Chapter Text
Garmadon watched as the serpents scrambled around looking for anything they could, some with terror written all over them and others with genuine confusion. Whatever they felt, as long as they did this simple task, the warlord couldn’t care less for them.
They were useless idiots only serving as extra manpower anyways; almost as useless in fights as those skulkin were, though at least the skulkin were quieter. To think he ever fought in a war against them and had been pushed as much as he had was almost maddening. Regardless, as the Mega Weapon hummed in his vice, he was already imagining how his plan unfolding in front of him.
Time and time again, the ninja have bested him and his schemes. Despite having seemingly omnipotent powers in his grasp, it fails to truly bring any meaningful results. Any semblance of a good idea that even came to him could easily be twisted into his misfortune, and to even think about any ideas to begin with is already a hassle. Useless, useless idiots.
Not this time. This time, the ninja would meet their match; twisted darker versions that would still possess the powers they oh so relied on. They would be loyal to him, and once they destroyed the ninja they would bring him his son! With that, there would be no one to keep him from his own destiny!
He feels like he’s heard this somewhere before
Fortunately before he could dwell on in his thoughts any longer four serpentine had rushed out of the deck and appeared in front of him with the ninja’s old uniforms. They were stained, clearly extra the fools couldn’t be bothered to clean, but it will suffice.
The crowd of serpentine scurried and backed away as Garmadon approached the four uniforms, which had been tossed into a pile in the center. He readied the weapon, grabbing it with all hands and raised it above his head.
”If one must get rid of ninja, then one must use ninja!” Garmadon started. “Mega Weapon, I wish to create my own ninja! Twisted, dark warriors with powers that surpass their counterparts!”
With his intention clear the weapon shone brighter and its humming grew louder, and soon Garmadon felt the power being drawn out from his being once more. The sensation felt stranger this time around, but that was to be expected; creating life was something even his father found nigh impossible. Goes to show how far he’s come.
However the sensation began to grow and the weapon cackled even louder, power brimming from every part of it as the clothing in front of him started to glow and cackle with that same energy, rising into the air as beings began to form within them—mixing the energy from their respective elements with what Garmadon could only assume was black smoke. He felt something swirling in the back of his mind, a migraine ensuing, yet he pushed on. The warlord will show his enemies just what it’s like to be in his own image.
Like they were.
The process was long and draining, but after a few more moments the sound concluded with a flash and the warlord was knocked away, his back to the wall and his scepter shaking. There were gasps and whispers murmuring amongst his crew, followed by the sound of four individuals dropping to the floor. He looked up, gasping for air, and widened his eyes as he saw them.
His own ninja. Standing ready, almost like exact copies of the original.
No, there were little details that distinguished them from what he could remember. Color especially differentiated; their skin desaturated and almost crooked and a red glow in their eyes. Like they were dragged out of a dark mirror. Good.
”Yes…!” Garmadon rasped as he staggered to his feet, ignoring his pounding headache. “My own ninja… my EVIL Ninja! Finally, those meddling ninja will meet their—!”
“Aw! What’s with the friggin’ sun shining out here like it owns the place?!” He was interrupted by the blue ninja, who now bore a dark indigo tint to his color, as well as a more… defined accent? “It is WAY too hot for me to get down! Actually, where the crap are we?! N’ what’s with the snakes?”
”Ay, it‘s a pain ‘n the eyes,” the black ninja responded, who now had a slight beige tint to his uniform and an even worse accent, “bet a hard one down could fix it up, eh?”
He elbowed the red ninja, whose sight made the warlord do a double take. The ninja was wearing a blood red gi with a scowl that could kill. It was like he wanted to kill the black ninja for simply existing, but then simply huffed and turned his gaze to Garmadon himself a familiar chill running through his chest. It seems this one came out of the oven far more burnt than he intended.
That became even more apparent when he spoke. ”The only solace I seek is the blood of my enemies drenching my hands.”
Well that was… good, the warlord supposed.
”Dammit you sound like a loser!” The indigo ninja cut in. “You were JUST born, you ain’t got any enemies!”
”You lookin’ to be the first one, lad?” The beige one remarked, “I hope you know what yer trying, cus this one might just kill ya for lookin’ at him the wrong way!”
”Buddy you ain’t got nothing to stand on! You’re LITERALLY leaning on him!”
The lightning double tried to march over to him but was blocked by the white ninja, who looked to have the tiniest hint of gray.
”You two quit bickering, it ain’t a good image for us.” He spoke with a different accent, though at least this one was hardly noticeable given how he spoke mannerly. “We’ve got a job to do, as I’m sure you’d know if you weren’t a bunch of bumbling idiots.”
From there the white (or rather gray) ninja glanced at him and approached, stopping a meter away and bowing his head. At least this one seemed to show respect. The others had to be prompted by this double with a glare before they begrudgingly followed his example and bowed. Well, the beige and indigo ones did; maroon merely stepped forward and… stood taller. He could’ve sworn he’d seen that look before, but he couldn’t remember from where. Their outburst from earlier had worsened his headache to the point where he could barely think straight.
Begrudgingly he rubbed the temples of his head and spoke up once more. He stood with the aid of his mega weapon and spoke, “Listen well, my bizarro ninja; I created you to be superior to the ninja and to only obey me! That means you will—!”
”Woah, woah, woah—who’s doing what now?” Indigo abruptly cut in, throwing Garmadon’s speech right out the window. “Look, I dunno about these wack jobs, but I ain’t taking orders from a mutant piece of tar that can barely stand!”
”You seem fine running around looking like one, though!” Beige jeered with a snicker.
“You tried lookin’ in a mirror, bub?!” The lightning master’s double whirled his head around with a look of anger and stood upright. “Oh that’s right; I forgot you friggin’ ate it last night along with a fridge! Was too busy plowing your mom I couldn’t hear it!”
”Ouch, you’ve got michty words comin from such a small head…” beige laughed once more and elbowed maroon once more, “…’s almost like he’s compensating, aye?”
The red ninja glared down at him with furrowed brows and sneered, “You speak as if you are any different; you both are equally weak minded insects to me.”
At this point Garmadon was gritting his teeth so hard he could crack diamond; these fools hardly even respected him! The serpentine started to whisper amongst themselves, some even laughing at the display. How dare they—!
”ALL OF YOU SHUT IT!”
The ice ninja’s counterpart snapped at them loudly, enough to make the two bantering ninja snap their heads back towards him. Before they could even open their mouths to retort something, he grabbed the indigo one by the collar and, in a deep, threatening voice, said “If you two can’t keep it together, I’ll make sure you both end up at the bottom of the ocean by the end of the day.”
Garmadon watched as that had immediately shut up the lightning ninja’s counterpart. He looked like he wanted to retort but ultimately decided to leave it at a scoff and keep his head down. The beige counterpart next to him grinned widely before silently snickering and then keeping his head down. The ice ninja’s double had turned back to the warlord and knelt down once again.
”Apologies for those two, sir. I’ve still gotta teach ‘em a few things.” He said with little to no emotion in his tone, save for the minuscule annoyance lingering. “Let’s get to the point; you’ve created us to destroy our doppelgängers, that right?”
Garmadon stood silently, looking up and down the ninja that knelt before him. He examined each and every one of them closely, from their postures and expressions to their shifts and breathes. It was hard to given how drained he was, but nevertheless did his best to analyze them.
The gray ninja seemed to be able to take charge, and frankly didn’t seem that much different from his original counterpart. While the warlord briefly interacted with the original ice master, he seemed to keep everyone together by merely being there, while this one seemed to be able to force the others into submission if necessary. This one seemed to lean more into his elemental power; barely letting out any emotion aside from annoyance and seemingly be the most dedicated. Good, he needed that.
The indigo ninja was a stark contrast to him however. He believes his name was Jay Walker, which wasn’t the worst name he’s heard, and seemed just as chatty as the original, though with a much more crude mannerism and accent. Just by looking at his expressions Garmadon could tell he didn’t mean any respect in the slightest, not even bothering to look like he was paying attention and was just checking out the serpentine. For some reason there was a grin in his face that disgusted the warlord. He should make an example out if this one.
The next to point out was the earth ninja’s counterpart, which seemed to be much more different from the original. The black ninja Cole was hardened, seemed to take charge and was a proper warrior by appearance alone—yet this one seemed to be the exact opposite. He slouched and looked borderline tired, a dopey smile on his face as he stared off into nothingness. Actually, he seems to be the instigator of the bunch. And the way he spoke was… revolting, if he was honest. The original spoke with confidence and reassurance, yet this one felt floaty in a way, far less grounded and much more slurred.
However the most abnormal of them seemed to be the red ninja, who seemed to have a potentially worse rage than his counterpart. The fire ninja had a presence that would comfort, yet this one seemed to exude malice by simply standing. He was much more hardened and intimidating than any of the regular ninja and stood tall with crossed arms despite being told to bow. There was also the way he glared at Garmadon expectingly, as if waiting for him to do something, challenging him even. That would also be annoying. At least he spoke with better mannerism, almost regal in a way, yet clearly held the same pride the other did.
While they were all interesting to say the least, but what he cared most about was how well they could do the task he had for them. There was a reason he created them after all; if they couldn’t even follow orders then what would even be the point of this foolish weapon?
”Indeed, my bizarro ninja—“
”Don’t call us tha— OW!”
”Shut it, zap trap.”
”—I need you to find and eliminate the ninja.” He glowered to them. “They’ve set up residence in Ninjago City, and in hopes of training my son to defeat me they’ve been residing in a dojo. Make sure they pay, but do not hurt Lloyd.”
No matter how much evil may course through his veins, Garmadon would never bring himself to harm Lloyd, prophecy be damned. The green ninja will never rise to power, and he’ll never have to fight his son, he’ll make sure of that. Even if it takes twisted forms of his teachers to make sure it never happens.
“These ninja are strong, yes?” A voice pierced through his thoughts like an iron bolt, belonging to the red ninja surprisingly enough.
No, not surprising considering the look on his face; the scowl that seemed painted on had softened into a simple look of curiosity. Garmadon could’ve sworn that there were hints of a smirk forming as well, maybe even a spark in his glowing crimson eyes. Eyes that mirrored his own.
It felt familiar, somehow.
Ignoring the thought Garmadon stared into his eyes and growled, “Yes, and just as persistent. Letting your guards down for even a moment may cost you the fight, so don’t let them get the upper hand!”
The red ninja had simply stared at the warlord for a moment before giving a half smirk at this and a low hum of acknowledgment. There was a look in his eyes that conveyed amusement, maybe even excitement, but before he could say anything else the indigo one had interrupted. Again.
”Oh that’s it? I thought you was gonna have us slave away at cleaning or somethin’…” he blabbered with a mixture of confusion and relief. He then bumped his fists together and smirked wickedly, following with, “Alright, I could totally merc a bunch of wacko knockoffs!”
”Pft—Yer a back alley knockoff yerself, lad!” The earth ninja retorted, and before hehe other could respond ge followed with, “But then again, A coud get behind some guid ol whackin.”
”At least you bunch got your priorities right.” The ice master stared at them with a brief sigh and pulled up his hood, even the gold plating having a darker look to it. “Right then, consider the job done.”
Garmadon watched as the bizarro ninja pulled their masks up and immediately took a 180 in their attitudes, going from totally uninterested to borderline fanatical about it. The indigo one kept gloating about how he could take all of the ninja on his own, yet the beige one seemed to fantasize the scenes that would play out. The ice master stared at them and shook his head disapprovingly yet did nothing about it, instead choosing to boss around the serpentine that dared to step too close to him. The fire master, however, continued to stare at Garmadon with a look of anticipation.
”If what you say is true then I will be most pleased. However, if I find them unworthy of my time, then I will test your strength.”
The words cut like glass on Garmadon’s skin; sharp, venomous, yet promising in a sense. The original red ninja had this pride as well, yet it felt more like a child trying to prove his own worth. He was right to suspect Garmadon’s actions, yet the way he did it and was so laughably idiotic that it simply made him look obsessed. This one, however, felt threatening. Like he would simply lunge for his throat the moment he deemed the opportunity right.
Strange.
“Yo red, get over here! Ice wants to go over the plan!” The lightning doppelgänger called out while waving him over. He was surrounded by serpentine, even having an arm wrapped around a fangpyre like it was a friend, yet it looked confused by the interaction. “Yous probably a good fighter so he’s got somethin’n mind for you!”
At first the red bizarro had continued to stare at Garmadon before huffing and turning towards Indigo. The serpentine that had watched him backed away as he approached, and one of which even came to the warlord’s side.
”Lord Garmadon, are you sure this iss wissse?” The hypnobrai hissed while glancing between the bizarros and him, a tinge of fear in its voice. “Their loyalty seems… questionable, and they’re disturbing the crew…”
”Do not question my choices, snake.” Garmadon growled at the snake, getting a flinch out of it before continuing, “The ninja are far too capable for you and your tribes, so now I give them a taste of their own medicine!”
”YO ROCKFACE, QUIT DRINKING THE OIL!” He heard the Indigo ninja yell from inside the brig, followed by a bang and a snake getting thrown out the window with a sultry laugh. “DAMMIT— SOMEONE GRAB HIM!”
“…Hopefully.”