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Zuko made a short speech, recollecting the memories he and Avatar Aang shared when building The United Republic. When he finished thanking everyone for the display, he asked if the Avatar would like to offer a few words. General Iroh whispered something in her ear and her lips stretched into a grin. Mako didn't see the Avatar smiling, he saw the cocky girl who escaped his grasp not once, but twice now. As the Avatar approached the podium, she surveyed the audience. Her eyes briefly met with his, sapphire meeting gold, and then Mako swore he saw her giggle as she finished skimming the room. The Avatar spoke of her plans now that she was in Republic City to stay. Her voice was falling on adorned ears, that is except for one pair. She announced that she was here to help the Council deal with the bending triads and the Equalist movement, that she was going to help Chief Beifong take down as many criminals as possible to clean up the streets. This made Mako scoff, 'Oh the irony' he thought to himself. After her speech was over, the curators announced that food was offered in the next room. Everyone who wasn't in the line up at the front of the room exited, including a few officers and the press. Mako was one of the officers who stayed behind. The guests of honor were free to roam about the exhibit, looking from showcase to showcase. He did his best to eavesdrop on the conversation the Avatar was having with General Iroh while they were looking at old uniforms in the wall mount.
"It's about time, Korra." Iroh said as he nudged Korra.
"It was fun while it lasted. I kind of liked being here in secret. I didn't know the press could be so… persistent."
"You'll get used to it. Though, I'm sorry to say, I don't think they'll get bored of you anytime soon."
Korra's lips began to protrude forward, into a pout. Out of his dark suspicions of this girl, Mako couldn't deny that it was kind of cute to see her like that and allowed himself a small smile.
"Ahh, you're a tough girl Kor. The press is the least of your worries. Oh, and I've been meaning to ask you this all day. What was it my grandfather wanted from you the last night? I saw him bugging you, but he seemed to have won whatever it was you two were talking about."
Korra shrugged her shoulders, "mmm it was nothing big. He talked to me about how his uncle gave him something a long time ago that meant redemption for him. He had trouble locating it and needed some help. It's actually the very same uncle you were named after. General Iroh—the Dragon of the West."
"Oh? That's something. He used to tell me how Iroh was his guide, that he was more of a father than Ozai ever was. I'm genuinely glad my mom named me after him, I feel closer with him, somehow." As Iroh was about to continue, his mother called for him. He excused himself from Korra and headed across the room. Mako took his chance.
"Why hello there, AVATAR Korra." Mako greeted, emphasizing the word 'avatar'.
Korra turned away from the display to the officer, confused at first. When recognition registered, her lips pulled back into a smirk—the same one she gave him last night.
"Hello Officer. Is there something I can do for you?" Korra's sarcastic tone annoyed Mako. She was toying with him again.
"Mind telling me what you, the Avatar, stole from here last night?"
Her face didn't falter from her grin, as if she was expecting his accusation. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. I was with the Fire lord's family last night." He was sick of the games, so Mako got right to the point.
"You're the Blue Spirit, and I'm going to take you down." Mako said through gritted teeth.
"The Blue Spirit? Funny name."
"Am I interrupting something?" a soft, wearied voice spoke from behind the two. The two turned to see Zuko standing behind them with a look of worry and hilarity.
"Ah, Master Zuko. What a coincidence that you popped up. This officer here, Officer?"
"Mako." There was no patience in his tone.
"Yes, well Officer Mako here started telling me of the Blue Spirit. You didn't elaborate much about this Blue Spirit, care to enlighten us?"
Before Mako could speak, Zuko cut in laughing. "The Blue Spirit? Honestly, I didn't know that ghost would still be haunting me today, it's been so long." Both Korra and Mako looked at Zuko with bewilderment as Zuko continued. "The Blue Spirit was what they called me when I kidnapped Avatar Aang from Admiral Zhao. I had to disguise myself, so I put on a mask to conceal my identity. The fire nation made me a public enemy along with the avatar. This was all before I joined Aang's side and I was still trying to capture him to regain my honor."
"But why did they call you the Blue Spirit?" Mako asked.
"Because of the mask I wore. It was a traditional mask painted blue. It had all the features you could imagine: white war paint, fanged teeth, the whole package."
"Ahh, so that's why you were called the Blue Spirit. People don't seem to be very original these days." Korra said, nodding her head.
"Yup, those were the good old days," Zuko smiled, laughing at the past. "Why are you guys talking about that anyways?"
"Grandpa, are you bothering Korra again?" Iroh said as he rejoined the group.
Noticing that he was among royalty, Mako blushed as he mumbled, "Oh, excuse me. I'll leave you all to enjoy the exhibit now. Sorry for imposing."
"Aww, City Boy is blushing. Look Iroh, isn't it cute?" Korra said while hooking her arm onto Iroh's. Mako wasn't sure why, but that made him cringe on the inside. Despite this, he was getting embarrassed and turning beet red. Saving him from further humiliation, Zuko ignored Korra's comment and spoke to Iroh. "Oh Iroh, its great that you came. I have a gift for you!" As Zuko smiled, he pulled something from his sleeve that was wrapped in red cloth. He placed it in Iroh's hands and the three of them watched as Iroh began to unwrap it. "Thank you grandpa, what is it?" As the cloth fell, it revealed a metal hairpiece. The piece boasted two golden prongs on each side resting on a circular red band meant for the topknot men traditionally had worn back in the days.
"It's the Crown Prince Headpiece, an ancient royal artifact. It is supposed to be worn by the crown prince. My uncle Iroh gave it to me when I lost my way. It holds great value and has been passed down from generation to generation." Zuko's audience was at a lost for words. This artifact was have said to survived a volcanic attack, a 100 year war, and was worn by Avatar Roku. Iroh and Korra looked at the ornament with admiration and veneration.
"Thank you Grandpa. I'm sincerely grateful to accept this." Iroh began asking Zuko a lot of questions about the ornament, Korra soon joining in.
Mako stayed silent, staring down at the Crown Prince Headpiece. The gears in his head were turning. He had all the pieces, he just need to set them in the right places. He went over the facts first:
1. Avatar Korra is the Blue Spirit.
2. Zuko was the Blue Spirit
3. Avatar Korra said to General Iroh that she had a conversation with Zuko last night about something he needed help locating.
Those were the facts, now for his suspicions:
1. Korra stole something last night that had a circular bottom.
2. That ornament has a circular bottom roughly same size that was imprinted on the velvet.
3. The Crown Prince Headpiece was the item Zuko had trouble locating.
Something clicked into place.
'Could it be?' Mako contemplated. The thoughts in his brain were working like the components in a clock. 'Did Zuko actually ask Korra to steal the Crown Prince Headpiece for him so he could give it to his grandson, who is actually the crown prince? No, why would royalty steal? Why would the Avatar steal? But… If that is the case… is it really stealing? It did belong to her in a past life. It technically belongs to the royal family. But why was it here, was there a mistake? Why did she become the Blue Spirit? As Mako finished organizing his thoughts, he looked up at the Avatar. She was already staring back at him, smiling as if she could read his mind. She winked at him, and the three left him standing there as they rejoined the others.
Around 3pm, the honored guests began taking their leave. Mako's mind was thinking faster than his feet were moving. So many scenarios played in his mind as he was escorting all of the VIPs out of the building. He was coming up with different motives for Avatar Korra and trying to make the right connections instead of jumping to wild conclusions. He met up with Bolin and the rest of the officers as they guarded the VIPs from being stampeded by the press and fans. As they all gathered for one final picture in front of the museum, Mako heard the wheels of a car screeching against the pavement. Everyone turned towards the source of the sound, straining their necks to see a car cutting the corner and heading straight for them. Suddenly, another car from the opposite direction was doing the same; the smell of burning rubber was filling the air. The two cars were driving full speed, straight for where all the VIPs were gathered.
"Alpha squad, take the east, Beta, take the west! The rest of you, protect the people!" Lin commanded as all hell broke lose. The press scrambled to safety back into the museum as the officers positioned themselves in front of the VIPs.
"Earth benders, reverse their directions!" Lin and the earth bending cops both bent ramps that spiraled into different directions, causing the cars to drive away from the crowd. But as soon as the cars disappeared, Mako heard screaming coming from behind him. He turned around back at the museum to see swarms of equalists belaying down the building from the rooftops. They slid down the ropes and headed for Mako and the guards. Fire, earth, and water were being thrown back and forth. However, the equalists succeeded to dodge most of the attacks and electrocute half of Mako's team. Mako, and a few others were able to hold ground until the rest of the Alpha and Beta squad came back from redirecting the cars, but it still wasn't enough. Mako saw Bolin getting chi blocked by an equalist and ran towards his brother. Before the equalist could palm his brother with his electrocuted glove, Mako sent a bolt of lightning at the equalist. Bolin turned to his brother, thankful at first.
"Thanks, Maaa- Look out behind you!" Bolin screamed as he pointed to the air behind Mako. Mako turned just in time to see an Equalist with electrified kali sticks stab him from above, sending volts of lightning through his body. Mako fell to his knees, still conscious. As the equalist was about to shock him again, Mako saw the Equalist's body being blown away. Mako turned his head to see the flames fly from her fists as she took on 3 more equalists. The earth beneath one crumbled as he fell into a hole, another was frozen in place. Mako stared from the ground as Avatar Korra, General Iroh, a few councilmen, and even the Fire Lord joined in on the fight. He saw as she flipped herself into the air, delivering a wave of fire at the last equalists she was fighting with her legs swiping down at him. When he was on the ground, she earth bended him in place. Soon, Mako noticed that she was running towards him, and before he knew it, she was helping him up.
"Are you alright?" Her tone caught Mako off guard. He didn't hear the voice of cocky thief, but the voice of a concerned being. He looked up at her to see those blue eyes full of worry. Mako felt his insides tighten, the electrocution was must have been much more painful than he thought. He gritted his teeth, unable to speak and just nodded. Mako struggled to keep consciousness as she helped him limp to safety. When Mako reached the steps of the building, his vision began to blur. He felt something tighten around his waist as the edge of his sight began to disappear. The last thing he saw was the concrete stairs coming closer to his eyes.
annddd BAM, that's chapter 3? What do you think? Please read and review :D
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