59"LINCOLN!"
He wouldn't be ashamed to say that without the finesse granted to him by the gamer system, he'd have clumsily dropped the phone on the floor with all the blood on his hands.
"Sup Lori." He cleared his throat after a moment and replied.
"Where did you go? Mum's worried sick about you." Lori said her voice becoming less panicked after letting out a sigh.
"Uh…" Lincoln, now dropped out of his disguise, stiffened. His other palm was nervous opening and closing all whilst he mentally swore for the gamer's mind not activating.
"At Flip's. Just spotted a keychain I like. Will be back in a quarter." Lincoln replied after a moment with the most confidence he can muster, the type of voice he used to assure his kids when he has-
When he was a father. He felt his chest throbbing in heartache for what he had lost. Damn.
Thank you Maria but fuck you, Maria.
"A quarter- LINC IT'S LITERALLY 8 PM. We were so worried. You're so gonna get grounded for this." Lori shrieked at the other end, making him wince unconsciously and pull the phone away from his face.
Now. He'd have been mad, miserable, or frankly scared if he was an actual eleven-year-old. He'd have recoiled and started panicking.
This Lincoln though is a grizzled, apathetic son of a bitch who was always one step away from mail-bombing his executives, has been in his fair share of bar fights that were more than he was proud to admit, and was emotionally hardened by living in the same vicinity with his children, and sisters- ok and the friends of his sisters which all had baggage the size of a burpin burger super ass destroyer deluxe.
What? That meal doesn't exist?
Yes, it does. Fuck you.
"Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can." He replied neutrally, checking his nails. He could almost feel Lori's eyebrow rising from the other end.
"Hmph!" Click
Now, where were we?
Chloe gave three mocks at the door Charlie was being held captive, literally by his own arms.
"Yooohoooow~" Chloe- or Lincoln who was strangely getting disturbingly committed to the act, said. Only to tilt his head as a machete got thrown over his head.
"Motherfucker!" he swore as he looked at the man in front of him, arms diagonally split in half and freely spraying blood on the floor.
He then looked. As in looked. Reflexively turning his byakugan on; his senses became nauseatingly sharp.
He started noticing details that were beyond mortal observation. Every droplet of sweat on the man's body, every strand of the hair on his arms, the way the blood would lazily roll on the ground almost slime-like.
The man's bloody grin. Which made Lincoln, in turn, see red.
"YOU FAT FUCK! YOU THINK YOU CAN MATCH ME!?" He shouted, his voice almost resembling his adult self which probably looked and sounded uncanny before lunging, abandoning his Jūken stance and instead started striking Charles across his fat body; his flesh standing no chance against a fighting style wired to intercept the chakra points of super endurable shinobi bodies.
A style, requiring a nimble and graceful user to disable their opponent with the least exertion possible was used by Lincoln to hammer blurred blows with the force of a semi-trailer truck slamming into a wooden fence; making the man's body ripple and spill out more blood and organs, like a water balloon being popped by a 5.56 bullet.
Lost in his rage, Lincoln didn't notice the man's death, and his hand lamely sunk into a mashed, bloody piece of flesh.
Lincoln stood up and leaned against the wall with a heaving chest, his hands visibly shaking while Chloe- his blood-covered face stared blankly at the room. Then he noticed. A glow from the corner of the otherwise empty, dark room.
A phone. 911 was dialed, 11 minutes ago.
Suddenly his throat tightened as he heard shuffling outside.
"Dad?" the voice called out
He did the worst thing he could've done, he slammed open the door right in front of Chandler waiting at the doorstep. His byakugan observed the boy's reaction in full detail. And started to slowly walk toward him.
"No- NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME! DAD! D-DAD HE-OMPH" Chandler's panicked shouts were cut as he fell on his ass, rolling down the stairs and slamming to the ground below.
Chloe was shortly after him as she grabbed the railing and jumped off, landing gracefully on the downed McCain.
Chandler started crawling back on the mattress while shouting and cursing incoherently. Before he pulled out an axe spray and awkwardly started spraying at the girl's face.
…Well. It didn't exactly do anything as Chloe kept staring at him blankly but props to him for trying.
Emptying the canister, Chandler shouted again before throwing it at Chloe, making the can crumble against her.
"NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOO!" Chandler wailed and reflected on how much of a shitty person he was throughout his whole life. He regretted bullying that overweight girl with a mother in rehab into suicide, He regretted bullying that shorter kid because of his prostitute sister and releasing the photos he caught of her in the bathroom giving head to teachers more than twice her age without even contacting authorities to help her.
He regretted bullying Lincoln Loud. The boy who he despised for getting unconditional love from a real family while he got solitary confinement in a house, a whoring, corrupt father, and a mother who's too battered to fight anyone. For his or her sake.
But if he were just to have one chance, just one more chance, he'll be a better person.
His line of thought was cut as muffled knocks came from the door.
"HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD AND GET ON THE GROUND!" The voice was now clearer as the door was smashed open, dozens of armed men in SWAT gear pointing their rifles around rapidly with flashes on. Until a flash pointed at a young girl's face.
The officer's eye had a fraction of a second to widen as the girl's face scowled and suddenly his vision went black.
Chloe started twisting her body like a puppet being pulled by strings to avoid the rifle's flashlights and crosshairs as shouts of alarm begin filling the dark living room.
She then crawled behind a nightstand but not before a bullet grazed her cheek
-30 HP
Chloe gritted her teeth and clenched her first in front of her face and focused on the burning sensation from her wound and willed the mana bolt to be something different
Skill created: {Mana Fire}
Rare, fire-affinity affiliated element of pure mana. Restores mana depending on the material burned.
Chloe couldn't stop the maniacal cackle that escaped her mouth as kicked the nightstand, stretched, and started running with her palms covered in blue flames that illuminated her face menacingly in the dark.
Dozens of rifle lasers aimed at her temple and shot. The blood-soaked masquerade, getting disoriented, dodged through most of them until-
-50 HP
A buckshot tore through her chest.
Lincoln let out an anguished scream, his disguise dropping as he pulled his last remaining in a giant flame attack.
The cops could only shield their faces as the fire engulfed the whole house; turning everything into ash including them.
Lincoln's vision swam, and his head felt like it has been stabbed with forks and his ears rang.
The last thing he saw was Charles's disfigured face peeking at him from the dark
...
Ping!
Mission completed: Ode to Revenge.
Avenge Chloe.
Requirements: Murder Charles under his house arrest without being without being caught [Complete].
Bonus requirement: Expose your true identity and then leave no witnesses.
Rewards: [Shadow Step]. [Greater Fire Affinity]. [Major regeneration].
Bonus rewards: [Power granting].
"Heh. He works fast, huh?"
"That doesn't mean anything."
"But you do have to admit that you're impressed."
"As if. You picked him as an adult. You told me he'd be cautious. All I see is a reckless maniac. Is there a point in all of this?"
"Careful. You sound like you think they did a mistake."
"Oh, I'd never question your infinite wisdom. It's not like you fucked MANY of my counterparts along with m- their family."
"Linc-"
"Don't fucking call me that name."
Maria Santiago flinched and sighed as she looked at the boy in a grey squirrel mascot suit. Its eyes black and its texture appearing to be made out of static.
"I'll...go talk to him. Maybe teach him a lesson. Ok?" Maria mumbled, trying to appease the creature to which she didn't get any reply.
God knows what this one can do if he's not happy.
End of Arc 1