My eyes snapped open when I heard the creaky bedroom door swinging open.
"Rise and shine, Taka, nap's over" announced Jia, my landlord's earth-bending daughter, as she strode into my room. Jia was a pleasant young woman, about seventeen years old like me. She had dark brown hair which was usually held up in various arrangements. That day it was tied in two long ponytails draped over each shoulder. She also had kind, caring, brown eyes. She really had a face you could trust. That morning she was wearing a green and yellow dress that outlined her figure nicely.
I grumbled for a few seconds before rolling out of the sheets. I stumbled over to the window overlooking the docks. I let out a monstrous yawn and stretched my entire body. Then I turned around to face Jia.
"You okay, Taka?" Jia asked in that melodic voice of hers.
I started to answer, but before I could little fuzzy dots took over my field of vision. I swayed from side to side before completely losing my balance. Then I fell down hard on the wooden floor. Jia burst out in a fit of laughter.
"What was that!" she asked while still laughing.
I got up and looked at Jia with a confused look, before saying "What just happened?"
"Come on, I've got lunch ready for you downstairs" she said, after composing herself.
I started to follow her when I noticed sunlight was cast across my headboard rather than the foot of the bed where it normally was.
"Wait a second, Jia, what time is it?" I asked.
"12:30, why?" Jia said while walking through my door way.
"You let me sleep for an hour and a half?"
"Yeah, since all the sleep you get are from those half hour naps you insist on taking, I figured you might appreciate a little more rest every once in a while."
"I guess I do appreciate it, thanks" I said, still dazed from my nap and subsequent fall.
I followed Jia down the stairs and into the kitchen where I was greeted by the aroma of still warm noodles.
"I saved those for you," she said pointing towards a bowl of noodles, "I know they're your favorite."
"Oh, thank you Jia, I haven't had noodles in such a long time" I said excitedly, while moving towards the table.
Jia shot me a cockeyed glance and asked, "Are you being serious or are you making fun of me?"
"I'm sorry, I am being serious and I do like noodles" I said as I sat down.
"It's just that, it's very hard to tell whether you're joking or not" Jia explained.
"I know, you wouldn't believe how many people have asked me that very question" I said taking my first bite.
"Well, enjoy your lunch" Jia said as she left the room.
After I finished my noodles, I returned to my room to get ready for courier duty. I pulled each article of clothing out of my trunk and checked them off. White undershirt and brown overcoat, check. Good 'ol, reliable, cloth pants, check. Durable hiking socks, check. The only thing missing were my boots. I searched every nook and cranny of my room before even considering asking Jia for help.
"Jia, do you know where my boots are? I can't seem to find them anywhere" I said, coming down the stairs, taking about three steps with every footfall.
"Yeah, they were sitting by the door this morning" Jia said as she tossed me my boots. I easily snatched the first one out of the air, but miscalculated and fumbled the second. After, an attempt to look suave in front of Jia I said goodbye, and left the house, dressed in the height of Republic courier fashion. I then used a nearby fire escape to climb up on the rooftops. I heard some commotion down at street level. I looked down and saw a girl riding a polar bear dog. I thought it strange there would be one of those creatures so far from either of the poles. The dog, that is, not the girl.
I turned my back to Yue Bay, got a running start, and leaped off my home towards the train tracks. I snatched the edge of the tracks in my left hand and pulled the rest of my body up. I started to move hurriedly, narrowly avoiding the one 'o clock train. A few jumps and alleyways later I arrived at the hub of the city's courier service, Republic City Express.
The building was small and humble compared to the large, imposing structures owned by other businesses. It was two stories tall and topped with big red letters that spelled out the name of the company. On the outside it could be mistaken for a very unassuming courier service. Maybe one that employed children hoping to earn some money of their own. This was not the case at all. The Republic City Express employed only the toughest and most agile of couriers.
The oftentimes delicate nature of packages made the deliverymen prime targets of Triads and other unsavory figures. Those people would illegally intercept employees resulting in unpleasent incidents and political scandals.
I strolled into the lobby of Republic City Express and leaned against the receptionist, Hikari's, desk. Hikari was a middle-aged woman with sad eyes. She always looked very stressed and never talked unless she had to.
"Hey Hikari, how's it going?" I asked, taking a few pieces of candy from the jar she always had out.
"Fine," she said without looking up from her papers, "Mr. Kibishi said to come see him when you got in."
"Why's that?" I asked, throwing a piece of candy into my mouth.
"I think he's got a couple of important packages for you."
"Nice," I stated, creating an awkward silence between us. After a few seconds I said, "See you later Hikari." She didn't respond.
I walked up a flight of stairs to see Mr. Kibishi, my boss. He had a massive office that essentially took up the entire second floor. He was an old man, far older than Hikari or I. He had a grey hair and grey eyes. He just seemed to have an aura of grey that followed him around. He was pacing back and forth with an unlit cigar in his mouth when I reached the top of the stairs.
"Morning, Mr. Kibishi" I said to get his attention.
"Taka, where have you been!" barked Kibishi, "I have three packages with your name written all over 'em."
I started to come up with an excuse, but before I could answer Mr. Kibishi cut me off.
"It's not important," he said, "just get these letters delivered, and I might consider you for a promotion" He walked over to me and slapped three envelopes into my open hand. Then he walked back to his desk and sat down in a large chair. I started to read the destination of the letters.
"What are you still doing here?" asked an exasperated Kibishi, "I'm not paying you to stand around, get those messages delivered!"
"Yes, Mr. Kibishi" I said as I stuffed the letters into my courier bag.
I quickly descended the stairs and exited the building. I climbed the neighboring radio tower to get above all the foot traffic. Once I was on top of the tower, I hung on with my left hand and used the other to fish out one of the letters. It was addressed directly to Hiroshi Sato.
Couriers, for the most part, have only their feet to rely on. I employed homemade parachutes. These parachutes were easy to make and maneuver. I let my body go limp, and with a little hop, propelled myself into the air. For a few seconds I felt the rush of cool breeze from the ocean against my body. About a quarter of the way down the tower, I took out my parachute. It inflated and carried me a good four hundred feet towards Sato's mansion.
After a while, I arrived at the mansion to find what looked more like a fortress than any kind of house. I had to walk up three flights of stairs just to get to the main door. I knocked on it three times. On the third knock the door was opened by a butler in a fancy suit.
"Yes, what do you want?" asked the butler.
"I have a delivery for Mr. Sato" I said, taking the letter out of my bag and handing it to him.
The butler took the letter, but cocked his eyebrow when he saw the Republic City Express logo, a dragon hawk, on my bag.
"Yes, thank you" said the butler as he closed the door.
"Alright" I said to myself.
I took a seat on the massive flight of stairs. I opened my bag and took out the next letter. It was addressed to the owner of Cabbage Corp.
As I made my way across town I just kept thinking about that weird look Sato's butler gave me. The hell was his problem? What did he have against Republic City Express? Maybe I was overreacting. When I got to Cabbage Corp. headquarters I simply dropped the letter in the mail slot.
The final letter was addressed to Mr. Chung, a phonograph vendor. It wasn't too far from Cabbage Corp. so I instantly started off. I climbed up about eight balconies to get on a rooftop. I probably angered a great many people in the process. Once on a roof, I ran towards the edge and jumped. I opened my parachute in midair and safely glided to the building on the other side of the street.
Mr. Chung's store came into view. I was about to climb down, and deliver his letter but I froze when I saw a flashy Sato mobile rolling down the street. It stopped in front of Mr. Chung and out stepped three Triads. I couldn't hear what they were saying exactly, probably pestering the man for protection money. Whatever it was it couldn't have been good. None of them were facing me so I was considering gliding down there and taking them all out, quick and clean.
I was about to do just that when I saw a girl walk into the street and say something to the Triads. I believe she was the same girl I had seen earlier that day. They all turned around and stared at her. For a while they spoke. It was very tense and the conversation slowly escalated to a bursting point. Then after an intense stare the supposed head Triad sent a blast of water at the girl. She easily caught and threw the water back, freezing it into a solid block of ice once it was surrounded the Triad's head. The waterbending Triad stumbled towards the girl. She kicked him in the face. The impact made the Triad stumble and fall down on the front of his Sato mobile. The ice encasing his head shattered into millions of pieces.
Another Triad attempted to attack the girl. Much to my surprise a column of rock launched the aggressor high in the air. The last Triad sent a jet of flame toward the girl. She easily dispersed the flames and jumped forward, grabbing the Triad's hands. She spun around with the man, gathering momentum, than launched the firebender across the street and through a store window. The Triads, probably having come to the same conclusion as I, attempted to flee the scene in their Sato mobile. The recently revealed Avatar would be having none of that, as she earthbended their vehicle into the sky. The Triads' Sato mobile landed on only two wheels, and careened into a shop.
I admired the Avatar. Both for her bending skills and her vigilante style justice. It was nice to have seen a fellow vigilante. The avatar stood in the middle of the street, admiring her work. Then sirens whined from above. I looked up to see police zeppelins overhead. Metalbedners jumped from the blimps and supported themselves on their metallic tendrils as they descended gently to the ground. There was a short exchange between the cops and the avatar. The Triads were put under arrest. The cops attempted to put the avatar under arrest too. She resisted and a chase ensued. I waited until the majority of the cops were gone and dropped to the ground. I gave Mr. Chung his letter and got out of there as fast as I could. I had my own run-ins with the law on account of the vigilante justice I usually doled out.
I felt eyes following me as I made my way across the Republic City skyline. I did not know if they were real or imaginary, man or beast, electric or otherwise. I only knew that I could feel them. It happened on top of a particularly stout warehouse. I was at the very edge of the roof when I turned around to search for my phantom followers. My eyes scanned across the roof. I saw a figure moving in the billowy smokestacks. I thought it was watching me but it revealed itself to be a bird and nothing more.
Then I felt a current of electricity coursing through my body, from my ankle upwards. I collapsed in a heap on top of the warehouse. I feigned immobility in an attempt to lure any would be attackers into a false sense of security. Not that the shock hadn't taken its toll. I was in a great deal of pain. The shock felt like a million vulture wasps stinging my insides.
I saw a boot come down near my head. The boot was moist and muddy. As if its wearer had been spelunking in the sewer.
"It usually takes more than a touch to take someone of their size down" said the boot wearer. His voice, if they were indeed a he, sounded distorted like he were talking through a tin can or a mask.
"That's good, less work for us" said another abnormal voice behind me.
"Yeah, just dump the body and we can go" chimed another voice, also behind me.
"Settle down, this guy might not even be dead yet," said the first voice, "I haven't checked his pulse."
The boot wearer rolled me onto my side. I kept my eyes closed so he wouldn't suspect anything. I started moving just before the boot wearer could probe my neck for a heartbeat. I grabbed the underside of his wrist with my right hand while simultaneously rising to my feet and bringing myself to his side. Once there I drove my right knee into the man's stomach twice. Then to finish him off I gave a swift uppercut to the ribcage. The man crumpled to the ground, cradling his midsection.
The people were wearing gas masks or some other kind of breathing apparatus, and had protective armor on. One of them rushed at me and tried to strike my temples with a left jab. I redirected his attack down and away from me. Then he tried to jab my temples with his right hand. He was quick but not quick enough, as I redirected that strike. Probably in desperation, he threw a slow but strong haymaker with his left hand. I blocked it by raising my right elbow up against my head. This stopped the haymaker from impacting. Before the man could throw any other strikes, I shot a powerful fist at his head. Realizing mid-punch, I would probably break my hand if I hit his mask with my fist, I opened my hand and hit him with my palm. The mask collapsed in on itself from the force. The man fell back onto the ground unconscious.
The third person was probably the most difficult to beat. He had some kind of oversized glove on. It had a sort of green amulet on top and was crackling with electricity. He was at my side with the glove even before the second guy landed on the ground. He punched at my head with the glove. I ducked under the punch and drove my right elbow into his stomach. Then I grabbed his shoulder with my left hand to steady and pull myself up. Once I was standing up all the way, I threw another strike with my right elbow, this time at the man's face.
Surprisingly the man was unfazed, and attacked me ferociously. I had to match his vigor, not with more ferocity, but with speed and initiative. He rushed towards me and swung with his gloved hand. I leaned back to avoid the glove. That left him off balance. I used the momentary lapse and smashed my forehead into his face. He doubled over and vomited. I could tell he threw up because some of it seeped out through his gas mask. While he was bent over I slammed my elbow into the back of his neck. He dropped to the floor but refused to be knocked unconscious. He lifted his head up to try and find me. I kicked him in the face. He finally gave up and passed out.
I surveyed the scene. Three unconscious men were lying on the roof of a warehouse. I bent down to examine the strange electrical glove the one man was carrying. After carefully toying around with it for a few moments I managed to turn it off and remove it from the man's hand.
"This'll make a good souvenir" I said to myself.
I looked out and saw the moon rising over Yue bay. I had been out longer than I thought. I leaped off the warehouse roof and continued on my way home. When I got home, Jia, her mother, and her father were already in their rooms. I eased open the front door and entered the house silently. Pale moonlight fell across the living room floor. I made my way up the stairs making sure to stay close to the wall so the steps wouldn't make any noise under my feet.
As I laid awake in my bed that night, I thought back to the people who were following me. They were probably just Triads. But what if they were something more? Maybe they were assassins sent by somebody from my past. I had made many enemies during my travels.
"Taka, if you keep thinking like a paranoid lunatic, you'll never get to sleep" I said as I rolled onto my right side. I closed my eyes and fell into the embrace of sleep.