Disclaimer: I do not own Ninja-Go: Masters of Spinjitzu or any of its characters. I do own the idea. (I'd like to say, there are over 2.8K Ninjago stories, so I'm not saying no one else has ever thought of this, I'm just saying the only thing that inspired me was my brain.)

This story takes place post The Titanium Ninja. Not only is this my first Ninjago story without an OC, but also without Zane. Just…wish me luck. I hope to get this done before Ninjago 2015, mainly because I just don't want to get uninspired and quit (Update: I saw the first few episodes of the next season on YouTube and decided most of my stories will be AUs because of the whole "Masters of Elements" thing and most my Ninjago OCs are Garmadons. . . On another note, ASDFGHJKL!). It's not going to be a really long story, but hopefully I can do this with the greatest to my extent. And…go!

Chapter 1

Lloyd put his hand on his beanie before pushing his glasses back. Sometimes being the most famous ninja in all of Ninjago was a pain. He couldn't just walk around New Ninjago City. He had to wear a hat of some kind and sunglasses. If he didn't, he'd be mobbed by reporters and fans. Lloyd didn't mind it at first, but now they were just annoying.

The Golden Ninja stopped outside Doomsday Comics. It was tempting to head inside, just for old time's sake. If anyone had asked what an eighteen-year-old was doing in a comic book store, he'd make up having a younger brother whose birthday was coming up or something.

As he started inside, he heard a voice hiss, "Get inside! You sure you weren't followed?"

"'Course not!" another voice retorted.

Lloyd walked over to the edge of the building, peering into the alleyway. A man was slipping inside a door, and when it closed the outside matched the wall. He snuck over, making sure no one was watching before spinning into his Spinjitzu vortex. He came out in his ninja suit. He put his hand on the wall, feeling for a way to open the door. Finding nothing, he looked up.

"Come on, Lloyd," he mumbled to himself. "Use your head." He climbed the fire escape on the side building and saw an entrance from the top of the building the man disappeared into. He ran over and opened the door, slipping down into the building.

"Both of you, shut up!" a new voice snapped. "Just listen."

Lloyd made his way down to the room, keeping in the shadows.

"You two are in charge of making sure all the attention is on the bank," one of the men said. He had a very muscular build, tan skin, and he wore a black jacket and dark denim jeans. His hair was long, shaggy and dark brown. He was turned away, so Lloyd couldn't make out any other features.

"What will you be doing?" one of the other men asked. He had short blonde hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. His face was rough and bruised, like he'd been in a lot of fights. He was wearing a brown jacket that was clearly too big around him, black sweat pants, and army boots.

The man next to him looked very similar—Lloyd figured they were brothers of some sort—but he had longer hair pulled in a low ponytail. He wore similar clothes but in lighter shades. He crossed his arms. "What's in it for us anyway?" he demanded. "What if we get caught?"

"You won't get caught," the bigger man said. "Make sure you have lots of hostages. The police won't risk their lives."

"What about the ninja?" the first brother asked.

"The ninja won't risk their lives either, you dip head!" the other brother said, hitting the first in the back of his head.

"Quiet!" the man snapped.

"What are you doing?" the first brother repeated.

"I will be executing the second part," the big man said. "Me and three other men will be at Borg Towers. From there, the entire city will be under our control."

Lloyd found himself with a decision. Either he could attack these three men now, or he could go back and tell the others. He started to back up to leave, not wanting to take a chance with the men, when he felt a strong grip grab him. As one giant arm wrapped around his chest and arms, his ninja mask was pulled back like a gag.

"Boss!" the man behind him called. "We have a spy."

The buff man turned around. He had a long scar running down his cheek and piercing black eyes. "The Golden Ninja!" he rasped.

Lloyd struggled to get free, but he found himself to be no match to his captor. He tried to scream for help, but his mask muffled it too much. He was forced forwards over to them.

The first brother punched his fist into his hand. "I'll handle this."

"No," the big man said. "We don't do anything until Boss says so. Do you two bone heads understand?"

They both nodded.

"Good. Butchy, go make our guest comfortable in the basement."

Lloyd tried to use his powers, but the way his arms were confined prevented it. He fought as hard has he could, but the man was able to get him down the stairs.

"Don't worry, Golden Ninja," Butchy said. "We won't break you too much."

Lloyd started to panic. He felt the arm around his loose so he used the chance to get free. As he spun to face the man, he was punched square in the face, knocking him unconscious.

When Lloyd came to, he was tied down to a chair. He pulled against the strong rope, wishing for once in his life he kept a dagger or something handy.

"He's awake. Hello, Lloyd Garmadon," the big man said as he walked into his view. "I am Big Johnny. These two bone heads are Rick and Dick. You already know Butchy."

Butchy was very big, part of it was muscle but not all of it. He had really short brown hair and brown eyes to match. He had several scars on his face and arms, making his tan skin look paler. He wore a large tank top, jeans, and boots.

Lloyd kept his mouth shut. He could feel his mask still tied back as a gag anyhow. His best chance was to stay calm and hope he could find a way to escape.

"He doesn't look too happy," Dick, the second brother, said. "Guess someone didn't think his plan to spy on us through all the way."

"Where are the other ninja?" Rick demanded.

Lloyd wasn't sure how they expected him to answer. He tried talking, but the gag muffled his words.

Dick pulled his mask down. "Where are the other ninja?"

"Long gone by now," Lloyd bluffed. "They've probably already warning the police and everything. I bet they're trying to find a way to get to me."

Big Johnny got right in Lloyd's face, staring at him. "Don't try and lie your way out of this," he growled. "I've managed to escape the police dozens of times based on lies. I know how to tell if someone's lying or not, and you are very much a liar."

"I'm not lying," Lloyd said.

"Fine, you're bluffing," Johnny said, backing up. "Yo, Butchy. Since no one's gonna be looking for him, why don't you just filet him. Boss said find out what where the other ninja were and then do whatever with him."

Butchy pulled out a switch blade. "My pleasure."

Lloyd felt the color drain from his face. "You don't wanna do this," he said. "The ninja will still be looking for me! I'm serious, they're probably looking for me right now!"

Johnny narrowed his eyes. "You're right. They can't do much with a dead body though."

Lloyd sucked in a big breath and yelled, as loud as he could, "Help! Somebody!"

Rick quickly pulled his mask back up. "Keep your voice down, little ninja. No one is coming to rescue you."

A man walked down from the stairs. "You boys don't see opportunity, do you?"

The four men quickly stood at attention.

"Boss, I didn't know you were coming," Big Johnny said with a gulp.

Their boss was short, maybe only five foot three, but he had biceps the size of grapefruit. He had a black lawyer hair cut and sharp blue eyes. He wore a business suit and had one of those ball topped canes that the gang leaders often had.

"So, this is the famous Golden Ninja," he said with amusement. "I expected someone like him to be a challenge, even for Butchy, to take down. Guess he's not that strong after all."

"We managed to keep him unable to use his powers," Dick said. "That would've been the real problem."

"Dick."

"Yes, Boss?"

"Shut up."

Their boss walked over to Lloyd. "I'm about to show you boys how to get the enemy to play for you." He looked to the four men. "There's a thing about good guys. They never want anyone to die! So long as everyone is alive, it doesn't matter if the bad guys get away. Isn't that right Golden Ninja?" He glanced back.

Lloyd just glared at him, not liking where this was going.

The boss just continued. "We have a hostage, and the most powerful ninja in all of Ninjago works for us." He turned back to Lloyd. "Do I have all that correct?"

Lloyd shook his head, knowing that he couldn't put an innocent civilian in harm's way. He also couldn't help some gang.

The man crossed his arms. "No? So if we just happened to have a hostage with us, you wouldn't try and save her?"

Lloyd tensed up. His masked was moved down. "Now you're the one who's bluffing."

He smiled. "You think I'm bluffing?" He snapped his fingers twice.

A thug led a woman from a room off to the side.

Her blue eyes connected with Lloyd's and he felt a jolt through him. He looked back to the boss. "Let her go," he said.

"Let her go?" he echoed. "Ah, so you do care for civilians! Tell me, what would you do if I just so happened…" His voice trailed off as he pulled out a gun. He carelessly pointed it at the woman, who cringed.

"Stop!" Lloyd shouted.

"Or what?" he asked. "Your hands are tied, quite literally. If I wanted to, I could kill person after person until you finally decide to help."

Lloyd closed his eyes. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't help a gang. But he also couldn't let them just kill people. If he waited for the others, who knows how many people would be killed in the meantime, plus there was no guarantee they'd be able to find him. He opened his eyes and looked to the woman. "I'll do it," he said. "I'll help you or whatever, just let her go."

"What did I tell you?" the boss said, turning back to the others. "All heroes are the same." He turned back to Lloyd. "The woman will be released." He put the gun away and snapped his fingers.

The man holding the woman took her back into the room.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Lloyd asked. "How do I know you'll really let her go?"

"Because we have other prisoners in case you decide to turn on us," the boss said simply. "Butchy, untie him."

Lloyd felt the rope loosen and fall off. He fixed his mask and stood up.

"Ready for the conditions?" the boss asked.

Lloyd glanced at where the woman was taken and nodded. "Yeah."

"You will do as we say without question. You will not tell any of the other ninja, family me members, no one. Every time you disobey, I'll kill someone. Are. We. Clear?"

"Crystal."

Perfect start! So I'm going to try and update this every Sunday, but there's no garuntee. Here, just for the sake of not being yelled at, don't expect this until ever OTHER Sunday. It might pop up two weeks in a row, but if that happens look at it like a treat and not a regular thing. :)

Review.