Hello everyone! This is the second part of Boomer's little initiation into his powers. I'm only really going to go into Boomer's ordeal, but fear not because I will make sure that you know everything that went on in each person's head. I'm not creepy :). Anyway, aside from my terrible sense of humor, I just think that it would eventually get really boring to see what happened to everyone, as it is basically the same process for everyone. And you already know the events being pictured for each person, so you will be fully caught. After that paragraph, ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 8

Boomer POV

Suddenly, everything was enveloped in a bright first of light, and Boomer was whisked off into oblivion.

Boomer didn't know what was happening, exactly. His brain was foggy, and he couldn't seem to form coherent thoughts. It was like he was trapped inside his mind. All he could see around him was a fog, swirling and changing everything.

Boomer couldn't grab onto anything, because the second one characteristic appeared a new on tool it's place. This world was an artist's dream, and their worst nightmare. And Boomer was feeling both of those right now.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of the fog. Like everything else in this swirling dimension, the figure had no distinguishable form. When it spoke, though, Boomer knew exactly who it was.

"Welcome, Master Caz, to your mind. Or rather everything you don't want anyone else to know is in your mind. Let's take a look, shall we?"

"No!" Boomer wanted to shout. He struggled to remain calm. Boomer knew that he had steeled himself over the years for this very moment, but he couldn't count on anything anymore. For of obvious reasons. Plus, seeing how easily Blaze was dissected put Boomer in edge.

Boomer prided himself on being pretty observant and intuitive, but he hadn't noticed anything out of the normal with Blaze. It wasn't like he hadn't looked either. In fact he had paid very close attention, to all his brothers. Either the magic lady must have something wrong, or Blaze was way less translucent than Boomer thought he was.

But Boomer couldn't let the lady dissect him, like she did Blaze. He had to keep quiet, for his brother's sake. Though this would be proven easier said than done.

When Boomer focused his attention back on Fae, he found she was walking around in a circle. Not weird at all. Just a crazy lady pacing around his brain. Completely normal.

However, Fae wasn't the only person's sanity he questioned when suddenly the hazy walls Boomer was surrounded by were filled with vibrant images. At a closer inspection, Boomer realized that they were his memories, though how Fae accessed them was over his heart.

Boomer would be lying if he said that seeing his memories, from as early as kindergarten, played back to him was only a little weird. It was more like disturbing, but who was counting?

Suddenly Fae spoke, startling Boomer and making him yelp.

"So, these are your precious memories?" She asked him. "Something seems off, does it not?"

Was that a smirk in her face?

The memories advanced, and Boomer saw himself grow older. His thirteenth birthday, Blaze destroying him in a race, when he first discovered how much he loved art at fourteen. Boomer let a small smile grace his lips. Then, right before his fifteenth birthday, the memories cut out. Darkness surrounded Boomer.

"There we go, that's the problem." Fae cooed.

Boomer found himself in a whirlwind of faces, rushing past him before he had a chance to identify them. Then, a wave of emotion hit him. This he could identify. It was everything he felt when his parents died. Every tear, spout of anger, and lonely night all rushed at Boomer. He felt himself tear up, remembering.

It was supposed to be a celebration. The quadruplets were turning fifteen that day, and their parents had said that it was going to be one of the best birthdays ever. They had gone to school with the promise of a surprise when they got home, and the brothers were in good spirits. The school day went better than planned, with Blaze finally making it into the school newspaper as a journalist and Butch securing his starting spot in the school soccer team. It had been a good day.

Boomer and his brothers walked home faster than usual. They were all eager to see what this surprise that they had been promised was. Boomer's parents had even taken the day off to prepare for the celebrations.

The good mood had evaporated when the four boys got home that afternoon. The first sign something was wrong was that the door had been left open. While his dad was slightly forgetful, Boomer's mom was a very cautious and responsible woman. She would never have left the door open.

Boomer saw the second sign was when he walked into the house. Furniture was strewn across the floor, and his mother's prized vase lay shattered on the carpet. Boomer felt Butch pull Boomer behind him, and Brick comforting a trembling Blaze. They advanced through the house as a group, Butch making sure that he was always the first person into a room. The boys didn't dare call out to to their parents, in case a trespasser was still hiding out somewhere.

Then, they got to the living room. The living room was where the Boomer had his best memories. It was where the family spent most of their time together, laughing and poking fun. Boomer had guessed his parent's would do their wrapping her as well, because the table in front of the couch was long enough to roll out the wrapping paper and it still have a solid surface underneath it. Boomer heard the panicked yell of Butch, then a similar yell from Brick. A pair of hands reached out trying to stop Boomer, to make him turn back. But Boomer pushed them away. He needed to see what was going on.

Boomer remembered the shock, then disbelief, and finally the grief. There were his parents, lying dead on the living room floor. There were no wounds visible on them, and they looked like they could have been sleeping. But Boomer knew. He knew they were dead.

And what put the icing on top of the cake, was what they were holding in their hands. Clenched in his parent's fists were the boy's gifts, each wrapped with painstaking care and love.

Boomer remembered the choked gasp of Blaze, and how Brick had tried to lead Blaze out of the room. He remembered how he didn't make a sound, unsure how to react to the situation. Butch had gone into the room, but wouldn't let anyone else in. Usually Brick would have pulled his rank as oldest brother and gone in with Butch, but Boomer guessed he didn't want to face what was in there. Boomer remembered another pair of hands, which he figured belonged to Brick try to lead him away. This time, he offered no resistance.

When Butch came out of the room again, he looked even paler that normal.

"Which is saying something" Boomer remembered thinking.

Butch gestured over to Brick, and the two shared a hushed conversation. Boomer strained to hear what they were talking about, but Butch and Brick were too far away to decipher anything without it being painfully obvious that Boomer was eavesdropping. So he settled for sitting quietly next to Blaze, and eventually falling asleep.

Boomer's mind fast forwarded after that. He saw the authorities storming into the house, and remembered running away with his brothers that night so they wouldn't be separated in the foster system. There were flashes of the journey, all the schools and friends he had made, and eventually, left. All the hardships flashed pass Boomer's eyes. The fights between Butch and Brick, each having a different idea of what to do with the small family, the times Boomer felt painfully alone, the injuries, the illnesses, ..the tears. And the rare good times he shared with his remaining family. The laughs, Boomer's heartfelt talks with Brick, when Butch's hand got stained green for a month after taking a painting job that used only out-of-date neon green paint. Then, the memories slowed down again.

Boomer was in his new room. The room that present Boomer had been living in up until about two weeks ago. Brick and Butch had finally found a place suitable for the boys needs, and they had decided to finally settle down somewhere. Though Boomer could tell Brick was still skeptical. It worked out until the end, though.

It was a rundown guest bedroom that he shared with Blaze. The walls were a sickly shade of brown, with mold casting casting an eerie green glow around the corners and edges. The ceiling was a yellowed cream that looked like it had once been a beautifully pure white that was yellowed with age and poor maintenance. The ceiling also had various cracks running through, as did the rest of the house. It made Boomer nervous, like the ceiling was going to fall on him at any moment.

There was only one, small, moth eaten bed in the room which Boomer and Blaze took turns sleeping on. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a ragged couch, that Boomer currently occupied. This was where the boys slept when they weren't using the bed.

At the moment, it was very late at night. Blaze had fallen asleep on the bed hours ago, and Boomer knew he should try as well. But Boomer couldn't seem to get his mind to stop. It had been about three months, and five different high schools, since they had run away and Boomer had finally gotten around to his parent's present for him, which he had clutched tightly in his hand.

The package wasn't big, but it felt heavy in Boomer's hand. Whatever it was, it was wrapped in layers of birthday wrapping paper.

"Probably so I wouldn't be able to tell what it was." Boomer reckoned.

Boomer was conflicted. He wanted very much to tear open the wrapping paper and see what the last gift his parents gave to him was, but there was also something holding him back. It was like he didn't want to open the present, for fear of the last thing his parents left him being gone. Boomer didn't want the gift just to be some meaningless trinket, and he was tempted to just leave the package as it was and keep the possibility open.

But Boomer knew that the rest of his brothers would probably have their gifts in the morning, and if he waited now he would give into temptation the next day anyways. Brick had finally given the ok for all the boys to finally open their gifts, and Boomer prefered completing a task which had a very high chance at being extremely emotional on his own. Preferably, when no one could see him.

Boomer's hands shook as they reached towards the wrapping paper. He had been sitting in that exact spot for hours, just staring at the gift in his hands. They shook even more when he finally, after an eternity of psyching himself up, gathered the courage to tear a piece of it off. Then it was as if a dam had broken deep inside Boomer. He tore at the wrapping paper, desperate to know the last thing his parents had given to him.

As the wrapping paper wore away, a wooden box appeared. It was a beautiful box, but very simple. The oak wood it was made out of held no markings, and the only ornamentation was a golden clasp that held the box closed. It was thin as well, only a few inches thick. Boomer held the box up to the meager amount of moonlight streaming in through a dirty window, trying to decipher its outside appearance. When he couldn't find anything, he hesitantly set it down and reached for the golden clasp.

The clasp was mostly simple, like the rest of the box, except for one inscription in tiny letters on a golden plaque connected to the clasp. It was in an ancient language, one that Boomer obviously did not recognize. He would have to find out what it meant at the library sometime.

But Boomer didn't waste a lot of time on the clasp. He could examine it and the box to his heart's content after he found out what was in it. So he looked past the inscription and flipped open the latch.

What was inside the box took his breath away. Inside was a pair of knives, with gleaming blades. Both the blade and the hilt were silver, and the hilt was adorned with a smooth, sparkling, navy blue stone, that swirled out into the were some of the most beautiful things Boomer had ever seen.

But he was terrified to pick them up.

So he didn't.

When Boomer woke up the next morning, he did two things. First he checked the box to make sure opening it and finding the knives in it wasn't some crazy dream, and then he ran down to his brothers.

Boomer didn't know how to use knives! He didn't want to hurt anyone! So why the heck would his parents just give him a couple of, very sharp, knives on his fifteenth birthday?!

Turns out he wasn't the only Jojo brother with some questions

Once Boomer got into the living room, if it could even be called that, he saw his brothers. All of them anxiously sitting or pacing around the room, lost in their own world. The living room wasn't big, in fact it could barely fit all four of them, but the atmosphere in the room made it even smaller. Boomer felt like he was being squeezed into an elevator with a hundred other people. And the elevator happened to be low on oxygen.

Boomer walked cautiously up to his nearest brother, Butch. Butch was sitting on a rundown armchair, silently glaring at the crumbling wall in front of him. Boomer tapped on his shoulder, and Butch jumped and hissed. Not unlike a cat? Boomer made a mental note to get his most stoic brother out of the house more.

"What?" Butch snapped. Boomer supposed that he had startled Butch more that Butch was willing to admit. Or Boomer just came at a really bad time. Well, Boomer could always play ignorant if he needed to.

"Nothing" Boomer replied hastily "I was just wondering why everyone is so on edge."

Butch snorted "Did you not open your present last night or something?"

Boomer was confused. Did everyone receive a pair of knives for their birthday?

"Well, I did." Boomer said. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you guys about. I kind of got, um, knives, as a gift."

Butch growled, and his glare at the wall seemed to darken. If that was even possible. This was not good news for Butch.

"Well, you aren't the only person that got a lethal weapon for their birthday. Apparently, Mom and Dad thought it would be alright to give their fifeeen year old children deadly tos=ys for them to play with." Butch had slowly risen his voice as he talked, and now he took a moment to steady himself. "Blaze's gift was a wooden staff, almost as tall as he is, with a spike that pops unexpectedly out of the top. Brick got a pair of prong things, that have very sharp points, and I got two samurai like swords that, when I took them out, almost cut off my head!"

Boomer didn't know how to process this new information. His parents gave him and his siblings deadly weapons of mass destruction? They thought that fifteen year-olds could handle them? Cool!

Boomer had always wanted to be a hero for justice, and now he knew his parents wanted him to be one as well. All he needed was a cool name, like Bubble Boy or . . . Captain Boomer! Boomer was a pretty unusual name, and not a lot of people would think it was his real name. It was perfect.

Boomer spent the rest of the day daydreaming of what he would do to help innocent people with his new alter ego. He came up with a catch phrase (Time for things to explode!), and a theme song, and even started thinking of a costume. Then, a genius idea struck Boomer. Maybe he and his brothers could be a team. They could all work together to protect the innocent from harm.

'I have to go tell them!" Boomer thought.

He rushed out of his room, certain that his brothers would love his idea. But once he got closer, he heard voices coming from from Brick and Butch's shared room. Boomer stopped running and crept closer to the door, which was just open enough for Boomer to peer in. Inside the room, Butch was pacing. Back and forth with restless energy. He was gesturing wildly, obviously in an argument with someone. Brick, judging from the other voice in the room.

Brick's steely voice rung out. "Are you suggesting we take away the last reminder of our dead parents. Yeah, that'll work."

"Well, what other options do we have?" Butch asked sharply. "Just let them run around with deadly weapons? They can't handle them Brick. Blaze maybe, but Boomer can't handle them."

Boomer froze. Did they really think he couldn't handle this. Boomer heard Brick murmur quietly in agreement, and anything left of his good mood evaporated.

They really thought, . . .thought that he couldn't handle what his parents gave to him. They didn't think he was strong enough. His own brothers, didn't believe in him.

And so began a spiral of descent. Boomer was jerked back to the present by a swirling of memories. They were advancing forward again.

This time, the memories weren't so good. In the end, Brick hadn't taken away the weapons, but that was only because they had to move quickly. Again. There were bigger things to worry about.

Boomer had always hated moving, and he didn't find he liked it anymore when the entire experience was being played back again. And then they finally stopped, and Boomer was back in his current situation.

Fae slowly materialized out of the mist again, making her way over to Boomer. He didn't look up at her, instead opting to stare at the swirling floor. He wasn't happy with the goddess at the moment and, no matter how petty it was, he was going to make sure she knew it. The misty form of Fae placed a hand on Boomer's shoulder. He still refused to look at her.

"You have been matched with the element of ice. Your warmness gives you control over the steely heart of ice, but be warned, should your heart freeze over like ice you will have much more trouble controlling your abilities. Now, goodbye Master Caz. Time for someone new"

After Fae stopped speaking, Boomer's mind plunged into darkness once again and he fell into unconsciousness.

So how did y'all like that chapter? I really liked imagining how this all went down, so this chapter was especially fun for me. I know it seems like I'm ignoring the other characters, but I promise you they will all have their own time to shine. Thank you so much for reading this, and make sure to tell me something that I could do better. There is always something that I need to improve on, so just point it out to me and I'll try and fix. Have a great day/night, and never stop looking for a new idea!