Invaded
Chapter Six: Bloodlines
Author's Note: Enjoy.
Mount. Justice
February 28
10:07 AM EST
"Decryption completed. Translation completed," the computer droned. Nightwing sighed, typing rapidly on his own holographic keyboard. I glanced up from the report I read as Beast Boy and Robin approached us.
"Is that Krolotean intel?" Robin questioned.
Beast Boy glanced at Robin then at me, confused, asking, "What Krolotean intel?"
Nightwing scanned through the reports, answering, "The data files M'gann and J'onn recovered on Malina Island before it was destroyed."
"Well," Beast Boy paused, "noted."
"Look at this," I muttered, sliding a digital screen in front of Nightwing.
"Apparently the Kroloteans were snatching humans to use as guinea pigs. They were hoping to find something," Nightwing concluded.
"No," I paused, rereading the findings, "they were hoping to find something inside of us."
"What? What were they looking for?" Robin anxiously asked.
"There's no English word for it," Nightwing explained, "The nearest translation seems to be meta-gene."
"What's a meta-gene?" Robin asked.
"Never met a Gene I didn't like," Beast Boy jokes, elbowing Robin.
"Warning!" The computer droned, "Unknown energy impulse detected!"
Volts of electricity began zapping loud and bright behind us. Nightwing and I stood in front of Beast Boy and Robin, shielding them from the impending danger.
A cloud formed in the center of the Mission Room as a large, metal pod crashed onto the ground.
"Stand ready!" Nightwing instructed as we shifted into battle stances.
Slowly, the latch of the pod lifted. With a loud hiss and a puff of smoke, a silhouette emerged from the pod.
"Ta-da!"
"Intruder alert. Intruder alert," the computer droned loudly.
"Computer, lock down the Cave," Nightwing instructed.
"Well, I think we found our unknown energy impulse," Beast Boy muttered.
"BB, so not the time," I scowled, igniting an orb and aiming it at the redheaded intruder.
"Impulse? That's so crash," he smiled, adding, "Catchy, dramatic, one word. Like Nightwing and Robin. Oh, and Phoenix! And Beast Boy— except that's two words."
The intruder ran around us with inhuman speed. He skidded to a halt, asking, "Blue Beetle's two words. Hey, is he here, too?"
I groaned at the realization: another speedster.
"Never mind! Impulse can find that out for himself!" Impulse declared, laughing as he sped in the direction of the living quarters.
"You two," Nightwing paused, glaring at Beast Boy and Robin, "Take him down, now."
Robin and Beast Boy nodded, immediately running after Impulse.
"We're… crash?" Nightwing murmured, confused.
"You... you don't think…" I trailed off, unsure. Nightwing sighed, shrugging his shoulders unsure.
"I'll gather the Flashes," I said.
Nightwing crouched, releasing a series of explosive pellets down the hallway.
I placed my hands on my hip, watching amusedly as Impulse ran effortlessly on the walls then ceiling of the hallway.
Laughing, Impulse shouted, "You can't catch me that easy!"
Nightwing jumped up, slamming his arm against Impulse's torso. Impulse groaned, collapsing onto the ground. Quickly, Nightwing handcuffed his wrists and ankles.
"Now," Nightwing smirked, "that was crash."
"For you, maybe," Impulse retorted, "For me, I'm totally feeling the mode!"
"You're a tourist," Nightwing paused, gathering the correct words, "from the future?"
"Why are you so surprised?" Impulse asked, "Half the meats at Comic Con are from my era."
"I mean, that would make sense," I muttered.
"Look, look, look. Guys, we all should be friends," Impulse suggested, "I'm really one of you—part of the heroic legacy, right? My name's Bart Allen—you know, grandson of Barry Allen, the Flash."
"Noted," Beast Boy said, crossing his arms over his chest, "not believed, but noted."
"No," I paused, "we don't know because Barry hasn't even had kids yet. Revealing important things like that can alter our reality. It can cause a massive dimensional ripple effect which can alter or change our whole future!"
Bart Allen's eyes widened as he stared at me in awe. "Wow," he marveled, "You really are as smart as the history books say. Remind me to take a picture with you so I can show Zoa."
"Zoa?" I questioned.
"Zoa— never mind. Can you really read people's minds? Oh, oh, oh! What am I thinking right now?" Impulse questioned, clenching his eyes shut.
Nightwing slowly approached us, holding a glass of water. "Well, Bart, coming all the way from the future, you must've worked up quite a thirst."
"Thanks," Bart smiled, leaning forward to drink the water.
"Oh, ah! You're trying to get a DNA sample. You need my spit," Bart paused, spitting into the cup.
"Ha, that's such a Dick Grayson thing to do," Bart chuckled.
"How did—" Robin cut himself off as Nightwing's glare shifted to him.
Bart smiled triumphantly, "See! I know stuff only a future boy would know. Dick Grayson, Ashley Lance-Queen, Tim Drake, Garfield Logan."
Beast Boy glanced at Robin and Nightwing, asking, "Your name is Tim? And yours is Dick?"
"Oops, spoilers," Impulse chuckled, "The secret identity thing is so retro. I mean, you can call me Impulse or Bart Allen or Bart Impulse Allen. It's all crash!"
"Is it possible that he might actually be telling the truth?" Robin questioned, "Could he really be from the future?"
Beast Boy crouched in front of the handcuffed Impulse, demanding, "Tell us something we don't know yet. When do I become leader of the Team? When do I join the Justice League? When do I get my own reality series?"
Impulse shrugged, answering, "Sorry, BB, never was the best history student. I just remember all the crash stuff. Besides, like Phe said, we can't risk altering the time stream. We do that, we're all feeling the mode."
Beast Boy leaned back, confused, "And the mode would be bad?"
"Doesn't get any worse," Impulse confirmed, "Always better to crash the mode."
"Uh, noted?" Beast Boy said, unsure.
"Recognized: Malcolm Duncan. A-10," the computer droned.
"Oh, sounds like a door opening somewhere," Impulse said, adding, "And that's my cue."
Impulse began vibrating his body, easily escaping out of the handcuffs. In a blur, he sped to the open door.
"Don't worry," Beast Boy assured us, "the Peregrine Falcon is the world's fastest bird. He won't get away." Beast Boy shifted into the green bird, flying in the same direction as Impulse.
"He doesn't stand a chance, does he?" Robin questioned.
"No," I answered.
"Impulse is too fast," Nightwing confirmed, glancing down at the cup of water before handing it to Robin. "But at least we can track him."
"You planted a tracer? It'll fall off at his speed," Robin frowned, confused.
"It won't," Nightwing assured him, "He drank it."
"Subcutaneous micro-tracker in the water, nice," Robin noted, smiling.
I pointed at the blinking red dot that moved rapidly across the map, "It looks like he's headed for Central City."
My phone rang, interrupting Nightwing's response. I glanced at the contact name before answering, "Hey, glad you got my call."
Central City
February 28
12:03 PM CST
"Careful kid," Wally instructed as we entered the Garricks home, "If you say you are what you say you are, revealing too much could crash the whole time stream."
"Crash it, if only," Impulse muttered.
"Wally? What are you doing here?" Barry questioned.
"Ash called," Wally explained, "Thought we might be of some help with this mess."
Impulse crossed the room, embracing Wally in a tight hug, "You're Wally West, my first cousin once removed."
Wally pushed Impulse off, "The operative word being removed."
Iris' cell phone began ringing; she glanced at the contact name, announcing, "It's my boss at GBS."
Iris answered the call, "What's up Pete?"
There was a brief moment of silence before Iris lowered the phone, explaining, "They're evacuating downtown. A new superpowered lunatic is calling for blood—your blood, Barry."
Barry toyed with his ring; as his suit emerged, he vibrated into his suit.
Impulse pouted, "Oh, come on, grandpa. Let the League handle this guy. I mean, how often does a relative from the future show up at your door?"
"Listen, I—ugh," Barry stuttered, "I'll deal with you later. Stay put. I'll be back in a flash."
In a blur, the Flash was gone.
Impulse chuckled dryly, "Heh, back in a flash… wow. Does he say that often?"
Collectively, we sighed, answering in unison, "Too often."
Wally sighed, placing his hands on his hips, asking Impulse, "You're going, aren't you?"
Impulse nodded, smiling, "Doy!"
Wally turned to me, frowning. I shrugged, avoiding Wally's expecting gaze.
"Well?" Wally questioned expectantly.
"Out of my jurisdiction," I said.
"Since when?" Wally challenged, furrowing his brow in confusion.
I shrugged, explaining, "Central City is and has always been Flash and Company's jurisdiction. This is your call."
Wally pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed. I placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.
"You two back together, yet?" Jay Garrick asked, interrupting our intimate moment. I removed my hand from Wally's shoulder as an embarrassed blush crept onto my cheeks.
"Jay!" Joan scowled, glaring at him; Iris offered me an apologetic look.
"What?" Jay asked, "We all agreed when Dinah came to visit that they—"
"Speaking of Star City," I interrupted, glancing down at my wrist computer, "It seems I am needed there."
Wally nodded, understanding, "Go. I'll handle things here. Thanks."
"Anytime," I assured, walking towards the front door.
"I'm just saying," Jay whispered loudly, "Wally, don't let go of that one!"
Queen Manor, Star City
February 28
11:24 AM PDT
There was a pregnant pause in the air as Aunt Dinah concluded her debrief on the recent abductions in the Everglades.
"Well," I paused, "Nightwing and I have decrypted and analyzed the Krolotean intel. We know they've been abducting humans in search for a genetic marker. Could these abductions have been the work of the Kroloteans?"
Oliver sighed, leaning back in his chair tiredly, answering, "Possibly."
Aunt Dinah slowly sat in her seat, choosing her words carefully as she spoke, "Kroloteans were abducting high risk kids, usually runaways…"
"Okay. I'm not understanding where this is going," I admit, glancing at my two guardians.
"Harmony Sato has been abducted," Oliver revealed.
"What?" I shouted, rising from my seat, "What are we doing sitting here talking about crime rates?"
"It was an inside job," Oliver continued, unphased.
"Her father purposely paid Deathstroke to abduct her at the Starry Gala," Aunt Dinah said.
"But he wasn't expecting Nightwing and I to respond so fast," I sighed, sitting back into my chair.
Aunt Dinah nodded, continuing, "So, what was the next best thing? Leaking the address of the safe house and abducting Harmony from there."
"But why?" I questioned, "I don't understand why."
"We didn't either," Oliver admitted, "until we did some researching of our own."
Mount. Justice
February 28
10:23 PM EST
"Impulse's DNA matches up with both Iris and you, Barry. And this thing is giving off zeta and chronotron radiation," Nightwing confirmed.
Wally crossed his arms, continuing, "Which is—based on pure theory—what you'd expect to find radiating off a time machine."
Flash placed a firm hand on Impulse's shoulder, "Which means you're exactly who you say you are."
Impulse grinned, "Ha! Told you!"
"Yes, you certainly did," I chuckled.
Impulse cleared his throat, "Anyways, it's been crash, but the future awaits. I gotta run."
Impulse waved at us as he made his way to his time machine. Wally and Jay sigh at Impulse's joke as Barry smiles proudly.
"See what I did there with the run?" Impulse asks, "That was for you, gramps."
Flash crossed the room, embracing Impulse in a hug. "Bart, thanks for coming. I look forward to meeting you again for the first time and watching you grow up."
Impulse smiled, returning the hug, "That will be crash. So long!"
Impulse entered the pod, shutting the latch close. The machine let out a gust of steam and a series of clanking noise.
"Maybe he's traveling forward one second at a time?" Garfield suggested.
Impulse kicked the door open, explaining, "It's not working. The whole thing's fried!"
Impulse kicked the side of the machine repeatedly. Flash questioned, "Can you fix it?"
Impulse sighed, "I'm a tourist, not a chronal-expert! Look at me! I'm trapped in the stupid past. Ugh, I'm so moded."