Curse of the Lotus
"You're not going anywhere!"
Those words spewed from the sinister gangster's mouth as he and two of his equally threatening brethren surrounded an old man standing outside of his shop. They back him into the display window, closing around him as they made sure there was nowhere he could run. "Look pops, it's a good deal. Pay us well and you'll have the best protection in Republic City. Say no and…well, it's not our fault if accidents happen."
The elder store owner wouldn't be intimidated, though. "You young whippersnappers will get what's coming to you…once HE gets word of this!"
Almost as if on cue, the three thugs laughed at the old man's threat. "HIM? Please! There's no one who's gonna save you."
"I DON'T THINK SO!"
All four of them turn dramatically to see the source of that voice standing in the middle of the street; a muscular man wearing a surprisingly revealing variation of Earth Kingdom attire. Upon laying eyes on him, the old man's eyes lit up with joy, as the three crooks began to cower in fear.
"IT'S NUKTUK!"
"That's right!" The hero replied as he took a step forward. "And you three should learn to have more respect for the elderly!"
"HA!" One of the thugs countered. "He's only one Waterbender/Earthbender now! There's no way he can take on all three of us!"
His two partners back him up, nodding in agreement as Nuktuk simply smirked and folded his arms over his chest. The boastful one was the first to charge, and a quick stomp from Nuktuk dispatched him as he was launched into the air. The second crook motioned forward for an attack, but suffered the same fate as he too was propelled into the city sky. The final criminal played it smart and put his hands up, indicating surrender. Seeing this, Nuktuk's smirk grew as he winked at him. Before the criminal could question just why he would do that, he found himself crushed by a gigantic boulder; pinning him to the ground.
With all three criminals incapacitated, the old man rushed over to his savior and vigorously shook his hand. "Oh, thank you Nuktuk! Republic City and the World are thankful that they have a hero like you!"
"No problem, my good citizen!" Nuktuk told him. "For as I always say, when evil causes trouble, I…I…I could really use a snack right now."
"CUT!"
Bolin put his hand on his stomach as he saw the film crew break away from their equipment, with the director looking very annoyed. "I'm sorry, it's just that we've been at it since early this morning, I forgot breakfast and—!"
"This is what I get for wanting to break out of the Drama Movers." The director said to himself. "Look, take 5 kid. But we gotta get this scene done. People are clamoring for this Nuktuk sequel!"
Bolin barely heard the last part as he rushed over to the caterer's table, his eyes taking in the spread in front of him. It had been four years since Varrick asked him to step in front of the camera to play the role of Nuktuk, in part to help Korra's Home Nation. At the time he loved the experience and the attention he got, but now it felt like a chore. Though there still were benefits to being a mover star. Being able to dig in as he munched down on drumsticks was one of them…
"Shouldn't you save some for the rest of the cast?"
…and being the boyfriend of a noted Airbender was another, as he turned to his right to see Opal Bei Fong standing there, along with her partner Kai.
Bolin quickly wiped his mouth and dropped all manner of food he was holding. "Opal!" The two ran to each other and embraced lovingly, in a scene that made Kai roll is eyes and gag in response.
"Wait, I thought you wouldn't be here until the weekend." Bolin noted.
"We were able to finish the expansion to the west early." She told him. "So I figured I'd get a jump on our weekend together…plus Kai wanted a sneak peek at the new Nuktuk movie."
"It's not like that…." Kai complained. "…I only wanted to see the butt-kicking parts." He then looked out onto the set, noticing the stunt-benders helping reorganize the set and the fake boulder being rolled off camera. "Looks like I already missed it."
Feeling proud, Bolin put his hand on Kai's shoulder and began to walk with him and Opal on an impromptu tour of the mover set. "Don't worry my man, lots more action to come in this one. After this scene we got one that'll have me Waterbending down a waterfall. And right over there we got GAAAAAAAHHHH!"
A scream of fright came from Bolin as he saw two cloaked figures who he could spot in the fiercest of sandstorms; the Chieftains of the Northern Water Tribe, Desna & Eska.
"Bolin, are you OK?" Opal asked.
"YEAH! Yeah, I'm alright!" He said. "Everything perfectly fine. Right & fine, that's what I am!"
She cocked up a curious eyebrow. "You're acting weird again…"
"HEY! You probably made a long trip! You should get some food in you!" Bolin suggested, quickly changing the subject. "I just gotta go talk to one of the cast about the next scene. Boring stuff, but I'll be right back. Promise!"
He punctuated that by kissing Opal on the cheek as he led the two back over to the buffet table before rushing off. Opal still felt something was off with Bolin, but decided he had a point about their trip. As she went to reach for a snack though, she found Kai making an even bigger pig of himself than Bolin did when they arrived.
"You know, more food would stay in your mouth if you closed it when chewing." She snidely suggested.
Kai took a moment to swallow his intake before answered. "Hey, I'm an orphan. Table manners weren't high priority for me." With that said, he went back to shoveling in the delicacies in front of him as Opal opted to move down the table, out of the range of his mouth.
Meanwhile, Bolin's approach did not go unnoticed by the Waterbending twins. "It would seem that your former boyfriend has noticed our presence." Desna noted.
"Yes, it would." Eska agreed.
"Hey, Desna & Eska! My two favorite Waterbending twins!" Bolin said as he caught up with them. "Good to see you again…you're not gonna stick around long, are you?"
Desna took a brief look around the area before answering. "No. This neighborhood has an unappealing nature to us."
Eska looked passed her former flame and noticed Opal standing by the table having a slice of Varri-Cake. "That woman, I take it she is your new lover now?"
Bolin's heart skipped a beat as he realized she spotted Opal. "Uh, yeah…That's her!"
"Hmm…interesting." She noted. "I would like to meet her."
Now Bolin's heart nearly jumped out of his throat as he stepped in front of Eska, halting her. "No! There's…really no need for that, at all."
"But with your elevated status as a Mover star, and my position in government, it is expected that we will meet again at various events." Eska logically explained. "It would be best to defuse the inevitable awkwardness that would arise from your present girlfriend seeing your past one continually at these events."
"Yeah, but—!"
"Eska, I'm afraid we don't have time for this…" Desna informed her as he motioned towards several robed men standing near an alley entrance. "…they're here."
Eska let out a barely audible sigh, indicating she was disappointed. "Then we shall have to have this meeting another time. Farewell Bolin, remember to scream out her name while engaging in intercourse."
Bolin smiled warmly as he waved goodbye to them, then turned around and shuddered as if he were in an earthquake. "Well, that was very stressful. OK, keep it together, Bo. They're gone and now you can focus on…"
He stopped himself as he took one last look back at the twins and their companions, and noticed the pattern on their robes; red flower pedals. Before he could react to it though…
"Bolin! There you are!"
His director approached him, cone speaker in hand. "We're ready for the next scene! Gotta get this mover going!"
Reluctantly the mover star returned to the set, though the image of the logo was still in the back of his head. But he left it there as he focused on the scene, and the actors got in position. Taking a look back at the director, he spotted Kai & Opal intently watching from the table. Having her focus on him made all of his anxiety and nervousness disappear, as he felt determined to put on the best performance for her.
"And…ACTION!"
"No problem, my good citizen!" Bolin said, repeating his line from earlier more heroically this time. "For as I always say, when evil causes trouble, I will punch it in the mouth!"
It was then that he noticed a medallion on the ground next to the old man. He stooped down and picked it up, examining it closely. "Hmm, I recognize this symbol. It is the ancient symbol of Vaatu, my once and always hated enemy!"
Kai yawned at the awful dialogue as Opal simply marveled at her boyfriend's craft. It was one of the many things she got to experience being outside of the metal city and she enjoyed every moment of it. Thankfully for Kai things picked up as three mysterious men appeared behind Nuktuk.
"What the—there's no more action in this scene." The director said. "Eh, Varrick probably added it in another rewrite."
His comment didn't go unheard by Opal, though. "Did he just say there's no action in this scene?"
"Who cares?" Kai replied. "I'm glad there is now!"
Bolin was also caught off-guard by their arrival. "Oh man, did Varrick add another action scene?" He said to himself, before improvising. "And just who might you three be?"
Bolin got his answer in the form of one of them Earthbending a rock from the street in front of him, and propelling it in his direction. Bolin dodged the attack barely, and made note of that. "Whoa, close one. Alright, you asked for it!"
He motioned his hands forward, and a moment of later, two streams of water gently soaked the three attackers…courtesy of two hoses held by members of the film crew. The men did not look impressed, and responded with Earth attacks that sent the film crew ducking for cover.
"And something tells me they're not actors." Bolin noted, quickly shifting into his Earthbending stance.
Seeing him ready for battle, the enemy Earthbenders upped their attacks; launching pieces of street & concrete with more ferocity. But Bolin stood strong, deflecting each piece of rubble aimed at him with small pillars he summoned from the ground in front of him. But be defensive was all he could do, as their relentless barrage didn't allow him to mount any type of counterattack.
But backup would come to the Earthbender, as Opal spotted his predicament. "Bolin's in trouble!"
Quickly jumping into action, she used her Airbending to propel herself right into the middle of the fray, as the three men surrounded Bolin. On her descent, she summoned a sharp gust of air which floored one of them, but he was quickly able to recover upon her landing, and continue his attack.
"OPAL!?" Bolin exclaimed, drawing up a circular rock wall from the ground. "What are you doing?"
"I'm here to help." She told him.
He was uncomfortable about her being in the fight, but knew there was no turning back now. "Alright, I…got an idea. Can you do, like…a big air gust thing?"
"Yeah…"
"Then get ready…" The Earthbender dug in his feet on the street, before raising his left and stomping down with all his might. The maneuver caused the wall to break into three separate pieces as they shot into the air. "NOW!"
Bolin ducked Opal channeled her ability and created a violent burst of air shooting outwards. It was enough to knock down everyone within range, including the director and several other mover workers. Kai was able to catch the wind with the help of his wingsuit, and ride it into the air. Needless to say, the wall pieces hit their marks with devastating impact, knocking out the men just as security arrived on the scene.
As the couple got their bearings, they assessed the damage done. "Opal! Are you OK? Any injuries? How many fingers am I holding up!?"
He quickly held up two, only for Opal to put his hand down. "Bolin, I'm OK." She told him. "I'm not hurt. I've been training with Tenzin and Korra, so I know how to handle myself in a fight."
The two were then joined by several passing Republic City officers. "Is everything alright here?"
"No." Opal answered. "These three guys just attacked us out of nowhere."
One of the officers inspected the now-unconscious Earthbenders. "Hey, these look like the same guys that were causing trouble down at Korra Park last night?"
Another one nodded in agreement after looking the three over. "We'll run this riff-raff in. Carry on. Oh and…I loved you last movie, Nuktuk."
Opal couldn't help but giggle as Bolin chuckled as well, but his mind wasn't on his role as he noticed the pattern on his attackers' clothing was the same as he saw from the gentlemen meeting with Desna & Eska earlier. He also remembered what that pattern belongs to…The Red Lotus.
"Hey, big bro!"
Bolin waved to his brother Mako as he walked into the work area of Republic City Police HQ. He saw Mako at his desk, packing up for the end of the day. "Hey, bro. How're things in the Mover business."
"Yeah, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about." Bolin revealed.
"Well could you make it quick?" Mako suggested. "I'm off-duty now and I got a date in a half-hour."
"You're dating again?" Bolin asked.
Mako sighed. "Not really, but after Grandma Yin heard about Asami & Korra, she started setting me up on blind dates. I know she cares and all, but…cousin Tu told me about some of the "nice girls" she knows."
"Aw, come on. They can't be that bad." Bolin debated as his brother slid a photo over to him. "I'm sure Grandma Yin has wonderful taste in—AAAAAHHH!" He nearly had his catered lunch come back up on his after seeing the photo. "OK…Grandma Yin may need glasses…does she have a mustache!?"
"So what do you wanna talk about?" Mako asked.
"OH! Right, so those guys that were brought in that trashed up my mover set…"
"Yeah, we can't really do anything with them now." Mako revealed. "They're in holding for the night and we'll process them in the morning."
"Yeah, that's cool, but did you notice anything familiar about them?" Bolin asked.
Mako responded with a confused expression. "Look, Bo, I don't have time to—!"
"I think they're Red Lotus!" Bolin whispered, cutting to the chase. "I think they're coming back! Zaheer said there were more out there, and I think they're coming out…from out there."
Mako paused for a moment, before shaking his head. "Those movers are starting to get to you bro, you're getting paranoid."
"But seriously—!"
"It's not the Red Lotus, Bo." Mako told him, looking into his eyes. "We took our three of their strongest Benders, and their leader is still locked up. Even if they did pop up, Korra would've sensed them before they could do anything. Look, I gotta go! Just…take it easy, bro. Stop worrying."
And with those words of reassurance, Mako grabbed his coat and rushed towards the door as Bolin tried to stop him. "But, wait…the logo—and…he's gone." And the sight of his brother disappearing out the door was replaced by both Desna & Eska walking in. They were met by officers Lu and Gang, which filled Bolin with a little worry as he approached them.
"And it appears we've encountered your ex-boyfriend again." Desna noted.
Before the Earthbender could speak to them however, he was intercepted by the two officers. "Keep it moving, mover star. This is official police business."
"Uh, my brother is a detective." Bolin reminded them. "And we've both saved the day several times over."
"WHOA, look at Mr. High & Mighty here…"
"Did not Chief Bei Fong order you to protect us?" Eska interjected. "Our protection would be fully maximized if you waited outside by our bags."
And in an instant, the cocky officers were reminded of their duty as they shuffled out the door to attend to the twins' luggage. "I shall watch over them, to assure nothing is broken." Desna said, following after them and leaving the two alone.
"Look, I know this is gonna sound weird but…those guys you were dealing with earlier, I got a bad feeling about them." Bolin told her. "I think they're part of the Red Lotus, that group your Dad belonged to."
Eska took a moment to absorb Bolin's words. "It would not be surprising in the least. They offered to fortify the Northern Water Tribe with their bending, in exchange for our finest Benders at their call. Though enticing, Desna & I rejected their offer. We did not wish to follow in our father's footsteps…plus mother would not be pleased."
Bolin breathed a sigh of relief. "OK, well, just…keep on a look out. I know…stuff kinda ended between us, but I still think you're a good friend. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Although her face barely showed any expression, Eska was touched by those words as she brought her hand up to Bolin's cheek. "I too share those similar feelings for you. As I have said, you will always hold a special place in my heart, and the woman who you're receiving orders from now is a very fortunate one."
And before Bolin could respond, he felt it; a simply peck on his lips, a goodbye kiss from Eska as she turned to join her brother in ordering around the officers. It was a short kiss, but one that still lingered with Bolin as the good times with her began to flood back. From their first meeting at the fair to them fighting Unalaq side by side…it all came back.
"Yeah…lucky…"
