welcome back to chapter two!
Two: A Nervous Tell
Kai looked at Lloyd in the morning sunlight, crossing his arms. "I didn't see any activity in the southeast sector of the city last night. Seems like some of the intel Zane brought back was wrong. Warehouses towards the docks had a party last night though."
Lloyd nodded, looking at the distant city. He and Kai had a tradition of meeting up on Thursdays to run in the morning, possibly spar for a while afterwards. "...Lark's going to inherit my powers. I can feel it." He didn't try to conceal his emotions, the raw fear and sadness at the thought consuming his tone. "And that stays between us-I don't want anyone-I can't risk her knowing about him.
The two stretched in silence for a few minutes before Kai spoke again. "Do you really think we're going to see the end of this peace soon?"
It wasn't the first time they thought that the peace was going to end any day now. There had been plenty of close calls. The worst had been when Enver was just a toddler and before the twins were born, when Harumi's gang had managed to kidnap Lloyd and hold him as a prisoner for over two months before they'd been able to find Lloyd. Being down two team members and trying to gain information then had taken some questionable dealings.
Lloyd reached towards his neck, tracing another scar nervously. A bad habit. A nervous tell. "I'm afraid this is going to be the real deal. They're getting bold with the information they're dropping to all members."
"It could be a bluff."
"But they're getting something in a few weeks-something that has Harumi pleased beyond belief. We know that can't be good for us. I think she's preparing her endgame, and we're getting further behind..." Lloyd looked down the empty road leading from his monastery. "We need to prepare for the worst."
Kai stretched his arms out. "Enver wants to take Gigi to the parties with him, figured a second set of eyes on the scene could be helpful." He felt the familiar burn in his shoulder from the stretch. "I figure she's the best to take too, she's a social butterfly. She can blend in like no one else."
The idea had crossed Lloyd's mind last night, but he hadn't brought it up. Jay and Nya had been very strict on their approach to raising their kids. No missions until they absolutely had to. Lloyd could understand. None of them were exactly experts in the idea of a normal childhood, but having children fighting against a large criminal network was not going to win them parents of the year awards... "And what did Jay say about that?"
Kai gave a dry laugh. "They hate the idea, but...well, you know Gigi. She's been pushing to even just trail along on a patrol. She's not where I'd like her skills to be when it comes to her defense, but hopefully she wouldn't need those skills if she's just going to a party, you know? And she'd have Enver there to protect her."
Lloyd nodded. They started their jog together in silence for a few blocks before he spoke again. "I spent a long time trying to figure out what their plan could be last night. What if they've already set some kind of trap and we're already too late? We should've struck sooner."
"We would have if they hadn't vanished the minute we got you back. They only started making themselves known a handful of years ago, Lloyd. We can't keep beating ourselves up over what we should have done. Our priority that mission was saving you, and if I remember right, who was in critical condition and required immediate stabilization? Or two blood transfusions? Or surgery to repair internal bleeding that would've killed you? We did good that night everything considered." Kai sped up, thinking about that whole ordeal made him anxious and itchy to this day. It had certainly been his lowest time in life. "And we're not going to be too late. I just know it."
Enver Chen-Smith rode to school with his Uncle Zane every time his uncle was substitute teaching there, which was surprisingly often despite the fact these were the best teachers in Ninjago. It had been routine for the past three years since he had started high school at Ninjago Prep, one of the nicest schools in the country. The city had offered to waive the tuition for him and his cousins, but his parents and his Uncle both insisted that they could pay the price, and to instead give the tuition waivers to students who actually really needed them.
Saving the city countless times before having kids had its perks, apparently.
He knew his Uncle Jay funded five scholarships to the school as well, to give good students with big dreams a chance at seeing their dreams through. Enver couldn't say if he'd ever met one of the kids though.
Enver looked out the window, watching the city build itself around them as they drove in from the smaller, sleepier part of town Enver lived in. Not quite a suburb. He tapped his fingers to the music-slow jazz this morning which was a nice change from the usual talk radio-on his uniform pants.
The knowledge from last night was driving him insane. He was going to lose it if they didn't talk about it, and he couldn't very well break trust and tell his cousins anything-as the oldest, it was his job to keep them safe and away from danger as long as possible. He had waited patiently to be twelve to learn the basics of self-defense. His cousins begged and pleaded for months to train with him to have more cousin bonding, and they'd gotten it. He was older and more mature than them. He was strong enough to handle the idea and the knowledge that sometime in his life, he was going to have to fight evil just like his parents had, and that this problem wasn't quite something they'd be strong enough to beat without their parents. This was a lot. This was, according to the scale of the gang's reach, going to be a war.
"What do you think is coming in a few weeks?" He blurted suddenly, looking to his uncle. He reached to stop the music, eyes serious. "How bad do you think this is? What do you think it is?"
They pulled up to a stoplight, and Zane looked ahead seriously, face set. "I am afraid that this is going to be the first step for them to begin attacking directly. We are getting close to the anniversary of Lloyd's abduction. It would not surprise me if timing is also part of their plan." His tone didn't waiver, didn't show any sort of fear. "We will be ready, I can assure you of that." The light turned green and they began to roll forward with traffic. "And when that time comes, your job will be protecting your cousins."
Enver picked up his water bottle, unscrewing the lid. "But we know we're outnumbered."
"And you and your cousins are the future of Ninjago. Each of you will have a chance one day. For now, we are still capable of starting to carry the fight until you're ready." Zane looked at the teen, just for a second. "We have powers they don't beyond our elemental powers. We have hope, determination, and the promise of Ninjago's natural balance. Even if it seems they have won, the pendulum of balance will swing in our favor again." They were approaching the high school now, and Zane hoped that this wouldn't keep Enver from paying attention to his studies that day. "Our job is not to keep the good in power. It is to protect the balance. For every light, there is a shadow behind it, and from every shadow there is a light creating it. It is perpetually balanced, and impossible to destroy."
Enver sighed, looking at the high school as Zane pulled into the staff parking lot. "Okay, okay..." He shoved his water bottle into his bag, unbuckling his seat belt before they had even pulled into a parking space. Zane furrowed his brow. "I just, the way you guys were talking last night it was just really intense. And it's still all...y'know...new to me."
Zane nodded as he parked the car in the substitute parking space. "I understand that. Now, today you are going to focus on your academics. We need you to have a bright mind to match your skills."
With a smile, Enver nodded, opening the door and hopping out of the car. "Thanks Uncle Zane! See you around!" Enver ran off towards the front of the school, and Zane smiled as well.
They were strong to protect these children as long as possible. That had always been the goal, and it would remain that way as long as possible.
Harumi stood beside the "princess" as she was known among the ranks. She snaked a hand onto the girl's shoulder, feeling her tense underneath her nails. The princess didn't meet her eye. A smart choice. She was wasting time, not growing any sharper with her skills.
Once upon a time, the princess had been scared of her. The princess had been so perfect then, obedient and thorough in her work. And of course, a teenager was the antithesis of perfect. Moody, unpredictable, selfish...
"A little bird told me that the ninja plan on sending one of their own undercover to these parties we've been holding...I trust you can manage to show them a perfect time around. Make sure they get enough of the wrong information, and don't let them too close." She squeezed the shoulder of the teen, looking around at the venue for that night's party. Recruitment wasn't the real goal with these. No.
Information exchange was the goal of the parties. Temptation was the goal of the parties. They hardly recruited from mere teenagers, but their associates? The smaller associated criminals? Well, if she was going to take control of Ninjago one day, control of the underworld was a good idea place to start, and keeping them happy and out of too much public trouble was an even better idea. Giving them clients, recruits, and connections kept them happy, kept them controlled.
Now the stakes were too high to let a little coup cause their plans to crumble.
With a smile, Harumi traced the spider painted on the shoulder of the leather jacket of the girl. "You and a few others will be infiltrating Ninjago Preparatory School next week, by the way. I'll have your background file in your room by the end of the night. Memorize it, live it. The ninja send their children there, and the sooner we can grasp what level of a threat each of them are to our cause-what they might know that our little bird doesn't..."
The teen broke away, walking away. "Fine." Her voice didn't waiver like it had in the past. "I don't care. It's for the cause."
Harumi grinned. "It's for the cause. Go train, princess. You've got a lot to learn before our presents arrive from the farthest parts of Ninjago..."
The princess flipped her off, not looking back, and Harumi's grin dropped immediately. The attitude problem was...testing her patience to say the least. She however knew how to keep her cool at all times now. The attitude problem was just part of adolescence. It would pass in some ways, and grow in others. Oni DNA was so unpredictable, so unstudied...
"There you are." Harumi turned, a pleasant smile back on her face as she looked at UltraViolet. She was more scarred now than she was when the two had first met all those years ago, but her most faithful lieutenant still ran a tight ship despite her disorderly attitude. "Our bird's report is in. Figured you'd like to know, so we can strategize from there."
Harumi nodded, holding a hand out for the papers. As they were pressed in her hand, she looked back at the direction the princess had gone. "Go run drills with the princess. She needs a little bit of tough love today. I'll fill you in on what we decide upon later." Without response, she marched across the metal catwalk, reading over the report, a Cheshire grin spreading over her face.
This was interesting news.