Ninjago: An Elemental Curse

Chapter 1: A Powerful New Threat

Ninjago City was quiet... too quiet.

An eerie stillness filled the city. There was no traffic, no one walking across the sidewalks or driving through the streets. No one late night shopping or eating out. Not a single soul was visible within the city. It was just the silent darkness of the cool autumn night.

The soft glow of the street lights lit up the sidewalks and roads, though no one was around. All the shops and buildings' neon lights still glowed, illuminating the city with its bright colors as usual. Some flickered, others hummed.

A calm breeze blew through the air, ever so slightly creaking the streetlights and building signs.

Shadows loomed over the buildings, over the streets. They were still, unmoving, unchanged shapes of darkness on the ground.

A lone rat scurried out from an alleyway, only to lurk back into the darkness as a large shadow flew above it.

High in the sky glowed the slim crescent moon, bright twinkling stars dancing around it, a few clouds slowly drifting by. The moon and stars, along with the city lights, shone the only light as Ninjago's heroes were out on their nightly patrol of the big city.

The legendary green ninja, Lloyd, dashed and lept from roof to roof. Behind him, the earth ninja, Cole, and the fire ninja, Kai, followed, leaping across the tall buildings.

All three ninja continued their scout of the city, staying alert. They leapt onto each building roof in their path until finally, the buildings were too far apart to jump to. A large street crossing through the city separated them from going any farther straight by rooftop.

Lloyd swiftly landed on the last building rooftop in the row. Cole and Kai landed just as quietly behind him.

Slowly, Lloyd stood up, his emerald green gaze fixated out over the quiet city below. For a moment, he just stood there in silence. His eyes gazed over the empty city with suspicion. It was as if he were deliberately looking for something or someone.

"Well, it looks like the city is clear of crime tonight... Again," Lloyd worriedly sighed as he removed his green ninja hood, revealing his dirty blond hair.

Cole and Kai walked up next to him, one standing on either side of him.

"Yeah. Kind of surprising isn't it? Another night with no crime," Kai stated the obvious while removing his ninja hood, freeing his spikey russet brown hair.

"Well, you know Ninjago. It's...unpredictable," Cole inputted, now removing his hood, his dark hair falling back around his face.

The three ninja exchanged concerned glances before returning their attention back to the city.

Lloyd took a few steps closer to the building's edge, kneeling down just in front of it. Intently, his eyes scanned the streets from above. Deep down he feared that something wasn't right.

"That's what I'm afraid of," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

"Ever since we returned from Shintaro, the city's been unusually quiet," he uneasily explained to his friends.

"I'm sure everything's fine Lloyd," Cole tried to reassure him, kneeling at his side to place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, maybe the criminals are finally realizing that they don't stand a chance against us," Kai jokingly boasted.

"Yeah!" Cole agreed.

Him and Kai shared a smile. Lloyd's mood didn't change though.

"Hey guys. How's it looking out there?" Nya's voice suddenly asked through their coms.