Chapter 1
Chapter Text
It was a beautiful, warm summer's night. So beautiful, in fact, that Lynn and Rita Loud decided to take their five daughters stargazing. In descending birth order, there was the five-year-old Lily, the four-year-old Lisa, the three-year-old Lola, the two-year-old Lana, and the ten-month-old Lucy. The parents and children piled into the family van and drove to Sleeping Bear Dunes. The campground was open to the public and didn't charge any fees, so if any of them should get sleepy, they would all sleep under the stars. Two hours into the stargazing, something very large blocked out the moon and stars, and the many forest creatures suddenly went silent.
The parents looked at each other worriedly, using their husband-wife telepathy to debate whether to leave earlier than they originally planned. The object in the sky appeared to be totally black, but a very close inspection revealed that it had graceful curves as if it were made of seashell or coral, and was lined with odd lumps distributed evenly between razor-sharp fins and crests.
Without warning, the whole family was illuminated from directly above by a pale blue spotlight. While the children shrieked and covered their eyes against the sudden brightness, Rita began drifting upwards almost too fast for either her or her husband to react. When they did react, each tried desperately to grasp the hand of the other, only for their fingers to just barely brush.
Rita screamed as she was taken by the tractor beam into the waiting clutches of the looming object, which was in fact a massive spacecraft from the distant planet of Yautja Prime. Lynn and the children screamed helplessly as their wife and mother was forcefully taken from them. Once Rita reached the bowels of the vessel, the spotlight abruptly switched off, bathing everyone in darkness once more. With an earth-shattering thunderclap, the ship's engines fired up, and it returned to the region of space from whence it came.
...
Rita woke up in a dark room that was swelteringly warm. She tried to swat her husband to tell him to open the bedroom window, only to hear a dullclankwhen the short chain attached to the shackle around her wrist jerked taught. The memories of the spotlight shining down on her family's blanket in the grass came flooding back, and Rita lifted her head to look down at herself.
She had been stripped of all clothing, and her wrists and ankles were shackled to a hard but comfortable stone slab. The room was so hot and humid that a fine sheen of sweat covered her bare skin and glistened in the dim light. Looking around, she appeared to be in some sort of laboratory; the room's dim light came from many glowing monitors attached to the walls, and a thick metal arm suspended above the table she was laying on bristled with innumerable tools with different functions. This struck fear into her, and she began to struggle, whimpering and sobbing when the shackles failed to loosen.
While she was struggling, a panel in one wall slid upward, allowing a tall creature to saunter into the room. Rita stopped moving in order to get a good look at it. The creature was about nine feet tall and had a bipedal humanoid shape. However, that was the only similarity to a human that it had. Sporting one of the ugliest faces she had ever seen framed by glossy black dreadlocks with golden rings braided into them, the undoubtedly masculine creature was bare-chested. Its scaly gray-green skin rippled with powerful muscles, and leather breeches and boots covered the lower half of its body. The mandible-like flaps of skin on either side of its fang-filled mouth opened, and it spoke in perfect English marred only by a raspy unidentifiable accent.
"Greetings, human. I mean you no harm."
"Who are you? What are you doing to me?" Rita asked, her voice wavering in terror.
"Unfortunately, my true name cannot be translated into any human language. However, you may call me 'Tech,' as I am a brilliant scientist among my race, the Yautja. As for what I am going to do to you, you have been specially selected from among your race to take part in a breeding experiment. You see, an unforeseen affliction has stricken all Yautja females with infertility. If we are able to successfully mate with another species similar in physiology and cognitive ability, it could be the key to saving us from extinction," the extraterrestrial creature explained. Rita was strangely okay with this.
"W-will it hurt?" she asked, causing the Yautja to let out a sound that could have been laughter.
"Of course not. The process of artificial insemination will be completely painless. You may even find it to be pleasurable..."
...
The Yautja scientist, who still insisted on being called "Tech," promised not to keep Rita captive on Yautja Prime any longer than absolutely necessary, and he kept his word. Her living conditions just slightly surpassed the level ofbearable, which she was thankful for. She was allowed to roam freely about Tech's laboratory and was given a diet of strange-looking yet tasty fruits and vegetables (she and Tech found out the hard way that the animal products native to the planet were very difficult for a human to digest). She once asked Tech why he wouldn't let her go outdoors, and he explained that he was one of only a handful of Yautja that saw the benefits of successful reproduction with humans. Across the wider planetary surface, Rita would most likely be hunted for sport upon encountering one of the natives.
After almost three weeks (in Earth time) of continuous experiments and repeated inseminations, Tech was able to conclude that Rita truly was pregnant. At which point, they boarded his personal ship and returned to Earth. Rita sat in the copilot's chair beside Tech, trying to find a comfortable position in a seat designed for a much larger Yautja frame. Tech having discarded her old clothes, not seeing a use for them, she wore a crude dress made from the pelt of something that originated from among Yautja Prime's wildlife.
"I must warn you, Rita," began Tech, "if the rumors I've heard about your native governing system are true, then you may be subjected to experiments similar to my own, but with a different purpose. There's no telling whether the child you carry will be able to withstand it."
"I know. But you took me away from my husband and children the night you took me to Yautja Prime. If that's what has to happen for me to see them again, then so be it."
"As you wish," Tech conceded. They came to the exact place where Rita was abducted, and Rita said goodbye to Tech right before he used the tractor beam to lower her to the ground. The leather sandals that Tech made for her protected Rita's feet as she walked the great distance to the nearest gas station. She talked the cashier into letting her use the phone, then dialed the number of her family's landline. After several rings, Rita heard the saddened voice of her eldest daughter.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Lily, it's Mom." There was a long pause, and Rita feared that Lily thought it was a prank call and hung up. Then Lily spoke again, and it sounded like she was trying hard to fight back tears.
"M-Mom? I-is that really you?"
"Yes, sweetie, it's me. The alien that took me brought me back. I'm at the gas station a couple miles down the road from Sleeping Bear Dunes. Can you send your dad to come pick me up?"
"Sure, but give me some time to wake him up. He justfainted."Rita let out a small giggle, knowing how emotional her husband could get.
"Okay. Try to hurry, though. This pimply teenager behind the counter keeps looking at me funny." The cashier blushed and averted his gaze. "I love you, Lily."
"Love you too, Mom."
The minute the family van parked, Lynn and all five girls jumped out and nearly dog-piled Rita, shouting for joy at the long-awaited reunion.
"We tried to tell people that aliens took you, but nobody believed us. You're still the subject of a missing person investigation," Lynn said through his happy tears.
"I'll tell all of you what happened. Right now, I need to go home and put on somerealclothes," Rita promised him.
"I dunno. Have I ever told you about my fantasies of an arranged American Indian peace-treaty marriage?" Lynn asked with a wink.
"Gross, Dad! Get a room!" Lily gagged, making both of her parents laugh.
...
As she promised, Rita explained who kidnapped her and why. Once she had a chance to freshen up, that is. Lynn reacted to the news that she was pregnant with an alien's child exactly the way she thought he would. He was angry at first, believing that she cheated on him with an alien. Once she reinforced the concept that she was likely helping to save an entire race from extinction, though, he began to see things from her perspective, having at least a little compassion for the Yautja. He promised her that he would care for the child as if it were his own, no matter what it would look like as a half-breed.
A couple weeks passed, and Rita's friends were almost as joyful at her safe return as her family was. The local police called off the investigation. That wasn't the end of trouble for the Loud family, however. One day, Rita had just finished washing the breakfast dishes when there was a knock at the door. When she answered it, dozens of men in black body armor stormed the house. A group of them split off and invaded the girls' bedrooms. Lynn and Rita having already been restrained, they could only watch helplessly as their children were dragged kicking and screaming down the stairs in various stages of dress. Lily wore only a towel around her body, as the soldiers had interrupted her shower.
"What is the meaning of this tomfoolery?! Release us at once, you repulsive apes!" Lisa demanded. At four years old, she was very, very smart. Her vocabulary was so advanced that she regularly had to rephrase herself so that others could understand what she was trying to say. The soldiers nearest to the door parted to let a man wearing a smart black suit with a black tie and black sunglasses through. He held up a badge.
"Lynn and Rita Loud, I'm Agent Saunders of the FBI. You and your children are coming with us."
Chapter 2
Chapter Text
Once they were brought to a nearby FBI compound, the Loud family was split up. All five of the children went to one cell, Lynn Sr. went to another, and Rita went to a third. Inside the sterile white room that was kept uncomfortably cool, the woman suffered extreme humiliation as she was forced to undress in front of the (male) guards and re-dress in a shirt and pants that resembled bright orange hospital scrubs. She was then left alone for over an hour while she and her family were processed.
At the end of the waiting period, the guards came back and took Rita to an interrogation room, complete with a solid steel table with built-in handcuffs, a plain steel chair without cushions or contouring, and a large mirror that Rita knew from watching crime documentaries to be a pane of one-way glass. The guards roughly pushed her into the chair and fastened her wrists to the table, cinching the handcuffs almost unbearably tight. The guards walked out, and Agent Saunders walked in, and she shot him a withering glare.
"If you harm a single hair on any of my kids..." she began, only for him to interrupt her.
"Relax, Mrs. Loud, your children are fine. A little unnerved, but otherwise unharmed. It'syouwho I'm worried about." Agent Saunders snapped his fingers, and a plush leather computer chair was brought into the room for him to sit down. "Tell me about everything that happened during your supposed...disappearance. Your husband and children claimed that you were abducted by aliens, but I want to hear what happened from your own lips. Keep in mind that I'll be able to tell if you're lying."
Left with no alternative, Rita told him everything. The complete, honest truth. Agent Saunders retained a passive, stony expression during her confession. When she finished, he pulled out a manilla folder with slanted dark blue stripes along the edge and placed it in front of her.
"Mrs. Loud, this is an X-file. In my line of work, an X-file is a case that has never been solved and has no logical explanation. Open it up," he told her. Her handcuffs had just enough slack to let her do as he said, and what she saw chilled her to the bone. The first few pictures had been taken in a jungle and showed damaged military vehicles and trees with symmetrical slashes on the trunks. Others were from a city and showed similar damage. What the two sets of pictures had in common, though, was a multitude of skinless human corpses. "Mrs. Loud, this extraterrestrial race that you call the Yautja appear to have no civility at all. Two individuals in two different locations hunted these poor people for sport and took their skins as trophies. We attempted to capture or kill both of them. The Jungle Hunter, as we call the first one, utilized a suicide bomb upon being bested in single combat. Its body and equipment were vaporized instantly, as was everything within a two-hundred-foot radius. The whereabouts of the City Hunter remain unknown," Agent Saunders explained and slid her one last photo, taken from the city location. It depicted a colossal bipedal creature that greatly resembled Tech, if Tech was covered head-to-foot in highly polished armor bristling with weapons. "If this is what they intend for your child to become, then I must insist that you allow us to terminate your pregnancy immediately." Rita's heart stopped.
"WHAT?!NO! THERE'S NO WAY I'M LETTING YOU KILL AN INNOCENT BABY! MUCH LESSMYINNOCENT BABY!" she screamed, attempting to lunge at his throat only for the chain of the handcuffs to jerk taught.
"I was afraid you'd say that," Agent Saunders said with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this, but..." He pulled a walkie-talkie from inside his suit coat and spoke into it, "Bring them in." Rita's ears perked up when she heard the voices of her children in the hall outside the interrogation room.
"Mommy! Mommy, help!"
"They're hurting us, Mommy!"
"I'll have you court-martialed for this, you repugnant palookas!"
"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
One by one, Rita's children were shoved into the room. With the exception of baby Lucy, who was crying inconsolably, they were dressed identically to their mother. The only one who remained silent was Lily, who also had Lucy cradled in her arms. The guards escorting them squeezed their arms and shoulders tightly, forcing them to stand still in a row.
"All of you, SHUT UP!" roared Agent Saunders, and the girls (with the exception of Lucy) fell silent. "Much better. Now, Mrs. Loud, I'm going to give you a choice," he said, pulling a handgun from inside his suit coat and co*cking it. "You can consent to the abortion now, or you can watch your children die one by one until you consent. In the event that I run out of children to shoot, you will receive the abortion by force." Agent Saunders pried Lucy out of Lily's arms and pressed the muzzle of the gun to her forehead. "So, which will it be, Mrs. Loud?" Rita was about to consent in order to save her remaining children when Lisa spoke up.
"Wait! I believe I can offer an alternative!" The guard holding her promptly clapped his hand over her mouth, only to let go of her entirely with a shout of pain when she sank her teeth into his palm. "Let me speak, you rambunctious roughnecks! As I was saying, I have come up with an alternative to terminating Mother's pregnancy. I happen to be a Nobel-winning scientist in my own right. If you will allow Mother to carry her child to term, I will keep tabs on them as they grow and develop. If these extraterrestrials are as formidable as you claim, the child may become a valuable ally to the United States, provided that they inherit most if not all of their biological father's skill sets. What say you in the matter?" Agent Saunders seemed to think hard about Lisa's offer, so she decided to throw in a little blackmail for good measure. "I've also done thorough research on you and your habits, Sander Saunders, and frankly, you utterly disgust me. I think your superiors would beveryinterested in a man afflicted with both pedophiliaandnecrophilia at the exact same time." The agent's eyes widened, as did those of the guards.
"Okay! Okay! You win! You and your family will be sent home immediately," Agent Saunders cried out in fear.
"I think we should also receive financial and therapeutic compensation for our appalling maltreatment while in this facility," Lisa added.
"Yes! Whatever you want! Just don't make that information public!"
...
With their FBI nightmare finally over, the Louds were able to return to a somewhat normal life. Lisa convinced Agent Saunders to personally cover the cost of therapy sessions for the trauma he had inflicted on the individual members of the family. In addition, the family received so much financial compensation that Lynn was able to quit the job that he hated and attend his dream culinary school so that he could open a restaurant.
When the time came for Rita to give birth, Lisa hired a nurse from the local hospital named Maria Santiago, who by coincidence had recently returned to work from maternity leave, to assist in the delivery at their house and keep the child's origins under wraps. The child was a healthy baby boy, with skin that was gray with a green tint and odd, random patches of scales; fingers and toes that were tipped with hard black claws; a nose that was little more than a bump; and a full head of ashen-blond hair much like their grandfather's (some would call it white, but it was closer to light gray or silver). Lisa stated that the terms of her agreement with Agent Saunders required that they name the child after an influential person from American history, so after much consideration, they named him Lincoln.
The Santiago and Loud families grew closer over time, and Maria's husband Arturo brought their daughter Ronalda Anne, or Ronnie for short, for regularly scheduled playdates with Lincoln. Rita eventually produced five more children with Lynn, all of which were girls. The first one born after Lincoln was named Lynn Junior. Then came the twins, Luan and Luna. After them came Leni and finally Lori. Lincoln was ten years old by the time Lori was born, and as promised, Lisa carefully studied his development.
His appearance was humanoid enough that they passed off his alien features as a bizarre genetic abnormality that skipped several generations. Lincoln was stronger and faster than other children his age, almost brutishly so, although he was very mild-mannered. Rita had to stop breastfeeding him earlier than she intended, because once he started teething, his teeth were all pointed canines with the exception of his molars.
The only parts of him that were truly "alien" were his vocal cords and his yellow slit-pupiled eyes. His vocal cords were made for speaking in the grunts, growls, and clicks that made up the native Yautja language, and he could only speak a few scattered words in English, signing the rest of the time. He understood English well enough, though, and for the most part, his family and those who knew him well could tell what he was trying to say even without Sign Language.
The Santiagos weren't the only family the Louds made friends with over the years. Outside of Ronnie, the first friend Lincoln ever made while he was in school was a boy named Clyde McBride. Clyde and Lincoln were both bullied, Lincoln for his looks and Clyde for the fact that he had two dads. Lincoln protected Clyde from being beaten up on several occasions, showing that he himself had a natural affinity for hand-to-hand combat. As a way to convey his gratitude, Clyde shared some of his hobbies with Lincoln, who grew to love video games and comic books.
There were many hardships as well. Most of the children Lincoln first started school with, in preschool and kindergarten, liked him for who he was as a person. Most of their parents, on the other hand, took one look at him an immediately judged him to be a monster. It led to several arguments and parent-teacher conferences, all of which determined that Lincoln and his parents were not the ones at fault. Which leads us to our present situation...
Chapter 3
Chapter Text
Now at fourteen years of age, Lincoln and the handful of friends he'd made over the course of his life sat around an unused desk at their school playing Texas Hold 'Em while all of their collective parents participated in a PTA meeting. Lincoln wore an olive-green zippered hoodie over a burnt-orange T-shirt tucked into faded denim jeans and scuffed orange sneakers. His ashen-blond hair was short but shaggy, and his expression was unreadable as he gazed at the cards he held in his clawed fingers. His friends Clyde and Liam had both withdrawn from the game, leaving him pitted against Ronnie and Stella.
Clyde was African-American, with curly black hair, glasses, and wearing a blue-and-yellow striped T-shirt over jeans and black sneakers.
Liam was a hard-working farm boy, and had a sun-kissed face dotted with freckles and carrot-red hair under a white cowboy hat. He wore a blue-and-green striped T-shirt, denim overalls, and brown cowboy boots.
Ronnie, of course, came from a Hispanic family. Her long black hair hung down her back in a ponytail held in place by a purple scrunchie, and she wore a purple hoodie over a denim skirt, light purple leggings, and purple Mary Janes.
Stella and her family had immigrated from the Philippines three years prior. She had caramel skin like Ronnie, curly black hair that came to her shoulders, and a white T-shirt over a black knee-length skirt, white knee-high socks, and green sneakers. Being a member of the girls' basketball team, she wore a red, black, and white Royal Woods Squirrels letterman jacket over her T-shirt.
Sitting nearby and observing the game was everyone's mutual friend Jordan, a girl with white skin, sandy-blond hair in a French braid, a canary-yellow blouse, a blue pleated skirt, white ankle socks, and black Mary Janes.
In a surprise move, Lincoln took one hand away from his cards, using it to push his entire pile of poker chips to the center of the desk. Everyone's eyes widened, and Lincoln gave a triumphant fang-filled grin. Ronnie and Stella looked at each other nervously. He must've had areallygood hand if he was confident enough to go all-in.
"I fold," Ronnie declared, laying her cards on the desk face-down.
"Me too," Stella said, doing likewise. Lincoln shrugged and laid his cards down face-up, and everyone's eyes widened even more.
"You were bluffing thewhole time?!" Ronnie asked incredulously, and Lincoln chortled in response. "YOU DORK! I had four Aces!" she screamed and shoved him angrily, which only caused him to laugh harder. His deep, warbling laughter was infectious, and the others soon found themselves laughing alongside him, even Ronnie. Despite his deterring appearance, they had all grown rather fond of him, especially Ronnie, seeing as the two had grown up together. For some of their parents, however, that wasn't the case...
...
Jordan's parents, Rick and Jesse Rosato, were very rich, at the top of the social food chain. Having so much money made them fairly snobbish, giving them the opinion that they had the right to boss other people around. Jordan's dad Rick was the head of the PTA board, and her mom Jesse was the president of a Homeowners' Association, and the power went to both of their heads. The focus of this PTA meeting was whether or not Lincoln should be expelled from Royal Woods High.
This was far from the Loud parents' first rodeo; however, this one was possibly the most severe. What happened was that earlier that same day, Lincoln walked into the boys' locker room to find three boys that were two grades above him trying to coerce one of his female classmates (he was fairly certain her name was "Cookie") out of her clothes and into the shower. He hadn't had many interactions with her, but he knew she was weak from chronic bone disease and couldn't fight back, so naturally he had beaten the snot out of the boys, emerging from the fight with hardly a scratch himself. While he had been in numerous fights before, this was the first time an opponent of his had been sent to the hospital due to injuries inflicted by his claws.
While Lincoln's parents, Liam's parents, Ronnie's parents, and the parents of the girl he'd rescued tried to argue in Lincoln's defense, it was no use. Jordan's parents were very influential, and Clyde's and Stella's parents were scared to death of Lincoln. Even though Rita threatened to sue the school for discrimination, the principal found the arguments in favor of Lincoln's expulsion to be superior.
The evidence provided by Jordan's parents included, but wasn't limited to, Lincoln's grades, attendance, and overall performance in the classroom. While Lincoln excelled in math, science, and gym, his grades were abysmal in history and social studies. He was literally born to be a hunter, so it was natural for him to be antsy and inattentive in classes that required him to sit still for long periods of time. As for his attendance, Lisa had written doctor's notes (she had received no less than three PhDs by that time) excusing him from classes so that she could continue conducting her studies on him. Said notes had apparently "never been filed" in the school's archives, and therefore must not have existed in the first place.
As the other board members filed out of the room, only Lincoln's parents remained in their seats, Lynn Sr. hugging Rita from the side while she rubbed her temples to ward off the ensuing headache. They were soon approached by Liam's parents, Glenn and Gladys Hunnicut.
"Rita, I'm sorry we couldn't get Lincoln out of trouble this time," Gladys spoke, laying a comforting hand on the shoulder of her best friend since high school. "That doesn't mean we can't find a silver lining, though!"
"Gladys is right," said Glenn. "If you want, Lincoln can come work for us on the farm. We could use a good strong lad like him, and we'll pay him for it. Ten dollars an hour, forty hours a week. Lunch and transportation provided courtesy of the Hunnicut family, free of charge."
"That's a tempting offer. We'll think about it and discuss it with Lincoln first," Rita said, bidding the couple farewell as she and Lynn Sr. walked out to where their son was waiting.
[Well? How did it go?] Lincoln asked in Sign Language. The looks on his parents' faces gave him his answer, and his own face fell to match theirs. They wordlessly walked outside to where the family van was parked, and Lincoln dutifully followed. Before they could enter the vehicle, though, Rita turned to face her only son, who was growing at a faster rate than ordinary human children and was exactly her height.
"Lincoln, I'm not going to sugar-coat this. What you did earlier today made a lot of people angry and scared. Some people think you're too dangerous to be around the other students," she began, and Lincoln hung his head in shame with a sniffle. However, he looked up when he felt her hand cup his cheek. "I'm not one of those people," Rita continued with a warm smile that conveyed her love for him. "Sweetie, I'm soproudof you for protecting that girl. Even if one boy had to get stitches,theywere in the wrong, not you. I know it seems like the whole world is against you right now, but just remember that you have us, your sisters, and all of your friends supporting you, no matter what." Lincoln smiled in return, closed his eyes, and leaned his face against Rita's palm, making a rumbling sound deep in his throat that made it seem like he was purring (which he might have been; there were times that he seemed more feline than reptilian).
...
When they arrived back at the house, the twins Luan and Luna, Leni, and Lori all pounced on Lincoln the moment they saw his downtrodden expression. Having been knocked flat on his back, Lincoln could only laugh and squirm as his four most affectionate sisters all peppered him with kisses to cheer him up. Having literally known him their whole lives (the twins were nine, Leni was seven, and Lori was four), they were more than used to his appearance. They knew it wasn't normal for a human to look like him, but to them, he was only their quirky, bully-scaring big brother, and they loved him dearly.
Later that night, Lincoln was lying in bed, snoring softly as he slept. He snorted awake when he felt a tiny finger poke his shoulder. He blearily sat up and looked around. Not seeing anyone with his excellent night vision, he was about to lay back down when he heard a small cough. He looked down and spotted Lori's wavy golden hair. Being shorter than most of the furniture in the house put the preschooler at a definite disadvantage, and she looked up at her brother with tears in her eyes.
"Linky, I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you?" she pleaded. It was a strange concept for Lincoln's younger sisters to go to him for comfort after a nightmare, considering that he looked like something from a nightmare himself. Lori, in her childlike innocence, once provided an explanation when she stated, "Linky issoscary that he scares all the bad monsters away! I'm not scared, because he's my brother and Ilovehim!"
Smiling, Lincoln reached down, gently grabbed his youngest sister under her arms, and effortlessly lifted her off the ground, depositing her next to him on his bed. He then moved the covers aside so that she could crawl into her "snuggle spot" (that was what Lori and Leni called their favorite place to sleep when Lincoln allowed either of them to snuggle with him). Straddling his torso, Lori laid down on her stomach, pressing her cheek to Lincoln's sternum. Lincoln then pulled the covers over them both, and Lori allowed the sound of her brother's strong heartbeat lull her into a deep, dreamless sleep. Lincoln wasn't far behind, stroking Lori's back until he fell asleep as well.
Chapter 4
Chapter Text
The next morning, Lincoln woke up to the sound of his alarm clock ringing, and he quickly silenced it before it could disturb Lori, who was still sound asleep nestled against his chest. He took the clock off of his dresser, then lifted it to his face to see what time it was. It was time for at least Lori to get up, since none of his sisters had gotten expelled from school like he had. Pushing the bitter memory to the back of his mind, he put his alarm clock down before brushing Lori's bangs to the side and kissing her forehead. The little girl squirmed and groaned before groggily opening her eyes.
"Hi, Linky. Is it morning already?" she mumbled. He nodded with a soft smile. Resigning herself to her fate, Lori put her arms around Lincoln's neck. The half-human teen sat up with Lori cradled in his arms, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and carried Lori down the stairs. The closer he and Lori got to the kitchen, the stronger the scent of their father's cooking became. Sure enough, Lynn Sr. stood at the stove flipping pancakes while two plates on the counter nearby were piled high with bacon and scrambled eggs respectively. Even with Lily and Lola away at college (Lily for an art degree, Lola for a theater degree), there were still plenty of mouths to feed.
Lincoln deposited the still-drowsy Lori in her chair at the dining room table, the scales on his chest having left an imprint on her cheek. Lincoln liked to sleep shirtless, usually wearing olive-green lounge pants to bed. Starting about an inch and a half below his collarbone, the skin and scales on his chest and abdomen were much lighter in color than on the rest of his body, more of an ivory shade or very pale yellow than grayish-green. He had the lithe, toned body of a swimmer, not too buff, but with prominent pecs and a six-pack. Whenever he worked out or went jogging, he got more than a few passing glances from his female peers.
After his sisters (with the exception of Lisa, who worked from home in her makeshift laboratory in the attic) left for school and his father left to work at his restaurant, Rita sat down with Lincoln to discuss the Hunnicuts' offer to have him work for them as a farmhand. He told her he would take the rest of the day to think about it, then went upstairs to take a shower and get dressed.
...
At lunch, Ronnie texted Lincoln and asked if he wanted to hang out at her house after school, to which he eagerly replied in the affirmative. Smartphones were hard for Lincoln to use because of his claws, but he was getting better with practice. Having a smartphone at all was incredibly useful, since not all of his friends knew Sign Language and even less of them were familiar enough with his body language and facial expressions.
It was also a rare day that one of Ronnie's parents had a day off of work, the hospital constantly keeping them on their toes. Maria was a Nurse Practitioner, and her employers kept putting her on the graveyard shift as well as double shifts despite her numerous protests. Arturo was an Emergency Room physician. Like his wife, he frequently received nighttime shifts from the hospital director. As a result of being overworked and underpaid, Ronnie and her little brother Bobby lived in a small two-bedroom house that was showing wear and tear due to both Arturo and Maria being absolutelyexhaustedat the end of every shift. It got to the point where Ronnie would regularly ask Lincoln (or whoever was available at the time) to help her mow the lawn and fix things around the house that were broken. She did that so that her parents could catch up on precious sleep.
When Lincoln arrived at Ronnie's house, Ronnie let him in and took him to the living room, where Cookie, the girl he'd rescued the previous day, was waiting for them. She was small for her age, only coming to Lincoln's midriff, and was very slender, almost skeletal. She wore a baggy purple sweater over a lavender dress, white ankle socks, and purple slippers. Her light-brown hair came nearly to her knees, and she had a round "baby face" dotted with freckles, with the biggest periwinkle-blue eyes Lincoln had ever seen. She had been born prematurely to a cocaine-addicted teenage mother who gave her up for adoption, and her fragile health made her an easy target for predators like the three boys Lincoln had fended off.
"Cookie here felt bad about your expulsion and wanted to talk to you," Ronnie explained when Lincoln looked at her inquisitively. Cookie stood up from the couch and walked toward them, rubbing her arm with an awkward smile.
"Hi, Lincoln. I...I've seen you around, between classes and stuff, but I've never really taken the opportunity talk to you or anything, and I'm starting to regret that now. From what Ronnie and the others have told me, you seem like a really nice guy. I don't understand why everyone seems to hate you. I mean, you saved my life when nobody else would have. Thank you so much for that," she said. The longer she talked, the more her face turned pink. Lincoln smiled and started signing with his hands.
"He says not to worry about it, and it was the least he could have done. His father and grandfather both taught him from a very young age that it would be his solemn duty as a man to protect those weaker than himself. Also, he's pretty much numb to everyone's insults by now, so they don't bother him as much as they used to," Ronnie translated. Cookie was about to reply when something with brown skin and black hair streaked past them, giggling hysterically.
"ROBERTO ANTONIO TIMOTEO ALFONSO SANTIAGO! YOU COME BACK HERE AND FINISH YOUR BATH!" they heard Maria scream from the bathroom. Lincoln cracked his knuckles, then reached down and grabbed Ronnie's buck-naked four-year-old brother around the waist right as he ran past them again. Maria had come out of the bathroom to give chase, the crow's feet around her tired eyes looking deeper than ever, and gladly took back the squirming preschooler Lincoln held captive with a curt nod of gratitude.
"Maybe we should continue this conversation somewhere else," Ronnie suggested. The three friends started walking to the nearby park. Lincoln had to tap Ronnie's shoulder and signal for her to stop when he noticed Cookie lagging behind, limping slightly with a pained expression.
"Sorry, guys. Too much walking makes my legsreallysore," she apologized. Lincoln smiled once more, turned around, and dropped to one knee, offering Cookie a piggyback ride.
"He does this for his sisters all the time. He can carry both of Liam's prize pigs at the same time, so you'd be light as a feather to him," Ronnie said when Cookie looked at her. She reluctantly let Lincoln carry her the rest of the way to the park, where he set her down at a picnic table.
[Who wants an after-school snack, on me?] Lincoln asked, pointing to a nearby food truck selling ice cream and funnel cakes. They agreed on a large funnel cake with strawberry and chocolate syrup for the three of them to share, so Lincoln went up to the window and ordered. Unfortunately for him, none of the employees knew Sign Language, so he had to type what he was trying to say on his phone screen and show it to the cashier. Immediately after he paid, he whirled around when he heard Cookie scream, with Ronnie angrily shouting in Spanish.
Ronnie was in a fistfight with one of the bullies from the previous day while the other was dragging Cookie by the ankles toward the woods at the edge of the park. Lincoln clenched his fists and made a menacing growl deep in his throat, baring his teeth in a snarl.
So they want a rematch, huh? Fine by me!he thought. He pulled the zipper of his hoodie down and shrugged out of it, revealing that his T-shirt was sleeveless. He took a runner's pose, then bounded across the grass like there were springs in his feet. The boy with a hold on Cookie went down when Lincoln rammed into him with the force of a train, sending him flying a full twenty feet. The one in a fistfight with Ronnie saw Lincoln and froze in terror, leaving himself open for Ronnie to sweep his legs out from under him. When both boys had a chance to regroup, Lincoln puffed out his chest, opened his mouth wide, and let out a booming lion-like roar. Both boys turned white as a sheet and ran into the woods.
The food truck employees had seen everything and called the police. When the police arrived, Ronnie told them everything and pointed out the general direction the boys ran in. Meanwhile, Lincoln retrieved his hoodie and sat under a tree, Cookie's tiny form curled into a ball in his arms, bawling her eyes out and thanking him profusely for saving her life yet again. When their funnel cake was finally ready to eat, the food truck employees were nice enough to include three large lemonades for free.
Chapter 5
Chapter Text
As it turned out, Cookie wasveryclingy when she got frightened. One of the things she needed to be able to calm down was close physical contact with someone she trusted; normally, she'd go to either of her adopted parents, but Lincoln fit the bill just fine under the present circ*mstances. Thus, she huddled close to his chest while sitting on his lap, with his wiry but superhumanly strong arms wrapped around her, until the mental strain finally lulled her to sleep. At which point, he got up from his resting place under a tree and carried her bridal-style to the address given to him by Ronnie. Ronnie's mother had texted her to come home for dinner, so she had to leave early.
Seeing that his hands were full when he arrived at Cookie's house, Lincoln used his foot to knock on the door. Her parents were understandably worried, but Lincoln used a text-to-speech app on his phone to explain who he was and what had transpired. Eternally grateful to Lincoln for saving their daughter yet again, Cookie's parents invited Lincoln to stay for dinner. After shooting a quick text to his parents, Lincoln accepted.
Cookie eventually woke up on her family's couch to find her dad in the kitchen cooking and her mom and Lincoln having a conversation at the dining room table. Lincoln, being mostly mute, typed his half of the conversation into his text-to-speech app. Cookie joined in the conversation herself for a while, then the four people ate. Lincoln and Cookie then watched TV while her parents washed the dishes and did other housework (Lincoln offered to help, but they wouldn't let him), and Lincoln struggled to figure out how someone so timid and mousey could be such a big fan ofARGGH!, a popular show presented by the "Academy of Really Good Ghost Hunters" (hence the title). That is, until Cookie explained thatARGGH!was so low-budget that the special effects that they used for their "paranormal activity" were blatantly obvious. Thus, she found the show to be amusing rather than scary.
The doorbell rang, causing Cookie to get a confused look on her face as she walked over to answer it. Standing on the porch was Jordan and her mother (Cookie's family had the misfortune of living in Jesse's HOA). Jesse looked furious, while Jordan looked embarrassed.
"The rulesclearlystate that the grass of a lawn can be a maximum of two inches long. Yours istwo-point-fiveinches," Jesse growled without even waiting for a proper greeting from the girl.
"Mom, just drop it! It's not that big of a deal!" Jordan protested. "And why doIhave to get dragged into this?"
"You're going to be taking my place someday, so I'm showing you how to properly deal with consistent rule-breakers," Jesse told her daughter before turning back to Cookie. "This is the third time I've had to warn you. Idemandthat you mow this lawnright nowbefore I fine you for unkempt grass!"
"Hey! I'll have you know that half an inch isnotenough to bother with!" Cookie said, matching Jesse's glare with her hands on her hips. "Furthermore, my parents work hard all day, and I medically can't push a mower by myself, so you can't expect us to perform around-the-clock lawn maintenance!"
Lincoln couldn't see the porch from the couch, so he was curious what all the yelling was about and went to investigate and possibly back up his new friend. The moment his and Jesse's eyes met, he scowled and made a menacing sound in his throat. His mood was lightened when he noticed Jordan standing behind her, though. Cookie recapped the situation to him, and he responded by offering to mow for her.
"Absolutely not!" Jesse screamed. "She has to do it herself, or else it doesn't count and they still get fined! So get to it! Chop chop!" Seeing that Cookie's parents were still occupied, Lincoln disregarded what she said and shouldered past her, marching to the small shed where Cookie's parents kept their landscaping tools. He had just started the lawnmower when two police cars pulled up in front of the house with their lights flashing. "THERE HE IS, OFFICERS! THERE'S THE THEIF!" Jesse hollered, waving wildly and pointing at Lincoln.
"Huh?!" Lincoln exclaimed the only word in English he could say without struggling to pronounce it. The animalistic hunter in him sensed danger and wanted to flee, but his rational side knew that would only sway the officers in Jesse's favor.
Unexpectedly, Jordan, Cookie, and even Cookie's parents put themselves between the police and Lincoln until both sides of the story could be heard. He didn't catch all of it due to his fight-or-flight response still being on high alert, but the gist of it was that Jesse was so angry that she called the police and falsely accused Lincoln of attempting to steal the lawnmower he had been about to use, as well as being seen using "gang signs" in public. He gradually allowed himself to relax and pulled out his phone to text his parents at the advice of Jordan.
That was when Jesse, hopping mad from being interrupted and contradicted for the last fifteen minutes, ran up to Lincoln and clobbered him with her heavy purse. With a loud grunt of pain, Lincoln grabbed his face in both hands and staggered backwards several steps, dropping his phone in the process and breaking the screen. Jordan and Cookie both ran to his side to see if he was alright, only to freeze in their tracks, along with everyone else. The blood that gushed from Lincoln's nostrils when he pulled his hands away was bright green and faintly glowing. Jesse, in the process of being shoved into the back of one of the police cars on charges of falsely calling the police, assault, and the destruction of property, was the first to react.
"I KNEW IT! FROM THE MOMENT I FIRST SAW HIM, I KNEW HE WAS A FREAK! SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM NOW!" The police were shaken out of their shock and slammed the door in Jesse's face, effectively ending her tirade. They apologized to everyone present and drove away, Jordan declining their offer for a ride home. Instead, she and Cookie escorted Lincoln inside, made him sit on the couch, and shoved a wad of tissues into his hands.
"Lincoln...why is your blood green?" Jordan asked while Lincoln stopped his bleeding nose. He was ashamed that his secret was revealed like this, yet at the same time relieved that he could finally be a little more open with them. What remained of his phone had been successfully recovered, but was unusable, so he had to force himself to talk in order to answer, since neither of the girls knew Sign Language. His voice was harsh, raspy, and phlegmy, like a blob of mucus being rubbed between two pieces of sandpaper.
"Yoo...hoo-mann," he began, pointing at the two girls. "Mee...haff...hoo-mann."
"You're only half human?" Jordan asked, and Lincoln nodded. "Well, what's your other half? Were you adopted?" Lincoln shook his head.
"Mom...hoo-mann. Reel...dad...ay-lee-ann. Frum...nuh-thurr...plann-att."
"Oh, I see," said Cookie. "Mrs. Loud is your biological mother, but your real dad is an alien!" Lincoln grinned and gave a thumbs-up, signifying that Cookie was correct. "Have you ever met him? Your real dad?" Lincoln shook his head.
"Mom...neh-vurr...mett...heem...ee-thurr. Dad...wuzz...doh-nurr. Mom...part...uv...ex-purr-ih-munt." Neither Jordan nor Cookie knew how to respond to that.
Once Lincoln managed to get his nose to stop bleeding, Cookie's dad gave him a ride home, where he was once more dog-piled by his younger sisters. Upon extracting himself from the pile of affection, he made his way to Lisa's laboratory. He healed a lot faster than ordinary humans (as in, a bad cut from trying to chop vegetables was gone in an hour), but he still wanted her to check that nothing was seriously wrong with his nose.
"You have nothing to fear, Lincoln. Your nose is just fine," Lisa reassured him. "However, I'm glad you came up here for another, unrelated reason. I have something that I think you would be interested in." She walked away and came back with a small tube of black plastic about the length of Lori's thumb and about three times as thick. The walls of the tube were as thin as Lincoln's T-shirt and moderately flexible. Lincoln looked at it in curiosity when she placed it in his palm. "This device, once surgically implanted in your trachea, or windpipe, will allow you to communicate more effectively with fellow humans without having to strain your vocal cords. I specifically designed its dimensions so that it will not obstruct your breathing. Furthermore, it is telepathically controlled. Should you encounter a member of your biological father's extraterrestrial species, you will be able to mentally switch it off to speak in your native tongue." Lincoln smiled and sniffed before unexpectedly lunging forward to wrap his arms around Lisa, something that would have been difficult to do given Lisa's shorter stature had Lincoln not been sitting on a stool. Lisa felt a damp spot form on her shirt where Lincoln's head was pressed against her stomach. "Am I correct in assuming that you approve?" she asked with a smile, patting the top of Lincoln's head. Lincoln nodded. "Are you willing to consent to the surgical procedure? With your capabilities, you should have a speedy recovery." He nodded again.
...
Three days later, Lincoln was at his first day of working for the Hunnicuts. Just as Lisa had predicted, he recovered remarkably fast from the surgery on his windpipe. His main task that day was tuning up the tractors and other machines for the quickly approaching summer months.
He was usually modest about it, but Lincoln had a head for engineering. When his older sister Lana wasn't available, Lincoln was the go-to person for fixing things like cars and lawnmowers. His long, bony fingers were especially useful for delicate repairs where a slip of the hand could make the problem worse. He was currently crouched at the back of one of the Hunnicuts' tractors, replacing the old, cracked fuel line.
"Lincoln! Lunchtime!" he heard Liam's mom Gladys call out.
"I'll be right there!" he called back. The new voice Lisa gave him was higher pitched than when he usually tried to speak, and occasionally cracked like a typical boy his age in the throes of puberty. He had conveyed his concerns about this to Lisa, and she told him she had specifically programmed it to deepen as he aged, just like a normal human's voice.
Lincoln ensured that the replacement fuel line wouldn't pop loose without warning, then made his way back to the farmhouse, where he was served a hamburger and baked beans for lunch. His alien heritage may have been to blame, but Lincoln liked his meat on the rare side. Notraw, of course, but definitely bloody.
"Didja get that fuel line fixed?" Glenn asked him while they ate.
"Yessir. I put some more air in the tires, too," Lincoln replied between bites.
"Good. Tell ya what, I'll keep goin' on the tractors if you'll help Meemaw milk the cows this afternoon. When you're done with that, sweep out the chicken coop and call it a day," said Glenn.
Before Lincoln could reply, his recently repaired smartphone rang. After Lisa fixed it while he was still anesthetized from his surgery, he'd told all of his friends about his new voice, so now they could call him instead of waiting for him to text back-and-forth. Lincoln was startled to see Ronnie's name on the caller ID, as she was supposed to be in the middle of class right now. He answered it, and the voice on the other end sounded like it was crying.
"Ronnie? What's wrong?" he asked.
"H-h-hey, Linc. I'm fine, but I, uh...I could really use some moral support right now," Ronnie said between sobs.
"Why? What happened?"
"For starters, I stayed home from school because Bobby got sick and Mom and Dad both had to work. I just got a call from the hospital saying Mom and Dad got in a bad wreck. Mom's okay, but Dad took the brunt of the damage. They don't know if he's gonna make it. Can you come give me a hand?"
"Sure. Where are you now?" Lincoln asked.
"Bobby and I are both at the hospital."
"Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes." Lincoln hung up and looked at Glenn, who smiled.
"Well don't just sit there! Get outta here! Don't keep her waiting!" he said.
Chapter 6
Chapter Text
The hospital wasn't that far from the Hunnicuts' farm, so Lincoln was able to get there in no time by running at a full sprint the whole way (and thank goodness for his alien endurance!). Ronnie was sitting in the lobby, her eyes red and swollen from crying. Lincoln took a seat beside her and slipped his hand into hers. She sniffed and smiled at him gratefully.
"I had Clyde take Bobby home," she said. "Because obviously I can't sit in the waiting room of a hospital with a sick kid. Thanks for being here, Linc."
"No problem, Ronnie," Lincoln replied, pulling his oldest friend into a sideways hug. Nobody had approached Ronnie with any updates about her parents yet, so all they could do was wait.
And wait...
And wait...
And wait...
"GAH!What's taking them so long?!" Ronnie yelled after two wholehoursof waiting. She walked over to Lincoln, who'd been pacing the floor due to not being able to hold still for long periods, grabbed his hand, and stormed over to the front desk. The preoccupied female clerk let out a squeak and almost fell over when Ronnie slammed her palms on the counter. "ARTURO AND MARIA SANTIAGO! WHERE ARE THEY?!" she demanded.
"S-s-sorry, M-m-ma'am. I-I-I w-was t-t-told not to let you in. Th-They're on the w-waiting list to g-get into s-surgery," the clerk stammered, sweating bullets. Ronnie looked totally gobsmacked, like the clerk had just slapped her.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right. They're waiting FOR surgery? They're not IN surgery?" she asked. The clerk gulped and nodded.
"Th-they said it had s-something to do with insurance, Ma'am," she explained. That's when Ronnie's temper boiled over.
"BULLS**T!WE HAVE INSURANCE! HALF OF THEIR SKIMPY PAYCHECKS GOTOINSURANCE!" she screamed. While Ronnie was arguing with the clerk, Lincoln remained calm, pulled out his phone, and dialed one particular number.
"Hello? Lisa? Ronnie and I are having an...incidentat the hospital..."
...
When Lisa dutifully marched into the hospital's lobby, Lincoln was busy restraining Ronnie from strangling the poor clerk. He was also calmly explaining that Lisa's PhDs were in political science and law as well as medical science, so she was their best bet for help in matters both legal and otherwise.
Lisa greeted the two teens and said, "You made the right choice in calling me, Lincoln. Now, this goes for both of you: unless I say otherwise, letmedo the majority of the talking. Understand?" Lincoln and Ronnie both nodded. Lisa confidently strode over to the clerk. "Hello! I am Doctor Lisa Loud, here on the behalf of the Santiago family." Lisa fished her medical license out of her purse and showed it to the clerk, who then directed her to the rooms where each Hispanic adult was situated. As the trio walked to Maria's room, Lisa asked Ronnie questions about her family's medical history, most of which she wasn't able to answer.
They got to the door to Maria's room, and Lisa shooed away the two personnel members standing in the way. Maria, clad in a pale blue hospital gown, was sitting on the edge of her bed, unharmed except for a few bandaged cuts on her face and her right arm in a sling.
"Mom!" Ronnie cried, running forward and hugging Maria. She sobbed onto her mother's shoulder as the older woman stroked her back with her good hand.
"It's okay, Mija. I'm okay," Maria whispered.
"Areyou okay, Ma'am?" Lincoln asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Lincoln. My shoulder dislocated when my arm hit the window, that's all," Maria replied with a half-shrug. "I'm trying to go see what condition Arturo is in, but the other staff won't let me leave the room. And that worries me, because he took the brunt of the impact!"
"Don't worry, Mrs. Santiago, Lincoln and I have everything under control. Ronnie, stay with your mother. Lincoln, come with me," Lisa directed. Lincoln followed Lisa to Arturo's room, which was oddly totally abandoned except for the unconscious man himself. His bandaging was sloppy at best, and there was a yellow tag attached to his wrist. This angered Lisa, because a yellow tag meant the patient had no insurance. Patientswithinsurance had priority, so Arturo was being forced to wait for treatment, and every moment he went without that treatment brought him an inch closer to death. Lisa pulled various pieces of examination equipment from within her overcoat, and was able to conclude that Arturo was clinging to life by a thread.
With a growl of frustration, Lisa hunted down the nearest employee and demanded an audience with the doctor assigned to Arturo's case. When said doctor arrived, she chewed him out about the sloppy wound dressings and lack of professionalism. The doctor remained indifferent.
"Look, lady, I don't care who you think you are. This guy was labeled as not having insurance, so he has to wait. End of story," he said.
"But he's your owncoworker!" Lincoln reminded him incredulously.
"I couldn't care less, kid. Doc Santiago's work iswayoverrated," the doctor declared.
"If that's the way you feel, then I'm commandeering this case in the name of Hippocrates himself!" Lisa yelled. "Lincoln, get this loathsomecreatureout of my sight! And bar the door to the room!"
"With pleasure!" Lincoln said, grinning maliciously and cracking his knuckles. He grabbed the doctor's collar with one hand and his belt with the other, carried him to the door, and threw him down the hall like a bowling ball. The unfortunate doctor slid across the floor until he collided with a group of doctors heading their direction, knocking them all over. "STEE-RIKE!" Lincoln cheered before slamming the door shut and hauling a heavy cabinet in front of it. He turned around, and Lisa was facing him with a plastic tube and an IV bag.
"Hold out your arm and roll up your sleeve," she ordered.
"Uh, why?"
"Through careful experimentation, I recently discovered that another person can partake in your rapid self-regeneration through a transfusion of your blood. As of this moment, injecting your blood into Arturo's veins has an approximate ninety-five percent chance of saving his life," Lisa explained. "Since the DNA strand that determines blood type in humans is absent from your genome, your blood will most definitely be compatible with his."
If it meant saving the life of his best friend's father, then Lincoln was okay with it. He sat down in a chair and rolled up his sleeve like Lisa requested. He hissed in discomfort as Lisa slid the needle into the crook of his elbow, causing his blood to trickle into the IV bag through the plastic tube. When the bag was half-full of the luminous green fluid, Lisa detached the tube from Lincoln's arm, put a new needle on the end of the tube, and inserted the needle into Arturo's arm, hanging the bag from the IV pole next to the bed.
"I have things handled from here, Lincoln. I need you to make sure nobody comes in and disrupts my progress," Lisa told him, shedding her overcoat and donning an apron, gloves, and a mask. With her younger brother keeping guard, she undid all of Arturo's old dressings. Then, moving with blazing speed that startled Lincoln at first, she cleaned out and re-dressed his wounds while setting broken bones. Meanwhile, Lincoln was using his body in addition to the cabinet to hold the door closed, because the hospital personnel were ramming something against the door to try to get in. Through the door, he was able to hear muffled threats to call the police. That worried Lincoln slightly.
"Uh, Lisa...?" he asked uncertainly.
"Almost done! Just a few more stitches!"
"Then HURRY!" he yelled, then was knocked off-balance by something much heavier being rammed into his makeshift barricade. Three police officers slipped through the gap that was created and trained their guns on Lincoln and Lisa. All three had their guns knocked out of their hands by Lincoln's sweeping kick. Lincoln knew several moves from several different martial arts, but he preferred a particular martial art that originated in Africa but found its way to Brazil through the old slave trade (he couldn't remember the name of it, though; he was pretty sure it started with the letterc). The officers were unconscious before they knew what was happening.
"And...done!He should be able to recover quite nicely now," Lisa stated, removing her gloves and mask and wiping her brow.
