🚀 go-pugleaf

Sorry about the delay, folks.  Much to do, much procrastinating to do. :)

This one is going to take more explanation than usual.  This was *supposed*
to be the lead-in to a crossover another LNH author and I were going to do.
However, he fell behind, and, since he had designed the story in a way so
that I could do other stuff at the same time, I went barreling on ahead.
He sort of...wandered -- his characters keeps getting distracted.   Oh, well.:)

The subplot leads into the next major storyline, which officially kicks
off in #13.


                              Pliable Lad #11
        "Preludes and Stretchings II: A Sequel, a Prequel, a Prologue"
                                    by
                            Mike "Ergh" Escutia

[Author's Note: This story takes place before Tales of the LNH #300.  Yes, I
know that book has already come out.  I'm not perfect, you know.]

        "...partly cloudy with a chance of flurries late in the day tomorrow.
Saturday, mostly cloudy yet again, highs both days in the teens...", the weat-
herman on WACL droned.
        Pliable Lad, Kid Anarky, Time-Waster Lad, and Browsing Boy were sitting
in the LNH TV room watching the NBC (Net.Broadcasting Company) evening news.
Besides the stories about hamsters inside a robot and inflatable rubber terror-
ists, there wasn't much on.
        It was rather boring.
        "...I never wanted to do this!", the weatherman was saying.  "I wanted
to be...A LUMBERJACK!"
        "Oh, no.  Not *again*.", Pli groaned.  "Why can't they hire a weather-
man who isn't a schizophrenic?"
        "Yes, well, thank you, Ted Palin.", the anchorman said as Pli failed
to get a response to his question.  "And now....wait, this just came in folks.
Seems there's been a coup-de-etat (sp?) in Alt.veria."
        "Huh.", Kid Anarky said.  "I knew about that an hour ago."
        "So did I.", Pli said.
        "Ditto.", Browsing Boy said.
        "And I'm four.  Shall we call it unanimous?", Time-Waster Lad grinned.
        "...And that's all the news that I found important an hour after you
knew about it!  This is Andre' Brokaw (Who else?  Raymond Gumbel?) saying
good night.", the anchorman said as the theme music (which sounds a lot like
the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme music) began playing in the background.
        Pli and Kid Anarky both got up to leave the room, and headed out in the
direction of the stairwell.
        "So...what do you think?", KA asked Pli abruptly.
        "About what?", Pli asked.
        "The Net.Patrol getting together."
        "Um...I thought we already *were* together.", Pli said.
        Kid Anarky snorted.  "Yes, but have we done anything as a team yet?"
        "Well....", Pli said, tackling the question.  "There was the Spoonsday
battle..."
        "The LNH helped us there.  Besides, it was mostly Lost Cause Boy's
fight.", KA pointed out.
        "...LCB's funeral..."
        "Try again.", KA said, a little flustered.
        "...Integrity.Quest..."
        "That was before we had even officially formed!  And you weren't even
there at the time, to boot."
        "Hmmm...", Pli pondered the posed problem.  (Alliterative Lass, eat
your heart out!)  "I guess this *will* be for real."
        "You got that right.", Kid Anarky said.  "Listen, I'm going to go
check up on Panta.  Wanna come?"
        "Er...no thanks.", Pli said hesitantly.  "I'm going to go up to my
room and read, I think."
        "Okay.  Talk to you later.", KA said as he headed downstairs to the
basement.
        "Bye.", Pli said as he headed to the main stairwell.

                *       *       *       *       *

        Pli laid on his bed, deep in thought.  He didn't feel like reading,
and he was too awake to sleep.  He also had a lot on his mind.
        Panta's return had caught him by surprise.  He had always hoped she
would rejoin the LNH, but, truth to tell, he didn't expect it to be as soon as
it was.  Still, it was enough time.  He had for the most part gotten over her,
and had even struck up a relationship with Tour Guide Girl.  The fanboy side of
him, which he has tried to repress, preferred Panta's sexy, feline form, but
the rest of him wanted someone more on his level -- and Tour Guide Girl was
it.  Someone who would listen to him.  Someone who didn't have too many prob-
lems of her own.  Someone he felt more comfortable around, which he didn't
feel around Panta.
        Tour Guide Girl -- Touri to her friends -- was that person.  She had
been there for him when he doubted his status as a role model after the inci-
dent with Echo Lad.  [See PL #8 --MRE]  And together they had faced a Net.rop-
olis -- and an LNHQ -- controlled by the Universal Office.  But it was Panta's
return that had put things into perspective for him:  he cared for Touri, more
than he ever cared for Panta.  He was infatuated with Panta, but he was in love
with Tour Guide Girl.
        He only hoped his being in the Net.Patrol wouldn't jeopardize their
relationship.

                *       *       *       *       *

        In the basement of a closed-down comic book store, a dark figure
plotted his revenge against the person who stole his rightful honor and dis-
placed him from the ranks of power.  He had lost much time due to the displace-
ment, but had managed to find his way back to this world, and could now proceed
with his plans for revenge.
        The figure picked up a knife that was sitting on the table next to him.
In the dim light, his hand was blue where it should have been a normal flesh
color.  Walking over to a picture tacked onto the wall, he eyed it with nothing
less than hatred.
        With a shout, he stabbed the image of Pliable Lad in the "head".

                *       *       *       *       *

        Pli was awakened by the sound of someone knocking at his door.  This
was not unusual, for he had, on two or three separate occasions, been awak-
ened by somebody who thought he was awake.  What was unusual was that whoev-
er was on the other side was knocking too hard to be thinking that Pli was
awake -- this person was assuming that he was asleep.
        "Who...who is it?", Pli asked cautiously.
        "Pliable Lad!  Hurry!", the voice yelled, sounding out of breath
and in a hurry itself.  "The Net.Patrol is to meet in the flight.thingee hang-
ar in one minute!"  Pli could hear footsteps rushing towards the stairs, fad-
ing as they went.
        <Well.>, Pli thought.  <There goes my beauty sleep.>

        [Continued in Tales of the LNH #300.  Not that you have to read it
before PL #12.]

[Pliable Lad (tm) Mike Escutia.  All other characters (tm) their respective
creators.]

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