Cole had just finished the last of his boba tea. When Bap came into the bar, Cole turned and tried to blend in with the crowd. Ever since he let Bap and Bam join him on that robbery they haven't left him alone. They follow him everywhere and seem to think that they have to spend every waking moment together and honestly he was starting to get sick of them. The only reason he hasn't told them to shove off is because they are members of The Overlords. Bap was scanning the crowd looking for him. Then his eyes lit up and he started pushing his way through the crowd towards Cole. Cole groaned.
"Hey Rocky!" Bap said like an excited teenager.
"Oh, hey Bap" Cole tried to sound cordial.
"Did you hear? They're having a memorial service for that earth ninja today, it's being held in the park" Bap said. Now that did interest Cole.
"Oh is that right? Well I'll definitely have to attend that, I want to see my handiwork, and watch the ninja cry like babies and quit being ninja like the cowards they are" Cole laughed.
"Ooh, can I go with you?" Bap asked.
"Of course you can" Cole faked a smile.
"Ok, just so you know it starts at noon" Bap said.
"Ok, I'll meet you there, but let's meet outside of the park, we'll observe from a rooftop, the ninja will recognize me so I can't just waltz in there" Cole said.
"Ok, see you there!" Bap dashed off.
Cole headed back to his apartment to get ready. He went to his closet, they had provided him with lots of different outfits. And he was trying to decide what to wear to his own memorial service. He decided on a black leather jacket that said jerkface on the back which he chuckled at, and black pants embellished with skull designs and silver chains hanging from both sides.
"Yea, this screams I'm a douche" Cole said.
Then he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower and stepped into the spray of water. He sighed in delight as the warm water ran down his back. He grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squeezed a generous amount into his hand before scrubbing his hair making sure he got all the way to his scalp. Creating a great smelling white lather. Closing his eyes he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. And repeated the process with the conditioner. Then he washed his body. He turned the shower off and quickly dried himself off before stepping out of the shower. He wiped the steam off the mirror. He was stunned at how different just changing his eye and hair color made him look. He took his time brushing and blow drying his hair. Ok so maybe he took just as long as Kai to do his hair but if Cole didn't properly groom his hair it wouldn't maintain it's radiant sheen and volume.
He walked back into his bedroom with the towel around his waist. He briefly admired his amazing body in the mirror before getting dressed. He slipped on some black leather boots that had skulls on the soles of them. He remembered his orange bandana but this time he tied it around his head like a headband instead of having it cover his head. He opened his door and saw Ming locking her door. She was dressed up in a red kimono dress and her long silver hair in a neat ponytail. When she saw him she smiled.
"Hello Rocky" she greeted him.
"Oh hi Ming, where are you headed?" Cole asked.
"Oh, I'm going to the memorial service for Cole" Ming answered.
"Oh really? You're actually going to that?" Cole asked.
"Of course, the ninja have done so much for this city, the least I can do is go pay my respects to Cole who died in service to the city" Ming said.
"Oh that's so sweet of you, I'm sure the ninja would appreciate that" Cole said.
"Well I won't hold you up any longer, see you later" Cole turned and left. After unfortunately meeting up with Bap who apparently brought Bam with him they settled on a rooftop nearby where they could still see and hear the memorial service. Bap and Bam were on either side of him talking nonstop. He rolled his eyes, honestly they reminded him of teenagers. He tuned out their conversation and focused on the crowd below. There were so many people Cole couldn't number them it was almost as if the whole city turned out. It warmed his heart to see that so many people came. Up in the front he could make out his teammates and his father. He swallowed guilty as he saw his dad crying uncontrollably as his quartet were making futile attempts to console him. Cyrus Borg stepped up on the stage and the people quieted down except Bap and Bam of course.
"Shh" he snapped at them. And they immediately stopped talking.
"We are gathered here today to honor Cole who has died selflessly protecting some citizens of our fair city, Cole and his fellow ninja have saved this city countless times and he will be dearly missed, now his teammates and family and a few others would like to say a few words" Cyrus said as he stepped down. And Jay came up.
"Cole was….Cole was the rock of our team…" Jay had to pause a moment to compose himself before continuing. "And I don't just say that because he was the strongest, but he was the bravest… In the beginning it was just me and him, before Sensei found Zane or Kai and before Lloyd joined us, I was so insecure and a little scared but Cole always encouraged me…..He encouraged me to be brave and strong and to be the best ninja I could be… but most importantly, he was the greatest friend you could ever ask for and I miss him so much" Jay's throat got tight with emotion and he could say no more he stepped down. Cole was flattered at the kind words. He wondered who would speak next.
"Oooh, he was brave and strong and the greatest friend" Bap mocked Jay. sending Bam into a wheezing fit of laughter. Cole had to resist the urge to punch Bap right in his face. He simply silenced him with a glare. He turned his attention back to the service. Lloyd was taking the stage.
"Cole was my friend and mentor, he was patient when I was learning and like Jay said he was always encouraging me, I really looked up to Cole and am so lost without him, I miss you Cole" Lloyd said.
"I miss you too" Cole whispered. Cole swallowed thickly as he father came up. He honestly looked terrible.
"My wife is gone! My son is gone! I have nothing left! Why am I even still here" his father's voice rose into a wail. "Why!? Whywhywhywhywhywhy" he was literally rolling around on the ground and his quartet had to carry him off the stage. Cole's heart was broken to see his dad in such distress. Then a young woman that Cole had never seen before came up.
"My name is Mary and I'm the president of the Cole Fanclub, I love Cole so much and even though the man of our affection isn't with us anymore, we'll always be his number one fans, love you Cole" she formed a heart with her hands before running crying to a group of women who were also crying.
"Oh boohoo, what a bunch a babies, am I right Rocky" Bam elbowed him.
"They are a bunch of babies, and it's because of me that everyone is sad and crying, it fills me with joy to hear their broken hearted cries" Cole said.
"Well, I've had my fill, I have some purses to steal, so I'm going to head out" Cole said.
"Can we join you?" Bam asked. Cole figured they'd ask that.
"Of course you can" Cole said. With that they left the memorial. And rode back to the slums. There were several women milling about.
"Ok watch and learn" Cole said, as he used his ninja training to stealthily creep up on a woman.
"I'll take that sweetheart" he snatched it from her.
"Hey! give that back!" she yelled. But Cole had already disappeared.
"How did you do that!?" Bap was shocked.
"I've been in the game a long time, and I haven't been caught yet" Cole said. Cole appropriated five more purses before calling it a night.
"Guess what? It's karaoke night at Baddie's, don't you want to sing Rocky" Bap said.
"I don't sing" Cole said.
"Come on Rocky, it will be fun" Bam said.
"Alright, fine" Cole sighed. They headed to the bar and he already heard some pretty awful sounding man singing. He Bap and Bam sat at one of the tables. Cole just wanted to go home. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to some sad clowns try to sing. Just then a woman wearing a red gypsy style dress with long wavy brown hair and green eyes came over.
"Any of you boys gunna sing?" she asked.
"Oh hey Celia, Rocky is going to sing, right Rocky" Bam said. Cole glared at him.
"Oh really? I'd like to hear you sing" Celia said flirtatiously. Before Cole could respond she had to go to another table.
"Why would you say that!?" Cole gasped.
"You're lucky she seems to have the hots for you, that's the boss's daughter you know a real catch, but she never gave any of us the time of day, so are you going to sing for her and impress her?" Bam asked. Cole thought about it for a moment. The boss's daughter could also bring him closer to being done with this dumb job.
"Oh I'll do it" Cole said. Just as he was taking the stage the doors flew open and some seedy looking people came in with their guns drawn. The place erupted into chaos as panicked people ran around. You know criminals sure were a bunch of cowards. Cole jumped up on a table and flipped it over for cover. For a brief moment he was going to use his elemental powers before he quickly caught himself. But he still had his superhuman strength. He picked the table up like it was nothing and threw it at them knocking them down, he quickly kicked their guns away from them.
"Thank you Sensei for the ninja training" Cole whispered. He swore he'd never complain about training again. The men were quickly subdued.
"Wow, thank Rocky, you're so brave" Celia flirted.
"I know sweetheart" Cole winked at her.
"Who were those guys anyways?" Cole asked.
"I'm not sure, since we are located in the cruddy part of town we get that a lot" Celia said.
"Well, I think that was enough excitement for me for one day" Cole said as he left. He exited quickly while the place was still in chaos so he wouldn't have to speak to Bap or Bam. As he approached the apartment building he noticed that Ming was being harassed by a group of hooligans.
"Looks like I'll have to kick some more butts tonight" Cole said as he went over there.
"Just give us the purse, don't be stupid" one said.
"No, I can't do that, now leave me be" Ming said. Cole roughly grabbed the leader.
"Look here, only I rob old ladies around here" Cole threw him into his friends.
"Now scram or I won't be so merciful" Cole threatened and they scrambled to their feet and ran off.
"Are you alright?" Cole asked Ming.
"Y-yes I'm alright" she was shaken.
"It's ok, I'm here now, I'll make sure you get home safely" Cole walked her to her door and made sure she got inside safely before going inside himself. He was exhausted after so much action today. And also tired from his sadness he had to put on an act in front of Bap and Bam but the memorial service was hard to watch. Seeing his father so distraught made him feel awful knowing it was his fault. He climbed into bed and sleep quickly overtook him.