The Loud House - Calling Card

Chapter 4: The Institute

Lincoln fidgeted slightly as he sat on an examination table. His sister Lisa and another doctor overseeing his wounds that he had taken from the attacker's drones back at the school. The bullets penetrated his skin, but only at surface level, and had not gone very deep. As the two removed the bullets, he didn't feel any pain, but the sensation was a little unnerving.

"Are you okay, Lincoln?" Asked Lisa as she continued. "Are you feeling any pain?"

"No," said Lincoln.

"It's utterly fascinating," said the doctor, one who Farroway had addressed as Dr. Renner. She was tall and slender, looking to be in her mid-forties, but still very beautiful to look at. "I've retrieved at least 50 rounds from your body, but none of them seemed to have penetrated far beneath the stratum granulosum. It's as if your skin is made of kevlar."

"For all intents and purposes, it may as well be," said Lisa. "I have observed over the past five years his skin becoming denser and denser. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. I would be happy to share my data with you, if you wish."

"Yes of course!" Said Dr. Renner enthusiastically. Lincoln looked up as he heard the door to the medical bay open, and Dr. Farroway and Memory walked towards him. Memory looked very uncomfortable, and avoided his gaze.

"How are you feeling, Lincoln?" Asked Dr. Farroway.

"What is this place?" Lincoln asked. "Where are we, and how do you know who I am? And who the hell was that maniac back at the school?!"

Farroway sighed. "Yes, I'm sure that this is all a lot to take in. But please rest assured that you are in no danger here. The Institute is completely off the grid and its location known only to a select few outside its operations."

"What about my family?" Asked Lincoln.

"They are being retrieved," said Farroway. "We believed that it would be best to bring them here, out of fear that they will be targeted by Clarke."

"But what is this place?" Asked Lincoln. "Where is here?"

Farroway turned to the doctor. "Are you about finished?"

"Yes, we have removed all the bullets and any other shrapnel," said Dr. Renner. "His body has already begun to heal itself."

"Excellent," he said, turning back to Lincoln. "Do you feel well enough to accompany me?"

"Of course," said Lincoln, hopping off the table. "But where are we going?"

Farroway produced a new set of clothes for Lincoln, a simple black shirt and jeans, to replace the clothes that were ruined in the attack. "Let's get you dressed, and I'll explain everything."

Lincoln quickly complied and put on his clothes once he had some privacy. As he left the room, Farroway, Lisa, and Memory were waiting for him. "Okay," Lincoln said. "What is going on?"

Farroway nodded and began to walk down the hallway, with the others following him in tow. "You're a fan of the Ace Savvy franchise, are you not, Lincoln?" Farroway asked.

"Yeah," said Lincoln.

"I'm quite an avid comic reader myself," said Farroway. "Ever since I was a child. My first comic I ever read was 'The Incredible Hulk.' It was that comic that inspired me to become a scientist." He then paused as he approached a large door. He keyed in a long code and leaned in as his eye was scanned by a retina scanner. The door slowly slid open and the group walked through it.

"What most people don't realize is that comics are not always fictional creations," said Farroway. As they passed through the door, they entered into a large atrium filled with various people, computers, equipment, and other items that Lincoln did not recognize. But as he stared into the atrium, he felt himself grow at a loss for words as what he was witnessing. Along with various scientists and soldiers going about their business, Lincoln saw extraordinary creatures that he swore could have been pulled out of a science-fiction movie. There were several humanoid individuals, some with varied colored skin. Some of them had extra appendages, such as multiple arms or legs, some of them had antennae protruding from their heads, some of them seemed to have multiple eyes, some with no eyes or open orifices on their faces at all. There were giant portals aligning the walls that were opening and closing, with people walking through them. Lincoln even saw a large, squid-like creature sitting in the middle of a large group of computer consoles, typing frantically away as the dozens of eyes that aligned its body looked at the various screens.