#[ mutual | benigncold ]

[featherchan]

“Ninjago Museum of History will be blessed by my appearance, Phantom Thief Scarlet. I will come to liberate all your riches off your hand. Be prepared for my arrival with caution...XOXO”

( ˘ ³˘)♥

No one took the Phantom Thief's message seriously, as Ninjago has already had its fair share of nutty criminals from time to time. But to not take the threat lightly, the Police Commissioner assigns his best man on the job.

"Come in, Officer Tommy..." The Police Commissioner's voice echoes from the radio. "Any sight of the mystery thief?" And a muffle could be heard from the poor man who was tied up and gagged. Grabbing his radio from his waist. The Thief presses one finger against her rouge lips, asking for his silence; and with a warning, she presses one foot against his manhood. No words needed to be said, as Tommy understood and nodded furiously to her threat.

Clearing her throat. "No sight of the thief, Commissioner ." The thief replies while mimicking Tommy's voice perfectly. "Looks like it could be a prank after all..." The Lioness's rouge lips curl into a mischievous smile. While staring down at the man, who looks up at her in shock and astonishment. "Roger that. Continued to keep watch and report any suspicious activity. Over and out...." And with that, the woman turned off the radio and dumped it into the nearest trash.

Whistling innocently, she walks down the hall and into the display room, where all the valuables are kept. Rubbing her kleptomania hands together. The thief quickly pockets all the expensive valuables into a duffle bag. While taking extra care with a small diamond and concealing it safely between her bosom. “HEY, SCARLET!” The Lioness almost jumped out of her skin. When she hears her partner's voice communicating through her earring. Slightly annoyed she replies. “Urgh! What is it?” “Trouble’s coming your way!” “Oh my! Is it Detective Masaru?” The thief was anticipated to meet the International Police Detective again, the man who swore his life to hunt her down. “Oh gosh! I should really touch up. Where is my lipstick?” She began to pat herself down before her partner replied. “Not exactly..." That makes the Lioness pause to wonder. “Oh? Who could it be then?” “Its someone else...” That makes the Lioness pause and wonder. “Oh my! What could be worse than a cop?”

[ starter for @benigncold ]

[featherchan]

Scarlet sees herself, as a person who carries herself with elegance and grace. Yet, she is still a human which means that, like many others, she is not immune to making mistakes.

As Scarlet watched, the white ninja leaped backward and her eyes widened with shock. She was stunned by how easily he was able to anticipate her attack. Soon, the Lioness was in for another surprise when the floor became surprisingly slippery. And as she lost her footing and fell in slow motion, the raven mentally noted to herself how painful the experience was going to be. Hitting the ground with a loud BAM! Pressing her lips into a fine line as she lay on the floor, trying to stifle the pain. She let out a slight groan, feeling as though her bruised ego was causing more pain than her physical injury at the moment.

As Scarlet's eyes fluttered open, she felt her watch start to vibrate. It was a signal that time was running out and the police were on their way. And as she heard footsteps approaching, the thief quickly stood up and lunged forward, but it was a ploy. Instead, the thief placed both hands on the ninja's shoulders and lifted herself into a handstand. She flipped over and landed behind him, then jumped on his back to use him as a platform to leap towards the entrance. "I would love to continue playing with you." Pulling out a blue vial. "Sadly, I must bid you adieu." And shattering the vial at the entrance, which creates an ice wall that blocks the only exit in the gallery and gives the phantom thief enough time to escape.

And as Scarlet steps outside, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a remote. Causing the holographic cloak to drop, revealing her ride, Red Wing bike. As she puts on her helmet, her eyes wander and land on someone else's impressive vehicle, causing a mischievous grin to spread across her lips. Soon, remembering her partner, the vixen's favorite phrase, 'Payback is a bitch'.

An 'outing.' Is she truly serious? ...No, she isn't. 'Who knows' is a typical diversion from the question one asks.

As the stream of cold hits the fire, his brows arch, optics widening with surprise. He should've scanned the vial. How can a liquid give elemental power? It's definitely worth looking into. Thankfully, if there's one, there should be more. Maybe he can request one before he turns her in. For now, it's more important that he scans above the floor. The cloud of fog may normally be a hindrance to a human, but Zane isn't. The perks of being mechanical. "Opponent spotted," coming in at about 60mph - typical - at approximately a 45-degree angle, heading towards his location. He swiftly backflips out of the way, and when he lands, he makes sure to have one hand be on the floor. Ice once more spawns from his hand, and starts to cover the floor. Let's see if she can still land when the ground is so slick.

"An outing," he echoes. The way his eye moves tells that he's grinning underneath his mask, "Very well. Suppose once you're behind bars, I can have a trip... to the front of your cell."

[featherchan]

Zane peeks into the room, with a frilly apron that has a couple of hearts printed on the front, one brow arched. "You have not answered when I called for dinner. Is everything alright, Kanako?" @benigncold

[ Inbox Suprise / @benigncold ]

The Lioness admits it. Currently, things with the ninjas are a bit tense. After all, they didn't start off on good terms, due to Wu's many passive-aggressive-subconscious ways of telling them, 'You're slacking off and now you must face the consequences.'

Now, banding together as a team, to fight against our common enemy. To mend the bond with them, the raven turned to what she does best, her brewing skills. And working tirelessly in the greenhouse for hours, she managed to concoct several products. For Kai, she created a natural hair gel. And with the amount he is currently putting on, hair thinning is foreseeable in his future. For Nya, she concocted some hand cream, especially since Nya often works with her hands on inventions. While Jay, she makes a bottle of cologne, using the flower scent that Nya liked, but adding a hint of muscular tone to it. But soon, the Scarlet found herself at a loss, unsure of what to get for the other members: Cole, Zane, and Lloyd.

Staring into space, she was suddenly startled by a light tapping sound. And to her surprise, the source of the sound came from a bird, no, a falcon. "Why hello there, my little friend…" She greeted it with sweetness in her voice as it stepped through the open greenhouse window. "What can I do for you?" As she sat at her temporary work desk, she watched with amusement as the sleek mechanical bird made its way toward her. Before it began to inspect everything that lay across the workbench. Her lips curled into a smile as the bird delicately picked up a pink ribbon, which was intended for use as gift wrapping. Upon closer inspection, it almost seemed to be asking the Lioness a question, through its movements. 'Does pink go with black?' Gently taking the ribbon out of its peak. "Why don't we give it a try?" And began to work her magic on it, making it fashionable for her little friend, which distracted the Lioness for hours, until a robotic ninja called her back to Earth.

Turning around. The raven pressed her lips into a thin line and did everything in her willpower not to blow a wolf whistle or laugh at the Ninja of Ice, who was wearing a frilly, heart-themed pink apron. Taking a moment to regain her composure. "Sorry, I got a little carried away with my side project…" With arms raised, she allowed the magnificent black bird to alight upon her. "Look. Aren't they lovely?" Tilting its head in appreciation, the bird proudly displayed the pink, frilly ribbon adorning its neck, almost resembling like a fashion model posing for Vogue magazine. "Aww, look. Both the owner and their spirit companion share a similar sense of fashion. You guys are almost like twins!"

[featherchan]

Hearing Zane's wise analysis. "HAH! There's no way she would be that bold…" Kai stated before he stopped himself. Remembering how his dignity was served to him on a platter of shame. As the male ninjas began to exchange nervous glances, all except Jay, who was fuming the moment he heard the words 'admire' and 'fan' reach his ears. With doubt in his voice, he asked. "She wouldn't, would she?" The rest of the group quickly gathered around Nya, curious about the package. With a raised eyebrow and an eye roll, Nya simply shrugged it off and accepted the package. But the mailman felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, he realized that someone was watching him. Reacting as anyone would in that situation, he was shocked to find one of the ninjas staring back at him. Oddly a little uncomfortably close. Now, feeling as though his life was in danger, he slowly picked up his basket and backed away cautiously toward the door before quickly shutting it, as if he were dealing with a wild animal.

While everyone was still distracted by the mysterious and expensive gift in hand, no one noticed Zane's unusual behavior. Instead, Nya spotted a pale pink card attached to the gift. She took it and began to read it aloud.

To Nya, Hello, my dear.

As Nya read aloud, the single word 'dear' caused Jay to fly into a furious rage. "What?!" He nearly lost his temper before being asked to calm down. To continue reading, she rolled her eyes before clearing her throat.

Last night was a delightful experience, and I eagerly anticipate our next enjoyable interaction. ( ˘ ³˘)♥ P.S.: I'm likely closer than you think I am. ☆～（ゝ。∂）

As the others blinked, as the information slowly digested in their brains. "Wait! What does she mean?" Jay immediately started freaking out again. "SHE'S HERE! I know it." As Kai began scanning his surroundings, his paranoia took hold, causing him to check for anything suspicious or out of place.

Zane kept quiet as the group shared their grivances on Scarlet, with a small frown on his face and gaze narrowed. It's not the first time the Ninja have been made out to be clumsy, inexperienced fools. Rightfully, everybody felt humiliated and awkward. Lloyd in particular, though... his gaze focused on Lloyd. It's obvious Scarlet's troubling him more compared to the rest. Zane opens his mouth to speak, planning on bringing the group's attention to Lloyd in particular - but before he could get a word in, came the voice of the mailman, paired with the tinge of melachony in his heart. He knows better to let it bother him, like every time before. If he had to guess who it was from... no, it couldn't be Jay - it's bizarre of him to not hand something like this over in person. So... an admirer, then. ...Or, if he references a certain someone's prior behavior... there's something just too familiar about it all on top of that...

"I advise caution," his eyes didn't lift from the gifts. "On the presumption that these are not from a typical fan or admirer, but rather, our current opponent." At the very least, let Zane run a scan... later. For now though... that feeling of something being not right still hangs in the air. What else could it be though?

He falls into another moment of silence, his focus now turned at the delivery person. Regardless of what the others were about to say or do, the moment they started to leave, Zane tugged his mask over his head and silently followed. If he follows them, maybe he can pick up another clue. He lacks evidence, but he can still can't shake the feeling there's more to this particular person. This type of feeling has never steered him wrong before, even when it seemed nonsensical to the others.

[featherchan]

Once the ninjas reunited, they were forced to end the night. Especially with their mech and ride being locked, no thanks to Scarlet's evil meddling. Later, their attention turned to Lloyd, as the female Phantom Thief seemed to have a personal connection to him. The green ninja struggles to talk and share about it. Tied to his past and his father, ever since his father became irredeemably evil. He had decided to leave the past behind and not dwell on it. Among the many things that remind him of his father, regret and pain are the only things that come to mind when he thinks about those memories.

With a heavy sigh, Lloyd revisited his past as he shared it with the other. He informed them about Scarlet, who showed up shortly after news of his father's return surfaced. She clarified that she is a student of his father and one of her responsibilities, given by his father, is to watch over him. And the raven was there for him during his lonely time when he was dropped off at the boarding school by his mother, who had to leave him to go on a mission related to his destiny. Scarlet would break him out of boarding school, and they would spend time exploring Ninjago City, even the amusement park. Before the ninja entered his life, he saw her as a close friend and an older sister. But now, grown up, older, and mature, he finally realized that Scarlet's job was that of a professional thief and felt conflicted when he saw her again.

And after receiving reassurance and comfort from his family, he felt much better about revisiting the past with them. Pump up. The ninjas were determined to capture the phantom thief, but a set of sentences from Jay doomed them all. "I mean, we've already dealt with a crazy cult leader to an overlord. How hard can it be to take down a thief?"

And one day after another, Scarlet makes a fool of every one of them. Kai was discovered tied upside down to a lamp post with red lipstick marks on his cheeks and lips. Cole was discovered frozen in a block of ice in a water fountain, where he was mistaken for a statue at first. Jay was discovered covered in a thick layer of super glue, leaving only his face visible. But with his mouth was also sealed shut. Nya was the only one lucky enough to hold her own and gain an equal footing in the sparring match they had together. "AND YOU LET HER GO!" Kai was outraged when Nya told him what had happened. "And you did nothing!" Lloyd was embarrassed as he rubbed off the rogue pink lipstick stain on his forehead. "I did try to stop her…" The green ninja hesitated when trying to stop her. At the sight of Scarlet, he felt emotional and conflicted. Leading the thief to lean in to deliver a familiar kiss on the forehead, something he used to receive when he was younger. "Deliveries for Miss Nya…" The postman soon arrived at their residence bearing a bottle of luxurious rose champagne and a lovely bouquet of roses.

Zane's about to speak up on how such things aren't crazy - his prior research on detectives such as Sherlock and Dupin has made him aware of phantom thievery - but the familiar voice quickly makes him pause, eyes wide. Scarlet couldn't have hacked their communications so swiftly, right? Did Zane -? ...No use in jumping to conclusions. Plus, regarding this topic - he doesn't have much knowledge in the first place. He'll mention the possibility later, should his team state the inquiry.

"Now would be a good time to recall Sensei's lesson on keeping a leveled head," his eyes drifted to Jay and Kai on his screen, then sadly towards where P.I.X.A.L once was. "Nya, would you perhaps be able to triangulate in P.I.X -" Click!

"...Disconnected," he muttered to himself, bitterly. Just perfect. Suppose Zane's on his own when it comes to repairs then. Communications first... everything else later. He can imagine just how peeved Kai is right now. ...Hopefully his ride isn't melted by the time someone checks in on the ninja of fire. A long woosh of air escaped his vents - a sigh. He shouldn't waste more time in at least switching everything back on and attempting to get onto call again - he very much would like to be able to regroup.

[featherchan]

Lloyd's face was the first to appear on the screen. And there was something about his expression that conveyed a mix of emotions. "I knew we should have taken it seriously…" He replied. Soon, Cole, the Elemental Master of Earth, appears. "Wait, they're real? I thought it was a hoax!" "I mean…" Next, Jay, the Elemental Master of Lightning appears. Along with the siblings Nya and Kai, Elemental Master of Water and Fire. Then, P.I.X.A.L, the current Samurai X. "Who would be crazy enough to send a notice and announce their plans to rob the museum!" "Tee-hee…" As soon as an unfamiliar person appears on the screen, everyone's eyes widen. "Someone who loves a challenge!" Scarlet chimes in before giving a wave. "Hello there!" Everyone was left stunned and speechless for a few seconds. "Is this thing working?" She began tapping on the screen. "Hellooo!" "How did she-" Jay soon broke the silence as he screamed.

"And hello, Lloyd…" Scarlet's face softened as she uttered his name. "It's been ages…" She smiled teasingly. "And look at you all grown up…" "I-I…" Lloyd's expression was all over the place. "SHE KNOWS YOU?!" Jay screams again over the communicator. "HOW DOES SHE KNOWS YOU?!?" Quickly taking matters into her own hands. "P.I.X.A.L! Can you triangulate-" "Nah-ah-ah! None of that!" As the thief tapped on the screen. "Ladies and eh-" She paused and looked closely at the screen again, realizing there was only one girl among the Ninjas. "Lady and gentlemen, Samurai X has left the chat room." Scarlet grinned wickedly as she announced and laughed. "We're going to find you and stop you!" Kai's anger was starting to show as he yelled.

Making her snort, she exclaimed. "Ohh, that's adorable!" But her sweet smile quickly turned wicked. "I like to see you try, though." Holding the tablet in her hands, her finger began to hover over the screen. "I wonder, what does this button do?" With a single click, the ninja's rides and mechs came to an abrupt halt, causing everyone to be thrown off. And this caused Scarlet to burst into uncontrollable laughter, and then wiping away her tears. "See you around, ninja..." she said before the call was disconnected.

What a time-saver it could've been, if he had his team. Cole, P.I.X.A.L, or Lloyd could've busted right through in an instant. Kai would've quickly melted it. Nya could've moved it aside like the ice was water. Jay...well...he could've...you see...

...There's no time to think of what he should've done differently. Once Zane broke through, he immediately set his optics onto Scarlet, not even flinching at her antics. He had opted for taking out a shuriken, quickly scanning for the most opportune directory he should throw at. ...No, this isn't the best plan. If he pauses for a moment, Zane can see that missing could be too risky, and even if he hits his target... what about the aftermath? He could hit the vehicle. What then? Plan B. He rushes over to his mech and hops inside. He'll just have to chase her do- Intuition went off like an alarm in his head. She was here. Or... someone. He could be hasty in playing blame. What did that someone do? He'll have to run a diagnostic. Until then... Plan C. He slipped off his hood. Communications should not be hindered. Perhaps now is the perfect time to mention that he really shouldn't have gone in alone. The console put up a hologram screen as Zane grabbed his cord, inserting it on the port on the back of his head.

"Friends," he pauses briefly, watching the video call to make sure he is online, then continued upon confirmation that at least one person was listening in. "I am in quite a predicament. Scarlet is currently escaping. I suspect someone also has managed to find the time to sabotage my equipment to severely limit my method of chasing after her. "...I must admit, I now believe we have dealt with this situation far too lightly. I must urge that we show more caution in regards to the thief, and show the utmost seriousness in regards to dealing with her like we would any other enemy, lest we want a repeat of my defeat." As in, it was a mistake making this mission a solo one. They underestimated her and are now suffering the consequences. Zane hates this feeling - he's now useless to this mission until he can figure out what needs to be repaired on his ride, and see about taking it back to have Nya or P.I.X.A.L fix it.

[featherchan]

Just as the Lioness spoke, her instincts alerted her to the presence of another person in the room. Turning around, she was immediately greeted with an attack. And her body instinctively reacted, dodging the shuriken that narrowly missed her and cutting a few strands of her hair. Brushing aside her newly snipped hair. "Thank you for trimming the split ends…." As she smirks, her eyes study her opponent and take in how he speaks. "Oh, so you're one of those individuals, huh? A serious type, it seems. There's always something intriguing to me about that kind of attitude. Would you like to join me for an outing later? My treat." She teased. And when Scarlet was asked about her identity, she simply tilted her head to the side and shrugged, replying. "Who knows?" Pretending to be oblivious to the question.

As the Lioness takes a step back, she grabs one of her vials, taking a mouthful from a red one. Next, clasping her hands together, intertwining her fingers, and extending only her index and middle fingers. She took a deep breath and then released a stream of fire from her mouth to counter the icing attack, preventing it from freezing her. And the combination of the elements aligned in her favor, filling the room with steam. Taking advantage of the cover, the Phantom Thief ran and then leaped into the air, attempting to land a kick.

The sound of air rushed past Scarlet, with the source made itself known by curving around to her face as if it was some sort of boomerang. The throwing star wooshed past her again, landing in the hand of its wielder. His aim was off by four-point-two-eight degrees. The ninja clicked his tongue underneath his mask. Typically, his calculations were correct eighty-nine-point-four-nine percent of the time. It made aiming a cinch. What went wrong in his measurements? ...There's more important things than a little glitch to worry about. Ninjago, yes, does have its fair share of criminals, but Zane knows better than to ignore a potential threat. Never put off tomorrow what can be done today. He can hear his sensei say the little piece of wisdom in his mind. If no one takes care of her now, who will? The police had the right idea in not taking the threat lightly. ...It's bizarre, though, that it seems like they are unaware she's begun to clean the place out, with the way she is standing out in plain sight. The figure of speech he believes is associated with such actions goes something like 'walking about like you own the place.'

"My early assessment," he narrows his eyes at the thief as he speaks, "tells me you must be Scarlet. This will be as far as you will go in your ploy." Translation: he's turning her in. Yes, he's sure he'll succeed already. He's assuming there's no need to figure out her escape routes quite yet - after all, he's, as some would say, 'got this.' Following his words, he lifts his free hand and holds it out - "Let's see how you fare being put on ice!" he quipped - followed by a stream of cold leaving his hand, aimed right at Scarlet. Zane's confident that, this time, he won't miss. Just freeze her in place, put everything back, turn her in, day's saved once more. Business as usual.

[featherchan]

Scarlet's dirty deed took longer than expected, as she became fascinated by the engineering and design of the ninja's mechs. Taking notes to apply to her rides and mechs too. Hearing a couple of long BAMs. The raven chuckles in between, wondering what little brain cell led him to use such a pitiful tactic. She was caught off guard when her enemy easily broke free from the ice prison. Hearing a loud BAM, which was even louder than before, and with police sirens filling the air, Scarlet knew she couldn't waste any more time idling around. She had already spent too much time on it.

Grabbing what she needed before leaping off the white mech and running toward her ride. While she put on her helmet, the Lioness noticed a small white pest racing towards the museum entrance from the corner of her eye. And she playfully blew a flying kiss before revving up her Red Wing and riding off. Soon, looking up ahead. She smirks at the adorableness of the police's attempt to stop the thief with a simple wooden barricade. 'Pathetic' The raven thought. "STOP! In the name of the" The police officers let out girlish screams when Scarlet fired two rockets at them. But it turned out they were just smoke bombs that were meant to blind and fool everyone except for Scarlet. And with another flick of the switch, she was able to make her bike leap over the silly barricade and leave the confused officers in the dust.

Just as he calculated. As if to rub Scarlet's lost grace, he starts to walk forward onto the ice, unbothered, as if the terrain has yet changed. Once he sees Scarlet's quick recovery, however, Zane stops and holds his hands out in front of him defensively. She's attacking. He'll have to calculate the perfect counterstrike. She lunges forward, and Zane first thought is to dodge to the side, which should make her slip and fall, which is a perfect chance to - ...Let her get away? Weight was put on his shoulders and head. A feint. She never planned on attacking him, she planned on escaping! And he fell for it!

As she ran from him, he grabbed one of his shuriken and threw it towards her. A last-ditch effort to stop her from running away. The star, however, only pierces ice. How frustrating. Despite it, though, he races towards the entrance and plucks out his star, then glances about the room. A door to the outside... the closest one is... there. No, that'll give her too much time. He turns his optics back to the frozen doors, pocketing the star, then runs back. Zane didn't want it to have to come to this, but, this seems to be the quickest option. Hopefully, an understanding of what he is about to do is enough to not get yelled over it. He charges at the door, shoulder in front. He should be able to provide enough brute force on his own to break the ice. Hopefully, this will not include the door in anyway, but given he's entirely metal... Zane has his doubts. CRASH!