Hey guys, I'm back with the first new chapter of the new year. If you like action, you're in luck cause this chapter has some. I know you guys want to get on with it, so without any further delays, on with the chapter:
Alex snapped another button on his jacket as he walked down the gangplank, eagerly securing himself against the frigid air of the Southern Water Tribe. At the bottom of the ramp, he paused, rubbing his hands together before blowing into them in an effort to warm them. Digging into his jacket pocket, he pulled on a pair of black leather fingerless gloves.
"How the hell do people stand these temperatures year round?" he asked.
"You get use to it," Korra said as she strode past, walking up to a small cluster of people all wearing Water Tribe apparel. Asami came down the gangplank, followed by Mako, Bolin, and June. Alex cocked his eyebrow when he noticed that the airwoman had looped her arm with the firebender, but otherwise kept his mouth shut.
"You guys remember Kya and Master Katara?" Korra said. Asami smiled, but Alex frowned.
"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've been introduced."
"Oh yeah, you were...out of town when we met," Asami said.
"Alex, this is Kya, Tenzin and Bumi's sister, and Katara, their mother," Korra explained. Alex gave a small respectful bow and shook hands with each woman.
"It's a pleasure," he said. Kya held his hand a little longer, a strange twinkle in her eye.
"You're strong," she said, placing her other hand on top of his.
"Um, thanks?" Alex said, looking at the others with a hint of discomfort.
"Kya specialists in reading people's energy signatures," Katara explained as Kya continued to look at him as if she'd just discovered something brand new and interesting.
"You're not a bender, and yet you radiate this power..." she said, stopping when Alex snatched his hand back.
"I take it you guys haven't told anyone about me," he said, looking at Asami and Korra. Both of the young women shook their heads. Rolling his eyes, he returned his attention to Kya.
"Look it's complicated, like, really complicated, and I don't have all the details," he explained. Both of the women nodded and decided to leave it at that. Korra walked up to a man and a woman who were standing a short distance away and embraced them both. The man was a towering figure, and clearly a warrior of some sort, while the woman strongly resembled Korra herself.
"Mom, Dad, I missed you guys so much," she said.
"We missed you too," Senna said as she hugged her daughter.
"It's good to see you as well, Asami," Tonraq said, "Korra, who's the merc?" The Avatar gave her father a look of confusion before she followed his gaze to Alex.
"Oh! Mom, Dad, this is Alex, the friend who couldn't come along when we last visited," she said.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Senna asked.
"Mom!" Korra sputtered, her cheeks turning red. Alex merely smirked to himself, but otherwise remained silent. After the cold shoulder treatment he'd gotten on the voyage down here, it was nice to see her getting put on the spot.
"Wow, I can't believe all these people came out to see us," Bolin said as he looked around, noticing the amount of people that had flooded onto the dock.
"Um, they're here for them," Korra said, pointing at a much larger ship that was pulling up to the port.
"Someone is certainly full of themselves," Alex noted.
"The great Chief of the Northern Water Tribe graces us with his presence," Tonraq said with a grunt as he folded his arms.
"He'll be gone soon enough, dear," Senna said, placing her hand on her husband's shoulder. Everyone watched as an entourage of officials disembarked from the ship. At the center of it all was a tall, skinny man and a pair of identical twins. Alex regarded the twins, feeling slightly creeper out by their appearance. The only way to tell the difference between the two was that one of them wore eyeshadow.
"Who are they?" Bolin asked.
"That's Desna and Eska, the Chief's children," Korra said, "Desna is a guy."
"Ah. And which one is Desna?" Bolin asked. Alex let out a visible shutter, which didn't go unnoticed by Asami.
"What?"
"I'm getting a major creep vibe from those two," he said. Asami looked back at the twins before giving off a shutter of her own, causing him to chuckle. Two more figures came walking down the gangplank, catching Alex's attention. They were both male, and their clothing suggested that they weren't Water Tribe. Both wore long black coats with hoods up over their heads. The leader of the two was wearing a mask and tall, while the second was shorter and had long messy hair that hung out from his hood.
Something about these two put Alex on edge. Not like Desna and Eska, who just slightly creeped him out. No, these two gave off an underlying sense of danger. He reached up and pulled the shamagh that was around his neck as a scarf up a little.
"Hey, Korra, who are the Sith Lords?" he asked. Korra looked to where he was pointing and frowned.
"I've never seen them before," she replied.
"They're Unalaq's new advisers," Tonraq said, his tone of voice making it clear that he didn't approve of the pair. The Northern Chief came down the dock and paused before them, then bowed before Korra.
"It's good to see you again, Avatar Korra," he said.
"Good to see you too," Korra replied, returning the bow. Unalaq's gaze turned to Tonraq.
"Tonraq."
"Brother."
"I'm not going to like this one bit, am I?" Alex asked as he looked up at the large white yuat before them.
"Probably not. But still, it means a lot that you're here backing me up," Asami said as she intertwined her hand with his. He took a deep breath before letting out a huff.
"Alright, let's get this over with," he said. The two boarded the craft and entered a room. Several people were all watching a man of Water Tribe origin sitting on a cushion with his fingers pressed against his head and his eyes squeezed closed in concentration. Alex blinked once as he regarded the man, recognition flooding through him.
"Um, no," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Asami before he turned to leave. Asami's face showed surprise at his sudden change in attitude.
"What? What's going on?"
"You didn't tell me that the business deal was with Iknik goddamn Varrick," he said, "The guy's a nut."
"Ha! Did you see that? Levitation! I was a foot off the ground!" Varrick exclaimed, earning the applause of the people around him. Alex raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend.
"Exhibit A. Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Do my eyes deceive me? Ms. Sato, you didn't tell me you were bringing the legend himself. Mr. Chambers, how nice to see you again," Varrick said, causing Alex to freeze in place and grit his teeth. He'd been so close to slipping away unnoticed.
"Wait, you two know each other?" Asami asked, confused.
"Of course! Mr. Chambers and I had a brief partnership about five months ago," Varrick said.
"He wanted to capitalize on the story of the Electric Vigilante and Amon's Uprising," Alex explained when Asami gave him a look.
"It's story of the ages! A normal guy suddenly gains fantastic abilities and then uses those abilities to save people and take revenge on the man who killed the woman he loved? Who doesn't love that?" Varrick asked.
"For the hundredth time, that's not what happened!" Alex snapped.
"Who cares kid? You gotta tweak it a little to sell big!" The electric user growled, and lightning arced between his fingers. But Asami's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Thank you for taking the time to meet us," she said, forging ahead. Varrick nodded vigorously and motioned for them to come forward.
"Of course, of course, get over here and pop a squat. Zhu Li, get some tea for my guests!" the tycoon said. The assistant quickly collected a tray a began to pour tea into some cups as Asami and Alex took seats on cushions across from Varrick.
"Now, what can I do for you today?"
"As you know, Future Industries is looking for a partner to handle our shipping," Asami said as she was handed a cup.
"Sure! But first you gotta check out my new venture; moving pictures! Zhu Li, do the thing!" Varrick said enthusiasticly. Zhu Li, who had been handing a cup to Alex, immediately dropped the piece of china into his lap as she rushed to a projector on the far side of the room. Alex shoved one of his gloves into his mouth in an effort to bite off his screams as the scalding hot liquid covered his groin.
The projector came to life, the black and white image it cast on the far wall showing a running ostrich horse. Asami looked impressed, while Alex had fallen off of his cushion while clutching his private parts, the glove stuffed into his mouth doing an excellent job of muffling his moans of pain.
"Mind blowing right?" Varrick asked.
"Yeah," Asami replied.
"That's the past! Zhu Li, shut it off! What we do is we take someone, and we tell a story. Romance, action, some funny animal stuff for the kids, you know, whatever! What do ya think? These movers as I call them are gonna be big business," Varrick said as Zhu Li shut off the projector.
"It's pronounced movie, you cock thistle," Alex moaned out from the floor.
"Okay...but I'm just concentrating on getting Future Industries back on track. If we could hammer out a deal..." Asami said, ignoring her boyfriend.
"Stop! Look me in the eye," Varrick commanded. Instantly the tycoon was in the heiress' face, staring her straight in the eye. The two stared each other down as Alex managed to pull himself back onto his cushion. He sent a murderous glare at Zhu Li, who flashed an apologetic look in response.
"We got a deal!" Varrick cried, springing upward with a single finger pointed toward the ceiling. Asami was so startled that she fell backwards off of her cushion, but was quickly helped to her feet by Varrck, who began shaking her hand.
"We'll hammer out the details at the Royal Feast," he said, "now who wants a rocket boat ride?" The others in the room hurriedly followed Varrick out, leaving Alex and Asami on their own. The businesswoman wasted no time in tackling him in a hug.
"That went really well," she said, a hint of enthusiasm in her voice. Alex gave her a small smile. He was happy that she was happy.
"It could have gone without the whole tea to the crotch part." Asami winced.
"Yeah, sorry about that. So are you gonna go to the Feast?"
"Na, I'm gonna go get settled in. And get a new pair of pants," Alex replied.
Alex sat in one of the small huts everyone had been issued. They were well built, and warm, offering plenty of shelter against the frigid air outside. His hat and jacket were discarded on a small table while he reclined on a cot in the corner. He was reading Tannan's journal again, trying to decipher something new from it's pages. All he really got was an account of a man's descent into madness.
"Hey." The voice was soft, and if Alex had been a little more distracted he wouldn't have heard it at all. Looking up, he found that Asami had slipped into his hut.
"Hey," he said back, closing the journal and setting it to the side. The heiress took off her overcoat and hung it over the back of a chair before she sat on the edge of the cot.
"You missed the Royal Feast," she said. Alex rolled his eyes.
"Yes, God forbid I miss the crappy Water Tribe food," he said. She smiled at that before turning serious again.
"I'm sorry about the whole Varrick thing. I didn't know he'd been putting the pressure on you like that."
"Beifong declared the Electric Vigilante dead six months ago," Alex said, "in my eyes it's better it stays that way."
"You brought a lot of hope to people," Asami pointed out.
"I also brought a lot of trouble down on both myself and my friends. I already feel like shit for what I put you through this past half year, none of us need the trouble of what me picking up that mantle again will bring." The heiress gave him a long hard look. Then, she smiled and cupped his cheek with her hand.
"Oh Alex, you can be a terrible liar sometimes," she said. Alex frowned at her.
"I'm not lying."
"I know you too well. You never have been able to pass on helping someone who needed help, it's in your blood. No matter how you try to slice it, no matter how deep you bury it, as long as you draw breath, the Electric Vigilante lives," she said. He cocked his head to the side as he arched an eyebrow.
"Did you come here just to convince to me to become a superhero?" he asked. Asami gave a playful and seductive smirk.
"No. I just realized that after six months, I haven't gotten to welcome my boyfriend home properly," she said before kissing him. Alex pulled her onto the cot while deepening the kiss. After being gone for so long, this was something he'd missed and wasn't about to pass up.
Just as the heat of the moment began to flare up, a howl echoed through the night. The couple stopped kissing for a moment, listening to the haunting sound. It was close, way too close to be a wolf or something off in the hills. And what's more, it sounded familiar.
"That sounds like Naga," Alex said as another howl echoed through the night. They looked at each other before pulling apart. The polar bear dog's cries had ruined the moment. With an irritated sigh, Alex stood and pulled his jacket on.
"Where are you going?" Asami asked.
"To give that stubborn pig tailed ass and her pet a piece of my mind," Alex replied. He was angry to say the least. Korra had been getting on his nerves since this whole trip had started. Naga ruining his moment with Asami was the straw that broke the camel's back.
A light snow was falling from the dark sky. Below them, the fairgrounds and the lights of the city shined in the night like a glowing field of diamonds. Korra was standing on a ridge a short distance away to his right. Mako and Bolin appeared between him and her, apparently coming to investigate the source of the noise as well.
Between them and the fairgrounds, a dark humanoid figure appeared out of the shadows. It was dark, so dark that it was darker then the shadows around it and almost purple in color. Turning, it regarded the group of people with the one feature that stood out. It's eyes glowed a bright yellow like a flame.
"What is that?" Alex asked out loud. Suddenly the being moved, and it moved fast. It slammed into the ridge that Korra was standing on, pinning the Avatar against a cliff side while it leaned well into her personal space, it's flaming eyes staring at her.
The brothers were the first to react, immediately going on the offensive. Mako fired several quick blasts of fire, striking the creature head on. The blasts didn't so much as faze it, but it did drop Korra as it turned to face this new threat.
"Got it!" Bolin shouted as he earthbent a wall at the creature. The being easily dodged the attack, and any others that followed as it snaked its way back and forth, getting closer to them.
"Don't got it!" the earthbender shouted before the creature slammed into the brothers, sending them flying. Alex blinked and snapped out of his shock. His friends were in trouble, and he needed to help.
"Hey!" he shouted, hoping to gain it's attention. It worked, a little to well for his liking. Fiery eyes bore down on him as the creature covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye. It gripped him by the forearms and pinned him to the snow covered ground as it pounced on top of him.
"Feed, FEED!" the creature hissed before forming a mouth of sorts. Alex felt a sensation he recognized immediately. Whatever was currently on top of him, it was draining him of energy.
"You got a pretty mouth," he grunted before he gave off a decent sized electric current. The creature reared back and gave out a screech of pain, it's form flickering as the electricity surged through it. Then it's tendril like tail snatched Alex up by the torso and threw him. He sailed through the air, tumbling like a rag doll before landing with an unpleasant crunch.
With a groan, he sat up and realized that he had landed just inside of the chain link fence that served as the perimeter of the fairgrounds. The crunch he had heard when he landed were the wooden crates that his body had smashed into splinters. Getting to his feet, Alex took off at a sprint toward the Ferris wheel that sat at the center of the fair grounds.
Above his head, several thick cables ran all about the fairgrounds, many of them connected to the heart of the giant wheel. They had paper lamps of all colors hanging from them as an attempt at decoration. With a downward blast of static electricity, Alex launched himself into the air and landed on one of the cables like a skateboarder landing on his board.
This was a trick he'd picked up in the days after his defeat of Tannan. He'd found that he had a limited amount of magnetism now, and thus could stick to any metal surface if he chose to. It also meant that he could stick to any rail, or cable in this case, and ride it like a mag train did. Bending his knees, Alex rocketed forward, holding his arms out to the side in an effort to keep his balance.
The blistering cold wind on his face did little to distract him. Adrenaline and sense of urgancy had all but made him completely ignore everything but his goals. Reaching the wheel, Alex shot a hand out and gripped one of the metal rungs. Hanging from the side of the wheel with a single hand and foot keeping him in place, he looked out over the fairgrounds.
The creature had made it inside the fence, and Korra was circling it on a funnel of air while blasting it with fire. Her eyes were aglow with the blueish white light of the Avatar State. For a moment, it looked as if her attacks would work as the being was enveloped by a swirling cloud of fire and smoke.
Then, a tendril shot out of the cloud like a scorpion's stinger, knocking Korra from her pedestal. The Avatar groaned as she tried to sit up. She looked up to find the creature towering over her, like a predator eager to finish off it's prey. Alex didn't think twice as he jumped from his perch and landed on another cable. He rocketed forward as fast as he good, building up the energy in and around his hands.
With a yell, he jumped from the cable and slammed his fist into the creature. A powerful burst of energy forced the being backwards, smashing a row of tents in the process. Alex didn't let up his assault for a second, placing himself between Korra and the creature with his arms raised, torrents of lightning flying from his hands. The creature wailed as it's form flickered and threatened to fall apart completely under the arcs of electricity.
Finally, Alex released the flow of electricity and lowered his arms, panting. He needed to take a break before he overdid himself. The creature was on its hands and knees now, it's figure flickering like a TV screen with a bad signal.
"Feed, feed," it hissed weakly. Alex raised his hands in preparation.
"You want more? Come on, I'll open the whole fucking sky on your ass," he said. As if on cue, the sky rumbled with thunder, and lightning flickered through the storm clouds.
"Alex?" It was Korra, pushing herself to her feet and watching the exchange. She knew that Alex was powerful, but she'd only ever seen him in action once. Now, as it was then, it was a terrifying sight to behold.
"Feed, feed, FEED!" the creature hissed before charging forward. Alex didn't hesitate as he clenched his fists and brought them together just before his chest. Instantly a bolt of lightning rocketed down from the sky, striking the creature and knocking it off of its charge. Another bolt followed, and another, striking the being again and again.
The air smelled of ozone, sparks and flames were kicked up by the very air being ignited, and the thunder being generated from the bolts was deafening. But what was worse and constantly present was the inhuman shrieks and wails of the creature as the lighting tore at it. It's form had gaping holes in it now, embers seemed to be falling off of it as it thrashed about as it was struck again and again. Korra clutched her hands to her ears and in an effort to save her hearing, but Alex continued on as if nothing was happening.
"Stop!" Unalaq shouted over the noise. The Northern Chief, along with Tonraq and Tenzin had arrived. Alex ignored him and continued to summon the lightning down, unleashing his full power on this creature.
"You must stop, you'll kill it!" Unalaq tried again.
"GOOD!" Alex replied before clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white. All his frustrations, all his failures, everything that had gone wrong since he'd arrived in this strange world, he was now taking out on this being of darkness. A pair of hands appeared on his shoulders, and Alex lost his focus for a tiny bit to see what was going on.
Storm gray eyes met cyan blue.
"Alex, please. Stop," Korra said. The electric user clenched his teeth before relaxing his fists and his form. Instantly the chain lightning raining down from the sky came to a halt. Alex fell to one knee, the effort having exhausted him. The creature, it's form full of holes, flickering, and smoldering, was clawing it's way along the ground. It flaming eyes had dulled, but they were still focused on Alex.
Unalaq quickly stepped forward and bent a pair of water tendrils from the snow. They snaked and danced their way around the creature before glowing with a golden color. After a moment, the being glowed with the same gold, before fading away in a shower of sparks. Unalaq returned the water to the ground before bringing his hands together.
"Go in peace."
"What the hell was that thing?" Alex asked. He was leaning on Korra for support as the full effects of his actions began to weigh down on him.
"That was a spirit, and in your brash short sightedness you almost killed it!" Unalaq snapped.
"Short sighted hell, that thing tried to eat me," Alex defended.
"Eat you?" Tenzin asked.
"Yeah. It kept repeating the word 'feed' as it attacked Alex," Korra explained.
"It tried to drain me of energy. I had to do something or else it would have been loose in a city full of innocent people!" Alex snapped.
"You have no idea what you may have just done here," Unalaq said, motioning to the spot where the spirit had been. The snow had been completely vaporized, and the ground underneath had been turned to molten glass. Alex couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd risked his life to save Korra's and who knows how many others from a rampaging spirit, and he was the bad guy?
"I was first and foremost defending myself and Korra. If you can't accept that then you can fuck off," he replied before shrugging Korra off. The Avatar looked on, confused and hurt.
"Wait, you're too weak to.." she was cut off as Alex threw his hand skyward. Instantly all the electricity flew from the paper lamps overhead into his hand.
"I'm fine!" he snapped before storming off into the night. Alex didn't sleep a wink that night, in fact, he didn't even go back to his hut. He just walked and walked, his anger seething within him. Lightning arced off of his fingers, leaving twisting and strangle lines of ice in the snow. By the time he'd finally gotten his temper under control, dawn was breaking in the east.
Turning back toward his hut, Alex tucked his hands into his jacket pockets. Letting lightning dance over his fingers had kept them warm and safe from frost bite. But now that he was no longer letting it arc, his hands were getting cold fast. When he finally reached his hut, his face was numb and his hands were following suit.
Stepping inside, he was surprised to see that Asami was still up, and Korra was there was well. But the truly shocking thing he saw was his sister Lucy sitting on the cot in the corner. Six months of searching, and there she was just sitting there as if she owned the place.
"Well well, look who finally decided to show up," she said as she hopped to her feet. Alex blinked and then blinked again.
"Lucy?"
"Got tired of waiting on your ass, little brother," Lucy said, "we got a lot to talk about."
And cut, chapter done. Now in case you were wondering, I never really liked Varrick, like at all. If I were in Alex's shoes I probably would have fried him a long time ago. But, aside from that, we have a sibling reunion, and spirits with a hard on for Alex. What's up with that?
Oh! Before I forget, there is art done of Alex now! If you want to see what Alex looks like, go check out his illustration over on Avatar Conner's deviantart page.
But, other then that, feel free to review, leave a PM, ask a question or put forward a theory, and I'll see you all in the next one.