In his secret laboratory, Johnathan Rosato was seen working on his latest project. The man looked to be quite excited for what he had in store.
"Not much longer, soon I will have all the power I crave," Johnathan said as he held a vial. "The OZ Formula will be a complete, and I will have all the power that I-"
"Excuse me sir?" Brooke said, interrupting her boss.
"What is it!? Can't you see that I'm busy!?" Johnathan shouted.
"S-sorry," Brooke said. "But I just thought you should know that your new employee is here."
"New employee?" Johnathan took a moment to remember. "Oh yes, that golf buddy of yours. Chet I believe his name is."
"Yes, I'll call him," Brooke turned to the doorway. "Chet! The boss wants to see you!"
Entering the room was a young man around Brooke's age, ready to see Johnathan. "Hello sir. I'm Chet from Fairway University."
"Yes, I do believe I recognize you," Johnathan said. "Welcome aboard, I hear that you're quite capable. Or at least, capable as you can be."
"Right..." Chet nervously looked around the room, not sure what to expect. "So...what exactly does my job entail?"
"Simple, you will be helping me get rid of Spider-Man," Johnathan said.
"Oh right...Brooke mentioned that possibility," Chet said.
"In the process, we'll also rid ourselves of Luan Loud," Brooke said. "It's time we took our dignity back after what she has done to us."
"Of course, we must regain our honor," Chet said.
"I'm happy you feel that way," Johnathan said. "As of today, you are now Jack'O Lantern Number Two."
"Number Two? Who's Number One?" Johnathan asked.
"Me of course," Brooke said as she pulled out her weapon of choice. "I even got myself a nice little hammer to go along with my costume."
"Oh...do I get something?" Chet asked.
"We'll improvise," Johnathan said. "Now, I will need some time before my formula is ready, but I do not wish to wait too long for my grand return. So, here's what we're gong to do..."
Meanwhile at the Royal Woods Hospital, Stella had been rushed into the Emergency Room. The doctors had fully diagnosed her injuries and did what they could to treat her.
For Stella, this was a slightly terrifying moment. Brave as she wanted to be, she couldn't help but recall what happened just earlier. She was critically injured due to an attack from Otto. Her life had been endangered before, but this was a much closer call.
Outside her room, Lisa was waiting for an update on Stella's condition. Rarely did Lisa show much emotion, but after today, she couldn't help but feel a large sense of guilt due to what had happened.
She blamed herself for what happened to Otto, and as such, felt partially responsible for Stella's injury.
"Had I been more careful, none of this would have happened," Lisa lamented. "I hope Stella's injuries aren't too bad."
As she waited, she heard her name being called, "Lisa!"
"Is that Lincoln?" Lisa turned to face the direction of her oncoming brother. He wasn't alone either, as Luna and Luan were with him, all of them joined by Sam and Benny.
"Yo Lease!" Luna called. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Lisa said as she went to greet her brother. Almost to her surprise, Lincoln had immediately pulled her into a hug.
"I'm really glad you're safe, you really had me worried," Lincoln said.
"Yeah, you had us all worried," Luan said. "Going after that guy was not a good move."
"I know, I made a poor judgement call," Lisa said as she pulled away. "But, I needed to atone for my mistakes somehow. The danger only occurred because of something I did. Had I been more careful, then Otto never would have ended up like he did."
"Hey, you can't blame yourself for that," Lincoln said. "Otto made his own choices."
"I'm the one who told him to try the suit on," Lisa clarified. "I just know it did something to him. The Otto I know is too gentle to harm a fly. Plus, this may sound crazy, but it did seem like those arms were talking to him."
"Huh? They talk?" Luan asked.
"I don't know exactly what was happening," Lisa said. "For all I know, Otto was merely just losing his mind."
"The fact that he showed up and invaded a science fair should be more than enough proof that he was losing his mind," Luan said.
"Yes, I suppose so," Lisa admitted.
Lincoln knelt before his sister, placing his hand on her shoulder, "And don't worry about anything else. Spider-Man will find Otto, and maybe we can get those things off of him. For all we know, it might turn him back to normal."
"Yes...of course," Lisa said, the girl now running some calculations through her head. "With any luck, I might be able to come up with ways to safely remove those libs from Otto's being."
"You'll think of something," Sam said. "For now, we should check on Stella."
"She's still with the doctors," Lisa said. "She should be ready for visitors soon."
"Well we got something to cheer her up," Benny said as he pulled out a basket. "Some chocolates. After all, what kid doesn't enjoy sweets?"
"She's actually not allowed to have sweets," Lincoln said. "Stella's parents are very strict when it comes to her diet."
"Oh, seriously?" Benny asked. "That's a bummer. I guess I should get rid of these then."
"Or...you can just leave them in our house," Luan said. "My sisters and I will find a perfect use for them."
"Yeah, they'll go to a needy cause," Luna said.
"Precisely, we have this under control," Lisa said.
Lincoln furrowed his brow in annoyance. Even in the middle of a crisis, his sisters will never truly change.
Seconds later, a doctor opened the door, "You may come in, but be careful and do not disrupt the patient too much."
Everyone walked into the room where Stella was waiting. She was seen on her laptop, seemingly researching something when she saw her visitors.
"Oh, hey everyone," Stella placed her laptop away.
"Stella!" Lincoln ran to her side, evident worry on the boy's face. "How are you feeling?"
"I could be better," Stella said as she rubbed her stomach in pain. "Unfortunately, the doctors said I have some broken ribs."
"Broken ribs?" Luan leaned right by Stella's side. "I'm so sorry to hear that."
"You're one tough kid to handle something like that," Sam said.
"Well she was a goalie once," Lincoln said.
"Tch, blocking a soccer ball isn't exactly the same as taking a blow to the abs by some mettalic freak," Stella said, then held her stomach in pain. "Geez...this is going to take some...getting used to..."
"Perhaps we should not make her talk too much," Lisa said.
"It's fine, I just need to be mindful of...just how much I speak," Stella said. "Seriously, I can handle pain."
"So long as you're alright," Benny said as he held out the basket. "We got this for you, but then Lincoln told us that your parents have you on a diet and-"
"Oh screw that!" Stella took the basket and immediately began munching on some chocolate. "I broke my ribs today, I'm eating sweets."
"Dang..." Luna said, before earning a few glares. "...Girl, you got some passion."
"You sure do..." Luan said. "But maybe dial it back, you could get sick from eating so much chocolate."
"It helps me feel better," Stella said as she wiped her mouth. "Really could use some milk though."
"I thought ahead," Sam said as she pulled a carton out from her vest. "Drink up, kiddo."
"Thanks," Stella began chugging the milk down, wiping her mouth yet again, not even caring how dirty she was getting. "So...any sign of Otto?'
"None, he's gone without a trace," Benny said. "Which means he'll probably be back."
"I'm kind of disappointed," Luan said. "Spider-Man usually does such a good job catching these bad guys. But he let some of the most dangerous ones get away. Between that Goblin guy, that scary tiger looking mutant, and now Otto, these guys could come back stronger than before."
Lincoln clenched his fists, thinking about how now more people are in potential danger due to his failure to catch these crooks.
"To be fair, he catches more than he loses," Benny said. "Just recently he stopped La Tigressa."
"Exactly, Spidey will have a second chance soon," Luan said. "No way that grimy old, Doctor Octopus is going to avoid justice forever!"
"Think that name's going to stick?" Benny asked.
"As sticky as his tentacles," Luan said.
"Well with a name like Octavius...it seems inevitable," Stella said.
"Feels like a mouthful though," Sam said.
"Maybe we can call him 'Doc Ock' for short?" Benny suggested.
"That totally works," Luna said. "Doc Ock and his creepy tentacles are no match for Spider-Man."
"That reminds me...I gotta yell at my brother for stuff that he watches," Sam said.
"...Yo Linc," Luna began.
"Don't ask, I already know what you're going to say," Lincoln said. "And no, I do not have a weird sense of entertainment."
"...I'm still so confused," Lisa said. "I really hate that feeling."
"Take it from me, Lisa. There are some things you're better off not knowing about," Stella said. "Now, if you all don't mind, I'd like to speak to Lincoln in private about something."
"Oh? That so?" Luna asked. She glanced at Luan, then Sam, before focusing back on Stella. "We'll leave you to your privacy."
"Before I leave," Lisa focused heavily on Stella. "I appreciate you being so understanding of my plights, and your quickness to forgive my mistakes. But I still wish to atone for what I had done. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."
"I can't ask for you anything...I just care that you're safe," Stella said. "But, if you ever want to work to work together on something...I'd love to have a partner like you."
This offer was baffling in Lisa's mind, "Stella, my last partner went insane. Do you honestly trust me?"
"Hey, all scientists learn from their mistakes...don't they?" Stella asked. "Besides, if I feel unsafe about something... I will let you know. I trust you'll be willing to listen this time around too."
"Of course, I will not repeat my misnomer," Lisa insisted.
"That's good," Stella said.
"We've taken enough of Stella's time, let's give her a moment with Lincoln," Luan said.
"Yeah, come on y'all," Luna said as she led everyone out of the room. "When you're done Lincoln, meet us in the cafeteria."
"Sure," Lincoln said.
Once alone, Stella took one final look around to make sure no one was around. The doctors left to give everyone some privacy, allowing it to just be the two of them.
"Hey, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you Stella," Lincoln said.
"It's fine, it was my fault for throwing myself in danger," Stella said. "You'd think I'd learn after that encounter with Sabretooth...Guess I'm just too stubborn."
"You were trying to protect Lisa, that means a lot to me," Lincoln said.
"It's nothing really...she's a little girl who needed help...I had to do something," Stella said. "Sounds like Otto got away though."
"Unfortunately he did," Lincoln lamented. "He took Lisa hostage and at that moment, I was more focused on trying to save her than capturing him."
"Hey, you can't fault yourself," Stella said. "It's a hero's job to save lives...and it's a big brother's job to protect his little sister."
"Yeah, I obviously don't regret saving Lisa, but I should have tried stopping Otto regardless," Lincoln said.
"Next time," Stella reassured as she placed her hand on Lincoln's to reassure him. "It's not over yet, don't give up hope."
"...Right, of course," Lincoln said.
"And thanks for coming to check on me..." Stella bashfully brushed her hair back. "It means a lot."
"Of course, you're one of my best friends," Lincoln said. "Christina would be here too if she could, but she had to go check on Paige."
"I perfectly understand that," Stella said.
"...Seems like one of my sisters is potentially blackmailing her though," Lincoln admitted.
"What!? Who!?" Stella asked. "Is it Lola!?"
"Good guess, but no," Lincoln said. "It's Luna."
"Luna?" Stella asked. "But she's so chill."
"I'll get to the bottom of it," Lincoln said. "It'll be fine though, there's no way she would blab. My sisters would never forgive her."
"Still, that's not okay," Stella said. "I know Luna's better than that."
"Wow, you really have faith in my sisters," Lincoln said. "Luna's more mature than the others usually, but don't let that distract you from the fact that she can and will use underhanded tactics to get what she wants. Luna can be just as selfish as anyone in my family when pushed hard enough."
"Wow...I did not expect to hear that," Stella said. "
"Just be careful who you trust," Lincoln said.
"I will...by the way, I think Lisa's onto your secret," Stella said.
"I figured," Lincoln replied. "Don't worry, I can throw her off the trial, I just gotta be creative."
"Maybe we should tell her?" Stella suggested.
"No, I can't," Lincoln said. "It would be too weird, especially knowing that she tried to capture me for experimentation."
"I suppose so," Stella said.
"Let me worry about the thing with Lisa, I got a plan," Lincoln said as he got up. "I'll let you rest up. Feel better soon."
"Sure, bye Lincoln," Stella said as the boy left. She began letting her mind wander. "So sweet of him to come check on me. I'm really lucky to have Lincoln by my side."
Out in the halls, Lincoln was on his way to the cafeteria while having his own thoughts, "I still can't believe I let Stella get hurt. More so, I can't believe I let another villain escape, and after taking my sister hostage too. I gotta be better!"
As he walked down the hall, he heard a loud and angry voice calling his name, "Lincoln Albert Loud!"
"Huh!?" Lincoln looked up and saw his eldest sister. "Lori!?"
"Where the hell have you been!?" Lori shouted while getting in Lincoln's face. "You were supposed to be back at the restaurant hours ago!"
"I was visiting my friend in the hospital!" Lincoln fired back.
"Don't even try that! You left way before anything happened!" Lori shouted. "What's the big idea blowing off your responsibilities!?'
"Lori!" Leni called as she marched over. "You really shouldn't yell in a hospital. The sign out front said so."
"Save it Leni, I'm trying to teach a lesson to our selfish little brother here!" Lori said.
"Selfish!?" Lincoln replied in disbelief.
"Yes selfish!" Lori shouted. "Because of you, our orders were backed up! I had to give the delivery job Zach! And he messed up every order!"
Lincoln sighed in annoyance at the sound of his sister's yelling, "Look, I'm sorry but I had to-"
"What you HAD to do was stop screwing around and focus on what's important!" Lori shouted. "Or do you not care that dad's too hurt to run his restaurant!?"
"I do care!" Lincoln shouted. "I got my friends to come help, didn't I!?"
"Sure, probably so you have an excuse to goof around," Lori said. "I bet you were on your way to go read one of your stupid comics or play your dumb games while everyone else was working hard to make sure our family maintained their income. I should have known you weren't mature enough to take something so seriously."
"Lori!" Leni scolded.
"He bailed on us! He deserves this!" Lori said.
Lincoln angrily clenched his fists. Unfortunately he had no real way to stand up for himself without causing suspicion. "I'll...do better next time."
"There is no next time, because there's no way we're going to trust you with something this important," Lori said. "So congrats, you've successfully weasled your way out of a job! Now, I gotta go check on Lisa. You can do fuck all for all I care."
"Language Lori!" Leni scolded.
"Whatever," Lori said as she left.
Lincoln, in his frustration, began pulling at his hair, tearing some strands off as he grunted in frustration, "That girl..."
"Linky?" Leni said, getting the boy's attention. "Be honest with me, what happened?"
"I...got distracted," Lincoln said. "Next thing I knew, I was on my way here because Stella got hurt. I didn't mean to ditch you guys."
"Well, even so, you should have called us," Leni said. "I get being distracted, it happens to me a lot. But we need to know where you are, especially these days. This city is totes unsafe, and I do not want my baby bro getting hurt."
"I'm sorry Leni, I really am," Lincoln said.
"I know, I'm not angry like Lori is," Leni said. "I'm just a little disappointed, but I'll get over it."
Somehow hearing Leni being disappointed was worse. Lincoln did appreciate that Leni was being nicer but the misunderstanding was not easing his conscious. "Okay..."
"How's Stella doing?" Leni asked.
"She...has some broken ribs," Lincoln said. "She should be fine though."
"Aw, that poor girl..." Leni said.
"She'll recover," Lincoln said. "Anyway, let's go check on Lisa. She's in the cafeteria with Luna and Luan. Sam and Benny are there too."
"Alright," Leni said. "Oh, just so you know, Clyde's on his way over. I think he wants to check on Stella too."
"Oh, that's good," Leni said.
"But...he didn't seem happy that Chloe was at the restaurant," Leni admitted.
"...And that's one more thing for me to worry about," Lincoln said. "Things have gotten so weird between me and Clyde. He's my best friend, I don't want to lose that."
"You won't, so long as you talk things out," Leni said. "Now, come on, let's go find Lisa."
"Okay," Lincoln said as he followed his sister.
Out in the main waiting room, Lincoln could see his friends gathered around. Rusty was seem speaking with Zach and Liam in private while Clyde spoke with Chloe alone. While Lincoln noticed some concern when Rusty was talking, he could only see frustration while Clyde was talking.
"I hope this doesn't become awkward," Just as Lincoln was about to speak up, two more people had rushed into the hospital.
"Where's Stella!?" Came the voice of Judy Zhau.
"She's upstairs Mrs. Zhau," Lincoln said. "Maybe you and Mr. Zhau should-"
"No time! Let's book it, Ken!" Judy ordered as she ran.
"Right behind you, dear!" Ken said as he quickly followed his wife.
"They're in a hurry," Lincoln commented. "It makes sense though, it is about Stella's safety."
"Lincoln!" Rusty called, getting the boy's attention. "Hey man, things are looking nuts!"
"You have no idea," Lincoln said.
"Did you see Stella?" Liam asked.
"Yeah, I did," Lincoln said. "She insists that she's fine, but she also has some broken ribs."
"She's got what now!?" Liam asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, she took a blow to her ribs due to that Doc Ock fellow," Lincoln explained. "It was not pretty."
"Doc Ock?" Rusty asked.
"Uh, sorry, I meant Doctor Octavius," Lincoln said. "Luan called him Doctor Octopus because he had metallic limbs that looked like tentacles, then we started calling him Doc Ock for short."
"Wow, clever," Rusty said.
"Still, broken ribs?" Liam asked. "How did this even happen?"
"You'd need to ask her," Lincoln said. "But, try not to make her talk too much. She's still not in the best condition to speak."
"Sure, of course," Zach said.
Lincoln looked to the side and spotted Clyde. The boy looked his way briefly before averting his gaze.
"Guess Clyde's still not much in a talking mood," Lincoln commented.
"Figures..." Liam said, then called the boy over. "Hey Clyde, ain't their someone you should be greeting!?"
Clyde still looked away, still unsure about talking to Lincoln.
"Clyde, come on, he's your best friend," Chloe said. "His sister was in danger today, and a mutual friend of yours was hospitalized. This wasn't even long after his father had been admitted to the hospital. Whatever frustration you're feeling, you need to let it go. It's not worth holding onto the hurt."
While Clyde still felt some frustration, he did figure the least he could do is check up on the others. He knew everyone else deserved it.
"Hey Lincoln..." Clyde greeted as he walked over to the boy.
"Hey Clyde..." Lincoln grew worried. "This is slightly uncomfortable."
"So...how had your father been?" Clyde asked.
"Fine," Lincoln said. "He's resting, healing up."
"I went to the restaurant today, you didn't seem to be there," Clyde said.
"Yeah, I was out making deliveries," Lincoln said. "While I was out, I heard about the trouble in the science expo, and went to go check on Lisa."
"You did huh? That's nice of you," Clyde said.
"Well she is my sister," Lincoln said. "Unfortunately, Stella got hurt in all of that chaos, Stella got hurt. I'm really worried about her."
"How bad is it?" Clyde asked.
"Broken ribs, she should heal up with some bed rest though," Lincoln said.
"That's a shame, especially with that festival coming up," Clyde said.
"Oh crap, that's right!" Rusty commented. "Stella's not going to be able to make it to that medieval fair."
"We don't know that, there's still some time after all," Lincoln said.
"There's no way she can heal from broken ribs that fast," Liam said. "The poor girl's going to miss everything."
"We'll figure something out," Lincoln said. "I bet I can brainstorm something."
"Are you confident?" Chloe asked.
"Of course, I am the Man with a Plan after all," Lincoln said. "And I never abandon my friends."
"Pfft..." Clyde scoffed, earning a glare from Chloe.
"Clyde, be nice," the girl said in a hushed tone.
Rusty burrowed his brow at Clyde before focusing back on Lincoln, "Well we're here if you need us. We'll all keep an eye on Stella together."
"Yeah, totally," Lincoln said.
"Lincoln!" Lana called as she, Lola and Lily finally arrived alongside Rita.
"Hi Lana, Lola, mom," Lincoln greeted.
"Oh Lincoln, I'm so happy you're safe," Rita said as she pat her son on the head. "Where's Lisa?"
"She's with Luna and Luan," Lincoln said. "They should be at the cafeteria."
"Lisa's not hurt, is she?" Lola asked.
"She's fine," Lincoln said.
"Stella's hurt though," Rusty said.
"Stella!?" Lola asked. "How badly?"
"Broken ribs, according to Lincoln at least," Liam said.
"That poor girl..." Rita said. "Is she doing okay?"
"She's able to talk at least," Lincoln said. "Right now she's trying to be cool and downplay her injury though."
"Well that's just silly," Rita said. "I hope she's responsible enough to take something like that seriously."
"She is, Stella's a very responsible girl, intelligent too," Lincoln said. "She just didn't want anyone to worry, especially Lisa."
"Who hurt Stella?" Lily asked.
"A really mean scientist," Lincoln said.
"His name is Doctor Octopus," Rusty confirmed.
Lily couldn't help but giggle, "Doctor Octopus? That's a silly name."
"Yeah, a silly name for a silly man," Lincoln said. "But in all seriousness, his actual name is Otto Octavius."
"Octavius..." Rita thought it over a moment. "Wait a minute, Lisa mentioned that name."
"He's her lab partner, he's from New York," Lincoln said.
"Oh, that old man?" Rita asked. "Ugh, this is why I tell you kids not to talk to strange adults. I'm going to need a word with Lisa about who she trusts."
"So, is this everyone?" Lincoln asked.
"Not quite," Came the voice of Lynn as she walked in with a large burrito. "I heard Stella was heard, so I got her a little something. A thick beef burrito with pinto beans, some chicken, cottage cheese, lentils, quinoa and scrambled eggs all rolled into one tortilla, made with wheat rather than flour."
"...What kind of burrito is that?" Lincoln asked.
"It's all your basic protein needs wrapped into one delicious wrap," Lynn said. "Stella's going to need the protein if she's going to recover."
"That seems like a bit too much," Lincoln said. "All Stella needs is rest."
"Your body needs energy to heal, little bro," Lynn said. "Take it from me, I've had just about every injury imaginable. Broken arm, broken leg, missing teeth, you name it. I know all the best ways to help Stella heal up, and it starts with this freaking awesome burrito."
"Uh...okay, you're the expert," Lincoln said.
"Dang right I am, now show me to the patient's room," Lynn said.
"You can check in with the nurse," Lincoln said. "But her parents are there so-"
"Sweet, time to show the Zhau family my love and appreciation for their daughter," Lynn said as she made her way to the receptionist desk.
Liam looked on in awe of Liam, "That girl's so generous."
"Yeah...but she's kind of weird," Rusty said.
"Well, I'm going to check on Lisa," Rita said. "Come on girls."
"Wait, I need to talk to Lincoln about something," Lana said. "In private."
"Oh, sure dear," Rita said, not desiring to delve into why. "Come find me in the cafeteria when you're done."
"Sure thing," Lana said as Rita left with Lola and Lily.
"Come on, Lincoln," Lana said as she took the boy by his hand and led him away.
"What a week for the Louds," Rusty said. "First the dad gets hurt, now one of the sisters."
"Looks like some bad luck," Liam said. "But they'll pull through. We just gotta do what we can."
"Who? Us?" Zach asked.
"Of course, Lincoln's our pal, ain't he?" Liam said. "That's why we volunteered at his family's restaurant."
"Wait, we were volunteering?" Zach asked. "I thought I was getting paid."
"...You dope, you knew ahead of time that you'd be working for free," Rusty said.
"No, one of you said 'Hey, let's work at the Loud Family Restaurant', and I assumed we were getting paid," Zach said.
"Wow..." Rusty said. "And in Lincoln's time of need too."
"Hey, it's fine, I don't need the paycheck," Zach said. "I got some tips anyway."
"You got tips?" Rusty asked.
"Hey, enough talk about money," Chloe said. "This is about Lincoln's family needing help right now. Given how much Lincoln does for us then-"
"Pfft..." Clyde interjected, earning a raised eyebrow from Chloe.
"I'm sorry, did I say something funny?" Chloe asked.
"Kind of," Clyde said. "You said that Lincoln's here for everyone. Meanwhile all Lincoln has done lately is blow people off."
"Hey now, don't start," Liam said. "This ain't about yer little squabble with Lincoln, this is about being a good friend to him."
"Yeah, besides Lincoln's always helped us out," Rusty said. "He's always quick to come up with a plan whenever we need one, so why is this any different?"
"He's just been so selfish lately," Clyde said. "It's one thing that he's busy, it's another that he's keeping secrets from me."
"What secrets?" Liam asked.
"He's always off doing something, and never includes me," Clyde said. "Lincoln always included me in everything, now it's like I don't even exist."
"...Clyde..." Chloe lamented.
"Hey, you've all seen it for yourself," Clyde said. "Lincoln's just plain selfish nowadays."
"Well gee Clyde, it's almost like Lincoln has his own life, one that he's not obligated to share with you," Rusty said.
"...Excuse me?" Clyde replied.
"Do you need to know every little detail of Lincoln's life, dude?" Rusty asked. "He's been doing his own thing since the start of Middle School.
"Yeah, no offense Clyde, but you can be way too attached to Lincoln sometimes," Liam said. "It's honestly kind of creepy."
"Huh!? How is it creepy?" Clyde asked. "Lincoln's always been like a brother to me! We shared everything! I always went to him with my problems and I never kept any secrets from him! So why is he being all secretive now!?"
"Dude, chill," Zach said. "It's not that deep. You've developed your own interests outside of Lincoln, haven't you?"
"I share them at least," Clyde said. "Lincoln even trusted me to be by his side when he got his parents to reveal a deep secret about his past."
"...Clyde, does your therapist know about this?" Rusty asked.
"Hey, you leave Doctor Lopez out of this!" Clyde warned.
"Look, Clyde," Liam began. "Ah know how you feel. Ah remember being jealous when Lincoln started hanging out with Rusty and Zach. But we got through that, didn't we?"
"Yeah, and now we're all friends," Zach said.
"How does that help me now?" Clyde asked.
"Mah point, Clyde, is that sometimes, we gotta le Lincoln branch off on his own," Liam said. "Let him do his own things. Something good can come of it."
"But why is he hanging out with Stella and Christina a lot then?" Clyde asked.
"Gee, I don't know," Rusty began. "Why is Lincoln hanging out with two very cute girls all by himself? It's such a total mystery, isn't it?"
"Don't you get smart with me!" Clyde warned. "I still want to know what Lincoln is doing with those girls!"
"Dude, Lincoln doesn't need to tell you everything about this life, you're not his mother!" Rusty said. "Lincoln doesn't tell any of us, but you don't see us freaking out! I do things that I haven't told any of you about! Are you going to interrogate me next!?"
"Rusty, you're just an extra in our friendship honestly," Clyde said. "So no one cares what you do."
"Clyde!" Chloe scolded.
"...Wow, so that's all I am to you? Just an extra?" Rusty asked. "Well, that's fine, at least Lincoln's a good friend. He's been looking out for me for years. Helping me when I got framed by Jordan, being a good science partner, giving me tips about dating girls. Granted the science partner thing was a bust since his sisters kept wrecking our project just to set my brother up with Lucy, horribly mind you. Also, that dating thing doesn't always work out since some advice he gave me didn't work well, but he tried at least. Point is that he's a good loyal friend to me, and that's all that matters."
"Honestly, I'm surprised you two are even friends," Clyde said. "When I first met Lincoln, we hit it off right away. When you first met Lincoln, you bullied him because he had a pink bike."
"A pink bike?" Chloe asked.
"It was a hand-me-down he got from Lori," Clyde explained.
"Given how big his family is, hand-me-downs are kind of expected," Liam said.
"I will admit, that was cruel of me to do, but he gave me a second chance after those other guys I hung out with ditched me," Rusty said. "He's got a good heart to do something like that, and he's stuck by me even when things got tough."
"Like how you, Zach and Liam mistreated him after Lisa joined our grade?" Clyde asked.
"Okay, you wanna keep going there?" Rusty asked. "You once gave him laryngitis because you were jealous of his success in the glee club. So don't act all self-righteous. At least the rest of us know how to grow from our mistakes and try to be better people. You're still acting like that same little kid we met in elementary school!"
"At least I have a girlfriend," Clyde said.
"Hey! Do not use me as ammo against your friends!" Chloe warned. "I'm not your property!"
"I never said that!" Clyde asked.
"Well you sure act like it," Rusty said. "Not just this ammo part but the fact that you got jealous of Lincoln tutoring Chloe. Which, was very nice of him to do mind you. Thanks to Lincoln, she's not failing and getting left behind, and making sure you two graduate together. But no, you act all ungrateful about it."
"Because he kept it a secret from me!" Clyde shouted. "I'm all for Lincoln helping Chloe, but I'd like to be part of that!"
"Clyde, I never told anyone because I was embarrassed," Chloe said. "It's not like anything happened. What, do you think I cheated on you?"
"Well considering how many girls seem to like Lincoln all of a sudden-" Clyde began, though was immediately interrupted by an angry Chloe.
"Are you kidding me!?" Chloe shouted. "You honestly believe I would be unfaithful to you!?"
"I didn't say that either, you just didn't let me finish," Clyde said.
"You hinted at it! What the hell's the matter with you!?" Chloe shouted. "I've let you hang out with Emma alone, despite knowing you had a crush on her. Should I suspect you too!?"
"No way, I would never do anything like that," Clyde insisted.
"Then where's the confidence in me!?" Chloe shouted. "I can't believe you just said that!"
"Well if you weren't so secretive, it wouldn't be on my mind," Clyde said.
"Okay, screw this, I'm leaving," Chloe said as she walked off.
"Chloe, wait!" Clyde reached for her wrist.
"Don't touch me!" Chloe yanked her hand away. "Honestly Clyde, I'm starting to believe that you're too immature to have a girlfriend. If you're this clingy with Lincoln, I can't imagine what would happen if we stayed together! You'd probably never let me live my life either!"
"Huh? I'd totally let you live your life, I don't text you that much, do I?" Clyde pointed out.
"Just buzz off, I need my space from you," Chloe said as she marched off.
"Chloe!" Clyde called, though his pleas for her attention fell on deaf ears. "Dang..."
Liam awkwardly looked around, not sure what to do at his point. "I'm feeling kind of peckis. I'm gonna go find somethin' to eat."
The boy quickly left, with Zach following shortly afterward. Rusty followed as well, but not without one final glare at Clyde before leaving, feeling a sense of shame for someone he calls a friend.
Feeling at a loss of what to do, Clyde himself makes his exit, the boy now growing even more concerned about the idea of ending up alone.
Elsewhere in a broom closet, Lincoln and Lana were engaged in their own conversation regarding what happened.
"Okay, so who exactly was it you were fighting?" Lana asked.
"A guy named Otto Octavius," Lincoln explained. "He and Lisa were science buddies, and an accident led to him gaining metallic limbs, essentially making him a human Octopus."
"Hm...I think I know that guy," Lana said as she tried to recall the man in question. "Still, a human Octopus? That's pretty radical."
"It is, and fortunately I was able to keep Lisa, but he's still a threat," Lincoln said. "He managed to escape after I rescued Lisa from a trap of his."
"Yikes, that can't be good," Lana said. "Do you know where he might be now?"
"Not a clue," Lincoln said. "I'm really worried, the seemed a bit out of it. Like, he was talking to his metallic limbs like if they were actual people."
"Seriously? That is pretty sus," Lana said. "And he's still out there? What if he comes after Lisa again?"
"I realize that is a possibility," Lincoln admitted. "But, I'm not going to give this up without a fight. So don't worry about Otto, I'm all over it."
"Yeah, you're right, if anyone can handle it, you can," Lana said. "Still, how are you going to track him down?"
"I...wait," Lincoln thought it over, then came to a frustrating realization. "Dang it, I had some trackers that I could have used. I was so worried about Lisa that I forgot all about it!" Lincoln smacked his own forehead. "Stupid!"
"Hey, it's a high stress situation, it happens to the best of them," Lana said. "You'll be able to find him."
"Yeah, it shouldn't be that hard to find a man with tentacles," Lincoln said, the boy then nervously scratching his head. "Then again, I didn't think it'd be so hard to find The Green Goblin, yet he's still missing after a couple of weeks."
"He made a desperate retreat since you whooped him pretty badly," Lana said. "This other guy, it just sound like he snuck away. He might be back soon."
"Yeah, and he'll come after Lisa..." Lincoln noted. "I can't let that happen. I gotta put a stop to him, one way or another."
"Not alone either, you got Christina too," Lana said.
"Well, that might not be easy..." Lincoln said. "Turns out his limbs negate fire damage."
"Ouch..." Lana said. "Just those limbs though, right? His actual body can still get hurt."
"Yeah, that's true," Lincoln said. "It's like a video game, some parts of the boss are immune to damage but other parts take the blows."
"That's a good way to look at it," Lana said. "Who says video games rot your brains?"
"Leni...but mostly because she probably heard it from somewhere," Lincoln said.
"To Leni's credit, she's really matured up lately," Lana said. "She's still really naive, but she's not so dumb."
"Being the oldest sister and taking on that responsibility really helped her grow as a person," Lincoln said. "Even now when Lori was yelling at me, she stepped up and-"
"Wait, Lori was yelling at you?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, she got mad because I didn't finish my deliveries," Lincoln said. "Due to Otto showing up, I had to cut my route short and go deal with that trouble."
"And let me guess, she got the wrong idea?" Lana asked.
"Unfortunately," Lincoln confirmed.
Lana shook her head in annoyance, "I swear, that girl is way too bossy for her own good."
"To be fair, it did look bad from her perspective," Lincoln said. "She doesn't know that I'm a superhero."
"Hey, you had every reason in the world to come check on Lisa regardless," Lana said. "Lori shouldn't be giving you a hard time for that!"
"It's fine, it wouldn't be the first time that Lori got upset over nothing," Lincoln said. "In the end, Lisa is safe and there were no casualties. I call that a win."
"Ever the optimist, aren't you Lincoln?" Lana asked.
"I try," Lincoln said.
"Also, what about Stella?" Lana asked. "I heard she got hurt."
"She did..." Lincoln regretfully confirmed. "She has a few broken ribs, but she should be fine with proper bed rest."
"Broken ribs?" Lana asked. "Geez, that poor girl."
"It sucks, that happened because she was trying to protect Lisa," Lincoln said as he tugged at his shirt. "I should have been the one looking after her, that should not have needed to become Stella's problem."
"Stella's just really nice," Lana said. "You did what you could for Lisa, don't beat yourself up over it."
"I appreciate that," Lincoln said. "But, as a superhero, I need to keep other people safe. Plus, as a big brother, I need to keep my sisters safe."
"And you did your job, so enough of the moping already, I have only so much compliments I can give a person," Lana said.
"Yeah, self pity isn't my style, is it?" Lincoln asked.
"It's not anyone's style," Lana said. "Except maybe Lola, she can really work the system."
"Got that right," Lincoln said. "Anyway, let's go grab a bite and go home."
"Sounds good to me, I hope this place has some decent grub," Lana said.
"The cafeteria is great, it has a lot of cool things," Lincoln said. "And if not, we can hit up a nearby pizzeria."
"Thanks, but I meant actual grub," Lana said. "I remember that mom and dad said that bugs have protein, that's healthy right?"
Lincoln furrowed his brow in annoyance, "If you want protein, talk to Lynn. She's off giving Stella some giant burrito. Anyway no bugs for you, time for some normal food."
"Hey it's normal to me," Lana insisted. "Besides, aren't you part spider? You should be open to eating bugs. It's probably in your DNA."
"As if..." Lincoln remembered one more thing. "By the way, we may have a blackmailing problem."
Lana face palmed in annoyance, "Great...what did Lola do this time?"
"It wasn't Lola, it's Luna," Lincoln said. "She's threatening to tell everyone about Christina."
"Huh? Christina? But why the heck would she do something like that?" Lana asked.
"I don't know, but I gotta get to the bottom of that," Lincoln said. "Anyway, let's go eat."
"Yeah, sure," Lana said, still thinking over what happened.
Elsewhere while in her home, Christina had changed out of her superhero gear and was currently on a phone call with Stella.
"Hey, sorry I can't be there, I had to get home quickly," Christina said.
"It's fine...everyone else already came..." Stella said.
"How are you feeling? Like, how badly does it hurt?" Christina asked.
"It's not too bad..." Stella insisted while tying to hide her pain. "I should be up and about in no time."
"I'm really sorry I couldn't protect you," Christina said.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Stella insisted. "Right now what's important...is still trying to find Otto."
"I'll keep an eye on him," Christina said.
"Christina! Your friend Paige is here!" the girl's mother called.
"Okay mom!" Christina called back, then focused on the phone call. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye Christina," Stella said as she hung up.
Moments later, Paige had entered the room, looking very excited about something. "Christina! I heard about what happened today!" She ran to check on her friend. "Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"
"I'm fine," Christina said.
"Man, to think that place got attacked, feels like Royal Woods is becoming more and more dangerous..." Paige worried.
"Hey it's fine, I'm here, and so is Spider-Man," Chritina said. "We got this."
"Yeah, you two make quite a team," Paige said. "So, who was this guy?"
"Otto Octavius, he's a friend of Lincoln's little sister, Lisa," Christina explained.
"You mean the scientist sister, right?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, that man was her lab partner, and he went insane because of an accident," Christina explained.
"Geez, sounds terrible," Paige said. "Did you catch him?"
"No, he got away," Christina regretfully informed.
"Well, it's fine, you'll get him eventually," Paige said. "If not you, then Spider-Man."
"That's the plan," Christina said.
"Say...do you know who he actually is?" Paige asked.
Christina's eyes widened in worry, knowing full well that she cannot reveal Lincoln's identity. Forutnately she could keep a secret just fine.
"Spider-Man and I try to keep our personal lives to a minimum when working with each other," Christina said, the girl feeling bad about it a second later. "I hate lying to her, but I need to keep his secret."
"Makes sense I guess," Paige said. "Plus, even if you knew, I'd totally understand if you didn't want to tell me. I'm willing to bet that he wants his identiy a secret."
"Yeah, that's it," Christina said. "He really needs to keep his identity under wraps."
"I get it, I've read some comics and I've seen some movies," Paige said. "Just promise you two will be careful."
"We will," Christina said. "By the way, I'm not sure if you heard, but Stella's in the hospital."
"I heard, everyone at the Loud restaurant talked about it," Paige said. "We should totally see her later, maybe make something nice for her."
"That sounds like a great idea," Christina said.
"By the way, how is Lincoln's father doing?" Paige asked.
"He's recovering quite well," Christina confirmed. "He should be up and about soon, hopefully."
"I hope he recovers just fine," Paige said. "Mr. Loud seems like a really nice guy, I hate what happened to him."
"Yeah, Lincoln's lucky to come from such a loving family," Christina sadly rubbed her arm. "He's lucky."
"Well, hey, so are we," Paige said. "My parents are great, and so are yours."
"Yeah, my parents are great, until they see or hear about mutants," Christina said before furrowing her brow. "Then they turned into the most discriminatory people."
"...You know, I bet if they knew, they'd still love you," Paige placed her hand on Christina's shoulder. "Their love for their daughter will overpower any prejudice they feel."
"I want to believe that, but..." Christina shut her eyes, trying to block out any concerns she might have, along with some potential tears that may stain her face. "I just can't take that chance."
"I get it," Paige said as she pulled Christina into a reassuring hug. "I just hope that one day, you can live without having to hide who you truly are. Powers or not, you're still the same Christina Valdez that I know and love."
"Thanks, and you're still the same Paige Turner that I know and love," Christina said as she returned the hug.
"Don't you forget it either," Paige said as she pulled away. "Come on, let's go make something for Stella."
"Right behind you," Christina said as she followed her friend.
The day went on, word of Doctor Octavius began to spread fast. Jameson was already on the story, and figuring out ways to blame Spider-Man for it.
It also reached Great Lakes, specifically the Casagrande House where Ronnie Anne was reading about it alongside Sid.
"I can't believe it," Sid said.
"Yeah, for Lincoln to fight some mad scientist," Ronnie Anne said. "Not counting Doctor Connors of course but-"
"No not that, it's this guy's name," Sid said. "According to some eyewitness reports, the guy's name is Doctor Octopus."
"Huh?" Ronnie Anne read it over again. "It says that Spider-Man gave him the name, but his actual name is Doctor Octavius."
"Point is, it's a funny sounding name," Sid said. "Kind of want more details about this fight."
"We'll probably get a full story tomorrow," Ronnie Anne said. "But if we really want to know what happened, we can just get it straight from the source."
"You mean the Royal Woods News Team?" Sid asked, earning a glare from Ronnie Anne.
"No dummy, I meant Lincoln," Ronnie Anne said.
"Ooooooh, right, that was totally my second choice," Sid insisted.
Ronnie Anne grabbed the phone and dialed.
Meanwhile Lincoln was on his way home from the hospital, the boy currently on his bike that he picked up from the restaurant. He was not in the mood to be around his family too much, or at least not Lori. He also wasn't taking the chance that Lori told his mother about him skipping out work.
As he pedaled, he heard his phone ringing. He pulled over to answer, "Yeah?"
"Hey Lincoln, it's me, Ronnie Anne," The girl said.
"And Sid!" Her friend called, which annoyed Ronnie Anne.
"Yes, and Sid..." Ronnie Anne said as she focused back on the phone call. "We just wanted a quick chat with you."
"About that guy you fought!" Sid called.
"Sid!" Ronnie Anne bonked Sid on the head.
"Ow! Mean!" Sid scolded.
"Don't say stuff like that so loudly!" Ronnie Anne scolded.
"But that's why we called! To get the actual story and not some made up nonsense," Sid said.
"I know but-" Ronnie Anne's scolding was interrupted.
"Ronnie Anne, it's fine," Lincoln said. "I take it you girls want to know about Octavius then?"
"Yeah, if you want to," Ronnie Anne said.
"The only thing I can say is that he's an old friend of Lisa who got freaky metal limbs attached to his body due to a science experiment gone wrong," Lincoln said. "Now he wants revenge against her and I need to be ready to stop him."
"Revenge against Lisa?" Ronnie Anne asked. "Geez, how petty do you have to be to want revenge against a six-year-old?"
"He's definitely not stable minded," Lincoln said. "That's why I need to be ready to stop him. The problem is that he gave me the slip."
"Not the first that that's happened, and you pulled through," Ronnie Anne said. "Besides, how hard can it be to find a guy with metal limbs?"
"I thought the same thing. Still, I gotta find him soon, he's pretty dangerous," Lincoln explained. "He even injured Stella."
"Stella's hurt!?" Ronnie Anne asked in disbelief.
"What!? No!" Sid lamented. "My Star-Shirt Cutie! How could he hurt someone so precious!?"
"...I'm not even going to ask for elaboration," Ronnie Anne focused back on the phone. "How bad is her injury?"
"She's got broken ribs," Lincoln confirmed. "But she's been taken to a hospital and treated, so she should recover fine."
"That's good, man screw that guy for hurting Stella," Ronnie Anne said.
"Is his villain name really Doctor Octopus?" Sid asked.
"Yeah, Luan came up with it," Lincoln said. "She said his limbs looked like tentacles."
"Oooh, tentacles," Sid said while laughing to herself. "That sounds kind of naughty."
"DON'T!" Ronnie Anne warned as she quickly focused the conversion back to Lincoln. "Well what else can you tell us about this guy?"
"Just that he's from New York," Lincoln said.
"New York huh? Just like Doctor Connors," Ronnie Anne noted. "I wonder if my uncle might know about Octavius then? Better yet, I can ask Doctor Connors."
"That'd sure be something," Lincoln said. "But, can you talk to Connors? Is he taking visitors?"
"I...don't know," Ronnie Anne said. "But I can try."
"That would be pretty great," Lincoln said. "Anyway, I'm almost home, and I got something to take care of here."
"Alright, I'll catch you later then," Ronnie Anne said as she hung up. She turned to her noisy best friend, "Alright Sid, we got some sleuthing to do."
"Sweet, I'll get my nunchucks," Sid said.
"...Since when do you have nunchucks?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Oh I don't," Sid said. "I just figured that I could go to the store and-"
"Let's go!" Ronnie Anne said as she grabbed Sid by the shirt and pulled the girl along with her.
Lincoln had finally arrived home. Given that everyone else had a car, he figured that everyone else made it home before he did, unless some of his sisters stayed out late.
The boy opened the door and called inside, "I'm back!"
"Hey kiddo!" His father called from his bedroom. "How was your day!?"
"Could have been better!" Lincoln said as he got closer to the bedroom.
"I heard things went bad, tough break," Lynn Sr said. "How's Stella?"
"She's banged up, but she'll be fine," Lincoln said.
"That poor girl," Lynn Sr said. "To think that not even kids are safe from these villains. It just makes me so angry thinking about how cruel they are!"
"Yeah, it's bad," Lincoln said.
"I tell you, if I could, I'd get out of bed and really show that Otto Octavius what for," Lynn Sr said. "Especially knowing that he went after my little Lisa!"
"Easy dad, don't get too riled up, you need to be resting," Lincoln said.
Lynn Sr sighed in shame, "I should, shouldn't I? It's only been a couple of days but I just feel so restless. I hate not doing anything. Like, don't gte me wrong, I don't mind relaxing for a bit, but this feel like too much. Guess I'm too used to running around that doing nothing is driving me mad."
"Wow, that's kind of surprising," Lincoln said. "You're being waited on by your kids, you have a good life right now."
"Guess I'm just worried about slacking off too much, I don't want to end up out of shape again," Lynn Sr said. "Plus I'm worried about the Restaurant."
"Don't worry, Kotaro is running it really well," Lincoln said. "Me and the girls have been volunteering and even my friends have come by to help."
"Really? Well that's great to hear," Lynn Sr said. "You got some really good friends there, sport."
"Yeah...good friends," Lincoln began thinking about Clyde, and feeling worried for his best friend. "Dad, have you and Kotaro ever had a really bad argument?"
"Bad argument?" Lynn Sr asked. "We've disagreed a few times. Why do you ask?"
"Sometimes I worry that things are getting bad between me and Clyde," Lincoln said. "I haven't made enough time to see him lately. Ever since Middle School started, he and I haven't had the same homeroom, and now with all my extracurriculars, it feels like I haven't seen Clyde enough, and I think it's starting to bother him."
"I see, that can be tough," Lynn Sr said. "I've had friends over the years that I've lost contact with, or just saw less because I got married and had kids. But in time they grew to understand that. Kotaro understands that the two of us can't hang out a lot because I have a family to take care of. If anything he's helped me remember the importance of family too."
"Really?" Lincoln asked.
"You remember when we traded Vanzilla away for that new van?" Lynn Sr asked.
"Yeah...you were pretty protective of it," Lincoln recalled.
"Well me and my van buddies saw eye to eye on it at first, but over time, we all came to the conclusion that family is better than some new car," Lynn Sr said. "And sometimes, that car can be family."
"At this point, Vanzilla is the oldest member of our family," Lincoln joked.
"Oh yeah, the old girl's a fossil, but she's our fossil," Lynn Sr quipped, earning a laugh out of himself and his son. "But my main point is that sometimes friendships can seem to drift apart because other priorities take place. But I think in time Clyde will understand that. It's just tough for a boy his age to go through."
"Yeah...I guess," Lincoln said.
"But, I would also suggest that you make time for him," Lynn Sr said. "Even if you can't hang out all the time like you used to, find some time and make the most of it. Take a weekend off to go to the arcade or something. You've been working pretty hard yourself there, kiddo. That's great, but you gotta make personal time. I know you're growing up, but you're still young, try to have fun."
"I'll try, I just don't want to ignore my responsibilities," Lincoln said.
"That's good, you shouldn't ignore them, and I'm happy you're taking them seriously," Lynn Sr said. "But life requires balance. Just like it's not good to be lazy, it's also not good to always work."
"Yeah, you're right," Lincoln said. "Maybe I should hang out with Clyde more. I just gotta think of something good."
"It'll come to you," Lynn said, then heard a knock on the door, despite it already being open. "Hey sweetheart."
"Hi dad, I brought you some soup," Lucy said as she walked in with a tray. "Carrot soup to be precise."
"Oh...goodie..." Lynn Sr lamented. "Well, whatever gets me back on my feet."
Lincoln turned to his little sister, "Hey Lucy, I see that you're holding the fort here."
"Someone has to," Lucy said.
"Did anyone else come home?" Lincoln asked.
"Luna and Luan are upstairs," Lucy said. "I think Lori's home too, but she was not in the mood to talk to anyone."
"Great..." Lincoln lamented.
"Everyone else went to buy some ice cream," Lucy said.
"Oh sweet," Lincoln said. "I could use some."
"We all could," Lucy said. "By the way, how's Stella?"
"She's healing," Lincoln said.
"Thats good, I wish her the best," Lucy said.
"Now, I gotta talk with Luna about something," Lincoln said as he left.
"Sure..." Lucy turned to her father. "Do you need anything else?"
"I'm good honey," Lynn Sr said as he glanced at the soup. Despite his grimace, he pressed forward.
Upstairs, Lincoln had knocked on Luna's door, the girl calling out. "Yeah?"
"Luna, it's me," Lincoln said.
Luna opened the door to greet her brother, "Hey little bro, finally make it home?"
"Oh good, you're back," Luan said.
"Of course, I did say I would, I just wanted to get my bike," Lincoln said.
"I know, but thinking about it, taking the car back home would have been much safer," Luan said. "Doctor Octopus is still out there after all."
"Don't worry, made sure to stay safe," Lincoln said. "I'm here because I need a quick word with Luna."
"That so? What's up little bro?" Luna asked.
"Christina spoke to me after what happened," Lincoln said. "She said you threatened to reveal her secret."
"Uh...right," Luna awkwardly admitted. "Technically, I told her not to keep secrets from me since I'm holding onto hers but..."
"That really spooked her, why would you say something like that?" Lincoln asked. "She told you because she trusted you, do you really want to take advantage of that trust?"
"Yeah, you're right," Luna said as she sheepishly rubbed her head. "I should not have said what I did, I guess I was just really stressed out. Lisa was in danger, and Christina wasn't being cooperative."
"Christina is trying to help Spider-Man save the city," Lincoln said. "I know Lisa's our sister, but after what Otto did to Stella, going after him was not a good idea."
"Hey, we've handled tougher situations," Luna said.
"Maybe, but now that there's superheroes in town, we don't need to recklessly endanger ourselves," Lincoln said. "All that would have done was make more trouble. Have faith in Spider-Man, he saved Lisa after all."
"That's true, had we been there, we could have ended up hostages as well," Luan said.
"Point is, Luna," Lincoln continued. "I think you owe Christina an apology the first chance you get."
"I will, I promise," Luna said.
"That's good," Lincoln said. "By the way, have you seen Lori?"
"Yeah, but I'd avoid her, she's had some not so nice things to say about you," Luan said.
"Figured..." Lincoln replied.
"Well it sounds like you bailed on your deliveries," Luna said. "So Lori would be a little peeved about it."
"Not like I was trying to blow them off," Lincoln said. "I was worried about Lisa."
"That makes sense, but shouldn't you have called them first?" Luna asked.
"Right...that makes sense," Lincoln said.
"If you need to handle something, that's fine," Luna said. "But don't keep us in the dark. If you got hurt, we may not have known."
"Honestly, maybe I was worried that if I called, someone would have protested the idea," Lincoln said.
"For good reason, that was a really dangerous situation," Luan said. "It's good to worry about Lisa, but take your own advice. Let Spider-Man handle things."
"I just couldn't ignore it," Lincoln said. "Lisa was in trouble, if I turned away...what kind of brother would I be?"
"Yeah...I totally get it, that's why I was so ticked off at Christina," Luna said. "It's not an excuse but that's still a big reason why for me. A big sister looks out for the little ones."
"It should be fine," Lincoln said. "I think I know you well enough to know you're not the selfish type, Luna."
"Eh..." Luan replied, earning a glare from her sister.
"You got something to say, sis?" Luna asked.
"No, of course not," Luan nervously insisted.
"Tch, I got my eye on you," Luna warned, doing a gesture to emphasize her point.
"By the way," Lincoln said, getting both sisters' attention. "That medieval festival is coming up. Are you still going through with it? Even after everything?"
"If I'm being honest, part of me wants it cancelled," Luan said. "If Halloween wasn't safe, then this won't be either."
"Hey, you can't let this type of thing make you afraid," Luna said. "Don't let those villains get in your head. Having fun despite the danger is a good middle finger to those guys."
"Exactly, people need a reason to have fun," Lincoln said. "Whatever happens, Spider-Man and Firestar will be there to save the day."
"Yeah, you're right," Luan said. "This is something we've all been working hard at. Me, Luna, Benny and Sam. I can't let our hard work go to waste."
"Exactly," Luna said. "Besides, we need a Princess, and you're the top choice."
"Uh...I've been having second thoughts about that," Luan said. "I don't know if I could pull the princess thing off that well."
"You were in Romeo and Juliet though," Luna said.
"Juliet isn't a Princess," Luan pointed out.
"No, but she's loaded, and was basically a princess," Luna said. "I think so, I don't remember the story too well."
"Anyway, you can pull it off Luan," Lincoln said. "If anything, ask Lola for some tips."
"Uh...she won't like that, she really wants to be Princess," Luan said. "She was very adamant about it before."
Earlier at the Hospital Cafeteria.
While Benny was at the line and reaching for a tapioca pudding. Suddenly his hand came into contact with Lola's the girl looking into the boy's eyes.
"If you want that pudding, you can have it..." Lola batted her eyes at the boy. "If you're willing to do me a favor."
"Uh..." Benny nervously looked away.
"I know you have that festival coming up, and you've yet to pick a Princess," Lola stood on the counter to gently stroke Benny's chin. "And I just happen to be free that day. Get the picture?"
Benny still had no real response, he just did his best not to look Lola in the eyes. "Well..."
"It would make me so sooooo happy to be a Princess for you," Lola said. "I'm already a Pageant Queen after all, so I know Royalty."
"...You know what, I don't think I'm hungry," Benny insisted. "You can have the pudding."
"Oh? Well now, someone's a gentleman," Lola turned to bend over and slowly pick the pudding up while winking back at Benny, the boy looking a little weirded out. "I'm not surprised, you've always been a sweetheart." Lola then took one of her gloves off. "I hope Luan's treating you well."
"Yeah, she is," Benny said as Lola dipped her bare finger into the tapioca pudding. "Anyway it's really no big deal, I just-"
Lola then stuck her finger in Benny's mouth, allowing him to taste the pudding. "Food for thought." She pulled her finger out and then used that same finger to dip into the tapioca and taste it for herself as she walked off, passing by a freaked out Luna and a mildly entertained Sam.
Benny's face turned blue as he looked behind himself to see an equally freaked out Luan.
"What just happened?" Luan asked.
"...I don't know," a worried Benny said.
Presently in the shared room of Luna and Luan.
Luna sat there in disbelief, still recalling that moment as well, "That was so freaking weird."
"It didn't help that Sam saw what happened and started teasing Benny about it," Luan said. "Hopefully she's done doing so. Or at least save it for her crush on Thor."
"That would be weirder though," Luna said.
"I'm more concerned by the fact that Lola was so flirty," Lincoln said. "She's only eight, where did she learn that type of behavior?"
"I have no idea, we might need to monitor what she watches," Luna said. "After hearing about what Simon looks up, I think we need to be careful with Lola too."
"And teach her about personal boundaries," Lincoln said.
"Pfft, in this house?" Luna asked.
"A line needs to be drawn, maybe that example should start from home," Lincoln said.
"You're kind of asking for a miracle there, bro," Luna said.
"But we do need to try," Luan said. "For Lola's sake at least."
"And our other sisters," Lincoln said. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to ask about, I'll leave you girls alone."
"Don't be in a rush, I got some song lyrics I want you to review," Luna said. "If you'd like."
"Oh, well, sure, that sounds fun," Lincoln said as he sat beside Luna. "Let's hear it."
"Rock on, little bro," Luna said as she grabbed her guitar.
Later on, the rest of the sisters had come home with Rita, the mother holding the dessert.
"Who's ready for ice cream!?" Rita called.
"Ice Cream!" Lynn Sr sat up, and immediately howled in pain. "YEOWCH!"
"Dad!" Lucy tended to her father's injury. "Just tell me what you want and I'll get it for you."
"Aw, my little Dark Angel," Lynn Sr pat Lucy on the head. "What would I do without you?"
"Spend your days in agony," Lucy replied.
"...Yeah, probably," Lynn Sr said. "Alright, go fetch the ice cream."
"What type?" Lucy asked.
"Ask your mother, she'll know," Lynn Sr said. "That woman reads me like the books that she writes."
"...Poetic, neat," Lucy said as she left the room.
"Heh, where does she think she got her amazing poetry skills from?" Lynn Sr proudly boasted.
Lisa looked hesitant to join the others in the kitchen, the girl still feeling guilty for all that has happened.
"Perhaps I should go upstairs and find a way to heal Stella faster," Lisa said. "I'm no doctor, but I know the human bone structure pretty well."
"Hey, uh...Lisa?" Lana said. "Maybe just let Stella rest on her own. After what happened with Otto, I don't think you should be experimenting on another person."
"Ugh, right, silly me," Lisa said. "It's frustrating too, I feel like I was developing a bond with Stella. You know she was actively protecting me today. I was quite impressed."
"She's a nice girl, plus you're the little sister of her best friend, of course she'd want to protect you," Lana said.
"Still, she really went above and beyond," Lisa said. "But, I also believe that she's the kind of girl that should be with Lincoln. She's got the smarts, charisma and care. I think she and Lincoln are scientifically compatible."
"She is, hopefully he realizes that soon too," Lana said. "But, I'm cool with whoever he ends up with, so long as the girl treats him right."
"Yeah..." Lisa thought more about earlier today, especially her run in with a certain hero. "This might sound odd, but when I spoke to Spider-Man today, he reminded me so much of Lincoln."
Lana's eyes widened as she nervously looked around, "Uh...wow, really?"
"Yes, he had that care in his voice and was surprisingly nurturing," Lisa said. "It really made me wonder."
"Well...no point in doing so," Lana said. "After all, there's no way Lincoln and Spider-Man are the same person. Nothing against Lincoln, but he's too scrawny to be a superhero, and not very athletic. Like, can you even imagine Lincoln doing the insane tricks that Spider-Man does?"
Lisa thought it over a second, "I suppose you're right, silly me."
"I say, forget this and go enjoy some ice cream," Lana said.
"I suppose, it was for my sake, and it would be rude of me to skip out," Lisa said as she left. "I also crave a sugary treat."
With that done, Lana sighed in relief, "Lincoln's really gotta be careful with that secret of his."
In his home, Benny was on the phone with Sam, trying to get some much needed information. "Hey, Sam, I need your help with something."
"Sure, what?" Sam asked while tuning her guitar in her home.
"Any chance you can talk to Luna about size measurements?" Benny asked.
"Oh, I know her size already," Sam said.
"I don't need her size," Benny said.
"Oh...I get it, you want me to ask her sister," Sam said.
"Yeah, that's what I meant," Benny replied.
"Wow...Lola must have really turned you on," Sam said, earning a wide eyed reaction from Benny. "I know she's cute and all but-"
"I'm talking about Luan obviously!" Benny shouted in annoyance. "I need her measurements but I feel weird asking her about it myself!"
"Chill dude, I'm just busting your balls," Sam said. "I got this, don't worry."
"Thanks..." Benny said. "Also, never speak of this Lola thing again."
"Aw, but you two look so cute together," Sam teased.
"...I hate you," Benny said.
"Nooooo you don't," Sam teased back.
"I don't, but I wish I did," Benny said.
"You sound just like my pervy little brother," Sam said. "Take it easy Benny, I'll catch you later."
"Yeah, same," Benny said as he focused on the design. "You're going to look great, Luan. I can't wait for this!"
In his basement room, Johnathan was seen marveling at his suit as he began to prepare it. "It's time for the King to make his grand return."
Johnathan laughed triumphantly, ready to bring back his sinister persona.