This is an idea that I have been entertaining recently. I know that stories with a similar premise have been written so I will try to keep this as original as I can. No plagiarism intended. I do not own either Legend of Korra or Harry Potter. They belong to Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and J.K. Rowling.
-Line Break-
'I hope Xin is all right.' Ryuukhan thought as he neared the Sato Estate. 'I saw smoke from City Hall, so there are at least a few fires burning.'
Looking down he found the place a mess; he could see all the windows had been smashed and black oily smoke was rising from the racing track. Looking to the mansion itself, he could see that the main entrance doors had been blown open and were now just hanging off their hinges. Looking for a landing location, he flew toward the far end of the racing track, skirting past the smoke and choking on a foul, rancid smell. Coming in low, he signaled Hina to extend her talons and they came in at a gallop, slowly but surely decreasing speed until they stopped at the source of the smoke, making them gag and cough.
Dismounting quickly, he grabbed Hina's reins and pulled her away from the smoke, holding one hand over his face to try and filter the air he breathed. Hearing Hina's breathing settled into a slow, steady flow, he figured that they were sufficiently far from the smoke and turned to the source. To his shock he found two or three Satomobiles burning near the entrance to the track, the fire spreading across the ground and onto the fence.
Acting on instinct, he ran toward the fire and extended his hands before pulling them back, drawing the fire away from the burning wood and gasoline. Just as the fire reached him, he waved his hands around, coalescing it into a large fire-ball levitating in mid-air. Breathing deep, his eyes shut tight, he slowly but surely brought his hands together, compressing the fire-ball smaller and smaller until it collapsed into smoke, dissipating into the wind.
Surveying the damage, he realized that the Satomobiles were the worst off, as their roofs had been burned through and all the rubber had melted. The fence was blackened with soot and ash and the wood was burned away, but the metal did not have overt signs of intense or prolonged contact with the fire.
'No warping or melting there.' he realized taking a closer look. 'And the Satomobiles seem to be a fair distance away from the fence. So the fire must not have been burning for too long.'
Pondering this for a moment, he checked for any signs of recent activity or hidden intruders but found nothing. The only tracks were Hina's or his own, and all he could hear was the wind in the trees and insects. He even tried inhaling deep to see if he could smell anything out of the ordinary, but all he could smell was melted rubber and ash.
"Where's Naga when you need her?" he sighed in irritation.
Shrugging his shoulders, he made his way to the gate, taking great care to check for any signs of trouble. Looking out, he found no overt signs of trouble and ran toward the main entrance, using the doors as cover. Hearing no movement or voices, he quickly moved inside, ears sharp and hands raised.
Inside he found the main lounge an absolute mess. The tables were all overturned, while the chairs, flower-pots, and Husuks had all been smashed to pieces. Looking around, he saw the walls and ornate columns were coated in soot and had large gouges cut into them. And strewn all over the floor were papers and bits of wood, metal, and marble. Looking back to the entrance he remembered the doors hanging off their hinges and saw that the floor and nearby walls were almost totally black, with charred footprints leading right to his position.
'Sorry Asami.' he thought sheepishly. Bending down, he grabbed the closest piece of fabric and pulled up one of his boots. Awkwardly balancing himself on one foot, he wiped off the soot as best he could before switching to the other, taking care to avoid stepping or falling onto the debris.
Just as he finished wiping off his boots, he heard glass crunch nearby and immediately stood up…only to get whacked right in the head and fall flat on his back. The dull, throbbing pain in his head was joined by a sharp pain in his hands while stars flashed across his tightly shut eyes. Pulling his hands up he picked up the faint but distinct scent of blood and realized that he must have cut himself on the shards.
"Oh I'm sorry!" a voice cried out, cutting through the pain. Opening his eyes, his vision blurred before coming into focus and revealing a frantic and distraught Xin kneeling beside him. "Are you all right?!"
"I, I think so." he replied, blinking a few times. Raising his hands he found shards of glass had embedded themselves, confirming his suspicions. Pushing onward, he touched his forehead and eyes and found, much to his relief, that nothing had been broken. Pulling his hand back, he found no blood on his fingertips where they had contacted his face, meaning no open wounds there.
"I should be all right Xin." he said, pulling himself up. "Those Tong fighters hit way harder than you did with, whatever you hit me with."
"Yeah, sorry." she replied sheepishly, holding up a skillet. "I thought you were someone else."
"I REALLY gotta get a helmet or something." he said, half-jokingly. "How many times have I been hit on the head?"
"One more time today apparently." a new voice, older, sterner, and all-too familiar, cut in. "Do you require a Healer?"
"Master Tenzin," Ryuukhan replied, seeing the Airbending Master at the door, Korra and Asami nearby. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm all right."
"All the same, you will be seeing a Healer at the end of the day." Tenzin stated, brooking no argument from the young man. "Now Xin, can you tell us what happened here?"
"I'll tell you what I know." she replied. "After the attack started, Asami and I made our way to Dad's office, but we found him being taken away so we hid. We then made our way to the garage but just as I was about to enter the motorbike, I hesitated and got left behind. After that, I hid in a maintenance shed near the race track, waiting and listening."
"A moment later the door opened and a man peered inside," she continued after a short pause. "But he didn't see me so he stormed off. Soon after I heard a crash outside, followed by whooping and laughing, and all I could do was cower inside, hoping they would not look for me."
Shaking slightly, Xin paused to regain control of her composure, breathing deep and humming a chant under her breath. Once she calmed herself, she opened her eyes and continued. "Once everything went quiet, I snuck outside and saw the crashed Satomobile and the burning gate. I decided to head inside to see if the phones still worked, or at least think of a better plan."
"Moving as quietly as I could, I ran inside and made my way into the lobby." she said. "I tried the phones but the lines must have been cut, as they were dead. I tried the phones in the kitchen and was about to head for dad's office, as his phone runs on a separate line for business reasons, when I heard something outside. I snatched a pan from the kitchen and ran into the lobby where I saw someone running towards the front door. I ran into the bathroom and waited for them to enter. Once I saw them enter I snuck towards them and I whacked them in the face once I got the chance."
"And what a whack that was." Ryuukhan said, rubbing his face while Xin looked down in shame. "Not to say that I blame you. I would have done the same. I really should have made my presence known, like calling your name or something."
"Again, I'm so sorry!" Xin squeaked out. "Are you sure you don't need help?"
"Nah, he's good." Korra cut in. "If he can talk, he's all right."
"Well, now that we are all caught up," Tenzin interjected, dusting himself off as he stood. "We need to figure out who we are dealing with, and why they took Mr Sato. We'll start with Mr Sato's work office, see if anything else was taken. Afterwards we'll search the house and the surrounding grounds."
Looking around for a moment, he added "Stay in pairs and keep alert for anything suspicious, threatening, or unusual. If you find or notice anything, report back here. Asami, you and Xin will lead this investigation, while I will remain in the lobby in case we get visitors. If that should occur, ALL of you are to remain hidden until I give the go-ahead."
"What?!" Korra and Ryuukhan yelled out. "You want us to just hide? After everything we've done so far?"
"That's EXACTLY what I am saying." Tenzin replied forcefully, stunning them into silence. "You did well in the last battle, but THAT was when we had support from the police. Here we are alone, with an unknown plot by a clearly powerful and dangerous enemy. I am the most experienced fighter of us all, so I stand the best chance of victory in the event of battle. You, on the other hand, are young, barely older than fourteen."
Just as Ryuukhan and Korra were about to interject, Tenzin raised his hand and added "Moreover, you two have a skill-set that would be far more useful than fighting." much to their surprise.
"And that would be?" Ryuukhan pressed, clearly confused.
"Hunting and tracking." Tenzin answered as a wave of realization washed over the siblings' faces. "Your father mentioned taking you both out on hunting trips, where you had to track down prey and navigate your way back in the wilds of the South Pole. And he said you two caught some rather impressive specimens from snow voles to wolves to ice-hoppers, which would be more useful for a search than throwing kicks and fire-hooks."
Briefly glancing at his sister, Ryuukhan locked eyes and saw in her eyes the same battle raging in his own mind: mounting frustration at being denied a chance for battle, burning anger at being treated like a child, and all of it directed at Tenzin. Had he not already shown his skill? Had he not beat members of the Triads? What did it take for him to prove himself?
Breaking through, however, were Tenzin's words on his and Korra's skill as hunters and realized that he was actually praising them. Snow voles and ice-hoppers were VERY hard to catch; small, only about the size of your hand, experts at hiding, and EXTREMELY rare. They were found only in areas with both high escarpments and volcanic vents, places warm enough to support plant and fungi and protected from the polar wind.
Even if one WERE lucky enough to find such places, catching them was far from easy. Snow voles were masters at burying through the snow, their oily fur repelling the ice and water like a turtle-duck's shell, and their wide furred paws were like oversized shovels. That same fur also made them very sensitive to vibrations in the snow, like Toph's Seismic Sense, so even if you could find them, sneaking up on them was near-impossible.
And ice-hoppers were not any easier. Their bodies were nearly translucent, blending in perfectly with the snow. This also made them nearly impossible to spot unless they were moving, and even then that same translucence made them blend in nearly perfectly with the sky. And they were fast, both on and off the ice.
The first time their father took them to hunt, it was a disaster. He and Korra spent over an hour chasing ice-hoppers, landing face-first into the snow, crashing into one another, and even falling too close to a volcanic vent, burning his backside. Needless to say, it was NOT fun.
The second time was not much better; he ended up with a black eye when Korra accidentally jabbed him without thinking, and he had knocked out one of her teeth when he tried to grab an ice-hopper in flight. On their third time he had a gash in his arm and leg when he skidded across a craggy rock hidden in the ice, and his father needed to use rudimentary healing to stop the bleeding.
But eventually they succeeded; he managed to catch a vole popping out of the snow on his fifth outing while Korra caught an ice-hopper in mid-flight on her fourth. Back home, they found much to their surprise that most hunters rarely caught such prey so early on, not even their father Tonraq, the one who taught them how to hunt.
Bringing his mind back to the present, Ryuukhan realized that Tenzin's words, coming from a man who had never hunted in his life, were indeed high praise.
Breathing deep, he turned back and said "Very well Tenzin.".
"We'll do as you say." Korra added before looking at Asami. "So where is Mr Sato's office?"
"Follow me," Asami replied, making their way to the stairs, taking care to avoid the debris strewn about the lobby. The chairs and table had all been smashed, their legs and arms scattered across the floor, splinters embedded into the torn carpet, curtains, and tapestry, and the upholstery was badly burned, even melted in some cases.
Looking around, Ryuukhan noticed the walls also sported scorch marks, as did the tapestry, and the curtains were either singed or completely torched. Turning to the stairs, he found the steps and banister sported burn marks comparable to the lobby walls.
'They were definitely fired up.' he thought wryly as he took one last look around. Just as he started up the stairs, a glint caught his eye. Turning back, he saw a gem mixed among the splinters, a diamond about the size of his eye. Bending down to take a closer look, he found several gems, including sapphires and emeralds strewn throughout the lobby, some hidden amidst splinters and torn fabric but others out in the open and easy to spot.
'That's odd.' he thought. 'Why would they ignore such gems? Even if Mr Sato was their prey, what hunter forgoes easy pickings? Were they in a hurry? Why smash so much stuff? Why waste time and energy on this?'
"Ryuukhan, is something wrong?" Korra asked, shaking him out of his thoughts.
"No, no sis." he stuttered as he hastily stood up and made his way to the stairs, stumbling a little over the diamond he spotted earlier. "I was just thinking."
"About what?" she asked, leaning on a part of the banister that had somehow not been burned.
"I saw a diamond over there," he began, pointing to the strewn debris. "And when I went to look at it I noticed more gems here and there."
"We can talk jewelry later," she said, cutting him off. "Asami and Xin are waiting and we need to investigate Mr Sato's office."
"Okay sis." he said, falling behind her, irritation clawing up his throat.
As they ascended the stairs Asami smiled and said "Thank goodness nothing happened.".
"I was only away for a minute or two!" he huffed, irritated and annoyed.
"Sorry!" Asami exclaimed, taken aback. "I was just worried about you."
"I know, but there really was no danger," he retorted, shrugging his shoulders. "Tenzin was in the lobby, and you three were up here. Not to mention we've got the Avatar with us."
"Even so," Asami pressed, trying to placate him. "This is dangerous, and we need to stick together. It's not that I don't believe you can handle yourself; I'd just rather not take unnecessary risks."
"All right," he said, slumping forward. "Sorry for worrying you. I just saw something odd down there."
"Saw what?" Xin asked, stepping out from behind Asami. "A clue maybe?"
"Maybe," he replied. "I saw a diamond in the debris, as well as emeralds and sapphires, some out in the open and easy to spot."
"That is strange," Asami said, folding her arms in thought. "Any of our gems would be worth a pretty yuan. To just leave it all after going to this much trouble to break in doesn't make much sense."
"Maybe we'll find additional clues in your father's office?" Korra suggested, shrugging her shoulders.
"Yes, of course!" Asami said and headed down the hall, leading them to a door that hung open, the smell of burnt paper and wood wafting in from inside. As Asami opened the door, Ryuukhan saw that the drawers lining the walls were charred black and emanating gray smoke, the smell of ash and hot metal heavy in the air. In the center he saw Mr Sato's desk had collapsed into a pile of ash and splinters, and off to the side he saw the heavy oak chair lying in a pile of smashed wood and burned fabric.
"Wow, just wow!" Korra remarked, waving the smoke away. "This is intense!"
"Indeed," Xin agreed. "Looks like dad put up quite a fight."
"Funny, I never took him to be a fighter," Ryuukhan said as he took a tentative step inside. "He seemed more like the Mechanic Aang met at the Air Temple."
"He certainly doesn't look the part," Asami replied as she followed, scanning the destroyed office. "But he's actually quite the grappler. Remember those takedown lessons? Dad's been taking them too, and he's much better than I am."
"Really?" Korra exclaimed, taken aback. "Maybe he could teach us a thing or two, after all this is dealt with."
Turning back to the task at hand, they began combing through what was left of the office, Xin and Asami inspecting the drawers while Korra turned to the remnants of the desk and Ryuukhan took the chair. Turning over one large, flat piece he made out a dark patch smeared across one edge of the chair.
'This looks like the back of the chair,' he surmised. Touching the dark patch, it felt cool, moist and sticky beneath his fingers. Pulling his hand back, he found the fingers smeared with the substance, and putting it to his nose he could make out a faint iron-copper smell.
'Blood,' he realized. 'But whose? Mr Sato's? Or someone else's?'
"Ryuukhan, take a look at this." Korra said, breaking him from his thoughts.
"What is it?" he asked, raising his eyes to find her standing behind the ruined desk, holding a set of papers that were surprisingly intact. No scorching. No ash. No heat damage.
"I found a secret drawer in the desk, or what was left of it," Korra replied, turning the papers over in her hand. "It was in the bottom of the left-hand side of the desk, and when I tried to move the splinters, they were underneath."
"Ugh what's this?!" she exclaimed suddenly, shocking everyone. Turning her hand they could see a white powdered substance coating her fingers. Shaking out her hand the substance flew off in a cloud of white mist, which they waved away.
"Whatever it is, those papers are covered in them," Ryuukhan said, pointing to the sheets.
"It's asbestos," Asami explained, joining them near the desk. "It's a crystalline material used for fire-proofing houses and furniture."
"Why would dad have it inside his desk?" Xin asked. "I mean it's not like he habitually has a fire in his office. And his lab is a much better place to test new inventions."
"I…think I know the reason," Asami replied, her tone hesitant and carrying a tone of grief. Turning to her they found she had a pained look on her face and seemed reluctant to continue.
"If you'd rather not," Xin began, but Asami shook her head.
"No it's fine," Asami said, breathing deeply. After a moment, she said "My mother was killed by a Fire-bender."
"Oh I'm so sorry to hear that," Korra said while Ryuukhan and Xin simply stood in shock.
"It happened when I was six," Asami continued, her eyes heavy at the memory. "We were at the table eating dinner when a Fire-bender broke in and tried to rob us. I hid under the table just as a fire-ball came at us. I heard a scream followed by my father yelling, the first time he had ever raised his voice in my life. I saw my mother fall to the floor, a massive burn on her throat."
Pausing for a moment, she shook her head before pressing on.
"She was having trouble breathing, and couldn't speak." she continued, her eyes closed and her jaw tense. "Realizing she needed help I ran out from under the table for the phone, where I saw my father and the Fire-bender wrestling on the floor, fire-balls flying out every now and then. I reached the phone and managed to call the police just before the phone was hit by a fire-ball. I panicked and ran from the room, the last thing I saw was my mother reaching out to me, clutching her throat."
"I ran to my room and hid, trying to block out the sounds," she pressed on, shoulders slumped in shame. "By the time the police arrived my father had subdued the attacker, and my mother was dead, suffocated."
"That's…that's terrible." Ryuukhan said, stunned and horrified. "I had no idea."
"It's all right," she said, smiling weakly. "I mean, it still hurts and I miss her a lot, as does my father. But you had nothing to do with it, and we did catch the Fire-bender, and my dad was all right so…so…"
"Asami," Xin interjected, holding her arm comfortingly. "We'll find Dad. I promise."
"Right, right," Asami said, breathing deep to steady herself. "Back to business. Korra, you said you found some papers?"
"Oh right!" Korra said, hastily looking to the stack in her hand, shaking off the asbestos as best she could. After a moment of quietly staring at the papers, a bewildered look on her face, she tried turning them left and right, trying to make sense of their contents. After turning them upside-down, she smiled sheepishly and said "Maybe you should take a look."
"Okay," Asami said and gently retrieved the stack. Briefly glancing at the stack, her eyes furrowed in confusion before widening in recognition.
"Dad, what were you working on?" she whispered under her breath.
"What? What is it?" Korra asked, clustering close to her.
"Whatever it is you can tell us at the police station." a new voice, hard and sharp as steel cut in. Turning to the door, they found Chief Beifong standing out in the hallway, her stern, gray eyes watching them carefully.
"Chief Beifong!" Asami exclaimed. "When did you get here?"
"Just five minutes ago," she replied. "Tenzin informed me of the situation upon my arrival. My men have cordoned off the mansion as a crime scene and I will start my investigations soon, starting with those papers you are holding Asami."
"Right!" Asami said, quickly relinquishing them to Beifong.
"I also must ask you all to step outside and accompany my men to the police station," Beifong intoned.
"Why us?" Korra asked, confused. "We haven't done anything wrong."
"Actually you have," Beifong answered, raising her eyebrow in irritation. "You have entered a crime scene without police approval or authorization. You have compromised the integrity of the crime scene and possibly removed, altered, or destroyed vital evidence, with or without knowing it."
"But, but, but…" Korra stuttered, indignant at the implication. "But Tenzin told us to look around! He sent us up here to investigate!"
"We'll discuss this at police HQ," Beifong reiterated, eyes locked on Korra, her tone brooking no argument or disagreement.
For a moment, no one dared move, speak, or even breathe as the two stared each other down, Korra's fiery indignation against Beifong's iron discipline. Korra began trembling, her jaw and shoulders tensing as her hands balled into fists as her sides, while Beifong subtly widened her stance and lifted one hand ever so slightly, her eyebrow raised just enough to be noticeable.
Breathing in deep, Ryuukhan gathered his nerve and placed a hand on Korra's shoulder, bringing her attention to him and breaking the standoff. Locking eyes with her, he subtly shook his head while softly massaging her shoulder, helping to dissipate her anger and indignation.
After a moment, Korra turned back to Chief Beifong, her head down, and said "All right Beifong."
Briefly surprised, Beifong resumed her normal demeanor and replied "Thank you very much. Please step outside."
Making their way past Chief Beifong, Korra turned to Ryuukhan and said "Thanks bro. That was very helpful."
"No prob, sis." he replied as Beifong entered the office, leaving them waiting outside.
-Line Break-
'Well that was exhausting,' Korra thought, slumping against the wall while Ryuukhan entered the interrogation office. 'Beifong's being EXTREMELY thorough, even for her. Mine alone took nearly half an hour, maybe longer. And there's still Asami and Xin to go through, along with Ryuukhan.'
Just then her stomach growled loud and low, a strong reminder that she had not eaten since breakfast. Reluctantly, she pulled herself off the wall and made her way to the main lobby, hoping to find something to eat or run into someone who could help. But just as she reached the lobby, she found the staff frantically working or bustling about, the events of the day clearly working them into a frenzy.
Trying to find a way through the room, Korra tried navigating along the sides, but found herself buffeted on all sides by the frenzied staff. Thinking quickly, she began weaving around the bustling workers, turning sharply to avoid incoming people. Seeing someone carrying a large box, she quickly piroquetted to the side, only to come face to face with a police officer about to collide but instinctively she twisted on her heel, spinning around him much to his incredulity.
Just as she spun around the officer she saw two workers carrying a long case between them. Seeing no way to move around them, she bent backwards as they raised the case above her, her back nearly parallel to the ground. Before she could right herself, she saw another worker frantically moving toward her far too quickly to stop or swerve in time. Without missing a beat, she leaned backward into a handstand just before lowering onto her arms and launching herself into the air. Soon after, she flipped overhead and landed on her feet before quickly making her way to the sides, ending up right outside the corridor leading to the prison cell. For a moment the crowd stood frozen in surprise and awe at her performance before resuming their hustle at the sound of the clock chiming the hour, the lobby becoming a mass of frenzied workers yet again.
Seeing no way through the crowd, Korra shrugged her shoulders and made her way to a vacant spot on the wall to wait out the frenzy.
'Can't believe I actually did all that,' she mused. 'Guess those Airbending lessons ARE sinking in after all.'
"Oh hey Korra!" a voice called out, a rather familiar voice. Turning she saw Bolin smiling and waving at her. "What's up?"
"Not much," she replied, shuffling a little to give him room. "How about you?"
"Oh, I just got back from training." he replied, leaning next to her. "Mako and I have been working extra hard in that program. The chief even said that we might be deployed soon."
"That's great!" Korra exclaimed, smiling widely. "So you two will soon be free and clear?"
"Well, technically yes," he said, much to her confusion. "Sure, Mako and I are not technically prisoners anymore, but we're still under police custody, and if we step out of line we'll be right back in the slammer. Give us another few months and we'll be free as birds. We're thinking of joining the police full-time, but that's still to be determined."
"Uh-huh," Korra said, clearly confused as she tried to mull it over.
"Think of it like an apprenticeship," Bolin said. "You're learning under a master but at a price. Does that help?"
"I think so," she said, lips pursing in thought. "Still, an apprentice can leave while you cannot."
"Anyway," he said, waving it aside. "I heard that Mr Sato's gone missing."
"Yeah he has!" she exclaimed, looking him in the eye. "Asami, Xin, Ryuukhan and I had a little investigation at the Sato Estate, but we didn't really find anything that could help us find him."
"Well what did you find?" he asked. "I mean if you can't talk about it that's fine."
"Sorry, Beifong said it's police business," Korra shrugged, eyes narrowed in thought. "She was VERY strict on that one. Although technically you are under police custody so…"
"Oh yeah!" Bolin exclaimed, smiling excitedly. "You can tell me! So what did you find?"
"Well we found some papers," Korra began, Bolin raising an eyebrow in confusion. "They were in a secret compartment in Mr Sato's desk, which had been totally trashed. They had a drawing of some kind and a lot of numbers but I couldn't make sense of them. Asami seemed to know, but I never got the answer. She's going to be interrogated after Ryuukhan."
"Given Mr Sato's an inventor and an engineer," Bolin mused, eyes raised to the ceiling. "I'd bet it's some cool new invention."
Then, suddenly, Bolin slammed his fist into his hand with a shout of "Ah-ha! I bet that's why Mr Sato was taken! His kidnappers were looking for that new invention! They burst in, trashed his office trying to find it, he walked in, and they took him!"
"Yeah, yeah that makes sense!" Korra said, joining in the excitement. "Who better to teach them about the invention than the inventor himself?"
"And not only do they get the invention!" Bolin added, grinning widely. "They get a hostage for ransom, and their own personal inventor! Imagine what other cool inventions they could get out of him!"
"I bet they could get a few million at the very least!" Korra exclaimed, eyes alight and smiling wide before grabbing him by the arms. "What could it be?!"
"What could what be?" he asked, his enthusiasm giving way to confusion.
"The invention!" Korra replied, impatiently shaking him. "What could they be after?"
"I, I have no idea." Bolin sheepishly answered. "I don't even know who 'they' could be."
"Well you must have some idea." Korra pressed, leaning in close.
"I can think of a few people," Bolin stammered. "The Triads of course. But there's also rival companies, like Cabbage Corp, their main competitor. There's also Taihokora, Zukai Inc, and Yuching Tech. They were some of the big companies before Mr Sato came along with his Satomobile."
"And they would kidnap him?" Korra asked, incredulous.
"Since when did you two hook up?" a voice cut in, drawing their attention. Nearby they saw Mako standing there, arms folded and a hint of an amused smile tugging at his lips. Turning back to each other they found themselves standing a little too close to each other, Korra pressing up close to Bolin, pinning his arms to the wall, their faces barely an inch from each other.
"Mako! This isn't what it looks like!" they yelled out together, blushing madly when they realized their timing. Trying to get some distance, Korra jumped back too quickly and fell onto her backside while Bolin pulled himself off the wall and raced to help her up.
"So what were you two talking about?" Mako asked as Korra brushed herself off.
"We were talking about Mr Sato's disappearance." she replied.
"And what would you know about it?" he asked, eyes locked on her.
"I did a little investigation at the Sato Estate," she answered, chest out and arms crossed. "Found a series of papers in a wrecked desk, some kind of schematic for a new invention, or Asami seems to think so."
"You do know that civilians are not allowed access to crime scenes," Mako said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah, Beifong gave me QUITE the lecture," Korra replied, rolling her eyes before shrugging her shoulders. "But Tenzin told me and the others to look around, so what was I to do? Disobey a direct order from a Republic City Councilor?"
"You should have waited for the police to investigate!" Mako sharply retorted, startling her. "You could have contaminated or destroyed evidence by accident. Or obscured vital clues without meaning to. And Tenzin had no authority over this investigation, so that's no excuse for your actions."
"Listen here bud…" Korra began, rage bubbling within her as she took a step forward, ready to give the Fire-bender a piece of her mind.
"What else did you find?" Bolin quickly asked, cutting them off from their confrontation. As they turned to face him, he glanced down briefly, looking a little abashed before continuing on. "Did you find anything else? Anything might be helpful, even the smallest details."
Briefly Korra glanced upward, her eyes furrowed in thought, before she replied "Not so much what we found, but rather what we noticed."
Seeing their confused looks, she continued "We saw a lot of gems scattered about the ruined upholstery and broken furniture. Apparently the kidnappers just left them behind, but why? Those gems looked quite valuable, and they had enough time to utterly trash his desk. So why were the gems left behind?"
"That is rather odd." Mako admitted, crossing his arms. "That would imply a high degree of planning, discipline, and organization."
"You think it's the Triads?" Korra asked. "They are organized criminals after all."
"Yes but not like this," Mako replied, much to her confusion. "The Triads use hierarchies to organize themselves into small cells and rigidly enforce certain rules among themselves, but when it comes to their victims they're free to do basically whatever they want. This sounds more like a military operation. Too disciplined for the Triads."
"So this is a new player?" Bolin asked, making them pause in their ponderings. "A new faction in the underworld?"
"Possibly," Mako conceded, leaning back against the wall. "Or perhaps the Triads have learned a few new tricks. Or they've picked up new members and started changing things."
"Too many unknowns!" Korra yelled, throwing her fists at her side and snapping her head up to the ceiling. "Guessing and theorizing won't do us much good! How do we get more information?!"
After a brief moment of thought, Mako said "I've got some contacts in the underworld. I could ask around, try to get a few leads. It'll take time but it's something."
"You think our affiliation with the police will be a problem?" Bolin asked.
"I think we can work around it." Mako replied, waving away Bolin's concerns. "Money is money after all. And if we got it Skoochy will want some."
"Who's Skoochy?" Korra asked.
"He's an old acquaintance of ours." Mako said, shaking his head slightly. "If anything's going on in the underworld he'll know, or at least he'll know who to investigate."
"So how do we find Skoochy?" Korra asked.
"Leave that to us," Mako said. "We know Skoochy far better than you do, and he's not exactly a law-abiding citizen. But first we need to talk to Chief Beifong; get her approval for this fact-finding mission."
"And what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" Korra asked, only to crumble inward as a sharp pain shot from her abdomen, followed by a long, low growl.
"Hungry?" Bolin asked, to which Korra could only nod vigorously. "How about we discuss it over a rather late lunch?"
"But Ryuukhan…" Korra began, her mind racing toward her brother and the others. "He, Asami, and Xin still have to undergo Beifong's interrogations."
"No worries," Bolin replied. "I know a little shop that sells quick food. Not the best, but fast, filling, and good value for the price. We can buy a speedy platter, bring it back and split it when they come."
After mulling it over for a moment, Korra shrugged and said "I guess that works. Lead the way."
-Line Break-
As the morning sun broke over the horizon, Ryuukhan followed his sister and Naga to the ferry, his face obscured by a hooded jacket and his eyes covered by his bangs. Meanwhile, Korra had traded her signature water-blue vest and tan pants for a burgundy jacket and black skirt she borrowed from Asami, while Naga had been clad in a dark red and black blanket and her face had been covered by dark paint.
"Any questions?" Korra asked as the ferry pulled in.
"Yeah," he replied, eyeing side to side. "Is this REALLY a good idea?"
"Didn't we talk about this last night?" she asked, eyes raised in exasperation. "We agreed that it would be best to do our own searching into this matter. The larger the hunting party, the higher the chance of success. And who are the best hunters in Republic City if not the three of us?"
"But aren't hunters supposed to work together?" he countered. "I don't remember any of our hunting trips featuring surprise appearances from other parties. And Mako said to leave Skoochy to them."
"True, but he never said anything about other leads," Korra replied, smiling slightly. "We're just going to look around, see if we can pick up any leads, and report them to the police. And I did say that we would help any way we could, just not exactly HOW."
"Chief Beifong's not going to like this," he muttered as the ferry pulled into the station.
"What else is new?" Korra shrugged as they embarked onto the ferry, making sure to keep themselves innocuous.
"By the way, why are we wearing this getup?" he asked, pointing to his clothes and Naga's face-paint.
"Well Mako said that we're too well-known," Korra answered. "So if we wear something different we have a better shot of getting info. And Naga's too easily spotted as she is, but with this blanket and paint she'll look like a Shirshu from a distance. And on a mission like this we could definitely use her nose, and if nothing else she's strong."
"So anyway," she said, changing the conversation. "When we get to port, we'll first head for the Industrial Sector, where Future's Industries factories are located, and see what we can find there. After that, we'll try the docks and restaurants to get a feel for any gossip or rumors floating around. And if none of that works, well Naga's nose might pick up something our ears can't."
"I got a bad feeling about this," he muttered as the ferry pulled into port.
Disembarking, they made their way towards the train station, sticking close to Naga to avoid getting separated. Upon their arrival, they mounted Naga and they began running toward the south, bobbing through the crowd as the passersby frantically tried to keep out of the polar bear dog's way, the riders yelling out "Thanks!" and "Sorry" as they ran.
'Feels like old times,' Ryuukhan thought, smiling as they crossed the bridge. 'Riding on Naga with my sister at sunrise, the wind in my hair, the smell of the sea in the air.'
Much to his disappointment, however, they soon crossed the bridge into the Industrial Sector, a far more grimy and depressing looking part of the city. The buildings were almost entirely made of steel and brick, and reached high into the air, casting dark shadows in the streets and alleyways. The walls were covered in soot and graffiti, while overturned and overflowing trash bins left garbage rolling and tumbling about in the streets while homeless people begged for money or tried to sell trinkets to passersby. Nearby, he could hear elephant-rats skittering in the darkness, and the salty sea breeze was replaced by the stench of oil, smog, and, much to his disgust, garbage and urine.
The change in scent did not sit well with Naga, as the polar bear dog abruptly stopped, the sudden change in momentum threw Korra off the saddle and Ryuukhan slumped over, smacking his head and rattling his teeth. Meanwhile Naga, not used to the foul smells, whimpered, sinking to the ground and covering her nose with her massive paws in an attempt to halt the assault on her nose.
"I know Naga, I know," Korra whispered, leaning in close and massaging behind her ears. "It's not fun, but we won't be here for long I promise."
Ryuukhan winced in sympathy just as Korra turned to him and asked "You got it?"
"Yeah sis," he replied, reaching into the bag attached to Naga's saddle. Fiddling about for a moment, he pulled out an article of clothing and said "Here it is."
"Thanks," she said, smiling, before taking it and holding it in front of Naga's nose. "This is Mr Sato's tie. Can you pick up his scent?"
Recognizing her request, Naga lifted her head and sniffed the tie, inhaling deeply to capture Mr Sato's scent, and perhaps to comfort herself in Korra's reassuring smell. Soon, Naga rose to her feet and began sniffing the air, taking deep breaths only to nearly keel over under the onslaught of the industrial stench. This time however, Naga remained standing and persevered, wandering left and right, inhaling deep to try and catch a whiff of Mr Sato.
After a few minutes of wandering, Naga stopped and hunched her shoulders, staring toward a large building to their left. Nodding to each other, the siblings mounted Naga and began trotting toward the building, their mount coughing and hacking from the stench. But just as they were to turn a corner, Naga stopped and widened her stance, her shoulders hunched and her fur on edge.
'That's not good.' Ryuukhan thought, as a low growl emanated from Naga. Listening hard they heard people whispering nearby. Dismounting from Naga, Ryuukhan crept slowly toward a darkened building, the whispering growly louder and clearer. Waving Korra back, he pressed his ear to a boarded-up window and listened as hard as he could.
"...preparations…"
"...he's nearly done…"
"Brothers…"
"...the old hag."
"...Grand Entrance…"
"The Revolution…!"
'Grand Entrance? Revolution?' Ryuukhan thought, trying to lean in closer to hear more clearly. But then he scrambled away toward Naga as he picked up the sound of footfalls. Mounting upon her, he whispered "Go! Go!" and they ran off, turning the corner just as he heard the door open, the hinges squeaking softly but distinctly in the quiet alleyway.
The siblings huddled behind the corner, trying to listen in but whoever had just come out was as silent as the grave. For a long, tortuous moment, the world seemed to freeze, with Korra, Ryuukhan, and Naga listening for the slightest sound, but they only had their heart-beats for company. Muscles tensing, Ryuukhan clenched his fists while Korra tightened her grip on Naga's reins, the polar bear dog widening her stance and narrowing her eyes.
"Oi, what are you two doing?!" a rough, loud voice called out, scaring them out of their wits. Ryuukhan, primed for a fight, spun around and launched a fire-ball at the source of the voice. Seeing the person fall to the ground, Ryuukhan raced forward, but felt the air rush from his stomach as a heavy booted foot slammed into his gut and sent him flying backward.
As he landed hard on the ground, he saw Korra running forward with a fire-ball of her own, forcing the intruder to the ground before stamping the earth with her foot, sending an earthen pillar shooting upward under and careening them into the air. Just as they reached the zenith, Korra raced forward and grappled with them, pinning them to the ground while Ryuukhan scrambled back to his feet.
"Sis, wait!" he called out as he ran forward to her side and got a good look over their temporary foe. He had a heavy-set face with prominent stubble and messy black hair, and underneath his green vest and brown vest was a strong, muscular build. Despite Korra's vice-like grip on his throat and right arm, he steadfastly refused to quit, trying to punch her with his left arm or loop his legs over her.
"What?!" she asked, struggling to keep her hold on the man.
"We've got company," he said, pointing to a growing crowd of men dressed similarly to their downed prisoner, clearly shocked and confused at the scene. Some seemed to find the whole thing rather humorous, given the small smiles creeping across their faces. Others seemed to be enraged at the treatment their co-worker was enduring. But most seemed to be simply trying to process how two kids could get the better of a much larger and stronger man decades their elder.
"What should we do?" he asked Korra, looking back and forth between his sister and the crowd gathering around them.
"We…" she began, but trailed off, looking in all directions, trying to think of a solution. Eventually she released her grip and slowly backed off, her hands raised to signal she was not a threat.
"We thought he was a threat," she said, loudly and clearly, keeping her hands up. "He came up from behind and we reacted without thinking."
"Clearly he wasn't thinking either," one man yelled out, eliciting laughter from the crowd.
"Yeah, pretty typical of him," another said, much to the embarrassment of their co-worker, his face reddening as he pulled himself up while the crowd laughed and jeered.
"All right you lugs!" a third yelled out, cutting off their laughter. "Fun's fun, but we've got work to do. Time's a wastin' and time's Yuans. So move it!"
With these words, the men quickly headed off, jostling around as they tried to navigate a few dozen co-workers all at once. A few though, were notably slower to respond, glaring at the siblings, eyes filled with anger and resentment, and muttering under their breath. Despite the distance between them Ryuukhan could make out a few words.
"Arrogant…".
"Pushy…"
"Hoodlums…"
"Koh-faced Benders…"
"Hey you hear me?! Get to work!" the foreman yelled out, finally getting them to, very reluctantly, move on.
"Well that was fun," Ryuukhan said, looking up at Korra.
"Yeah, but now we gotta get going," she replied, turning to Naga with the tie. "Can you regain the scent?"
Sniffing the tie, Naga briefly circled before pointing toward the large building that the crowd were approaching. Looking at each other, the siblings simply shrugged and followed the men toward it. As they neared the structure they could see that it was a brick warehouse, with a long line of windows and a large double-door entrance with some sort of emblem hanging overhead. Filled with curiosity and excitement, they raced ahead, eager to see what the emblem was, only to skitter to a halt as they approached the door and realized what it was.
It was a large circle with a jagged half-circle, reminiscent of a gear, covering through the lower half while two bolts like lightning radiating out toward the upper half like eyebrows, an emblem they had seen all too often recently.
"The Future Industries emblem," Korra sighed as Ryuukhan face-palmed. "Naga…"
"No wonder she smelled him here," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Come on girl," Korra said, holding out the tie once more. "Try again."
Inhaling deeply for a moment, Naga began sniffing the air, circling around them, sometimes pressing her nose against the ground, trying to pick up Mr Sato's scent. After a few go-arounds, she stood, ram-rod straight, and pointed once more at the Future Industries' warehouse.
"Are you sure?" Korra pressed, trying to pull her in a different direction but Naga would not budge.
"Let's try this one more time," Korra said, but after another moment of circling, Naga pointed once more at the warehouse.
"Clearly she can only smell him here," Korra said, sighing in exasperation. "No surprise, given this is one of his company's warehouses."
"It must be an old scent," Ryuukhan dismissed. "I mean it's not like he was here yesterday. "
"Why not?" Korra asked, giving him pause. "We don't know exactly who kidnapped him and why. So they might have brought him here to find something, like that invention Asami mentioned."
"Could he have escaped?" he proposed. "Give them the slip or something?"
"If so, why hasn't he gone to Beifong?" she countered. "Why sulk about in the Industrial Sector instead of alerting the police? Or at least inform his daughters that he's safe?"
"Maybe he's on the run?" he shrugged, clearly running low on ideas.
"In any case, let's check it out," she said and began walking toward the warehouse, only for two large men to intercept her progress.
"And what do you think you are doing?" they asked, firmly holding position.
"I just need to take a look around," she replied, shrugging as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And why is that?" they asked, eyes boring into her.
"Naga thinks Mr Sato has been here so I'm going to check it out," she answered, folding her arms behind her back.
"Who is Naga and what makes him such an expert?" they asked, eyebrows cocked in confusion.
"Naga's right here," Korra said, cocking her head toward the polar bear dog, smirking as their eyes widened in shock. "And HER nose is very keen."
Just as the men turned to each other, Ryuukhan noticed Korra's shoulders shifting slightly before seeing her hands flash behind her back. Looking closely he saw her chop her hand sideways before waving it across toward Naga and pointing toward the warehouse. After repeating the motions a few times, he recognized them for the hunting signals their father had taught them.
Briefly glancing at the two men, he was relieved to find them arguing with Korra, giving him the chance he needed to slip away. Skirting past Naga, he moved as quietly as possible toward the warehouse, slipping behind the corner and taking note of his surroundings as the argument continued on nearby.
'I don't think they noticed me,' he thought, sighing with relief. 'Now to get inside.'
To his disappointment he found the large windows were closed and presumably locked, so he made his way down toward the far end of the warehouse, all the while peeking in for anything out of the ordinary. Through the windows he saw the workers going about their work, vacuuming the cabins, washing the windows, and inspecting the engines, tires, and undersides of the Satomobiles. If they were close enough, he could hear the clicking of a ratchet or the squeaking of the windows being washed, though most of the time all he could hear was the roar of the vacuums. Nearing the end of the warehouse, he found a set of double-doors like those in the front, but here there were over a dozen workers milling about, loading Satomobiles into large delivery trucks for sale.
'Good luck getting in that way,' he thought ruefully, looking for another entrance. Looking up, he saw a ladder leading up to a door on the second floor. Taking one glance at the men at the front, he began climbing the ladder, taking care to move as quietly as possible, his ears straining to pick up any sound from below or above him.
Crossing the top of the ladder, he quickly scanned for anyone nearby before scrambling up and over onto the platform. Looking down, he sighed with relief as the workers were still busy loading the Satomobiles into the trucks, evidently not having heard or noticed him. Turning around, he found himself standing on a balcony looking out over the area, with a door leading into the warehouse. Leaning in close, he gagged suddenly as a foul odor, like rotten eggs only worse, leaked through the cracks, forcing him back. Holding his nose, he tried the latch and was surprised to find that it was unlocked.
'Okay,' he thought as he cautiously opened the door. Inside he found an office, much like Mr Sato's back at the estate. There was a hard-wood desk with cabinets all along the back wall, and an armchair pushed into the space. Across he could see the door leading out of the office to the rest of the warehouse, and along the walls he saw a large chalkboard fitted in-between large windows offering a wide overshot view of the warehouse floor.
'Interesting,' he thought, examining the blackboard. 'There's a fresh layer of chalk dust on it, indicating that someone recently erased it. So what was on it? Who erased it? And who wrote it?'
Turning back to the desk, he rummaged through the drawers, hoping to find some clue but alas found nothing within. Tapping the drawers, he heard a few hollow sounds, indicating false bottoms. Taking his knife, he managed to insert the point between the plate and the wall, prying it up, but to his dismay he found the bottom was empty. Turning to the others, he found the same thing, adding to his frustration.
'Who's doing this?!' he thought, angrily kicking the desk leg and sending a loud bang through the office. Anger giving way to panic, he looked to the door and listened hard, hoping that no one noticed his unexpectedly loud outburst, only to feel his blood run cold as he heard footfalls approaching.
'Koh!' he swore internally as he ducked under the desk just as the door opened. Underneath, he could make out two sets of boots, brown but polished, and one set of high heels, black and shiny. His panic mounted as they approached the desk, his hand clutching his knife tightly as his muscles tensed, ready to attack. They circled the desk, slowly, tapping the woodwork here and there, and speaking to one another.
"Didn't that bang originate from here?" one said, a man by the pitch.
"Nobody here now," a second, another man, younger perhaps.
"No matter, we have other matters to attend to," a third voice, higher-pitch, like a woman's, with a slight rasp. "Is everything set?"
"Yeah, we just need the spark." the second voice replied.
'Spark?' Ryuukhan wondered, mulling over their words as they stopped just behind the chair.
"Excellent!" the woman said, the excitement racketing up the rasp.
"But there's one thing I'm concerned about," the older man interjected. "The Avatar. She's young, hot-headed, and deeply naive given her arrival in Republic City. Stowing aboard a cargo vessel of all things. But she's still the Avatar."
"We knew we would have to deal with her sooner or later," the woman shrugged off. "Just follow the plan and he'll take care of her."
'Him?' Ryuukhan thought. 'Who are they talking about?'
But before he could mull it over further, the younger man cut in "We'd better get going. They're due to arrive soon and I don't want to be in the vicinity when that happens."
"Yes you're right." the woman answered, and with that they departed, much to Ryuukhan's relief.
Seeing the door shut behind them, he turned back to the desk leg he had kicked and gently tapped it. Hearing another hollow sound, he poked and prodded around until he pressed down and heard a click in response. Jiggling around he felt the piece peel away and he found himself looking into a hidden compartment in the desk leg. Looking inside, he found a single piece of parchment rolled up. Grabbing it, he unrolled and found himself staring into a blank sheet. Turning it over, he felt his anger grow and grow as the parchment crumbled in his fist.
'Koh!' he swore again, wisely containing his physical reactions as he clambered out from under the desk, trembling in frustration and dismay. To calm himself, he tried breathing deep, only to violently gag and cough as the stench filled his nostrils, falling to his knees as he tried to breathe clearly again.
Just then, he heard a screeching sound from outside, like tires braking hard, followed by shouts of confusion and anger. A few seconds later he heard a brief but distinct popping sound, and all of a sudden he felt himself slam backward into the desk as flames erupted in front of him. Falling to the floor, he watched as the fire engulfed the office, leaping with almost preternatural speed, like the air itself was burning.
'The smell!' he realized as he swept his arms around him, centering himself in a vortex of flame. 'Natural gas! Like Sokka and the Mechanic came up with! Idiot!'
Suddenly he heard the popping sound again, and this time the floor leapt up, throwing him off-balance and sending him careening into the wall. Just as he regained his bearings he saw the floor give way under the desk, opening into a massive hole that sent the furniture tumbling down while men screamed in shock, fear, and pain.
Meanwhile the fire continued to spread further and faster, forcing him back along the wall. Desperately he tried to extinguish the fire, or at least slow its progress, but found his efforts futile. Racking his brain for what to do, he remembered the Fire-bending lessons under Sifu Ruzu.
"Fire is life, and life comes from the breath." she said. "To control fire you must control your breath."
Breathing deep to calm himself, he pulled his hands down as he bowed, as though beckoning the fire to ebb away. To his dismay the fire raged, the crackling almost sounding like mocking laughter to him. Inhaling deeply, he tried again, and again, and again, but to no avail. The fire was just too large, had too much fuel, and he was too energetic to control it.
Just as he was to try again, he heard a creaking groan from above, and instinctively he flung himself to the side. Soon after he found the roof had collapsed right above his head, the metal beams being melted by the high heat and giving way under the weight.
'Time to go!' he realized and he ran toward the door. Grabbing the handle, he pulled but the door refused to budge. Pulling with all his might, he propped a leg against the frame, but to no avail. Releasing the handle, he stepped back and kicked with all his might, denting the door but he stumbled back from the recoil. Just as he was regaining his balance, he felt the floor give way and he found himself in free-fall as burning pieces of the floor accompanied him.
Instinctively, he bent his knees and leaned forward just as he made contact with the concrete, rolling out mere seconds before the rest of the office materials could crush him under their weight. Looking around he saw the burning hulks of Satomobiles as men dashed everywhere like pig-chickens with their heads cut off, trying to save their co-workers or whatever objects they felt important enough to preserve.
Spotting the large double-doors near the end he immediately ran toward them, only for a large piece of the ceiling to collapse, blocking off his escape and crushing a set of men running for safety, their legs twitching from beneath the burning wreckage in a macabre mockery of life before falling still.
Turning, he ran toward the other set of doors, keeping just one pace ahead of the ceiling that seemed determined to crush him for escaping yet again, the creaks and groans from above sounding like a wounded, angry beast. Running across a worker frozen in shock, he grabbed the man's hand as he piroqueted on one foot, dragging him away just as a large beam nearly impaled them. Turning briefly, he slapped the worker hard across the cheek, yelling "Get moving!". To his relief, the worker seemed to snap back and they began running together, Ryuukhan pulling ahead.
As they ran, Ryuukhan saw more and more workers flock around them, desperate to escape the warehouse now wholly engulfed in flames, the air filled with acrid smoke and the stink of burning rubber, oil, and flesh. Behind him, he could hear the ragged panting breath of the workers as they struggled to keep up, and above he could hear the ceiling creak and groan ever louder and louder, eclipsing even the omnipresent crackle of the fire itself. Every now and then, a Satomobile would collapse or even explode, causing him and his fellow runners to stumble, skidding across the concrete floor as the smoke thickened all around them.
'Keep going!' he urged as he hauled himself to his feet and began running once again. 'I can see the exit!'
Just then, he heard a groan from above and jumped to the left, only just missing a large beam crushing him, and saving his fellow runners as they followed suit. Suddenly, he felt sharp, hot pain shoot under his left eye, like someone had just stabbed him with a flaming knife. Bringing his hand up to his cheek he found a shard of glass embedded in his flesh.
'That nearly took out my eye!' he realized with some horror, only to be cut short by a loud groan of tortured metal. Looking out he saw that the ceiling had collapsed, the metal beams having given way under the weight of the roof as the heat warped and weakened them. Seeing their only means of escape cut off, many of the workers began panicking or simply fell to their knees in despair.
'Not yet!' Ryuukhan grimaced, pain shooting through his aggravated wound. 'We're NOT going to die here! Where'd this glass come from?!'
Looking around frantically, he found one of the large windows had a long crack running down from where a large object had struck it higher up. From the appearance, it seemed like a sharp, heavy object had impacted the glass but had failed to penetrate and slid down, gouging the glass as it went. Nearby was the beam that he had to dodge to avoid, bent from the weight it had to hold and warped from the intense fire.
Gritting his teeth, Ryuukhan rushed toward the beam and grabbed it, only to find it red-hot and released it immediately. Checking over the wall he found it to be steel sheets and iron beams, and the crack in the window was too high for him to reach. Seeing the concrete floor was his only chance, he stomped the ground before lifting his arms, buckling the ground underneath and lifting him upwards by a single foot. Stomping again and again, he slowly lifted himself up toward the cracked glass. Having barely made it to the crack, he focused on his anger and drive to escape, encasing his fist in fire and began hammering away at the window.
The glass shuddered under the impact, but ultimately held while pain shot up through his arm. Gritting his teeth, he punched again, and again, and again. On and on, he punched, the pain mounting in his hand and wrist, while underneath he felt his support giving way as his Earth-bending began to slip. But still he did not relent, breathing in and out, timing his punches to match his breath to maximize the fire.
Then suddenly he yelled out in pain, as he felt the bones in his hand break under the relentless pummeling, as well as sharp blades slice into his arm. Opening one eye in spite of the intense pain, he saw that he had managed to break the glass, knocking out one of the panes just enough to allow him and the others to escape.
Falling back to the floor, he stomped the ground, reinforcing his earthen ramp and beckoned his fellow survivors to escape. Seeing their chance, many quickly scrambled up the ramp, pushing and shoving Ryuukhan out of the way in their bid to escape. Despite their behavior, Ryuukhan felt himself smile at the thought of them making it out alive.
Seeing the last one about to escape, Ryuukhan moved to follow him, only to collapse as his vision blurred and a wave of vertigo washed over him. Looking at his arm, he found it riddled with glass shards and copious amounts of blood flowed through the wounds. Realizing he was losing too much blood, he tried to haul himself up and out the window but his legs gave out and he fell back, rolling back into the warehouse as his vision blacked out, the last thing he saw was a shadow falling over him.
-Line Break-
"Let me through!" Korra yelled, pushing the last of the men out as she tried to clamber up the ramp she created to help them escape. "Let me through!"
"Lady, are you crazy?!" one of them yelled, falling into a coughing fit as his lungs cleared. "The whole place is about to come down!"
"I need to get inside!" she screamed, picking him up and holding him by the neck. "My brother's in there!"
"Your brother?!" he asked incredulously as his feet dangled beneath him. "What's your brother doing in there?!"
"Does it matter?" she retorted, bringing him close. "I need to find him. Now where is he?!"
"I…I think he fell back after punching the window." he stuttered, clearly scared of this young teenage girl. "Punched it through, like I'd never seen. That's reinforced glass. It's supposed to be stronger and tougher than regular glass, almost like metal."
"Fell…back?!" she repeated, not liking the sound of it.
"Yeah, but we were all in a hurry to escape." he admitted, ashamed. "We really should have gotten him out first."
"Yeah you should!" she yelled angrily before throwing him aside and making for the ramp. But before she could scramble up and into the warehouse she spotted two figures tumble down to the ground just as the warehouse collapsed entirely, one draped over the shoulders of the other. Running towards them, she recognized the messy raven's nest of her brother, but he was deathly white and barely breathing. Looking down, she saw his arm bleeding badly from dozens of lacerations and cuts.
Panicking, she began pulling out the shards of glass embedded in his hand and arm, wincing as she saw his precious life-blood spill onto the street. With each shard she pulled, she applied a small amount of fire onto the wound, cauterizing it and stemming the bleeding. Soon, his arm had been freed of the shards but was now encased in blackened blood and smelled of rare-cooked meat.
Checking his pulse, she winced at how cold he felt but was reassured to feel a faint but steady beat. Relieved, she took him from the worker, muttering a quick but sincere "Thank you!" and loaded him onto Naga. Once he was strapped to her saddle, Korra leapt up and turned toward the railroad.
"Wait!" she heard someone yell. "Where are you going?!"
"To the hospital." she said, turning to the voice and found herself speaking to the worker that had rescued Ryuukhan from the warehouse. "He needs medical treatment. Immediately."
"There's a company clinic," he replied. "Much closer, and they can do most emergency procedures. If nothing else, it would give him time to stabilize before being moved to a different hospital."
"Where is it?" she asked, excitement thrumming through her.
"It's down that street, about four buildings away." he replied, pointing to the northeast. "You'll recognize it by the river and tree emblem."
"Thanks again." she replied and turned toward her new destination.
'How did this go down?' she thought, eyes hardening over the recent events. 'It started off with a simple investigation, and I nearly lost my brother. Whoever's behind this, they'll pay. They'll pay, dearly!'
-Line Break-
Author's Notes: Hey it's me. Sorry for the long-a$$ wait. Had a lot to take care of at school, and both I and my beta reader, Misty Lee-Carrol (to whom I owe a LOT of overdue credit to), have been dealing with other issues. Among other things, I've been in therapy for anxiety and depression, and it's just been a real challenge trying to get myself motivated. I really do appreciate your patience and I hope I can start rewarding it on a more regular basis.
Meanwhile, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to showcase Korra and Ryuukhan's growth by improving past performances while making it clear that they have a lot of work to do before they are as impressive as the characters are in the cartoons.
One of the big challenges I'm finding about this part of the story is that we ALL know who the Big Bad and his ensemble is so how do I keep that fresh or interesting in the midst of that knowledge. Also, what we, the audience, know is quite different from what the characters know, so I'm also having to write about things from their perspective. I hope I've managed to make this relatively fresh and interesting.