Chapter 9: Why Bats?

Soft footfall echoed in the large storage area of Ninjago City Tower. A man looked up from his computer terminal and glanced over his shoulder to see who his guest was. A cheeky smile grew on his lips as he watched Lucas pull a suitcase behind him, no doubt containing the armor he'd borrowed from the company. Lucas gave a shy smile as he stared at the man, embarrassed.

"Well, well, what can I do for you this time?" Fox asked as he turned in his seat. Lucas met the man at his desk and struggled to life the heavy case onto the metal table. Fox raised a grey brow as he opened the case and saw the armor stuffed inside. "Guessing the spelunking is already over with?"

"The armor was too heavy to do any endurance activities," Lucas stated. "I was too tired after doing some climbing." He glanced at Fox's nonchalant gaze, fearing a lecture. He'd come too far to stop lying now. "So, I'm wondering if you have any lighter armor, for mobility. And maybe something for base jumping."

"Base jumping?" Fox inquired.

"If that's alright. So do you have any lightweight fabrics?"

A sly smile grew on Fox's face at the brunet's request. "You know, I might have just the thing," he said, leading the way.

The two walked down the empty corridors in silence until they stopped at a table surrounded by crates. The Ninja of Water watching with curiosity as Fox grabbed a metal suitcase and placed it on the table top. "Now, I think you'll like this," he continued as he unlocked the case and pulled out a pile of fabric. Puzzled, Lucas rubbed his hand over the velvet-like fabric. "It's called membrane cloth. Looks standard, yes, but when you run a current through it. . ." Lucas watched as Fox slipped on a black glove, the fingertips sparking a purple color. Fox placed his hand on the fabric and it expanded and became stiff. The brunet blinked. "The molecules realign themselves, making it safer for you to glide."

Intrigued, the grey ninja placed his hand on the stiff fabric and tried to press on it, test the durability. It seemed to hold well. "What kind of shapes can you make?" he asked.

"It can be formed into any shape or size as long as it has a rigid skeleton." Fox removed his gloved hand from the cloth and the fabric collapsed once more. "Now for the lightweight armor," he continued. "It's actually over here."

Fox led the way to another cabinet and pulled open a drawer. Lucas reached in and pulled out a dark grey piece of armor. "Hardened Kevlar plates over titanium dipped tri-weave wire mesh, for flexibility. You'll be lighter, faster, and more agile." The Ninja of Water pressed something underneath the armor and six symmetrical, angular fins sprouted and fired. They sailed through the air like shurikens, piercing the filing cabinet. "Perhaps you should read the instructions first."

"Yeah," the brunet agreed, placing the plate back into its resting form.

"Now you'll have better mobility and flexibility," Fox continued. "You're more likely to have vulnerability to knives at certain weak points, but that shouldn't be a problem for the million dollar heir while spelunking."

Lucas smiled sheepishly. All of these excellent items had been made by his grandfather's company and they were just what he needed, but he felt awful about lying. "Look, Mr. Fox," he began, "if you're uncomfortable about showing me this-"

"Mr. Wu," Fox stopped him, "I may not know what your exact intentions are for needing this equipment, but don't assume I'm an idiot. I'm helping you because I want to."

A smile came to the brunet's face. "Fair enough," Lucas said as he fished something out of his pocket. "Well then, think you'd want to help me with this?" He handed Fox a piece of paper.

Fox reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of reading glasses. He unfolded and studied the paper carefully before glancing at Lucas. "Interesting. . . cowl design," he noted. "Looks easy to create. I can make it fit your face well and give you mobility to turn your head."

"It would make observing and glancing over my shoulder better," Lucas added.

Fox chuckled. "A 3-D printer with hardened graphite should help with that."

"Excellent!" The grey ninja looked past Fox and spotted something. It was covered by a dusty cloth, but a tire and twin pipes stuck out of the sides. "What's that?"

Fox turned to see what had piqued his interest. "Oh, the Gyro-Pod?" he replied. "Probably nothing you'd be interested in." He smiled as Lucas smirked.

The electric bike whined as it accelerated, two tires screeched on the cement. A large smile was plastered on Lucas' face as he sped across the large hanger underneath the building. His arms rested in the sheaths that acted as the bike's handlebars. When he moved, he steered. The Gyro-Pod was sleek, compact with twin cannons along the front tire. He wished he could enjoy the breeze as he drove, but Fox had made him wear a helmet. Regardless, he was having fun.

"You seem to know how to use a motorcycle well, Mr. Wu." Fox's voice rang through an ear piece in his helmet. "It's as if you've ridden one before. What's your secret?"

Lucas chuckled. He'd learned how to drive a bike a long time ago. "A while back I had something like a motorbike that came from my golden weapons," he replied, feeling nostalgic about his old sai's. "Later they changed into a land rover, but I still remember the feel of the bike. Feels great."

Fox smiled as he watched the grey ninja drive past the table he was stationed at, monitoring him. It felt good to know he was enjoying the bike. His brown eyes drifted away from the teen towards a computer monitor that displayed a live feed of the printer working on the graphite shell of the cowl Lucas had requested. It was halfway finished. Deep down, Fox knew exactly what the Ninja of Water was doing with the equipment, but he'd rather not say anything.

"She was built to be a Special Forces bike, for escorts and front line defense," Fox said. "The wheels are gyroscopic and help with tight turns in case of combat, evasive maneuvers. The twins cannons fire artillery rounds and tow cables. In your right arm slot is a throttle and in your left arm slot is the handle to fire the cannons. Your fingers can switch from the rounds to the cables. When you brake you'll activate the gyroscope in the wheels."

Nodding, the grey ninja felt for the brake handle and wrapped his fingers around it. He took a deep breath and shook away his nerves as he squeezed the brakes. The tires screeched to a sudden halt and he leaned his body to help with the turning. Lucas felt himself begin to spin. Not only was he turning in a one hundred degree angle, but the two wheels were rotating on the side of the bike. He faced the opposite direction now, tires screeching against the concrete again, as he continued to drive forward. What the bike could do was thrilling.

"Simple enough, right?" Fox smiled. "Unfortunately we had to discontinue the bike because many law enforcers were vulnerable and weren't being trained quick enough to drive them."

"Sounds awful," Lucas exclaimed, trying the gyroscopic wheels again.

"You wouldn't believe the lawsuits we had." Fox shook his thoughts away. "Another feature is that you can lower your body to gain extra acceleration."

Intrigued, the brunet lowered his arms and felt his seat, his body, lower towards the ground. Lucas heard the engine whine loudly and felt his speed increase. A large smile grew on his face as he felt the wind glide across his back, driving straight for a wall. "Mr. Wu, please slow down," Fox's voice advised him through the earpiece, but Lucas ignored him. "Slow down! Slow down!" Lucas drove past the man, reducing his speed as he got closer to the wall, but his front wheel climbed along the wall and he spun around, landing the bike back on the ground and killing the engine. Fox walked over to him as he took off his helmet. "So, what do you think?"

Lucas' smile remained on his face as he stared at the camouflage bike. "Does it come in black?" he asked.

The lights flickered above Lucas as he placed the utility harness in front of him on the table. He glanced at the Kevlar straps that were attached to the belt and shook his head. He didn't need those. With a pair of scissors, Lucas snipped the straps until he had a normal belt. Maybe he'd have consequences for cutting off the harness later, but it looked much better than it had before.

Sparks flew from the granite stone grinder as the grey ninja held the edge of a metal object against it. His brows were furrowed as he concentrated, evenly sharpening the object. Lucas stopped and gazed at the small, hand-made shurikens with symmetrical sides: shaped like wings. A bat. Fox walked over to the tool bench and picked up one of the shurikens, studying it. "Why bats, Mr. Wu?" he asked.

Lucas stopped the grinder and gazed at his work, moving it between his fingers. "In the ancient times of Ninjago, bats were considered bad luck. Evil. Bringers of fear," he said, recalling the tales his father had told him when he was a boy. Fox kept his brow raised. "Fear is something that everyone had. It's time I use it as an advantage." He quickly turned in his seat and threw the shuriken. It sailed across the room and stuck itself in a wooden post.