Chapter Text
“Ugh… I think I’m going to be sick.”
Lance glanced at the passenger seated next to him. While the man was large and bulky; while he had dark earthy skin, his face was green from motion sickness.
“Oh God.” The man snatched the paper bag next to Lance—the bag that held his bean-bun dinner. The bean-bun dinner he paid for with what little cash he had left.
“Dude!”
“Sorry!” The man mumbled through his hand-covered mouth as he bolted to the train cart’s bathroom.
Lance watched miserably as his dinner was stolen away by the unknown stranger. What a fantastic way to start a long train ride.
He sighed. It was already hard enough to run away from home with so little, and so early in the morning, too. But the last thing he ever wanted to do was crawl all the way back home. How pathetic; he’d rather die than do something as lowly as that. Too exhausted to hunt down the big man, he leaned back into his chair, slowly drifting to sleep.
________
“..ey! Hey! Dude, wake up!”
“What..?”
Lance groggily opened his eyes and glanced at the hand that had shaken him awake. The passenger he had helped early was staring at him.
“You…! You’re the one who ran off with my dinner!”
“Shhhhhhh-“The man brought his finger to Lance’s lips. “Sorry, man, for waking you up like this—and stealing your dinner, but you need to check this out.” The big man pointed his finger outside the train window. Lance jolted awake, jumping to his feet and climbing up the seats across the train. He kneeled on the cushion, pressing his hands (and face) against the window.
The view was breathtaking. Across the expanse of ocean that glistened from the afternoon sun was a cityscape. Towering skyscrapers of glass and metal reflected against the water surrounding it. Lance whistled. “Wow…”
“Pretty neat, isn’t it?” The large man seated himself next to Lance.
Lance, realizing his reaction was much like a child, scrambled to sit down on his seat. His face grew hot from embarrassment. “It’s whatever…” He muttered.
The man laughed. “It’s cool—I was like that too when I first came to Republic City.”
“And when was that?”
“When I was, like…Five.”
Lance groaned as he covered his face. How uncool of him.
The man laughed again. “Is this your first time coming here?”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“Well…” The man pointed at Lance’s obviously blue outfit. His clothes were of the traditional southern water tribe garb: layers of blue cloth topped off with a necklace of rectangular beads, fur belt, and boots. “Your fashion is pretty…traditional. Really gave it away.” Lance swallowed. Of course.
Lance pointed his eyes towards the man’s more modern, yellow-green themed outfit. “And I’m guessing that you’re from the Earth Kingdom.”
The man brought out his hand. “The name’s Hunk.”
“Lance.” They shook hands.
The intercom crackled once more. “This is your conductor speaking. We have arrived at Central Station in Republic City. Please check to make sure you have all your belongings, and exit through the back door of your train cart.” The train doors opened, and a wave of noise flooded into the area. The subway station was bustling as passengers moved in and out of the trains.
As Lance slung his bag over his back, Hunk tapped his shoulder.
“Hey, Lance. Do you want to come with me to my uncle’s noodle shop for dinner? My treat.”
“Huh? Are you flirting with me?”
Hunk rolled his eyes. “No, Lance. It’s just that you really saved me on the train when I got the butterflies.” Hunk shivered as he remembered riding in the shaky train cart. He smiled. “I owe you one.”
“Huh.” Lance said thoughtfully. He grinned. “Well, you did ruin my dinner with your vomit. Lead the way!”
__
“Whoa!”
Lance collapsed on the ground. Before him was a red, shining motorcycle. Jet-black tire streaks trailed behind its wheels. The driver, leaning his motorcycle to the side, yanked off his helmet. He whipped his hair, sending beads of sweat flying, and Lance had a front-row seat of it all.
Hot damn.
Lance stared, mouth open. The driver had black mullet, and while his long locks of hair hid a large portion of his face, it was no secret that he was hot. The man ran his hand through his front bangs, pulling them back. Porcelain white skin, dark arching eyebrows, sharp jawline, ruby-red eyes… Lance stared in awe, his face flushed. How could a man far beautiful than any girl exist?
But of course that dream-like fantasy was shattered in an instant.
“What the fuck were you even thinking!?”
Lance flinched, breaking free from his trance. The driver was glaring down at him, his red eyes burning with anger. Lance’s face grew redder as his own anger built up.
“What do you mean?” He retorted.
“I mean that you literally fucking walked right in front of me while I was driving!”
Lance looked from side to side at his surroundings. People stopped to spectate, murmuring and pointing between him and the driver. Hunk watched from the other side of the street, his face contorted with fear and worry. Lance looked away, embarrassed.
“Sorry…”
“’Sorry’ doesn’t cut it. How could you do something as idiotic as cross the street without looking both ways? I don’t have the time or cash to worry about cleaning after your bullshit or repairing my ride.”
“Woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah—hold up, you guys.” Hunk cut in between Lance and the driver. He turned to the driver. “I’m sorry about my friend. He’s new to the city life, so…”
The driver scoffed, locking his helmet into place impatiently. “Make sure to keep an eye”—he pointed at Lance—“on this country bumpkin next time.”
“Country bumpkin?! Well I’ll show you what this country bumpkin can do when he beats your mullet-ridden ass!”
Hunk hurriedly grabbed Lance under the arms, successfully holding him back despite his struggling.
And the driver was gone.
__
“Wow, Lance,” Hunk said as he gently placed a cup of tea in front of Lance. “Just…wow.”
Lance nodded gratefully to Hunk’s uncle, the shop owner, before angrily chugging down the tea. “That asshole!” He rasped as he slammed the cup onto the table. “Acting all high and mighty…”
Hunk shrugged. “He is right when he said that you walked right in front of him. That’s the number one rule they teach to all kids in the city: never, ever walk in front of a street without looking both ways. Or else”—he clasped his hands together in a loud clap. “Didn’t you learn that when you were younger?”
Lance frowned. There were never bustling streets full of trucks, cars and pedestrians back at home. “No…”
Hunk gave a forgiving smile. “Well, it’s okay, since it’s your first time in Republic City. But seriously though, be careful next time. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and I literally only talked to you for like, ten minutes.” He clutched his chest. “I don’t need that kind of stress in my life right now.”
“Why? Things are busy for you?”
Hunk nodded. “Yeah. I guess you could say I’m studying abroad more or less. A pair of engineers—father and son—came by to Ba Sing Se to visit one of their factory branches or something. Their vehicle broke down in the middle of the street—by the way, you do not want to have a broken-down car in the middle of a street in Ba Sing Se because the road rage is absolutely unreal and—“
“Hunk.”
“Oh, right. Got off track. Sorry. Anyway, I ended up fixing the engine of their car, even though I’ve never really worked with engines as fine as those before, and then I must’ve done a pretty good job because they offered to have me do some internship here in Republic City. I figured it’d be a good opportunity to, y’know, get a better education, and—“he pointed to the shop owner who was kneading dough behind the counter—“to help out in the family business on the side.”
Lance hummed. “Impressive.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what about you?”
“Huh?”
“What’s your reason for coming to the big city?”
“Uh-“ Lance stuttered. “Well, um…For the adventure! The South Pole can get really boring sometimes, being around nothing but piles and piles of snow. And old-fashioned grannies. I kind of figured that it was my time to leave the bird’s nest. Snow gets boring, and nothing new ever comes up, so…”
Hunk looked unconvinced, but shrugged. “How old are you?” He asked, switching topics.
“Eighteen. You?”
Hunk grinned. “Eighteen.” He raised his fist.
Lance bumped his knuckles against Hunk’s. “Nice.”
__
“Are you sure you know which way to go?” Hunk called out to Lance, who already stepped foot into the dark street.
Lance waved his hand dismissively. “Of course I do. How do you think I was able to get myself around in a barren ice-land in the middle of nowhere?”
“I don’t know…It’s getting pretty dark out. Are you sure you don’t want to just shack in with my family for the night? I’m sure Uncle wouldn’t mind.”
Lance shook his head. “Nono, I can’t do that. I’ll just crash at a nearby hotel or something.”
Hunk sighed. “Well, if you insist…Have a good night.”
“You too, man. Thanks for everything.”
“My pleasure. Don’t forget to stop by if you ever want to eat noodles or hang out.”
But Lance had already blended into the dimly lit streets.
Hunk turned, stepping back into the noodle shop. His uncle was in the middle of wiping down the tables with a wet rag. He lifted his head as he heard the front door bell ring as Hunk entered.
“Back so soon? I thought you were going to guide your Water Tribe friend to one of the neighboring hotels.”
“No. Lance said that he knew how to get his way around.”
“Which way did he take?”
“Left.”
Hunk’s uncle let out a heavy sigh. “For someone who insisted he knew which way to go, he made a grave mistake.”
“Huh?”
“Taking the left way means heading straight into Galra territory.”
“What?!” Hunk gasped. “You mean that crazy-strong gang? The gang that literally owns half the city’s turf? You’ve got to be kidding me…”
The old man shook his head, clicking his tongue. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Galra hadn’t jumped him by now. With a clueless, lanky boy like him, he would be an easy target.”
“Oh, no…”
__
“Oh, no…” Lance breathed as he pressed himself against the wall. Three men had cornered him in the alley, all with sinister grins that gleamed in the dark.
Swallowing hard, Lance pulled his cheeks into a stiff smile. “So, boys…” He started off casually. “I don’t know what the issue is, but can I pass through? Because it’s getting late and I kinda need to--” He placed his hand onto the shoulder of one of the men. The man gripped his hand, twisting his arm. Lance fell to his knees, his arm locked behind his back. Another man—supposedly the leader of the trio--kneeled down to look directly at Lance’s eyes.
“Oh sure, we’ll let you pass through our turf, but you’ll need to pay the toll fee first.”
“What?! But I need that money! I’m screwed if I’m cashless!”
“So? That is not our problem. We Galra own this territory, and you will abide to our rules.” The man spat on the ground.
Lance clenched his teeth. How could he get out of this mess? But he could already feel the third man pat around his body, feeling for the pouch of what little money he had left that was stowed away into his pocket.
“Hey—!”
Suddenly, a flash of fiery red flew past, nearly hitting them. Everyone dodged.
“What?!” The leader spat, looking above.
On the roof of the building was what seemed to be a man. His face was covered by none more than the mask of a red lion, followed by a red hood around his head and bandana around his neck.
“Release him.” The Red Lion growled.
The trio leader cackled in amusement. “Make me,” he sneered.
The Red Lion pumped his fist again, firing rapid bullets of flame down to the ground. The Galra members dispersed, releasing Lance in the process. Lance screeched as a flame singed part of his clothing. “Holy shit!”
The trio positioned themselves into fighting stance. The earthbender of the three smashed his foot into the ground, levitating parts of the road from beneath. With a harsh kick, he sent the pieces flying towards the Red Lion.
The Red Lion dodged with ease, swiftly leaping into the air. Foot first, he nimbly jumped onto the incoming rocks, narrowing the distance between him and his foes.
“Zen!” The leader hissed.
“Understood.” The Galra faced the nearby fire hydrant. With raised arms, the ground rumbled as a surge of water sent the hydrant flying. “Let’s see if he’ll be able to move through this!” He swung his arms forward, sending a spiral of water towards the red lion.
Before the water could reach the man, it suddenly froze mid-air.
“What?!” The Galra turned to see Lance had turned the mass of water into ice.
Lance clicked his tongue. “I can’t believe you guys forgot that I’m still here! Such a shame. And here I was, excited to show you my cool waterbending moves.” He snickered at his own shameless pun.
The trio leader snarled, and, whipping his fist back, fired a barrage of flame in Lance’s direction. Lance, unfreezing the ice from the hydrant, enveloped the water into a shield that easily extinguished the fire.
From inside his water bubble, he mockingly stuck out his tongue. “You missed!” He teased.
As the distracted leader reeled back to blow another stream of fire, the Red Lion kicked his face into the cement. He grinded his foot into the Galra’s cheek. “How pathetic,” he mumbled through his bandana.
“Sendak!” The earthbending Galra lifted the ground in attempt to send the Red Lion flying. The man stepped off of Sendak, using the rock as a boost to send himself soaring into the air. Clenching his fist, the Red Lion ignited a flame-like sword, and sliced the rock with a quick swing in the wrist. With the two halves of rock floating in the air, the Red Lion did a split as he kicked them into the two other Galra lackies (Lance winced at the painful extent of flexibility the man had with a soft “ooh”). The Galra fell back from the impact, crashing hard into the road.
Landing on his feet, the Red Lion brought his flame sword down to the ground, close to Sendak’s face. The sweat on the Galra’s face and neck glowed, and his eyes glistened with fear.
“Let me catch you doing shit again,” the Lion hissed, “and you can kiss your shitty life goodbye—“
“Lance!”
Everyone flinched as they caught sight of the teddy bear of a man racing down the street. Behind him followed men in metallic uniforms. The cops.
“Fuck!” The one named Zen rose from the ground, shooting water to grab Sendak by the ankle. Clutching his leader in his arms, he turned to his earthbending comrad. “Zartol! Get us out of here!”
The bigger Galra grunted, jumping to his feet. Bringing his arms back, Zartol raised a platform from the ground, carrying Zen and Sendak along with him. After a quick turn around the corner, the three entered into the vehicle they had come from.
“Shit! They’re getting away!” Lance scrambled towards the vehicle, but his legs failed to keep up with the car’s accelerating speed. The vehicle vanished into the night, the criminals escaping with it. Lance brought his hand onto his forehead. “Fuck…”
Suddenly, large arms were wrapped around him from behind. “Lance!” Hunk cried, squeezing Lance so hard that he gasped for air. “I was so worried! Dude, I am so sorry. It’s been so long since I’ve been in Republic City that I completely forgot to warn you about those gangs!”
Lance freed himself from his friend’s grip, dusting the remains of rock from his clothes. “Don’t worry about it, Hunk. It’s not your fault.” He laughed awkwardly. “I probably should’ve just been honest and said I had no idea where the hell I was going.”
“The most important thing is that you are safe.” A tall man came to Lance’s side. Despite Lance’s tall height, he was incomparable to the buff officer beside him. The officer was not stout as Hunk, but was clearly rippling with muscle under his metallic armor. The man, from a distance, seemed intimidating. Not only was his stature superhuman, but he had a large scar across him face—perhaps a wound from service? From underneath his police cap and tuft of white hair, he glanced down at Lance. A surprisingly soft smile spread across his lips. “I’m glad we made it in time.”
“I-I-“ Lance stuttered, his face red. How could a man be so flawless. Not only did he meet a hot biker (despite him being a total ass), he met yet another work of God.
The officer pulled out his hand. “Deputy Takashi Shirogane at your service. Though I prefer to be called ‘Shiro’—my name is too much of a mouthful.” He gave a shy chuckle.
Lance nervously smiled back, gripping Shiro’s hand. However, he paused: the hand was cold. Empty. There was no solid material within the hand. Shiro must have detected his shock, for he gently pulled back his hand. Awkwardness spread between the two.
“Anyway, we’ll take on the investigation from here. The Galra have been up to no good, as always. You best avoid traveling during the night so you won’t have to face off danger like that again.” He gave Lance a worried, serious look. “You really were incredibly lucky today, especially for being alone.”
“W-what?!” Lance protested. “But there was that guy! That guy with the red lion mask! How he was all”—Lance flailed his arms sloppily in a kung-fu like movement—“whoosh and whoosh!”
Hunk and Shiro looked genuinely confused.
“Uh…what?” Hunk said.
Lance was speechless. Was it…all a dream?
Hunk grabbed Lance by the shoulder. “Hey, man…It’s been a stressful day. How about we call it a night? You can stay at my place.”
Shiro nodded in agreement. “The Metalbending Police Force will keep you updated on this investigation.”
“B-b-b-but-“Lance sputtered as Hunk gently pushed him to his uncle’s restaurant. The world spun around him, his head pounding while processing the events from moments before.
Who the hell was the Red Lion?