The Greatest of all Time

>She was the greatest.
>The Greatest of all Time.
>Lincoln pulled his car into the driveway of Lynn's apartment.
>He stared up at the high rise before him.
>He turned off the car and stepped out, heading around to the trunk to retrieve her groceries.
>She didn't go out by herself anymore.
>He grabbed every bag in two hands and headed into the lobby.
>He caught the elevator just in time as his arms began to tire.
>Lincoln kept his grip on the many plastic bags as the clunky old elevator made it's way to her floor.
>He'd grown accustomed to this.
>Every few weeks, he'd call Lynn, asking her what she needed from the market, and after explaining who he was and why he was calling for the hundredth time, she'd give him her list.
>Lincoln walked down the empty hallway to her door and knocked.
>The door promptly opened slightly, a familiar pair of eyes gazing suspiciously at him as he held the bags.
>He could see his sister trying to process his face, the wheels slowly turning in her mind.
>That's what hurt the most.
>"Oh, Lincoln!" she said, finally recognizing him.
>She closed the door and unlatched it, welcoming him inside.
>He noticed her limping a bit as she led him to the kitchen.
>Her apartment wasn't shabby, but it wasn't the kind of place one would expect a champion to live.
>He set the bags down on the table, relieving his tired arms and hands.
>"You okay?" he asked
>"Yeah... vertebrae's been acting up again," she said.
>27 year olds shouldn't have vertebrae problems.
>He knew that, and he suspected she did too.
>But this was the life she chose.
>Lincoln was at every fight, along with the rest of her family.
>The even went to the olympics one year and watched her knockout her competition for the gold in the first round.
>'Iron' Lynn Loud, the commentators called her.
>She could take even the hardest blows and stay on her feet.
>Lynn had won the title of welterweight world champion two years running before she hung up her gloves for good.
>Now, the effects of her time in the ring had reduced the once lauded pugilist to a shadow of her former glory.
>Lynn paused, resting her weight against the counter.
>Lincoln was quick to come and help her, putting an arm around her shoulder and helping her to the living room.
>He hated bringing her in here. It was always the same question.
>In her living room stood her trophy case. It was filled with her belts and champions trophies.
>now, she would ask the question. It was the same one, every time he'd visit.
>He helped her to the couch and turned on the tv for her.
>She never watched it for long. Her attention was always drawn to the case, no matter how hard he would wish she would ignore it.
>"Hey..." she said softly
>"Lincoln" he completed
>"Yeah, sorry, Lincoln... is that the trophy case from the house? The one Mom and Dad kept our trophies in?"
>"No, Lynn," he answered sadly
>he was so tired of this conversation
>"Those are yours. You won those. You were the best boxer in the world for two years."
>She pauses. He can tell she's trying to remember, but it's just too difficult for her sometimes.
>"I was? I don't remember that."
>He kept a laptop on the coffee table for this exact reason.
>He pulled it across both their laps.
>The doctor said she would have days like this.
>One minute she'd be just as he remembered her, and the next, she wouldn't be able to recall who you were.
>he opened it and pulled up a video of her first championship title bout.
>The bell rang, and 'Iron' Lynn Loud shot out of her corner like a woman on fire.
>"That's you, in the red," he whispered to her as they continued to watch.
>He could tell Lynn was really thinking hard about what he was showing her.
Lincoln knew she was trying desperately to dig up the memory of this event.
>Sometimes the video would allow her to remember, and she'd go on about how her opponent left her left hand too low, allowing her to sneak in the knockout punch in the fourth.
>On her more troubling days, she wouldn't recognize herself at all.
>He waited with baited breath, to see what kind of day today would be.
>"Oh, what a cross from Iron Lynn! And she's got her opponent on the ropes!" the announcers wailed.
>The ref stepped in and separated the two as the round ended, Lynn dancing around the ring, hardly breaking a sweat.
>"That's me?" Lynn asked.
>Her question broke his heart.
>He sniffed up a tear.
>"Yeah Lynn... That's you. Remember how proud Mom and Dad were of you after the fight? We were all so happy for you, Lynn," he said, trying to keep himself composed, for her sake.
>The look of vague confusion on her face was like a dagger in his chest.
>He missed his sister, the one he grew up with.
>'Iron' Lynn Loud was someone else entirely.
>She had chosen this life, and though he would never admit it, he resented her for it.
>He couldn't fault her for chasing her dreams, but this... her dreams had ruined her.
>The second round was short as the bell rang.
>Lynn came out swinging, landing a solid pop to her opponents jaw, sending her crumpling to the ground.
>The bell rang, and the camera's focused on her as she raised her gloves.
>Lincoln paused the video.
>"See? That's you," he assured her.
>Lynn smiled. He lived to see glimpses of who she once was, not who she had become.
>"Yeah, that is me, isn't it?"
>Lincoln closed the laptop and set it back on the coffee table.
>He got up to start putting away Lynn's groceries.
>'Iron' Lynn Loud just sat on her couch, the tv idly droning on in the background.
>She forced herself to her feet, fighting through the pain.
>She walked over to her trophy case and put her hand against the glass.
>Lynn looked at all the trophies she'd earned throughout a magnificent career, before settling on a picture of herself and a man she didn't recognize.
>She was still wearing her boxing gloves, but had the title belt around her waist.
>She was drenched in sweat, but the man in the picture wore a suit.
>The picture was signed, and next to the signature were the words 'The Greatest of all Time.'
>"Hey..." she said, taking a moment to recall the name of her own brother.
>"Lincoln?" she asked.
>"Yeah?" he called from the kitchen.
>"Who's the 'greatest of all time'?"
>There was a pause before her brother answered her.
>"You, Lynn. You are."