"Man," an exhausted Jay said as he threw open the apartment door and stepped inside. "That was the third robbery this month!"
"When are criminals gonna learn?" Kai said following him in. "We patrol this city, and we're always gonna be there to whoop their butts!" Kai pretended to give the air a "one-two" punch.
"You'd think they'd let up with us around," Cole added as he, Zane and Lloyd piled into the apartment also. Cole patted Kai's shoulder as he walked by him.
"Who wants Lemonade?" Jay offered, opening the fridge. Kai flopped onto the couch.
"Geez, it's so hot in here," he complained. "Open a window!" Zane quickly followed Kai's command.
"It's been kind of quiet after the snakes disappeared," Lloyd mentioned while taking a cold glass of lemonade from Jay. "And since my dad turned good…"
Zane nodded. "There are no more threats now." Jay snickered, and then added:
"Just a couple of examples of how NOT to rob a store!"
There was silence for a few moments.
"We need to do something with our lives," Kai said while Cole picked up his feet, sat down, and returned his feet to his own lap.
"What is there to do other than fight crime?" Jay asked after taking a sip of his lemony beverage.
"We need to be around in case someone needs our help," added Zane. "So options are limited."
As the ninjas discussed future activities, something was stirring deep under the earth. Far down below the surface, snakes circled in a small cavern. For months they had been locked underground with no signs of escape. It was this particular day though, that everything changed. While slithering around, one of the snake minions overturned a particular rock that uncovered a small, thin, flute-like tube. Upon further investigation, a tiny hole in rocky walls that surrounded them was found; just big enough for the flute piece.
"Thisss hole," spoke one of the snakes. "There'ssss a draft coming from it." He observed the raised carvings from around the discovery.
"Sssso there isss," another snake said. The two looked at one another before inserting the flute into the hole.
An extremely loud, high pitch ring shook the cavern. It rattled the rocks and shivered the streets above. It cracked windows in buildings and cars, and all the people of the city stopped to cover their ears, including the ninjas.
"Ow! What's that horrible sound?!" Jay yelled over the flute's song. Kai let out a pained yell in return. Lloyd doubled over slightly, wincing at his throbbing ears. Cole's eyes rolled back, and a splitting headache followed. He believed his ears would soon begin to bleed if the sound would not quit.
Zane's reaction was different. He simply stood and watched his ninja brothers writhe in pain. But as time progressed, his circuits began to give in, and with a simple twitch his eyes went dark.
Just as suddenly as it began, the noise stopped.
The ninjas slowly collected themselves. Lloyd was the first to open his eyes and look around. Jay shook out his entire body.
"Is everyone okay?" Lloyd asked with concern. Kai blinked next, and then turned to Cole, who had a rather calm look to him. Kai gently shook his shoulder.
"Cole," he spoke softly, as if the volume of the flute muted his words. Cole could only reply with a pained groan as his headache continued. Kai looked toward the others. "Do we have any aspirin?"
Kai, Lloyd and Jay's eyes all darted toward Zane as a sudden gesture caught their attention. Zane's head jerked up; his eyes were blank still. Jay cautiously spoke: "Zane?" But there was no answer. Jay broke the tension that was created by Zane's odd behavior and walked over to the ninja of ice. Lloyd held his breath as Jay placed at hand on Zane's shoulder, only to have it quickly grabbed by Zane himself.
"O-Ow, dude," Jay stuttered, his face slowly contorting into pain. "Zane, you're hurting me!"
Zane didn't turn his head. He simply grinned. Kai shot up from the couch. The grin was evil.
Before Kai could react, Zane had pulled Jay's wrist down across the front on him and kneed him in the stomach, dropping the pained blue ninja to the floor. He leaped over Jay and threw a punch at Kai, who swiftly grabbed it and returned a blow only to have it blocked. With every hit attempt, there was a block to seize it. Zane finally tripped Kai to the floor. Lloyd's face turned from fear to determination.
"Zane, I don't want to hurt you," he began. He took a stance and continued: "But if you continue to hurt my friends, you leave me no choice." Zane simply smiled at him. Lloyd developed a small orb of power in his hands and fired it at the possessed ninja, who simply created an ice shield and shot it right back at the green ninja. Lloyd quickly jumped to the side, narrowly missing his own power orb. An evil metallic laugh croaked from Zane. Cole slowly stood up, but Kai, who was now on his hands and knees, gave him a look. Sit back down it seemed to say. You are in no condition to fight.
Zane scoped the room one more time. A defeated Jay lay on the floor staring at the ceiling, Kai panted as he got to his feet, Lloyd stood back and carefully watched Zane, and Cole sat holding his head. He smiled, as if he approved of the sight and then ran towards the open window and dived out. Lloyd ran over and watched with wide eyes. "He's going to kill himself!"