Powerless

Overpowered

By the time the sun began to set, Kai and Zane returned from the mission.

They walked into the monastery with smokey clothes, Zane quietly glancing at Kai nervously.

Cole saw the two walk back in and ran towards the duo eagerly "Hey how did it-" Cole cut himself off when he made eye contact with Kai.

He took a step back which immediately threw Kai off guard. He patted himself down hastily, "What am I still on fire?!"

"Dude, your eyes," Jay mumbled behind Cole unannounced.

"What about my eyes?' Kai questioned, rubbing his fists over his retinas as if he would be able to rub whatever was wrong off.

"They're red." Lloyd gasped, approaching the group.

"Like pinkeye red or evil emperor red" Kai tried to joke uneasily.

Kai's head whipped around as he heard two wooden doors slide open behind him.

Nya and Master Wu entered the yard in deep conversation but was cut short when they looked at Kai

"Kai," the Sensei whispered. "What has happened?"

Everyone but Kai answered in a jumbled mess:

"I believe Kai is experiencing a power flair, or even a second display of his true potential! But that has never happened before." Zane analyzed.

"Last time his eyes were like that he was being corrupted by Chen's staff! Could this be some kind of sign that Chen's back?" Lloyd inquired.

"Kai what's wrong? What happened at the fire? You can tell me, we're family!" Nya begged.

"The only other guy I knew with red eyes was Garmadon after the whole 'turning evil' thing. If that's happening to Kai how do we stop it?!" Jay squealed.

"What is happening to him? Will Kai be okay? What can this mean?" Cole asked sternly.

"Enough!" Wu broke off the shouting. "I need to talk to Kai, Privately,"

Kai silently left the room following Master Wu, hearing the whispers of his friends behind him.
___

There were only a few quiet words exchanged as Kai and Wu walked away, but there was no surprise when the second Kai's footsteps faded down the hallway, someone broke the silence:

"So... what do you think is wrong with Kai?" Jay asked softly. 

"There's nothing wrong with Kai!" Nya retorted angrily.

"No Nya you-" Jay tried to find the right words. "You know I didn't mean it like that. We all just want him to be okay."

Nya let out a soft sigh and mumbled an apology as she leaned onto Jay's side.

"I don't think there is anything 'wrong' with Kai, but something did change," Lloyd said, swaying the attention away from the odd couple. "I mean that much is clear."

"I have a theory," Zane said, deep in thought.

"Well?" Cole said anxiously. "Share with the class!"

"When I was on the mission with Kai I was rendered useless" Zane began while he simultaneously tapped a few buttons on his arm until a screen lit in front of Zane's face. "This was a recording of everything I saw Kai do."

Zane started the video as the others watched the series of events. Finally the video paused again at the end of the recording.

"So just like that," Lloyd crossed his arms, puzzled. "He... absorbed it?"

"Theoretically, he could have just moved the fire into midair and let oxygen do the rest, but.... he did that." Zane continued. "And the most puzzling thing is..."

"What?" Nya inquired.

"No Elemental Master of Fire has done what Kai did before."

"Yeah," Cole interjected. "But we've done stuff like that as a team. We've done stuff no elemental master could before us. So what makes this different?"

Zane shrugged lightly, "Maybe nothing. For now I assume the red eyes are somewhat of a side effect of this new ability."

Jay followed up with another question, "And what is that exactly?"

"I think it is the body's attempt at consuming more energy. The fire enters Kai and it makes his elemental abilities stronger." Zane sat on the small pillar behind him.

"So the fire became a part of him?" Nya asked.

"In a sense, yes." said Zane.

There was dead silence, everyone trying to comprehend this newfound information. After a minute or two of silence, Lloyd found the courage to speak:

"So... is Kai okay?"

Zane stared at the floor, "I don't know."