One-Shots [Boboiboy]

Only Way Out

He couldn't see him, but he knew he was there. He was watching his every move, his every turn, and every second.

Nothing physical was altered, no mass was detected. Nothing could ever support his theory, but he believed in himself.

Ever since Retakka, they'd never really faced the problem, had they? All they did was hide their pains, grief and losses behind cloded doors. No one dared to speak of the situation blatantly, even if it was months ago since it ever happened.

And it's been months since Solar could feel him.

Solar was the first to be taken, but recovering him was relatively easy. His powers and being was simple to distort from the discount Voldemort. The same applied for Thorn, Cyclone, and Quake. As soon as Blaze and Ice managed to get Ochobot from identifying their enery signatures, it was as good as done.

But when they managed to escape Retakka's hold, Thunderstorm never followed.

The rest of the events happened like a train in the mist. Loud, disturbing, fast and untraceable once it was gone, like there had been no alterations in the first place. It's hectic, it's unbearable, but it was true: Thunderstorm was still inside Retakka, and they had blasted him along with the villain into space.

They didn't know why they couldn't track him inside. Ochobot confirmed that Thunderstorm's signature had been inside him, but for some reason, he couldn't escape. It was like he'd melded with Retakka's powers, tangled in a hopeless pulse of power.

Even if the change was massive, even if there was an empty seat at the table whenever they had their meals; no one spoke about it. They acted as if Thunderstorm never existed in the first place. The presence of anger, seriousness and the discipline of the team had disappeared without a trace.

Then he reappeared as soon as Retakka's body was recovered, the alien long dead. He daren't confirm the presence in his own logical sense, since the supernatural weren't real, and he was sure that Thunderstorm would cause a considerable amount of damage as a lingering spirit, trying valiantly to attract their attention of his being.

Solar wasn't sure why he knew it was Thunderstorm. Maybe it could be a cat. Maybe it was Adudu haunting his dreams. Anything but the ghost of his dead teammate. Even so, why would he choose him? He and Thunderstorm hadn't conversed much. Their relationship was limited to teammates, allies; but not friends.

He had to find a way to communicate with him, but he didn't know how. He was an expert in science, not making deals with Satan.

When he was alone in his room, he felt the presence again. A blunt force on his body, as if gravity was pulling him down, draining his soul from below. It was like any other time, which ie hoped that his dead teammate wasn't trying to bring him along his journey to heaven.

"Hey, discount Pikachu, if you're there," Solar muttered, twirling his pencils in his fingers as he laid back on his chair, "can you show me a sign? It's been like, a couple of months already."

The presence made no moves. Everything was still in place. Maybe spirits are intangible, which explains a lot.

"I'm losing my mind," he grumbled, sitting upright. "Damn you, Pikachu."

He turned towards his table, ready for more research on String Theory, but a tap on his window caught his attention. The window was placed by his bed, which was convenient for Quake to yank the curtains off so he could wake Solar up during the daytime and chide him out for staying up late again. He whirled around, only to see a shadowy object sitting at his windowsill.

Solar nearly screeched. His room was on the second floor, and he was sure that cats knew better than to trudge around Thorn's garden. As much as they liked felines, Thorn didn't take kindly to any critters stomping blatantly around his plants.