Protect and Serve

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The story starts right before Episode 3, 'Revelation'

Chapter 1

The room was dark, surrounded by metal walls at all sides, decorated by ornate markings. The only source of light in the room was a lamp, which was swinging back and forth, creaking into rhythm. A metal table stood in the middle of the room, with two metal chairs opposite each other. A metalbender police stood behind the prisoner, who was a middle-aged man with stylish, waxed hair rising high, with grey streaks along both sides of his head. He wore colorful clothes. However, his most annoying trait was his smug smile as he knew that the evidence wouldn't hold up enough charges to deny him bail, which a rich man of his stature could easily pay.

Shimon placed a document on the table, leaning forwards. "Lightning bolt Zolt." He spoke with a serious voice, his hawk-like eyes staring straight at the criminal's face.

"That's me." Zolt retorted. "Here to babysit me before I get released?"

"You're a criminal, Zolt."

"Yeah, sure is. I plead guilty to wrecking the restaurant down at Sixth Street this morning." He raised both his hands in mockery. "And now I am coinciding completely with the law, which allows me to pay bail for my release, unless of course, you made it so that I am not allowed to pay bail. However, I doubt that would be the case, since it's only vandalism." He shrugged. "Now, when am I going home?"

Eighteen Months Earlier

Shimon lowered himself from the airship onto a roof using a mechanical cable designed for non benders as he was ordered to intercept a violent street chase. Although he was a firebender, not a metalbender, his father has used his political influence in the fire nation to get him the job of being the Fire Nation liaison in the Republic City police force since he was twenty-two years old. His father claimed that he should go out into the world and find his own experiences, but in truth Shimon knew that his father just wanted to spend more time with his new mother-in-law, which Shimon held no grudge for. He never cared much for his own family anyways. He was currently twenty-four years old. His hair was traditional Fire Nation black; however, he inherited his tanned skin pigment from his biological mother, who was a Northern water tribeswoman.

The metalbenders acted swiftly, as they lowered themselves onto the streets and conjured a large stone wall out of Earth to block the car's path. The first car crashed head first into the wall, grey smoke rising from it. The men in the vehicle leapt off it and started running, but were cut short as they were leaving the vehicle as the metalbending police used their metal chords to restrain the runners. One of the runners threw out a wide kick, spraying a curtain of flame to cover his escape, but more policemen dropped in from above and formed walls blocking both sides of the alley the firebender was in, while the others leapt down from the roof around the alley. The firebender put up a desperate fight, throwing up curtains of fire to keep the metalbenders away, but the policemen were fearless as one charged through the fire and tackled the man to the ground before restraining the firebender with his metal chords.

The second car approached the stone wall, but suddenly, one of the men in the second car earthbended an earth ramp in front of the barricade, causing the car to go up the ramp and sail over the barricade. Shimon dethatched his steel cable from the airship and leapt across the roofs and gave chase to the car. A metalbender fired his metal chord at the car, which attached itself to the car's rear bumper. However, the car's force was too strong, dragging the policeman along with it. The car turned hard as the metalbender dethatched his cable from the car, sending him flying through a shop window.

A cable fired from the airship, metalbended with accuracy by two policemen on the ground, sending it into the car's rear bumper again. This time, however, the airship had much greater weight than the car, causing it to jerk violently. The men in the driver seat smashed their head into the dashboard before the car suddenly stopped. One of the men in the backseat opened the car door and fell off it before regaining his balance again as Shimon lowered himself onto the street along with a squad of metalbenders.

The man stood up, angry. "Do you know who I am!" the man yelled. "The name," he continued, before making a circular motion with both his hands, sparks emitting from his protruding two fingers from each of his hands. "Is Lightning Bolt Zolt!" he shot one of his hands forwards directly at Shimon. However, Shimon has seen this technique used numerous times in the Fire Nation and his father had hired the best master he could find to teach him firebending arts, which covered the concept of both lightning generation and redirection.

He moved his two fingers and directed them at the lightning, which went straight for him. He could feel the crippling electric current running through his left arm, directing it to his stomach, remembering his firebending lessons in the Fire Nation. Finally, he forced the electric current through his right arm to his hand, which was aimed at Zolt. The lightning bolt went straight to the criminal. The current from Zolt's lightning bolt would not be enough to kill, as obviously, killing a police officer while having little chance to escape wouldn't be a good idea. To his surprise, Zolt raised up his hands again.

Lightning redirection was a tiring technique to use, which puts a large amount of strain on the wearer depending on the strength of the electric current, and Shimon was unable to recover in time. He wasn't counting on Zolt knowing how to redirect lightning as well, and he could already feel the pain of the lightning that Zolt was going to redirect at him.

Suddenly, an earth fist rose up from the ground, restricting Zolt's movements, stopping his lightning redirection. The electric current, however, was already in the criminal's body, and with nowhere to go, unleashed great pain. Zolt screamed out as his nicely waxed hair shot up as he was being shocked by his own lightning, which caused him to fall unconscious with various burns on his body. A metalbender moved towards Zolt, releasing him from the earth fist with a single hand motion. Shimon looked up to see his savior.

"Chief Beifong!" he realized it was the chief of police, saluting. "Thanks for the assistance, ma'am."

"There are more people in the car." The police chief commanded, ignoring him. "Arrest them."

"Thanks chief. If it wasn't for you I'd be roasting on the ground."

"I gave an order, officer. You are going to follow it regardless of your parentage."

"They're all apprehended, chief Beifong."

Lin Beifong now was at her wit's end. She looks upwards, annoyed. "Then what are you standing around here for?" She said abrasively, pointing at the airship.

"Right away ma'am." Shimon backed off, surprised by Beifong's attitude, then he thought of a joke he had wished since that he never said out loud. "Is it that time of the month, ma'am?" he said, scratching his head, with an awkward smile.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Lin Beifong shouted at him, furious. "NOW!" Shimon fired grappling hook himself onto the airship as soon as he could.

The Present

Suddenly, the world was a blur, and he started to fall sideways, unable to control his own body. He stopped himself with his forearm before he hit the floor, before pushing himself back up on his chair, groaning. Zolt's stupid grin has not left his face, and Shimon was sure Zolt was going to tease him about his affliction.

"What was that, officer? Forgotten to take your pills?" The firebender teased him.

"Shut up, Zolt, if you don't want your face to be caved in." Shimon replied, annoyed and tired.

The walls to the interrogation room opened up, two metalbending police officers stood guarding the doorway. A bald man in tank top and combat trousers stood in the doorway. This man was not a stranger to Shimon. The bald man was one of Zolt's lackeys who deal with finances of Zolt's triad. Although the fact was obvious, there had been no solid evidence that could put him in jail, since Zolt seemed to safeguard the blad man and keep his records clean specifically to deal with Zolt's personal emergencies, such as paying bail.

"That's my cue, officer. See you later." Zolt spoke, standing up from his chair, mockingly waving at the obviously irritated police officer.

"I'll escort you out." Shimon nodded, standing up as well.

"No need, officer. Wouldn't want to put more strain on that frail body o' yours."

Shimon has suffered from this affliction since he was a child, occasionally experiencing dizziness episodes, which usually sends him to the ground, unable to control his body. Over a few seconds, the pain would go away, but it was still something he was not proud of. Coupled with his low stamina and weak body, no military or police force would take him if it weren't for his father's political influence.

"Shut up and walk, Zolt." He grabbed the criminal by the arm. "Guard, undo his cuffs." He asked one of the guards, who metalbended the handcuffs apart.

The hallway was littered with police officers and a long queue of civilians waiting to report crimes committed against them. The walls were metal and ornately decorated just like the interrogation room, with two steel chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and rows of lanterns lined up on the walls. Two policemen were taking a prisoner to the cells. The prisoner was wriggling and struggling to get free of the metalbenders' holds, to no avail. Two metalbenders were playing Pai Sho behind the reception desk, leaving what appeared to be a new recruit to do their jobs for them. A woman was crying, with her husband comforting her as a policeman noted her accounts down on a notepad. They finally arrived at the front gate, which was opened by two policemen standing beside them. The sun was setting and orange sunlight shone upon them, reflecting off his metal armor. Zolt's classic car was illegally parked right in front of the police station. Shimon decided to give Zolt a little payback of his own.

"Sorry, but your car is parked illegally. I'll have to give you a parking ticket." He explained, trying to hide his smile.

Zolt glared at him, annoyed. However, the criminal backed off. "Fine, just get on with it." He said grudgingly. After Shimon was finished writing down the parking ticket, he satisfyingly handed it over to the triad boss. The bald man reached inside the car and opened the door, and the car exploded.

Shimon was sent flying across the footpath onto the ground, his armor protecting him from the car debris. When he got back on one knee, the smoke was starting to clear. The bald man was lying face down next to the car, unmoving and Zolt was coughing in the smoke. Apparently, Zolt used his own subordinate as a human shield. Shimon turned around and found the metalbender policemen who were guarding the front gate on the ground, incapacitated. He narrowed his eyes and saw another figure in the smoke approaching Zolt from behind. He shouted to warn the mob boss, but it was too late. Zolt took four quick consecutive quick jabs to his arm, weakening him. At that point, Shimon realized that they were being attacked by chi blockers.

The masked man inside the smoke used a thin chord of rope connected to weights to tie up Zolt's arms. However, Zolt was a skilled firebender and kicked wide at the chi blocker, throwing out a torrent of flame. The chi blocker, however, ducked down below the fire and threw out four quick strikes up Zolt's leg, making the firebender fall over. Shimon was on his feet again, and ran to Zolt's assistance. However, another masked man jumped out between them and struck Shimon's left arm multiple times, trying to block his chi. The metalbending police force's armor, however, was impervious to such techniques.

Shimon has extensively studied chi blocking, and although he cannot do it himself, he knew the theory to it, and he also knew that chi blockers usually resort to their superior agility to outfight their enemies. He knew that a simple strike wouldn't be successful as chi blockers would easily be able to evade and counterattack. He gave a low kick at the chi blocker's leg, sending fire onto the ground. The chi blocker leapt upwards to dodge this strike. However, Shimon had his tactics planned. As he struck the ground, there would be no way to dodge except up. While chi blockers may have inhuman agility, they cannot maneuver once they are in the air. While they are mid air, they rely on various forces to move, unlike when they are on the ground, where they can move freely using their body making Chi blockers sitting ducks in mid-air. Shimon threw out a solid fire punch right into the chi blocker's gut, slamming the assailant onto the ground, hard.

Suddenly, he heard a crackle behind him. He turned his head around and saw another masked man armed with two electrified kali sticks. He pivoted himself around to face the attacker, but he was too late. The kali sticks landed on his highly conductive metal armor, sending an electric current into him. His limbs went numb, and he felt an enormous pressure in his chest before his face met the ground. His body was shuddering, and his heartbeat was so fast and loud that he could hear it. The chi blockers carried the unconscious triad boss into the back of a truck, followed by the masked man wielding electrified kali sticks. The truck's engine started and the masked men started driving off. Shimon decided that he wasn't giving up, and flipped himself over, moving his hands in a circular motion, two fingers protruding from each hand. The world around him was getting blurry as he launched his right hand out, sending out a lightning bolt. His attack, however, missed completely and struck a neighboring Cabbage Corp billboard, sending it plowing down into the streets. (Author's Note: MY CABBAGES!) Someone grabbed him by his shoulders, and he struggled until he realized that it was a metalbender policeman. He tried speaking, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. The world got dimmer and dimmer, and then all he could see was darkness.

Author's Note: So, how'd you like that? Please note that I am not the master of Avatar universe, so I apologize if any of my facts was inconsistent with the Avatar lore. Please review and stay tuned for more episodes! I found out that writing fight scenes with 'Agni Kai' theme on made it that much more epic XD. Anyhow, thanks for reading, peace out!

P.S. I couldn't think of the title of the story until I finished writing

-The Burning Cheese