"I hope Sensei gets those uniforms quick cause' is freezing." Jay whined as we jumped atop the buildings.

Sensei hadn't ordered our warm suits yet so we had to use our thickest ones, given the gi's we used on our last adventure weren't the most ideal choice of clothing for winter.

"At least our suits from the Oni crisis still fit." I looked at the positive.

"I guess."

I leaped over a gap in between two apartments, looking down into the fall. It was snowing again and the skies were dark grey, letting no sunlight through its thick hide. This time the air felt much thicker, not so free and light. My breath formed into a thin cloud of mist, the small droplets floating away in the howling wind.

The commissioner wanted to meet us on the south side of Ninjago city, close to where the kidnapping occurred. It was in the more sketchier parts, so I wasn't surprised.

"We are arriving at our destination." Zane communicated when his internal GPS went off. We landed next to a dark alleyway where old apartments towered over me. The air smelled brittle but musty, making the inside of my nose sting. We advanced towards the commissioner and his team who stood there looking at clues and communicating on walkie talkies.

"You're here. We can use a lot of help."

"That's what ninja are for. What's up with this?" Lloyd asked, taking his mask off and putting his hands on his hips.

"Its not that we need help with whoever got kidnapped; that's already taken care of."

Pixal stepped up to the front. "How so?"

The commissioner turned around and handed a piece of paper to Pixal. "They left this paper on the person when we found him unconscious against a wall."

Zane looked over Pixal's shoulder and scanned the symbol etched in the paper. A star shaped figure with teardrop symbols on the ends of the points were drawn in red. Lines perpendicular to each other crossed over the center of the star, forming and x. "This concerns me. My sensors have not picked this up anywhere before. The information is not in my database."

My team looked at each other confused. "The kidnapping was only a mere distraction. Maybe to deliver some sort of message?" Nya guessed, putting her fingers to her chin.

"Maybe. Is the guy okay?" Cole asked.

The commissioner nodded. "He doesn't seem to have any injuries. Just some bruises and scratches."

"We'll keep on the lookout. Just tell us when you need help." Lloyd said while throwing his hood over.

"Will do. Thank you ninja."

Lloyd nodded slightly before we climbed up the buildings again. The thought of the incident clouded my mind with worry. I had a small feeling this would snowball into something big, and it wasn't going to be good.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

"Kai, Cole. You guys take case one. Nya and Jay will do two, and Zane and Pix investigate three. I'll take on four." Lloyd ordered while scanning his eyes over the manila folders sprawled out on the living room table. The commissioner had given us information they gathered on recent kidnappings that had occurred over the past few days. It was weird though. The people that got captured were all found unconscious, each person's injuries getting more worse after the next. They weren't necessarily being kidnapped; more like stolen for bait, then left on the sides of alleyways or buildings. The attacks occurred in all places around Ninjago City, in both bad and good areas. The commissioner hoped we would gather more intel if we investigated where it happened, and ask around.

"You sure you wanna go alone? I mean, isn't that kinda dangerous?" I asked Lloyd, knitting my eyebrows with concern. He looked at me with a daring smile.

"Don't worry about me. I'm the green ninja. I've been through a lot worse." he confidently puffed his chest out, putting his hands on his hips as if there was a shining aura behind him.

I snorted and rolled my eyes playfully. "Dork."

Zane started to organize the folders, handing them to my teammates. "Let's get started. We shouldn't waste any time."

"These new uniforms are great! So warm." Cole rubbed the fluffy outlining of the gi. I had to admit, it was really comfortable. Not too thick where I felt like a heater (which is pretty normal for me) or not too thin to the point where I was shivering. The material was light enough to jump around without feeling like a marshmallow, and the boots were thick but thin at the same time, keeping my feet warm but allowing me to easily move around.

"Yup."

We stayed silent for a while, hopping from building to building. We didn't want to attract too much attention using our elemental dragons, and it was probably better that way.

"I hope these people aren't gonna go for our parents." Cole's voice rang out into the snowy air. I looked to the right of me, smiling and patting him on the back.

"Don't worry, we won't let them."

I could tell he was still a little worried, but he managed to smile underneath his gi.

Thud.

I landed on the cold concrete sidewalks. Cole soon joined me, and we startled some of the pedestrians who were walking by. The kidnapping we were given happened in one of the nicer parts of the city, so sophisticated, wealthy citizens gracefully walked the sidewalks with fancy trench coats and leather boots. I heard hushed voices of passing people, whispering that we may be here for the recent kidnapping. Some gasped at our appearance, asking for autographs and pictures while others scoffed. We signed some of our fans' shirts and took selfies, but it wasn't our job to interact with them right now.

Cole pulled out the folded piece of paper from his pocket, scanning over the details of the kidnapping. I looked over his shoulder, trying to get a better view of the information.

"Looks like it happened at this person's house, 69887 Walnut Drive." Cole pointed to the information on the sheet.

I tapped the shoulder of a passing lady wearing a thick, red trench coat with slick, black, knee high boots, getting her attention. She turned around and looked at me confused.

"Excuse me. Do you know where Walnut Drive is?"

She nodded slightly, somehow her dark grey eyes piercing into my skin. She pointed to the next street in front, and I adjusted my eyes to read the green street sign.

I smiled. "Thank you."

Her bright red lips slightly turned upwards into a grin before she turned around to continue walking.

I looked at Cole and shrugged, confused on her odd behavior. It was either she was an introvert, or she didn't like talking. He made a 'whatever' face from underneath his mask, and ran off to the next street.

But why did her eyes look so familiar?

I followed close behind, passing many people who protested against the sudden action. Festive, bright lights that decorated lampposts became blurs of colors, stinging my eyes as we ran by in the cold night.

We rounded the corner and stopped at a fancy white and gold marble house. Round, green trees covered in snow circled a fountain in the center of the walkway, and golden, amber light filtered through the silk, white curtains. Two grand stairwells circled up to the front doors, lined with decorative, victorian railing. Cole and I looked at each other and padded through the snow to the doors that towered over our heads. He rang the doorbell while I tapped my fingers against themselves to an imaginary beat behind my back.

Seconds later, the door opened with the sound of unlocking, and a mid-aged woman surfaced from behind. She looked like a maid of some sort, for she carried a broom in her hand, and her dark brown eyes reflected countless hours of work. Though, she still smiled brightly at us.

"Oh! You must be the ninja. Mrs. Adley will come soon."

"Dear! I already told you to stop calling me that! Lauren is fine!" a friendly voice rang from behind the maid. Another woman appeared and opened her door wider. She smiled welcomely at us, and her wavy, dirty blonde hair was pulled into a loose bun, along with a simple tan robe that was wrapped around her small body.

"Please come inside! It is far too cold to be talking out here."

I took off my mask and walked inside, saying "thank you" on the way in. We took off our shoes as she lead us to the mini living room.

Warm vanilla scented candles flickered above one of her many chimneys that emitted a warm, comforting heat in the swaying flames. Pine tree decorations lined the mantel, as well as a ten foot Christmas tree that stood in front of her grand window. It was decorated in golden lights and ribbons, making it glow golden-white.

"Make yourselves comfortable. The weather's been harsh lately," she commented and looked at Cole. "would you like a blanket?"

The earth ninja shivered next to me as I put an arm around his shoulders. "Yes please."

She chuckled and got up. "Alright. I'll be right back."

We sat in a comfortable silence once she disappeared behind a wall.

"You good babe?" I asked.

"Yeah. G-good thing my f-fiancé's a personal heater." he stuttered from the cold. I rolled my eyes playfully and kissed him on the cheek.

Soon, Lauren came back with a soft, velvet blanket. "There you go dear," she seated herself comfortably on the single armchair. "you two must be the couple along with the water and lightning ninja."

We both blushed. I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh yeah."

She smiled kindly. "I think you two are absolutely adorable."

We both smiled at her.

"Thanks." I said.

She scoffed playfully at herself. "Where are my manners? I'm Lauren, and this is my assistant Megan," she turned around and pointed to the maid who was dusting a polished, wooden shelf. "darling, get some rest! I already told you you've done enough today."

Megan turned around and stopped her dusting mid way. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go get something to drink. You've done well."

She smiled and walked silently to the kitchen. Lauren turned around again, catching our attention.

"She is a sweetheart really. But she needs to relax sometimes." Lauren stood up. "would you like to chat at the dining table? I have some cake."

Cole's body posture straitened and his mouth turned upwards into a grin. "Did you say cake?"

Lauren laughed. "I would take that as a yes. Come along."

We followed her through an archway where the ceilings transitioned to high and cathedral-like, massive marble pillars connecting from the floors to the tops. I gazed up at the height in awe as we walked towards the dining room.

We sat ourselves comfortably in the cushioned chairs as I looked at the many bookshelves surrounding us, all stretching towards the top. Cole, however, could care less, and only waited for the slice of cake he was going to eat. It was very empty considering the table was like fifty feet long and Lauren and Megan were the only ones living there. Cole and I must have been the most company she's had in a while.

"Here you go. I hope you enjoy it." Megan smiled and put the plate in front of Cole.

"Thank you! And I'm sure I will." he said before digging into the cake.

I reached over and took the fork from Cole's hand when he wasn't paying attention and scooped a delicious bite into my mouth.

"Hey! I was gonna eat that!"

I swallowed it, letting the perfectly sugary frosting and moist cake satisfy my tastebuds. "Eh, you can share."

Cole huffed and snatched the fork from my hands again as I laughed.

Lauren took a seat from across us, carrying a glass of red wine. "How's the cake? Megan and I made it."

"Itf's dewisious!" Cole's words were muffled from his full mouth. I placed my hand over it to cover the mess.

"Cole!"

Lauren giggled. "I've glad you like it. But the main reason why I called you here was because of the recent kidnapping incident."

Cole and I stopped messing around and listened.

"Uh yeah. Cole just got a little carried away with cake, sorry."

She smiled and waved off her hand. "There is no need to worry. But I am afraid my husband is not fairing very well."

Cole and I looked at each other.

"You're husband was the one that got kidnapped?" Cole asked.

Lauren nodded her head. "He is upstairs if you want to see him. Just in case there is something you can do."

"Sure."

We followed Lauren up the curving stairs. "Since a couple days ago, at least a day before the kidnapping, our house electricity started going out more than often. He seemed to be more, electrified? However, after the kidnapping, the electricity remained the same as always."

I looked at Cole and he looked at me, both of our faces reflecting confusion.

"Uh, I don't follow." Cole scratched his head.

The only person who would (or could) do that was Jay. But why would he target Lauren exactly?

We soon stopped in front of double doors, lined with gold and two smaller pillars on each side. Lauren sighed.

"I don't know how to explain this. Every time I touched him, he would shock me. But it happened more often than normally," she shook her head when we looked at her questioningly. "never mind, it's hard to explain." she quickly said before opening the doors to the dark room. Yellow light from the hallway filtered in, sending a line across the floor. We carefully entered, not making a sound on the soft carpet floors. Lauren walked over to her husband and kissed him gently on the forehead.

"Sweetie. Wake up. The ninja are here." she whispered while stroking his hair backwards. He stirred awake, blinking many times before his eyes came to focus.

"Oh," he sat up against the head board with the help of his wife. She frowned. "good evening. I am sorry for lacking a presentable outfit, I just," he put a hand on his forehead. "I'm not feeling so well."

Cole and I looked at him with a friendly expression. "It's fine, we don't care."

"Do you want me to get you water?" Cole asked him. He nodded.

"Yes please."

Cole started to exit through the doorway when Lauren told him to look for Megan. He nodded and left.

I turned my gaze back to Lauren's husband, eyeing the condition he was in. He looked tired and dull, like the life was sucked out of him. His black hair flew in all directions and he had a few scratches and cuts on his face.

"Hi, I'm Kai. Cole and I came here to get more information on what happened."

I shook his hand, and I felt a shock of energy pulse through me. It was very faint and barely there, but I felt it travel down my arm and through my body. He leaned back on the headboard again and sighed. "It's nice to finally meet the ninja. I'm John."

I smiled and urged him to explain what he remembered from the kidnapping.

"Nothing much. I remember feeling a prick on my shoulder before I fell unconscious. But when I woke up, I was fully functional and against an alleyway."

I rested my chin on my fingers, puffing out my lips while I thought.

"It is weird that they just leave you against a wall. It's happened to the others who get kidnapped."

Maybe they're testing something?

A creak at the door meant Cole was back. He walked over to John and handed him the glass of cold water. Lauren's husband took it with shaking hands, weakly lifting it up to his mouth. I glanced at Lauren who eyed him worriedly, pressing her lips to a line and fiddling with the hem of her robe.

"Did he go see a doctor?" Cole asked. Lauren nodded.

"They said nothing seemed to be wrong. They didn't detect any foreign viruses or medicines injected."

I sighed. Zane would be a better help for this kinda stuff.

"When you said you felt a prick, where was it?"

John lifted his hand. "On the inside of my wrist."

Cole gently took his hand and examined his wrist. I smiled at his careful touch.

"I don't seem to see anything." Cole stated and slowly lowered it.

I looked at Lauren. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

She hummed and rested her chin on her fingers. "Well, the attack happened at twelve o'clock exactly. I'm not sure if that's important, but that's when I heard a crash in our bedroom. Also, it was on the first of December." Lauren placed a loving hand on her husbands forehead as he slowly drifted off to sleep. "What a way to start the month." She half mumbled afterward.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this, we always do."

Cole nodded. "Alright then. I think that's it," Cole smiled. "thanks Lauren... And thanks for the cake."

She giggled. "Of course. Let me walk you outside."

We descended down the stairs and gave her a quick hug before we turned on our heels. "Good luck!"

We waved back and I shouted, "Thanks. Take care!" before we ran into the thick snow. It had started snowing again, and the thin sheets of ice hit my face while I pulled the mask over. I squinted when climbing up the buildings, cringing at the stinging cold that pierced my skin.

"She was a nice lady." Cole said.

"Yeah."