Mirror

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Hi again! I'm really happy to see that people are reading this pathetic attempt of a book. I really enjoy writing about my innocent little Zephyr. If you'd like to get involved a little too, see my little sunshine in a certain situation, don't hesitate to leave your idea in the comments or write me.

Love you ❤️

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The poor little creature was bored out of his mind. His grandpa was gone for the weekend and there was literally nothing to do. Zephyr was in a bad mood since the early morning, unable to find anything entertaining. To shorten his time, he tried drawing, going out or even sleeping, but noting lasted more than 15 minutes.

"We are short of ink. While I'm gone, go buy some more." Ra's words suddenly appeared in Zephyr's head, finally giving him something to do. His happy mood was short lived because of a place he had to visit. The center of the village was always full of people who were seriously out there only to gossip and torment their least favorite person.

Zephyr has learned from his previous mistakes. Going out as himself wasn't the brightest idea as everyone made time to harass him. In order to avoid that, he used his grandfather's scarf to cover his recognizable face. With a hung head, Zephyr exited his house and peered both ways before making his way into the village.

The cold mountain wind made everyone stay inside, huddled together near the fireplace. The streets were never this quiet and empty, guess it was the boy's lucky day. Nearing the little store in the center, it was now suspiciously quiet. Zephyr looked around, searching for anyone, but he was alone.

A funny feeling rose in his stomach, but he just shrugged it off and moved on. He didn't get far when his enhanced hearing caught a sound of something heavy falling. With eyes full of curiosity, he looked up, only to find a small dot getting bigger. The thing was falling on top of him! Zephyr freaked out and took few cautious steps backwards. It took only few seconds and he wasn't alone in the streets anymore.

Curiosity once again overcame his fear and he inched forward to the crater. There was a human being! Well... human like. There was no need to describe how the stranger looked because he was the exact same copy of the little ghost, only older. White flaming hair, turquoise skin... only the clothes were different.

The loud crash has drawn the attention of the whole village. There was something these people were missing. When something dangerous or loud happened, they ran straight towards it and not from it. Guess it was the lack of entertainment in their isolated mountain village.

"Boy, get back here." A random woman shouted at Zephyr, but he didn't listen. "If she knew who was under the scarf, she would push me into the hole." He murmured and knelt at the edge. The person inside let out a pained growl as he tried to push himself off of the ground. He didn't get far because his hands collapsed under his own weight. Zephyr wanted to help him, help his own kind, but he just couldn't bring himself to move.

"Look! It's Superman!" A teenage boy shouted from the crowd, pointing into the sky. And really, a man in blue spandex with red cape landed on the opposite side of the crater as Zephyr, staring angrily at the person below. "Get him Superman!" The crowd cheered as the mentioned man slowly made his way down.

"Are you done Phantom?" Superman asked annoyed, towering over the older ghost. "For now." Phantom growled and clenched his teeth because of the pain those short words had caused him. He was beaten up pretty seriously. Darker green bruises covered his skin, peeking through his ripped suit. A trail of blood started in the corner of his mouth, dripping from his chin.

Superman sighed heavily and chained the ghost's hands behind his back. Phantom didn't make any efforts to stand up so the hero was forced to pick him up. Every villager with a good view of the situation gasped and stepped back when they got a better view on the face of Phantom. Superman saw their terrified faces and spoke up. "You don't have to worry about him, he's going to sit in a prison for a long time."

"He looks just like him." A man spat angrily and searched around him, hoping he would find the blue boy. His words caught Superman's attention and he decided to find out more. Whatever was going on here, the connection to Phantom made it interesting.

"Take him with you!" The villagers started yelling over each other, searching for Zephyr. The little ghost didn't dare to move from his spot, not even an inch, scared of what they would do to him. What would Superman do to him? If the man he just handcuffed was evil, would he think that he was evil too? Would he take him away?

He starter slowly scooting away from the center of attention, hoping he would go unnoticed. He ducked under swinging arms of angry villagers, slowly making his way back home. One yard, one yard kept him from reaching the safe place out of the reach of people's hands. Someone accidentally brushed his scarf off and when he was about to apologize, hell broke loose.

"I found him!" The man yelled and dragged the stunned boy into the center. Zephyr was so dumbfounded by his sudden reveal that he completely forgot about his powers and let the man drag him. The crowd made a path for them as they walked closer to the awaiting superhero. Zephyr was watching the situation with wide eyes, his gaze shifting from Superman to barely conscious Phantom. His red eyes silently pleading for mercy.

"What is happening here?" Superman asked, flying a little closer to the ground to have a better look at the young boy. The villagers now formed a tight circle around them and the man finally let Zephyr go. He shoved him to the ground and walked away to join his friends with a disgusted face.

"Take this brat away!"

"We don't want to see his ugly face!"

"Put him in solitary and let him rot there!"

People were raging, trying to out-yell each other. The little ghost could only listen to their hurtful words and soon, streams of hot tears were flowing freely. His cries only made the villagers more satisfied and they continued.

"STOP!" Superman shouted, immediately silencing the group. This was the last thing they expected from the hero. Maybe join them, yes, but help the brat out? Hell no. "I don't know what's going on in here, but is there any valid reason for what you are doing? This little boy has done nothing and yet, you decided to act the way you did."

"You know nothing about him!" A woman shouted. "He's a cold hearted murderer and he clearly has some connections with this." She pointed her finger at Phantom who managed to open his eyes and look at his accuser. Superman knew this couldn't be true, he was just a kid who stood out in the crowd, but he had to ask anyway. At least to calm everyone.

"Is it true?" He asked softly and knelt in front of the crying child. Their blue and teary red eyes met. "N...no." Zephyr stuttered and suddenly found a rock more interesting than the man in front of him.

"He's lying!" The crowd started yelling again. "I'm not." He whispered and lifted his gaze a little. He didn't expect to make eye contact with Superman's prisoner, but when he did, he couldn't look away. It was like looking into a time-traveling mirror.

"I can take you home. Do you want to?" The hero asked with sympathy and held out a hand for the boy. He nodded while still looking at the ghost. After showing Superman his house from the sky, he dropped him off and flew away. He was definitely going to talk to Batman about this. Not only Phantom's lookalike just suddenly showed up, but he was also labeled a murderer.

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