ZORRO AND FELIPE MEET THE JDB LIST SERVE
by Kathryn. D. Green
Zorro dismounted Toronado and entered the lab, expecting to find Felipe there. Instead, to his shock, he found several people waiting there, 16 women and one man. All were dressed in modern-day clothes.
Zorro gaped at them, shock etched on his face. For a long moment, no one said anything.
"Who--who are you?" he finally asked.
A young woman in her early 20s stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Zorro. We didn't mean to freak you out. I'm Kassie Long, and these are my friends."
Another young woman stepped forward. "And my name is Robin. And this--" She turned to another woman who, Zorro saw, was in her late 30s. "This is Kathy Green. The three of us moderate a list serve."
Zorro stared at the three women for a long moment. "Forgive me, amigas, but I don't understand you. What's a list serve? And how did you find Zorro's hideout?"
"We've always known," Kathy said. "We all watched the show when it was on. We're fanfiction writers. We write stories about you. And about Felipe."
As if on cue, a teenage boy with brown hair and brown eyes strode into the lab, freezing on the spot when he saw the writers. He gaped at them, then at Zorro.
Zorro chuckled uncertainly. "Felipe, we have some visitors. A group of authors who write stories about us."
"That's right." A woman in her 40s stepped up next to the three moderators. "I'm Nancy Smith. I'm writing a story about you right now; it's called 'Bad Times in L.A.' In it, Felipe comes down with influenza, then just as he's getting well, the whole pueblo falls sick."
Robin nodded. "I've written a number of stories about you, myself. In one of them, everyone thinks you're dead, Zorro, and Felipe takes your place as Zorro."
Zorro and Felipe stared at each other in shock. "Well, well," Zorro said. "That explains all the adventures we've been having lately. Felipe's been given a twin sister; my brother Gilberto was invited to live with us instead of being killed off; Felipe, here, has been poisoned, shot, arrested twice unjustly, attacked by Gilberto..." He shook his head as his voice trailed off.
"And Felipe's been getting the bulk of the action. And the trouble!" He shook his head.
One of the women laughed. "Well, our specialty is Felipe fanfiction. It was Kathy's idea; she felt that he'd been left out for the most part, and she wanted to correct that. You wouldn't believe how many Zorro fans there are out there who love to write stories about you!" The others laughed.
Felipe made some signs. Zorro gazed at him, then turned to the group. "He wants to know what story you're going to write about us next."
The man, who appeared to be in his 20s, smiled. "Would you two like to help us with that Zorro?" He approached the masked hero. "After all, you're the ones who are going to experience it." He squared his shoulders. "I'm Billy Thomas."
Zorro shook his hand. "Felipe and I would like that very much. Let's gather over here and plan it out."
He removed his gloves and flung them on the table. He took off his hat and handed it to Felipe. Then, as he sat down at his desk, the group gathered around it, eager to plot out their next work of Zorro fanfiction...