Just a Weapon [Completed]

Chapter 18

Fang had no trouble making up an excuse to leave TAPOPS for a few weeks. Even with the fact that Thunderstorm's not one to cooperate with others, he had mercifully not disappeared again.

"What's the plan?" Thunderstorm asked when Fang entered the control room of Fang's ship.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me?"

Thunderstorm turned to the front. "I was locked in a lab for most of my life. I don't get a lot of sightseeing privileges. Besides, my planet's destroyed. I'm not even sure if my dad's an alien. He could be human, for all I know."

"Look, I promised to help, and that's what I'm doing."

"I could be the product of a one-night-stand, for that matter."

"Geez." Fang sighed. "And I thought Gopal was pessimistic. Do you have any leads on your father?"

Thunderstorm took in a breath slowly. He passed him a picture that Fang didn't see him pull out from anywhere. It was a picture of his younger self, his mother and the two power spheres. "Other than the fact that he took Enerbot when he left, that's all. My mother was killed in a raid led by Vargoba eleven years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I can barely feel anything myself."

Fang winced. He had next to no experience regarding other people's grief, mostly because he'd secluded himself in his own world as well. This was two introverts trying to talk to each other and having a normal conversation level of impossible. Neither of them knew what to say or what is a regular conversation between two humans, because they barely experienced it throughout their lives.

Studying the picture that Thunderstorm gave him, he could see that they were once a happy family. One that was taken apart by a villain's selfish deeds. The paper had grown fragile, with withered parts that appeared through the passage of time.

"Say..." Fang frowned. "If Stealthbot and Enerbot spent their time with your parents, shouldn't they know?"

Thunderstorm remained expressionless. "Stealthbot's memory was wiped to accommodate the systems used to keep his army invisible. Enerbot's with my father."

"Enerbot?" Fang frowned deeper. "That's the power sphere that gave Kaizo his powers. It should be with him or in TAPOPS's custody."

"Then at least I know Kaizo's not my father," Thunderstorm muttered. "From what I know, Kaizo's always on the move. Enerbot might not even be with him."

"If it's not with him, then it's in custody. All the power spheres in custody are only accessible by Ciciko and Tarung. My brother's the one who had his memory. From what I can deduce, something happened in the time period when I lost my memory. I don't remember where they went or what happened."

Thunderstorm fell silent. He knew Fang was hurting in a way, and now he knew how. The pain of being neglected by his brother, the agony of being kept in the dark, and his silent screams that were never heard.

"I'm sorry," Thunderstorm said.

Fang booted up the ship. "You're apologizing to me? You sure you're not sick?"

The element manipulator didn't reply. He kept his eyes on the front, where the endless space was. He knew he was dragging Fang down with him. He shouldn't have agreed – he was too impulsive and thought of himself before others. If this doesn't make him a villain, what will?

He remembered what Tok Aba had said. Vargoba was hoping for his daughter – his mother­ – to bear a son so he can have a successor. He was the villain's grandson, and he could never escape that bloodline. Maybe one day he'll follow in his footsteps, walk the villainous path that his grandfather did.