The First Attack in a While

The attack of Meowthra was probably the most devastating attack to ever occur on Ninjago. But it was also the most memorable day, for it had brought a once broken family back together.

It has been seven months since that attack. And it hasn't been so peaceful in years. Especially for this certain family.

The sun shone through the window onto Lloyd's face. He clenched his eyes harder, attempting to block out some of the light. That was when he heard a voice. "Luh-Loyd," the voice said. He moaned in replied. "Luh-Loyd," the voice said, a little louder. This time, Lloyd opened his eyes a little, which allowed him to see the extremely dark face and red eyes of Garmadon smiling softly at him. "Morning, Luh-Loyd."

Lloyd smiled slightly. "Hi, Dad," he said. "How'd you sleep?" his father asked. "I slept great," he answered. Garmadon stood up straighter, allowing for his son to sit up. Rubbing his eyes, he could see that his dad was wearing a light blue extra long shirt with four short sleeves to account for his extra arms, grey jeans, and black shoes. "Your mother's making breakfast," he added. Lloyd sniffed the air. "I can smell it," he said. "And it smells amazing."

The two exited the room into the kitchen. Inside, Koko was frying eggs and bacon on a sizzling pan. "Morning, boys!" she called. "Morning, mom," Lloyd returned. He sat down with his dad at the table, waiting patiently for breakfast.

Within another minute, she came over to the table with three plates of fried eggs and nicely cooked applewood smoked bacon. Lloyd gave her a grin. "This looks great!" he complimented. She smiled sweetly. "Thanks. Enjoy!"

As the two dug in to their breakfast, Koko was getting ready for work. "Today's a big day!" she explained to them. "It's payday!" Lloyd smiled. "Bet you'll get a good payment," he said. She smiled, then pecked his cheek. "Thanks, sweetie. See you two after work!" They both waved as she exited the door. "Quite the woman," Garmadon remarked. "I don't think I've ever seen someone kill skeletons with fury as powerful as her's." Lloyd chuckled. "Yep, she's pretty great," he replied.

Slowly, they turned back to their food and continued eating.

Minutes later, Lloyd was now dressed in his favorite green jacket and black pants. "Well," Garmadon said, picking up his suitcase. "Gotta go to work. See you later, Luh-Loyd. Have fun with your friends!" Lloyd waved as his dad strode out the front door. "Bye, Dad!" The door shut, leaving Lloyd to do what he pleased.

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he sent several text messages to Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane, and Nya saying, "Hey, guys! You wanna head over to the pool?" Within a few seconds, they all replied with the same phrase: "Heck yes!" Smiling with delight, Lloyd ran into his room, and came back out holding green swim trunks and a white swim shirt. With his gear, he rushed out the door down the hallway, in the elevator, and out of the main lobby.

As he ran towards the community pool, people waved at him and called out his name, and he waved back with a warm smile. Ever since he had revealed his identity as the Green Ninja those months ago, he was now one of the most popular kids in the whole of Ninjago. And he hadn't felt so good in years. No longer was he the point of blame for the city attacks. Now, he had more friends than ever. But even with all these people who treat him so well, they could never possibly take the place of his team. The ones who stood up for him all these years.

After several minutes of parkouring through the city, and almost getting hit by a sky tram, he finally made it to the Ninjago Community Center Pool. And he could already see that his friends were there waiting for him. "Hey, bro!" Kai called, wearing his red swimming trunks. Jay waved, wearing a pair of goggles around his neck, and a swimsuit made up of blue trunks and a lighter blue shirt.

Cole waved, listening, as usual, to some heavy metal on his headphones. Zane waved. "Hello, Lloyd!" he said in his rather monotonous, robotic voice. He had an entire diving suit over his body, complete with a helmet, goggles, and oxygen tank. "Zane," Lloyd chuckled. "We're not diving in the ocean. You don't have to wear all that."

The robot teenager shrugged. "Better safe than sorry," he countered lightly.

Nya waved at Lloyd. "How are you doing, man?" she asked. She was wearing a grey nylon swimming suit. "Pretty good, actually," Lloyd answered as he went into the changing room. A few minutes later, he came back out wearing his gear. "Okay!" he said. "Let's get this party started!"

More people began coming in and out as the team had their fun in the chlorine filled water. Jay nervously inched towards the edge of the diving board. "You guys sure about this?" he called down to the surface. "Come on, Jay!" Cole replied encouragingly. "You got this!" Sliding his goggles over his face, Jay took a deep breath and jumped off of the board. However, he didn't correct himself, and fell into the water in a horizontal fashion. Everyone winced at his impact.

Coming back up, Jay was holding his torso in discomfort. "Ow!" he cried. "And that's why you don't land like that," Nya said, swimming over. Jay blushed at their close proximity. "Thanks for the advice."

Around half an hour later, they all decided it was time for lunch. As they clambered out of the pool, people waved at them, gave them friendly smiles, or asked for selfies. Ever since they saved Ninjago, everyone was being friendly to them, especially Lloyd. He had never felt more loved by everyone like this before, and to him, it was pretty awesome.

The cashier happily took their orders and, after setting up on a nearby table, they were all chowing down and talking. As Lloyd talked with them, he knew that he could never ask for more in his life. He had friends, a happy family, and a home that gratefully welcomed him. What would he want more than that?

The afternoon came by, and they all decided it was time to call it a day. They each got changed into their regular clothing, and walked out of the community pool center. More people waved at the group as they passed, and they all waved back.

Suddenly, they all felt a familiar tremor in the ground. It grew closer and closer as a large feline entered the street. "Hey, Meowthra!" Lloyd said as he ran excitedly towards the massive cat. She leaned her head down to allow for him to stroke her fur. "Who's a good kitty-cat? You are! Yes you are!" They all smiled at his soft-cooing voice and loving embrace. Meowthra had become the mascot of Ninjago as a whole. And people couldn't get enough of her. Of course, she had to be trained to not knock down the buildings anymore, but within a couple of months, her behavior had improved greatly.

"Lloyd, come on!" Cole said. "Let's hit the comic shop!" With a final pat, Lloyd followed his friends to a small building in the center of town. The front sign read "Hobbies and Written Adventures." Inside, a plethora of comic books, graphic novels, and collectable action figures were on display. Each of them looked at what they were interested in, Zane picking up the latest issue of "Spandex Super Teens."

Lloyd found a book filled with strips of "Garry the Fat Cat." With each page he turned, a series of chuckles and giggles escaped his mouth. Nya joined in with him, followed by Jay. "'Could you do nothing with some pants on?'," Jay read in between laughs. "That's classic Garry right there!"

Soon, their selected books and figures were purchase, and they all walked out of the shop together. Cole was holding a figure of Male-Hero, while Kai had a whole book of the latest Nighttime-Hero issues. Zane, on the other hand, had purchased nothing. "I want to save my money so I can use it to help the cause of saving polar bears!" he explained with robotic enthusiasm. "Well, as long as it's being put to good use," Lloyd agreed.

However, as they continued walking down the street, a loud booming noise from above interrupted their chatter. "What was that?" Cole asked, taking off his headphones for the first time in a while.

"Uh, guys?" Jay said in a scared tone, causing the others to look in the direction he was. What they saw made all of them hang their mouths open and gasp.

A massive projectile was falling from the sky towards the city. Judging by the flames on the front, it must have breached the Earth's atmosphere only seconds ago. They continued to watch its descent until it made impact near the edge of the city. A grey cloud of smoke hung over the site.

At once, fire engines began to drive to the area, as well as police vehicles of all shapes and sizes.

Lloyd turned to his friends, giving them a knowing smirk. They all nodded in agreement with the same expression.

They ran into an alleyway between two large buildings, perfect for cover. They reached six doors conveniently placed next to each other, and opened them one by one. Hatches opened from under them, making them fall down large shafts at they closed the doors. They each quickly dressed into suits matching their color of clothing. They pulled masks over their heads and brought hidden weapons out from thin air. A vent in the ground made them go upwards into new doorways, allowing for them to open the doors and run out into the open, now suited in their ninja attire.

People cheered as they ran to the impact site. Even now, in a serious situation like this, Lloyd couldn't help but smile at the gratitude they were all receiving. It always felt good to help the people of the city. No matter what.

Within short moments, they had entered the area where the projectile had struck. Thankfully, no buildings had collapsed. But there was a large gap in the bridge above. And a small truck was dangling from the edge. "Help!" a woman cried. "Get us out before the truck falls and kills us!"

Kai and Cole were the first to respond as they both jumped up to the bridge in a quick, but extreme, parkour fashion. Cole got behind the vehicle as he grabbed the back bumper, pulling with all his strength to keep it from falling. Kai landed on the hood of the vehicle, using his fire abilities to melt through the top canopy. Inside, a mother was holding on to her child tightly, not daring to move a muscle. "Ma'am!" Kai cried. "Give me your hand!" He reached out his hand to her. Slowly, she moved her arm towards his, shaking from fear. "You're gonna be alright," he reassured. "Just reach for me slowly. Don't make any sudden movements." He felt her hand grip on to his. "Good," he said. "Now, I'll pull you out of there."

Unfortunately, due to Kai's added weight to the balancing truck, the concrete keeping it upright caved in. The woman yelped in surprise and fear. "Kai," Cole said in a strained voice. "I can't hold it!"

Quickly, the red ninja pulled them out of the vehicle and jumped off the truck just as it began to plummet. He reached for the edge, but missed.

Fortunately, Cole's hand grabbed his and pulled him up. "Thanks, bro," Kai panted. Cole grinned under his mask. "You're welcome."

As the police lead the woman and her child away to a police car for counseling, Lloyd walked over to one of the policemen inspecting the area. "Officer," he greeted, causing the cadet to turn around. "Oh, my gosh!" he cried excitedly. "Lloyd Garmadon! Oh, I'm such a big fan!"

"Uh, yeah," Lloyd replied nervously. "Could you possibly explain the situation?"

"Oh, sure!" the officer answered quickly. "Well, uh, you know how the made impact?" Lloyd rolled his eyes. "How could I not? That thing was right smack dab in the sky."

"Right," the policeman corrected himself. "Well, normally, meteors burn up in the sky until their just a few bits of dust." Lloyd nodded in agreement. "But," the cadet continued. "For some reason, this one didn't burn up. See for yourself."

He led the green ninja toward the edge of the crater. At once, Lloyd saw what the cadet meant.

The entire meteor was still intact, save for some chips on the exterior. The entire thing was made of metal. It looked to be in the shape of a giant pod. "Any clue what it is?" he asked. "Nope," the officer replied. "All we know is that it isn't from around here. Nothing we have is this advanced."

Suddenly, they both heard a loud hiss escape from the inside of the large metal pod. Turning their heads, they saw the front fold back into the main body, allowing for a cloud of smoke to escape. And beneath that smoke, Lloyd saw something that made his heart skip a beat. "I think we have our answer," he muttered.

A large, metal humanoid figure stood up from its encapsulation. It's body was made primarily of silver and black armor, with hints of red here and there. A large purple insignia was placed in the center of its wide chestplate. Its head was boxy, with fiery red flowing optics and a scar across the left side of its face. Its entire stature was bulky and imposing. A massive fusion cannon was placed on its right arm. What appeared to be tank treads were placed on its calves and backplating. However, something was off about him. He didn't seem to be made up of bricks. There were no seams or stickers to prove so.

"People of Earth!" the massive machine cried in a low, booming male voice. "I am the mighty Megatron, leader of the Decepticons of Cybertron!" The team gathered around Lloyd. "What the hell is that thing?" Nya asked fearfully. "I'm pretty sure it said its name was 'Megatron.'" Zane answered.

"I think I just wet myself a little," Jay whispered as he cowered behind Cole.

"I have come here for a purpose!" Megatron continued to bellow. "My world has been destroyed in a large scaled war. Our resources are nearly depleted. So I have come here in search of new energy. Fortunately, your resources are exactly what I need to revitalize my homeworld."

The police chief stepped forward. "Sorry, but we'll have to say no," he said in a slightly terrified voice. Megatron looked down at him, a fiery rage in his eyes. "What did you say, insect?" he asked in a dangerous voice.

The chief flinched at the robot's angry response. "W-Well," he stuttered. "Judging by your size, I-I'm not calling you fat or anything, it's just-Your homeworld would have to be at least three times the size of Earth. T-That much energy would have to deplete the entire planet!"

Megatron sneered. "Precisely," he said.

With this, he lifted his arm towards the crowd, the barrel of his fusion cannon glowing and humming with energy. "Everybody," Lloyd cried. "Run!" Everyone scattered just as the fusion cannon fired, decimating a large chunk of road, sending black and yellow bricks flying everywhere. Lloyd's team ran for cover behind a building. "Whatever that thing is," Nya said. "We have to stop it!"

She and Zane jumped up towards the giant robot. Zane created a stream of freezing air from the palms of his hands while Nya created a small pond in front of Megatron, creating a large frozen puddle. The giant's metal feet slipped and slid until he fell, grunting in surprise and pain. "Little pests!" he muttered as he swiped at them with his massive arm, to which both Zane and Nya dodged expertly.

Next, Kai stepped forward. "Get ready to have your circuits fried, Buckethead!" he teased as he released a blaze of fire from his hands, aiming at the massive machine. "What a waste of power!" Megatron said as he swiped Kai away before getting back up on his massive feet.

This time, it was Cole's turn. He slammed his fists on the ground, creating a tremendous wave of energy that rippled the concrete under them, causing Megatron to lose his balance, forcing him to steady himself. "Okay, here it goes!" Jay whispered before aiming a tremendous surge of electricity at the robot, causing him to kneel in agony. "Bug!" the tyrant said. "I'll teach you to trifle with the mighty Megatron!" he bellowed before firing his fusion cannon at the teenage ninja. The projectile barely missed him, sending him flying before Zane caught him. "I got you!" he said triumphantly. "Yeah, thanks," Jay replied before getting back down on the ground.

"Lloyd, he's too powerful!" Cole said. "We can't stop him with our powers alone!"

"Right," Lloyd said. "I think it's time we bring the mechs back out!" The others nodded firmly, and they entered the doors once again. However, the circulation system took them to an apparently abandoned warehouse on the city's shoreline. Inside the warehouse, massive machines resided on the walls, concrete floor, even on the roof. The ninja all ran towards their mechs, entering the cockpits quickly. "Fire mech!" Kai yelled, controlling the massive humanoid robot to stand up off of the massive recliner. "Ready and standing by!"

"Water mech!" Nya commanded, activating the massive water-strider like machine as the roof split and opened. "Ready and standing by!"

"Earth mech!" Cole said, setting records onto the turntable in front of him. He spun them rapidly, causing the single-wheeled mech to support itself on the arms. "Ready and standing by!"

"Ice mech!" Zane cried, allowing for a robotic arm to place him in the cockpit of the tank-like vehicle. "Ready and standing by!"

"Lightning mech!" Jay said as he clumsily entered the cockpit of the massive jet vehicle. "Re-no not ready!" He turned upright into his seat. "Ready!"

"Dragon mech!" Lloyd finished as he activated the massive beast robot. "Ready!

"All right, guys! Let's send that off-worlder packing!"

With this command, they all began to exit the warehouse one-by-one. Nya controlled the legs of her mech to go onto the roof and jump into the water. Cole used the massive hands of his mech to balance himself on the large wheel, followed by Kai and Zane. Jay and Lloyd flew out of the warehouse roof as it slowly closed, the green dragon mech leading the team towards the smoking city square.

When the mechs reached the perimeter of the square, the ninjas could not believe the horrendous destruction in front of them.

Windows were shattered on the buildings around them. Cars were strewn and overturned everywhere. Small smoking pits dotted the streets. And in the middle of all of that, Megatron was crashing through with a malicious smirk. "This is child's play," he cackled.

"All right," Lloyd commanded. "Zane, Cole, you hit him front the sides. Nya, get behind him. Kai, go for frontal assault. Jay, you and I will hit him from above."

"Right!" the others cried.

Zane and Cole's mechs drove into alleyways beside the massive tyrant. Nya's mech stopped in the water river behind Megatron. Kai hid behind a building in the robot's view.

Unfortunately, Megatron caught sight of Lloyd's massive vehicle. "Ah," he said with a dangerous sneer. "Finally, a challenge." He lifted his arm up and fired at the flying mechs.

"Jay, part! Part!" Lloyd cried as they banked away from the energy shot. "Guys, forget the plan! Go for an all out assault!"

They all complied as they rushed towards the malevolent robot. Kai raised up his mech's arm. "Hope you have some milk with you!" he taunted. "'Cause it's about to get spicy!" The flamethrowers activated, releasing a massive wave of hot fire. Megatron raised his arm up. "That barely leaves a scratch!" he retaliated as he pulled a massive sword from his backplating. "Kai, look out!" Lloyd cried.

The blade pierced through the right arm joint. Kai grunted in surprise. "Hey, that's not cool!" he said as he grabbed Megatron by the shoulders in an effort to restrain him. "Please," he said. "The Gladiatorial Rings of Kaon were more enjoyable than this!" Suddenly, a massive, black armored fist collided with Megatron's abdomen, sending the tyrant down. "Nice job, Cole!" Kai complemented.

A white tank fired several rounds of ice pellets as water flew from Nya's mech, freezing Megatron's legs to the ground. Jay's jet mech flew downward, releasing a surge of electricity. Megatron cried out in sudden pain as he was electrocuted repeatedly.

"Great job, guys!" Lloyd said. "Now, let's finish him off!" He aimed the mech downwards, sending it hurtling towards the trapped tyrant. "Here it co-!" he cried before he was hit by an unseen force.

A massive, purple wave of energy erupted from under Megatron, causing the ice to shatter and the mechs to fly off of him. "His fusion cannon!" Jay determined. "He must have created a wave burst!"

Lloyd corrected his Dragon Mech's flight pattern. "Don't stop!" he said. "We have to take him down."

Everyone did their best to take down Megatron, but the effort proved futile. He swung them around, kicked them, threw punches, and fired at them. He shot through Jay's jet, destroying its power core. He ejected quickly, clutching on to his seat fearfully.

Megatron ripped the legs off of Nya's Water Strider. She ran out of the cockpit just as the giant mechanoid brought his foot down upon it.

Suddenly, he kneeled down as the tank treads on his back folded out, the arms collapsed together behind the body, and other parts of his body came apart and back together into a large tank. The cannon barrel brought down Cole and Zane's mechs with a single shot. Then, he transformed back as he tore Kai's mech in two with his sword.

Suddenly, Lloyd's dragon mech came down and slashed Megatron across the face with its claw. The tyrant felt his cheek, and looked at his finger, which was stained with a light purple liquid. "All of that," Megatron chuckled. "For a drop of energon." Quickly, he grabbed the mech as it came in for a second round, then ripped it down the middle. Lloyd flew from his open cockpit and fell to the ground.

"Now, you little Earthworms," Megatron said. "I shall let you live for now. But know this: Nobody makes Megatron bleed and gets away with it!" With this statement, thrusters from inside his back treads propelled him into the sky, flying off into the atmosphere.

The team congregated together, Kai limping in the process. "That thing just took down our mechs like it's an everyday activity!" he cried as Nya helped him over. Lloyd took off his mask and looked at the wreckage around him. Kai's mech lay limp, having been severed diagonally across the front. Mechanical spider-like legs were strewn about. A pile of blue bricks lay about ten yards away from them. A massive wheel was wedged into an alleyway. Snapped tank treads littered the streets. Two halves of a robot dragon body lay right next to them. It was almost too much to bear for the green ninja.

Slowly, a crowd began to form around them with saddened, terrified, worry stricken expressions. "What do we do now?" a man asked. "If that thing comes back, he'll destroy everything!" Several people murmured in agreement.

Lloyd looked around at everyone, surveying each and every one of their faces. They were desperately seeking hope. Hope that could come from the a plan he might have. But, right now, he didn't have a plan. He didn't have any idea for a resistance against Megatron's attacks. Their mechs were destroyed. Their powers were useless against him. Even the military might not be able to stop him.

"I-I don't know," he finally told them. "I don't know what to do."

"Luh-Loyd!" a familiar voice called, causing him to turn around. Pushing past the crowd were Garmadon and Koko. "Lloyd!" his mom cried as she ran to hug him. "Are you alright. D-Did that thing hurt you?" He could hear her voice breaking as Garmadon wrapped him in a tight hug. "Luh-Loyd, I swear to you," the former warlord said as he looked his son in the eyes. "When I get my hands on whatever that thing was, I'll-!"

He stopped himself to calm down. "What was that thing?" he finally inquired.

Lloyd broke the embrace and began to pace the area. "That thing," he explained. "Was Megatron. He is the leader of a group of other robots from a planet called Cybertron. Decepticons." He explained everything, from how powerful the mechanical warlord was, to his ability to change into a tank. And as Garmadon and his wife listened, they became more and more terrified as his story progressed.

"And he plans on coming back," Lloyd finished, and he felt his eyes begin to moisten. "And I don't know what to do. I'm scared." He sniffed quietly.

Slowly, and gently, Garmadon wrapped his son in another hug. "I'm scared, too, Luh-Loyd," he said. "But that doesn't stop me from believing that everything will be alright in the end." He smiled at Lloyd. "And I know that we'll find a way to win this. I know it."

Smiling back, Lloyd wiped a tear off his cheek. "Thanks, Dad," he said gratefully.

He ran to hug Koko. "Don't worry, Mom," he said to her. "We'll put a stop to this." She nodded firmly with a smile as her eyes grew misty. "Good luck, Lloyd," she responded in a choked voice. It broke his heart to see his mother breaking down like this, but he knew that she understood his duties as the team leader.

"All right, guys," he said to his team. "Let's get this over with!" The ninjas and Garmadon nodded as they all ran towards the edge of the city. Garmadon took off his casual clothing as he ran, revealing his samurai attire underneath. "Always prepared for anything," he explained to his son, who chuckled in response. Turning back towards the setting sun, he knew that, one way or another, they would triumph over Megatron's tyranny.