Prison Break: 1

Lin's eyes widened and time seemed to stand still as she experienced the sensation of perpetually falling through space without knowing if she would ever land on solid ground. Large drops of water plopped onto her face from above, but she could not perceive where they were coming from, only that they felt like cold and wet bullets piercing and soaking into her skin. The only sound in the world seemed to be a loud, rhythmic pounding as if her heart was attempting to escape through her ears. All of her feeling, including the physical, seemed to leave her body until only pain was left. Once the pain stripped away, there was nothing and she was just numb and empty.

All at once, she fell onto the cold, hard ground and the rain suddenly fell normally, the ominous clouds appeared as the source, and the people standing around her came into vision again as her feeling returned.

Disorienting was the best way to describe it – even though she was back on solid ground, the familiarity that once existed between her and the earth was no longer present. Sheer terror began to set in as she slowly spread her palm onto the stone; her hand trembled, not with power, but with fear. She tried desperately to feel something, but it was no use; Amon had taken her bending away…

"Put her with the others." Amon's said as he walked past her body.

Anger rose inside of Lin at the sound of his voice; he did this to her. What did he mean by others? Did they somehow capture Tenzin and his family? She wanted to jump up and attack and to break free of the rope that bound her hands, but as she tried to raise her arms and throw her body upward, it became painfully obvious that her strength left with her bending. She moaned, now realizing the full extent of her predicament; she was powerless, helpless, and even if she could manage to get away, she wouldn't be able to go far.

Discouraged, Lin lay back down on the stone floor and closed her eyes, panting from the small amount of activity she just did.

"Get up." One of Amon's henchmen said with a tone of anger as he walked up behind her. Lin wanted to think it was because she was being defiant, but she physically could not get up on her own even if she tried. She didn't say anything and didn't move.

"I said, get up." The man continued more forcefully, this time picking Lin up by her belt and the metal armor around her neck. He practically threw her onto her elbows and knees where she winced from the pain as she struggled to hold herself up.

"Now, stand." He said, too quickly.

Lin shook her head a little, breathing heavily as she tried and failed to push herself up more. "I – I can't." She muttered under her breath.

"I can't hear you." He snapped.

"I can't." She said louder and looked up at the Equalist with defiance.

Grumbling obscenities, he yanked Lin to her feet and grabbed her arm. He began walking at a speed too quick for her feet to catch up, pulling her alongside him. She stumbled, over and over, and despite her efforts to put one foot in front of the other, her legs just would not cooperate. "Can I get some help over here?" He called, and almost immediately, another man arrived to help drag her up into one of the airships that she didn't destroy. As they reached the large open door to the ship, they walked inside a few feet and shoved her hard toward the long metal ledge on the far wall used for chaining up the prisoners. Lin hit the ledge and crumpled to the floor, moaning in agony.

"You're weak." The man sneered and walked away as a new set of Equalists suddenly clamped shackles around her wrists and chained her arms above her head – at least she was able to sit on the floor and was not forced to stand again. Lin's chest heaved between each exhale as she hung lifelessly from the chains processing what just happened. She felt empty again when she realized that she couldn't just bend herself out of those metal shackles. The Equalist was right; she was weak…

As the airship lifted off the ground, she looked to her left, thinking that she could catch a glimpse of the monster who did this to her when her eyes caught onto something else. All tied up in a row, one by one, were each of the council members who were captured earlier in the day. They all stared at her as if they were expecting something, but she had nothing more to give them. In her whole life, she never felt more humiliated than she did at that moment; their eyes were so full of pity and disappointment and their facial expression confirmed the notion that she failed them and her beloved city. At least the airbenders got away, she thought and averted her eyes so she faced forward. She couldn't bear to look at them anymore and she didn't for the rest of the flight.

After what seemed like an eternity of flying they finally landed. Thankfully, her uniform blocked out most of the rainwater from seeping into her underclothes because her hair was only just starting to dry. Lin looked up as the large metal door creaked open. Thy sky was black from cloud cover and time of day, but at least the rain had stopped. Lin wondered where they had been taken – the airship would not be able to land near any of the underground Equalist prison entrances, so where did they land and what were they going to do with her?

She watched angrily as Amon exited the ship with his lieutenant and a few chi blockers. Not long after, the two Equalists from before unchained her from the wall but left the shackles on. They instructed her to stand, and even though her muscles were still like jelly, she was able to hold herself up. Lin took one last look at the council members before they escorted her off the ship and onto a roof. Lin looked around, recognizing her surroundings. She was in the city, but not just any part of the city, this was her most familiar place in the city. Her eyes darted around and she stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that they were standing on top of the police station.

Lin couldn't believe it – they were going to lock her up in her own prison. They must have overtaken the station after Saikhan was captured.

"How does it feel? Being led into your own prison cell?" The forceful man from the island asked spitefully. They tugged on her to keep moving and she reluctantly followed. "The esteemed Chief Beifong," He continued mockingly. "Now that you've been equalized, you are just like the rest of us."

The roof access trap door was nearing with each and every step and once they were close, her other escorts climbed down. Only Lin and the bad-tempered man were left as she stood staring down the dark stairs. "Now it's your turn to rot in a cell."

Just as he finished his sentence and the rage inside her became to much, Lin whipped around and round-house kicked him in the face. He fell to the metal roof with a clang and before he could even fathom what just happened, she was running. She was in her domain now and with that advantage, she had a good chance of escaping – no one knew this building like Lin did. As the man called frantically for help from behind the hand holding his bloody nose, Lin was already at the edge of the roof. She looked back for a moment and when she saw the two equalists from before in pursuit, she quickly climbed over the side and onto the fire escape despite the restraints of the shackles around her wrists.. She slid down the ladder, the metal on her hands, scraping against the bars.

After a moment, she arrived at the first landing. The enemies above were shouting for backup and peeking over the ledge. Thinking quickly, Lin thrust her body forward, shattering through the window glass. She quickly got back on her feet once she was inside the building and began to run. She didn't know exactly where she could go; without her bending she wouldn't be able to get into most of the rooms in the building. They would have guards on all of the doors including the side exits, and even if she could fight through them they could be locked, or worse, she could be electrocuted off the side of the building. Her only option would be to leave through the front door – the only door that was guaranteed to be open.

She headed for the hallway toward the foyer on the first floor figuring that there may be one, maybe two, manning the area. If that was the case, then she would definitely be able to take them.

"Hey!" A man shouted from behind her as he popped out of the stairwell.

Lin gasped and sprinted for the foyer.

"Backup! We need backup!" He yelled and two Equalists appeared behind her. She looked back noticing that her pursuers were falling behind; though they were much younger, Lin was still faster. As she turned her head forward again, she smacked right into another body and both of them fell down. The Equalist was pressing down hard as she pinned Lin to the floor. Thinking quickly, she kneed the woman in the stomach and scurried out of her grasp. In no position to stop for any reason, Lin sprang back up, ignoring the pain, and pressed on to the lobby which was right around the next corner.

They must have given word that she was escaping because there was a whole group of Equalists waiting at the exit. Lin stopped for a moment to look for an opening, but there weren't any to take.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulders; it was the Equalist from before – the woman she knocked into. Lin quickly maneuvered around the person's hold and turned it against them. She brought the chain between her hand cuffs over the woman's head and pulled it close against her neck. She writhed against Lin's grip, but the more she struggled, the tighter Lin held her.

Everyone froze as they all waited to see what she would do. Her plan now was to take the girl as a hostage and walk right out of the building. It was a long shot, and the longer she stood there, the more her energy faded away, so she needed to do something fast.

"Stand down!" Lin yelled across the room. When no one moved, she brought the chain further into the woman's neck.

"There she is!" The man from the roof yelled as he rounded the corner holding a bloody rag to his nose.

"Nobody move!" She shouted over the crowd..

"Easy." The Lieutenant said slowly in his gravel voice as he arrived on the scene. "No one is going anywhere."

"I'm not kidding around! Stand down and let me pass!" Lin continued. "If you let me pass, she goes free."

The Lieutenant smiled ever so slightly and stepped aside. "As you wish." He said as if he were hiding something.

Slowly, the group of people parted to either side, exposing the open doors. Lin walked carefully forward, watching her back from every angle. Just as she was within feet of the exit, a smooth, dark voice permeated the silence.

"That's enough." Amon said, and stepped into the doorway.

"You let me go – or your precious follower goes." Lin said seriously through staggered breaths, and then caused the girl to yelp again.

Amon chuckled in the way that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. "You're bluffing. You don't have it in you to kill."

"Let me through and you won't have to find out."

"You must be tired." Amon continued in his calm, but unsettling tone. "The effects of your transformation still have not worn off. You need to sit down and rest."

Lin shuttered at the word 'transformation' and relished the thought of lying in her nice, soft bed at home and wanted nothing more than to plop down in a chair and drink a hot cup of tea. She shook off this feeling quickly.

"Stop trying to use my own tactics against me." She spat, knowing that he was trying to get her to let her guard down.

"You are surrounded, Lin Beifong. You cannot escape."

Lin's eyes darted in all directions. The possibility of getting out of this was looking much slimmer now that she was completely surrounded. And she was so tired… She didn't want to run anymore… In fact, the adrenalin that had been keeping her going completely wore off and it felt like she would collapse at any second. Despite all of her ailments though, she couldn't just let them win.

"Hit me with your best shot." She said, each word filled with spite.

Amon's eyes squinted behind his mask. "Very well." He waved his hand and the Equalists slowly closed in. If there was a chance of getting out of there it was at that moment. Lin shoved her hostage aside and darted straight for the door. Any resistance, she met with full force and her martial arts background. She fought them off one by one, but it was no use because there were too many of them and she was fading fast. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to keep up this charade.

It only took one jab of the lieutenant's electric sticks to bring her down entirely. She cringed on her hands and knees, knowing that it was over, but not willing to back down.

"I – Is that the – the best you got?"She asked with a straining voice.