Impulse and Inertia – Giant Leap for Mankind.
Impulse and Inertia, along with the other members of Young Justice, are moving in to capture those nefarious drug gangsters. How will they fare – and is everyone safe?
Chapter 4 – Sudden Blast.
It was so quiet.
So quiet that the back of Impulse's neck began to prickle and chills ran along Inertia's spine.
"Does everyone know what they're doing?" Robin's whisper cut through the inky blackness and everyone jumped.
"We've been through our plan like a bajillion times now, Rob!" Superboy waved him off impatiently. "Me and Cassie will distract the outside defences with our combined awesomeness –"
Here, Wondergirl giggled as she pictured fighting alongside Superboy.
" – while Robin and Empress will sneak into the base and shut down the computer systems. Oh yeah, Lobo will be outside us fragging people…or whatever it is you do." Kon addressed Lobo warily and the black and white teen just smirked from his leaning position from the wall.
"Then Impulse and Inertia and I will run through and attack the people inside." Secret continued.
"Compromising their hidden positions. But their leader will have The Ray to worry about." Inertia sneered, obviously looking forward to their new mission. This made Wondergirl worry a little.
"No more time. We leave now." she answered, brushing aside her pettiness and the team of teenagers split up. Secret, Inertia and Impulse stole back to the undergrowth to stealthily await their chance. The dark leaves and twigs crackled a little as the three infiltrators settled. Through his yellow goggles, Impulse witnessed his clone's golden eyes gleaming in the soft moonlight.
A tense silence filled the atmosphere as the obscured, flying shapes of Wondergirl, Superboy and Lobo (he was being carried by Superboy) closed in on the perimeter fences, where heavily stationed guards scammed the premises. They seemed to be the cocky, arrogant types as they had forgone any armour in favour of bare-armed vests and gleaming silver helmets – their only source of protection. Their varied weapons of choice glinted ominously in their belts and side pockets.
"This will be too easy." Superboy's hushed voice crackled confidently on the receiver and Robin hastened to caution him.
"Don't get cocky. It'll jeopardise everything."
Wondergirl's confident voice interjected on the exchange.
"Don't worry; I'll keep him in line."
The exchange was cut off as the three power types soared in ever closer to the unsuspecting guards. Suddenly, Lobo twisted himself out of Superboy's arms and landed with a heavy boom in the middle of the open courtyard. All guns swivelled towards him and every search light rested their shining lanterns on his alien features.
"Why thank you. I hope you enjoy the show tonight, folks. 'Cos it's gonna be a blast!" Lobo roared, making a mock bow before running at the nearest light and smashing its face with two bulky closed fists.
Inertia had always hated this plan anyway.
"That idiot!" he hissed and he heard Secret sigh in the dark; a smoke's whisper.
If – and when- this plan went wrong, he was switching to a contingency plan as soon as he could.
Superboy zoomed forward, all tactile telekinesis guns blazing and Wondergirl blocked a few lasers with her bracelets.
"Couldn't come up with anything original." Superboy quipped and Wondergirl rolled her clear blue eyes and continued to punch any moving thing that got in her way.
"Now Empress!" Robin called calmly and with a puff of blinding voodoo smoke, they both disappeared into the hard corridors of the heavily guarded warehouse.
Impulse tensed and shifted impatiently. He hated the parts where you had to wait! Maybe he could make what HE wanted for dinner tonight…
Inertia hissed again angrily at his clone.
"Concentrate! You will ruin this plan even more than it already has been if you can't wait for the cue!"
Impulse glared over at the other speedster and blew a raspberry.
"Jerk."
Inertia forced himself not to round on the red and white clad boy squatting in overgrown bushes.
"Flake." He replied as steadily as he could and carried on watching the lit-up warehouse. The cold wood flashed neon white and flared orange with streaks of gold as Superboy, Lobo and Wondergirl made enough explosions to make Darkseid proud. Suddenly the dotted lights around the building clicked out like they had been blown out by a giant gust of wind and the blood red lasers ceased their endless fire. The searchlights (or what was left of them) failed one by one, like a domino effect and the surrounding area of abandoned wilderness was plunged into blackness. Superboy dodged a poorly aimed bullet.
"Impulse, Secret, Inertia; you're clear to go!" Robin's smug voice whispered over the comm link and Secret smiled excitedly.
"Ready to go, Robin!" she cried and signalled to the twin speedsters to charge ahead, which they did with great enthusiasm. Far ahead in the smoky night sky, she spotted the faint glow of The Ray as he began to rapidly descend – he'd obviously been given the all-clear too.
Lobo pounded the ground with his fists, a wicked grin all over his painted face.
"Whoo yeah, this IS a blast!"
"Stop with the bad puns!" Superboy shouted, dodging yet another bullet.
The guards were starting to panic now, especially as the spotlights had gone off. Bullets ricocheted everywhere and shouts and screams echoed – they had been badly trained and equipped.
Inertia and Impulse ran through the corridors, phasing through walls and taking out anyone who got in their way. Secret scared them to death as she popped out of a ventilation shaft, reforming into her normal girl form.
"I haven't heard anything from The Ray for a while." she whispered nervously and Impulse nodded.
"Is he confronting their leader yet?"
Inertia pressed a blue button on his borrowed communications watch.
"Ray? Come in Ray."
There was a crackling silence before Ray's calm voice broke through.
"I'm nearing the entrance now. From what I can hear, the guy doesn't want to stick around. You're all going to have to get out of here if I'm going to be destroying the building and the drug stock."
"Understood." Inertia replied curtly and switched off. "We're leaving."
"There are people in there! We need to get them out!" Secret cried stubbornly and Inertia resisted the urge to turn a fan on her or something.
"They can make their own-" he began but was cut off by his DNA donor.
"They won't get out in time. Come on Thad." Impulse said quietly and Inertia crumbled under the big, gold kitten eyes, much to his chagrin.
"Let's go." he sighed and the two boys shot off down the corridor, their feet beating the cold tiles in perfect rhythm. The breeze picked up as they pushed themselves faster and Impulse zipped off to the side to pick up a few injured soldiers, leaving Inertia to continue his running on his own. Three more times, the twin speedsters ran in and out of various, dilapidated rooms, carrying people to safety until there was not a single soul left.
"All clear Ray, you're good to go." Inertia huffed into the comm link and Ray gave his affirmative.
"Let's blow this joint."
Rolling his eyes at yet ANOTHER bad pun, Inertia tugged at his brother's arm and they retreated to a safer distance. They spotted the core of the grungy building being lit by a bright glow as they arrived amongst the other young heroes in their team. Superboy and Wondergirl alighted on the tough grass beside them as Lobo and Secret came to their side. Robin and Empress slipped out of the shadows and joined them in the watch. Robin started fiddling with his watch as something on it caught his attention.
"What?"
Checking his body heat sensors, Robin's eyes widened under the mask in horror as he realised in numbness what the colourful clouds surrounding the humanoid shape meant.
"Ray stop, there's - !"
He never got to finish as Ray's powers of light absorption built up beyond all recognition and he had to release the burn that travelled in every pore of his skin. The resulting explosion of blinding white and maroon flames rocked the building and the very ground they were standing on as the structure was torn apart and consumed. It was like being at a very violent firework display.
Ray zoomed closer, moving away to preserve his health.
"What's wrong? Why were you screaming at me?" he panted, completely winded from his experience.
"There's still someone in there!" Robin cried in anger and frustration and the two speedsters stiffened in surprise.
They'd missed someone
For once, it was Inertia's turn to act impulsively as he darted into the burning building without a second thought to consider his own safety or the consequences.
"Thad!" Bart yelled, starting to move forward before being yanked back by Superboy's tactile telekinesis.
"No, I have to - !"
"It's alright Impulse," Robin cautioned quietly. "He'll be in and out of there before you know it."
Inertia dodged falling debris and broken glass as he passed through smothering flames, tracking the blip that registered erratically on his radar.
"Almost there." He thought. At last, here was the chance he'd been waiting for to prove himself, to win respect and trust from all of those 'superheroes'! He would make Max and Helen so proud…
Something moving imperceptibly through the hazy smoke caught his eye and he made a sharp turn towards it. As he started to slow down, the smoke affected his lungs and he coughed. A man of about medium height entered his vision, wearing dark stealth clothing and a black helmet with a shaded visor so he couldn't see his face. The gloved hands were placed over a strap-on bag and he seemed pretty calm for someone stuck in a burning building. Maybe he had accepted death readily before Inertia showed up.
"Are you okay, sir? You're going to have to grab on to my hand." Inertia raised his voice over the inferno of fire but the figure stood there silently, his gloved hand slowly creeping out of the bag.
Inertia stepped a little nearer, wondering whether the man was stiff with shock and was taken by nasty surprise as a heavy spray clouded his face. It made him cough and his eyes water. It didn't take long for the mystery spray to take effect and the boy's leg shook as he suddenly felt woozy. The flames and debris melded together and spun around. Inertia swayed stupidly, then keeled over and fainted at the man's right foot, banging his head hard on solid concrete as he fell. The man nudged him carelessly with his boot for a moment before roughly hauling him over his shoulder and disappearing into the thick smoke. The communicator fell to the ground. Blood dripped from the boy's head to create a spattered trail.
Ooo! Kidnapping is fun. What will the other heroes have to say about this? Find out next time.