Chapter Text
“And...you’re all good! Come on out.”
On the scientist’s cue, Jay stepped out of the cylindrical chamber, jumping slightly as it closed behind him. Blushing at his own agitation, he made his way to the group of researchers standing a few yards away.
“Notice anything?” The redhead asked, not so anxious for an answer as he was ready to explore the other technology hidden in the underground lab.
Cyrus Borg studied the x-ray that had just appeared on a large screen. “Nope,” he replied, sitting up straight atop his mechanical legs. “You appear to be completely normal. No signs of any aberrations on your scan.”
“Great,” Jay said, showing neither relief nor interest. “Now, can I check out some of that tech I saw in that other room? You guys just have so much cool stuff!”
Their half-cyborg ally laughed. “Yes, of course.” He turned to a man standing at his right. “Oliver, go with him, won’t you?”
The man nodded in compliance and escorted the excited blue ninja out of the lab. An amused smile spread across Cole’s face as he watched his friend practically bounce out the door.
Kai pried his eyes from the master of lightning and returned his attention to the team of researchers, arms folded impatiently. “So, only Cole’s left, right? Then we can go?”
“Oh Kai, always in a hurry,” Borg teased. “Yes, once Cole is scanned, you all are free to leave.”
“Wonderful,” the brunet muttered.
Lloyd punched his shoulder playfully. “Aw, come on, Kai. Don’t be such a pain. Borg's just trying to make sure we’re all safe and healthy.”
The master of fire glared at him in annoyance. “But only you and Cole went into the cloud,” he pointed out. “Why do the rest of us have to get tested? This is a waste of time.”
Nya huffed. “As if we have anything better to do. Ever since we defeated the Oni, we’ve been sitting around the monastery playing video games and eating sugar.”
“Which, mind you, I would like to get back to,” Kai snapped at his sister. “And that was less than a week ago. I’m not bored of having nothing to do just yet.” He turned back to the scientists. “Can you just hurry up and scan Cole? All you’re gonna find is an inhuman stomach filled with an ungodly amount of cake.”
The master of earth gave him a shove as he walked over to the chamber. “Hey, I literally fell off the Bounty and into a cloud of darkness just a few days ago. I need to get my strength back.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kai said, rolling his eyes. “You just keep telling yourself that.”
Giving his teammate another look of feigned offendedness, Cole hopped into the machine, not flinching as its transparent doors closed around him. He gave Borg and the researchers a thumbs up. “Ready when you are!”
One of the scientists hit a few buttons on a touch-screen panel, and the machine’s arms spun around the black ninja, scanning him for any abnormalities that may have resulted from his exposure to the cloud. After a few moments, the doors to the chamber slid open and he stepped out.
“Am I good?” He asked, significantly more curious than Jay had been. “I was the only non-Oni who survived in the cloud, so I hope it didn’t mess me up at all.”
Cyrus eyed Cole’s x-ray, studying it as he had the others. “Hmmm...everything looks normal,” he announced, much to Cole’s relief.
The earth ninja released some of the tension from his shoulders. “Phew,” he breathed. “That’s good news.”
“Can we go now?” Kai asked, tapping his foot irritably.
Borg nodded. “Yes. Now that we have taken all of your x-rays, you may leave whenever you like. Although, I doubt Jay will be joining you anytime soon. We are about to release the new BorgPhone, and he is probably getting a sneak peek of it as we speak.”
Zane approached the man and shook his hand. “Thank you for your help. It is good to know the cloud has not had any negative effects on us.”
“Thank you for your cooperation!” Borg responded. “Here at Borg Laboratories, we are fascinated by the Oni darkness and have been putting together an extensive plan for studying the phenomenon. We appreciate your willingness to participate.”
The nindroid smiled. “We are happy to do whatever we can to help.”
“Indeed,” Pixal added, joining Zane and her creator. “We will do what we can to make sure the people of Ninjago are safe.” She glanced at the white ninja affectionately. “ All of them.”
“Yup, we’re happy to help and all that crap,” Kai said. “But for now, I’m outta here.” He turned on his heel and bolted out the door.
Lloyd sighed. “I’m...sorry,” he told Cyrus. “He wants to help, he’s just...kind of an ass sometimes.”
“I’ve noticed,” the cyborg said with a chuckle.
The green ninja followed the red, calling over his shoulder as he left the room, “Thanks again for your help!”
Cole took another glance at the x-ray on the screen. “I’m glad everything looks alright. That cloud…” He shuddered. “It was really creepy.”
“Well, it appears you have nothing to worry about now,” Borg assured him. “We will continue to study the matter and let you know if we discover anything of interest. In the meantime, go play video games and eat cake. You deserve it.”
The black ninja shrugged. “Well, if you insist,” he said. “Come on, guys! You heard the man! Let’s go get some cake!”
Zane, Pixal, and Nya followed him out of the room, saying their goodbyes to the researchers as they exited.
“Where to now?” Nya asked, confident that Cole knew exactly where he was leading them.
“I’m glad you asked,” he replied. “There’s this new bakery that just opened near Steeper Wisdom. I heard they have top-of-the-line chocolate cake, and I wanna try some before they sell out!”
“What happened to your body being a temple?” Zane queried.
“It is a temple. A temple that just fell off a flying ship, survived a cloud of darkness, and defeated a legion of Oni. It’s a hungry ass temple!”
As the four walked down the hallway, one of the doors burst open and Jay practically tumbled out.
“You guys!” The blue ninja squealed. “You’ll never guess what the new BorgPhone has!” At his friends’ silence, he continued, throwing his arms up in excitement. “Face ID!”
Nya raised an eyebrow. “Uh, you do know that’s not gonna work when we’re wearing our masks, right?”
“Yes,” Zane agreed, sharing Nya's lack of awe. “Remember back when the Overlord was in all of Borg’s tech? We merely wore half-masks and that hid our identities completely.”
“Well, duh,” Jay said. “We’re not gonna be using our phones while we’re doing ninja stuff.”
“Okay, Zaptrap,” Cole spoke up, trying to salvage his best friend’s excitement. “I'll admit, that is pretty cool.”
Jay pointed at Cole as though he had 'Jay’s right' written all over him. “See? Cole thinks Face ID is cool.”
“Cole just wants you to shut up so we can go get him some cake,” Nya argued.
“Not true!” The black ninja protested. “Jay’s a tech wiz. If he’s excited about it, I’m excited about it!”
The water ninja faked a cough, muttering under her breath as she did so. “Simp.”
“Hey! What did you call me?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “I called you a simp,” she said pointedly. “You’re a simp. For Jay.”
“Am not!” Cole whined. “I just support my best friend, that’s all.”
“You mean to say that you just simp for your best friend,” Zane corrected, a hint of humor in his voice.
Cole stared at the nindroid, visibly irritated. “Not you, too, Zane!”
“Yeah, don’t be a bully,” Jay said, wrapping his arms around Cole’s waist in a grateful hug. “Cole’s just a good friend. You all could learn a thing or two from him.”
Laughing at the scene unfolding in front of her, Pixal pushed past the squabbling ninja. “You are all great friends. Now, let’s go find Kai and Lloyd. I, for one, really want to try some of that cake.”
The lights in the laboratory were gradually turning off. A young man stood alone in the room, examining the seven x-rays that had been gathered earlier that day. One in particular seemed to be unlike the others. It was unclear to him whether the scan was performed incorrectly, or had just been unable to provide a perfectly clear picture of what was going on in the brain of its subject. It looked similar to the other six, despite a few small differences between all of them that were to be expected, as they were all different people. But something seemed...off.
“What’s up with you?” He asked the suspicious diagram, obviously not expecting an answer but hoping saying the words aloud would help him piece his thoughts together.
He toggled a few of the buttons on the touch-screen in front of him, watching as the pattern on each x-ray shifted as he did so. All of a sudden, he noticed what was disturbing him about that particular scan.
“What in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master?”
He looked closer, noticing a small dark cloud obscuring a fragment of the diagram that corresponded to its subject’s brain.
“Oh, shit,” he breathed. “That’s not normal, is it?”