Mirror [Reverse AU] [Completed]

Chapter 3

"He's dead."

Fang had secluded himself from everyone. Kaizo wasn't the best brother, but he was the only family he had left. The anchor to his reality. Now with him gone... his life had no point.

His friends were concerned, of course. But he shut them out. They don't know how he's hurting. They hadn't lost someone close to them. Even an individual moderately close was Klamkabot, but they had barely known him. Sure, there was regret, guilt of not saving the power sphere, but his intentions were not in vain. He wasn't close to them in a personal way.

Taking powers was one thing, but taking lives? That's simply not appropriate.

A kindle burned inside of Fang. He turned to the mirror and stared at his own reflection. Kaizo had protected him long enough. Now it's time for him to be his own hero.

Dropping his glasses to the floor, it shattered into hundreds of shards as he crushed it with his foot.

* * *

Boboiboy was no stranger to grief, and he knew how it could change a person for the better or for the worse. He noticed Fang had altered, and not just for his appearance. He wasn't arrogant. He wasn't seeking for attention. Instead, he was stoic and calm just like Kaizo.

The others weren't sure what to think about that.

The elemental manipulator sighed out of his nose, staring at the shadow manipulator—who was discussing mission details with the now powerless twins—blankly.

He just wanted him to acknowledge that he's not alone in this.

* * *

"How's your new life working?" Boboiboy sat down next to Fang, who was sitting on the panel of Kaizo's old ship. It was in space, so Boboiboy had to use Wind to reach up to him. There was a barrier that provided them oxygen and gravity, and it allowed them to gaze into infinite space.

Fang didn't so much as glance at him. His eyes were fixated on the stars.

"I understand how it feels," Boboiboy continued. "Before I returned to Pulau Rintis, my parents were killed."

That caught Fang's attention. The raven-haired male turned to the brunette, who was smiling sadly at him. It was strained, however.

Fang hugged his knees. "How did you cope?"

Boboiboy sighed deeply. "I don't know. I just did. When you're a hero at eleven years old, you have to accept the unacceptable. I missed their funeral because of it."

Fang tore his stare away. He rested his chin on his knees. He was wearing a black sleeveless turtleneck, jeans and boots. That was all that consisted of his outfit. He found it pointless to gear up so deliberately anymore.

"I'm sorry."

Boboiboy shook his head. "Don't feel sorry for me. They weren't there for most of my life. Kaizo was a great brother. He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up for this. Sorry isn't going to fix anything."

"Says the guy who apologizes to everyone."

"For the record, Roktaroka was misunderstood."

"Hmph." Fang laid on his back, arms crossing behind his head. "Eradicating that, I can still name a few more."

Boboiboy rolled his eyes.

That night, they slept under the stars of the galaxy. For once, both of them could be true to each other.

* * *

"Kaizo was onto something," Ciciko declared, displaying Kaizo's final moments on the projector. Boboiboy glanced at Fang for any explosive reactions, but Fang's expression was deadly serious.

The screen zoomed onto Kaizo's research.

"We have similar clues, but we have led to nothing," Tarung said. "If any of you could provide insight, that would be helpful."

Ying now joined the powerless-squad, who were either despondent, agitated or downright depressed. Or they just don't care and would rather get this over with.

"Any estimations?" Fang inquired the red power sphere.

The computers flared to life. There was still no answer, as the screen blazed red. There was no pattern or sufficient information just yet. Nobody wanted to continue to pursue the true culprit.

Shields. Size manipulation. Energy manipulation. Time manipulation. Fang's mind computed. None of these made any sense. Since all of their powers came from power spheres, it was a solid Dead End with a capital D.

"Did the cameras pick up anything abnormal?" Boboiboy asked.

Ciciko shook his head. "Nothing out of the blue. We have scoured Ying's routine after her power's disappearance, but we could find nothing out of place."

"If it's our powers, shouldn't her watch be able to track it?" Yaya suggested. "Her watch should act as a beacon. It could lead us towards the culprit."

The admiral nodded in thought as he gestured the former time manipulator to hand him her watch. "Very well. It shall be testified. Let's all pray this works. Our technicians will get to work instantly."

The meeting adjourned.

* * *

Kaizo was onto something. Fang knew that in his bone. He must have had a lead, or he wouldn't have died out of the blue. This is space, for god's sake—how could a place could get set on fire?

Fire.

Boboiboy sleepwalked as Fire when he was stressed. In these times, stress was inevitable. Even he himself admitted his stressful predicament.

He knew Boboiboy wouldn't do such a thing, but Fire wasn't the most reliable element when it came to delicate work. He'd created damage even when it wasn't intentional. He'd almost killed them out of impulse.

Fang shuddered. At times like this, he couldn't take chances.

* * *

Fang avoided Boboiboy like he was a plague. Boboiboy tried to talk to him, but all he received were scornful glares and offensive comments. Fang blamed himself, but he was terrified and confused. He wanted his brother's killer to be brought to justice.

Do you know why he hates you?

Listen closely.

He. Doesn't. Understand.