Chapter Text
Allegedly, his element was Green.
Not something logical, like Fire or Earth or Water. It was Green. It didn’t even really have a name. It was just a color.
Wu promised it was the most important element of all. Yeah, right. Counterpoint: it couldn’t possibly have any significance if it didn’t even have a proper name. Second counterpoint: if it was so important, why had Lloyd never heard of it until now?
Lloyd was pretty sure Wu called it “Green” because he didn’t actually know what it was.
But it didn’t change the fact that he had an element, something he never would’ve thought possible. He just had to find it.
However, “finding it” was proving to be unexciting and somewhat lame. Unlike the others, who found their powers by accident during their fights against Garmadon, Wu told Lloyd to meditate on his. No fighting or battle glory to unlock the power of Green. Just simple meditation.
It took about a month of on-and-off exercises for him to realize that meditating around the other Ninja helped, for some reason. He couldn’t explain it. When he was alone, it was regular concentration and focusing. But when he trained with the others as they also honed in on their powers, he felt…calmer, grounded, warmer, more present in his own mind.
“You must meditate on yourself and your surroundings,” Wu had told him, nodding sagely as if that was simple advice. “That is how you will feel it in yourself and how to unlock it. You must find your inner peace.”
Very helpful. Sarcasm.
“Do you even know what it is?” Lloyd had asked, frustrated after a week of no results and feeling ridiculous.
Wu gave him a long look but didn’t reply.
“Can I be Gold?” Lloyd had asked. Gold was a pretty color at least (not that he didn’t like green! But having powers of Gold sounded cooler than Green).
“No.”
“Wind isn’t taken, can I be wind?” That was definitely an element, and one that wasn’t taken by any Ninja.
Wu’s expression twitched slightly, but Lloyd didn’t notice. “No.”
“Can I be the element of…surprise?” He waved his hands dramatically. He was grasping at strings. But anything would be more useful than Green.
To his surprise, Wu actually said that there was an element of surprise, and it was within someone a few towns away. The Fushia Ninja.
Lloyd had given up, still grumbling about how his alleged power wasn’t even an element.
But that’s when he started seeing green everywhere.
His dragon mech was most prominent. But suddenly the emerald paint seemed brighter, more vivid, and even warmer somehow. His gi, prominently black with gold and green mixed in, now looked like the green threads glowed. His eyes always landed on the trees and grass outside when he went for a walk around the warehouse and neighboring beach. It was as if they were just drawn to the color now that he was concentrating on Green Power so much.
By week three, Wu finally gave him the actually useful advice: his element was connected to the other Ninja.
That explained why he was able to concentrate better around them.
Being left alone in the warehouse, with really nowhere else to go, Lloyd spent a lot of time meditating and trying to figure out his element. The others had school again; the beginning of the year started two weeks after Lloyd came back from Garmadon’s side. It made the warehouse lonely and quiet but ideal for meditation, and since video games and comics could only keep Lloyd entertained for so long, he spent a lot of time desperately trying to understand this mysterious power.
But during the evenings when the team was together and training their powers, Lloyd poured effort on trying to figure out what kind of connection he had to the others.
After an entire month of focusing, he still hadn’t figured it out.
Kai had even given him advice that was instantly better than Wu’s. “Try to find the source of your powers,” his brother suggested. “Like how mine’s from my breath, ’cause fire needs air to burn. Maybe it’ll help if you find the source for yours.”
Lloyd had profusely thanked the Red Ninja for that tip. He’d never even thought to look for a source, he always imagined it would just…come to him. Or show up. But it made sense that the element was connected to something specific.
What could be the source of Green, though?
For meditation, the team gathered in a circle, within arm’s reach of the person to either side. The ocean provided a soothing noise to listen to while they meditated and the base was otherwise very quiet. Lloyd sat in perfect posture, eyes closed and body relaxed, and concentrated on himself.
The source of his powers. The source of Green.
…That sounded ridiculous.
Green was a color. It didn’t have a source. It wasn’t like Fire.
Pessimism isn’t helping. Concentrate. Focus on the people around him.
He could almost feel heat radiating from his left where Kai sat, even though he knew that was impossible because his brother wasn’t currently using his powers. He thought maybe he could sense the steadiness of Cole’s element from across the circle, but again, impossible. It was harder to detect Nya’s power, even though she sat on his right, but there might’ve been a faint whispering that he couldn’t actually hear, like the literal call of the ocean. If it was there, it was extremely quiet and only identifiable because of her proximity to himself.
Focus on his source. Where within himself did he feel any shred of power? All he could sense was every breath and every beat of his heart, loud because of how quiet the base was. He couldn’t find any sources of his element. He was slowly becoming convinced that there was no such thing as Green.
(After all, who in their right mind would name an element after a color?)
But, both to please his uncle and because he was unfortunately too curious to stop, Lloyd continued trying without expecting a result.
After meditation, the team split up into two groups of three for some distance combat. Anything that could count as a small projectile was allowed—throwing stars, kunai, even elemental powers. Lloyd liked to use throwing stars but sometimes used kunai as well. Obviously no element for him. But it was fun to avoid the others’ powers.
Lloyd, Kai, and Nya teamed up—a habitual choice, one that didn’t need any words to make. They stayed far away from Zane, Jay, and Cole to avoid any crossfire. Unlike most of their fights, this one wouldn’t have a “winner,” they just practiced until they were tired.
The throwing stars and kunai were both blunt, and powers used would be very controlled so no one was injured. They were quite good at avoiding injuries, both because of practice and because they were pretty skilled at dodging most attacks.
The fight started with Lloyd sending throwing stars straight to Kai and Nya simultaneously. They both dodged and sent their own attacks at him, but he’d already moved and whipped out another star to throw at Kai. The Fire Ninja barely dodged while throwing a small fireball towards Nya. His sister easily doused it with her powers and sent the rest of the water towards her attacker. Meanwhile, Lloyd positioned himself behind her and threw another star at her.
They continued in a chaotic free-for-all dance until they were panting and slowing down. They knew it was time to call it when hits started landing because they were too tired to avoid them. So they stopped before someone was actually injured.
As per usual after a training session, the team grabbed water bottles and piled on the couch with the TV on. They didn’t really care about whatever was playing, but it was a nice distraction, and they liked to talk back to the ads or make fun of conspiracy theories.
But, about ten minutes into their break, right before they were about to pack up for the day, the screen flashed with Breaking News!
“Ooh turn it up!” Jay called. Nya, who was lounging back with her feet kicked up onto the table with the remote, used her foot to slide the remote off, bounce it on the side of her foot, then kick it over to Jay like some crazy soccer move, all while never taking her eyes off the screen and with a sip of water. “Thanks!”
Kai fondly rolled his eyes at the theatrics and Lloyd gave Nya a look of disbelief. She smiled and shrugged as if that was a daily occurrence.
Jay turned the volume up just in time. “…morning, scientists at CyberStep, Borg Industry’s sister company, completed years-long work on a robotic upgrade that you, citizen, can buy!”
“Probably for like a million bucks, whatever it is,” Cole remarked dryly. Lloyd nodded in agreement.
A scientist in a white coat and a normal-looking guy came into frame. The guy’s entire hand was silvery, almost metallic-looking. He grinned proudly as he flexed his fingers and twisted his wrist to show the camera.
“We’re moving beyond weapons and prosthetics,” the scientist explained happily. “We’ve designed a metal that, when applied to your arms or legs, can make it indestructible! And, as a bonus, it makes you even stronger.” The person with the metal-looking hand was handed a metal rod. He grabbed it with the hand and tightened his grip. The rod bent easily.
“Interesting,” Zane commented, sounding somewhat taken aback.
“That doesn’t look safe,” Kai muttered. “I mean, it looks like his actual hand is just metal now. Not a sleeve or whatever.”
“Still kinda cool, though,” Lloyd added with a shrug.
The Ninja muttered their remarks, some negative but mostly neutral. Cool but undoubtedly expensive. Not something they’d ever get their hands on. Besides, who needed fancy tech upgrades when they had ninja skills and mechs?
Jay switched the TV off and the team started packing up for the night. Lloyd made sure the base was nice and tidy for the next day. The others bid their farewells and Lloyd waved as they left, then retreated to his room in the base.
The next day, he woke up earlier than he meant to, and decided to pass the time by watching the TV. It was mindless this early in the morning, but he was still groggy, so it was fine. He lay comfortably across the couch and watched with half-lidded eyes as the colors flashed and words drifted through the room.
Breaking News!
Lloyd sharpened his focus as much as he could. Breaking news? At this hour? What could possibly have gone wrong overnight to earn this kind of news when the sun was barely over the horizon?
The camera showed the same reporter from the day before, standing outside CyberStep’s building. She looked worried. “We’ve just been told that the new upgrades from CyberStep has spread!” Lloyd sat upright, attention now fully on the screen. “This morning, they discovered that the metal was not only on the places where it was applied—it was all over his body!” She seemed to listen to something Lloyd couldn’t hear, then nodded once. “The scientists have contained him and have immediately shut down the project, and are working on a solution.” She tried for a brave face but Lloyd could still see the fear in her eyes. “We will monitor the situation and provide updates as they come. Back to you in the studio.”
Lloyd rubbed his eyes. Wow. Maybe Kai was right to warn against this weird upgrade.
He updated his team when they arrived that morning—Saturday, thankfully, so Lloyd got to spend the whole day with them. Their reactions mirrored his.
“Hopefully they can keep the guy contained,” Jay muttered worriedly.
“I’m sure it’ll be okay,” Nya tried to reassure him. “It was just one person. Sure he might be stronger than normal, but that’s probably it.”
Hopefully. Lloyd couldn’t deny that the story unsettled him. It was almost right out of some crazy action movie or book.
He had to put a little faith in the scientists. They’d be able to control the situation and find a solution. That was their job.
Right? Right. Yeah.
They’d be fine.