Hiroshi Sato sat at his desk in his personal office, as sunlight faded outside his window. In front of him was a newspaper that he finally found time to read, after a busy day of reviewing and approving designs. On the front page was a large photograph of Councilman Tarrlok, a grin plastered across his face as usual. He had managed to pass another bill restricting the use of the recently-invented shock weapons.
"Such weaponry is too dangerous to be allowed into common use," he had told the press. "The responsibility of the government is to keep them controlled." Upon being asked why he also opposed the suggestion to arm the police in those weapons, he mentioned concerns over potential abuse. "Those weapons are too destructive to allow for wide access to them."
Hiroshi sighed. As usual, the double standard of keeping modern weaponry out of people's hands while allowing benders to run unchecked escaped the Council. He looked at the photo again. Behind Tarrlok stood the rest of the Council, smiling – all except Councilman Tenzin. He was scowling. He had been the only one to argue in favour of allowing at least a limited distribution of shock-gloves into the market, and perhaps issuing them to the police. Much as he was resented among the non-benders for being put on the Council simply for being the only airbender in the world other than his late father, he was also the only one to at least consider non-bender rights as an issue. His uncle's influence, perhaps. Unfortunately, after Sokka left for the Southern Water Tribe to become chief in his father's place, non-benders of the United Republic found themselves increasingly marginalized. First, chi-blocking was banned. Now, the development of new types of weapons that put more power in the hands of non-benders was being intentionally stifled. And yet, drunk benders tearing up roads were treated as a fact of life.
Hiroshi rested his forehead on his hands as memories returned. Ten years ago. He and Yasuko, his wife, taking a new model of Satomobile for a drive just outside Republic City. They heard them before they saw them, but it was too late. A group of earthbenders, duelling or just making a ruckus. It was hard to tell which. An errant swing from one of them, and a section of the road collapsed. Right under their Satomobile. When Hiroshi woke up, he was in a hospital, with Yasuko nowhere in sight. It wasn't long until he was informed she had been carted off to the morgue.
The Equalists were born two years later. There were more people out there like Hiroshi – extorted by the bending triads, pushed around and victim of irresponsible benders. With the police dominated by benders, chi-blocking banned soon after Avatar Aang's death and the suppression of weapon technology, many felt something had to be done. Relying on benders to protect them from other benders no longer seemed to be enough. Besides, it hadn't worked out too well during the Hundred Years' War, had it?
The movement sparked controversy. Not just from benders, but from non-benders as well. Many felt it wasn't the way, that it was only going to make things worse. But something had to be done. They couldn't keep hoping the benders will solved all their problems for them…
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. Hiroshi had told his employees that he was not to be disturbed, so it could either his daughter, Asami, or the one employee of his who was also an Equalist. Hiroshi took great care to separate his job and his secret mission as much as he could.
"Come in", he simply said.
The door opened, letting in Petuwaq, a young man of Water Tribe descent who, as far as most people knew, was just a low-ranking secretary in Future Industries. Far fewer people knew that he was an Equalist, and a link between Hiroshi's open and not so open activities.
"Mr. Sato?" he asked as he closed the door. "Something urgent came up. A message, from… Amon."
Amon. The man in the mask. A mysterious stranger who had made his way into the ranks of Hiroshi's vigilante group. A terrifyingly effective chi-blocker, by all accounts, whose first mission involved effortlessly outfighting three Agni Kai triad members. The other Equalists present there later told Hiroshi that he had weaved through their fire blasts before closing in and rendering them helpless with cunning, precise strikes. One of the triad members was never seen again, strangely enough.
It didn't appear as though Amon was satisfied with it, however. He clearly had ideas and plans. When he arrived in Republic City he was alone, but he spoke with other Equalists extensively. He organized meetings, during which he spoke about the fundamentally broken society they lived in… a society that elevated people based simply on the powers they were born with. That treated those without those powers as second-class citizens, even though it was their labour that it rested on. He spoke of how benders bullied and abused them with their power. Of how it would take more than just some vigilante action to rectify that wrong. There would need to be a great change. There would need to be a revolution. And they all had the means of bringing it about. They had the numbers. They had the rapidly developing technology. They had the art of chi-blocking that had surfaced after the great war.
Hiroshi didn't put much stock in it. Amon was a rousing speaker, certainly. But a revolution? Where would that lead them? It would do little but tear society apart. Benders and non-benders lived together, intermingled, and nothing could change that. It was all they could do to keep things a little more equal. As long as he was the leader of the Equalists, by the virtue of supplying them with money and equipment, he would have none of it. For all his skill in combat and public speaking, Amon appeared to have arrived in the city with nothing but the clothes on his back. Nonetheless, he was gaining popularity in the movement. He had already amassed a certain following. Especially since, Hiroshi had to admit, his speeches brought many recruits into the fold. Many non-benders who had previously doubted the ideas behind the Equalist movement joined them after listening to or speaking with Amon. There would be trouble, eventually…
"Amon asked you to meet him tonight in the port area, sir. He said he has something to show you… something that will convince you to see his point of view."
Something that will convince Hiroshi to see Amon's point of view? What could that possibly be? Hiroshi hardly relished the prospect of meeting with the man, but refusing to do so would be seen as a weakness. Perhaps a confrontation would be necessary.
It was late, but the moon shone brightly. The lights of the city never went out, and neither did its background noise. Hiroshi stood in an empty yard, littered with rubbish. Behind him was Petuwaq and another of the Equalists loyal to him – a woman named Ming - both wearing shock-gloves. He didn't seriously expect Amon to betray him, but he didn't want to take any chances. And now, the masked man stood before him. Amon wasn't alone, either. With him was a man Hiroshi had only seen and never spoke to. A tall, lanky individual with a thin moustache and strangely cold eyes. One of Amon's closest allies within the movement… brought into the fold by the masked demagogue.
"Mr. Sato," Amon said, in his deep, ominous voice. For all his doubts, Hiroshi could not deny the man's charisma. "I realize that we've had our differences, but we do share a common goal, do we not? In the interest of future cooperation, I have brought you a gift. Specifically, Ga Min."
Hiroshi's blood froze. Ga Min. The woman who had carelessly killed his wife all those years ago. She left Republic City shortly after her release from prison, and put herself beyond the reach of the Equalists. She heard the rumours, perhaps. He knew what would happen to someone who had done what she had.
"How…" Hiroshi began, before Amon raised his hand.
"You are a brilliant man, Mr. Sato, and your Equalists put the fear into benders. But your operations are focused on Republic City. I have travelled far and wide. I have ways of tracking people. It took my contacts quite a while to find her, but find her they did. And they lured her here. She's a simple woman, at heart. The promise of money and protection made her forget what might await her here."
Hiroshi grinned involuntarily.
"This is amazing! I assume she's currently in that noisy bar over there? If we could catch her alone while she leaves…" Once again Amon interrupted him.
"We could chi-block her, or electrocute her, and leave her in a public place for all to see. Yes. But she isn't just any bender, is he? She took from you that which was the most precious to you in the world. And I have a way to make sure she never does such a thing again. All you have to do, Mr. Sato, is hide nearby and watch."
Hiroshi nodded, uncertainly. This was Amon's show, clearly enough. If Ga Min was indeed here, he could punish her even if Amon wouldn't. He and his two subordinates were led by Amon's right-hand man into a hiding place behind a seemingly random pile of wood. Amon was half-hidden in a shadow cast by the nearby street lamp and the window from the next building over.
Soon enough, two people entered the yard. The sight of one of them churned Hiroshi's stomach. Ga Min hadn't changed that much since the way Yasuko died. She was older – a middle-aged woman, rather than a youth. But her face still bore the same look of mindlessness, carelessness and profound disinterest in anything beyond immediate gratification. She was inebriated, although not to the point of losing his faculties.
Next to her, hanging off her arm, was a young, attractive man. He acted like she was drunk as well, and only interested in the woman he clung to, but Hiroshi was perceptive enough to know better. He was very deliberately leading her there. Into a trap.
The trap was sprung when Amon stepped out of the shadow. The man gasped and stepped back, cowering. A pretty good act, all things considered – except strangely quiet. Ga Min stared at the tall, menacing figure.
"Who the hell are you, creep?" she asked. "What the are you doing here, with this clown-mask on your face? Should've known better than to come back to this cesspit of a city."
"You are a drunk, a fool and a murderer, Ga Min," Amon said, his voice ringing through the night. "Of all the benders who do not deserve their power, you deserve it even less. Time for me to rectify the world's mistake."
He stepped forward, slowly… deliberately so. Uncomprehending, Ga Min did the only thing that occurred to her – she attacked. Stomping her foot, she launched a few cobbles upwards and sent them flying at Amon. The Equalist nonchalantly twisted his body to the side, the rocks missing him by inches. Ga Min put her arms together, wrists touching, before punching forward with both of them, which caused the ground to erupt, straight into Amon's face. This time Amon moved with eye-watering speed, although his movements were still conservative and reserved. He avoided the block of earth raising from the cobbles towards him and was in front of Ga Min in a blink. He grabbed her by the wrists and stepped behind her, while at the same kicking her legs from under her, forcing her to kneel. He then twisted one of the Ga Min's arms to the point of pain, while placing the thumb of his other hand on the earthbender's forehead. His other arm let go of Ga Min's wrist and grabbed the back of her neck instead. At no point did he use any chi-blocking moves or strike pressure points.
Despite being unable to use his legs and one of her arms being in pain, Ga Min still managed to move, and lifted one of the bricks that lay crumbled under the nearby wall. As soon as it floated up in the air, however, it fell to the ground. At that point Amon removed his hand from Ga Min's forehead and neck and stepped back, releasing her.
The earthbender's face bore a look of utter incomprehension, visible even in the faded light. She only wanted to get away at this point, the man who had accompanied her forgotten. But the creepy – terrifying - man in the mask stood between her and the exit. She stomped her foot to bend more earth and create a distraction, maybe launch herself above her opponent.
Nothing happened.
Ga Min blinked. She stomped her foot again. And as before, nothing happened. Amon simply stood in front of her impassively as the earthbender flailed her arms and legs, desperately trying to bend, to no avail. The man who had lured Ga Min to this trap stayed behind Amon, grinning wickedly.
"Put her to sleep, Lieutenant," Amon said. His follower sprang out of cover and was behind the panicked bender in a flash, a strange stick hooked up to electrical wires in hand. The air crackled with electricity and Ga Min crumpled to the ground.
Hiroshi, Petuwaq and Ming stood in their hiding place, gaping. None of them understood what had happened. They appeared to have witnessed a woman simply lose her bending. She wasn't chi-blocked. She simply lost her ability to bend. It was just like the stories said about Avatar Aang's defeat of Firelord Ozai and the end of the Hundred Years' War, and of the crime lord Yakone not long after the founding of Republic City.
"That is one less woman who could do to someone else what she did to your wife," Amon said, breaking the silence. "She will never kill anyone again because of alcohol and stupidity. This world we live in assigns great power to people by virtue of luck and parentage. Now, finally, we can fix it."
"How did you do it?" Hiroshi asked, overcoming his shock.
"That is a story for another time," Amon responded. "It is a long one. I have travelled far and wide and made many sacrifices to obtain it. But you will hear all of it. If you hear me now."
Hiroshi was silent. The eloquent business tycoon, who had risen to wealth and influence from the very bottom, fighting off old money families who wanted to bring him down, had nothing to say. Finally, like so many others in his underground movement, he was caught in the spell of the mysterious man in the mask. He would listen.
"I tracked down the woman you could not find. I punished her for her transgressions in a way that will leave her powerless to hurt more innocent non-benders. I can do it to many more benders. They will learn to fear me. But I am just one man."
Amon paused, as if allowing it to sink in.
"You, meanwhile, built this entire movement through your wealth, technology and connections, Mr. Sato. I respect that. When I arrived in Republic City after my search for enlightenment had been completed, I hardly expected to find an entire army of non-benders taking the fight to our oppressors. But this fight will never end. The benders will not relinquish their power. Their wealth that they've gathered over generations. Everywhere you turn, benders are either in the position of power, or prop up whatever non-bending puppet they chose. Like the Earth Queen, who thinks she rules through her Dai Li thugs. You can fight the Triads and individual benders, but you cannot scratch he fossilized power structure that has existed ever since bending manifested in humans. Non-benders need something to rally behind. And together, we can give them that. Not just the non-benders here, in your city. Non-benders in the entire world."
Hiroshi nodded. Here, after witnessing the ultimate punishment of the woman who had taken Yasuko from him… Amon's words struck home. However, he wouldn't be Hiroshi Sato if he didn't consider every problem from several directions with engineering precision.
"And the power to take away a person's bending is a fine thing to rally behind," he said. "Equality made reality. But you cannot take away every single bender's power, can you? Unless you have a way of teaching your power to others…"
"Fear not, Mr. Sato… Hiroshi. I have a plan. But this is neither the time nor the place to talk about it. What you have seen tonight should be enough. Together, we can end the tyranny of bending. I am the solution, Hiroshi. And I need your movement to deliver it."
He extended his hand. Hiroshi Sato shook it.
"What will we do with her?" Asked a raspy voice. Amon's right-hand man spoke for the first time.
"Leave her," the masked man said. "She'll wake up soon enough. The news of someone who mysteriously lost her bending will spread. We won't make a display of her, to make sure they stay rumours for now. We don't know how much time we have until the Avatar arrives in Republic City."
"The Avatar?" Hiroshi asked. "What do you know of thems? I only know he, or she, must have been born in one of the Water Tribes."
"Indeed," Amon answered. "A girl, in the Southern Water Tribe. And already aware that she's the Avatar, as well. It's quite unusual. Before Avatar Aang abandoned the world for a hundred years, the Avatars would be told of their identity on their sixteenth birthday. Avatar Aang was informed of it when he was twelve, since the Fire Nation was waging its war of annihilation. Avatar Korra knew about it when she was three."
"You do know a great deal," Hiroshi observed.
"I do. And she will arrive in Republic City. Even if the news of our revolution do not reach her, Councilman Tenzin is the only person in the world who can teach her airbending. And when she comes, we will be waiting. As I told you, Hiroshi… I have a plan."
