A/N: Thanks for sticking with Mako and Bolin thus far xD Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own A:TLA or Legend of Korra.
Chapter Five: Hero... sort of.
Bing Su placed the curling iron on the little table as the last strand of her perfect raven hair was set into a glossy ink-black spiral. She glanced into the vanity mirror which was illuminated with glowing light bulbs. Even in the stuffy staff tent she was as beautiful as ever; slender nose, perfectly white teeth, and dove-gray eyes behind dark lashes.
Suddenly, there was a rustling noise behind her and the pungent smell of smoke reached her nose.
"Honestly, darling, was it really necessary to set your clothes on fire as well?" Bing Su drawled without turning around. Reflected in her mirror was her best friend Iriah, or as the world currently knew her, the Incredible Inferno.
Iriah was exceptionally tall which worked to her advantage during a show when she masqueraded as a charming handsome young magician- a male one at that. With the help of some hair-gel, a custom dress shirt with ruffles down the front and a useful crimson cape, none of her audience ever doubted that the Incredible Inferno was a dashing young man.
Or so she had thought… Iriah had just come out of sticky situation where her performance had almost been ruined by a hysteric teenage boy jumping to her "rescue" during the escape act. She had had no choice but to blow the entire vanishing cabinet apart- one that had cost a small fortune to have custom built- before letting the kid ruin the entire show. Whether the boy had cottoned onto her disguise or not was of little importance; someone had still spotted a damsel in distress and had come bolting to the rescue.
Iriah clenched her fist. She didn't need to be saved. She didn't need a hero, not when the last one still lingered in her memories like a half-remembered magic trick, a dying ember in a silver breeze...
"I'll always protect you, Iriah…"
"There was this boy in audience," Iriah began, throwing her smoking cape to the side. "he tried to save me."
Bing Su cocked a plucked eyebrow at Iriah in the mirror as she started to paint her nails.
"Was he cute?"
"No. I mean, I don't know. I didn't get a good look at him. I was in the vanishing cabinet when it happened." Iriah muttered, annoyed that Bing Su wasn't taking her seriously. "Shadow started yelling so I got the gist and bolted."
"Hmm…" Bing Su mused, examining her painted nails. "After all that trouble I went to do your hair and the boys still won't leave you alone. Honestly, Iriah, what is your secret?"
Iriah ignored this and plopped into the chair next to Bing Su. She started to erase her stage makeup: Foundation, compact powder, latex; all of it an elaborate rouse to make her look more masculine, more macho, more I-don't-need-saving-thanks.
Beside her, Bing Su had finished painting her nails a brilliant emerald to match her current dress; a flowing wrap-around with crystals dotting the corset. She exuded feminine delicacy but also a dominating aura of confidence that left people in no doubt that Bing Su was her own woman, independent and fearless. She was everything Iriah aspired to be but only managed to imitate her charisma through pale mimicry- through the guise of a man, no less.
Sometimes Iriah wondered why she bothered anymore.
"Oh, by the way, what happened to that sweet little boy?" Bing Su asked as Iriah removed the last of the latex on her face. "Did you give your hero a nice big kiss afterwards?"
"What? No, I left. I think Shadow wanted to talk to him though." Iriah answered nonchalantly.
There was a clattering sound. Iriah looked up to see Bing Su's expression of shocked surprise. The bottle of nail polish had dropped from her hand but that wasn't what Bing Su was staring at.
"What? What's the matter?" Iriah asked, startled.
"Shadow wanted to talk to him?" Bing Su echoed, not bothering to pick up the nail polish which was oozing emerald all over the floor. "Talk to him?"
"Yeah, so?" There was a sudden pause and then, "Oh no. You don't think- He wouldn't-"
Without another word, Bing Su grabbed Iriah by the wrist and practically dragged her out of the staff tent and into the night. Stars twinkling overhead, the two girls sprinted across the carnival grounds where all the stalls were packing up. Some of the last minute stragglers pointed in awe as they passed, Bing Su's elaborate curls flying behind her.
Iriah's longer legs overtook Bing Su as she sprinted ahead, not daring to stop. It was her turn to save the boy now.
A short walk from the main circus tent led to a series of wooden caravan cars, each sporting a banner announcing Shadow's Traveling Circus, each a different gaudy color. Shadow led the two brothers to the very front of the long line where the largest one was parked, painted with silver and black that seemed almost metallic.
"In here," Shadow said, wrenching open the door with unnecessary force.
Mako and Bolin looked at each other- Bolin gulped audibly- before stepping one by one up the stairs into the caravan car. Shadow climbed in after them and shut the door.
The inside of the caravan car was nothing Mako had imagined it to be. As the dwelling place of a circus ringleader, he had expected more vivid decorations; gaudy costumes bursting from cramped closets; a vanity mirror with a table overflowing with glittery make-up; autographed posters of star performers. Instead it was bare, almost depressing.
A small bed with plain gray sheets was pushed up against one wall, a chest of neatly folded clothes lying open beside it. Taking up another corner was an antique desk, meticulously organized with a single sheet of paper and fountain pen lying ready for use. The room had one window which was shuttered, curtains drawn so that when Shadow closed the door, they were engulfed in darkness.
"Someone turn on the-" Bolin began but was cut short when Mako produced a ball of fire in his hand.
"No need, I've got an oil lamp right here," said Shadow, lighting a lamp hanging on the wall. Turning to the brothers he said, "Take a seat, gentlemen."
Bolin looked around, bewildered at the absence of chairs, before Mako unclasped a wooden board chained to the wall. The long board fell at a ninety-degree angle to wall, forming a bench. Mako sat down immediately, his back already aching from standing hunched over to keep his head from hitting the ceiling. Bolin sat beside him, looking visibly scared.
Shadow took off his jacket and hung it on a peg before dragging a chair closer to the two boys. Removing his white gloves, he steepled his hands, examining Mako and Bolin. Bolin fidgeted under his gaze.
"You boys caused an- uh, let's see- an interference at tonight's performance," Shadow said, his voice quite unlike his jovial tone during the circus acts. It was low and silky, no longer sing-song but cold and articulate. To Mako he sounded like cynical nobleman; to Bolin, he sounded like a mass murderer.
"Our circus- or shall I say my circus- does not tolerate people who wish to sabotage our performer's hard work or our audience's pleasure."
"I was just trying to save the magician's li-!"
"What my brother's trying to say is-"
"SILENCE!" Shadow hissed, eyes glinting as he stood up, clearly angry at their interruption. "You two-especially you, boy-" he pointed at Bolin who recoiled, "-have caused my circus-"
"Your circus?"
The door banged open and there, silhouetted against the moonlight, stood two figures, one very tall and the other of medium height. The tall one was the first to climb into the caravan car and was shortly followed by the second person. In the lamplight Mako saw that the new arrivals were none other than Bing Su, the star trapeze artist, and the magician Bolin had tried to "save", the Incredible Inferno. While Bing Su had changed into a more comfortable dress, Inferno was still wearing the frilly white shirt and trousers minus the scorched cape.
"What are you two doing here?" Shadow snapped, clearly agitated at their arrival.
"Oh, don't act all high and mighty," Inferno scoffed, moving closer to the light. "We knew you were up to something."
"Hey wait!" Bolin suddenly cried, making everyone stare at him. He was pointing a finger at Inferno who was sitting on the desk, unable to stand up straight for fear of butting heads with the ceiling. Leaning in a bit Bolin cried out in an incredulous tone, "You're… you're a girl!"
There was a moment of awkward silence where Bolin sat frozen, his finger pointing dramatically; Mako looked away, embarrassed; Bing Su covered her mouth, suppressing a giggle; Shadow looked annoyed; Inferno just stared back at Bolin with an amused grin.
"You're that kid who tried to save me, aren't you?" Inferno asked, studying the teenage earthbender steadily.
Bolin blushed. "Um… yeah, I guess I am," he muttered. "I'm Bolin."
"Nice to meet you, Bolin. My name's Iriah," the magician smiled before adding, "Thanks for… trying to save me back there."
The two brothers were allowed to leave after a heated argument between an angry Shadow and the two girls over how to punish Bolin for his "noble" stupidity. It went a lot better than Mako had hoped considering Bolin had effectively destroyed a "priceless performance prop" according to Shadow, which turned out to be a vanishing cabinet used in the escape act. In the end, the three decided that Bolin would help out at the circus to pay for the damage.
Mako had to explain himself hoarse that he had not been a part of a "premeditated diabolical plot to sabotage the circus", as Shadow put it, until the disgruntled ringmaster finally let it go. Additionally, Mako managed to convince Iriah and Bing Su to hire him in order to keep an eye on Bolin.
"Cheer up," Mako told Bolin later as they made their way back to the village. "You got that job you wanted."
"Easy for you to say," Bolin shot back miserably. "You weren't yelled at by a pasty-faced clown. And besides-" he shot Mako a bitter look, "-you're actually getting paid."
"Well, next time, check that someone's actually in trouble before running to the rescue, okay?"
With that, the two boys trekked the rest of the way in silence and, by the time they reached their village, Mako and Bolin were too exhausted to make up excuses for their tardy arrival. For Bolin, who started his charity services the following day, a broken curfew was the least of his worries.
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