Theories of Relativity (NINJAGO JAYA)

High Voltage

A/N: Angst week on tumblr, I'm not really an angst writer and this came out of left field for me. Theme is sickness. This is super short and I don't know if it really counts as angst. I tried.

Disclaimer: minor spoiler for season 13.

It's funny, really, almost ironic.

The one who shows love through physical touch is also the master of lightning.  An elemental power that screams: "Danger! Danger! High Voltage!" paired with a user who just wants to give you a big bear hug. Or touch your arm, a pat on the shoulder, a fist bump, high five, something, anything that says "I love you, bro."

He gets touch starved so easily.

It happened gradually at first, a flux in his power here, a wild flare there. He thought he was getting stronger.  But then the welling surges became harder to control, until he would wake up in the morning glowing blue.

He tried everything to stop it, but he keeps coming back to the same solution.

The cloud kingdom and their sick, twisted sense of humor.  He must have made quite the impression on them during their visit when Morrow was after them. He tends to have that effect on people.  Then again, aren't they the ones who gave him his personality? It's a paradox that makes his brain ache. What came first, the chicken, the egg, or both?  That's a whole can of quantum weirdness he doesn't want to open.

He was so desperate to find a better solution, that he paid them a visit.  It wasn't us, they said.  Dark magic, time travel, every time they are used carelessly, wrinkles appear, glitches in the scrolls of destiny. A bunch of useless monks.

His elemental power thrums and crackles beneath his skin, a gnawing buzz that threatens to cut loose.

A curse? A sickness? He doesn't even know anymore. 

It's getting harder and harder to control.

Lightning arches out and dances around him, intensity increasing by tenfold. The sensation reminds him of working in the engine room of the Bounty, part electricity, part vibration, part weird feeling in his teeth. 

He glares at the blender and ingredients on the kitchen counter, then starts the ritual. Blackness swirls around the blades, the high pitch grinding sound resonating in his soul. For anyone else, this would be poison. He supposes it is poison for him too.

"Jay?"

His lightning is a vivid blaze of blue against the grey of the kitchen walls. He turns to face her. 

"You're extra sparky this morning," she chirps.

He wants to smile, give her a witty clap back, but he is just so tired.  Tired of the lies, tired of the games, tired of his elemental power out of control.

Nya tilts her head to the side, eyes sliding over him with unrestrained interest.

"What's with the light show?" she questions him.

"Power has gone haywire."  His voice is low and dull.  He is glowing blue in the kitchen, but his spark is gone.

"Since when?"

"Since Nadakhan."

She sputters. She believes him. There is no reason not to.

"What are you drinking?"

"A solution."

She surveys the ingredients on the counter and inhales a shaky breath.

"There must be another way!"

"There isn't."

She stares at him, confused, hurt, raw, and sees dark emotions warring over his face.

He doesn't even look at her as he lifts the glass to his lips. Bottoms up. The thick black liquid sloshes ominously in the cup as it slides down his throat. 

Venom pools in the pit of his stomach and creeps into his veins.  He feels the power weakening, the thrum subsiding, the buzzing in his ears fading.

He finally looks at her, but the right words fail him.  He wants to reach out and grab her hand.  He craves her touch.

Nya sinks to the floor and looks up at him with glassy eyes, a sick feeling filling her insides.  The realization crushes her.

She has found the vengestone buyer.