Disclaimer: DC owns the DCU. Impulse created by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo.

Reset! – Chapter Twelve: Into the Storm

Empress teleported out of the chronopod once it safely landed in Bart's backyard. Lifting up her mask, she gulped in fresh air as if she had narrowly escaped drowning. Bart and Thad vibrated out of the pod, landing with ungraceful thumps on the grass. The pod door opened and Kon flew out with the still unconscious Rival in his arms. As soon as Empress could speak, she snarled, "I don't care which one of you did it! Could you seriously not hold it for ten seconds?!"

"That was foul," Thaddeus remarked sourly, "Though we would have been here already, if Bart hadn't missed a decimal point in the time coordinates."

"I couldn't hit it!" defended Bart, "Your arm was in the way!"

Kon landed on the yard and ducked an irate hummingbird. "Hey! I'm still holding onto a sleeping possessed gasbag, here."

Bart stood and brushed off his pants. "We gotta get him to Doctor Morlo." In an instant, he was back in his Impulse costume. "I'll take you there."

Taking Bart's cue, Thaddeus donned his costume as Inertia. "Tow him and I'll carry Empress."

A rush of wind rustled papers and glassware rattled and tinkled against each other. Lifting his safety goggles, Doctor Morlo stared at the crowd that suddenly appeared in his lab. "What's this? Impulse? Is that Max?"

"Kinda," Impulse replied, "Rival's still possessing him."

Empress added in, "He's not a run of the mill spirit."

Morlo looked to the other teens. "And who are they?" he asked Impulse.

"Inertia, Superboy, and Empress," he answered. "We need to get Rival out and put Max back in."

Twisting towards Impulse, Empress repeated, "Put Max back in? You mean he's not already in there?"

Impulse shook his head. "He's in the Speed Force, 'cause Rival kicked him out of his body from there."

"Oh, mon, it's a good thing the exorcism didn't work. That could have been some bad news for your mentor."

"If Rival possessed Max's body and banished Max into the Speed Force, then what if we brought Rival to Max?" Inertia asked, "Could Max retake his own body in a manner similar to how Rival took it?"

Impulse's eyebrows raised behind the yellow goggle lenses. "Take Rival into the Speed Force? Can we do that?"

"I've taken Max in there before to help him reconnect with it," Inertia reminded, "We could do it again. I'll need your help with it, since he has so much more mass this time around."

"Yeah! We can do it!" Impulse bounced on the balls of his feet, giddy with hope and excitement.

Morlo cleared his throat and added, "You'll have to be perfectly synchronized to succeed. Any misstep and the storms could rip all of you apart." He led the way to another part of the lab that was very familiar to the speedsters. "We'll do a few practice runs first to make sure you can do it together."

With deft fingers, Morlo activated the training simulator. The speedsters entered the large transparent ball they were to run in. Kon stared at it and grinned. "Is that a giant hamster ball? They're running in a giant hamster ball?" He snickered at the thought. "We so needed one of those in the old HQ for the Imp." He raised his eyebrows at another thought. "We probably could have turned it into a backup generator."

Rival began to stir and Empress used her powers to convince him that it was not time to wake up yet. "Just turn over and give yourself another five minutes."

Morlo gave the speedsters the signal to begin running. The ball turned faster and faster as they ran. The display meter turned towards the ball told them their speed and vibratory rates. They raced against each other, spinning the ball faster and faster.

Their shoulders jostled, their leading legs entwined, and then they crashed. The ball was still spinning at a blinding pace, turning them into a multicolored, circular blur to the onlookers. The centrifugal force pasted them against the wall even when they were upside down. When the ball finally stopped, the speedsters were sprawled out on the bottom. Inertia swallowed against the bile that had forced its way up his throat. Impulse squeezed his eyes shut. The world was still spinning. He really hated spinning. He hated nausea even more.

Kon's laughter managed to reach their ears. "I should have brought a camera! That was epic fail!" He was still laughing when they finally staggered to their feet. Inertia pressed his hand against the ball's wall with a rude gesture.

Impulse planted his hands against his knees and breathed heavily. Morlo frantically opened the hatch. "Not in there! Don't get sick in there! Get out! Get out!" He hauled Impulse out by the nape and shoved a trashcan under his face.

Bent over the bin, Impulse regained mastery over his gut. Kon patted his back. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Impulse replied with a nod. "I think so."

Inertia was sitting outside of the ball with his head hanging between his bent knees. "Let's not repeat that." He lifted his head and glared at Impulse. "What were you doing?"

"Running." Impulse straightened up and Kon pulled the trashcan away.

"We're supposed to be synchronized," Inertia harshly reminded, "Not just running however you feel like."

Brushing off his uniform, Impulse approached the hatch to the ball. "So, let's try it again. We'll figure it out."

After a half dozen failed attempts, the speedsters staggered out of the ball and took a breather to nurse sore shins and violated equilibrium. Morlo sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "This isn't working."

Inertia thumped his head against a support beam in frustration. "We're missing something. There's no system to this. It needs structure."

"This is harder than the race tournament in Hawk and Swift," Impulse remarked. "And that had to be won in order to get to the bonus maps in the game."

Inertia's yellow eyes snapped open in epiphany. "That's it! Structure! System!" He took Impulse by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "This is all just a game. Match my steps exactly to get the points and boosts you need to finish the race. Don't think. I'll take care of everything else."

They climbed back into the ball and Morlo secured the hatch. The speedsters started out at a modest speed for them, their steps in complete unison. Inertia gently pushed the pace up and Impulse kept step. Lightning crackled around them and Inertia looked at the meter display. "Almost there," he reported to Impulse. He focused on running faster and Impulse focused on matching him. Sweat beaded on their skin and the lightning ripped around them. Morlo signaled them to a stop and they gradually slowed down.

When they finally climbed out of the ball, Morlo grinned. "Looks like you two can do it, after all. Now for the hard part: Carrying your payload." He spread out a few pages of hastily sketched diagrams. "The dangerous conditions inside the storms and the limited nature of your protective auras mean that you have very few options of carrying him. You have to keep him very close to you, so a stretcher may not work. A two-arm carry may be the best way, though running like that will be difficult."

"We could do another practice run," Inertia suggested, "Superboy is close to Max's mass and he's invulnerable."

Impulse grinned and nodded, "Yeah, so if we drop him, he won't get hurt!"

Kon stiffened and took a step back. "Waitasec... You want me to get in the giant hamster ball with you?" When they nodded, he sighed and muttered "Yay me." Inertia treated him to a wicked grin. Frowning, Kon pointed a warding finger. "You better not drop me just for kicks."

Putting on his best "innocent Bart" expression, Inertia replied, "Why would I do that? That would be mean."

Kon grimaced at that. "And that's just creepy."

Once they were inside the ball, they lifted Kon in a two-arm carry between them and began to run. Just as before, Inertia set the pace and Impulse focused on matching him. It was an awkward run and it took longer than before to gain speed. Despite that, Impulse and Inertia managed to stay synchronized.

Inertia saw the display read almost at the goal point where Morlo would shut down the run and grinned. He let go of Kon, hopped to one side, and kept running. Kon and Bart crashed down and were pasted against the transparent wall, spinning at a sickening rate. With an extra burst of speed, Inertia kicked the ball faster, and then vibrated out of it. Crossing his arms and laughing, he watched Kon and Bart spin around in the ball.

When it finally came to a stop, Kon and Bart crawled out of the ball. Inertia leaned over Kon. "You're right, that was hilarious. I should have brought a camera."

Impulse pulled the trashcan towards him and draped over it. "No more spinning," he moaned, "I hate spinning."

Kon laid face down on the floor and groaned. "He's helping, you said. He'll be good now, you said. He's an evil jerk!"

Morlo sighed and rubbed at his aching brow. "At least I know you two can manage to carry the weight and run at the same time. It's a good thing Max didn't see you goofing off like that."

The grin evaporated off of Inertia's face and he looked down at the floor. "So, are we ready for the real run?"

"As soon as Impulse gets back up," Morlo answered.

"I hate spinning," Impulse weakly repeated into the trashcan. He pushed himself up onto his feet and swayed from side to side with closed eyes. "I'm getting better. Really." Soon, he stopped and opened his eyes. "Okay, I'm ready."

Inertia strode towards the sleeping Rival. To Empress, he asked, "How long will he stay unconscious?"

"Hard to say," she replied, "So, you should move fast. I don't think you want him waking up while you're running."

Impulse and Inertia picked up Rival and carried him towards the shuttered portal to the vortex. After making a few last adjustments, Morlo opened the portal into the speed force. When he gave the signal, the boys ran again. Lightning crackled around them, growing in intensity as they ran closer. With a flash of light, the lab disappeared and they were in the lethal storms that dominated most of the Speed Force. Neither boy faltered in his pace. They navigated towards the raging storms, smelling the seared air and tasting scorched metal. In the distance, a point of light shone like a guiding star. As they ran, it grew larger and larger.

Rival moved in their arms and suddenly each boy had a muscular arm locked around their necks. He squeezed, choking the both of them. They stopped running and let go. Each one vibrated out of his grip. Without a word or warning, they lashed out at him. Impulse struck high with his fist and Inertia struck low with a leg sweep. Rival did not stay down. His first and most savage strike landed on Inertia, knocking the boy to the edge of the storm.

Inertia shook his head to clear it and looked up to see Impulse fighting Rival with everything he had. 'How typical for Bart to not even realize that he is just being toyed with.' Rival was grinning throughout the fight, enjoying every blow he landed on the boy. Impulse never stayed down for long and Inertia smirked. This would give him the time he needed to get a better vantage point. He knew how to adjust his vibrational frequencies to stay stable in the shifting storms. Rival and Impulse were too busy to remember that and they slid closer to the whirling energies.

Impulse was knocked down again and he rolled out of the way before getting stomped on. The moment he had his feet under him again, he saw Inertia slam into Rival and push him towards the light. Impulse called on all of his speed and strength and added to the push. Rival grabbed each of their heads and smashed them into each other.

Impulse felt his knees buckle and Inertia collapse beside him. They were so close now! Impulse refused to let Rival get away. Even though he couldn't see straight, even though stars were popping in his eyes, he slammed his shoulder into Rival and knocked him down again. Grabbing Rival by the shirt, he dragged the man closer to the light. A stray bolt of lightning arced in front of him and the searing heat stole the breath from his lungs. Impulse gasped and blindly faltered. Inertia grabbed Rival's legs and continued to drag him towards the light.

Feeling the heat and fury of the storms pull him away, Impulse began to run in a desperate attempt to regain his footing. Inertia and Rival were drifting farther away far too fast. If he was lost here, he realized, he would be lost forever. He could feel the hum of the storms in his bones and let his flesh hum along with it. What felt like running through mud evaporated and he zoomed in on Rival. Leveraging all of his momentum, he slammed his fist against Rival's head. Over and over he struck, not letting up for a moment. Inertia stepped back and waited for the right moment to put in the finishing blow.

With Rival out cold, the two boys picked him up again and carried him the rest of the way through the storm. Impulse took the lead, letting the hum of the storms guide him. Inertia followed him, matching him step for step, frequency by frequency. They held onto each other and their cargo, not letting the storms overwhelm them, no matter how hard it tore at them.

After what felt like eons, they arrived at the swirling light that was the core. Rival awoke and screamed in protest as the light reached out and enveloped him. In a blink, it pulled him in. Impulse and Inertia looked to each other and grinned. They did it!

They stood at the edge of the core and stared into the light, waiting for any sign of Max. All around them, the storms raged and howled. A shadow formed in the light and approached. The boys pressed their hands against the invisible barrier that protected the core from the ravages outside.

"Max!" they called out to the shadow.

He formed and approached them with a smile. "Good job, boys. I'm very, very proud of you. Both of you." They smiled in return, but that faded with his next words. "I can't go home yet. There's still something I need to do here. Listen to me carefully. I want you to promise me something. Will you do it?" Impulse and Inertia nodded, still pressing against the barrier.

Max leaned towards them to make sure that they could hear him over the storms. "Take care of each other."

With a blinding flash of light, Impulse and Inertia found themselves standing in Morlo's lab. Thad sucked in a steadying breath and looked to Bart. "What are we going to tell Helen?"