Legends of Ninjago Book 2: Rise of the Serpentine

Chapter 25: Flight to the East

"Jay?"
"Dad! Heh heh, crazy bumping into you here!" Jay blurted, rushing up to the old man. Ed, meanwhile, stood perfectly still, looking Jay up and down with his mouth slightly gaping.
"You're taller," he said, noting the few inches that Jay now had on him. "When—how—you...?"
"It's great to see you too, and we can catch up later, but right now you gotta hide us!" said Jay, gesturing to his friends. Ed took a moment to peer past his son and counted four extra kids, all around Jay's age.
"Hide? Who—" he started, but Jay cut him off.
"Dad! We need to hide! Now!"
"Right. This way, quickly!" Ed said, shaking his head and he started leading the way through the junkyard, slowly approaching the old, converted rv.
"Ed, honey, who was it?" said a familiar voice. Edna appeared around the next corner, walking down the steps of their funky home. She just about went into shock when she saw the gaggle of ninja running toward her. "Goodness gracious! Jay, honey!"
"Mom!" Jay cried, rushing up to her and giving her a big bear hug.
"Everyone inside!" Ed reminded him, not even leaving enough time for Edna to think about Jay's new appearance. One after the other, they passed the threshold and found themselves in the small, retro-themed living room, complete with furniture made from recycled junk.
"Who...? Umm..." Edna stumbled, looking from Jay to Ed to Kai to Zane to Keaton to Nya and finally settling on, "I'll go make some tea."
"Explanation. Now," Ed said, turning to his son and crossing his arms.
Jay took a deep breath and launched into it. "Wu got into some trouble, the IBI is after us, and we need to get to Haru as fast as possible! Also, these are my friends, and we all have elemental powers, that's kinda how I got so tall, sorta—still not sure exactly how it happened, but, you asked, so..." He held his breath and waited for the inevitable freak out and mentally prepared a bunch of answers and explanations. But then, Ed asked,
"What kind of trouble is Wu in?" And he looked genuinely worried.
Jay wasn't sure what to say. "We don't really know for sure yet."
"But the IBI seems to think that Wu kidnapped us," Nya chimed in.
"Right, but I was hoping we'd get some answers when we got to Haru and talked to Wu ourselves, and... you're taking this pretty well considering all the things I just said." He tried to make it sound light-hearted, but there was an unmistakable splinter of suspicion in his voice. Jay watched his dad's eyes suddenly change from focused and concerned, to darting around the room like a ping pong ball, and he started fidgeting with his wedding ring too—something he always did when he was nervous.
"Umm, well, you see..."
"Tea anyone?" Edna said, cutting off her husband. She came in holding a handmade, wooden tray covered in steeping tea cups, which she passed around to everyone.
"Right, well, we clearly need to get you kids to Haru, licketty-split, but you said the IBI is after you?" Ed continued, taking a sip of tea.
"Yeah, but don't change the subject. Aren't you the least bit shocked by all of this?" Jay asked, taking a step closer to his dad and squinting. Ed seemed to be at a loss for words and glanced at Edna more than once. "And I'm sure that any parent would raise an eyebrow at 'elemental powers,'" he went on.
"Jay, we don't have time for this!" Keaton suddenly said, stepping in between him and his dad. "We need to go!"
"I owe you an explanation, and you'll get one, some day, but half-pint here is right," said Ed. "You can't stay here for very long. Why, the IBI will onto you quicker than a one dollar shave!"
"Thank you very much for your help," Zane said, sounding the most professional out of everyone in the room. "We need transportation. I don't suppose you happen to have something on hand that we could use?"
Edna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Honey, what about the, uhh...?"
"No no, it's still in the shop," Ed said, resting his stubbly chin in his hand. "They could use the...?"
"Bus? Oh, heavens, no! Not with how heavily monitored the stations are," said Edna.
Jay was busy racking his brain too, when he noticed that someone was missing from their group. Nya was mysteriously absent, and he began twisting around to see if he could find her and stop her from stumbling over something potentially embarrassing.
"Hey guys," Nya said from somewhere behind Jay. She was standing by one of the windows, looking out into the backyard. "What about that?"
"What about what?" Jay asked, coming over and searching for whatever she was pointing at. It didn't take long for his eyes to land on his old jet pack sitting neatly in the grass.
"Didn't you say you built a jet pack?" Nya looked to him expectantly, and Jay started to inwardly panic.
"Yeah—I mean—I did, but—you see—I didn't actually—because I couldn't find a..." Jay trailed off as his eyes landed on Keaton a few feet away. "...fuel source. Nya, you're a genius!"
"Hey, Kai, did you hear that?" Nya asked, leaning over to see his face.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry, I couldn't hear anything over the sound of your hubris," Kai said with annoying amount of casualness.
Meanwhile, Jay was rushing up to his parents, saying, "Mom, Dad, do your still have my old prototypes?"
"In the workshop," Edna said with a smile.
"I love you!" Jay cried before bolting out the front door and galloping over to the wooden shed on the other side of the dirt courtyard. He grabbed the old pack, slung them over his shoulder, and bounded back inside the house with a wild, excited feeling pounding in his chest. "Okay, everyone grab a pack! Here's what we're gonna do: now, these things can't really fly on their own, but, Keaton! Can you create a breeze that will carry us all?" Keaton looked down at the odd contraption in her hands and bit her lip, not saying anything. "They all have wings, so they'll catch the air better," Jay went on, trying to help her understand his plan better. "Can you do it?"
Keaton looked up at him, then she looked around the room and tightened her jaw. "I'll do my best," she said confidently.
"So let me get this straight; we're flying out in these?" Kai asked, frowning at his pack.
"I know! They totally clash with your outfit," Nya quipped. "You simply can't be seen in it!" Jay laughed a bit and felt his cheeks grow a little warmer.
"No, we will be seen in them, won't we?" Kai asked, looking around the room for support. "I mean, isn't it kinda... out in the open?"
Ed gave a thoughtful hum. "You know, I think I have just the thing..."
Everyone stared after him as he left the room and rummaged through a closet somewhere. When he returned, he was holding a big bundle of feathery fabric.
"Oh no! No, Dad! No!" Jay whined in anguish. "You can't be serious!"
"What? What is it?" Nya asked, totally lost.
Ed unfurled one of the bundles and revealed a grey, feathery pigeon costume that looked like it had been hand made.
"Do you remember these, Jay?" Ed asked, shaking the costume a little, and letting two or three fake feathers fall to the ground.
"How could I forget..." Jay mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"Oh, you were so cute in the pageant, honey," Edna smiled. "Remember that little dance you—"
"Mom!" Jay cried suddenly, hoping to cut her off before she mortified him on front of Nya.
"You know, on second thought, I think I'll just walk to Haru..." said Kai, and the others looked like they just might join him.
"Mmmm, Ed, honey, it was a good idea, but I don't think some paper feathers will fool anybody," Edna said, laying a hand on her husband's shoulder.
Ed sighed. "Worth a shot."
"But some disguises would be a good idea. Do you have anything in black?" Keaton asked.