"Little bro?" asked Nya, confused.

Lloyd ignored her. As he kind of had been since they met up in the cove.

"Lloyd!" shouted Kai.

He jumped in surprise.

"What's wrong?" they asked their honorary little brother at the same time.

It was weird. They'd been so excited when they saw the news yesterday, and again this morning. Stayed up late whispering about when they should reveal their alter-egos to him, let him know that they were now a team. They'd been so proud of him for accepting the mantle of hero against all odds. He was supposed to be excited, giddy, giggling and smiling and just happy.

So why was he depressed? He was back to that "the world hates me and there's nothing to do but hide" vibe from that first time they'd laid eyes on him. As if to emphasize that impression, Lloyd pulled up the hood on his sweater and seemed to shrink, averting his eyes.

"Just... nothing. Dad stuff. Yesterday, you know. Bad," their friend mumbled incoherently.

Nya and Kai met eyes. Bad?

"Is this about that green ninja guy on the news?" asked Nya.

"Was your dad really upset?" added Kai.

"No!" Lloyd exclaimed. "He doesn't even watch... No. I just..." He visibly was fishing for an excuse. Anything. "I... I... I kind of met my mom. Yesterday. Didn't go well."

The twins had no response to that. Especially since they'd been there and seen firsthand how very not well it had gone. Even if that wasn't the real reason for his mood, it certainly wasn't something to gloss over.

After a couple seconds Kai stepped forward and yanked his miserable little buddy into a hug. Another second and Nya joined him. A couple more seconds and Lloyd's arms were squeezing both of them in return.

"I don't deserve you," he choked out, barely audible.

Kai and Nya locked horrified eyes over a trembling Lloyd.

"Of course you do," Kai tried to comfort Lloyd awkwardly, but Lloyd was already shaking his head. He and his sister tried murmuring more comforts and platitudes, but nothing seemed to work. Finally they just fell into silence, hoping their presence could be some sort of support.

Something had gone horribly wrong. Between the time he'd been running around saving people and this morning. But, if it wasn't his father, then what?

The twins mutually decided not to even mention the Green Ninja today. He wasn't ready. And he didn't have to be.

There was no avoiding the topic, though. On the street and in the bus, people were buzzing about the new ninja. Bragging that they'd seen him or even met him. Wondering who he might be and where he came from and what kind of mech he'd have when he fought Garmadon.

The plus side was that people were so busy gossiping about the Green Ninja that they didn't spend as much time bashing Lloyd Garmadon.

This seemed to make Lloyd shrink more instead of cheer up.

Zane casually walked through the normal parting of the schoolyard before Lloyd, greeting his friends and launching into a story about his overbearing mother - who apparently spoke in dial-up static? But it did the trick and Lloyd seemed to peek a little more out of his hoodie.

Jay and Cole were waiting for them in front of their group of lockers, and after a few minutes with the gang just chatting Lloyd took down his hood and had a bit of a half-smile on.

Cole frowned and pulled a vinyl record out of his locker, in its protective sleeve of course, shoving it into Lloyd's surprised hands. Lloyd looked down at the title, "Bad Day" and couldn't help the slightly crazy giggle that slipped through.

"Keep it, green bean. Always cheers me up."

Now a smile really was beginning to creep up the young Garmadon's face. "How am I supposed to play this, Cole?"

He shrugged and pulled his giant headphones back on his head. "Your pops probably has something. If not, I'll bring a table over tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Movie night, Lloyd!" exclaimed Jay. "Don't tell us you forgot! Aren't we still on?"

Lloyd laughed and ducked his head behind the large square in embarrassment. "Oh! Oh, yes! Please!"

"It's gonna be awesome!" cheered Nya.

Lloyd lowered the record to smile at his eager friends. "My dad said it's totally cool. He'll order pizza, even. Though he seems to think it's a sleepover."

"Can we?" asked Jay, bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes lighting up. "I mean, it makes sense, right? We're already way out at the volcano, and then we don't have to worry about the time!"

Lloyd's eyes widened and finally had that childlike gleam in them again.

"Cool," agreed Cole, nodding.

"We're in!" cheered Kai and Nya.

"Of course!" added Zane.

"Is... are you guys sure?" questioned Lloyd, chewing his lips in indecision, but his eyes shined with hope. "I mean, it's the volcano, and visiting isn't really the same as staying over..."

Jay actually laughed. "Lloyd, when I asked my mom and dad, they seriously just said 'That's nice, sweetheart. He sounds like a lovely child! Do bring him around for supper sometime.'" He made his voice go up high and accented with a bit of a drawl, apparently in imitation of his mom. The others all laughed.

Zane smiled and nudged his small, blond friend gently for his attention. "My father claims at your side is the safest place in Ninjago. He's always been impressed at the lengths Garmadon goes through to ensure your safety. And my mom was very excited at the chance for me to strengthen my new friendships."

"My turn?" asked Cole. He shrugged. "They trust my judgment."

Kai and Nya weren't sure what to say. The reality that their parents already knew Lloyd, and liked him, would raise more questions than answers. "Our parents have no problem with you, Lloyd," began Kai. "They actually commended us for going against the crowd," finished Nya.

Lloyd's smile was genuine now. "Thanks, guys."

"For what? Telling you about our parents?" asked Jay. "Mine are soooo embarrassing, you have no idea."

For helping him forget, Lloyd didn't say. He just kept smiling.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

I don't know what happened. Things were going great. We were halfway through the last class of the school day. Then my dad invaded, this time with a shark mech in golf pants. Seriously, Dad? Those can't have any functional purpose. At least most people probably can't tell what they are, you know, out of context?

All I know is there was the usual ruckus as everyone in class started screaming and ducked under their desks at the announcement (it's pretty obvious Dad won't attack anywhere near the school I go to, but the people of Ninjago are paranoid) and when I looked around I was alone.

Oh.

Could they have gone to the bathroom? All five of them... right, that was a dumb and rather desperate thought.

But it didn't make sense that they would ditch me now. Not after this morning. Not after spending so much time talking about our sleepover tomorrow and what we would do and what they would bring.

I brushed aside the thought that they'd abandoned me. It made no sense. They had to be here somewhere, and it had to make sense where they disappeared to. I'd figure it out later. Or I wouldn't. Really, as long as they liked me (as weird as that is), did it matter?

The teacher turned on the tv in the corner so everyone could follow the invasion.

Dad was following his usual setup. Downtown to stop the police, the army, and crash the stockmarket (literally, so it didn't actually affect the economy - I'm not sure if he understands that). The skytram, really just to tie up the Lightning Ninja. A team to take over the news station, as if they might've been reporting on anything other than him right now. And then he would come through the waterways to head for Ninjago Tower. Because a shark rising out of the water is like a 9 out of 10 on the drama scale.

This time he was in for a brutal smack down. He apparently had NO idea that Fire and Water were back out of retirement or whatever.

The whole mess was tied up within half an hour. With Earth, Fire, and Ice handling downtown, Lightning saving the skytram, and Water just destroying his shark mech. Apparently his engineers didn't calculate in that it would be vulnerable to a mech actually designed to function best underwater.

Ooh, ouch. Yeah, some generals were getting fired today. He would be ballistic that they didn't account for all five Ninja. (That there was no way they could have known really didn't matter.) Fortunately, he was so visibly seething that he wouldn't swing by the school to pick me up. I can do without the attention.

Unfortunately, he was so visibly seething that he wouldn't swing by the school to pick me up. I could do with a quick escape. My friends were still just gone. And some of the other kids can be kinda brutal after an invasion.

Nothing particularly harmful has happened to me since the hospital and announcement. Since then, my schoolmates have been mostly satisfied with so-called pranks and name-calling, with the odd trip and shove as I walk past. Bruises are pretty easy to deal with, and I know to avoid staircases.

But just 'cause the Ninja said not to attack Lloyd Garmadon doesn't mean everyone listens. Contrary to what you'd think, I'm much more likely to get bullied when my dad suffers a particularly humiliating defeat. I guess it makes them less fearful of his vengeance? Idiots. He'd slaughter them if he knew. And I do not want to deal with that drama, so I've gotten pretty good at avoiding such situations, as well as dealing with them myself when I can't.

With the return of two Ninja, I had a bad feeling. Five Ninja to back them up against the Evil Garmadons - at least, that's probably how they saw it. No one really knew the Ninja personally, not like I did. Had. Thought I had?

I booked it out of that classroom as soon as the all clear sounded and the teacher dismissed the class. Quickly as I could, I gathered everything I needed and shoved it in my backpack. Not bothering to clean up graffiti or hate mail - there was sure to be much more tomorrow morning anyway - I slammed my locker closed, clicked the lock shut and gave it a spin, then bolted for the main entrance.

I wasn't quick enough. A hand snagged the collar of my hoodie as I rounded a corner, yanking me back by the throat. My bag was snatched away and tossed aside and I was subsequently slammed against a wall.

Crap. Chad, Mark, and Rex. My main tormentors. Though they hadn't been as physical as this was shaping up to be since middle school.

They crowded tight around me, blocking the view of what they were up to. Not that they needed bother. Everyone was so frantic to call their parents and check on their friends that they rushed right past us.

Plus, you know. Lloyd Garmadon. Who cares.

"Hey, Garmadork," smirked Chad. "Where's your new dork squad? They finally realize you're a midget monster?"

"Let me go, Chad," I tried to say calmly, but we both could feel me trembling. It's not easy to be brave when one has their back to the wall, pinned by the throat and surrounded by three bullies. Knowing no one's going to stop them. Knowing I can't stop them.

I recognized the look in their eyes and resigned myself. They'd get away with this. They always had. But I refused to beg, and using my spinjitzu on normal teenagers was out of the question.

Self-defense, what a joke. If any one of them had so much as a scratch, they would just whip up a sob story about a murderous Lloyd Garmadon with a knife and everyone would believe them. I'd be expelled, maybe sent to prison. Of course my dad would break me out, but then what would I do? Join his army for real? I didn't want that.

"We'll let you pick today, Garmadork," Chad continued. "I voted for dumping you in the school pool, maybe try to beat your record for how long you can hold your breath, but Rex would much rather just beat the stuffing out of you, and Mark was hoping to have some fun with the old food in the cafeteria's kitchen. Well?"

I closed my eyes, trying not to think of any of my 'options' too deeply. It was just Chad's way of figuring out what I was most afraid of. It didn't matter what I said, they were waiting for flinches or pleading. Last time they played this 'choose one of three tortures' game, they went with all three.

My body healed quickly and didn't really scar. Dad didn't need to know. Long as I didn't end up in the hospital again, I could handle this. I could handle this. It wasn't anything new. Suck it up and deal. Like before, I could use my skills juuuust enough to soften the blows and avoid anything I'd need medical attention for.

"Get. Off. Him. Now," growled a dark voice behind them.

Everyone froze. Slowly, Rex, Chad, and Mark turned their heads to glare at the interloper.

Cole.

Hands on his hips, headphones around his neck, dripping in sweat like he'd run a marathon, black eyes glaring like you wouldn't believe. My brain couldn't quite process that someone was standing up for me and all I could do was stare in disbelief.

Chad scoffed and pressed harder against my throat, almost but not quite choking me. "Butt out, Cole. You don't want to mess with us."

Rex and Mark didn't look so sure. After all, Cole was pretty solidly built, and his arms were ripped. He could easily take any of them if this got physical.

As if to prove that passing thought, Cole grabbed Rex by the front of his shirt and - holy crap! Hefted him right off the ground with one arm.

Mark bolted, and Rex followed when Cole dropped him on his butt.

Chad's mouth was hanging open, but it quickly recovered.

"What the -! No wonder you get along with the robot and Garmadork! You're a freak too!"

"Drop. Him," enunciated Cole slowly, carefully, and with ever so much meaning loaded in each syllable. His thick eyebrows were furrowed in anger, almost touching each other, and his glinting eyes were locked on Chad's face.

Chad looked from Cole, to me, and back. "Not worth it," he grumbled, letting go. I slid to the floor, gasping more out of relief than any actual need for air. He huffily turned on his heel, gave my backpack a kick, and continued on his way.

Cole knelt in front of me, concern instead of anger now written on his face.

"Green bean?"

"I'm," deep breath, "okay. Thanks to you. Oh, wow!" A crazy giggle crept out of my throat. "That could've been bad."

Cole's eyes were still concerned, but a smile twitched at his mouth. "Well, good thing it was me. I'm pretty good at scaring off losers like that. If it was Kai and Nya, that would've been a fight."

I blinked, my brain not quite computing in its surge of tremendous relief and thankfulness. It made everything a little silly, a little floaty and almost too good to be true.

"Why would they do that?" I mumbled, still spacey.

The emotion in his eyes turned to pity and he helped me up, then retrieved my backpack for me and handed it over. I quickly rifled through it, making sure nothing was damaged, especially my present from Cole this very morning.

My present. From my friend. I giggled again, stroking the miraculously undamaged vinyl record before returning it to its cover and zipping up the backpack. All my other books must have protected it. I guess there are benefits to hours of makeup work! Another giggle and, oh, crap. I think the shock of my surprise rescue was messing with my head. Can you blame me? Last time someone swooped in to save me, it was the Ninja just before Pythor swallowed! Come to think of it, I was awfully giggly then too.

"C'mon, kid. We'll figure something out so they know you're off limits, same as the rest of the mech club. For now, we're going out for ice cream. The others went ahead to get a table."

I clapped my hand to my mouth to muffle the next giggle, not that it fooled Cole. And now they wanted to go out with me for ice cream?! How is this my life?!

Cole just smiled patiently, and directed me, hand on my shoulder since I was a little wobbly, towards the main entrance.