Disclaimer: I own nothing. Percy Jackson and the Legend of Korra belong to Rick Riordan and Nickelodeon respectively.
Percy was worriedly pacing the top of a cliff on Air Temple Island, overlooking Republic city. The sun was long gone by now. Or more accurately, the sun hadn't risen yet. Most of the island's inhabitants were still sound asleep, save for some White Lotus guards and a rightfully worried Waterbender.
He had heard it from Jinora and Ikki, that they were with Korra at the air gates, helping her out and giving her some pointers when some guy comes to the island unannounced, leaving with Korra and Naga in tow. They hadn't said anything, and they weren't back yet.
Apparently, the guy Korra left with was one of her teammates on the Fire Ferrets, the Firebender, Mako. And as great as it was that Ikki and Jinora know who the guy was, they still don't know where they went or why.
Tenzin made no move to silence his steps as he approached the concerned Waterbender. He too was worried, but he was also conflicted. He was trying to be less overbearing on the young Avatar, but it didn't help that the closest person to the Avatar was worried sick about her, so much so that he even skipped dinner, and didn't even sleep! Very unusual for the normally ravenous eater, and unwavering sleeper.
"Still no word?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Nothing," Percy said with a shake of his head.
Tenzin hummed in acknowledgement, standing at the edge of the cliff with Percy still pacing behind him. "She's strong and capable. I'm sure she'll be fine," he reassured.
"I know that better than most," Percy said quickly. "I've just got a bad feeling."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a while, both thinking in their own way.
"I have half a mind to send out a search party for her," Tenzin said absentmindedly.
"I thought you said you were going to lay off on the guards. Not be so pressing on her," Percy remarked.
"I did," Tenzin nodded. "Which is why I'm going to give you two days before I do," he said, turning with a billow of his cape back to the main temple. "Good luck," he said in passing.
Nodding, Percy took one more look at the glowing city, before running to his room where he knew Luna was. If anyone could help him find Korra right now, it was Luna.
It didn't take Luna long to find Korra once they landed in the city. Almost immediately, she took off down the empty streets, in a direction that Percy recognised was leading them towards the park.
When they finally found Korra, it was under a tree nearby the fountain where they first encountered the Equalist protestor. Korra was fast asleep, leaning on Naga. But what caused Percy to raise a curious eyebrow was the person sleeping next to her.
He wore a grey coat and black fingerless gloves. His most notable feature was the red scarf wrapped around his neck. He had spiked black hair and was leaning on the sleeping Avatar as he slept as well. Despite having Naga's resting flank behind them, they seemed to be relying on themselves for support. Both of them were leaning on each other, fast asleep.
Percy smirked in amusement seeing Korra drool on her own hair which was resting on her shoulder.
Luna didn't stick around for much longer. Once they found Korra, she left to go back to the island. Percy was glad that she was taking her duty of looking after Pema seriously. It was a weight lifted off of everyone's shoulders.
By now, the sun was just peeking over the horizon, ushering the new day to begin. Even now, people still half asleep were wandering down the streets towards their day-jobs, and others were walking around in the park, probably looking to do some morning exercise before they truly begin their days.
Percy debated how he should go about waking them up. On one hand, he thought it'd be funny to douse them in water but decided against it because it'd be quite rude to, whom he suspected was Korra's new teammate, Mako. He also decided that he was too tired to do it for something as simple as a quick laugh.
Instead, he settled for lightly kicking Korra's outstretched foot until she woke.
About 10 kicks later, she started stirring. It took about seven more for her to groan awake, only to roll over and mumble a tired, "Go away Percy," from her newfound position. Percy desperately wished he had a camera to take a picture of Korra, who was now snuggled up to the man next to her like he was her old stuffed koi fish toy.
"Well, I think I know the headline for todays paper," Percy said mischievously, you could hear the smirk in his voice. "Avatar snuggles up, with some stranger she met on the streets, in the middle of the park. Think of the scandal that might bring?" he continued. By now, he knew Korra was awake, and the other guy too probably, but Percy was having too much fun teasing her. "I mean, how many theories and fan clubs do you think will emerge because of this. Maybe I should start one. I mean, I know a lot of juicy details and gossip that I'm sure the world would love to get their hands on."
"Okay!" an exasperated Avatar said, finally getting up from her position. The other guy was now blearily opening his eyes, looking for the voice that roused them. "Okay, I'm up now. What's so important that it's got your panties in a bind? Did you eat the seal jerky I left out for you? I swear Meelo was the one who spiked it, not me," she said.
"Well, I'm here because you left yesterday afternoon and didn't tell anyone where you went. Then you disappear all night long and still no word. Trust me, you don't even want to know what kind of theories the kids came up with. Some of those are better left unsaid," Percy said with a shiver. "And on another note," he began, before crouching down to be face to face with the sleepy Avatar, "if I find that you touched my seal jerky, I'm sending you back to the south pole in a straight jacket. No sane person would ever touch my jerky," he said in little more than a whisper.
"Whatever," She yawned. "What time is it?"
"Do I look like an old fart to you?" Percy asked with a smile that told you he was joking. "I don't carry a time piece in my pocket, so I don't know what time it is."
"Mmh, whatever. Why'd you wake me up," she asked again.
"Well, I want to know why you left the island without telling anyone where you were going, who that is," Percy said, pointing to the now awake man next to Korra, "why you didn't come back at all last night, and why you're sleeping in the middle of the park," Percy fired off. "Preferably in that order."
Korra groaned and leaned her head back against Naga's flank before answering him. "Firstly, I left because his brother went missing," she said gesturing to the guy next to her. "This is Mako, he's my teammate," I nodded to the now confirmed Fire Ferret Firebender as if in greeting, which he reciprocated, still completely confused. "We didn't go back to the island because we got caught up by some Equalists kidnapping the brother we were looking for, and we're here now waiting for that annoying announcer guy from day one. Remember? That guy who said I was oppressing him?" she asked.
"Oh yeah, I do remember him," Percy said in recognition.
"Ahem," a voice coughed from beside Korra.
Mako was looking between Korra and Percy with a gaze that was equal parts suspicious and curious. "Erm, Hi. Sorry, who are you, exactly," he asked.
Before Percy could introduce himself, Korra spoke first. "He's Percy. My servant I dragged from the south pole," she said with an innocent smile pointed at the now affronted Waterbender.
"What," Percy complained. "If anything, the roles there are reversed. I'm Percy, and this is my traveling punching bag, squirt," he said, pointing down to Korra with a smug smirk on his face.
"Hey!" Korra's face went beet red immediately. She jumped to her feet, turning and glaring at Percy and shoving an accusatory finger into his chest. "I thought I told you not to call me that," she said angrily.
"You know the rules, squirt," Percy smirked, relishing in the power he held over the Avatar.
"Now, here's what's going to happen," he said with a clap of his hands. "I'm going to take a nap, and you're going to wake me when the guy gets here," he said, slipping past Korra and sitting in the same spot she just vacated, closing his eyes and resting his hands behind his head.
He was shocked awake again by a smug looking Korra holding a ball of water above her hand. Said hand was hovering above a now wet Percy, who didn't look too pleased to have been shaken awake before he even got a chance to sleep. She looked very pleased with herself.
"Guess I beat you now then, huh," she smiled sweetly, the leaned in close. "Squirt."
In response, Percy just narrowed his eyes before his face broke out into a grin. He waved his hand and the next thing anyone knew, a thoroughly soaked Avatar was sitting in the fountain, spluttering. The very some fountain she had taken the water to douse Percy from had now came to life and pulled her across the clearing into its cold waters, where she sat now.
Percy laughed from where he was, laying next to an awed, and terrified looking Mako. "Nope!" he called out to her. "Better luck next time, squirt."
While Korra was silently fuming from her place in the fountain, Percy promptly closed his eyes, hoping to get some semblance of sleep before he inevitably joined the pair on their impromptu rescue mission.
"Uhh, this isn't the same tree I fell asleep under," said Percy once he woke up.
"Fall asleep under a tree, wake up under a bridge. Just be happy it's us and not some chi-blockers," said an anxious voice from somewhere nearby.
Sitting up on Naga's saddle, Percy took a second to view his surroundings. Sure enough, like the voice said, he was somewhere in the city, under a bridge.
The voice in question belonged to Mako, who was glaring at a pile of fliers at his feet. Seated next to the celebrity Firebender was Korra, also scanning one of the fliers.
"And pray tell, why am I under a bridge?"
"Well, we got chased out of the park again after we interrogated that protestor," Korra explained.
"Did he know anything?"
"Nothing," Mako sighed. "Just what he thinks is gunna happen."
"And that is?"
"His words were, 'If he's a bender,' – which he is – 'then my bet is he's getting what's coming to him,'" Mako recited.
"Then that cop from the pond showed up and we left after the guy started crying for help," Korra finished.
"Okay, and what's with the fliers?" Percy inquired.
Picking up a few of the fliers off the ground and handing one to Percy, Mako explained, "That guy was handing these out to anyone who'd listen. They're about some, Revelation, but all it says is a time."
"Which is?" Percy asked, hopelessly trying to decipher the spelling of the red and yellow flier, but it was hopeless. He's never been able to read before, and he certainly won't be able to now.
"Tonight, 9 o'clock," Korra answered.
"Witness the Revelation. Tonight, 9 o'clock. That's all it says," Mako groused. "But without a location it's useless."
Percy began inspecting the flier for any sign of a location that this, Revelation, might be taking place in, but came up with nothing. Until, while he was busy distracting himself with the colors of the flier, and the design of this, Amon guys' mask, he noticed something different about the fliers.
The backs of some of the fliers on the ground showed different shapes. Flipping his own over, Percy immediately noticed the big red dot in the centre of his flier. Confused, he looked at the backs of the fliers in Korra and Mako's hands, and in the corner of his vision, spotted a map of the Republic city Transportation network stapled to the wall.
"Maybe not," he mused softly, drawing the Firebenders attention.
Swiftly hopping off the saddle, Percy began rummaging through the many fliers until he found four unique images on the backs of the fliers.
"What? Did you find something," Make asked hopefully.
"Maybe," Percy said.
He managed to align the backs of the fliers in his hands and was now holding them up to the map of Republic city
"It's a map!" Korra gasped, looking over Percy's shoulder as he tried aligning the map on the backs of the fliers to the map on the wall.
"Here," Mako pointed to a spot on the other side of the bay. Percy brought the map over to where Mako pointed, and with a little adjustment, finally managed to find the correct orientation.
"That must be where the Revelation's happening," Mako stated excitedly.
"That's where we'll find your brother," Korra added, equally as excited.
"Hey, great job man. Thank you," Mako said, extending his hand for Percy to shake.
"No problem."
"C'mon you two," Korra waved, climbing onto Naga's saddle. "Let's go get some disguises.
Getting into the building was easy enough. The trio just showed one of the fliers to the bouncer and they were welcomed inside with open arms.
It gave Percy the idea that this Revelation was just a small gathering of people sympathetic to non-benders. The fact that the location was an abandoned warehouse down by the docks reinforced the idea that this whole Equalist movement was an illegal one to begin with.
Which is why it came as a shock to all three of them to see so many people in attendance.
"I knew a lot of people hated benders," Mako said. "But I've never seen so many in one place."
The entire warehouse was packed full of people, all gathered in front of an illuminated stage at the back of the warehouse. Equalist banners hung from the walls and on the very back wall was an enlarged version of the flier which led them there.
"Maybe Tenzin was right," Percy muttered, just loud enough for Korra and Mako to hear.
"Can't worry about that now," Korra said. "Lets just find Bolin and get out of here."
The three moved from the ramparts above, down into the throngs of people eagerly waiting for this, Revelation, to start.
They got to around the centre of the masses when a bunch of stage lights all turned on at once. The lights pointed directly to the centre of the stage, and an excited voice came over the loudspeaker.
"Please welcome your hero, your savior, Amon!"
A platform opened on the stage. From it, a number of figures arose. The were all garbed in grey overcoats of some kind. Most of them wore some weird bird looking masks with green eyes and a big red circle on the foreheads.
Two other individuals stood out. One, who was in line with the rest of the figures, wore a cowl that obscured the top half of his face, leaving a stern expression and a Fu Manchu noodle moustache for all to see. Other than that, this man also wore shoulder pads, some kind of chest padding that might have been armour, and had two hilts extending up from his back, obviously some kind of weapons.
The last man was easily the most recognisable of them all, and the masses of people seemed to cheer louder once they saw him. He had a grey overcoat with big extending pieces to cover his shoulders. He also wore a hood. His most distinguishable feature, however, was the mask he wore.
Instead of it being avian in appearance, it was just a simple porcelain mask, covering the entire front of his face. It had intricate red and grey designs, which really stood out on the white background of the mask. In the centre of the mask's forehead, was a red circle, just like the ones on the other equalist masks. Holes appeared to be cut out from the eyes, and a mouth was carved into a permanent frown, but with rising flares at the edges, making the mask look like it's both smiling, and frowning at the same time.
It wasn't just a mask. It was a symbol. One that everyone in attendance was familiar with. It was the same symbol on the flier. The same one on the banners plastered all around the warehouse.
This was Amon, the mysterious leader of the Equalist.
The crowd kept cheering for him as he approached the microphone at the edge of the stage. He was looking at everyone, and no one at the same time.
The three benders secretly in attendance couldn't help but feel as though he was watching them. Not just that though, but like he was seeing through them. Seeing who they really were.
"My quest for equality began many years ago," he began in a rough, but soft voice. As soon as he started speaking, the entire crowd went silent, listening in rapt attention. "When I was a boy, my family and I lived on a small farm. We weren't rich, and none of us were benders. This made us very easy targets for the Firebender who extorted my father."
Even from where he was standing, Percy could feel a subtle change in the man – Amon's – body temperature. It was so miniscule that he would have missed it if he weren't focusing so intently on the man as he spoke. In fact, he still nearly missed it. But the more Amon talked, the more Percy could tell.
"He's lying," he whispered, so softly that Korra barely heard it.
"You sure?" she asked, just as quietly.
"50/50," Percy shrugged. "It's hard to tell, but it keeps changing. Not all of what he's saying is true though. That, I think I can guarantee."
All that was said during a small pause in Amon's speech.
"One day," Amon continued, "my father confronted this man. But when he did, the Firebender took my family from me. Then. . . he took my face."
While the crowd was busy gasping in sorrow, Percy just focused further, fully intent on catching every lie spoken by Amon. And he knew that most of what Amon has said so far, hasn't been true.
"I've been forced to hide behind a mask ever since."
Mako and Korra shared a look with each other, before looking at Percy, who just shook his head.
"As you all know, the Avatar has recently returned to Republic city–"
At this, the entire crowd started booing and yelling, making Korra lower her head to avoid being spotted.
"–And if she were here, she would tell you that bending brings balance to the world, just as the many Avatars before her have all said. But she, just like they before her, are wrong."
Beside him, Percy could hear the crunching of Korra's glove as she was squeezing her fist in anger. He grabbed her wrist in warning, despite he himself feeling irked at what Amon just said.
But, that anger didn't hide the fact that Amon, for once in his entire speech, was actually telling the truth. Or at least, what he thought was the truth.
"The only thing bending has brough to the world, is suffering. It has been the cause of every war in every era!" he announced. "But that is about to change."
"Anything?" Korra whispered, wanting to know if Amon was being serious or not.
"Too much going on. Ask me later," Percy whispered back, both of them completely ignoring the questioning look Mako sent their way.
"I know you have been wondering, 'What is the Revelation?' You are about to get your answer."
This had the groups undivided attention.
"Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world. And hey have spoken to me," Amon revealed. And while most of the crowd started whispering quietly to each other about what the spirits had told him, Percy only narrowed his eyes in scrutiny, catching a slight change in the mans body temperature, but not sure how much of what Amon was saying was a lie.
A part of him reasoned that Amon could just have stage fright and is a little nervous about speaking in front of so many, but he immediately squashed that thought. If Amon was brave enough to spew false rhetoric in front of thousands, then there's no way he could have stage fright.
"They say the Avatar has failed humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance," he proclaimed proudly.
By this point, Percy was almost certain that Amon was just full of it. How can someone have failed at something if they haven't even been given the opportunity to try? And the less said about all the spirit malarkey, the better.
"They have granted me a power. A power that will make equality a reality–"
The entire crowd was now on the edges of their feet, all desperate to know what power Amon had, that could balance the world. And, despite not believing a word of what he was saying, the group of benders hidden amongst the crowd couldn't help but dread what Amon was going to reveal next.
"–The power to take a persons bending away. . . Permanently," he ended with a menacing tone.
As if it were rehearsed before hand, the entire crowd gasped in shock and surprise.
Mako and Percy blanched in incredulity. But Korra was frozen in place.
"That's impossible," she gasped. "There's no way, right?" she asked, looking between the two men either side of her.
"This guy's insane," Mako whispered.
They both looked to Percy to gauge his reaction, but he was still staring intently at Amon. He knew that Amon had to be lying. There was no way for some random guy to be able to strip a person of their bending. But he also knew that Amon wasn't lying. His body temperature didn't waver for a second as he revealed his ability. It just made no sense.
"Now, for a demonstration," Amon said, instantly quieting the masses. "Please welcome, 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt, notorious gangster and leader of the triple threat triad."
As he said this, a number of people were brough out onto the stage with their arms bound in rope. One of the men was pushed forward. He had greyed hair and wore an expensive looking jacket. His dress code matched that of a Firebender.
Immediately, the entire crowd started booing at the man who hardly seemed fazed by all the fanfare. In fact, he was just scowling the entire time.
After Zolt, four more men, bound just like Zolt, were brought out and forced to kneel, facing the crowd. The last one to be brought out, was the man Korra and Mako set out to find in the first place.
"There's Bolin!" Mako whisper shouted.
Even from so far away, the group could tell that the celebrity Earthbender was absolutely terrified.
"Let's get him," Korra said, already making her way towards the stage before she was hastily pulled back.
"Wait. We can't fight them all," Percy said, still holding her wrist.
"He's right. We need to be smart about this," Mako agreed.
"Then come up with a game plan, quickly, or else I'm going up there," Korra grumbled, anxious to grab her new teammate and leave as quickly as possible.
It was a sudden burst of fire from the stage that drew the three out of their moment.
While the three were talking, Amon had gone on to explain some of the things this, 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt had done to non-benders, purposely omitting the fact that the gangster never cared whether his victims could bend or not. Something Zolt was sure to point out.
"Hey, hey! I never cared about who could bend and who couldn't. If someone owed me money, I collected, no matter what!" he cried, only for the crowd to boo louder.
Probably in order to save face, Amon chose to free Zolt and let him fight to keep his bending. He instructed the other Equalists not to interfere.
With a confident smirk Zolt unleashed his first blasts of fire directly at Amon, who dodged them all with a degree of agility that none would have expected from the man.
Still, Amon pressed forward towards the gangster, just as he was beginning a kata to charge a bolt of lightning.
Zolt shot his lightning towards Amon, but in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Amon was in front of him, grabbing his wrist to redirect the bolt away from him and the crowd. Flipping the man around, Amon grabbed the back of Zolt's neck, pinching a spot chi-blockers often target in order to immobilize their opponents.
This was no different, and Zolt was frozen in shock. Now on his knees, Zolt was powerless as Amon slowly brought his other hand to Zolt's forehead, holding it in an inverted manner.
For a while, nothing happened. Lightning was still being emitted from Zolt's fingertips, and the entire crowd was silently watching. Then, the crowd collectively gasped as the mans lightning died away, being replaced by a wave of orange fire. Even this didn't last long, as it quickly died out.
When the display of colors subsided, Amon released his hold on Zolt, allowing the man to fall forward on his face.
Amon moved around to get a better look at the man and didn't even flinch as Zolt threw a sloppy punch at Amon. Only, it wasn't meant to be a punch. It was meant to produce a fire ball which should have blasted Amon right off the stage.
But nothing happened, except for Zolt falling over again.
"What. . . What did you do to me?" Zolt cried
"Your Firebending is gone. . . Forever!" Amon announced, leaving the crowed gasping in absolute shock.
Korra, only a moment ago ready to storm the stage and free Bolin, was now frozen as still as a statue, gobsmacked about what she just saw. Mako and Percy shared similar expressions on their faces, momentarily forgetting that they needed to make a plan to free Bolin, quickly.
"The era of bending is over!" Amon proclaimed to the stunned audience. "A new era of equality has begun!" This announcement earned him a raucous applause from the crowd.
One by one, the other bound men were going to be pulled up, freed, and forced to fight for their bending, until they all had their bending stripped away from them.
The first to be brought up was a lanky looking man named, 'Shady Shin', according to Mako.
"Any idea's yet?" Korra asked desperately.
"Maybe one," Percy said. Korra and Mako both looked to him, only to see Percy staring at some pipes along the walls.
"Mako, do you know if there's a release valve for those pipes anywhere nearby?" he said, nodding to the pipes in question.
"Yeah. There should be some release valves every few metres on the pipes."
"Good," Percy said, now looking at Korra. "Korra, if you can find some of those release valves, sabotage them, and bend the steam onto the stage, it'll create enough cover for Mako and I to take out the guards and grab Bolin. Then, we make ourselves scarce."
"Okay, works for me," she said and immediately made her way to a closed door on the wall, but was stopped again, this time by Mako.
"Korra, good luck," he said.
"You too."
With that, they were off.
Mako and Percy started making their way to the front of the crowd, wanting to be as close as possible to the stage when the smoke screen arrived.
They watched as Shady Shin and two other gangsters had their bending taken from them, just as Zolt's had been. Once they got to the front, they could do nothing but wait in growing anticipation.
Percy had an inkling that he should know what was going on, but when he tried to focus his bending around Amon as he took someone's bending, he felt nothing.
"Come on Korra," Mako muttered as he anxiously watched his brother get freed and forced to fight Amon for his bending.
He was about to run up and save his brother, consequences be damned, but Percy roughly grabbing his arm and held him back.
"Wait," he hissed. "If there's still no smokescreen by the time Amon gets to him, then we storm the stage," he assured.
Bolin started to speak, likely to plead that he didn't need to have his bending taken away, when there was an explosion off to the side, causing someone to scream in fright, and a mass panic to ensue. Then, as if having a mind of its own, steam began to amass around the stage, enveloping it in a thick cloud of white.
"C'mon, lets go!" Mako said, already racing towards the stage with Percy hot on his heels.
The stage was quickly consumed by a thick veil of steam. It was nearly impossible for anyone to see anything. Anyone except for Percy that is.
The cloud of steam was just evaporated water. Not proper water, but still very close enough. Percy could always sense everything in the water, from fish to seals, even boats. When he's in the water, he can see everything with absolute clarity.
Now however, with the water in a different state, he could still feel and see everything inside the cloud. It was just a much blurrier image.
Still enough to discern that Amon had fled the stage as soon as the steam enveloped him. Also, enough for him to see Mako throwing the Equalist who grabbed his brother off the stage.
"Bolin, you okay?" he asked once the Equalist was far enough away.
"Yes, Mako! I love you," Bolin exclaimed jovially, reaching out for a hug only to be grabbed and dragged towards the edge of the stage.
If Percy hadn't grabbed Mako as well, they would have run out of the cloud and into the waiting arms of the people who were just moments ago very enthusiastically watching benders have their bending stripped away from them.
"Not that way," Percy said, yanking on Mako's coat and pulling the brothers away towards the side of the warehouse. "Follow me."
"Mako, there's an Equalist capturing us!" Bolin screamed hysterically.
"Calm down Bo," Mako hissed. "He's Korra's friend. He's helping us."
Wordlessly, Percy led the brothers up a couple flights of stairs and ladders, and finally out onto a raised platform outside the warehouse.
Starting with Bolin, the three started climbing down a ladder so they could make their escape.
Just as Percy started his descent, they heard a pattering of footstep from the platform. Expecting it to be Korra, Percy was about to yell out that they were on the ladder. But when he looked up, Korra wasn't there. Instead, it was the uniquely garbed Equalist with the cowl.
"Fu Manchu," Percy gasped.
Mr. Fu Manchu, as Percy decided to call him, was holding two metal batons, which he pulled from his back. With a twirl of the batons, they lit up with electricity.
Percy had brought a waterskin pouch with him to the Revelation and was about to open it up and use it, when Mr. Fu Manchu stabbed his electrified batons into the metal ladder that the three benders were holding onto.
With varying cries of pain, all three benders let go of the ladder and fell to the ground below.
For Mako and Bolin, the electric shock was painful, and they would have stayed crumbled on the floor if Mr. Fu Manchu hadn't jumped down to the ground in pursuit.
For Percy, the electric shock didn't hurt him at all, much to his confusion. However, the surprise of the shock itself caused him to lose his grip on the ladder and fall with the brothers.
Percy was the first back on his feet when Mr. Fu Manchu landed, and immediately uncapped his waterskin and fashioned a water whip.
The whip was enough to push Mr. Fu Manchu back, giving the bending brothers enough time to recover and prepare their own bending attacks.
Mako stepped forward and launched a fireball at Mr. Fu Manchu, who dodged and in two incredible leaps, managed to close enough distance between him and Mako, forcing the Firebender to have to dodge away quickly. Mako, totally unprepared for the onslaught, was knocked down after only a few swipes of the mans stun batons.
Seeing his brother in trouble, Bolin pulled a slab of rock out of the ground and launched it at the Equalist agent. Mr. Fu Manchu proved himself to be incredibly nimble, flipping over all of Bolin's projectiles and steadily making his way towards the two benders left standing.
Fearing the agent would get too close, Bolin made a rock wall in front of him.
Percy, figuring that Mr. Fu Manchu would find a way around the wall, decided to back up so that Bolin and he wouldn't be getting in each other's way.
This proved to be a smart decision, because a split second later, Mr. Fu Manchu came running along the wall, around the earthen barrier, and started attacking Bolin with rapid slashes and stabs with his batons.
Bolin quickly found himself on the backfoot, unable to get away from the rapid onslaught of electricity.
While this was happening, Percy, having been momentarily forgotten by the Equalist agent, noticed a container attached to Mr. Fu Manchu's back, with tubes connecting to a back plate that likely stored the batons when not in use.
Taking a gamble, Percy used the water to slash at the tubes, severing them completely just as Bolin got pressed against his own barrier, with the two batons firmly pressed into his chest.
The Equalist agent managed to electrocute Bolin slightly, but a troubling sound from his pack alerted him to a more pressing danger.
Breaking off his attack early, Mr. Fu Manchu quickly unclasped the pack, and threw it at Percy, who instinctually pulled all the water he could find towards him, hardening it into a temporary shield. Just in time, because the pack exploded right in front of him, winding Percy and sending him flying back into a pipe, which he severely dented upon impact.
Grunting in pain, Percy got up just in time to watch Mako, who managed to recover and ran to his brothers' defence, get thrown at another wall and electrocuted much the same way that his brother was.
Standing triumphantly between the two downed brothers, Mr. Fu Manchu turned to face Percy, who was stood in a loose bending stance. He wasn't quite ready to commit to a bending attack, not when this opponent has proved himself to be adept at closing the distance and getting in close to deliver a wicked knockout blow.
"You benders need to understand," Mr. Fu Manchu spoke for the first time. His voice was monotone and gravely, and he spoke with a sense of determination and certainty that made Percy uneasy about how devoted he was to his cause. "There's no place in the world for you anymore."
"That's not for you to decide," Percy argued firmly, still appalled by the Equalists' apparent agenda.
"Then if not us, who?" Fu Manchu asked as he started to stalk closer to Percy, who by now had shifted into a proper bending stance and was ready, holding a large amount of water in a ball behind him.
Percy, initially wanting to use the water to push Mr. Fu Manchu further back, had to quickly rethink his next move, when a slab of rock jutted out of the ground in front of the Equalist agent, roughly throwing him into the side of the warehouse, and making him drop his batons.
Before he could actually fall back to the ground however, Percy used his water to encase the man in ice against the side of the warehouse.
A little behind Percy, Korra stood in an Earthbending stance, indicating that she was the one who launched Mr. Fu Manchu into the wall.
"Don't count us out just yet," Korra growled.
Mr. Fu Manchu, unable to do anything, just stared at her impassively.
Korra whistled loudly, and Naga came bounding down a service ramp towards them.
Helping the brothers up and hoisting them onto the saddle, the group of four had to beat a hasty exit as more Equalist soldiers started pouring out of the warehouse in pursuit.
Looking back, Percy was expecting them to be hot on their tails but was confused when he saw them just standing there. On a raised platform, he spotted the hooded figure that was Amon, standing silently and motionlessly.
Percy didn't know anything about the man, other than he had some strange ability that allowed him to take a persons bending away. Other than that, he was a gifted liar and manipulator. It's hard for someone to spin a thorough lie like the one Amon had told, and Percy was certain that most of what he said was all just a complete fabrication.
But, despite this, one thing was for sure. Amon absolutely believes that bending is what's wrong with the world. And Percy was certain that Amon would stop at nothing to rid the world of bending once and for all.
After dropping Mako and Bolin safely back at the arena where they lived, something Percy was totally jealous of, the two water tribe teens made their way back to Air Temple Island. It was a solemn journey, with the two just trying to digest what had happened that night.
Percy was going over Amon's speech in his head over and over again, trying to discern what was a lie and what wasn't, but he wasn't having much luck.
Korra felt, and looked like a failure. Ever since she had arrived in Republic city, she had been met with nothing but scorn and hate. She felt like a failure. She came to Republic city to finish her Airbending training, but what had she really accomplished? She joined a Pro Bending team on a whim, got arrested after tearing up a quiet little neighborhood, and now she had to run away from a group of extremists who thought themselves better than everyone else.
For the first time in her life as the Avatar, she truly felt like she didn't deserve to be master of the four elements. She felt like she couldn't maintain the balance that her predecessor fought so hard to establish.
She would be feeling totally alone, were it not for the man sitting next to her on the ferry.
Percy had always followed her through tick and thin. He'd always been there for her, no matter the personal risk. And right now, she felt the safest in the entire city when he was close by, not that she'd ever admit that to anyone.
"Is it true?" she asked miserably.
"Is what true?" Percy started, not expecting the silent atmosphere to be broken.
"Amon," Korra clarified. "What he said. . . Was it true?"
Instead of answering right away, Percy reached over and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. Korra seemed to relish in the close proximity, leaning into the man who, for the longest time, meant everything to her.
"No. There's no way what he said was true," Percy said with conviction.
Instead of perking up proudly like he hoped she would, Korra seemed to slump further into his embrace.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better about what I've failed to do," she said morosely.
"No, I'm not," Percy snapped gently. "Look, you remember, so long ago, when I was first learning how to tell when someone was lying?"
"Mmhm," Korra hummed in affirmative.
"And remember that guy – the crazy old coot we saw one day – saying that penguins were actually agents, sent by the Northern Water Tribe to spy on us?"
"Yeah," Korra laughed. "You believed that penguins were secretly northern spies for two years, and everyone thought you were crazy."
"Right," Percy reminisced. "Look, my point is, that crazy old coot genuinely believed that penguins were northern spies. He thought it was the truth, when everyone else knew it wasn't. I still fell for the lie because it was what he genuinely believed to be true. The same thing happened tonight. Amon can believe whatever he wants, but it doesn't mean it's true."
"But, if they think it's true, then more people will too," Korra mumbled.
"Korra, Amon said a lot of things. Believe me when I say that most of what he said was a lie," Percy reasoned.
"Like what?" Korra asked, now intrigued.
"Like all that stuff about the Firebender. How he lost his family. I'm pretty sure that was all a lie," Percy admitted.
Not much more was said as the ferry docked at the island. It was only when they entered the courtyard did Korra ask her next question.
"What about all that stuff about benders? Are we really what's wrong with the world?"
"You've seen what healers can do, so you know that's not true," Percy pointed out. "But it's like I said: if Amon think's it's true, then I can't tell the difference unless I know otherwise. He's a really good liar, Korra. Don't believe everything he says."
"What about all that spirit stuff he talked about? And that thing he said, about the Avatar–"
"Korra, neither of us know enough about the spirits to know what they think about the world, so lets not open that can of worms until we know more," Percy deflected.
Percy knew that Amon had to be lying about the spirits granting him his accursed ability. But, he also thought he was lying about being able to take away a persons bending, and that turned out to be true. With this in mind, Percy decided to keep this little tidbit of info to himself until he can figure out how Amon is actually stripping away peoples bending. Korra was already pretty shaken up as it is. She didn't need to have to worry about what part the spirits might or might not have in this regard.
"As for all that Avatar BS he went on about, I think that's just something you're going to have to get used to. Not everyone's going to be happy with you as the Avatar. You just have to ignore it and do what you think is best," Percy finished.
"Wise words that every Avatar should be intimately familiar with," said a sagely and relieved voice from behind them.
Turning around, the two were greeted by Tenzin who was looking at Korra in concern, noticing how she was clinging to Percy, as well as the down expression on her face.
"Are you alright, Korra?" he asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"No. I don't think so," Korra admitted.
Behind Tenzin, a number of White Lotus sentries approached the master Airbender, who waved them away to return to their duties.
"We were at an Equalist rally," Korra revealed before Tenzin could ask her anything.
Appropriately, Tenzin was quite surprised to hear that. "You were what?"
Tenzin looked at Percy to be sure. Percy nodded, and said, "We fought an Equalist agent. He was good. He managed to fight three of us at once with no trouble at all. We only escaped when Korra threw him into a wall, but that was only because he didn't see her coming."
"But that's not the worst part," Korra hesitated. "We saw Amon. He can take people's bending away for good."
"That's – That's impossible," Tenzin said disbelievingly. "Only the Avatar has ever had that ability."
"But I saw him do it," Korra insisted.
Tenzin took a moment to look between the teens, gauging their solemn postures, the confused and pensive look in Percy's eyes, and the haunted one in Korra's.
"I believe you." He said finally. "I don't know how Amon has achieved this power. . ." he trailed off, hoping one of the teens in front of him could give him the answer he was hoping for.
"It's too soon to tell. I couldn't get a solid read on the guy, but I don't trust a word he said," Percy answered.
"Well, what did he say at least?"
"He said that the spirits gave him the power. That the spirits were unhappy with me and want him to do something about it," Korra said.
"Why, that's. . . That's preposterous!" Tenzin said hotly.
"Well, true or not, the people believed him," Korra argued. "More than that, they were cheering as he took away four people's bending."
"Four?!" Tenzin gasped.
"Criminals," Percy piped in before Tenzin had a heart attack. "Shady Shin, Lightning Bolt Zolt, a couple henchmen that weren't mentioned by name. We stopped it before Bolin got his bending taken away also."
"Then, on the bright side, no tragic loss to society," Tenzin quipped, managing to make Korra crack a slight smile in spite of the circumstance.
"But now, this means that the Equalists are more dangerous than ever," he said, turning to face the glowing city across the bay. "No bender is safe."
A/N
Big thanks to LaidEffect for helping me finish the chapter, even if it was with a small thing. Without him, I might have put this chapter off for a little while longer.
Sorry this one took so long to get out. I was struggling with how to take this chapter. The other idea I had in mind would have been more interesting, but would have put up a lot of roadblocks later on down the line, and completely derail my loosely and poorly thought out plan for this story.
That, and I lost my muse to write for this story for a while. Instead, I managed to pump out 4 new chapters to my other story, SeaWolf, with another planned out and in the works. Hopefully, writing this chapter ends my writers block for this story so I can get back to writing more of it more regularly.
Fu Manchu is not the guy's actual name. His moustache is called a Fu Manchu, according to google. So, since no one knew the name of the man, Percy has taken to calling him Mr. Fu Manchu. Also, I don't care what his actual name is, cause I might just keep calling him that for shits and giggles.
Guy's, if you have any complaints about the time I take to update my stories, please keep them out of the reviews. Go to the discord linked on my profile page and berate me there. It's really off-putting if I see someone asking for me to update, and really, it just makes me want to postpone the release of the next chapter even longer.
Seriously, go to the discord. I'm active there daily, and you guys can even help me out with my next chapters!
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