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Impulse was getting way too old for this. He would so much rather be home snuggling in bed with his husband Skizz and not out running on roof tops but Dynamo hadn’t retired yet and he had a duty to the city of Anasona. There were whispers of something big brewing but lately the biggest thorn in his side was two vigilanties.
They were young, dumb and going to get themselves killed if they kept up like this. They somehow had decent gear and their hearts were in the right place but there were many reasons you don’t just do this kind of job with no training.
“Dynamo, we've got a report of a break in at the jewelry shop on Riverside Road.” A familiar voice crackled in his ear. “The Dicey Duo might already be there.”
“On it Spectra.” Impulse took to the air and started to fly in that direction. “Didn’t expect to hear you this late. Don’t you have a family thing tomorrow?”
“That is what caffeine is for. Besides if I want that promotion I need to get my hours in support training in and this is the easiest time to do that. My boss happens to be a real stickler for the rules.”
Impulse laughs. “Is he now? Are you getting a hang of everything?”
“I’ve had some very good teachers. I don’t know if I’ll ever get as fast as the Paperman.”
“No one can be as fast as him. Oh I see some police lights…” he let out a sigh. “...well the idiots didn’t get themselves killed, let me see if I can snag them.”
The two vigilantes were handing the four robbers over to the police and looking quite proud of themselves.
The taller of the pair was an orange cat hybrid in a black body suit with orange and teal accents and visor. He had a trick bow and thigh high boots that had some sort of tech built into them that let him jump and run pretty fast.
The shorter was some sort of avian though Impulse had learned the hard way not to assume that for sure. His costume was black and pink with a pink visor and black and pink wings.
“Hey Rocky and Bullwinkle, how many times do I have to tell the two of you that you can’t do this?”
The pair of them looked confused and glanced at each other clearly not understanding what he called them and making Impulse feeling so much older.
“Oh hey Dynamo, fancy seeing you here. Did you forget our names again? I’m Hotguy and this is my partner Cuteguy.”
“Not calling you that.” These two were kids. Probably somewhere between Gem and Grian’s ages. He’d be surprised if they were much past 20. “You’re both under arrest for being vigilanties.”
“But we caught the criminals.” Cuteguy says motioning to men in the police cars.
“You haven’t been trained and you’re going to break your foolish necks.” He let electricity crackle on his fingers as he got closer. Just enough to stun them so they couldn’t get away.
He heard a click and a moment too late noticed that Cuteguy had that stupid gun tucked behind his back. Before he could close his eyes a bright flash of light blinded him and the police officers that were still around.
Impulse reached out blindly and managed to grab onto something but the electricity didn’t connect and he felt something hit his wrist hard and he let go.
By the time his vision cleared the two of them were gone. He still had spots in his eyes and his wrist hurt.
“Spectra they got away, were you able to track them?”
“Sorry the flash shot burned out the camera’s in the area and I haven’t been able to find them on another one. I’ll keep looking.”
“They are probably long gone. I’m getting too old for this.”
“You’re not too old.”
“It’s not the years, it's the mileage.”
---
There were two dormer windows on Grian’s loft bedroom that were all too easy for Hotguy and Cuteguy to slip in through.
They both pressed buttons on their visors. Hotguy’s cat ears and tail changed from orange back to his usual black and white and his hair went from orange to brown. Cuteguy’s hair changed from pink to dirty blond and his wings back to his usual red and yellow.
“Scar I was so scared Impulse was going to catch us that time. We’ve got to start leaving sooner.” Grian said as he pulled out a hidden panel in the back of his closet to plug his gun and Scar’s bow in to charge.
“I know, I know. I mean anyone is bad but I keep expecting Impulse to notice our fighting style. I mean he trained us.”
Scar took a moment to pet Marmalade who hadn’t seemed to notice them coming in but enjoyed the pets all the same.
Grain put both of their visitors in the dock to charge as well and then changed into a tshirt and shorts so he could put the costume away. Then he turned and realized Scar was still in his costume and boots.
“Scar come on. We’ve got class in the morning and I want to snuggle some before we go to sleep.” He said to his boyfriend.
“Gri…one of the bendy bits in my left boot is locked. I don’t think I can get it off.”
“Scar! Not another one.”
“This is not my fault. Impulse grabbed me blind during the flash. I had to kick his hand away. I think he shocked something.”
Grian let out a sigh and made Scar sit down on his bed before crouching down to help get the boots off. “You know the friends and family discount Hector gives us is the only reason two broke college students can afford this gear. He really should charge us more.”
“I know…maybe he could teach us how to fix it ourselves?”
Grian falls silent for a moment but then shakes his head. “No. Hector’s been doing this longer than we’ve known him. He’s a professional. I’m not trusting your safety to our dumb asses fixing things.”
“Awww Gri, love you too.” Scar said with a smile that made Grian’s heart race even after all these years. He knew first loves and high school sweethearts weren’t supposed to really last but Grian couldn’t imagine ever loving anyone like he loves Scar.
It took way too long to work the boot off Scar’s leg but then they packed it up to bring to Hector when they saw him in class the next day. Scar changed into pajama pants and put away his costume and then the pair climbed into bed next to each other.
The light had only been turned off a few minutes when the light of a car turning into the driveway slid across the wall before being turned off. Impulse was home. In the quiet house they could just hear the front door opening and then quiet voices.
They couldn’t make out anything being said but they knew Skizz had been waiting up to greet Impulse and the first thing he would do would be to check the demon for injuries and heal any he found no matter how mild.
It was a routine Grian had seen many times first hand. He didn’t need to be able to hear any words to know that Skizz would want to take care of him and that Impulse would try to get Skizz to go to bed which wouldn’t work until Impulse was ready to join him. The two men who Grian considered his fathers without sharing a drop of blood had taught him by example what it was to love someone.
“I hate that we have to hide this from them.” Scar whispered softly.
Grian can hear the pain in Scar’s voice and starts to rub his fingers behind Scar’s ear. “I know. Me too.” Grian was painfully aware that without their dads that Scar might be still living on the street and he and Gem would be at best still running from their crazy mother. “They will understand once we can tell them. Just remember why we are doing this.”
Scar nodded. “For Ava.”
“For Ava.” Grian snuggled close to Scar and soon the pair of them were fast asleep.