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Thaddeus Thawne, the inevitable Inertia, was stunned. This was not at all like he had planned. But how had this all come to pass? Thaddeus thought back on the years of prep work.
While in the thirtieth century, he watched, and waited, learning everything he possibly could before setting any plans into motion. He had reviewed the records countless times, replaying each scene he deemed significant on repeat until Cradyl began to worry. He had studied Bart Allen, Impulse, until his plans and back up plans were so full proof that there could be no doubt he would succeed in avenging his family. After a failed attempt at vengeance, that he so cleverly turned into a successful reconnaissance mission, Thaddeus had managed to replace Bart Allen in the time stream. He became the perfect son, responsible hero, and even an amazing friend. No one, not Bart’s guardian Max Mercury, nor his friends, nor anyone who even remotely knew Bart had seemed to suspect anything. They just thought Bart had found a way to apply himself.
Trying to be Bart, to fool everyone into thinking he was his genetic twin, was difficult at times. He had had to put up with the inane chatter of Bart’s friends and try to socialise. At first, he hated it, but later he found that these same friends, the ones who had chosen his foolish counterpart for a companion, actually liked him for him. Oh sure, they still thought he was Bart, but it was Thaddeus’ personality shining through, and that made all the difference. Fans of the aptly named Impulse showered Thaddeus in praise and thanks, and he was surprised to find he did not hate the attention and affection. Max himself had even told Thaddeus how proud he was of him. No one had ever said that before. And just like that, Thaddeus’ plans had been derailed. He wanted to put an end to the grand plan in motion, to save Max Mercury from his horrible fate, but then Max kept calling him Bart and that pain and resentment welled up inside. So he told his temporary mentor everything: how he had taken Bart’s place, how he had grown to love the life he had been living with them, and how he had planned to destroy Bart Allen. Then, Max said something Thaddeus hadn’t expected.
“But think for a moment, Thad… it is Thad, right?” In silence, he continued. “What did you accomplish?” Thad had blinked in surprise, unsure of how to respond. Max smiled and said “You accomplished so much yourself! Not only in carrying out your plan, but in becoming so immersed in becoming Impulse, you actually became a great hero! And that felt good, didn’t it? Helping people? Being loved and respected? Having friends who care about you, and a family that loves you?”
It really had felt good. If Thad was being completely honest with himself, it had felt far better than any other point of his existence. Even this far into his plan, Thad had wanted to do good, to stop this, but he was hurt every time someone called him Bart. Maybe… Maybe if fate had been kind, he could have had a life like that from the start. But he had to avenge his family, he had to destroy Bart Allen, it was the whole reason he had been created!
Undeterred by the silence and torrent of emotions flowing across Thad’s face, Max moved closer, pulling off the mask. “You’ve changed, Thad. I could be proud of you. You’ve come so far already, it would be easy for you to toss aside the plots and schemes for a fresh start at doing good and living a happy life!”
Could he? Would it actually be that easy? Once more Thad found himself almost completely swayed, but then Max just had to say ‘we’ and Thad’s blood began to boil. In a matter of seconds, Bart had appeared, catching up to the duo on the path to the Speed Force, and the fight began. Thad was winning, he would finally have everything he had wanted, but then Bart chose to ignore him and reach for Max.
“What is this?!” He asked, confusion palpable, as he watched the scene unfold before him. Bart tilted his head, seeming to piece together some ideas in his mind before asking “You really don’t get it, do you?” Thad wanted to argue, but Bart continued speaking before Thad could utter a sound. “I love him. I’d die for him or with him. That’s what you do, how you feel, when you love someone.” The silence practically echoed around them. “Haven’t you ever loved someone like that? Hasn’t anyone ever loved you like that?”
And that was when it clicked. “No…” He managed to mutter, dropping to his knees. No one had ever felt like that about him. No one had ever really loved him. That was why he had been so jealous, so enraged when Max kept calling him Bart. He barely registered as Bart and Max vanished, no doubt heading for the Speed Force to cure Max, as Thad’s memories swam in his mind. It was only when a hand appeared in front of his face that Thad finally returned to the moment.
There, standing before him, were Bart and Max. Bart had his hand out to Thad, his head tilted to one side like a dog listening to a command. When Thad’s eyes met Bart’s, Bart smiled and said “There you are! C’mon! Let’s go home.”
Thad blinked, looking between the two, before finally finding his voice. “You want me to go home with you? After everything? Why?” He frowned, eyes squinting in suspicion. “We’re sort of like twins, right? So why shouldn’t we go home together?” Bart asked, hand still outstretched. Home. Home sounded nice. Maybe, just maybe, Thad could take a chance on this. His mind made up, Thad reached out and took Bart’s hand. With a grin, Bart dragged Thad and Max back through the Time Stream, leaping out to arrive in the lab of Doctor Morlo once more. Helen and Carol were there, bracing for an attack, until they saw Bart and Thad’s linked hands.
“What’s going on, Bart?” Helen asked, slowly stepping forward while keeping Carol protectively hidden behind her. As Bart opened his mouth to try to explain, Max put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “I’ll handle this.” Turning his attention to Helen, he said “This is Thad and he’ll be living with us from now on.” Noticing the anger and confusion brewing in Helen’s eyes, he raised his hand in front of him and amended “With your permission, of course. It turns out he’s been living with our family for a little while now, pretending to be Bart, but we’d like to give him a chance to be part of our family in his own right.”
As Helen considered, Max drew closer and lowered his voice. “I’ll explain everything later, I promise, but I’d like to get through all of that without forcing Thad to relive it.” Finally, Helen nodded. “Alright, boys, let’s go home.”
The trip to the house was silent, a little tense, yet somehow comfortable at the same time. Helen found herself glancing back in the rearview mirror to watch over Bart and Thad. Thad was wrapped in his own thoughts, staring out the window, while Bart sat surprisingly still next to him. No one spoke, opting instead to keep their own council as the classical music on the radio station Thad had chosen, during his time as Bart, played a selection of soft ballads. Thad could hardly believe his luck. After everything he had done, after nearly killing Max, they were willing to give him a chance; They were willing to offer him a home. Thad had never really known what a home was, at least, he hadn’t until he replaced Bart and lived a life so different from his own. A squeeze of his hand drew him back into the moment, and drew his attention to the house in front of him. The last time he had been here, it wasn’t as Thad. He huffed out a breath and opened the door to the car, following the others into the house. Bart had rushed ahead, a streak of red and yellow, while Max and Helen had opted to move at normal speed. Thad had decided to follow their lead and, at normal speed, stayed a few steps behind the duo until the door was closed behind him. After being directed towards the sofa, and taking a seat, Thad turned his attention towards the adults. Max was the first to speak.
“Alright, if we’re going to do this, we’re going to need some ground rules.” Bart let out a groan that was quickly hushed by a glance from both Max and Helen. “First, stay discrete. No openly using your speed. Second, no fighting. I don’t mean no arguing or disagreements, I mean no physical fighting. If there’s a problem, we’ll have to work it out like adults.” Helen put a hand on Max’s shoulder and spoke. “You’ll each have chores to do, and you’ll have to go to school. Thad will have to be enrolled first, but there shouldn’t be much difficulty there. You’ll have to do your chores and homework before you can go rushing off to hang out with friends or join other superheroes for patrol and missions. If there needs to be an exception, for any reason, we can discuss it first. But no heading off without permission!” Max focused his full dad glare at the boys and said “Understood?”
Bart and Thad nodded in agreement. “Good,” Max said, rising from the chair he had borrowed from the kitchen, “Then I’ll get started on dinner. You boys can do what you want, within reason, and we can get Thad settled in properly afterwards. We only have the one bed for now, but we can get you a bed of your own in the morning. You can take Bart’s bed for now, or the couch, whichever you prefer.”
As soon as Helen left, heading off to run some errands, Bart pulled out his video games and started playing. Thad went towards the bookcase and grabbed a thick volume on the good science from science fiction, and sat down to read. It all felt so surreal, like any moment it would all shatter and prove to be a dream, or an hallucination, or the family would decide they were better off without him. But, for now at least, Thad would make the most of it. Dinner was pleasant, though a tad awkward at first, and then it was time to sleep. Bart had opted to take the couch, letting Thad take his bed on the bunk above the desk. Thad reached for the ceiling, revelling in the cool touch of the solid barrier, before finally allowing himself to fall asleep, a silent prayer in his heart that he would not wake up to find this was all a lie.
The following morning, true to their word, Helen and Max took Thad shopping for a new bed and some other essentials. As his bed was getting set up, in the room that he would now share with Bart, Thad couldn’t help but marvel at how things had worked out. Sure, it wasn’t perfect and there were still tensions, how could there not be after what had happened? But, in spite of all of that, the family seemed to be coming together nicely, with Thad safely in their midst. After some time, and some help from Max’s contacts, Thad was enrolled in Manchester Junior High and joined Bart as a student. Bart had introduced him as his twin brother, and his friends had been rather kind. Though they had annoyed him at first, Thad now realised that they truly did like him for him, and happily settled into the group dynamic. Part of him expected it to shatter like a mirror, but, for once, he had hope. Later, he joined Impulse as Inertia and the two became an incredible team. Sometimes he’d even get the chance to team up with the more respected heroes, like Batman and Superman, but this time as himself instead of his impression of Bart as Impulse.
Months passed in this way, time marching ever forward, and Thad found that small, scared, piece of himself fading into the depths of his mind. He was safe now; he had a family now; he had a home. Heck, he and Bart had even become close, like real brothers. Sure, they argued most of the time, but from Thad’s understanding, that was normal. Helen and Max were amazing, even if he couldn’t bring himself to admit it to their faces as often as he would like. He had a routine he thrived in, and friends he could be himself with. He was no longer a tool for revenge. He was loved. He was respected. He was Thaddeus Thawne, Inertia, and he was a hero.