Chapter 19 – Repent, the End is Near!
Asgard
Balder, the God of Light, ran through the Spirit Wilds along with the few warriors he had at his disposal. His armor had been wrecked, godly blood dropped from his busted lip and he gasped for air while he ran through the wilds.
He was being chased down by evil itself, it wanted to end the only representation of light left in the Spirit World. "Prince Balder!" One of the warriors yelled as he was pulled into the dark bushes.
"Keep moving!" Balder encouraged his Asgardian brethren. They kept running, sprinting with all of their might. But then Balder stopped, he was surrounded. Dark Storm Giants appeared from the obscured trees. "Odin's Beard…"
"What do we do?!" One of the warriors began to panic.
Balder didn't know what to do, he sighed. "Attack!" And so he rushed the darkness, he sliced and diced. But the sword did little to the enhanced hides of the giants and dark spirits.
The warriors began to fall one by one, and soon Balder was alone. The God of Light huffed and groaned, tired from the running and the fighting. He couldn't keep going, his body was suffering and his immortal soul screamed in agony.
"Stay down." A voice said from within the pack of giants. The brutes moved and allowed a man in dark green to walk through them. "You have lost."
Next to him, the vile Loki appeared. "Loki…" Balder said weakly.
"Oh Balder, you don't know how much I've waited for this day." Loki replied with a wicked smile on his face. "Little brother, how are you feeling right now? Afraid? Lost? Paralyzed?"
Balder tried to stand up and shut Loki's face, but he couldn't. "Yield Lightbringer, you have lost. With you out of the way, these lands will finally experience true darkness!" Lord Doom stated.
"End him; I will meet you in Midgard. And don't take too long, The Convergence is almost upon us." Loki ordered, Lord Doom nodded. He turned to look at the young god on the eyes.
"Send Hela my regards." Doom said, dark spider-like legs came out of his back and his eyes turned dark purple. Balder closed his eyes and…
Air Temple Island
It was night and Korra felt better now. That chat she had with Thor cheered her up and made her want to go out adventuring in the city with the others. Bolin, Mako, Thor and Asami assembled with Korra on the docks of the island.
"This is going to be so awesome." Bolin said.
"Uh Korra?" Mako asked.
"What?"
"I don't think we all are going to fit on Naga."
"Hm…yeah." Korra realized that they were all too heavy for Naga to carry on her back. "Sorry girl." She petted her polar bear-dog.
"Any ideas then?" Thor asked.
"I think I might have one." Asami said.
Asami entered the huge garage and came out with a top of the line satomobile , these were both powerful and fast. Everybody looked at the car with awe.
"Get in you guys." Asami said.
They all hoped inside, Mako was co-pilot, and Bolin, Korra and Thor sat in the back, in that order.
"I like the New Team Avatar's style." Mako said, clearly impressed with Asami's satomobile.
Asami drove the car into the city; it was the time for some vigilante justice!
Republic City
Daredevil swung through the skyscrapers of the city, on his journey he met the illusive Spider-Man sitting on the edge of a building. "Spider-Man." Daredevil said dropping next to him.
"Hey, what's up?" Spider-Man asked his heroic compatriot.
"Not much, city's been quiet. I don't like it." Daredevil replied, Spider-Man was eating some dumplings.
"Well…got to enjoy it…while it lasts." Spidey said through bites. Joining was Spider-Woman and Moon Knight. "The whole gang is here."
"Except that Blaze hasn't shown his skull in two weeks." Moon Knight stated. "I feel that something's coming and I want us ready."
"You guys heard about Councilman Tarrlok's SHIELD task force going door to door and arresting non-benders for no reason?" Spider-Woman asked.
"Yeah, what a jerk." Spider-Man replied.
"Things are escalating, and fast. The Equalists have been quiet, probably not wanting to get caught." Moon Knight added.
"I don't think that's the case, Knight. They're planning something, I know it." Daredevil said, he took a deep breath and sighed. Then Spider-Man noticed something coming their way, and fast.
"What's that?" Spider-Man pointed at it, it stood out from the night sky. It quickly got to them, it was man…a metal man, and he was flying.
They all took battle stances with Spider-Man quickly fixing his mask and taking up guard. "Identify yourself." Moon Knight told the metal man.
"I? I'm Iron Man!" The metal man replied, and did a goofy heroic stance. It took the vigilantes by complete surprise. "Not sold? I've been practicing for a year."
"Iron Man? You can fly…!" Spider-Woman stated.
"Technology baby, it can do wonders." Iron Man responded. "This armor can do anything!"
"Can it shut you up?" Moon Knight sarcastically asked.
"Ha ha…funny. I'm here to help, to be a hero!" Iron Man told them why he had shown up.
"For real? Great! I'm not the new guy anymore!" Spider-Man rejoiced. "Now FNG, make me a sandwich!"
"Shut up Spider-Man, you want to help? You can't anyone with that armor." Moon Knight said. "We operate in the darkness, in the shadows. You'll get in the way."
"And that's what's wrong with you people, too much doom and gloom with y'all. The people need to know that there are individuals out there that can make a difference! Sticking to the shadows doesn't help." Iron Man responded.
"He does have a point." Spider-Woman supported the tin man's opinion.
"Hmph." Moon Knight grunted, crossing his arms on top of his chest.
"What about you, devil? You've been awfully quiet." Spider-Woman asked Daredevil.
"Maybe you're right, but we can't…" Daredevil said. "…but you can, the public needs to know that they are not alone, both day and night."
"Hey hold on, I'm not doom and gloom." Spider-Man stated.
"How about I gather up a group? A team, a team that will sway public opinion and shed some light on our cause?" Iron Man proposed.
"That would be for the best." Daredevil agreed. Iron Man turned to leave, "Hold on."
"What is it?"
"Take Spider-Man and Spider-Woman with you." Daredevil said.
"What?" Both Spiders asked with surprise.
"You two are different from us, Moon Knight and me. You're both young and full of hope, and that's what is needed in the team that Iron Man is going to form." Daredevil explained. "See you starside."
Daredevil jumped off the building and Moon Knight mixed in with the shadows. "Ha…I get it because he can't see." Spider-Man said.
"Now…shall we begin with some introductions?" Iron Man asked his two new partners.
Asami turned on the radio-looking device, voices from what it seemed to be police officers.
"My father installed police scanners in all of his cars, now I know why." Asami said.
They all listened attentively; they stopped in a red light.
"We have Equalists escapees, copy we have Equalist escapees. They have been freed by other equalist in a black truck!" a police officer's voice said through the scanner.
As they finished hearing that, the black truck pasted by them, it being escorted by two Equalist motorcycle riders. Team Avatar rushed in to the pursuit, seeing that no Police Air Ship was giving in to the pursuit.
The motor cycle riders noticed them following in close, they threw poisonous gas grenades at them to stop them; the teens held their breath as the smoke dissipated quickly. The riders noticed that, so they held just a bit so that Team Avatar had reached their speed. Once they did, the Equalists jumped on top the car.
Thor grabbed one by the collar as he fell on top of him; he used the inertia of the man's fall to pull him to the other side making the Equalist fell into the road. The other one was electrified by Mako's lightning as he tried to grab Asami's hair.
"We are getting closer to the truck, Korra, Bolin use earthbending to topple the truck!" Asami yelled through the loud noise of the pursuit. They both stood up and with a smooth and synchronized movement created two pillars to come out of the ground and hit the moving truck, making it topple. Asami stopped her sato mobile, they got out to see the truck's occupants. They were all knocked out, but alive. The police arrived in that moment along with the media.
The SHIELD agents began to close the road, preventing the cameramen from taking pictures of what had happened. Tarrlok came out from one of the SHIELD personnel carrier trucks.
"What do you think you are doing?" Tarrlok said to Korra.
"We caught the bad guys for you." Korra said as she pointed at the Equalists as they were being arrested once again.
"No, what you did is cost the city thousands of yuans in damages. A lot of businesses were destroyed by random lightning bolts, flying rocks and flying motorcycles!" Tarrlok madly said.
Korra just looked at him with a 'really' face. Tarrlok began to get agitated by her attitude.
"You and your little group are prohibited from doing this 'vigilante' justice. Leave it to my agents, Avatar." Tarrlok said as he walked back to the truck. Korra just sighed.
"Please tell me that we're not stoping." Thor said, expecting Korra to say…
"Of course not, this is too much fun." Korra responded, just what he expected.
A couple of hours passed by, and they were waiting for the police scanner to report anything. Bolin was eating a bag of dumplings, Thor was looking at the mirror adjusting his long blonde hair, Korra was napping, Asami was putting lipstick on her lips and Mako was just playing with his scarf and making small bolts of the Nova Force to crackle in between his fingers. Then the scanner turned on, attracting everybody's attention.
"All agents to report to the Dragon District, an Equalist rally is on march. Over." The dispatcher said.'
"The Dragon District? That district is mostly full of non-benders." Mako informed the group.
"We better check what's going on, let's go." Korra said.
Dragon District, Republic City
The team arrived to the district but found something odd…
"Why are all the lights out?" Korra asked.
"Something must be going on, head for the plaza." Mako said.
They arrived at the plaza; Asami parked the car at the beginning of the street. There they saw dozens of police officers and SHIELD agents, and the new Chief of Police, Saikhan, telling the people inside the barricade to relent to the officers, a tent nearby, Korra saw Tarrlok talking to his secretary.
She went ahead to see what the officers and agents were doing, they were rounding up innocent people for no reason at all.
"Stop! What are you doing?!" Korra yelled at the officers, she earthbended the people down, they were being suspended up in groups by the officers and some SHIELD personnel.
"You have to help us, you are our Avatar too!" a woman holding a baby in the crowded said.
"Don't worry, I'll find a way to stop them!" Korra yelled.
She and the team went to confront Tarrlok on what he had done to those innocent people. The team found Tarrlok and Colonel Fury talking near a communications tent.
"Tarrlok, you have to stop this, these people did nothing to be treated like this!" Korra yelled at him.
"Avatar, I don't know what you are yelling about. These people are not innocent, they are Equalists." Tarrlok responded. "You have no authority here, Avatar."
"I won't let you get away with this." Korra said defiantly. Fury was standing still; he wanted to see what was going to happen.
"I just have had enough of you, Avatar. You are not only going against the law of the city but by going against me you go against the city as well. These people are outside when a non-bender curfew has been established!" Tarrlok said.
"You can't do that, it's not fair!" Asami yelled.
"You, you are a non-bender out on curfew and daughter to a known Equalist conspirator, Colonel, arrest her!" Tarrlok ordered a close-by metalbender.
Fury acknowledged and used his bending to arrest her with earth cuffs.
"Hey, you can't do that!" Mako yelled.
"Sorry kid, just doing my job." Colonel Fury responded.
"Arrest him too for interfering with the law, and the rest of these meddlers!" Tarrlok ordered.
Another SHIELD agent tried to arrest Thor, but he just pulled the metal cable and made the agent fall to the ground. Fury sighed and attacked Thor himself, easily overpowering the young prince and cuffing him with metal cuffs.
"Tarrlok!" Korra screamed while bending two huge chunks of rocks on the air.
"If I were you I would play nice if you want to see your friends again." Tarrlok said with a grin.
Korra had no choice but to place the rocks down on the ground.
"Good, so sad to see your little group disassemble this way, but at least you had your fun." Tarrlok said as he turned around and left Korra alone. Tarrlok re-entered the communications tent with the Colonel.
"Colonel, I want you to take these people to the police department as soon as possible and keep them there until further notice." Tarrlok ordered the SHIELD Director.
"Yes councilman." Fury acknowledged and exited the tent. On his way towards his satomobile, he saw the people being rounded up and placed into trucks. He sighed, Fury knew that what he was doing was wrong but he was a military man and he couldn't disobey a superior officer.
He entered his car, and began to remember the wars he had fought long ago. He touched his eye patch and grunted, "Soon…" He whispered and drove towards the police department.
Republic City Police Department
"Saikhan, I want those kids out of prison." Tenzin asked the new Police Chief.
"I am sorry; Tenzin, but I only follow orders from Councilman Tarrlok. You will have to wait until he says otherwise." Saikhan said.
"You are the worst Police Chief ever!" Korra said while she grabbed Saikhan's little beard.
"Calm down Korra, I will find a way to get them out. I will talk with Tarrlok in the morning, but you are truly the worst police chief ever." Tenzin said to Saikhan as he left with Korra.
Air Temple Island
Korra couldn't sleep; the thought of her friends in prison made her utterly furious, she had to g and demand their liberation, theirs and all of the innocent people that Tarrlok arrested unfairly. She had to do it now, it couldn't wait. She got up from bed and woke Naga up.
"Wake up girl; we are going to free our friends." Korra said to Naga.
She sneaked out of the island and swam towards the city.
City Hall, Republic City
Korra rode towards City Hall, entering into an alleyway behind the building. She hopped off Naga, "Stay here girl." Korra told Naga. It began to snow and the temperature lowered. She looked up, there was an opened window. She smirked.
Korra scaled up the walls and jumped inside the room, this looked like Tarrlok's office. But it was empty. "Huh?" Korra was confused; clearly he would've been here filing tons of paperwork.
She stepped out of the office and entered the Council room, there she saw Tarrlok sitting in his seat on the Council Table looking at papers. 'He has an office for that…' Korra couldn't understand why he didn't just do that in his office.
But before could jump down there and scare the living soul out of Tarrlok she felt something creeping through the shadows of the room. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as it passed near to her shoulder and into the lower hall.
"Who's there?" Tarrlok asked, he looked around. "You there!" He shouted at Korra's direction, she was hiding behind a column.
"Come out, I can see you." Tarrlok said… no answer. Tarrlok grunted and took out his water pouch and bended a water whip into the column, making Korra duck as the whip sliced through the marble column. "Avatar…"
"I want you to let my friends and the people go!" Korra exclaimed as she jumped into the lower hall and confronted the councilman directly.
"I will if…" Tarrlok continued, "…you join my SHIELD task force and stay away from my business."
"No! I will not fall for your stupid ultimatums anymore." Korra responded.
"Then you won't see your friends until I say so." Tarrlok replied while turned his back to her and went to continue with his paperwork.
"If you won't then I'll make you! Liberate those people, they did nothing against anyone!" Korra yelled.
"You and I are similar; we both resort to extremes to get what we want." Tarrlok said.
"Shut up! You blame innocents for the wrong doings of others, you…YOU ARE JUST LIKE AMON!" Korra exclaimed.
That last comment broke a nerve in Tarrlok's mind, he couldn't be like Amon, and he can't be. But before he could unleash his fury on the young Avatar something intervened…
"Do tell." Something said from the shadows taking both Tarrlok and Korra by surprise. They looked around but they were alone… "Actually, Amon is no more."
A man with a dark green cape and hood stepped from the darkness. "Greetings Avatar and Councilman Tarrlok."
"Amon…" Tarrlok said.
"No, Lord Doom." He responded, swiftly moving through air and striking Tarrlok on the chest sending him flying across the room and hitting the opposite wall.
Korra acted quickly and bended fire against the demonized Amon. The herald of darkness avoided the fire attacks and grabbed Korra by the neck. "The Avatar, I have been given the task to end you. And what better way to begin the conquest than with your destruction."
Korra struggled to breath, she kept throwing fire blasts at Lord Doom but they had little effect on his dark aura. Then suddenly, Tarrlok threw himself at Lord Doom, forcing him to let go of Korra and fall on the ground.
Tarrlok quickly stood up and took a forbidden stance…he froze both Korra and Lord Doom on their place. Korra could feel the pressure in her veins and on her body parts as they twisted with Tarrlok's hand gestures.
"You…you can bloodbend." Korra said in pain. "But there is not even a full moon."
"There are thing you don't know about me Avatar…and you…" Tarrlok was about to execute the interloper but he was gone. "What the?"
Then something appeared behind the councilman, it was Magneto. But his eyes were crimson and his once red costume was now dark purple. Tarrlok turned to see the corrupted Master of Magnetism, he was smiling wickedly.
It was this time that Tarrlok felt his body turning against him, "Agh!" Tarrlok grunted, Korra was freed from the bloodbending grip and fell on the ground.
"Lights out Councilman." Magneto said with a slightly disturbing voice. Then Korra heard a crack and immediately saw the limp body of Tarrlok fall on the floor motionless. She gasped; Magneto stood immobile laughing at the corpse of the councilman.
Korra quickly stood up and ran towards the exit. Once she reached the gates, she kicked them open. She turned to see the most horrible sight in her entire life, just an inch away from her face a demonic red skull was looking at her. Korra screamed and earthbended a rock wall between her and the dark Red Skull.
Korra went for Naga who was sleeping in the back alley waiting for her master, she hopped on her. "Go Naga! Go!" Korra yelled, she rode as fast as she could. On her way back to the temple she saw someone following her on the rooftops, swinging from building to building.
She felt her blood freeze in fear and made Naga run faster. "Hey! What's the hurry!?" The voice of a teenager could be heard, Korra turned to see the Amazing Spider-Man swinging next to her. She sighed in relief…
"Oh spirits…it's just you." Korra said, stopping Naga who was very tired from the running. Spider-Man landed next to the animal and scratched the back of his head.
"What? Not surprised in seeing the amazing wall-crawler…or even remotely scared?" Spider-Man asked Korra.
"Actually no, you don't look too menacing." She replied, making Spider-Man chuckle. Korra looked at the streets she had come from, it was passed midnight and it was really dark. The streets had some lights but the darkness of the winter night overtook the little light there were.
But now she was more relax knowing that there was someone with her. "I think I need your help…" Korra said, she was trembling from both the cold and fear. "There are some messed up things happening…the councilman…Councilman Tarrlok…he has been…"
"Slow down." Spider-Man said, he saw a parka in one of pouches of Naga's saddle. He grabbed it and gave to Korra. "Now, what's up?"
"Tarrlok…he has been assassinated and I…I…" Korra then fainted from the terrible night falling on the wall-crawler's arms.
"Uh oh…" Spider-Man said to himself. "Now what do I do?"