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#0
JUN 11 |
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“Impulsive”
Having arrived home to his dorm room after spending a day helping Wally against the Rogues, Impulse rushed to the kitchen, making himself a large sandwich containing every piece of meat that was in the refrigerator. Tying the table cloth in his costume so he wouldn't get it dirty, he refueled his metabolism in under two minutes.
As he waited for Cody to get home from classes, Impulse spied the evening paper sitting on the table. He grabbed a pencil and got to work on the crossword puzzle, filling out virtually every answer with ease...until he got to the very last one.
Tim Drake carefully selected a necktie from his closet. He turned to his mirror and expertly tied it. He checked himself out one more time and jumped when a familiar brown-haired person showed up beside him.
“What are you doing here, Bart?” Tim asked.
“I need help,” Bart said. He held up a piece of paper. “I’ve got this finished except number 27 across.”
Tim rubbed his eyes. “I’m taking Megan out to dinner for her birthday and you show up with a crossword puzzle?” he asked.
Bart nodded.
Tim took a deep breath. “Listen, you can’t come running around here like that. You know I keep a secret identity.”
“So do I,” Bart said.
“You’re wearing your Impulse costume with the mask removed and a tablecloth tied around your neck,” Tim patiently said. “That is the exact opposite of secret identity.”
“Oh,” Bart said. “But do you know the answer?”
“I can’t look at it right now,” Tim explained. “I’m going to be late picking up Megan and no, you cannot run me over there. You’ll just have to ask someone else.” A burst of wind indicated Bart’s departure. Tim picked up his coat and forgot Bart's visit; he had a date after all.
The thug screamed as a black shadow engulfed him from above. He looked up to see the Batman dropping from the sky onto him. The thug slid across the asphalt of the street before the Batman jerked him upright.
“You’ve killed your last victim,” Batman growled. His eyes turned as he heard a polite cough behind him. Batman turned to find Impulse standing there, crossword puzzle in one hand and a pencil in the other. Batman just glared.
“Well, that didn’t work,” Impulse muttered, still smarting from the silent glare that Batman had given him. “Now what?”
Aquaman just stared at Impulse at he floated in the water, a scuba mask on his face, a tank of oxygen on his back and the crossword safely secured in a plastic baggie in his hand.
“Sorry,” Superman said as a giant robot tore across Metropolis behind him. “I’ve got to take care of this.”
"I'll give you a bag of oreos," said Impulse, holding a bag of candy cane flavored oreos in front of J'onn J’onzz as he was fighting off a large, fire-based monster.
“No minors allowed!” Guy Gardner yelled as he threw Impulse out of Warrior’s.
"My eyes are up here," said Wonder Woman before Impulse could even ask her the question.
“Are you sure you really want his help?” Blue Beetle asked. Booster Gold studied the puzzle and scratched his head as Impulse waited.
"Someone remembers me!" shouted Lagoon Boy as he hugged Impulse tightly.
"You know what? Bad idea," said Impulse as he broke free and zipped away, leaving a saddened Lagoon Boy behind.
Deadshot raised his wrist magnum. “You’ve got three seconds to get away from me,” he warned.
Superboy and Wonder Girl were in the middle of a hot and heavy makeout session as Impulse appeared with the crossword puzzle in his hand. Before he could even utter a word, Cassie, without looking up from Connor's face, simply said, "I will break both of your legs if you're not gone in one second."
He was gone in a half second.
“Let me see if I’ve got this right,” Karen Beecher said as she crossed her arms. “You came to STAR to get help with a crossword?”
Darkseid simply stared at Impulse, having just arrived out of a boom tube with the crossword in hand.
Swamp Thing just stared as Impulse waved the puzzle at him.
Finally Impulse found himself back in Metropolis, sitting on top of the Daily Planet building. “All I have to do is wait until tomorrow’s paper comes out and I’ll get the answer,” he decided.
After an eternity of waiting (about three seconds), Impulse returned to his feet and started pacing. “There’s got to be something else I can do,” he muttered.
“Hello?” a voice called. Jimmy Olsen walked onto the roof. “Hey, Impulse,” he said. “What’re you doing here?”
Impulse wordlessly held out the puzzle to Jimmy. “Nobody’ll help me,” he said.
“Let’s take a look,” Jimmy said as he accepted the paper. He read the clue and studied the letters that Impulse already had. Finally Jimmy smiled and looked up, handing the paper back and said, “Try impulsive.”
Impulse carefully wrote down the letters and grinned from ear to ear. “It fits!” he said. He grabbed Jimmy in a quick hug. “Thank you thank you thank you!” he said. He let Jimmy go and zoomed down the building, heading back to UCLA.
Jimmy Olsen just shook his head. “Now to deal with this alien invasion,” he said as flying saucers appeared in the sky.
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To Be Continued in Impulse #1
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