Chapter Six: Operas and Rocket ships

Lloyd winkled his nose as he stood in front of the Sydney Opera House. "Do I want to know why we are here?"

Cole grimaced as he tugged at his tie. "I already told you. Dad is playing Don Jose in tonight's performance. And he wants me to be there."

"Don't hear anything that says I have to be here. See ya!" Lloyd spun around to leave the place.

"Zane may or may not of noticed Darkly's presence in this area." Cole continued as if Lloyd hadn't made to leave. "More specifically the Sydney Opera House."

"Why didn't you just start with that?!" Lloyd demanded as he turned around to rejoin his friend. He paused as a thought crossed his mind. "Wait...Uncle Lou isn't expecting me to actually watch the opera, is he?"

Cole chuckled to himself as he paused in what he was doing. "No... honestly, he is expecting me to fall asleep the second the music starts. He only wants to know that I at least came."

"Good. Operas are boring...now then Cliff Gordan's new movie release is coming up..." Lloyd rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Cole rolled his eyes as he pulled out two tickets...one was a normal ticket while the other was a backstage pass. "Here... Dad was able to get you this so that you could get backstage. Told everyone that it was for his dearest nephew. But none for his own son. I feel cheated somehow." Cole grinned as he playfully nudged Lloyd. Lloyd nudged him back, a laugh escaping him. It hadn't been long after they had first met that Cole's father had insisted that Lloyd and the Smith Siblings refer to him as Uncle Lou. The three orphans decided to just roll with it, and highly enjoyed the attention he gave them.

"Come on. We need to get you seated...and me backstage." Lloyd rushed towards the entrance, this time he was doing the dragging instead of being the dragged. Cole rolled his eyes skyward, before pulling himself away and heading to his seat.

Lloyd slipped into the backstage, flashing his pass at the security officer. It was chaotic back there, people running back and forth as they prepared for the that night's performance. He scanned the darker areas, knowing that any Darkley's agents would be hiding there. An older version of Cole, wearing an extravagant costume, came rushing over to him. "Lloyd! You made it!" He tackled hugged the teen thief.

"Hey Uncle Lou. What's up?" Lloyd hugged his adoptive uncle back, a grin on his face as he soaked in the affectionate gesture. He never realized that he was craving such things, until he met up with his phone pals (yes, plural, Zane had it on speaker phone a couple of times while Lloyd was on the Isle...) in which their parents proved to be quite capable of giving him all of the affection that no one had bothered to give him in the first place.

"Nothing much. I hope that my son was able to make it...hmm?" Lou held Lloyd at arms length, scanning him for any signs of injuries.

"Probably getting himself comfortable so that he can fall asleep within the first ten minutes." Lloyd shrugged nonchalantly.

Lou barked out a laugh, hugging him again. "You give him too much credit. He'll fall asleep within the first ten seconds."

Lloyd grinned at that image, knowing that it was, unfortunately, true. Sort of. Cole might put up a convincing argument that he didn't like the classical music in his life, but seeing as it was his ringtone, he didn't have those close to him convinced. "Come on... I bet you're gonna do great, and he'll snap awake to watch you perform...and the second you're offstage, he'll fall back asleep."

"True that." Lou paused, before hugging him again. "I missed all of you. I was disappointed to hear that your siblings couldn't come tonight."

Lloyd hummed in agreement, though he knew that it wasn't a case of them avoiding Lou. Kai and Nya just had plans for tonight that they had planned on weeks in advance. Lou eventually left Lloyd to his own devices. Lloyd went back to scanning everywhere for any signs of his colleagues, while silently praying that he wouldn't find any. He didn't want Lou to get hurt cause they decided to attack here.

….

"You sure you had ran into Brad?" Jay asked nervously, his Australian accent seeming to be more noticeable in his nervous state.

"Positive! Only he didn't recognize me at all." Lloyd glanced out of the jeep's window, noting that he appeared to be confusing the guide that was driving the jeep.

Cole hummed to himself as he pulled one of his earbuds out. "Hey guys...what is that?" He pointed to a large rock that was rising up into view.

"That is the Uluru...also known as Ayers Rock. It is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara Anangu." Jay blurted out, gazing at it with some awe.

"You sure you need a tour guide? Your friend here is obviously from around this area." Their tour guide grumped as he eyed Jay with annoyance.

Jay shrugged, even as Zane called Lloyd. "I have figured out what it meant by launch the Arcturus. A scientist by the name of Mr. Borg was there, and he is in the final stage of building a rocket that is named the Arcturus. If that thing is launched prematurely..."

"It'll ruin Ayer's Rock. We thanks Z. Come on guys...we need to get to Borg Industries property. We've got a sacred rock to save." Lloyd glanced questioningly over at their guide.

"You guys aren't normal tourists...are you?" He asked as he pressed down on the gas, and pulled his steering wheel away from the normal road that tourists typically took.

"No... I'm the guy that steals from thieves and make sure that they don't ruin the lives of anyone else. And these are two of my partners." Lloyd gestured to his friends in the back seat.

"So...Robin Hood and his Merry Men?" He questioned casually.

"Yeah...You are the second person to point that out." Lloyd laughed, pleased that there were a few people out there that got him outside of his family.

"Just keep Uluru safe..." He tensely announced as he skidded to a halt in front of the private property.

~With Pixal and Dareth~

"Fascinating Father." Pixal beamed as she spoke to an older male that was resting in a wheelchair.

Dareth groaned, before glancing back at the door that lead to the outside world. "Can we just get going? What does it matter on what's going on with some rocket?"

No sooner had the words slipped out of his mouth, than the door banged open and two teens wearing lab coats over their clothes came running in. "Your rocket is a bomb!" "Don't listen to any opera!"

"What!?" Mr. Borg frowned, staring at them as if they were the crazy ones.

They stopped to catch their breaths, taking in deep breaths. The stockier of the two pulled something out, handing it to Mr. Borg. "Ninja Incorporated. We have intel indicating that someone wants to use your rocket as a bomb to take over the Outback. While you were attending the opera last night, they managed to hit you with some sort of mind control device. If you hear the exact song that you were listening to when it targeted you, then you will lose control and they will use you to launch the rocket."

"I see. If you don't mind my saying this, but Ninja Incorporated is known for always having their leader on the scene. Is it safe for me to presume that the Green Ninja is nearby?" Mr. Borg didn't blink an eye, leaving Dareth feeling confused. Particularly as he realized that Pixal wasn't confused about this conversation. Mr. Borg handed back the business card.

"He's in the control room. White has warned us to keep a close eye on him, since there is a good chance that he was hit by the ray too." He stuck his card back into his pocket.

No sooner had he done so, than the opera song began to play over the loud speakers. Both of the strange teens paused, titling their heads to the side quickly. "Right. I'll take the one in the basement. Black can take the one on sentry duty." The one in blue announced suddenly, glancing over at his partner.

"Blue's got a point. With his accent, the Darkley's member will just presume he is one of the employees here. Which ones are here anyways?" Black crossed his arms, arching one eyebrow upwards.

the casual mention of Darkley's caused Dareth to tense. Lloyd Ninja had to be here then... after all he was still sure that he was the leader of this mystery organization.

"The twins...got it." They spoke in perfect unison, cutting off Dareth's thinking process.

The two teens then run off to deal with the Darkley's members that they appeared to think was there. Pixal turned to face her father, immediately noticing a problem. "Dareth help me pin Father down so that he can't launch the rocket."

~Few Hours Later, With the Friends~

Lloyd ran his fingers through his hair as he stared unseeingly ahead of the others. Zane arched his eyebrow up as he peered at him. "Are you alright there?"

"Fine... why wouldn't I be alright? When was the last time anyone practiced?" Lloyd tried to change the topic, even though he was aware that his friends desperately wanted to talk about it.

"Not in awhile...listen kid...about today...?" Kai slowly tried to change back to the topic that they all wanted to discuss.

"We should practice. And there is nothing to talk about." Lloyd took a deep breath, his fingers twitching slightly. "I messed up...big time. I didn't listen to Z's concern and it almost cost Mr. Borg everything. It won't happen again. I'm the leader, I should have listened to him."

They stood up and stretched, following Lloyd to the indoor gym. If he wanted to train...they will train.