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Taru gave a toothy grin beneath his mask and resisted the urge to do a little victory dance. He was a new recruit and this was his first big mission. Eager to impress, Taru couldn’t believe his luck when his squadron ran into two male benders late at night. One was a tall, lean firebender while his companion was a shorter, muscular earthbender. Their meeting was by pure happenstance, but Taru was intrigued by the fact that the two benders attacked almost instantly, which meant they had run into Equalist operatives before—and those members had lost.
The young man’s chest tingled with excitement. If his team was able to take these benders out, then they would succeed where others had failed, and if he were able to make a significant enough contribution to the capture, then it would mean a promotion among the ranks.
His moment of glory came a few seconds ago, when other members of his team kept the firebender occupied. He was slightly handicapped in his fighting because he was trying to shield the earthbender who was dazed on the ground—the result of a lucky burst of electricity from their weapons. While the firebender tried to cover both offense and defense, Taru snuck through and used both rods to electrocute the bender.
The second the firebender was immobilized, two other members of Taru’s team were able to add their rods as well and the alleyway exploded in light. A few seconds later they were all blasted backward from the combined attack, and when Taru glanced up, he saw the firebender sink to his knees and then collapse; residue smoke from the attack still emanating from his body.
The smell of burnt human flesh made Taru’s nose wrinkle, but thankfully his mask blocked most of it. Yet even if it didn’t, Taru’s excitement couldn’t be quelled. He had done it! With his help, the team was able to successfully take down a bender, and a firebender at that. Already he could see his promotion given to him by the great Amon himself.
His captain extended a hand to Taru and the others clapped him on the back. Nothing could make this night any better.
Something shifted behind them and the Equalists turned around, though none were alarmed. Taru knew there was no chance of the firebender waking up anytime soon (hopefully not at all, if they were successful enough) so it had to be the earthbender, and he would be still too dazed to do much. By the time his head would be clear enough to fight properly, Taru and his team would have made sure he met the same fate as his companion.
Taru started to move forward, but his captain put a hand out to stop him. “Just watch,” he said. “There’s nothing more exhilarating than watching these stuck-up benders realize they are no match for us. Then we attack.” Taru smirked and leant back on his heels. This was going to be good. He hated benders just as much as the rest of them and was going to enjoy this.
The earthbender was on his knees now, and he cradled his head with one hand while the other helped keep him upright. He called out some name Taru couldn’t catch, though he assumed it to be the firebender’s. Taru and the other Equalists chuckled as they saw the earthbender’s horrified face when his eyes fell on his companion. His cry of anguish as he scrambled over to the firebender’s body was like music to Taru’s ears. It was the same sound he had made when a visit from a member of the Triad went bad and his youngest sister was killed in the crossfire.
Serves you right, he sneered in his head. Now you scum know what it’s like.
Now the earthbender was tenderly cradling the injured firebender in his arms, and Taru was momentarily taken back by the obvious love in his actions. They were brothers, he realized. Then his anger intensified. They were an example of the filth that cropped up in this new city—benders from the different nations coming to live together, intermingling and having mixed offspring.
The earthbender was completely still now, probably unable to function now that his brother was hurt. A perfect time to strike. He and his fellow Equalists charged up their rods. It was time to end this and bring these benders to the great Amon. What happened next made them stop in their tracks though. Literally.
The earthbender gently laid his brother back on the ground, brushed his cheek like a doting parent, and rose to his full height. When he lifted his face, Taru’s rods sunk a few inches at the sight of the sheer amount of pain and fury in the earthbender’s expression.
With an enraged roar, the earthbender thrust out his arms and closed his fists. To Taru’s horror, he and the other Equalists sunk a foot into the ground and were unable to move. They could only watch as the earthbender jumped in the air and brought his fists down hard, forcing the ground to rise up and come barreling towards them—as if something large was burrowing underneath. Taru had dodged the earthbender’s attacks before, but that had been when he had the ability to get out of the way. Now with no option but to stand there and brace for the impact…Taru had a difficult time fighting the urge to scream in fear. It was like something from a nightmare.
On contact, Taru was forcibly thrown through the air with a force that knocked the rods out of his hand. Before he could get his bearings, his back exploded with so much pain his vision blacked out for a second. When he came to he was falling toward the ground. He tried to put out a hand to brace his fall, but his body decided it didn’t want to respond, causing him to land on his chin.
A scream was torn from his throat as his jaw cracked, and Taru realized it was broken. Unbidden tears came to his eyes and Taru could only moan piteously as his body twitched and shuddered from the nearly unendurable spasms of pain that now wracked his body. It was so painful he almost didn’t notice that the ground rose up and shackled his entire torso to the ground.
There was movement near his head, and Taru angled his face upward—the pain now dulled as a result of the shock. He had seconds before he blacked out and could only pray medical help would be sent to their location.
It was the earthbender, and he was carrying the limp form of his brother protectively in his arms. Taru didn’t know how the bender knew, but somehow he understood that Taru was responsible for his brother’s injuries all the same.
The earthbender’s icy green eyes looked down at Taru, yet instead of vindication or triumph, Taru could only see pain and sadness, almost like he felt sorry for what he had done. Taru’s eyes narrowed and a growl resonated in his throat. How…how dare this bender pity him!
Seeing the question in Taru’s eyes, the earthbender simply said, “You hurt Mako.” He cradled his brother even closer, and Taru couldn’t stop the sharp pang of jealously that coursed through him as he remembered treating his own sister that way. The firebender then let out a delirious whimper of pain and the earthbender’s eyes shut tightly as he touched his forehead to his brother’s. A single tear rolled down the earthbender’s cheek and he left abruptly, without a second glance at Taru.
As the earthbender walked away, he slammed his foot into the ground and there was a sharp pain in the back of Taru’s head. As he succumbed to the blessed, painless darkness of unconsciousness, Taru mentally cursed the earthbender—not for beating him, not for breaking his jaw.
But for shaking his resolve.
Taru could no longer look a bender in the eye again and only see the enemy. He would forever see the earthbender’s green eyes and the love he had for his brother—the same love Taru had for his sister.
How could he fight anymore?