Reset! - Chapter Sixteen

[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 Sixteen: Fracture

The pod returned to Manchester only hours after it left. A strange smell akin to burning plastic filled the tiny cabin. Thad tried to get a response out of the controls, but the systems were all dead. Bart tried his hand at it and got the same results. "I think we broke it."

"No more time traveling for us," Thad agreed, "At least for now."

Bart kneeled down to look under the panels. "Can we fix it?"

Thad pulled his mask back and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I don't know. I just want to lay down and sleep." He squeezed his eyes shut. "For all I know, this is just a very detailed simulation and I failed it miserably. At any moment, Craydl is going to switch me over to the analysis center and we'll review everything I did wrong. We'll go through corrections, and then I'll do it all over again."

Wrinkling his nose, Bart sniffed at the air again. "So, did your simulations ever have smells?"

"No." Thad's shoulders slumped. "I don't want this to be real."

Bart raised an eyebrow under his goggles. "Why not?"

The hollow echoes of someone knocking on the outside of the pod jolted the both of them. Bart vibrated through the wall and came face to face with a familiar red uniform. "Wally?"

"I came back to check up on your clone," Wally started, "And Helen told me-"

"Brother," Bart corrected, "Mom said he's my brother."

Wally's confused expression was easily readable, despite his mask. "What?"

Thad stepped out of the pod and looked up at the Flash. "Oh. You." He barely turned his head towards Bart and grumbled, "I'm going to bed."

"Okay, good night," Bart blithely replied.

At the kitchen table, Bart told Helen and Wally about everything that he did in the future. When he was done, Wally peeled off his cowl and leaned back in his chair. "So, Max is doing something in the Speed Force, which bothers me, and you actually have an twin brother, because your mother was told he was stillborn. I think I've heard this story before from a Thawne."

"Did Mom already talk to you?" Looking to Helen, Bart added, "As soon as Mom clears things up, she's gonna come back for us. I dunno if I'm gonna go yet, but Thad doesn't like it here, so he'll at least go back and stay with Mom."

Wally propped his elbows on the table and tucked one fist into the other. Bart recognized his cousin's extra-serious thinking face and wondered what sort orders he was going to give. Train with Jay, Bart? Stay home, Bart? Move away from Alabama, Bart? When Wally finally spoke, it was nothing of the sort. "You're sure that Max didn't say what exactly he was up to?"

"He didn't give us time to ask," Bart answered. Then he added, "You're worried about it, too?"

Surprised, Wally sat up and stared at his cousin. "Too? You've been thinking about this?"

"Well, yeah. The Speed Force gives us our powers, which is awesome, but bad stuff comes out of it, too. Whenever Max paid a lot of attention to it, that's when the bad stuff happened." Bart shrugged. "If Max doesn't wanna come home, then there's something going on." He scowled and clenched his fists. "Nobody tells me anything."

"Maybe it's because you're not listening," Wally retorted before he realized that he said it. He let out a long sigh. "I'll let Jay know that Max is up to something and that he needs to stay on his toes. As to your, uh, brother... Keep an eye on him. Don't let him loose. I don't care what kind of sob story he has, that kid is still a little bent." He watched Bart yawn, fought back the urge to yawn himself, and failed. "Well, it's late and I'm not Batman. Linda's keeping a bed warm for me back home and I don't want it to go to waste."

Once Wally was gone, Bart checked up on Thad in the guestroom. His brother was out of his costume and under the covers. His back was turned away from the door, so Bart could only assume that he was sleeping. After entering his own room and changing into his sleepwear, Bart climbed up to his bed and crawled under his blanket.

He was sitting on the patio table bench behind the house, tossing a ball to Dox. The sky was painted in vivid shades of red, orange, and yellow above him. While the dog chased the ball across the backyard, Bart picked at the paint peeling off of the bench. The wooden planks creaked as a weight settled beside him. Max watched Dox bring the ball back and picked up the slobber-drenched toy. "I envy the dog a little," Max remarked as he threw the ball, "He doesn't have to worry about much. Helping people, the Speed Force, time travel, dysfunctional family, none of that matters to him."

"Max, don't you like it here?" Bart asked. It was an impulsive question and he knew it, but he had to ask.

"Of course I do," Max answered, "I never intended to leave the way I did, but I had to run with it."

"So, why don't you come home?" Bart picked up the ball and threw it again.

"I told you, there's something I need to do in the Speed Force."

"Like what?" When Max didn't reply immediately, Bart insisted, "Tell me!"

"No."

"Grife, not this again."

"Language, young man," warned Max, as he threw the ball for Dox.

"You're not coming home, are you?" Bart felt his stomach twist at the thought. "You're in the Speed Force and you're not coming back."

"Wally came back," reminded Max.

"Wally's different," Bart shot back, "You've been trying to get into the Speed Force for a long time and now you're there." Max offered no reply. Instead, he picked up Dox's ball and threw it. Bart looked for some way to break the silence. "So, what am I supposed to do now?"

"You'll figure it out."

"Is that another one of your Zen Master answers?" Bart looked to his side and saw no one there. "Max?" He stood and searched the backyard. "Max? Where'd you go? Max? Max!"

Thad walked down the dark hallway and paused by Bart's bedroom door. He could hear his brother thrashing in his sleep and calling out for Max. Slipping inside the room, he climbed up the ladder to the lofted bed and stared down at Bart. His brother was calm in his sleep now. Thad narrowed his eyes and scowled. As far as he was concerned, he was no better than a conditioned dog and Bart was the bell. Here, Bart was at his most vulnerable. Here, Thad could easily make the kill in at least a dozen different ways. His mind's eye played out all of the scenarios with perfect clarity. Then they continued a few steps further. Helen's horrified reaction. Meloni's anger and accusing him of being no better than her father. What would Max say when he returned? He did not want to think about that. There would be some sort of retribution for the murder, of course. He could expect no less. There would be no safe haven for him. If he was still obedient to Thawne, then what? Could he expect Thawne to protect him? Or would his access to Craydl be cut off, leaving Thad marooned in a primitive time to rot? He knew the answer to that. He was disposable to Thawne. Once the job was done, he would be thrown away. After all, plenty more could be made to run in his place.

Thad felt carpet followed by cold linoleum under his feet. He closed the bathroom door behind him and flipped the light switch. In the mirror over the sink, a blond boy stared back at him. He was not a clone, not a conditioned dog, and not beholden to Thawne. Cold water flowed from the faucet and Thad washed his hands and face. He could beat the conditioning, he assured himself. He did not have to follow orders from anyone. It was simply a matter of time and the proper correction techniques. He still had to research what those techniques were, but that could wait until morning. Burying his dripping face in a towel, he sighed. Sleep was not coming easily to him tonight. He couldn't stop thinking about what Meloni told him and the implications of it all. That familiar feeling of rage returned to him. His fists and teeth clenched and he had the urge to hit something, preferably someone. Bart was the first thing that came to mind, but he had better control of his impulses than his brother did. He couldn't let Thawne win.

Bart yawned and rubbed at his eyes while he staggered into the kitchen. It was easy to just follow his nose when Helen was making breakfast. Coffee was the first scent to reach him, never mind that Helen forbade him from ever drinking it. Still in his sleepwear, Bart sat at the kitchen table. "G'mornin'."

"Where's Thad?" Helen asked without turning away from the stove.

Bart shrugged. "I dunno. He's not in his room?"

"He's not anywhere in the house."

A rush of wind alerted Bart and Helen that Wally had returned. He towered over Bart. "Suit up," he ordered, "We have to find your brother before the JLA does."

"What?" Bart opened his ring and his costume popped out. "What did he do? Did he really go all evil twin? Is he a Rogue now? That sucks!"

Wally held out his hands. "Whoa! No! He's just... I don't know what he's doing, except running around the world and pounding seven shades of hell out of people."

As soon as Bart was in his uniform, he followed Wally out of Manchester. They weren't going faster than sound yet, which meant that Wally had something to say. "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on him?"

"I was sleeping!" Bart snapped back. "He was supposed to be in bed, too! Don't yell at me when I didn't do anything!"

Wally was quiet for a few moments, and then changed his direction. Now, they were running faster than any jet could fly. Crossing the ocean was a walk in the park for them.

Somewhere in an African city, Flash and Impulse found Thad in the middle of a fallen armed crowd in front of a warehouse. Everything stood still, except for a barefooted blond speedster in nothing but his pajama bottoms. His arms and hands were wrapped in what was left of his shirt. Blood spatters speckled his skin and soaked into cloth. Fear was plainly etched into the faces of a few men that Thad disarmed and attacked.

Impulse surged forward and tackled Thad to the ground. He wrapped his arms tight around his now struggling brother. Even when Thad started to vibrate, Bart matched him, frequency for frequency. The Flash positioned himself to capture Thad, in case he broke free. Wally watched closely for any change in direction and noticed that behind the yellow goggles, Bart's eyes were closed. Thad looked exhausted with purple shadows under his eyes. When did the boy last sleep? A scream filled with primal rage escaped from Thad as he stopped vibrating. He continued to struggle under his brother's grip and he gave another angry scream. It wasn't as powerful as the first, to Wally's relief. Thad was tiring and his knees gave out. Both boys kneeled on the ground and, to Bart's credit, he did not let up his grip for even a nanosecond.

"Hang on to him until he's calmed down," Flash advised Impulse. He took a moment to survey the carnage around him and the story it told him. The men that were beaten were alive, but crippled in one way or another. Those that could still walk would need dentures for the rest of their lives. The men that were dead were simply shot. Friendly fire, Wally realized, incurred when the men tried to shoot Thad down. Instead of catching the bullets, Thad didn't bother to save the men from each other and simply dodged. Past the gory battleground, the warehouse locks were gone and inside stood shipping pallets stacked high with food relief. Bare footprints in the dust led to and from a section of emptied pallets.

Wally's jaw dropped as he realized what Thad was up to. The men he attacked were part of a warlord's army that was keeping food away from the populace. Here, whoever controlled the food controlled the people. Thad, in his own bent little way, rectified that. "Oh man, the JLA's going to have a field day with this one." He was not looking forward to sitting at that table today.

He heard Bart's voice somewhere behind him. "Thad, you okay?" Wally turned to see Impulse still not relaxing his grip on his brother. "You okay?" Bart repeated.

"Get off me. Leave me alone." Thad twisted and shoved Bart away.

Bart ignored that and zipped into Thad's path. "What's wrong? Are you mad about something?"

Thad glared and shoved Bart aside. "You have no idea."

"What are you mad about?" Bart started jogging to keep up with Thad. Right behind them, Wally kept pace and listened in.

"Everything."

Nothing else was said on the trip back to Manchester. Inside the house, Wally turned to the boys. Pointing to Thad, he ordered, "You aren't leaving this house today. Since Bart has school and I have my duties, I'm getting Jay to babysit you. Go get cleaned up." Pointing to Bart, he added, "Watch him. I don't care if you go into the bathroom with him, do not let him out of your sight."

In the bathroom, Bart flipped the toilet lid down and sat on it. Awkwardly fidgeting, his yellow eyes traced the ceiling, trying to give Thad some privacy without letting his vigilance slip. His brother let cold water rain from the showerhead. "If you're staying in here, you must think that I'll really run." Thad cast off the last bits of clothing and stepped into the shower.

Once the frosted glass door was slid shut, Bart allowed his gaze to wander normally. "I dunno. Maybe. Yeah." He glanced down at the bloodstained cloth on the floor. "Maybe you should lay low here for a while. I know it sucks to not run anywhere, 'cause I hate it, too. But I don't want you to be taken away."

Thad's surprise was genuine. "What? Why?"

"'Cause everyone goes away," Bart answered, "I can't stay with Grandma or Mom. I don't get to even see them much. Jenni had to go back. Max is gone. Wally doesn't like me. Even Carol went away for a while." He rocked back and forth on his perch. "I almost had to go away from here, too. Now that you're here, you want to go away too."

"Bart, you keep forgetting that I tried to kill you and Max," Thad reminded, "I beat up Grandma Iris. Every time I look at you, I get the urge to finish the job Thawne created, no, trained me for."

"But you don't." When Thad didn't reply, Bart added, "Would you try staying here for a little while? I won't run anywhere either. Then the others will get off our backs, 'cause we're being good."

"We? You're the good brother. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, I do." Bart hopped to his feet and rocked on his heels. "I screw up all the time. Everyone says so. That's why I'm not supposed to do the hero thing without an adult. That's why I wasn't invited to join the Teen Titans."

"Are you kidding me?" Thad's tone was sharp and angry. "What business does anyone have in telling you how to help people? What business do you have in even listening to them? I don't see you calling yourself Kid Flash and running at Wally's side like an obedient puppy. You're not a sidekick."

"I'm still a kid."

"So? We've been in virtual training to be soldiers since we were infants. Granted, we were intended to be the personal strike forces of President Thawne, which is a little counterproductive to the fluffy, feel-good heroism that's touted as the ideal around here. Seriously, Bart, what did you think all of those games were designed for? They were made to create loyal minions who took out all obstacles in their path, no matter what they were, without concern for bystanders or any fear of death."

Bart almost swore that he heard a clicking sound in his head. "Going after the gunmen instead of the hostages first."

"So, you get it?"

"Y-yeah. I think so."

"You simply never made it to the final polishing stages," Thad pointed out, "And I suspect that I was activated prematurely. In any case, we're more than capable of operating on our own. We don't need some nosy busybodies lording over us and expecting obedience just because of the legacy we inherited." He shut off the water. "Hand me the towel."

In the living room, Bart and a freshly dried and dressed Thad encountered Wally and Jay. The elder Flash rested his gaze on the blond boy. "You must be Thad."

"You must be Jay Garrick," Thad replied.

Jay tilted his graying head towards Bart. "You're going to be late to school, son. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on your brother until you get back."

Bart's eyes darted between Jay and Thad for a moment. With a burst of speed, he changed into his civilian clothes, grabbed his backpack, and left for school. Thad flopped down on the couch, crossed his arms, and glared at the television screen.

Jay sighed and tilted his hat back. "Let me know how things go with League," he said to Wally, "I have a feeling that this is going to be a long day."