Tadashi decided that he disliked handcuffs the moment that he woke up.

He was in the back of a police armored car, the chain of the cuffs hooked to the metal wall behind him. Platinum, he suspected. To be completely honest, he wouldn't have expected to be in something this secure. Last he checked, the police were perfectly content to cart off benders in regular police cars - he had seen it happen on campus. It had been a shame too. The girl had just been trying to put out a fire, and accidentally exposed her bending. They had arrested her even though she had stopped the fire from spreading to other labs and probably saved several lives.

Shaking his head, Tadashi tried to focus on the situation at hand. Obviously he had been knocked out. However, he realized with a sigh of relief, Hiro seemed to have escaped. Flicking his eyes upward, he noticed two policemen - anti-bending force members, specifically - sitting on the benches at the front of the space. Both of them had their eyes trained on him intently, obviously having realized that he had woken up and could potentially try to escape.

Tadashi hung his head, noticing that they both were equipped with the tasers that had gotten him in the first place. He was going to kill Hiro when he got out of this, and then he was going to hunt down his brother's reincarnation and shake him into the next element in the cycle. At the very least, Hiro was okay. That was what he had to remind himself of. Tadashi was just a regular waterbender. He wasn't nearly as important in the grand scheme of the world as Hiro was.

The car stopped, and Tadashi felt inertia force his wrists to push against the cuffs, their sharp edges cutting into his skin. He winced briefly, noticing that his shoulders and back were already sore from being held in their drawn back position. That was standard, at the very least. But the armored car, the attentive guards, the platinum - none of that was typical fare for your average captured bender.

Oh Tui, Tadashi thought, realization suddenly striking him. They think I'm the Avatar.

It all made sense. The police guards had seen them in the dark of the back alleyway just before Hiro had flown away on his glider. And before that… Hiro had loosed a burst of fire in frustration. In the dark it easily could have been mistaken for something that Tadashi had done. And of course, Tadashi had defended himself with waterbending directly before he had been knocked out. They had seen the two, and with Tadashi being older and therefore more likely to have been the one that had been fighting, they had assumed that he was the Avatar and not Hiro.

Better you than Hiro. Better you thank Hiro.

No one had known exactly when Avatar Kenuichio, the past Avatar, had passed away. There had been a time when the world hadn't needed the Avatar before the police began to become more and more aggressive under the government. Sometime during the transitional period, Avatar Kenuichio, an earthbender, had died secluded in the wilderness. Of course, the Hamadas were really the only people who knew that he had passed away on the 8th of September in the year 2000. The rest of the world only knew that sometime between 1992 and 2004 Kenuichio had died, leaving the age of the current avatar up for debate. Hiro and Tadashi were close enough together age-wise for either of them to be in the correct range.

Tadashi supposed that the situation was fortunate. If he was in custody, then Hiro wasn't. However, the Avatar would be the most closely guarded prisoner in all of San Fransokyo. If he died, the cycle would merely begin again along with the search for the Avatar, and the state would lose the most important capture they had ever made. That meant that as long as they believed that Tadashi was the Avatar, there would be a minimal chance of him ever escaping.

He may never see Hiro or Aunt Cass or any of his friends ever again.

Tadashi would have held his head in his hands if he had been able to. This was bad, really bad. Of course, the university would be notified. His lab would be appropriated, his projects thoroughly reviewed. At the very least, Baymax was in his side of he and Hiro's shared room at the café. With any luck, the robot wouldn't be taken or too thoroughly inspected. Maybe Hiro would continue to work on him and develop him more.

The car lurched into motion once again, and Tadashi winced as the cuffs dug sharply into his wrists once more. Knowing Hiro, he'd probably attempt to do something harebrained and try to rescue him. All Tadashi could hope for was that his younger brother would keep his head down and not be discovered when the police inevitably came knocking at the Lucky Cat Café. If Hiro could convince them that he wasn't a bender, he would be fine. Although it happened often, siblings weren't always both benders. Hiro and Tadashi weren't even originally the same variation of bender. Hiro had been born into the Avatar cycle as a firebender. Their mother had been a waterbender while their father had been a firebender, leading the two brothers to develop with different elemental styles. Although, Tadashi supposed that Hiro didn't really count since he technically was every type of bender.

Tui, the handcuffs really were uncomfortable. Tadashi shifted in his seat, twisting his wrists in the confines of the metal. Immediately, both of the officers' hands flew to their tasers, and Tadashi ceased his movement. They were obviously on edge, and he certainly wasn't hoping to get shocked and knocked out again. His body was already sore enough, and he had a the beginnings of a splitting headache building above his right eye that was probably due to the fact that several thousand volts of electricity had been coursing through his body recently. It certainly wasn't something that he hoped he would make a habit of anytime soon.

The car drove onto a new surface, forcing Tadashi to jostle slightly in the cuffs and wince. Their speed slowed, and eventually they ground to a halt. There was silence, and Tadashi swallowed gingerly and waited to be bustled out and into a new location. However, they merely continued to sit in silence, the officers glancing his way ever so often as their fingers twitched on their guns. They were obviously nervous about guarding the Avatar. Tadashi couldn't blame them - except for the fact that he was very much not the Avatar.

There were noises from outside of the car that were too muffled for Tadashi to distinguish. He kept his head down, making every effort not to shift too much and set off the officers. They remained stationary for about ten minutes in the vehicle, and Tadashi let his mind wander to Hiro. What was his brother doing right now? He should have made it back to the Lucky Cat Café by this point. It was protocol to trace down any family members who could possibly be benders as well, so they would inevitably come knocking at his brother's door. Hiro was smart enough to get past the police's first assessment. After that though, he would be monitored closely and would have to be much too careful. It'd be better for him to camp out with one of Tadashi's friends instead of risking capture.

There was a small thump from below Tadashi's feet, and he felt a mild jostling. Muffled shouts echoed from outside of the car, and he strained his ears to hear anything that would help him to work out what was going on. Suddenly, he began to piece things together. They didn't keep the benders on the mainland, Tadashi had known that. They had driven the car onto a boat, one of the many that crossed the harbor of San Fransokyo each day, and had left for transport to…

The doors flew open, and Tadashi's head whipped to look outside at the night sky and the bright skyline of San Fransokyo. He knew where he was.

They were on Akuma Island.

Hiro landed lightly on the terrace of the Lucky Cat Café, quickly folding his glider up like Tadashi had modified it to. He could have sworn that he had flown over half of San Fransokyo making sure that he lost the police. Some of them had tried to trail him for a while, but he was sure that he had lost them after a while and that they hadn't seen his face. At the very least, he'd be able to avoid them for a while. Scanning to make sure no one had seen him land, he threw open the door leading in from the garden. They kept it unlocked most of the time for nights like this, and Hiro was grateful for the fact. He jumped down the flight of stairs, calling the air to catch him at the bottom. As he shoved open the door at the bottom, he dashed into the apartment and around the corner.

"Aunt Cass!" He called out, already thundering down to the kitchen. His aunt wasn't there, and he was suddenly realized that the café was still open. Of course, it was Tuesday - beat poetry night. He skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs that led down into the café, and heard the sounds of lilting speech and soft drums. Throwing a hand onto his face and dragging it down, Hiro lamented the fact that tonight would be the busiest one that the café had every month.

Steeling himself for the crowd below, Hiro crept down the stairs, gingerly placing each step. He didn't want to be involved in a conversation with one of the regulars. They tended to ask questions about where he was going to school, how he was feeling, if he was in a relationship, if Tadashi was in a relationship… A pang of guilt spread through Hiro's chest at the thought of Tadashi. It was all his fault, and now he had to fix it.

But first, he had to tell Aunt Cass.

Creeping along the back edge of the cafe and avoiding the makeshift stage on the left side, he snuck back to the register where his Aunt was watching the current poet speak with a fond expression as she absentmindedly munched on one of her signature donuts. There was a flurry of snapping from the café as the poet said something presumably profound - Hiro wasn't listening - and he took the opportunity to rush up to his Aunt, tap her on the shoulder, and frantically motion for her to join him in the café's kitchen that was adjacent to the register. She gave him an exasperated look until she noticed that his normally relaxed face was tight, with drawn eyebrows and wide eyes.

Pulling her into the kitchen, Hiro slid the door shut as quickly as possible. Cass swallowed her last bite of donut. "What's wrong, what happened?"

Hiro cut to the chase. "Tadashi's been captured."

Cass's hand tightly gripped the edge of the counter. "What?"

Hiro swallowed, feeling the guilt hit him again. "Tadashi, he- he let himself be captured by the police. For waterbending."

"Why was he waterbending in front of the police?" Cass's knuckles were white, her face unusually tense. "He knows better than that, why would he ever-"

"Aunt Cass," Hiro cut her off, clenching his fists. "He- He was saving me." His Aunt's eyes widened. "I was pro-bending, and some of the guys there accidentally found out that I was the Avatar, and they were gonna hurt me… Tadashi found me just in time. But then the police were there, and…" Hiro ran a hand through his hair, biting his lip. "He had my glider. And he told me to go." Tears began to prick at the edges of his eyes for the first time that night. "And- And I did."

Hiro gazed down, fighting the urge to break down. Tadashi was captured, Tadashi wasn't here, and it was all his fault-

Suddenly, Hiro was wrapped in a warm embrace and he instinctively tensed up. He realized that Aunt Cass was hugging him, and that she was crying too, and then everything just built up and he wrapped his arms around her and held on like he would never let go. She pulled him closer and he let himself cry into the fabric of her shirt, finally letting all that had happened sink in.

After several long moments, she pulled him away, holding his shoulders at arms length. "Tadashi's not gone," she said, her voice with barely a hint of a quaver. "He's not gone," she repeated, just as much for herself as for Hiro. "And we will get him back."

Hiro nodded solemnly, wiping away several tears from his eyes. "Yeah, I know, it's just… it's my fault."

Aunt Cass looked him dead in the eye. "Hiro, you can't place the blame on yourself. Tadashi knew what he was doing when he told you to run, and he wouldn't have made you go if he wasn't sure of the consequences."

Hiro clenched his fingers around the corner of his hoodie. "If I hadn't gone pro-bending -"

"Hiro," Aunt Cass cut him off. "Blaming yourself won't get you anywhere. You couldn't have known."

"I should have known -"

"Yes," Aunt Cass cut him off sharply. "But reflecting on that will not change anything. Tadashi made his choice. Tadashi is not dead," she spoke firmly, almost as much for herself as for Hiro.

The comment stung, but Hiro took the sentiment to heart. Tadashi wasn't dead. That in itself was a comfort. While the government and the police force were becoming more and more aggressive in their anti-bending stance, they still hadn't acquired the right to outright kill benders without evidence that they had done harm to others. Tadashi had resisted his arrest, but that wasn't nearly enough for a death sentence. He could still be rescued. Of course, he would be detained, and put in prison with all of the other benders in an isolated environment. Which meant that he was on…

Akuma Island.

Hiro stiffened. He had heard the name in some of the underground bending circles. Few had ever escaped the facility, isolated as it was from mainland San Fransokyo. The area was technically quarantined, but in reality it was where all of the captured benders from the San Fransokyo area were held. It was where Tadashi likely was right now. He turned his eyes up to meet Aunt Cass's. "I know where he is."

Hiro felt her hands grip his shoulders tighter. "You do?"

He nodded. "I heard about it in, well…" He swallowed again. "In the pro-bending underground." He watched as her eyes widened, but she allowed him to continue. "Some of the benders have escaped, but only a handful at best. They take them to Akuma Island, one of the small islands off of the mainland city."

"That's where they would take Tadashi?" Cass questioned. "Are you sure?"

Hiro nodded once again in affirmation. "It's their most secure facility. Probably the only one in the area. The government has it set up as a quarantine area so no civilians stumble on it. Not that it'd be all that easy to stumble onto, it's on one of the islands."

"It's not as if we could just barge in there, though." Cass took her hands off of his shoulders, rubbing one down her face. "What are we going to do, Hiro?"

Hiro's mind was blank. "I-" he began, trying to spit out some sort of plan. "I don't know."

From outside in the café came the soft sound of a flurry of snaps and soft drum hits. Cass pursed her lips. "I don't know if you can stay here. I'm assuming that they're going to identify Tadashi, and come investigate us here."

"They saw me fly away," Hiro murmured, fingers worrying the edge of his hoodie. "If any one of them got a good look at me and can identify me-"

Once again, his Aunt took his shoulders. "I'm not going to let that happen, okay?" She stared him down. "You are so important, and not just because you are the Avatar. I mean it," she added on after seeing the look on his face. "Hiro, you are important to me. You are important to Tadashi." Hiro gripped the zipper of his jacket. "Hell, even Mochi is warming up to you, and I am not going to let anything else happen to you, alright?"

Hiro nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Cass gave him a small nod back in agreement before standing up to her full height and removing her warm hands. "I'm going to have to go back in there and close up early. We've got some things to sort out."

With that, she entered back into the café, jovially clapping her hands together and speaking to the customers. As they exited with ambient chatter and cheerful goodbyes, Hiro leaned up against the counter near the stove, gripping the edge until his knuckles turned white. They had been fine for eleven years. Why was this happening now?

Tadashi decided that he disliked being manhandled almost as much as he disliked handcuffs.

Which he was still sporting, by the way.

They had thrust him out of the armored car and onto solid ground, where he had almost immediately been seized by several pairs or secure hands and frogmarched into the closest of the buildings of the Akuma Island facility. There had been little chance for even the smallest struggles, but still some part of him felt as if he should be resisting more than he was at the moment. So he dragged his feet, not making it easy for them to push him forward. Was it petulant? Yes. Was it also satisfying? Very much so.

Cold air rushed over him as they entered the facility, and Tadashi realized that he was entering what was likely one of the most secure prisons in the world. The officers pushed him over slick linoleum, and every few meters he ended up tripping over his own feet. There were few sources of water anywhere in sight, but that wasn't much of a surprise to Tadashi. Water would have to be scarce in the facility, especially given the nature that it was on an island and surrounded by very bendable liquid. He wouldn't be seeing the light of day anytime soon, then.

They turned several corners, keeping up at the same quick pace. After several minutes of winding through identical corridors, Tadashi realized that they were deliberately making the route as confusing as possible. Maybe Hiro could have remembered the series of twists and turns, but Tadashi lost track after about twelve changes of direction. He considered attempting to make some small talk (because really, what did he have to lose), but couldn't get past the lump in his throat. The officers were still one edge, and the ones who weren't forcefully holding his shoulders had their fingers twitching on their stun guns. He wished that he could stretch his arms. His fingers were starting to tingle, and his wrists were sore.

After descending two flights of stairs and what felt like an eternity, Tadashi was led to a thick, metal door. There was a senior ranking officer or government official (Tadashi couldn't tell) waiting for them, and Tadashi felt the man's eyes rake over him. For his part, Tadashi stood up a bit straighter, schooling his face and attempting to appear dispassionate despite the cramping of his muscles and the tight grip of the hands on his shoulders. One of the officers that had walked with them throughout the building approached the senior man.

"You think he's the Avatar?" The senior officer spoke quietly to the escort, as if Tadashi wouldn't hear them.

The escort nodded curtly, nervously glancing in Tadashi's direction. Tadashi clenched his fists in the cuffs behind his back, his fingernails digging into the skin of his palm.

"We'll confirm later on," The senior officer stated, his tone clipped. He gestured to the door with a sharp jerk of his head, and then Tadashi was being shoved towards the door, which the first escort was opening. Thankfully, the lights were on inside, but nearly every surface was metal. Right, platinum. As far as Tadashi knew, it was one of the only metals that Earthbenders couldn't bend. He was shoved into the cell, and as he stumbled, the senior officer trailed in after him.

"You are being held for crimes against the state," The man rattled off, speech obviously practiced. "Any attempt to escape will be treated with the utmost severity. Any use of bending is severely punishable. You will be given water at preset times throughout the day. You will not be allowed contact outside of the facility."

Something sharp went through Tadashi's chest. He wouldn't see Hiro, or Aunt Cass, or any of his friends ever again unless he miraculously escaped.

Better you than Hiro. Better you than Hiro.

The officer was still staring him down. "Is this clear?"

Tadashi's face tightened, and he spoke for the first time since his capture. "Like water under a full moon."

The officer's eyes narrowed at the quip, but he turned heel and left the cell. Several of the lower officers that had escorted Tadashi along the way entered the room, and two of them held him as another unlocked his cuffs. Tadashi didn't resist, even as a heavy metal shackle was clamped around his right ankle. It would only end with a stun gun to his side, and nothing would come out of it in any case. Within moments, his wrists were free of the pinching handcuffs and the officers were hurriedly moving away from him and out the door.

Tadashi stood where he was as the door slammed shut, heavy locks and tumblers falling into place with the resounding thunk of metal on metal. Rubbing his sore, raw wrists, he surveyed the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were a smooth grey platinum, obviously designed to keep metalbenders - or Avatars - contained. There was no toilet, only one cot in the corner of the room next to the anchor for the chain attached to his leg. There was one air vent high in the corner of the room farthest away from the door. Other than that, the cell was small and excessively spare.

Collapsing on the cot, Tadashi ran his fingers through his hair exhaling raggedly. He was much more than up the creek with no paddle.

He was stranded in the ocean, surrounded by sharks.

AN: Thank you for reading chapter two of Malleable! I'm sorry that it's up late in the day, had to do some revisions and had a busy afternoon. Please feel free to leave any comments, criticisms, or thoughts! See you next Friday.

- emrys-ite