ISSUE #8
Written by Tobias Christopher
January 2018
Written by Tobias Christopher
January 2018
"Rising Supersons - Part Two"
"My Dad told me all about you," Superboy said as Mr. Mxyzptlk floated in front of the trio of Superboy, Impulse, and robotic android Adam. "He says all we have to do to get rid of him is get him to say his name backwards."
"Ah, but that's the rule for your world!" Mr. Mxyzptlk giggled as he snapped his fingers, turning Superboy's costume into a red and blue jester's outfit. "I can say kltpzyxM all I want, because I'm already home, super fool!"
Impulse just stared at the imp for a few seconds before he finally blinked. "esaJ."
Upon saying his own name backward, Impulse suddenly popped back into his own dimension.
"What the- he can't do that!" Mr. Mxyzptlk shouted. "That's cheating!"
"So it is," Superboy said. "noJ!"
POP!
"madA!" the android said as he returned home. An angry Mr. Mxyzptlk just stood there, not believing he'd been duped by children.
"This isn't over, super twirps!" Mr. Mxyzptlk shouted. "When I return, you're going to be in a world of hurt!"
# # # # #
"John Hurt's a great actor, you guys should come over for my 'World of Hurt' marathon some weekend," Superboy said as they returned to the real world, ending up in a cornfield.
"Now where are we?" Impulse asked as he sat up. "This doesn't look like Metropolis. Of course, I don't know what anything outside of Metropolis looks like, so this could be some backroad or something."
"My GPS censors say we're in the Midwest," Adam said. "Indiana to be precise."
"Oh, no! We have to get home before my dad finds out! If he finds out I left the timezone without his permission, he's going to ground me!" Superboy shouted.
"Relax, we've got superspeed; we can just race back," Impulse told him as he looked around. Which way is Metropolis again?"
"It's... uh," Superboy said as he floated around, trying to decide. "It's.... oh, man. We are lost."
"It's that way," Adam pointed east. "I can direct us exactly to our previous location."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Impulse asked as he scooped Adam up. "Let's go!"
"Hey, Adam, can you use that navigator voice while you're directing? I like that voice in the car when my mom's driving us to Metropolis."
"I only have one voice," Adam told them. "It's the voice my father programmed into me."
"You know the Toyman's evil, right?" Superboy asked.
"He's not evil, he just wants what's best for the world, and for me," Adam said. "He loves me."
"He loves you like a kid loves a toy," Superboy said as they raced out of the cornfield. "If you broke, he'd probably replace you with a new one."
"That's not true!" Adam shouted. "My father cares about me! You'll see!"
# # # # #
Central City
Bart walked into Wally's house, trying to take it all in. It looked so different than the last time he saw it. There were no pictures of Linda or the twins, and hardly any pictures of the various Flashes that had passed through Wally's life. The only real pictures he saw were of Iris and Barry.
"What happened while I was gone?" Bart asked.
There was a sudden burst of wind as Barry Allen suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Wally, I came as soon as I got your message. What's so urgent that-- Bart?"
"Grandpa?"
# # # # #
Wally, in his personalized Flash costume to differ from Barry's, had taken down both the Trickster and the Toyman, tying them up for the police as he realized he still had two missing boys to find.
"Okay, now you two play nice until the cops arrive," Wally said. "And no wild escape attempts, got it?"
As Wally raced out of the building, the entire thing suddenly exploded right behind him in one huge fireball.
"Dammit! What did I just say!"
# # # # #
"We should be back in Metropolis soon," Adam said while Impulse carried him. "Just keep going east."
"I had fun hanging out with you guys today," Superboy said as he flew overhead. "If my dad doesn't send me to the Phantom Zone over this, maybe we can hang out again sometime."
"Cool," Impulse told him. "You're the first friend I've ever made outside of Bart. What do you say, Adam? You want to hang out with us?"
"You guys want to be my friends?" Adam asked. "But I'm not even a superhero."
"Well, you could be if you wanted," Superboy told him. "You'd just need a costume and a name. We could help you."
"Why?" Adam asked. "Father says I shouldn't trust heroes, especially kids."
"That's your dad's opinion," Impulse told him. "You gotta think for yourself, Adam. Your dad's not always going to be there to help you."
"That's not true, my father would never abandon me," Adam said.
"He's a bad guy, Adam," Superboy said. "He's hurt a lot of people. My dad will tell you."
"I don't believe you," Adam said.
As they returned to Metropolis, Impulse saw a fire in the horizon. "It looks like a fire!"
"Someone could be in trouble!" Superboy told them. "Dad probably won't like me coming home this late, but we need to help!"
The trio raced toward the warehouse where this had all started, where Wally was using his speed to put out the fire.
"Jase, lend me a hand!" Wally told him.
"Dad?" Adam asked. "DAD!?"
Superboy pulled Adam back as he went to help Wally and Impulse put out the flames. Between the three of them, the fire was out within seconds.
"Was my father in there?" Adam asked as he looked at Wally.
"The fire was just a cover to escape as usual," Wally said. "While we were putting it out, the Toyman and the Trickster must have escaped into the sewers. They're alive, and probably miles away by now."
"But... but he wouldn't just leave without me," Adam said. "He has to come back, right?"
"Superboy, your dad's waiting for you at home," Wally said. "Jase, I'm taking you back to Bart. But I don't know what to do with this kid."
"He can come home with me," Jase said as he took Adam by the arm. "He's a robot, so he won't eat much, and he probably doesn't need a bed since robots don't sleep. I promise I'll take care of him, Wally. Please?"
"We'll leave that up to Bart since he's your guardian," Wally told him with a sigh. "If he agrees, he can stay, at least until we get the Toyman into custody."
"It was nice meeting you, Jase," Superboy said as they shook hands. "Maybe we can hang out again soon if I'm not grounded."
"Cool, I like hanging out with other young superheroes who are into justice," Impulse told him.
"That's not a bad name," Superboy said with a smile. "Young superheroes who are into justice."
Wally brought Jase home, who went running through the door with Adam. "Bart? I'm home! And I have a new friend, can I keep him?"
# # # # #
Elsewhere in Central City
Captain Cold walked into the Rogue's hidden headquarters, which was... wait, I can't tell you where it is! Anyway, the Rogues were all gathered around as Cold approached the table.
"Word has it that there's a new Impulse in town," Cold said as he looked around.
"Flash got another sidekick?" Mirror Master asked. "That's just great. Another thorn in our side!"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Cold said as the Rogues murmured among themselves. "Whoever this kid is, we keep to our rule: no killing children. Scaring this kid out of his mind, however, isn't completely beneath us. Teach the Flash a lesson about dragging kids into his battles..."
"Ah, but that's the rule for your world!" Mr. Mxyzptlk giggled as he snapped his fingers, turning Superboy's costume into a red and blue jester's outfit. "I can say kltpzyxM all I want, because I'm already home, super fool!"
Impulse just stared at the imp for a few seconds before he finally blinked. "esaJ."
Upon saying his own name backward, Impulse suddenly popped back into his own dimension.
"What the- he can't do that!" Mr. Mxyzptlk shouted. "That's cheating!"
"So it is," Superboy said. "noJ!"
POP!
"madA!" the android said as he returned home. An angry Mr. Mxyzptlk just stood there, not believing he'd been duped by children.
"This isn't over, super twirps!" Mr. Mxyzptlk shouted. "When I return, you're going to be in a world of hurt!"
# # # # #
"John Hurt's a great actor, you guys should come over for my 'World of Hurt' marathon some weekend," Superboy said as they returned to the real world, ending up in a cornfield.
"Now where are we?" Impulse asked as he sat up. "This doesn't look like Metropolis. Of course, I don't know what anything outside of Metropolis looks like, so this could be some backroad or something."
"My GPS censors say we're in the Midwest," Adam said. "Indiana to be precise."
"Oh, no! We have to get home before my dad finds out! If he finds out I left the timezone without his permission, he's going to ground me!" Superboy shouted.
"Relax, we've got superspeed; we can just race back," Impulse told him as he looked around. Which way is Metropolis again?"
"It's... uh," Superboy said as he floated around, trying to decide. "It's.... oh, man. We are lost."
"It's that way," Adam pointed east. "I can direct us exactly to our previous location."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Impulse asked as he scooped Adam up. "Let's go!"
"Hey, Adam, can you use that navigator voice while you're directing? I like that voice in the car when my mom's driving us to Metropolis."
"I only have one voice," Adam told them. "It's the voice my father programmed into me."
"You know the Toyman's evil, right?" Superboy asked.
"He's not evil, he just wants what's best for the world, and for me," Adam said. "He loves me."
"He loves you like a kid loves a toy," Superboy said as they raced out of the cornfield. "If you broke, he'd probably replace you with a new one."
"That's not true!" Adam shouted. "My father cares about me! You'll see!"
# # # # #
Central City
Bart walked into Wally's house, trying to take it all in. It looked so different than the last time he saw it. There were no pictures of Linda or the twins, and hardly any pictures of the various Flashes that had passed through Wally's life. The only real pictures he saw were of Iris and Barry.
"What happened while I was gone?" Bart asked.
There was a sudden burst of wind as Barry Allen suddenly appeared in the doorway.
"Wally, I came as soon as I got your message. What's so urgent that-- Bart?"
"Grandpa?"
# # # # #
Wally, in his personalized Flash costume to differ from Barry's, had taken down both the Trickster and the Toyman, tying them up for the police as he realized he still had two missing boys to find.
"Okay, now you two play nice until the cops arrive," Wally said. "And no wild escape attempts, got it?"
As Wally raced out of the building, the entire thing suddenly exploded right behind him in one huge fireball.
"Dammit! What did I just say!"
# # # # #
"We should be back in Metropolis soon," Adam said while Impulse carried him. "Just keep going east."
"I had fun hanging out with you guys today," Superboy said as he flew overhead. "If my dad doesn't send me to the Phantom Zone over this, maybe we can hang out again sometime."
"Cool," Impulse told him. "You're the first friend I've ever made outside of Bart. What do you say, Adam? You want to hang out with us?"
"You guys want to be my friends?" Adam asked. "But I'm not even a superhero."
"Well, you could be if you wanted," Superboy told him. "You'd just need a costume and a name. We could help you."
"Why?" Adam asked. "Father says I shouldn't trust heroes, especially kids."
"That's your dad's opinion," Impulse told him. "You gotta think for yourself, Adam. Your dad's not always going to be there to help you."
"That's not true, my father would never abandon me," Adam said.
"He's a bad guy, Adam," Superboy said. "He's hurt a lot of people. My dad will tell you."
"I don't believe you," Adam said.
As they returned to Metropolis, Impulse saw a fire in the horizon. "It looks like a fire!"
"Someone could be in trouble!" Superboy told them. "Dad probably won't like me coming home this late, but we need to help!"
The trio raced toward the warehouse where this had all started, where Wally was using his speed to put out the fire.
"Jase, lend me a hand!" Wally told him.
"Dad?" Adam asked. "DAD!?"
Superboy pulled Adam back as he went to help Wally and Impulse put out the flames. Between the three of them, the fire was out within seconds.
"Was my father in there?" Adam asked as he looked at Wally.
"The fire was just a cover to escape as usual," Wally said. "While we were putting it out, the Toyman and the Trickster must have escaped into the sewers. They're alive, and probably miles away by now."
"But... but he wouldn't just leave without me," Adam said. "He has to come back, right?"
"Superboy, your dad's waiting for you at home," Wally said. "Jase, I'm taking you back to Bart. But I don't know what to do with this kid."
"He can come home with me," Jase said as he took Adam by the arm. "He's a robot, so he won't eat much, and he probably doesn't need a bed since robots don't sleep. I promise I'll take care of him, Wally. Please?"
"We'll leave that up to Bart since he's your guardian," Wally told him with a sigh. "If he agrees, he can stay, at least until we get the Toyman into custody."
"It was nice meeting you, Jase," Superboy said as they shook hands. "Maybe we can hang out again soon if I'm not grounded."
"Cool, I like hanging out with other young superheroes who are into justice," Impulse told him.
"That's not a bad name," Superboy said with a smile. "Young superheroes who are into justice."
Wally brought Jase home, who went running through the door with Adam. "Bart? I'm home! And I have a new friend, can I keep him?"
# # # # #
Elsewhere in Central City
Captain Cold walked into the Rogue's hidden headquarters, which was... wait, I can't tell you where it is! Anyway, the Rogues were all gathered around as Cold approached the table.
"Word has it that there's a new Impulse in town," Cold said as he looked around.
"Flash got another sidekick?" Mirror Master asked. "That's just great. Another thorn in our side!"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Cold said as the Rogues murmured among themselves. "Whoever this kid is, we keep to our rule: no killing children. Scaring this kid out of his mind, however, isn't completely beneath us. Teach the Flash a lesson about dragging kids into his battles..."