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#3
MAY 12 |
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“Fallout”
Cody Wyatt turned off the news. Everywhere he turned, it seemed like talking heads were discussing the Tattler’s headline exposing Bart. He turned and looked across the room, but Bart seemed to be oblivious as he built a castle out of sugar cubes.
“Bart, this is serious,” sighed Cody as he sat in the chair across from his boyfriend. “This kind of thing could seriously ruin our lives. The phone's been ringing off the hook, and I've been getting all kinds of text messages...”
“I didn't want our relationship to come out like this, but it did, so big deal,” replied Bart.
“Big deal? Bart, what happens when one of your villains decides to come at you through me?” asked Cody nervously. “It was bad enough when that Murmur guy was slicing me up...”
Bart zipped around the table and hugged Cody from behind. “That's not going to happen. Wally does a great job of protecting Linda, and I'm going to protect you. Screw what the rest of the world thinks, you're what matters to me. I...love you.”
Cody looked up at him. Bart had always had trouble saying those words and now here they were. “I love you, too.”
“Maybe we just need to get away for a little while, Spring Break is coming, we'll go somewhere where no one will ever, ever find us,” smiled Bart. “Ever hear of a place called Rann?”
The Flash’s costume returned to his ring as he skidded to a stop outside of the Manchester museum. Wally West walked in and made his way toward one exhibit and, sure enough, Max Mercury stood leaning on a rail looking at the Old West display.
“I thought you’d be here,” Wally said. “It seems like you always come here when you feel overwhelmed.”
Max nodded but remained silent. He was in the middle of a fight when he saw the article being discussed on a TV screen in a shop window. Max had gotten so distracted that the villain beat him and escaped.
“It’s Bart, isn’t it?” Wally asked. Linda, holding the paper in front of his face, was the first thing he encountered when he returned from a League mission this morning. “You read the article.”
Max straightened and turned to Wally. “Let’s go for a run,” he said. The two walked out, changed into costume and took off at full speed.
It was a party at the Rogues’ latest hideout and Captain Boomerang was in rare form. He waved the Tattler around, making every joke he could think of. “Betcha he’ll be playin’ with Piper’s flute next, mates!” he laughed.
Captain Cold sat off by himself with a scowl on his face, so Weather Wizard walked up to him. “What’s eating you?” he asked.
Cold nodded for Wizard to sit down. “That kid didn’t ask for this,” he said once Wizard was seated. “Private lives are private; that’s always been one of our rules. We’d never go after Flash’s wife or kids.”
“Yeah, but this paper isn’t one of us,” Wizard said. He turned to Boomerang, who was well into a filthy story involving Impulse, Ricky Martin and the cast of Cats. “If Boomerang’s a problem, I’ll shut him up.”
Cold drained his beer and set the mug down. “Get McCulloch. I think it’s time to teach a little lesson.” Wizard nodded once and stood.
Cody Wyatt answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Can I speak to Impulse, please?” an unfamiliar voice said.
Cody turned to see Bart had finished his castle and was throwing water on it to melt it while pretending to be a dragon. Ordinarily he thought that sort of thing was cute, but now he was too nervous to laugh at Bart's antics. “Sorry. He’s not here right now.”
“All right. Could you give him a message? The Flash gave me this number. My name’s Hartley Rathaway and I just wanted to let him know he could call if he wanted to talk.”
“Sure thing,” Cody said as he jotted the number down. Rathaway disconnected and Cody shook his head. How did he wind up in this weirdness? He rubbed his forehead, feeling another migraine coming on. Ever since his encounter with Murmur his head had been pounding like something was trying to claw its way out.
Max skidded to a stop in the main street of a deserted town in Arizona. Wally stopped right behind him. “What’s going on, Max?”
Max sat down on the front porch of an abandoned building. “You’re right,” he confessed, “it’s Bart. I raised that boy, did the best I could, and now this…” Max’s voice trailed away. Wally stayed quiet as Max started pacing. “In my time, this sort of thing wasn’t done. It just wasn’t!” Max looked around the ghost town. “Maybe this is where I belong. Maybe I should have stayed in the past.”
Wally walked up to him. “Max, you’ve got to understand, Bart’s a kid. He’s a physical teenager, but he’s still a kid in a lot of ways.”
Max turned to look at Wally. “And how many of you kids in the Teen Titans were like this?”
Wally shrugged. “I’ll admit that I always thought Speedy was covering for something with the way he was chasing Wonder Girl, but none of us, as far as I know.”
“Exactly,” Max said.
Wally leaned against a post. “Max, remember this: like I said, Bart’s a kid and he’s got to figure this sort of thing out for himself. Maybe he’ll stay with whoever that was in the picture, maybe he won’t. When I was his age, I was dating Frances Kane and I would’ve sworn that Fran and I would have wound up married. But things changed and I’m married to Linda. That’s life.”
Max sat down again, looking like an old man. “But what if he doesn’t change?”
Wally shrugged again. “Then he’s still Bart. In the end, it doesn't matter who he loves, he's still the same reckless kid we've all cared about since day one. He's still the same person who beat Despero with Justin Bieber's last album and a lemon wedge.”
Max dropped his head and thought.
Marty Pink picked up his phone. “Excellent work, Mr. Pink,” the benefactor said.
“Thanks,” Pink said. “You were right.”
“Of course,” the benefactor said. “Enjoy your success.” The phone went dead.
Pink looked up as alarms started sounding. “Now what?” he asked.
The office started shaking as Pink looked around nervously. Pictures started falling off the walls that he had personally taken. Pictures with Impulse and Cody, Princess Di and Ronald McDonald kissing while she was pregnant with Prince Harry, and the Joker walking out of a theater showing 'Steel Magnolias', all fell and smashed on the floor.
“Carol?” Mike knocked on her door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Carol said as she opened the door and grabbed him. Tears ran down her face and her trash can held a wadded copy of the Tattler.
“I know what'll make you feel better,” Mike told her as he held up two plane tickets. “How does a week in Maui sound?”
“I thought you had to work at your father's car dealership over Spring Break?” asked Carol.
“I have the rest of my life to work at that place,” replied Mike as he kissed her. “But I only have so many chances to take my future wife to an exotic location. Now, dry those tears and forget about what was upsetting you.”
“I already have,” Carol told him as she wrapped her arms around him.
The Flash arrived at the office of the Tattler and looked around in shock. The office had been all but destroyed by lightning strikes. Melting ice and boomerangs showed exactly who was responsible. The words “Leave the kid alone!” were burned into the front of the building.
A policeman walked up. “Good to see you Flash, but they’re long gone. It was like a hit and run. One thing.” He handed the Flash a mirror. “They left this.”
Flash looked into the mirror and saw Mirror Master. “Hello, Flash,” Mirror Master said.
“McCulloch,” Flash said. “There was no reason for this.”
Mirror Master chuckled. “Maybe so, maybe no,” he said. “Anyway, Cold wants to say something to Impulse, so if you’d be so kind as to fetch him. Just say the word when you’re together and he’ll come on.”
Flash frowned as Mirror Master’s image faded. He wasn't in the mood to deal with the Rogues, and now they were dragging Bart into this. All he could do was get Bart and see what trick was up their sleeve.
Helen Claiborne walked through the house as she heard a chair scoot out in the kitchen. Max sat at the table, head bowed. She silently walked up and put her arm around him.
“It'll be all right,” said Helen as she leaned against him. “Bart's just--”
“Figuring out who he is, I heard it from Wally already,” finished Max. “What is going through that kid's head?”
“The same thing that's always been going through his head,” said Helen as she kissed the top of her father's head. “I want to show you something...”
Cody looked up as there was a knock at the door. He opened it to reveal Wally West on the other side of it. “Bart?” Wally called.
“Wally!” Bart said with a grin. “It’s good to see you. This is Cody. He’s my--”
“I know,” Wally said, interrupting him. “We need to go for a run. Good to meet you, Cody.” Wally steered Bart out of the dorm room, closing the door behind them.
Helen put in the videotape as Max sat on the couch. The video started as Max started watching Bart and Preston's home movie from a few years ago. Max watched them interact, and then noticed how awkward things got when their hands accidentally touched.
“This was months before Bart and Carol broke up,” Helen told him. “I think for the first time in his life, Bart didn't leap before he looked. It just...snuck up on him.”
She looked back at the couch. Max was already gone out the door. He had a lot of thinking to do over this.
Impulse and Flash stopped at the top of a hill overlooking the UCLA campus. “This should be good,” Flash said.
“What’s up?” Impulse asked nervously.
“We’ll talk later,” Flash said. “Right now we need to worry about this.” Flash produced the mirror and handed it to Impulse.
“What’s this?” Impulse asked. He jumped as Mirror Master appeared in the mirror.
“Well, now, there you are,” Mirror Master said. “Cold wants a word with you.” The image shimmered and the leader of the Rogues appeared.
“Impulse,” Cold said. “We’ve seen your article in the paper and have registered our displeasure with those responsible. As for you, you share something with us. All of us went through fires that turned us into who we are. Take your time to figure things out. You won’t have to worry about the Rogues. And,” Cold cracked an uncharacteristic smile, “Maybe you’ll decide you want to join us when you take a good look at yourself. You might have what it takes.” The image shimmered again and only Impulse’s reflection remained.
“What’s that about?” Impulse asked.
Flash exhaled heavily. “Bart, you’ve got to be more careful. You lost control for a second and that might put Cody in real danger.” He groaned as he put his hand to his ear. “I’ve got to get back to Central City. Think about what I said.” An instant later he was gone.
“What did I do?” Impulse asked the air.
Cody was taking a nap on the couch, having nightmares about Murmur kidnapping him, but there was something else. He was having visions of things he'd never seen before. He woke up gasping as his eyes turned black before he passed out again...
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Next Issue: In Impulse #4: The fallout of the unexpected revelation of Bart’s secret.
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