🚀 go-pugleaf

[Reposter's note: PL#21 was labeled in the titles as #19.  Sorry about
that.]

All characters are property of their respective authors, and this story is
copyrighted 1994 by Mike Escutia.  Permission is granted for the
distribution of this story via SUPERGUY and for archival, but all other
rights, including repost, are reserved to the author(s).

                              Pliable Lad #22
                         The Dark Pliable Lad Saga
                                Part Four
                          "Knightforce Revenged"
                                    by
                               Mike Escutia

                                _-<+*+>-_

        "Scatter!" Kid Chivalry shouted as the plasma bolt struck the
ground near where he was standing.  With a -Plink!-, he teleported away,
reappearing on a wall several meters away.
        His hand still glowing from the energy he had released, Stormguard
ordered the members of the Knightforce Elite into position.  "Multinus!
Knightblade!  Take out that teleporter!  We'll handle the rest!"
        As various Knightforcers approached them, Rescue Lad, Echo Lad, and
Kid Unknown began backing away from the villains.  The KFer known as Fire-
claw screamed a primal battlecry and charged the LNHers.  Echo Lad used his
powers to bounce the sound back at Fireclaw, knocking him backwards, though
not out.
        "Stay close to me.  I'm going to throw up a force field," Rescue Lad
said.  He pressed a few buttons on his belt buckle, and a shimmering, dome-
shaped force field appeared around them.
        "Great," RL said, noticing attackers coming from all sides.  "We're
surrounded."
        "Maybe maybe maybe we we we could could could fly fly fly away away
away, force force force field field field and and and all all all," Echo Lad
suggested.
        "Can't.  The force field won't be able to cover us all the way."
        "Bummer bummer bummer.  (Smooth smooth smooth move move move, pal
pal pal,)" Echo Lad said.
        "(I agree,)" Kid Unknown said.  Echo Lad stared at him in disbelief
for a moment before returning his attention to the KFers.
        "Destroy them!" Pliable Lad shouted from atop one of the buildings.
"Destroy them, my villainous allies!  Destroy them utterly!  (And then I
will bend you to my will,)" he added.
        Back at the wall, Kid Chivalry swung his sword, slicing through at-
tacker after attacker.  But it was no use; Multinus's duplicates kept coming,
and KC found himself wondering how many more dupes the villain could create.
        "It's no use!" he exclaimed.  "They keep coming!"  Gods, this is
embarrassing," he muttered, slicing through four more Multinuses.  "We need
backup -- and fast!"
        "You want backup, KC?" a strong voice from above (no, not that far
above) asked.  "You got it!"
        LNHers and KFers alike looked up to see a familiar, muscle-bound,
blue-clad figure flying towards them, a strange combination of confidence
and confusion on his face.  "Okay, big guy, they're all yours," he said.
        Suddenly, the figure seemed to split into two people.  The bigger
one, possessing the same physique and costume (tho no longer in blue) as
the combined being, came crashing down on the KFers, squashing a few.
        "Oh, no, not *him* again!" several Multinuses shouted as they
ran for cover.
        "Go get 'em, Curly!" the small half of the gestalt exclaimed.  Echo
Lad blasted several KFers with his echo powers, and KC was finally able to
reduce the number of Multinuses attacking him.
        "We're driving them back!" KC said.  "Thanks for the assist,
Gestalt Lad!"
        Kid Unknown looked up sharply.  "Gestalt Lad?" he muttered, unheard
by the others.  "But...but..."

                                 _-<+*+>-_

        With an effect not unlike the leap effect from Quantum Leap, Cannon
Fodder reappeared in his Ressurection Chamber (tm).  He quickly ran out the
door, sprinting down the hall to the monitoring room.  Multi-Tasking Man
and Doctor Stomper were comparing notes about something, but CF didn't have
time to find out what it was.
        "Guys!  The Knightforce Elite is back!" he told them.
        "We know," M-TM said, gesturing at the main screen.  "Kid Kirby's
getting the gun Dr. Q used on them.  We can get going just as soon as we
get clearance from Cheesecake-Eater Lad."
        "Why do we need to get clearance from him?" CF asked.
        "He *is* the leader of the LNH," M-TM said.
        "Huh?" CF said, suddenly confused.  "But Ultimate Ninja leads us...
doesn't he?"
        "Cannon Fodder, are you high?"  Doctor Stomper asked.  "M-T Man,
Cannon Fodder's high!"
        "Hey!  Don't rip off our inside jokes!" The Man With Two First Names
yelled from over on the Superguy listserver.
        "Sorry."
        "What happened to the Ultimate Ninja?" CF asked.
        "C-E Lad kicked him out for not attending any meetings," Doc S. told
him.
        "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
        "Damn," M-TM said.  "Kirby just left for the battle without author-
ization."
        "The boss is going to be mad," Doc S. said.
        "Yeah, but isn't Kid Kirby a *lot* more powerful than him?" CF asked.
        "Remember what happened to Steak-and-Potatoes Man when he tried to
serve his own cheesecake?"
        "Actually, no, and I don't really want to find out," CF said hastily.
"I'm going back to the battle," he said, leaving the room as fast as he could.
        "Great," Doc S. said.  "C-E Lad's going to have a field day with this."

                                 _-<+*+>-_

        "Well, *that* went smooth."
        "Hey, how was I supposed to know they had more people ready to join
the fight?"
        "You you you could could could have have have checked checked checked,
Gestalt gestalt gestalt Lad lad lad."
        Kid Chivalry, Gestalt Lad, Echo Lad, Rescue Lad, Kid Unknown, and Curly
were huddled behind a building as almost thirty KFers blocked their only way
out.  The LNHers had been winning the battle until a second wave of KFers at-
tacked, driving them back.
        "Rescue Lad?"
        "Yes, Curly?" RL responded.
        "Why is Pliable Lad bad?"
        "Because..." RL tried his best to form an answer Curly would under-
stand.  "Well...I have no idea."
        Gestalt Lad looked over at Echo Lad.  "Hey, Echo Lad, maybe you'd
know why, being Pli's former sidekick."
        "I i i have have have no no no idea idea idea," Echo Lad responded.
        "Curly thinks everyone should be friends," Curly stated.
        "Curly should learn to talk quieter," Bug of the KF said from a
rooftop above them.  "I've found 'em!" he shouted to the rest of the KF.
        "Run for it!" KC shouted, teleporting away with a -Plink!-.  Gestalt
Lad grabbed Curly by the collar and followed the others.
        "You can run, but you can't hide!" Bug taunted.
        Suddenly, a green beam of energy washed over Bug, turning him gray
before completely vaporizing him.
        "This ends now!  So swears Kid Kirby!" boomed the Kirbian from just
above the LNHers.  He landed in front of them, facing the KF, and brandishing
a familiar-looking gun.
        "Fascinating," came a voice from the group of KFers.  The LNHers
turned to see Dr. Q standing there.  "It would appear you successfully augmen-
ted the power of the weapon I designed."
        "Don't tell me you're evil, too!" KC said.
        "But of course.  Do you really think the original Dr. Q survived the
destruction of the New Alpha Space Station?" he smirked.  [See PL #1 --mre]
        "How stupid could you LNHers be?" Pliable Lad asked, landing next to
the KFers.
        "Enough of this!" Kid Kirby shouted, raising the gun to fire at the
KFers...
        Only there was no gun in his hands.
        "Looking for this?" Pliable Lad lifted the gun Kid Kirby had been hold-
ing and laughed evilly.  "You are doomed, Kirbian!  Not even the
Power Kirby can save you now!"
        "You will be defeated, traitor," Kirby intoned.  "and put on trial for
the death of Back-History Boy!"
        "I sincerely doubt it," Pliable Lad responded.  He lifted the gun and
fired it at the LNHers.
        "Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!| a familiar voice shouted.  A figure jumped
in front of the beam, preventing it from reaching its intended targets.  The
figure was knocked back into a wall, and he didn't look too well.
        "Pliable Lad?" CF said.
        "No...it's Plymax!" KC exclaimed.
        "Legionnaires!  Plymax has bought us time, perhaps with his life.  He
will not die in vain!" Kid Kirby said as he, KC, Echo Lad, Gestalt Lad, and
Curly charged the KFers.
        Rescue Lad and Kid Unknown, meanwhile, rushed over to the fallen Ply-
max, who was already turning gray from the effects of the beam.  He didn't need
Rescue Lad to tell him the obvious.
        "I'm....dying...Don't bother saving me..." he said weakly.
        "I'll stay with him," KU said.  "You help the others."
        Rescue Lad hesitated for a moment, then left to join the fight.
        "That...that's not Pliable Lad," Plymax said, gesturing in the
direction of the hero-turned-villain.
        "I know," KU said.
        "There's something...>huack!<...familiar about you...Who...are you?"
Plymax asked.
        Kid Unknown removed his mask.
        Plymax's eyes widened.  "It's...you.  I want you to know...I'm sorry
for lying to you..."  Then, his heart stopped, the color drained from his
face, and his body turned gray.
        And then he was gone.
        Kid Unknown put his mask back on and stood up.  "You're mine, villain,"
he said.

                                 _-<+*+>-_

        Back at the battle, the LNHers were not doing well.
        "Move it, Curly!" Cannon Fodder shouted as he punched a Multinus in
the face.  "We're not winaaaaarrrgghhhh!" he screamed as Pliable Lad shot him
with the gun he still wielded.
        "You're right, you're not," he said.
        Thinking quickly, Kid Chivalry tackled Pliable Lad, knocking the gun
out of reach.  Pliable Lad, however, was able to create a large fist coming
out of his chest, knocking the net.hero back.
        "Come on, people!  We've got to stop them!" KC shouted as he got back
up and the LNHers regrouped.
        Suddenly, a plasma bolt more powerful than anything they had ever seen
(except maybe Kid Kirby, who's seen a lot more) tore into the ground, scatter-
ing the LNHers and throwing them to the ground.
        "Ah, thank you, Stormguard," Pliable Lad said.  "Now...now I can final-
ly destroy the LNH!"
        "I will defeat you," Kid Kirby said.  "By the Power Kirby, I will de-
feat you personally!"
        "No!"
        Everyone turned to see Kid Unknown standing several feet away from Pli-
able Lad.  "I must defeat him, Kirbian, for only I know the truth."  He turned
to Pliable Lad.  "Mano a mano.  One on one.  Hero against villain.  It's just
you and me, Pliable Lad...or should I call you the Master of the Net?"
        "So...you've finally figured it out, eh?" the MotN sneered as he rever-
ted to his true form.  "I must ask, what gave it away?"
        "The one thing you didn't plan on," Kid Unknown said.
        The cloak fell from around his shoulders, dropping to the ground.
        "As I said, villain..."
        He reached up and began to take off his mask.
        "...only I know the truth, imposter..."
        He finished removing the mask, revealing a face that made the LNHers'
hearts leap.
        "...for I'm the real thing!" 'Kid Unknown' said.
        "Nooo!" the Master of the Net said.
        "Yes!" Kid Chivalry, Kid Kirby, Echo Lad, Gestalt Lad, Cannon Fodder,
and Rescue Lad shouted as one.
        "Pliable Lad, Pliable Lad, doing the things a pliable can," Pliable
Lad -- the real one -- grinned.  "I'm back, I'm mad, and it's time to save
the day!"

[Concluded next issue...]

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