Reset! - Chapter Seventeen

[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 Seventeen: Antiseptic

As soon as the last bell at school rang, Bart jogged out of class. He was so ready to leave the classrooms behind for the day. Preston managed to catch up to him in the traffic congested halls. "What's the hurry?"

"Gotta get home," Bart answered. He stopped in front of his locker and wished that he could just reach his hand through the metal door instead of slowly fussing with the combination lock. He could, but Preston was watching.

Preston moved to let another student get by. "Which game did you get this time?"

"I didn't."

"So, what's the rush?"

"Um..." Bart tried to think of a good reason other than his evil twin was acting weird and it was worrying him. "Family visiting."

"You have a huge family," Preston remarked with a half grin.

Bart absently agreed with a mumbled, "Uh huh." He shoved his books into his backpack and slammed the locker shut. "I'll talk to ya later." Sometimes, he wanted to tell Preston everything, like he did with Carol. There were so many times when he nearly threw aside all concern for his identity, but Max managed to drill in the rule strongly enough to stop him. Bart kept hoping that Preston would give him a sign saying that he knew the truth of who Impulse was. It would not be a drawing, like Carol's, because Preston could barely draw stick figures. The Impulse movie he made certainly was no sign, because of how wrong it got everything. It was still painful to watch, but at least now it wasn't a depressing sort of pain. Now it was the slightly cringe-inducing, embarrassing kind.

As soon as Bart was clear of any audience at the school, he ran home. Dropping his backpack and jacket on the floor, he noticed that it was rather quiet and empty in the house. Where was everybody? Did Wally come back and drag Thad away? Did Jay go home? Where was Dox? He searched the house and found the garage occupied. Jay was sorting through the fishing poles and tackle, cleaning off years of dust and grime. The spherical timepod was open and Bart could see Thad halfway under the control panel. Dox was busy sniffing at everything.

"Welcome home," Jay greeted after a fleeting glance to Bart. "Is all this Max's?" he asked of the fishing gear.

"No, Max keeps his stuff in the basement," Bart answered on his way to the timepod. "That stuff was Helen's ex-husband's." He poked his head into the pod. "Whatcha doin'?"

From under the control panel, Thad answered, "Trying to fix this."

"Getting anywhere?"

"Go away."

Bart opted to ignore that command. "Not going good?"

Thad pulled away from the panel and sat in the doorway. "I'll have to make the tools required to repair this properly. There isn't even an emergency repair kit in there. Who sends a timepod into a primitive era without an emergency repair kit?!" He glared at Bart as if it were his brother's fault.

"Hey! I didn't make this thing!" Bart protested, "Carol and I just..." He glanced at Jay and lowered his voice to a whisper. "...Kinda stole it."

Thad's eyebrows' raised, and then he heaved an exasperated sigh. "Next time you abscond with a timepod, get a repair kit to go with it."

"Can you fix the pod?" Bart asked again.

Thad shrugged and his reply was sour. "I don't know. I'm learning as I go. So far, I've only managed to open the door." He hopped out of the timepod's doorway and paced the garage. His stride was tense and angry. "I'm not to leave Manchester," he snarled. "Wally came back and told me that I am on probation! I am not to leave this town or I will be forcibly confined!"

Bart looked to Jay for verification and the elder speedster nodded. Jay set aside the fishing gear. "The JLA thinks that your brother is a risk. They are letting him stay here so your mother can find him. This also gives him the chance to work through his problems on his own."

Thad thumped his fist against the garage door. "At least I had Craydl before. Now, I'm stuck with you." He glared at Bart again.

Bart frowned and crossed his arms. "Did Craydl ever stick up for you?" When Thad silently turned his head away, Bart added, "I didn't have to, but Max said that you weren't all bad. Max wouldn't want you to be alone. Max wanted you to stay here with us and, since he isn't here, it's my job to look out for you. Besides, Mom said I'm the big brother and that's what big brothers are supposed to do."

Rolling his eyes, Thad snorted. "Thanks for the touching moment, but it's not making my situation any better."

Jay approached the boys with quiet steps. "Choices have consequences and you chose to disobey your grandfather and leave. What would have happened if you stayed?"

"I would have been termin-... killed. I would have been killed." Thad's downcast eyes shifted away from Jay.

"Like I said, son, you just need a little quiet time to sort yourself out and this is a good place for it. Don't look at this like a punishment. It's just a way to keep you from doing something you might regret. This isn't all that bad. Eventually, your mother will come pick you up and your situation will change again."

Thad clenched his jaw and fists and said nothing in return. He stalked back into the house, punching the doorframe as he passed by. Bart blew stray hair out of his face. "He can't stay cranky all the time, can he?"

"Some people are just determined," Jay replied amicably as he followed after the blond boy. "He'll get over it, if he'll let himself. If not, there's not much we can do for him."

"What? What does that mean?" Bart hurried after Jay. "We can help him, right? Max said-"

"-Inertia still has to make his own choices," Jay interrupted, "We can offer all the help in the world and it won't matter if he doesn't want it." Seeing Bart's distressed expression, he added, "But so far, he's doing good. He seems to know what's at stake. Right now, I'm not too worried." He paused and turned to Bart. "I remember Wally having to call in me, Max, Johnny, and Jesse just to rein you in after you hauled off and decked him. You've come a long way in a short time. Being here with Max and Helen did a lot for you. Being here with you and Helen can do a lot for your brother. He's got a lot of rage he has to deal with. The worst thing he can do is let it sit and fester." He put a hand on Bart's shoulder. "Help him make friends and learn how to live a good life. He already got a good start when he had to pose as you, now he needs to learn how to do it for himself."

Bart nodded and grinned. "I can do that!" Then he frowned and wrinkled his nose. "But he's a mean jerk."

"Nobody's expecting you two to be the best of friends, especially because of what he tried to do. Just do your best and don't let him push you around."

Bart nodded again and found Thad sitting on the couch in front of the television, watching the local news. When Bart kneeled down in front of the television to change games out of the console, Thad snapped, "I'm watching that!"

Tossing a controller to Thad, Bart replied, "I challenge you to a duel."

Thad stared at the controller sourly, and then looked up at the television to see the opening screen of a fighting game. "I wanted to see the news."

"Go look it up on the internet later," Bart retorted, "You can read it faster than listening to it. You're mad and this is what I like to do when I get mad."

"Randomly mash buttons?" He didn't sound impressed.

Bart flew through the game menus. "It doesn't get me in as much trouble as actually hitting real people. Here, pick your character."

Helen came home to find the boys engrossed in a battle against each other, each pressing buttons furiously. The fight ended and Thad threw the controller to the ground. "This isn't working."

"We could try a different game," Bart suggested.

"I'm pressing buttons," Thad snapped. "What does that accomplish? This-" He pointed at the television, "-is frivolous. It does nothing!"

Bart tilted his head, looking at his brother and then the controller. Then, without a word, he punched Thad. Startled, Thad stared at him, and then noticed the surprised expressions on Jay's and Helen's faces. Bart stood up. "Well, aren't ya gonna hit me?"

Thad eyed Bart warily and stood. "What is this? Is this a trick?"

"No, I'm serious. Hit me." When Thad hesitated, Bart insisted, "Fighting game in real life, right here."

Helen sucked in a breath as she realized what Bart was up to. "Not in the house."

Bart nodded and grabbed Thad's arm. "C'mon! I know a place that's still inside Manchester."

When they ran off, Jay tipped his hat to Helen. "I'll keep an eye on them."

Once the boys were sure that nobody other than Jay was watching, Bart faced Thad in a combative stance. "Let's get this done before dinner."

Thad struck with a punch and Bart blocked with his forearms. Jay stood aside and watched, ready to intervene in case the fight got out of hand. Every now and then at a particularly solid strike by either boy, he tensed and stepped forward, but they would continue on as if there was nothing to worry about. As Jay watched, he saw Thad smile for the first time. It was a wicked, predatory grin, full of bloodthirsty pleasure. Bart wasn't smiling. Instead, it was taking everything he had to hold his own against Thad. The treads of their shoes carved divots into the earth and tore up the grass. Sparks of static and stray Speed Force lightning trailed after them. Then Thad slipped past Bart's defenses and slammed down with an elbow and up with a knee.

The next thing Bart knew, he was looking up at Jay's concerned face. The elder speedster held out an arm to halt Thad. Thad's yellow eyes gleamed and he was still smiling, spoiling for more. Jay held out his other hand to help Bart to his feet. "You all right, son?"

Bart nodded and prodded his ribs and gut. Everything felt like it was still in one piece, despite how sore he was. "Yeah, I'm good." He watched Thad's smile fade. "Feel better now?"

Thad thought this over for a moment, and then nodded with a surprised expression. "Yes, I do, actually."

Helen had just started the coffee maker when Jay returned with Bart and Thad. Both boys were dirty and disheveled with rapidly fading bruises and scrapes on their faces and knuckles. Jay nodded his head in greeting to Helen. She wrinkled her nose at the odor of sweat, dirt, and lightning that pervaded her kitchen. "Go hit the showers," she told the boys, "One of you can use mine. Go. Now." She fanned the air as they left the room. "They were really going at it, weren't they?" she asked Jay.

He nodded again. "I was a little worried a few times, but Bart's no slouch in a fight." He sat down at the table. "He's not a mean as his brother, though. That kid... For his own grandfather to make him like that..." Jay shook his head with a frown. "If I ever get a chance to meet that man..." He clenched his fist on the table. "I hope I never do."

"Same here," Helen replied.

"I'm thinking of introducing the boys to an old friend of mine," Jay remarked, "Wildcat could teach them how to spar without losing control and hurting each other. He's not in Manchester, but if Wally and the JLA have a problem with it, they can sit on it."

"Taking up the mentor role after all?" Helen asked with a grin.

"Just giving them more resources." Jay listened to the coffee maker brew. "Those boys are loyal to Max. If they don't want me as a mentor, there's no force that will make them listen to me. I find it funny that Bart seems to listen to Max more now than he did when Max was here."

"Trying to make up, I guess," Helen remarked as she settled into the wooden chair. "It makes me wonder if that's part of Max's plan."

Jay's eyebrows rose at that. "Well, I hadn't thought about that, but now that you bring it up, I wouldn't put it past him." An amused grin deepened the lines on his face. "As long as he's not here, there's no competition between the two over who's the "favored son," either." His grin faded. "I hope that's all that's going on."

"I do too."

For the next few days, Bart went to school, while Thad stayed at home and tinkered with the timepod. In the evenings, they followed Jay to meet with Wildcat and learn about controlled sparring. As the boys fought with each other, Jay and Wildcat show them how to restrict themselves to only light contact. They gave them pointers on how to move, how to strike, and how to defend. While Wildcat's movements were frustratingly slow to the boys, the pace gave them the opportunity to observe every nuance. Thad proved to be the fastest study and adept at copying and reading moves, but Bart was more capable of improvisation, creating his own attacks and counters against his brother.

"I can't tell if Impulse is getting lucky or if he's really figuring things out," Wildcat remarked during a sparring match.

Jay shrugged in response. "He's Impulse."

"Either case, he's got good natural movement." Wildcat jerked his chin towards the other boy. "That Inertia kid is good on the techniques, but I see why you wanted them to learn controlled sparring. For all of that focus, he looks like he's this close to coming unglued too often. Something's not right."

"Is he getting better?"

Wildcat shrugged. "He's better today than he was a couple days ago, but it's too soon to say for sure." He called an end to the match when Bart dodged a strike and kicked Thad's legs out from under him, finally scoring a victory for the evening. "Good! Let's call it a night." After a few last pointers, the boys ran home under Jay's escort.

"Are we gonna go again tomorrow?" Bart asked, "I want to meet up with my friends tomorrow. I want to show them where my spaceship is parked now."

"Take your brother with you," Jay answered.

"But it's not in Manchester," Bart informed.

"Is it close?"

"It's still in Alabama, yeah."

"Close enough," Jay remarked, "He should meet your friends. You are all supposed to be disbanded, right?"

"Yeah," Bart answered, "We're just hanging out. We won't be looking for trouble."