Reset! - Chapter Fifteen

[randomality]

Summary: Faced with being shipped out to Denver to live with Jay Garrick after the disappearance of Max Mercury, Bart argues to remain in Manchester with Helen. Impulse begins to search for ways to save Max on his own and reaches out to friends and allies. AU.

Disclaimer: DC owns the DCU. Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo.

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Reset! - Chapter Fifteen: Lab Rats

Meloni stepped out of the pod several minutes later. Ahead of them was a massive, windowless warehouse complex. Thad inhaled deeply with a sardonic grin. "Ah, home sweet home. Most of it is underground. You'll find Science Police on the above ground levels, mostly around where the secondary time portal is. That's where they'll be watching for me. Beneath that, the defenses are automated and specifically geared for speedsters." His yellow gaze settled on Bart. "They're not entirely adapted for molecular vibration yet, since you showed no sign of it when you were in custody and I didn't learn the trick until I started observing you. That means we can still go through walls without getting our molecules scrambled. There are such barriers throughout the complex, however. If you see anything like a forcefield, do not touch it, go around it. Be mindful of laser-based and sonic weapons. We can't outrun light and by the time we realize that we have encountered a sonic, it will be too late. Any gases we encounter will not be easily metabolized and will make us very sick. There are also pressure sensors in the floor plating that will trigger the traps. On top of all of that, Craydl itself may turn on us. You are well aware of how effective it is at immobilizing a speedster."

"This sounds like a really hard level," Bart remarked.

Thad's shoulders slumped and he dryly answered, "Yes, it will be a very hard level." He turned to Meloni. "Any input?"

She checked her gun and replied, "Leave the Science Police to me. I'll clear them out. After you shut down the lab's defense systems, I'll join you."

Thad grabbed Bart's shoulder. "We'll wait until she gets inside before we move."

Bart nodded, despite not liking the idea. "So, was it hard for you to get out of there?"

"Very."

"How'd you do it?"

"Dumb luck."

"Oh." Bart scuffed the ground with his boot. "So, did you run on the walls and stuff?"

"Run on the walls? Well, no, but..." Thad's confusion gave way to a slack jaw. "What made you think of that?"

"You're supposed to be smart, right? It seemed smart." Then he grinned, "And it's something that I do in some of my videogames when there's no floor."

They watched Meloni disappear from view, and then bolted towards the warehouse. After sucking in a deep breath, they sank down into the earth and began running in absolute darkness. The hum of their bodies passing through soil and rock soon changed in pitch, telling them they were moving through concrete and metal. In the next instant, cool, sterile air brushed against them. Impulse discovered that he was in a dimly lit maintenance passageway. He launched off of the exterior wall, slammed his boots against the opposing wall, and started running. When gravity pulled him too close to the floor, he jumped across the corridor to the next wall and stared the pattern over again. Turning a corner, he caught a brief glimpse of Inertia following after him. A shimmer of green light filling the passage brought him to a stop. He jumped up, grabbed a length of exposed pipe, and dangled from the ceiling. Inertia passed by him and vibrated through the wall past the forcefield. Now, following after Inertia, Impulse passed through and began the routine of running the walls.

Inertia paused at a corner, pushing against the walls with his hands and feet to brace himself into place. Impulse paused beneath him, likewise jammed into the corner. "What is it?" he whispered to the blond boy.

"This is the wrong level for the security controls," Inertia replied, "But I don't want vibrate through the wall and miss our stop or, worse yet, land on a pressure plate and trip the alarms."

"Up or down?" Impulse asked.

"Down and towards the center of the building." Inertia jerked his chin towards his goal.

"Let's keep going until we find a way down that we can see in."

Inertia nodded and launched out of the corner. Impulse climbed up the corner before following after him. Around another corner, he spotted a sign in Interlac reading, "Exit." Inertia passed by it and disappeared around the next bend. Impulse hung onto a pipe that ran along the ceiling, wondering where the trigger to this door was. Even if he could find the trigger, he had nothing to throw at it. Impulse sighed, wondering if he would have to backtrack and find an item to go into his inventory for this. Maybe he didn't need any items. Just as Inertia came back to see what was so distracting, Impulse swung himself at the door and vibrated through it. Instead of passing entirely through, he solidified his hands and feet just enough to hold him in place as he momentarily braced against the doorframe. In the next instant, he jumped out of the doorway and onto the guardrail of the stairway beyond.

Impulse swung over railing to keep his feet away from the floor plates and moved clear of Inertia's landing. Green boots banged against the floor as Inertia missed the rail. Both boys stared at each other in alarm. Gas hissed from the air vents above them. The clank of doors locking echoed through the stairwell. Holding his breath, Impulse put his grip on the bottom rung of the railing, let himself dangle down the stairwell, and let go. He fell down the shaft, catching himself on the next level of railing. Bracing the toes of his boots against the side of the landing, he hefted himself on top of the rail and jumped for the door. Habitually, he sucked in a breath before vibrating through. He repeated the brace and jump, slamming his boots against the wall opposite the door on the other side. His stomach churned as he ran along the walls. His vision blurred and he became dizzy. Finding a corner to brace himself again, he squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed against the nausea.

Soon, Inertia joined him in the corner. "Did you breathe the gas?"

"Yeah, just a little." He was torn between wanting to puke and wanting to sleep. "I don't feel good."

"We have to keep going."

"I know. Which way?"

Inertia shook his head as if to clear it. "Forward. Follow me. Bart?"

"I don't feel good."

"Focus! We can't let the gas get the better of us!"

Impulse couldn't fight the nausea anymore and he retched onto the floor panels. Each end of the hall was instantly blocked by a forcefield. More gas hissed through the vents. Inertia gagged, but managed to yank Impulse out of the corner. "Through the wall!"

Both boys passed through the metal barrier and paused in a dark space between the walls. There was no room for them to solidify again. Even so, Impulse could hear Inertia breathing hard and fast. "You're sick, too?"

The answer was not immediate. A sickly gurgle and muttered obscenities were followed by a deep sigh. Finally, Inertia replied, "I breathed the same air you did."

"Now what?"

"We stop this game and go for dumb luck. Just start running through the walls as fast as you can. One of us will make it through and find the control center."

"Okay." Impulse burst through the wall and ran across another maintenance hall. Just before he passed through the next wall, red light filled the length of the hall from a triggered laser trap. A few more steps and he was beyond the space between the walls. There was no more floor under him when he launched off of the next wall. He fell onto a catwalk below and tumbled on the metal grating. The boom of his impact echoed off of metal canyon walls and the entire catwalk shook underneath him. Sliding his fingers along the guardrails to help his wavering balance, Impulse ran along the narrow causeway, not waiting for the effect of any sprung trap.

Above him, Inertia darted across a platform atop a massive block of equipment and jumped a gap to another. Impulse bolted for the gap jumped into it. Bracing his hands and feet against the smooth walls, he trusted the traction on his boots to help him climb up. Once on top of the platform, he followed Inertia to a heavy door and they both passed through it.

A control center greeted them and Inertia wasted no time in reaching the security terminal. Just as he began accessing the overrides, the green goop that was the Craydl technoplasm emerged from what looked to be a vent.

"You are not authorized to be here," Craydl warned. "Return to the habitation zone."

"At least now I know I can't reason with you," Inertia replied, "You were made for a purpose, just like me."

"Final warning," reported Craydl, "Return to the habitation zone or you will be immobilized."

Inertia ignored the warning. "Bart, keep him busy."

"Intruder alert," was all Craydl said before shooting out arms at Impulse. The boy dodged the arms easily enough. Whatever arms he simply couldn't sidestep, he blocked by disappearing into a wall. After what felt like hours of playing tease the blob, Craydl froze and the illumination in the control center dimmed to only the emergency lights.

Inertia sighed and kneeled onto the floor. "Finally."

Impulse darted to his side and leaned over him. "You okay?"

"I'm still trying to shake off the gas."

"Same here," Impulse remarked, "My head hurts now, but everything else is getting better."

"Just think, we were exposed to only a small amount."

"Ew." He stood straight and faced the door. "So, all of the traps are off? Can we go get Mom now?"

"The security system is only temporarily offline," Inertia answered, "I put it into a diagnostic and repair mode. It will give us an hour at most."

"That should be plenty of time. Let's go get Mom."

Inertia got to his feet and followed after Impulse. Soon, they found Meloni outside of the time portal chamber. There was no sign of the Science Police or a fight.

"I just evacuated them," she remarked, "Hopefully, they won't figure anything out before we're done. So, where are the clones being kept?"

The underground warren of the laboratory was easier to navigate now that the traps were disabled for the time being. Away from the stark and sterile habitation zone and hidden amongst the maintenance accesses, they found a door with a biometric lock. Meloni looked to the boys and grinned. "Now, what could be here?"

Impulse scooped her up and they passed through the wall beside the door. Beyond, only an eerie green light illuminated the long, narrow room. Six development tubes stood along a wall. The first tube was empty and dark, but the others each held a sleeping boy suspended in green fluid. Cables, tubes, and sensors were attached to each body. Meloni gasped at the sight and hurried to the status panels that monitored each tube. "Sprocking grife, he's really lost his spheres."

"Meet my replacements," Inertia spat, "Or rather, our replacements." He approached the first tube. "How does it feel to be disposable?"

Impulse looked at each clone and frowned. "They're not all blond. Number four is, but the others are kinda red." He looked a little closer and tried to imagine the colors without the green filter. "Some are really red, maybe orange." He peeled off his goggles to get rid of the yellow tint and looked again. "Well, maybe not. Maybe?" He put his goggles back on and frowned. "It's hard to tell with the other colors in the way."

Meloni stepped back and frowned. "Is it really that hard to get the hair color right on these clones?"

Inertia was reviewing the history for the empty first tube, flying through the mass of data. "Possibly. This one was very close to the right color, but still not quite right. Still a little too much red. He would have to invest in some dye to cover it up, but I doubt anyone would have really noticed the difference."

"Anyone but Carol," Impulse remarked, "She figured you out."

Inertia ignored that and focused on the data panel. "They're all being fed memories based on my impersonation preparations. It's possible that these clones may even believe that they're you." He moved from panel to panel, quickly scanning over the information. "Except number four." He cringed at the blond clone. "There's something not right with this one. I don't know what Thawne is trying to do with it, but I wouldn't let it out of this tube for any reason."

Impulse moved to peer over Inertia's shoulder. "Is he sick?"

"It depends on your definition of sick," he answered, "This one is meant to be more of an attack dog than me." The next block of information made Inertia suck in his breath. "He's giving him a copy of all of my memories! Mine! That sprocking bastard! He was going to replace me! He was going to replace me with this aberration! I'll kill him! I'll kill them all!"

Meloni wrapped her hands around Inertia's shoulders and pulled him away from the panel. "Calm down. Nobody is killing anyone."

"Then what are you going to do with it?" Inertia snapped while pointing at the fourth clone. "I doubt you can rehabilitate that."

"But we can't just kill them," Meloni countered, "They're living boys just waiting to wake up. They're all your brothers."

Inertia's lip curled in a bitter sneer. "I don't have brothers." He glared at the sleeping clones. "They were all made to kill Bart, me, and anyone else in Thawne's way. Obedient, well-conditioned dogs. Pavlov would be proud."

"Hey, guys!" Impulse chirped. He pointed to a viewscreen in the back of the room. A man with short blond hair and sharp eyes stared back at them.

"So, you came back," Thawne smirked. "All of you."

Meloni narrowed her eyes and stepped between the boys and the screen. "Just when I think I've found the bottom to your depravity, there's something more. What you're doing here is illegal in so many ways."

Inertia glared at the image on the screen and bared his teeth. "You lied to me! You lied to me and used me! You were going to throw me away!" He stepped closer to the screen. His grimace warped into a feral smile. "I'm going to do what you made me to do."

Impulse watched Inertia twist around and run towards a wall. A lump dropped in his gut and he knew that his clone was up to no good. Scooping up his mother, Impulse followed Inertia out of the lab and through the maze of passageways. Often, Inertia would disappear at intersections, leaving only a lingering spark or scuff to tell Impulse which way to go.

By the time Impulse caught up with him, he had Thawne pinned to the floor. Green gloved fists furiously pounded flesh. Impulse set Meloni down and pounced on Inertia, pulling him away from Thawne. Inertia twisted around and struck the other boy, savagely beating him until he let go.

"You're not a clone!" Meloni yelled as the boys fought, finishing her words just as Inertia grabbed onto Thawne and doubled his fist.

That brought Thad to a halt. His fist hovered over Thawne's battered face. "What?"

"You're not a clone," she repeated. "I know who you are now. I was told that you were stillborn. You were taken away before I ever heard you cry. I should have known better, but it wasn't until after Bart was taken from me that I learned anything. You weren't made to do anything. You weren't created in a lab for some demented purpose. You have the freedom to choose what to do with your life. You have the freedom to just walk away from all of this."

Thad was slackjawed. "What?"

"I was expecting twins." She reached out and pulled Thad towards her in a warm embrace. "Why are my babies always taken away from me?"

Thad dropped Thawne, frozen by the revelation. Bart gawked, and then grinned. "He's my twin brother? Cool!" He zipped to his mother's side. "So, which one of us came first?"

"You did, sunshine," Meloni replied.

Bart's smile brightened. "I'm the older brother? Awesome! Hey, Thad, I guess that means that we're supposed to be on the same side and you're not supposed to try to kill me anymore."

Still in his mother's embrace, Thad glared at Bart. "I still reserve the brotherly right of beating the ever-sprocking snot out you when you get too annoying."

Meloni's voice carried a motherly tone of warning. "Thaddeus."

An electronic beep caught their attention and they saw Thawne with a remote in his hand. The warehouse began to rumble around them. "A contingency in case Chu decided to meddle," Thawne sneered, "This is close enough."

"Oh, grife," Meloni swore and she let Thad go. "Auto destruct?"

Thawne's grin twisted into a savage smile. "A little better than that."

"Boys, stop this place from blowing up!" Meloni ordered her sons.

They darted off to find the override for the sequence. Descending into the lower levels of the facility, they searched through equipment and computers. Past the energy generators, Inertia skidded to a stop with Impulse on his heels. He ran a lap along the exterior walls and came to a stop next to Impulse again. "Whatever this whole place is sitting on is charging up!"

Impulse was playing with the generator control panels. He pulled up a schematic of the warehouse electrical system. "Hey! What if we cut the power to it?"

Inertia pushed Impulse aside and he took command over the generator controls. After a few seconds, he shook his head. "No good! I won't be able to access the overrides and shut it down in time."

"Then we pull the plug!" Impulse raced to the nearest generator and found a large power conduit. Gripping it near the base of the generator, he vibrated it with the intent to disconnect a segment of the conduit. The generator hummed in response to the vibrations and yellow Speed Force lightning crackled through the warehouse power system. The entire warehouse began to hum and vibrate around them.

Inertia yelled to Impulse, "Let's get Mom out of here!"

Impulse let go and followed Inertia back to where Meloni was helping her father to his feet. Inertia scooped her up and kept running without missing a beat. Impulse picked up Thawne and was pulled along in Inertia's wake.

Inertia set Meloni down and turned to the white and red blur that stopped beside him. "Bart! What did you do?!"

Impulse dumped his grandfather on the ground and shrugged. "I don't know! I was trying to stop it, and then things got all sparky! Why do things always get sparky and go boom when I'm trying to fix them?!"

Meloni stared at the gaping hole where the warehouse used to be. "It just disappeared."

"Craydl will take care of them," Thawne grinned, "No matter where or when they've gone, they'll still continue their mission. Craydl will see to it."

The lights of the approaching Science Police grabbed their attention. Meloni turned to the boys. "Go back to Helen and wait there for me. I'll come get you when everything clears up."

After they vanished, Thawne turned to his daughter. "Why did you lie to the clone about being a twin?"

"You want to live, right?" Meloni answered, "As long as he believes that he isn't what you created him to be, he shouldn't come for you, as much as you deserve otherwise."