It was a bold plan, Will could give Lea that, but it was their best option given the current circumstances. Besides, having the almighty Flynn on their side would definitely make things easier. The events played on the young earthbender's mind, eventually he learned to just accept them. He remembered the flash of blue that burst from her eyes, mere seconds before she had sank into the ground. He remembered being blasted back, his back crashing against a grave stone. He saw the figure descend from a pillar of air and extend her hand. He replayed slapping it away, and eventually giving in to the help when the hand continuously returned. A strong, tanned hand. It wasn't hers, and after Korra explained he had no choice but to be satisfied with the cards he had been given. They all had a part to play in a higher destiny it seemed, but for now the best course of action seemed to be escaping to the frozen wastes in the Northern Water lands, away from the conflict.
As the bolas flew for his head, he felt a gust of wind blow from beside him. The ropes refracted and crashed into the floor beside him, the force of the impact kicking up dust. "Don't just stand there!" She cried, "Fight back!" Flynn's sharp words cut him away from his day dreams, snapping him back into their predicament. He raised a pillar of earth from the ground and kicked it over towards the group of Equalist pacifiers, knocking them backwards. The young earth bender aided Master Ray in compressing stone projectiles into bullets and fired them at the Mecha-tanks. The blinding flash of the explosions blinded their vision briefly, but not so much that it caught them off guard. Master Kaatje thwipped the liquid from her skin and froze the ground beneath a second wave of tanks, toppling them into each other like dominoes.
"We can't keep them off forever Lea! Hurry up!" Manda called as the fired a flurry of flaming strikes at a descending group of Chi-blockers. The air-craft hanger was much more heavily defended than they had first thought. One of the offenders came up in close combat, aiming a wave of precise jabs at the master's person. She ducked and weaved, responding with a high power burst of flame from an open palm. "Lea!" Her enraged cry was synonymous with the kick-starting of the engine. The propellers fired and muffled the metal benders ecstatic yelping.
"Get inside guys. We have take off!" The group jumped into the open hatch of the small aircraft, Flynn turning around rapidly to blast away the extended claws of the tanks. Everyone else accounted for, she dove through the hatch and fired blasts of wind to offset those in pursuit. As the plane accelerated out of the hanger, Will took a firm grip on the earth and churned it from their tail to prevent any counter launches. The plan had gone off without a hitch, no casualties.
Kinnara let out a cry in pain as she lay with her back against the cold metal shell of the plane. Kaatje launched herself to her side, holding her hand, wincing as her sister's grip intensified greatly. "It's not time yet..." she told her sibling, returning the tight grip with her own. "Be strong." Her pain seemed to subside for a short period as the pitter-patter of rain filled the group's ears.
"It'll only take a few hours for us to get to the safe house in the North. Be strong." Ray uttered calmly from a sympathetic smile.
"Hold on tight guys, we're flying into a storm. Looks like this is about to get bumpy."
"We're being followed." the ex-general spoke as she made out the faint sound of propellers buzzing from behind the air-craft. She unfastened her belt and stood, peering out the window. It was too blurred from the rain to see, but she deduced a significant number of planes following them. Behind the enemy planes was a huge airship. She had only seen it once before, and it meant only one thing.
Amon had come after them personally.
The group shot each other concerned looks, there wasn't a lot many of them could do. It was too wet for fire, and a lightning strike would be far too dangerous given the rain and the conductivity of their transport. Without earth, Will and Master Ray were out of the fight completely. With Lea piloting and Kinnara otherwise occupied, that left only Kaatje and Flynn able to fight. Kaatje was unable to leave her sister's side.
Guess when it comes down to it, I really am on my own. She advanced quickly towards the hatch, wrapping herself in a bubble of air.
"Flynn what are you doing?!" Lea called out from the cockpit, she turned her head and flashed a wry smile to the fugitives.
"I'm going duck hunting." she spoke with such confidence, such willpower, and yet such spirits – her clever grin still glowing in the corner of her mouth – that nobody contested. As she forced open the hatch, the bubble of air shielded her – and the inside of the plane – from the gale-force wind. She leant out of the hatch to get a closer look. Ten... Twenty... Thirty... Chris, there's a whole fleet coming after us. This is going to end well. She took a few steps back inside the hull before running towards the hatch and leaping onto the wing. She landed gracefully, her shield holding true against the harsh natural wind. Will rose to close the hatch after her as the bubble followed her, shutting the atmosphere out of the hull.
As the metal slider closed and the chill subsided, Lea was the first to speak into his intercom. "She's batshit insane!" he laughed, keeping his sights focused on their path. He descended from under the clouds to give her a better vision, but made sure to keep their elevation stable. It's up to you. Go get 'em, psycho.
We need a tail wind or we'll never get away. She raised her arms and pulled the wind from behind the aircraft, shunting the hull and rocketing it forward. The lights from the pursuers' planes became stronger and stronger, she could make out the planes. Now was the time. She fired concentrated jets of air at the planes, tearing through their hulls, knocking out the wings, smashing the propellers. She dodged the retaliation fire as best she could, and exploded their bombs before they could hit the ship. For the first time, she felt purpose in her actions. The heat from the blasts made her feel alive. She had something to protect: the legacy of the avatar. She had people to protect: those who would correct her mistakes. A bullet whizzed past her head as she redirected the wind around a missile, throwing it back to the assailant.
The ride became ever turbulent as the blast radius of the explosions knocked the plane. Lea became impatient, flying the aircraft was easy, just twisting a stick. Flynn was the one with the hard part, and however strong she was, she couldn't do it alone. His mind made up, he removed his piloting helmet (that he had "acquired" from the intended pilot) and planted it on Will's head, giving him a thumbs up as he opened the hatch. The resulting air pressure pulled him out, Ray rising rapidly from her seat to close it.
"I don't know how to fly a plane!" Will protested, but his cries fell on deaf, uncaring ears.
"No time like the present!" Kaatje screamed angrily as she forced him into the pilot's chair.
With a thwip of wire, Lea wrapped the extensions of his suit around the nozzle of the plane. He retracted them and pulled himself up, tearing a hole through the hull of the plane as he ascended. The wire unlocked as the aircraft sank, in just enough time for him to fire another assault into the cockpit of an oncoming plane. The glass smashed and the wire knocked the pilot out of consciousness, Lea flipping through the air and landing on the outer hull of yet another plane, melding his feet into it.
"Show off!" Flynn yelled, she knew he couldn't hear it, but it was more of a compulsion than an ice breaker. She coalesced air beneath her feet and detonated it, knocking herself into the air (and potentially giving the fledgeling pilot a heart attack). She shattered the glass of three cockpits in her ascension, slapping them with highly dense whips of air. She dual drew a set of pistols and fired viciously at the planes which sped past her, each one a bullseye – smashing their propellers and sending the aircraft hurtling towards the sea beneath them.
Wind and metal clashed with metal, endless numbers of aircraft fell into the ocean. Lea and Flynn hurtled side by side towards the final remaining wave of aircraft. Without warning, she pulled the metalbender towards herself, a bolt of lightning barely missing him. Once he was gripped by her own arms she began to rotate them rapidly. The air gathered around her, spinning and weaving from a ball into a small cyclone. She stopped their momentum for a second, with the wind continuing around them. She mouthed the words to him before tossing him out of the tornado and firing him at an alarming speed towards their own ship. Lea out of the way, she continued her rotations. The cyclone now extended from the thick, black clouds into the ocean. This would be her final stand. Her trump card.
Each raindrop felt like a needle against Lea's face as he hurtled through the atmosphere towards the plane, the freezing winds aiding the chill. With it in sight, he forced his arms forward and released both wires. The wires wrapped themselves around the release lock on the hatch, and as he came to a steady landing on the wing, he released it and pulled himself in. He bent the hatch down, wedging it shut with his powers – crumpling the hull around it.
Everyone stared at him with intent eyes.
"Where is Flynn?" Manda piped up. He closed his own eyes and pictures her final words to him.
"Whatever happens to me... Don't turn back."
The tornado pulled the airship closer, ripping it out of it's momentum. The sound of the folding metal was intense, clawing at the ear drums of those on board. Flynn pulled it closer with all of her might. She knew there was no going back now, this was it. If I'm going to die, I'm taking you down with me, mother fucker. The screeching of the crunching steel backing louder, she knew it was getting closer – no, he was getting closer. Her heart raced with the thought of this one act, her final act. A whole life of sin could be rectified by this one act of sacrifice. As she saw the tip of the airship burst through her tornado, she felt immense satisfaction.
The feeling was soon eliminated, however, as her body stopped moving. She stopped spinning, and the tornado silenced. The soldier was torn from her pedestal and raced towards the flying construct. Her head was forced forward, and her arms manipulated outward – she floated like a puppet on a marionette. Through the glass she made eye contact with him. She could see the pleasure under his mask. Their icy glares locked onto each other. She broke the gaze, observing through her limited vision the damage to the ship. The hull was compromised, the engines were choking with fumes and the glass was cracked. They were in no position to pursue the plane.
Checkmate.
This final, fleeting victory was quashed as her body crumpled. She suppressed the screaming at the pain, fought to keep herself composed. She would show no fear, she would show no regret. Her last thought, before everything went black and she was sent throttling towards the sea...
When I find you in the next life, I will rip off your head and shit down your neck.
An unwelcome calm settled as the white surface of the North pole came into view. The storm was behind them, they had made it out alive. They barely spoke as they approached land for the first time in hours.
The silence, however, was broken by four words. Four words that confirmed their every wish, and at the same time, saddened them straight into the foundations of their souls.
"...The baby is coming!"