Author's note:
So um, hi. I've read TLH fanfic for a long while now, but never uploaded a fic myself until now. This is my first real attempt at writing fanfiction ever, and hopefully I didn't do too bad in that department. This chapter is a 'beta-test' per se to see how well my writing goes over, and to see if people like the idea of this series I have tentatively planned. Please don't be afraid to review and provide constructive criticism or ideas on what other machines Lisa can mess around with next time. As for this chapter, please enjoy!

The ends justify the means.

That's a belief Lisa Loud held true to herself in her scientific endeavors. She studied and worked for the future of mankind, but alas, the world didn't always agree. Some people are scared of change, or simply don't understand. However, for something as truly fundamental to human nature as progress is, sometimes you have to take matters in your own hands and show everyone else what's right.

With that philosophy in mind, Lisa found herself standing outside Lori and Leni's room close to midnight. Mask on face, gloves on both hands, a surgeon's toolbox in one hand, and a fist of resolve to show the world what she was truly capable of in the other.

Lisa opened the door to the room ajar, and poked her head in. She looked around in the dimly lit room, with the only source of light being the moonlight shining through the window.

Ahah! Target acquired! Leni could be seen sleeping soundly in her bed with her trademark blindfold.

Lisa pushed the door open a little further and slid herself in through the small opening. Once inside, she got on all fours and crawled over to the bed with the unsuspecting young woman. As the child prodigy approached the upper half of the bed, she stood up to face the ditzy teen. A mischievous grin formed on her face as she reached out and ran her fingers through Leni's hair, measuring out a small finger-grip's worth.

"Ooohhhh mama, this protein filament from the follicular area, street name hair sample, will enable a massive breakthrough in genetic engineering!" Lisa whispered to herself.

The 4-year-old reached for her toolbox, took out a pair of scissors, and positioned them up to the hair sample, ready to clamp down. Oh, just imagine what she could be capable of if she finally got the sample. Perfect cloning and revolutionize agriculture and manual labor! Physical alteration of the human body at will to create a human super-race! Maybe even figure out what the hell is up with Leni and her complete lack of mental acuity! If she could have just this one small victory, then she could-

SLAM!

Suddenly at the entrance, a certain older sibling of Lisa could be seen, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and wearing a dress to impress. Her teeth were grit together, and her eyes were staring daggers at the brunette. She had just come back from a very special date with Bobby and dealing with her siblings was the last thing she needed right now.

"Lisa Marie Loud! WHAT did I literally tell you about taking hair samples from others without their permission!?"

"It won't hurt her if she doesn't notice!"

Lori lunged at the child, picked her up by the collar, and threw her into the hallway. Lisa made an audible 'oof" as she landed, with no samples to take back to the lab.

Other doors in the hallway started opening, and heads poked out of some of them.

"What was that Lisa!? This noise is interrupting my beauty sleep!"

"Well, I'd say the noise was the Lisa her worries!"

"Sigh, I know I'm creepy, but even I wouldn't sneak out at midnight to cut off a lock of someone's hair"

More complaints ensued as Lisa picks herself up and trudges back to her lab. This wasn't the first time her siblings got in the way, nor would it be the last. She still couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose as she entered her room and made her way to her own bed. It seemed every time she tried to obtain the materials she needed, it always ended with someone getting in the way. Someone that clearly wasn't capable of understanding what she was doing.

No matter, today just wasn't Lisa's day, but there's always the next day. She would succeed tomorrow where she didn't succeed today…

And the day before that…

And the day before that…

Lisa put a hand on her chin and starts tapping her foot in place. What was the point if she was just going to be stopped by another one of her meddling siblings? If the 4-year-old maintained the same methods she had before, then her chances of success weren't going to increase. Something had to change.

"Hmm… If only there was a way for me to not be caught every time…"

It was at this moment that a proverbial lightbulb lit up above the toddler's head.

"Of course! To not be caught, I simply have to not be visible!"

Lisa took off her mask and gloves as she crawled into her bed. Today just wasn't Lisa's day, but there's always tomorrow, and what a day momentous occasion tomorrow would be! But for now, it was time to maintain a proper sleep cycle. As excited as the child prodigy may be, sleep deprivation was not good for maintaining a sharp mind, and she had a lot of work ahead of her.

The young girl dozed off to sleep with an optimistic smile on her face.

"…and done! It's finally complete!"

Lisa rubbed her hands excitedly against each other as she took a few seconds to admire the device she had spent the past day laboriously crafting for herself. The device resembled a laser pointer small enough to be held in the toddler's hands, with knobs on one end and a tiny bulb of some sort on the other.

The child prodigy picked up the device from her desk and admired it in her hand once more. "No invention is complete without a demonstration... and I know precisely where to conduct my first field test!"

Lisa pointed the device towards herself, took a deep breath, and pushed the button.

A laser-pointer-like light emitted from the device with a slightly audible buzzing noise. The light continued to shine for around 5 seconds, until it dissipated.

The 4-year-old glanced down at her other hand and studied its appearance. There was a certain glimmer reflecting off the thin transparent coating on her skin. The shine on her skin would reflect differently each time as the toddler twisted her hands around a bit.

Lisa stuffed the device in her pocket as she made her way to the door. She walked through the hallway, where Lynn played soccer hockey and the twins could be seen fighting over Izzy ruining Lola's dress again. She made her way down the stairs to the living room, where Lori texted Bobby on the couch, Leni watched TV, and Lily absentmindedly crawled around on the floor. Finally, the 4-year old turned left towards the kitchen, where Luan could be seen baking actual pies. Mr. Coconuts was propped nearby Luan, staring out at nothing in particular.

"Boy, am I milking these ingredients for these puns!" the comedian laughed as she poured milk into the mix. "Say, Mr. Coconuts, do you know where the whisk is?"

"Beats me" Luan voices the ventriloquist dummy. "I'd say the drawer, but I wouldn't wanna draw your attention away from these amazing jokes!"

"Gee, you really do insPIEre me!" Luan laughed again. "Get it?"

Luan currently found herself distracted with her back turned towards the counter, as she mixes up the batter. Normally, Lisa would roll her eyes, but this time, she found herself consumed with the thought of a certain delectable treat within the household: the bars of sweetened Theobroma Cacao, street name chocolate. A taste of this scrumptious goodness could do wonders to raise the serotonin levels of the child prodigy.

Lisa drooled a bit as she made her way over to the counter and faced the comedian, who apparently didn't actually know where the whisk was. Lisa waved her arms around to try and get Luan's attention, but the teen seemed to not notice, continuing to check each individual drawer.

Perfect! The device was clearly working as intended.

Lisa stepped up a nearby stool and hoists herself up on the counter. Standing on both feet, she reached up to the cabinet housing the sugar-filled snacks. The 4-year-old opened the cabinet, took a piece, and stuffed it in her pocket. Finally, after insisting to herself she would only take one and taking four pieces anyway, the toddler stepped down from the counter and left the kitchen. Luan had been completely innocent to Lisa's presence all this time.

Even in the living room, no one noticed Lisa's presence. Of course, in The Loud House you can't expect everyone to acknowledge each and every individual's presence, but you would at least expect them to glance up. Not a single one of them did. Lori still texted on her phone, Leni still watched TV, and Lily continued to crawl around aimlessly.

Lisa ran up the stairs, almost bursting with glee as she approached the hallway. At the top, she waved her arms around as she tries her damnedest to not squeal in joy, very well knowing that no one would see her. Not Lynn, not Lola, not Lana. No one.

The 4-year-old ran into her bedroom, took the device out of her pocket, pointed it at herself again, and pressed the button. The device emitted yet another beam of light and made the same buzzing sound, dissipating after a few seconds.

The child prodigy looked down at her hand, which no longer had the glimmering film plastered on the surface. A fist formed as she fully processed just what she had accomplished. With this newfound capability to become invisible at will, just imagine what other dreams could be realized! She could get all the hair samples she could ever want! Observe the family's behavior in the bathroom in person! Dissect Lana's pets without that damn grease monkey's unwillingness to let go of her superficial connections with subhuman species! A million possibilities well up in her mind, and she finally has the power to turn these visions into actions. Her family may not understand now, but they will when they see the fruits of her labor.

Sometimes, you have to take matters in your own hands and show everyone else what's right.

Before that however, there was a certain piece of candy in Lisa's pocket just dying to be unwrapped and melted into a sweet mess on the child's tongue. Or two. Or three.

The time had come to obtain what was rightfully hers. She will get the hair sample she was deprived of last night. Maybe even more than just a hair sample...

Lisa Loud could once again be seen outside Lori and Leni's room in a rather familiar situation to what happened just the night before. Mask on face, gloves on both hands, surgical toolbox on one hand, and a certain cloaking device in her other hand that wasn't previously there.

A mischievous grin formed on the prodigy's face as she pointed the device at herself and pressed the button. Some giggling could be heard from an attempt at stifling a full-blown maniacal laughter. A light was emitted and a subtle buzzing sound was heard. Within seconds, Lisa was completely invisible again.

The door was opened ajar, and Lisa poked her head in, scanning the room. Same old dimly lit room as before, and Leni was still sleeping in the same bed with the same blindfold and everything. Further from the entrance, a light tapping sound could be heard, which was revealed to be Lori texting Bobby late at night again. Ugh, would do her good to do literally anything else productive once in a while.

The child prodigy slipped in through the crack and crawled her way over to the upper area of Leni's bed again, facing her the same way she had before. The 4-year-old glanced up at Lori, who was still texting away like there's no tomorrow. So far, the plan has been executed flawlessly.

Lisa opened up her toolbox and started recounting the tools she needed for the imminent operation. "Scissors, test tubes, some forceps, calipers, a scalpel, anesthetics, syringe…"

After a few minutes of counting her tools, she finally picked up the scissors and scalpel and started grating them against each other. It doesn't hurt to add a little bit of show to a momentous occasion such as this one. Music to her ears~…

Suddenly, the 4-year-old was taken aback by a forceful tug felt from Lisa's collar as she is lifted up above the ground.

"Ahah! Caught you in the act again!"

The child prodigy stopped as she processed just what had occurred. Lori had just acknowledged her presence in the room. Something was clearly very wrong. Sweat poured out from Lisa's palms and forehead as she helplessly dangles from her eldest sibling's grasp. She braces herself for the inevitable outrage from her eldest sister, directly up close to her face.

"B-but I don't understand- what could have possibly…?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't hear you sharpening knives and whispering to yourself all the creepy things you were going to do to Leni!?" Lori growled.

Lisa buried her face in her hands. Of course! They may not see me, but they can still hear me! Such a simplistic oversight for a girl of her stature to make!

The door to Lori and Leni's room opened, as the rest of the Loud siblings flood into the room, each rubbing their eyes and yawning. They were already deprived of some sleep from the commotion last night and suffice it to say that losing sleep two days in a row wasn't their idea of fun.

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose as she took out her device, pointed it at herself again, and pressed the button. Soon, she was visible to everyone again, and her reappearance was greeted with a collective drop of jaws from the rest of the siblings entering the scene.

"Dude, what gives? First the giggling, then the whispering, the knife grating, and now this?" Luna yawned.

"I would not find myself in this predicament if a certain someone within my immediate lineage hadn't disrupted the operation!" Lisa yelled facing Lori, as saliva splattered on Lori's nightdress.

Lori's face turned to a snarl as she prepared to strangle Lisa again, but Lincoln moved himself towards the space between Lori and Lisa, signaling his older sister to stop.

"Okay, no need for violence just yet. Something crazy definitely happened here."

"You have exactly three seconds to explain yourself before I turn you into a human pretzel!" Lori snarls.

"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!" Lisa yelled at the top of her lungs.

The rest of the siblings found themselves stunned as they fully absorbed what Lisa had just said. You know something is definitely up when Lisa of all people doesn't know what to do in a given situation.

Lisa turned to face the rest of her siblings directly. "Every time I require a sample, a test subject, anything! No one willingly cooperates!" She started pointing fingers at each of her siblings. "You hairless apes are truly incapable of comprehending the importance of the tasks I undertake! If Leni won't give me a hair sample herself, then I have to take it from her! I take it upon myself to see the change I want to happen, and you will all thank me one day for something far more grandiose than the title of grade-school tutor proverbially tacked onto my name!"

Lisa was panting by the time she exhausted the anger welled up inside her from the past several months. Lori set Lisa down on the floor, and the siblings found themselves stunned once more. Seeing an emotional outburst from Lisa like what they had just witnessed was truly a rarity. Each of them was at a complete loss of words.

Lincoln was the first to ease himself back into the conversation. "But Lisa, you're more than just a tutor. You're Lisa Loud, and we love you just the way you are!"

"Yeah!" Lana piped up. "You're really smart, and you can do things we can't even understand like it's nothing! You help us with these amazing inventions no one else can make!"

"Like those Gloweos you fed Luan to guide us through the basement!" Lola exclaimed.

"You made a time machine to bring us back in time when Lily wouldn't stop playing with Fenton the Fox! How many people can really use that as a solution?" Lincoln added.

"Then why do you continue disrupting my work!?" Lisa shouted as fists formed in her hands. "Why don't you cooperate and let me obtain what I require if you know why I conduct my studies and scientific endeavors!?"

The loud siblings collectively put their hands up to their chins. They had to admit, that was a good question, and it wasn't going to be easy to respond.

Lynn finally took the plunge as she removed her hand and pointed at the 4-year-old. "Well, how do you feel about Soccer? Football? Hockey?"

"Inane recreational activity that takes away from bettering myself and the world," Lisa responded flatly, crossing her arms as she did so.

Lynn frowned a bit. Predictable, but it still hurt to hear. "Well, you're objectively wrong, but fine. I think if everyone in the world started playing more sports, then we would all be physically fit and have a really fun time. The thing is though, not everyone sees sports in the same way. I might try and spread the love once in a while, but I won't force someone to play if they really don't want to. People aren't gonna have fun if they aren't gonna accept it from the start!"

"Yeah!" Luan nodded in agreement. "I think the world could be better off with more laughter, but I'm not spreading happiness to everyone if I tell jokes to people that don't want to hear them or don't think they're funny! I tell jokes because I think they're funny myself, and that's all that matters to me!"

"Same with rocking out to some sweet jams!"

"My poetry only shines a light in those that are consumed with darkness like I am"

"I don't make other people eat mud, that means more for me!"

"My pageants are reserved for those deserving and willing!"

Lincoln walked up to Lisa, crouched down to her height, put a hand on her shoulder, and looked his younger sister in the eye. "Lisa, you're an incredible gift to have in this family, and I don't want you to ever forget that. But sometimes, your actions are harmful, or make others really uncomfortable. I know you are capable of doing incredible things we can only dream of, but it's not for the good of humanity if people are getting hurt because of that. People can only benefit if they accept your talent."

It was now Lisa's turn to be stunned. Normally, she would expect to get berated like she always does and leave it at that, but this instance was particularly special in that she was receiving praise, comfort, and genuine advice instead.

Lisa reached over to Lincoln with open arms and Lincoln accepted, putting the two in a warm embrace. Lincoln had the same reassuring smile he always did, while Lisa's face was less certain. Contempt, failure, understanding, joy, the fusion of these emotions led to a façade of complete neutrality, aside from a single tear shedding itself from her eyes.

The rest of the siblings joined in for another group-hug session. Lisa, being the center of attention this time around, found herself surrounded as she was squeezed from every angle. The hug lasted for a solid 10 seconds, before everyone loosened their grip on each other's loving embrace.

The Loud siblings watched as the child prodigy stood for another 10 seconds, before she turned towards the door and left without another word.

The return to the lab still continued to yield no physical results; Lisa still didn't have the hair sample, a kidney, an appendix, or whatever else she may have wanted. However, the toddler left this time with an idea: An idea with lots of room for introspection, and what Lisa Loud truly stood for.

The 4-year-old entered her room, and Lisa crawled into her bed without bothering to take off her other equipment. Her siblings had given her a lot to think about, and it was imperative that she converted these memories from short-term to long-term.

Eventually, the child prodigy did fall asleep, albeit with great difficulty as she tossed and turned in bed over her past actions.

Lisa Loud could be seen standing outside Lori and Leni's room for a 3rd time now, except this time it was in the afternoon, long after everyone had woken up and went through their routines. No mask on her face, nor gloves on her hands, simply a scissor in one hand and the cloaking device in the other.

The child prodigy looked down at her right hand holding said device and gazed at it. She had put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into working on the device, and she marveled at the fact that it worked mostly in her vision, even if she still failed at the objective. Not many people could claim that they made a device that made you invisible to the naked eye.

Progress is fundamental to human nature, but part of making progress is bettering yourself as a person and furthering your understanding of the world around you. The time had come to take one very important step in that journey.

Lisa squeezed her right hand as tightly as she could. Her hands went white as she applied pressure on the device from all sides and constrained blood flow to her hands.

After seconds of struggling, the cloaking device burst into a million pieces. Lisa flinched as the little shards dug themselves into Lisa's palm, and a cut formed from one of them. The deed had been done. The cloaking device was no more.

The child prodigy took a deep breath as she stuffed her scissors in one pocket, the scraps in the other, opened the door and walked in. The room was brightly lit this time, with the sun shining through the window on the high of noon, and its warm rays radiating within.

Leni could now be seen organizing her closet and admiring each individual piece of clothing she had bought from the mall. It was a wonder how she bought all sorts of different options to wear on any given day, and yet ended up with the same seafoam green dress every time, which wasn't something Lisa could even begin to understand.

Lisa cleared her throat as she prepared her inquiry. "Greetings 2nd eldest sibling! I was wondering if you may assist me in a certain scientific endeavor of mine that I wish to undertake."

The ditzy blonde turned to face her younger sister, and a cheery smile appeared on her face. "Sure Lisa! What do you need?"

Lisa took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes as she prepared her speech. "First off, I would like to apologize for any potential misunderstandings that may have occurred from my previous attempts at obtaining samples from you. It was very selfish of me to attempt to forcibly take what is rightfully yours to keep and give away, and it is my hope that we can move past that and coexist in this household without further unnecessary conflict."

Leni tilted her head and stared blankly at the child prodigy.

The toddler sighed, put her glasses back on, and looked up at her elder sister. "I'm sorry for trying to take hair samples from you."

"Oh! That's like totally fine!" Leni chirped. "I didn't even know that happened! Lori told me all about it!"

Lisa put her hand up to her chin. Of course, Leni was asleep both times Lisa snuck into her room. It's a wonder she's capable of dozing through all the commotion! The stark contrast between the two in mental acuity was one Lisa would never understand.

Nonetheless, Lisa continued. "Secondly, I realize that while it was selfish of me to attempt to forcibly extract samples from you, I am still interested in said samples, and I would be very much interested in obtaining locks of the protein filament from your follicular area through more diplomatic means. In other words, may I please have a sample of your hair?"

Leni jumped back a bit as Lisa finished her statement. "Ew, no! I could never go outside again if you took some of my precious hair!"

For a brief moment, the child prodigy reached for the scissors in her pocket. Of course she wouldn't get what she wanted! That's why she had to resort to more 'covert' methods in the first place! Why did she even bother!?

As her hands dug into her pocket however, she stopped and looked up at Leni, who had a genuine expression of fear plastered onto her face. Lisa stood for a moment as she recalled what was said last night. Benevolent actions for the good of mankind are only helpful if everyone else is accepting of it. Leni did not look like someone that was willing to accept what was coming.

"Very well. Have a good day."

Without another word, Lisa turned around, made her way towards the door and left. Thinking about it now, there was a certain other person that might be more receptive to the idea…

Lisa walked through the hallway to the room across from her own. As she walked through the entrance, Lola could be seen hosting another one of her tea parties, and Lana could be seen tending to her many pets.

The child prodigy approached Lana and took a deep breath. "Lana, would you be so kind enough as to assist me with a particular study I have in mind?"

The grease monkey turned away from feeding Hopps and faced her younger sister. "Sure! What's up?"

"I was wondering if you would be willing to give up a lock of your hair to further my understanding of genetic engineering." Lisa held her thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart to emphasize the amount of hair she needed.

Lana paused for a bit, before shrugging with a smile. "Sure! Just a little bit won't hurt!"

Lisa reached into her pocket and pulled out her scissors. Lana stood in place as the child prodigy ran her fingers through the rough blonde hair, measured out a small portion, and made the cut. The hair was caught and stored in test tubes pulled from Lisa's pocket.

"Excellent. I am grateful for your contribution." With that, Lisa turned and walked back towards her lab, now with a sample in hand.

As she entered her room, the 4-year-old thought back to what had occurred just now. Sure, Leni didn't want to give her hair away, but Lisa found someone else that did. If Leni didn't like the idea of losing her hair, it didn't matter if she might live in a future where world hunger is solved or superior babies were created by will. Leni would never treat Lisa with contempt, and Lisa should return the favor. Lana on the other hand was a willing contributor, and she is sure to be supportive of whatever grandiose plan Lisa may have going forward.

Lisa's work may be for the good of humanity, but the world has to accept her and her intentions before they are ready to accept the fruits of her labor. Acceptance starts with honesty, clarity, and trust.

Only then, can the ends truly justify the means.

Wew, made it to the end! Thanks for reading through this, and please don't be afraid to review and provide constructive criticism or ideas on what other machines Lisa can mess around with next time!

Thanks to Gumball2 and Omega Ultra for beta-reading!