Hey everyone! I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, but I believe that that was enough to get a few good reviews. Without further ado, here is Chapter 4 of Return of the Blue Spirit.


Previously…

"This was by far the most fun I've had in years," she said, taking her seat. "I wish that you had proposed all those years ago. We could have this kind of fun every night." At her words, Roku hesitated with closing the door, and instead fell down to one knee, pulling the ring from his pocket.

"Lin Beifong, will you marry me?"


Lin stared at Roku with a confused, disbelieving expression, her mouth hanging slightly open. Each second seemed an eternity to him, and finally after two or three seconds, Lin did something that surprised him. Reaching forward, she slapped him with her right hand, before grabbing him by the collar with the same hand and yanking him forward into a searing kiss. He surrendered to her lips, and after a few seconds they broke apart, Lin resting her forehead against his.

"Yes."


Zuko had left Roku's house for the considerably large building he owned in Republic City, the result of his co-founder status. He currently sat in his wheelchair on the roof, gazing silently out at the night sky. The sound of soft footsteps came from behind him, and he adjusted slightly in his chair, turning around as they came to a halt. "Did the date not go well?" he asked as he turned. His soft expression hardened as he saw the familiar, angular mask of Amon hovering, disembodied, in the darkness. Amon was silent, tilting his head slightly to the side as if in curiosity.

"Fire Lord Zuko," he said in his smooth voice. "Although, I suppose that title is antiquated since you elected your daughter Fire Lord." Zuko remained silent, calmly watching Amon take slow, measured steps forward, his clothing coming to view as he stepped into the candlelight. "I came alone, that we might speak civilly. Despite your current frailty, you were great once, and I can respect your power at the very least, even if I don't like it."

"So you are here to take my bending?" Zuko scoffed, shaking his head and spreading his arms out to the side. "Go right ahead, Amon. I haven't used it in twenty years. You take nothing from me." Amon nodded slowly, reaching into the folds of his clothes, drawing forth an old, tattered paper. The masked man silently handed the item to Zuko, and the old man's blood hilled as he saw a familiar wanted poster, bearing a familiar blue mask.

"I know about your son's alternate identity. I also know of his feelings for Lin Beifong. Now, just what do you think would happen to them both if the truth got out?" Zuko's hands slowly curled into fists in his lap, and his nostrils flared in anger. "When I leave here tonight, you will be unable to Bend anymore. Nothing will change that. However, you can either surrender willingly and save your son, or resist and condemn the both of you." Zuko was silent for a long time, before he straightened in his wheelchair, unclenching his fists and slowing his breathing. Amon nodded, walking behind the old man as Zuko closed his eyes.

His eyes were forced open, however, as Amon roughly yanked his head back, the masked man's thumb digging into his forehead. Zuko's eyes widened as he felt a steel dagger slide across his bared throat, before blood sprayed from the grin-shaped wound. Amon shoved Zuko hard between the shoulders, forcing him out of the wheelchair and sending him sprawling on the floor in a pool of blood. "Soon you will be unable to Bend, as I promised," Amon said, stabbing the bloody throwing dagger into the desk. "I will soon pay a visit to your son. Die knowing that your surrender means the end of his life as a spoiled Prince." Zuko gurgled angrily as Amon disappeared, leaving him alone.

A shroud fell over his mind, muddling his thoughts and making his limbs feel heavy. So tired, he thought, his eyelids fluttering. No… not yet. Have to live. Close the wound, that's what Katara would tell you to do. But how? As the darkness slowly descended, the answer clicked, and he coated his hand in flames.

Cauterize it…


Roku groaned as he awoke, stretching his sore back as the sunrise streamed in through the thin green curtains embroidered with the Beifong crest. Lin stirred beside him, blearily opening her eyes. She smiled softly as she saw him, before sitting up and gently kissing his jaw, just below the ear. "Good morning," she whispered, allowing the covers to fall and reveal her nudity. She began nibbling on his earlobe, and Roku shivered, reciprocating the action. He was rudely interrupted by the ringing phone. He frowned, almost pouting as she pulled away, picking up the device. "Chief Beifong," she answered. Getting up from the bed, he walked over to the clothes he had brought in from his Satomobile, which he always kept in the trunk just in case. He began dressing, before Lin spoke, causing him to freeze in place.

"Roku… your father's been attacked."


Roku silently stared at his father's sleeping form in the hospital. His gaze focused on Zuko's bandaged neck, and he carefully peeled the cloth away, observing the wound. The knife had been drawn clumsily across the throat, leaving a long, deep, jagged gash resembling a fish's gills, though the wound had since been sewn. The skin and muscle was reddish-black and charred, the burn in the shape of a hand. He cauterized the wound with his Firebending. To purposefully and willfully inflict and endure that pain… no one can say he's weak. Lin strode in dressed in her armor then, flinching when she saw the burn.

"Your father is definitely a tough old man," she said, sitting next to fiancée.

"Your father now too. Since we're now engaged, my family is your family." Zuko slowly stirred, and Roku gently grasped his father's hand as the man's eyes opened. "How are you doing dad?"

"I'm in a lot of pain," Zuko rasped. "I managed to burn my wound closed, but I lost too much blood to stay conscious." Zuko's eyes fell upon Lin, and he smiled. "It's good to see you my dear. How did the date go?" Lin smiled, and showed him her left hand, where the ring gleamed in the light. Tears formed in the corners of Zuko's good eye, and he embraced her as best he could without further aggravating the wound. "Welcome to the family, Lin."


Two hours later, Roku sat alone with his father. Shortly after the announcement, a phone call came for Lin from Korra, in which she told them the implications of Equalist activity in the Sato Corporation the young Avatar had heard. Lin had left shortly afterward, leaving the two men alone. Roku sat with his head in his hands, his fingers knotted in his hair.

"Amon knows my identity… this is a complication I did not foresee." Roku sat up, leaning his head against the back of his chair. He closed his eyes as his father gently grasped his hand, trying to offer some small comfort. "So far, the only crimes I could be charged with are being a vigilante and minor assault on the police. However, since you came to an agreement with the Council permitting me to try and stop the Equalists that charge probably won't stick."

"Amon slit my throat with one of your throwing daggers, and made sure to leave the blade in my desk. It was confiscated, and as of now the official story is that the Blue Spirit attempted to assassinate me. Now that I am awake they'll come for my story, but Amon will use his rhetoric to convince the non-bending community that I am lying to try and cause them to withdraw their support of his cause."

"But why would he try to kill you? The slice was clumsy, which is proof that he has no experience with knives, or murder. It's not his M.O. He takes the Bending, not the life of the Bender."

"He knew that I would use my own influence to try and oppose him. He also knows that I haven't used my Firebending since I was confined to my wheelchair; therefore, stealing my Bending would have been pointless. Take away Bending from someone who doesn't Bend and you gain nothing. Not a benefit to your cause, but not a martyr either. He had planned on killing me, and I would guess framing you, claiming you were trying to organize a coup to overthrow your sister by removing my support of her. But now that I'm alive, he will have to rely on his rhetoric to convince people of it."

"If that's the case, then I have to try and stop this. Lin will be investigating the Sato Corporation… Hiroshi Sato certainly has the money and motive to support the Equalist, what with his wife's murder. I'll tail Lin under the guise of the Blue Spirit, and make sure that she's safe."

"Son, before you go, you ought to know that after you left I worked on the modifications we were discussing with Azulon. We finished the glider and the ranged electric focuser. Azulon took the suit out and made sure to be seen so that you would have some deniability. It apparently was pointless, but I just thought you should know. At least try and get along with your nephew, alright?"

"Of course, father… of course."


The Blue Spirit hid in the shadows of the rafters in Hiroshi Sato's workshop as Korra, Tenzin, Lin, and her officers descended into the hidden tunnel, leaving behind one officer and Korra's friends. Roku took quiet, measured breaths as he adjusted his position slightly, contemplating how to enter the tunnel. The new, modified gauntlet seemed heavy on his arm, and the unfamiliar weight of the retracted glider seemed to weigh down on his back, but he easily kept himself above the line of sight for any below. He jerked his head when he heard a muffled thud, and watched as the teenagers below tried to convince the officer to let them go and help. Rolling his eyes as Mako began pretending to sneeze, Roku dropped silently from the rafter, pinching a nerve cluster on the officer's neck and rendering him unconscious. The three leapt back in surprise, and Roku shook his head.

"Dumbass."


Tenzin moved at a frantic pace as the mecha-tanks kept attacking. He sent blast after blast of Airbending at them, and managed to knock one off balance, but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get the drop on them. Dodging another attack, he created a wheel of air around him, moving at incredible speed to try and find an opening. As he launched into the air, an electrified bolo came flying at him, and he shouted in pain as it wrapped around his body. Began to fall, closing his eyes as he expected to hit the ground, hard.

His eyes shot open when he felt strong arms wrap around his body, and felt a blade cut the bolo off of him. Tenzin turned in the arms, and found he had been grabbed by a man wearing a blue mask with a combination of leather armor and technological augmentations. Wires and coils curled around his left arm, leading to a glowing circle in the palm of his gauntleted hand. The man landed softly upon the ground, gently setting Tenzin down, before raising the gauntleted hand. A high-pitched, charging whine emanated from the device before a bolt of lightning flew forward, electrocuting and disabling one of the mecha-tanks.

"The Blue Spirit?" he murmured as he recognized the mask. The figure turned its head toward him, gazing with burning, piercing eyes. The man gave a slow nod, before drawing two Dao blades off his back as one of the mecha-tanks launched its dual-pronged cables at the pair. The Spirit slashed with the blades, impossibly fast, severing the platinum with one stroke. Tenzin watched the man launch forward, sliding past another mecha tank, slicing out one of the legs as he went. The tank wobbled for a moment or two, before Tenzin sent a blast of Airbending at it, knocking it off balance and causing it to fall onto its side.

"Run!" the Blue Spirit shouted as more tanks came pouring in. "Take the Avatar and the Chief and run! I'll give you cover, and try to get the other officers out!" He quickly spun around another cable attack, grabbing the metal and sending electricity through it into the tank.

"You sound familiar…"

"No time, dammit! Run, Tenzin, run!" Tenzin did as ordered, grabbing the other two with the help of the newly-arrived teenagers, and Roku charged the Equalist climbing out of the tank Tenzin had just tipped. Grabbing the woman by the arm, he whipped her around and to safety as the machine exploded, pinching a nerve cluster in her neck and rendering her unconscious. He carefully set her down, before turning to face the dozen mecha tanks. A quick glance behind him showed that the others had successfully made their escape, and Roku sighed, relieved. He set about collecting the officers and leaning them against the wall as the tanks slowly and warily crept forward. "Hiroshi Sato…" he said, rising to his full height after depositing the last officer. "I must say, I had a hunch you might be involved in the Equalist goals. Your mistake was creating the Shock Gloves. I have seen the inner wirings of your Satomobile, and noticed that the circuitry for the gloves was very similar to the circuitry connecting the battery to your vehicle's headlights. I'm disappointed in you, Hiroshi… and so too would be your wife."

"Don't you dare speak of her!" he roared, leaning forward against the glass pane. "Don't you dare speak of her, you worm! Amon told us all who you really are, charlatan! You are Prince Roku. You and your kind, the Benders, will pay, and I will have double my revenge on you, for it was a Firebender who killed her… if not for your father's so-called peace, the Fire Nation would never have been in this part of the world, and she would be alive!"

"You condemn what you do not understand!" Roku shouted, removing his mask and clipping it to his belt. Yanking back the hood, he whipped his head around, allowing his shoulder-length hair to flow freely. "You claim that we are oppressors of the people, and that all war in all time was caused by Benders. I would cite the war in the region that would eventually become the great city of Omashu. It was started by non-Benders, and ended only when the two lovers, Oma and Shu, created the human ability to Earthbend after learning it from the badgermoles. Amon is oppressing Benders far more than the Benders have ever oppressed non-Benders. Amon claims that his methods are peaceful, but he tried to kill my father!"

"Do not smear Amon's name!" one of the other Equalists shouted from within his mecha tank. "Amon told us that you would try and lie about that. He told us the truth! It was you who tried to kill Zuko, all so that you could try to start a coup!"

"You are lost!" Roku exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. The officers slowly began to come to, and Roku quickly replaced the mask, before hurling a smoke bomb in the middle ground. Grabbing the most conscious by the scruff of his neck, he slapped him hard to wake him up, before pointing down. "Open up the tunnel below! You can arrest me if you so choose, but I recommend you listen unless you want to face a dozen of the tanks, rather than the few you were fighting." The man nodded, and quickly tore the floor open, lowering his fellow officers while Roku launched several more lightning bolts from his gauntlet.

"All clear!" the officer exclaimed, and Roku dived into the hole, the man diving after as another of his comrades closed it behind him. Roku hit the ground hard, and slammed against the stone, grunting in pain as he felt his gauntlet, which he had landed on, press hard into his diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him. As he rose, he heard a wheezing sound, and he turned. His blood chilled as he saw a throwing knife identical to one of his own sticking out of the throat of the officer who had dived behind him, blood bubbling up around the wound. One of the Equalists must have thrown it to try and frame me. The man convulsed once as his comrades rushed to him, before a long rattling sound emanated from his throat, and he lay still. The officers roared in fury, and Roku turned and ran into the shadows and darkness.


Lin sat at her desk, her head buried in her hands as her shoulders trembled. Picking up the paper once again, she read over the deceased officer's profile, feeling her heart break when she saw that he had a wife and three children. Setting the profile aside, she reached for the report the newly-minted sergeant had written, detailing the events in the tunnel and the blade in the deceased officer's throat. The Blue Spirit again… she thought, her lip curling into a feral snarl. I should have fought harder when we first met. Defeating Equalists in order to defend the police is one thing, but fighting the police afterwards in the Cabbage Corporation warehouse was unacceptable. And now this… Her fury erupted, and she slammed her gauntleted fist into her desk, leaving an inch-deep indentation in the solid oak.

This is partially my fault, she thought as yanked her arm out of the wood. If I hadn't taken them into that trap, then that family would still be whole. I swear, the Blue Spirit will pay. But I can't do it within the confines of the law… she reached toward a desk in her drawer, and pulled out a blank piece of paper, upon which she proceeded to write her resignation.

I swear, when I find the Blue Spirit… I will kill him.


Well, there you go guys. Hope you liked it. Review, and tell me how I did.

-Zeratide, out.