It was supposed to be a normal mission. They were merely a new villain crew who had pulled a couple of low level heists - nothing impressive.

But-

This villain was enormous, at least twice his opponent's height in length and three times in width, with six legs and four arms (which reminded him of a certain villain). One arm held a massive hammer (again), and another was attached to an armblade. His hind legs hovered a foot above the ground; they were tiny compared to the rest of his body.

Taufan should have remembered that not all aliens have appealing visuals. Perhaps that does count as body shaming; the villain didn't really look that horrible, he was just being salty. But nonetheless, that guy looked intimidating.

At first Taufan thought they were evenly matched with four versus one, but he was slowly starting to realize he'd been too optimistic. His cyclone fists were blocked with equal force when he threw them out, and their strategies were countered or nullified regardless of the skill involved. Sweat ran down his nose, mixing with the blood that dripped from his mouth. This wasn't going as well as it could have.

"Damnit, this guy keeps going!" He groaned loudly, crouched behind the half-demolished metal wall of the station they'd been fighting in, Blaze sitting on his left and panting heavily.

They had to buy time for Solar to activate his ultimate move. And that took hella time, especially considering the youngest was grunting in pain behind them while Duri did his best to heal him. He turned to face Solar - truly looked at him. Behind all the scratches, there was a sallow shade that came with lack of sleep.

It hurt to see his family in this state.

Right - they didn't have time to sit here, writhing in agony. It was unlikely that a miracle would happen to them, despite Taufan's positive nature. The wind elemental user whispered to the younger brother seated next to him, "Again. You ready, Blaze?"

"Anytime!"

He lent the younger a hand up, and so they stepped on.

The villain was done waiting for them; he raised his hammer once again. The weapon came down with tremendous force, breaking through the floor, and they were forced to jump away to avoid the gaping hole that formed. Thankfully, the wind gave Taufan strength aplenty, so a jump like that was nothing. With the explosion still ringing in his ears, he vaulted over and threw two rapid punches at the man; the first missed, but with Taufan's agile movement, the second struck his head. The man was thrown back slightly by the impact.

Blaze raised his fist and shot off a huge fireball. His right hand hit the man's face, scratching his nose. The hot wave also shot into Taufan, almost knocking him off his feet as the inferno of heat threatened to bake him alive. Oh geez, Blaze was aggressive, and even more threatening with the help of Taufan's wind.

However, his sibling was at a disadvantage. It didn't take that much time for their opponent to catch Blaze's calf and toss him away. The red boy yelled as he flew about a mile across the battlefield and collided with a metal wall, twisting his left ankle and groaning in pain.

The enemy matched Taufan's jump and their forearms collided, the shock of the impact vibrating through the latter's body followed by the sound of shattering glass. Oh dear, that guy really was on par with their powers. And endurance level. The villain sneered as they both went for a shin kick, except he was stronger and Taufan's body jerked back as he had to brace himself.

Luck wasn't by Taufan's side today, as the next thing to come was the sharp metal blade attached to the villain's arm. It met the wind user's throat, the teenager only managing to dodge just before it could slice his neck in half. The rapid motion made his ribs feel like they were being simultaneously compressed and ripped open - and then he was thrown to the side. Despite the pain lancing through his back, he staggered to his feet.

The man standing before him cackled. It was painful to hear, almost as much as the fists and feet that had pummeled him a few seconds ago.

"Is this all you can do?" He jeered. "Are these the heroes that defend the galaxy? Pathetic." He shot a glare at the crew, making sure to look directly at each of them with those ridiculously frightening eyes (he hated the fact that he actually backed off because of them). "This is what anyone who defies me receives. Bow before me, or perish beneath me!".

Taufan propped himself back up onto his feet. His breath hitched, and he was still slightly hunched over from the pain in his neck. He locked eyes with the man.

"Hell nah, like that's ever gonna happen."

A thought flickered through his mind, then flared up into a crazy, half-baked idea that no sane person would try. But on the other hand, when had Taufan ever been the sane one?

It would only be a few more seconds before Blaze returned to the battlefield. Besides, his fellow troublemaker seemed to be on the same page as him. They hoped Duri had prepared for this, because it was going to be hot as hell.

The young soldier in red began charging forward at full speed. Using one of his right arms, the villain raised his hammer high into the air in response, ready to strike. Blaze didn't hesitate, preparing to attack the hammer. Taufan did what he could to position himself accordingly. Pain was simply an illusory sensation that his mind could shut down if it needed to, he told himself. Put it aside. He landed on his feet and rushed for the man; the pain from his wound was excruciating and he faintly heard his watch beep in emergency mode, but even so, he completely ignored it.

Without losing any momentum from his run, he shouted with all his might, "Taufan Pengabur!" and unleashed a monstrous tornado. Meanwhile, Blaze took a step back, soon supporting him with his fire breath to create their combo attack once more.

The wind was ferocious, continuously gaining power, until it raged over the lair and flung itself into the battlefield. It howled through the space, twisted around them, blasted the doors and smashed them back and forth against the wall with loud bangs, roared through the hall, swirling like a hurricane from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. The addition of heat made everything burn like a living hell. It was also extremely unpleasant for Taufan, being unable to withstand the heat like Blaze could, but the boy kept pushing himself upright. We gotta do this together.

Cyclone drills and blazing fire chakrams simultaneously attacked the villain, dragging him into the flame tornado and completely obstructing his view of their surroundings. Seizing the advantage, the siblings continuously summoned more of their weapons. In an abrupt upward motion, both of them turned and cut two of the man's outstretched arms off, sending the arms with the oversized hammer and the sharp blade spinning wildly to the ground. As the man wailed in agony, he attempted to catch the lads with his other two arms.

However...

Before he could do that, thorny vines shot out from the ground, immobilizing his movement temporarily.

The tornado faded away, revealing a bright spot from the other side of the battlefield. Duri tightly clutched the roots of the vines restraining the villain, and Solar had his feet firmly planted, signature eclipse behind him as he activated his deadly move. Taufan and Blaze immediately made way for the youngest, not wanting to cease to exist via optical shot. While the man was still struggling against the increasing number of vines wrapped around him, Solar took a step forward, pointing his fingers toward their single enemy, looking more furious than ever.

Have a nice trip to the Sun.

"Tembakan Solar Gerhana!"

All at once they were bathed in a blinding light. There was a muffled zap, a flash of yellow. The light shot out of Solar's gloves and baked a section of the enemy before taking a giant chunk out of him. And soon, there was a burn hole on the wall behind that guy. It was brutal.

When the light died down, Taufan lowered his hands from his eyes, shuddering as he looked at the scene. The enemy twitched. Not dead, but probably wishing they were.

"Oh, serve you right!" The fourth brother threw a single fist towards what now appeared to be an incredibly startled two-armed man, completely knocking him out with a single punch. Great, one target was down.

"Is he dead?"

"Nope, still alive." Blaze checked the villain's pulse.

"Good, at least I won't be accused of murder."

Did he have to say that out loud...?

"Fan?! Are you alri–" The others soon joined them, but Duri abruptly cut himself off when he reached the second eldest's figure, his expression morphing from concern to horror. Solar also rushed over to them in haste, momentarily forgetting his own injury, knowing that it was nothing compared to the second child's. And Blaze, confused by his brothers' behavior, eventually noticed the same thing.

Taufan finally got what caused the others' expression just now, staring down at his shaking blood-drenched hands. He took a heavy, labored breath as he clutched his hands tightly; a searing burst of pain caused him to let out a sharp hiss in response.

Blood? Oh, that's my blood. That's not good.

If he said this out loud, he had no doubt that Solar would gladly punch him in the face.

The blood wouldn't stop. And his throat, it hurts, it goddamn hurts. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was... Blood began to gush out of his wound even more. He recalled all of that now, when the four-armed guy gave him a slash to his neck. Why? He was certain it was only a shallow wound at first. Did it get worse when he fought and shouted?

And more importantly, his vision was starting to blur. It flashed white from the previous impact he'd gotten, followed by momentary blackness. His ribs screamed and his lungs betrayed his attempts to draw breath.

He fell forward. Duri quickly caught him before he could hit the floor, keeping him upright as the three of them called his name in panic.

Boom!

One last thought ran through his mind before he blacked out.

Is that... an explosion?

—

Though the boys swiftly reacted against this sudden intrusion into their mission, the villain was swifter: in a blink of an eye, an entire section of the station had evaporated under the cannon carefully hidden under his right arm, leaving the occupants either vaporized immediately or suffering from a slow, painful, burning death. He wasn't sure if there were any occupants to begin with.

The poor young soldier did not stand a chance against the villain; the retractable left arm-blade swiftly pierced through his skin, leaving him with a burning injury on his thigh. The sound of gunfire broke out across the station just as a cannonball around the size of a golf ball popped up, leaving behind it a trail of black smoke. Halilintar quickly raised his double spear to deflect the cannonball, while an earth wall was summoned by Gempa to protect both him and Ais from the onslaught.

Oh, spears and swords really aren't the best things to fight against guns.

"I must say, I'm honestly impressed." The villain's words echoed through the area. "You would be great soldiers, young men."

Halilintar pursed his lips, a slight furrow between his brows as his left eye twitched. Impressed? Now that made him feel even more annoyed. He didn't need a mock compliment from a criminal, thankyouverymuch.

Sparks of lightning flashed through the air. Halilintar sprung up, weapon in hand, and lunged towards the villain's head. The man had been about to continue his onslaught, but had to back up himself when the lightning spear swung dangerously close to him, "Oh boy, you sure are getting impatient, aren't you?"

The spear shaved off part of his long hair, and completely cleaved through the helmet he was wearing. The villain retaliated by giving the boy a kick in the stomach. However, Halilintar was fast enough to not be beaten without revenge, immediately slashing at the villain's waist before the force sent him flying into the metal wall.

Soon afterwards, an earth pillar was sent into the man's chin, causing him to stumble back. Knowing who was behind the attack, he once again pointed the cannon towards the distant twins, firing as Gempa struggled to strengthen his barrier to protect him and Ais. Unfortunately, the younger boy was almost out cold and no longer had the strength to fight.

Halilintar was shaking, hands on his knees, panting. The flesh wound was still oozing blood and his body bore the purple-yellow smears of bruises. Every jolt sent ripples of pain through his shoulder, back and neck.

Ten seconds passed, and then twenty, thirty, and finally the pain pulled back gradually like the tide going out. It left his fingers first, and then made its way up his arm.

His opponent, clutching his ribs, grinned through cracked teeth. After dozens of lightning spears and punches that were harder than anything he'd ever thrown, the villain finally collapsed. And so did the teens, all dropping to their knees. Halilintar's eyes were burning, his shoulders heaving, sweat and blood intermingling, but still he used his remaining strength to hug the power sphera in his arms tighter. Fighting while protecting took an obvious toll on him, not being the defensive type.

Their attacks weren't going to work. He knew that; they never did. Teenagers were going to be teenagers. The risk-vs-reward judgment was skewed far in favor of risk, and would remain so until they grew up.

In a way, he mused, it was his own stupid fault. Despite not possessing any supernatural power, the villain had been too clever for their good. For one, he had calculated the perfect time to raid them: while they had their guard down after retrieving the power sphera. He should have noticed something when they found FuseBot in the arms dealers' lair, already broken - not completely destroyed, but several damages to the inner workings rendering it incapable of functioning properly. He never thought it was a part of their plan.

The boy cladded in red allowed himself to get his first real look at his surroundings. Burns, earth pillars and icy frost patches were everywhere. There was also a large hole in the ceiling; they had fallen into one of the lower levels of the station. But more importantly, Gempa seemed to be ok. Better than him, he supposed. Though he could not say the same for Ais, despite Gempa having been there the whole time to protect him. He caught a glimpse of the leader on his knee, back and to the left of the battle, some distance away from them.

They were safe for now, and that was good enough for the eldest.

The trio on the battlefield didn't move a single inch from their positions for a long while. The two boys who were still able to keep conscious were both struggling to catch their breath.

Halilintar, watching his enemy closely, caught a shift in the man's expression. That could not be a good sign for them.

"Oh, so my partner got defeated by a bunch of kids. Ironic." He said sarcastically. Insane laughter came in short bursts, the sound growing louder and more delusional. The villain was laughing hysterically, like a maniac. Halilintar didn't get it; what was so funny about the fact that his partner got beaten?

As the laughter gradually died down, the villain stared at him with soulless eyes. Looking into those eyes was like observing a never-ending sea of midnight-black, seemingly proclaiming that all hopes and dreams were no more.

"In the end... It had to be this way." The criminal ripped his own jacket open, revealing something that confused the elemental users. A timer? A countdown machine? It was attached to a keypad on the remaining right arm, which Halilintar had thought was for the cannon. 00:30? What exactly did that imply?

"Oh, still haven 't realized?" His opponent smirked mockingly. "Right, kid. Let me explain it to you..." The man pressed the button on his hand.

Beep.

Beep.

Beeeeeeeep.

"I'm sure they've informed you about our bomb storage. You've seen it, haven't ya?"

The clock started ticking.

"In 30 seconds, all the bombs on my body will wipe this place off the map."

Red eyes widened, as the boy predicted his enemy's next move. "Wait, don't tell me...!?"

Halilintar hadn't thought it was possible for things to get worse, but they had. Gritting his teeth, he cursed inside his head.

Suicide attack.

Then something clicked in his mind.

The Power sphera in his arms.

FuseBot, the Power Sphera that could merge objects together. The sole cause of those weaponized arms for the villains, not to mention the mysterious disappearance of the weapons in the lair of the arms dealers; there was no way the dealer could get rid of them in such a short period of time.

As if the other weapons weren't enough, the villain had merged himself with the bombs. Loads of bomb were hidden inside that body, and more were definitely under the coat. The modifications had probably been made by cutting away the shoulders and taping the seams, so that the bombs would be completely concealed. The timer attached to the man's chest was probably counting down for the ones fused to him.

It was a miracle that they hadn't exploded when lightning struck that man's body. And considering the possibility of that happening - had the man attempted to wipe out this station in the first place?

What a madman.

Halilintar couldn't exactly evade the imminent explosion, not with a massive cut on his back and thigh, and he was far too close to the bombs for his liking. Gempa was too far away to help - which wasn't necessarily a bad thing if it meant his younger brother was safe - and he himself had nowhere near the level of defense needed at such close range. At this distance, even if he survived the initial blast, he would still be down for the count.

Ten more seconds.

Well, at least he could protect the little sphera in his arms. Halilintar stared at the reflective cracked screen. Just a few more seconds, and they would meet a similar end. He glanced over the mission data on the screen, muttering an inaudible apology. Their mission hadn't gone so well, huh? He felt bad for the bot; if they'd rescued it soon enough, maybe it wouldn't have been reduced to this state. Probably Nut would be able to do something for it, but Halilintar knew he wouldn't see that anytime soon, not with the scythe of Death at his throat.

With his back facing the enemy, Halilintar let his eyes shut, arms hugging the power sphera tightly. If he was lucky enough, he would probably wake up to a painful month of rehabilitation.

But the eldest brother had forgotten something.

Five.

He was not alone. There would always be someone by his side, whether he asked for them or not.

That was what "family" meant: always being beside each other through ups and downs.

"Halilintar!! WATCH OUT!"

Four.

The sound of footsteps echoed alongside the manic laughter and the ticking of the timer. Halilintar quickly looked up, heart pounding in his ears, blocking out all sounds except the newest one.

Three.

He would do everything to protect the one he loved. However, the same could be said for the rest of his brothers.

Fortunately or unfortunately, that was something that ran in his family. He was not the only reckless one, nor the only person who wanted to protect those dearest to him.

Two.

He hated it.

'Cause that meant that they would always be taken down with him.

One.

Fresh terror reared up within him. He was afraid, afraid of what he heard, afraid of what was coming to him, to them. Of the way the figure in black and yellow was racing closer to protect him. No, no, no, please- The eldest could only raise his voice in raw panic.

"GEMPA, DON'T–"

Zero.

The last thing he could register was the loud boom. The tremendous explosion rocked the station, tearing through the air as if it was intent on shattering the universe by ripping apart every atom.

After that, nothing moved. No sound was heard. The world stopped.

[To be continued...]

---

A/N: "But hey, they got beaten from time to time, got sucked into (a fake) blackhole, got blasted into space, multiple explosions, OP as hell and technically could make a whole disaster. They had gotten worse. It's just a bombbbb they'll be fineeeee anyway." No, I would love to make it more dramatic.

Ohhhhh, finally, Eire decided to make a multi-chapter fic, let's see how long would it take her to drop it due to lack of motivation 🤦 Anw, thank you so much for reading <3 Please make sure to not punch me for what happens next because I'm very fragile (nah I deserve that). But I could assure that they are all alive (if they aren't then the plot wouldn't exist lmao)🤟

It was originally longer than this, but I had to cut the draft in half; the second part will be released soon. Writing this whole chapter (and though it was half of the first one) is such a pain. It wasn't perfect but sure took my hella much time. Will I ever write a fighting scene again after this? No. /hj