Sleight, a loud house fanfic

Hi, everyone, MarcellusMiro66 here! This is a Loud House AU that involves Lincoln cursed with abilities akin to an enchanter. Running away in fear of harming his family, he uses these abilities to performs magic tricks as a street magician in order to make ends meet while also masquerading as a Robin Hood-type vigilante. This is an "original" superhero origin/coming-of-age story in the vein of Superman (1978) and Rebel Without A Cause (1955); of course, Sleight (2016/2017) starring Jacob Latimore "Black Mirror" (by Talespinner69) are both a major influence, aside from the basic plot and superhero set-up. Lincoln doesn't run away because of something trivial as a video contest, the Sister Fight Protocol, or even the infamous bad luck fiasco. Instead, he leaves on his own terms and thinks that they are still mad for those accidents. They are, but not to a full extent.

Also, the amount of additional cartoon characters for an intended crossover is minimized here. It isn't ruled out...

Enjoy! If you can...

Night 1:

A young boy walked down the streets of Detroit, his hands tucked into his pockets. He had white hair, a red hoodie, blue jeans, and a pair of black high-tops with white soles. This young boy was Lincoln Loud, the 11-year-old middle child/only son of a 13-member family...and current runaway as we speak. You see, under the presently troubled and cynical individual who saw the world as nothing but a distorted one (but was determined to make the best of it), there was an ideal and optimistic child who was ready to take it head on, unaware of the harsh reality that contradicted his dulcet fantasies. This disillusion with current society can be traced back to his aforementioned family, who truly loved him as much as he truly loved them. Until they didn't. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say this: An accident occurred, words were exchanged, and the following actions spoke much louder than those exchanged words. At that point in his life, he couldn't imagine it getting even worse.

Then it began.

It all started three days before yesterday. One of his sisters, one of two twins named Lola, approached him at school in an effort to apologize for her mean demeanor for the past few weeks, but a group of boy bully classmates (led by the ever-so-popular Chandler Henderson) prevented her from doing so. After the natural teasing and verbal assaults, they suddenly got all physical with Lola, which didn't exactly settle with her big brother. Something within him awoke, like a lion awakening from its slumber. Lincoln approached Chandler, grabbed/lifted him up by the collar, and punched him...straight into a brick wall. Apparently not knowing his own strength, he delivered brutal beating towards his cronies before marching to where Chandler attempted to escape and continued to beat him up, ending the carnage by RIPPING OUT HIS FRONT TEETH. Initially settling for the assumption that this violent confrontation on the school bully was nothing more than a mentally disturbing revenge fantasy, the realization hit Lincoln faster than a bullet train the minute he noticed the blood dripping from his own hands. The protective fury that clouded his judgment beforehand was instantly replaced with apprehensive horror, a feeling that relentlessly ate his mental psyche even as he ran away from the scene of the crime.

Confused and upset at what just happened back there, Lincoln resorted to running away. Yes, he saw it work in a couple of movies, but those were movies. Could he actually pull it in real life? Well, there was only one way to find out. So far so good, someone had found neither him, nor a hint of coming close to finding him. During his time on the run, he did additional research on his acquired powers. As of now, he had three known abilities: 1) Telekinesis, the ability to manipulate and control objects with the mind, 2) Astral Projection, the ability to undergo an out-of-body experience, and 3) Intangibility, the ability of invisibility. Of course, he saw that his ultimate superpower somehow was throwing temper tantrums. This was compounded by the fact that he wasn't ready to properly fend for himself for anything the world threw at him.

Of course, there's no hurt in trying, right?

A month later, bright red-and-white neon lights shone from behind him. Turning around and glancing up to read the sign from which it was a part of, it read "CASA GRANDE MARKET" in bright red-and-white neon lights. Frowning at the sign and turned to the outline of said establishment, it honestly looked like an apartment complex rather than an actual market. 'Maybe that's the idea: a sign of misleading advertising.' Lincoln thought to himself as he decided to check the minimart for himself, checking his wallet for money in turn. Judging by the lights coming from outside, it was surprisingly open during this hour. Opening the door, the shopkeeper's doorbell rang, which caught the attention of the owner. It was a short, round man with tan skin, black eyebrows, a thick, bushy grey mustache, and some grey hair at the sides of his head; he wore an asparagus green jacket above a tannish shirt that had patches on the elbows, olive green pants, and black shoes.

"Ah! Another customer!" The man took his place behind the counter and greeted him with an affable tone, "How may I help you?"

Lincoln assumed the man to be friendly enough, so he responded in kind. "Well..." Shooting a glance at the freezer, he walked over and propped it open to grab three Cornetto Flavours: Strawberry, Classic, and Mint Chocolate. Placing them on the counters along with $3 dollars, he faced the man with a forced façade.

"This would do. And don't worry, I already ate dinner."

Of course, this was a lie. Unfortunately, his stomach didn't (or couldn't?) comprehend this information, a series of tummy rumbling serving as a testament to this fact. Lincoln and the old man glanced at the former's stomach before meeting faces again. A smirk crossed the latter's face.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're lying to me?"

"... I could be. But I couldn't be telling you that."

"Why not?"

"Why would a runaway tell the truth?"

"You're a runaway?"

"Don't I look like one?"

Briefly examining the boy from head to toe, the man saw no visible signs of Lincoln being a runaway. Fairly normal clothing, a cleaned-up appearance, and the fact that that he had money in his pockets to live off on – nothing that could identify him as an escaping delinquent. There was something in his facial features, however, that pieced together any missing evidence that discerned him as such. The twitching frown, the baggy eyes, and the lip biting... Yes, there was no denying it.

"Oddly enough, no."

"Well, I guess I am."

The man held a smile amidst his eyebrows knitting together. He took the money and gave the ice cream. Lincoln stuffed it into his backpack before turning tail to exit the market.

"Hey, wait!"

Lincoln turned to face again the man, whose face was clearly full to the brim with conflict.

"Are you sure you don't want me to...call up one of my friends just in case?"

Of course, this conflict was quickly resolved by Lincoln.

"Thank you, sir...but I'll be fine. I'll let you know whenever I need help."

"How? I don't even have your number."

"Don't worry. I just will."

That was the last thing said by Lincoln before he left...and subsequently returned.

"... I guess you want to know the truth?"

"... I guess I do. But I won't pressure you if you don't want me to."

"Okay. Yes, I'm a runaway. No, I don't look like one, but I am. I ran away approximately three days ago because of an incident that I rather not talk about at the moment. Not only that, but...I think I have superpowers. Like, I have telekinesis, astral projection, and intangibility so far. I don't know how this happened or why it happened, but... I was afraid."

The man's look held confusion on the surface and withheld understanding beneath it.

"Afraid of hurting your family or afraid of what the true meaning of your powers?"

. . .

"Both."

Thinking this situation over, the man rubbed his chin in the midst of deep thought. Then, he reached a decision.

"You're staying here."

"... What?"

"Unless you want to survive in the real world, you're staying with me and my family until further notice."

"But...I'll just be putting you and your family in danger."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides, the way I see it...you're already a member of the family."

"We just met."

"Regardless. I think of you as a grandson already."

Lincoln contemplated the man's decision to take him in on such notice and his seemingly too-good-to-be true demeanor. Plus, the fact he had a family to look after and take care of only complicated matters. Even so, he doubted that the Detroit Police Department would allow him to sleep on any benches, let alone tolerate any homeless people in this day and age. What choice did he have?

. . .

None, apparently.

"All right. But you can't tell anyone that I'm staying here."

"I wasn't planning to. Not yet, anyway."

Gesturing him to follow him upstairs, Lincoln clung on to his backpack as he did so. When they arrived on the floor, he glanced side-by-side at the doors labeled '2A' and '2B'. Two doors obviously equaled two rooms, which could possibly mean one thing.

'This man is from a big family...like I was.'

Digging in his pockets for the key that unlocked '2B', the man pushed open the door and held it as such to let Lincoln enter. Another glance was taken, but one that was dipped into mild admiration. It seemed that his time and effort into the bodega literally paid off. His thoughts were interrupted by the man speaking to him in a hushed tone.

"You should be lucky that I was able to convince my wife to have this entire section of the apartment for me, myself, and I." Taking up a blanket and two pillows, he dusted them off and placed them on the bed they belonged to. "Here. You get some rest now, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you, Mr..."

"Casagrande. Hector Casagrande. Or Hector, if you will."

"... Lincoln. Lincoln Loud."

After shaking hands, the man named "Hector" moved past Lincoln to exit the room and head back downstairs, presumably to close up shop and continue on for a few more hours before performing the former action.

"Good night, Mr. Hector."

"... Good night, Lincoln."

Lincoln watched the door close and enshroud him in complete darkness before climbing into bed.

It took him only a few minutes before he drifted off into sleep.

In the room across from Lincoln, a young Hispanic girl laid in her bed as she browsed through her phone. Dressed in only a purple tank top and panties (what a stretch), she scrolled down to watch the breaking news report. Something related to racial epithets as par the course of social commentary nowadays, she tapped the "PLAY" symbol and watched as the news report unfolded:

"This just in: a young African-American teenager has been shot and killed by Detroit Police, who claimed that he was armed when in reality he wasn't. Things took a violent turn when his Caucasian girlfriend took revenge on the officer who fired the shots by stabbing him 13 times before she too was killed by his partner. In all, three people died in the confrontation and the rest of Detroit shook their heads in disappointment. No further details have been unveiled at this point."

Ronnie Anne sighed in grief and continued watching the news in silence.

. . .

"What has the world come to...?"

A/N: So, just to be clear, this is strictly an AU set in its own continuity. Lincoln has met neither Ronnie Anne nor the Casagrandes and knows Bobby through Lori. The premise can also be seen as Spider-Man (2002) meets Boyz n the Hood (1991); of course, whether or not this sticks is entirely up to you.

I did whatever I could to avoid plagiarism concerning "Black Mirror". The author of that story is clearly a talented one alongside the likes of That Engineer, Underrated Hero, and The 21st Century Pendragon to name a few. However, the fact both of our stories started with Lincoln unknowingly meeting a member of the Casagrande Family (in this case, Hector) was merely a coincidence. I didn't want to start from scratch, so I decided to take that beginning and put a spin on it. Even so, I would like to apologize to Talespinner69 if he does treat it like a case as such.

Anyway, the next chapter will possibly involve Lincoln meeting the other members, with a particular emphasis on Ronnie Anne. Meanwhile, the family will discover the disappearance and attempt to not get the police involved..."attempt" being the keyword. Last but not least, the shared universe I have made plans for will be relatively remain small-scale for now. As stated above, some certain cartoon characters may or may not play a part, but I'm not saying who.

Until next time...