—Yes...—Gwen let out a laugh with a twinkle in her eye—Wasn't it when Clyde dropped the ice cream in his suit?

—And you arrived with your glasses backwards.—Peter said.

—Oh yes, I remember. —Lincoln said a little more hurt than he wanted to admit.

"To live in memory of the lonesome times".

There were the four children, Lincoln, Peter, Gwen, and Clyde, sharing a single bench in the middle of a silent hallway it was the firsts days of July and already felt like if the winter were surrendering them. Behind the walls there were a lot of people shedding tears, the familiar guests who came in, watched, and couldn't believe it.

Ben Parker, a righteous and kind-hearted man, murdered in cold blood in the middle of an alley. The police investigated in every corner of the city, but nothing seemed to bear fruit. It was just the cries of old people who had just lost someone else in that unsafe city.

Of all of them, Peter was the most worried, because he couldn't see his aunt, every time he talked to her, they started to cry, and Peter was tired of crying. He would wipe it away with the sleeve of his suit to pretend he was strong, that he could take it, but his red eyes and incessant runny nose only proved otherwise.

Clyde and Gwen hugged Peter to make him feel better, while Lincoln looked at nothing, remembering the words of the man buried behind the walls behind him.

But he was nervous, he didn't know what Peter was going to think of all that, most likely he was a weirdo, and possibly he was going to blame him for Ben's death, but no, Lincoln couldn't do anything there, as much as he tried.

There was a moment of silence, in which both Clyde and Gwen had to get up, the girl said that if they wanted to go back, they were going to have to clean the ice cream off Clyde's-stained vest.

Lincoln and Peter were left alone.

—You haven't said anything…—Peter said almost complaining as he sniffled a little.

Lincoln looked from one side to the other, there was no one, it was just the two of them in the hallway. And he had made a promise.

—I'm sorry, Pete…—he tried to find the words—Your uncle made me promise something.

—Uncle Ben? that doesn't make sense, you two haven't talked that much… and now he won't be able to talk anymore.—Peter tried wiping some tears—Well, you did go to my house...

—You don't understand.—Lincoln said, a little hurt was palpable on his voice—I have to show you something, it's very important.

—Can't it wait?—Peter asked with his arms folded, sounded annoyed—Today is not a good day.

—No, it can't wait, because it was one of your uncle's last wishes.—Lincoln explained while Peter lifted his head to look at him—Let me explain, it has something to do with Spider...

—Don't say that name!—He gave him a look full of hate—I hate that stupid boy...

Of course, Peter was going to hate the dumb spider boy who went and beat up low-life criminals, especially if a police witness saw him running from the crime scene where Ben Parker was killed, and it had been all over the news.

It was then that Peter's mind became active, he looked at the doors of the funeral chapel, then at Lincoln who was asking him to go to a dark garden. He narrowed his eyes and decided to follow him.

"I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU"

Those distant memories landed in Lincoln Loud's mind again, as he felt he had failed to keep his promise. Not quite, but at least he knew that the words now carried more weight. He had failed to stop Mysterio, and now a lot of people he cared about were hurt. Peter tried to smile at him, but Lincoln folded his arms and turned away.

He went through all the hospital beds, even Ronnie Anne's, although the Latina girl was pretty angry. When he was in Lisa's bed, the younger girl's cell phone started ringing.

—It must be important. —Lisa tried to take off a bandage to pick up her phone, but it was Lincoln who took the call, while the parents tried to calm her down.

—Good afternoon, Lisa Loud's number, her brother speaking. —He said the most formal introduction he could, knowing that sometimes important university people or doctors called her.

—That voice... —he heard a whisper from behind the line, and it gave him goosebumps.

—I know you.—he said opening his eyes wide, causing both his parents and Lisa to look at him.

—Do you know me, young man?—asked the strong and confident voice.—Interesting…

Lincoln closed and opened his eyes in fear, not quite knowing whose voice it was, only that he recognized it... Until finally when he heard the word "interesting", that tone could only be someone's.

—Yeah, you were on television, Mr. M...or...son?—He pretended to not remember his name—You gave a very good speech and everyone at my school saw it.—He said with a extremely nervous smile, showing all his teeth.

If Lincoln had been in front of Norman Osborn, he wouldn't have had the slightest chance to lie. But by being in a phone call, he managed at least not to become the center of attention of the man behind the phone line.

—It's Mr. Osborn for you—Lisa said scandalized—Give me my phone.

—Yes boy, very interesting.—Norman said, pretending disinterest in the conversation—Is Dr. Loud present? I have an important business conversation to conduct with her.

—Well, she's here in the hospital, she broke a...—Lincoln tried to explain, but was interrupted.

—So, she is there. Be a good boy and give her the phone, will you?—Norman ordered.

—Yeah...sure Mr. Osborn.—Lincoln said slowly as he closed his eyes and passed the phone to Lisa.

—Thank you male fraternal unit.—Lisa said, taking the phone without any emotion in her voice—Mr. Osborn.—she exclaimed, but now with a lot more of emotion—Just a routine check-up, nothing out of the ordinary.

—Your brother said you were hospitalized, Dr. Loud, why were you hospitalized if I was there too? Did you want to escape from your new line of work?

—No, no, no, no, Mr. Osborn, not remotely close.—Lisa tried to deny, not knowing that she was right where he wanted her—Simply medical procedures that I legally have to comply due to the complication of being a minor. —she described the situation in a derogatory way.

Both Lincoln and Lynn Senior looked at each other concerned, while Rita rested in a chair next to them. They were displeased by the words Lisa was using.

—Is that going to be the excuse you're going to use, Dr. Loud? That you're underage?—a disappointed Mr. Osborn said, as he walked through his luxurious home—Are you sure?

—No, no, just... How about if I start working tomorrow with...?—Lisa tried to bargain.

—No work, honey.—Doctor McBride interrupted her from a distance—That man never understands the importance of rest, don't let him poison you.

—Excuse me Doctor Lisa, is there anyone else on the call? —Norman asked, opening his refrigerator, he wanted a nice champagne.

—No, no one.—Lisa said rolling her eyes—Don't worry Mr. Osborn, I'll go to work tomorrow.

Mr. Loud had heard enough, he allowed his daughter to work in Oscorp, but he'd a couple of things to say to her boss, so he picked up the phone despite Lisa's complaints:

—Good afternoon Mr. Osborn, right? —he said calmly as a vein formed in his neck.

—That's me, who is this?—Norman asked, finding the right bottle—and please, hurry up, time is precious and I need to discuss details of a project with Dr. Loud.

—I am her father, sir. —Lynn Sr said with authority, even though Lisa was quick to flatly deny it, but her mother wouldn't let her get up—and I have a couple of things to tell you.

—Me too, first of all, manners, young man.—the CEO said, uncorking the bottle.

—I am the one giving legal permission for you to work with my daughter, so if you want to talk to her so badly, please listen.—Lynn said, trying to be tactful.

—Few people have ever dared to talk to me like that, you have my full attention Mr. Loud.—Norman poured himself some champagne and sat down at a computer.

—My daughter will be on bed, resting for the next few days, you have no right to call her until she comes out from the hospital.—Mr. Loud said, trying to stick out his chest.

—Is that all?

—I really don't care who you are, Mr. Osborn.—Mr. Loud admitted, and his voiced shoed clear anger—I'm just telling you to understand that Lisa is a child, not a machine.

—Yet... —Norman whispered, putting a hand to his chin and inserting "Loud" into his browser.—Anyway, so you're telling me that I can't legally contact your daughter until she's free of the hospital hassle?

—That's right.—the man said confidently.

—Excellent, thank you for your honesty, goodbye.

Norman hung up the call and was surprised that in his system he only had two names with the last name "Loud" active, other than little Lisa, one of them was a sixteen-year-old blonde girl working in a shopping mall. And the other was a picture of a chronically bald man, working at a technology company that was part of his process chain, only needed to make the right call...

—So, Lynn Loud, father of thirteen.—He sipped his champagne—The sole breadwinner of a lower class family, a pity, but Lisa's balance will have to suffice.

A single button was necessary for the series of unfortunate events to be unleashed. Just like when the flapping of a butterfly in Bejin, generates a tornado in New York, that button had been the flapping. At that moment Lisa got angry, causing Lincoln to get away from his little sister and go back with Gwen and Peter. Peter seeing Lincoln's face, couldn't help but feel bad, it was his turn to cheer him up:

—Everything is going to be fine Linc, you'll see, trust me.

"I CAN'T STOP WANTING YOU"

—We're done Dorothy!—shouted an enraged African-American girl as she shoved a red-haired boy.

—But Liz!—Chandler tried to get up in the middle of the hallway, attracting prying eyes.

—Don't ever speak to me again Jason Dorothy Chandler!—the cheerleader shouted angrily as she deigned to turn around and spit on the boy, the spittle hitting him full in the face.

That scene was a couple of days after all the chaos at the hospital. It was a few weeks close to Halloween night. Everyone, except Ronnie, had left the hospital without severe damage, although Norman was still not answering Lisa's calls and Lincoln was noticing at home his father getting more and more worried, but out of those details, everything was still normal. Except of course that Liz was breaking up with Chandler.

—Dang it, I wish I'd had a camera for this moment.—Peter Parker complained as Clyde laughed uncontrollably.

—Am I the only one who just found out that Chandler's middle name is Dorothy? — Gwen started hyperventilating and burst out laughing, which ended with her making piggy noises.

—I've just learned it too.—Peter had to admit as he leaned against a locker to hold in his laughter.

There were so many people in the hallway that they were not noticed by anyone.

—I already knew it.—He never liked to see Chandler directly, it brought back bad memories.

—He deserves it.—Liam said dryly, who allowed himself to smile after having been silent for a long time.

—You may not talk much Kasady, but every time you do you hit the nail.—Clyde said between his laugher.

It took several teachers to get the attention of all the students and get them to move out of there, whenever there was an opportunity, the gossip would be spread throughout the middle school, that Chandler, the captain of the soccer team, and Liz, the captain of the cheerleading squad, were over. Dynamite didn't have the same explosive capacity as spreading rumors.

The funniest part of it all, for Lincoln, was that Chandler was finally getting a taste of what he deserved after being such a jerk for so many years with him and Clyde. Break time came, and they were all sitting, except for Gwen at the far table in the cafeteria, commenting again on whether Chandler had cried in the bathrooms or the showers.

Finally, about halfway through lunch, Gwen Stacy appeared through the cafeteria doors, carrying a newspaper, and jumping for joy.

—Peter! Peter! Lincoln! Lincoln! —she shouted, approaching his friends' table, and throwing the newspaper in the middle of the wood.

—Clyde, Clyde, Clyde. —the offended boy said—What's up Gwen?

—Remember the assignment we did last week? —Gwen said anxiously, causing Lincoln to turn to look at Peter.

Peter opened his eyes wide and nodded. Then Lincoln understood, probably some homework Peter did while he took on being a hero.

—Well, it turns out that out of the entire school, our research papers were selected as the two best.—Gwen said, showing the page nineteen.

They all saw the "Scholastic" section where various news of the current student world was displayed, at least as current as a newspaper could be. In that section there were divisions for youth soccer leagues and in a box at the bottom of the page there was a small note explaining that the review of the best essays from Everdeen Middle School had concluded and they gained access to the opportunity to be apprenticed to Doctors Connors marriage. Two of the most prestigious doctors in America for their extensive studies in animal and insect DNA chains.

—Students like Gwen Stacy, Liz Shawn, Peter Parker and Lincoln Loud have shown some of the best work in years, and have earned a chance to be interviewed in person by the Connors to be part of their team at STAR Labs.—Peter read with much excitement in his voice as his eyes sparkled—God, if I were hired I could finally support my aunt...

—That sounds… Awesome.—Lincoln said faking interest only because the rest of his friends were excited.

—Give me that! —Gwen ripped the paper from the newspaper and stood up quickly—I got to show this to Liz!

—Maybe it's not the best time...—Lincoln tried to persuade her, breathing slowly to avoid reacting quickly if Gwen tried to hit him—She already left, didn't she?—he said as he didn't feel anything.

—Yup—Peter said, closing the paper and started to read it.—Funny, our parents used to think of this as the news outlet and now even to touch one is strange.

—You ever thought about what it was like before?—Lincoln said, looking up at the sky—Imagine riding a dinosaur.

—It sounds ridiculous.—Clyde laughed.

—Even I have to admit that the newspaper is out of date.—said Liam as he took a bite of his raw potato.

Peter kept flipping through the paper as if he was looking for something important, he found a note about looking for a replacement for an "Eddie Brock" who was a Spider-kid photographer at the Daily Buggle. Peter deduced that they hadn't seen his picture yet, he was sure that with his abilities they were going to hire him. He flipped the page, going to one on justice and law, which he normally would have ignored, but then he saw that face... His skin went pale, and he began to grit his teeth.

—Peter? —Clyde panicked, pushing his leftover food as far away as possible, as if fearing it might be contagious.

—What happened?—Lincoln asked, picking up the newspaper and seeing nothing unusual, until he suddenly read the headline of one of the news stories—Marcus Flint escapes from prison for a second time.—He said aloud, at first not understanding, until seeing that face also made Lincoln's skin turn pale.

—What? Who is Marcus Flint?—Clyde said blankly as he and Liam read the headline.

—Lincoln, I need to talk to you in private.—Peter said, getting up—Now.

—I'm glad you said that.—Lincoln also got up and ate most of his apple in one bite. —Clyde, Liam, see you again in class.—He said trying to smile, but he looked tense.

They both went quickly up to the roof, once on top Lincoln took a metal bar and put it on the handle of the only entrance. He used to do that every time he had to change from Spider-kid to Lincoln Loud. But this time he didn't need that alter ego, he needed to support his friend.

—Tell me everything again. —Peter said, as he circled the roof and chewed his nails.

—Peter, I don't think that...

—Loud, you're talking about my uncle's memory.—Peter looked at him angrily, —Tell me all about it again.

—I can catch him. —Lincoln said, pointing to the web-shooters.

—And what are you going to do? Take him to those incompetent people who call themselves officers? —Peter said, sitting down on the ledge, he didn't care if he fell, he just wanted to scream and get off his chest—AHHHH!

His scream, although heard by several students, most couldn't even imagine where it was coming from, it was hard to believe there were students on the roof, usually a ladder was needed to get there, but when Lincoln has cobwebs that climb becomes just a matter of sticking to him.

—I know what you want Peter, and it's not going to happen.—Lincoln said, putting both feet on the ledge and looking at the ground, if he hadn't been so many times already at the edge of buildings, he would be feeling like if he were about to fall at any moment.

—Just once, that man doesn't deserve to live...—Peter tried to speak but cut himself off.

—Benjamin Parker would never wanted his nephew to say those words!—Lincoln raised his voice—Peter, even if you had these stupid powers, I wouldn't let you go after that guy, I know what you're capable of.—Lincoln sitting down beside him and looking at the dirty city in all its splendor.—I'm going to catch him coming out of the school

—So he can escape again?—Peter asked, closing his eyes and leaning back against the ceiling, while his feet dangled into the void—What's the point? He'll escape.

—We'll get him again. —Lincoln said convinced—I'm surprised the police caught himagain, I never knew he escaped the first time.—He had to admit, although he was beginning to think about something that happened a couple of weeks ago, concerning a jewelry store.

—Tell me again.—Peter repeated, looking at the gray clouds.

—It won't do you any good.—Lincoln put himself in the same position.

—It will make me release the tears I need right now.—Peter said serenely—And then you'll hunt the son of a bitch down later.

"It's useless to say"

Lincoln somersaulted through the air after jumping onto another building, the more he tested these new powers the more he felt that he was truly alive. Although he still didn't fully understand the world he was trying to get into, for the first time he could consider himself on par with his childhood hero, Ace Savvy. And even more powerful.

He could even be admired like the Fantastic Four or Tony Stark. The world was at his palm, any ordinary person would have no choice but to obey him... And no one had to know, it was going to be his most private secret. If it weren't for the fact that his stomach was growling.

—Oh come on, jumping between buildings shouldn't make me so hungry.—He tried to talk to himself as he walked down the wall of a four-story building.

To his surprise, when he reached the main street he found an open store, it was past three in the morning. He instinctively went downstairs without taking off his jacket, even though it was summer she didn't want anyone to see his white hair while he was jumping between rooftops, maybe he should think about a hat... Or a full head mask.

It was a convenience store where there was only the cashier and a tall gentleman heating popcorn in the back, so he didn't even flinch at greeting the cashier, he just moved around freely until he got to the muffin aisle and reached for something sweet, it was the middle of summer, what did it matter if he didn't wake up until after noon? As long as his family didn't know, everything would be fine.

Maybe Lincoln would never have seen anything if he had taken the apple pie in a bag and paid to keep walking the rooftops. But that time everything was different. He went for a soda to go with his late-night meal, and as he rummaged around to see if he could find an orange-flavored soda or energy drink, when suddenly he was surprised.

—Ah!—Lincoln felt a strange sensation run through his body that he had never felt before.

—Excuse me, young man, I just can't read this...—spoke an older man wearing reading glasses—Wait a minute, Lincoln? Lincoln Loud? What are you doing here at this time, boy?

There was Ben Parker, minutes before his death, berating Lincoln for catching him at three in the morning rummaging for a soda. The boy first felt fear, then anger, if he told his parents about his night out, he would be in troubles. At that moment he tried to think of plans how to hit him so hard on the head that he would forget everything.

Although those details never appeared in the version he told Peter, they were lurid details he wasn't proud of.

—What are you doing here, Mr. Parker?—Lincoln said annoyed.

—Ha, save your questions, how disappointing.—the man shacked his head while with one hand took him by the wrist and with the other he took a box of pills, that he couldn't read the tag—You're eleven years old, young man, Peter hangs out with you, what kind of trouble are you making at such hours? Aren't you ashamed?

Lincoln didn't answer and stared at the floor with his face completely red from the humiliation he was feeling, thinking that he wouldn't be allowed to see the sunlight again, unless it was for school.

—You have a lot of sisters, from what Peter tells me, what do you think they would think if they saw you like this?

They both arrived in front of the cashier at the same time Uncle Ben full of indignation grabbed his wallet in a volatile manner and dropped a single hundred-dollar bill, along with medicine that looked like it was for someone with diarrhea.

The cashier seemed so used to the scene of a parent scolding a child that he even avoided making any kind of comment, only setting aside the items Lincoln had purchased, causing the child's gut to growl.

—That's seventeen dollars and twenty-two cents.—the clerk said automatically, accepting the hundred-dollar bill and started to get the change.

—I came to get medicine for my Peter because he is very sick and I find that one of his friends is a juvenile delinquent, can you believe it?—Uncle Ben asks indignantly—Not like Peter, he's a good boy.

—Peter is sick?—Lincoln asked quizzically.

—The adults are talking.—Uncle Ben said, taking the change and putting it in his wallet as he shivered—I should take you straight to the police station.

—Are you going to kidnap me to do that?—Lincoln said, showing his teeth due to how angry he felt.

The customer who was preparing his food in the back approached the cash register a little too patiently, waiting for the arguing father and son to walk out the door.

They finally got out, Mr. Parker's car was parked out front, so he opened the passenger door for Lincoln.

—What are you waiting for?—he said, annoyed.

—My parents told me not to get into strangers' cars.—Lincoln said fuming in anger,of course, every time he told Peter the story, he always agreed at first while crying with regret.

If Lincoln had gone in, it would have been a different story, perhaps it would never have occurred to him to risk his life on a daily basis in the first place, but the point was that the past is unalterable and although in perspective a tragic event might seem avoidable, it is not. What happened in the past cannot be altered.

They were arguing the two of them on a street barely illuminated of flickering streetlights, in front of a car with an open door. Both Lincoln and Ben were showing teeth. Ben just wanted to send him home and have a long talk with his parents, while Lincoln didn't even know what he wanted, being doomed to confess to his night outs anyway.

A shot was heard from the inside, later Lincoln would learn that the clerk was not hurt, but he never told the story of both arguing, the bullet passed so close to them that it took him a long time to speak again.

—Get in the car.—Ben ordered, this time without a hint of authority in his voice.

—No—Lincoln said, walking toward the store to try to stop the thief.

Ben propelled himself away, slamming the car door and causing them both to fall straight onto the floor of the entryway. The sliding doors were opened in the middle of the darkness, causing the figure to step out and point at them as his hands trembled.

—Get up you two!—commanded the man who would come to be known as Marcus Flint, Ben Parker's killer—Now!

Both Lincoln and Ben obeyed and began walking backwards to the alley that would change everything.

—Please let the child go—Ben pleaded in a desperate attempt.

—You have a car! The keys!—Marcus shouted, pointing the gun.

Lincoln would later learn to dodge bullets, but at that time he didn't even know the extent of his strength or speed, he was so sure that unless he could engage him hand-to-hand, he had nothing to do.

—But let the boy go first. I'll give you all my money and the keys, but please let him go...—he practically begged with tears.

Every time he thought these words Lincoln's throat closed. And tears invaded his eyes, inevitably that did not change anything.

—Nobody gives me conditions!—Marcus shouted in annoyance, pushing Ben Parker to the bottom of the alley and causing him to fall into a stagnant puddle.

—Mr. Parker!—Lincoln shouted, trying to move, but his hands were stuck to the brick wall.

—You think you're funny, old man?—the thief shouted, full of uncontainable fury,—Give me the f*cking keys!

—Let the child go!

—DON'T GIVE ME ORDERS!

Lincoln finally managed to rip the bricks from the building, and threw himself on the thief to knock him down. Without calculating that this act caused the man's to accidentally press the trigger and fire in the direction he had pointed moments before.

The thief wasn't going to give up easily, he began to shoot in Lincoln's direction, the boy felt a chill sensation through his body, so he began to walk along the wall until Marcus stopped shooting in disbelief that the boy didn't fall. Lincoln jumped up and put his right foot forward to hit the criminal right in the head, pinning him down. Marcus hit his head against the floor, he's not going to move for a long time.

—I don't think I know hold to hold myself...—Lincoln said trying to sound calm, that's what Luan had told him to: every time you felt afraid, tell a joke—Mr. Parker, I can explain all this, you see...

He turned around, only to find the man was lying in the middle of the alley, breathing heavily and with a trickle of blood running from his mouth to his neck.

—Mr. Parker...

Lincoln knelt beside the man without daring to touch him, holding both hands to his head and with tears streaming down his face as he tried to think of a solution. He never thought someone could bleed so much, and that it would run so fast, in the movies there was always time to do something before it started pouring out... Benjamin Parker painstakingly raised his right arm and stroked his cheek.

—So, you're special and agile as a spider... Like that kid they were talking about on TV...—he said with one of his last breaths—Spider-Kid, right?

—Yeah—Lincoln said, trying to smile, but unable to as thicker tears streamed down his face.

—You ripped two bricks...—Ben said looking at the starless sky—I think I understand now why you were out so late in the middle of the city, if anyone knew about it, they would have you arrested...—he said with regret.

—It's my fault.—Lincoln said angry that Ben was blaming himself—Please be strong Mr. Parker, don't die, don't die... I already saw my grandfather die, I can't, not again, it can't be my fault all over again.

—No, no...—the man spoke while blood came out of his mouth and his hands fell to the ground, they were too heavy to be lifted, in his stomach the blood stain was getting bigger and deeper—Just promise me one thing.

—Anything.—Lincoln answered in desperation.

—Take care of Peter.—thatwas the beginning of the last sentence he would ever be able to say—He is a good boy... Let him help you to control your abilities, he will understand…—he said closing his eyes and breathing in pain—Tell him that his uncle will always love him and don't blame yourself, you tried to save me… explain him as many times as necessary, until he gets into his head, he's a Parker, sometimes I forget how tenacious we are... Ha ha ha ha... But I'm scared for him.—he said with a sad smile—Promise me that you both will keep these things from happening to other people, I think you're a good boy too Lincoln... And I believe that with the right guidance two boys like you will achieve great things. I saw what you did... You just need experience, and Peter, he's like a son, I know you'll take care of him... Promise me you'll take care of him, whatever it takes.

—I promise, but why do I have to tell him the secret?—Lincoln asked without ever getting an answer, at least not from the man who had just died in front of him.

The deathly silence was what frightened Lincoln the most and he couldn't even throw himself on the body to hug it because he felt that his chest would kill him with pain. If he hadn't tried to play hero, Mr. Parker would be alive... Lincoln had failed Ben Parker, just as he had failed his grandfather. Although, there was nothing he could do about it that time, now, he was directly responsible.

Lincoln stood crying until the police was heard in the distance, he had no choice but to climb over a wall while covering his entire face so he would not be recognized. He could see flashlights pointing in his direction until he was already on top. Then he ran, ran the hell out until he got back to his house.

But nothing would ever be the same for Lincoln.

"So I'll just live my life, in dreams of yesterday"

—While you were with him on his deathbed, I was mentally insulting him for not hurrying up with some stupid pills.—Peter said, removing his glasses to wipe away his tears.

—I never understood why he wanted me to get you involved.—Lincoln said, pulling his hair back in the same way months after that night.

—I think he thought you were going to protect me while he was gone and maybe that would give me something to do to make up for losing him.—Peter said looking at one last cloud—Will you keep your promise Lincoln? I mean, I don't need you to take care of me, but this whole spider thing it's as important for me as much as it is to you.

—You know I will, bud.—Lincoln said closing his eyes trying to erase the guilt he felt for the lies—It was one of those promises you can't break.

Peter calmly got back to his feet and turned back to the lower part of the school.

—Thank you Lincoln, I can always rely on you.—Peter said smiling again.

Lincoln smiled back as his stomach churned. Of course, Peter couldn't see the blood on his hands or the lies squeezing his heart.

Both returned downstairs.

"Those happy hours"

Materializing her entire body behind the wall at her school left Carol exhausted. She had difficulty getting up, feeling a horrible headache, but there was no time to waste, within seconds she was able to start running. Knowing that the entire high school and police were out to get her, she needed to blend in with the crowd in downtown New York.

She didn't know that precisely that idea must have crossed the minds of her persecutors, since as she was boarding a crowded subway heading downtown, policemen came down the subway stairs. These policemen looked from one side to the other, searching for a girl with her description, but the train had already begun to move and Carol could see how these men disappeared at the distance, while a man in his forties tried to take advantage of the fact that she was stuck to a window to get close to her.

—What? —she said, realizing that she was practically being suffocated by his breath—Excuse me, could you move a little?—she said, taking something from her handbag to wipe off her smudged makeup.

—We're too tight, girl, don't think only of yourself. —The man justified himself, although visibly there was plenty of room, he didn't need to be practically rubbing Carol's shoulder.

—Hey, freak! —a woman who was sitting close to them exclaimed—Leave the girl alone!

In a normal situation Carol would have made a fuss, that kind of behavior was gross, but this was not a normal situation. She looked around and saw a guy, a couple feet away, that started to take out his cell phone to record the possible dispute.

If anyone got to see her on the video, her whole escape plan would be ruined, she didn't have much choice, so she clung to the man's waist and hid her face in his chest. The man did not miss the opportunity and grabbed her by the hips.

Carol looked back at the man who had pulled out his cell phone to record, who slyly put it back down and looked away. Same with the woman who tried to defend her by yelling at the guy; she turned her face red and looked away.

Carol went hugging that guy until she had to get out of the train, but as she tried to pull away the man grabbed her hand, smiling calmly, while she broke out in a cold sweat. They both walked out of the subway holding hands. Carol couldn't scream, she had to avoid any way she could draw attention to herself, so she had to confront this quietly.

—I hate you.—She said in an annoyed whisper—Don't you have anything better to do with your life?

—When you see an opportunity like this, you take it, cutie.—the man took her hips again to be closer—If you don't like it, then what does this mean?

It was hard for the girl to look from one side to the other, even more so with that idiot practically forcing her to be glued to him. This fixation with looking around was noticed by the man.

—If you want to run away from someone hottie, first rule, learn how to act. —He said as they left the subway and started walking down the main street.

For a second Carol doubted whether it was possible to escape without making a scene, but now the man knew her status as a fugitive. She just had to wait long enough to get rid of him.

—I know a nice motel nearby, if you're smart enough I can get you protection from the Kingpin himself. —He said, causing Carol to definitely start to get out of control as they were in a sea of heads—Come on do it, get caught and...

For a second, he stopped feeling the wrist where he was hugging Carol, before he saw the girl start to walk away through the crowd. The girl knew the guy was going to chase her all over town if necessary, so she risked walking on without stopping, going down alleys several times. Turning around in every corner for make sure he wasn't following, at least she was going to take that idiot's advice, whenever she thought she had lost him, she would turn a corner and there he was.

Finally, in the middle of everything, she had an idea, she went into Central Park and hid in some bushes halfway from one exit to another. She managed to find an area large enough for her to get in without being seen from the outside. And she stood looking down the path from where she came.

Almost half an hour passed, in which the most noteworthy thing was that a dog tried to approach her hiding place, but the owner took it away before it got close. She thought it was finally safe, when suddenly she heard someone running, even knowing perfectly well that it could be just another person in the crowd, she stood still. Before her eyes, with a lot of sweat on his forehead, appeared the guy who tried to abuse her. Luckily for her, the man had completely lost track because he passed by the area without looking, after this she went to check under some bridges and continued her way.

Carol's stomach roared, but at least she could consider herself safe, a feeling she would learn to forget.

"That we once knew"

She had to jump into the sea water just to get rid of the bad smell after the first week, for normal person, that would have been practically suicide, because there were not many beaches to get out the water easily, in New York there were more wooden harbors and strong currents. But for the girl it was nothing, she just dived in and swam while running her hands through her hair to get rid of the grease. Of course, the waters in New York were not the cleanest in the world, and she would have really liked to take off her clothes because even though she was wet she still felt stinky.

Once she finished, she approached a wooden dock and closed her eyes to concentrate. In a matter of a second, she went from being on the bottom of the dock to being upside. She still had traces of salt water all over her body, but that was better than any other smell in the sewers of New York.

Knowing how late it was, she headed for her refuge in some abandoned warehouses. Time had ceased to make sense to her, even though it was dangerous to go out during the day and the night was her friend. She didn't have school, no hang outs with friends, she couldn't even shop for some new clothes. She only had herself and her superhuman abilities, the last one being more trained due to having a lot of free time and nothing to lose.

At least up to a certain point. Simple things like transporting parts of her body were relatively easy. She could practically go for hours without her hands on her body. She discovered some time ago that she could transport internal parts as well, and it didn't damage her.

That happened one night when she was hungry and her guts sounded too loud and they were clenching. She wished for a single second to squeeze them to shut them up and then she had for almost twenty minutes her own guts in her hands. The touch was strange, since even though they were outside, she could still feel them inside. She took one of the ends of the intestines and began to lightly touch the inside.

The organ was still fully functional, and she felt as if she had terrible colic. After that she thought about having them back in, but the feeling did not improve. She was sleepless all that night.

The next morning, she got a newspaper and read the news. It was so strange, the whole world was still going on, just without her. As if she wasn't important. The only interesting thing she found was more news about that spider boy who caused a lot of car accidents during a car chase. Nothing of importance to her, until she got to the missing persons section and found her own face.

It was like looking into a mirror, or at least a deformed one. In that mirror Carol had straight hair, not fluffy. She also dressed quite well and had a confident look. All that was left of that looks was the debris of her old clothes in unrecognizable colors and terrible dark circles under her eyes. She decided to return to her shelter, without doing her daily dumpster diving.

She got startled when she heard something fall, she almost ran to go into hiding, until he saw that the object that had fallen was a stone. A stone that a black cat was playing with in her shelter. The cat was startled when she closed the door and stared at her as Carol sat a couple of feet away, while those piercing eyes pursued her.

—Keep playing silly kitty.—She spoke for the first time in days.

To her surprise the cat walked to her and jumped on top of her lap and began to play with her hair. In another time, Carol would have stopped the cat, but that no longer mattered. She lay down and allowed herself to sleep while the kitty stroked her hair.

—I finally had company.

"Tho' long ago"

This was a happy day, Carol had eaten three slices of pizza, just stealing them, she must tell someone, and not just the black kitty Schrödinger, she felt the need to talk to another human. So, taking advantage of her ability, she walked through the city center, and waited for some lady with a big handbag to pass by and transported her hand inside. She could perfectly feel the inside of it, until she touched something like a wallet.

If she was honest, she would admit that messed up seven times before getting the money. Sometimes, she would end up stealing makeup kits accidentally. She could feel, but not see. Once she took the wallet with her hand, she discovered almost five hundred dollars.

Who cared if that woman couldn't pay for something? Carol had survived two weeks on the street! If she had to steal to live, she would steal. She could no longer try to do the right thing in a society that would try to lock her up just because she was born different.

But she was no fool, she knew that, if she walked into a random store, looking like a homeless and with that much money, they would instantly think she stole them... Then, why pay for those stupid clothes? She approached the window of a fashion store and pretended to lie down on the sidewalk for money. While inside the store one of her hands clutched something that was shaped like pants and her other hand grabbed a jacket. Carol walked to a nearby alley and hauled her hands back again, getting a pair of black leather pants and a black men's jacket. At least her hands were still stylish. She took of her old shirt and zipped up the jacket to hide her bare breasts and then, she finally walked out into the street, knowing her hair look must be terrible, but other than that, no one turned to look at her, she was back to being part of the crowd.

She allowed herself to look for a nearby motel, paradoxically a five-minute walk from the subway station where that guy had tried to grope her. Only this time she was carrying alcohol and a pained back from sleeping on the floor.

Unlike clothes, or beers, she couldn't steal a motel room, so she went inside and paid for it. At first, she was afraid they would ask for identification, since all her papers must still be at home or in the backpack she left at school. But no, just by showing the money, nothing else mattered.

That night she took off her clothes and finally got into a shower with water that wasn't freezing. Feeling the blood running properly through her body again, and she let her hair feel the blessings of shampoo again, she finally smelled nice after all.

When she finished the bath, she asked for room service a "deluxe" dinner, which was just hot dog with a soda. She practically cried when she felt the taste of bread again without being hard or soaked by other liquids inside a garbage bag.

She turned on the television as she felt the sugar rush of a fizzy co*ke again. From the television they were talking about an attack on a rare tower in downtown New York, relatively close to where she was. In most newspapers there was also a picture of that spider boy who was apparently involved in the attack.

But what surprised her was to hear the speech of a red-haired man, who must clearly be the owner of the attacked building. She could feel the anger in his words and even as everyone outside the building cheered him at his, disgusting xenophobic, racist, and other kinds of terrible words: speech.

—Norman for mayor! No more mutants!—a chorus reached the girl ears.

She turned off the television, if she could feel any nostalgia for her old life, with that broadcast, she lost all interest. What good would it do if she ever tried to go back to her life? If the whole city was going to hate her and ask for demise? She could no longer be Carol.

She wished she had the black cat stroking her hair again, she would have felt so much better if little Schrödinger was with her. But she hadn't seen him in days, he probably just went back to his owners, or lived his life on the streets without remembering her. Or maybe the cat was female and was taking care of her little kitties. Why did it matter?

She was alone again... But at least this time she had clothes, a place to sleep, even if it was only for one night... Or more if she just decided to perfect her robbery techniques... No more mutants? Nonsense!

—No more normals…—she started to hum as she sank into the pillow.

"They still make me blue"

She woke up even more sore in the back than before, but she supposed that must be good, her bones might be trying to reaccommodate or something similar, she had enough money to stay three days in that motel. Thus, she put her clothes back on, deciding that this time she would steal lingerie, she kinda wanted to know what it felt like to wear it, but if her parents knew about it, they would've had a heart attack... She missed her parents, and oddly enough her friend Lori, last night she had seen the last name "Loud" as part of the victims in the incident.

She intended to go to her friend's house, maybe to see her from the backyard, but knowing that she couldn't hide much in a suburban area, she decided check in the direction of the disaster at Oscorp. Surprisingly there were still policemen asking people to stay away, while up above she could see how they were already rebuilding the disaster, she thought rebuilding would take a long time, but she didn't really care about it. She approached a chubby policeman with a kindly face.

—Officer, officer.—She felt her own voice sound sweeter and at the same time shakier than usual, possibly because he was nervous about talking to someone again.

The Official Harold McBride turned away from what he was doing and asked a colleague next to him for time to attend to the girl.

—Good morning, ma'am, sorry, but you have to stay away from the scene. —he said, raising a hand.

—No, you don't understand, you see.—she started to think of an excuse, at least he did not recognize her—I heard yesterday about the incident and I had to see it with my own eyes... —seeing that the officer was going to tell her again to leave, she continued quicky—The last name of a friend of mine was among the injured.

For a second, Officer McBride began to examine Carol. Although she was clean again, she was very different from the little girl who had escaped from the high school two weeks earlier, so he didn't recognize her at all.

—I imagine the last name was Loud.—He finally said.

—Yeah, they are such a large family.—Carol added, remembering that Lori had at least seven sisters. —I haven't spoken to my friend Luna in years... Or was it Luan? Ah, years. I totally lost touch, but, seeing that name on the news, it all came back to me, you know?

—I can understand the effect of something like this. But I don't understand, what exactly do you want? The one who got hurt was little Lisa Loud, she is hospitalized.

—I wanted to ask that very question; I want to give her my condolences in person. —she admitted—If you could tell me which hospital they are so I can visit them that would make you the best officer in the world.

The man examined Carol again, as if looking for any weapon or ill intent in her face, but Carol had legitimate good intentions.

—Alright, but keep in mind that if anything happens to the Loud family, I have a photographic memory, and I won't rest until I find you.—the man said with a cold smile.

—It's your duty, isn't it?—she took a notepad and a pen that she stole in one of her failed attempts—I'll wait for her in the waiting room, and I think it would be more normal than going to her house, they might get scared if they found out that I discovered their personal information, with so many bad people out there.

Later in the day, Carol was on her way to the hospital, but she stopped at a blue phone booth, a surprise that one of these still exist, but it was an opportunity, she took a few pennies from her leather jacket and dialed a certain number. She heard the voice.

—Hello?

—Mom... —she said, looking from one side to the other—It's me, Carol.

—CAROL! —the woman at the other side of the call shouted and started to talk with a worried tone—Come back home! We'll protect you from those idiots who are trying to lock you up! We'll move! We'll hide you! Anything!

—Shuuuu—she got nervous with the shouts, so tried to get her mother to be quiet—I don't know if they are recording this or trying to locate me, but it doesn't matter, I just wanted to say goodbye... I would have liked to do it also with daddy but...—She said crying—Just to let you know, that I will no longer "exist".

—WHAT?—the woman shouted.

—I'm going to kill myself. —She admitted ahalf-truth—Don't try to look for me, have a funeral, a nice one if you can, because today I'll cease to exist, I cannot longer exist in world full of bigotry.

—NOOOO!—the woman shouted on the phone—Please! Not my daughter!

—I have no choice, and you know it.—she said between cries—I love you, tell dad not to sell my stuff... And remember that song we always sang when we went to church.Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, by and by? Is a better home awaiting in the sky, in the skyyy?.—She sang, causing her mother to stop crying—Love you.

She hung up the phone and began to run in the direction of the hospital as she wiped away her tears, the only other person worth saying goodbye was her friend Lori. At least she was reassured that her mother had understood the final message, the church "El Cielo", where she would go one Sunday just as she did when were a kid, she allowed herself to remember those pleasant afternoons while playing in that church with a fellow Catholic, Matt Murdor, or something, she remembered more than anything that the boy despite being blind was quite a bit more agile than she was. That boy was a couple years older than her, and they always hung out together, until of course Carol grew up and the church stopped being important to her. She missed those days, but now "El Cielo" was the perfect place to find her family without police.

While she was in the waiting room of the hospital, she realized that when she was twelve or thirteen, she forgot many people who had been important in her life, all for the sake of being important and popular. All of that came to an end because of an oversight. So many years betraying herself, to end up like that, stealing the wallet from a woman's purse several seats away and putting it inside the pocket of her leather jacket, then counting the money.

Finally, through the door, she saw Lori Loud appear, walking hand in hand with her boyfriend Roberto…. or something like that. She decided she could talk to both of them, and since they didn't seem to be accompanied, she called for them.

—Lori!

The girl turned around only to open her eyes wide and burst into genuine smile. Not paying attention of where they were, they both ran to give each other a tight hug without saying a word. Unlike Officer McBride, Lori could never confuse her friend.

—Carol, what are you doing here? You shouldn't…—Lori said, worried and letting go of the hug—I'm sorry, it's all so confusing.

—Is she really Carol?—Bobby greeted her from a distance—How have you been?

—Terrible—she replied—But I heard that your little sister Lisa was hurt in yesterday's attack, and I thought it was a good idea to look for the hospital where she stayed to see you one last time.

—Last time?—Lori asked sadly—No, Carol, come back, everyone misses you at school... I... —Lori couldn't continue, she knew it was a lie.

—I know they're looking for me, maybe not as much as that kid dressed as a spider or others so call heroes.—she tried to make a joke, but it didn't really land—But they want me in a maximum security prison Lori, you and I both know it always ends the same way.

—Maybe not this time.—Lori said enthusiastically, but Bobby grabbed her shoulder and pulled her away from Carol.

—I see that you are a practical man.—the fugitive complimented.

—We knew each other while you and my girlfriend were "worst enemies", I don't know you at all, or maybe I just know your worst side. —he admitted harsly—But I can see how much you've had to endure... And I can see you've done well by yourself.—He winked at her in a fake flirtatious way—Just have to work in your clothes.

—Don't tell me what to wear.—she let out a chuckle—Thanks, both of you, for what you did for me at school. —She finally said—But this this is our goodbye.

—Are you going out of town? —Lori asked excitedly—You know what, don't tell me anything.—She grabbed her by the shoulders—Do whatever you have to do to be free, but, if you ever get lonely, here are my phone and house number. —she wrote down those details—Carol, I think you were a big idiot when you wanted to break our friendship so many years ago. But, if this is the last time we see each other, I want you to know, I will always remember the good things about you.

—The same as her... —Bobby said awkwardly, joining in the embrace.

Carol ended the hug and said goodbye to both, knowing that if they stayed talking any longer, she was going to draw attention to herself. As much as she would have liked to say goodbye to her father, she knew she would do so when she went back to "El Cielo" Church.

But at that meeting, Carol would be dead, that name was not going to fit her anymore, not with this new life she had... Maybe something better would fit her like kitty, or The Cat... No, something more original!

The Schrödinger's Cat.

Yeah, it was kind of long and she didn't even remember who the hell Schrödinger was, or how it was spelled, only that it was one of the last classes she attended, and they said it was something scientific about a cat in a box. The box was New York, and the chance of getting out alive, it was up to her and no one else to decide.

"THEY SAY THAT TIME, HEALS A BROKEN HEART

BUT TIME HAS STOOD STILL, SINCE WE'VE BEEN APART".

That morning seemed normal for Lynn Loud Senior, he woke up an hour earlier than anyone else in his home, prepared breakfast for thirteen people, took a bath and practically ran out of his house, ten minutes before his children woke up. His wife was waiting for him at the door, ready for her daily kiss goodbye.

He listened to one of his favorite songs while driving in the classic New York traffic, at least his mind was now at peace, now that his daughter Lisa was totally safe at home, without going to that stupid Osborn tower.

It was there, in the middle of traffic, when he had no chance to escape reality, that he received a call.

—Eugine?—Lynn asked in surprise—Isn't it a little early for you to call me? I'm barely on my way.—Mr. Loud complained in a joking tone.

—Don't worry about getting here in time. —the man behind the line said.

—What?—asked Mr. Loud without understanding.

—You see, you missed one day last week. —the man tried to explain—And we had cutbacks just yesterday, and out of all the evaluations, you came out the lowest...

—I can't be lower than Jean! —Lynn said indignantly, not seeing that the car in front of him had already moved, and several took advantage of his distraction to get in front—Eugine come on!

—Well, Jean has less performance, but Jean doesn't ask for extra vacation days to "spend it with the family" or have such a high medical insurance, he is single. —The man explained with real sorrow in his voice—Besides he is only twenty...

—I've been loyal to the company for years!—He said, not caring about all the beeps behind his back, Mr. Loud moved, having a hard time not stepping on the accelerator with all his strength.

—And those years will be reflected in your final paycheck.—the other man finally said—It's out of the question Lynn, come get your stuff and your check, there's nothing I could do to defend you, and you of all people know how many times I've done it.

Then Eugine hung up, not hearing that Lynn was crying in frustration. Surely Eugine already knew he was going to cry, and he wasn't going to want to hear it in that low situation. One thing was for sure, Mr. Loud was going to need a lot of money and to get a job in his forties, and with a lot of children to take care off. If Lincoln hadn't run away last week to the street, he could have gone half a working day and he wouldn't have been fired. Of that he was sure, it wasn't exactly Lincoln's fault, but the kid had just picked the worst time to enter his rebellious phase.

—Damn it!—he shouted before crashing into a car because he was thinking about other things, knowing that he was clearly going to have to pay for it, he couldn't take it anymore, he hit the horn while shouting—FUUUUC...!

But his family would not learn of the situation until it was too late and there was no turning back.

"I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU. I said i made up my mind. To live in memory of the lonesome times (Sing this song my children)"

Upon returning to class, Lincoln noticed his friend Gwen looked quite down, she didn't even feel like answering in math, when Gwen was all nerdy about math. She didn't even want to approach her friends. But at least Lincoln could sense that the rest of his friends were getting better.

He met halfway down the hallway with his sister Lynn, who was still watching him, occasionally (no longer daily), to go to school. She was wearing a T-shirt with a rather badly drawn Spider-Kid mask.

—Where did you get that? —Lincoln asked with a laugh.

—They're selling them outside the school Linc, besides, such a cute boy should always be protecting my chest.—she said rather proudly.

Maybe Lynn didn't know, but Lincoln turned totally red with embarrassment, at the same time Peter Parker started laughing as if he had heard the best joke in the world. But neither Clyde, nor the other boy, were laughing; they were watching the scene as confused as she was.

—Oh Peter, you finally got the joke from five minutes ago.—Lincoln came up with the excuse as she grabbed him by both arms and forced him to walk with his face as red as a tomato—See you outside sis!

—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!—Peter continued laughing heartily.

—What's up with those two? —Lynn asked, not understanding this strange behavior, her friends around her only said something like "nerds".

"I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU! It's useless to say, so I'll just live my life in dreams of yesterday. "

It had all been more than a year ago, after Lincoln was bitten by the spider that changed his whole life. Back then he always wore an orange polo shirt, was eleven years old, and always walked hunched over. He was a nerd, as Lynn's friends would describe him throughout his student life, just out of his first year in middle school.

"Dreams of yesterday!"

There was stuff Lincoln hated to remember, and that fateful day of the bite was one of those days. He was simply exhausted. It was bad enough to remember the death of Mr. Ben Parker, as well as to think inwardly about what had happened to his grandfather, to add the spider bite to his worries...

That day he had initiated his new responsibilities, the ones he had failed. He did not deserve the title he earned that day.

That night New York City was left unprotected for the first time in months.

But Lincoln could find that the consequences of not acting could be even more disastrous than acting directly.

To be continued...

The Tangled Web of Lincoln Loud - jva98 (2024)

Chapter 1: Sweet Dreams

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: Here's to never growing up

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Why don't you get a job?

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Chapter 4: Secrets (OneRepublic)

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Chapter 5: Your Best Nightmare

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Chapter 6: I Can't Stop Loving You

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References