8. Chapter 8

AN: Got another one of these done. I've really got to learn how to adjust my entire writing process by like, five hours or so.

ImperialGoldenSun: In a perfect world, and were I a better writer, she would. But I'm honestly not sure I can handle the number of girls who are already involved, let alone any new ones. So we'll see how things go, I guess.

JRC1700: Evidence would suggest that Lincoln's probably just that dense.

Mr. Perv: All Lynns are cute Lynns. I actually do like your shipping war idea, but I kind of feel like if I wrote it, I'd kind of just be retreading a lot of ground from this story. But I'd love to see how it'd turn out if somebody else decided to take a stab at the idea.

Zeobide274: Its a fact that in the show, Carol looks enough like Lori so that Lincoln's idea to replace Lori with Carol in the family photo seemed feasible. Since High Card is literally Lori, appearance wise, it thus stands to reason that Carol would also resemble High Card. So, Carol came across Lincoln's comic about High Card, and came to the wrong conclusion that the character was based on her, rather than Lori. She doesn't have the hots for Lincoln specifically, she's just built up this romantic fantasy about the mysterious comic book artist who's drawing comics about her. So far, only the sisters, Sam, and Clyde know that Lincoln's the one doing the comics, so Carol's totally in the dark about that. For now. Sam absolutely wants to be the jelly in a Luncoln donut.

Really glad you guys like my Sam so much. I'm becoming increasingly attached to this strange creature that grew out of a very silly idea I had for a one-shot.

"So, Lincoln", Lynn said, eyeing the storefront before her with no small amount of distaste. "Remind me again why we're spending a perfectly good Saturday…here, of all places?"

The "here" in question referred to The Comike Booke Shoppe, local nerd Mecca and principal purveyor of printed products and plastic paraphernalia. A name that managed to tell a potential customer everything they needed to know about the establishment, while simultaneously raising several new questions.

"Well…" Lincoln began.

Several Hours Earlier

"Alright, Lynn", said Lincoln. "If you're going to work our booth, we need to test your customer service skills. Clyde here will be playing the role of a pushy customer, and you'll try to help him as best you can. Got it?"

"Got it." The sporty Loud affirmed.

"Ready Clyde?"

"Just give me a moment to get into character", he said. Clyde took several deep breaths, then gave Lincoln a thumbs up to signal that he was ready to begin.

"Alright, take it away, Clyde."

"Excuse me…"

"KIYAAA!" Lynn roared, leaping at the bespectacled boy.

"...Yeah, my B. That take-down would have gone way quicker if I'd aimed lower."

"And this is why we're here", Lincoln concluded, his expression equal parts exasperation and genuine amusement.

"The goal here is just to get you acclimated to the type of environment you're going to see at the con. If you can't handle a small store like this, there's no way you're going to be able to handle a convention"

"Fine." Lynn grumbled, throwing up her hands in defeat. "Let's just get this over with".

The pair ventured into the store, and Lynn was immediately assaulted by a variety of smells. Inks, papers, plastics, and an assortment of cleansers and air fresheners, all of which was undercut by the unmistakable smell of body odor.

As Lynn reeled from the sensory overload, the ambient noises of the store began to push their way through her mental fog.

"...does a modifier stack with a multiplier?"

"...if you're not willing to read the previous 50 years' worth of material, you don't deserve to watch the movie!"

"...MAGIC DOESN'T CARE ABOUT GRAVITY!"

"Lincoln..." Lynn whined, trembling, "It hurts..."

"Come on Lynn." Lincoln said, placing his arms on the girl's shoulders and gently guiding her out of the doorway, her state of catatonia abating somewhat at her brother's touch.

Lincoln lead Lynn to the front counter, noting that color was already returning to her pallid skin.

"You're going to be alright, Lynn." He assured her.

"Don't let them get me Lincoln..." She whimpered, clinging to him. Lincoln chuckled at this rare show of vulnerability from his sister and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

The pair reached their destination just as the previous customer finished his business, allowing the kindly old man behind the counter to focus his attention on the new arrivals.

"Greetings, true believers!" He said with big friendly smile, which was briefly replaced with a worried frown as he took in the condition of the wilted athlete. "Say, is she going to be alright?"

"Hey Mr. Lee." Lincoln greeted in return. "Lynn will be fine. She's just adjusting to the...climate."

"Understandable," said the proprietor, regaining his gentile demeanor. "Is there anything in particular I can help you with?"

"Nah, we're just going to look around a bit. But since I'm here, has anything come in from my pull list?"

"As a matter of fact, I believe there are a few things. You kids have fun, I'll have them up here when you're ready."

"Thanks Mr. Lee", Lincoln said, turning to Lynn as the older man shuffled off into the back. She'd regained a lot of her color, particularly in her cheeks, but she was still looking somewhat unsteady.

"Looks like you still need a minute." He said. "Why don't you rest here for a bit? I want to check something out really quick, and then we can take a lap. Okay?"

Lynn nodded wordlessly, leaning on the nearby counter for support. Lincoln gave her one last concerned glance, then took off on his errand.

Annoyance at being left alone warred with relief that Lincoln wasn't around to see her in her diminished state. Lynn didn't know what it was, but something about this place just got to her. It was like her kryptonite or something.

She frowned. Wait, what was kryptonite?

Lynn was pulled from her thoughts as Mr. Lee returned, setting down a large pile of comics next to her. He gave her a kind smile, then went off to help another customer.

Having nothing more interesting to do, Lynn decided to take a look at Lincoln's comics. Captain Explosion, The Brown Avenger, The Atomic Man-Boy-Man…it was amazing how each somehow managed to sound worse than the previous one.

She ended up selecting a book at random from the pile. Gigant, read the cover, depicting a building sized blonde girl squaring off against another, equally large woman.

"Does Lincoln actually read this junk?" She muttered to herself, absentmindedly flipping the pages. "Hey, that girl kind of looks like Leni..."

"Feeling better?" Asked Lincoln, returning from wherever he'd gone off to.

"Well enough", Lynn replied with a shrug. She smirked, eyes sparkling with mischief, and waggled the comic at him. "Well enough to check out your dirty laundry at least."

"Hey!" Lincoln protested indignantly, "These are all quality works of literature".

"Oh really?" Lynn asked. "Because on this page, it looks like the girl's sidekick has fallen off her shoulders, and right onto her…"

"Aaaand you've clearly made a full recovery", Lincoln grumbled, snatching the comic away from Lynn and slapping it on top of the pile. A moment later, he retrieved the comic once more and slid it back into the pile, far towards the bottom. Lynn just continued to smile, clearly enjoying her brother's embarrassment.

Lincoln opened his mouth, intending to deliver what he'd hoped was a scathing retort, when he found himself being lifted off the ground, and pulled into a tight embrace. His world suddenly went dark, but also a very familiar and specific kind of soft.

"Hey Jumbo, put my brother down!" He heard his sister yell. Lincoln blanched internally, knowing that Lynn's good intentions could spiral out of control very quickly, and wriggled his way back into the light. As he'd expected, he found himself staring into the eyes of a tall, shapely red-head, peering down at him from behind a half-lidded smile.

"It's cool, Lynn" he called down to her. "But maybe you should put me down, Becky". The taller girl pouted in response and complied, lips twitching as she attempted to maintain her composure.

"Sorry Linc," she said, giggling, having lost the battle against her own amusement, "I couldn't help myself."

"You always say that", he replied, letting out an embarrassed cough.

"Lynn, you remember Becky, right?" He asked, turning toward his seething sister, "She was at Lori's party".

"Right", she muttered, relaxing her stance, but still eyeing the older girl warily. "You guys hang out?"

"All the time." She said, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately. "I'm the biggest Ace Savvy fan around"

"You're just the tallest", Lincoln replied with a smile, eliciting another giggle from the red-head.

"Becky and I meet up here to chat about comics." He explained. "Sometimes I bounce ideas off her for my own stuff."

"Lincoln's very 'Savvy'" She supplied, and the pair broke out into a round of shared laughter. Lynn finally allowed herself to relax, caution now replaced by exasperation..

"Dorks" She grumbled, crossing her arms in annoyance.

Seeing Lynn's irritation, Lincoln turned back to the older girl.

"Sorry Becky, we're kind of in the middle of something here." He said apologetically. "Mind if we catch up later?"

"Not at all", she assured him, "I was on my way out anyway, I just wanted to say hi. Oh, and congratulate you on Savvy-Con, I saw the update on your site."

"Thanks. Are you going to be there?"

"Just try and stop me" She said, pulling the boy into a one-armed hug. She straightened up and started walking away, nodding to Lynn as she passed her.

"Later, 'Ace'" She called back over her shoulder, sending the younger boy one last wink.

Lincoln shook his head in amusement. Then focused his attention back on Lynn. The girl was clearly bothered by something, but Lincoln knew that was nothing that a little Ace Savvy couldn't solve.

Lynn was broken out of her funk by the sensation of Lincoln taking her hand into his. The sudden influx of warmth causing her cheeks to redden, and the ambient distractions of the store to fade away as they stood alone together.

"Come on, Lynn, we're just getting started."

Lynn smiled in spite of herself, "Right behind you little bro".