The Dendrochronology of Lincoln & Daisy // a Staticquake fanfic

Lincoln Campbell: Age 26

It had been a couple years since Lincoln was brought to Afterlife. The first few months were spent getting himself sobered up and ready for Terrigenesis. Gordon helped him get settled but after a few days, Jacob came and took over as Lincoln's mentor. Jacob was older, a middle-aged dad from London. He would come for a couple weeks at a time before heading back to his family. Jacob was full of stories about his wife, his kids, and his life back home. To Lincoln he lived the perfect double life and he was everything Lincoln wanted to be. Successful, normal, and yet still something special. Lincoln would spend hours with Jacob just talking and learning about the origins of the Inhumans. Jacob had been an Inhuman for almost 10 years and he was full of helpful information and history. Lincoln learned all about Terrigenesis but nothing could have prepared him for his own transition through the mist.

Being stuck in that stone was one of the most painful experiences of Lincoln's life. His whole body felt like it was on fire while simultaneously weighing 1000 pounds. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe. He felt trapped in a world of darkness. He honestly thought he was going to die. Then the light came cracking through the dark and the stone fell away. He remembered that first breath after breaking out of Terrigenesis. Lincoln felt like he was finally breathing, as if the past twenty something years had been breathing toxic air. He had never felt more alive. Electricity was coursing through his veins and pretty soon it started jumping out of his body. Gordon had him locked up in a safe shed for the first few weeks after his transformation just to be safe. It wasn't long until Lincoln learned that he gained the ability to manipulate electricity. In the early stages of learning to control his powers he almost burned down all of Afterlife.

Lincoln was angry and struggling to come to terms with who he was. He hadn't seen his family in months, he had these new powers he couldn't control, and he felt he wasn't human anymore. That anger transferred over to his powers. Whenever Lincoln thought about how angry he was, lightning would just appear out of him. His vision would turn blinding white and he could feel the heat and static shake within him. Lincoln was starting to lose himself before Jacob finally got through to him. It was one day a few months after Lincoln's transformation. Jacob had just got in from London.

"My daughter just had her first ballet recital." Jacob swiped through the pictures and videos of the girl on his phone. The last was a selfie of the two of them, wide grins on both of their faces. "You know, I would not have been able to have the life I have if I did not learn to let go. This life, these abilities can be hard to carry when you are already lifting too much. You need to decide if these powers will weigh you down or allow you to finally be free of the weight."

It was then that Lincoln knew he had to put the past behind him. He finally understood that the reason he had felt so out of place all his life was because he was an Inhuman. He was created to be more than human. He had a purpose much larger than being angry at the world. This world brought him his powers, Afterlife, and the chance to be more. Lincoln took that chance and held on to it as tight as he could.

Once Lincoln had become more settled with himself and his powers, he started to thrive in Afterlife. He continued to work on his powers and learn more about the Inhumans. Lincoln would spend hours in Jiaying's study, reading through her books and asking her questions about the origins of their people. Sometimes Gordon would come by just stir the pot and start debates among the three fo them. It was everything Lincoln had dreamed of: he had found a family here in Afterlife, an education, the chance to gain knowledge.

He started training to become a transitioner. He felt it was one of the closest things to a doctor he could become in Afterlife. He could help others. That was all he wanted to do. That was the one thing that stayed the same after his transition- his heart for helping others. The training was long. Most of his days were spent with other transitioners, learning how to talk to new Inhumans, prepare them for the Terrigenesis that awaited them.