Volunteer Visits

Movie Ninjago

Luh-Loyd bounced his foot in anticipation as he carried his electric kettle in one hand and a bag of healing tea in another.

DJ Cole arrived a few minutes later with a large thermos in hand. "Sorry," he said when he arrived. "My dad needed me to rearrange something in the theater. You ready?"

Lloyd took a deep breath, then let it out. "Yeah, I'm ready. You?"

Cole shook the thermos in his hands and a soft rattling sound could be heard inside along with the sloshing of liquid. "Ready," he said.

Lloyd nodded. "Then let's do this."

With that, the two boys walked into Ninjago City Hospital behind them.

The receptionist at the front desk looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of two of the city's heroes coming in. "Oh wow, you're-" she started to say, but then realized that they had just stepped into a hospital, and quickly changed gears. "Are you hurt? I don't recall there being an attack today?"

"No, no, we're fine," Lloyd said, slightly nervous. "It's just, uh, this was where Cole said volunteers go to sign up."

"It was when Mom came here for hospital visits," Cole said with a shrug, glad it had been long enough since that had happened that it could have changed.

The receptionist's eyes widened. "You want to volunteer?" she asked in surprise.

"Yep," said Cole.

"Yeah, we do," agreed Lloyd awkwardly. "Honestly, I've wanted to for a while, but… uh… Didn't think it'd go over well if the 'Son of Garmadon', you know, tried something like that."

Now it was the receptionist's turn to look awkward, no doubt realizing if Lloyd and Cole had come to volunteer before their identities were revealed, she likely wouldn't have believed them, and instead turned them away with extreme prejudice. Maybe even called the police for good measure, because who knew what nefarious deeds they were actually up to.

Coughing into her hand to regain her composure, she slapped on a friendly smile and said, "Well, we're happy to have you. What sort of volunteering would you like to do?"

Lloyd held up his electric kettle and Cole his thermos. "Well, I thought, you know, we could have tea and conversation with the patients. Help relieve the boredom of being here."

The receptionist's smile turned more genuine after hearing that. "That sounds wonderful," she said. "I'm sure several of them would appreciate it. Just give me a minute to message Big Nelson."

"Big Nelson?" said both Lloyd and Cole in unison, exchanging a look at the name.

The receptionist looked up from her phone and smiled at their confusion. "Our volunteer coordinator, he's here all the time. Trust me, the nickname is fitting."

Lloyd and Cole were just left wondering if the Nelson they were about to meet was in any way connected to a certain Lil'Terror.

They got their answer soon enough when a young man about Morro's age even bigger than Cole with brown hair, a purple volunteer shirt came over and smiled warmly at them. "Hey, I'm Nelson, you can call me Big Nelson, so you're the new-" He then trailed off as he got closer and recognized them and his eyes widened. "OH FSM! YOU'RE THE NINJA FORCE!" he shouted in what could only be described as a fanboy squeal.

Lloyd and Cole shared a knowing look.

Yep, that was Nelson alright.

Big Nelson realized what he'd just said and cleared his throat with an embarrassed flush on his face. "Uh, sorry," he said awkwardly. "It's just, uh, you're you, and you're awesome, and you're here, and I'm still talking… I'll shut up now."

The receptionist sent Big Nelson a teasing grin. "He's a huge fan of yours," she said, just in case it wasn't already abundantly clear.

Big Nelson shot her a look of utter betrayal.

The receptionist beamed back unapologetically and informed Big Nelson what they were here for.

Thankfully, hearing about what they were planning to do helped Big Nelson see past his fanboy worship and get them on track. "Sounds great," he said. "I can think of some kids in the children's ward who would love a tea party."

Lloyd perked up at that.

"Or, if you'd rather, you can talk to people one on one, I can think of a few who've been pretty lonely lately," continued Big Nelson thoughtfully.

Cole nodded hearing that. "Yeah, I think that would work best for me," he said, holding up his thermos.

After doing a little paperwork and talking things over, Big Nelson led them off for their tasks, and as Lloyd was led towards a playroom with several young children, he hoped his plan would work.

He and Cole hadn't been lying before that they had wanted to volunteer at the hospital for a while, but that wasn't the only reason they were here.

Upon realizing he'd apparently had the ability to heal people, and had been doing it for his friends and family for years through the use of healing tea, Lloyd wanted to use that power where it would do the most good. The only problem was, for his powers to affect people he needed to form a bond with them, and bonds go both ways. He had to care about the person he was healing and they had to like him back, otherwise, nothing would happen. Well, if he was using actual healing tea, something would still happen, but not as quickly or efficiently as when the power of Green was helping it along. If he wanted to heal hospital patients, he needed to get to know them first.

And since neither of the Kais would allow Lloyd to go anywhere on his own, Cole had offered to go with him and help as well. He'd even brought the Holy Grail along hidden in the cup section of his thermos to put it to good use. A fact that had initially surprised Lloyd, given how seriously Cole took his role as its protector, though in hindsight it really shouldn't have. Given that the Earth Ninja had spent his childhood with his mother in and out of hospitals, it made sense he would sympathize with other people in her former position and want to help.

"Besides, it's safe here," Cole had said when Lloyd asked. "Not even our bad guys are low enough to attack a hospital. All I have to do is keep it in sight and it'll be fine. Besides, it'll do more good here than spending its whole time buried underground."

Lloyd couldn't argue with that logic.

Still, old anxieties were buzzing in him as Big Nelson led him into the pediatric ward. What if the kids didn't like him? What if he couldn't bond with them enough to help them? What if they didn't like the tea? What if-?

As if sensing his anxieties, Cole stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Breathe, Lloyd," he said.

Lloyd sucked in a deep breath.

"And let it out," said Cole.

Lloyd exhaled with a big sigh.

"The kids are going to love you," Cole continued, uncharacteristically chatty to comfort him (likely a sign of his own nerves). "You're the Green Ninja and you have all the coolest pets, how could they not? And you're going to love all of them because you're a sucker for kids, and you're great with Lil'L-" he paused and glanced at Big Nelson before amending, "-Montgomery and his friends. You have nothing to worry about."

Lloyd cracked a grin at his friend and nodded. "Right, right, I know, I just- Despite how long it's been I'm still not used to people not hating me."

Cole smiled back at him. "Yeah, it's hard to unlearn. We'll get there."

Big Nelson coughed awkwardly. "Uh, I know it probably doesn't count for much saying it now, but, uh, I didn't hate you."

Lloyd looked at him in surprise. "You didn't?" he asked.

Big Nelson looked even more awkward. "To be honest, I thought Lord Garmadon having an evil son was an urban myth that parents made up to make sure their kids behaved or something, and the rest of the city just caught on and went with it."

Lloyd choked, and Cole barked a laugh. "Really?" the Earth Ninja had to ask.

Big Nelson rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, like, my folks showed me your picture and stuff, but to me, you just looked like some random kid they found to use in the story. Like, if you were this up-and-coming evil shouldn't you be, I don't know, wearing black, or a cape, or skeleton print or something? Plus, you were younger than me and tiny, how am I supposed to be scared of a kid littler than me? But my parents were always all, 'Be good or this evil kid will bite your ankles off' and I was just supposed to believe it. It sounded so fake. When you did the whole identity-reveal thing, I was honestly more surprised you actually exist."

Lloyd choked again, this time in laughter that Big Nelson's description fit his younger counterpart to a tee. "That's, uh, that's a new one," he said once he got a hold of himself again. "I think I like that explanation of my existence better than most," he said.

Cole was snickering too. "The others are going to get a kick out of this. They're gonna be calling you our local cryptid or something for months."

Lloyd shrugged. "I think I'd like that better than being a Disney Princess."

"Good point," said Cole. "I'll be sure to mention that."

"Noooo," Lloyd groaned, knowing the second Cole pointed out his preference, all he was going to hear was more princess jokes.

Big Nelson just watched them banter in amusement, glad to see both of them seemed to have gotten over their nerves.

The Green Ninja still froze like a deer in the headlights the second Nelson brought him into the pediatric ward.

The children there also went dead silent at the sight of him and looked up at him with wide eyes.

There was a long moment of silence as Lloyd and the kids had a stare-off. Big Nelson opened his mouth to try and break the ice, but Lloyd beat him to it by holding up his kettle and awkwardly asking, "Hi, uh, I'm Lloyd, the Green Ninja. Does, erm, does anyone want to have some tea with me?"

Immediately the pediatric ward exploded with noise as all the kids eagerly waved their hands in the air and shouted something along the lines of, "ME! ME! ME! ME! I WANT TO!"

Lloyd smiled in relief at their enthusiasm, and after getting him set up there, Big Nelson led Cole away to a quieter part of the hospital to meet an elderly patient who hadn't been visited in a while.

As Lloyd poured tea for the kids and learned all their names and stories, he felt hopeful.

This was going to work.

One week later…

It worked!

When Lloyd and Cole came to volunteer the next weekend, Big Nelson cheerfully informed them that the patients Cole had gone to had all checked out (no surprise there if they drank from the concealed grail), and that a vast majority of the ones Lloyd had had a tea party with were doing a lot better than before, many of which had checked out as well.

It was working!

His powers were helping people!

Lloyd was ecstatic!

He quickly became a staple at the hospital, first volunteering every Saturday, then Sundays too, and soon enough he was going over after school almost every day before training if there wasn't an attack he needed to fight off.

"And I thought I was the most eager volunteer here," Big Nelson said to Cole one time when he was there too. "But it's starting to look like Lloyd's after my crown."

Cole smiled back at him ruefully. "He likes helping people however he can," he admitted because it was true, and not mentioning that a large part of it was also from a lingering desperate need to prove he wasn't like his evil father. That he wasn't what everyone told him he was. That he was good. Even after so long of his identity being known and celebrated and Lord Garmadon giving up evil to even act as a hero on occasion, Lloyd still couldn't fully dispel that ingrained people-pleasing obsession from his childhood.

Cole also didn't mention how he was growing concerned about the bags starting to grow under Lloyd's eyes, or how tired he seemed during training or at school. They weren't signs he recognized, but he had a strong suspicion as to what they were. But he knew if he mentioned it to Lloyd, he'd just be waved off and told not to worry about it until something actually went wrong. Cole needed the big guns.

So the next day after school, he told the Smith Twins.

Naturally, Kai was very concerned to hear about it.

"What!" he shouted when he heard Cole's observations. "You think he's overusing his powers?!"

Cole nodded silently.

Nya, meanwhile, cupped her chin as she thought back through the last few weeks. "Yeah, I've noticed he's been off his game recently too, but I thought he might have just caught a bug. When I asked Zane for a health scan he said that if Lloyd was sick it wasn't serious enough to detect. But I don't think his scans can pick up on power drain."

Kai let out a loud groan and slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh come on! Lloyd knows our powers have limits. He was there when we tested them out."

"When we tested our limits," Cole pointed out, "we never really tried to test his."

"Isn't that what he's doing now?" asked Nya rhetorically. She then gave a resigned sigh. "And knowing him, even if he did know his limits, he'd blow past them anyway if it meant helping people."

Kai groaned again in frustration, before turning and storming off.

"Where are you going?" asked Nya.

"What do you think? Looks like my job as his bodyguard is expanding into saving Lloyd from himself," said Kai over his shoulder.

"No, I get that," said Nya. "That's not what I was asking."

"Hospital's that way," Cole added, pointing in the opposite direction from where Kai was going.

Kai immediately did a heel-turn and began walking in that direction. "I knew that," he insisted as he passed them. "I knew that."

Nya and Cole exchanged a brief amused grin, before following after him to make sure he actually made it to the hospital.

When they got there, Cole immediately realized that he should have brought up his concerns sooner. Or brought the grail with him, but he couldn't summon it now with so many people around.

Just as the hospital parking lot came into sight, a sense of unease hit them. Like a good mood was waning suddenly.

The second they entered the hospital, they were met by a frantic Big Nelson. "Oh, thank FSM you're here! Lloyd just collapsed outside the critical care wing, and the doctors don't know why!"

But the three ninja knew exactly why and rushed to their leader's side.

Lying on a hospital bed like the ones he'd been helping people get out of, Lloyd looked back at them woozily. "Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Gee, I don't know, my little bro just collapsed. Where else would I be?" said Kai, but his worry didn't give the words any bite.

Lloyd frowned. "But that just happened… How did you get here so fast."

Nya sighed and sat down on the hospital bed beside him. "Cole asked us to come. Do you know why you collapsed?" she asked.

Lloyd frowned, still looking confused. "No, the doctors wanted to check my blood sugar levels or something, but they were clueless too. Why? Do you know?"

Cole leaned in so only the ninja could hear and said quietly but bluntly, "You're overusing your powers."

"What? No, I…" Lloyd started to protest, only for him to actually think about it and realization dawned on his face. "Oh…"

"Yeah, Bro, Oh," said Kai, who sat down on the other side of the bed from Nya and pulled him into a Kai Hug™. Lloyd leaned into the hug as Cole sat down on the foot of the bed.

Only for the Green Ninja to suddenly pull out of the hug, and sit up ramrod straight. "Wait, did it…? Is Mr. Sato…?" he asked.

Big Nelson, who had been hovering by the door, and looking very lost to what they'd been talking about before, rubbed the back of his head ruefully. "I'm sorry, Lloyd," he said in a somber voice. "I'm afraid Mr. Sato wasn't able to pull through his surgery."

Lloyd looked devastated. "Oh no," he said in a barely audible voice.

Kai pulled him into the hug again and exchanged a glance with Nya and Cole. Looks like they knew what Lloyd had passed out from trying to do now.

"There was nothing they could do," Big Nelson explained as gently as he could. "He was in very bad shape when they brought him in." He then managed a weak smile and added, "He did ask the doctors to thank you for waiting with him for the surgery to begin. He appreciated you helping with his bandages and trying to cheer him up. You did a good thing, Lloyd."

"Not good enough," Lloyd mumbled too quietly for Nelson to hear.

Kai just hugged him tighter, and Nya and Cole joined the hug.

There was a lecture to be had and a lesson to be learned here, but not right now. Right now they needed to comfort their too-kind little brother as he came to terms with the fact that even with powers there would always be some people he just couldn't save.

Needless to say, after collapsing, Lloyd was banned from going to the hospital alone.

This fact was hammered home by the lecture he got from Kai and a second one from Nya (right after Kai's, just to make sure it sank in), then another one from Zane who was distraught to find out his health scan failed to pick up on his condition and tried to encourage Lloyd to take better care of himself, and then one from his mother who was frantic to hear Lloyd had been in the hospital as a patient, then yet another one from Spike Kai who pointed out he'd be a setting a bad example for Lil'Loyd by running himself into the ground. What followed after that was even more lectures from Morro, both of the Wus, Sensei Garmadon, and even one from his father for good measure (that one was the least effective of the bunch, but Lord Garmadon didn't want the other adults to out-parent him).

His volunteer hours were once again on the weekends with Cole, and occasionally the other Ninja joined in as well. Big Nelson and the hospital staff were given strict orders not to let him in unless there was at least one other friend (Ninja or otherwise) with him. The hospital staff, though confused, agreed, thinking Lloyd collapsed from overworking himself, though Big Nelson looked like he had other suspicions but wasn't going to say anything.

While Lloyd had argued against the restrictions at first (even with the endless line of lectures), eventually his team managed to convince him he'd been overdoing it. Especially once they pointed out that him passing out like that during a mission would be far too dangerous. And besides, even if he was just going on weekends, he was still doing a lot of good.

He was helping.

But was it enough?

As Saturday rolled around, and Lloyd once again entered the pediatric ward to be swarmed by bright smiles and eager children, several of whom looked far healthier than the last time he visited, he felt something warm inside him.

Yeah, it was enough.

A/N This chapter was inspired by discussions with Kay Hau and CitronO on AO3. Both of them inspired it by discussing what Luh-Loyd would do with his newly discovered ability to heal, and I was like, 'Bold of you to assume he's not at the hospital every chance he gets.' Which, while a good thing, spreads himself too thin and he finally sees the limit to his own powers. He tries to give too much of a boost to too many people at once causes him to run out of energy ad pass out. Kai's not letting him do that again. DJ Cole may still be protective and hoarding the grail, but given what his mother went through, I could see him using it here to help other people in her situation so long as he keeps it secret and takes precautions. To be clear, Big Nelson and some of the hospital staff still don't know for sure what the Ninja are doing, but by the end they do strongly suspect it.

Big thanks to Kay Hau for helping plan this chapter, as well as helping me plan out the character of Big Nelson, and helping me figure out how to keep the ending from being a complete bummer. As always, I appreciate it.

If you want to see art of my fics, check out my Tumblr.

Next Time: Red Nya, Skylor, and Penny Pixal practice their Mech maneuvers, and bond over being Samurai. (Still being written).