Electricity.

Kai felt it surge through him with immense force as he dropped to the ground. A dark, shadowy figure loomed over him as his vision faded to black.

His eyes fluttered open, but he immediately shut them again due to the light above blinding him. Kai opened them again slowly as they adjusted to the lighting. He looked down at himself. He was laying on what looked like a sleeping bag with a blanket over him. The room he was in wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t so warm either. It was comfortable. The room had an attic or basement vibe to it, if that makes any sense. He felt very weak, but he managed to sit up a little and look around. Dareth, Gayle, Nelson, and Nya were also asleep under their own blankets. Good. Everyone was there. Well- almost everyone… “Oh, Clutch…” He whispered quietly to himself. Just then,  the same figure that had electrocuted him earlier, walked into the room. He was holding a paper grocery bag with something inside. Kai didn’t know what, but it could be a bomb for all he knew. The mysterious person placed the bag down and turned to look at the group. They reacted in shock when they noticed Kai. The mystery person cautiously walked towards him and knelt down. Kai felt himself becoming fairly dizzy from sitting up, but refused to collapse in front of a potential enemy. The figure pulled back his black hood and lowered his mask; revealing his face. “Hey. Welcome back from your little vacation.”

Kai fell, but caught himself last moment. He glared up at the new face. He was a boy, around the same age as Kai, and had black hair with the tips fading to a darker blue. He wore a black hoodie with a denim vest and well worn jeans. He had some modified street signs strapped to parts of him like makeshift armor. His face was also painted light blue around his eyes. It made him look kind of like Harumi. That, Kai already despised him for. The boy carried a worried look on his face as Kai fully collapsed back down.

“Oof. Look, I’m really sorry about how I got you here, but I didn’t know if you could be trusted.”

Kai glared at him. “You didn’t know if you could trust US?! YOU shot us with a taser gun!”

The boy looked away embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, I suppose we got of on a bit of an odd note… so let’s start over.” He held out his hand for Kai to take. “I’m Scott. And you are...?”
The fire ninja groaned as he laid on the floor. “Kai.” He just laid there, and didn’t take the handshake offer. Mostly because he was too tired to.
Scott acknowledged that the ninja left him hanging, and took it as a sign that he wasn’t one for physical contact. Which, honestly wasn’t wrong. “SO… Radical scar ya got there. How’d you get it?”

Kai paused as he remembered the event. The most traumatic blacksmithing accident in the history of Ninjago. Not to mention embarrassing. His stupid child self nearly blinded himself, and wasn’t about to tell this random dude the details. “Ahhh. An epic battle.” He lied.

Scott’s eyes lit up. “Aw, SICK! I mean, um…” He cleared his throat and stat up straight, almost as if to seem more professional. “You look pretty out of it. Can I get you something? Food, water...”

“No.” Kai said firmly as he turned his head away. “I don’t need your help.”

“Yes, he definitely does need something to eat.” Nya spoke as she sat herself up against the wall. Her brother happily exclaimed that she was alive, and tried to sit up, but collapsed again. Nya shot him a ‘you know you need help’ look; then turned her attention to Scott. He introduced himself.

“Hold on! You’re the one who shot us!” She growled. “Why did you kidnap us?! What do you want?!”

Scott almost looked offended. “I didn’t KIDNAP you; I was SAVING you! From the SOG and Harumi. I…. Saw what happened in the city. I’m really sorry about your loss.”
Kai looked down in a moment of silence for Clutch, but realized something and suspiciously glared daggers at the boy. “Wait- The city is overrun with thugs and gangsters. What were you doing there?! Working for the Time Twins?! The SOG?!?...”

Scott froze as Kai accused him. “What?! NO. I don’t work for anyone! I’m El Solo Lobo. Well, more or less. At least, I think… I- I can’t really remember. The last thing I remember was waking up. And everything was destroyed… but, um, that’s not important.”
Nya was about to comment, when Kai’s stomach growled extremely loudly. The master of fire winced as he held himself tightly. His stomach had been hurting for a few days at this point, with not eating anything and all, but now the pain was becoming unbearable. Scott grabbed a pack of peanut butter filled crackers from the brown paper bag and handed them to the ninja. He also kindly handed one to Nya. Kai looked down at the package and turned his head back away. “No thank you.” He groaned. His stomach growled painfully again, causing him to curl up. The boy looked at Nya with a severely worried expression, then back down at Kai. “PLEASE eat it. I understand that your very weak, and you’re starting to lose your appetite, but I’m trying to help you, please.” He nudged the crackers closer to the fire ninja, and he finally turned to look at them again. Nya lightly pushed him over to face them, while giving him a tired, but desperate look. After a moment, he gave in and practically inhaled them. He still didn’t know if he wanted to trust Scott, but at least for the time being, he had saved his life. Admittedly, he knew he would’ve starved if it weren’t for that cracker packet, and who knows how much longer they could’ve taken the weather… so yes. At the moment it looked like Scott really was trying to save them; but he didn’t know if he could fully be trusted. Trust is a scary thing. It can be dangerous, or even deadly if placed in the wrong person.

And the LAST thing he needed was for him to lose anyone else.

    *******************************

4 Years ago- A few months after the apocalypse started-

‘I can’t remember ANYTHING… All I seem to recall is my name and age. I think. At least I think I remember how old I am… Oh, PLEASE don’t tell me that’s slipping away too!’ A million thoughts swarmed Scott’s head at once as he walked through the sandy, demolished world. He felt so weak, but he pushed on because he determined to find someone else. Any other living person. Someone, ANYONE who could even possibly tell him who he was or what happened. As he pondered the deep thoughts, he didn’t even notice the shadow growing over him. A ginormous shriek snapped him out of his trance. He whipped around to see a massive wyvern swooping down towards him. His heart raced faster than it ever had before, and he desperately tried to do the same thing with his running. However, wyverns are fast. He just barely dodged its talons and was beginning to really feel his tiredness kick in. He ran under a rock formation and dropped to his knees to catch a breath. The monster sniffed the air, then flew of into the distance. Scott took this as his chance to make a run for it. He ran until his leg muscles could barely hold him up anymore. He wasn’t looking where he was going, causing him to trip and tumble down a cliff. As he fell, he became entangled in a bunch of downed power lines. He opened his eyes, and the time of day had changed. From the looks of it, it was morning. The sun had been setting last time he remembered, so that meant that he had been knocked out all night. Scott struggled to get up with all the wires he was tangled in. Then he pulled forward and felt it. The lines were tangled around his neck. They were choking him. Other wires squeezed his chest, arms and legs, and one was so tight that it was cutting into his side.
‘This can’t be happening…’ he thought. But it was. Tears filled his eyes as he desperately tried to pull and wiggle his way out of it, but the more he struggled, the more tangled and tighter they got. He yelled for help as the day went by, still trying to struggle his way out of his fate. He finally pulled hard enough for a wire to snap; however, it caused the electricity to travel down and shock him. He yelled out in pain as he dropped to the sandy ground. He knew it was probably futile, but he tried again calling for help. The more he struggled, the worse the pain became. His calls went from as loud as he possibly could, to very weak and raspy. The wires around his neck got infinitely tighter, till his breathing was reduced to gasps. He was laying in the sand, tired, defeated, and unable to catch even half a breath. ‘This is it.’ He thought. ‘This is how I die.’ His vision blurred as he felt his eyelids get increasingly heavy. Through the blurred landscape, a figure appeared from behind him. It knelt down and watched as he tried to catch any breath with a slight gasp. His eyes were closing now, but before they did, the figure pulled a knife out of their back pocket. In the darkness he just fell into, Scott fell a sharp pain in his neck for a moment, but when it subsided, he realized he could breath again. His eyes shot open as he took a large breath. He looked back to see the figure using the knife to cut him free. The boy laid there in exhaustion while the person helped him. They reached down a hand for him to take, but everything went black. He woke up in a panic as he realized that he was in an underground room. Where the wires were cutting into his neck and side were completely cleaned out and bandaged up.

'That is SO weird... What happened?'

Someone walked into the room, making Scott turn his attention to them in fear. It was a girl. Her long white hair waved as she walked over to his side. She knelt down to get to his eye level. Something about her was intimidating, but her smile made that feeling subside a bit.
“Who are you?... Why did you save me?” he questioned.

She sat beside him. “I don’t know you; I don’t have anything against you- so why wouldn’t I? It felt cruel to let you suffocate in the power lines like that.”

“Well- Thank you then. I guess...”

The girl introduced herself as Harumi, and the boy as Scott. They talked for awhile until someone else entered the room. Scott jumped at the sight of a menacing black and red biker walking towards them. He didn’t understand why, but something about this guy’s red visor freaked him out. He peered down at Scott with a skeptical look. “Oh. So this is the guy you found in the desert? Well, consider yourself lucky mate, we’re not usually THIS nice.”
Harumi glared at him then smiled back at Scott. “Oh, don’t listen him! He’s just a bit grumpy today. Anyway, you’re free to do whatever when you’re all healed up. But until then, you’re more than welcome to join our little gang.” The comforting smile she sported turned rather menacing as she left the room with the other biker.

Scott sat there with a slightly worried expression. 'So- What now?'

    *******************************

Present day-

The cold, dimly lit corridors of Borg Tower echoed as Acronix walked through them. He came to a door and entered the room. Papers and other trash littered the ground around a desk that sat in the middle. Acronix smiled. “Well? Have you started yet?”

The person he talked to was sitting at the desk looking irritated. They were chained to the leg of the workspace by their ankle. They angrily mumbled something while turning away, as the twin walked over to them. Acronix placed both hands down on the desk and glared at them. “Listen here you stubborn nincompoop! We saved your miserable life Mr. Borg, so the least you can do is cooperate with me. If it weren’t for us, you’d been burnt alive with the others! We saved you and your daughter from that fate, treated your wounds, and even let you rest and recover from them! So it’s only fitting that you pay us back for our services.”

Cyrus glared at the twin while still turned away and crossing his arms. “No. I’ll have no part in your plans. That includes creating a machine that’ll bring about the end of days.”

Acronix chuckled. “I think you misunderstand the situation. The end of days is already here. We’re trying to FIX it! Consider us the good guys..” he smirked. Cyrus looked into his eyes with stubbornness and told him NO. 

The twin folded his arms. “Fine. But I assure you, you’ll change your mind really soon.” He snapped his fingers, signaling something to approach. Pixal, who’s metal casing was warped by the fire, marched into the room and stood by Acronix. Her black outfit slightly resembled an Overlord nindroid, and a black blindfold covered over where her eyes once were. They were still there, but the fire had gotten to them, making them unfixable and permanently broken. However, her other senses and sensors were highly effective. In a way, Pixal didn’t need her eyes to see. Cyrus looked saddened by the state of her, but that sorrow turned to fear when she grabbed him by the shirt collar. “You shall do as they command or face the consequences!” she growled.

Harumi had assisted in fixing and reprogramming her, so she was no longer on the side of good. Harumi has a surprising amount of knowledge when it comes to nindroids. From what he heard, she managed to find a broken Overlord nindroid and completely rework it into something extraordinary. A war machine. Yet one capable of emotions and a personality. 'Mr. E…'

Well, unfortunately, Cyrus felt like there wasn’t much other choice for him, so he picked up a pencil and began reluctantly sketching up ideas. Acronix and Pixal left him to it.

    -----------------------------------------------

Elsewhere, days later, Jay knocked on the door that read ‘Mr. Pale’s room.’ “Hello? Miles? Can- can I come in?”

There was no answer.

“I have a bowl of oatmeal for you. You didn’t come down for breakfast, so I figured I’d bring you up some.”

Still no response.

“Alright- then I’m coming in.” The blue ninja held his pointer finger to the doorknob and used his powers on the lock hole. The doorknob crackled with electricity, eventually making an unlocking sound. Jay opened the door to see Miles leaning on the balcony, looking up at the cloudy gray sky. His tired expression also seemed saddened. Jay walked over next to him and held the bowl of oatmeal in front of his face, but he turned his head away. Jay frowned as his friend turned walked away; plopping down on the bed without a word. The ninja placed the bowl on the nightstand and sat next to him. “Miles, I’m sorry about what happened. I know that you’re still grieving, but Jason wouldn’t want you to stay locked in a room for the rest of your life. You know that he wouldn’t.”

Miles turned to the ninja. “You’re right. I guarantee he’d tell me not ta get stuck in the mud and get back to work, but… I guess I don’t know what to do.”
They sat in silence for a moment before Jay spoke up with an idea. “Hey! You like to play superhero, right? What if everyone joins in one big role play?!”

Miles smirked. “Fugidove and the case of the stolen Jade Blades.” He joked quietly. Jay playfully elbowed him a couple times to get him to smile. And it worked. The ninja told him to meet him in the courtyard in an hour as he ran to the balcony. Did a backflip off of it to add a dramatic flare, but underestimated the drop. “Woah!...... OW!”
Miles panicked and rushed to see if he was alright. Jay was laying in a bush that was originally trimmed to be shaped like a curled up snake. It was overgrown now, and all the extra bush cushioned his fall. He shook of his dizziness and got up, brushing himself off. Miles looked reasonably concerned. “Are- are you alright?!”

Jay chuckled. “Yeah, I’m fine. I fell off Borg Tower and lived, so that was nothing.”

“You got brain damage last time!”

“Eh. You say tomato, I say tomoto… I’m fine, don’t worry about it.” Jay smiled as he ran off, reminding him to meet him in the courtyard in an hour.

The hour passed, and Miles, in his Fugidove outfit, found the courtyard. But it was empty and quiet, too quiet. He felt like someone was watching him, so he stood on full alert. Just then, Jay jumped down from the top of a tori and landed in front of him. He had his light blue cloak on again, which had been washed earlier. Rushed to Miles’ side. “Don’t fear Fugidove, it is I! You’re sidekick Bluejay! But we can’t stay here for long, evil is out to find us!” Jay was obviously playing pretend, which made Miles smile. Jay was admittedly also pretty excited to be role playing like a nerd again. He couldn’t help but remember the time he got to visit a convention, where he dressed up in a homemade Starfarer cosplay. He had the freaking time of his life that day.

Fugidove and ‘Bluejay’ ran through the temple grounds as Jay explained the mission. “A group of villains who call themselves the “Jade Serpents” stole the legendary Jade Blades and are planning to take over the world with them! We have to find and stop the leader before it’s too late!” He tried his best to be a good actor, but was having an increasingly difficult time because of how much fun he was having. Just as they neared a bridge, two people jumped out in front of them. Shade and Skylor. Except they were wearing purple face paint in a snake pattern, similar to how Chen’s army looked. (It took way more convincing than it should've had to get Shade to do this, but he didn’t look too bothered by it at the moment.)

Fugidove beamed as they too joined in the role play. They said things like- “Turn back now or face us!” and obviously, the heroes didn’t back down. They ‘fought’ through the two guards and continued on their path. They were later jumped by two other face paint wearing warriors in the jungle. Neuro and Cole. Except Cole had a black cape on. (Presumably stolen out of Chen’s closet.) Ever since Cole had walked into Jay reading a Starfarer comic, he had gotten curious and they both started reading them together. He was by no means as big as a fan as Jay, but the times they spent geeking out together turned him into a bit of a nerd as well. They had even made plans to go to a convention together. But they sky kinda rained apocalypse, so it never happened. Cole held a bone spear in a battle-ready position as he playfully smack talked the two super heroes. “Ha, ha, ha! You two puny heroes may have taken down the guards at the bridge, but you’ll NEVER defeat us!” he stomped his foot, making a piece of earth rise up behind them, blocking them from turning around. Miles jumped up and down in excitement. This was getting fun! He playfully used a super power move he called- ‘Wing flap hurricane.’

Which sent Cole ‘flying backwards’ into a wall. The two surrendered and the heroes progressed onwards as the wall of earth crumbled. A few minutes later, Zane and Griffin tried to stop them. They too were defeated by the powerful, unstoppable duo of Fugidove and Bluejay. Finally, they came upon the throne room of the leader- Lloyd. Which honestly was rather appropriate seeing as he wore green and the gang was supposedly called the Jade Serpents. Lloyd laughed like a super villain as he held up a Jade Blade. “You’re too late heroes! I have all the Jade Blades! I’m going to take over the world, and NOBODY CAN STOP ME!”

“Not so fast Emperor Lloyd!” Called Jay. “Fugidove is an unstoppable hero! He’s gonna take you down!” Miles and Jay beamed at each other. This is the most fun they’d had in a long time! Fugidove and Bluejay play fought back and forth with Lloyd, and at one point Jay even pretended to get hurt so that it’d be up to Miles to save the day. And acting like he was Ironman, he defeated Lloyd.

“Ow! Oh no, please- no more!” begged the green ninja. “You’re too strong! You win!” he then proceeded to obviously die in an extremely fake manner. Ya know, with the tongue out and an overly dramatic pose. Miles grabbed the box that held the blades as Jay congratulated his victory. Everyone walked into the room clapping for him.

“You did it! Looks like another day saved by Fugidove and Bluejay!” Laughed Skylor. Miles lifted his goggles over his forehead revealing that he was tearing up. “Thank you all so much!” he cried. “This was the best day ever!”

Everyone group hugged him. “We love you dude.” Smiled Cole. Miles cuddled up and melted in the group hug. “I love you all too.”

------------------------

Author's note: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading! How are you liking the story so far? Let me know by leaving a comment!
It'd be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.  :D