Turns out, the Avengers Tower was haunted.
And it was not a feature he paid for.
The Tower was haunted by a raving, shrieking and frankly annoying ghost.
Now Tony wasn't a spiritual man but he prayed to God that the ghost would just shut up. He couldn't get any work done like this. With the ghost snarling and growling and throwing things around the room. At least he couldn't possess people anymore. That had almost been a disaster and a half.
Correction, it would've been a disaster and a half if Thor hadn't been there. He threw up some spell or something (Tony didn't know that gods of thunder could do magic but hey—he wasn't about to police people's interests or abilities. That was Fury's job.) that trapped the ghost and kept him from doing any major harm. Like possessing people. But apparently throwing things didn't count as 'major harm'. Tony complained, Tony complained a lot. And Thor's explanation was long and winding and didn't exactly make the most sense.
(Again—he had no idea the guy could do magic and he was only at the tower for the pop tarts. So Tony was glad the big guy was there in the first place.)
But essentially what it boiled down to was that the ghost couldn't leave because he was 'tethered' or something to the Advenger's Tower somehow and the most Thor could do was stop him from killing anyone in his ghostie anger fulled rage. Which was nice but Tony wished the thing would just stop throwing his stuff. Everything that was thrown was replaceable but those things cost a pretty penny to the common man. And Tony wasn't keen on replacing antique vases imported from China.
Thor said there wasn't much else he could do and Tony would need to get a actual magic user to exorcize the ghost. (And then he left to steal Tony's pop tarts . Wonderful. Just...wonderful.) Which—was just peachy because Tony knew so many wizards—
Wait.
Wasn't Doctor Strange a magic user? And a pretty accomplished one too if Tony remembered correctly.
Did he know how to exorcise ghosts?
Eh probably, he's pretty sure he had his number.
Now just to give the wizard a call.
(::)
Lloyd didn't get it.
He didn't get the weird magic energy stuff, and the hand movements were lost on him. It was like Elemental Powers but completely different somehow??
Lloyd didn't get it. He really, really didn't get it.
First Master—he hated t that he didn't get it.
Lloyd swept through the motions again, flicking his wrists in the way Doctor Strange showed him. His Elemental Power swirled and fizzled like water on a hot pan, but it didn't create the runic circle it was supposed to. Ridiculous, dumb, stupid—
"You need to lead with your Soul and only then can your movements follow,"
Lloyd wanted to groan. He really, really did but honestly he's been through worse and even more cryptic training. Turns out Energy as an Elemental Power was completely different from Lightning in the way you used it, Jay Walker. You'd think they'd be basically the same being energy and lightning.They sound like they'd be the same but nooooooo—Jay used Lightning like a caffeine high kid would use heelys, silly string and darts. Random, insanely creative and precisely deadly with a single minded accuracy that would make a high grade sniper jealous. But Energy was...well it was like a cat. Or a dog. Or a really intelligent parrot. That had super powers or absorbed energy from the sun and shot it out of its mouth when it was trained or convinced to. It was protective, but not as protective as the Bleeding Gold. Lloyd had to earn the Green's trust in him as a Master and Student to the Arts before it started working properly. And it was loyal too. Lloyd wasn't sure what that exactly meant but once Sensei Wu mentioned how he had an unusually loyal Element. It was cryptic and muttered and Lloyd probably would have understood it more if he didn't hear Sensei say it at all.
Anyway Lloyd didn't know what he was doing and that was kinda the way it's always been for him when learning and doing these kinds of things. So Lloyd didn't groan like he wanted to and swept through the movements again. Leading with his Soul or whatever that in the Cursed Realm that meant.
Still, there was no runic circlet of magics of which the simple defensive spell was supposed to come from.
It was dumb. Ridiculous even.
His Powers buzzed like sleeping nerves under his skin. Like—right below it. It was uncomfortable, verging on prickling and it needed somewhere to go. He needed to use it for something rather than just almost using it, like he was doing with all the confusing movements. Stupid, stupid, stupid—
And it seems like Doctor Strange was getting....well not anxious or annoyed with his lack of progress just...resigned? No, that wasn't the right word. Indifferent? No, that also wasn't right. He was...
Well Lloyd didn't really know what the guy was feeling. Impeccable poker face remember?
And Lloyd's been doing this for at least three days. Which makes sense that he wasn't making all that much progress, because it hadn't been that long. Stuff like this should take years. In theory of course. But Lloyd's always used to things being fast tracked for him. Being Prophecy's golden child, pun intended, made it a little more...imperative he get it quickly. Didn't really matter what it was—he was supposed to have it down and mastered faster than everyone else. And being magically aged up four to five years give or take certainly helped with that mastery process.
And also theoretically—Lloyd should be getting this magic stuff easy peasy. But he wasn't. And he could still feel the Realm Crystal inside him, less of an object and more of a mystical presence and an idea that could kill him if Doctor Strange's mesh of Bronze Sleep wasn't there to keep it from killing him. It was there. He could feel it as much as he felt the Bleeding Gold and Black Purple and the ever loyal Green that made up the most of his Soul. It was there and it wasn't supposed to. It was almost like....if there was a needle shoved under your nail and you couldn't really take it out and it didn't exactly hurt like it was supposed to. It was there and it wasn't going away and it was all you could think about.
He could think about other things. Like getting home. But that always circled back to the Crystal. So....well....Lloyd really really needed to get this down soon. Like—really soon.
He went through the movements again, making sure to put more umph into it this time. The Green sparked at his fingertips and coursed like hot wax through his veins, it encased his fingers and palms in green fire and licked up the insides of his forearms. But there was no circlet of runes like Doctor Strange told him there would be. There was only Green.
It felt good to let it out. It made the Realm Crystal burn like a flare in his chest before the Bronze mesh smothered it down again. But the Green crooned and the Bleeding Gold soothed the burning chill that the Realm Crystal radiated like a firepit that used dry ice instead of kindle to burn like it did.
Lloyd frowned, and shook his hands out, running through the motions again. Green fire and soothing Bleeding Gold and crawling Black Lavender and desperate Nipping Blue spread through his nerves and made his fingertips tingle blindly and his vision flash with blurry spots. Not nice. Did not feel good. 0/10.
It was getting more intense. The powers inside him were fighting for dominance, fighting for a control he couldn't give them. Why didn't Wu warn him about that? Why didn't he warn him it would be that bad? Why didn't he—
A phone. A bright, rattling ring from an older model echoed through the Sanctum.
(It burned and Lloyd shoved it down like he always did.)
Lloyd's twitching hands fell to his sides and Doctor Strange blinked.
It rang again. And it kept ringing and Doctor Strange, as weirdly graceful as ever, basically floated to the phone. Which...wasn't there before? Huh...weird magic dude and his weird magic phone...
Doctor Strange picked the blocky thing up and brought it to his ear, face meticulously blank.
"Hello? Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme speaking"
(That was a lot of alliteration.)
...
A few moments of silence passed and Lloyd craned his ears but didn't move. He knew how to eavesdrop well enough and it didn't work if he walked closer like he wanted to.
"Hello Stark,"
Stark? Obviously it was someone Doctor Strange knew. He sounded...not annoyed per say but...like he didn't expect the call and was...exasperated..?? Lloyd didn't know but he sounded like something. Like he was...interested but not in a purely pleasant way? Okay—now Lloyd was just confusing himself. He was gonna...yeah he was going to stop while he was ahead.
A few more seconds passed and First Master, the other guy...girl...person(???) on the phone—Stark—must've been talking for a long time.
"An exorcism?"
...An Exorcism? Like for...
Lloyd went cold.
Like for a ghost?
Doctor Strange sighed, something almost like annoyance creeping into his usual serene expression. His brows furrowed slightly, like a little more than a twitch and the only reason Lloyd saw it was because he was looking so hard and he wasn't exactly fully human in the first place.
Doctor Strange sighed again, this time almost sounding....well weary Lloyd guessed.
"Yes Stark—I'll come exorcize the ghost plaguing you, so there's no reason to be talking so much—"
He stopped talking, his brows furrowing further and his lips pursed in what Lloyd could almost call (and finally, he guessed) exasperated. Still though—his poker face reigned with an iron fist. But it seems Stark was a powerful talking force to reckon with.
(Like Jay maybe. He missed Jay's puns. Wow—he never thought he'd think that ever.)
"Yes....I....Thank you—good day Tony Stark, don't antagonize the ghost further if you can," He waited a moment, nodded, another moment ticked past and he brought the brick of a phone away from his ear. The 'Tony Stark' on the other end probably hung up.
Lloyd kinda forgot what breathing was.
A ghost. Really it could be any ghost, any different spook or spector but—but with his luck it would...it would be...
...
It would end up being Morro.
Lloyd really, really didn't want it to be Morro.
Doctor Strange slowly placed the phone back in its dock and turned with a serene expression, with a worried tilt to his eyebrows and a purse to his lips.
"Lloyd—I believe it's time you learn how to take care of the unruly undead,"
(::)
Tony didn't know Steven Strange had a kid.
He didn't even know sorcerers could have kids.
Tony had expected the man in little under three hours, which he did get but what he didn't expect was for him to magic in with a teenager with clever, calculative eyes. A curly mop of blond hair lay shaggy over those clever green eyes. And a green hoodie with white blocked out chinese characters hung over gray pants, and a pair of black sneakers walked soundlessly along with his feet. The kid held himself tall, in a way that spoke of some kind of fighting experience or physical discipline, his hands were loose at his sides and his fingers flexed periodically. It was a little manic to be honest.
Tony looked at the kid with wonder and probably something closer to bafflement.
Tony put on his friendliest smile and approached the pair. He could talk to kids no problem, just treat them like mini adults and all will go well.
"Steven!" Tony gave a short wave, glancing at the kid who's eyes were darting around, as if he was looking for something. Weird. Maybe he was looking for the ghost? Had Steven told him about the ghost? "Good to see you here so soon,"
Steven nodded curtly, his hands neatly folded behind his back. "It's good to see you well Stark,"
Ah. There he was. The weird emotionally constipated wizard the team knew and loved. And Tony knew Steven's words were formality at best, Tony knew the man didn't really exactly like him but that was fine as long as he got rid of his little haunting problem. Preferably Ghostbusters style if Steven wanted to be fancy about it. Magic Ghostbusters or something out of a cheesy horror movie. Tony was fine with either.
Tony held out his hand and Steven shook his hand. Again, a formality. Tony, after debating it for a second, turned to the kid. The younger blond was watching him carefully and there was something sharp about it. Ah—Tony thinks he found one of the things that must've drawn Steven to the kid. He's intelligent, and sharply so. You don't find a lot of kids like that—especially teenagers. With that kind of honed, trained almost look about them. Peter was like that, even before Tony took him under his wing.
(Tony wondered if the two of them would get along. Maybe after the ghost problem was sorted out, he'd get Peter up to the tower and the two proteges could hang out. Peter needed more friends anyway.)
"And who's the kid?" Tony kept an eye on the said kid, watching as he twitched with something restrained. He must've been keeping himself from saying the classic 'I'm not a kid' spiel, most teenagers did when Tony referred to them as such. Or they just blabbed. Most of them blabbed. It was telling of fine speech motor skills when they didn't. And so far it seemed this kid had it in those skills in spades. There must've been a lot of adults that talked to him like that. Huh. Wonder what kind of life the kid lived before he became a wizard in training?
Steven's eyes narrowed a smidge. "This is my student..." He trailed off, the sentence unfinished. He glanced at his so-called student, but he didn't say anything else. Why, though? Was his name some kind of hot topic? Something uncomfortable? Or was it something else?
The kid glanced back at his teacher or acting guardian or whatever their relationship was and pulled down the paws of the hoodie with his fingertips. Pinching them down. Clenching his hands in the fabric that now covered his hands. It seemed like an absentminded action. A stim if Tony wanted to be fancy with it. The kiddo frowned lightly, glancing at Tony before his sharp eyes darted around the room, before his wary returned to Tony's own curious gaze.
"Lloyd," He didn't offer anything else but a stiff hand shake. He had a firm grip, his hands were callous and scarred like Nat's and built like Peter's. Interesting. Tony filed the information away, preparing to ask FRIDAY about the kid's existence later. How many blond, green eyed, 16-17 year olds that were named Lloyd, could be out there?
Steven shot the kid, now named Lloyd, a curious look. Which was something that confused Tony faintly. But it honestly wasn't worth thinking about it more than subsurface. And if it did happen to matter, Tony had ways of taking care of that too.
"Lloyd," Tony nodded and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Steven didn't tell me you were coming,"
(Lloyd didn't exactly seem like the quiet type but his mouth remained firmly shut and his eyes darted like suspicious minos around the room. Geez was the kid a wizard or a detective in training.)
Steven remained stoic. "I thought it would be best to teach Lloyd how to deal with the undead," Aaaaannd he ignored the invitation to talk more about Lloyd's mere existence. That was fine, Tony had other ways of getting the information he wanted.
(He always did.)
And yeah that made sense. Better to learn how to do the potentially dangerous thing with the safety net of a mentor and someone more experienced than you then to learn it on the fly with no safety net and a higher chance of screwing up and likely dying because of it. He did that with Peter sometimes. (Sometimes it was just funnier to let the kiddo fail then help. Either way worked and he wasn't going to judge Steven on his teaching methods if they weren't tragically terrible. And so far it didn't seem that way. Kid seemed fine so Tony was perfectly fine in leaving it alone.)
"Yeah? Sounds fun," Tony glanced again at Lloyd who was....pale. His freckled skin ashening a few shades lighter in response to something Tony couldn't pinpoint. His eyes were narrowed and if Tony wasn't mistaken...they might've been glowing too. His eyes were darting around more frantically too. Before his eyes fixed on a point and they glazed over. Okay...weird and concerning but still, Tony was going to leave it alone unless there was something wrong that he had place to fix. But right now he didn't have that place, so he was going to let it be.
Lloyd wrinkled his nose and laughed, it was bitter and filled to the brim with thorny sarcasm. "Yeah sure—fun," He was still staring at that random point. His head now cocked just a little and his eyebrows sufficiently furrowed to be thinking about something decidedly and distinctly bad.
Tony blinked, a little thrown off by the sheer passive aggressiveness that the kiddo's words had. It was...it was like the idea of ghosts had personally killed his grandma or something. And maybe they did. Maybe ghosts killed his dog and coming with Steven was one way to get back at them.
Tony didn't even know ghosts existed until way earlier that week. So who knows—maybe ghosts killed dogs and grandmas and he just never learned about it until today. And it wasn't like he was going to ask, he may be a drunken a**hole most of the time but he knows not to ask about dead dogs and the ghosts that killed them.
...
"Maybe, you can show us where the ghost's usual activity is centered?"
Oh thank goodness for Steven Strange's all business attitude and emotional constipation. (Not that Tony was any better—but they ignored that, so it practically didn't exist at this point.)
Tony nodded, grateful from the slight alleviation of the awkward tension that had set in like a bad case of diarrhea and lice. "Yeah sure thing, follow me,"
"Actually," Lloyd raised his hand an inch, eyes still glazed over and dipped in bitterness. He was still frowning lightly too, his voice distant and weird enough to warrant some level of suspicion. "Could I use your bathroom?"
Tony hummed smoothly, laughing internally. Looks like the kid had secrets, did Steven know about those secrets? "Of course, FRIDAY can show you the way,"
The kid blinked. "Friday?" He glanced around, his eyebrows furrowing and he opened his mouth again.
"Hello Lloyd,"
The kid practically jumped out of his skin and was that magic dancing and curling like smokey flames defensively around his fingers? Fascinating. It looked completely different then the stuff Steven used.
"I am FRIDAY. Tony Stark's interactive a.i. I will lead you to the restroom. Follow the blue lights please,"
And not a second later, the lights on one side of the wall turned a light, crystalin blue.
Lloyd blinked, momentary awe taking over his features. "So cool..." He muttered under his breath and after a moment's hesitation, followed the lights, only glancing back once before disappearing behind a corner.
Tony smiled when Steven looked back at him expectedly.
"Follow me, I'll show you where the ghost's been ruining everything,"
Steven dipped his head shortly and followed.
Hopefully this would resolve itself soon.
(::)
Lloyd needed to find Morro.
Like—as soon as physically possible.
He could feel him. He could feel Morro's wind and his corrupted Green. It was faint and way weaker then what he'd felt when Morro decided Lloyd didn't need to breathe, but still there. It was there. Still so cold and bitter. And that was enough to set him on the knife's edge.
So he needed to find Morro. ASAP. Of course he couldn't go home yet with the Realm Crystal still trapped firmly inside him. He could feel it, trying to worm and wriggle and writhe it's way out from under the Bronze Mesh. It couldn't get out yet but it was getting closer. Lloyd needed to figure the whole thing out, preferably before he had to fight for his life again. Or maybe that would help? Only the First Spinjitzu Master knew really.
He turned another corner, following the blue lights like the PIXAL esque a.i voice told him too when he almost ran into someone.
But the said person grabbed him by the shoulders before he could really collide with them.
"Woah there young demigod!"
Lloyd blinked and looked up, and up and up. Huh. That was...a really, really tall person. Expressive, powerful storm blue eyes looked down at him. It was really impressive, considering his own height was nothing to sneeze at.
"Careful where you are walking, you might hurt yourself!" His voice was loud and booming, kinda like thunder. Which was a weird comparison to make but for some reason it just worked in his head.
The Bleeding Gold stirred, no—something deeper then the Bleeding Gold stirred—something almost like the power of the First Spinjitzu Master and—
"Are you alright young one?" His voice was still loud but now he was looking at him with concern.
Lloyd wanted to frown but didn't. The big guy's hands were still clasping his shoulders. It was...well not uncomfortable but he didn't exactly like it.
(He didn't really like anyone touching him without asking first.)
"Uh...yeah—yeah I'm okay,"
The big guy beamed and his eyes glowed faintly electric blue. Weird, kinda like...kinda like Jay.
"That is good to hear young demigod, say—what are you doing in the mortal realm? I have not seen another immortal since Loki came to Midgard and released those dreaded Chitauri onto the people of New York,"
(Midgard? New York? Chitauri? Loki?)
What? He wasn't immortal. His Dad was probably immortal, but Lloyd could remember tons of times he's almost kicked the bucket. Lloyd was most definitely not immortal. (Probably.)
And besides even if he was, he would know right?
(Could you die if you were immortal? His..Dad died and Lloyd knew he was immortal so...could..could Lloyd be immortal too? Or was a weirdly distressing thought and it was one he firmly ignored. It was not something he exactly wanted to think about.)
"Uhh...could...could you let me go?" Lloyd really didn't want to be touched right now. Especially by some blond weirdo that somewhere reminded him of Jay in the most strangely specific ways possible.
The guy blinked and released Lloyd's shoulders. "My apologies young demigod, I must confess my excitement when I saw you. It has been a long time since I have encountered such a young immortal of your caliber,"
Caliber?
Lloyd's eyebrows twitched, and tried to take a step back without it look suspicious. He thinks he did pretty well. What? Again the guy was talking nonsense. At least the demigod thing...kinda made sense? His Dad was some kind of minor deity right? Or was it major? He couldn't really remember and it's not like the people of Ninjago readily discussed whether Lord Garmadon was a god of some kind. They just knew he was a conquer and wielder of Destruction and that was apparently good enough for them.
And that's all the teachers at Darkely's talked about too. Conquer Lord Garmadon this and Conquer Lord Garmadon that. They never talked about his godly blood even though Lloyd knew it existed. He could feel it running through his own veins and that's the only reason he cared to look for legends on the First Spinjitzu Master. Because he could feel it in himself. And that usually was more than enough.
"...Sure," Lloyd glanced at the blue lights on the right wall. Good, it didn't seem they were going anywhere. "Um—look—"
"Thor, Son of Odin. God of Thunder and Prince of Asgard," The guy—Thor—beamed again, his eyes flashing with something that Lloyd didn't understand but somehow did??
God, huh?
The thing deeper than the Bleeding Gold simmered stronger and Lloyd almost flinched as Truth and Absolute Knowledge and Power thrummed for all but a second through his somewhat human blood. It warmed his skin and pushed everything else down as it made its presence known.
Lloyd almost stumbled but he remedied it by going stiff.
Why did that something in him recognize that? Recognize that name or..or place or...Lloyd didn't know.
"Are you sure you are alright young demigod?" Thor looked at him again with that soft concern, it seemed a lot more personal than it should be. He looked around, eyebrows furrowing. "Are you here alone? Where is your guardian?"
First of all, Lloyd was perfectly fine by himself and second, no he was not alone. Doctor Strange was...uh...wherever Tony Stark took him. And...uhh...
Thor's eyebrows furrowed further. It must've been his face, Lloyd's dumb face always gave himself away. He has a terrible poker face.
"How did you get here, young one?" He looked around again and frowned. He pinned Lloyd with a look that made his stomach flip for some reason. It was concern again but there was something else too mixed in there. "Who is your godly mother or father?" And that seemed a little too demanding.
Was...was that a question he should answer? Was it a question he could answer? He was...he said he was a god and he seemed pretty familiar with it all. And there was something else too...
Maybe...maybe he could help? Yeah, maybe...maybe the guy could help him get back to his Realm. He seemed to know what he was doing—maybe he could help with the Realm Crystal too—maybe...
So Lloyd decided to bite the bullet before he could think himself out of it. So far his rash-ish actions haven't killed him yet. So...so it was probably okay right?
"...Garmadon," Lloyd took a deep breath and clenched his shaking hands. "My Dad's Lord Garmadon,"
Maybe he could help. Maybe this Thor guy could help.
(Lloyd ignored the thick sadness at the thought of his late father. It was okay—if he pushed it down enough it would just go away. It always did.)
Thor's eye widened in recognition. "You're his son?" He looked at Lloyd with a new found wonder. "I did not realize Garmadon had a son,"
Lloyd blanked. "You—you knew my Dad?"
Thor nodded, smiling brightly again. "Yes—I knew him well. We attended many parties in our immortal youth. He was a good friend until his duties called him else," Thor's eyes sparkled at some fond memory of his Dad that Lloyd didn't have privy to. It sounded like Dad was an old friend. And that thought made something unpleasant churn in his stomach and something sad decided that now was a great time to explode in popularity. Lloyd missed his Dad, he missed him so much.
Thor's smile turned fond and thoughtful, but still as bright as ever. "And how is your Father? Still conquering Realms and taking names as the mortals call it, I hope?"
...Was that what Dad did when he was younger? Hurt people and...conquer Realms? That...that kinda made sense. In the letters Dad sent him when he was younger, there were a lot of allusions to conquering Ninjago in the future. Just for Lloyd. Sometimes he would tell Lloyd stories about other Realms through those letters. About how he knew some of the people there, made friends and...made some enemies too.
But Dad was gone and Lloyd wasn't getting any more letters.
(Lloyd still kept some of those letters in a shoe box under his bed, wedged under floor boards and hidden underneath his mattress. He couldn't keep all of them when they kicked him out of Darkley's but he tried. He'd reread them sometimes and try to ignore the stinging in his eyes, tremble of his lip and shake in his hands as the delicate paper crinkled under his grieving fingers. He missed Dad, he missed his soft shadowned touches and the four armed hugs he used to give when he could and the kind wisdom he gave when the venom was a distant memory. But Dad was gone and those letters were the only thing left of him.)
Lloyd ignored the prickling in his eyes and held back a pathetic sniff. He wasn't going to cry. He'd be fine if he just pushed it down enough.
Thor deflated slightly, looking at Lloyd with worry. "What is wrong little one?"
Lloyd clenched his fists till he felt the harsh prick of his nails and stinging warmth of his own blood.
He shook his head slightly, trying to withhold his frown, knowing it still scarred his face with predictable mourning.
"Dad's gone,"
...
"..I see."
A pause and Lloyd didn't look up.
"My deepest condolences. I hope his death was in great honor, a man such as him deserved as much,"
Wow. That was...really nice of the guy. Lloyd withheld another sniff and nodded slowly. "Yeah...he.." Lloyd remembered the spell. How acrid and vile it tasted to his own Power. How his Father, snake eyed and bruised with black lavender scales, recited words Lloyd only understood in the depths of his mind and that scratched something unbearably dark in him. How he banished himself and pulled Chen and his goons with him, yanking them all into the Cursed Realm. A place no one could truly escape from. A place his father wouldn't be able to send any letters from. A place Lloyd would never be able to see him again. A place that Lloyd hated just because it took his Dad away from him. Because....because...Dad was gone.
"...he died honorably," He saved more people than Lloyd could hope to. Because it was his Dad that truly helped when everything went south. When the chips were down it was his Dad—Lord Garmadon that saved people. Lloyd could only dream of measuring up to his Dad's goodness and awesomeness. "He...he saved a lot of people and...it..." Lloyd couldn't bring himself to say anything else. That overbearing mother of sadness was back. And she was more persistent than ever. He couldn't think about breathing properly even if he wanted to.
Thor was frowning gently, the jovial guy a lot more subdued now. Honestly it made sense. But he didn't look awkward. Lloyd was too tired to look any deeper into it. So freaking tired.
"...That is good to hear young demigod," After a hesitant moment, he laid what he probably thought was a reassuring hand onto Lloyd's shoulder. He didn't like it but he left it be, even though it made something uncomfortable skitter under his skin.. "I'm...glad to hear that and I hope you find solace in this dark time,"
...
Solace huh? That didn't seem very likely but eh...he'd let the guy feel good about himself.
Lloyd nodded and took a step back. Thor let him and there were some moments of verging on awkward silence. Lloyd kinda wanted to twidle his thumbs but that was dumb and chliche so he didn't. It wouldn't make the awkward standing any better.
The blue light was still there, as obvious as ever. He didn't really need to go to the bathroom. He just....needed to find Morro so he could go home. To the rest of his very alive family.
His mouth moved before he could stop it.
"It'll be fine as soon as I get home,"
....
"You are not here on Midgard on purpose?"
Shoot. Uh–that was supposed to be an inside thought at the lest and a muttered thought at the most. Thor wasn't—
Well...maybe...maybe it wasn't all bad. Maybe Thor could help. Maybe he knew some other way of getting back to Ninjago. Maybe...
"I...no—I'm...not here...on purpose," Lloyd said, shifting on his feet just a little. "I....it...I didn't want to come here to...uhh...M-midgard??" He almost butchered that one.
Thor's eyebrows furrowed. "I...see," He really looked to be contemplating something. "If you don't mind me asking young one...how did you come to Midgard? If not on purpose?"
Lloyd swallowed nervously. And there it was. The kicker.
"I..." Lloyd eyebrows twitched and his fingers clenched under the baggy sleeves. "There...there was this Crystal right? The Realm Crystal...it..." Lloyd shrugged uselessly, feeling a little helpless. "It could transport you to any Realm you had power to go to and it...I wasn't supposed to be here. It wasn't supposed to send me here,"
"And where was the Realm Crystal supposed to send you?" Thor asked gently, voice soft and there was still that ever present way too personal concern.
"I dunno.." Lloyd shrugged again. That was the thing...it really wasn't supposed to send him anywhere specific just..."...away—I guess.."
Thor's eyebrows somehow furrowed deeper. His expression weirdly serious. "..Away from what?"
Lloyd opened his mouth to answer and—
And that's when wind ripped itself through the whole building. Throwing vases and pictures and chairs and the people almost off their feet. It sheirked and howled and sent something very cold stabbing through Lloyd's chest.
"That." Lloyd couldn't breathe. It was too cold and too hot and something More was wriggling under his skin and he couldn't—
"Away from—"
And then something inside Lloyd screamed.