A/N: So I created a poll on Deviant Art almost a couple weeks ago, asking if I should bother making something on the grounds of Kings of the Con. That episode is probably the first time I've seen a Loud House special get universally despised; and I can understand why. People are already divisive about Clincoln McCloud episodes in general, though this time it seemed as if whoever made the plot really wanted to put the boys in a negative light while propping up the girls (who were pretty much only on board just for the 5 seconds of fame). And, it basically felt like the person in charge did their best to destroy Lincoln's development as a character (at least those are the main points. I won't go into further detail about it).

Now, I have two ideas as to how this would affect Lincoln specifically since Ace Savvy is a subject where he ought to feel in his prime; an area that he was deemed an 'expert' as his siblings either didn't care or had little knowledge. Think of Lori when it comes to golf or Luan's knack for comedy as an example. So, here is my first idea on how things could've happened had the episode went a different direction (or how it could've been better). Unlike most of my other stories, this takes place DURING the episode.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the Loud House.

To say that today was quickly becoming one of the biggest disappointments in Lincoln's life might be an understatement. Days before this point, weeks even, he was looking forward to attending this year's Ace Savvy convention after a particular set of circumstances involving his emo of a sister and a clogged toilet prevented him from attending last year's con. His enthusiasm especially reached new heights after Clyde brought him news about a cosplay contest that would take place during the con, the winner of which would be featured as a cameo in the upcoming Ace Savvy movie. It wasn't as simple as sounded though. The Man With The Plan quickly caught onto the fact numerous Aces and Jacks would also be at the event, and if he and Clyde wanted to have a real shot at winning, they'd need to think outside the box.

Enter Lincoln's sisters, also known as the 'Full House'. Based off the comic he created almost a year ago, the Loud had pitched the idea to his siblings in a meeting. The lack of interest nearly threw Lincoln for a loop, considering the hoops they went through to help him get his comic published. However, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility, for Lincoln had an ace up his sleeve. Upon mentioning the award should he and siblings win the contest, the girls were wholeheartedly on board. It was quite an ecstatic feeling for the Loud boy; for once, he could discuss his interests with his sisters without getting any sass, and it was a golden opportunity to train them to be at least familiar with the series. And if everything went according to plan, Lincoln could see his siblings praising him endlessly for getting them hooked into comics.

...Ok, maybe not that far, but the girls would definitely be grateful.

And boy did everything go swimmingly. For the girls that is...

At the moment, Lincoln and Clyde were slouched on a bench next to one of the many booths in the convention center. After overhearing that judges were planning to dub the Full House as the winners, Lincoln grew excited as victory was within reach. Unfortunately, they only meant they'd cast the girls while dumping Lincoln and Clyde due to the boys being unable to 'wow' them.

That isn't to say they didn't try their hardest; the two covered the whole convention center to engage numerous activities in order to show their skills. Unfortunately, like the shoddy attempt to drive the High Roller's monster truck, every ploy to impress the judges ended with the boy taking a few steps backwards.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the judges hate us..." Lincoln groaned, sinking further into his seat.

"Yep...this isn't going as well as we thought it would..." Clyde agreed, glancing at a nearby clock. "And there's only an hour left before the contest ends." He gave a side glance towards Lincoln. "Got any more ideas?..."

"I-" Lincoln started, only to cut himself off as he realized he hadn't fully thought up another scheme.

While he might not have shown it, the Loud was starting to panic internally. The boys tried everything at the convention and nothing seemed to work; doing simple tasks like trivia should've been easy given their extensive knowledge on the series, but the boys either fumbled on their answers out of nervousness or were too slow to answer in comparison to their competitors; physical challenges clearly didn't work (just ask the guy who ran the Strong Man booth or why the dunk tank game was closed), and some of the other booths they could've checked out were on particular subjects where Lincoln's sisters had already blown away the competition.

"I-I don't know..." The Loud finally sputtered out.

A pregnant pause filled the void between them. Clyde began to feel that the situation was hopeless, while Lincoln mulled over the sheer irony of their predicament. His sisters wouldn't even be here if he hadn't mentioned the chance of appearing in that new movie; but he and Clyde wouldn't have stood out in the crowd otherwise. Apparently, they still didn't with all the attention the girls were getting now. All that time spent grooming them into newcomers to the series, and the two guys who even brought up the idea in the first place had been cast aside like tumbleweeds.

Lincoln pursed his lips as his brows knitted together; his hands started to form into fists upon a wave of anger washing over him. This felt like it was one of those moments his sisters played him to get ahead in something, only this time Lincoln wasn't even sure if they were doing it on purpose.

"Ugh!" The white-haired boy yelled, startling his friend. "There's gotta be something we can do that my sisters can't do!" His eyes narrowed a little as the gears in Lincoln's brain started to turn. The boy rubbed his chin with a finger whilst sitting up straight. "Something that only Ace and Jack can do that the Full House can't..."

"Mmmm..." Clyde hummed as he racked his brain for an answer.

The two boys searched their memories for previous events where they dressed up as Ace and Jack. Outside of Halloween, there were at least two other moments where they acted out their superhero personas: Leni getting wrongfully fired from her job, and almost two months ago, when Clyde discovered a brand of freezer food that tasted similar to Lynn Sr.'s cooking.

The two went wide-eyed, whilst simultaneously berating themselves internally at how such an obvious fact didn't come to them sooner. "Solving a crime!" The boys spoke in unison.

"Wait..." Clyde frowned. "How are we gonna do that? I don't know why anyone would try to commit a crime at a comic book convention." He turned his head to look at the clock he spotted earlier. "Annnnd there isn't much time to cover the entire floor again."

Lincoln only had a smirk, having an idea in place the moment those words left Clyde's mouth. "Easy Clyde." He paused, giving a quick look around to make sure no one was nearby. Satisfied, he addressed his friend by whispering, "We make one."

Clyde's mouth dropped, unable to believe the words that left his friend's mouth. He knew that Lincoln's ideas weren't always the best, but the Loud had never before showed any interest in committing an act this extreme. "Lincoln, you...you can't be serious!"

Lincoln dropped his coy smile as a light glare took shape. He twisted himself in his seat so he could fully face Clyde. "I am serious Clyde! This could be our only shot into getting into that movie!" Lincoln huffed a bit as his anger subsided. "I don't see how there's any other way we could join my sisters, and we don't have time to waste..." Clyde held his tongue, still not comfortable where this was heading. However, he couldn't help but notice the faint traces of desperation that coated Lincoln's tone.

Lincoln drummed his fingers on his arm. "It'll be easy. We'll just create something small, something we can control." The Loud tapped his chin. "Probably cause a little panic, and then we come in and-" Lincoln stopped upon the nerdy child clamping his mouth shut.

The Loud was about to protest, but he stopped short due to the fierce glare Clyde was giving him. "Lincoln, do you even hear yourself right now?! Heroes don't create crimes! Villains do! And heroes are supposed to stop them! And even if we did, how could you be sure we won't get caught?! We've seen enough cartoons where that plan doesn't work out." The McBride spat, with Lincoln only giving a blank stare in response.

"B-But..." Lincoln started to say, his muffled voice sounding as if he was begging. "We could..." The Loud stopped as his words faded from existence.

Clyde let go of the white-haired child before folding his arms, still irritated that Lincoln refused to let the idea go. "Ask yourself this Lincoln: do you think Ace Savvy would go commit a crime, even if the odds were against him?..."

Lincoln's mouth fell a bit as the gravity of his plan started to set in. In spite of the desperation that clouded his mind, he couldn't deny that Clyde was entirely correct. Getting caught in the act would not only ruin any chance they might've had at getting into the movie, but it would also land them in deep trouble with their parents. On top of that, there was no way Lincoln could guarantee they wouldn't get spotted; convention centers had dozens of cameras hidden everywhere, right? Lincoln stole a quick glance towards the ceiling, already spotting 10 or so black dots spread out in a weird pattern. And more importantly, could Lincoln even trust his own plan to work? Becoming Kings of the Con worked for his sisters, but he and his best friend were effectively kicked out of the picture.

At the end of the day, the risks outweighed the positives; and as Lincoln realized, it may as well have been pointless.

Clyde didn't know how he should perceive Lincoln's silence, so he decided to add, "You know better than anybody that Ace stands for honesty and justice above anything else. He serves to keep us safe and criminals in jail..." He pursed his lips for a moment. "And you're gonna be making yourself a criminal if you go through with...whatever it was you were planning..."

Lincoln diverted his gaze from Clyde, his head lowered with hot shame filling the boy's stomach to the point the Loud shook as if he were cold. Lincoln flared his nose as his sinuses began to feel irritated, prompting him to make a reflexive sniff. It was a bit noisy, but Clyde didn't seem to notice.

"Now, don't get me wrong, I still want to be in the movie too." The 'Jack' persona relaxed a little. "But maybe we can find a different way to do it!" Clyde looked upwards, his tongue sticking out slightly as he thought of a solution to their dilemma. He pointed up towards the ceiling as an idea came forth. "I know! We could ask your sisters if-" The McBride stopped upon hearing a loud sniffle emanating from Lincoln. He directed his vision back to Lincoln, who was currently wiping his nose. "You ok Lincoln?"

Lincoln shook his head before reaching behind his noggin, undoing the black mask that sat on his eyes. "N-No..." He replied in a broken, shaky whisper.

Elsewhere, a small crowd of people were exiting out of a conference room, all of them feeling elated at the information the organizers imposed upon them. Among the dispersing people, were ten girls that were collectively known as the Full House.

"That seminar wasn't half bad dudes!" Luna stated, gripping her guitar in excitement. "I didn't even know Ace had a rad taste in music!"

"And I'm surprised Card Countess has the proper abilities of a vampire." Lucy added, a tiny smile on her face. "If I could meet her in person, my heart would beat."

"Gotta say," Lynn started as she looked through a book she was holding. "Ace Savvy might be dorky, but it's not bad at all." She flipped to a page before showing it to the girls. "This villain gallery makes me wanna throw down with all of them, especially High Roller." The athlete chuckled. "Would love to wipe that stupid grin off his face!"

"One-Eyed Jack's story was..." Leni started, her eyes becoming wet as her lip quivered. "So..." She couldn't finish before breaking out the waterworks. As a torrent of tears rushed from her eyes, Lucy grimaced as she had to use her shovel as an umbrella.

Lori couldn't help but roll her eyes at Leni's actions. "Yeah, it was tragic. But not as much as Ace. I mean, can you just imagine going through all the tough times he had?" She put her hands on her hips with a smile. "Gotta say, Bill Buck really knows how to make a cool backstory."

"I concur." Lisa added, adjusting her glasses when she felt them slipping down her face. "Originally, I believed this convention would be a waste of time, resources, and intellect; but now, I understand why our brother unit enjoys the series."

"Speaking of which..." Luan looked around." Where did our Ace and Jack go?"

"Eh." Lola waved a hand dismissively. "They're probably doing whatever it is they do at these things."

Lana felt her stomach gurgling. "Welp, I'm getting hungry. Anyone know where the food court is?"

Lori looked at the time on her phone. "We're all going, cause it's lunch time anyway." She pocketed the device before continuing. "Alright girls, let's split up and find the boys. If they're busy, just tell them to meet us at the food court."

"Pfff. Why don't you just call them?" Luna pointed out. She paused for a moment to readjust her jetpack. "There we go. Besides, it's way quicker."

"Because Mom said we need to make sure we know exactly where everyone is. Plus, it's our first time being here so even if I called Lincoln, someone's gonna get lost trying to find him; especially if he doesn't answer his phone." The eldest sibling explained as a smirk formed. "This kills two birds with one stone."

Leni brought her hands to her mouth as she let out a gasp. "Lori! How could you?!" Pointing an accusatory finger at the oldest sibling, "What did the birds do to you?!"

Most of the girls facepalmed, knowing that Leni was actually being serious; Lori and Lisa rolled their eyes, not in the mood to explain metaphors to Leni for hundredth time.

Lucy took a moment to glance at her reflection on her shovel. "Well, at least I'll get to thank Lincoln in person if I happen to find him."

Lana grinned, hefting her pipe wrench over her shoulder. "Not if I find him first!"

"As if!" Lynn smirked, sensing a competition heating up. "You slowpokes will take forever."

Luna gave a short chortle. "Whose got the jetpack brah?" She pointed to the aforementioned item strapped to her back.

Lori gave a half-lidded stare at her sisters. "Leave it to them to compete on everything..." As hypocritical as it was, Lori wasn't in the mood for games. "Just go and find him already! You can thank him later!"

The 17 year old's order immediately got the girls to clam up. Giving grins to each other, the children dispersed in all directions, intent on finding their genius of a wayward brother. Lori looked down at the baby she held in her arms; Lily looked around whilst sucking on her fingers. The teen had to admit, the costumes weren't bad at all, and she could tell Lincoln took extra time thinking of all the styles that suited their personalities: Lynn looked like a weightlifter, Lola was naturally dressed as a Queen of sorts, Luna and Luan were dressed as what could be called an expy of KISS and a medieval fool respectively, and Lucy was wearing a creepy hooded suit and carried a spade that worked well with her affinity towards the darkness and spiritual things.

Lori herself looked akin to a 1970s Formula One racer, which confused her at first. However, the teen knew she had a habit of flooring it when she was in a hurry; it still surprised her that she rarely got a speeding ticket. And, she was still the only Loud sibling with a license, so there's that. With Lily, her costume was fairly simple as it only contained gloves, little booties, and a little piece of paper with the number two taped to a headband. She was a baby after all; and she pooped a lot. What better way to make use of that by throwing feces at bad guys?

Lori started walking along a line of booths as continued to think. Lincoln could've easily given the girls bland or boring powers while keeping the good ones to himself, but it was clear Lincoln spared no creativity when building his sisters' characters. As she looked around, Lori saw several people wearing Ace Savvy costumes. They were more or less the same Lincoln wore, with a slight variation here and there. The Loud started to frown as a certain memory came to mind. Clearly, none of the cosplayers had a problem wearing the titular costume; but apparently the girls found it as an excuse to mock their brother for doing the same thing.

Lisa called it childish even. Yet here they were, enjoying themselves at the same convention Lincoln was trying to go to last year. If irony were a person, it would've slapped Lori in the face by now.

"And I had the nerve to say a book series was worse than my brother..." Lori muttered.

"Eh?" Lily asked, looking up at her.

Lori met the infant's gaze and shook her head. "I-It's not about you Lily."

The baby giggled a little before she resumed sucking on her fingers again; clearly she was starting to grow hungry too. As Lori continued walking about the vendors in hopes of finding her brother, she reflected on the reason why he couldn't attend the last convention: clogging the toilet with a Princess Pony book. But something didn't line up right with that statement...

For one, it was well known that Lincoln read comics in his undies; and that actually extends to just about any book he reads when he wants to get comfortable. Needless to say, there was a time when someone barged into his room whilst he was reading some science fiction novel. Now, as many times Lori herself had intruded on his space, she couldn't recall a moment of ever seeing that My Little Pony rip-off in his room. There was a chance he could've hid it under his bed the moment someone entered, but Lincoln wasn't that quick. If anything, he just expressed annoyance about being interrupted from his reading.

Then, there was the moment he revealed the book was his. Lori swore Lucy was about to admit to something when Lincoln cut in. She called it a hunch, but Lori had little doubts that book never belonged to Lincoln in the first place. She might've bought the lie before, but she certainly didn't now after thinking about it.

"Either way..." Lori started as she scanned the booths to her left. "I owe him a long overdue apology..." She looked to her right, eyeing the benches that had people sitting on them. "But where the heck is he?"

Luan had been searching for Lincoln and Clyde in an area somewhere off towards the left side of the building, having no luck spotting that unique white-haired top. It didn't help she was occasionally pulled over by random people who wanted to perform a selfie with her and subsequently force the comedian to lose track of where she was.

"Thanks again for the picture!" A woman in her twenties called out to the 'Joker'.

"You're welcome!" Luan replied before turning around, a deep frown on her face. "Not...that's the third person in 10 minutes!" She growled before continuing in her previous direction. "I mean, I know my character was funny, but I'm kinda in the middle of looking for my brother for Pete's sake!"

The masked brunette continued down a set of booths, looking to and fro for the white-haired Ace Savvy. "If I were Lincoln, what would I be doing right now?..." Luan hummed in thought, rubbing a finger against her chin. "He wasn't getting a comic signed by Bill Buck, and he definitely wasn't getting a picture taken with that Ace Savvy actor for the movie, which is weird cause Lincoln would totally be into that stuff."

Luan spotted a vendor stand that was selling comics for half their original price. "With those prices, they're practically giving them away!" The jokester chuckled, her smile growing wider as realization hit her. "Which is exactly where Lincoln oughta be!"

Making her way over, Luan scanned all of the patrons looking to score some serious discounts to add to their comic collections. She paid special attention to the kids as there were various Ace and Jack costumes surrounding the general area near the cashiers; along with some allied or villainous characters here and there.

"Lincoln?" Luan called out, looking among the heads of all the children. None looked in her direction.

"Lincoln? Clyde?" Luan called out again, this time earning a few stares from the patrons.

Luan cross checked the crowd for the third time; sadly, nothing stood out that would've pointed her to Lincoln or Clyde. With a sigh, the 'Joker' back away from the crowd. "Gee, Lincoln sure is being a ghost today." She chuckled a little. "But seriously, I hope he didn't get lost..."

The 14 year old continued her search, now walking down a row of empty booths. Because of this, the area certainly felt a little quieter than elsewhere on the floor. "Well, at least I can hear my own thoughts again." Luan chuckled a little.

"This whole thing was pointless Clyde..." Came a voice from somewhere within the vicinity.

Luan stopped in her tracks upon hearing it. "Lincoln?" The 'Joker' grew a bit worried as his voice sounded like it was breaking.

"What do you mean by 'pointless'?" Came Clyde's voice.

"...When you told me that we'd get a shot at being in the movie if we won the contest, I-I thought bringing my sisters along would help our chances..." Luan followed the voice, walking between a pair of empty booths. "They weren't interested until I told them what all of us would win if they came here, and from then it just a matter of getting them familiar with the series. Once we got here, impressing the judges was easy as pie...for my sisters..."

The comedian raised a brow. "What does he mean by that?" She whispered to herself.

With the boys very close, Luan peered around the corner to find the preteens sitting on a bench situated up against the back of the booth she was next to. Clyde was facing her direction but couldn't see her; Lincoln's back was towards Luan, and based on the lack of cloth tied to the back of Lincoln's head, she could tell he had taken his mask off.

"We tried everything to get them to like us, a-and nothing worked. I started to wonder what would happen if we hadn't brought my sisters along...and..." Lincoln pursed his lips before sniffling again. "We'd still come in last place..."

"Lincoln," Clyde started, his tone evident that he wasn't fully getting what Lincoln meant. "You can't say that's for certain. I mean, there would've been other ways we could've-"

Lincoln gritted his teeth as his hands curled into fists. "Yes I can!" He shouted, causing both Luan and Clyde to flinch. "Do you really think after all we just did, it would've been any better?!" Clyde stared in fear at his angry friend, who now had tears spilling out of his eyes. "We would've came in here as Ace and Jack, and we'd still lose the competition to someone else!"

Clyde found his voice again upon Lincoln putting a lot of emphasis on the cosplay event. "Lincoln," He held his hands up as a defense in case the Loud lashed out at him. "I know you're upset about not being able to get into the movie, but don't you think there might be a next time?"

"It's not just the movie Clyde!" Lincoln spat. "It's...it's..." He gave a loud groan. "It's just how unfair all of this is!" Luan peered a little bit more around the edge of the cloth so she could see her brother fully. "My sisters wouldn't even be here if it weren't for us! They wouldn't be the ones who were going to win the contest if we didn't coach them about what we knew of on Ace Savvy! They didn't even want to come here in the first place! And they don't even LIKE Ace Savvy! But they're the ones who get everyone wanting an autograph while we're just left behind?!"

Lincoln panted a bit, which Clyde took as an opportunity to speak. "Well..." He mulled on his words. "Maybe the judges were just looking for something new?"

Lincoln huffed before giving a dry laugh. "New huh? I made a comic about all of my sisters characters for that comic book contest 4 months back. And even after I won, nothing happened with it from what I saw..." Lincoln rapped his fingers on the bench in an agitated manner. "I really wanna be happy for my sisters, I really do. But..." The boy pursed his lips as his eyes started to become wet again. "It's...it hurts..."

Clyde blinked a couple times. "Where?"

Lincoln didn't say anything, but he gave a soft pat to his chest. "I missed the last convention because I had to cover for my sister by getting grounded for something I didn't even do..." Luan had an idea about what that was. "So I was really looking forward to this one, but I can't even enjoy it because..." Lincoln paused, letting out an uneven sigh. "I don't want to blame my sisters for this...but I hoped this contest would finally give me a chance to score a win at something I'm really good at..." Clyde raised a brow, as did Luan. "You know my sisters often mocked me for liking 'dorky' things like Ace Savvy or Muscle Fish, so I wanted to prove them wrong so they could see just how enjoyable this place is; I'd even do a victory dance if they actually admitted it." The Loud paused for a moment as he stared out towards nothing of interest. "I-I guess they like it, but no one even realizes I made up the characters they're dressed up as..."

Luan tugged on her outfit a little, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable wearing her Joker clothing.

"I hoped this would work out for all of us because I'm the Ace Savvy expert of the house..." Lincoln's lip quivered a little. "But all it did was move my sisters up a leg to where they'll be movie stars while I'm still just a boy who does nothing but read comics in his undies..." He rubbed one of his eyes when he felt a tear start to form. "A-And I don't wanna tell Mom and Dad why I didn't end up in the movie with them..."

Tears started to leak out of Lincoln's eyes, his body shaking as a few choked sobs escaped him. "I-I thought I was finally in a spot to prove I'm good at something...and that my hobbies weren't just a joke..." The boy sniffled. "B-But I guess they always were..." He started to feel even worse, gripping his hair tightly in his fingers while scrunching up in his seat. "I-I just don't get it! My sisters make things look so easy...but when I try, I just fall on my face!" The Loud screamed, making Clyde and Luan flinch. "What do they have that I don't?! Why are they always better at everything?!…" The boy vented a little as a choked sob left him. "...A-Am I just a mistake?!..."

Luan had to cover her mouth from letting out a gasp that would've definitely caught their attention; that last sentence shook her to the core. Her instincts were telling her to run out there and comfort her brother in his time of need; but given what she just heard, she wasn't sure how Lincoln would react if she made her presence known.

Lincoln continued to cry as Clyde placed a hand on the Loud's shoulder. To him, losing the chance of being in the movie was devastating, but not something he could cry so readily about. Can't win at everything, as Mr. and Mr. McBride often said. To Lincoln however, Clyde saw that the Loud took up the task as a personal goal that ran deeper than he thought; and that was the problem as to why he couldn't truly understand Lincoln's pain. Sure, he knew getting upstaged in a subject he and Lincoln were more versed in by complete novices when compared to the girls stung something fierce; but that's only as far as it got. Maybe having so many siblings with different traits drove Lincoln to try and feel accomplished, and this was a topic the Loud kept more or less kept to himself.

Clyde pursed his lips a little. He did recall Lincoln once venting about missing the convention last year along with his sisters making fun of him over dressing as his comic book hero, but not once did Lincoln bring up any hints of feeling like he was constantly being overshadowed. And as bad as Lincoln was doing right now, Clyde couldn't help but feel a little elated that he was an only child.

"I don't wanna be here anymore..." Lincoln muttered.

Clyde blinked a couple times as he got pulled from his own thoughts. "Huh?"

"I...I wanna go home..."

Clyde hummed a little. Glancing at the clock, the contest would be over within a half hour. And with the convention due to end not very long after that, the loyal friend felt he had seen enough too.

"Okay..." Clyde started in a solemn tone. "But let's get you to the bathroom first. Don't want to be walking around with your face like that, right?" He smiled, more so as a means to cheer Lincoln up than any real happiness on his part.

Lincoln didn't reciprocate the positive emotion, but nodded his head nonetheless. The two boys got up, with Clyde putting a hand on Lincoln's back as they walked towards the nearest restroom. Luan ducked a little further into her hiding spot so they wouldn't notice her, and as they passed, the comedian got a good look at Lincoln's face. It was no surprise that his eyes were red and puffy, and his nose was a tad runny, but the brunette became even more concerned due to Lincoln's face looking a little paler than usual; not to extreme levels like Lucy, but that type of paleness when someone lacks any energy.

Luan came out of her hiding spot once the boys were far enough away, staring at the retreating form of her distraught brother, a hand instinctively curling into a fist over her heart. Clyde may not understand Lincoln's wounds, but Luan certainly did. Seeing him with his hopes utterly crushed reminded the comedian of a specific moment when she had to do her best to hide her envy. It wasn't towards another rival of sorts, but the person in question was her gothic sister. One of Luan's most sought after personal goals was to perform at the Royal Woods Theater; just about anyone who had an audience there was sure to go big in their respective careers. Whilst the comedian was unable to earn a shot in the spotlight at such a place, Lucy caught a huge break after her teacher expressed great raise for her poem. And the kicker about all of this? Luan dropped some very important advice on how Lucy could become a better poet the day prior.

For a time, Luan felt like Lucy had stolen her dream; and subsequently shunned her for it. However, the comedian learned to support her sister and not let her envy cloud her judgment; especially after Lucy specifically stated she couldn't have gotten that far without her help.

And now, she was watching the same events unfold with her brother. He spent much of last week helping all of them get ready for the convention, and the girls achieved what he had been trying to do without even putting in some real work for the most part; given the rant Luan heard from him, Lincoln and Clyde had to literally bust their butts til they admitted defeat just to get the judges to notice them. It might've been mathematically worse since, unlike Luan's previous dilemma where it was only one sibling earning achieving a dream the other tried so hard to do, all ten of the girls were apparently slated to be the winners of the contest instead.

"I gotta do something...I gotta..." Luan cut herself off as a flurry of emotions hit her at once. She felt sorry for her brother about being denied his dream, anger towards the judges for dismissing her brother and his friend, and a sense of being stuck in the middle as far as what she could do. Upon watching the boys disappear around the corner of a booth, Luan took off after them.

Unfortunately, by the time she got to where they disappeared, the comedian couldn't find them. Looking around, all she was were a bunch of cosplayers that didn't even look remotely close to the boys. "Dang it!" Luan shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. "Where the heck did they..." The comedian bit her lip. "Wait..." She uttered to herself, squinting her eyes a little. "Telling Lincoln it's not the end of the world probably won't do anything...especially if it's just me saying it..."

For a situation this severe, words of encouragement were pointless. Luan frowned as she could vividly picture the scenario in her head. Say her or one of her other siblings learned about the results of the contest and approached Lincoln to offer their condolences. Given his current mood, Luan saw two things happening: either Lincoln would rebuff their apologies and claim they didn't mean it, then storm away to fume and likely cry in private; the second theory was that Lincoln would skip the anger phase entirely and go right into the depression stage.

Luan pursed her lips as a grim look took shape. "It's probably best that Lincoln found out about this before the judges made it official..."

With this scenario, Luan figured she and her sisters would be cheering up a storm while being oblivious to the fact Lincoln and Clyde hadn't been included. As a result, Lincoln might feel he had been used by his sisters so they could gain fame and have a huge meltdown; the end result being that he'd either resent his siblings for the rest of his life (which sounds a bit selfish now that Luan thought about it), or he'd feel like he does now, thinking he's a complete loser who could never achieve anything like his sisters, and only exists to live in their shadows.

Luan shook unconsciously. "Wow, I'm getting real dark here. What am I, Lucy?..." She said to no one in particular.

Either way, none of the scenarios played were ideal in the slightest. Luan pursed her lips as her palms turned into fists. She couldn't just sit here and let her brother believe he was some genetic defect! That would just make Lincoln believe the girls only think of him as a tool for their own gains! It almost reached that point once...

And god forbid Lincoln started questioning the worth of his gender. On occasion, one could tell Lincoln sometimes felt like the odd man out due to being the only boy in the family, but-

Luan smacked the side of her head, forcing that train to derail. "Get your head in gear Luan! You can still do something to help..." She muttered to herself, before he shoulders sank a little. "I hope..."

As the comedian stood there for a few moments, her brows furrowed with newfound determination flowing in her veins. Breaking into a sprint, she made a mad dash towards the food court. The others needed to know what was going on, and they needed to act.

Now...

"Well, that was a total waste of time..." Lola grumbled, folding one leg over the other as she massaged her foot. "My feet are killing me..."

"Surprisingly, Lincoln was a lot harder to find than any of us thought." Lucy stated as he picked at her salad. "Could be just all the Ace Savvies in here."

"Eh, it's no big." Luna shrugged, popping another fry into her mouth. "He's probably just out there having fun."

"He better be..." Lynn grumbled irritably. "His disappearing act is almost as good as Lucy's." She took another bite out of her burger.

"Ah, your just mad you didn't find him." Lana chuckled.

Leni sipped on her smoothie for a moment. "Um, I don't think anyone did?"

Lisa took a moment to swallow her pizza. "Luan is still absent, and has been ever since we convened here. I theorize that she is either very determined to find Lincoln, or is currently bringing him back as we speak."

Lori browsed through her phone to check her messages. "Well she obviously hadn't found him, cause I'd see a few gloating texts from her."

The group soon heard the sound of rapid footfalls coming towards them. Within seconds, Luan slowed to a stop next to their table, putting her hands on her knees as she fought to regulate her breathing.

"Speak of the devil, and you shall receive." The 4 year old muttered before sipping her juice.

"Woah mate. Where's the fire?" Luna asked.

"Lincoln...not doing well..." Luan sputtered out, leaning up as she took a deep breath.

Lori raised a brow. "What about Lincoln?"

Lynn folded her arms as she frowned at the comedian. "So you found him?"

"Yeah...but..." Luan took another deep breath, catching the edge of the table for balance. "That's not the point! He's a total sad sack right now!"

Lori stared at her comedic sister with an incredulous look. "Lincoln? Being sad at an Ace Savvy convention?" She replied with a bit of snark. "He's probably like a kid in a candy store here."

Luan glared at her oldest sibling for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Should've been a little clearer..." She muttered to herself before dialing her volume back up. "I'm not kidding! Lincoln's so sad that he might give up on comics forever!"

The other girls stopped whatever they were doing and stared at Luan. It was probably an exaggeration, but when one sibling states that another was likely giving up a hobby they deeply cherished, it was to be treated as a Code Red situation.

"Luan." Lori started, a bit of edge in her tone. "What's going on with Lincoln?..."

"It went like this..." Luan grabbed a chair from a nearby table and pulled it up to the girls' table. "I found him and Clyde sitting around an empty part of the floor, and Lincoln was talking about how the judges were going to pick us as the winners for the contest."

Lola raised a brow. "Why would he be sad over that? Isn't that why we came here?"

"When he said 'us', he was referring to only us!" Luan gestured to every girl at the table. "They're gonna pick the Full Deck," Luan glanced to the side. "Or whatever our team is called, and leave Lincoln and Clyde out of it!"

The others gasped at this revelation.

"That's bogus man!" Luna shouted, slamming a fist on the table. "That's like my band going on tour without me, and I wrote most of the songs!"

Lynn cracked her knuckles. "Those stupid judges will think twice when I'm through with 'em!"

"If I had real superpowers," Lola adjusted the crown on her head. "I'd turn them into swiss cheese!"

"I'll ask them what they would like their epitaphs to read..." Lucy added in a cold tone.

"Girls, girls!" Lori yelled, silencing the group. "Threatening them with violence isn't going to help. And as much as I'd want to make them reconsider, there's a bigger issue we need to focus on." She focused back in Luan. "Luan, where is Lincoln now?"

"Clyde took him to a bathroom to clean his face." Luan pursed her lips a little. "But that's not the worst of it. From what I heard him say, Lincoln and Clyde tried to do whatever they could to impress the judges, but everything seemed to fall apart. Now..." Luan paused, giving a heavy sigh as she prepared to deliver the worst news ever. "Lincoln feels like we're just better than him no matter what he does..."

"Well that's baloney!" Lana replied as he stood up in her chair. "Just cause he doesn't know how to tune an engine doesn't mean he's better than me!"

"You're the only one who knows how to fix cars Lana." Her younger twin pointed out. "Dad sure doesn't." Lola folded her arms. "But unlike you, I'm the beauty expert in this family."

Lynn gave a loud snort at Lola's comment. "Well, both of you couldn't handle sports if you tried. Lana, maybe." The family athlete waved her hand in a so-so manner. "But definitely not you Lola."

The pageant winner rolled her eyes. "Who wants to roll around in grass and mud anyway?" Within seconds after saying this, she whipped her head towards Lana, who had her mouth open as if she'd say something. "Besides you."

Luan pinched the bridge between her eyes while dispelling an irate sigh through her nose. This was getting a little off topic, and she felt she wasted enough time just explaining the whole situation. "Yeah, we get it; none of you could master comedy like I did, but that's beside the point!"

"Then what DO you mean Luan?" Lucy leaned against the table. "It's not like we're gonna become comic book or video game experts overnight."

"Yeah, and I still think science fiction is boring." Lisa frowned a little at Luan's comment. "But I can say for a fact that what's really eating our brother is he thinks his dream of being in an Ace Savvy movie won't come true."

The girls had uneasy looks on their faces.

"And if we don't do something soon, he'll never get a chance like this again!" The 'Joker' added.

Luna raised her hands a little. "Relax sis, we got this. All we gotta do is get the judges to let Link and Clyde on board with us. Should be easy cause," 'Night Club' shrugged a little. "It ain't like they got other choices, right?"

Luan pursed her lips in thought. "Well...no. It didn't sound like it." She tapped her finger on the table. "But they could change their mind at the last moment."

Lola's pupils shrank a bit before she glared heatedly at the comedian. "Like HECK they are!" The 'Queen' declared before jumping onto the table. "There's no way we're missing out on this golden opportunity to become movie stars!"

Lucy folded her arms. "So you're actually okay with Lincoln being left behind? Where he will be forever stuck in a grave filled with grief?" Behind the dark bangs of 'Spade's' hair, you could barely make out the cold glare she cast forth.

Unfortunately, this went over Lola's head. Turning towards the emo, "No, dummy!" She spat as her hands formed into tight fists. "He's getting in that movie just as much as we are, and I won't settle for nothing less!" Lola brought a hand up to her chin. "Just need to figure out what kind of dirt I can dig up on those two..."

Lisa looked at her watch. "I hope you plan to be punctual about it, because there's only 30 minutes and 45 seconds remaining before the contest deadline."

Lynn smirked a little. "Talk is cheap anyways." She cracked her knuckles a little. "I'm sure a few minutes alone with us will make them reconsider."

Lily shook her head. "No! Incon!"

"Can we check on him first?" Lana added.

"But if we go trackin' down our bro and Clyde, we won't get enough time to get the big wigs to rethink their choice!" Luna argued.

"But Lincoln's sad right now!" Leni countered. "He needs us!"

"28 minutes and 40 seconds remaining." Lisa droned out.

Lynn unleashed a semi-controlled growl as she sent a warning glare towards 'Card Counter'. "We have clocks on our phones you know!"

As the arguments on what action to take flew back and forth across the table, Lori couldn't help but twitch her eye at the ongoing debate. The girls were really starting to live up to their surnames, seeing as the arguing warranted a few onlookers; Lori had to shoo them away with a heated stare of her own.

Unfortunately, the argument wasn't an easy thing to settle. She could easily shoot down the idea of finding the judges and convince them (with WORDS, not fists) that Lincoln and Clyde deserved to be in that movie as much as the girls did; knowing her brother was off somewhere crying a river was putting her sisterly instincts into overdrive. Yet, Lola was correct in the fact an opportunity like this rarely presents itself, and as selfish as it may sound, Lori did like the idea of appearing on the big screen; even if it might only be for a few minutes.

Lori shook her head. "Come on Lori, focus!" As the yelling started to become a shouting match, the oldest sibling finally ran out of patience. "ENOUGH!"

The rest of the Louds stopped their quarreling at the order of their oldest sister, soon giving their undivided attention towards the unspoken leader. "Look, both are good ideas, and there's enough of us to do both. Now, who's in favor of finding Lincoln?" Lori asked, raising her hand.

Lana, Luan, Lily, and Leni did the same.

"I'm guessing the rest of you want to find the judges?" Lori spoke quickly, earning a nod from the remaining sisters. "Alright, everyone who raised their hand, we're finding Lincoln and Clyde." She stood up a second after that declaration. "Everyone else, go find the people running this whole thing and get them to let the boys on board." 'High Card' made a quick glare towards Lynn, who was rubbing her hands together with a smirk. "And no fights Lynn!" Pointing a threatening finger at her, "You get us kicked out, not only will I get Mom and Dad to ground you, I'm popping all of your sports balls too!"

Lynn glared at the oldest sibling, folding her arms as she sank a little in her seat. She could tell when Lori was just spitting hot air, as her threats would also get the older teen in trouble with their parents. Unfortunately, Lori wasn't making an idle threat today, and Lynn knew it would be in her best interest to obey.

Without another word, the girls divided into their teams before heading off in different directions. Luan led the way for Lori's team, recalling the general location the boys were last seen. Luna and Lisa walked in a brisk pace, discussing what they could do to convince the judges to take up their idea; Lola would occasionally force in her own opinion, which was already getting shot down by the two brunettes. Lucy lagged behind the trio, seemingly disinterested. In actuality, 'Spade' was keeping an eye on 'Strong Suit' as the tomboy grumbled about being kept on a leash.

In spite of the differing goals, all of the Full House had one sentiment in common: they hoped it wasn't too late to change the likely outcome of what was bound to happen.

"Ok, that will be $8.50 Ma'am." A clerk smiled at the customer before receiving the correct amount of cash. Being given a $10 bill, the cashier took out the appropriate change before putting the two limited edition comic issues into a bag before handing it back to the customer. "Have a good day, and be sure to deal out some justice!"

The kid smiled before giving a salute and skipping away with their parent in tow.

The next person in line, a young kid probably around 10 years of age, walked up. "Do you still have a copy of issue #56 with the special cover on it?"

The cashier smiled. "Let me see..." Turning around, the older man went from being content to pure confusion as the box he kept all of the special issues in was missing. "What the?..." He looked around, leaning down to open a few other boxes. "I could've sworn I-"

"Mister?" The kid asked.

"Ah, dang it." The man stood up before facing the kid. "Sorry little dude, but it seems I'm all out..."

"Aw..." The child spoke dejectedly before walking away in a slump.

The man couldn't help the feeling of guilt filling his chest. One of the main reasons he liked working at conventions was to make children smile, in addition to making a little extra cash on stuff that would be clearly overpriced. However, he couldn't do any of those with his stock missing. Putting up a folded 'Closed' sign, the man turned around once more and looked about the merchandise he had stacked around. "Where the heck did those comics go?" He leaned down to open another box, only to find it was completely empty.

Furrowing his brows, "What the actual-"

At another booth, a woman was selling specially made Ace Savvy action figures; the type you normally wouldn't find on a shelf at Toys-R-Us (if it still exists). Currently, she was busy with a group of kids dressed as a couple heroes and villains looking to add some figurines to their collection; or to play with and eventually destroy them. It didn't matter to her, it was just her job to sell them.

The woman tapped the edge of her notebook with her pen. "Ok, so you need a Card Shark, Wild Card Willy, Card Countess, and...who else?"

"A newer version of Ace Savvy!" One of the boys yelled.

"What?" A girl glared at her friend. "You already have that one! I need a figurine of High Roller's truck!"

"What about One-Eyed Jack's monocle?" A third person chimed in.

"Uh, I think you're thinking about that booth over there." The woman pointed to a distant stand selling wearable merchandise and cosplay kits.

While the kids were busy discussing what they needed, and the woman starting to run out of patience with all the indecisiveness, no one noticed a pair of hands sliding underneath the rear curtain. The hands felt around until they landed on a box, with one of them immediately feeling the merchandise they held. Upon touching what was believed to be action figures, the hands quickly grabbed the sides of the box and pulled it back behind the curtain. Two other pairs did the same for adjacent boxes.

The woman shook her head as the kids started to argue amongst each other, turning around to idly check if she had even half the things they wanted. Her eyes promptly bugged out to find her sellable stock was gone. "What the-?"

"Hey!" One of the boys yelled, casting a hard glare at the cashier. "You don't even have anything back there!"

The clerk only gave him a look of disproval. "Look, kid. I know for a fact I had some stuff back here, and I could accuse one of you kids for stealing." She folded her arms. "But I won't, cause I got no idea if you even had something to do with it." She bent down for a moment before putting a 'Closed' sign on the front table. "Now if you don't mind, I gotta call my boss and ask if he got anymore."

It was then the kids noticed a walkie-talkie in her other hand. "But what about-?" One of the boys started.

"Dude, she doesn't have anything. So let's go find someone who does." The girl stated in a tone that sounded like an order.

The boy in question hung his head in disappointment before the kids walked off towards a different booth.

The woman pressed a button on her handheld radio, waiting a couple seconds for it to activate. Putting it to her ear, "Hey, Kal. You gotta more boxes of those action figures?..." The woman furrowed her brows as a heated response came over the line. "What do you mean 'What did I do'?! I had three whole boxes, and now they've gone missing!"

This trend was repeated among a few other vendors selling unique or rare items, which included but were not limited to: portraits, clothing, some backpacks, and even a couple signed books. However, the reaction was mixed among the people who ran the booths; some believed they had such good business that they simply ran out of stock, but others only had confusion or anger at the idea that someone could've been stealing from the vendors. Regardless, it was forcing stands to close up shop, some of which being worried they wouldn't be able to restock their shelves before the convention ended.

Elsewhere on the floor however, a group of cosplayers moved stealthily behind a row of booths, each one carrying a stack of boxes. The group reached a nearby double-doored exit, with the person in lead propping the door with their foot so the others could pass. Once the group had exited, the last person looked around to make sure they weren't being followed, only exiting after feeling confident they didn't have a tail.

Now outside in direct sunlight, one could catch a clear glimpse of the group. All of them appeared to be teenagers or young adults at the very least, with the exception of one person that was clearly overweight. Their costumes included an Ace Savvy, a Wild Card Willy, a Card Shark, an obese High Roller, a Card Countess, and an Old Maid.

"Man, this stuff is heavy!" 'Shark' complained, leaning back to stretch his spine.

"Heavy? Pfff." 'Willy' chortled, dusting his gloves off. "You just ain't workin' out enough." His voice had a slight Aussie accent to it.

'Ace' pulled out a boxed-up figurine from his stash, a bored expression clear for all to see. "What's the point of these dumb toys again?" He stared blankly at the Ace Savvy preserved behind the plastic. Wanting to keep his fingers busy, he started to pick at the tape securing the top of the box. "Not like anyone is gonna miss them..."

'High Roller' let out a gasp before smacking 'Ace's' hand. "D-D-Don't do that!" He stuttered out, snatching the box out of the teen's grasp.

'Ace' glared at the obese man as he shook the stinging sensation out of his hand. "The heck was that for?!"

"Do you know how much someone would pay for this stuff in mint condition?!" 'High Roller' spoke in a flat tone, patting the tape down until it looked as if no one peeled it.

'Card Countess' bit her cheek as she gave a half-lidded stare towards the two. "$8?...that's literally how much that thing's worth..."

The fat man rolled his eyes. "No, dummies." Holding up the box with one hand, "This Limited Edition Ace Savvy figurine from the Cold Days saga is worth hundreds if it's kept fresh from the factory; thousands even, depending on the layout."

'Ace' furrowed his brows at the fatty. "Who the hell is gonna shell out that much cash for a stupid toy?!"

"It's not like the kids are getting them for some dumb collection." 'Old Maid' pointed out. In spite of her costume, she sounded like someone not older than twenty.

"All more of the reason we liberated them from this sham of a convention." 'High Roller' pushed his glasses up a bit. "Not that I would expect any of you newbs to understand. Besides, it was on our To-Do list."

"What kind of list calls for a bunch toys and, whatever else we grabbed?" 'Willy' leaned against a small stack of boxes. He was about to continue, stopping for a moment when the group heard a monotonous ringing coming from 'Old Maid's pocket. "Then again, this is a kid we're dealing with here."

'Old Maid' plucked her phone out. Seconds passed before her eyebrows knitted together in a sharp V as she glared at the screen. As much as she didn't want to pick up, the woman had little choice in the grand scheme of things. Giving an exasperated sigh, she opened up the call. "I told you not to call my phone!"

"I can call whoever I want lady! In case you forget, I'm the one with all the money in the world here!" A childish voice screeched over the phone's speaker.

"A spoiled kid no less..." 'Countess' muttered.

"Hey!" 'Ace' spoke loudly to make sure his voice was heard. "What we gonna do with all these toys tiny? I know for a fact you won't get through half these things before calling a quits."

"They aren't for me, idiot. They're-"

"Then what are we doing grabbing all this stuff for?!" 'Shark' cut in, coming closer to the phone.

"It's called a DISTRACTION, dummies! With all the toys going missing, they'll have security too focused on protecting some worthless toys to care about anything else! Trust me, I've seen this work on TV before."

"Oh really." 'Old Maid' folded her arms. "Which cartoon did you pull this stunt from?"

Silence filled the void for a few, precious seconds before the child's whiny tone returned in force. "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX! Now don't question me again, or you're not getting any of my hard-earned money!"

"Wouldn't that be your parents'-" 'High Roller' started before having his mouth clamped shut by 'Ace'.

Casting a glare at the obese fanatic, "Some of us would like to make ten grand when this farce is over."

"If we don't get caught." 'Countess' pointed out, placing a hand on her hip. "How do we even know if the cameras weren't watching us the whole time?"

"Or if you're planning on crossing us..." 'Old Maid' added, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Don't worry about the cameras, I got the BEST guy in the business blinding them as we speak. You could snatch a lollipop and not get caught!" The child boasted. "And why would I even think about double crossing you? You're all my friends here!"

The undertone of that statement was so sickeningly sweet that it made the group cringe.

"Now get that stuff to the van my butler left, and get back to stealing to keep those cops busy! My REAL present is almost ready. Muhahahaha!" The child gave what would be assumed as a faux evil laugh before the line went dead.

"And just how does he expect us to keep this up?" 'Ace' growled, looking at the stolen merchandise. "We practically looted half the floor!"

"Actually, according to the amount of stock we acquired, " 'High Roller' adjusted his glasses as he scanned every box around them. "We've only hit 20% of the convention vendors."

"Either way, this is getting too risky." 'Countess' stated. "Ten grand or not, money's worthless if you're in jail."

'Old Maid' gave a dark chuckle. "A pretty face like you wouldn't last long in the big house. Might end up on the bottom more times than you could count."

'Countess' had a twitch in her eye for a split second before a cold glare was brought out in force. It didn't help the guys behind her were snickering to themselves like the oafs they were. The dark-dressed woman cracked her fingers individually, her arm twitching as if she were ready to strike.

"I'm not the one dressed like an old bitch, now am I?" Came the vampire cosplayer's venomous response.

The guys started hollering with laughter as 'Old Maid' was utterly kicked off her high horse. The woman's cheeks reddened with anger as her lips parted, showing gritted teeth. "I would've picked Card Countess if you hadn't taken the suit first!"

"That sounds like a 'you' problem." 'Countess' retorted, soon becoming distracted as the idiots behind her couldn't keep their giggle fits to themselves.

Picking up a box, she threw it at the closest male to her, which happened to be 'Willy'. The cowboy went down in a heap, causing the guys to quit their bellowing just as 3 more boxes were flung at them. 'Shark' wound up catching one with his groin, 'High Roller' got lucky and turned just as the box bounced off his side, and 'Ace' got tripped up as the incoming object slammed into his legs.

"If you're done," 'Countess started, dusting off her hands. "Get your asses up and get this crap out of here before a security guard shows up." Without another word, the dark-clothed woman walked past the groaning men and re-entered the building, slamming the door shut behind her.

'Old Maid' shook her head. "This is one messed up group this kid hired..."

'High Roller' opened the box that hit him, relieved that it was only full of clothes. "She should be lucky nothing appears to have been broken. How else am I going to make a profit on eBay?"

The woman bit her lip. "Officially putting you in the weirdo pile..." She pinched the bridge of her nose whilst releasing a frustrated sigh. "This so-called 'present' better be worth this shitpile of a headache..."

A/N: I was originally going to keep the half-remake into a single chapter, but I started to realize how long it would be and felt dividing it into two parts would've been best. Now, you may have seen some parallels with my other works in some fashion or the old diehard cliché where certain episodes like Sleuth or Consequences keeps getting brought up. I partly blame the fact there's few episodes that reference Ace Savvy or use it as a plot point, but I'll try to avoid the whole predictable thing where Lucy reveals she was really the owner of that book.

As far as Lincoln's emotional state, some may find it hard to believe him being a quitter, as he is clearly shown to have fierce determination when the situation calls for it. However, as seen in the actual episode, they threw his moral integrity out the window in order to keep the plot moving; something many find to be either lazy or just bad writing. However, in the grand scheme of things, if Lincoln and Clyde hadn't thought of committing their own crime, I doubt there was anything they could've done; even with the girls support. Producers can be a pain in the ass to bargain with unless they were really desperate, which wasn't the case canon-wise.

That is...unless an outside force started causing trouble ;). Part two will feature much more mystery and crime solving while drama takes a back seat.