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Chapter Text

Oh, Spirits!

Chapter 1

The Creeping Crystal safehouse was quiet that night, even with the dozen gangsters gathered in the main room of the joint. As one of them stood behind the bar dishing out drinks, the rest either tried to get some sleep or poked their eyes out the windows.

“How do we know he’s coming after us?” one of the gangsters muttered, pulling away from the blinds. “He’s only been taking out the Red Monsoons lately.”

“Boss says that’s why she thinks he’ll come after us,” another man sighed, shifting on the couch to turn away from the lone bare bulb in the room. “The Monsoons are wrecked; why bother going after what’s already messed up?”

“Sure, because that’s how a nut like this works,” the first man spat, turning to the bar. “Hey, mix me…Where’d he go?”

“Oh, you know him,” a half-muffled voice behind the bar said. “Probably laying down on the job.”

The earthbenders in the room moved to strike, which was when the bare bulb shattered. Plunged into darkness, the crew shouted out in the void. “What’s going on!” “Someone get a light!” “Get offa me!” “Yeargh!”

The doorman of the apartments heard the fighting, and ran up to the main room. Light from the hall flooded inside, revealing seven knocked out triads and an open window. Fluttering down from the ceiling, a lone card with a blue symbol on it in the Fire Nation language.

“SPIRIT”

Al looked over the information on naquadah in Carter’s lab, scribbling notes as he read up on the atomic weight and physical properties of the mineral. With a little more understanding, he could start transmuting the substance and other substances into it. Then, it was on to trinium.

May was busy helping Carter, transmuting a block of steel to give the major a reading for her detector. “That’s incredible,” she said, watching as a gauge wired to the detector jumped to the quarter mark of its scale. “So, the crystal’s vibrations become energy, that translates into the gauge giving the reading it does?”

“Exactly,” Carter said, pulling the detector away from the-now transmuted iron. Looking over the statue of a roaring panda, Carter turned to Al and asked, “Having any trouble?”

“Not reading it,” Al said, looking up from his notes. “But once I start trying to transmute it again, that’s when I’ll know whether or not I understand it.”

“Well, I know we can do it,” May said, smiling proud as she followed Carter to an oscilloscope on an opposite desk. “Maybe your brother can help?”

“Maybe once he gets back from his trip to the Cretan border,” Al said. “He heard that there’s been some work on bioalchemy there, he figured he could at least look into it for Jelso and Zapano.”

“The chimeras?” Carter asked, getting a nod. “What about the other two? Heinkel and Darius?”

“Oh, they decided they don’t want to lose their animal traits yet,” Al said, smiling as he shut his notes. “They joined a circus as ‘The Beast-Men’; Yoki followed them, they said he’s working with the clowns.”

“That sounds like Mr. Yoki,” May giggled, turning to Carter as the frequency from the detector was marked and recorded for future calibration.

“I guess traveling circuses would still exist in Amestris,” Carter thought, turning to a laptop to type in her progress. “Most of the ones in America folded after the Sixties and Seventies.”

“It makes sense,” Al said, smiling as he walked over to the desk. “Why go to the circus when you can watch on in your parlor?”

That was when the PA squealed to life. “Alphonse Elric and May Chang, report to Gen. Hammond’s office.”

“I’ve got some good readings,” Carter said, smiling at the pair. “Thanks again for the help, May.”

“Happy to, Maj. Carter,” May said, nodding as she and Al went for the door. As they did, Carter got up to look over the statue of the roaring panda, and puzzle over the idea that such a creature could be ferocious.

“I don’t think it’s an emergency,” Al said, the pair moving for the elevators. Dodging past a trio of airmen, he said, “Most of the SG teams are planetside.”

“Maybe it’s another MV team,” May mused. “It can’t be 1^st Platoon; they still haven’t figured out a way to keep us safe around the Dip.”

“I don’t know, we have the same materials in our world,” Al thought. “I’m going to try and recreate the Dip in our world; maybe there’s a way we can neutralize it ourselves.”

“Well, be careful,” May muttered. “I don’t want to think about what would happen if it does work in our world like it does in 1923.”

Walking into the conference room, the pair saw Mako sitting at the table waiting for them. “Mr. Elric, Ms. Chang,” Gen. Hammond said, smiling and nodding to the pair. “Please, have a seat. How’s the testing going with Maj. Carter’s detector?”

“Very well sir,” May said, beaming with her answer. “The major believes she’ll be able to deploy the detector once she understands how to calibrate it.”

“We’re thankful for your assistance on the matter,” Gen. Hammond said, before nodding to Mako.

“The past few weeks, we’ve been finding members of the triads across Republic City getting their butts kicked,” Mako said. “Before, we thought they were building to a gang war, but there’s been evidence they’ve been dealing with something else. Someone going up against them.”

“The people we heard about that ransacked Maj. Carter’s room?” Al asked.

“No, something else,” Mako said, pulling a small card from his breast pocket and setting it on the table. “That’s the language of the Fire Nation. That symbol stands for ‘spirit’.”

Al and May leaned in to look over the card, May asking, “Wait, I thought the Fire Nation was associated with red and orange colors; that’s blue ink.”

“Exactly,” Mako said. “The Blue Spirit is a character from Fire Nation dramas. He’s a spirit of righteousness and bad fate for those who do harm to others. Makes sense that someone would be leaving this behind when they’re going after the likes of the triads.”

Al nodded, staring at the card. “It’s a little strange, isn’t it? Leaving behind evidence that can connect you with various crimes? You’d think a criminal would want to keep his actions secret.”

“This could be a vigilante, Mr. Elric,” Gen. Hammond noted. “If he’s leaving behind notes like this, it’s because he wants the criminals, and potentially the people, to know he’s out there.”

“I checked the roster, neither one of you has anything scheduled for the next few weeks,” Mako said. “We’d appreciate the help, if you’re able?”

Al smiled, as May said, “We get to go to Republic City? I can’t believe this, Lucy and Gray couldn’t stop talking about their trip! Do you still need us here, general?”

“The SGC can make it without you both for some time,” Gen. Hammond said, giving the two a nod. “You’re both cleared to leave when you’re ready.”

May leapt up, running for the door as she shouted, “I’ll get my things!”

“And I’ll got back to let Gen. Mustang know we’re going,” Al said. Pausing, he asked, “I don’t suppose we can see a pro-bending match too?”

Three hours later, Al and May took off their sunglasses and followed Mako to the door of the bunker for the array. Walking out onto the street, they saw a truck speed past as a trio of bird-like spirits drifted overhead.

“C’mon, the department’s this way,” Mako said, motioning for Al and May to follow. “It’s a few blocks though.”

“Oh, that’s nothing compared to when I had to cross the desert,” May said, laughing as she waved off her near-fatal trek. “That reminds me, we should visit Youswell again.”

“That’d be pretty nice,” Al said, smiling as he stared up at the sky. A police airship buzzed overhead, out on patrol over the center of the city. “Maybe we could ask for the designs for an airship while we’re here?”

“Trust me, you don’t want that design,” Mako grumbled, glancing up. “They’re Cabbage Corp. Future Industries couldn’t match how much less it costs to produce them, so C.C. got the contract for the department.”

“Cabbage Corp.,” May said, thinking as they walked. “That’s the company founded by that cabbage merchant from the series, right? It’s amazing how all his hard work led to a company like Asami has.”

“Maybe he did, but his son sure doesn’t,” Mako sighed. “Those airships are liable to break every other day. The department mechanics are running themselves ragged trying to fix everything that breaks on them. We even had to work out a deal for Cabbage to use higher quality metal, too. We’re starting to face more metalbenders in the triads.”

“And now there’s this Blue Spirit running around,” Al noted. “What does Chief Beifong think?”

“You can ask her yourself,” Mako said, grinning over his shoulder at the two. “She’s waiting for us now.”

Al shuddered. When he’d seen the episodes of Legend of Korra provided by Team Rainbow, he’d been struck by how alike Lin Beifong was to his own master. He didn’t fail to notice that she was still devoted to caring for those around her and to the pursuit of law and order. It didn’t mean he wasn’t also afraid of crossing her.

The courtyard in front of the department’s headquarters was already busy with activity, a stand for the Union for Peace and Harmony trying to draw attention and hand out flyers to help the needy in Republic City. Small clusters of police chatted with each other, patrol pairs moving out and coming in with the occasional suspect either walking with or handcuffed by them.

“Hey, guys!” Looking up, the trio saw Korra gliding down on her…well, glider. “So, Mako managed to drag you into this, huh?”

“We don’t mind helping out,” Al said, shaking Korra’s hand. “I probably needed a break, anyway. Trying to figure out naquadah is taking longer than I thought it would.”

“Well, going after some triads is the best way to distract your brain from anything troubling you,” Korra said, smirking as she joined them on their way into the station.

“As long as you don’t wind up leaving me with a week’s worth of paperwork,” Mako noted, shooting a warning glare at Korra.

“You’d think being the avatar would get you a pass for property damage,” Korra muttered, following Mako into the building.

The front room of the station was crowded late in the morning; old women demanding action about the kids playing in front of their apartments “at all hours; street corner con artists trying to pass off their three-card steals as “innocent games of chance”; kids playing hookie waiting for their parents to come get them, split between the would-be toughs trying to play off their trouble and the panicking children fearing their mothers finding them in the police station.

“Mako,” Al asked as the detective led them to the stairs. “Who commands Chief Beinfong?”

“Well, officially we’re under the authority of Republic City,” Mako said. “But the fact is, whatever Pres. Raiko says? We have to act on.”

May smirked, asking, “Is that the barest hint of unhappiness with that situation, detective?”

“C’mon, be gentle with him,” Korra said. “He’s about to have a hard enough time anyway. We gotta tell Beifong you’re both here.” Al couldn’t fight against the involuntary shudder that shot down his spine.

Taking an elevator to the top floor, the four walked out to see a team of lawyers walking past them. Along with a bespectacled woman that said, “Korra, Mako.”

“Hey Zhu Li,” Korra said, nodding to the woman. “More questions?”

“I’m starting to think that Chief Beifong is calling us in once a month to see if Varrick’s story will change at all,” she sighed. She sounded exhausted, even for what she was handling. “Thankfully Varrick had a sizable fund saved up for potential lawyer’s fees.”

Mako’s eyebrow went up as he asked, “And how long, exactly, will that fund last?”

“Long enough,” Zhu Li said, turning to Al and May. “More MVTF members?”

“We are,” Al said, smiling as he held out his hand. “Alphonse Elric.”

“May Chang,” she said, bowing slightly. “You’re Zhu Li Moon, right?”

“I am,” Zhu Li said, nodding back to the princess. “For all the good it’s doing me.” Before anyone could ask about what that meant, she sped onto the elevator. “I’ll see you all at the mansion later.”

As the door slid shut, Al turned to Korra and asked, “He’s still living with Asami?”

“Varrick’s convinced living in his mansion’s bad luck,” she grumbled. “He thinks that the money that bought it is cursed.”

“Oh come now, curses aren’t real,” May said, as Mako went to knock on the door. Then the four of them paused, realizing that, no, curses could now be very real. Shaking off the realization, Mako knocked on the door.

“Come in,” the authoritative voice of Lin Beifong called. Moving into the room, Al saw Lin Beifong sitting behind her desk behind several stacks of paperwork.

“Good to know Varrick keeps plenty of records,” Mako said. “This is all related to the showroom?”

“It’s related to every facility he has with a storage tank,” Lin sighed. “It’s what I get for asking about the maintenance standards he had in place. Don’t suppose any of you can read this many papers in under a month?”

The four paused, then turned to each other and said, “Lucy.”

“I’ll take that as a maybe,” Lin said, before turning to Al and May. “This is the most you could round up?”

“The best he could round up,” Korra said, smirking at the two.

“Chief Beifong, my name is Alphonse Elric,” he said, smiling and reaching his hand over the files. “I’m one of the alchemists associated with MV-2.” Realizing that he wasn’t going to shake hands with the chief, his smile turned sheepish as he pulled his arm back.

“And I’m May Chang,” May said, bowing a little lower to the chief. “Alkahest of Xing, and attaché to MV-2 from my country.”

Lin paused, then turned to Mako and Korra asking, “How are these two supposed to help?”

“Al and May as some of the best minds in the MVTF,” Mako said, Al backing away from the desk. “If the Blue Spirit strikes another triad hideout, they have techniques and knowledge we can use to find and stop him.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Lin muttered, rolling her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, ‘alchemy’ was a way to get the ancient emperors to drink poison while telling them they’d live forever.”

“Oh, you have those stories too?” May said, before she noticed Lin’s glare and backed up behind Al.

“Lin, they might not be who you wanted, but they’re here,” Korra argued. “The MVTF hasn’t let us down before.”

“There’s always a first time,” Lin said, shooting a glance at Korra. Sighing, she rose and said, “But they are here. Both of you, you’ll report to Mako. Make any trouble, give me anything that I have to explain to Raiko or the press? You’ll be back to wherever it is so fast you’d think you’re riding a gazelle-tiger.

As the two alchemists tried to imagine what that particular chimera would look like, Mako jumped in saying, “Understood chief, we’ll make sure not to cause too much trouble.”

“I’m sorry,” Lin said, picking up on the words. “Too much?”

“Great job, genius,” Korra grumbled, the four moving fast for the door.

“How about this one?”

Bolin looked over the jewelry in the shop, Asami looking over a collection of pendants in another display. “I dunno,” Bolin muttered, leaning in and squinting his eyes at the jade earrings. “Isn’t a hundred yuans a little pricey?”

“Sir, this is the latest style in White Falls,” the salesman said, the pointed ends of his mustache turning up as he smiled. “It’s the only thing the women there are willing to wear.”

Bolin paused, then said, “Hey, Asami, can you c’mere?”

“One sec,” Asami said, pointing to a pendant in the display in front of her. As the other attendant in the jewelers bowed and went to wrap it, she walked over and asked, “Need some help?”

“Yeah, these earrings,” Bolin said, pointing at the offering. “Have you heard about anyone in White Falls only wearing this?”

“Not really,” Asami said. “That’s too much like the old Ba Sing Sei style. The only thing anyone’s wearing right now is the Chameleon Bay look.”

The jeweler’s smile disintegrated, then came roaring back as he said, “Of course, the market has hit a small downturn. Perhaps eighty-five yuans will be acceptable?”

“Sixty-five more likely,” Asami argued, smirking. “Unless you want word getting around that this shop’s owners are gouging money out of their customers.”

“O-Of course, Ms. Sato,” the clerk said, bowing low too fast. As his forehead collided with the glass display, he hurried off with the earrings.

“Thanks Asami,” Bolin said, leaning against the display case. “Opal’s gonna love those.”

“Well, they’re from you,” Asami said, smiling as she brushed an errant strand of hair back over her ears. “There’s not a lot she could get from you she wouldn’t love to see. Not that you should go rummaging around in the garbage out back for an old box.”

“Oh, darn, you know I was thinking about that,” Bolin joked, smirking at Asami as the other clerk came back with her pendant boxed and wrapped. “So, you have any plans with Korra?”

“I was thinking we’d have a picnic in the Spirit World,” Asami said. “I wish we could bring something back though. The spirits are still angry about what Kuvira tried with the vines.”

 “You think I can take Opal?” he asked. “I don’t think the spirits would mind an airbender showing up.”

“No, but they might tease you,” Asami said, smirking as the clerk came back with Bolin’s gift. As he rummaged about for his yuans, she noted the man wasn’t trying to sell them anything else. She had to fight the urge to say she would be back with Bolin later just to annoy the man.

“Spirits,” she thought, throwing a glance at the earthbender. “He’s really starting to rub off on me.”

Walking out of the store, she and Bolin strolled to her car to pay the meter. “So, who do you think Mako brought back?” Bolin asked.

“Hopefully someone smart and capable,” Asami said, dropping a few coins into the meter to buy them another two hours. “How can one person run around the city fighting the triads like this and not get caught?”

“Maybe they’re actually working for another triad?” Bolin mused. “One of the gangs attacked themselves, that’s how whoever they’ve got working for them is able to do this.”

“Maybe, we’ll have to put that to Mako,” Asami said, leading the way from the car. “Anyway, I’m gonna go visit my dad. Try not to get yourself in too much trouble while I’m gone?”

“Me? Get in trouble?” Bolin gasped. “Asami, I thought we were friends.”

“That’s exactly why I said that,” she laughed. “See you later Bolin.”

“Yep, see you,” Bolin said, whistling as he went on his way down the street. The city was already bustling by nine in the morning, the distant clattering of streetcars mixing with the drone of the airships and the dull roaring of the crowds.

“Psssst!” Bolin froze, looking around for the source of the whispering. He peeked around corners, into windows (to the confusion of an office secretary), even down a storm drain.

“Bolin, what the heck are you looking down there for? I’d only go into a sewer if my life depended on it!”

That did it. Groaning, Bolin turned around and saw a shabbily dressed Varrick standing behind him. “Oh no, what did you do now?”

“Nothing!” Varrick shouted. Before pausing, thinking, then muttering, “At least, nothing that I can remember.”

“Varrick, I’m trying to enjoy my day,” Bolin sighed. “Can we please not do anything stupid right now?”

“That’s what you think,” Varrick said, grabbing the earthbender and yanking him into the nearest alley. “Bolin, I think I know who sabotaged my showroom!”

“Uh huh, yeah, sure,” Bolin said, rolling his eyes. “Why not tell Chief Beifong?”

“Because I don’t have the evidence yet, dummy!” Varrick said, knocking on Bolin’s head. “But I know who it was, I can promise you that!”

Bolin sighed, shaking his head. “Varrick, the last time you acted like this you were helping to build Kuvira’s spirit cannon, remember how that went? I remember how that went. It didn’t go well.”

“This is different, Bolin, this is my business at stake,” Varrick said. Before he paused and said, “And my relationship with Zhu Li!”

Bolin was about to wave Varrick off before he recognized what the fallen mogul said. “Wait, say what now?”

“Look, I’m not happy saying it,” Varrick sighed, running a hand through his maddened hair. “But I know I’ve been a problem for Zhu Li. You saw how we spend our nights, the passion we share with each other!”

Bolin shuddered, remembering the time he walked in on Varrick and Zhu Li’s “private time”. “How could I forget?”

“Well, we haven’t been that passionate since all this started!” Varrick howled. “All she does it wash for the night, give me a kiss, and then it’s right to bed! It’s because she’s been running herself ragged trying to defend me, and I…Darn it Bolin, I feel responsible!”

Bolin’s jaw dropped, and he muttered, “You…You feel…Varrick, oh my gosh, this is bad!”

“I know!” Varrick wailed, turning his face to the nearest wall and pounding it with his fist. “You gotta believe me this time Bolin, please!”

Sighing, Bolin asked, “Okay, let’s pretend you are telling the truth. Who do you think did it?”

“My workers!” Varrick exclaimed, spinning back to Bolin with a killing fire in his gaze. “They’re the ones who were unhappy with me! They wanted to send me a message!”

Bolin blinked, then asked, “Varrick, I know I’m usually not the one coming up with great ideas, but let me ask. Why would your workers kill themselves to make a point against you?”

Varrick was about to answer, then he paused. “Argh! I thought I had something here!” he shouted, slamming his foot down into a puddle. Then his face screwed up, and he said, “I seem to have forgotten my shoes on the way out of the house.”

Bolin sighed, and said, “I’ll hail a cab.”

Asami mused over the board, judging her next move. “You’re looking fuller.”

“Special dietary privileges,” Hiroshi said, placing his hand on one of his Rose pieces. “The doctors felt I was losing too much weight. They should’ve seen me before I got the Satomobile out on the market. Now stop trying to distract me.”

Asami smirked, watching as he countered one of her three possible moves. “Remember how you told me about how you courted mom? I’ve noticed Bolin doing a lot of the same.”

“Ah yes, the younger brother,” Hiroshi said, watching as Asami’s hand drifted to one of her Knotweed pieces. “Is he still enamored with the trappings of success?”

“No, if anything he’s the same Bolin as he was when we met,” Asami said, slowly moving her Knotweed into place for her trap. “I think after what happened with Kuvira, he knows what real success is. He just needed a humbling. Like someone else I know.”

“Careful, one of those jabs might hurt,” Hiroshi said, smirking as he moved a Boat over to the far side of the board. “I take it the company isn’t giving you any trouble?”

“No, we’re about start manufacturing a new class of Satomobile,” Asami said, smiling as she took a moment to gauge her position. “It’ll be designed to go off-roads, with a cargo bed for use hauling loads. It should be great in the farming and rural markets.”

“Just don’t expect the yuans to rain from the sky because of it,” Hiroshi said, watching as Asami moved another Knotweed piece. “If you want to create a new market, you need to be patient. Even if you think you’re moving cautiously, you might be unable to prepare for any unforeseen consequences. For example?” Grabbing one of his Jasmine pieces, he positioned it in the perfect place to keep Asami from springing her trap.

Asami blinked, then muttered, “I thought I had you this time.”

Hiroshi reared back, laughing as he said, “Don’t forget who taught you everything you learned about pai sho! Now, let’s see how you get out of this one.”

Asami grinned, looking over her pieces and planning her next move.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

“This was a safehouse for the Creeping Crystal triad,” Mako said, riding a streetcar with Al and Mei to the Little Divide neighborhood. “Mostly earthbenders; for a while it looked like they were about to go to war with the Triple Threats. They were hit three nights ago, but we haven’t been able to find any clues that stand out from the other attacks.”

“We should ask Team Rainbow if they have anything that could help,” May said, thinking aloud. “They are the best of their world’s police.”

“The problem is trying to train the department up on how they investigate,” Mako said. “We’d need to build a, a forensics bureau? Yeah, an entire forensics bureau. That’d takes months of time, if we’re lucky. Never mind Raiko telling us the money needs to go to the city.”

“He should focus on taking care of his people,” May grumbled. “Before Ling became emperor, even the Yao clan knew that their peasants must be cared for.”

Al smiled. “Because they knew they had a responsibility to their subjects?”

May laughed, and said, “No, because a loyal peasant is one that won’t try to overthrow you!”

As Al pondered what he would do if he ever went to Xing, Mako said, “Here we are.” Jumping off behind him, the two alchemists looked over the area as they followed him through traffic to the curb. The area wasn’t as worn down as they’d heard Dragon Flats was, but it wasn’t an area of tall high rises and penthouse living. The blocks were filled with row homes, the occasional apartment building standing a few stories taller than the others. Every corner had a shop on it; small groceries, butchers, bakers, and sundry dry good for the locals to live on. The main avenue had a newsstand every few blocks, as patrol officers made their rounds twirling their clubs.

Leading the pair to the safehouse, Mako flashed his badge to the metalbender cop out front before leading the pair through the door. They walked into a small apartment building, a small front office for the doorman inside on the left.. An open door ahead of them showed where the scene of the crime was; a small bar that had been left a shambles by what had happened.

Al was silent as he took everything in, making sure not to touch anything as May asked, “How many people were in here when this happened?”

“Nine, and all of them were earthbenders,” Mako said, silent as Al set to work. The alchemist swept through the room like a dog with a scent; the rest of the world might as well have been covered in tarantulas, and he wouldn’t have cared. “They could’ve turned the walls and floors into weapons, but they didn’t even have the chance.”

Al nodded, half-listening as he shifted his gaze. “How did they say it happened?”

Mako pulled out his notes, and read off as Al looked up. “The gang said that their guy behind the bar disappeared, then the overhead light went out. They didn’t have any idea what was happening until it was all over.”

Al nodded, then said, “Has the room been marked? All the evidence taken into account?”

“Yeah,” Mako answered, staring at Al. “Why?”

Al clapped his hands, then slammed them onto the floor. Pulling up a long, thin rod, he moved under the socket for the room’s lone bulb. Placing one end of the rod into what Mako realized was a small hole behind it, the detective watched as Al shifted it until the rod slipped straight into the hole. The other end pointing straight behind the bar.

“I mean, that was impressive,” Mako said, “But we already knew this person was behind the bar.”

“No, that’s not it. Positioning themselves like this? It means they were already here, waiting to strike.” May muttered. Transmuting a small step stool for herself, she let Al pull the rod free before drawing a transmutation circle on the cheap ceiling tile. After the light show faded, a small metal pellet fell to the floor.

“Wait,” Mako whispered. “Is that a bullet?”

“No, it’s made of steel,” May answered, Al moving to pick up the evidence. “The problem is how it got there. I need to see the gang members.”

“I’ll see about getting us into the hospital,” Mako said, before he realized Al was still staring about the room. “Is something wrong, Al?”

“The numbers don’t add up,” Al mentioned. “Even at our best, brother and I could never take on a room full of thugs in a straight fight. Whoever this was, there’s no signs of bending, right? Then how did one person manage to do this to a room filled with hardened criminals?”

“They must have some kind of training,” Mako observed. “Bending techniques can be used without the actual bending; even airbending styles are good if you need to get out of a fight.”

“But that could mean something else,” Al said, clutching the pellet tight in his grasp. “It could mean whoever did this doesn’t have any bending.”

Making sure to explain the state of the room to the officer standing guard at the door, Mako led the way back to the streetcar rails. “I’ll call the chief, tell her what we found. Something like this should get us into the hospital without too much trouble. Especially if this is what I’m really hoping it isn’t.”

“But how can it be?” May asked, keeping her voice low. “The entire city knew that Noatak was lying about himself, about what he wanted. Why -- ”

“We know that there are people who still want to follow Bradley even after everything he did as fuhrer,” Al pointed out. That shut them all up faster than a bus pulling away from the curb just when you need to get it. Clambering aboard the next trolley car, the three were forced to jam into whatever space they could find. Al found himself jammed between a larger older woman holding a chimeric mashup of a cat and a hedgehog, and a surly-looking laborer covered in oil stains. He noticed they were both staring at him, from the color of his hair to the tone of his skin.

“Oh no,” Al thought, shifting as a small boy in a flatcap took up what was left of the space around him. “Did I make them angry? I don’t even know what I did!”

The streetcar shuddered, and before Al could balance himself the left side of his face collided with the cat-hedgehog. As the spines pierced his cheek, the creature hissed and he howled. “You brute!” the woman roared, suddenly wielding her purse like a flail about Al’s head and neck. “How dare you hurt my precious little darling!”

“Ah! Sorry – OW! – I’m sorry, really! It was – OUCH! – It was an accident!” Al shouted, the boy shoving him away.

“I think we need to leave!” Mako said, grabbing the two alchemists and yanking them off the streetcar. Stumbling as they landed on the pavement, the detective brushed himself down as he stared at Al. “Maybe it’s just the show, but I feel like that wouldn’t have been a problem back when you were armor.”

“Back when I was armor I couldn’t get hurt by quills” Al muttered, rubbing at his cheek.

“Here let me see,” May said. Batting his hand away, she used the blood to draw a circle, and with a slap of her fingers turned the dozen small wounds into scabs. “There, how’s that?”

Al blinked, and muttered, “That’s…A lot better actually, thanks.” Smiling, Al noticed that the pocket in his jacket was lighter. Eyes wide, he reached in and realized that two of his most important possessions were missing. Spinning around, he saw the boy in the flat cap walking fast down the street. “Thief,” was all he said before he took off running.

For a moment, maybe they could have caught the thief. They managed to close at least thirty yards, but then a customer walking out of a door at the wrong time collided with Mako and shouted, “What do you think you’re doing!” The thief shifted, saw them, and took off down the nearest alley.

“I’ll go up!” May shouted, as Al kept chasing on foot. Drawing her blades, she sent herself flying through the air to the top of the nearest building. As the crowd called out in confusion, she landed atop the roof and set to running. She saw the thief sprinting down the alley, Al not closing fast enough to catch them. Throwing five blades down ahead of her on the room, she judged the distance carefully and let fly five more to the alley. Scraping out a circle on the rooftop as the thief froze as the knives landed, she slammed her palms down and sent a wall up in front of them.

“Please, I don’t want to hurt you,” Al shouted, not even out of breath as he approached the pickpocket. “I don’t even want to turn you in. All I want is what you took, then we’ll let you go.”

May watched the thief weigh their options. Debate in their head what they could afford to do to survive. The princess wished she could see the thief’s face; it would be easier to see what they were planning. She pulled her blades from the roof and waited, ready to make another set to make fresh obstacles to stop the thief.

Then the thief grinned. As May heard people shouting from inside the buildings surrounding the alley, she saw water rushing out from the windows. Al reacted fast, throwing a wall up in front of himself. Not that it meant anything, because the waterbender turned the water they’d summoned into mist.

May threw another set of blades at the building opposite, Al slamming his hands down on the pavement. The air in the alley whipped about, the mist clearing in time to reveal a small icy ledge that the thief was currently leaping over.

May set back to running, but had to duck and weave as the bender started throwing blasts of water at her. They weren’t hard to avoid; if anything it was almost too easy. She was starting to get a feel for the flow of chi in this world, now that she had someone to focus on. Benders, they stood out among the rest of the population, and she could sense when their thief was going to attack. As Al kept racing down the alley, May threw a third set of blades to the wall on the right of the alley, and sent a forest of spikes ripping out in front of the thief. Except the thief didn’t even break their stride. They vaulted over the spikes, treating them more like a challenge than an obstacle.

“Of course! Waterbenders are taught to flow around obstacles when they need to!” May realized. Looking ahead, she saw they were coming up on the next street and running out of time.

“Strike them down?” she thought. “No, Alphonse wouldn’t allow it, and it might cause trouble for us later. Maybe we can use the water against her?” Smirking, May threw the last of her blades down just behind the bender and activated her circle.

The thief had expected another obstacle, and made to jump. What they hadn’t expected was to land in the middle of a liquefied patch of pavement, flailing about as Al ran up to the edge of the obstacle.

“There, see!” Al said, circling around to the front of the obstacle as May clambered down the nearest fire escape. As the locals began to poke their heads out their windows and gather on the rooftops, he crouched at the edge of shifting pavement. “We don’t want to hurt you! Just hand over what you took, and we’ll let you go.”

The thief glared at Al from under the brim of their flat cap. With a deeper voice than Al thought possible, they growled, “You’ll let me go?”

“Hand back what you took,” Al said, holding out a hand. As May walked up behind him, the thief reached into their jacket and pulled out a notebook and a silver pocket watch. Sneering at the pair, they threw their failed prizes at Al.

At the same time a piece of pavement shot out and gave the thief a handhold.

Hoisting themselves up and out, the thief set back to running. “Hey, wait!” May shouted, starting to chase.

“No, it’s fine,” Al sighed, checking his notebook and watch. The chain was gone, but what mattered was that his badge of office hadn’t disappeared into Republic City. “This is what we need.”

“Hey! Guys!” Turning, the two saw Mako push through the crowd and dodge the obstacles they’d thrown up. “Where’d they go?”

“They’re gone,” Al sighed, keeping his things close in hand now instead of his pocket. “Someone helped them escape.”

Mako paused, staring at Al for a second. Then he said, “Well, now we have to explain all this to Chief Beifong. After we promised her we wouldn’t cause trouble.”

“Oh, we can fix all of this,” May said, smiling as she walked over to her blades. Using one to scratch out a fresh circle, she transmuted the liquefied pavement back to normal as Al started transmuting the walls back into place.

Mako blinked, listening to the crowd gasp and murmur at the sight. “Man,” he thought. “Where were these two when Korra was getting started?”

As he thought that, he looked up to see a familiar scalp of spiked hair walking past the alley. Smiling, he nodded to the earthbender from the Rebels team. Yun nodded back, looking over the state of the alley and what Al and May were doing before walking on.

Korra glided across the city to the south, guiding herself down to the Sato grounds. She circled the mansion twice, and picked out her way in. Angling down to the open second-floor window, she folded the glider up the second she landed on the balcony. As the setting sun framed the world in orange hues, she saw a figure sitting in the office with her back to the window.

Smirking, Korra moved silent into the mansion. Sure that Asami still hadn’t noticed her, she leaned on the chair and said, “So, how’s the most beautiful woman in the world?”

“Korra?”

Blinking, the avatar spun the chair around to reveal Zhu Li sitting at the desk with a confused stare. “What?!” Korra shouted, mortified to the point that her legs disconnected from her brain. “What’re you doing in Asami’s office!”

“She’s letting me use it whenever she isn’t,” Zhu Li said, turning back to the desk. “It isn’t quite like what I have at home, but it’s a space to organize my thoughts.”

“Oh, okay,” Korra said, reconnecting her nerves and moving around to the front of the desk. “So…I guess things have been kinda rough lately?”

“You could say that,” Zhu Li sighed, organizing her papers. “We supplied the entire maintenance history of the company to the police. They should have enough to realize that even with the cuts we made, there was no reason for that tank to fail the way it did. Coupled with your discovery with metalbending the wreckage, it should be clear this wasn’t our doing.”

“Well, good luck with that,” Korra said, holding back what she thought Varrick could be doing. “I’m just gonna go see if dinner’s ready.” Zhu Li nodded, mind already consumed with the remaining work for the day.

Stepping out of the office, Korra shook off the mistake and strode to the stairs with confidence. Bouncing down the stairs, she made her way to the dining room to see everyone was already waiting. “Hey guys!”

“Hi Korra,” Asami said, getting up from her seat to greet her girl at the middle of the table. A quick hug and a kiss, and the pair were sitting down next to each other. “How was your day?”

“Another train of refugees,” Korra sighed, settling into her chair. “I don’t know what you’re giving to the UPF, babe, but it isn’t enough.”

“I’ll review what happens with next year’s budget,” Asami said, gripping Korra’s hand. Getting a smile from the avatar, she turned to Al and May asking, “How was your first day?”

“Well, there was a little trouble,” May said. “A thief stole Alphonse’s things right out of his pocket.”

“We did get it all back,” Al pointed out, leaning forward. “The only thing I’m missing is my watch chain.”

“That won’t be an issue then,” Asami said, smirking. “Bolin and I know a good jewelry shop. Speaking of which…” Asami reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small gift-wrapped box. “Call it an early anniversary gift.”

“Aw, babe!” Korra cooed, taking the box. “I didn’t get you anything yet!”

“It’s okay,” Asami said, smiling as she handed the gift over. “Go ahead, I wanna see what you think of it.”

Grinning, Korra yanked the bow free and tore the paper away. Opening the box, Korra’s breath vanished; her eyes went wide as she got a good look at the gift inside. “Asami!”

Al smiled as he watched Korra lift a necklace from the box, with a jade pendant stylized to look like what Al realized was a lion-turtle. “I know jewelry isn’t really what you wear, but I thought it might be nice to give you something different.”

Al smiled, May’s eyes wipe and sparkling as Korra fiddled with putting it on. “It’s great babe, thanks.” Leaning over to kiss Asami’s cheek, she turned to Mako asking, “Where’s Bolin?”

“My bet? Probably out with Opal,” Mako theorized. Grinning, he looked at Asami as he added, “Said something about a great new gift for her.”

“And Zhu Li’s up in your offce,” Korra said, not noticing the confused look on Al and May’s faces on how she knew that. “Meaning all we’re missing is -- ”

“Ma’am, Master Varrick,” the butler announced. Turning, everyone shuddered at the state of the man before them. Varrick’s coat was torn and tattered, “Rebel banners” (Otherwise known as Irish pennants to anyone from an English-speaking world) sprouting out from every seam. His bare socks were stained and soaked through, his hair looking like the nest for a wild bird. The butler grimaced at the sight of him, and hurried to bow out of the room.

“Varrick,” Asami muttered, trying to grin. “You’ve…had a long day.”

“That’s not the half of it, sister,” Varrick grumbled, before spotting Al and May. “Who’re these two?”

“Alphonse Elric, Mr. Varrick,” Al said, trying to smile as he rose to greet the mogul. “I’m with team MV-2, from the MVTF. This is my friend, May Chang.” May nodded to Varrick, though she looked more concerned about the state of the man than he did.

“Oh. Nice to see you.” Hunched over, looking beaten down by the world, life, and maybe a few vulture-rats, he shuffled to his seat and slid down over the fine fabric. Asami made a mental note to send that particular chair to be cleaned.

“Well, back to the triads,” Korra said, trying to escape looking at Varrick. “Did you go to the safehouse?”

“We did, and there were a few clues,” Al said, though he wasn’t able to rip his eyes away from Varrick’s derelict state. “Whoever did this knew where and how to strike. We don’t think they were a bender either, nothing in the room was out of place or damaged in a way that would be consistent with what we know benders are capable of doing.”

“That’s still pretty intense for a non-bender,” Asami said. “Even a trained fighter wouldn’t have an easy time fighting that many triads in a single room.”

“Then the question is,” May said. “How did they take out a room filled with criminals without getting hurt?”

Before anyone else could ask, Zhu Li walked into the dining room as the butler announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served.”

Everyone noticed Varrick’s face brighten up a little, as the house staff set out their food the good Mrs. Varrick walked up to the table. Then everyone noticed she didn’t sit down. Instead, she grabbed from the trays being set out and loaded her plate. Grabbing her glass, she said, “I’ll make sure to clean up after I’m done, Asami.”

No one said anything as Zhu Li strode back out of the dining room, Varrick’s head slamming down onto the table hard enough to shake the floor.

“What in the name of the spirits were you thinking?” the older voice growled. “You should have called us, let us know. You were lucky someone took pity on you.”

“Hey, I took a chance,” the younger voice said, feeling no need to put on airs or voices in front of the council. “Plus, now we know what else these multiverse types can dish out. It wasn’t like those other three. This was almost like bending, but different.”

“She isn’t wrong,” one of the council members observed. “It’s bad enough knowing that one of them can summon spirit of their own, or call down a horde of swords. Now we know they have a different kind of bending than we’re used to? This task force is more dangerous than we thought.”

“Oh please,” the voice of the first council member spat. “We’d still be able to take them with numbers. One of them was even using knives, right? Metalbenders are joining our cause every day, what good will she be?”

“It doesn’t mean this won’t be a potential problem in the future,” another council member added. Turning to the thief, she said, “That was reckless, but you still did some good for the cause. Next time, make sure you call for backup before trying anything like that ever again. Is that clear?”

“Yes, of course,” the thief said, though her smirk was irrepressible. She’d already pawned the silver chain for some yuans earlier.

As the thief left, the council settled as the leading member muttered, “This still doesn’t tell us who this Blue Spirit is. Am I safe in saying they’re probably Fire Nation?”

“As you can be,” an older council member chuckled. “The tale is known across the Republic; even water and earth descendants know about the story. Still, they’re a lone individual. They may even prove useful should we find them.”

“And if they don’t agree with what we’re fighting for?” the leader council member warned. “What happens to them then?”

“Then like all the world’s great enigmas,” the older voice muttered. “The mystery of the Blue Spirit will never be solved.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Mako and Korra led the way up to Republic City General Hospital, Al looking on in relative awe. Even compared to the hospital in Central, the campus was massive. Small outbuildings sat around the main facility, with the occasional ambulance rolling in and out from the front doors.

“The chief wanted me to say that she’s thankful for how you handled the thief yesterday,” Mako said, turning back to grin at the alchemists. “Even if you didn’t catch them, she’s glad you put everything back to normal.”

Korra grumbled, “She’s never gonna let me live that first day down, is she?”

As May laughed behind her hand, Al asked, “So, were the triads willing to speak to us?”

“Not exactly,” Mako said. “Three of them were already wanted for a bank robbery, so them telling us what they know might be enough for the judge to be gentle with them. I’m hoping that they’ll recognize it when they talk to us.”

“Why wouldn’t they talk?” May asked. “Korra’s with us, wouldn’t they be afraid of making her angry?”

“Yeah, you’d think,” Korra sighed, dodging a man in a black suit as she walked through the doors of the hospital. “I know Daniel says I’m a living god, but here? I’m just Avatar Korra.” Al and May pondered that as Mako went to the front desk.

Taking out his badge, he said, “Det. Mako, I need to speak with Mr. Mǎ, Mr. Cáo, and Mr. Yán.”

The nurse nodded, pulling out a clipboard and saying, “Sign your names, and make sure you check in with the nurses stations on the floor you’re going to.” She smiled up at Mako as he signed off, and asked as he handed the papers to Korra, “Say, you’re not the same Mako from the Fire Ferrets, are you?”

Mako sighed, and muttered, “I am, but I’m not a pro-bender anymore.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” the nurse said, Korra and May both smirking as they signed. “If you need anything, just ask for Nurse Li and I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Nurse Li, got it,” Mako said, nodding as Al signed the papers and handed them back to the nurse. “Thank you.”

As soon as they were already in the elevator, Korra was grinning as she asked, “So, think we’ll need any help?”

“Yes, Nurse Li seemed so pleased to do whatever she could,” May added, elbowing Al in the side.

“Guys, I’m here on official police business,” Mako sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “I don’t have time to think about that kind of stuff while we’re trying to figure out who this Blue Spirit is.”

Al said nothing, watching as the three went back and forth with each other. Something was sticking in his mind, but for the life of himself he couldn’t figure out what. Something when they entered the hospital…

“Mako, remember when we were captured by the werewolves,” Korra said. “They said that you felt a little hurt when Asami and I got together. I know you’re not angry, but if you’re feeling lonely -- ”

“Korra, I know you’re not trying to be a jerk, but let’s focus on the case, okay?” Mako warned, silencing any more talk as the elevator dinged and the doors pulled open. Korra and May shared at look, while Al shook his head.

Stopping to let the nurses on the floor know they were visiting the gangsters, Mako moved to one of the rooms and greeted a metalbender cop guarding the suspects. “No trouble?”

“None sir,” the metalbender answered. “But they already have a visitor right now.”

“They do?” Mako asked. “Who -- ”

A door further down the hall opened, and a woman strutted out with a sly smile with two large men trailing behind her. The second she saw the four, she held out her arms and said, “Ah, if it isn’t the avatar!”

Al ransacked his mind for any memory of who the woman might be from what he saw, but nothing came up. Though from the look Mako had as she approached, she wasn’t someone to treat lightly.

“Korra, this is Jargala Omo,” Mako said, Korra matching his expression. “She’s the ‘employer’ of the men we’re here to see.”

“Oh, detective, really,” Omo purred. “Is it such a terrible thing to give my people work?”

“That depends on the work,” Korra said. “As long as it isn’t anything illegal.”

Omo bowed her head to Korra, and replied, “I simply run a construction company. Many of the biggest names in Republic City rely on my business for labor and materials.”

“And it’s just a coincidence that rival companies happen to lose progress whenever they beat you out for a contract,” Mako added. “Missing supplies, fractured foundations, a lot of bad luck, isn’t it?”

“Certainly, for my competition,” Omo said, before turning to Al. “And who is this? He doesn’t look like he was born in Republic City. Certainly not with that hair.”

Al reached defensively for his blonde scalp, May moving in front of him as Korra warned, “Well we have our own work. So, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course, my apologies avatar,” Omo said, bowing again as she and her guys started moving again. “If there’s anything I can do to find this troublemaker, let me know.”

Waiting until they heard the elevator moving, Mako asked the cop on guard, “You let her in?”

“Couldn’t stop her, detective,” the cop sighed. “She had a written authorization from the hospital allowing her to visit these men, I couldn’t stop her; she said I might ‘disrupt things’.”

Mako sighed, “Understood. Just make sure no one else comes in until I finish talking to these three.”

Reaching for the door, he opened it to reveal three men pushed into the room. Their plain metal twin beds were basic, leaving just enough room for a nightstand and privacy screen beside each patient. The trio were all glaring at the opposite wall, a fresh vase of flowers set next to each of their beds. Each one appeared to have a fine collection of injuries; from a bandaged head to an an in a cast to two legs in traction.

“Well, look who showed,” the presumable leader of the three laughed. “The avatar and her big-time cop. Glad to know you two are on the job after we got attacked.”

Korra was silent as Mako moved to the center of the room. “Good to know we don’t have to waste any time,” he said, glaring between the three. “So, we can get to the point. What happened the night the safehouse got attacked?”

“Safehouse?” the leader scoffed, his acne-scarred mug looking like a shifting comet-struck asteroid instead of a face. “We were having some drinks together. We didn’t need a safehouse for anything.”

“Really,” Mako said, eyes shifting to the charts hanging from each bed. “So, we shouldn’t see anything strange on your charts?” The men were silent as Mako walked to the nearest one, picking it up and staring at it. No one in the room expected him to say, “Huh.”

“Huh?” Korra asked. “What’s ‘huh’?”

“Take a look,” Mako said, showing the chart to the others. “I didn’t expect that.”

Al stared at the chart, and then noted, “Uh, I can’t read this?”

“Right, sorry,” Mako said, flipping to a diagram of the body instead. Al noticed it before Mako said anything; a circle around the left arm along with one around the head. “It says he was struck by a debilitating amount of electrical current on his left arm.”

Al’s eyebrow went up, and he asked, “He was attacked by a lightning bender?”

“No, these are different,” Mako noted. “It says that whoever attacked him held whatever weapon they used on his skin long enough to leave a burn mark.”

One of the triads muttered, Korra looking up in surprise. “Oh? Something you want to say?”

None of the triads said anything, and Mako went for the wedge. “Look, you’re all under warrants for bank robbery. If you want the court to give you a chance at a lighter sentence, you might want to think about helping us.”

The triad in the far bed of the room shifted, Al and May not reacting to the movement. He was an older man, the right side of his forehead marked with a burn scar many decades healed. The two caught each other’s eyes, and both agreed without saying a word. He was the weak link.

“Listen, I don’t know why you three think you’re tougher than we are,” Korra warned, pointing at the three. “We’re gonna find whoever did this, and we’re gonna make sure that the judge knows that you turned down helping the avatar. C’mon guys, these cowards won’t help us.”

“Keep yappin’, avatar,” the leader of the three laughed. “You callin’ someone else a coward! That’s stinkin’ hilarious!”

As Korra shut the door hard enough to shake the walls, she took a breath and turned to Mako. “I think we can use that nurse’s help.”

Ten minutes later, Nurse Li led two of her colleagues into the room with two wheelchairs. “Alright gentlemen, we need to get you all checked out again. You two first, c’mon now.”

The two other nurses helped as the two gang members shifted to get into the wheelchairs. The leader smirked at the nurses, and said, “You ladies doing anything later? My buddies and I will be outta here soon.”

“First things first,” Li grumbled, the other nurses fighting back the urge to smack their charges upside the head. “C’mon, the doctor’s waiting.”

The third gangster sat quiet in his bed, watching as his compatriots were wheeled away. “We’ll be back for you in a moment, sir,” Li said, following the two wheelchairs out. The gangster sighed, easing into the pillow and wondering what the avatar thought…

The door opened again, Korra and her friends striding back into the room. The triad shuddered, trying and failing to push himself back from the sight of the annoyed avatar and her fellows. “Alright buddy, here’s the deal,” Korra grumbled, stepping right up to the side of the man’s bed. Glaring down on him, she said, “We know something was up about the attack the other night. You tell us what we need, we promise the judge at your trial will go easier on you than the other two.”

The triad gulped, looking between Korra, Mako, and the two alchemists. His eyes lingered on Al for a moment, then he shook his head and muttered, “Listen, you promise no one will know I told you?”

“We promise, no one else will know until you go to trial,” Mako answered. “But we need to know what happened that night.”

The gangster was silent, then muttered, “Look, the jerk that did this to us? They weren’t no bender. The second the light went out, we all got ourselves beat silly. I don’t know what they were using, but it was definitely metal.”

Mako and Korra glanced at each other, then Mako said, “Listen, we can’t promise you won’t get out of going to prison. But we’ll make sure that the judge knows that you were the one who helped us. Can you live with that?”

The gangster laughed, “Are you kidding me? There’s a nut going around shocking people? I’ll be safer in the cages than out here.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” Korra muttered, the four leaving the room. Nodding to the cop on duty outside, she waited until they were out of the ward before saying “You’re thinking what I am?”

“There’s not much of a question when you think about it,” Mako muttered. “There’s only one group that hated the triads and used electrical weapons.”

May’s eyes went wide, gasping, “You don’t mean -- ”

“I do,” Mako said, striding off the elevator. “We’re dealing with a leftover Equalist.”

Asami was reading over the reports on the latest progress with the new model of Sato-mobile, the “Sato-hauler”, when her intercom buzzed. “Ms. Sato, your three o’clock is here.”

Pressing down on the button, she said, “Give me five minutes, then send them in.” Clearing her desk of the blueprints and production plans, she made sure everything was stashed inside her desk before another corporate leader of the Republic strode in.

“Ah, Asami!” Wonyong Keum said, opening his arms wide as Asami rose from her desk. “It’s so good to see you again!”

“Mr. Keum,” Asami said playing cordial. She still hadn’t forgotten the time he went renegade on a deal with her father six years ago. “I’ll admit, I hadn’t expected a meeting with you. Especially with such insistence.”

“Well, after that ‘discussion’ you had with all of us at the Joo-Dee room, I realized this might require a more ‘personal’ touch.” The magnate settled into the chair across from Asami’s desk, not even shaking her hand or waiting for her to offer the seat. “Tell me, how’s your father doing?”

Asami didn’t react as she sat back at her desk. “He’s been told by the doctors he’s underweight, but he’s still one of the sharpest and swiftest minds in the city.”

“Yes, he always has been,” Keum said, grinning as he tented his fingers before his face. “Now, shall we get to business?”

“Yes, about what you mentioned,” Asami said, taking a neutral posture at her desk. “You said that you came across something from the aborted deal with my father? A type of new ventilation system? I’m not unwilling to pursue another joint venture, but -- ”

Keum started laughing, waving the idea away instantly. “No, no Asami! A joint venture? Please, that’d be tantamount to selling my entire company to Future Industries. My shareholders would panic and scatter to the winds.”

Asami blinked, but tried again with no emotion in her voice. “I can prepare a statement, maybe even speak with them. I don’t want your company -- ”

“No, no I don’t think you do,” Keum said, smirking. “I certainly don’t want Future Industries, either. Not with the dirty laundry it has.”

That caught Asami’s attention. “That’d be quite a feat. My father’s crimes have already put him in prison for life. Do you know something I don’t?”

Keum’s smile turned into a sneer, and he opened his hands as he spoke. “Asami, I’ve honestly been impressed by your work. You, a mere girl, taking what should have been disaster and spinning it into one of the greatest successes of all time.”

Asami bit back a retort on his calling her a “mere girl”. “Then there’s something else?”

“Oh, something indeed,” Keum purred. “You see, when your father fell in with those terrorists he tried to bring me into his confidence. He said that non-benders need to stay together. Well, I listened at first, but he mentioned a horrific idea to me. Simply a horrendous concept too terrible to fathom even in nightmares.”

Internally, Asami started to wind up. Keum wasn’t a clever man, not by her estimation. He’d made his money by buying. Knowing what would be valuable and making sure he controlled it. It was what made him a fortune buying up land and leasing it to anyone that needed it. Everything else was window dressing.

“I’ve seen a lot of horrendous concepts in the multiverse, Mr. Keum,” she said, playing cool. “What makes this so terrible?”

“The fact that your father used Future Industries resources to create it,” Keum said. His expression reminded Asami of the look Bolin got on his face just before dinner when the kitchen made his favorite of jumbo shrimp-scallion. “A type of chemical weapon; an aerosol that could render anyone caught in its effects dead in seconds.” Asami leaned back, and Keum kept pressing. “I was horrified by this; it’s why I backed out of the deal with your father. It was too brutal, too horrific for me to comprehend.”

The Sato scion was silent. She leaned forward, eyes narrowed as she asked, “Do you mean there are still supplies of this aerosol hidden away?”

“The materials to manufacture it,” Keum said, nodding. Rising from his chair, he strode to the windows looking out over the city with his smirk still wide on his face. “Now, I do have one matter to speak on regarding such things,” he said. “The contract to redevelop the rail lines to the north will be under review soon. I think we can both agree that my company is in the better position to take on the work?”

Asami asked, “You’re blackmailing me?”

“No, that would be illegal,” Keum said, shaking his head. “But, perhaps, not bidding a contract offer against me when the time comes is something worth your time?"

Asami said nothing for a moment. She sat transfixed, staring at her desk with her eyes boring through to the ground floor. Then she asked, “Then you know where these supplies are?”

“A small warehouse, just inside the farthest limits of the city,” Keum said, turning back to smile at his rival. “I planned on putting my bid forward next week. After the process is complete, the entire supply of chemicals and the prototype sprayer will no longer be a concern.”

Asami was silent, ignoring the bright smile from Keum. Then she reached for her intercom and pressed on the call button. Seconds later, the secretary walked in. Rising from her desk, Asami said, “Send the head of legal up here immediately, I don’t care what he’s working on. Mr. Keum just alerted me to a dangerous potential incident that we need to alert the authorities to immediately. Leave the door open as well, please.”

“Right away Ms. Sato,” the secretary said, hurrying out of the office. Keum was stuck standing in the middle of the office, the smile still plastered on his face now joined by wide, shocked eyes. Stepping around from behind her desk, Asami walked up next to him and looked out the window.

“There were three problems with what you just tried, Mr. Keum,” she said, eyes cold as she watched the spirits and airships patrol the noonday skies. “First, you thought I was still a frightened teenager. Suffice to say, the past few years have taught me how to deal with potential threats like this. Second, you thought that I would be willing to put my company’s status, and my own social standing, before the safety of others. You thought I would agonize about profits and quarterly growth over ensuring a dangerous substance is controlled and destroyed.”

“Third, and this was your biggest mistake,” Asami whispered, eyes focusing on the shocked man to her left. “You didn’t think that by still holding on to the evidence of a potential crime, you wouldn’t be implicating yourself in potential prosecution. My father is already imprisoned for life, Mr. Keum. If you aren’t careful, you’ll be joining him.”

As Keum stood silent in the doorway, the head of the legal department for the company strode in. He didn’t hear what Asami was saying, but he knew that one thing was inescapably clear.

Like father, like daughter.

“A leftover Equalist,” Lin muttered, turning her chair to the city skyline outside her office window. “You really believe this is what’s happening?”

“Several of the wounds were electrical,” Mako said. “The man we spoke to said there was definitely a metal weapon being used against them. All the triads are still some of the largest concentrations of hostile benders in the world.”

“We know that horrific ideals can carry on without their original leader,” Al noted, he and Mako doing the talking as Korra and May waited for their turns to jump in if they needed to. “Several universes -- ”

“I don’t care about other universes,” Lin warned, spinning back on them. “I care about this one, specifically this city. I’m not about to go out there are tell everyone there’s a leftover follower of Amon -- ”

“I thought his name was Noatok?” May asked. She shuddered and shrank as Lin glared her down.

“I’m not about to say there’s still an Equalist out there without proof,” Lin said. “Heck, why is there still an Equalist? They all know the entire thing was a fraud.”

“That’s…a little too simplistic,” Al said, before the glare turned to him. Still, his mind was set on something important. Lin’s anger would have to wait; he wasn’t about to wilt before he explained. “LIke I said, we’ve found that even with horrific and hateful ideas, there are always people willing to follow them. Even when the ideology is defeated, there are those willing to still believe. My home is suffering through a similar problem.”

“Well, this is our problem here and now,” Lin grumbled. Pointing at Mako, she ordered, “Don’t say anything about this to anyone else. Not until we get the evidence or we have this lunatic in custody.”

“Got it,” Mako answered. Al, however, felt uncomfortable about the idea of a coverup.

Before Lin could go on, the phone on her desk rang. Grumbling, she grabbed it and growled, “What!...What?!...Right, send a pair of airships.” Slamming the receiver back down, she barked, “I’ve got the makings of a riot downtown; we’ve got workers brawling at the construction site for the new Republic Capitol and president’s mansion. Korra, Mako, take these two and stop it before it spreads. Get to the airship docked on the building, now!”

“On it,” Mako said, the four already sprinting out the door. Bounding up the stairs, they saw ten more metalbender officers clambering up the gangway. It didn’t escape Al or May’s eyes that several of them looked hesitant.

“I’ll go ahead and see what I can do,” Korra said, casting a nervous look at the airship. Running for the edge of the roof, she bent the wind just as her glider’s wings popped open.

Al lost sight of the avatar as he ran aboard the airship, and at first he didn’t mind that gangway was shuddering. The engines were at full throttle, of course the vibrations would travel down to every part of the vehicle. The cops were clustered in the gondola, a trio of operators clustered around the instrument panels on the bridge. The airship shook as it moved, twisting away from the side of the building and following far behind Korra. That was fine, Al was sure the flight would be routine. Until he looked up and saw something troubling.

A screw was starting to come loose on the ceiling.

“No, there’s nothing dangerous about a single screw,” Al thought, shaking his head. “It’s a ceiling panel, losing that won’t destroy the airship. At worse, it’s a minor annoyance. Plus, this is a police vehicle. These are meant to function without perfect maintenance, aren’t they?”

It didn’t help that the airship kept shuddering and jostling them as they went. Metal kept rattling above and around him, and he swore that the screw kept coming looser the closer they got to the incident. Still, he kept calm. “This is their universe, they know what their equipment can handle,” he thought, trying to keep up his smile. “You know better than to panic, there’s nothing to -- ”

“I’m tellin’ ya, these things are getting shakier,” one of the cops said, almost drowned out by the droning propellers. “What the hell are the maintenance guys doing?”

“It ain’t them,” an older cop answered. “Cabbage won’t help anymore; said the newest contract didn’t compensate enough for it.”

Part of Alphonse, a deep part of him that was horrified by why he was hearing, wanted to spin around on the cops. He wanted so many questions answered, like, “When was the last maintenance was performed on the ship”, or, “Have any of them crashed in the past few months and why?” If it weren’t for the fact that he was trying to will himself to not panic. It didn’t help that the screw fell from the ceiling in front of his eyes.

“Great,” he thought. “I guess the anxiety needs to be exquisite!”

Seven minutes later, the doors astride the airship rolled open. The metalbenders leapt from the cabin, their wires giving them safe passage down to terra firma. Al peered out to see them swinging on the wires down to a series of power lines. Beyond that, what looked like a heavy street brawl. Except it was never like what Al imagined a street brawl would look like.

Flames leapt through the brawl, as stone and ice ripped through the fighters. Al noticed that there seemed to be two distinct groups fighting. One were dressed in darker green outfits, and all were earth or metalbenders. The other group were more varied; fire, earth, and water benders fighting alongside each other.

“Triple Threats,” Al thought, recognizing that the group was the only one in Republic City to accept benders of all styles. “Then the other group might be Creeping Crystal. Maybe it’s retaliation? Do they think the Triple Threats were responsible?”

“Get ready, lines are going down,” Mako shouted, throwing gloves and harnesses to Al and May. He noticed that the metal on the harness was made of platinum, and while part of him recognized the use against metalbending most of his thoughts were focused on how much platinum must be available for this world.

Two lines came down from the port side door of the airship. May nodded, able to slip Al onto the line before she took care of herself. Al nodded, until he noticed something wrong. “Mako, where’s your harness!”

“Don’t need one,” Mako answered, a grin creeping across his lips. “Little trick I figured out watching Gen. Iroh against the Equalists. Are you both ready?”

“Ready,” May shouted back. “On your word!”

Mako turned back to look out the door, and held up his hand. As the sounds of the fight finally made it through the roaring engines, he shouted, “Go!”

Al stepped out of the door, the line zipping through his gloved hands fast enough that he could feel the heat radiating through them. He saw May from the edge of his vision zipping down faster, like she’d been using this kind of technique for longer than he could dream of. That train of thought vanished when he saw Mako falling through the air sans line. Al was worried he’d kill himself, until the detective starting throwing fire from his fists and feet. The second Mako landed, he used his lightning bending to shock one of the fighters unconscious before handcuffing them. May didn’t waste any less time. The second she hit the ground, she sent her blades flying and used her circle to turn the ground under several fighters into liquified cement. Metalbender cops waded into the fray, wrapping their lines around anyone close enough to grab.

From above the fight looked like a show, but up close it was a true brawl. As he threw away the harness, Al watched as chunks of stone and concrete slammed into noses and chests. He was assaulted with the stench of burning hair, and he saw one man stumbling about trying to claw away the ice covering his face. Clapping his hands, Al ran to the man and melted it to water.

“Are you alright?” Al asked, the man gasping like he’d just realized his favorite star was behind him at Comic Con. “Can you breathe?”

“Stinkin’ water savages,” the man hacked, Al noting he was wearing muted green clothes. “They tried to kill me!”

“Then you’ll have to wait here,” Al said. Before the man could ask, the alchemist clapped his hands and shoved the earthbender’s arms into a suddenly liquified patch of group. Before the triad member could react, Al transmuted it back to normal. “Sorry, but I think the police will want to talk to you.”

“Cops! Everybody scatter!”

Al looked up to see the brawlers realize that the police were finally on the scene. The Creeping Crystals broke the pavement under them open, dropping into the city’s underground. Triple Threats created small steam explosions, the metalbender officers only snagging two or three more men total in the chaos. It looked like the triads were going to escape, until the street in front of them rose up like a wave. As the pavement rolled them up like cream in a North City roll, Al saw Korra stalking forward as she captured the thugs.

“Not bad for a day’s work, if I say so myself,” Korra said, allowing herself a little smugness as the triads in the pavement kept shouting out. As the second police airship came into view overhead, the metalbender officers began pulling triads out from the curled stone.

“Nice job Korra,” Mako said, the trio running up to meet her. “I think that’s all of them, did we miss anyone?”

“The guys who went underground, but we got a fair few of them,” Korra said, grinning as she turned to watch the cops bend the criminals into custody.

“Detective?” The four paused, Al turning at the voice to see a young woman walking up to them in light red business wear. Her light brown hair was cut short, and her bright golden eyes were taking in the madness in front of her. “What’s going on here?”

“A street brawl,” Mako said, turning to the trio. “Guys, this is Mrs. Ito -- ”

“Really detective, I think we’re beyond that,” she said, bowing her head to Korra. “Avatar Korra, my name is Anika Ito.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Korra said, though her eyes betrayed that something was wrong. “Were you hurt? You didn’t get near the fight, did you?”

“No, I was fine,” Anika said. “I was just leaving the office. I hadn’t expected something like this on my way home.”

“The office?” Mako asked. “None of your letters mentioned -- ”

“The day you visited the house,” she said, smiling a little sheepishly at him. “I realized something I hadn't been ready to. I’d been living in a house with Shin’s memory for two years. I could survive on his military pension and our savings, but I wasn’t…” She sighed, brushing her hair back as she said, “I wasn’t alive, not like how I was with Shin. I couldn’t go through those motions anymore. Life goes on, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does,” Mako said, smiling at Anika. “I’m glad that you’re finding a way forward. Where are you working?”

“I have a job with Keum Enterprises,” she answered. “I’m Mr. Keum’s personal secretary.”

“Oh, that’s…great!” Korra said, trying to smile. Al and May didn’t react as she said, “I’ll just…Just see how things are going with the triads.” Grabbing Al and May, she hurried for the roll she’d made.

“I suppose it would be awkward for her, dating Asami Sato,” Anika sighed, turning back to Mako. “Detective, you won’t give up looking for Shin’s killers, will you?”

“No, not until we close that case,” Mako answered. “Whatever happens, we will find out what happened to Shin.”

“Then I’d better let you handle this,” Anika said, nodding to him. “Have a good night, detective.”

Mako smiled, his heart welling up as she went to the trolley top. The woman he’d seen in the house was still shattered by the death. Still mourning a husband she’d never get to grow old with. Now she was pulling herself together, finding work, pushing forward.

“I won’t give up either,” he thought, turning back to help collect the triads. “Not until I know.”

As leader of the Triple Threats, Viper allowed himself a few luxuries in his office. Like the phonograph playing the latest music from his pet recording studio. Or the fine bottle of Fire Nation sake being poured out for him.

“Will you need anything else, sir?”

Or the Fire Nation beauty pouring said sake into his bowl.

“That’ll be good for now, doll,” he said, smirking as she stood up in her red and gold cheongsam. Filling it out quite nicely, at that. “If I need you for anything, I won’t hesitate to call for you.” As she bowed and walked out, his phone rang. Sighing at her sway as she left the room, he grabbed the receiver and said, “Yello?...Yeah? Well I told you…Fine, we can handle that. Just make sure there’s not any more trouble like there was today, got it?...Glad we understand each other. I’ll make sure it’s handled.” Pressing down on the receiver, he dialed a new number and waited.

“Yeah, it’s me…Well, I got it on a reliable tip that there might be some faulty wiring at the warehouse at the edge of the city…Yeah, that’s the one…I know you’ll look into it.”

Setting the phone back down, Viper leaned back and sighed. “Maybe I need a little more sake. And some company to drink it with…”

Al gazed down at the night’s dinner, a succulent looking dish made out of what he could only describe as “eel steak”. The portions were massive as they were doled out, and the rice was the perfect side dish to match with the braised sauce on the meat.

“This is delicious,” May said, focusing more on the rice with smaller helpings of eel. “Asami, your chef is excellent. Even the Dao clan would struggle to make such excellent cuisine.”

“Thanks…I think,” Asami said, looking along the table. “Hey, has anyone seen Varrick? He’s normally down for dinner by now.”

“Not a trace,” Bolin said, digging into his plate. “Hopefully he’s actually getting some sleep.”

“Same with Zhu Li,” Korra noted. “Is she even bothering to leave the office?”

“I had dinner sent up to her,” Asami answered. Then she looked to the staff and said, “Could you all leave for a moment? I need to talk to my friends alone.”

“Of course, Ms. Sato,” the butler said, bowing as he and the maids left the dining room.

Waiting until the doors shut behind them, Asami turned to the others. “So, I had an interesting talk with Mr. Keum today.”

“As in Keum Enterprises?” Mako asked. “What’d he want?”

“He tried to blackmail me,” Asami said. “My father tried to make a deal with him when he was with the Equalists. He tried to convince Keum to manufacture a kind of deadly gas One that can kill in seconds.”

“Nerve gas,” Bolin muttered, eyes going wide as he dropped his chopsticks. “The Equalists were going to go that far?”

“Apparently Keum had some scruples,” Asami said, setting her utensils down as she pushed her empty plate back. “He broke the deal with my dad. Only today, he tried to blackmail me over it. Thought I would give up bidding on a contract I didn’t even want.”

“That so?” Korra grumbled, slamming her fist into her palm. “Maybe we should go to him and have a little talk.”

“No, we won’t do that,” Asami warned, though she did still smile at Korra’s willingness to fight for her. “But I do want to make sure that nothing happens to the evidence. I made sure the city knows what’s at stake, but I think a little extra insurance wouldn’t hurt.”

Korra grinned, leaning back in her chair. “I seem to recall doing something similar back when we were dealing with the Equalists.”

“Alright, Team Avatar back on patrol!” Bolin laughed, jumping up and throwing a few jabs. “Al, May, you’re both gonna love this!”

Al laughed, Bolin’s enthusiasm more infectious than a cold. “Then how could we say no!”

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

Korra soared high overhead as she trailed Asami’s mobile. The night sky over the city was empty; the airships preferred to fly out in daylight. Better to make sure they didn’t collide with the skyline or other airships approaching the city. The sights and sounds of the urban jungle faded this high in the air, the lights of the Satomobiles and the trolley cars turned into distant beams as she kept her eyes locked on the mobile.

“Avatar,” a low rumbling voice said. Turning, she saw an eel spirit soaring beside her. “I must speak with you.”

“Uh, okay, but I’m kinda busy right now,” Korra said, trying to split her attention. “What’s wrong?”

“The humans,” the spirit rumbled. “They keep roaming through the vines, through the areas we have claimed for ourselves. You must make them leave.”

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Korra asked, glaring at the eel spirit. “You guys never told me you’d claimed areas for yourselves.”

“Anywhere the vines grow is the realm of the spirits,” the eel argued. “We were willing to allow the humans in small numbers, but they continue to intrude where they aren’t wanted.”

Korra grumbled, turning back to see Asami had sped a little faster ahead. “Look, let me take care of this tonight, okay? I’ll meet you tomorrow morning at the portal and we can see where the boundaries are.”

“Very well, but do not tarry,” the eel warned. “We will not be gentle with the humans that continue to trespass.”

“Hey, don’t start threatening people,” Korra barked. “There’s ways to work this out that doesn't involve fighting.”

“Then take action, before we do,” the eel spirit bellowed. “These travelers being pleasing to us means nothing if our territories continue to suffer trespass!”

Korra grumbled, watching as the spirit flew back to the center of the city. “I’m dealing with this, now the spirits aren’t happy? Is anything else gonna go wrong?” Then she flinched, muttering, “I just cursed myself, didn’t I?” Sighing, she guided her glider low to keep up with Asami.

Down on the ground, Asami glared ahead as she guided the car through the industrial district. It was almost entirely warehouses; the factories were concentrated along the rivers or organized mostly to the south. There was no one out here at this time of night, not counting the few roving security guards hired to protect the kind of goods no one wanted to lose.

“So, I had to run through the market screaming my head off,” Bolin said, Al and May enraptured as they listened to the story of how he found Pabu. “I mean, we’d always wanted a pet, but since our parents were gone there was no one to help us buy one. I’m just thankful that shop owner didn’t fit through doors too well, if you get what I mean.”

Asami turned her attention back to the road, tuning out the conversation. Arm laying on the door, leaning back in her seat, she glared into the darkness broken up by the streetlights. Glancing up, she couldn’t see the shadow in the night showing where Korra was.

“Hey,” Mako said, drawing her back. “Something’s on your mind.”

Asami tried to play it off, answering, “If Bolin’s right, we have to be careful with how we handle this.”

“That’s not it,” Mako said. “Something about this is inside your head, Asami. What is it?”

Asami sighed, rubbing at her forehead. “It’s another part of my dad’s past with the Equalists. This isn’t exactly something I enjoy, you know?”

Mako nodded, turning back to face the road. “I guess you never really forgave him?”

Asami shook her head, not noticing Al and May laughing from the back. “The Equalists wanted to kill all of you. My father played at being a friend while planning to destroy any bender in his way. No, I did not forgive him.” That put an end to the conversation in the front for the rest of the drive.

It was another twenty minutes to the warehouse in question, by then the world was engulfed in the darkness. The streetlamps flickered, if they worked at all. The buildings were falling to rust and decay, the few windows on the warehouses either shattered or boarded up. The logos of the owners had begun to fade away, stripped by the rain and wind and pollution. It was a smaller building than the others, but even then “small” for the warehouses was still about the size of the mansion.

“Something’s wrong,” Asami said, pulling up outside the fence.

Korra came down next to the car, looking around. “What is it?”

“Guard shack,” Mako said, pointing to the small wood post. “But no guard.”

“Not the best sign,” Al said, following Bolin out of the car. “But maybe they don’t need a guard?”

“No, Keum’s not that stupid, not with something like this.” Reaching under her seat, Asami pulled out her shock gauntlet and slid it over her right hand. Making sure it worked, the arcs dancing around her fingers, she glared at the padlocked chain link gate. “Korra, can you give us a way in?” The avatar obliged, bending the metal to let everyone through before bending it back.

“This is kind of like that story from the anime that didn’t follow brother and I,” Al chuckled, trying to smile at the looming exterior of the warehouse. “Creepy night, an abandoned warehouse? All we need is the bones buried in the ground.”

“Yeah, can we not have any more bones underground?” Korra muttered. “I hated those catacombs in Paris.”

Asami was silent as she stormed up to the front doors of the warehouse. Reaching out for the handle, she tensed as the door swung open.

“Well, at least we don’t have to technically break in,” May said, trying to keep spirits up. “Maybe this was just a mistake?”

“We need to find those chemicals,” Asami whispered, storming into the warehouse. “Now.” Korra and Mako held balls of fire in their hands, walking along the walls looking for a light switch. Al trailed Mako to the right side, May following Asami to the center of the warehouse as Bolin shut the door and stood guard. Faint moonlight fell in from the open hatches on the ceiling, only enough to dimly illuminate the small patches of floor under them.

“Asami sounds really intense right now,” Al whispered. “Has this happened before?”

“No, but I think this is the first time someone’s tried to blackmail her with something her dad did,” Mako answered, boosting his fire to see a little better. “What matters is securing these chemicals before anything can be done with them.”

“That’s another thing I don’t get,” Al said. “I – Ow!” A plank of wood clattered across the floor, the alchemist already feeling the throbbing pain in his big toe the next morning. “I would’ve thought Mr. Keum would go to the police, let them know what he had. What did he have to fear?”

“Losing everything if his company was tied to the Equalists at all,” Mako answered. Grinning, he glanced back and said, “It’s what he gets for trying to play Asami.”

More to the center of the warehouse, May made sure to stay close to Asami. Their footsteps echoed across the concrete floor, the distant shadows from the two small fireballs dancing their shadows across the floor in hazy shapes. May chuckled, whispering, “Y-You know, this could almost be scary.”

“Well right now it’s wrong,” Asami whispered, coming to a stop and looking around. “The building is empty. There’s no shelves, no storage, it’s practically all empty space. Where is everything?”

Bolin was silent as the others moved through the warehouse, standing dutifully next to the door. He thought he could make out something in the center of the warehouse, but the light from Mako or Korra didn’t reach all the way. “C’mon guys, can we get some lights on here soon? I hate being left in the -- ” The door of the warehouse flew open, and he felt a metal blade at his neck. Bolin frowned, muttering, “Darn it.”

Korra kept searching along the other side of the warehouse, until she saw a blocky shadow ahead. Giving her fire a little more chi, she grinned as she saw a switchbox come into view. Pulling the cover open, she saw that the switch inside waiting to be thrown. “Found the lights!” she shouted, hefting slightly to throw it.

The lights shuddered on through the warehouse, and Asami saw their goal at last. Several dozen large tanks sitting in the center of the warehouse, set next to what looked like an air circulation system that she’d seen her father experimenting with atop the Future Industries factories. “This is it,” she muttered, letting her relief flow through her voice. “This is all of it.”

“Uh, hey guys?” Bolin called out, not sounding too concerned. “We’re got some visitors.”

Asami’s eye twitched, turning back to see a group of ten men in the warehouse with them. One had a pair of hook swords, keeping one at Bolin’s neck. Still, at this point that wasn’t enough to get under his skin. Looking more apologetic than frightened, he said, “So, is that it?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s it,” Asami said, as May moved to her right slightly. “Who are you?”

“That’s not important,” the leader of the group warned, his underlings moving out on his flanks. Asami noticed that two of them were holding two gas cans each. “None of you should be here. Get out, and we won’t have any trouble.”

“That’s not happening,” Korra warned, Asami noticing Mako and Al moving into position on her left. “Let him go.”

The thug shifted, making sure to show how close the blade was to Bolin’s jugular. With his slicked back hair shining even in the dim light of the warehouse, he warned, “You don’t belong here, Sato. Go off back to your mansion, and we don’t have to have this fight.”

“Hey, you don’t get to threaten her,” Korra warned, she and her friends taking their stances. “You don’t know what’s in those tanks; don’t make us call the cops.”

The triad sneered, pressing the tip of his blade a little harder into Bolin’s neck. “You’re gonna make demands, avatar?”

“Uh, Korra, maybe he’s got a bit of a point?” Bolin said, flashing a nervous grin. “One that is currently pressing into my neck right now?”

“You should listen to your friend,” the thug warned. “No need to make thing ugly, avatar.”

No one dared move. Asami’s gauntlet flexed, glaring at the leader of the crew. Bolin wasn’t too nervous, but she wasn’t surprised that he was trying to move his neck back from the blade. She watched May carefully move her hand for her blades. Korra and Mako looked ready to start throwing fireballs and lightning. That wasn’t too comforting though, considering the gas cans the men had. If those went up, the blade would be the least of Bolin’s troubles.

Shattered glass. Asami didn’t take her eyes away, but she heard one of the mobsters shout, “Hey, what was that!”

“May,” she whispered. “What happened?”

Shifting, May answered, “One of the lights is out wait!” There was another bulb shattering, and the alkahest said, “Another one went out! Three of them!”

Asami nodded, and called out, “Friends of yours?”

“Don’t play with us, Sato,” the thug growled. “What kinda trick are you playing?”

“Hey, give me some credit,” a new voice echoed through the warehouse. “I don't have a mobile, I had to get here all on my own.”

Asami’s eyes narrowed; it didn’t take the chief of police to know what was going on. She whispered, “May, can you find them?”

“I’ll try,” May answered. “But if I move, won’t the triads take that as a chance to start a fight?”

“We can buy you some time,” Asami muttered. “We both know who that is, don’t we?”

“Agreed,” May said, stepping back. “Ready?”

Asami flexed her fingers, the gauntlet sparking. “Ready.”

May sprinted into the darkened section of the warehouse, more lights smashing out as the thugs charged. Asami had her target set; a firebender wielding blue flames and an earthbender already tearing up the concrete. She ran straight into the fray, ignoring the heat from the flames and the chucks of stone speeding past her head. She kept her eyes focused on the firebender, blue flames flashing past her face as she slid under another hunk of concrete flying through the air. Bouncing back up, she managed to grab the firebender by the arm and shock him unconscious. She turned to face the earthbender, only to see that him grinning. That was when she realized he’d covered his forearms, shins, and chest in stone.

To her left, Mako and Al faced a waterbender and two earthbenders. Mako could handle the water, but the stones weren’t going to break apart when hit by his flames. All he could do was roll and dodge; easier said than done in a darkening warehouse.

“The famous Fire Ferrets!” one of the thugs sneered, sounding more like a weasel-worm than a person. “What’s wrong? Can’t fight outside a ring? You punks ain’t as tough as we heard!”

Mako said nothing; he didn’t need to waste time shouting back at a triad thug. That was when he saw a blue flash, and saw a concrete fist send the offending earthbender flying back through the air. He and the other two thugs froze, then turned to see Al rising from behind the divot in the concrete where the fist had come from.

“You’re right, they aren’t as tough as you heard,” Al said, smiling as he clapped his hands together. “They’re tougher than that!”

As the thugs panicked, Bolin shifted a little and asked, “So, how’s the Triple Threats holding up?”

The blade-wielding thug blinked, then asked, “I’ve got a blade at your throat. You know that, right?”

“Eh, not the first time I’ve ever been held hostage,” Bolin said, shrugging. “You weren’t around when bro and I were with the gang, when did you join?” The thug sneered, pressing that little bit harder on Bolin’s throat.

As Korra tried to draw her four opponents back from the gas cans, May ran through the darkness of the warehouse. She shut her eyes, sensing the flow of chi from the others around her. The benders blared like sirens to her senses; powerful sources of energy that she could track without trouble. That close together, it was hard to separate Asami from her opponents. Still, that wasn’t the problem. Facing the rest of the warehouse, May had no trouble following the Blue Spirit.

“Hiding behind those tanks of chemicals won’t help you,” May shouted, crouching down to carve a transmutation circle with one of her blades. “The police are here; if you surrender you might be given leniency.”

“Hey, that’s a neat trick,” the Blue Spirit called out. “Didn’t even hear you stomp your feet.”

“Korra and her friends have all kinds of surprises now,” May called out, drawing five blades from her sleeves. “If you want to fight the triads, you need to do it the right way.”

“Right, because our avatar and her friends do everything the right way, too,” the Blue Spirit laughed. May grinned, lining up the right spot to throw her knives. “Face it, people only have a problem with breaking the rules when it doesn’t do them any good.”

May didn’t say anything; she threw her blades then slammed her palms on the circle.

The transmutation flashed, and for a second May thought that the concrete dragon she sent at the Blue Spirit knocked the vigilante out. Until she heard footsteps running across the statue, and felt the chi of her target moving. Grunting, she sprinted for the source of chi and thought she was at least going to knock the vigilante out. Then electricity arced around what they were using, and May had to roll out of the way as a blade sliced through the air where her head had been. “Hey! Are you trying to kill someone?!”

“What do I look like, Kuvira?” the figure laughed. May could make out the rough shape of a fanged mask in the blue glow surrounding the blade, looking like a smiling demon to her eyes.

“Heads up!” Korra shouted. May glanced back and saw a chunk of concrete speeding her way. Yelping out, she dove away from the Blue Spirit and found herself face to face with one of the triad thugs. Before the man could swing, May let out a shout and put five kicks into his chest. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the vigilante caught a chunk of concrete to their left foot.

Mako was still fighting against an earthbender, until he took a chunk of stone to his right thigh. Crying out as he collapsed to the ground, he watched as the earthbender wound up to deliver a knockout blow straight to his head. A bolo line came flying out of the darkness, wrapping around the thug before delivering a strong electric shock to his system. Trying to fight back to his feet, Mako felt someone lift him up. “What’s wrong detective? Didn’t know I made you weak in the knees.”

Mako grunted, rising up to finally get a look at the Blue Spirit. Unsurprisingly, they wore the traditional mask; the leering, fanged visage of the spirit of retribution. There was a sword in their right hand, still crackling with electricity and reeking of ozone. What he hadn’t expected was the blue suit and hat; it looked like the spirit had come from a night on the town to interrupt the brawl.

“You’re under arrest,” Mako growled, glaring at the masked visage.

“Sorry, full dance card tonight,” the vigilante said, pulling two more bolos out from their pocket. “Lemme give you a hand though.” Spinning around, they threw the bolos at the waterbender. Except one bolo went wide, and managed to wrap around Al.

“Hey, wait!” was all he managed to shout out before he and the waterbender were shocked unconscious.

“Oops,” the Spirit muttered, shrugging. “Guess I need to get some more practice in with those.”

Mako sent a fireball at the figure, but only singed their right elbow before they jumped away. “Hey, c’mon now! Aren’t we on the same side, Mako?”

Before Mako could growl out that they weren’t even on the same moral planet, he heard Korra shout, “Let him go!”

Turning, he saw the thugs had retreated back to the door. The ones that hadn’t been knocked out, anyway. Bolin was starting to look worried now, the leader of the crew using his other blade to point at Korra. “That figures! You’re using that Blue Spirit character to come after us!”

“What?!” Korra shouted. “How does that make any sense!”

“Yeah, I’ve got much better fashion sense,” the Spirit quipped. Asami scowled at the implication.

“You can’t win this fight,” May shouted, standing atop her dazed opponent. “You’re not burning the warehouse down and you aren’t destroying the evidence!”

The thug sneered, waiting for his crew to back up to the door. Then he kicked Bolin forward, knocked the gas cans over, and scrapped the edge of his hooks along the concrete. The flames tore through the front of the building, Bolin yelping as he scrambled away from the heat.

“Looks like that’s my cue,” the Blue Spirit said, sprinting for the shadows. “Sorry detective, looks like we have to do this some other time.”

“Hey, wait!” Mako roared. He tried to hobble after the figure, only to watch them disappear into the darkness. “May, can you find them?”

“I’ve got it!” May shouted, bounding back up and sprinting for the shadows. She felt the chi from the vigilante sprint into the shadows surrounding the machinery. Then she realized the chi was speeding upward to the ceiling. “Korra! I need a fireball!”

“Kinda busy!” Korra shouted, focusing on starving the fire of oxygen with airbending.

“On it!” Mako roared. Shooting the fireball overhead, they both saw the Blue Spirit zipping up on a line toward one of the hatches. One hand gripping the line, they all watched as the vigilante tipped their hat to Mako before disappearing up through the hatch and into the night. He wound up and sent a jolt of lightning at them, but even striking them dead in the back he watched them vanish into the darkness.

“Dammit!” Mako roared, glaring up at the ceiling. “They got away!”

“And you’re hurt,” May said, grabbing Mako and forcing him to sit back down on the floor. “Now that the fight’s over, you’re going to feel it any second now.”

Mako nodded, laying back on the floor and forcing himself to calm down. “Bolin! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Bolin said, running up to his side. “Where’d he get you?”

“Right leg,” Mako grumbled. “Asami?”

“Still here,” Asami shouted. Looking toward her voice, he saw her checking the tanks with a relieved smile. “None of them look damaged, we got lucky tonight.”

“Yeah, lucky,” Mako grumbled, starting to feel his right thigh throb and ache from the hit. “I got them on the elbow and in the back.”

“And I saw them take a rock in the center of their foot,” May added. “Alphonse, did you see anything?” Silence. “Alphonse?”

The two heard a groan, and looked over to see Al trying to worm his way across the floor still tangled in the bolo line. “I…I think I need some sleep…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

The first thing Al noticed was the sunlight streaming into his room. The next was that he was flat on his bed, still dressed in his clothes from the night before. Forcing himself out of the comforting embrace of the down pillow, he washed up for the day and threw on a new suit. As he was dressing, he heard a knock on the door and May calling out, “Alphonse? Are you up?”

“I am,” Al answered. “Is breakfast ready?”

“It’ll be out in a few seconds,” May answered. “Need any help?”

“No, I’m fine,” Al sighed, rubbing at his forehead. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Finished dressing and trying to look forward to the day, Al walked into the dining room to see everyone waiting to breakfast. Asami was already scouring through the newspaper; a picture on the front showed what Al had missed after getting wrapped up. They were talking to the police and handing over a captured triad, Asami fielding question after question from the press. May sat reading a separate section of the paper, making notes for Daniel’s research.

“Morning!” Bolin said, smiling as Al took the empty seat next to him. “How’d you sleep?”

“Like a Briggs bear,” Al muttered, before noticing that Bolin didn’t understand the phrase. “I slept fine. Where’s Korra and Mako?”

“Mako’s trying to get something out of the triad we found last night,” Asami answered, setting the paper down. “And Korra’s down by the portal; she said to send you to the Southern Cultural Center later. She said the spirits are getting upset about people trespassing, so she went to see what might be wrong.”

Al’s mind flashed back to the series, and he asked, “No one’s been kidnapped, right?”

“No, nothing like that,” Asami said, smiling to Al. “She is the balance between humans and spirits; I guess she’d have to handle something like this again before too long.”

Al nodded, but looked back at the sound of the doors opening. Varrick shuffled in, managing to look even worse than he had when they first arrived. “Morning,” he grumbled, falling into his seat. “Zhu Li’s in the office.”

“I already had breakfast sent up to her,” Asami said, leaning forward. “Varrick, you can’t keep doing this to yourself. You need to accept what happened was an accident.”

“It wasn’t!” Varrick roared, shooting up and pointing skyward. “I’m being framed Asami, framed I tell ya! Those tanks were all designed to last, you know I’m a better engineer than that!”

“I know, but you’re not thinking straight,” Asami said, glaring at Varrick. “Zhu Li is running herself ragged, you need to start figuring out how you can move forward from this.”

Varrick began shuddering, then collapsed back into his chair. “Aw, Asami, what’s the point? Everyone hates me now. Barely anyone’s willing to buy from me, my employees are getting louder every day, and all I know how to do is cause trouble. I might as well give up.”

“You can’t,” Al said, the table looking up at his tone. “Giving up won’t help anyone, Varrick. It won’t help you, and it certainly won’t help Zhu Li. You have all these amazing ideas, but you’re going to let one setback define the rest of your life? I thought you were turned around, better than you were before Kuvira.”

May smiled. Bolin and Asami blinked. Varrick stood stock still, staring at Al until he shrugged and muttered, “I mean, when you put it like that, I guess I am acting kinda silly.” Sighing, he leaned his elbows on the table, only to flinch and rub at his right arm. “Ow! Darn it, that hurt.”

May’s eyebrow went up. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just dinged my arm up yesterday trying to find the evidence I need,” Varrick muttered, pulling his arms back. “Look, can I get my food to go?”

Asami smirked, answering, “Only if you promise to do something else today. No looking for evidence, or no food.”

Varrick blinked, then grumbled, “Fine, I won’t look for any evidence today. Scout’s honor.”

Smiling, Bolin said, “I didn’t know you were a scout, Varrick.”

“Well, I mean I technically was,” Varrick said, thinking back. “Only for a few weeks, but I was. Apparently lighting your scout master’s house on fire isn’t allowed. How was I supposed to know?”

As everyone stared at Varrick, May quietly studied the eccentric from behind her section of the paper.

Korra kept having to adjust herself as she flew, a strong headwind from the east kept trying to blow her over the ocean. Spirits flittered about the portal, moving in and out as they pleased. The flowers on the vines were starting to wilt, a once brilliant field of purple turning into a dull dark green.

“Avatar.” Turning, she saw the eel spirit from last night undulating through the air toward her. “It is good to see you’ve kept your promise. Come, we must right this wrong immediately.” With that, the eel flew toward the north of the portal and vines.

“Good morning to you too,” Korra muttered, trailing along past the portal. She followed the eel spirit to the edge of the vines, where the buildings still stood intact under them. Following the spirit down to the street, she folded up her glider asking, “So, where’s the trespassers?”

“How can you not see them?” the eel growled. “They stand before you now, mocking our domain!”

Korra followed the eel’s glare, and realized he was facing an apartment building that clearly had people living in it. “Uh, they’re the trespassers?”

“These vines belong to us,” the eel growled. “They must leave, now!”

“Okay, hang on,” Korra muttered, walking to the apartments. “Let me talk to them, see what they have to say.” Shaking her head, she noticed an older woman hanging out of a third-floor window. Several children were laughing and playing around the street, some even clambering over and up the vines running up the building.

“Excuse me,” Korra said, smiling as she called out to the kids. “Can I talk to anyone? The landlord? Your parents?”

The kids froze, staring in awe at their avatar. Then one girl called out, “Korra!” That started the stampede, and the kids surrounded the avatar. They all gazed up with wide, awed eyes; they asked her a dozen questions a second, and she was left scrambling to think of any answers.

“Ha! Hang on avatar, I’ll save you,” the old woman in the window shouted. She disappeared into the apartments, and as Korra hefted the little girl that had called out onto her shoulder she reappeared in the doorway to the apartment. “So, what brings you to the garden, avatar?”

“Official duties,” Korra answered, smiling as he bowed her head to the woman. “Are you the landlord?”

“His wife, for what that’s worth,” she said, grinning as she parted the children around Korra. “So, you’re here to finally get rid of these vines, right? About time, we’ve been trying to get some help for this since Kuvira invaded.”

Korra blinked, asking, “So, you’ve lived here for a while?”

“Well, yeah,” the woman said, staring at Korra like she was trying to puzzle out the avatar. “Some of these kids were growing up here long before those vines showed up.”

Korra turned back to see the eel spirit had vanished; either it had gone for the portal, or decided it had better things to do. “So, you’re not trespassing then.”

“Trespassing?” the woman laughed. “Who on earth gave you the idea we were trespassing?”

“I’m hoping someone that made a mistake,” Korra grumbled, setting the child back down with her friends. “I’ll be honest, I can’t get rid of the vines. The last time I tried only made things worse. Maybe you can all try to find somewhere else to live?”

“Not likely,” the woman grumbled, glaring toward the skyscrapers shooting up from the new city center. “We already tried to move everyone years ago, before that business with that nut Kuvira. Barely anyone living her could afford to move then, what makes you think they could move now?”

“Call it hope,” Korra sighed. Crouching down, she smiled at the kids and asked, “Are you all okay? Do you need anything?”

“Oh! Ohohoh!” the girl squealed through two missing from teeth, bouncing up and down in excitement. “Can you play wit’ us, Korra? Please!”

“Please!” the kids all squealed, going wild around Korra as she stood up.

Korra laughed, unable to resist the call of the youngsters. Getting a smile and a shrug from the landlady, she stood tall and said, “Alright, I have some time to play. Who wants to see what it’s like to fly!”

The kids screamed out, not noticing the baleful eyes of an eel spirit circling overhead.

Mako looked over his draft report, then balled it up and tossed it in the trash. Nothing he wrote felt decent. It didn’t help that the only triad they’d taken into custody refused to speak. Not even Chief Beifong’s arrival in the interrogation room did anything to crack him. “Either he’s very stubborn,” he thought, pulling out a fresh report template. “Or afraid of someone worse.”

“Alright, what do I know,” he thought, looking to his notes. “A group of ten Triple Threats were at the warehouse; obviously they wanted to burn the place down. But why? Maybe Keum wanted to destroy the evidence, but that’s circumstantial even for us.” Sighing, he threw the notepad into his desk and stood. Ignoring the ache in his thigh, he hobbled for the coffee in the ready room.

“Jeez Mako, what happened?” one of the other detectives asked. “Looks like you tried to take the Wolf-Bats on your own.”

“I’ll be fine,” Mako grumbled, pouring himself a cup. “Just trying to make some connections.”

“Shame you didn’t catch that Blue Spirit character,” one of the detectives said, holding up an inside page of the paper. The header was plain; Who Is The Blue Spirit? “Papers are all going nuts over them.”

“They’re no one to go nuts over, believe me,” Mako grumbled, pouring himself a fresh cup of brew. “They’re another criminal. Just because they fight other bad guys doesn’t mean they’re in the right.”

“Easy kid, we’re not saying they are,” an older detective grumbled, glaring at him with the added weight of two decades in the department. “You’d better remember this dummy’s gonna be popular is all. Lotta folks are gonna be happy to see the triads getting what they deserve, and they won’t care how it happens.”

“Right, sorry,” Mako sighed, adding some milk to his cup. “They were right there, and I let them escape.”

“Not the way I heard it,” the older detective said, raising his coffee to Mako. “You got that warehouse secured, and I saw your report. They won’t be walking right for a while after that lightning strike you gave them.”

Mako grinned, shuffling back to his desk. “Well, hopefully this gives us something to work with.” Easing back into his chair, he sighed as he started anew.

“Det. Mako?” Scowling at the interruption, he turned to see Zhu Li standing next to his desk. “Are you alright? I saw you limping on the way to you desk.”

“It’s nothing, just some trouble last night,” Mako said, turning to face her. Except his foot swept wide, and wound up colliding with Zhu Li’s foot. She gasped and jumped back, colliding with one of her lawyers in the process. “Spirits, I’m so sorry,” Mako said, shooting up to help.

“It’s fine, it’s nothing,” she said, forcing herself to stand upright. “I stubbed my toe last night on my way to bed, it should heal soon enough.”

“If you say so,” Mako said, easing back down onto his chair. “So, what’d you drop off today?”

“Employee rosters,” Zhu Li said. “It seems Chief Beifong might actually be willing to explore a possibility outside of Varrick sabotaging his own company.”

Mako held back a comment on that, asking, “Then why don’t you sound happy about it?”

Zhu Li sighed, turning her head away. “It’s nothing. I’ll see you back at the mansion.”

Mako nodded, watching as she walked out. For saying she only stubbed her toe, it looked like she was walking rather carefully to the door.

“Sato, your daughter’s here.”

Hiroshi blinked, turning from his desk to see Asami standing in front of the bars with a scowl on her face. “Asami? I didn’t expect you back this soon.”

Asami didn’t say anything, and Hiroshi noticed that the guard walked away without unlocking the cell. Trying to figure out what was going on, he rose from his chair and shuffled up to the bars. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Asami shut her eyes, taking a long breath before asking, “Do you remember the deal you tried to make with Keum?”

Hiroshi nodded. “Yes, it fell through when he said he didn’t want to work with me.”

“It’s the why, dad,” Asami said, shutting her eyes tight. “He told me what you tried to convince him too.”

Hiroshi froze, staring past the bars unable to speak. To him, the deal with Keum was supposed to be a coup for the Equalist movement, but the coward had backed out. Denounced any part of the uprising and said he wanted nothing to do with Amon or his cause. Of course, he hadn’t said anything out loud. That would have implicated him in being an associate.

“I’ve been trying to move forward,” Asami sighed, turning away from the bars. “Trying to accept that what you did isn’t going to be forever. I thought I was starting to come close to forgiving you. Then I learned that you were making nerve gas? What were you thinking?”

Hiroshi said nothing, staring down at the floor. “There were so many benders arrayed against us, I thought…” He stopped himself, and turned back to his desk. “No, that’s making excuses. You don’t want those.”

“Of course I don’t,” Asami hissed, glaring at her father. “What else did you make for the Equalists? How many more secrets do I have to find out?”

Silence. Terrible, interminable silence. A quiet that crushed both of them under its unseen weight. Hiroshi’s hand gripped the back of his chair, arm trembling as he fought with himself. “When…When Amon captured the airbenders…He told us that there needed to be certainty.”

“Certainty?” Asami scoffed, shaking her head. “What are you talking about?” Hiroshi fell silent again, forcing her to shout, “What was going to happen to Tenzin’s family?”

Gasping, staring up at the ceiling, Hiroshi whispered, “When I heard about the stage, them being bound to those posts…I never wanted to…Not to children…”

Asami’s heart stopped. She didn’t have anything to say, there was nothing she could say. Grabbing the bars to steady herself, she took a ragged breath. Barely able to rationalize what she’d heard, she asked, “So, nerve gas was fine? Killing captured children was where you drew the line?”

Hiroshi’s voice was on the verge of breaking, the chair clattering against the floor as he gasped, “Asami…”

“I…I need to go,” Asami whispered. Pushing herself away from the bars, she sped down the corridors to the guards. As her footsteps echoed down the corridor, Hiroshi struggled to stand with bitter tears rolling down his cheeks.

Walking with Bolin down the Sokka Parkway, May noted how crowded everything was. “Everyone likes having Satomobiles, I take it?”

“Yeah, guess they’re getting cheaper,” Bolin answered. “Good thing we decided to walk; we’d never get anywhere today.”

“The city is still strange to me,” May said, looking up at the rising skyscrapers. “It’s like a mixture of my home and Alphonse’s. I should mention that to Dr. Jackson.”

“At least you know where you’re going here,” Bolin said. “Remember Paris? All those winding streets, the catacombs, I never knew where we were gonna end up.”

“Maybe, but the skyscrapers remind me of the first mission Alphonse and I went on,” May said. “I’m wondering if we’ll be attacked by a machine crawling along the sides of the buildings. And why does there need to be so much space given to the mobiles? Wouldn’t it be better to give more space for homes?”

“Maybe? Thing is, Asami makes a lot of her company’s money from mobiles,” Bolin said. “People like driving their mobiles through the city too, you can’t make it impossible for them if they want to.”

“No, but look at things now,” May said, nodding to the jammed parkway. “Throwing more mobiles onto the road won’t help anyone.”

Before the talk could go farther, two shadows flew in from above. Looking up, the pair saw Jinora and Ikki land on the sidewalk in front of them. “Hey guys!” Bolin said, smiling at the pair. “May, these are Jinora and Ikki, Tenzin’s daughters. Guys, this is May Chang.” Grinning, he pointed and squealed, “She’s a princess!”

“But that’s not too important,” May said, bowing slightly to the pair. “It’s a pleasure to meet the daughters of Korra’s teacher.”

“We’re happy to meet another member of the MVTF as well,” Jinora said, the pair returning the bow. “Are you a wizard?”

“An alkahest,” May answered. “The other universes might say we use magic, but to my people alkahestry is a science.”

“Oooh, like what Asami does with her mobiles?” Ikki asked, leaning so close to May’s face that the princess could count the fading freckles on the girl’s face. “Is it like that?”

“No, not exactly,” May said, leaning back to get some room. “Alkahestry is the ability to read the Dragon’s pulse, the living energy of the world -- ”

The talk was interrupted by sirens, a police airship roaring overhead ten blocks to the south. Metalbender cops were already leaping out, swinging through the air or zipping along the powerlines. “That’s actually why we came down to talk,” Jinora said, shaking her head. “I wanted to ask about what happened last night at the warehouse.”

“Oh, sure, but you’d be better off asking Mako or Asami,” Bolin said. “I kinda got taken hostage.”

Ikki asked, “Again?”

“We wanted to ask about the triads,” Jinora said. “We’ve been so busy helping the refugees, we haven’t been able to assist the police against them.”

“Well, there’s not much I can tell you that you don’t already know,” Bolin said, shrugging. “We’re pretty sure they were Triple Threat. My guess, someone sent them there on an arson job.”

“The gas cans were a bit of a giveaway,” May mentioned, Bolin nodding in agreement.

“That’s still more trouble from the triads,” Ikki said. “Daddy said he’s wondering if we should get more involved.”

“Not sure that would help much,” Bolin admitted. “The triads are afraid of the police, not the Air Nomads. Viper’s afraid of Chief Beifong, not your dad. No offense.”

“You’re not wrong,” Jinora agreed. “He’s not trying to do anything wrong, though. He wants to make sure the refugees aren’t wrapped up with anything the triads do.”

“Good luck with that,” Bolin muttered. “The triads own almost all the landlords; even if they aren’t kicking a few bucks up, they’re gonna pay protection.”

“You can always declare them enemies of the nation,” May mentioned. “Anyone extorting from another is sentenced to labor under the government’s orders.”

Bolin cringed, muttering, “Yeah, might be a little too heavy handed to work here, May.”

May blinked, then sighed, “Right, I’m not in Xing.”

“Ooooh, what’s Xing?” Ikki asked. “Is that another world in the multiverse? Can we go there?”

“Not today,” Jinora said, thought May and Bolin both caught the longing in her words. “We still have to patrol the area around the spirit portal.”

“Ugh, fine,” Ikki grumbled, the pair bending themselves skyward. “It was nice to meet you! Bye!”

As the sisters flew off on the breeze to the portal, Bolin smiled. “You know, it’s kinda nice. No matter how crazy things get, you can always count on the Air Nomads.”

“They do seem like a group willing to do good,” May said, watching as they flew on. “But what happens if they have to confront a threat?”

“Trust me, they don’t have any trouble defending themselves,” Bolin said. “Remember how Tenzin handled Zaheer’s gang in the Northern Temple?”

“He did put up a fight,” May said, walking on with Bolin again. “Then you don’t think the triads are a threat to the airbenders?”

Grinning, Bolin answered, “I think if the triads tried to fight the airbenders, they’d be begging for Chief Beifong to lock them away.”

May thought on the idea, watching as the two sisters disappeared behind the skyscrapers.

Al was dazzled by the sights before him. The entire cultural history of the Southern Water Tribe, laid out for him to pour over the rest of the day. “This is amazing,” he whispered, staring at the recreation of a typical Southern family during their nights together. Of the father and his brothers coming back from a hunt with fresh penguin-seal, and the women of the group managing the home and children. “An extended family communal system, Amestris never had anything like this.”

Korra shrugged, following him through the exhibits. “Well, there aren’t many families like this anymore. Now that everyone has their own houses? I mean, there’s still close families, but we don’t have to live crammed together anymore.”

“Evolving societal interdependence,” Al whispered. “They’ve managed to hold to the core of their cultural ideals while facing the times.”

“Water is the element of change,” Korra said, letting herself have a little pride with her smirk. “My dad told me how he wouldn’t have survived being in exile if it weren’t for his waterbending training. Well, that and meeting my mom.”

“I’d love to stay here for a few months and learn some more,” Al sighed, moving to the next exhibit. “Brother was always focused on alchemy, we never really had the time to stop and explore the places we went to. I want to make sure I don’t miss any chance to learn some more about the world. Well, worlds now!”

Korra laughed, following Al to a display showing off how Sokka organized the new capital city for the Southern Tribe. “Maybe you can explore the rest of the US one day. Fareeha was talking about a whole bunch of museums in Washington DC. If we go back there, she’d be happy to take you.”

“A city full of museums,” Al gasped, turning back to Korra with bright, saucer-sized eyes. “Is there a way I can convince Gen. Hammond it would be safe for me to go?”

“You’d have to ask them,” Korra said, shrugging as Al moved to the next display. “It’s not like I’d be able to tell them you’d be okay to do it.”

Al nodded, half-listening as he moved to the pictures showing the South’s traditions documented in pictures. Of festivals and rites of passage; of haggard old men and women guiding the generations through the ways of their fathers and forefathers. He noticed that Sokka was dozens of the pictures, smiling with pride at each successive generation. Even as the years began to take more than they gave.

“I’m sorry May and I haven’t been much help,” he said, moving along the wall. “I got zapped by the Blue Spirit, and we haven’t been able to figure out who they are.”

“Well, there’s not much we probably would’ve done different,” Korra admitted. “If it weren’t for you, Bolin would’ve been wrapped up by that shock wire.”

Al shrugged, stopping at a painting of two fish circling each other; black and white, each with a small dot of their opposite’s color on their head. “The Moon and Ocean, right?”

“Sokka asked for that,” Korra said. “The first time I came here, they told me he’d spend as much time as he could looking at the Moon spirit. I guess I know why thanks to Team Rainbow.”

Al said nothing, gazing at the spirit’s portrait with Korra. He noted that the Moon Spirit’s forehead had a series of light lines on it; like it was an ornate hairstyle painted on the fish. “Korra, do you think we’re unlucky?”

“You mean because we don’t know what comes next?” Korra asked. “Maybe. Everyone else knows what’s coming at them. All Rainbow can show us is what we already know.”

“And what we already know isn’t what we need to know,” Al finished. Stepping forward, he turned to Korra with a determined gleam in his eyes. His mind raced through what he knew; what had happened the night they went to the warehouse, fighting with the Blue Spirit…

There it was.

“The Blue Spirit came to the warehouse the same time the triads did,” he said, standing a little taller. “The only reason the triads were there was because we suspect Mr. Keum told them to destroy the evidence.”

“Meaning whoever this is has to know what the triads do,” Korra whispered. “So if we leak something to the triads…”

“We can lay a trap for them and the Blue Spirit,” Al said. “Show this last Equalist they never could win.”

Korra laughed, slugging Al in the shoulder. “What was that you were saying about not being much help?”

“Guess I just needed to think a little on things,” Al said, turning back to the painting. “Except now we need to figure out a way to leak this to the triads.”

Korra thought for a second, then grinned. “I’ve got it, the perfect way to get the word out,”

Sokka’s aged face smiled from the picture hanging over them.

Asami shuffled into the sitting room, falling face first into the settee. The radio was playing some light music, a gentle clarinet lilting along as she tried to block out the rest of the world. Thankfully, the drive home had been clear of too much traffic. When you designed the road layout, you could dodge the worst of the traffic. It hadn’t made things easier to handle. Time alone with her thoughts wasn’t calming after her father’s revelation. She had to force herself to even acknowledge her household staff as she barged through the doors.

“He was going to do all that,” Asami thought, trying to keep control of herself. “Tenzin, his family…I can’t believe him. All those years, I thought he’d moved on after mom died. I moved on, why couldn’t he?”

She realized her life was filling with unanswerable questions lately. Accepting one horrible act or day just meant more down the line. The platoon were off exploring a dimension that let them be children (From what she was hearing at least), meanwhile they were stuck dealing with triads and learning new horrors about her dad.

She thought she heard voices talking outside the door, then the door swung open and Korra shouted, “Hey Asamieeeeeeeeyagh…Uh, you want some time alone?”

Sighing, Asami pulled herself up from the pillow. “No, it’s okay. How did Al like the cultural center?”

“He loved it, and he got an idea,” Korra said, smirking as she sat on the other end of the couch. “You wanna go out tonight?”

Asami scoffed, turning to face Korra; showing the runny mascara and smudged liner down her cheeks. “You’re serious?”

“I am…” Korra said, trying to smile. “But I think you might need to wash up.”

Asami laughed, then leapt for Korra. “Give me a kiss first!’

“Augh! No, don’t!” Korra laughed back, not trying hard to fight Asami off.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

“I’ve never been to a dance hall,” May whispered, eyes sparkling as they rolled down the Sokka Parkway. “Where’s Mako? Wouldn’t he want to be here?”

“Yeah, asking him to dance with his leg?” Bolin waggled his fingers, sitting between Al and May in the back. “Might seem a bit much to ask.”

Al smiled, watching the lights and neon signs illuminating the parkway. He couldn’t understand what they said yet, but he could understand the flashing silhouettes of women beckoning lonely men to spend their money at the clubs along the way. He never saw any section of Amestris so gaudy during his travels. Now he was about to dive straight into the nightlife of another world, as memories of the Belle de Nuit…

He paused. Memories of Paris flashed before his eyes; of nights drinking and celebrating with the resistance. Watching the girls of the Belle perform, talking with Sean and Luc about what to do next. He smiled, leaning into the backseat asking, “Will this be anything like Paris?”

“Uh, well there’s gonna be more clothing here,” Korra laughed, Asami moving to the right lane to look for a parking spot. “Even if we’re trying to draw out the triads, we can have a little fun.”

Al shook his head, even with his smile. The idea of this being something “fun” even as he was trying to pursue criminals and conspiracies was a new one, to say the least. Certainly, there were moments back when he was armor that he could look back at and laugh. Except not in the moment; not even when he’d been packed up as cargo with sheep on a train. Being able to have fun even knowing it was for a reason? Something about it felt different. Strange. Yet at the same time, exciting and new.

“There it is,” Asami shouted, pulling up to a crowd on the sidewalk. “The Jennamite Lounge.”

Al looked over to see a mob of people waiting to get into the club; a mass of humanity jostling and shoving to get inside. Outside it all, looking like a lost child in the middle of downtown Dublith, was Opal. She wasn’t wearing her Air Nomad wingsuit or robes tonight. Now she was dressed in what Al guessed was the newer style; a loose shirt, a light green blouse, and an orange ascot. Bolin was leaping out of the mobile before it even stopped.

“Why, hello there,” he said, grinning as he leaned up against one of the poles supporting the awning over the club’s entrance. “You meeting anyone tonight?”

“Glad to see you made it,” Opal said, pecking Bolin on the cheek and whispering, “I was worried one of those buzzard-wasps would try to come at me.” Bolin peeked over his shoulder, noticing that several of the men in the crowd were scowling at him.

Asami pulled the car up to a waiting valet, smirking as she handed her keys and a generous helping of yuans over. “Take care of her, and there’s more where that came from.” The valet snapped to, saluting Asami as he ran to the driver’s side and carefully guided the mobile into traffic. Unfortunately, the sound of a grinding gearbox had Asami wincing as she walked up to the door.

Two hulking doormen greeted the team as they made their way past the crowd, the pair looking like identical twins sculpted out of leftover lard to resemble muscle. “You on the list?”

“I should be,” Asami said, smirking as she held more yuans in view for the two bouncers. “Check for the name Sato.

The bouncers raised their eyebrows, and one played at checking a list. This was as the crowd began to surge, a few calling out, “Hey, it’s the Avatar!” “No way, Asami Sato’s here?!” “BOLIN! I LOVE YOU!”

“Bolin, are you sure about this?” Opal asked, holding on to Bolin’s arm tighter than she normally did. “I don’t know if Tenzin will like seeing this in the paper tomorrow.”

“It’ll be fine, trust me,” he said. Then he paused at Opal’s nervous eyes, and tried, “Uh, trust Asami?” Opal shrugged, but didn’t let go.

“Got it,” the bouncer with the clipboard muttered. “Asami Sato, party of…” He paused, counted, and continued, “Six. Go on in.”

“Thank you,” Asami said, the crowd roaring louder as she slipped between the two men. Making sure they each got a share of the cash, she led the way into the club.

Al and May were hit by the music the second they strode in behind the four. A larger band than they expected played from behind crystal stands, a lone accordion player leading them as the spotlights focused on a singer standing on a small dais beyond the stage. The dance floor was crowded as she sang, the dancers bounding and swinging about the center of the club. The tables and chairs were on raised flooring surrounding the dancers, every table and booth already packed with guests.

“Ah, Ms. Sato,” the maître d said, a weasel of a man with a pointed thin mustache. Bowing so obsequiously low that it almost felt like parody, he said, “We’ve been wondering when you’d spare time to sample our club’s cuisine. This way, please, we have our finest table ready for you.”

Asami smirked, handing the man one of her larger yuans before following him. Smirking, Korra moved up next to her and took her hand. “Am I gonna have to hold on to this all night to make sure you don’t waste all your money?”

“You’re welcome to throw in,” Asami said, squeezing Korra’s hand. “Besides, I don’t mind showing off my girlfriend for once.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Korra said, hoping up to give Asami a peck on the cheek.

As they passed the tables, the diners began to call out, “Hey, it’s Bolin!” “Bolin, Bolin!” “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s him!” “No way, Nuktuk himself!” “I never thought I’d see him this close!”

Opal blushed, pressing against Bolin as they navigated the tables. “I had no idea you were still a celebrity.”

“Neither did I,” Bolin chuckled, waving and shaking hands as he passed the tables. Then he cringed and turned to her. “It’s not a bad thing, is it? Should I not be a celebrity anymore?”

Opal laughed, pressing herself harder into Bolin. “It’s okay Bolin. I know you had a life before I came into it. Besides, everyone looks like they’re glad to see you.”

“Well, they’ll have to wait,” Bolin said, grinning as he leaned his forehead down atop Opal’s. “I have to spend some time with you.”

Al and May’s eyes dazzled as they took in the sights of the club. The ceilings were a mixture of soft lighting and luminescent green crystals. The decorations and fixtures along the walls reminded May of the Emperor’s chambers done in jade, with art of massive badgers and leaping…tigers? They looked like tigers, but that didn’t explain the wings and saber teeth.

“This is amazing,” she squealed, spinning around as they walked to take in as much as she could. “It’s like a mix of home and the Belle!”

“I wonder if they have places like this back in Central,” Al wondered, not noticing that while everyone called out to Bolin, Asami, and Korra, their eyes would linger on him. “I’d love to go see what they’re like.”

“Here we are, Ms. Sato,” the maître d said, bowling low again. “Our finest table.”

“Thank you,” Asami said, waiting for everyone to take their seats before she did. “We’ll be fine from here, if we do need anything I’ll make sure to ask for you.”

“Of course, miss,” the maître d said. With a final servile bow, he backed away and hurried back to the front of the house.

“Wow, no one acted like that for me back in Zhaofu,” Opal said, smiling as she turned to Asami. “I guess they didn’t want mom to think I was getting special treatment.”

“Well, tonight’s a night for special treatment,” Asami said, smiling as Korra wrapped an arm around her. “As long as we remember why we’re here.”

“Korra?” Looking up, everyone saw a trio they hadn’t expected. The Republic City Rebels were hurrying up to the table, moving like kids that just heard the ice cream truck had broken down and the driver wasn’t in sight. “Spirits, I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Nukilik, hey!” Korra said, she and Bolin leaning across the table. “We didn’t know you’d all be here!”

“It’s Yun’s birthday,” Chizu said, the firebender nodding to their team earthbender. He turned sheepish, looking away as she said, “Nukilik and I figured we’d surprise him; he’d been talking about seeing if the joint was as good as we’d been hearing.”

“That’s why we’re here as well,” Korra said, looking around the booth. “Hey, there’s plenty of space, you want to join us?”

“Can we!” the trio squealed, looking like May the first time someone described Edward Elric to her.

“I don’t mind,” Bolin said, turning to Opal. “What about you babe?”

“As long as they don’t try anything tricky again,” Opal said, half-glaring at the trio.

“We don’t mind either,” Al said, he and May already moving over in their seats.

“Thanks,” Chizu said, before she pulled a double-take at Al. “Hey, wait a second. Are you from that multiple verse?”

“Multiverse,” Al said, nodding as he held out his hand. “I'm Alphonse Elric, and this is May Chang.”

“Wow, so those girls had hair that was naturally that color?” Chizu said, sounding amazed. “I didn’t think they were real!”

“Well, there’s all kinds of people in the multiverse,” Al said, reaching out to shake her hand. “Are you the team the Fire Ferrets fought?”

“That’s right,” Chizu said, smirking as Yun nodded. “The hottest team in Republic City today. I’m Chizu, that’s Yun, and the dummy acting like a schoolboy is our captain, Nukilik.” Al took a glance at the waterbender staring down at Korra, yet looking like how he used to stare up in wonder when his master did alchemy.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” May said. “We haven’t met many people on our first trip. Well, aside from Chief Beifong and Mr. Varrick.”

Yun sneered, rolling his eyes as Chizu grumbled, “Yeah, must’ve been real fun to meet her.”

Al and May noted the anger, May asking, “You don’t like Chief Beifong?”

“I don’t really like many cops,” Chizu grumbled. “Growing up in the Flats, you only saw cops hauling people away.” Yun nodded his agreement as she continued, “They’ve given me plenty of trouble, that’s for sure.”

“But I thought Chief Beifong runs a professional department,” Al said. “Why did her officers go after you?”

“Probably because of how I had to make some money when things were tough,” Chizu said, Smirking, she moved around to get close to Al and May as Yun shook his head. Sitting to Al’s left, she said, “Here, let me show you. Did you know that the spirits can show a person's future through their palms?”

“Really?” Al whispered, eyes wide as Chizu sat next to him. “Even if I’m not from here?”

“The spirits are powerful,” Chizu whispered, smirking as May leaned in close to see what was about to happen. Taking Al’s palm in her left hand, she took her time running her thumb along the ridges, her raven black hair concealing her right eye as she said, “Yes, I can see what they say about you. About you and your family.”

“You mean brother?” Al gasped. “What do they say, does he get his alchemy back?”

“They say there is still much struggle and hardship ahead,” Chizu whispered, her soft touch and smoky gaze holding Al’s attention as sure as if she’d had him in cuffs. “The spirits say that your brother and you must move on from your greatest loss, that it still haunts you to this day.”

“You mean our mother?” Al whispered, looking into Chizu’s eyes. “What do they mean? How do we need to move on?”

May finally burst out laughing, rocking back and forth in her seat. “Alphonse! How can the spirits here know anything about you if you never existed in this world before now?”

Al blinked, then looked up to see Chizu fighting to hold back her own laughter. “She’s right, there’s no way the spirits speak through people’s palms. Course, no one knew that when I was taking them for a few yuans. And if that didn’t work?” Chizu smirked, holding up Al’s wallet.

“What?!” Al yelped, patting his pockets to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Snatching the wallet back, he leafed through to make sure everything was still inside. “That’s how you made your money!?”

“Life wasn’t easy in the Flats,” she said, Yun nodding in agreement. “I mean, Bolin and Mako know better than anyone.”

Al blinked, turning to Bolin for an answer. Shrugging, he said, “You gotta eat, you gotta eat.”

“Don’t worry, I’m only teasing,” Chizu said, smiling as she ruffled Al’s hair. “I’m not that desperate for money now. I guess they don’t have spirits where you’re from?”

“No, just unkillable beings packed with the millions of souls harnessed from the corpse of a dead empire,” May said. As Chizu, Yun, and even Opal stared at her, she added, “You should come visit.”

On the other end of the table, Nukilik was pursuing a different line of inquiry. “So, Korra, that match against the Boar-q-pines? How’d you know to let Bolin take the head-to-head?”

“Well, that honestly wasn’t my decision,” Korra mentioned. “Mako was the only who knew he should handle it. I really couldn’t do anything to make that decision.”

“Right, that was Mako, got it,” Nukilik said. Then he asked, “But that triple knockout against the Buzzard Wasps, you won’t deny that was all you after all.”

“I think what Korra means,” Asami said, laying a hand on Korra’s. “Is that we aren’t here to relive all the matches she fought. We came out here to see what the club’s like.”

“Oh, sorry,” Nukilik muttered, turning away sheepishly. “I guess I still can’t believe how things turned out. I never thought I’d ever face the original Fire Ferrets, and now here I am talking to Korra. You must get this all the time, right?”

“Actually, not really,” Korra said, shaking her head to Nukilik’s shock. “Honestly? I don’t want that kind of attention anyway.”

“But you’re the greatest!” Nukilik shouted, shooting up so fast he nearly upended the table. “I mean, you stopped Unalaq and gained the Southern Tribe’s independence! You stopped Kuvira! Everyone in the department always says what a great avatar you are!”

“They do?” Korra looked at Asami like she’d just been told Kya had decided to settle down and raise a family. “I had no idea the fire department liked me at all.”

“They are all Southern Tribe,” Nukilik laughed. “You being the avatar? When you came to the city, I remember they all went crazy over it! Even my dad has good things to say about you.”

“Chief Hakan with good things to say?” Asami scoffed. “All I’ve ever heard from him is warnings and rage.”

“Yeah, my dad can be…pretty blunt,” Nukilik muttered, easing back down into his seat. He didn’t notice Opal still keeping her hands on her water. “Fire fighting’s no game of pai sho. He always takes it personal when one of his crews gets hurt on the job. Didn’t help when mom…” Nukilik shook his head clear, going straight back to his roguish smile. “Jeez, we’re supposed to be here to celebrate! Hey, Chizu! How about we get down to the dance floor!”

Chizu grinned, turning to Al. “This is your first time dancing in Republic City, right? C’mon!” Grabbing Al by the wrist, she led the way to the dance floor ahead of Yun and Nukilik, leaving May staring in confusion and sudden annoyance before she ran after them.

“Opal and I should head down too,” Bolin said, leading the way as he and Opal scootched out of the booth. “Give you two some time to talk a few things over?”

“Subtle, Bolin, very subtle,” Asami sighed, shaking her head as he and Opal walked arm in arm to the dance floor.

As the others left, a waiter came up looking prim and proper in his light green suit. “Good evening, ladies. May I get you both something to drink?”

“I'll have some water," Asami said, before turning to Korra. “So, how sure are you?”

“Cactus Cola," Korra said. Turning to Asami, she answered, “Absolutely; the Triple Threats want payback for the other day, at the construction site. They think the Creeping Crystals are looking weak after what the Blue Spirit did to them.”

“Can’t blame them,” Korra muttered. “Do you think they’ll win?”

“Only if the Creeping Crystals don't have a plan of their own,” Asami muttered. “The kind of numbers Mako said they’re bringing out? There’s no way they’d last, not even with two days preparation.”

Down by the dance floor, Al watched the dancers swing about the open space. He watched one couple where the man was spinning the woman around him in circles. Another pair had the man spinning his date around his waist and chest before she went sliding back on the floor. It felt like a show where everyone was performing, and any moves could work with the music.

“Sounds good, doesn’t it?” Nukilik said, almost shouting to be heard over the band. “The Jennamite Club always has the best music!”

“I’ve never heard anything like it,” Al said, watching as one of the women was tossed into the air, caught, then flipped end over end to land on her feet and go right back to dancing. “There’s nothing like this back home, nothing!”

As he watched the floor, May noticed the crowd surrounding the dance floor was busy staring at him. Some were pointing and whispering to each other; she noticed several women giggling and tittering at the sight of his golden hair. Several men looked awed, trying to crowd around them to get closer to see if he was real.

As the song wrapped up, Bolin smiled and waved. “Hey! Hey, Lujin!”

“Bolin!” The man was dressed in a light blue outfit, jostling through the crowd to get closer. “Bolin, what’re you doing here? I thought you had all your food in places where you need a payment plan for the appetizer?”

“Not tonight,” Bolin laughed, hugging the man close. “Hey, is your mom doing okay? You know I can visit her if she needs it.”

“Yeah, if my mother wants to buy a new radio. You and Mako took too long to get her a new one.” Laughing as he wrapped his old friend in a hug, he looked over asking, “So, who’s this? She’s too pretty to be with you.”

Laughing, Bolin wrapped his arm around his scowling girlfriend and said, “Opal, this is Lujin. He was…Well, he was from Dragon Flats too.”

“From Dragon Flats, he says,” Lujin laughed, punching Bolin in the shoulder. “Hey, where’s Mako? He still on Beifong’s leash?”

“He’s gotta make a living somehow,” Bolin said, shrugging. “So, how’s everyone doing?”

“Well, Two-Toed Ping got thrown in the cages again,” Lujin sighed. “Dummy thought he could do some work in Jin De; metalbenders swept him up in minutes.”

“Oh Ping,” Bolin sighed. “Two extra toes, no brains to spare.”

Before he could keep talking, Lujin’s date was pointing to the Rebels. “Hey, why’s that fella’s head dyed like that?”

“Oh, it’s not dyed,” Bolin said, smirking. “His hair really is that color.”

“What!” the woman laughed, staring at Al. “No one has gold hair, c’mon!”

“No one here,” Bolin said. “But there’s a lot of different people in the multiverse.”

“No kidding?” Lujin said, shaking his head. “Dang Bolin, and we all thought you’d wind up begging for yuans under Silk Road Bridge.”

“Hey, life always gives you a chance to…” He trailed off, realizing what he just heard. “Say what now?”

Closer to the dance floor, Al watched as the dancers wound down with the end of the song. The crowd cheered, but he didn’t notice everyone muttering to each other behind him. He didn’t notice how some pointed at his hair, trying to figure out whether it was real or a wig. There was no clue that several of the men were whispering to each other, or that several of the women were giggling and pointing with devious grins.

“Yes, thenk yew, thenk yew,” the band leader said, smiling as he addressed the crowd. “Noew, it’s de main event of de evening! De nightly dance competition!” The crowd roared, a portion of the crowd backing away as several couples grinned and whispered to each other.

Al noticed Chizu was stretching her legs out, Nukilik doing the same for his arms. “You’re going to go into the contest?” he asked, still so caught up in the moment he didn’t notice Yun starting to get swallowed up by the crowd encroaching on him.

“We always wanted to try the dance contests,” Nukilik said, grinning as he moved to stretching out his chest. “Now that we have the money, we can do it twice a month.”

“You should compete,” Chizu said, brushing her hair away from her right eye. “A dance competition can’t be harder than running around with the avatar.”

“Me? Dance?” Al laughed, shaking his head. “I’ve never danced, I’d be terrible out there.”

“Ha! C’mon, you’ll be fine,” Nukilik said, wrapping his arm around Chizu’s waist.

Farther back from the crowd, Bolin nudged Opal. “You wanna go see the contest?”

“Oh, uh, of course!” Opal said, trying to smile naturally as she merged with the crowd.

“Huh, nervous dame, ain’t she,” Lujin said, shrugging.

“It’s been a rough few years for all of us,” Bolin responded. Glancing about, he moved close asking, “Hey, are you still running with them?”

Lujin chuckled, answering, “What do you think? Viper’s got me handling all the business down by the docks; gotta make sure the Red Monsoons don’t get too full of themselves.”

Bolin went silent, then looked around to make sure no one was listening before he said, “Look, Mako said I couldn’t tell anyone, but I can’t let you guys take any more heat than you have already. You gotta promise me that whatever happens, you’ll swear you didn’t her it from me.”

“Sure, I promise,” Lujin said, leaning close. “Spirits, you never get this nervous.”

“Well I’m taking a big risk with this,” Bolin said. “If the chief found out I let this slip, she’d throw me and Mako in a cell. Not even Korra could get us out. Listen, we got some word that the Creeping Crystals are planning to finish what they started at the capital construction site. Mako might be a cop now, but I can’t let you and the guys run into trouble without knowing it. Heck, you guys were our family.”

Lujin nodded, grasping Bolin’s shoulder as the competitors took their place on the dance floor. “Well don’t worry, I’ll make sure the guys know what’s coming.”

“It appares we have our competitors,” the band leader said, nodding to the singer. “And noew, Zhi Li, take us away -- ”

“Hey! It’s the Avatar!” The crowd froze at the call, and Al looked up to see the house spotlight turning to focus on Asami and Korra looking down on the dance floor. The crowd began to roar, Korra waving as Asami smirked next to her.

“Ah, Ahvatar Korra is here to join us,” the band leader said, as the crowd began to shift and spark at the sight of their beloved hero. “Perhaps de Ahvatar would like to compete as well?”

Korra froze, staring down at the floor until Asami laughed and pulled her to the stairs. As the crowd started to cheer, she realized she was suddenly on the floor with Asami. Shaking herself back into focus, she saw the surprise on Asami’s face when she got ready to take the lead. “Uh, Korra?”

“It’s okay, I’ve been practicing,” Korra said, smirking. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“Will I?” Asami said, giving Korra a sly smile. “Alright, ‘Ahvatar’, show me what you can do.”

“Wow, this is all amazing,” Al whispered, eyes still sparkling as he tried to take in every single moment of the contest. “I have to see if there’s something like this in Central when we go back!”

“It does sound fun,” May said, even as her eyes were sharp and scanning. She saw everything even as she played at being caught up in the dance contest. She could see the dozens of eyes staring at Al like a curiosity. She watched as one waiter set his tray down, and slipped into the kitchen. She watched as the man Bolin had been talking to hurried out the front door, ignoring his date asking where he was going. She watched the railing surrounding the dance floor; watching for anyone with a crossbow or blade or…

“No, this world doesn’t have firearms,” she thought, shaking her head.

“If every-one is ready,” the band leader said, raising his accordion. “Let’s begin de dance contest!”

The band picked up, Korra taking the anxious lead. As the horns blared, she guided Asami around the floor as the other dancers were already swinging. Realizing how slow she was moving, she started picking up the pace to try and impress. She hadn’t factored in how hard it was to keep track of her feet, of Asami’s feet, of the other dancers as she grazed one of the couples. Gritting her teeth, she threw Asami out, then brought her back and close. Thinking she made a good move, she was disabused of the idea when she saw Nukilik spinning Chizu around him before dipping her so low she almost went horizontal.

Asami smiled, watching Korra do her best. Her movements were hesitant and jerky, but like all things she was focused and set on doing her best. She did what she could, giving Korra the space to lead and show that she’d been practicing. She held back a laugh as Korra nearly stumbled; it wouldn’t help to undercut her confidence. Even as photographers started snapping their pictures for the society page in tomorrow’s papers, she made sure to keep with Korra’s lead. Until she saw Chizu and Nukilik watching and shaking their heads. Oh, they were still smiling, but she noticed Chizu putting a little more oomph into her moves as Nukilik lead her across the floor. The crowd was applauding them, the other dancers moving to clear the floor as Nukilik picked her up and swung her through the air. The two worked in perfect synch; Nukilik flowing across the floor as Chizu put extra flare into her steps and an emphasized swing in her gait.

“You’re doing great babe,” she said, leaning close to Korra’s ear. “But I think we need to show everyone here exactly what we can do. Okay?”

Korra sighed, nodding and admitting, “Okay. What’re you thinking?”

Smirking, Asami took charge and spun Korra around her. As the avatar went flying out, Asami kept her grip on her love’s hand and snapped her back. Turning Korra around so they were back to back, she said, “Kick your feet out!” Feeling which leg was kicked, Asami mirrored the motions and won the crowd over. Pushing away from, she swept in front of her girlfriend and spun her counter-clockwise. Once, twice, thrice, then picking Korra up and swinging her right. Letting go, she turned around to watch Korra land on her feet and turn back. She fought back a laugh at her love’s face; the astounded grin telling her she was impressing the only person that mattered as she slid across the floor to get back to Korra. Sweeping across the floor, clearing the other competitors away, Asami let herself get lost in Korra’s eyes.

“Big finish coming up,” Asami said. “Can you airbend yourself into a somersault?”

Korra nodded, until her brain finally processed what she heard. “Wait, what?”

“Get ready,” Asami said, listening to the singer’s voice peak. “On three! One! Two Three!” Grabbing Korra’s waist, she threw Korra up into the air. Clearing the floor, Asami watched as Korra used her airbending to flip three times in the air. Using more airbending to cushion her landing, she hit the floor to see Asami already taking the lead again. As the crowd roared and cheered, the song came to an end with Asami moving to one knee; Korra seated on her other leg as she felt Asami’s fingers caressing her cheek.

“Wunderful! Wunderful! So wunderful, thenk yew all,” the band leader said, applauding with the crowd. “Unfortunately, we must disqualify de ahvatar and her partner for using bending.”

The crowd roared, shouting such abuse at the band leader that Al wondered if he needed to intervene. Except he noticed that even the Rebels were with the crowd; howling and arguing. “That was amazing, you can’t disqualify her for that!” Nukilik roared.

“They won the contest fair, are you blind!” Chizu shouted. “I couldn’t pull a move like that even if I had airbending!”

As the crowd surged toward the stage, Korra still in a daze from Asami’s dancing, May moved toward Bolin. “Are you sure it worked?”

“Positive,” Bolin said, winking to her as Al kept staring in disbelief at the band leader. As Opal shouted with the rest of the crowd, he added, “We put it out the only way it would get their attention.”

Back in the kitchen, the waiter that took Korra and Asami’s order whispered into the phone, “Two nights from now, the capital construction site. Straight from the avatar’s mouth. Make sure she gets it.”

Simultaneously, Lijun looked around as he shut the door to the phone booth he found. Slipping his change into the slot, he dialed and muttered, “I got some news for the boss, he’s gonna wanna hear this himself.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

As far as stare downs with Lin Beifong went, Mako had worse in his career. The time he’d been framed by Varrick came readily to mind. Granted, a stare down with the chief mainly meant he looked at the walk behind her while she stared him down. “Let me make sure I understand this, detective,” she said, slowly rising from her seat. “You all had the brilliant idea to set up a street brawl between the Creeping Crystals and Triple Threats. You have the crazy idea that this could draw out this Blue Spirit character. And that even if it doesn’t, we can defuse this turf war before it starts. Did I miss anything?”

“No ma’am,” Mako said. “That covers everything.”

Lin grumbled for a few seconds, fingers rubbing at her forehead before she spat, “And when were you planning on telling me? When half of downtown was destroyed?”

“Korra made the decision to act chief, especially after what happened at the warehouse,” Mako argued, still keeping his tone respectful. “Even if the Blue Spirit doesn’t show, we’ll have two large groups of triads in custody for public disorder and conspiracy. Two of the most powerful triads in the city.”

Lin slammed her palm down as she shot up from her chair. “And what about the two alchemists? What have they don’t to help us track this lunatic down? All they’ve given us so far is what we could figure out already.”

“They also kept the Triple Threats from burning down evidence of Keum’s complicity with the Equalists and the threat of the Triple Threats,” Mako said. “They are helping us; we need to focus on what we can do.”

Lin glared at Mako the same way a bull rhino-lizard did a spider-fly. “You’re on thin ice, detective. Either get something useful out of this, or you’ll treating the Varrick showroom case as a pressing issue. Be lucky that the Widow Ito isn’t writing us anymore.”

“Thank the spirits she found that job then,” Mako thought to himself. “Will there be anything else chief?”

“Yeah, you’ll brief the flying squad on the operation this afternoon," she said, easing back down into her seat. Smirking, she said, “After all, you’re the ones who came up with this plan.”

Mako blinked, running what he just heard through his head before asking, “I…I have to explain to the flying squad?”

“Get moving detective,” Lin said, smirking and she grabbed a fresh batch of reports. “You’re burning daylight.”

“Korra!”

Blinking, Korra looked around in the open air to see a familiar bald head floating toward her in a wingsuit. “Hey, Tenzin! What’s going on?”

“Korra, I think I need to talk with you,” Tenzin said, flying close enough that he didn’t have to shout to be heard over the air whipping by them. “I saw you and your friends in this morning’s paper.”

“Oh, you mean the dance competition!” Korra laughed, beaming as she thought back to last night. “I still can’t believe we didn’t win. The band leader never said bending wasn’t allowed, you know?”

Tenzin sighed, “Korra, that isn’t the issue at hand. That photo showed you and Asami dancing; you and your friends eating at a full table all night. You’re allowed to have fun, but I can’t imagine the refugees would appreciate that, do you?”

Korra froze, wheels turning as she remembered the huddled mass of women and children atop the trains. “I…I guess we weren’t thinking about that. It was for a good reason though; we’re gonna draw out the triads and that Blue Spirit person.”

“The vigilante?” Tenzin asked. “Korra, how does a night out dancing help you catch a dangerous criminal?”

“It wasn’t the dancing, Tenzin,” Korra said. “The club’s a hangout for the triads. We knew that the Blue Spirit would go after a bunch of them fighting each other, so we made sure some information got out. Now Beifong can swoop in, arrest everyone, problem solved.”

“Hmmm, that’s actually quite clever,” Tenzin muttered, before turning his eyes back on Korra. “But it’s not going to help those people fleeing the Confederacy. They need to know that the Avatar takes her duties seriously.”

“Right, got it,” she sighed, staring down at the city. “What about the UPF? Aren’t they helping?”

“They are,” Tenzin answered. “Mr. Sog-Imsu is actually quite adept at organizing their supplies and numbers. With their help, we can give these people new lives. But we still need you to take the lead, Korra. I know it’s a daunting task, but these people still believe in you as the Avatar.”

“Thanks Tenzin,” Korra said, smiling again. “Look, we both agree taking out some of the triads will help the city, right? After tomorrow night, you’ve got me and Bolin to help with the refugees.”

“Yes, Bolin,” Tenzin muttered. “Of course.”

“Alright, here’s the area surrounding the construction site,” Asami said, laying out a map of the block in her sitting room. “The skyscrapers won’t be a problem, trying to hide in them would only corner the triads. The problem is trying to corner the Blue Spirit. They’re smart enough to run when a fight isn’t going their way.”

“Leave them to me,” May said, glaring at the map. “They aren’t a bender; their chi doesn’t stand out to me, especially compared to the chi of benders. Silence in the house doesn’t mean there’s no dog.”

“I like it, simple yet profound,” Bolin said, nodding. “What about us?”

“Lin can corner the Triple Threats no problem, but the Creeping Crystals can earthbend their way through to the sewers and subway,” Asami said. “We need to figure out a way to keep them above ground level.”

“I can handle that,” Al said. “It might take some time to prepare, but I think the triads will have a rare surprise waiting for them under the streets.”

“Then we’re getting the basics of a plan down,” Asami said, smiling as she leaned over the map. “Now we -- ”

The door slammed open, revealing a bedraggled and maddened Varrick hurrying into the room. “Asami! Asami, I’ve got it! I know who’s framing me!”

The four groaned as Bolin said, “It’s alright, I’ve got it. Varrick, honey, what’d we say about getting some sleep?”

“I did sleep, Bolin!” Varrick shouted, grabbing the front of Bolin’s shirt and shaking. “I know who’s behind it, I know who wants to ruin me!”

Shuddering, Bolin muttered, “I-I-I-I-I thin-n-n-nk we sh-ou-uld listen.”

“Alright, fine,” Asami groaned. “Who, exactly, is trying to ruin you?”

It’s Raiko!” Varrick said, throwing Bolin away. “He’s jealous! He knew I was the most beloved figure in the Republic, and he sabotaged my tanks to get me outta the way!”

Silence. Asami stared at Varrick with tangible annoyance. Al and May looked to each other trying to figure out whether there was a right way to react to this. Bolin did it for them, popping up from the floor with, “Varrick, even for you that’s featherbrained.”

Varrick wailed, falling face-first into the floor. “Oh, Bolin! I don’t know what I’m doing anymore! Zhu Li spends all day and night trying to save me, and what can I do? Wander around the city like a bum! I’m at the end of my rope, don’t you see?! What else do I have!”

“Oh, wow, this really is bad,” Bolin said, scootching across the floor. “Varrick, buddy, c’mon now. I know things aren’t the best, but it’ll get better again. Look, you’ve still got us. Me. Asami, Korra, even Mako. Now, do you think he’d stick around after everything you did if he didn’t like you a little?”

Fighting back his sobs, Varrick lifted his head a little and mumbled, “No…”

“And Zhu Li is still fighting to help you,” Bolin said, pulling Varrick into his lap. “How can you say you’ve got nothing when you’ve still got her in your corner?”

Sniffling, wiping at the edges of his eyes, Varrick whispered, “It’s just…It’s just really hard, Bolin! I’ve never been this low, even after we escaped from Kuvira.”

May asked, “Do we still need to be here, or…?”

“I know, it’s a rough time buddy,” Bolin said, rocking Varrick back and forth. Gently patting the inventor’s back, he asked, “Listen, what if I take you out for a nice lunch? Some of my favorite stands are at the bay today.”

Looking up with puppy dog eyes, Varrick asked, “Can we get a Cactus Cola?”

“Sure buddy, we can get a whole crate of’em,” Bolin cooed.

Al blinked, asking Asami, “This…This is normal?”

Asami chuckled, flipping her hair as she moved for the phone. “As normal as anything gets around here.”

Mako nodded as he wrote down what Asami was saying. “Got it, that should keep them from getting out. Thanks Asami, this is exactly what we needed.” Hanging up, he turned to the department’s flying squad. Standing before the symbol of a winged tiger-bear, he announced, “Okay, we’ll be able to cut off the Creeping Crystals from using their dives to get into the sewers.”

“That’s a nice change of pace,” the squad’s leader grumbled. “What about the Blue Spirit? I heard you gave’em a back full of lightning and couldn’t stop’em. Maybe you should've left it to your exes?"

“That’s why we’re going to let one of the MV members with us take the lead,” Mako said, moving to the room’s blackboard and ignoring the jab. “The Spirit knows how to take on benders, but an alchemist is something different. Once the block is sealed off, there’s nowhere they can escape to. You all know the area; what we need to focus on is making sure that the triads can’t escape the trap.”

“Leave that to us,” the squad leader said, grinning as he tapped his thumb to his chest. “It’s about time we started cracking down on those criminals.”

Mako nodded, moving to the door. “I’ve got a few more things to get from my desk. If the Blue Spirit does make a break, we need to be ready to chase them in case the alchemists are put out of commission.”

"Sure, you just point us at'em," the flying squad leader chuckled, his team smiling and thirsty for blood. "It's about time we finished what Korra couldn't finish."

Mako nodded, ignoring the shot across the bow. Stepping out of the squad’s prep room, he saw a particularly haggard looking Zhu Li walking away from the elevators. Of course, particularly haggard for her meant several hairs were out of place and she looked slightly tired. “Hey, you okay?”

“Huh?” Zhu Li muttered, before her eyes refocused and she realized who she was in the hall with. “Oh, Mako. Sorry, I must need a little more sleep. I just finished another review with Chief Beifong.”

“On your own?” Mako couldn’t believe anyone would go up against Lin on their own, even the presently-yawning Zhu Li. “What about your lawyers?”

“I had to cut their hours,” Zhu Li sighed. “They were starting to mention that they were getting run ragged. If this does go to a trial, I’ll need them at their best.”

Mako sighed, asking, “What about Varrick? Hasn’t he had anything to say?”

Zhu Li laughed, the tired defeated chortle of someone that’s given up all hope. “He’s obsessed with finding out who ‘framed’ him, Mako. He spends all day and night running around the city claiming he’s going to find evidence.” Shutting her eyes, breath hitching, she whispered, “He’s barely coming to bed anymore.”

“Oh, I, I’m sorry,” Mako said, trying to figure out what he could even say in such a moment. “Look, we both know Varrick has always had trouble focusing on the wrong things. Once he snaps out of this, he’ll be back to his old self.” Then he paused, and thought, “Hopefully not totally his old self.”

“I know, but it’s…” Zhu Li shook her head, pulling out her handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes. “I’m sorry, you must be busy.”

“Yeah, but you’re not having an easy time with any of this,” Mako said, walking with her to the bullpen. “You seriously think you can handle all this by yourself?”

“I have to try, otherwise everything is gone,” Zhu Li sighed, swaying as she walked. “If Varrick is charged, everything we both worked for disappears. That was so much of my life; I won’t let it happen. I won’t go back to being another secretary.”

“Maybe you can talk with Asami,” Mako suggested, noticing that even after a few days her gait still showed her foot was injured. “You and Varrick are her friends, she’d be willing to help.”

“She’s also our competition, remember?” Zhu Li sighed, walking up to the bullpen doors. “I know you mean well, Mako, but it wouldn’t work. Either Varrick and I find our own way out of this…” Shaking her head, she left the rest of the sentence hanging as she walked through the sea of desks. Mako said nothing as he went to his own, noting that for being exhausted she looked like she was making very sure to avoid doing any more damage to her foot.

Midnight. The streets around the capital construction site were deserted, leaving only Bolin, Al, and their two guides from the city sanitation department. “Alright, this here’s the access to the maintenance tunnels,” one of them said, smirking as the pair pulled the manhole cover off. “What exactly are you two doing here, anyway?”

“Routine smuggling inspection,” Bolin said, speaking with an authority that few would dare question. “Red Monsoons like to use the tunnels to spirit all kinds of packages in and out of the docks this way. If you’ve got a problem, I’m more than happy to bring it up to Chief Beifong.”

“Hey, just makin’ sure buddy,” the worker said, fear sweeping through his words. “I gotta know what’s going on. It’s my job, you know?”

“We know, that’s why we’re very thankful you’re helping us with this,” Bolin said, grinning as the men pulled the cover away. “You stay up here, just in case there are triads around.”

“Yeah, you ain’t gonna hear me argue,” the worker said, smiling and nodding as the two men climbed the ladder into the darkness under Republic City.

“Bolin, why didn’t we tell him the truth?” Al asked, climbing down just above Bolin. “Couldn’t they help us?”

“Not really,” Bolin said, taking out his flashlight as he got off the ladder. “That trick we pulled in the Jennamite Room? Well, we don’t know how many informants and associates the triads have in the city’s offices. That guy could be working for any of them.”

“Just one break from conspiracies, that’s all I ask,” Al grumbled, looking around the tunnel. “Alright, we’ll need to make sure there’s extra support under the length of the street. Bolin, can you earthbend some supports as we move?”

“No trouble,” Bolin said, rubbing his hands together with a glint in his eye. “I can’t wait to see their faces when they try to escape.”

“And I can’t wait to see who’s under that mask,” Al said, clapping his hands together. “Alright, let’s get started for tomorrow night.”

The area surrounding the capital construction site was silent the next night, a full moon beaming down on Republic City. The distant sounds of Satomobiles on the Sokka Parkway mixed with the forlorn echoes of the tramp steamers in Yue Bay. A thousand lights in a thousand apartments went dark, as a thousand more went on in the inky blackness. The distant stars disappeared in the light from the downtown core, as radios crackled their broadcasts through the tenement squares. By now the locals were jaded; used to the breakneck pace of life in the city. It’s why they didn’t notice the movement of several dozen men in Dragon Flats. Why the residents of the Little Divide didn’t pay heed to a group of green-shaded thugs storming down the side streets. It was the “business” of Republic City, and they wanted no part in it. The ”bosses” of either group had no need to get involved in such things. They knew better than to put themselves in a situation that could result in arrest and indictment. No, better to let their underlings handle such a matter.

The two groups converged in the middle of the street before the construction site, the leader of the crew from the Triple Threats leveling his tiger blades at his foes. “We told you dirt eaters to stay away from our business. All the triads agreed this was Triple Threat turf.”

“And the Triple Threats agreed that we’d get the construction jobs,” the leader of the Creeping Crystal gang shouted back. “You should’ve let our guys onto the job site; we all lost people thanks to the Avatar that day.”

“Then you should’ve been giving us our cut,” the Triple Threat leader shouted, his whirling blades catching the streetlamps. “You already took enough from us;  you aren’t getting this. You can’t even handle a single non-bender.”

“Now I resemble that remark,” a voice called out, echoing through the concrete canyon. The triads shifted, looking everywhere for the source. “Even though I’m certainly a little more impressive than a single non-bender.”

“It’s a setup!” one of the Creeping Crystal thugs shouted. “Stinkin’ Blue Spirit, they planned this!”

“Don’t lie to us!” the Triple Threat leader roared. “You’re the ones trying to make yourselves look like you’re still part of the game!”

“Wait, time out!” The Blue Spirit came flying into view from a line, landing between the two groups with their arms held up. “I didn’t plan this, and I know the Triple Threats didn’t plan this. Now, if the Creeping Crystals didn’t, and the Triple Threats didn’t, and I didn’t…

The three all said, “Who did?”

Spotlights crashed through the darkness, metalbender cops surging down from waiting airships that had been hovering silent since before the triads arrived. Headlights from police Satomobiles blinded the thugs from all angles, as Chief Beifong’s voice boomed from a megaphone in one of the airships. “You’re all surrounded! Throw any weapons away, and put your hands on your heads!”

“Huh, turns out it wasn’t any of us,” the Blue Spirit said, almost sounding impressed. Then they grabbed a black sphere from inside their jacket and roared, “Scatter!”

Chaos was the only word to describe what happened as the triads tried to bolt. The flying squad swept into the edge of the triads, wrapping up several the second they were close enough. The triads tried to fight long enough to clear a path out, but the cops put up walls of earth to stop the blasts of fire and lightning from hitting them. Lin dove down into the thickest section of criminals, spinning around with her wires out. Counting at least ten wrapped up in her lines, she flexed and sent the wires zipping taut. One moment, the criminals were all asking what was happening. The next, the ten collided and knocked each other out. Mako sent his lightning through the brawl, knocking out three more. Korra and Bolin worked off each other; Bolin using his earthbending to shield Korra as she firebent the thugs down. Al's hands clapped through the fighting, stone hands transmuted from the street. Several of the Creeping Crystal crew tried to dive beneath the street, only to stop up to their necks. "What the -- ! It's platinum, they got platinum under the street!"

“Okay, time to go,” the Blue Spirit muttered, sprinting through the madness. Throwing two boleros to clear their way, they managed to catch a Triple Threat thug and flying squad officer in one. As the other caught a Triple Threat and Creeping Crystal in the surging wire, the Blue Spirit sprinted through the brawl to the nearest alley. One of the flying squad tried to seize the vigilante in his wires, only to watch the blue-suited figure throw their blade up and send current surging into the cop.

“That had to be a shock,” the Spirit laughed, throwing down the black sphere and disappearing into the cloud of smoke. “Had to be a shock, that was good.”

Sprinting through the alley, the Spirit listened as the fighting echoed into the distance behind them. Looking over their shoulder, they saw that the flying squad was too busy with the triads to go after them. Daring to laugh, the blue suit ran deeper into the darkness between the skyscrapers. Their footsteps echoed between the buildings, thinking there was a chance to escape again into the night…

“Don’t you want to see how it ends?”

A wall of stone shot up behind the vigilante, holding them in place. Drawing their blade, they could make out a single shadow glaring them down. A smaller figure, but one that was carrying five blades in their right hand.

“Hey, you’re the one from the warehouse,” the Blue Spirit laughed. “Listen, you’re not sore about what happened, are you?”

“No, but you certainly are,” the girl said, smirking as she flashed the blades at the target. “Give up, Varrick. It’s time to end the charade.”

“Hey, number one, I have far more scruples than Varrick could believe in on his best days,” the vigilante scoffed, feigning insult. “It isn’t hard, but it’s true.”

“Disguising your voice won’t help,” she shouted, throwing her blades. The Blue Spirit ducked, the knives embedding into the wall. For a second, they grinned behind their mask. Until they remembered the dragon that had attacked them in the warehouse, and they rolled out of the way as May slammed her palms down on the ground. As the vigilante ducked low, a stone hand reached out and closed on where their head had been.

“Time to disappear,” the Blue Spirit thought, pulling out another smoke bomb. Throwing it in front of May’s feet, they made to run on the side of the alley. Sprinting through the smoke, they thought this was the end of the fight.

Until a flying kick threw them into the nearest wall.

Rolling with the impacts, the vigilante spun around to stare into the smoke. “So, can you teach me that trick? Or is it a correspondence course?”

“You have a lot of jokes,” May said, her voice echoing through the smoke. “You must be quite the damaged soul.”

“Watch it, you might actually hurt me,” the Blue Spirit warned, their voice turning dark. “You really want to tell me that you care what happens to those triad thugs? They’re scum, you and I both know that.”

“Then join the police if you want to take down triads,” May warned. “Or did they turn you down? I’m sure we could find your name that way.”

“Sure, join the biggest triad in the city,” the Blue Spirit laughed. “Ask the people in Dragon Flats how much Chief Beifong looks out for them.”

Another flying kick, this one slamming against the mask. The vigilante tried to answer, sweeping their blade in an arc to try and catch May. Except they managed to cut into a concrete tower that chipped the center of the sword. That was when May kicked the knees out from under the Blue Spirit, then sent another kick to their mask. The lower half went flying away, but she had to jump back when the arcing blade tried to hit her again. As the smoke began to clear, the alkahest stood ready two feet away.

“This isn’t going to work for you,” May said, still on guard as she faced the vigilante. “You can surrender, or you can be taken in. It’s your decision.”

The vigilante kept their face covered with their free hand, holding the blade out as they struggled to stand. “I guess you’re like that yellow-haired one, aren’t you? Not from around here?” May noticed they were struggling to keep their voice disguised; the mask must’ve helped make them harder to read. “Trust me kid, Republic City ain’t everything the Avatar and Sato want you to know.”

“That’s a rather sad excuse,” May said, gauging when she could move on the vigilante. “You think the world we come from doesn’t have problems of its own?”

“Maybe, but you don’t live’em like we do here,” the vigilante argued, trying to move toward the open alley. “The triads run everything, and the money behind them makes sure Beifong can’t do a thing. If Beifong won’t, someone else will.”

May couldn’t fight back a smirk. “Then you think you’re that person?”

The vigilante shook their head. “It sure isn’t the Avatar.”

May set herself to end the debate, when a wall shot up in front of her. “What!” she shouted, carving a transmutation circle in front of her. Blasting the wall apart, she saw the vigilante was gone. Teeth bared, she realized there was no sense of their chi either. Cursing up a storm in Xingese, she turned and ran for the brawl against the triads.

Making a three-point landing, still covering their mouth, the Blue Spirit noticed there was a light shining in the tunnel. Looking up, they saw two men in sanitation department uniforms before them. The only difference was that they were both wearing red bandanas over their mouths.

“Thanks for the help,” the Blue Spirit said, rising to their feet. “Thing is, who am I thanking?”

“You aren’t alone in fighting the triads,” one of the men said. “We were impressed when we heard about your initial actions.”

“So, I guess you’re the ones I was hearing about,” the vigilante said. “The Triple Threats had no idea what was going on.”

“And we want to keep it that way,” the sanitation worker grumbled. “You getting arrested means there’s gonna be more questions than we need.”

“Then what’s the favor?” The Blue Spirit asked. “I’m no killer if that’s what you want.”

“For now, just keep doing what you can against the triads,” the man said. “We’ll find a way to contact you when we need to talk again.”

The second man slammed his bare foot down, and said, “There’s no one in the alley.”

“Looks like this is my stop then,” they said, tipping their hat. “Hopefully, the next time I’ll meet you people in a better smelling place.” With that, the earthbender opened the street again and sent the vigilante rocketing up into the night again. Checking that they weren’t about to be followed, the blue-suited figure went sprinting into the night.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

“Alright Tokuga, enough games,” Lin roared, slamming a fist onto the interrogation table. “Where’d the Blue Spirit run off to!”

“I don’t know anything about a ‘Blue Spirit’, chief,” the triad said, staring straight through Beifong as he sat through the interrogation. “I was only out with my friends for a walk through the city. Those criminals were the ones trying to cause trouble.”

“And you just happened to have those blades with you,” Lin growled. “Is that what I’m supposed to believe?”

“Republic City is dangerous,” Tokuga said. “After all, you can’t always count on the police, can you?”

Lin bit back her rage, bending the interrogation room open and striding out as she slammed the door shut behind her. The holding section of the headquarters was roaring with voices now, officers doing everything they could to keep the Triple Threats and Creeping Crystals apart. Half the night shift was busy keeping the two triad crews apart; one cell had to be shared, and needed two officers to keep the fighting and causing a riot inside the headquarters. Turning to one of the sergeants, Lin ordered, “Wait ten minutes, then take him back to his cell. We’ll let him sweat a little, see if he might remember anything important.”

Walking off, Lin strode into the hall to find Korra’s team waiting. “So, where’s my vigilante?”

May bowed her head, silent as Mako answered, “We got almost three dozen triads, even Viper’s right hand. We stopped the turf war before it could even start.”

“And there’s still a vigilante running loose.” Lin turned to glare at Korra. “Was this another one of your crazy ideas?”

Korra threw up her hands, Asami swiftly moving in to turn the coming “discussion” to a productive path. “What matters is we have something to give the news, right? The police can say they captured dozens of triads in a sting operation. It isn’t even a lie, Mako was the one who officially reported the entire plan.”

“Ms. Sato,” Lin warned, her voice going low. “Your owning the largest company in the Republic does not influence my department in any way. I’ll handle what we tell the press, and I’ll decide what doesn’t make it to the papers.”

“Wait, we aren’t telling people the Blue Spirit was there?” Al asked. Not caring that Lin’s glare was full on boring into him now, he said, “They need to know that this person is still free.”

“And know that they’re fighting the triads, taking the law into their own hands,” Lin growled, storming up to Al. “If we give the press any news about this lunatic, you’d have people thinking they can take on the triads instead of the police. They start forming their own gangs; taking their protection into their own hands. The second that starts happening, it makes a triad turf war look like the slapfights I used to have with my sister. You might be some genius in the multiverse, golden hair, but so far I am less than impressed,” Lin warned, glaring down on Al. “You and your friend did as good a job at stopping the Blue Spirit as Tenzin does at killing for his dinner.”

“Why, Master Tenzin has to kill for his dinner? The poor man.” Everyone looked up to see Jargala Omo walking toward them, a man and woman in fine suits behind her.

“Ms. Omo,” Lin sighed, trying to put on a more polite face and failing in spite of herself. “I’m guessing you’re here on more ‘charity work’? How many today.”

“I already submitted the names to your desk sergeant,” Jargala said, beaming as she set eyes on Al. “Ah, my golden-haired friend! Have you been enjoying your time in Republic City?”

Al didn’t react to the woman’s coy smile, staring back at her like a stone wall; unmoving and unfeeling. “It would have been better without all this triad trouble.”

“Oh, such playful alliteration,” Jargala chuckled, reaching out for Al’s hand. “Then you did enjoy your time.”

Al paused, glaring dead into Jargala’s eyes before pulling his hand back. “I knew a group of people like you in my home. People who tried to live beneath the law. They had all kinds of abilities and skills. The government wiped them out in less than an hour. How long do you think your triad will last when Pres. Raiko finally has enough and orders Chief Beifong to finally neutralize you?”

Jargala’s smile was frozen on her lips. Everyone in Team Avatar stared at Al like they just heard him sing out the disco cover of Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Brazilian Portuguese. May kept her face placid, even if there was the faintest glimmer of schadenfreude at the sight.

“Well, can’t keep your charity cases waiting, Ms. Omo,” Lin said, smirking as she motioned to the holding cells. “Gotta get those productive citizens back into society, after all.”

“And we’d better be on our way!” Bolin shouted, smiling wide as he wrapped Al up in his arms and sped for the elevators.

Once the six were safely inside the car, Korra’s jaw dropped. “Okay, what was that?!”

“Sorry, I guess it got to me,” Al sighed, turning away from everyone.

“Yeah, Jargala’s a slimy eel-snake,” Mako said. “Don’t worry, we’ll -- ”

“Not that,” Al cut Mako off. “This idea that we should accept a coverup. That we can’t tell people what the Blue Spirit is capable of.”

“The chief isn’t wrong, though,” Mako said. “If people start acting like the Blue Spirit, they don’t know who they’ll be attacking. There’s a reason we investigate a crime before going after the person that did it.”

“I know,” Al sighed, leaning against the wall of the car. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t much help in all this.”

“You still tried,” Mako said, giving Al a smile. “Now we know that the Blue Spirit is definitely a non-bender.”

“We also know it isn’t Varrick,” May said. Then she noticed everyone was staring at her. “What? Was I the only one suspecting him? Mako, you burned the Blue Spirit on his elbow, then Varrick suddenly has a wound on his own?”

“Actually, I was wondering if it wasn’t Zhu Li,” Mako said. “I saw them take a rock to the left foot, and then the next day I saw Zhu Li in the station mentioning she hurt her foot.”

“Both of them would have the kind of access and know-how to make the kinds of tools the Spirit’s been using,” Asami mused, thinking the two theories over. “Varrick’s a lot of things, but not a bad engineer. Zhu Li’s been working with him for years and is the one always making his ideas a reality as well, so she wouldn’t have any trouble making the equipment.”

Korra grumbled, “Now we have to keep an eye on the two of them? Spirits, Varrick alone is gonna drive us insane.”

“There’s a very simple solution we’re all leaving out here that Al mentioned before,” May said, speaking up from the back of the car. “Convince Chief Beifong to start a forensics section of the police department.”

The four members of MV-2 looked to each other, thinking about their options. “I probably shouldn’t be the one bringing it up,” Asami said. “Not after what just happened.”

“None of us should,” Korra sighed, as the door opened up to the ready room. Laughing a little, she asked, “Anyone know a way to get Lin to listen to someone else for a change?”

“There’s an old saying we have in Xing,” May said, leading the way to the door. “Only the Earth can move the mountain.”

As the six walked out of the station, Al looked to Mako. “Chief Beifong wasn’t wrong. I wasn’t much help in all this. I didn’t figure anything out that you all wouldn’t have been able to either.”

“Hey, you still helped out when we asked,” Bolin said, wrapping his arm around Al’s shoulders. “Plus, did you see the faces on those guys in the warehouse when you used your alchemy? They were all like, ‘Ahhhh!’ And then you broke out your fighting skills, and they couldn’t handle you at all!”

As Bolin kept raising Al’s spirits, Asami hung back with May. “He keeps talking about it like he’s the only one that made a mistake in all this.”

“Alphonse has a talent for taking other people’s struggles onto his own shoulders,” May sighed, watching as the younger Elric started to smile a little more. “We are sorry, though. We should have been able to do more. I’m the one that let the Blue Spirit escape. I’m the one that Chief Beifong should be upset with, not him.”

“She would’ve been upset no matter what happened,” Asami said, shaking her head. “We’re going to have to keep a closer eye on Varrick and Zhu Li now. I can’t even begin to imagine how we’re going to do that.”

May shook her head. “I’m not sure that it is Varrick, actually. He’s the kind of man that needs people to know what he does, especially when he’s doing the ‘right’ thing.”

“Meaning it’s probably Zhu Li,” Asami said. “That’s a scarier idea. Varrick’s clever, but Zhu Li is practical.”

“Except you can’t not suspect Varrick, because he’s still unpredictable.” May looked up to see a police airship buzzing across the early morning sky. “It’s a shame Team Rainbow doesn’t have any other episodes.”

“Well, maybe Team Rainbow can play the Earth,” Asami thought aloud. “We certainly have our mountain.”

“For now, I propose we get some breakfast,” May sighed, smiling as Al started to laugh. “And then spend the rest of the day sleeping.”

Asami smirked, leading on to her car. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard yet.”

“Yes, thank you.” Keum hung the phone up, glaring across his desk at his business partner. “Our legal team is making sure your people have no reason to give up anything incriminating.”

“It’s all about what you give’em,” Viper said, holding his hat in his hands out of some small token gesture of respect. “Tokuga and his crew just need some time to cool their heels. Whoever that gold-haired freak was, he definitely wasn’t much help.”

“Except that gold-haired freak was able to help the avatar and Sato piece together a few things that came too close for comfort,” Keum warned. “You and your men have been invaluable in keeping the company’s profits secure. I don’t want to lose such a valuable business partnership.”

“Neither do I, of course,” Viper chuckled, his predatory grin playing across his lips. “It’s keeping a few of my boys outta trouble, after all. That and bringing in the cash from the taxes we’re putting on everyone else.”

“A little vision goes a long way,” Keum said. “Trying to confront Sato was a mistake, I won't make another like it again.”

Viper nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that -- ”

Three knocks at the door. “Mr. Keum?”

“Come in Anika,” Keum said, shifting to a smile. “It’s open.”

Anika smiled, walking in wearing a formal blouse and long skirt. “Telephone message sir; Mr. Gan-Lan asked if you’d be willing to meet for lunch next week.”

“Well, I think I can certainly dine with a fellow competitor,” Keum said, still smiling his small, knowing smile. “Tell him I’d be happy to meet downtown, whatever restaurant he chooses. Do you have anything to take care of, my friend?”

“Nah, not right now,” Viper said, eyes playing over Anika’s body. Rising from his seat, he reached out to take Anika’s back in his hand. “But maybe you can come help me with a few things, sweetheart? I know I’d appreciate seeing you in my office.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Anika said, swiftly moving away from Viper’s grasp. “I know some people can move on from grief rather quickly, but I…”

“Your husband,” Keum said, turning to Viper. “Of course, Anika. Please send that message to Mr. Gan-Lan and put it in my appointment book.”

After Anika bowed and left the room, Viper turned to sneer at Keum. “Well now, didn’t know you were such a noble bender, Keum.”

“Spirit’s sake, she’s a widow,” Keum said, shaking his head at Viper. “What about this Blue Spirit lunatic?”

“Nothing in the papers today, Beifong must not want anyone else getting funny ideas,” Viper said, brushing off the brim of his hat. “I’ll send the boys out, see if we can’t shake anything loose. Catch you later, ‘boss’.” Chuckling to himself, Viper stopped as he opened the door to flash a wink at Anika as the secretary hung up the phone.

Anika sighed, shifting to keep her lower back away from the back of her seat before dialing Gan-Lan’s office.

The two sanitation workers stood before their leaders, red bandanas hanging around their necks. “The Blue Spirit knows they aren’t alone. They didn’t voice any objections to our using them as a cover.”

“Excellent work, gentlemen,” an older voice said, nodding to the pair. Face hidden by the old bulbs casting deep shadows around them, they could still make out a genial smile. “Keep an eye on them as best you can. They may prove willing to join us should we need them.”

As the pair walked out, a gruff voice spoke up. “What about the Avatar?”

“The Blue Spirit has shown themselves to be rather resourceful,” the older voice mused. “Even if they are captured, that gives us time to continue our preparations. Our coffers continue to fill, and if it is necessary our numbers grow each day.”

“Call a vote,” the gruff voice said. “All in favor of holding off on the next stage?” Out of eleven hands, eight rose. “Majority has it; we’ll hold where we are for now. I’ll -- ” The man started to rise, but grunted as he slammed his foot against the leg of the table. “Argh! Can we please get some new lights in here!”