6. Chapter6

AN:

bennet001: People are born with their archetypes and naturally develop corresponding abilities and characteristics. Thats why Lucy has fangs and drinks blood, despite being too young to be Indexed, and why Lincoln had been living in fear that he was just a Bystander. Indexing just helps to classify exactly what a person is.

Mr. Haziq: Silver Age Superman also had goofy, overly specific powers. But yeah, that was basically the idea.

Lincoln awoke with a start, and immediately regretted doing so. A glance at his alarm clock quickly confirmed his suspicions; morning had come. Lincoln let out a small, despondent sigh, and began the process of extracting himself from his bed.

Sleep had been delightful these past couple of nights, perhaps too delightful, but one could hardly blame the boy. After years of uncertainty as to what his future would entail, Lincoln finally...still had no real idea, to be perfectly honest. But thanks to Lori, he'd finally gotten a taste of what it could be. After years of being forced to sit on the sidelines, watching his far more capable and talented older sisters do their part to defend humanity, Lincoln had finally had the chance to be...percipient to one such heroic endeavor. His presence, apparently absolutely necessary for the hard fought victory wrought that day. And while he'd have preferred to have been a little more directly involved, it was a broad stride forward for a boy who'd begun to fear he'd never amount to anything. And it was all thanks to his big sister, Lori. Was it any wonder that in the days that followed, he dreamed only of that celebratory flight they'd taken together? The cityscape sprawling beneath him, the exhilaration feel of the wind rushing around him, not to mention the gorgeous blonde at his siiii—

Lincoln blinked in surprise as his brain finally caught up with his fantasizing, and shook his head roughly. Where the heck had that come from? Lori was undeniably beautiful as an objective matter of fact, but it was a strange thing to dwell on...night...after night. It was possible that he might be growing a bit too attached to his eldest sister...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Fun was fun, Lincoln reasoned as he climbed out of bed and made his way to the door, but Lori was a real hero, someone with real responsibilities. It wouldn't be right of him to jeopardize those with..whatever weirdness was going on in his head.

As he grasped the doorknob and engaged the turning function that would unlock the wooden portal to the greater world, Lincoln resolved to give Lori some space. After all the excitement from their time at the mall, she'd probably appreciate it.

"Hey, twerp."

Lincoln started in surprise as a distressing familiar voice drifted into his room, ceasing his door opening only partway through the procedure. This still provided an ample view of his oldest sister, who was looking rather amp—lovely herself. Despite still being clad in her tank-top and sleeping shorts, Lori managed to look radiant as always. Another one of her overly specific super powers, he'd always suspected, Super Wake Up Looking Absolutely Perfect In Every Conceivable Way.

"M-morning, Lori." Lincoln replied, unconsciously fidgeting with his collar. Was it hot in here? Why was it so hot in here?

Some, deep-seated instinct within Lincoln told him it would be unwise to say anything in his current state, so he opted not to. Instead, he stood there, looking at Lori through the partially opened doorway, waiting as the seconds stretched on into an eternity. He was surprised, Lori was normally a lot more chatty and assertive, and yet there she stood, staring back at him back at him, gently swaying back and forth, as if to some tune only she could hea, lips turned upward into a small, reserved sort of smile. It occurred to him, after some indeterminable amount of time, that someone needed to say something, lest they remain here, staring at one another for eternity. But Lincoln wasn't quite ready for...whatever this was to end just yet, and speaking could only hasten this moment's demise. So he didn't, quietly resolving that he would continue not saying anything for as long as it continued to bear fruit.

"Ahem!" And just as Lincoln had feared, the moment had finally passed. He felt a twinge of disappointment, deep in his chest, as his higher brain functions came back online, making him keenly aware that he'd been standing for some time now in his PJs, staring gormlessly at his big sister, and managed to find enough shame within himself to flush red in embarrassment. Thankfully, he wouldn't have time to dwell on that feeling for long, as an unseen force shoved against the still partially closed door. Reflexes kicked in and Lincoln managed to step backwards just in time to avoid being smacked in the face. To his surprise, the door swung open to reveal Leni, also still in her nightwear, and looking oddly...desperate.

"Linky!" She cried out as she began to step forward, arms outstretched. Long honed instincts caused Lincoln to begin scrunching down, preparing for the imminent crushing and squishing that was to become his imminent future, but the fashionable blond screeched to a stop as a slender arm reached out to block her path.

"Leni."Came Lori's calm, collected voice. "Remember what we talked about."

"Oh...right." Leni pouted at the older girl before turning her trembling lips towards Lincoln. "Linky. Hugs!" Leni uttered, stretching out her arms once more and making grabby motions with her hands.

"Use your words, Leni." Said Lori, sighing softly, still holding her arm out to block the other girl's movement. It was at this point Lincoln realized that Lori was preventing Leni from bum rushing him.

"L-leni can has hugs, Linky? Please?" She squeaked, her lovely facial features scrunching up in concentration. As grateful as Lincoln was for Lori's intervention, Leni was starting to tremble in a manner very reminiscent of Lisa's more volatile experiments, just as they were about to explode...

"Sure thing Le—" He began, but was quickly interrupted as Leni lurched forward, swatting Lori aside as effortless as...well, Lori herself might swat aside literally anything else, and snatched him up into her traditional, bone shattering hug.

"Oooooh." Leni cooed, and she held him tightly against her, surprising Lincoln by keeping him above breast level for once. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou Linky!" She murmured, nuzzling her cheek against his, and Lincoln allowed himself a small sigh of contentment. As much as he appreciated the gesture, he had to admit that his morning didn't quite feel right without one of Leni's patented Leni hugs.

Finally easing up on her assault of his person, Leni pulled back, gave Lincoln one last smile, and turned to address their sister. "Did I do good, Lori?" She asked.

"Y-yeah, Leni." The superheroine replied, haltingly from where she lay splayed on the ground, looking oddly dazed. "We've still got some work to do, but...that was a good start."

"Yay!"

Following that malarky, Lori and Leni pushed their way into Lincoln's room and quickly made themselves at home. Leni claimed the bed for herself and Lincoln, flopping down onto the mattress and pulling the boy along with her, clinging to Lincoln with a tenacity not unlike that of a python, leaving Lori to somewhat reluctantly take his desk chair.

"So, not that I don't appreciate the visit..." Lincoln began, once his sisters appeared to be settled, "But what's this all about?"

Lincoln felt Leni shifting behind him. He tried, as discretely as possible, to catch a glimpse of the older girl, made significantly more difficult by the way she was cuddling him like a stuff animal, his face pillowed by her large, soft breasts. He soon realized he needed to give himself over to the softness quietly suffusing him, gently reclining into Leni enough that the casual craning of his neck upwards allowed him to catch her in his field of view, albeit upside down. Fortunately, she wasn't looking to him, but rather at Lori, silently imploring the eldest Loud sibling for..something. A quick glance at Lori revealed that she too was looking back at their sister, rather irritably at that, and it wasn't long before Lincoln realized that there was an entire silent conversation going on between the two girls. Finally, Lori rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

"We, Lincoln." She began, a rather brittle smile on her gorgeous face. "That is to say Leni and I, were wondering how you'd feel about spending the day with...her?"

"Oh." Lincoln blinked in surprise, genuinely not expecting this turn of events. A glance upward revealed that Leni was now focused on him, looking down at him expectantly.

"I just that I thought you and I..." Lincoln winced, immediately regretting those words as Leni's face fell, the hopefulness previously displayed now succinctly dashed by his careless words.

"I'm not saying no, Leni." He protested, reaching up and attempting to put one arm on her shoulder in a reassuring matter, but he missed, and laid it atop her cheek instead. To his surprise, Leni immediately covered his hand with her own, holding it in place.

"I just thought we'd have fun together, Linky." She murmured, nuzzling her face into his hand. "Like you and Lori did."

"M-maybe not...exactly like us." Lori interjected. "Not getting attacked would probably be a huge improvement."

Realization dawned upon Lincoln. "Ah." He said, wincing. "I get it."

"No you don't." Lori said sternly, motioning for him to look her in the eye. "You did a great job Lincoln, especially considering that you aren't a combat archetype. But I don't want any of my siblings getting attacked by anything, ever, Leni included. You're all too important to me."

"Aww." Leni cooed. Lincoln remained silent, but he certainly shared the sentiment. Lori could be tough on them, but nobody could say she didn't love her family.

"Besides." Lori continued. "I have..other commitments today, so I couldn't take you with me anyway."

That was interesting. "Such as?" Lincoln prompted, trying to sit up, and failing, Leni's grip on him holding fast.

"Because she's hanging with me today." Announced a sultry voice. One which belonged to neither Lori, nor Leni. Lincoln glanced in the direction of the voice, and let out a soft squeak of surprise. There, floating just outside his window, was a beautiful blonde woman in form fitting armor which, despite her PR firm's continued insistence to the contrary, really did look a heck of a lot like a one-piece swimsuit.

"Heya Linc." Carol Pingrey greeted him with a wink and a smile. "Mind if I come in?"

"I told you I'd meet you later, Carol." Said Lori, her calm face clearly at odds with the tension in her voice. As there was no place left to sit, Carol had found herself some empty space and opted to simply hover in place, sitting crisscross style, one luxurious leg draped daintily over the other. It was...distracting to say the least.

"And I decided to meet you here anyway." Carol replied. "Besides, you know I love hanging with your family." She shot Lincoln another wink, and the pale haired boy felt his cheeks begin to warm."

Lincoln was trying very hard not to be starstruck, but was finding it very difficult to do so. Yes, he regularly found himself in the company of high profile archetypes. All of his older sisters had earned themselves some degree of fame for one reason or another, with Lori in particular counting among the crème de la crème of Royal Woods. It was difficult, verging on impossible to find a hero more beloved or respected than Lori Loud around here. But it was also hard to ignore that Carol was one of those rare few who could give Lori a run for her money. Which of the two would win in a fight ever remained a popular discussion topic on the playground and the internet alike.

It wasn't even like they were strangers. Carol and Lori had been fast friends for longer than he'd been alive, and she'd spent tons of time with the Loud family growing up. He himself had many happy memories playing with the Pingrey girl, both with and without Lori around. But that Carol, the one that with which he could actually hold a conversation without going tongue tied and cross-eyed, was a lanky, acne ridden girl with a mouth full of braces. At some point she'd bloomed into the creature that was currently lounging in his room, and it had immediately become that much more difficult to talk to her. It was bad enough that she had also become a prominent hero, forcing Lincoln to desperately fight the urge to geek out around her whenever she stopped by. But now she was also tall, and pretty, and smelled like strawberries, and she kept smiling at him. It was very stressful!

"Feel free to close your mouth, little bro." Lori grumbled, glaring at her fellow blonde. Responding would require he actually say something, so Lincoln chose the path of least resistance, and simply complied.

"So, yeah..." Lori continued, rolling her eyes. "As I was saying, I've been asked to pair up with Carol today."

"Not that we wouldn't be happy to have you join us, Linc." Carol smoothly interjected. "But it's a PR thing. The city gets us to tackle a few high profile jobs that have been pending for a while, and media outlets get lots of pictures and footage of a couple of pretty gals paling around. You know how it goes."

Lincoln's brain attempted to imagine what some of those photos might look like. "I...completely...understand." He uttered, nodding woodenly.

"Hence, Leni." Lori gestured to the third blonde, still holding him captive. "Speaking of, time to let go, Leni. Lincoln needs to be able to participate on this conversation."

"Aw." Leni pouted, clearly unhappy with the decision. Still she acquiesced, loosening her grip on Lincoln and allowing the two of them to finally sit upright. She did remain extremely close to him, however.

"I didn't mean to sound so negative before, Leni." Lincoln apologized, patting his older sister on the arm. "I was just kind of confused by the situation." He paused, thoughtfully. "At least partially because...I don't think I know what you actually do."

"Which is why, it'd be a good idea for you to broaden your horizons a bit, little bro." Lori gestured demonstratively, holding her hands out wide. "Though to be fair, Leni is a bit of an odd niche. No offense, Leni."

"I don't have niches, silly." The younger blonde chirped. "I'm very hygienic." Then she bent down and gave Lincoln a quick peck on the cheek. "And I forgive you, Linky." Lincoln glanced at the still open window, wondering if it was possible to open it a little wider. It was still really warm in here...

"Magical girls are classified as both Combat and Support Archetypes." Carol offered. "Most of them have some form of offensive ability, and can be called upon to assist in that capacity during emergencies, but it's usually more practical to have them operating in a supportive capacity."

"And that would be?" Lincoln pressed, discovering that it much easier to talk to Carol when he wasn't looking at her. The trick was to look into her general direction, but not at her.

"Making people happy!" Leni announced, flinging her arms in the air, only narrowly avoiding sending Lincoln tumbling to the ground. "The happier people are, the less often Soulless appear. So Support Archetypes keep people from feeling sad!"

"Oh." Said Lincoln. "Like what Luna does."

"Why is my blood fountain pink!" Roared a very irate brunette, glaring angrily at the individual unfortunate enough to be in charge of this operation.

"C-corporate vetoed the fake blood, Ms. Luna." Stammered the poor suit. "Said it didn't gel with your Idol image."

"Bollocks!" Luna grabbed the fellow by his collar and yanked him down to eye level. "Get me a proper blood fountain, or I'll be taking a donation from you, personally!" Then she shoved him to the side, seeming to immediately forget his presence. "And speaking of blood, where's the bleedin' pyrotechnics bloke?!" With that, she stomped off, seeking her latest victim.

"It's a little like what Luna does." Lori replied, shrugging.

"But with significantly fewer terrified grandmas." Carol cackled, slapping her knee in amusement.

"I thought Bloodberry Jams was really catchy." Opined Leni.