[REPOST/LNH] Saviors of the Net #12: 'A World Without Pain'

Arthur Spitzer arspitzer at earthlink.net
Fri May 12 17:03:40 PDT 2006


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From: Jess Willey <willeys at erols.com>
Subject: [LNH] Saviors of the Net #12
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.creative
Date: 3 May 1999 23:49:22 GMT

The Saviors of the Net #12
 A World Without Pain
 By Jesse N. Willey

 With that, everything that had made up the Looniverse was destroyed
without the capability of being restored.   Such organizations as the
Saviors of the Net and the Legion of Net. Heroes had been forgotten.
Normal people went about their normal lives doing normal things, except
in one neighborhood in Chicago.  Whether or not the city had another
name before this in unknown.  It doesn't matter.  What does matter are
the events at the Henkerton's house that evening.

 "How are things going dear?" Mrs. Henkerton asked.
 "Fine mom...." Rick said.  "I finished up my homework.  I got all the
answers right on the math section.  I didn't have to check the back of
the book.  I'm going to down to Amelia's to help her out.  She's always
had a problem with graphing."
 "She's such as nice girl.  Why don't you ask her out?" his mother
asked.
 "I can't ask out the girl I tutor.  For her sake I have keep my
feelings to myself," Rick said.
 "You're right son.  It's strange.   Marge said Amelia was such a good
math student until she walked back into  your life ....." she said.  "By
the way, Sky called.  He and Alison are going that `People Like Us'
Concert.  They had a pair of extra tickets.  He wanted to know if you
wanted to go with them."
 "I'll call him and tell him I can't.  The other couples in our circle
should have first grab at them," Rick said cheerfully.  "I better get
going.  I don't want to leave Amelia waiting."

 Rick walked out the door and down the side walk.   He walked past the
Joy's house as quietly as he could, since he had places to go and he
didn't want to be any later then he already was.  As fate would have it,
Carolyn Joy was waiting on the front porch.

 "Hey Rick!  My mom wants to know if you're going to come to the big
Memorial Day picnic," she asked with a smile.   Sammy must be sleeping,
or doing something with Terrence.
 "You think after thirteen years she could assume we'd be there," Rick
said.
 "Good," Carolyn said.  "Because I've arranged for the Chesterfields to
come.  It's time you asked Amelia out.  Why do you tutor a math genius
anyway?  I mean Delilah could really use the help.."
 "Why do people keep saying that?  There is nothing going on between
Amelia and I," Rick said politely as a gust of wind shifted his hair
around.
 "You just answered your own question," Carolyn replied.
 "Well, I better get going," Rick said.
 "You do that," she said.

 Rick continued to walk down the street.  He hoped he could get to
Amelia's apartment before he ran into any more distractions.   The
graphing unit was one of the most critical areas on the exam, and they
had to finish it.  Yet, sure enough, as he passed the local burger joint
he ran into his friend Alison.

 "Hey Alison!" he said hoping not to startle his blind friend.
 "Rick?  Is that you? Have you heard from Sky?   He was supposed to be
here a half hour ago, put he hasn't shown up yet," she said, sounding a
bit worried.
 "I haven't heard from him directly, but I was supposed to call him back
as soon as I got back from Amelia's," Rick said.
 "You're going to Amelia's?  So you two have finally decided to go out?"
Alison said.
 "What?  Of course not," Rick said.  "I'm helping her with her math
homework."
 "She needs help with her math?  She's only taking Advanced Algebra.
Before you two met up again she was doing multi-vector calculus," Alison
said.
 "Why do people keep saying that?" Rick said.  "You just don't know her
like I do."

   They both walk down the street a ways.  A raccoon, who was wearing
clothing, lay motionless on the street.  Its legs were squished blood
had been pounded into the pavement.  Rick's stomach turned as he looked
at it .

 "What's wrong?" Alison asked.
 "Nothing really.  I just a freshly dead animal on the road," Rick said.

 The truck pulled up with two men in it.  They came by with scoopers and
picked the animal corpse up and stuffed it in a garbage bag.
Everything the men wore was black except for their yellow hard hats.
Their name tags said their names were Bill and Dave.

 "Did you two notice anything unusual?" Bill said.
           "Yes," Rick said.  "That raccoon was wearing clothing?"
 "We know that sir," Dave said.
 "Why?" Rick asked.  "I mean raccoons don't wear clothes."
 "We believe someone has been abusing animals in the area," Bill said.
"Did you see anything unusual miss...."
   "I'm blind," she said.
 "Oh," Bill said.

 Rick got Alison back home.  As he looked at his watch and noticed he
was almost late, so he hopped the bus down a few blocks.  Then he
climbed up the stairs and ran into someone he thought he would run into
again.

 "Mister Ratchenbaum," Rick said.  "You probably don't remember me.  You
were my teacher in the..."
 "....  fourth grade.   I remember you Rick.  I remember all the
troublemakers.  I'm very proud of you.  I heard you're working the world
famous Doctor Gully," the old man said. "You and Carolyn were always so
smart.  Sometimes I wondered if you really needed to be taught."
 "I don't know about Carolyn, but I know I learned one of the my most
important lessons of my life in fourth grade," Rick said.
 "What was that?" the old man asked.
 "If you try hard and don't goof off your dreams will come true," Rick
said.
 The old man smiled.  "You learned that from me?"
            "Well sorta," Rick said.  "I better get going.  Amelia is
waiting for me."
 "Ahhh... so you know the Chesterfields.   She's a nice girl.  She's
your type," Ratchenbaum said.
 "Why do people keep saying that?"

 Rick continued walking up the stairs until he got Apartment 302.   He
knocked on the door and no one answered for several minutes.  He was
about to walk away, when the door opened.  Amelia stood in the doorway
in purple tank top and jeans.  Rick was stunned as he stared her: from
her well shaped figure, to her light red hair, to the blue rimmed
glasses which protected her enigmatic green eyes, she was drop dead
gorgeous.

 "Hi Rick," she said casually.  "What's wrong?"
 "Um uh uh uh," he said.  "Nothing."
 "Good.  I had no trouble with the graphing.  If that's worst the
classes have to offer, than I won't need your help anymore," she said
slyly.   "I so just hoping this guy I know would show up.  I was hoping
to go to a movie."
 "If you're going out with someone else, I'll understand.  I guess I
should have spoken up sooner.  Sure, you only came back into my life a
few months ago, but I had a crush on you when I met you back in middle
school.   It's just that I was too quiet to tell you," Rick said.
 "Uh Ricky-Poo, what are you talking about?" Amelia asked.
 "It's a moot part really since you already have a boyfriend," Rick
replied.  "Wait, what did you call me?"

    They stared at each other in confusion and then slowly kissed.  They
walked into the apartment as their lips parted.  For Rick it felt like
someone had poured a bucket of cold water on his head.

  ****************

 Meanwhile at the cafe where Rick had found Alison, an odd gathering was
going on.  A group of young people was sitting at their large table
chatting and chomping on food, and for the first time in their lives
they wondered how they had got there.

 ".... I'm telling you it was a weird dream.  We were all super heroes
and we fought some kind of war in the future," said Nicole.  Her long
brown hair almost glistened.
 "I'm telling you it couldn't happen," her friend Nick said.  "I'm not
the spandex type.  I'd be all for saving the earth and all the crap, but
I'd be more like Tommy Tachyon type hero."
 "Of course you're forgetting that it's only a dream," Sky replied.
"Where is Alison?"
 "ONLY A DREAM????   Do I need to remind you that dreams can sometimes
have a deeper meaning.  In this case the dream, of super heroes fighting
a war in the future, may represent how important we are important to
solving Nicole's own personal problems," said Samuel Guldenberg.

  The waiter came to there table and delivered their drinks.  Amelia's
younger brother Josh stood behind him.  Alison slowly walked out from
behind Josh.

 "There you are!" Alison said.  "I looked all over for you."
 "Hey everybody.   Good news Operation: Set-Up was a big success," Josh
said.  "Alison's a very good actresses.   Rick fell for it hook line a
sinker."
 "Of course having Carolyn talk to him was also a big help," Sky said.
"Finally, maybe Mister  World On His Shoulders will learn to lighten
up."


  ********************

      Down the street at one of the leading research centers in Chicago,
things of great importance were occurring.   It was a little known fact
The Gully Institute had retroactively cured all types of pain early
1999.  Their process had a few bugs in it though, since it couldn't
completely eliminate pain, nor was it's range all that great.  Still,
the last painful incident had occurred at the end of the second World
War.

 "Okay, Ashley, darling, can you send in the next applicant," Doctor
Jerome Gully said.
 "Sure thing dear," the older doctor said.

   A young man walked into the room.  He took of his walkman and took a
seat.  Gully stared at him.  The young man stared back.

 "Hello Doctor Gully, sir," the young man said.
 "Please, Carter, call me Jerry.   Ashley and I were both impressed by
your credentials.  Your psychic research provided the missing factor in
some of work here," Gully said.  "In other words Mister Darson, welcome
to the staff at The Gully Institute.  I'm sorry that Rick couldn't be
here today, but I guess you'll have to meet him later."

  **********************

 A van parked outside the incident, which appeared to be an animal
control vehicle.

 "Do you thing they should be told that we're going to change everything
back?" Bill asked.  "I mean they all look so happy.  Maybe it's better
if we just leave them like this."
 "Maybe, maybe not," said Dave.  "But if we let them know, they'll panic
and their perfect world would fall anyway.  They are better off not
knowing.  Now let's go trying to set thing right."

 To Be Continued.....



  Carolyn Joy (A.K.A. Carolyn Forge of Teenfactor) belongs to Tom
Russell. As does Doctor Ashley Variel-Gully (Doctor Ashley Variel of
Mainline continuity.)    Carter Darson belongs to Sean Daugherty.  The
Raccoon is Retcon RACCoon.  Everyone else is mine and have appearred in
'The Team'.

=========
NEXT TIME: Mutton Mania #1-7
           by Various People (Unless someone objects to this)
=========

I'm going to post the Mutton Mania add-on story line because Mutton Mania
Epi-epilogue also happens to be Saviors of the Net #13

Arthur "Ba-ba Black Sheep" Spitzer



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