[FAN CREATION] Ninjago Season A - Utopia

EPISODE 1A - Ready or Not

"I assure you, these inventions are quite safe."

The old woman, frantically searching around her drawers for any legal paperwork she could find, did her best to console her shareholders. Unfortunately, however, no amount of persuasion and sweet-talk could eliminate the suspicious feel to this new move she was planning on doing.

"Madame, you must understand. You're trying out brand new inventions, never before tested-"

"Ah! They've been tested on lab mice, and they've been proven to do wonders!"

One of the men sitting across from her slammed his open palm on the desk to grab her attention. She immediately stopped her frantic search for words, and gave him her full attention.

"Madame. These devices have never before been tested on humans," he continued, "therefore, you cannot say with absolute certainty that they will work."

"Besides," his partner added, "if these devices end up failing, then it could have disastrous consequences. Do we need to remind you who exactly you're marketing these to?"

"Yes, yes, I'm well aware how important it is to get this right. I wouldn't want to mess up any gifts to the ninja, after all." The inventor gave a sweet chuckle, and pulled out some papers from her lap. "However, technically, there have been human tests done."

"Only on prototypes."

"Ah, uhm, well, yes. That is true. It was on prototypes, but-"

"No more dodging the questions!" One of the men stood up from his chair, his voice booming throughout the quiet room. "We need you to perform human tests as soon as possible. When are they coming to meet with you?"

The woman was quiet. There was an eerie stillness in the air, as if the possible consequences for her actions had just dawned on her. Thankfully, the other shareholder was kind enough to finish her thought for her.

"I was told they'd be coming tomorrow afternoon."

"Absolutely wonderful." The man sneered at her. There was a ripping sarcasm in his voice, not for the intent of humour, but filled to the brim with bitterness and rage.

"W-Well, um..." She struggled to find her words, but finally came to grips and gained control of her vivid and lively tone. "...I am as confident as I can possibly be in all of my inventions. None of them have failed me yet, and by golly, I'm not going to start failing now!"

"We still need a-"

"And THAT is why the first human test will begin tomorrow afternoon, during the meeting!"

The men were frozen in their chair.

"You're not suggesting... you're not gonna test it on THEM, are you?!"

"Oh heavens no!" She got up from her chair and walked to the window behind her, facing out into the darkness of night. "If on the off chance my invention should fail, I wouldn't want one of them to fall victim to it. I'm going to be testing it on myself."

There was a pause. The shareholders needed to think hard about the implications of this, but the inventor continued, leaving hardly any room for thought or reconsideration.

"And besides. If I wasn't confident that my invention would work, I wouldn't test it on myself, now would I?"

"That is true."

"Yes, ma'am. That is true."

"So you have nothing to worry about!" She spun around to face them again. The tension in the air had disappeared, and everyone felt more relaxed. The old woman was confident, the shareholders were satisfied, and everything seemed okay. Everything but the legal implications, but that was besides the point.