Punishing Skylor

Movie Ninjago

Cyrus Borg was frowning.

His newly adopted daughter, Skylor, stood before him, and he didn't like the carefully blank expression on her face.

His other daughter, Pixal, stood off to the side, looking between them worriedly.

Taking a deep breath, Borg asked in as non-threatening a tone as he could, "Skylor, may I ask why you thought it would be a good idea to take our latest hoverbike prototype for a joyride."

Skylor gave an impassive shrug. "You said you needed a test pilot and it sounded like fun," she said evenly.

"That's… not what I meant," said Borg. "I meant they were ready for crash-test dummies to be placed on them, not for human pilots just yet. You could have been hurt."

There was a flash in Skylor's eyes like this wasn't what she'd expected him to say.

A realization shot through Borg like a bolt of lightning.

This wasn't the first time Skylor had done something that he disapproved of. In fact, she'd seemed to be escalating as time went on.

At first, it was simply loud music when Borg was trying to work. Thinking it was a typical teenager thing, he'd gently asked her to turn down the music, which she'd do, only to turn up too loud again a few days later. Borg didn't think much of it and just reminded her every time.

Then it was staying out late. Borg knew Skylor was both an exceptionally skilled martial artist and a powerful Elemental Master to boot, so it wasn't the dangers of roaming a city after dark that troubled him (much), he was concerned for Skylor's sleep schedule and how it would affect her health and schoolwork. To compensate for that one night when Skylor looked exhausted after having stayed out until 4 A.M. and having stayed out similarly late the entire week, Borg had called the school to let them know she wouldn't be coming, turned off her alarm clock, and let her sleep the entire day. Skylor had seemed incredibly confused when she woke up hours later to Borg giving her a lecture on sleep and health. She didn't stay out too late again after that.

Perhaps because she then started skipping school. Not a terrible offense in a city with a well oiled online schooling system, but the fact she was saying she would go to school and then abscond to anywhere but Ninjago High was worrying. With some gentle prodding, he would be able to get answers about where she would go when not at school. Admittedly, he hadn't asked as many questions about why she was cutting class, assuming it had something to do with getting away from those ridiculous rumors about her being a space princess. He would simply remind her to do her online work, and ask that she tell him beforehand if she wouldn't go to class that day. Thankfully, a visit from a concerned pair of Ninja twins seemed to cure Skylor's need to avoid the school.

But now there was this, and it finally clicked for Cyrus Borg what she'd really been doing all this time.

"You're trying to get me to punish you, aren't you?" he said softly.

It wasn't a question that needed answering, but Skylor tensed at hearing it.

Borg sighed and pinched his brow. He should have seen this coming. Of course Skylor might try this. Her last (Two? Did Clouse count?) father figure hadn't left a stellar track record to start from. (If he ever had the opportunity to meet Chen or Clouse he would be sorely tempted to run them over with his wheelchair.)

At his and Pixal's gentle coaxing, Skylor was in therapy to come to terms with the abuse she had suffered her entire life at the hands of Chen, but Ninjago City wasn't built in a day, and Skylor was sure to have some fears she couldn't just talk away.

Such as fearing what her new father would do to punish her if she stepped out of line.

And as much as he wished she had just asked to find out, by angering him she could get an honest answer.

And now it fell to Borg to calm her fears. But how?

There was no way he would ever stoop to anything Chen or Clouse would have done to punish her, but he still needed this to be recognized as a punishment otherwise Skylor would still think he's being dishonest.

What should he do? Ground her? … In a tower full of the latest technology, yeah, that's a punishment.

Take away something? Like what? Skylor is already used to a spartan lifestyle thanks to her previous upbringing. While she likes things, she was clearly used to going without them for extended periods of time.

Borg thought about it some more, then an idea occurred to him. "Skylor, could you please get the green folder out of that cabinet?" he asked, gesturing to a nearby file cabinet.

Skylor raised an eyebrow but did as he asked.

Written on a neat tag at the top of the folder was the word 'Taxes'.

Before Skylor could even ask, Borg said, "Your punishment for your transgression is you will be doing Borg Industries taxes without a calculator."

Skylor stared at him, her mouth opening and closing several times as she processed her punishment. "Wait, what?" she asked in shock. "These are important. What if I do them wrong?"

"Pixal can look over your work when you are done. If there is a mistake, you must find and correct it yourself," said Borg firmly. "Any questions?"

Skylor blinked looking between him and the folder. She glanced at Pixal, who shrugged in response. Finally, upon seeing he was serious about this, she slowly walked to a nearby desk to get started.

It took her a month, three attempts, and a LOT of math, but she eventually got it.

There weren't any more rebellious outbursts after that.

Well… Not any intentional ones.


A few days later…

Borg looked up at a knock on the door to his office. "Come in!" he called.

Skylor opened the door and came in holding a stack of papers. "You were teaching me, weren't you?" she asked, sounding amused and exasperated at the same time.

Borg took the papers from her and realized they were the tax paperwork for the noodle restaurant Skylor had inherited from her father. Tax paperwork that, from what he could see, was done perfectly correct.

Handing it back to her, Borg said with a smile, "I believe punishing people with pain isn't productive. Better to learn from mistakes by learning something new."

"Well, I got plenty of practice," Skylor said, taking the paper back. "Though, doing taxes for a multi-million dollar company is a lot harder than for one little restaurant."

Borg just smiled. "Well, it wouldn't be much of a punishment if you enjoyed it."

"True enough," said Skylor as she turned to leave.

However, she paused at the door and looked back. "And… Cyrus?"

Borg, who'd been about to go back to his work, looked up at her.

Skylor gave him a small smile. "Thanks." And with a final smile, she left.

"Anytime, Skylor," Borg replied to her retreating back and turned back to his work.

Looks like he was doing the parenting thing right after all.


A/N Sorry. It's been a hectic couple of days, and I forgot when I was supposed to post.

Skylor getting adopted by Borg was definitely a good thing, but that doesn't mean there wouldn't be some issues as they got used to each other. I wanted to show how the two of them are adjusting and working out their own dynamic. Skylor is a lot different than Pixal, and that's something Borg will have to learn to handle, and while Skylor knows Borg is an infinitely better father figure than Chen or Clouse, having them for most of her life would make her wary. Thankfully, things are working out well between them.

Major thanks to Kay Hau who helped me plan this out. Skylor's punishment being taxes was her idea.

Unfortunately, I don't know if there will be an update next week. I've been splitting between writing these chapters and writing the sequel so it's ready to be posted eventually, and writing more of my Memories of Futures Past story, so I've kind of fallen behind. I have one half done, but I don't know if it will be done in time. Stay tuned, there will be more to come.