Chasing Lightning

Chapter Two

[Kai's POV]

Zane, no matter how much we missed him when he was gone, was starting to get downright irritating. And besides, since his father was gone forever, Lloyd left the team to live with his mom at his dad's monastery. I really miss him, but now when I try to call his cell, he doesn't answer. That concerns everyone.

Then I heard a THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP on the upper deck. "What happened?!" I heard Zane say. Another voice, female, claimed, "Z-Zane? Is that you?" like she knew him. I heard a few more thumps and heard a gasp. "It is you!" the woman said. "But... wait..." The woman sounded confused. I heard Zane yelp and heard a buzzing. Then the buzzing stopped and the mystery woman said, "Titanium alloy? Why are you...?" The woman paused. Then she started again. "Oh... holy cow, your dad must've lost his mind." What does that mean? I thought.

Then I heard Zane say, "What? What do you mean?  Is there something I don't know about?" He sounded both confused and annoyed. There was a pause. Then the woman said, "You don't remember? Twelve years ago? You fell down the stairs when you were fifteen. You broke your neck, and that killed you. Your father brought you back as a robot, but I never realized..." She sounded sad. I wonder what that meant. Did that mean Zane really was human before he was a ninja?

But... that means...

Was Zane a cyborg?

I didn't hear them say anything else. I walked slowly up the steps with my sword drawn. I heard Zane say, "...than my father let on?" That's when I reach the top of the steps.

[Lightning Chaser's POV]

We all looked at the boy in red. "Oh, hello. Are you friends with Zane?" I tried to sound cheerful. But how could I be cheerful when my husband was dying? The boy looked like he knew what I was thinking.

"Hey, I'm Kai," he said, "Where did you come from?" He looked at Data's body and paled. "We need to get him to sickbay. Now." The girl, Nya, nodded, and she and Kai lifted him up and took him below deck.

[1 hour later, still Lightning Chaser's POV]

I paced the deck, waiting to see Data's smiling face, telling me he was going to be all right. Zane was lying on the floor, tossing a ball in the air, catching it as it came down. I sighed. I might as well tell him the truth.

"Zane," I said, "there's something--"

Then Kai came on deck, tears in his eyes. "I-I-I'm sorry Lightning"-- I had told him my name-- "but we were too late," he sobbed. But I stood still.

His sorrowful expression was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

[Jay's POV]

I heard a thump from above deck. Concerned, I ran to the stairs that lead to the upper deck. On the way, I passed sickbay, and when I glanced inside, I saw a bloody body that looked like Zane, only with flat dark hair, and much paler skin. And, if there was no blood, he could have been a robot.

I wonder...

Nah, I'll just leave him be. He looks like he needs the rest.

Anyway, Leaving the doorway of sickbay, I made it to the stairs, but I heard sobbing, another thump, a gasp, and a lot of yelling. I wonder what's going on. I walked up the stairs.

What I saw was Kai, Zane and Nya trying to revive a strange woman that apparently fainted. Behind them were two small children, probably the woman's kids, judging by the coloring. I'm serious. One had blue skin and hair redder than mine, while the other was pink with dark brown hair.

Wait...

Could that man in sickbay be these kids' dad?!

Poor kids.

"Hey guys, need some help?" I walked up to them when I said that. Kai sighed in relief. "Yes, Jay, can you wake her up? Please?" He knew if he wanted something, he had to ask nicely.

I kneeled down next to the woman. I held out my hand and willed it to spark. a few veins of lightning appeared, buzzing with energy. I put my hand on her head and then...

ZAP!

Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright. Her eyes were brown. Weird. "Hey," I whispered, "what's your name, miss?"

She looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. She looked so scared. "L-L-Lightning. Lightning Chaser. Second Princess of Lunaria, first planet in the Lunar system."

Dang, she's got a royal title, and she isn't even from this solar system, much less this universe. And did she say lunar system? That really sounds backwards to me. And that's saying something, because I'm supposed to be the weird, blabbermouth ninja. Well, before we knew he was a robot, Zane was the weird one. But that's a story just about everyone knows.