Jase Allen was asleep in his bed, trying to get used to being out in the real world. As he tossed and turned, he realized that this bed was nowhere near as comfortable as the one he had in the Speed Force. Maybe because that one wasn't actually real, and the one he was in now felt cold and stiff. Finally ending up on his back, Jase opened his eyes and found his new friend Adam standing over him, just staring blankly with his head slightly tilted.
"What are you doing?" Jase asked as he sat up. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"I'm an android, I don't sleep," Adam told him. "I find it fascinating to watch others while they sleep. You sure do toss and turn a lot."
"You like watching people sleep?" Jase asked.
# # # # #
Bart Allen was sleeping on the couch in the living room in the small apartment he was sharing with his adopted little brother, Jase. Bart had let Jase take the single bedroom since the boy needed his own space, with a smaller air mattress given to Jase's friend Adam, whom Bart had agreed to let stay with them for a while.
Bart opened his eyes and saw Jase and Adam both standing over him, their heads both slightly tilted. Bart screamed as he fell off the couch and hit the floor.
"You were right," Jase said. "This is fun."
"What are you doing?" Jase asked as he sat up. "Why aren't you asleep?"
"I'm an android, I don't sleep," Adam told him. "I find it fascinating to watch others while they sleep. You sure do toss and turn a lot."
"You like watching people sleep?" Jase asked.
# # # # #
Bart Allen was sleeping on the couch in the living room in the small apartment he was sharing with his adopted little brother, Jase. Bart had let Jase take the single bedroom since the boy needed his own space, with a smaller air mattress given to Jase's friend Adam, whom Bart had agreed to let stay with them for a while.
Bart opened his eyes and saw Jase and Adam both standing over him, their heads both slightly tilted. Bart screamed as he fell off the couch and hit the floor.
"You were right," Jase said. "This is fun."
ISSUE #9 written by Tobias Christopher
February 2018
February 2018
"Rogue Trip - Part One"
The Rogues
"Are you sure you're okay, Barry?" Wally asked as he sat at Barry's kitchen table.
"I recovered completely once my connection to the Speed Force was restored," Barry told him as he poured a cup of coffee.
"Are you... going to talk to him?"
Barry remained silent for a few moments as he thought about it while sipping his coffee.
"I'm not old enough to be a grandfather," Barry said. "Especially to a guy who's only a few years younger than I am."
"He's still blood, Barry," Wally reminded him. "And he's going to need us now more than ever now that--"
"What is it, Wally? Is something wrong with Bart?"
Wally just stared away from him. "It's bad, Barry, really bad. You need to see him."
# # # # #
"Why do I have to go to school?" Jase asked as he rushed around the living room. "I already know everything."
"No, you don't," Bart said as he remembered going through this with Max Mercury, now feeling sorry for the older man and what Bart had put him through. "You need to learn more than just running and punching bad guys. School will be good for you."
"Adam doesn't have to go to school," Jase reminded him.
"Adam is a robot--"
"Android!" Jase and Adam shouted in unison.
"Whatever!" Bart shouted back. "Androids don't have to go to school."
"Why?"
"Because they're already programmed with all the stuff they need to know."
"Why?"
"Because that's how they're built."
"Why?"
"This is karma; it has to be," Bart said as he fell back onto the couch. "Look, you start school tomorrow morning, end of discussion. Adam can just, I don't know, Small Wonder around the house while we're out."
"I don't get that reference," Adam said.
"Where are you going?" Jase asked.
"Job interview so we can have the money to pay for this palace," Bart told him. "And to keep you in sneakers since you've already burned through one pair."
"Mr. Bart?" Adam asked as he looked at the older speedster.
"You don't have to call me Mister."
"Mrs. Bart?"
"Fine, stick with Mister."
"Is my father coming back for me?"
"Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it," Bart told him. "In the meantime, you've got a home here. Now go upstairs and get dressed. We can go to the park or something."
"Bet I can beat you up the stairs!" Jase shouted.
"Bet you I can toss you back down again!" Adam replied as they rushed upstairs.
"How did I go from Bart Allen: Teenager Speedster, to Bart Allen: Ward Cleaver?" Bart asked himself as he leaned his head back against the couch.
# # # # #
Wally had put on his Flash costume and responded to a distress call from a local tech lab. Looking at the reflective glass on the building, Wally just let out a sigh.
"MIrror Master?"
"All of us, actually," Captain Cold said as the Rogues stepped out of the mirror dimension. "It was a fake distress call, we just wanted to have a word with you."
"Come to apologize for nearly killing my partner?"
"That was a mistake, we didn't know his powers went limp," Cold said. "We're here to talk to you about this kid who's popped up in the Impulse costume."
"You stay away from the boy,"
"We're here to tell you to keep the boy away from us," Cold told him. "You know our stance on killing people, and we plan to keep with that. But if this kid messes with us, we will have to teach him a few lessons about playing hero. We won't kill him, but we won't go easy on him, either."
"I'll pass the word along," Wally told them. "Is that it?"
"For now," Cold told him as the Rogues started heading back into the mirror. "See you around, Kid Flash."
"It's Flash,"
"Sure it is," Cold said mockingly as he disappeared behind the glass.
"Dammit," Wally said, wondering how long he could keep Jase out of the line of fire with the Rogues running around.
# # # # #
Bart had taken Jase and Adam to the nearby park, where the two boys immediately headed toward the large wooden tree fort that had an adjoining slide, fire pole, tire-climb, and jungle gym attached around the sides, only to immediately be met by a group of bullies at the top of the slide.
"You dorks can't come up here!" the lead bully shouted.
"Why not?" Jase asked.
"Because this is our fort, and we don't let dorks in!"
"That's unsound logic," Adam said as he looked at Jase. "We're both physically fit with no real logic of something a 'dork' would know about, such as Star Trek or Dungeons and Dragons."
"You still can't come up!" the bully shouted as Jase suddenly appeared behind them.
"Too late, I'm already here," Jase said as the bullies turned around to advance on him.
"And now you're going back down, and it won't be on the slide!" the bully said.
From down below, Adam could only see a fast motion blur, with two bullies shooting down the slide, one falling down over the tire-climb, and the last fearfully jumping onto the fire pole before sliding down and running away.
"How did you do that?" Adam asked as he climbed up the ladder.
"I made it look like they were punching each other," Jase said. "Only took one hit before they turned on each other. Normal people are weird."
# # # # #
Bart was nearby, sitting on a park bench and wondering how he was going to take care of Jase in his current situation. He needed to find a job to bring some money in, but first he had to find something that he'd be good at. As he watched Jase and Adam playing, a carrier pigeon landed on his shoulder with a note attached to its leg.
"What the--" Bart said as he grabbed the note. "If you're looking for work, come see me at the following address. Signed, a fr--"
A taxi pulled up on the street nearby as the window rolled down. Another carrier pigeon was tossed through the window at Bart, hitting in the back of the head as Bart got the next note. "--iend."
# # # # #
"I'm thirsty," Jase said as he scouted around for a water fountain. "What about you?"
"Water would kill me if I ingested it," Adam told him.
"Good to know," Jase said. "I'm going to make a run for some chocolate milk. Be back in a minute. Or less, you know, ‘cause I'm fast."
Jase rushed off as Adam looked at the fort he was standing in. "You know, with a few upgrades..."
# # # # #
Jase had finally found some chocolate milk and was about to rush back when something shiny caught his eye from a building across the street. He rushed over and looked through the window, seeing MIrror Master, Captain Cold, and Heatwave breaking into a bank vault.
"The Flash ruined our last attempt to get some fast cash," Cold said as he froze over the bank door. "This time I made sure he was out of town with the Justice League."
"What about the other one?"
"Junior's halfway across the world doing something, and the new Impulse? I wouldn't worry about him,"
"Why not?" Impulse asked as he sat on a desk behind them. "Bart says I tend to get into a lot of trouble when no one's looking."
"It's him!" Heatwave said as he pulled out his flamethrower. "Let me torch him!"
"No, we don't kill kids," Cold said as he looked at Impulse. "Beat it, kid, this is adult business."
"You mean like those blocked channels on the TV that I'm told I can't watch until I'm twenty-one?" Impulse asked.
"Just one singe," Heatwave pleaded. "Please! " The trio of Rogues looked over and saw Impulse was gone. "Where'd he go? I don't like surprises, Cold!"
"Maybe he went home," Cold said as he got ready to finish freezing the vault door and realized his cold gun was missing. "What the--"
"You shouldn't play with guns," Impulse said as he stood behind them, holding Cold's gun in his hand. "I've been learning a lot since I got here, and I don't think I like guns."
"Then hand it over and go home," Cold said through gritted teeth. "This isn't the place for you."
"Okay," Impulse said as he tripped, causing the gun to go off, freezing Heatwave's flamethrower, forcing the villain to drop it. "Oops."
"Oh, that does it!" Heatwave shouted as he ran toward Impulse, who slipped on a patch of ice and fell.
"That looks like it hurt," Impulse said. "I'll go get the first-aid kit. Here, you can have your gun, Mister," Impulse said as he tossed Cold's gun at him, only to toss it too high and setting off the sprinklers. Water started pouring down on top of everyone as Cold looked at Mirror Master.
"Still think we shouldn't kill the brat?"
"At this point, I just want him out of the way," Cold said in frustration.
"That, I can do," Mirror Master said as he held up his transporting mirror and aimed it at Impulse.
# # # # #
Adam had gone to the men's room to check his battery levels to see if he'd need a recharge when he got home. As he passed the bathroom mirror, he stopped and looked straight into the mirror, seeing Jase on the other side of the reflection. "Jase?"
"I think I might be in some trouble here,"
TO BE CONTINUED...
"I recovered completely once my connection to the Speed Force was restored," Barry told him as he poured a cup of coffee.
"Are you... going to talk to him?"
Barry remained silent for a few moments as he thought about it while sipping his coffee.
"I'm not old enough to be a grandfather," Barry said. "Especially to a guy who's only a few years younger than I am."
"He's still blood, Barry," Wally reminded him. "And he's going to need us now more than ever now that--"
"What is it, Wally? Is something wrong with Bart?"
Wally just stared away from him. "It's bad, Barry, really bad. You need to see him."
# # # # #
"Why do I have to go to school?" Jase asked as he rushed around the living room. "I already know everything."
"No, you don't," Bart said as he remembered going through this with Max Mercury, now feeling sorry for the older man and what Bart had put him through. "You need to learn more than just running and punching bad guys. School will be good for you."
"Adam doesn't have to go to school," Jase reminded him.
"Adam is a robot--"
"Android!" Jase and Adam shouted in unison.
"Whatever!" Bart shouted back. "Androids don't have to go to school."
"Why?"
"Because they're already programmed with all the stuff they need to know."
"Why?"
"Because that's how they're built."
"Why?"
"This is karma; it has to be," Bart said as he fell back onto the couch. "Look, you start school tomorrow morning, end of discussion. Adam can just, I don't know, Small Wonder around the house while we're out."
"I don't get that reference," Adam said.
"Where are you going?" Jase asked.
"Job interview so we can have the money to pay for this palace," Bart told him. "And to keep you in sneakers since you've already burned through one pair."
"Mr. Bart?" Adam asked as he looked at the older speedster.
"You don't have to call me Mister."
"Mrs. Bart?"
"Fine, stick with Mister."
"Is my father coming back for me?"
"Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it," Bart told him. "In the meantime, you've got a home here. Now go upstairs and get dressed. We can go to the park or something."
"Bet I can beat you up the stairs!" Jase shouted.
"Bet you I can toss you back down again!" Adam replied as they rushed upstairs.
"How did I go from Bart Allen: Teenager Speedster, to Bart Allen: Ward Cleaver?" Bart asked himself as he leaned his head back against the couch.
# # # # #
Wally had put on his Flash costume and responded to a distress call from a local tech lab. Looking at the reflective glass on the building, Wally just let out a sigh.
"MIrror Master?"
"All of us, actually," Captain Cold said as the Rogues stepped out of the mirror dimension. "It was a fake distress call, we just wanted to have a word with you."
"Come to apologize for nearly killing my partner?"
"That was a mistake, we didn't know his powers went limp," Cold said. "We're here to talk to you about this kid who's popped up in the Impulse costume."
"You stay away from the boy,"
"We're here to tell you to keep the boy away from us," Cold told him. "You know our stance on killing people, and we plan to keep with that. But if this kid messes with us, we will have to teach him a few lessons about playing hero. We won't kill him, but we won't go easy on him, either."
"I'll pass the word along," Wally told them. "Is that it?"
"For now," Cold told him as the Rogues started heading back into the mirror. "See you around, Kid Flash."
"It's Flash,"
"Sure it is," Cold said mockingly as he disappeared behind the glass.
"Dammit," Wally said, wondering how long he could keep Jase out of the line of fire with the Rogues running around.
# # # # #
Bart had taken Jase and Adam to the nearby park, where the two boys immediately headed toward the large wooden tree fort that had an adjoining slide, fire pole, tire-climb, and jungle gym attached around the sides, only to immediately be met by a group of bullies at the top of the slide.
"You dorks can't come up here!" the lead bully shouted.
"Why not?" Jase asked.
"Because this is our fort, and we don't let dorks in!"
"That's unsound logic," Adam said as he looked at Jase. "We're both physically fit with no real logic of something a 'dork' would know about, such as Star Trek or Dungeons and Dragons."
"You still can't come up!" the bully shouted as Jase suddenly appeared behind them.
"Too late, I'm already here," Jase said as the bullies turned around to advance on him.
"And now you're going back down, and it won't be on the slide!" the bully said.
From down below, Adam could only see a fast motion blur, with two bullies shooting down the slide, one falling down over the tire-climb, and the last fearfully jumping onto the fire pole before sliding down and running away.
"How did you do that?" Adam asked as he climbed up the ladder.
"I made it look like they were punching each other," Jase said. "Only took one hit before they turned on each other. Normal people are weird."
# # # # #
Bart was nearby, sitting on a park bench and wondering how he was going to take care of Jase in his current situation. He needed to find a job to bring some money in, but first he had to find something that he'd be good at. As he watched Jase and Adam playing, a carrier pigeon landed on his shoulder with a note attached to its leg.
"What the--" Bart said as he grabbed the note. "If you're looking for work, come see me at the following address. Signed, a fr--"
A taxi pulled up on the street nearby as the window rolled down. Another carrier pigeon was tossed through the window at Bart, hitting in the back of the head as Bart got the next note. "--iend."
# # # # #
"I'm thirsty," Jase said as he scouted around for a water fountain. "What about you?"
"Water would kill me if I ingested it," Adam told him.
"Good to know," Jase said. "I'm going to make a run for some chocolate milk. Be back in a minute. Or less, you know, ‘cause I'm fast."
Jase rushed off as Adam looked at the fort he was standing in. "You know, with a few upgrades..."
# # # # #
Jase had finally found some chocolate milk and was about to rush back when something shiny caught his eye from a building across the street. He rushed over and looked through the window, seeing MIrror Master, Captain Cold, and Heatwave breaking into a bank vault.
"The Flash ruined our last attempt to get some fast cash," Cold said as he froze over the bank door. "This time I made sure he was out of town with the Justice League."
"What about the other one?"
"Junior's halfway across the world doing something, and the new Impulse? I wouldn't worry about him,"
"Why not?" Impulse asked as he sat on a desk behind them. "Bart says I tend to get into a lot of trouble when no one's looking."
"It's him!" Heatwave said as he pulled out his flamethrower. "Let me torch him!"
"No, we don't kill kids," Cold said as he looked at Impulse. "Beat it, kid, this is adult business."
"You mean like those blocked channels on the TV that I'm told I can't watch until I'm twenty-one?" Impulse asked.
"Just one singe," Heatwave pleaded. "Please! " The trio of Rogues looked over and saw Impulse was gone. "Where'd he go? I don't like surprises, Cold!"
"Maybe he went home," Cold said as he got ready to finish freezing the vault door and realized his cold gun was missing. "What the--"
"You shouldn't play with guns," Impulse said as he stood behind them, holding Cold's gun in his hand. "I've been learning a lot since I got here, and I don't think I like guns."
"Then hand it over and go home," Cold said through gritted teeth. "This isn't the place for you."
"Okay," Impulse said as he tripped, causing the gun to go off, freezing Heatwave's flamethrower, forcing the villain to drop it. "Oops."
"Oh, that does it!" Heatwave shouted as he ran toward Impulse, who slipped on a patch of ice and fell.
"That looks like it hurt," Impulse said. "I'll go get the first-aid kit. Here, you can have your gun, Mister," Impulse said as he tossed Cold's gun at him, only to toss it too high and setting off the sprinklers. Water started pouring down on top of everyone as Cold looked at Mirror Master.
"Still think we shouldn't kill the brat?"
"At this point, I just want him out of the way," Cold said in frustration.
"That, I can do," Mirror Master said as he held up his transporting mirror and aimed it at Impulse.
# # # # #
Adam had gone to the men's room to check his battery levels to see if he'd need a recharge when he got home. As he passed the bathroom mirror, he stopped and looked straight into the mirror, seeing Jase on the other side of the reflection. "Jase?"
"I think I might be in some trouble here,"
TO BE CONTINUED...