🚀 go-pugleaf

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).

[Reposter's note: This takes place right after Retcon Midnight: World
Without a Pliable Lad, which is available via anonymous ftp at
eyrie.stanford.edu, in the /pub/lnh/Miniseries/Retcon.Midnight directory.]

        The sun crept through the window shade and began to warm the room
as it had done almost every morning.  To rest of Net.ropolis, it was just
another morning.  A Friday morning, to be exact.  But to the two people who
slept soundly in the one bed in this room, it was the first real morning in
months.
        *CLICK!* "...and it looks like bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Net.-
ropolis bridge..."
        One of the figure in the bed stirred.  Then a single finger snaked over
to the clock radio and hit the snooze button on the first try.  Pliable Lad
chuckled as he sat up; he could still do that trick.
        Reaching over to the window, which was right next to his bed, he
lifted the drapery enough to let him see outside.  For the past week, it
had been overcast, which ironically enough fit the mood for much of that
time.  On this day, though, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud
in the sky.
        He turned to regard the sleeping form of Tour Guide Girl.  He felt
his heart quicken; it was great to have her back.  He leaned down and gently
kissed her on the forehead.  "Good morning," he whispered.

                                _-<+*+>-_

                              Pliable Lad #25
                             "After the Storm"
                                    or
                           "Love Will Always Be"
                                    by
                     Mike 'silver anniversary' Escutia

                 [Continuity note: This starts immediately
                 after Retcon Midnight #5, and ends after
                          Drifter #5.  I think.]

                         _-<+The night before+>-_

        Doctor Stomper hurried into the conference room, carrying a folder
overflowing with notes under one arm.  The Ultimate Ninja, Kid Kirby, and
Occultism Kid were already there and seated at the large table in the center
of the room.  Also there were Rescue Lad, Search Lass, Echo Lad, and Cannon
Fodder.
        The Ultimate Ninja motioned for Stomper to sit down.  "I noticed you
didn't say anything about Pliable Lad," he said.
        "Ah, yes," Stomper said.  "I felt it best not to until we know for
certain what happened to him."
        "Funny how no one brought it up," Rescue Lad said.
        "I suspect Authorial influence myself," Stomper said.
        "What exactly happened to Pliable Lad, anyway?" Cannon Fodder asked.
        "As far as we know, he was retconned out of existence."
        "But we all remember him," Search Lass said.  "He existed while he was
here."
        "And therein lies the problem," Stomper said.  "Instead of being remov-
ed from history, Pli simply vanished....almost as if it *wasn't* a retcon."
        "Then where is he?  I didn't know the Ring of Retcon could remove peo-
ple without retconning them," Occultism Kid said.
        "It cannot," Kid Kirby spoke up.
        "Which means wReamicus Maximus did something else to him," the Ulti-
mate Ninja grimaced.
        "But but but what what what did did did he he he do do do?  Disinte-
grate disintegrate disintegrate him him him?" Echo Lad asked.
        Doctor Stomper took a moment to decipher Echo Lad's speech.  "No,
I don't think he disintegrated Pli, as there wasn't nearly enough energy re-
leased for it to be disintegration.  Which leaves teleportation."
        Kid Kirby turned to the Ultimate Ninja.  "Per your instructions, I
secretly placed a tracking device on Pliable Lad's person while he was masquer-
ading as Kid Unknown.  The device remained in constant communication with my
computer...up until Pliable Lad disappeared."
        "Gee, that's not a very good tracking system," Occultism Kid commented.
        "Contact can be maintained from anywhere in the Looniverse, and my com-
puter can search for it in any newsgroup.  According to my computer, no jump
between newsgroups occured.  The device -- and Pliable Lad -- simply vanished."
        The Ultimate Ninja steepled his hands in front of his face for a mo-
ment.  "And there's no way to search for him?"
        "None," the Kirbian said.
        There was a long silence as the group took this in.
        "I'll have to declare him Presumed Dead, then," the Ultimate Ninja
said.
        Suddenly, the door was flung open and three people stepped through.
On the far left (from the others' point of view) was Kid Chivalry, his trench-
coat still not billowing, but a smile on his face nevertheless.  On the far
right was Tour Guide Girl, who hadn't been this happy since she and Pli offic-
ially became an item [in PL#15 --mre].  And in the middle, wearing his own cos-
tume and not a disguise, was....
        "PLIABLE LAD?!?!?" the seven LNHers at the table exclaimed in unison.
        "Ladies and gentlemen," Pli said with a grin.  "I'm proud to say that
the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."
        "What happened to you?" Cannon Fodder asked.  "We thought wReamicus
Maximus retconned you out of existence!"
        "He did...sort of," Pli said.  "But we were able to undo it."
        "We?" the Ultimate Ninja asked.
        "Yeah, me, Drifter, Windrider, and the Drizzt."  Pli looked at the
vague looks on his teammates' faces.  "Long story."
        "Do tell," the ninja said.
        "Okay," Pli said.  He told them how he had found himself in an alter-
nate timeline in which the world was ruled by Dr. Armaggeddon, and how he
and the surviving LNHers (whose names he didn't give) searched out the Drizzt,
who helped them undo the retcon.  He left out the Ring of Continuity, though;
best not to introduce them to it prematurely.
        "So you're saying that because you weren't here to stop him, Dr. Ar-
maggeddon was able to destroy the LNH and take over the world?" Occultism Kid
asked.
        "Yup."
        "Wow.  That's really wild."
        "Well, Maximus wanted the LNH destroyed," the Ultimate Ninja said.
"He got it, even if it was only for a little while."
        "Wait a second..." Rescue Lad said.  "Pli, if the retcon was undone
before it could take effect, how come you remember everything that happened
in the other timeline?"
        "That's an even longer story," Pli said.  "Remind me to tell it to
you later."
        "Okay."
        "While you're here, could you tell us what happened in Net.Hampshire?"
Kid Kirby asked.
        "Yeah, I suppose I should," Pli said, sitting down.  "You all know
how the force field device I was wearing malfunctioned and cut off my air
supply, knocking me unconscious, right?"  The others all nodded.  "Well, while
I was out, the Master of the Net, whom by this time had already taken possession
of Amorphous Lad, abducted me and took my place.  Not to mention my costume and
the force field device," he noted.
        "I woke up at the MotN's secret base, in a special cell designed
to keep me from escaping.  But I was able to sneak out of the cell when one
of his slaves was serving me dinner.  No one noticed me, and getting out of
the base itself was pretty easy -- I stowed aboard a truck bound for Net.ropo-
lis.
        "Once there, I read through some newspapers until I was able to fig-
ure out what was going on.  I realized that confronting him at the wrong time
would be bad for my friends" -- as he said this, Pli squeezed Touri's hand
tightly -- "so instead, I created the Kid Unknown identity and infiltrated the
LNH so I'd be able to stay informed as to what was going on.
        "And the rest you all know," Pli said.
        "You must be tired, Pli," Search Lass said.
        "Believe me, I am!" Pli said, standing up.  "I'm going to go to bed.
I'll be better able to explain things in the morning."  He put his arm around
Touri (who in turn put her arm around his waist), and together they left the
conference room for Pli's quarters.
        A moment later, Pli poked his head back in the door.  "Could somebody
unlock my room for me?  I havn't picked up my key yet."

                             _-<+Morning+>-_

        While the obligatory flashback to cover what had happened immediately
following Pli's return had played itself out, he had taken a shower and got-
ten dressed.  Touri was still asleep, which gave him an idea.  Looking at his
watch and seeing that it was only 9:30, he quietly slipped out the door and
headed for the cafeteria.
        As he reached the main floor, he was nearly run over by Self-Right-
eous Preacher, who was in turn being chased by what looked to be a seven-foot
tall porcupine that called out "DINSDALE!" every few moments.  As he walked
into the cafeteria (passing two people he had never seen before), he made a
mental note to tell Panta about that.

                                _-<+*+>-_

        A little while later, Touri awoke to something that caught her com-
pletely by surprise: the smell of breakfast.
        She sat up, and saw Pli standing at the foot of the bed, a tray
in his hands.  "Breakfast?" he asked, smiling.
        Touri grinned.  "Only if you join me."
        "Deal."  Pli put the tray in front of her (after unfolding the legs)
and picked up an identical tray that was sitting on his dresser.
        Touri looked at her meal:  Scrambled eggs, bacon, orange juice, cot-
tage fries, and a slice of toast (with butter on the side).  Her mouth watered
and she dug in.
        "First real breakfast I've had in a long time," Pli commented with a
full mouth.  Touri smiled around her toast.  "Also first good night's sleep,
first sunny day, and first tender moment," he added, snuggling close to her.
        "So tell me," Touri said after she had swallowed.  "What did you do
in the timestream besides fix history?"
        "Well..." Pli said, trying to find the right words.  "I learned my
origin."
        "I thought you already knew it," Touri said.
        "So did I.  But it wasn't real," Pli said.  "The whole world I thought
I came from...Knightforce and all...wasn't real."
        Touri put her arm around Pli.  "So tell me the real story," she said.
        Pli looked at her.  "Okay..."
        [For the real story, read Pliable Lad #28, coming in a few weeks. --mre]
        "...and that's my origin in a nutshell," Pli said as the narrator and
reader rejoined the scene.
        "Wow," Touri said.  "That's really something, Pli...er, #####.  Can
I call you that?  Hey!"
        "Geez, I havn't been called that in almost two years..." Pli said.
"Hrm...Looks like the Author doesn't want to give it away to the readers
yet," he smirked.
        They sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating the revelations
made, including Pli's real name.  Then a thought came to Pli.  "Y'know, I
don't think I know *your* real name," he said.
        "You mean I've never told you?" Touri asked in shock.
        "Nope.  I don't think our Author bothered."
        Touri grimaced.  "I hate it when they do that."
        "Yeah," Pli agreed.
        [Sorry.]
        "So what *is* your real name?"
        "Jennifer Marie Allbin," Touri said.  "But my friends call me Jenn."
        "Nice to meet you," Pli said with a grin.  Touri/Jenn giggled.

                        _-<+Later that morning+>-_

        "How is he?"
        Organic Lass looked up from her paperwork at Pliable Lad.  For once,
she knew that this was the real Pli, and not somebody posing as him.  "Well,
the implant melted down when it malfunctioned, but thankfully there wasn't any
brain damage.  He's in shock, but he should be okay in a few days, though I in-
tend to keep him under observation an extra twenty-four hours."
        "And the implant?" Pli asked.
        "Right there on that counter," the Mistress of Molecules said, pointing
at a counter across the room.  Pli walked over to it and picked up the small
tray with the device on it.  "I called Doctor Stomper about it.  He's going to
pick it up later, just as soon as he sorts through the Retcon Hour mess."
        "Good idea," Pli agreed.  "Um...is he awake?"
        Organic Lass got up from her seat and walked over to one of the occu-
pied beds.  After checking some stats, she walked back to Pli.  "He's awake,
if you want to talk to him, but don't stay too long."
        "I won't," Pli said.  "Thanks."  Hands in his pockets, he walked over
to the bed and looked down at it's occupant, who looked like he had seen bet-
ter days.  "Er...hi."
        Amorphous Lad looked up at his guest.  "Uhm...hello.  Sorry about
what happened..."
        "Don't worry about it," Pli said quickly.  "It wasn't your fault; you
weren't in control of your body."
        "Yes, but I should have been..." the other shapeshifter said.  "It is
my fault the Master of the Net was able to impersonate you and make everyone
believe you had turned Evil."
        Pliable Lad chuckled inwardly at the other shapeshifter's capitaliza-
tion of the word 'Evil'.  In his almost two years in the LNH, he had noticed
that capitalization of such words as Good, Bad, Evil, and others in dialogue
tended to be by the older characters, reflecting the theme-based natures of
the long-standing LNHers.  As more and more non-theme-based characters came
into the LNH, it was done less and less, and even then only by the more es-
tablished characters.
        "You couldn't have known," Pli reassured him.  "Um...just how *did*
he capture you, anyway?"
        Amorphous Lad took a deep breath, as if he didn't want to remember
what had happened.  "I was out taking a walk one evening when it happened.
I shouldn't have gone as far as I did -- I was practically in the Villains
District.  I was just about to turn around and head back when I was attacked
by several people, all of whom seemed...brainwashed.  They easily overwhelmed
me, and I was quickly knocked unconscious."  He looked up at Pli apologetical-
ly.  "That's all I can remember.  I'm sorry."
        "That's okay," Pli said.  "That's all I really wanted to know, any-
way."  He got up from the chair he had pulled over to the bed.  "Talk to you
later, A.L.," he said as he left the room.
        "Yeah," Amorphous Lad said as he sank back into his bed.  "Whatever."

(Continued in part two, immediately following...)