22Now, I know what you're going too say; not another NSL fic. I perfectly understand, NSL happened like ages ago and that I should move on, but I truly have, it's just that even though it was one of the worst episodes of the series, it made for excellent material to draw inspiration from when making a story. Not just that but I also drew some inspiration from the Deux Ex series and Captain Ameroca: The Winter Soldier, some personal favorites of mine. This is a little unorthodox from most NSL fanfics, but that's what I'm hoping for, in most stories, it's always family drama but I wanted to try a new approach and I consider this an important project and I've discussed the concept with fellow author Houn424 who likes it so here it is.
Rated M for blood, language, and violence.
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Enjoy!
Somewhere in the sky, there was a bountiful of what you might expect from such an environment, animals such as eagles, birds, and other avian species were soaring through the sky, a basic standard setting for some, but a flock of pigeons flew besides an aircraft, but it wasn't the average plane or helicopter, it was a carrier that resembled something from the military, if not a little more hi-tech. On the side was a logo, it resembled the letter N, but the end was extended t o look like a lightning bolt. Inside were an array of weaponry, weaponry ranging from M16 rifles, Colt AR-15s, Heckler and Cotch pistols, Uzi machine guns and the like, anything one would need to shoot up some shit was placed here and the ones who used such works of art were the ones taking their seats at the moment. Each sat silent as the craft continued to transport them across the sky, some were anxious to get started while others took the time to prepare for what was to come.
Although there were certain things about these guys that made them stand out. for one thing, they were all kids and teenagers and perhaps their most defining feature was that they each had artificial robotic and weaponized augmentations that acted as replacement limbs for what used to be their more fleshy appendages.
On the left side was an African-American young man of 17 years with his hair tied into dreadlocks, the lower part of his arms were purely robotic wearing a Kevlar jacket and combat pants and boots with hidden knife compartments, he cracked the metal knuckles as he continued chanting. "Who's the boss, I'm the damn boss, motherfucker."
Sitting next to him was a blonde 15-year-old with his hair spiked up, he wore a blue hoodie over his body armor with his right hand being artificial, along with his two legs as well, he nodded his head as he listened to some pop music on his headphones with a relaxed demeanor.
Next on the third seat was a 16 year old boy with two of his arms being robotic along with a deep scar over his right eye that were closed along with the left one, he wore black clothing the same as his hair.
Fourth from the first one was a teenage girl who was also 17 and of American decent, she had her violet dyed hair cut to a bob style and wore a sleeveless top with pants that held many knives and her right leg and left arm were both prosthetic robot appendages and kept a stoic expression as silence filled the room.
Finally there was a brunette boy of the similar age of 14 with a rather calm smile with his left arm robotic and a few of his left fingers being robotic as well and carried an Armalite AR-50 sniper rifle carried on his back, he hummed a cheerful tune while swinging legs like a child which was quite disturbing but no one made a fuss about it.
Over on the right side were elementary aged and a middle-schooled age kid. For instance, there were two who were identical twins with auburn hair and were both eleven years old, one twin had his right arm and leg augmented while the other twin had the same but on the left side.
Next to them was a 13-year-old who hid his features with a grey hoodie to hide his face where the ride side of his face was made out of robotics and a glowing red eye with short black hair and an emotionless expression with his hands in his pockets.
Then there was a young Japanese kid with his two hands being robotic and wearing a green visor, his hair was jet black with a single streak being dyed green and was also listening to some music, only his tastes were techno and dubstep.
Last, but certainly not least, the last youngling was another 11-year-old with his hair being snow white that was very long, it reached past his shoulders, he wore a black jacket over a bulletproof top with a strap that carried a high-tech sword and his only augmentation was his right arm, a highly advanced and technical piece of art. He gazed at it in disdain as he tried flexing his metal fingers, he was still getting used to the feeling of having this metal appendage, as useful as it was, it still had a few bugs to work out which was no walk in the park. But he can't say he wishes for the old feeling of having an arm made of flesh and bone as opposed to one with nuts and bolts, mostly because he couldn't remember a feeling like that.
"Hey, L." he looked to the raven-haired teen with metal arm who opened his eyes to reveal that the right one was cybernetic in nature. "You look a little nervous there, not getting cold feet are ya? I don't want to have to cover your ass while the show gets started, those sons of bitches won't give you time to think."
L looked to the side. "I'm fine Aaron."
"Better be, little man." the dreadlocked teen told him. "Don't have tie to get emotional."
"Like you did last night at the docks, Devon?" the girl smirked.
Devon shook his head. "Hey, I was still reeling from that movie we all watched in Venice, that shit can make anyone cry Mia, so don't go judging me. I might have steel hands but fool, that don't mean I'm made of stone." all Mia did was chuckle along with the spikey-haired blonde who took off his headphones to chime in.
"Hey man, it's cool, so you're not as tough as you want people to see you as. Trust me, we can already tell." he teased.
"Man, shut up, Jesse."
L looked to the hooded one. "Jack, any updates?"
"We are progressing as per our orders demanded, ETA will be precisely as predicted during briefing." Jack robotically replied, not taking his eyes off the empty space he was staring at.
"You two, Rick, Nick." L addressed the twins. "You boys ready to roll?"
"Locked..." Nick, the one with the left augmentations began.
His brother, Rick who had the right side of augments finished. "...and loaded."
Next, was the guy who was enjoying listening to some sick beats. "Shirako. Hey, Shirako." L grabbed his ally's headphones and yelled in his ear. "Get your head in the game!"
"Dude!" Shirako replied, rubbing his ear to get rid of the ringing. "Tone the volume to a minimum, my ear drums can't handle it, L-man, you'll mess with my flow, bro."
L raised an eyebrow. "You listen to that music of yours 24/7 and you say my voice is numbing?" he surmised with an incredulous look on his face, dumbfounded by how much his friend can handle the level of sound. "Whatever man, just make sure you put it on pause when we land, unless you want that music to be the last thing you hear."
Devon then heard the humming tune. "Tony boy, what in the hell you singing about?" he asked.
"Oh you know, just thinking about which side I should shoot my gun, should I do it normal or do you think a good old fashioned execution style would do the trick?" Tony inquire with a thoughtful finger on his chin of which he rubbed. "I want the guys remembering the kind of guy who's pointing their gun at them, that way they can tell their friends and they'll know who they're messing with 'cause we all a bunch of guys who love the shooting and the killing."
"You do know that no one would tell their friends, because they'd be dead, right?" L pointed out. "And isn't our work supposed to be secret? You'd be pretty much compromising all of us, Tone."
Tony's face went frozen as he registered his younger teammate's words. "Shit, you're right. Well that ruins some plans for my movie, Terms of En-Killing-Ment." he got dubious stare from his friends. "I mean, it's a working title, so-"
"You're cracked up in that bat-shit crazy head of yours, you know that?" Devon told him.
Before Tony could respond, a beeping was heard from Jack's eye. "Incoming transmission from the Benefactor, putting it on view." his eye projected a hologram which showed a silhouetted face and blank white eyes.
"Afternoon to you all." the person greeted with a distorted voice, curtesy of a modulator to disguise it and ergo, his identity. "Good to see you all are prepared for the mission." images of a transport vehicle and life-like models were then shown. "Your mission objective should be clear enough, intercept the convoy before it gets to its destination and free the new subjects that are trapped inside, to avoid suspicion, they disguised it as a cereal truck of Zombie Brand."
"Oh, I love those." Tony grinned. "I mean, advertising walking dead rotting corpses as a cereal box can be so tasty once you ignore the images of a zombie biting on a person's head to eat the brainy substance inside like in that awesome TV show about zombies and brain-eating and the killing, you know, the good shit."
Mia gagged a little and clutched her stomach. "Please don't, I had a big lunch before we left."
"As I was saying, you are to intercept and terminate all enemies in sight, for remember, we don't take any prisoners. As for the captives, you are to assure them pf their safety and once our transports arrive, we can proceed to bring them back home along with a few memory erasing so that they could forget all that they've seen since their capture."
'Too bad the same couldn't be said for us.' L bitterly thought as he gazed at his cybernetic appendage. Even after the last missions he's participated in throughout these past 4 months, it was still hard for him to grasp that he's gotten in a position like this. Then again, that's all he can remember, that and what happened, it almost feels like yesterday that he was held in that shit hole they called a lab...
For him, it was the beginning...
Flashback, 4 Months ago
He had no idea how long he's been here.
Mostly because any point in time where he wasn't here he can't for the life of him remember anything.
All he did remember was waking up on some operating table, there were guys in lab coats being accompanied by some other guys with armor and guns, the room was very dark and the only think he could focus on was the light above him. One other thing that he saw his arm, a completely artificial one made out of some hi-end shit, the stuff of movies, or video games, or something. Naturally, he freaked out and they had to sedate him, next thing you know, he finds himself in a jail cell with no memory of what happened before that. There was no recollection of his name, where he came from, everything was just one big old fucking blank to him.
In his mind, he could only think of one thing.
L.
And so, that was the name he adopted. It was all he could remember and nothing more , definitely better than what those scientists call him which is 'the subject and presently, he was trapped inside this damn cell. Being held in a small space against his will stirred anger in him, it's understandable, yes, bbit for him it drove him over the edge. The only thing he could do all day was sit far in the corner and hugged his legs as he counted away the minutes and had lost track at 24. At least he can be sure that at least one day passed, anything beyond that was unknown to him, but that was about to change, today was the day and there was no room for error.
During his imprisonment, L had made sure to take note of the daily schedule, every 4 hours or so, they would send some sentry to the prison level and give food to their one and only prisoner, he's been rehearsing this plan for a while and if everything goes alright, then he can kiss this hell goodbye, all that was needed is some patience. And lo and behold, there he was, with a tray of food just for him, the best part of his plan, he'll never have to eat that crap ever again.
The sentry walked to his cell and tapped the door. "Lunch time, subject." he called to tell him and placed the tray o the bottom where a thin opening was so that he could reach it, but then grew confused when he got no answer. "Hey, I said lunch time, so hurry up, the boys in the lab want you in tip top shape for the next phase of the experiment." Still no answer, the sentry decided to see what was the problem this time, he took out his ID to automatically open the door, and see that he was on the floor grunting and holding his side. "The fuck?!" he knelt down and checked him over. "The hell happ-NGH!" the sentry was unprepared when the kid suddenly took out a shank and plunged into his throat.
"All too easy." L smirked, as the sentry collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood leaking from his wound, L took both his ID and his rifle gun to aid in his escape.
L checked both end of the hallway and made his way to the exit and used the ID card to enter through. "Hey, what are you doing out?!" he turned to see more guards. "Quick sound the ala-GAH!" L wasted no time in opening fire, killing that guard and made sure to kill the rest before they alerted everyone of his escape, they returned fire but he got them straight between the eyes, he hid the corpses inside lockers in case someone across them.
Now, all he needed to do was find a way out of this shit show.
Stealth was his best option, so he made sure not to arouse any noise and make all his attempt at escape for nothing, he looked up to see an air vent and got an idea, L raised his robot arm up and it shot out like grappling hook and pulled him up. Using his left, more fleshy arm, L was able to tear it off like tissue paper, it looks like those scientists did more than just give him a prosthetic, that made things all the more easy. He crawled through the vents in order to find a good exit path. As he crawled, he started hearing some voices and they were familiar, the white haired 11-year-old went to see and he saw the very same lab he was trapped in and below were the scientists.
"How was the subject this morning." one said to another who were looking over notes.
"Better than yesterday." the second one replied. "His affinity for killing has grown, the soldier that we pitted him against didn't stand a chance, if things progress further at this rate, he may be our biggest success yet, possibly even more than you know who."
The first scientist chuckled. "Best not to let him hear that, it's been said that he as quite the temper."
L remembered.
This morning, they put him in that hexagonal room and one of the soldiers tried to kill him, it wasn't the first time it's happened, he was put through various sparring matches where he had to fight and kill to win, and blood started to boil in his very being as he came to the realization that these guys apparently arranged it.
But it wasn't just that, images started playing in his head as he closed his eyes.
A saw...
Him screaming...
Blood staining the operating table...
And the sight of a severed arm falling to the floor...
His eyes opened up as rage filled within him, he kicked the door down and landed, much to the surprise and horror of the scientists. He shot at the second one repeatedly until he was but a lifeless husk on the floor and before the first one could call for help, L tackled him to the floor and punched square in the face with his metal arm. "What the fuck did you sick bastards do to me?!" he demanded, but the skinny egghead was a bloodied mess to answer anything, plus he lost a few teeth. "Don't fall asleep, you son of a bitch! What did you do? Where did I come from?!" the scientist began choking out some words. "What was that?!"
"K-Kill him...!"
Sensing trouble from behind, he turned and saw more guards who took him, he leapt from his spot and they shot the scientist by mistake, effectively killing him. L fired as well, but saw that he was running low on ammo, he then spotted a smoke grenade on one of them and took aim, in one decisive shot, L blew up the grenade, blinding the guards as a cloud of smoke filled their area. L took his chance and ran fast at them, he climbed up behind one and twisted his neck around, he took out a knife from one of his holsters and threw it at another's face. Another knife was taken out and he used to slit the legs of the last one and he fell down, picking up a gun, L shot him through an eye.
"Crap, I need to be more careful." he panted, he then noticed a manifest on a desk and promptly took it and on the pad was a map, AKA, his ticket to blow this joint and noticed a designation on the top. "BIO..." He then spotted a route that led to the main hangar that was outside, L ran outside and kicked it into high gear as he made it his mission to escape and finally be free, he followed the map's directions to the very last letter and he was able to take a shortcut that led straight through to where he wanted to go. And there it was, an exit with a place to insert an ID, of which he did so. It was revealed that he was placed in some facility and that it was located in some mountain.
He welcomed the cool air, it was the first thing he felt that wasn't insomnia and pain, he looked up at the clear blue sky in complete wonder and just loved it, so this is what freedom felt like. It was...comforting. Unfortunately, this feeling was cut off when he heard a shout. "You there, hold it!" he saw more guards who saw him exit. "Shoot to stun, we don't want to damage him too gravely!" the lead guard.
"Shit!" L cursed, running for his life while firing at them.
He needed to find a way off this mountain as no matter how many he gunned down, more start coming as well, L ran until he found himself at the edge of the mountain and nearly fell to the deep below. "There's nowhere for you to run!" the lead guard told him , aiming their weapons at him. "Make this easy for yourself and return to your cell."
'Or better yet, fuck you!' L snarled internally.
But completely out of the blue, a missile was heard firing and struck the soldiers, from behind L, a helicopter rose with an N logo, which surprised L and the soldiers, for the latter, it was mostly out of dread. "The Network?! How the fuck did they find us?! This locations supposed to be secured!" no one had time to answer as the copter once again fired as carrier ships with the same logo flew in and out came soldiers, only they wore different battle armor.
L merely stood at his place with incredulous eyes. "Okay..."
"Kid, duck!" a Network soldier tackled the snow haired down to avoid a bullet that nearly hit him. "Get to a carrier, it'll take you away from these bastards!" he told the boy.
"How can be I sure I can trust you?" the amnesiac boy asked, not sure if these guys were any better.
"Don't worry, we're on your side! Would we be risking our lives for you if we weren't?"
Okay, the soldier made a very good point. Knowing that he had no other options at the moment, L complied with his order as he ran with him to one of the carriers and made it inside. "Where are you taking me?" he inquired as all the soldiers made it back inside, but not without one or more casualties in the battle.
"Somewhere safe, kiddo."
Present Day
"Coming up on the convey!"
The pilot's voice snapped L out of his musing as the carrier was nearing their drop zone, everyone on board started preparing themselves for the inevitable scuffle they were about to enter in. Aaron placed a quiver of arrows on his back and readied his bow which was outfitted with a laser point to add more accuracy to his point along with two Beretta pistols. Gattling guns were mounted on Devon's robot arms and spun around as he checked his ammo, ready to get this party started. Rick and Knick both carried the same submachine gun which were both H&K MP5Ks and fist bumped as the lights turned red to signify what was to come. Tony whistled as he practiced aiming with his sniper rifle and made sure that his scope wasn't blurred, otherwise he wouldn't get a good shot in. Mia placed wrist mounted gauntlets that sprung out blades that she would use to swiftly kill all who stood in her path, all while blowing a gum bubble. Shirako turned up the volume on his hands and connected them to his MP3, he never could resist blowing someone's eardrums up with his sound. Jack's eye hummed, readying his battle defenses without doing much of anything, but he'll show his stuff down there. L drew his customized Desert Eagles and readied his robotic arm for combat.
"Okay people, this it. Crunch time." the ever mysterious Benefactor told them as he saw them all prepare for combat, just as how he trained all of them for a confrontation like this. "Remember to do whatever it takes to achieve your objective, the enemy that is BIO won't show you any mercy so don't hesitate to return the favor. Masks on."
Everyone on the team put on face-masks that concealed their facial features so that any witnesses who may come across the event wouldn't be able to recognize any of them, followed by putting on their parachutes.
"Green light is go, people! Go, go, go!"
The hangar door opened up and the team stood up and went towards the opening.
Everyone looked down to see the surface that was far below and without much hesitation, they dived off into the sky, their adrenaline levels rising at the excitement of skydiving.
"Get some!" Devon exclaimed.
"Whoo!" Tony cheered.
"Oh yeah!" the twins shouted as well.
"Surf's up, brah!" Jesse said, his legs transforming to make separate parts that combined into a hoverboard.
L kept his focus on the mission, but still this was freaking cool!
"Hey Jack!" Mia shouted to the stoic boy. "You tracking the convoy?!"
Jack checked his sensors and managed to pinpoint the target's exact location. "Convery is currently moving, we'll be coming up on it as planned, a suggested tactic would be to deploy the chutes swiftly. I recommend we land somewhere where the drivers of the convey won't be able to spot any of our beings, until we strike."
Aaron looked to the team's sniper. "Tony, you find a good place to make a shot from a long range, we'll handle things up close, you got it?"
"Do dogs shit on shirts?" Tony replied.
"...What?"
"That's me saying you can count on me."
Aaron glared. "Focus, man! These sick fucks will get what they deserve, so don't mess it up." he barked at him then looked to everyone else. "Once we see the convoy, deploy your chutes on my mark, so get ready, people!"
Sure enough, they spotted a truck that was disguised as a cereal truck and the team pulled their strings and their parachutes sprang from behind, they all steered to land in the same spot. As they safely landed on the ground, they took their chutes off and hid behind a few bushes as they saw the truck advancing, while in front of them were SUVs that acted as its protection. "Aaron. Grenade." Jack said, the raven-haired teen threw a smoke grenade that when it went off, the drivers stepped on the brakes. BIO soldiers stepped out as they readied their rifles for any.
"L." Mia looked to the boy. "It's your move, kiddo."
That's all he needed to hear. L swiftly drew his pistols and leapt increasingly high as he took aim and shot two soldiers through their eyes, alerting the others of his presence. Bullets flew through the air as they tried to hit L, but he evaded them and hid behind a rock, the boy signaled Tony to do his thing, much to the teen's enjoyment, with his gun ready, the sniper easily managed to hit most of them in very tough shots such as through the chest, Tony was completely ecstatic. "Man, I freaking love this job!" the rest of the group went ahead for the attack, Aaron took out one single arrow and shot it in the air where the tip blew into multiple smaller ones that rained down and killed most of them. With impressive speed, Mia's blades were drawn and in numerous flips, she slashed them against their throats, chests and even severed some arms and legs, giving them a taste of their own medicine as it were, followed by a series of hard kicks that knocked their necks out of place.
Devon roared as his arm guns started firing wildly. "Come on, motherfuckers, I got plenty for al your sorry asses!" he was intent on killing as many as he could see and quite viciously too, one tried charging at him but Devon put him in a choke hold and broke his neck in a brutal fashion, he ducked one's fire and put a bullet through his waist and another through the head. Devon kneeled to act as a jump ramp for the twins who spun around with their guns blazing, their moves mimicked each other's, being in perfect synchronization. "Yeah, lay on the fire little guys!" Devon cheered them, shooting in the air. "This is what you punks get for what you did!"
Shirko's hands shifted into speakers and released seismic sound waves that were at an intense volume that made the soldiers' ears bleed and was loud enough to explode insides. Jack walked aimlessly as a squad of soldiers surrounded him but he was hardly fazed as from his back, metal tendrils with sharped ends sprouted and stabbed them all through the chest while also strangling another one. As an added measure they could also send an electric shock that electrocuted them to death. Jesse flew three the air with blades extending from the edges of the board and he cut off each pf their heads with while firing with two TEC-9s.
Just another day at the office.
L joined the fray as he fired with his left pistol and pulled out his blade, specially made blade with the steel glowing with blue circuit lines, he decapitated one solder while shooting another one through the abdomen, it was a whole mess of staining the ground with the blood of their enemies, as they had a grievance with these people. "Aaron, on your left!" the archer of the group shot one before he could shoot him, and drew his Desert Eagles and made several shots. L put his weapons back and took out a cylinder device and hooked it to his arm, the hand separated to reveal a laser point where a concentrated beam shot out and melted through their skins, the cylinder was discarded and replaced with another and he shot out another beam.
The BIO soldiers then decided to bring in the big guns and carried missile launchers that made the team try and take cover. Various spots exploded in a fiery blaze, so L moved from his spot and hastily crept to where the soldiers were, they were so focused on the others, they were completely ignorant of the kid that climbed on to the SUV. he jumped off while pointing his gun at them and in one shat, a bullet shot through the three of the soldiers, including the one with the missile launcher. This distraction gave Tony the chance to fire his arrows through the rest of the heavy hitters, the entire opposition were wiped out and the truck was all that was left.
L and the team saw the driver jumped out and tried to make a run but the long haired 11 year old grabbed him from behind and pressed his firearm against his temple. "One wrong move and your brains will be blown to hell.!" L warned him with a growl, making the driver freeze and sweating profoundly.
Devon grabbed the back doors of the truck and tore them off where inside were kids aged 4-13 were trapped in cuffs and gags, Jack helped remove them, leaving Mia to ease them away. It didn't take long for Network transports to arrive suddenly, people in suits helped guide them to the vehicles and consoled those in tears.
"You think you've won?" the driver snorted, despite his fear he was trying to put up a brave front. "You may have stopped this but I can guarantee you that there are more transports that you've failed-AGH!" he screamed in pain when L shot his leg.
"Tell me something." L began darkly, looking at the screaming driver. "Are you proud of yourself? Do you like having to take all these kids and try to turn them into your little lab rats? Or better yet, do you get off when you cut them up, injected some whacky serum in them, making them your personal living weapons?!" he shot at his shoulder, resulting in another scream. "Huh?! Does it?!"
"Yo, L." Shirako moved to hold him back. "Chill it, bud. He ain't worth it."\
Despite wanting to have a few more minutes with the son of a bitch, L complied and walked off as he saw the kids being comforted.
L watched this all silently, as he remembered how he joined an organization such as the Network...
Network Headquarters, 4 Months Ago
After being transported away from that facility, L was swiftly taken to an entirely new facility, one that was stationed underground in some town they called Royal Woods or something. On top was a warehouse and the soldiers led him down where there was an entire underground bunker that resembled one from the military, he was transfixed by the hi-tech gear they had along with the vast array of firearms hanging on the walls, armored vehicles highly weaponized and more importantly, kids were there. Ranging from kid to teens, he noticed one thing about them, they all had cybernetics augmentations like he did and needless to say, L was very astounded.
He was led to a dark room where a holographic screen was displayed to him which showcased a mysterious shadowy figure.
"Greetings, young man, L was it?" the figure got no answer. "Not much to say, that's understandable I guess, given all that's happened to you, I should expect such a silent treatment. Now, it is my understanding that you have amnesia, correct? From what you've told us, kid, you have little to no recollection of your life prior to your awakening in that facility, most likely caused by the experimentations done to you by BIO."
L's interest was piqued when the figure mentioned BIO and about what they did to him. "Whh-Who are they?"
The figure feigned being surprised. "Oh, so you can speak, well good on you then. To answer your question, BIO is the designation of a secret group that make it their business to basically kidnap and maim younglings such as yourself. All the children you've seen are more or less the same as you, you were all ordinary children going about your daily lives until being ripped from your homes and your families and forced to do as they tell you. In addition to the cybernetics, they injected you with an enhancement serum that increase your strength, speed, stamina and so forth."
Home.
Family.
Did he ever have such things?
L's metal hand clenched tightly. "Why...?" he whispered, hiding all the pent up rage that's coursing through him right now, the images of what he went through were still playing in his mind like a movie that would never end. "Why did they do this to me? To everyone else?" nothing can excuse those bastards from all the heinous acts that they committed.
"Unfortunately, we aren't sure of their motives or what their clear objective is. All that is known is that these people have a blatant disregard of life, even children's lives as you know. No one is aware of their existence, for they hide in plain sight, but that's where we come in to the picture. We are called the Network, a government branch that know of BIO and our mission is quite simple, to shut down all operations being done by them, to systematically topple their entire structure as their ctions have made them out to be a very dire threat to the whole world. You may call me the Benefactor."
Okay, so they were the good guys, at least at first glance but one thing still ached him.
"Why bring me here?"
"Like you, we've rescued other children, but they have changed so dramatically that they can't find themselves to re-enter society, so I gave them the choice to become official enforcers for the Network, a team of a lost generation of kids who can never go home, no matter how much they wish it to be so. I offer you, L, to join us, not only would you be making sure that no other child may suffer the pain you went through. Additionally, you'd be making those monsters pay for all that's happened to you because of them, now don't tell me it doesn't the least bit compelling."
He was right.
What BIO did to him, robbing him of his memories and his arm, trying to force him into being something that they wanted him to be, he felt a need to settle the score with them, to make them all feel the pain he felt. There was no way in hell he was gonna let this go anytime soon, BIO needed to die and these guys had the tools to do so. "When do I start?"
Present Day
And so began months of training, L became accustomed to his new enhancements, but the metal arm served as a grim reminder of what BIO did to him and while he figured out how to use it, that didn't men he loved having it. He soon met his new team, one of many strike squads that were put together by the Network, they were the same as him, each were hurt by BIO and they were intent in making them suffer as penance for all their actions against innocent people. L wasn't very sociable, but these guys understood him, only they remembered their pasts, as far as he could tell, he was the only one with memory problems.
It was almost unfair, but he learned to deal with it.
That doesn't mean he's not willing to find answers, and BIO has the keys to them.
"Alright, the boss will take care of the kids." Aaron informed the team. "Let's head back home, we've done our part, so let's hurry up and leave. Nothing left for us here."
Tony sighed, depressingly. "Man, I was hoping for more killing, you know? I didn't even get to add a new finger to my collection."
"Dude, that better be a joke." Jesse responded.
L walked with them to rendezvous with the transport ship that would be taking them back home, and yet he still took one last look at the kids that they helped rescue. Once all has been said and done, they can go back home and all of this would've seem like one bad dream, they were fortunate, he wasn't sure of any of them could've survived the process that made him who he is now, he and the rest were some of the lucky ones. At least, for them, the nightmare was over.
But for him, the mission still took priority. "I need a soda." he spoke, rubbing his temples. It's been happening lately, some minor migraines that aren't that serious but he still felt the daily, it was a mystery as to why.
The again, that's a recurring thing with the white-haired 11 year old.
Nothing but mysteries.
Royal Woods, Michigan
How long has it been?
4 months?
Funny, it almost felt more than that to them.
None could really blame them, thought, given all that's happened recently in the Loud House.
Appropriately named, not just because it was the family surname, but because it had an infamous reputation of being rather rambunctious, given the fact that it housed a large family of 13, well make that 12 as of late. Things haven't been as loud as it's known to be, mostly because the family members there haven't found valid reason to be in an active mood, especially not without him. Not without a central component of their family, that being the only son and brother of the Louds; Lincoln. Hard to believe that so much time has pissed since he went missing, some like to think that it was all some sort of bad dream and they'd be waking up soon, but that wasn't the case like always, things didn't magically resolve themselves overnight.
They made their choices.
And now they have to live with the consequences of their actions.
Inside the living room were the oldest and second oldest Lori and Leni who were seated on the couch, their favorite TV program but they hardly paid attention to it, Lori was too busy sulking while also wearing her favorite Bobby sweater, it was one that on occasions where she was in deep despair. As for the other blonde girl, she sat while hugging her knees closely as sobs and sniffles were heard. "Leni." Lori called, making her look up showing the fresh tears that were dripping. "Remember what mom and dad told us, be strong." she told her younger sister with a stern frown.
Sniffling, Leni gave a weak response. "I know Lori, it's just-it's just I miss him so much...! I want Linky back!" she continued to weep, her sadness as clear as day to all who were present. "Why did we do it? Why?"
Lori's initial frown softened into a sympathetic expression, she took out her phone for the first time in the day and searched through her personal file of pictures she saved on the cloud, unlike her father. There was one that she could never delete, it was a picture of her when she was much younger, about 6 or so and she was feeding mint chip ice cream to a male infant wearing an orange onsie and with a small strand of white hair, things seemed so much easier back then, maybe because the number of children wasn't as big as it was now. "I don't know, Leni." she somberly responded a single tear dropped as the oldest caressed the picture of her little brother.
They weren't the only ones in pain, inside the bedroom of their parents, Lynn Sr. and Rita, the two adults weren't in a better mood, the patriarch was sittign besides the phone, waiting for it to ring, he wanted it to be the police who say that they've managed to find something, anything that points to the whereabouts of their missing boy, but like before, the call never came. Rita laid on the bed, her mascara running with all the tears that have been shed, she can't handle this, an atmosphere of pain and despair that has befallen the Loud house. She just wants her baby back and she wants her family to be whole once more. Both berated themselves for allowing things to get out of hand like it did, if they had actually acted like real parents, none of this would be happening.
Moving to the kitchen were the twins, Lola and Lana and almost unbelievably, they weren't in another one of their petty arguments for once, they knew it wouldn't help much in the family's current state and truthfully, they were lamenting in their own way. Lola lazily ate cereal without so much as a word, today was the day for an important pageant, but she could hardly care, her coach wasn't around and though she'd never admit it, she couldn't succeed, not without him. Her polar opposite twin was comforting Charles, the family's pet dog who was whining, depressingly. "It's okay, boy. I want him back, too." Lana consoled him.
"Lana." Lola spoke, for the first time. "Do you think he's alright?" she asks, genuinely curious.
"Of course he is." Lana replied with a confident tone. "He has to be when he finally comes home, right?" the young tomboy pointed out, wanting to hold out hope that somewhere out there, he big brother is already walking back to the house and he can be a part of her life just like before and she can tell him how sorry she is.
Lola looked down and silently whispered. "But does he even want to come back?" After what happened, the young pageant princess was finally starting to learn to take responsibility for her actions, and slowly thought of the possibility that he's so mad that coming home is the last thing on his mind, she wouldn't blame him.
Cut to upstairs in one of the rooms which belonged to Luna and Luan. The rocker teenage girl slowly strummed some of the strings on her guitar, not feeling the usual energy of playing some music, not even the Mick Swagger song that was playing on her laptop could life her spirits up and besides her was a mix tape, it had BABY BRO'S MIX written on it, she was planning on giving it to Linc, but doesn't know what much to do with it since he's not here. Anger at herself was forming. 'I should've done something, I should've had his back.' Her musings were cut off when a phone started ringing. "Hey sis, you gonna pick that up?" she asked her comedian sister.
Luan wasn't busting out corny jokes as usual, to her there was no reason to laugh and as such, she didn't find the need to answer another request for her to perform at a birthday party. "Not in the mood." she responded, barely paying attention to the call. "Not sure I have it in me right now, Funny Business might have to close for a while, at least until I get my groove back, but of course, I need..." she sniffled. "...an assistant."
At that, Luna closed her eyes with a clenched fist, not wanting to delve further, the Rockstar hopped down from her bed and exited her room and looked to the side to see the room entrance for what used to be a linen closet which was then converted into a bedroom for an important person in her life, of whom she hasn't seen in a while. They removed all the chains and board and bought back all his stuff, realizing they're all that they have to remember him by, still couldn't believe they sold it in the first place, she couldn't believe everything that happened actually played out. She placed a hand on the door and tried to fight back tears. "I'm sorry, bro."
In a nearby room was the 4-year-old prodigy, Lisa who observed, not with a inquisitive gaze, but with a sorrowful one as she knew exactly how one of her elder siblings feels, despite claiming how innate human emotions are to her, she's till human herself and such, is quite capable of experiencing emotions such as sadness. She heard incoherent babbling, curtesy of her infant roommate and younger sister, Lily, who was hugging a familiar stuffed rabbit toy, she hadn't left it out of her sight since his disappearance. Lisa patted Lily's head in comfort and quickly went to her personal computer and typed in a few codes where a grid search was made and she tried locking to the signal of the tracking ship she placed on him, along with the rest of the family but as with the other times she searched, it wasn't responding.
Slamming her fist to the desk in frustration, Lisa rubbed her temple, she used a lot of resources, called in many a favor and despite being able to crack cold fusion, she couldn't find any trace of her kin. "Where have you gone, elder brother?" she desperately asked. "What has become of you in these trifling times?"
Finally, the last pair of family members were Lucy, gifted goth poet and Lynn Jr., sports fanatic. Lucy was inside her coffin, hugging her being which concealed an issue of the Princess Pony comic book series, it reminded of a precious moment with her big brother, when he selflessly took the fall for one of her mistakes, despite trying to avoid it. It made her feel horrible since she didn't return the favor during a time when he obviously needed it, but then, there was the cause of all this.
Outside her coffin was her jock of a sister, the very person Lucy feels is responsible of this whole mess, the goth knows better than most on how insufferable she can be since they share a room together. Heck, even the whole family knew of it, her competitive nature, not taking a lost very lightly, and her silly superstitions. In Lucy's mind, these factors led to the current state of her family and yet, she couldn't help but hold a grudge against her but then again, Lynn's not as oblivious as most think. At first, she thought her nerd of a brother was just faking it to get back at her but after the first week, the jock realized what she's done.
In fact, the jock was punching a training dummy to vent her anger. 'You're such an idiot.' she told herself. 'You thought with him gone, everything would be great for yourself and the family but look at how they are, everyone's suffering, and it's your fault.' Lynn knows she can be bit of a handful, but she just writes it off as people being too whiny, but now, she just wanted to see that goofy smile of his and tell him how sorry she is. "Hey Luce." she called to the coffin. "I'm going to get some air, alright?" no response. "Right." another silent treatment, just like with Luna, not surprising to her.
Only one thing crossed through the Louds' minds:
Where is Lincoln Loud?
Tell me what you think!
Stay in tune for another one of Lincoln's, or rather L's wild adventures.
