Welcome back to the show, folks! I know not many of you are that excited to see this story make its return now, but I've got a schedule to follow and I'm following it! So with things the way they are now, let's continue this story without any delay!

This is "Evolution"!

BOOK FIVE

EVOLUTION

There's been a breakout! In Zaofu's secret prison compound, Kuvira has escaped in the midst of what's happening with the mysterious Neo Earth Empire! Ash, Korra, and Rex have traveled to Zaofu with Lin Beifong in order to help the Metal Clan apprehend Kuvira before she gets away!

Having found her now, will they be able to successfully capture her?!

CHAPTER THREE

DISCOVERY

"RRRROOOOAAAAHHH!" Charizard roared as he spewed flames up into the air in a threatening manner as he, Pikachu, and his master surrounded the rogue metalbender with the Metal Clan soldiers, Lin, Su, and Korra.

"Rex, step away please," the matriarch requested, waggling her fingers as she was prepared to fight.

"Hold on a sec!" he pleaded while raising his hands up in a placating manner, "I think there's another side to this whole thing…" he pointed out, looking back at his ex-girlfriend, who narrowed her eyes onto him.

"What do you mean 'another side'?" the Avatar asked curiously as she carefully got into a ready position.

"I mean she knows about this Neo Earth Empire and who's in charge of it," the EVO replied as he gestured towards her, "Maybe if we… talk things out, we can figure just what to do to stop them," he suggested, keeping his extremities up.

"Kid, I think you're letting your ex get to your head…" the police chief muttered, causing him to blush slightly.

"I'm not!" he claimed angrily, "I'm just trying to stop a fight before it starts!" he shouted, while the former dictator turned her attention towards her once mentor, who took notice of the armor around her body.

"Where did you get that armor, Kuvira?" she asked while making hand motions, enticing her soldiers to move about and prepare themselves for an assault.

"What does it matter to you?" she replied as she bent out a blade upon her right arm.

"O-Okay…" the goggled man stuttered in a calming tone, sweating a little, "Let's all take one second to rethink this and settle down…" he advised, holding his hands out.

"Did you kill someone for that armor?" Su questioned, shocking the other two Omni Force members as they glanced at each other in concern. As the former dictator did not answer the question, her ex-boyfriend looked over at her suspiciously, taking note of the armor she was wearing. It appeared to be rugged and dirty, not well-refined in the slightest unlike the sets the other guards wore around him. Before he could point that out to the others though, the matriarch slid her right foot out, causing the earth to surge up towards her target. She reacted quickly though, stomping the ground to make it burst up and blow her surrounding foes back in a flurry of dust and dirt.

"Agh!" one guard yelped as he shut his eyes to avoid getting any dirt in them. Within the veil, Kuvira waved her arms, causing a few soldiers to suddenly be lifted into the air by their own sets of armor. They then flew out in yelps, slamming into their comrades to the shock of the others.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Ash commanded. Letting fire billow in his mouth, the Flame Pokémon unleashed a stream of flames towards his target, cutting right through the dust. She quickly moved her arms and bent up a wall of rock to defend herself as the heat of the fire struck, causing pieces of the sides to break off.

"Ragh!" the Fire/Flying type exclaimed as a puff of fire left his mouth. His opponent reeled her fists back, punching out slabs of rock from the remainder of the wall, using it as ammunition against him.

"Dragon Tail!" his master called out quickly. The dragon-like creature had his flaming appendage become covered in a green, scale-patterned aura, slamming it into the stones and shattering them upon contact. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" the raven haired man shouted, enticing his Electric type partner to dash out off of his shoulder as his body was encased in a white outline, ramming into the woman head on and causing her to stumble back.

"Hey, easy!" Rex yelled upon seeing the attack, trying to keep what little peace there was left between the groups. Just then, he saw a line of water extend out and wrap around his ex-girlfriend's left leg, noticing that it had come from Korra.

"Kuvira, stand down!" she demanded once more, "We can resolve this peacefully if you do!" she mentioned seriously. The EVO grinned, thinking that would be the best case scenario if their enemy gave herself up. However, she bent up a slab of earth to cut through the water line, sending it out towards the Avatar. She stopped it though by catching it in her water-covered hand, crushing it into pieces in an instant.

"Great…" the goggled man muttered, realizing that the situation had gotten well out of hand. Just then, several metal cables sprung out and wrapped around the rogue metalbender's limbs, including her neck as she gasped out for air. Her ex-boyfriend gasped and looked over to see that Lin and the other Metal Clan guards were holding her down by their lines, slowly pulling her back all of their available effort.

"Take her down!" the police chief commanded, enticing two soldiers to run towards her, prepared to attack.

"Hey, wait!" Rex yelled, jumping out in front of them to make them stop.

"Rex, what are you doing?!" Korra shouted angrily as she earthbended the ground beneath her, creating an entrapment that captured her target, covering her whole body up to her neck.

"A-Ah…" she barely breathed out as her face was turning blue. Noticing, the EVO gritted his teeth angrily, having light blue lines suddenly appear along his arms before they morphed into a pair of glowing blue axes, much to the surprise of his allies. He then swung them down and sliced through the lines, allowing for Kuvira to finally breathe as she inhaled loudly.

"Kid!" Lin shouted angrily.

"Look, can we at least capture her without having to almost choke her to death?!" he screamed back in frustration, not noticing the former dictator freeing herself from her rocky prison, turning around to face her foes. She waved her arms, suddenly causing the makeshift weapons her ex-boyfriend had to start shaking. "Uh oh," he uttered in realization, suddenly stumbling forward in a yelp as his axes were swung at the guards.

"Oh… Rex…" the Avatar muttered in frustration.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded, enticing his partner to make his cheeks spark before firing off a bolt of lightning towards the rogue metalbender. She jumped back to evade it as it struck the ground in a fierce explosion, followed by narrowly evading streams of flames shot her way from the South Pole native and Charizard. In the meantime, the goggled man reformed his arms back to normal, flexing them to make sure he did not sustain any kind of injury. He looked back to see his Omni Force comrades and the creatures continuing to fight, avoiding rocks and shards of metal flung their way.

"I'd stay out of this if I were you," the police chief advised to him, running past him as she and the others ran towards the lone woman being attacked, much to his chagrin. She noticed them coming, slamming both of her palms against the earth to make it surge up and strike everyone back, even the Fire/Flying type as he was flying so low to the ground.

"Huh…" she breathed out in relief, thinking that she had driven them away. However, the sound of crackling electricity caught her attention as she looked to see the raven haired man charging through the cloud of dust and dirt she created from her last attack within a cloak of yellow lightning, reeling his arm back in an attempt to punch her. She narrowly dodged it, having to back away to avoid more quick attempts from the Pokémon trainer. All of a sudden, she found her left arm ensnared in another cable, unable to find out who caught her as she was punched in the face by her capped foe. Waving her right hand, she bent up a small pillar that struck him in the torso, causing him to fall over with a loud grunt. She then turned to see that Suyin had her trapped in the cable, glaring angrily at her. She merely narrowed her eyes before using the jagged blade she had formed to cut the line, followed by dashing out at her.

"Oh crap…" her ex-boyfriend muttered in realization with widened eyes. The matriarch narrowly evaded her makeshift weapon as it sliced off bits of her hair, pivoting around her and causing the earth around them to suddenly shift, making her fall over with a grunt.

"You were asking for this…" she mentioned rather rashly, metalbending out her own blades upon her arms. Upon noticing, Rex immediately ran out towards them.

"Su, stop!" he yelled desperately. She did not appear to hear him though, about to pierce her former guard captain right between the eyes. Fortunately, she quickly used her own blade to block it, bending out another over her left arm to knock the arm of the Metal Clan leader away, slowly standing back up and sweating madly.

"Make this easy on yourself and just surrender," the young Beifong advised, getting into a ready stance, "I know all your tricks…" she mentioned with narrowed eyes.

"Huh… huh…" the rogue metalbender breathed out, "I'm… the only one… who can stop Ryuto now…" she stated in between breaths.

"You seem to forget that you said you'd answer for everything you've done," Suyin pointed out seriously, "So I'll ask you once more," she continued, clenching her fists, "who is Ryuto?" she asked. She received no response as Kuvira charged at her, clashing blades once again as sparks flew about.

"Stay on guard!" Lin advised loudly to the guards around her, "If we hold her down long enough, that's the best chance we can use to complete the capture!" she explained, enticing them to all nod and surround the two fighting metalbenders. Ash and Korra did the same, getting into ready stances as Charizard and Pikachu stood beside them. As the fighters continued to clash, both tips of the blades on their left arms broke off, piercing the ground below them. They attempted to strike each with the weapons they had left over their respective right arms, managing to pierce through something as blood splattered onto the earth.

"AGH!" a voice yelled in agony, causing the former dictator to gasp in shock as she saw that the EVO had taken her blade into his abdomen, gritting his teeth from the pain he could feel. The matriarch's blade had gone through the left upper side of his back next to his shoulder.

"R-Rex...?" his ex-girlfriend stuttered out in disbelief, as everyone was just as shocked, "Wh-Why would you-?!"

"Just… stop for a second, will ya…?" he muttered out, interjecting her question, "I want this… to end well for all of us…" he confessed slowly, not noticing the leader of the Metal Clan preparing another blade upon her left arm.

"Su!" her sister yelled, seeing her about to stab the rogue metalbender through her neck by going around the goggled man. However, he managed to stop it by letting his right hand get pierced, causing everyone to widen their eyes.

"Rex, what are you doing?!" she screamed, angry that he was intentionally protecting the escaped prisoner.

"I said… STOP!" he bellowed as his eyes suddenly started glowing a bright blue. His hair enflamed and turned a bright blue as both women near him gasped, removing themselves from him with their blades and backing away. The Avatar widened her eyes as she saw his wounds close up in an instant within a bright blue light, blinking in disbelief at how he apparently healed himself. He then shut his eyes as his flaming hair subsided back to normal, followed by him falling onto his knees. "Huh…" he breathed out in shock, placing his hands against the ground, "What just happened?" he asked in wonder. His ex-girlfriend's eyes just shook in disbelief, unable to comprehend the power of healing he had just displayed. However, her reaction was cut short when Korra suddenly leapt in, punching her right in the face with her left fist and knocking her out onto the ground in an instant.

"She's down!" one guard exclaimed, "Hurry and tie her up!" he demanded to his comrades, who immediately got cables wrapped around her wrists behind her back, lifting her unconscious form up and taking her away.

"Hoo…" Suyin breathed, relieved that the situation had been resolved.

"We should make sure she's on twenty-four watch from now on," her sister advised, coming up and placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"Agreed," she concurred, walking off with her. In the meantime, the South Pole native helped the EVO get back onto his feet as he groaned groggily.

"Can't say that was the best you could've done…" she began to him with her hands placed at her hips as Ash and his Pokémon approached, "but you really got Kuvira there with that healing thing," she pointed out with a wink.

"I don't even know how I did that…" he responded, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Wasn't that something you did years ago?" the raven haired man guessed, chiming into the conversation, "Like when you were up against that… Consortium group Ben told us about…" he noted.

"Huh…" the goggled man sighed deeply, "Look, it doesn't matter what I did," he said to his teammates to their surprise, "We got Kuvira back and that's that…" he grumbled, watching her be carried off back to Zaofu with a saddened expression upon his face.

X

The next morning, Rex woke up in a bed within the Beifong estate, sitting up and sighing as he remembered how his ex-girlfriend was captured last night. Just then, he heard a knock at the door, making him perk up.

"Rex, we kinda need your help with something…" Ash's voice said from outside, muffled by the door.

"I'll be right there, hermano," his Omni Force comrade replied, getting out of the divan and taking his jacket off of the coat rack beside it. After he had gotten dressed, a while passed before he was amongst the guards and his teammates within a small holding cell, looking out at the rogue metalbender who was cuffed to a desk.

"She hasn't answered a thing," Lin noted as she folded her arms over her chest, "I'm starting to wonder if she'll even move at this point…" she added.

"I think we'll have to resort to other means of getting her to talk," her sister stated, about to walk off.

"Su, wait," Korra advised, placing her right hand onto her shoulder to stop her, "Maybe there's still a way we can get her to talk," she suggested, looking over at the EVO, who blinked in confusion before widening his eyes in realization.

"Uh… me?" he guessed, pointing at himself.

"I was one who came up with the idea," the police chief chimed in, catching their attentions, "I'd figure you know one way or another to make her talk," she mentioned, causing him to blush a little.

"Okay one, I don't like what you're assuming," he responded as the Avatar rolled her eyes out of exasperation behind him, "And two," he kept going, "what makes you think she'll talk to her ex-boyfriend?" he asked seriously.

"Because I think she was very responsive towards you last night," she replied with her hand at her hip, "If that's the case, then you're our best bet at getting her to talk," she noted.

"Rex, please," the South Pole native pleaded as she placed her left hand against his back. Taking a moment to think, the goggled man looked over at his ex-girlfriend, noticing that her hair was undone and messy as the metal armor had been stripped from her body and taken away.

"Well… I might as well try…" he grumbled, going over and opening the door into the cell.

"Pika…" Pikachu squeaked worriedly from his master's shoulder.

"Should we be okay with this?" Ash asked in concern as he scratched his right cheek, catching the others' attentions, "I mean… I know Rex is Kuvira's old boyfriend and all… but…" he tried to say, but could not find the right words to describe the situation.

"It'll be fine," Korra reassured, seeing her comrade pull up a chair to the table inside, sitting down rather nervously, "I hope…" she muttered as she folded her arms over her chest. As her teammate finally got comfortable in his chair, he looked over and grimaced to see the rather menacing stare the former dictator was giving off towards him, causing him to sweat a little as he pulled at his collar.

"So… uh… how are you doing?" he asked nervously.

"Did he seriously just ask her how she's doing?" the Avatar inquired upon hearing as the sound could travel through the vents between the two areas, placing the palm of her right hand over her face.

"Yep…" Ash responded with a deep sigh.

"I'm fine," the rogue metalbender suddenly said, much to everyone's shock as their eyes widened, "Rex, you need to let me out of here," she told her ex-boyfriend, who kept a stoic expression on his face.

"I can't do that, Kuvira," he stated firmly, seeing her frustration grow as she gritted her teeth, "Why not just tell us what you know about this Ryuto guy and where we can probably find him?" he questioned as he arched an eyebrow.

"Because I have to answer for everything I've done," she replied, somberly looking down at her cuffed wrists, "The Earth Empire was my folly… my responsibility…" she mentioned, "I have to be the one to take care of what's left," she proclaimed. Her words caused Suyin to close her hands into fists, thinking that what she was spewing was nothing more than lies to look like a saint with a noble cause. The EVO was suspicious as well, wondering what exactly the dark haired woman before him was insinuating.

"What do you think Ryuto's planning?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes onto her.

"…It may have something to do with the Colossus project," she answered after a moment, causing everyone outside the room to immediately perk up.

"But he probably doesn't have enough platinum to pull off something like that," the goggled man noted curiously.

"Days before the attack on Republic City, we were testing other metals to see if they could be resisted to metalbending for the Colossus," she explained, making him blink in shock, "The closest that came to being like platinum was tungsten," she said, closing her hands into fists, "They likely have mounds of it available for use since it was more readily available than the platinum we recovered," she pointed out.

"Are there mines we could check around here?" Lin immediately asked.

"In the mountains, yes," her sister answered, folding her arms over her chest as she glanced off to the side, "but I think she's playing us," she admitted to their surprise, "She either needs to prove this to us now or admit she's lying," she noted rather angrily.

"Su, we can get a few of your guards out there now and see if she's right," Korra pointed out as an argument, "Even if she is lying, we have no leads into Ryuto aside from what she tells us," she added seriously.

"Huh…" the matriarch sighed, closing her eyes for a moment to think, "All right, we can send out a team in a few minutes," she concluded, causing the Omni Force members beside her to smile happily.

"You hear that, Rex?" Ash questioned as his voice echoed through the vent, "I think you're done questioning her," he pointed out to his friend.

"Okay hermano," he replied with a grin as he leaned back in his chair, "Just give me a few more seconds," he requested, sitting back down as he looked over at the cuffed wrists of his ex-girlfriend, "How didyou escape your cell?" he questioned, remembering the fingerprints he had seen on the rupture in her previous containment when first arriving to Zaofu. As she did not respond, he started to stand up with a heavy sigh, thinking that he would receive any form of an answer. However, he heard the sound of a click and saw that her cuffs had come off, followed by her kicking the table against him and slamming him into the wall in a grunt. Hearing the thud from outside, Lin immediately went over to the door with the others, prepared to stop the rogue metalbender. It was suddenly kicked open, ripped from its hinges as it slammed the police chief into the wall behind her, falling down as she then fainted upon it.

"Lin!" her sister yelped in shock. Kuvira then jumped out, taking a left and rushing towards the door at the end of the hall. The Avatar quickly shot a blast of fire her way, but she narrowly managed to evade it as she bashed through the entryway, running out into the estate.

"If she gets out of the city again, we might never find her!" the South Pole native realized, chasing after her with a few of the guards.

"Ugh…" the EVO groaned as he stood up, rubbing his head in agony as the Pokémon trainer, Pikachu, and Suyin went into the room.

"Are you all right?" his comrade asked.

"Yeah…" he replied with an angered grunt, "Let's get muchacha back…" he remarked in frustration. Outside, the escaped prisoner began bending up pieces of rock and hurling them towards her pursuing foes. A few of the soldiers were struck and knocked down while the short haired woman charged ahead, firing off blasts of air from her fists as she threw them out. One managed to hit the former dictator, causing her to fall over a ledge into a small river in the courtyard, splashing down.

"Agh…" she groaned in agony, grabbing at her hurt shoulder. She then slammed her right fist against the wall beside her, shattering it into fragments that she flung out towards her oncoming enemies, who ducked immediately to evade them. Having the opportunity to get away, she waved her arms and bent up a pillar from beneath herself to shoot up to the highest level of the courtyard, landing on her bare feet as she turned to look at the rest of the city beyond the estate. She glanced around before spotting the monorail line in the distance, noticing a railcar approaching the area. She was prepared to head towards it until she was almost struck by a spiraling throwing star made of water, as it destroyed a stone statue nearby upon impact. Grimacing in realization, she looked back to see Ash there with his Greninja and Pikachu, along with Suyin as she bent out shards of metal from her armor towards her. She narrowly managed to run away from the first two, but was clipped on her hurt shoulder by the third, cutting her skin open as she yelped in agony, hiding behind a wall.

"Hey, muchacha," a familiar voice chimed in, catching her attention as she looked to see Rex approaching her from the front, forming his right arm into a long, tentacle-like whip with a navy-colored backpack dynamo. He swung the build out at her, but she quickly threw out her left hand, stopping it as it was mere inches from striking her. "Uh oh…" he uttered in realization before getting flung face first into a wall with a flurry of dust to follow upon his impact.

"Just… stay out of my way…" his ex-girlfriend advised as she breathed heavily, running off. Coming out from the dust cloud coughing, the EVO had reformed his arm and back, seeing the former dictator getting away. Blue lines spread over his legs before they formed into large orange super boots. He squatted down and took a great leap, landing in front of her in an instant as she came to an immediate stop.

"Kuvira, you need to stop running and let us help!" he shouted as he turned to face her.

"I already told you that this is my burden," she responded coldly, "Stay out of it!" she demanded, waving her arms to make his boots suddenly move on their own, turning him upside down.

"Rex!" the Pokémon trainer cried out as he ran up the stairs towards the high courtyard level, seeing his comrade get slammed against the ground in an instant, "Ergh…!" he growled in frustration, looking over at the Water/Dark type beside him, "Greninja, let's help him out!" he declared as he got into a ready stance.

"Jah!" his partner agreed, prepared to undergo the transformation he had gone through back in Republic City.

"Hold on, I got this!" the goggled man yelled out, stopping the pair from doing anything as they saw his legs reform, followed by transforming his right arm into a large orange projectile cannon. As he stood up, he had its maw extend into the ground below and dig it up for ammunition, aiming the barrel towards his target. However, the mound of rock he fired was stopped by the former guard captain, who glared back at him. "Oh… right…" he muttered in realization as a drop of sweat rolled down the side of his head, "Earthbending, too…" he remembered. Loud yelps and thuds were heard as Korra and Suyin approached Ash and his teammates, who just watched on as their friend was continuously getting himself tossed around with each new build he made, including his omega ones.

"This… is embarrassing to watch…" the Avatar pointed out rather bluntly, prepared to jump into the fight until Suyin held her arm out in front of her.

"Allow me, Korra," she offered, readying more sharp shards of metal from pieces of her armor. As Rex was flung away once more with his hands in the form of the Smackhands, she fired off the pieces of metal, which Kuvira quickly took notice of. She managed to smack them away with her hands, but they received numerous cuts in the process, much to her agony as she could feel the sting from them. Seeing that she had been caught off guard for the moment, the EVO got up and tackled her from behind, tumbling down the levels of the courtyard with her towards the very bottom, much to the surprise of everyone else. The Metal Clan guards all rushed over to them as she shoved her attacker off and stood back up to face him. He reeled his morphed right arm back in an attempt to punch her, but she stuck her hands out, stopping him with her metalbending on his build as it shook uncontrollably.

"Agh…" he grunted, struggling to even move his arms under her power.

"Rex, I only want to say this one more time," she began in a frustrated tone, catching his attention, "This is my burden, so stay out of it!" she demanded, swinging her arms to cause one of the large gauntlets suddenly become compressed by the force of her bending, rupturing the metal and breaking pieces off.

"Rex!" the Avatar called out to him, catching his attention for a brief second as he looked to see his allies coming over to assist him. At that moment, the former dictator took the chance to crush both of his Smackhands, forcing him down onto the ground in a loud grunt.

"I'm sorry, Rex," she initially apologized, about to run off, "but this is for your own good," she stated. He gritted his teeth angrily before his eyes started to glow again with his hair flaming up a bright blue, much to her surprise as she saw him stand back up, reforming his arms into another build: a pair of giant metallic nunchaku that he spun around rapidly. Everyone approaching the fight stopped and widened their eyes to see the goggled man in the same state as he was last night, except now he was doing battle in the said condition. Kuvira attempted to metalbend his latest form of makeshift weapon, but found that he was still coming towards her, not slowed in the slightest.

"What in the world is that…?" Korra wondered as she blinked out of astonishment. Swinging the right Funchuck back, her comrade slammed it into the torso of his ex-girlfriend, sending her crashing into the wall beyond them in an instant as a flurry of dust followed. When it subsided moments later, she stumbled out and fell onto the ground, having fainted.

"All right!" Ash cheered with a pump of his fists.

"Pikah…!" Pikachu squeaked out of amazement. As the guards went over to restrain and take the rogue metalbender away, the EVO's eyes suddenly went back to normal as did his hair.

"Ah…" he moaned, going down onto his knees, "What just happened…?" he asked while rubbing his head out of agony.

"You put a stop to Kuvira, of course," Suyin responded in a grateful tone, getting his attention, "I can't believe she was almost able to escape again…" she grumbled before going after her guards to make sure the woman was restrained properly.

"Boy, you really need to fill me in on how you do all that…" Korra muttered towards her friend, helping him stand back up as she hoisted him by the shoulder.

"Yeah, put it on the list…" he retorted with a chuckle. His grin faded into a frown seconds later as he recalled something. "She can bend platinum," he told his teammates, causing them to slightly widen their eyes in surprise, "It's how she got out the first time and now," he mentioned, clenching his fists in frustration.

"Then why didn't we think of that?" Ash inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"We would've thought it was still impossible," the Avatar noted as a reply, "but… that now means we can't keep her here…" she realized.

"Huh…" Rex breathed out in exasperation, "Guess that's how things have to go," he pointed out, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he trotted off slowly with his friends.

X

A while passed as the former dictator was confined to a strait jacket and strapped to a table within a small room, still unconscious as the Beifong sisters looked over her.

"If she can bend all kinds of metal like platinum," Lin began to explain to her allies, catching their attentions, "then it's dangerous to keep her here," she told her sibling, who nodded in agreement.

"I suppose we'll have to look for a new lead into this Ryuto person…" she realized somberly.

"What?" the South Pole native's voice chimed in, catching their attentions as they saw her approach with her Omni Force teammates, "What about the tungsten mines we were gonna investigate?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't trust that it isn't a trap she's setting us up to fall in…" the matriarch replied, folding her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes.

"A trap?!" the EVO yelled, shoving the Pokémon trainer aside to go up to her, "With all due respect Su, that's a load of crap!" he stated fiercely with clenched fists, "I don't think she'd lie if the entire world's on the line and felt it was all her fault!" he yelled angrily.

"R-Rex, easy…" Ash pleaded with a stutter, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him away.

"I can't take any chances, Rex," Suyin said, "We don't know whether or not those locations are crawling with shoulders or have any evidence of her claims," she explained to him.

"Then I'll go check myself…" he muttered, storming off in a huff.

"Rex, hold on!" Korra yelled, groaning afterwards in exasperation, "Come on, Ash," she beckoned to her raven haired friend, going off with him after their comrade. As they made their way outside the building they were in, they saw the goggled man sitting down cross-legged, closing his eyes in order to think.

"Do you really think Kuvira's telling the truth?" the aspiring Pokémon master asked as he sat down beside him.

"Or… are you letting your feelings get in the way of reason?" the Avatar guessed with a smirk as she took her own seat to her friend's right.

"Huh…" he sighed deeply, placing his hand onto his cheek, "Circe wanted to have a normal life… the cowgirl started dating a guy who's a dick half the time…" he listed off, "then there was Kuvira…" he grumbled as he glanced down ashamedly, "I just feel like Su's not giving her a chance to make her case, you know?" he inquired to his teammates, "She just wants to answer for everything she's done her own way, not by staying locked up for others to take care of her problems," he explained.

"I… guess that makes sense," the South Pole native agreed, while Pikachu's ears suddenly perked up, "But you know, she is a criminal," she pointed out seriously, "They can't let her roam free," she noted, making him sigh.

"Yeah…" he agreed as the Electric type sauntered out towards the edge of the courtyard, noticing the billowing smoke coming from the downtown section of the city.

"Pika!" he exclaimed, catching the group's attention as they stood up and saw the black smoke rising all around the tall buildings.

"A fire?" Ash implied as he blinked in surprise.

"Or an attack…" Korra realized as she clenched her fists. Just then, they heard a loud alarm blare off through the speakers, noticing several Metal Clan guards rushing out of the estate buildings.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Rex shouted over the commotion, seeing the soldiers head toward the railcar parked at the station in the distance.

"There's been an attack on the city," one man answered, catching their attentions, "We're headed there now to provide backup and-" Without warning, a large tremor occurred to their surprise, causing them to stumble a little as they flinched. The Avatar looked out and gasped to see that the tracks had been destroyed as something had crashed into them, with a billowing cloud of dust surrounding what had done so.

"No…" she uttered in realization in widened eyes, seeing the large figure to come out and reveal itself as a dark green painted mecha suit, seemingly smaller than the one that had attacked Republic City, but still large in stature as everyone looked on in disbelief.

END

Oh boy. Short chapter, I know. But I want to get back to "Omni Force: WAR" for a few chapters before my senior year at college gets underway. So with everything that's gone on this summer, I've produced five new chapters and now have more to come before my break is over!

And don't forget to check out my shorts and trailers in my forum, which is linked in my profile page for those of you who want to check them out! Until next time!