Chapter Text
“We can’t trust a thing he says.”
Cole pinched the bridge of his nose. “What choice do we have? He’s the only clue we’ve got.”
Jay glanced at the figure seated in front of them. “Everything he says could be a lie!”
Zane frowned at his hands, clenched in fists in his lap. “But anything he says could be what we need.”
Cole nodded. “Then it’s the best plan we have.” He put his hands on the table and leaned in to face the teen in front of him. “Now,” his voice deepened with a glare. “Where. Is. Kai?”
Red eyes met his stare with a grin from under familiar spiked brown hair.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
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It had all started a week prior.
Kai woke up with a splitting headache, comeuppance for intense element training the day before without proper hydration for that heat. It admittedly made him a nightmare to deal with – he made a point to work on regulating his mood swings, but the headache made him snappier than usual.
On a ship of seven people, five of which were teenagers…
It made for a tense morning.
“Brookstone, I swear to god, I will suplex you off the Bounty if you don’t move over.” Cole scooted down the bench at their kitchen table, hands thrown up in surrender as he attempted to keep himself (and his breakfast) out of Kai’s warpath.
Nya slid in on his other side, a plate of eggs and toast in tow. “Jeez, Kai, I may be used to your angst, but these guys aren’t. Chill out.”
Kai grumbled and shoved a forkful in his mouth. “He was in my way.”
Cole shrugged and shot Nya a smile. “It’s fine, I’m sure he’ll perk up once he gets some food,”
“And some water, Kai.” Zane’s insistent voice was followed by a glass set directly in front of the fire ninja’s plate. “Your headache should subside with proper care.”
Kai begrudgingly took the glass with a mumbled thanks.
From across the table, Lloyd frowned. “How come he gets to be grumpy and all he gets is a glass of water?” He winced when a newspaper lightly whapped him on the head.
“Kai is grumpy because he made an ill-informed decision. You are grumpy because you were asked to do chores.”
“Besides,” Nya piped up. “He has to get his act together for the day, same as you.”
Kai opened his mouth to protest his comparison to a ten-year-old, only to groan as the alarm blared around the breakfast table. He slumped to his feet with the rest of the team, Jay bounding in with a granola bar between his teeth.
All gathered around the Bounty’s main console, Nya typing away. “Looks like it’s your favorite twins, guys.” A chorus of groans echoed around the room.
“Why, why did Garmadon have to make fake ninja?”
“They are indeed frustratingly tenacious.”
“Just be glad you didn’t get called ‘baby brother’ by one of them.”
Cole snorted at Lloyd’s frustrated complaint. “At any rate, we gotta get moving. Let’s go!”
They arrived at the bank shortly, met with a very disheveled security guard who gave Cole a high five and jabbed his thumb at the building. “They’re…in there,” he panted out. “Good luck.”
The team nodded and dashed in, only to get slammed with a wall of fire.
“About time!”
Kai glared at his mirror-image. “Can you not today?” He yelled, sending his own fireball flying at him.
“Kai!” Zane quickly doused the flames and raised ice walls. “Be careful, we do not want anyone getting hurt!”
A metallic clang rang through the air as Zane reeled from the fist that slammed into his face. “I would worry about yourself,” His bizarro hissed. “Before worrying about others.”
Cole was locked in a grapple with his own opponent, while Jay raced around the room dodging and throwing lightning bolts.
Kai and his bizarro were fighting with intensity – flames shot in all directions, while one cackled and the other growled with each hit.
“This,” Bizarro Kai grunted with another blocked punch. “Is getting boring.”
Kai ducked out of his fireball’s path. “Yeah?” He swept his leg out in an attempt to catch the other off guard. “Then spice it up,” he drew his katana. “Surrender, before you get hurt.”
Bizarro Kai grinned and shook his head. “Nah, not my style – but I’d be down for a new opponent.” Kai tilted his head quizzically. “Hear baby bro’s started ninja training.” Kai’s face dropped at the poisonous look on his doppelganger’s face. “Wonder how much fun he’d be to fight.”
Kai snarled. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Bizarro Kai grinned. “Try and stop me.” He turned and shouted to his Cole, using him as a springboard to jump to the shattered skylight. Kai stared after him, before turning to the earth ninja.
“Cole! Boost – now!”
Cole followed Kai’s line of sight to the escaping bizarro, before bracing his hands. “Quick!” He threw the red ninja to the roof before whirling back to his own opponent. “Let’s finish this up guys!”
Kai raced after his double, ducking into alleys and leaping across rooftops. The Bounty floated just outside of the city limits – if he let himself get beat, and Lloyd was home alone…he shook the thought out of his head.
A sudden punch to his eye wrenched him out of his thoughts and sent him reeling into the dirt.
Kai groaned and rolled to get up, his head spinning and now throbbing from his earlier headache – only to find a blade at his throat. He curled his lip up at his attacker and raised his hands.
“What do you want?”
“From you?” Bizarro Kai scoffed. “Nothing. But Garmadon…he wants information.”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
Bizarro Kai rolled his eyes before raising his fist again. “You don’t have to.” He pulled Kai up by his gi, leaning in with a smirk. “Your buddies are gonna tell me everything. He punched fast and hard.
Kai’s world flashed abruptly to black.