LNH: 501 BLUES: A LURK OF FAITH---CHAPTER 1--pt1
SCAVENGER 2099
THE 501 BLUES: A LURK OF FAITH
by SCAVENGER
CHAPTER 1: LURKING TO CONCLUSIONS---part 1
The ELECTROCUTIONER'S SONG was over. REBEL YELL, for one, was quite happy
about that fact. Weird things always happened during crossovers, and this one
had been especially trying. But it was over now, and he had another job ahead
of him, a job of a personal nature.
Rebel Yell walked through the hallway of LNHQ. The walls were decorated with
the pictures of the Legion, past and present. He looked at his image in each
photograph. So much had changed in such a short time. Members, friends, had
come and gone, yet he had stayed. Not only stayed, hell, he became one of the
core members of the group!
MULTI-TASKING MAN sat in his usual place, the command chair of the Monitoring
Room. From there he could keep tabs on anyone, search through the net.verse,
research quantum physics, and play five different MUDs, all at once. He turned
to the door as Rebel Yell walked in.
"It's about time you got here."
"Sorry, I had to finish the mission report on the Electrocutioner's Song."
"So I saw. By the way, I forwarded it to SPELLING BOY. G-d does your spelling
bite!"
Rebel Yell sighed, "Look, it's been a real long week. The E-Song dragged on for
what seemed like forever, I haven't slept much lately, and I'm running out of
excuses for not telling LURKING GIRL who LURKING LASS was."
"How about that you don't know?"
"Hmm, that would work. I mean, I have some ideas about it, but nothing that I
can back up with proof."
"Which is why I called you."
"Why did you call me?"
Multi-Tasking Man flipped on a terminal. A vast, almost vaccant, plane filled
the screen. He said three letters. "R.A.C."
"R.A.C.? But how? It was destroyed months ago."
"Not everywhere. Don't ask me to explain it, you wouldn't understand it. I
found it during the cross-over."
"You realize what this means? If R.A.C. is still there, the FAN.DOM OF THE
ALT.RA's original lair will also be there. Maybe I can find some kind of clue
to how Luri wound up there. Quick, see if you can fin..."
"Already did." The picture on the monitor zommed in on the dreaded cave.
A chill ran down the Southern Knight's spine. "Summon PLOT KING, LIST LAD, and
TYPO LAD. Now!"
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
"Ok, everything in this meeting is for y'all's ears only. M-TM, turn all logging
functions off."
Rebel Yell looked at the gathered net.heroes: his alternative selves, Plot King
and List Lad; his sidekick, Typo Lad; and his long time teammate, Multi-Taking
Man.
"Plot King and I are going to transmat down to R.A.C. and scout out the cave.
M-TM, monitor our progress and be prepared to transmat us out at a moment's
notice. List Lad, we'll communicate to M-TM through the mind link between you,
me, and Plot King. It'll keep our messages from being intercepted. Also, I
want you to collect all the stuff we find with my current theories. T-Lad, I
want you to make sure that no one walks in on this. Keep an eye out
especially for those Integrity Questers. They seem to pop up everywhere.
Besides Lurking Girl, we five are the only ones who know that Luri and Lurking
Lass were different people. Until we know more, I want to keep it that way!"
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
The place had seen better days. The landscape was barren, except for a few
articles that floated across the group on the bitter wind. It broke Rebel Yell's
heart to see R.A.C. like this. He realized, though, that dwelling on it wouldn't
change things, so he moved on to the cave. Plot King followed.
The Fan.Dom's lair wasn't much better than the surrounding territory. It had
been ransacked, all of it's furnishings taken. The Fan.Dom clearing house,
thought Rebel Yell. In the cave's center were the remains of a burned Mardi-
Gras float.
"This does not look promising." Rebel Yell kicked a rock across the floor. "It's
unlikely the Fan.Dom left any clues."
"WELL, IT WON'T HURT TO LOOK AROUND. AT LEAST, IT HOPEFULLY WON'T HURT MUCH!"
replied Plot King.
Ignoring his counterpart's attempt at humor, Yell said, "Go check that area back
there, in the ominous darkness. I'll see if I can findout anything from that
computer."
The soldier of the storylines headed into the ominous darkness and began to
rummage around. Rebel Yell searched the computer. The power source had been
taken, probably by the Fan.Dom. He popped open the access pannel, in case some
clue might be found in the wiring, but all he found was a green ring and a fuzzy
mouse.
Plot King came out of the ominous darkness carying a large, leather-bound book.
"I FOUND SOMETHING!!"
"What is it?"
Before Plot King could answer, the computer monitor clicked on and the ring
vanished. A face, halfcovered by a black mask, filled the screen. The Fan.Dom
of the Alt.Ra spoke: "AH, YOU FOUND MY RING, GOOD! I was afraid it was lost. It
is quite a collectable. I SEE YOU ALSO FOUND THE JOURNAL. I was hoping you
would be smart enough to accomplish that!"
"What kind of game are you playing at, Fan.Dom!?!"
"No game, Rebel Yell. You came looking for answers to your many questions. I am
simply providing them. That book contains all of the information that I know
about the creature you call Lurking Lass!"
"Why should I belive you?"
"What reasons have I to lie? To lead you into a trap? I COULD DESTROY YOU WHERE
YOU STAND, if I chose to. No, I want you to understand the game that you have
unkowingly been playing!"
"FAN.DOM, YOU FIEND. I, PLOT KING, SHALL MAKE YOU PAY FOR YOUR MANY CRIMES, YOU
FIEND!!!"
"Quiet your power-clone, hero, or I SHALL!!! You have in your hands the key to
unlock the door that lies ahead in your path. What lies beyond that door is the
unknown that you must face. Goodbye hero...We will meet again! BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH"
"GET DOWN!!!" shouted Plot King as he projected a thought to List Lad, >>GET US
OUT OF HERE!<<. The crimson clad continuity crusader threw himself and Rebel
Yell into the suddenly appearing Transmat beam. They vanished, just as the
computer screen exploded into thousands of deadly shards.
As he beamed out, Rebel Yell thought to himself, One day Fan.Dom. One day there
will be a reckoning.
*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
Materializing back in the Monitoring Room in LNHQ, Rebel Yell tossed the book
to List Lad. "Read through this and give me any worth while information."
List Lad let out a nervous laugh, and began rifleing through the journel's pages
at an amazing speed. He looked up and said, "Well, the Fan.Dom is a very poetic
writer, a bit overly dramatic, maybe, but really quite nice. Actually, when you
think about it, it makes some sense that he..."
"Cut the critical review and get to the point!"
"Gee, aren't we touchy today? Anyhow, it will take some time to absorb
everything, but I, List Lad, have found something that may be usefull. There's
a note here that reads, "Check on Netl...@Chatsubo.A232.43"
"What's 'Chatsubo'?" asked Rebel Yell.
Multi-Tasking Man answered, "The Chatsubo is a bar in the Cyber-punk hierarchy.
A lot of deckers and other net.types hang out there. It's kind of a neat place,
a bit wild, though."
"Just great," sighed Rebel Yell, "Ok, List Lad, analize everything in that book.
I want to know what every letter means! M-TM, warm up the transmat beams. Plot
King, grap your party hat, we're going bar-hopping!"
To be continued....
--
Alt.comics.lnh -the most fun you can have with | kog...@ucsu.colorado.edu
your .net on! | (Internet/Usenet)
You don't have to be crazy to be in the LNH, | "Oh Bite Me! It's fun"
But it helps!!! | -Crow T. Robot (MST3K)