2000 views!
Guest- The other airbenders have actually been mentioned, but not much. I have just called them 'acolytes' in previous chapters BUT I will use this as a reminder to mention them a bit more often J
Seeker5- I love being able to reply to your reviews since I want to let you guys know how grateful I am for the comments!
Loonie- I agree with you! Korra can get a little..ahead of herself sometimes!
Guest- SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *smothers face with hands* you're the second reviewer that seems to read my mind….
Ok, honestly I have to say that I love it when you add your own theories or ideas for storylines, it really help if I ever get stuck on ideas for the future :c)
Twilight swallowed the island in the midst of night, shadowing every turn and crook around the buildings and decorations. Fog smothered the air in a mask which flooded in from the still sea resting outside.
I crept out as silently as possible and made my way towards the docks where everyone had already left to sleep. Being so far away from the main building minimised the chances of being spotted by anyone up at this time of night so I could finally get out and take a look at the city.
I took the staff and snapped it open to reveal the orange wings fanning around the edges.
'Use the currents around you to get up.' Aang guided, showing the techniques I had seen Jinora and Ikki using so often.
I moved the air around the staff and swirled the cool winds towards the wings to see how well they picked up the movement.
Moving the staff around to my back, I gripped the front bars and leaped up using my bending to help me rise higher. Whilst in the air, I pushed my power forward, urging the contraption to speed onward towards the lights twinkling in the near distance. Wind whipped my hair back and forth and I was so happy that I was flying!
I dipped down and became mere inches away from the water's surface as I grew closer to the city's port.
Light began to reflect off of the waves and I knew it was time to land.
Over on the edge of the shore, a cluster of rocks provided a good area to land without being spotted and I swept down to reach the stones.
Stumbling, I fixed my footing and quickly backed up to the wall. Darkness smothered my body, rendering me virtually invisible to anyone wondering around this late at night.
I stuck to the shadows, creeping along walls to remain undetected and dashing past alleyways. Thanks to Aang I knew exactly where I was going without the need for maps or signs, something I was grateful for.
I made it to the police building where lights still flickered on in the barred windows. With steady footing I snuck over to the back of the station and hunched underneath a barren window.
'Are you sure?' Aang asked, still not completely happy with my plan.
Of course, I will do just fine, thank you.
After checking that the coast was clear, I made the brick walls compact together slightly, causing the window's outer edge to shrink, freeing the glass without a sound. I stalked my way in and lowered the cloth covering my mouth as I walked through the corridor. Replacing the window, I continued on my mission.
I had managed upon the staff changing rooms and thought that this would be the perfect place to finish my alias. Before rounding the corner I removed any suspicious clothing and stashed it into a spare locker, making it look as though I had been in the building the whole time. A spare blouse and skirt was thrown over a bench and I took it to wear with my black training leggings.
How convenient.
To the naked eye I was a secretary.
Straightening my posture and grabbing a few littered papers, I strode into the main offices, disguising myself as one of the officers working there. They never even noticed that I wasn't one of them as I made my way past row after row of computer screens and hard workers.
I walked further into the room and made a beeline towards the main central office at the other end, determined to find the person I needed.
A couple seconds later I was there, looking professional in my new outfit and stood outside the door to Lin Beifong's study.
She was busy filing something on the other side of the room so I took this chance to edge open the door and lean on the frame.
The woman was busy flicking through some important documents with the usual scorn expression. As normal, her back was straight and no matter what she was doing, she was still ready for anything.
"You remind me of your mother," I whispered from my spot, thinking about the way they both held themselves and spoke. Even their temper was identical.
She lashed back, instinctively shooting two daggers of dark metal in my direction.
Suddenly, as if everything was in slow motion, the moment froze, letting me concentrate solely on the items flying towards me. I lifted a land and faced my palm out towards the objects, feeling the bending ability seeping in my veins.
The stopped mid air, a hair's width from my hand, and I looked back up to the chief who seemed slightly stunned. I turned the dagger tips away from me and settled them down on the table without moving from my place in the doorway.
"What are you thi…"
"I just want to talk," I interrupted, taking advantage of the weakened state that the chief was in.
"Well then you can start by explaining what the fuck you think you're doing!" She snapped, folding her arms. I closed the door behind me and leant back on the metal entrance.
"Fine," I snapped back, already growing impatient, "I want you to teach me police tactics."
"No," Lin spat, "you can't even-" Her eyes widened and her gaze scattered over to the weapons that I had moved earlier.
"I need you to keep this between us," I shrugged, "telling the others would only complicate things."
"Complicate your plans?" The woman squinted, determining how much of a threat I now was. "How do I know you aren't planning something against us?"
I sat down on the chair opposite Lin's desk and made myself comfortable for the upcoming conversation. I then proceeded to gesture to the main chair, offering the woman a chance to listen to my story.
"I need the help of Lin Beifong, daughter of Toph Beifong who taught the previous avatar. I need the wisdom of someone who had fought in battles all over the world. Who better to show me detainment methods than the police chief of republic city?"
Lin sat up straighter in her chair and gave me a strange glance, analysing every word that came out of my mouth.
"How do you know so much about me?" She leaned back in her seat. "And what connections do you have with my mother?"
"As I am sure Tenzin has made you aware, I have had information from Aang." I turned toward the door to check it was closed and locked before continuing. "I need to learn metal bending if I am to help Korra."
Twirling the metal items in her hand, Lin spoke. "And what exactly makes you think that she will let you help?" She stopped her actions and rested her elbows on the table, glaring at me as she did so. "You might never even meet her or provide any valuable support, for that matter."
I stood from my seat and wandered over to the barred window in the corner of the room.
"I already have the trust of a lead Commander in the United Nations Navy as well as Tenzin and his family." I turned to face the policewoman. "From what I know, these people have connections to Korra and this gives me a pretty good chance of getting through to her."
I paused and thought about how I could convince her further.
"And you don't seem too concerned that I can bend multiple elements."
Lin sighed heavily and looked down to the grey desk. "I am going to be honest with you Evelyn, I have seen things you could never imagine," she chuckled. "As long as you're on our side, and stay out of my way, we will get along just fine."
Stiffly, she rose out of her seat and strode to the door, opening in roughly. The change of attitude did little to surprise me so I only walked calmly toward the exit.
"You will come here at dusk to begin your training," she nodded.
Straightening her back and raising her chin, the police woman regained her authority through gritted teeth.
"Now GET OUT."
After arriving back to Air Temple Island and having a good night's rest, I was prepared for the training to come. I had agreed with Jinora that meditation wasn't something that we should attempt again so instead we had moved onto breathing exercises and balance techniques.
All in all, everything was going great, including practice with Ikki that was rapidly becoming even more successful.
During the end of the evening, I left the island to secretly meet up with the police chief. I was secretly hoping that I would find this fighting technique better than the Air or Water styles and that it would be just as easy to master as Earth and Fire were.
After following the same directions as the night before, I reached the entryway of the police station and took refuge by the base of the Toph statuette, waiting for my mentor to show.
"I see you made it on time, good."
Lin was nothing but a shadow lurking in the corner behind and I whipped around to face the person addressing me.
"I didn't need you breaking into my place of work again." The figure moved further into an alley way and I wasn't quite sure where I was going. "Come." I continued to count the turns until we made it out to some sort of deserted training ground littered with dummies and piles of metal scraps.
It wasn't as big as the temple's courtyards, but it was large nevertheless. I kept to the sidelines whilst Lin strode to where the metal was lying and rummaged quickly through the pile.
"So how are we going to sta-"
"Catch!"
Just like in her office, the woman blasted shards of iron at my prone form, only this time, I watched the seemingly hundreds of spiralling objects rocketing forward before quickly spinning out of the way to avoid being impaled.
As I rushed up I saw the chief placing her hands on her hips in disapproval.
"You didn't do that yesterday," she grunted, clearly annoyed that I hadn't done what she had asked.
"We…maybe.." I panted. "that's because… there wasn't …FORTY of them!"
I returned to my place and readied for whatever was about to come.
"Remember, metal is just purified earth. Now.." She posed into a stance:
"Again!" She yelled, doing the exact same with all of the shards.
This time, I waved my arms around and focused on the earth particles found within the metal. I lifted my arms to cross slightly and waited for the perfect moment…
'Now!' Aang signalled, causing me to flick up my wrists in a rough and precise motion.
As though I could feel the earth pieces individually, I could control their movement entirely. I remembered how I could do this in the police station and wondered how come it came to me on instinct. It was confusing that this time around I needed someone to teach me how this all worked, rather than just knowing like before.
In summary, the night consisted of Lin throwing small lethal weapons at me and me trying to catch them to avoid death. With every shot the task grew harder and harder, as though the woman was determined to kill me or something. From what I had seen, she was definitely releasing anger, frustration and stresses on poor me. I shouldn't really complain; I was only getting stronger.
Days passed and once more, night began to draw close so I snuck out again, drifting over the ocean on my glider and creeping around streets. Dressed in black, I was coming near the alleyway and the training courtyard could be seen in the distance.
I was rounding the corner to the police station when a flash of a blade caught my eye and being the true idiot that I was, I decided to check it out.
Sneaking towards the dimmed flash, I watched as the outline of a rather large man held a knife and drunkenly swayed towards a small woman that lay huddled in the corner of the passage.
Pressed up against the cold brick, the lady whimpered in fright and tried but failed to escape from the dead end that he had trapped her in.
I could see him clumsily stomping forward with a wicked, psychopathic grin stretched on his fat face. With every step I debated whether or not I should intervene. The woman's life was on the line and I couldn't just watch, could I?
Darting forward, I reach out and twisted the man's hand, causing him to release the blade. He barely reacted and in response the intoxicated fool manically laughed, pulling a handgun out of his jacket pocket and pointing the barrel in my face.
I decided that this was none other than the best time to put my training to good use. I flashed the creep a mischievous smirk and subtly twisted my hand by my side. The motion, just as I had presumed, caused the barrel of the gun to lift up and bend in the wrong direction, giving the man quite a fright.
Whilst he remained bewildered I proceeded to punch the man right in the face, causing him to fall straight back due to his unbalanced state. With the drunkard knocked out cold, I moved over to the crying woman and offered a hand. At my movement, she flinched harshly and used her hands to scramble as far back to the wall as possible.
"It's ok, I won't hurt you," I hushed, attempting to calm the lady. Warily, she reached out and grasped my gloved palm as I lifted her up onto her feet. She remained quite shaken about the incident and kept her gaze on the drooling, motionless lump on the ground.
"You should call the police before he wakes up," I suggested, bending down and fixing the gun back to how it was, erasing all traces that I had been there. "Tell them he was too drunk to stand and knocked himself out."
I stood and walked out to meet with Lin, only turning back to check that the woman was on the phone. Once I heard her voice telling the emergency services what had happened, I rushed off, already late for training.
METALBENDING IS AWESOME!
I would like to give a massive thanks to all of those that voted! So far the scores are… *drum roll*…
Evelyn-3
Korra-1
2 weeks left! Post your votes in the reviews or PM me ideas or theories about what's to come!
See you next week :c)