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Having your arm completely frozen to the wall isn’t exactly a great position to be in, no matter the circumstance. Especially when you’re in the middle of a fight.
Zane felt himself growing desperate as he kept trying to break free from his icy prison. With the force he was pulling, the nindroid slightly feared that his arm would be ripped off before he managed to. Now, it would have been quite hilarious for the master of ice to be the one frozen, had it not been for the fact that his opponent held that power as well.
Time was running out. Zane’s bizarro was still on the ground, but would be getting up any second now. He needed to get his arm out as quickly as possible.
Zane bit the inside of his cheek in frustration. This whole thing had started so smoothly!
«I’m afraid it’s your turn today Z!»
Earlier that day, Zane had gotten snapped out of his meditative state by Jay’s voice. The master of lightening was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed, his auburn curls slightly blowing in the breeze in the courtyard.
The ice elemental blinked to readjust his eyes to the light, before turning towards his friend. «My turn? For what?»
Jay didn’t answer, but the silence gave Zane all the information he needed. The nindroid groaned as he got up from the cobblestone. «Oh no, please don’t say it.»
«Ding, ding, ding, bizarro duty,» Jay sighed. «Your clone is apparently wreaking havoc in an electronics store down in the city, one of Cyrus Borg’s. You know the rules.»
Of course Zane knew them. The team had decided on them many months ago, when the main four’s doubles resurfaced from the literal dead to make life in Ninjago hell. No one knew how they had managed to come back, but it seemed like they were here to stay this time. Stopping them from doing whatever crime they saw fit nearly became a daily occurrence for the ninja, and a very tiring one at that, so in order to prevent everyone from going to fight them each time, they had settled on some rules. It was simple, really. Only the ninja whose clones were causing trouble, would fight them. It would make the match more equal anyway. To make it fair for the four, Lloyd and Nya would take the fight when the assigned ninja was unable.
Unfortunately, Zane was all but busy now. He ran his hand through his synthetic hair as he let out another groan. «Is it really only mine?»
«Yup,» Jay responded, popping the ‘p’. «Enjoy! But don’t worry, if anything is to go wrong, Kai and Cole are in a bank nearby, due to a robbery. Just call them if you need help.» Jay shouted the last part over his shoulder as he headed back into the monastery, no doubt to play video games.
Zane couldn’t ignore the slight sting he got from hearing Jay’s words. But that was quickly forgotten as he pinched the bridge of his nose and remembered his new job. Great.
But, he needed a distraction anyway. Perhaps this came at a fitting time after all.
He went into the monastery as well, but only to pick up a few weapons before he summoned his elemental dragon and took off. Jay had sent him the coordinates, so navigation was easy enough.
“Let’s see,” he murmured while on dragonback. «What are you up to now then red-eye…»
A couple of minutes later, Zane’s dragon dissolved as he jumped off nearby said store. Being cautious, he pulled out a shuriken as he got closer to the shop’s entrance.
The electronics shop was completely emptied, every customer and cashier seemed to have fled. Well. Completely emptied except for one. In the very back of the room, by the section for advanced computers, there was a tall man who carefully inspected the label on a black laptop.
Zane silently stepped closer and slowly raised his hand, prepared to aim the shuriken. Maybe he could finally be the one catching his bizarro off guard.
Unfortunately, he did not.
The white ninja had just thrown the shuriken when his clone spoke coldly. «Think again.» A split second later, the bizarro raised his hand and caught the shuriken midair, still with his back to Zane. «For a ninja, you are not doing a great job at going unnoticed.»
Bizarro Zane put the laptop down and turned around, an arrogant and annoyed expression visible on his face. As always, he was wearing formal and ridiculously fancy clothes; black trousers, grey shirt, black waistcoat, and a blood-red tie, the exact shade of his eyes. A dark grey suit jacket in velour was thrown over a desk close to him. Zane would never understand why in the world this attire was even a consideration when his life consisted of robberies and fighting.
Suddenly, the shuriken Zane had previously thrown was hurled back at him, and he barely managed to dodge it before it embedded itself into the wall behind him. In the second that the ninja was distracted, the bizarro had pulled out two tantos and leapt towards him.
«We have got to stop meeting like this,» he said, his cold voice sly as he positioned himself between Zane and the door.
Zane laid a hand on his bow. «If it was up to me, we would stop meeting all in all.»
Bizarro Zane narrowed his eyes. «I can arrange that.» With that said, Zane had to abruptly pull out his bow and block the incoming stab the red-eyed tried to give him. The tanto rested a few centimeters away from his blue eyes as the ninja’s hands pressed the bow against the arm holding said knife. A strategically placed kick luckily sent the bizarro away, giving exactly enough time for Zane to shoot an arrow. Alas, he missed by an inch when his clone ducked.
«And you’re the best shot on the team,» Bizarro Zane scoffed. A second later, Zane’s second arrow graced his left upper arm. Bizarro Zane hissed sharply as drops of oil started trickling out. «Fucker!»
Zane couldn’t react before an ice blast was directed at him. The bow clattered to the ground as his right arm got frozen solid against the wall. Moments later, a knife blade was against his throat. The red eyes he met were murderous. They then became more inspecting than angry when Bizarro Zane seemed to finally take in the nindroid in front of him. More specifically, the cloak he had decided to put on for the day.
«Synthetic skin…» the bizarro mumbled in disgust. «You’re such a fucking fraud, trying to be something you’re clearly not. Are you ashamed of your true nature?»
Even though it shouldn’t, not anymore, Zane still found himself shocked over how different their personalities were, when everything else between them was the exact same. «I can appreciate both my human and robotic looks, thank you very much,» he said sharply.
Bizarro Zane furrowed his brows, seemingly in thought. «Don’t tell me…» he said. «You wear it for him?»
Zane stiffened.
«Oh my god, you’re still in love with him, aren’t you! Come on, you don’t seriously believe you looking more like a vulnerable and pathetic human, will make you more desirable to him?» Bizarro Zane laughed. «I hate to break it to you, motherfucker. But your Cole has had his eyes set on someone else for quite some time. You know that, hm?»
«I don’t do that!» The ninja snapped back, trying to be convincing. Because it was true! He did not use his human cloak simply for Cole, not at all! He did it for himself.
But, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, the bizarro had hit a weak spot. Zane knew Kai and Cole were dating, everyone did. If only his emotions did too.
He had fallen in love with the master of earth long ago. Zane had wanted to confess for ages, but never found the courage. Instead, he looked for any sort of sign that his feelings might have been reciprocated. And he thought he had found it too. Now he knew it was just his imagination and delusions, but it really did feel like Cole all of a sudden paid a little extra attention to him. Talking to him more at missions, helping him cook, et cetera. It seemed like the perfect time to confess.
The ice elemental was planning to tell Cole everything one evening. He had it written on a note in case he forgot his speech, and rehearsed it in his mind every second just in case. It was going to be perfect.
Instead, it was a disaster.
Kai and Cole had suddenly gotten up in the middle of dinner. When they got everyone’s attention, they revealed their relationship. Zane had felt his heart almost physically shatter. He cried all night.
It was seven months ago now, and the cut still hadn’t healed. Unfortunately, Zane was completely and hopelessly in love with his teammate, who was in a happy relationship already. Worst of all? He was unable to do anything about it.
Of course, that wasn’t something the bizarro needed to know.
«I am not in love with him.»
Bizarro Zane rolled his eyes. «Whatever you say. Although, remember, lying is a sin. Now, let’s get this over with.»
The blade pressed harder. Zane could feel his skin tearing, the inner plating bending ever so slightly as he gasped due to the pain.
«Any last words?» His clone stared into the ice elemental’s eyes, showing no emotions behind his own red. On the contrary, he almost looked… bored. Like this was a chore that he just wanted to get over with. In that second, a fit of anger hit Zane. This wouldn’t be how he went out. He refused it to be.
«You’re just a failed creation,» Zane spat. «Why don’t you and the rest of your team go back to wherever we banished you the first time, and make life a little easier for the rest of us!»
The bizarro rolled his eyes. «No thank you. And you’re calling me failed?»
«Yes of course! What have you ever accomplished, other than being a menace?»
«I have accomplished a lot actually,» the red-eyed hissed. «Maybe you should ask yourself the same question.»
Zane raised a brow. «Me? I have a warm home, friends, and a loving family that waits for me every day. Yes, that’s right. Love. I dare to bet on that you have never felt that. Do you even know what love is?»
For a split second, it seemed like the bizarro completely froze by Zane’s words. His grip on the tanto he pressed against Zane’s throat faltered, and the ninja took the opportunity immediately. With a solid kick to the stomach, he managed to send his clone crashing into a table, which he fell over. Bizarro Zane landed with a thump, and did not move.
Zane was left heaving for breath as he tried to regain his composure. What in the world?
Although it did, he wasn’t actually expecting attacking his double with words to work. Why would he react like that?
Whatever, he could think about that later. He had another problem as for now, said problem being his arm still being coated in ice and stuck to the wall. Bizarro Zane was already stirring from his unconsciousness.
Despite his attempts to drag his arm out slowly, quickly, hitting the cold surface with his hands, or even trying to command the frozen water himself, the ice wouldn’t budge. Damn it! Bizarro Zane started to get up from the floor.
Zane got a final idea. At this point, he was desperate for anything that could work. He quickly summoned a large block of ice in his other hand, and smashed it into the darker ice which kept his arm captive. To his pleasant surprise, it worked, and the bizarro’s ice splintered into pieces. Zane quickly retracted his arm, pulling away from the wall a moment before the fist of his double connected with where his head had been a mere moment before. Bizarro Zane grunted in frustration.
«I believe you must be faster in order to catch me,» Zane couldn’t stop himself from leaving a snarky comment. FSM, this clone of his brought out the worst in him.
Unfortunately, a tiny second later, a blast of cold and dark ice hit him square in the chest, making him stumble and fall to the ground.
Bizarro Zane was by him immediately, and swiftly lifted him up by his neck so the ninjas feet dangled a few centimeters over the ground. The metal got slightly crushed by the tight grip «You were saying?»
Zane’s hand reached back to make the other let go, hissing in frustration. This left him occupied. Before the white ninja could do anything to protect himself, his own shuriken sunk deeply into his left shoulder.
The pain was agonizing. Zane howled when the shuriken hit some sensitive wires. The damage made him glitch, his human cloak retreating to make way for his regular titanium skin.
«There we go,» Bizarro Zane mumbled. «Much better.»
Zane grit his teeth and sent a hard kick to the underside of his double’s knee. A loud clang rung out when Bizarro Zane toppled over on his knees. The ninja used the valuable seconds he had to rip out the shuriken before it could do anymore damage. It hurt like hell itself, and he could barely stand with his head spinning.
His bizarro was about to get up already, one of the knives in his right hand. He was aiming for Zane’s heart. In a moment of panic, the only defense mechanism Zane could bring himself to do was lift his foot once again, but sending it into the gap between the other’s throat and chest this time. Letting out a glitchy groan, Bizarro Zane slid across the floor, into a corner.
Zane fell to his knees immediately, his right arm wrapped around the wounded shoulder which spilled out oil like a waterfall. God, where were Jay and Nya when he needed them! A wave of his hand covered the deep cut with ice. That would do for now.
Looking up, he saw Bizarro Zane still in the corner. He seemed to have problems with one of his legs, but the motivation to keep going was clearly still there. Zane looked further up, having gotten an idea. The idea could work well, or it could go insanely wrong. It needed calculations. He quickly scanned the roof, searching for a weak spot. Eventually, he found it.
He would apologize to Cyrus later.
Zane threw the now oily shuriken upwards so that it hit the weak spot perfectly, and sent a crack across the cement. A rumble was heard moments later. Zane locked eyes with his clone, who had realized what was going to happen. «You motherfucker,» the red-eyed snarled.
The second before, Zane saw something shiny hurl at him.
Then the roof over the corner of the room collapsed.
So much happened at the same time. Zane felt a sharp sting in his thigh, which quickly evolved to excruciating pain. The tanto was buried to the hilt. While the ninja screamed, so did his clone. Zane’s plan had worked. No matter the bizarro’s attempt to get away in time, a heavy stone which had previously belonged to the roof had fallen on top of one of his arms. A stream of black poured out from between the debris.
Zane reached for his bow and an arrow. Once he felt the familiar weapon in his hand, he tried to aim for his double. He couldn’t waste a shot like this, now that the bizarro was trapped.
However, various complications made it a whole lot harder. The ice he had covered the cut in his shoulder with had cracked, oil flowing out and air flowing into the gash. Combined with the new knife in his thigh, keeping his hands steady enough to shoot in a straight line was close to impossible. The concentration was exhausting.
Meanwhile Zane’s struggled, Bizarro Zane tried to remove the burden which now crushed his left arm. He squeezed his eyes shut and used his good hand to try and get the debris off. It was heavy, but being titanium came with some advantages, one of them being durability and a tiny bit extra strength. Soon enough, the gap was just big enough to pull his arm out. But Bizarro Zane quickly realized his arm was totally wrecked, and close to unable be used at all. Therefore, he was stuck holding the stone with his right hand, and not able to use his left. Great.
The red eyed then saw Zane, still struggling to shoot while being all but covered in black oil. Bizarro Zane instantly knew he couldn’t just wait until Zane got a clear enough shot to take him out. That’s when he got an idea.
Bizarro Zane inched his right hand more under the stone, so he got a good grip. Once his hand was stable, he used every remainder of strength in his body to lift it up.
The white ninja was just about to get steady enough to shoot when the big piece of debris was coming at him. Zane let go of his arrow in panic before it made contact and pushed him to the ground.
Luckily, the arrow he had let go of actually found its way to the victim, just not where he intended. It hit the bizarro in one of his sides, which he quickly ripped out. But the damage was already done.
Bizarro Zane bit the inside of his cheek to not make any noise when waves of pain burned inside him. He cradled his broken arm close to his chest and did his best to get up. He then looked down on the ninja, which struggled on the floor as he got crushed by the stone his clone had previously suffered from.
The stone dented Zane’s plating, especially the parts covering his ventilation system. Zane wheezed for air as it got harder and harder to breathe.
«Y-You don’t even need to b-breathe,» Bizarro Zane said angrily. «Stop w-wasting oxygen!»
It was clear that it took everything the suit-clad had to not show any signs of pain or agony, the glitchy voice was a giveaway. The arm which had fallen victim to the rubble was so damaged it was hard to tell if it was even still completely intact. Along with his hurt leg and the wound in his side, it was a miracle he could still speak and move without screaming in pain.
The dark ice elemental seemed to have realized this, and decided to retreat before he couldn’t move at all anymore.
«Well, this was p-pleasant,» Bizarro Zane said as he finally stood on two legs again. «But I’m afraid I have other matters to attend to.»
With that, the bizarro hurried across the room with haste, only stopping to gather his suit jacket. He stumbled awfully much due to his hurt leg and side every other step. Eventually, he got out of the store and disappeared.
Zane was left grunting on the ground, still trying to pry off the stone pressing him down. Finally it slid off, and he tried to take a deep breath. Unfortunately, the plating had gotten very dented, so the breaths came out ragged and shallow. Yet another thing he would need to fix in the workshop later.
Whatever, the number one priority was to find that clone of his and destroy him. There was no way he would just let him run off. The bizarro was wounded, he couldn’t move quickly. In spite of that, Zane was also extremely hurt. His shoulder and thigh oozed of oil, and his chest hurt very badly. He would not be able to catch up.
All hope left Zane, and in that moment he decided to send an emergency call to Cole and Kai. It would be better to just get home and not think about this incredibly failed mission ever again.
He had just sent the signal when the ice elemental spotted an ajar door across the room. Inside, there was a staircase. Zane’s eyes widened, and he grabbed his bow as he started to inch closer. Please, destiny had to let this be what he was looking for.
Once he made it over and into the room behind the door, he tilted his head upwards and saw that the stairs did in fact lead to a hatch. Perfect.
The walk up the stairs was agonizing. His leg protested each time Zane put weight on it, and the second coat of ice he had put on his shoulder threatened to break. However, vengeance was a strong motivation. And the heavens knew that Zane needed to get rid of his bizarro once and for all.
The hatch wasn’t heavy at all to Zane’s pleasant surprise. Once his head peeked out, he saw that it brought him to a rooftop. Then came the difficult part, which was for the him to manage to get himself up on the stone roof.
It took some time, especially due to his leg and shoulder. The stab wounds were deep. But once Zane was up, he closed the hatch and dragged himself over to the rooftop edge.
Now, where was…
There!
Bizarro Zane had reached the alleyway on the opposite side of the building from the store’s entrance. From what Zane could see, the tough act his clone had put on was over. He could barely move forwards, and his face soured from each step he took. The injured arm bled so much that Zane wondered if there was even any oil left in the other’s body.
The bizarro finally lost the remainders of his strength, and all but collapsed against one of the brick walls. He adjusted his position, leaning his head against the wall. He was in a lot of pain, just like Zane, but in a far more vulnerable position. It was perfect.
Zane slowly pulled out an arrow from his quiver, laid it on the bowstring, and carefully aimed. With force, he finally managed to keep his shaking hands steady. If he let go now, it would be a sure goodbye for the other.
He prepared to release the string.
Three…
Two…
«Zane!»
A familiar voice suddenly broke through the silence, making Zane jolt. He quickly put down his bow and looked around. What?
Why would Cole be here already? It couldn’t have been more than five minutes, max, since he’d sent the signal. Had the bank been that close?
Either way, Zane felt his heart skip a beat at the voice of the earth elemental. A pang of guilt followed right after.
«Zane, where are you!» Cole sounded worried now, almost a bit frantic. Zane still scouted for his friend, but to his surprise, when he looked back down at his clone, Bizarro Zane was doing the same.
That’s when someone else stumbled into the alleyway, and everything suddenly made sense.
It hadn’t been the black ninja Zane had heard.
It was his opposite.
Bizarro Cole.
As Zane kept staring, the other Cole spotted his fellow bizarro, and rushed over. «Hey there Blizzard,» he said, kneeling down beside the suit-clad.
Zane could hear his bizarro groan as he sat more upright, before he muttered; «What the hell are you doing here?»
«Hello to you too asshole. And not important.»
«I didn’t call for you,» Bizarro Zane scoffed. «I can handle a mission on my own, I am handling this fine on m-my own.» The glitch at the end of the sentence made it a bit unconvincing.
Cole raised a brow. «Well then, do you want me to leave?» He started slowly rising up, like he really threatened to go through with it.
Bizarro Zane reached out with his still functioning arm, grabbing a hold of Cole’s leatherjacket. He then looked to the side, avoiding the other’s eyes. «No.»
«Thought so,» Bizarro Cole said with a grin before he kneeled down once again. «For the record, it was the new alarm system Jay installed in you. It gave us a warning you were facing ‘critical damage’, so I came to find you.»
«I told you I didn’t want that fucking update. It’s over-exaggerating anyway, I’m fine.»
«Yeah, I can see that,» Cole said sarcastically. It seemed like he only then realized just how bad of a shape the other was in. «What the hell have you been doing!?»
Bizarro Zane hissed in pain when Cole made contact with his broken arm. «The white one. Disrupted my shopping.»
«He did this?»
«To make it even, I landed some blows on him too. He’ll feel it for a long time.»
It was quiet for a solid minute, the dark earth elemental carefully inspecting the damage. On the rooftop, Zane was still sitting completely unmoving. This encounter was… unexpected. The ice elemental couldn’t help but feel a bit intrigued by the conversation unfolding beneath him. Not to mention the peculiar tone the two spoke to the other in. Zane had heard the bizarro talk amongst themselves before. Cuss words and rude remarks were extremely common between them, they were the ninjas opposites after all. But this…
Why did it sound even the tiniest bit more gentle?
«I’m gonna fucking kill him,» the red-eyed Cole finally murmured angrily.
Bizarro Zane rolled his eyes. «That’s my job. You have your own little bitch to take care of. Don’t get so worked up.»
«How could I not?» Bizarro Cole reached for the titanium hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a light kiss to the delicate metal.
«Really smooth, what a romantic. Now help me up if you want to be useful.»
The dark earth elemental raised a brow, then took the hand he had previously caressed so gently and twisted it around. The sharp action made the nindroid on the ground barely able to restrain letting out a scream of agony.
Cole leaned in with a smile. «You were saying?»
«F-Fuck you,» the robotic bizarro hissed with a glitchy voice through clenched teeth.
«I’d love to,» Bizarro Cole said smugly. «But perhaps we should wait until you’ve gotten fixed.»
The eye roll that followed from Zane’s double was almost audible. «Asshole.»
«Your asshole. Now, let’s get you home.» Once he had wrapped his arm around the other, Bizarro Cole carefully maneuvered them up from the ground. «I’ll text Jay and tell him to get the workshop ready.»
A grunt was all he got in response from his partner, but Cole soon felt a heavy weight of titanium resting on his shoulder.
«Once I’m fixed, I’m beating the hell out of you.»
«Can’t wait, Blizzard.»
Up in the sky, it was like Zane had snapped out of a trance. A trance he had fallen captive to when he realized just what type of relationship the two bizarros were in. And oh, oh did it hurt to watch. Still, he just couldn’t tear his gaze away.
But now they were leaving. Pretty soon they would be out of sight, and the ice ninja was in no shape to follow them. Still, the two were moving slowly, to avoid any more complications. Very slowly. Maybe…
Zane pulled up his bow again. It was very much possible. Two in one. That would certainly be a huge achievement.
Once again, he prepared the shot. He laid an arrow on the string and aimed it perfectly. And once again, it was only releasing which remained.
It wouldn’t be hard. He’d just have to move his fingers, so the world contained two bizarros less.
But Zane couldn’t. His body wouldn’t do it. Hell, perhaps even his mind refused him to.
Bizarro Cole adjusted his grip, his left hand landing on the dark ice elementals hip.
The ninja put down the bow. The shot, no matter how victorious, would feel empty in the end. It would feel like he did it purely out of spite. Only taking them out because he was watching a dream he couldn’t have.
Zane had often dreamed of his Cole holding him just like the bizarro version held his double. He had imagined that surely, in another dimension, in another parallel universe, earth and ice would be together, just like earth and fire was in his.
He had just not expected earth and ice to be in this one as well.
Without him.
Zane swallowed. He had called his bizarro failed. But if even his evil version managed to find love where he couldn’t…
The nindroid took a last glance at the couple before they disappeared in the dark cloak of the night.
Who was the failed one now?