Book 1: Earth

Chapter 4: The Mysterious Masked Man

When the trio walked back into the Professor's flat, he was hovering over his radio, listening carefully to police reports and jotting them down onto a yellow notepad. His expression showed mass amounts of worry, if he had known that the teenagers were standing there, he would have covered it up.

"Professor," Luke said quietly. He whipped around to see them with curious looks on their faces.

"Oh, um, hello," He stuttered while hastily scooping his radio up along with the notepad and pen.

"What were you listening to?" Luke stood in front of him, almost begging for an answer.

"Just the… evening news," He pushed through the boy lightly and started off towards his office, when he reached the doors he turned back around to say one last thing, "It's police reports from Scotland Yard, and it's nothing children should want to listen to. Oh and dinners in the kitchen." He mumbled before shutting the door behind him.

"Geez, what was that all about?" Clive asked while jumping over the couch and landing with a thud on the sofa.

"First," Flora slapped him up side the head, "No jumping on the furniture."

"Okay, okay," Clive gave her a dirty look before picking up the morning's newspaper and peering at the print.

"Second," she walked around the sectional and plopped down next to him, "It probably has something to do with Descole and the Family."

"What can he do?" Luke asked while sitting down at the edge of the sofa, "Threaten a few benders?"

"No," Flora eyed Luke, "I've heard he can take people's bending away." Clive's and Luke's heads snapped in Flora's direction.

"Only the Avatar can do that," Clive glanced at Luke once more before looking back at Flora.

"Yeah," Luke said agreeing with him, "I'm the only person who can do that."

"Well," she stood up and brushed off her dress, "That's not what I've heard." She pulled a piece of crumpled paper out of her pocket, "This is one of the fliers that Ward was handing out." She handed it to Clive before she began to head into the kitchen to grab a quick snack.

"Hm," Clive examined the front as Luke started to slide next to him.

"What does it say?" He asked.

"It says… Descole, a hero to all Non-Benders and leader of the Family. Watch and observe as he cleanses benders of their impurity at midnight" Clive paused and flipped the flier over, "Why would they have a time and no location?" He muttered to himself.

"Pft, yeah right," Luke said ignoring Clive's last comment.

"Wait!" Clive grabbed his arm, "Look at the back of this, there are colored lines and grooves…" He scratched his chin as Flora walked back into the room.

"What are you…?" She peered at the paper, "Is that a… map?"

"A map," Clive looked up, "Why would they put a map on the back of a flier and with no location?" He let the paper fall onto the coffee table.

"Maybe…" Flora straightened up, "Come back to the park with me, I have an idea." She ran towards the door waiting patiently as Luke and Clive made their way, very slowly towards the door, "Oh and take the flier." Clive groaned and headed back to the living space to snatch the flier in his hands, "Professor, we're going back to the park! We'll be back in an hour or so!"

…

"Look," Flora pointed to the pedestal that Ward was still shouting on, "He's still here."

"So what?" Clive shrugged, crunching the paper that sat inside his pocket.

"Just, you stay here, Luke come with me," She pulled on the boy's upper arm.

"What, wait, why can't I come with you?" Clive asked, partly offended and partly annoyed.

"Ward already knows that you're a bender," Flora turned around and looked him in the eye, "Please just stay here, we'll be back in a minute or so." She smiled lightly as him before dragging Luke towards the platform Ward was still preaching on top of.

"Flora, what's the point of this?" Luke complained quietly as she pulled him into the crowd.

"Just try to grab as many fliers as you can, I'll explain later," she whispered back. The two immersed themselves into the crowd. Ward was passing out handfuls of fliers to people surrounding him.

"Take some fliers, come take some now!" He threw the papers into the air, Luke and Flora tried their best to grab them, but taller people towered over them.

"Flora, we're never-" Luke suddenly tightened his lips as Ward crept behind her.

"Here are some fliers for the pretty lady," his yellow teeth widened into a smile as she turned around and he handed her a large stack of papers.

"Oh thank you," her cheeks reddened as she accepted the handouts.

"You're very welcome," he bowed slightly before running back up to his pedestal. "Tonight, midnight!" He chanted as the two made their way out of the chaos.

"Okay, now what?" Luke asked her as they walked quickly back to Clive.

"Just, wait," She glared down at him. He snapped his head down, afraid of Flora's wrath. They walked back to Clive without another word to each other.

"So Flora," Clive stepped towards her, "What happens next?" He crossed his arms.

"This," she dropped the papers onto the ground and started to sift though them.

"What is 'this' exactly?" Clive questioned while kneeing down next to her.

"Give me your flier and I'll show you," she put her hand out and Clive pulled the paper out of his pocket.

"Ug, did you have to crumple it?" She complained while laying it out onto the grass.

"Sorry," He apologized quickly. Flora just shook her head and grabbed two more papers from the stack. She flipped them over; both had different patterns on the backs.

"See," she placed them next to the crumpled flier and lined them up so the colored lines matched.

"The map is in pieces," Luke concluded, "Like a puzzle."

"So not just anyone can get in," Clive smiled at Flora.

"Exactly," she smiled back, her cheeks burned. She reached back into the pile and grabbed one last sheet; it has a red dot in the middle of the page.

"So that's where we have to go… but where is it exactly?" Luke asked once Flora has placed the paper with the others. It was clearly a part of the city, but which part?

"Here," Clive picked up the whole map and dashed over to the busing schedule and stop, a city map was printed on a large divider, "Let me see…" He experimented with the locations all over the map, "Erm… I've got it!" Flora and Luke by this time were not far behind him.

"Where is the rally Clive?" Luke asked nervously.

"Midland Road… in Baldwin," he examined it carefully.

"Do you know where that is?" Flora peered at the big red dot in the middle of the paper.

"Yes," Clive replied as he straightened out all of the papers and placed them in his jacket pocket, "So are we going to go?"

"I think we should," Luke agreed with him.

"I don't know what if he takes our bending away?" Flora crossed her arms.

"Flora, you are the one who made us look for this place," Clive turned to her.

"I know but-"

"Luke and I will be there the whole time, okay, you'll be fine," Clive smiled lightly at her.

"Okay," she let out a sigh, "But we need to go incognito." She smiled devilishly at them, "Let's head back to the flat to change."

…

By eleven they were all dressed in brown, unnoticeable clothing, old scarves and knit hats. It was mid-autumn; the weather was usually chilly at night. Clive had the map inside his coat, only because Flora insisted that they would need it.

"What if they ask for it once we're inside?" She had put her hands on her hips.

"Fine, fine," Clive gave up after about a half an hour of arguing with her, "I'll bring the stupid map."

"Thank you for agreeing with me," she had smiled a proud winning smile and opened the door, "Shall we head out?" They boys followed her out of the flat and she locked it behind them. They progressed into the freezing air.

"Flora, what if the Professor wakes up while we're gone?" Luke asked once they were a half-mile up the street.

"I have the perfect excuse," she explained to them, "I'll just say that we ran out of groceries and I needed to pick up some more."

"How do we fit into his equation?" Clive asked her.

"Duh, the Professor would never let me travel outside at night alone." She laughed slightly.

"I guess that makes sense," Luke paused to think for a minute, "But what happens when you walk in without any groceries?"

"The store was closed." She answered quickly.

"Well you certainly have this planned out don't you?" Clive laughed genuinely, "Have you done this before?"

"Of course not!" She turned to him, anger flaming in her eyes, "I'm not a bad person."

"Flora, its okay," He put his arm around her shoulder, "We could really care less."

"Oh," She sighed, her breath like a cloud, white in the air.

"Gosh," Luke rubbed his arms, "It's freezing out here."

"Do you want me to warm you up a bit?" Flora asked them quietly.

"Yeah, sure-" Luke suddenly realized something, "You're a firebender?"

"Shh…" Flora covered his mouth with her hand. "Yes, I am, please don't shout, we're close enough to Midland Road already."

"Um," Luke pulled her hand away, "You don't seem like a firebender, you seem more like an airbender…" Luke scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"I know, I know," she told them, "But all I can do is this," she pulled off one of her gloves and illuminated a flame in the center of her palm, "I can't make it any bigger or hotter… this is it."

"Why is that?" Clive asked while warming his hands.

"I don't have any idea," she closed her hand into a fist, "I've never been able to make it big enough for it to come in handy." She sighed while putting her glove back on.

"Well it just did come in handy," Clive nudged her softly.

"Thanks," she blushed slightly, firebending made it almost impossible not to blush.

"Hey you people!" They whipped around to see a man with a very large chin charging towards them.

"Oh yes officer?" Clive asked innocently as physically possible.

"It's Colby, and where are you heading off to at this time of night? Don't you know it's dangerous?" Colby peered at them suspiciously.

"Of course sir," Clive told him, "My… wife and I were just picking our son up from my… father's house." He held his breath.

"Oh," he leaned back, "Then carry on, get home, it's dangerous." Colby tipped his hat and began to walk away. The trio didn't start talking again until he had turned the corner.

"Wife?" Flora asked irritated, "Your wife?"

"I'm sorry that was the only excuse I could think of," he admitted, "And besides, did you want me to say, 'Oh yes, we're just going to a Family rally, no problem officer.'?" Clive asked he was irritated as well.

"I guess not," Flora looked down at the ground.

"I didn't think so," Clive immediately felt bad after he had let those words leave his lips, "Flora, I'm sorry-"

"Save your breath Clive," she shot him a dirty look before walking ahead of the boys.

"Nice one," Luke said sarcastically, "Haven't you noticed how sensitive she is?"

"I'm sorry," Clive glared down at the boy, "And how could I tell she was sensitive, I've barely talked to her for the day I've known her."

"I guess," Luke mumbled as they neared Midland Road. The street was long and dark, as far as they could see not one was around, but lights shown down the road from the inside of an old warehouse.

"This way," Clive turned left down the road, Flora looked up from her position and ran to join the others, even though she was still angry with him, she didn't want to be left all alone.

They walked down over the cobblestones and pavements, windows were closed, doors locked, the whole street was quiet and lonely. Dark shadows loomed over them, almost forcing Flora to link arms with Clive.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he whispered down to her.

"I know," she said softly as they became close to the warehouse front entrance. A tan man with blonde hair was standing at the front of the door. He had a maroon colored suit on and sunglasses even though it was already dark.

"The name's Splinters," he glared at all three of them, "Ticket?"

"Um, do you mean these?" Clive reached into his coach to grab the fliers. He pulled them out to show Splinters.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," he frowned at Clive before opening to door, "Get inside." Clive, Flora, and Luke slipped into the warehouse with ease.

"That was easy," Luke smiled slightly.

"Yes it was, now please don't blow our cover, all we're here to do is to see what Descole is capable of." Clive told him, "Try not to attract any attention." Luke nodded.

"Got it," He nodded once more as they entered the main rally room. People were everywhere talking and shouting, but posters of Descole were everywhere to and it scared Luke. He was the most powerful bender in the world; could Descole take his bending away to?

"Non-Benders of London!" Spotlights flickered onto the stage; a platform began to rise up, Descole standing on top of it, "Years ago, a firebender destroyed my family and my home, not only that but he took away my eyes."

"Oh my," Flora covered her mouth with her hand as other gasps rang out through the warehouse.

"From then on, I knew that bending was the main source of evil in this world," he careful walked off his platform, "So I figured out a way to rid of it from the human race!" People all around the trio cheered and cursed towards benders, while Luke just melted in his shoes, "I have gathered criminals able to bend from all over London here tonight to witness my power." He gestured towards a platform that was rising out of the stage, criminals and thugs were lined up, they sat there, their hands tied and mouths gagged.

"Oh my gosh Clive," Flora looked up at him, "Is he really going to do it?"

"I don't know Flora, that can't be possible," Clive muttered as more people cheered.

"Send the first one up," Descole looked towards the first criminal, he had a red beard and hair, and he was wearing a black jump suit. Two masked men with strange uniforms untied his hands and mouth, letting him charge towards Descole.

"You little," the man growled before sending a fireball towards Descole's head with his fists. He punched the air and swatted at him before the masked man flipped over his head, pulling it down with his hands.

"You will now be cleansed of your impurity," Descole placed one finger on the thug's forehead and in a second he was on the floor trying to create a simple flame. Luke stepped back, terrified while the people that surrounded him cheered, "Send up the next."

"Clive, Luke," Flora turned to them, worried and afraid, "We have to get out of here."

"I was thinking the same thing," Luke added quickly.

"Yeah," Clive looked back at the stage angry at Descole for everything he was doing, "Let's go," Flora and Luke nodded in approval and they started to make their way back to the entrance of the warehouse, Splinters was still standing in front of the door when Clive forced it open with his metalbending kick.

"Hey!" He turned around, his face was beat red with anger and embarrassment as the door slowly swung open with a large foot shaped dent in the middle.

"Oh, erm, sorry, we really need to get home," he stumbled over his words.

"Are you really in that big a rush?" Splinters shouted furiously.

"Really, I'm sorry," Clive try to apologize as Luke and Flora slipped behind him.

"Is that the best you've got kid?" Splinters asked.

"No it's not," out of rage and annoyance of the man Clive lifted his foot high off the ground and sent it down forcefully right in front of Splinters. A large rock came straight up from the earth, rocketing him high up into the air, high enough that he landed on the roof of the warehouse.

"Benders!" His voice was heard from the top of the building and a few seconds later he appeared wobbling back and forth with a transmitting devise in his hands, "We have benders on the property!" Clive cursed under his breath as he ran towards Luke and Flora.

"Get out of here, now!" He pushed them both roughly on their backs. Flora fell into the dirt, not possessing enough balance to support herself and lay there unconscious while Luke on the other hand, drilled his heels into the soil, in a fighting stance.

"I'm not leaving without you Clive," he smirked slightly just before about ten uniformed men in masks came running out of the footed door.

"Don't you move," the first one charged at Clive, his fists were punching furiously back and forth. He managed to make contact with Clive's arm, causing him to wince in pain.

"Ug!" Clive slid to the side and slammed his foot onto the ground causing a rock to shoot up right under his feet.

"Urg!" The man was dispensed into the air and landed on a nearby building. Clive sighed unnoticeably as more masked men began to back away from him, that is until he saw them head for Luke and Flora.

"No you don't!" He ran over quickly, sending a semi-circular mess of rock and bricks from buildings between them and the enemy with his good hand balled into a fist. His limp arm hung lifelessly from his side. And if he let go, everything would crumble.

"Clive!" Luke helped him support his widening wall as best he could; earthbending was still very new to him, "I want you to grab Flora, I'll hold this up, just get her out of here, I'll create a distraction!"

"Are you crazy?" Clive looked towards him, "You can't hold this up! Everything will fall and they will climb over it!"

"I don't need to hold it for long!" Luke's face was completely serious, "Just get out of here." Clive breathed in and nodded. He closed his eyes for a moment before letting go of his grip on the wall. Clive immediately scooped up Flora and carried her to the best of his ability with his one good arm, and was just praying that no one was following him.

Luke by this time was losing his grasp on the wall; masked men were beginning to get around it. His plan wasn't working exactly like he wanted it to, it's now or never he thought to himself as he let go of the wall, letting the bricks and rocks fall to the ground. He rapidly closed his eyes and clenched and unclenched his fists. Water rose from the sewers and blended into the air. Mist engulfed the area in a matter of seconds which left Luke to run out of the place, hoping to never come back.

So how did you like this chapter? I tried to make it not exactly like Korra, but it was sort of like it, you know the whole rally part and all But I think that it turned out really good. As you should know, I'm a ClivexFlora supporter, so I had to have a few little parts in there, but trust me it will not be romantic in any way whatsoever Now how do you feel about Flora being a firebender? I know it doesn't seem like her type of bending, but trust me it will play out well! Also if you were wondering those 'masked men' are the people from the Eternal Diva, the henchmen or whatever and they are supposed to represent Chi-Blockers. Anyway, PLEASE CHECK OUT MY POLL! Thanks! Peace out girl scout! -Lil