There were two options in front of him: ignore him and walk away, or fight.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Thunderstorm waved his hand in dismission and started to turn away. If this was the enemy he was supposed to avoid, then he wasn't about to interact with him.
The pirates around him tittered nervously. Vargoba's bodyguards? They all stared at the young boy with pity. This young pirate was going to meet a short end in his life.
Vargoba grinned widely. "You remind me of myself when I was your age!"
Thunderstorm was tempted to belch. "Ugh. You got low standards, then."
To his surprise, Vargoba wasn't as short-tempered he thought he was originally. The pirate captain was stereotyped to be an impatient idiot. Unless Vargoba is the type of villain to see his victims die slowly in pure agony.
"What's your name, boy?" Vargoba asked.
Thunderstorm didn't blink. "Boboiboy."
"Alright then, Boboiboy. Come with me. I have much to tell you..."
The captain led him towards a private room. He dismissed the pirate guards and closed the door behind Thunderstorm.
The room resembled a conference room moulded into a pirate's style. Despite the wood-like texture of it, the technology was still advanced and designed to target any opponent's weakness.
What if he knew he was from TAPOPS? Not that he cared much anyway, but he's kept a promise to remain loyal. He keeps his promises no matter what.
Vargoba gestured him to sit on the chair across the table. "Come. Sit."
Thunderstorm sat. In the dark room, his red eyes glowing with humming electricity.
Vargoba himself sat on the chair in front of him. "Not much of a talker, are you?"
He remained silent.
"Ah, yes. I see," Vargoba mused. "You are one of the cleaners, yes?"
Thunderstorm assumed that was the name of Kaizo's undercover profession. Well, he was with Kaizo in this mission, so why not? He nodded.
"How old are you?"
"... fourteen."
"You're human."
"Guess so."
Vargoba leaned back in his chair, bewildered. What was a human child doing here in space? Why was he not on that pathetic earth, living his peasant life? Why be a cleaner? Vargoba had spent his life reading and interrogating people. He could see that this boy wasn't just a regular human. Any average human would have died of shock upon the sight of him.
Thunderstorm laced his fingers under the table. They sparked with red electricity, ready to fight if this chat goes awry.
Did Kaizo and Fang retrieve the sphere? There was something unsettling going on with this pirate. Even if he knew he could just teleport out of here, he felt like Vargoba had something to tell him, or maybe offer him. Was it possible that he knew what he was capable of? Jugglenaut's defeat caused an uproar, after all.
Vargoba leaned across the table. His metal gloves clanked against the table. "What'd you say about joining me, eh? You have potential to be a true villain."
Villain. The way he put it, he made it sound like a good thing. Thunderstorm's fist clenched. Every time he was trying to get away from the title of a freak, a monster, a villain – it always pulls a boomerang and hits him square in the face. Even working at TAPOPS made him feel like the odd one out. The black sheep among white wools and fleeces.
Thunderstorm avoided eye contact. Strands of white hair obscured his gaze.
"I don't want to be a villain," he admitted. "I don't want to be a hero either."
Vargoba raised an eyebrow, amused. "You want to be an anti-hero, eh?"
"No." Thunderstorm looked up. "I don't need a title gave to me by people. I just don't know."
Vargoba laughed heartily. "Ha! That's the spirit. I can show you both! Just come aboard."
Thunderstorm would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. As he said, he doesn't like to be restricted. For all he knew, Cyclone was the most dangerous and powerful, yet underrated element for a reason. He doesn't like to remain in a single place for long. It's a habit he picked up when he was an experiment. He doesn't stay in one lab for long, always transported to another one in due time.
After seeing what TAPOPS offered him, he was interested to see what a pirate life could bring him. What was it like to be on the evil side? How did it feel to be selfish?
Suddenly, the alarms blared. Red lights flashed everywhere. A pirate slammed the door open. "Captain! Stealthbot has been stolen! Should I deploy all forces to intercept the intruders?"
Vargoba rose, a furious look replacing his amused one. I swear to god – Vargoba is exactly like Blaze on a period. He's happy the first second and raging mad the next.
"Stop them!" he bellowed. "RETRIEVE STEALTHBOT! TAPOPS SCUM!"
He turned to Thunderstorm. "You stay here. I will return."
Vargoba stormed out of the room and locked the door. So Thunderstorm was now stuck in this room unless he busts the lock down. He wasn't a master when it came to controlling the collateral damage that his attacks caused. Maybe he could reduce it so it won't destroy the upper deck? But what good would it do when the bottom of the ship is completely blasted open?
And really, is he really gonna help his team? From what TAPOPS blamed him and put him through, he'll gladly sit aside as they got tossed around for a bit. They invaded his privacy entirely and he's gonna let them get punched in the face. Fair trade, right?
Thunderstorm was no stranger when it came to control panel interfaces. He was in the ship's control room, so there had to be some surveillance of the chaos. He hacked it on with his lightning and a blue holographic 3D model of the deck displayed on the table.
Fang was having just about the worst day of his life, right next to Kaizo being a bossy pants. They had to call in Bellbot and Cattus the last minute because they needed to shrink Stealthbot down to a courier size. Then the alarms sounded and now they're running for their lives. If that wasn't enough, Boboiboy went missing at a time like this.
"We can't leave without him!" Kaizo called, hacking through the mass crowd of confused pirates. They thought he was just an idiotic handsome cleaner. Guess again. "Yaya! You and your team stay here. Me and Pang will search for him!"
Fang controlled his falcon to sweep multiple cannon-handling pirates to the ground. "How is he not attracted to this commotion?"
I don't fucking know. Maybe because he's locked in a fucking room.
Fang created an opening for him and Kaizo to escape to the inner decks. Boboiboy couldn't have gone far. They slashed through pirates and tracked Boboiboy's energy signature down – which was easy because he's a fucking god – and made it to the main control room.
Kaizo tested the lock.
Fang wiped the sweat off his brow. "What's he doing here?"
Losing patience, Kaizo slashed the door in half with his energy sword. "We'll see."
They walked in. Boboiboy was staring at the files on a holographic scene, sparks bouncing off his skin as his entire body was trembling. He looked like he was about to blow this planet into pieces and burn the pieces into ash.
"Boboiboy! We don't have time. We need to go now!" Fang called to him.
No response. Boboiboy's eyes were fixed onto the screen. Despite their dire situation, Fang and Kaizo had to see what he was so angry about. The first thing that caught their eyes were the words, Project USB – Failed, and it was signed Vargoba.
Does this mean...
"Vargoba was the one that started the experiment," Kaizo guessed. "Experiment U1 deceased. Subjects S2 and B3's location unknown..."
Fang turned to his brother. "What – what does B3-WUD2 mean?"
He'd heard the name from Boboiboy when he... had his... uh, seizure? Is that the right word?
Kaizo read the last paragraph. "Weapon of Universe Destruction," he read aloud. "2.0. The most successful specimen. The subjects were supposed to be mindless weapons. Apparently, the experiment had a flaw and they rebelled, and declared dead."
Thunderstorm's rage was unexplainable. It was like anger, sadness, confusion, and denial had an ugly baby. His elemental powers activated without him knowing. His red lightning faded into golden flames. He couldn't breathe. He just talked to the person who had caused him all this pain and agony, and he didn't finish him.
Now the culprit's on the same ship as him – but he didn't destroy this ship. Why did he hesitate? Why was he tempted to join? The metal panel he was gripping started to melt. The metal room heated up like Tartarus. As the flames died down, Boboiboy Inferno now stood where Thunderstorm had been.