A Hero's Protection

Acting

Caroline thought that her father did a pretty decent job of capturing her personality. In certain situations he would find it difficult to figure out what Caroline would do, so Controlled Caroline excused herself.

Jennefer had told Caroline that she had told the ninja a lot about her and that's why they knew her so well. Caroline applauded Jennefer's acting and the ninjas as well. She wondered if they had a plan.

It wasn't long before her father had a chance to practice fighting the ninja. Caroline could see this going to his advantage as he had already tried to hint to Jennefer that Controlled Caroline thought the ninja were old news.

"Okay, we'll start with a warm-up through the obstacles then we can practice one on one," Lloyd announced. Apparently, it had been a while since they all trained together. "Are you sure you're up to it Caroline?" The obstacle course came up out of the ground and Controlled Caroline took a surprised step backward.

"Of course," Controlled Caroline smiled. "I've trained for things like this." The ninja went through the course one by one until it was Caroline's turn. Controlled Caroline flew through the course and reached the end of it with a challenging look on her face.

"That was pretty good," Kai nodded. "Do you want to try Jennefer?"

"Nope, I'll pass," Jennefer shook her head. "I'm not as good as you guys. I'll join in hand-to-hand, if you go easy on me." The ninja nodded and Caroline wished she would try at least a part of the course, but her father agreed with the ninja.

They split into pairs and practiced some easy hand-to-hand combat. First Caroline was partnered with Jennefer, who continually knocked her down until her father realized how much she knew about fighting.

With a knowing look in Jennefer's eyes, she asked if they could switch partners. They did and Caroline was partnered with Cole.

"All in favor of using powers?" Caroline asked. Everyone paused to look at her, then looked at Lloyd, who shrugged.

"You have to keep it under control and remember, nothing too big. We don't want to hurt the Monastery or each other." Lloyd looked directly at Caroline before turning to Jay, his partner.

Caroline thought Cole was pretty good. He counteracted all of Controlled Caroline's attacks and used his power only to unbalance her. Caroline felt her father pushing harder and harder against the black ninja, trying to test his limit.

When Jennefer called for a break the ninja split into groups to practice. Cole, Jay, and Nya were in one group while Lloyd, Zane, Kai, and Caroline practiced on the other side of the courtyard.

She felt her father's determination in her movements as the two-on-two battle quickly turned into a three-to-one as Controlled Caroline turned on her partner Zane. Caroline watched as her father defeated the three and trapped them to the ground with a barrier, threatening to squish them.

"Caroline, that's enough," The sound of Master Wu's voice surprised Controlled Caroline and she let go of the barrier. "The point of training is to better both you and your partner's skills, not to defeat your opponent."

"Sorry," Controlled Caroline stood with her head down facing Master Wu. "I guess I got carried away."

"Hm," Master Wu stroked his beard. "Training is over." Jay and Nya came to check on the flattened ninja and Controlled Caroline retreated into the monastery. She found a quiet room and sat in the middle, staring at the wall.

Caroline wondered what her father was doing. Was he taking a break from controlling her? Where was he and what did Jennefer have in plan by pretending everything was alright? Maybe she really believed that Caroline was okay and just lost her memories or something.