"Ah Tenya, what a pleasant surprise. It's always wonderful to see you, but perhaps at a more civilised hour." Tarrlok said smoothly with good humour as he opened the door to his immaculate penthouse apartment. His normally finely pressed jacket had a few wrinkles and was clearly thrown back on over bedclothes with the subtle scent of freshly applied perfume carrying on him as I stalked into his abode.
"I apologise for disturbing you Tarrlok." Speaking to Tarrlok it was easy, almost comfortable to fall into the rhythm of etiquette. Despite that time was of the essence, pushing though emergency powers to the chief of police would require the ascent of the entire council.
"Don't worry about it at all. Can I treat you to a cup of tea? I have fallen in love with that Houli bean blend you recommended, it's also turned out to be very popular with the more sophisticated crowd." He laughed. "I even invested in a plantation that is shaping up to be a nice little money-maker. People love the drink so much, it's almost addicting." He let out a soft laugh.
"It very well might be." I replied brusquely.
"Pardon?" His carefully crafted expression crumbled as he looked suddenly deeply unwell.
It seems I made a misstep, I quickly moved to reframe things. "I came because of a very concerning Equalist raid. Shortly after a group of Equalist Chi Blockers kidnapped a dozen Republic city bender citizens the Avatar and I were attacked. The assailants are now in custody but the rest of the Equalists got away." He looked dumbfounded for a moment before crossing his arms.
"That is deeply… Worrying. Have the Metal Bending police made an official report?" I inclined my hand towards his table and the pair of us made our way over.
"The attack itself would be a worrying precedent that would require a police investigation to find and arrest the kidnappers as well as investigate the Chi Blocking community in the city." I placed a bag I had borrowed from the station on the table.
"Naturally." Tarrlok intoned waiting for me to continue.
"But the details of the raid are deeply concerning." I opened the bag and laid out copies of the reports I had made holding back a tut as I noticed that some of the ink had smudged on the fresh copy. I quickly pulled out a piece of equipment I had neglected to enter into the evidence report, the hooded gas mask with the night vision equipment.
"What's this?" He asked glancing over the report before taking the hood from my hands and looking at it.
"A piece of equipment that all of them had, the Equalists were equipped with tailored fighting clothes, brand new and top of the line motorcycles and a custom-made truck that does not match the description of anything on the market, smoke grenades and these masks." I paused for a moment as he nodded and placed the hood onto the table and picked up one of my reports.
"This stuff must be expensive." He muttered.
"I estimate that the raid cost at least several hundred thousand yuan, perhaps as much as half a million."
"So, someone with a lot of money to throw around is suddenly in the Equalists pocket. They assaulted the Avatar and a member of the council." Member was a bit of a stretch since Tenzin had taken back his role, I had thrown my weight around as a councilwoman but I was technically only a spokesperson at the moment with the official power resting in my father. My power on the council was reflected in the fact that I was entitled to a clerk's salary rather then the full entitlements that Tarrlok, or my father, enjoyed.
I still collected the pay despite not having sat in on any meetings in weeks, I needed to save up for a rainy day after all and it was not like I would shy away from performing my duties to the fullest should I need to.
"Not just money, put on the mask." He gave me an incredulous look before sighing and struggling into the thing before looking around. "What am I meant to be looking at, it's all green?"
"Its an example of prototype night vision technology."
"And?" He pulled the mask off and ran his fingers though his hair. "What does that mean? You see in the dark with these?" Tarrlok was a politician of course, not someone who would keep abreast of the technological developments of the day to day, considering how rapid some progress was at the moment that was entirely reasonable.
"This means that the Equalists not only have a worrying degree of funding they have a technological base that far outstrips anyone else. This mask should not be technically possible when considering even confidential United Forces developments." And I knew who was to blame for that. I had no idea why he had taken so long to strike but I was going to use every resource I had to confound Being X.
"I assume you are going somewhere with this?" Tarrlok said pulling out a chair and sitting down. I mirrored him and paused to deliver my proposal with his full attention.
"The Equalists, Amon, have clearly gone too far, they have too many resources and assets not to mention public presence." He nodded, clearly liking where I was going with this. "I propose the council votes to grant the Metal Bending Police emergency powers to prosecute a growing Equalist paramilitary organisation as well as find and arrest its leadership."
"That's…" He looked at the table and rubbed the nail of his thumb over his lower lip before letting out a short laugh. "Bold! I have been calling for actions to be taken against the Equalist menace for years now but I never imagined something like that, even my very reasonable measures were stonewalled… By your father."
"The situation has changed." I offered.
"Of course, not even I dreamed the Equalists would do something like this… Still to grant miss Beifong." He smiled. "Senior, the emergency powers you think she should have. Would require the entire council to be in ascent. Simply giving her a warrant to act with the majority of the council will restrict her in so many ways…"
"At the very least she needs that warrant." I needed something to use in order to go after the Equalists, going home with nothing was unacceptable.
"Yes well, I can call an emergency meeting and you will be heard, I just find it unlikely that your father will agree to something like this… Now that I think about it, granting emergency powers to an existing organisation might require the full council approval but a new task force made specifically for dealing with the Equalists would only require majority approval and would have what are effectively Emergency powers if headed by a member of the council." That… Was technically true but such an organisation would have considerable limitations imposed by regulations my grandfather had established, I did not know all of them of course but the one that came to mind was district limitation and right of arrest.
A new task force would have no right to hold a Citizen for more than twenty-four hours without a warrant for that person specifically, signed by a judge. Granting Lin emergency powers was simply a far better option, even just a warrant wit-large for the entire Equalist movement would allow the police to dismantle the Equalists over months if regulations were followed.
No, a new task force was a terrible idea the more I thought about it, the operational costs and development of such a unit would be astronomical considering the limited timeframe. It would be entirely useless. Except I was not considering something very simple.
I glanced up at Tarrlok as he gave me a warm smile, I had forgotten in my rush that I was dealing with a politician, one who had significantly more wealth than his salary would allow. If he was running the task force it would offer him a considerable amount of public clout as well as a force with funding that could rival the police. My Father spent a great deal of time complaining about Tarrlok gaining power and influence in the United Republic it seems the man was not one to let a crisis go to waste.
Still, I needed his support and he knew that, if I pushed for the Emergency powers or the Warrant his vote would likely have an unforeseen cost in the future. He was a reasonable man, even if I did not open the doors for a task force for him, I would still owe him. I had little choice in the matter, if I was to pick between a politician or the Devil it would be the politician every time.
"That is an interesting suggestion Tarrlok, I would need time to consider it." A grin spread across his face at my tepid reply.
"You know I always liked you much more than your father. Well, lets get going, it might take some time to get the other council members up and ready."
Getting a seat on the council required a great deal of political manoeuvring and guaranteed an unparalleled quality of life with very little in the way of accountability or political responsibility. That was not to mention that each nation operated under vastly different political systems and selected each representative in very different ways. Still to accomplish oneself to the degree required to earn a seat required near universally a lifetime of politicking.
With only three notable exceptions. The late Sokka, myself and of course Tarrlok. My seat was guaranteed by blood effectively but Tarrlok earned his seat by being one of the most highly respected Water Tribe diplomat and politician in centuries. It was my understanding that he was so popular he was almost forced to take the position to get him off of the Northern Continent.
It is no secret that the elderly don't take being woken up in the early morning well, the rich and powerful who spent a lifetime working for that wealth and power take it very poorly.
"Where is he!" The Southern water tribe councilman seethed as he nursed a cup of fresh tea. The reports I had quickly printed out for the council were entirely untouched as the three councillors had simply listened to Tarrlok and I explain the situation and nearly instantly agreed to hold a vote. I was almost insulted but at the moment I did my best to appear apologetic as my father neglected to materialise.
"I am sure there is a good explanation for Tenzin's current absence." I glanced over at Tarrlok's attendant who gave me a shrug before rushing to follow after Tarrlok. I had ordered Korra to inform Tenzin I needed to speak to him and yet he had failed to arrive, the simplest explanation would be that Korra had not spoken to Tenzin. I quickly offered the grumpy trio in front of me a warm smile as I internally raged at the Avatar.
That would not fully explain Tenzin's absence however, there was an undersea cable connecting Air Temple Island to the mainland and several wireless Radio sets. The communication equipment was at the very least observed at all hours. Tarrlok should have been able to contact Tenzin by now. As if to answer my musings Tarrlok re-entered the council chamber followed by his attendant.
"We cannot reach Air Temple Island for some reason, I have sent a Waterbender runner to find him directly but every moment we wait we risk more uncontested attacks by the Equalists. Not to mention the continued risk to the lives of the people who have been kidnapped." There was a flurry of quiet murmurings between The Southern Water Tribe councilman and the Earth Kingdom Councilmen.
"We need to hear the proposals, an Air Nomad representative is all that is required to field the vote." The Fire Nation Representative said rubbing some sleep from her eyes.
"Without Tenzin the vote can't be counted." The Earth Kingdom Representative pointed out.
"The position of councilman, or woman in this case, is a lifetime appointment." Tarrlok fielded as the Earth Kingdom Representative stroked his chin in thought.
"There is no precedent to have two councillors on the same seat."
"Not establishing precedent before now was an oversight to be sure but considering the circumstances it is a rather fortuitus one. We can field and vote on the Equalist state of emergency propositions." He nodded to his attendant who quickly moved to place the proposals in front of each council member, including myself.
I nearly choked on my tea when I noticed the first proposal was for Tarrlok's task force. I had been played, if Tarrlok's task force received full support he would also get the emergency powers that Lin would have had with full council support. If I refused to give him that support, he would not be willing to give my proposal for a warrant granted to the police nor would I have a hope in hell of getting Emergency powers.
Of course, if I did support him then he had no reason to vote for a warrant or emergency powers being handed to Lin anyway as both would put pressure on his task force's activities and cause questions of what group had jurisdiction. I carefully schooled my face and smiled at Tarrlok as the council read over the abstract of the proposal. I almost considered leaving the council chamber to stop the vote but that would only force Lin to arrest me and drag me back into this very seat. This was ridiculous, how had Tarrlok managed to avoid contacting Tenzin? The communication lines should be incredibly reliable.
"Well, all in favour of the Anti-Equalist Task Force?" Tarrlok asked assuming the position as speaker with a gavel at his side.
"Yes." The Fire Nation representative replied.
"Aye." The Southern Water Tribe representative waved at Tarrlok.
"Yes." The Earth Kingdom representative said looking over at me.
"Abstain." I said earning a disappointed look from Tarrlok.
"That is four to one, the Task Force will be assembled with warrant." The Gavel came down with a crack as Tarrlok looked into my eyes with clear frustration at what was unsaid, The Task Force would have a warrant but no Emergency Powers.
"The next proposal." I said earning a sigh from Tarrlok.
"The Emergency powers granted to the Metal Bending Police." He turned to the rest of the council. "Effectively giving over control of the city to Lin Beifong, she would have the right to investigate any of us even without evidence of any connection to the Equalists." The rest of the council looked uneasy at that despite the fact that they had nearly granted Tarrlok the very same powers.
"The Metal Bending police have demonstrated loyalty to the city and an unparalleled level of professionalism that no other police force in the world can match. There is not a single group better suited to crushing the criminal endeavours of the Equalists." I struggled to keep my voice level after such a rapid betrayal from Tarrlok, I knew he was a snake but it was shocking how rapidly he could strike. "Besides the only group to be given emergency powers in the United Republics history was the chief of police Toph Beifong." There were murmurs of agreement but Tarrlok sized upon my words.
"It is true that Beifong loyalty is legendary and I do think, good councilmembers that we are seeing its pure demonstration here. Miss Beifong seeks to empower the police with not a single word to the incredible influence such powers bring her clan." I felt my heart thunder in my chest as Tarrlok outright accused me of familial corruption. Nothing I could say would remove the implication of such after the argument was fielded.
"I think that is quite enough Tarrlok." All eyes turned to the Fire Nation Representative spoke. "We have all known Tenya, from the days she was a sweet babe sleeping at Tenzin's side in this very room to the fine young woman she has grown into. The Police chief, Tenya and Tenzin have never stooped to any sort of corruption or misconduct and to field such an accusation at this juncture when the Equalists beat at the door of our city is deeply shameful." She turned to offer me a kind smile as Tarrlok offered the council a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"I certainly never meant to cast such dispersions upon Tenya but only bring a potential conflict of interests to the Councils attention." Before that statement could be contested Tarrlok turned to me and bowed his head. "I do hope you will forgive me."
"Of course." I said doing my best to supress any edge to my voice. "A simple miscommunication."
"Then let's get on with it so I can go back to sleep. Aye." The southern water tribe representative spoke.
"Yes." The Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom representatives followed.
"Yes." I quickly added as Tarrlok licked his lips before tutting softly.
"Four to one, the council has granted Lin Beifong the chief of police warrant to prosecute the Equalists." But no emergency powers. The gavel came down with an especially loud crack.
There were no winners today.
The streets outside of the council chambers were quiet as the sun peaked out over the horizon, several overworked government aids flanked me as I fought back a yawn and lent into the cool sea breeze to keep myself awake.
"Ah Tenya, good to see you are still up and about." I turned to see Tarrlok approaching with twin mugs of a familiar smelling tea. He offered one of them to me and I accepted it with a polite thank you.
"You know, I always liked you. I never quite understood why but I think I get it now." He said brushing one of the marble steps off with a hand and sitting.
"That was a dirty game Tarrlok." I said sitting at his side as the city hall staff quickly moved out of earshot of the pair of us.
"That was politics, its always dirty… You rolled with the punches however, if it was your father he would be sulking for weeks." I watched as the bright red sky turned to a brilliant pink with light creeping across the resplendent square.
"This is very serious Tarrlok, the Equalists are not just another gang to be crushed."
"You think its going to get that bad?" He sounded almost surprised. Looking at things logically it would seem like I was overreacting here, but there was no doubt about it, Being X was involved and no action was an overreaction.
"It will." I promised.
"Heh, and I'm not sure if you're still playing the game." I downed the hot tea and rolled my stiff joints before standing up.
"I hope your task force is successful." I said honestly, he looked at me in the eyes for a moment before bringing his own mug to his lips.
"I hope you win next time." He replied.
"I will." I warned before letting the energy build up within my core allowing me to cast myself into the sky.
"How did you pull this off?" Lin asked looking over the council seal on the sealed warrant packet. "It takes me weeks to get anything from a judge and months to get the council to agree to anything and they hand this over to you in a few hours?"
"Pulling on the right levers of power, this 'Republic' is remarkably authoritarian, one of the virtues of such a system is that the government that can be incredibly agile when it needs to be." That did not make up for all of the failings of the system but it was something to be taken advantage of at the moment.
"Well, whatever you did… Good job kid, we can get moving with this, I will put the detectives onto the search and start pulling in known Equalists off the streets for quiet chats." I nodded and this time failed to supress a yawn. "While I get on this you get some rest." She pulled out a key from her desk and placed it in my hand. "Down the hall on the left, it's for senior staff only and has a pair of bunkbeds where you can put your head down."
"You are just as exhausted as I am." I countered.
"I am used to it kid." She waved me off as she hunched over a map of the city that covered the large desk that dominated her office. I gave her a look and she sighed. "I will take a nap after I have handed out orders, okay?"
"I also need to find the Avatar."
"What?" Lin looked up at me with a frown as she studied my face.
"She never went back to the Air Temple." I suppressed most of the spite in my words.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I ordered her to get Tenzin and he still has not shown up. The only explanation would be that she never contacted him at all." I crossed my arms and shook my head. "I don't understand why she has such a hard time just doing what she is told. I am not asking her to do anything particularly difficult but every time she has a chance to get into trouble, she takes it! Then she does a big song and dance about how she has learned something or she won't do it again and then she does it again!" Lin looked shocked at my outburst, it was understandable. Lin had not spent much time around the Avatar and had no idea just how frustrating that girl could be.
"Oh, and every time she does something stupid that could get herself hurt Tenzin forgives her! How is she meant to learn to do as she is told when she is rewarded for ignoring everyone and acting like a delinquent! He never holds her accountable for any of her stupid choices!" I buried my face into my hands and rubbed my temples as Lin nodded.
"Tenya, I know exactly how you feel." She let out a humourless laugh. "Tenzin has always been a soft touch and dealing with people like Korra… Can be very hard."
"I just wish she would listen to me, I have been trying to help her but nothing sticks…" I felt a hand resting on my shoulder and turned to see Lin's earnest expression.
"Listen Tenya, I don't know how you deal with people like Korra, I wish I did… I want to help, but… I don't think they change unless they are forced to. When you try to be responsible for someone like that, they always end up hurting you and I don't want you to get hurt." I looked at her and mulled over what she said as she seemed to catch herself. Moving her hand off my shoulder and leaning against a bookshelf.
"Anyway, get some rest kid, no arguments."
"Yeah, get me if you find anything Lin. Please?"
"I promise." Her reply came instantly.
"Thank you." I left the office and made my way to the bunk room, I was going to need any rest I could get.
I was awoken by a scrawny looking officer with bright green eyes. She had two cups of tea and had a fine enough control over fire to simply hold the cup and heat the jasmine blend. The room was filled with a groan as a grumpy old man I recognised as Officer Saikhan slipped out of one of the bunks followed by Lin. The pair of them seemed to have had considerably less sleep than I did.
"Good evening Chief, Saikhan." The pair of them took the hot tea and while Saikhan nursed it Lin looked annoyed at the cup and downed it in one go before stretching.
"That is as good as it is going to get I suppose." She looked over at me with an impressively grumpy face. "Come on kid, you are going to be useful."
"I am surprised that there were significant developments in such a short timeframe." I offered as the Firebender quietly asked me if I wanted tea and I gave my ascent with a nod.
"It was what you wrote down in the report, the Revelation. At first, I thought you had just misheard revolution but when we politely asked about it the pair of chi blockers started to clam up. Got some known Equalists off the street and they started to spill the beans. Amon is figuratively showing his face at nine 'oh clock tonight." Saikhan explained as I finished up my own stretches to make me up and followed Saikhan and Lin stopping to pick up my tea.
"The Equalists are gathered in a large warehouse in the industrial district, our informant claims that Amon and his top lieutenants will be there for an event called the 'Revelation' and they are expecting a lot of Equalist supporters in attendance." Lin looked over the table as officer Saikhan tapped the map that some clerk had dug up.
"Its like a maze, plenty of metal about but securing a perimeter is going to take a lot of time and if they discover our presence prematurely, they are going to flood out into the streets like rats and we don't have the officers to catch them."
"Only Amon and the Equalist leadership matter, so long as we can deploy a team of metal benders to arrest the leadership, we should consider the operation successful." I glanced over the map and pointed out the wider streets.
"Have officers block off the side streets." I continued. "Then let the supporters escape in the wide throughfares, you can watch the crowd and pick out any Equalists by the equipment they use."
"That is not how we do things here, we don't let criminals get away." One of the officers argued looking at Lin for support.
"We don't have the time or the manpower to even attempt a mass arrest." Saikhan countered nodding at me with approval.
"Exactly, this is a rush job that we are unprepared for but if we pull this off, we will decapitate the entire Equalist movement. Airships will be put on standby, they would see them coming. Tenya will be deployed with a portable radio and a pair of binoculars where she will be acting as Saikhan's eyes. Saikhan will direct the operation from a police airship that will enter operational range after the raid has begun while and I will lead the task force to apprehend Amon." I know I agreed to it but I had the right to feel unsettled at the thought of being a spotter again. Too many bad memories, at least this time I should be far away from the fighting.
"Well then, let's get started."
"Last ones in, looks like a couple." I said into a handset hastily sewn into my clothes so I could use it mostly hands free. "Doorman is following them in and several lookouts are returning it seems like, looks like they want to watch the show, over." I reached up and tapped the handset before looking over the district with my binoculars again.
From my position I could see the police squads approaching the warehouse quietly avoiding the lookouts I had reported. For the operation to go well all of the squads needed to be in position before the raid commenced and it had to be a surprise or there was every chance that the Equalists could melt into the crowd or simply escape.
"Tenya is Lin's route still clear?" Saikhan's crackly voice came over the radio headset and I shifted my attention before pressing the handset.
"Still clear." I repeated. "Lookout at east corner is still active but other than that the team has a clear path, over." I spotted the shadows of the armoured metal bender squad. Trying to Chi Block though that armour was impossible, the only exposed part of the armour was the face the joints simply had a thinner plate. The operator moved by constantly bending the metal with every step. Some of the Metal benders had gotten so good at it they moved like they had no armour on at all.
"Understood, stand by to return to the blimp Tenya, over." At least he remembered this time.
Just before Lin's team reached the warehouse several doors burst open and there were panicked screams as the thousands of people who had came to the event flooded out in a rush of bodies. Without a single team in position the crowd streamed out into the streets and side streets encountering unprepared teams that struggled to halt the tide. In some places the Equalist supporters swarmed officers as in a matter of moments the situation detreated.
"Tenya! What's going on?!" The radio flared to life and I could hear activity all around Saikhan.
"Unclear." I began shifting closer to the warehouse. "Lookouts are retreating inside and a large amount of steam is escaping the structure, some sort of explosion? I will report back when I have intelligence to share, over."
"I'm coming in! Tenya return to the airship." Saikhan told me for some reason as I watched Lin's squad rush into the warehouse from a side entrance as the other squads entered into a desperate brawl with the fleeing civilians.
The eternal running lights and searchlights on the blimp hovering just outside of the industrial district flicked on lighting up the sky as it approached the warehouse causing the streaming crowd of panicking people to look up at the sky as warnings of arrest screamed out from the broadcasting equipment on the dirigible.
There was a flash of white in the street around the warehouse. The familiar lumbering form of Naga with several figures riding on her back. I made sure that the handset was deactivated before letting out a frustrated scream, every single time Korra had a chance to stick her nose in something she did it to the detriment of everyone around her.
"Saikhan." I activated the handset. "Avatar sighted fleeing the scene, any report on Lin's team? Over." He did not have to respond to me, I was a civilian after all even if the lines were blurred given the political situation.
"Lin's team is fine Tenya, she reported minimal resistance but Amon and his inner circle have fled, it's all clean-up now. Come on back."
I felt a magnetic pull to the chaos below me, instincts screaming that I should dive down and rip apart the Equalists until I found being X's puppet memories of fighting constant desperate battles resurfaced as I fought to steady my heartrate.
It was different this time, I was being called back to safety not driven forward to death and glory. I twisted in the air and created an air current that would impart enough energy to carry me to the docks.
Being X won this round because of her interference… I should have expected it, of course the Avatars actions would cause problems at the exact moment it would cause the most damage to the police force.
"Saikhan, I am leaving the operational area and making contact with the Avatar. Over." There was a pause before he responded, sounding as tired as I felt.
"Understood Tenya, see if you can find out what the hell she was thinking."
I found my quarry at the docks, she was currently engulfed in a hug by both Mako and Bolin who looked no worse for ware at all. With a frustrated flick of my wrist, I snapped my staff closed and allowed gravity to enforce its will upon me. Moments before impacting the ground I focused my power into my root chakra and forced a gust of air to cushion my fall and send up a powerful gust of wind that made the trio stagger back with surprise at my sudden appearance.
"Do you have any idea what you just did Korra." I said darkly as the two bending brothers parted from the water tribal with a worried expression.
"Tenya? Uh, yeah of course I know what I did, I saved Bolin. Listen, you need to hear this. Amon has the power to take away a person's bending."
"What? That's something only the Avatar…" I caught myself as I fell into conventional wisdom. Of course, Being X could grant something only the Avatar could use to an insane terrorist. The implications dawned on me as Bolin and Mako quickly backed up Korra's claim.
"Thanks to Korra and Mako I managed to get away from him before he did that thumb on the forehead thing but boy was it close." An ideologically possessed puppet that existed as an existential threat to the benders of the city, a political establishment that I was firmly a part of. How could this be anything but a carefully crafted plot to strip me of a peaceful life. Thoughts of Equalist mobs emboldened by the ability marching though the streets of Republic City filling my mind.
"I need to speak to the Avatar." I said calmly glaring at Mako and Bolin as the good cheer they had experienced slowly fell away. They looked at each other before nodding slowly.
"Bolin and I are gunna head to the arena Korra, see you soon." I unclenched my fists as they stalked away while Korra glared at me.
"What's your problem!?" Korra demanded approaching and jabbing a finger at me.
"People have died tonight." I countered, voice like steel as the wind was taken out of her sails. "The people who fled that warehouse ran right into police squads still getting into position, it was chaos."
"That's not my fault. I-"
"ITS NEVER YOUR FAULT!" I felt my face contort in rage that I simply could not hold back any longer.
The trials I had undergone to crush Being X's newest torment before it began had gone up in smoke. "You are never to blame for your own actions! You always have some excuse or someone else to blame!"
"Excuse me? I saved the day! Bolin is still a bender thanks to me." She placed her hands on her hips and I struggled to contain my rage.
"You think that matters when Amon got away? The police operation was ready to take the entire Equalist leadership into custody and end this nightmare before you got in the way! I thought you learned something since you came to republic city but I was clearly mistaken. You don't learn anything so long as it gets in the way of your ego."
"My ego? You ran off to play the hero! If I had just done as you asked and sat on my hands then Bolin would have had his bending taken away! I am the Avatar this is what I was born to do!" I let out a bitter laugh.
"You were born to get in the way and make a nuisance of yourself? Calling yourself an Avatar is rich, you are a child with a chip on her shoulder. You are impulsive, obnoxious and go out of your way to make poor decisions. Your one job is to train and learn from experience and bafflingly you think you know better while you fail over and over, I don't know if you are ignorant or stupid but I am no longer interested in finding out." Korra looked shocked when I laid out her obvious failings as a person but rather then show just the smallest hint of humility, she grit her teeth and stepped forward.
"I was right! I saved Bolin." Her face was red and her fists balled as the pair of us were practically in a fighting stance.
"And let Amon escape! I could have crushed this movement! I could have ended this if you had stayed out of my way! I was doing things the right way! Do you know how many more people are going to suffer because of you Korra?!"
"Oh, so its fine if Bolin losses his Bending?" Korra said closing the distance and puffing out her chest as she tried to press her hight advantage.
"It's better than Amon getting away!" She let out a shocked sound before jabbing a finger into my chest.
"I'm right and you just can't admit it. You just wanted the glory all to yourself, you don't care about anyone that's why you don't have any friends. I spoke to Pema and she said I was the first person willing to put up with you. The first time you had an actual friend and I was obligated to like you!" There was a pause as I struggled to soothe the energy I had collected in my fist.
"I am done with you." I said finally.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, Tenzin can struggle with trying to train you I don't care anymore, stay out of my way Korra."
"FINE! Go away I don't need you, I never needed you… Bitch!" I turned away from the stupid girl and threw myself into the air. I needed to find Lin and plan the next move. I had a city to save.