Theories of Relativity (NINJAGO JAYA)

Surge Suppression

Jay's ears were still ringing from the explosion. The sound was infuriating, like someone had smacked two high pitched tuning forks and stuck them next to each ear, resonating loudly and interrupting his thought process.

He managed to escape the blast, finding cover behind a heavy steel door of a tiny closet, preventing the shock-wave from liquefying his internal organs and turning him into a human milkshake. He hoped the others fared as well as he did, refusing to think otherwise.  His head was pounding and the annoying sound in his ears was so loud he couldn't hear himself breathe. He assumed his vision was blurry too, if there was any light in the tiny closet for him to focus on.  As soon as he saw the blast-zap bomb, he shouted for the others to take cover, then ninja training instincts took over and he quickly maneuvered into the small utility closet. 

As his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room lit up by the crack of light coming under the door, he noticed shelves full of chemicals, assorted cleaning supplies, and something else that made his heart skip a beat and his body stiffen.

He wasn't alone.

There was someone else in the closet with him.  His back was pressed up against the door, and the person was pressed up against his chest. It was hard to discern their voice over the pulsating high pitch sound in his ears, but the voice sounded feminine.

"Nya?" he ventured.

"Yeah," she responded, "who is that, I can't hear very well."

He paused. Would she be repulsed that she was stuck in this confined space with him? Should he say he is someone else? No, he would eventually be found out and probably make her even more irritated at him, if that were even possible. He thought things were getting better between them, especially after defeating the Anacondrai on Chen's island.  It seemed like they were friends again, tolerating each other.  Or maybe things seemed fine because they kept themselves too busy to interact with one another.  But the past week, she was noticeably cold to him as they helped Master Wu build his dream tea house. He racked his brain trying to recall what he could have done to annoy her so much, but was coming up with nothing.

Nya frowned at the lack of response. Was it the enemy stuck in here with her? Adrenaline surged in her veins, and with practiced precision, her hand moved to the kunai in her belt, ready to strike the possible assailant pressed up against her in the tiny space.

Sensing her agitation, Jay quickly responded. 

"It's Jay," he finally answered her, then added a lame attempt to cover up his awkward pause, "I think I lost a few decibels of hearing from that blast."

Nya relaxed her shoulders, "Yeah, me too. Hey thanks for warning the team, If you hadn't, we would all be splats on the wall.  That blast-zap bomb was no joke."

That was an understatement.  The Shiryuu gang that they were infiltrating for intel was not messing around.  They clearly had something to hide, considering how dramatic they were in getting rid of evidence, and Jay was starting to realize they were going to have to fight their way out of this mess.

"Don't thank me until we get out of here alive," he muttered under his breath.

There was a pause, then some rustling, and Jay felt Nya press up against him more, if that was even possible. 

"My communicator is fried," she informed him, "I think that bomb had an EMP component to it."

Jay took a moment to check his communicator as well, finding it also damaged.

"I can't remote call Samurai X over here either."

"What does that mean?" Jay asked out loud.

"I think it means," Nya started slowly, "we are stuck in here until someone finds us or we can confirm all the hostiles are gone."