#Morlo

[goddessofeternity]

Chronicles of the Supernovas: Chosen

Chapter 20: Last Chance, Make it Count

Morlo

The child was gone. The child was gone and I had no idea how important to my liege that the brat was. I should have been better informed and I could have done better. I needed this to work and I needed to crush the Light where she stood. I wanted to watch her bleed, I wanted to watch her suffer under the might that was my liege. She deserved the worst type of pain imaginable. There was no future with her in power. She couldn’t make the decision that my liege made each and every day. Beings in this universe continued to show me how weak her rule truly was. Suffering and pain was all that followed behind that fake smile of hers. She was a plague that needed to be expunged from the universe.

The child had destroyed the facility and those Supernovas had taken the children. Everything was starting to fall apart, and I needed to stop it. My liege was growing more and more restless and it would be a matter of time before they acted on their anger. Those other Gods had failed to show up and assist me. They were nothing more than a bunch of cowards, even my men were starting to question and fear what would come next. Loyalty was something that was not so easily kept in times such as this.

“Mmm…” I frowned as I glared at the woman resting in my bed. I didn’t expect such loyalty from Brielle. She was nothing more to me than a way to handle my more intimate frustrations. So I was quite surprised to see her take me away from the base. I didn’t even inform her of my plans or where I was going, but somehow she managed to gather a large number of my men and myself, and led us to her personal bunker.

“Foolish woman…” I sat at her side and ran my hand down her bare back. She shivered under my touch, but otherwise stayed asleep. Her dark hair was matted to her skin from the intense sex we had a few hours ago. It was the only time that she was quiet, and the only time that I could think around her. I hated sitting here and waiting for nothing short of anger that I was sure to receive. I would have no more chances. I had to retrieve the child and make this right.

“Tsk tsk tsk…oh Morlo….you are so naïve…”

“What?!” I flipped around to scan the room as a voice traveled through it. Whoever it was, make my stomach turn, even my hair was beginning to stand on end. It wasn’t until I looked at the shadows of the room that a figure started to form. It was not my liege, their presence would have felt much worse. I would probably be dead at that point too. The figure stayed in the shadows, and I couldn’t make out what they were. The only thing I could see was a twisted smile in the darkness of the room. “Who are you?!”

“Oh…just a friendly face…here to make sure you don’t fuck up….”

“Funny…now get the hell out of here before I toss you out.”

“Is that anyway to talk to someone who is trying to help you? My master is not pleased with you at all Morlo…they were ready to tear you apart.”

I swallowed back my nerves as the shadow laughed and moved across the room. I was right. Of course my liege was angry with me. I seemed to keep failing at this fucking assignment. The child was stubborn, but I didn’t realize how much. I figured that I instilled enough fear in his heart, but it just wasn’t enough. The shadow moved and I snapped back to look at it as it slinked across the ceiling. Its grin making me feel more uneasy. 

“Say whatever it is you need to report and leave. I have no time for you.”

“Shush now…we don’t want to wake her~” Hearing the voice by the bed now, I flinched as it was beside Brielle. A dagger shining in the dim light was pressed against her neck. I craned my head around to look at the ceiling again. The same grin was still there, but another was right beside Brielle. A chuckle shook my thoughts as another twisted grin appeared in the corner of the room. Whatever this being was, it took multiple forms, but it seemed keen on hiding itself. It was something powerful, and I could not handle it in a fight, I could admit that. 

“Step away from her now.” The words left me before I could stop them. No sooner did I admit my weakness, I open my damn mouth for the bitch.

“Aww…I didn’t know that you cared so much. I’d like a turn with her-”

“Move!” Its chuckles flooded my ears as I lunged at it. It just danced around the room before settling near right in front of my face. There was an almost static energy in the air as the shadows grin widened. My breath caught in my throat as its red eyes burned through me. It was infuriating to feel so weak in the presence of this thing. Its taunting was starting to get to me as well. “I will not be toyed with!”

“Fine…” The shadows ceased their taunting and one large shadow loomed over me. I stared deep at it, unflinching, before its mouth opened into its sinister grin. “My master wants you to finish them. Do whatever you must to halt their progress. The child has to be caught.”

“I have contacts that are going to head them off. This will be the final stretch. I will not fail. I will personally go to finish the job.”

“Now if only I could believe that.” The shadow chuckled and backed away as Brielle started to stir. “If you fail once more….my master says I get to have my fun with you, and you don’t want that my friend. I like it when my prey screams, and you look like you scream like a bitch.”

“You-!”

A sinister chuckle was the only thing I received as the shadow left form the room. I was beginning to see red as Brielle yawned and touched my wrist. 

“Morlo…what is it-”

“That insufferable group of Gods!” Brielle gasped as my hand tightened around her throat. I did not care for her struggling and scratching. “I will not continue to be disrespected! I will not continue to be used like a pawn! I have conquered countless planets! I will be damned if this is over for me!”

“M-Mor…lo…” Gathering myself, I released Brielle as she coughed and I stood from the bed to think. It was time to call in my elite fighters and their weapons to finish these Supernovas and get that brat. “Brielle…I need a-”

A punch to my jaw when I looked at her almost made me take a knee, but I just glared at the stupid woman as her eyes narrowed. “Like hell I will! You almost killed me you fucking animal!”

“I seem to recall you liking some pain with your pleasure.”

“Fuck you! You know that’s not what I meant!” She growled and cursed as she threw a shirt over her head and massaged her neck. She would get over it like she does with everything that we do together. A deep silence fell over us both as I made my calls. Promises of money and other riches would entice anyone to do anything in this life. It was always so simple to buy power and status even more so. The only thing that was difficult to acquire was respect….

I glanced at Brielle as she made some calls and yelled at some idiots. She caught my gaze before she rolled her eyes, but continued to procure more men for me to use. Yes…power and status was easy to come by with money, as was respect. There was nothing like respect…and loyalty.

Something that Brielle was in constant supply of. 

“Ugh…whenever you say the word…you have some more men ready to follow your orders.” Brielle cleared her throat as she rolled her neck. I moved towards her turned back as I looked over her form. My handprints were bright across her purple skin, she was not as dark as the rest of her race. Usually the darker ones were in the poorer parts of the planet. Although, she didn’t care to talk about her more decorated past.

She flinched as I brushed my fingers across her neck. I could feel her looking at me from the reflection in the window, but I kept my focus on her neck. Pulling out some ointment from my pouch, I rubbed it into her neck. A sigh escaped her lips as she relaxed against me, she was…she was really becoming a nuisance. Women always were more trouble than they were worth. This one just happened to be particularly annoying.

“Is this your version of an apology?”

“....”

“Fine fine…annoying man…”

“You show me all of this unyielding loyalty…why? There is nothing between us other than our physical relationship, and that is barely anything to write home about.”

“Maybe I just want a strong man in my life, it's refreshing to see.”

“Mmm.” She rolled her shoulder and I retreated to another room to contact my brother and mother. They had been trying to speak with me for the last few days, but things just never seemed to calm down. If things went wrong…then this would be our last conversation. I just had to not fail, that would continue to be my mindset. I had to keep my focus on why I was doing this and I would not take anymore missteps. 

A lone video screen sat waiting for me as I forwarded a message to my mother. It would be surprising to see if she was awake right now. She liked to rest early to prepare for her days ahead. The selfish part of my brain wanted her awake and ready to receive my call. It might be the last time I speak to her and that she sees her firstborn. No no…I would succeed and that would be it.

The screen flashing to life and seeing my mother’s bright face light up warmed my solemn spirit immensely. Her graying brown hair was done in a tight braid and she quickly brushed the sleep from her eyes to smile at me. Her blue eyes seemed to illuminate in the darkness of her room as she fumbled for a light source.

“Mother…”

“Hold on, hold on! I want to see my baby bright and clear!” I sighed as she cursed to herself and stood to turn on some lights. She should be looking for and wearing her glasses. The light from the screen would just damage them more. I should have never called her this late. “Morlo!”

“Yes Mother? I’m sorry that I woke you up.”

“Baby no! I was hoping to hear from you soon! Your brother has been asking me to let him know if you called. Are you eating and getting enough sleep? You look tired…”

“Yes Mother…I am fine. I just wanted to see you.”

“Oh sweetheart….oh! Fenra! Your brother is on the video screen!”

“What? Fenra is there? Mother you really don’t-” I sighed and rubbed my temple as I could hear my younger brother rushing towards her. Before long, there he was and completely out of breath. My brother was never the most athletic man. I told him to get better and work out more, but he never seemed to hear me. His glasses kept falling down his nose and he looked so much like he did when we were children. The only glaring difference that he was a man now…was the infant in his arms. A rather plump baby that looked so much like him with dark brown hair and a tiny nose. The only thing different was the green eyes, which I suppose was thanks to my sister-in-law. She wasn’t interesting enough for me to waste my time meeting, but she made my brother happy, so I suppose she was alright. 

“Morlo! Hey! I didn’t think that we would ever hear from you!”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Yes…doing something that you aren’t supposed to be doing.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at my mothers tone. She desperately tried to figure out what I did for work, but I would not relent and tell her. “Please tell me that you’re being safe at least.”

“I’m not in danger.”

“Come on Morlo…we just worry about you. We don’t hear from you for months at a time. You act so fidgety and you never tell us anything. We just worry if you’re safe-”

“I am fine! My work is of no concern to either of you! You have roofs over your heads and you are protected and well fed! You both always ask about this! It is none of your business!”

I leaned back in my seat as they stared at me in silence, probably thinking about something to say to me again. It would never matter what they would say, my life and mind was made up. This needed to be done and I would never rest until I completed what I needed done.

“Morlo…” My heart sank as my mother started to cry and my brother tried to console her. I would not be shaken by her tears again. I almost let that stop me once before, but I had to do this for my father and in his honor. “I just want you safe baby…please….just come home for a bit.”

“I refuse. You should rest mother…” I could practically hear my brother steaming on the other end. He was always so attached to our mother. He would probably try and “yell” at me and make me see reason. It was too late for such things. My mother took the child and left and I faced my brother as he rubbed the back of his neck. He…he looked like our father when he did that. “Say what you have to say.”

“I just wish you would be more considerate of her feelings. Be considerate about how we both feel. I know you have this big bad brooding thing you do, but can you just save it?”

“I won’t be coming back.”

“Do not say that! Do you want our mother to hear you say that?! Gods…you’ll give her a damn heart attack you dick!”

“Do not ever say that again.” I leaned forward and he glared at me as he shrugged his shoulders. “You know how I feel about that.”

“Morlo…ever heard of freedom of speech? If I want to invoke the Gods I will. You can’t hold onto this forever-”

“That bitch took our father!”

“He was a damn psychopath and you know it! You just don’t want to fucking believe it!”

“You were a child then! You have no idea what he was doing! Don’t you ever disrespect the honor of our father again!”

“He was a damn terrorist Morlo! He put us through years of grief! You are fucking delusional!”

“Shut the fuck up Fenra! Our father was a genius who wanted to change the world! Sometimes sacrifices needed to be made!”

“At the cost of his family?! He is-”

“Enough!” I slammed my fist against the desk and Fenra just sighed more as we fell into a deep silence. He never cared for our father and look at the bigger picture. He made those sacrifices because it was the only way to make progress. The ways of the Gods had to be changed, and the Light was the biggest obstacle of all. 

“Look…just…just visit…your nephew would like to meet you. I would like to go drinking with you and maybe go hunting like we used to. I have gotten much better with my archery and swordplay.”

“Tch…yeah right. You need to use other weapons instead. Enter the modern age brother, and your skills just might get better.”

“Well…here’s hoping that my dear brother comes to show me how to use them.” I smirked as he waggled his eyebrows at me. He would never allow me to be angry with him. I often tried, but I suppose it was the curse of family. I would only allow this weakness in privacy. 

“Get some rest Fenra…you have a child to raise. Aren’t children that age more likely to cry in the middle of the night? You should sleep.”

“Fine fine…but I’ll have you know…my son is an excellent sleeper. I barely have any trouble with him.”

“Hmm….good night brother.”

“Good night Morlo, I love you…stay safe.”

“I know I know…” Once he left, I rubbed my head in quiet frustration. My liege should have punished me by now. Something must have happened, or perhaps I just wasn’t important anymore. No no…I was still needed until my liege disposed of me. My contacts would be on the move to those Supernovas. This would still work.

“You never speak about your father…”

“Go back to bed Brielle.”

“You talk about your mother and brother, but your father is a mystery to me.” Her hands on my back made me straighten up. I would not let her talk me into talking about my feelings. Looking up at her, I paused looking at her throat once more. It was beginning to bother me now.

“Cover your throat.”

“I think I like it. Almost like some battle scars.”

“You are the craziest fucking woman I have ever encountered.” She just laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck and rubbed my chest.

“Tell me about him.”

“....” She would not leave me alone unless I gave her an answer. Staring at the screen, the memories of my father invaded my mind once more. “He was an ambitious man…who only ever wanted to make sure his family was happy. Although, his path to getting there was filled with death and misery. The Gods don’t like change or challenges to their order.”

“I suppose your father wanted to make some big changes.”

“He wanted the Gods to take accountability for all the suffering that they unleashed upon man. The sickness, the death, war, all of the above. Even the horror of childbirth…my mother almost died bringing my brother into the world. My father did everything he could to speak to the Gods and beg for an audience.”

“I suppose he never got one?” The memory annoyed me as Brielle straddled me and rubbed my shoulders. It had been some time since I talked about my father, but it felt good to get it out. It was surprising to see Brielle take an interest, but I wouldn’t dwell on it. 

“Oh…he got an audience…but that was only after he destroyed a temple. I remember it because he wanted to bring me along. The God…I don’t even remember his name…but I remember the pleasure he got when he tortured my father in front of me. I remember when he made my father watch as he….had his fun with me.”

“....”

“Ever since that moment, my father decided to change his tactics. He began attacking that God’s followers. He burned villages, destroyed families, even went to the point of making weapons of mass destruction. I helped him get the message around that the Gods wanted to control us and they relished in our suffering. These Gods think we owe them love and gifts, when all we want to do it live. We were going strong for years, and my father and I were feared, but we were also respected.”

“So…the ends justified the means?”

“Always!” I gripped her shoulders tight and her eyes widened immensely. She needed to understand that no good would come from these so-called divine beings. The sooner more people realize they weren’t needed the better. “Then that bitch got involved and ruined everything!”

“What?”

“The blasted Light! That “perfect” and “benevolent” goddess who thinks that she can control and rule over everyone! She even bends the other Gods to her whim! She is the head and she must be stopped! Once she falls then the rest of them fall. My liege will create something better than what she did!”

“Morlo…aren’t you just following another God? How do you know that your liege won’t just-”

“They would never! I have their utmost confidence and I know what they are planning to do! We will succeed and I will avenge my father.”

“What did…this Light…do to your father?”

“....” It was something I could never forget for the rest of my life. Her cold eyes barring down on my father and I. He wasn’t even doing anything wrong that day. He was doing a service to the people. The children of mere Gods didn’t deserve to live. My father captured them and set them loose in a forest, like fresh game ready to be plucked. My father and I spent hours hunting down each and every one of them. Their screams often helped me sleep at night. It was a deep comfort for me and my father. I would do it again if I had the time for it. 

I remember my father yelling at the Light as she stared us down. There was no beauty to her whatsoever. There was only a heartless monster as she berated my father for the good thing he had done. The good thing that we had both done! Those children would have grown up to become monsters! Making more of humanity slaves to their rule! The Light did not hesitate when she struck my father down. She split his body right down the middle with her scythe, I didn’t even have the chance to yell or take his body. She showed no mercy as she grinded his body to ash. The blow she gave me should have killed me that day. The pain was unimaginable as I felt like my head was splitting open. My scar was just a reminder to give her the same treatment one day, and that day was fast approaching. 

“It doesn’t matter. He is no longer with us. My liege will take care of him in the afterlife.”

“....” Brielle just stayed silent and scanned over my face. She could have her thoughts, I would close my eyes and rest before continuing my plans. I needed all of my strength to finish this. As she adjusted on my lap, I figured that she was going to get off, but then I felt her press her lips against mine. Grabbing her shoulders, I pulled her back and there was something in her eyes that I had never seen. Something that felt too…intimate. “Morlo…”

“You need to stop Brielle…we have an agreement.”

“Morlo I-”

“I can’t love you. I will not give you children. Don’t allow yourself to feel this way for me. I want your body and you want mine. Let’s keep it as simple as that.”

“Foolish man…” She reached under the chair and reclined it back until she was leaning over me. “I know that. I don’t want your love. I want your ambition. You want to burn the Gods, then so do I. I follow only the strong. Let us wreck the cosmos together!”

The woman was an idiot. It would be her downfall and we both knew it. We would most likely be the death of each other. I didn’t need her comfort, not really, but…I would take it for as long as I could. I hated admitting how her touch made me feel. Her words gave me strength, her presence made me stronger, but her love…it would be too much to bear, and I would never be able to reciprocate it back to her. 

For now, her body would be my final solace. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next: https://www.tumblr.com/goddessofeternity/747597892435460096/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Previous: https://www.tumblr.com/goddessofeternity/746969612522061824/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Thanks for reading!

Comments and reblogs are appreciated! Likes are welcomed!

[businesscasual-biz]

Check out MORLO's New Album ‘Good Feelings.’ OUT NOW On Business Casual! Cassettes also available! https://music.businesscasual.biz/album/good-feelings

[domnorian]

My 3 pages contribution to the Relay Race: A Flash Zine by @flashfamevents : Out of Time.

I'm not crying, you're crying...

[radioactive-earthshine]

Impulse (1995) #48

Literally divorced.

I think one of the funniest things about them is Helen would not have existed unless Morlo gassed Max in the first place because that fight was the whole reason why Max spent those long months healing at Laura's house which led to the affair.

[mamawasatesttube]

impulse (1995) #48 save me. impulse (1995) #48. save me impulse (1995) #48

[chainsawcorazon]

helen was so unserious, i miss her so much 😭

[alfietimewolf]

Just watched Morbius for the first time, and while yes it was a dumpster fire of a movie, it also gave me Matt Smith playing a villain 🥰

I’m a little sad that there hardly any fics on AO3 of Michael/Milo just living their best lives as vampire boyfriends with their swarm of pet bats. What’s that about? I’m disappointed to be honest

[redwiccanrobin]

He’s got a website.

(Impulse #31)

[thefightinfoggy]

Oh no he let out a giant monster lobster thing

[isfjmel-phleg]

(Impulse #65, 67)

Thad and Bart are, unbeknownst to each other, mutually envious. Each believes the other is more loved than he is.

For Thad, love is a new and surprising experience but ultimately meaningless when not directed at him specifically as a distinct individual. He has been raised as an improved copy of someone else, devoting his entire existence to taking over someone else's life, and he craves the chance to be appreciated for himself. During the impersonation, he has to live with knowing that the love he is ostensibly receiving is meant for someone else who is loved and valued for himself, no strings attached, and Thad believes that he can never have that because no matter how flawless his impersonation is, he is not Bart. If anyone knew who he really was, that love would disappear, right?

Bart knows that his family and friends love him, but his jealousy is rooted in insecurity about living up to expectations. He's used to being scolded and despaired over for making mistakes and messing up plans. As soon as he escapes from Thad's VR prison and returns to Morlo's lab to try to foil Inertia's plot, the response is basically "that's why Impulse was improving--he wasn't really you!" So Bart fears that love in its fullest extent is conditional, based on one's perceived competence. And if he fails to meet standards, he can simply be replaced in everyone's affections by someone who measures up better, right?

They're both wrong, as separate conversations with Max will assure them. Bart, fortified by over a year's worth of building solid relationships and gradually experiencing personal growth, is able to accept this reassurance easily. But Thad, with less than a month of living with Bart's family and years and years of a loveless existence of Thawne brainwashing yet to unlearn, cannot.

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

Shwmae Elanor!

Sut dych chi? Diwrnod "Siaradwch Eich Iaith" Hapus!

Dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg a Gaeleg (Duolingo) - dw i'n hoffi ieithoedd Celtaidd 😃 Dw i'n byw yn yr Alban, ond es i i Gymru unwaith, pan oeddwn yn fach - roedd yn hyfryd!

Mae fy mrawd yn mynd i Gymru, mae e'n mwynhau dringo mynyddoedd! Mae e'n hoffi blasu caws hefyd 👍Pa gaws wyt ti'n hoffi?

Dw i'n mwynhau gwylio bywyd gwyllt - mae hi'n barcudiaid coch yma! Mae draenogod yn ymweld â'r ardd - maen nhw'n giwt iawn 😊 Rydyn ni'n plannu coed yn yr ardd hefyd, ar gyfer yr adar 🌳 Pa fywyd gwyllt ydych chi'n ei weld?

Cael diwrnod da!

Diolch, PP

Shwmae! Sori mae hwn yn hwyr, mae gen i gormod o negesau T_T

Diolch am ddysgu! Bydd rhaid i chi mynd nôl i Gymru. Fi'n caru'r Alban. Mae gen i ffrindiau sy'n byw yng Nghlasgow.

Fi'n hoffi caws cryf! Yn enwedig vintage cheddar.

Fi'n gweld lot o fywyd gwyllt - darlithydd yw i, ac mae fym hwnc i yw cadwriaeth amglycheddol (environmental conservation). Fi'n mynd i goed lot. Ac fi'n bwy yn Abertawe, felly ger y traeth. Weithiau, fi'n gweld morlo yn y môr.

Diolch am y neges!

[goddessofeternity]

Chronicles of the Supernovas: Chosen

Chapter 24: Decisive Brawl

Nim

There was still something that we needed to do. 

The others were busy with moving Altair and getting the ship together and ready. Lady Serafina had drawn the Darkness away to give us our chance. The threat from that Atrocity was still too fresh though for Masami. Watching her now, she was fooling everyone else with her smiles and apologies, but the lies were deep in her eyes. She was ready to burst at the seams and her eyes held such bloodthirst that I was surprised that she could smile like that. The peaceful woman that we had all come to know was gone, or maybe she was never really there. I exhaled deeply glancing at Callum, because he seemed happy to have his wife back by his side. He was the one that was going to lose something if she kept it up, but the poor fool was too blind right now. 

“Hey…time to go…” Nerissa walked over and looked at me curiously. “What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing important…” I looked down and made a fist, feeling my energy coming back to me quickly. I never thought that I would be powerless like that. These weapons were a deadly foe. “Have your powers come back quicker?”

“Yeah actually…I feel pretty good right now.” To show her meaning, she drew the water out of the various plants and formed daggers made of water. Turning towards a tree…she sliced it and several others cleanly in half. “See? Not my best work, but still good enough.”

“Hmm yes…” I flexed my fingers and smirked at the electricity that flowed over them. I had to be almost at sixty-five percent right now. That would be enough to get us the rest of the way home. “I only worry about this Morlo…”

“Yeah…you would think that he would have shown up by now…” She scratched her head as we walked over to the ship. “He sends us all of these lackeys to face, but the big man himself just doesn't show up.”

“If he’s smart, he’ll stay away as long as he can. After the stunt that he pulled, he should stay in hiding for the rest of his life.”

“Heh…I want to get my hands on him before you do big guy…”

“Trust me little one…you won’t want to see what I do to him.” I smirked down at her as the woman finished healing Altair. It seemed that his captors took some turns roughing him up. He seemed better than he was when we first found him, but that was probably because the woman was babying him so damn much. 

“Hey cyclops! Hurry up, you old fart!” Nerissa snickered as a vein formed on my forehead and the child was lucky the woman was standing next to him and glaring at me. I picked up the pace as he chuckled behind her. “Surprised you could move that fast…”

“Listen you little fuc-” The smurf stepped into my view and I glared right back at her, but seeing the former hole in her clothes made me brush past her. She should have been more careful and not so damn reckless because of this kid. He was a walking red flag even more than Nerissa was at the time of her birth. There was always something about a star child that made the Darkness more jumpy than ever. Glanching at Nerissa, I could see why they wanted Altair so bad. Her untapped potential and power was staggering at times, and losing her was devastating to the Darkness. I could see the need to not want to fail again.

The other star children were safely hidden and protected by some of my best soldiers and Regan and Tove go on a rotation to guard them every few centuries. The Darkness was incredibly bitter about the whole thing, and I was quite smug about it. Although, being cocky about it was never in my mind for long, there was no telling what could happen when it concerned them. 

“Get on the damn ship brat…” I frowned at him over the woman’s shoulder and he laughed and strutted in with her close behind him. The others soon followed and it was finally time to head back to the temple. The woman was eager to pick up the rest of the children, but we had to secure Altair first. She thankfully didn’t fight it, but she also gave me a nasty look too. I let her have it though, she wouldn’t get the nice version of myself for long…just…just until I was sure that she was fully recovered. Callum gave me a look so that definitely meant that I had to let it go.

“Hehe…” That giggle meant that Ka’seem was once again flirting with Masami’s sister. After everything that happened and what he saw Masami do. I was surprised that he thought it was a good idea to keep pursuing that. Speaking of regrets, he was facing them now as Masami stomped over and grabbed him by the back of his throat. He let out the most unmanly squeak from his mouth as she dragged him away. Her sister was a pretty little thing, so I could see why he would attempt such a thing.

Nerissa started up the ship and Celica made her rounds to check up on everyone and I took the chance to sit back on a chair and close my eye and rest. The journey back would be enough for me to get an adequate amount of sleep.  The sounds of everyone's quiet chatter lulled me into an easy enough sleep. My mind did what it always did when it was at rest…think about her. I wondered if she was alright and healing after her fight. Or perhaps she was still fighting against them. 

Perhaps I should take Lady Serafina’s advice and check on Kay. No…I was just being sentimental right now because of Cel-

“Ow…” I opened my eye when I felt someone stand over me. I glanced out to see that she had reached her hand out to touch my shoulder. The grip I had on her wrist was turning it red. She didn’t seem fazed by it though. 

“Mmm…sorry…” I released her and she sighed before placing her hand on her hip. She looked well enough…the color was back on her face, and her eyes sparkled with intrigue. She had found some fresh clothes to wear, but I could still see the bandages that wrapped across her waist peeking under the small shirt. It is always painfully ironic that a goddess of health could heal so slowly. It was leagues better than most and was still fast, but serious injuries took her at most a week or two. 

Not that she ever got this hurt often. 

“I just want to make sure that any injuries you have are healing properly.” 

“My powers have been coming back quick enough.” I leaned back further in the chair to stare out the window. “You don’t need to waste your healing abilities on me.” 

“....” She sighed and I closed my eye again, figuring that she had walked away. “I’m alright…”

I released a breath through my nose at her tone. So small…so quiet…vulnerable. I opened my eye once more to see her standing over me with a frown. “Listen…you need to rest…stop worrying about everyone else and-”

“I’m fine-”

“You almost died Celica!” I hissed through my teeth at her, quiet enough that I didn’t disturb everyone else, but just enough frustration for her to know I was pissed off about it. She looked surprised at my tone as I sat up and rubbed a hand down my face. She had to be the most infuriating woman I had ever met! I’ve been around a long time and she was still the worst person to be around. 

“Nim…I had to keep him safe and I did that…I won’t apologize for that…”

“You’re a selfish one, you know that?” My fist tightened on the arm of the chair. Her care for children was commendable, but she made such a foolish mistake that almost cost her her life, and she felt nothing for it. “Have you thought about how everyone else would have felt with you being gone?! How would the rest of us would deal with that? Hell…do you think that is a conversation I want to have with your father?”

“I can’t help that I want to keep him safe! It’s my job! He is just a little boy who has his whole life ahead of him! I will not let the Darkness take his childhood away from him when he has already lost so much of his innocence! You can’t be mad at me! Not for this!”

“Goddamn it woman! You-”

She huffed out a breath before she grabbed my hand and squeezed it…tight. Tight enough that I could feel that her strength was definitely back, but not enough to break it. She didn’t stop there before she placed my hand against her chest. I furrowed my brow at the action and was about to move it, but she held firm. 

“You feel that right?” I was gonna ask what she meant, but the steady beating of her heart silenced me. “I’m alive and I’m not going anywhere. I know that everyone was worried and I’m not displacing any feelings here. If my time comes…then I would hope that I’ve done that fighting and saving someone, especially a child.”

She placed her hand on my shoulder and her eyes held my gaze hard with determination and strength radiating through her. “I’m sorry.”

“...fine…” She released me and I crossed my arms as I leaned back in the chair once more. “Just don’t let it happen again…bitch…”

“Yes of course stupid mutt.” She smiled at me before walking back to the others. The rest that I got was much needed and I only hoped that we were closer to finishing this mission so I could relax and get a damn drink, but we weren’t out of the woods yet, because the next thing I knew…I was thrown from my seat as the ship started spiraling through space. Once it began to right itself, I rushed to the front as everyone looked at a ship that was approaching us quickly. 

“What the hell is going on now?!” 

“I think something is coming at us!”

“Kid! Get further back in the ship!”

“Why?! I want to know what’s going on!” 

“You fucking brat-”

Crack!

“Get him off the glass!” Ka’seem yelled from the pilot seat and I took notice of a man outside the window. The glass was already cracked from his earlier strike, and he raised his fist to strike it again, but I moved to intercept him. I didn’t make it far as he jumped away from the glass and the ship that fired at us decided to become a battering ram. Ka’seem tried to turn the ship as best as he could, but it still slammed into us hard. It took me off my feet as I slammed into a wall. The side of the ship burst into flames and the force from space went quickly to work trying to drag us out. The woman had a grip on the child and Masami and her sister were holding onto other frames in the ship. The man from earlier burst from the flames right at Altair. A weapon raised and ready to kill him, but I charged at him with an angered cry. 

I caught the blade in my bare hands before I punched him in the jaw. He didn’t even flinch before he headbutted me. It surprised me that I reeled from it, but I suppose my abilities still weren’t fully restored. It would not matter because I would break this fool with only my bare minimum regardless. I gave him an even stronger headbutt before we spiraled through the air. I managed to get the weapon out of his hands before I slammed my fist into his face again. He retaliated in kind with his own flurry of blows. He gripped my shirt as we went through the air, and he planted his feet against a pillar before he pushed off, sending us flying across the ship and through a wall. 

“Nim!” Callum charged into the room and knocked the man off me before we all finally fell to the floor. I glanced at the other room for a quick second and saw that the woman managed to freeze the wall up, but the ship was still plummeting. Callum and the man wrestled each other for a bit before Callum kicked him across the room, remnants of his strength becoming clearer. The shaking of the ship was starting to make me sick to my stomach. 

“Ka’seem! Get the ship steady!”

“I’m fucking trying up here!”

The man roared like a beast as he fought Callum before I joined his side to combat the man as well. His rage washed over us like a plague as the force of his strikes became stronger and stronger. The only reason that this would be is if the Darkness gave him some of its power. I caught his fist before it collided with my face just as the kid shouted over all the chaos. 

“That’s him! That’s Morlo!” 

This was him?! I had to admit that I expected much more from this man and Callum shared a look with me. The room took on a sinister chill as the woman burst into the room and slammed Morlo onto the ground. He instantly coughed up blood before she slammed her heel into his nose, sending him through the floor. She blew out a chilled breath before she charged after him with a shrill cry. Callum and I were quick to follow her. 

“You son of a bitch!” She delivered a swift punch to his ribs, but he stood strong despite staggering back. “He’s just a child! All of them are!”

“Children are easily exploitable! That brat is no different bitch!” Withdrawing a gun, he shot at the woman but I jumped in front of her and cut the bullets with my sword. “I will not fail my mission again!”

“I will rip you apart for what you have done!” I held her back as she clawed at him. “Nim move!”

“We have to at least bring him back alive. Lady Serafina will want to question him…we need any information that he might have.”

“Fuck that!”

“I agree with Nim Celica…we have to take him back-” I flinched back as the man shot at us and we ducked behind various objects. I hated feeling defenseless like some mortal. My abilities needed to come back in full soon. I was ready to take him back, but if he kept this up I actually would kill him instead. The ship suddenly grinded to a halt, but the sudden force made us launch into the air. That bastard took the opportunity to launch himself at the smurf. She turned just as he grabbed her by the throat. 

I flung myself over as the zero gravity activated and punched him once more in the jaw. The woman kneed him in the stomach before Callum came over and slammed his elbow into his nose. He roared and took a hidden blade from his leg and stabbed Callum in the shoulder. Spinning through the air, the four of us finally settled on the ceiling, and we were once again in a brutal fight. 

This mortal would have never stood a chance if the three of us had our full abilities. I could feel my electricity slowly breaking through, but I could not risk it on this ship. The old fashioned way was perfectly fine with me. Morlo struck out at me, but I threw his arm down and two tapped him in the face before Callum followed up with his own punches. Morlo took a few but so did we as he proved to be a competent fighter despite our strange area of combat. The woman advanced on him too with her own blows and kicks. Her abilities seemed to be coming back as she wielded an ice dagger in her hands. I gave her a quick look before she tossed a pair to myself and Callum, and I blocked a strike to my face from Morlo. 

“The Light will taste defeat at the hands of my master! First however, I will break her spirit with the deaths of her precious Supernovas!” 

The man was a crazed lunatic as his strikes became more and more powerful by the second. His eyes were wide and crazed and saliva was spewing from his mouth. There was something in his eyes as Callum and the woman both charged at him. There was more than a growing sense of hatred, his pupils seemed to be changing. It would not be strange if he was changing in more ways than one. The Darkness seemed to be keen on making new creations. I would have to handle this quick if my suspicions were right. 

The zero gravity suddenly stopped and the four of us plummeted to the floor, but on the way down the three of us attacked Morlo as one. It was amazing how we could always be in sync when the chips were down. Callum struck towards his stomach, while the woman aimed for his heart and I went for his head. Morlo pivoted in the air and twisted just as Callum almost made contact with him. The quick turn almost made him collide his blade with smurfette, but she was quick to react and caught the blade and slammed it into his chest. I growled as he managed to dodge my swing to his head, but I continued my momentum and slashed his throat. 

He choked out some blood as we slammed through the ground and that is when he finally awakened. I didn’t react fast enough as a black mass consumed my face. I heard the others struggle next to me as we continued to crash through the ship. I was sure that I heard the others yell out for us before a harsh chill consumed my body and I realized that we were out in space now. My arms felt heavy and my sight came back and I saw the creature that Morlo became. 

The man was long gone and there was nothing but an amalgamation of various parts of different creatures mixed into the man. Most of the mass was a dark ball of liquid that was slimy to the touch and frankly I didn’t like that I could taste some it either as it wiggled across my face. Morlo or what was left of him was in the center of it. Only his head was visible, but his eyes had sunken deep into his skull and a shrill scream emerged from his mouth every few seconds. The thing that worried me the most was the fact that the mass seemed to be heading back to the ship and I could barely move. Glancing to my left, I could see Callum struggling to break me from its grasp. The woman was completely covered but she was fighting back against it. 

“Hey fucker!” I looked up as Nerissa was falling towards us with her ax raised over her head. Ka’seem was close behind her as they both collided with the mass, sending us further into space. Nerissa managed to sever Callum away from the beast and Ka’seem managed to dig me out. I spit out some of its disgusting gunk before moving towards the woman, but she didn’t need any help as the mass that had her started to freeze over. 

I flinched back as she shatter the mass around her and shards of ice flew out around us. Her face was red with anger as she willed her spear to her side. It was at this moment that I felt the familiar feeling of electricity coursing over me. Morlo’s face disappeared into the mass and that told me all I needed to know about finishing him off. 

Nerissa charged at the beast once more and we were all quick to follow her. The blue one managed to freeze its limbs as they swung at us with sharpened blades. Conjuring up some lightning, I managed to make a sword from it before I charged for the center of the mass. Morlo didn’t make it easy as one of the tendrils snaked out and caught me in the ribs. I coughed out a bit of blood as a chunk of my flesh stung from the wound. Such a wound would not bother me now or ever. I ducked and dodged as he shot out more tentacles at me, but Nerissa and Ka’seem came to my side and cut them away. 

The mass that was Morlo began to vomit out smaller masses that soon attacked us. Smurfette sprang into action alongside Callum and I, and the three of us made quick work of them. Although we seemed to be having the upper hand, Morlo seemed to grow larger and larger. His attacks became more targeted as well. Although our abilities were coming back at a good pace, we still needed to be cautious about the whole thing, but I wanted to finish this bastard because he had caused far too much pain. I stole a glance at the woman as she fought off the smaller enemies that were surrounding us. 

I hated feeling that this lesser being, this disgusting mortal had almost taken her away. She might piss me off, but that didn’t mean that some low life and his gaggle of imbeciles could finish her off. I roared as my sword blazed with raw power. Callum blasted the creature with his pure light and he recoiled in pain and agony and his core revealed itself. The woman floated above the mass and blasted it with her ice and his face twisted in pain as the entire thing began to freeze. I was so close to finishing this, but he was an annoying bastard. With a piercing roar, I was thrown back from him as my ears bled and my head began to spin. The others also flinched away from it, but Nerissa and Ka’seem recovered quickly. Nerissa gathered water into the air above her head before she formed a water snare for the creature, but he broke one of his tendrils free and pierced her through her chest. 

“NIM! HURRY THE FUCK UP!” 

It was easier said than done since I hated to fly and my ears were ringing, but feeling something around my waist, I looked down to see a vine. Ka’seem was almost as strong as me, so when he nodded at me and swung me towards Morlo. I knew that I had the force to knock this fucker into the next few galaxies. The others parted the way for me as Ka’seem slammed me into the mass. Callum’s light had still managed to weaken it, and it was still immobile from the ice and water from the girls. 

“N-No! I-I…the…the LIGHT!!!”

“You aren’t worthy to speak her name!” I cut through all of his disgusting body as my lightning consumed and broke him apart. The blade striking the top of his head, before I split him down the middle. Lightning crackled and sparks flew as we both roared, one of pain and one of determination and victory. His body cracked apart and exploded when I managed to cut all the way through him. We all were thrown away from him and I grunted as I managed to slam into the ship. My head was spinning as I looked over at the former mass. 

The others gathered around him and I held my head as I did as well. The only thing left of him was his split head, but the bastard still found the strength to talk.

“My…my master will…avenge me…destroy the…Light…” A broken chuckle escaped him as he began to disintegrate. “This is not…my end…you bast-”

“The Darkness has no need for weakness.” I rolled my neck as I looked down at his pathetic attempts to warn us. “They made you a monster because you were no longer needed. A brainless and weak creature that in the end still couldn’t finish the job.”

“F-Fuck you all!”

“No Morlo…you don’t get to have the last word for what you have done.” The woman moved up as her eyes glowed dangerously. Reaching a hand out, she grasped his skull and slammed it together once more. “Hell will not be your final resting place…no…I have something in mind for men like you…something far far worse than Hell…”

He yelled out more curses before the woman crushed his head into delicate shards of ice. With a final sigh, we watched as his pieces scattered away before returning to the ship, and at last we returned back to Lady Serafina’s temple to finally complete our mission. 

~~~

“You’re making this such a big deal…”

“I won’t have the brat in her home looking like…this…”

“Hey!”

“Shut up and move it…little shit…” Altair grumbled as I shoved him along through the halls of the temple. The trip back to the temple was mostly spent sleeping and feeling our energy come back, and thankfully nothing else. Now, we just had to make a final introduction. 

Opening the doors of her throne room, I inhaled deeply as I saw her looking up at the moon. She was covered in some bandages, but she looked fine from here…she always did honestly. Hearing the doors open, she turned to dazzle us with her smile. Altair even paused when she laid her eyes on him, but I just pushed him further in while the woman glared at me. 

“Altair…”

“You…you were the other voice that I heard…”

“Yes…I’m sorry if I was confusing you…” She crossed the room with slow steps and I frowned at that. She really needed to be resting and not worried about the brat, but I suppose that would be asking too much. “I just want to stress the point to you that you are safe.”

“I…I know…I feel…safe…”

“Good…” She smiled once more before she kneeled to his height and held her hand out to him. He hesitated for only a second before he took it. His face was a bright crimson as she brushed his hair back and held his cheek. “I will make sure that you never have to be scared and worried ever again. You deserve to live a life of peace and security, and I would like to give you that…for you and your grandfather.”

“W-What?! He’s alive?!” I glanced to the right of the room as a man walked into the room. He was quite young to be a grandfather. The pair ran at each other and embraced and I couldn’t help but smile at their joyous reunion. I guess the little brat did deserve a win after everything that he had been through, we all did honestly. 

“I trust that you all will get some rest?”

“I think we should be saying that to you instead, my lady.” I frowned at her before she laughed and patted my shoulder. “Seriously…”

“Oh my wolf…you worry far too much…all of you do…”

“With good reason, my lady.” Callum stepped up beside me before he looked over at Masami and her sister. “There is a lot that we have to discuss once we rest, my lady.”

“Yes I know Callum, but I want to thank all of you for protecting another one of my precious star children. You all fought valiantly and for that you have my eternal gratitude. Rest my Supernovas you have earned it. Until we meet again…”

I sighed as everyone began to break away and head home. I’d give Nerissa and Ka’seem a day before I show up to their temples and kick their asses. I needed to rest, but I didn’t want to leave her side yet. The woman smirked at me and I couldn’t help but send her one myself. I could admit that I was worried that we had almost lost her. It only meant that we still needed to train and grow ever stronger to make sure something like that didn’t happen again. 

This particular mission was over for now, but the Darkness always had more things up their sleeve. I knew that this was only the beginning and things were changing at a rapid pace. We would have to be more ready than ever, because now having the time to rest and think. Something in the air was making my hair stand on end. Something was happening and the feeling in the pit of my stomach was one that I hadn’t felt in…well it had been some time. I glanced at Lady Serafina to see if she felt what I felt, and the worry on her face confirmed it as she led Altair and his grandfather away. Ka’seem barely was out of the temple but his face changed as he stopped talking to Nerissa. I hadn’t seen him this pale in years, but the speed in which he left the temple and the raw energy that I felt suddenly shook my core. 

I ran outside the temple as I felt a familiar surge of power. Lady Serafina appeared at my side as we looked into the vastness of space. The battle…no…the war was far from over. Something had awaken and been unleashed into the cosmos again, something that should have stayed buried. This fight with the Darkness would now only get harder, fiercer, and more deadlier from this point on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previous: https://www.tumblr.com/goddessofeternity/748036122900348928/chronicles-of-the-supernovas-chosen

Thanks for reading!

Comments and reblogs are appreciated! Likes are welcomed!

[brown-little-robin]

42: Dog with Two Owners

part one | previous | next | masterlist | ao3 version

Thad wakes up blearily. It’s really bright. His head hurts. He groans and throws his elbow over his eyes. He must have fallen asleep outside the nutrient womb. Feels like he’s laying on a computer or something.

“CRAYDL, turn down the lights.”

Silence.

Max Mercury’s voice says, “Are you awake?”

Oh.

“Yes.”

He keeps his elbow over his eyes. His cheeks are burning. Where is he and who just heard him talking to CRAYDL? The last thing he remembers is being on Joseph’s lap in the lair. Did he lose time, or just fall asleep?

Thad sits up and eases his arm away from his face, letting his eyes adjust to the sunlight. He’s above ground somewhere he doesn’t recognize, surrounded by concrete blocks and rubble. Max and Joseph are looking at him searchingly. He suppresses the urge to hide his face again.

The surrounding pile of rubble looks like the aftermath of a fight or something, but Max and Joseph seem calm.

Joseph smiles at him and signs, “You fell asleep. I texted Max to come get us.”

No fight, then. Good. Relieved, Thad allows the adults to coddle him.

Max holds out his hand, and Thad lets the man pull him upright. Joseph asks if he can touch him, and when Thad nods, Joseph hugs him. Not just a quick hug, either. Joseph holds onto him. Thad buries his face in Joseph’s shirt. He feels hidden. Safe, for the moment.

Max asks, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine.” Thad reluctantly disengages from Joseph. “I can’t tell if the experiment did anything permanent to me.”

The white lightning has died down to his usual yellow, and the unnatural happiness is gone. Thad reaches for the void in his chest, the thing that Raven said was where a lightning rod was supposed to go, and can’t even tell if it’s there. He just feels embarrassed, and, under that, empty. Empty, empty.

His CRAYDL is dead and Thad isn’t even mourning it. Doesn’t have the capacity.

Thad is so close to being safe from the Allens forever. All he has to do is go to Doctor Morlo to get examined, which was part of several agreements he had to make to get this far. And then, provided his new lightning rod isn’t killing him, he can move in with Joseph. Today.

“Can you bring me to the lab, sir?”

“Of course. Come on.”

Max holds his hands out. Thad approaches him, conscious of Joseph watching. He hates this. He feels like a dog with two owners. Who is he supposed to obey? Who is he supposed to wag his tail for?

He allows Max to pick him up and carry him to Morlo’s lab. Max sets him down on the exam table and touches his cheek gently. Torn between the instinct to flinch back and the aching emptiness that makes him want to lean in, Thad just freezes. Max smiles sadly.

“You did good. I’ll be back soon.”

It takes longer than Thad expected for Max to return. He looks around the lab, idly refreshing himself on the equipment layout, and wonders what Max is doing. Probably reporting to the other speedsters. Bringing Joseph back to the house, too. There’s no reason for Joseph to be in Nevada when Thad will be delivered to his house soon enough.

Examination, then goodbyes to Max and Helen, then being taken to Joseph’s house. Then he can relax.

Thad shivers. It’s cold down in the lab with only a t-shirt and shorts.

Doctor Morlo comes in at last, clumping heavily down the stairs. Alone. He sets down his suitcase with a huge sigh.

“Well, boy,” he says. “You survived.”

“I survived,” Thad agrees.

Morlo nods. Then he puts his hands on his hips and stretches, grumbling quietly. Thad is content to watch.

“How do you feel?”

“Full report?” Thad isn't really feeling up to all the joking he usually does with Morlo, but he's content enough to relish the words. He likes play-acting, too serious or too casual, around Doctor Morlo. The "doctor" gets it.

“Full report,” Morlo agrees.

“Physically undamaged. No bones broken, no muscles torn, no nerve damage that I can tell. But I was hit by lightning, so it’s worth running a test, probably.”

“What about your powers?”

“I don’t know definitively yet. I need to do more testing. They changed… not permanently, though, I think.”

Thad tells Morlo about speaking to the spirits. He describes, as best as he can, the spirit that took him into the blank white space and then touched him, throwing him back into physical space. He leaves out the part where it called him beloved. That’s… private.

“My trace lightning was white for a few minutes. You know—what sparks from speedsters as they move?”

“I know. Is it back to yellow now?”

“Yes.” Thad frowns at his hands. “I think I was faster with the white lightning. Fast enough to outrun Wally West, although of course his top speed varies based on his emotional state. And I was… I was so happy…”

Thad’s throat closes up.

Morlo clears his throat loudly and clumps over to his minifridge. He tosses Thad an apple juice over his shoulder.

Thad catches it perfectly, of course. He tears the little plastic opening with his fingernail. Destroying something helps him focus again.

Morlo asks, “Any guesses about why?”

“Because I wasn’t afraid. I think I wasn’t physically capable of fear right then.”

“I meant the powers, but good to know.”

Thad flushes. “Right. I… I don’t know, but I felt like the white lightning was a gift. From the spirit.”

“You’re catching Mercury’s Zen thing,” Doctor Morlo grunts.

“I am not!”

Morlo shrugs. “I’m joking. Anyway, electricity overload, possible nerve damage, and your powers changed? Sounds like we should run a plate test.”

Morlo hooks the metal plate he uses to test Thad’s vibrational and speed abilities to one of his machines. Thad follows his directions perfectly, as always. His powers are working perfectly, forcing the world slower and faster at Thad’s whims. His lightning sparks and shines as poison-yellow as ever. It’s a relief.

Morlo starts to put the plate away, then turns around abruptly.

“Wait. You were hungry?”

“Yes. I ate… fourteen food packs.”

“How big?”

Thad gestures with his hands. “About the size of a 21st century granola bar.”

Morlo frowns. “Hmm. It could be the massive energy expenditure of communicating with this “spirit” of yours. Or your heat-shield aura trying to protect you from the lightning tunnel. On the other hand… it could be a symptom of something… bigger.”

Thad’s stomach sinks. He should have realized hunger was a bad sign. Being hungry is not normal for him anymore.

“You’re right. I haven’t had much of an appetite since I was in the speed force,” he confirms, and then realizes that he’ll have to distinguish his… reappearance… in June from his recent brush with the speed force. “I mean, since I…”

“Ran away?”

Thad winces. He can’t exactly refute that.

“You make it sound so petty!”

Morlo shrugs. “If you have a better thing to call it, let me know.”

Thad sits silent. Everything he can think to call it would be… dramatic. ‘Revoking my existence’ would be most accurate… ‘running away’ will do fine.

Morlo puts the plate away.

“I need your blood. I’ll run some tests.”

Thad straps his arm into the cuffs and strains to keep himself at normal speed. He hates feeling the needle go in, and the weird coldness of getting his blood drawn disturbs him. He’d rather just cut himself and let the wound drain, but Green Lantern was disturbed when he did that in the Watchtower.

Morlo holds up the vial of blood and grins at it.

“Mad scientist,” Thad teases him.

Morlo guffaws. “Little villain.”

Thad grins.

Doctor Morlo separates his blood into several vials, then pours some of it into what looks like a bunsen burner. Thad could come over and watch, but honestly, he’s tired. His own inertia keeps him lying on the exam table, waiting.

“So, Max tells me you still have that Inertia suit.”

Thad tenses. His arm pulls against the cuffs again, not vibrating, just digging the metal into his arm.

“Yes.”

“Ever think about trying it on again?”

“No!”

Thad stares at Morlo’s back, feeling nauseous. What did he do wrong? Why would Doctor Morlo think he wanted to be Inertia again?

“No,” Thad says, quieter, uncomfortably aware of how rough—how evil—his voice sounds. “I don’t want to be Inertia. I swear.”

“I said trying it on, not being Inertia.” Morlo looks at Thad over his shoulder. He doesn’t look angry, just curious. “No interest in spandex at all, though? Not even to make your own vigilante identity?”

Thad hesitates.

“I… I don’t…”

If these metal restraints were any sharper, he’d be bleeding. It feels far away. He’s staring at the back of Morlo’s white coat, only half perceiving it.

“I don’t know… I’m… useful, I know I could be useful, hypothetically. I’d be an incredible asset. But… even the issue of running aside, I don’t… want to.”

Pathetic.

“What if I hurt someone? Or what if the Flash got angry at me, or… I don’t want to put myself in a position to make a catastrophic mistake. I’d be done for.”

But Thad would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t… thought about it. Being… a hero. Being someone useful, confident, adored.

He got a taste of the hero life when he was Bart. He loved being “Impulse”. It was so much better than being Bart Allen. He was fast, he was strong, he had a team and a mentor… everyone trusted him…

Foolish fantasies. Thad Thawne was ruined for that a long time ago.

Morlo sets the blood carefully in a rack in the fridge, then comes back and releases the restraints. Thaddeus swings his legs off the bed, grabs his arm, and squeezes where the upper restraint was, just below the elbow. The dull, bruise-like pain gives him something to focus on. Anything is better than the purposeless void of his new life.

Doctor Morlo heaves himself up onto the bed beside Thad. Thad freezes.

Morlo says, “All I’m saying is, it would be good to get you moving again. I’m not trying to pressure you into being a hero or anything. But you need the exercise.”

Thad flinches at the reminder of his failure to keep his body at full functionality. He’s been trying not to think about that.

“You’re a speedster. You have to run. For your health.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I just can’t!” Thad snaps. “I know I ran away today, but I wasn’t in my right mind. Running triggers my fight-or-flight response. I can’t let that happen.”

“Work up to it, then.”

Thad shakes his head.

“I can’t do it.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

Thad laughs. “I murder someone and get executed for it? It’s not some kind of social anxiety keeping me from going for a nice little run, Morlo. I’m dangerous.”

“Dangerous my sweet butt,” Morlo growls. “Boy, just say you’re traumatized.”

“What’s the difference?” Thad snaps. “I still can’t run.”

Morlo turns and grabs Thad’s shoulders, forcing him to look into his face. Thad goes very tense, heart hammering.

“Listen, boy,” Morlo growls. “You and I are a lot alike, which is how I know you’re making a huge mistake.”

Thad tries to say “Let me go!”, but all that comes out is a whine. Morlo’s hands squeeze his shoulders harder.

“You are making your life into a big drama about mortal enemies and living weapons. It doesn’t have to be that way. Got that?”

Morlo lets him go. Thad covers his face. His arms are shaking.

After a minute, he can speak again. “I’m not like you! You were never a weapon!”

“I don’t have as much excuse as you, but I certainly was a weapon. You studied me, didn’t you?”

Yes, he did, but… well… maybe they are similar. Thad has to admit that Morlo is just as much a potential killer as he is. He was going to kill Max, even.

Morlo huffs.

“Look. You don’t have to start running if it’s that upsetting to you. But you have to know you're allowed to be a person. Pete's sake, boy, your family's not going to kill you if you slip up a bit.”

“Yes they will. I want them to.”

“Thad,” Morlo growls, and Thad glares at him through his fingers. This is about that stupid ‘suicidal’ thing again, isn’t it? Why is Morlo so bent on deciding that Thad’s suicidal?! It’s ridiculous!

“I don’t want to die,” he snarls, hating that he even has to say that. CRAYDL would be disappointed in him for sinking to the point where that’s even in question. “But I can’t be allowed to kill people. I made Max promise he’d kill me if I was going to.”

“This is above my pay grade,” Morlo groans. He gets off the table and goes to the stairs.

“MAX!” he hollers. “A little help here!”

Max appears at the top of the stairs, calm and elegant as always, and Thad sighs in equal parts frustration and relief. Max will know how to explain.

“Max, tell Doctor Morlo I can’t be allowed to kill people,” he demands.

Max gives Morlo a look. Thad waits.

Morlo tells Max, “He thinks you’re just waiting around to kill him or something.”

Thad is offended on Max’s behalf. “I’m trying to tell Morlo that you promised you’d kill me if you had to. He doesn’t believe me!”

“Ah.”

Thad rests his hands on his thighs, waiting for the sweet triumph of being proven right.

“I did tell him I’d stop him if I absolutely had to, in order to save lives,” Max tells Morlo pointedly. “But clearly something got lost in translation.”

Oh no.

Max comes down the stairs and makes eye contact with Thad. Thad looks away. He can’t do the emotional openness thing right now, not while being reprimanded for whatever it was that he misunderstood.

“I’m not going to kill you for making a mistake,” Max tells him. “And neither will Wally, or Jay, or Jessie, or Bart, or anyone else. We don’t kill in revenge, Thad, or as a punishment. We only take a life to save a life. As long as you didn’t mean to hurt anyone else, no one would hurt you.”

That can’t be right. That can’t. What about the vindictive streak of the Allen family? What about justice? What about Wally West?

Thad opens his eyes again, finding his argument. “What about Inertia in the museum, then? The one who killed Bart?”

Max inhales sharply.

Thad continues, a little spark of anger lighting in him, “Bart was already dead when the Flash crippled Inertia. I know that! I heard Wonder Woman say so! You’ve taken revenge before; don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same to me.”

“Thad…” Max sighs. “We should talk about that more later, but that won’t happen to you. I promise.”

“How can I trust you?” Thad spits. Baiting him. His heart’s not really in it, but Thad is good at performing anger.

“It’s not the same,” Max says firmly. “That Inertia was an active risk. And Wally wasn’t in a good place then. Bart had been killed, Thad. We all thought he was gone forever.”

For an insane moment, Thad wishes he was the other Inertia. He wishes he could have been part of a world where Bart was dead and gone and he didn’t have to think about him anymore.

“You thought Bart Allen was dead,” Thaddeus says slowly, savoring the words, rolling them in his mouth like he’s forming them into a knife under his tongue.

He glances at Max. The older man is watching Thad warily.

“Bart Allen, dead and gone…”

Thaddeus’s mouth pulls into a terrible grin. He knows exactly what he looks like. He used to practice his grin of dark triumph in the mirrored surfaces of televisions.

“So why did the Flash have to cripple Inertia?”

Max hesitates one crucial second and Thaddeus launches himself into the metaphorical crack Max left there. “I know he was dangerous, but the Flash could have just taken his speed and left him normal! You claim that won’t happen to me, but are our situations really that different?”

“Yes.”

“No they’re not!”

“Death changes things,” Max says quietly. “I won’t claim Wally was right in what he did, but he was grieving.”

“So what,” Thaddeus hisses, throat burning. “I’m grieving too and I haven’t killed anyone over it.”

Morlo clears his throat. Thad’s eyes snap to him, and for a moment all he can see is how to snap the big man’s neck, sweep his legs out and punch through his stomach, yank him down by the beard and kick his teeth out.

“You’re a good person,” Max says.

No. He’s exactly like every other nameless clone who tried to kill Bart Allen. Thaddeus is cold as ice. Angry as an arctic storm. Empty.

“Liar.”

Max flinches. Doctor Morlo hurriedly turns his back on them and heads upstairs. Good idea.

“Thad, I—”

“I don’t want to hear it. You only protect me because I tricked you into loving me when I was Bart.”

Max’s eyes snap open.

“That’s not true.” Now Max is angry. “Sophos Thaddeus Anacletus Free, that is not true.”

“Then what’s your excuse?” Thaddeus snarls. “Go on, lie to me.”

“I love you like a son,” Max says, low and furious. “Thaddeus, it kills me inside every time one of you clones dies. I would protect you all if I could. But I can’t.”

Like a son!

Like a son!

For a blinding moment, Thad wants to cry.

And then the feeling recedes and Thad is filled and surrounded by that cold emptiness again. What good is Max’s love, anyway? Much good it did any of Thad’s dead clones. Max’s love means nothing. It’s a meaningless promise, just like everything else in Thad’s life.

He sneers, “That’s right. You can’t protect any of us. I’m leaving.”

Thad swings himself off the bed. He knows that he’s about to ruin all of his hard-earned trust from Max, but he can’t bring himself to care. He can’t do this. Sit there and look at Max’s guilty old face and pretend everything is fine. He can’t cuddle and cry with a man who let his clones—his clones!—be killed.

The only emotion that can spark through the clouds of this void of feeling is anger. They were his clones and the Flash and Impulse killed them. He feels like he’s been stolen from.

Max is speaking, but Thad doesn’t care enough to listen to the words. “I want to say goodbye to Helen,” he interrupts blandly, keeping the anger below his icy surface. “But I guess that’ll have to be later. I’m not in the right mood.”

“Thad, wait.”

“Don’t chase me. You don’t want to have to kill me, after all!”

And he runs away.

As Thaddeus kicks into motion, another emotion seizes him. Fear. He controls that too, allowing it to drive him faster but not to drive him out of his intended course. He’s going to New Jersey. He’s going to Metropolis to find Joseph.

And then he’ll never have to run again.

[radioactive-earthshine]

Impulse (1995) #37

Literally divorced.

[uzaydakivodkazz]

mororlo morlo mürürlü mürlü mararla marla mererle merle mirirli mirli

selam hala sapıksın hiç değişmicen dime

Hayır değişmicem

[chainsawcorazon]

this how some of y'all set up ya carrds