4544/Lightning Round

Lightning Round
Date of Scene:	30 December 2020
Location:	Arcade Diner - Park Row
Synopsis:	Terry and Bart catch up for the scheduled interview. Terry learns some valuable lessons about high speed travel.
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Bart Allen

---

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    erry O'Neil was a man of his word- when he says he wants to interview someone, he either usually gets his man... or gets thrown out for disturbing of the peace. That last part does't tend to happen as often as his friends like to joke... but it's happened.

Fortunately, he doesn't really have to fight hard to get an interview with Impulse- their common link with Cassie makes it easier to get messages across. Gotham isn't exactly Terry's favorite place, but he's been there a couple of times. This afternoon? He's at the Arcade for some fries, shakes, and questions.

"Thanks for meeting me here, I know it can be a hassle to get your schedule to work..." he takes a sip of his chocolate shake and smiles at Bart. At eighteen years of age he had managed to cause quite a stir at The Planet by being the first superhero to go public while working at a media outlet (that the public knew, of course), and he might be giving Lois Lane a run for her money in the field of 'bullets fired at him'... but only if you count the ones fired at him while in costume, which is cheating.

"How have you been since the party? Any big developments or fights?" he says, dipping a fry in ketchup. He decided to show up as his human side, since Bart was going maskless. There was no need to draw attention.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen showed up in jeans and a Gotham Zoo T-shirt on. He has ordered a rather large amount of food, but not totally over the top. He looks over to Terry and shakes his head a bit and says "Nothing over the top, been out doing the normal hero thing. Stopped a bank robbery in Poughkeepsie yesterday, but it was not a major thing." He offers and takes a bite out of his burger, chewing and swallowing before adding "Work and school keep me in one place for longer than they should these days.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry rolls his eyes, "Tell me about it- I got super far behind on work because of getting lost in space, I've had to pull overtime just to catch up with the web content I'm supposed to make. It's a miracle I didn't get fired..." he chuckles, "At least I'm not going to college, not for a while, so I don't have to deal with classes right now..."

He rests his chin on his hand, "So, I'll ask you some questions, and you gotta remember that I won't send any of it to the site until you've read it trough and a-okayed it. You know, to protect any details that might reveal your identity that both of us might miss on the first pass... with that being said, let's see..." he taps a fry, "Have you clocked yourself at your top speed? If so, what's your stop speed right now?"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen shakes his head, and says "Na, not really, but to be fair I am not sure if they can make a radar gun that can measure it. I mean, there is a bit of a limit have to keep under so not to damage things, but only ones I have met who can out run me, were Gra.... the other two flashes and Max. Well the two full masks Flash, I mean Jay err The helmeted Flash is fast, and all, but I can take him in a fair race, but in an anything goes, I could probably take him but not sure." He sips his drink and adds "Getting tripped at mach 3 sucks."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry winces, "I can't even begin to imagine... how on earth do you manage to do trip at that speed /and/ not shatter every bone in your body? I've always wondered about that kind of stuff because... of course, I have all the lame powers and I get to fantasize what flight or running really, really fast feels like."

"The other Flashes are pretty influential in your life- what do you think you have learned from them? Wally, for example-" since Wally's identity was public, Terry saw no issue in using his name, and it gave Bart someone he could discuss without fear of an accidental outing. Even though they were in a pretty secluded booth, he kept his voice quiet to prevent anyone overhearing them. It helps that he slipped a hundred to the owner and asked for both booths behind and in front of theirs to be tagged as 'reserved' for the interview. The Planet would pay for it.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over and says "Well Wally helped me a lot when I got here, my mom and grandma sent me here, and I was having a bit of a problem with my speed, but Wally helped me out with it. As for learning from the Flashes, well they are my family and have learned a lot from them, but am hoping to get a chance to learn more. The one I learned the most from, that was Max, but he is more famous back in the day, more than current time." He does zoom over to the jukebox and puts some money in and punches in about a dozen or two songs. He comes back to the seat faster than most would notice he was gone. "And with the speed comes fast reflexes as well, I mean, if I hit a wall or something at max speed most times it is nothing much more than anyone else, as I can work on slowing myself down and catching myself, and such, but unexpected it can be a bit of a tumble.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Yeah, I can imagine- not knowing what you can do is... maddening. I sometimes wonder if I'm really pushing myself to find out all that I can do. I imagine you must have felt the same... but now you're speedy ad slick and ready to kick butt, so good for you." He munches on another fry and hmmms appreciatively, "You know, they make these so well here. So many diners, they just give you these soggy floppy things or fry-shaped coal. Anyways..."

"Let me go into my Edna Mode impression. Your suit is slick and the design is pretty unique, it stands out from the mostly-red of the two Flashes and it's definitely different from the red-and-yellow number Wally was wearign when he got started. Did you design it yourself?"

He begins to tap his foot to the song that queues up without realizing it. At leat he's not bobbing his head. Yet.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen hmms and says "Well my original outfit was just a bit of a variation of normal clothes from where I came, but I did wear the Kid Flash costume for a bit, before I went with my current one. It is mostly the flash style but with the colors I am know for. I went as Kid flash for a bit, but the more I thought about it the more I thought I should be myself so went back to Impulse, but figured the new costume is me with a nice Nod to the Flashes.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"I like it, it's very unique and you can pull it off. So you said that your original was a variant of what people wore where you come back from... is that something you can tell me about for publication? If it isn't, I won't publish it but you can still tell me. Figures that since we've got friends in common, it's a good idea to get to know you. If you're curious about me, you can ask me anything, too. These interviews are always something of a social call," he gestures and takes a sip out of his milk shake.

"I've got an excellent memory so I don't record anything unless it needs to be up on the page. That way there's nothing that gets written down that could compromise someone's identity, and we get to know each other a little bit more. Not your standard interview approach, but..." he shrugs, "I'm not exactly your standard reporter."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen ods and seems to consider it for a moment, and decides to tell at least some "I am from the future, and Wally and the flash he learned from at litterly my family." He does not mention that Zoom is as well, very few know that tid bit. "I was sent back here as I was aging at super speed, in a little over a year or so I was a teenager. While they found a way it seemed normal to me if it has not been stopped I would have probably grown to old age in like 5-10 years of real time. He does blur out for a moment and when he is back, he has a couple fast food bags next to him. He refills his plate from the bags, so looks like he is eating slower. So what about you, take it you were normal reporter and then gained powers of teleportation?

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh wow, the future? That's awesome, Bart!" the redhead smiles, taking his time to sip his shake- he's always one to try to make good times last long. "You're going to have to tell me about it sometime- like, harmless stuff that won't cause a time paradox. Like, fashions, architecture, that sort of stuff. I always imagined people in the far future would live like the Jetsons when I was a kid. That's pretty silly, in retrospect, but there you go." He sticks out his tongue and chuckles.

At the question, he rests his chin on both hands, and his elbows on the table. "Well... this is going to sound kinda crazy. I graduated from higschool early and I decided to pursue my dream of reporting... couldn't afford to go to college so I decided to try for the internship and... I got in, somehow." He chuckles. "I thought I was just going to be your standard reporter on the sidelines, and I made it my mission to sort of... try to get the Titans back together after I ran into Beast Boy. In the middle of all that... I basically discover that my father, whom I never knew, was *the* Cheshire Cat. And I inherited his powes... they sort of manifested in the middle of supervillains attacking Metropolis with mechanical spiders... you probably heard about that." Mechanical spiders are suprisingly popular as supervillain tools and transportation options. They're slick like that.

"So that's why I can transform into a humanoid cat, open Rabbit Holes in reality, and a few more things..." it suddenly dawns on him that he doesn't know how far in the future Bart comes from. So he checks. "Er... let me know if you don't know who the Cheshire Cat is. I don't know if they still read Alice in Wonderland in your time..."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen smiles and says "I think I do, hold on." He pulls out his phone and scrolls and scrolls, and scrolls, takes him a full minute or so. "Ok had a chance to read it in highschool but picked a different book. So all the things in there are real?" He hmms and says "A decent amount of time, but I didn't get to see a lot of it, mostly what they let me see, except the time I got to go back for a short period of time. I know a few things, but it seems that the future I am from is not for sure this time's future. I mean I have met a few other people from the future, and their futures was different.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Ah yeah, the multiple timelines theory- that's cool, knowing that the future isn't quite set in stone but kind of fluid. Some things lead us closer to one future, others to another. It makes it easier to sleep at night, at least for me." He grins.

When Bart takes out his phone he nods, "Yep, that's the one. What's in there is true... more or less. Alice Liddell recounted her story to reverend Dodgson, and some things got padded, others exaggerated, but on the whole... it's true. My dad came here out of Wonderland... but I don't know why. He didn't intend to fall in love, I can tell you that, and he didn't intend to have a kid. You see... there can only be one Cheshire Cat at any one time. The moment I was born, my dad vanished from existence..." he trails off. "The same thing will happen to me if I have a kid. But. Since I like guys and I have /no/ intention of having a kid, I think I'm pretty much in the clear." He smiles a little, "I never knew my dad, but with the powers came some knowledge and memories of Wonderland. It's kind of crazy."

He resumes chomping on his fries, "So, the guys you hang out with, your team buddies. Tell me about them! Cassie is with you guys a lot of the time, no?"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over and says "Well SB, Rob, and I started running together and Cassie, and Arrowette joined up not long after." He does not go into other members who might have been there. "We ran for a while, and then had a bit of a break up, sorta like the Titans in a way. Rob recently got us back together with a few new faces joining the team. Might not want to go into much details on who and what there in the article as plan is not to be as much of public figures as the Titans.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"No worries, I won't write on anything you don't want me writing on. So this is the point in most oher publications where they ask you salacious sensationalist questions like who are you dating or who would you want to date. The Planet doesn't roll like that," he snaps his fingers, "Instead, I want to ask you if there is a hero outside of your Flash Family that you admire, or that you see as an inspiration. Can be more than one, too, if you wanna share who they are," he grins, "And, of course, the inevitable Gothamite question: have you ever run into the Batman, and do you have any cool stories of it?"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen smirks a bit and says "Well SB and Rob are my two best friends, and I do look up to both of them somewhat. All the Originals both JSA and JLA are high on my books. As for dating, last person I dated, well seems she is staying at Titan's tower, and the only time I have ran into Batman, one of our team sorta shot him and I brought him bottled water." He smiles and has gone through about four bags of food. "I did once sorta pretend to be batman to scare some robbers, but that was just shadows and action figures while some of the ladies of Gotham were kicking their buys

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Holy, they shot Batman? He must /not/ have been happy... " he shudders, "I have never met him, and I hope it stays that way, the dude is scaaaaary!" he pauses, and steeples his fingers, "But scaring crooks with him is a good idea. I should try it next time I'm in Gotham. I can scare up an illusion of him..." he grins, "Watch them poop their pants and all that."

"SB and your Rob are cool. I waved to SB once. He didn't see me," he chuckles. "But to be fair, we were all fighting those big shadow monsters so we were a little busy at the time. And then Superman Returned."

He's finished his fries now, and hmms, "So, five years from now, where does Impulse see himself? Maybe following in the footsteps of Wally and get yourself a membership at the big leagues- the JLA? If they offered it.. would you take it?"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen hmmms and says "5 years? I mean that is like forever, The JLA... I am not sure, I mean I think that is more Wally and Gramp's spot than mine. It would probably depend on who all was on the team to be honest. I would like to be an honorary Legion Member, that is more for the ring than anything else." He admits. I am hoping to have my degree then, maybe working at a couple of different Zoos, would be neat if I could work at them as Impulse instead of Bart, that way could see like four a say or something

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Now that's an interesting thought. Have you ever contemplated going public like Wally did?" He finishes his shake, "I just did it myself, but only after consulting with the people it would affect. It's simplified some things and... complicated others," he chuckles. "So you have an affinity for zoology? You should talk to Gar sometime, then. He's the whole animal kingdom and all of that."

"So here's an easy one for you- favorite hobbies or games? What does Impulse do on his downtime?" He pauses, "Do you ever /have/ downtime? You always seem to be going a mile a microsecond," Terry smiles.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen says, "Well, I like animals, working at Gotham zoo, but right now, am mainly cleaning up after them, but I can do it al in a minute or so if need be and do the hero thing when needed, just have to make sure I am working alone. As for Hobbies, I love video games, got the high on at least one of each video game open to the public in about a hundred mile radius and have got a copy of every home game I can get my hands on."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry smirks, "Remind me never to challenge you to a hand-eye coordination game." He puts his milkshake aside and taps his chin, "So tell me, Impulse- why do you do what you do? If you could encapsulate your creed of why you on the tights and do your best to save the day... what yould you say?"

He raises an eyebrow "I know it's totally to unfair to ask that on the spot, but you can take your time to answer."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks to him and says "You can call me Bart, and shrugs a bit "It is the right thing to do, to be honest, never thought about not doing it." He admits "Maybe is it the whole family connection but I have just always did it, I mean if you can help people why would ya not? I get to help people, hang out with my friends, adventure and exciting stuff, what else could I ask for?

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Couldn't have answered it better myself," Terry grins, reaching over for his napkin. "So that's pretty much the interview. Whenever you're ready we can head over somewhere you can suit up and we can take some video of you in your 'ready' pose and then get some GoPro video of you running crazy fast. It'll be trippy A.F." He grins.

"We should def hang out more. Maybe I'll join you guys on a patrol through Gotham sometime-- I'm planning to do an investigative piece on Arkham one of thiis days. Might be a good idea to get familiarized with the terrain." He starts to slide out of the booth.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen says, "Well while in Gotham, I try to keep my help on the down low, Batman is not a big fan of powers in his town, so when I help try to make sure few realize I was here." He admits. "If you want, can throw on the outfit, and give ya a ride back out to the tower, got a few ways we could do it and you could see what it is like for yaself."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
    Terry lights up like a proverbial Christmas tree, "Wow... you mean it? That would be... awesome! Let's head out and I can fasten my GoPro..." he has some extra clps and the like to fasten it, as he wears it out on patrol and you never know what might shake you. "Anything I need to know before we take off? I've never gone at super-speed before." He walks outside and ponders. "Maybe I should change into the cat, then I can clip the GoPro to the front. I made a little harness for it just so that I could film stuff for the Planet's website." He grins, "And you can see the transformation. It's kind of okay."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen nods, and leads him out to an alley after making sure a tip is left for the food. He will nods, and says "Do you prefer to run beside me, be carried, or ride in the impulse Shaw?" He will ask the man. He makes a movement with his hand and something springs from a ring he wears and in a blue Bart is dressed as Impulse in front of you.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry blinks, and then laughs "Okay, that's an awesome quick-change. " He leans forward to inspect Bart's suit, and huhs, glancing at the goggles, "You're so cool. Okay... let me try mine."

The teen reaches for something in his pockets, annd it turns out to be a hand-held mirror. Just a simple strip of reflective metal. He holdss it up to eye height and says "We're all mad he---- one second this is smudged." He cleans it with his sleeve- *squee quee squee* and then raises it back to his eyes again. "Ahem. We're All Mad Here!"

And there is a veritable eruption of colored light, bathing Terry's form to the point that he glows so much that all detail is erased.

When the light subsides, Vorpal is standing there- anthropomorphic feline with a distinctive salmon hue to his fur, red stripes and mane, and the gigawatt grin that marks him as the Cheshire cat. His uniform is not too dissimilar to Bart's in design, being a form-fitting bodysuit, but sleeveless, divided down the middle into red and blue with several sigils symbolizing the four card suits, and a stylized Cheshire grin on the outer side of his right thigh.

"Tada!" he grins and slicks his hair back. It's a futile effort, because he is going to look like a dandelion in a gale by the time their run is done, "Well, considering you're the one doing the running, I suggest you pick whatever's easier for you," the Cheshire says. His voice is deeper in this form, and more resonant. If heroing doesn't pan out he can always go into voice acting! "I'm pretty easy and just go with the flow."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen hmms and says "Well the Shaw might be easiest but if your wanting to record, running with me might be the best, we will try a lap around the city and see how you do with it, and if it works we can head for the tower if not grab the shaw. He moves to stand next to the man and starts to concentrate a moment to build up the field, bringing someone with you without fully carrying them is harder. He will put a hand on Vorppal's shoulder and he might feel static electricity going over him as the speed field engulfs him.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The sensation is absolutely strange. The Cheshire cat blinks a couple of times as the field goes over him, and then he notices that some of his foor is standing on end. "... oh goodness, I look like a porcupine," he whispers, barely containing his laughter, but then he takes a deep breath to control himself. "Okay... so... we run together, then. We have to keep in touch I imagine?"

Wally's never done anything like this in his presence, so he is very much a novice at anything regarding speedsters. Except, maybe, watching them go wooosh.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will nod and says "Ok lets do this." and with they are off and in what for others just a moment will pass, as they make it around the city, for Bart and Vorpal things still seem to be going by quickly. nut most of the detail is still there, as if things are somehow moving slow and fast at the same time. They make it around the city and back to the alley giving vorpal a look around it. There is a bit of a stumble, along the way but Bart catches it. Back at the alley, he will say "I think Impulse Shaw might be better." and off and back he is with a rickshaw done in his colors.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Vorpal holds a thumbs-up, "I fink that workth, thoo." He pauses and reaches for something, and finally removes a small leaf from his mouth. "Note to self... when running at high speeds, /don't open your mouth/." He grins at Impulse and settles down on the shaw. "Let me guess. That was the first thing you learned, right?"

He adjusts himself and makes sure that the GoPro is securely clipped to the front of his uniform. He adjusts it a few times to make sure the angle is right and doesn't capture, say, the ground, or Impulse's feet, or the side of the shaw. He's had a few angle malfunctions where perfectly good footage got ruined. Not this time.

"'m ready for warp speed, Captain!"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen smiles and says "Well I can talk a bit easier while running, but then I can move at speeds almost without thinking about it. And they are off. Impulse will take them the long way, going in and out of traffic, over water and up one wall and down the other side of a building. He does not try the phasing with him, as if that went bad it would go very bad. He tries to give the other guy a good show.