An: Okay, before we kick off this chapter, I just wanna say a couple things: First off, welcome back Silver Omega 01 and second, sorry Tahorra shippers. If you read something romantic in their interactions last chapter, it wasn't intentional. While I don't dislike the ship, the fics of the paradoxverse will be going in a different but still decidedly non-Makorra direction. I may do some Tahorra fics in the future but for now, they are strictly platonic friends. That being said, enjoy the new chapter.
Republic City had seen it's fair share of danger in the past few years. Triad activity was at an all time high before the Equalists appeared and when Amon declared all out war on benders, many refused to leave their homes even in broad daylight. However, the new crime waves that had simultaneously began in recent days was worse than any of that.
It began with the Rumblers. After their debut, they wasted no time in asserting themselves as a legitimate Triad. They were soon emerging from the earth in spots all over to rob and destroy public property. Their favorite targets were some of the older parts of Republic City, those that were built with aid from Toph Beifong herself.
Meanwhile, the Triple Threat Triad seemed to have declared war on the Red Monsoons. Reports were coming in that Viper and his men were attacking any and all businesses under the water bending Triad's protection, outright defying the truce that had long ago been established between Lightning Bolt Zolt and Bretoka the Blizzard, leader of the Monsoons. While turf wars were nothing new, the fact that Viper would stray so far from his former boss' policies struck many as strange. He had always respected Zolt, even after Amon had equalized him, and vowed to run the Triple Threats the way he would've done.
A second, more mysterious factor was the presence of new Triad members during these attacks. Hooded figures who could make whole buildings erupt into flames, earth benders who could somehow cause arms and legs to break with a gesture. Not since Noatak was revealed had the city witnessed such bizarre and powerful bending.
As bad as this was, the third development was all the more strange and sinister. It began when Korra and Tenzin were called to the police station on what Lin described as "urgent business" and Bumi decided to tag along. Oogi flew them there but Naga insisted on following behind, feeling lonely since her master hadn't ridden her lately. The moment the trio entered their destination, every officer eyed Tenzin strangely. They seemed almost…afraid of the air bending master.
"Wow" Bumi muttered to his brother "I haven't seen this many people look at you oddly since Lin publicly announced you were dating." Before Tenzin could respond, the woman in question emerged from her office. In contrast to her officers, she looked like her usual self.
"You're late" Lin said less tersely than usual "get in here." The trio obliged and immediately noticed a bizarre contraption sitting on the Chief's desk. "This is a slide projector" Lin explained "one of the latest developments in technology from Verrick Industries. It can allow pictures to appear on walls and other surfaces like this specialized screen that's been set up over here." The police chief gestured to the projector screen and Tenzin's face scrunched up in annoyance. "What's this all about Lin? You call me in for help on official police business and decide to waste time showing off some useless gadget!?"
Lin didn't answer. Instead, she turned on the projector and the image of a dead man appeared on the special screen. The first thing they noticed was that his throat was extremely damaged and a strange symbol resembling a sideways triangle was etched across his forehead. "This was Hezon Ruta, a Power plant worker on the North side of town in the Sun Jewel district" the chief explained "he was found dead a few day ago with his windpipe nearly crushed."
A click from the projector and the image was replaced with another, this time of a younger man around Korra's age who looked like his entire body had been crushed, a similar symbol pointing in the opposite direction etched across his right arm. "This was Lee, fire bender for the Cabbage Corp Hog-mokeys, also from the Sun Jewel district." The list went on after that until there were thirty six victims in all, men women, and children of various ages all marked with strange symbols. Each one was from the same southern district and each one was either a fire bender or of Fire Nation descent with dark hair and amber eyes.
"Who could have done something so horrific!?" Tenzin exclaimed "fire nation prejudice is nothing new but this is utterly inhuman! Why hasn't the Council been notified of this Lin!?" "Because of this" the Chief replied as she pulled a note from her desk drawer "we found it with the last victim."
Tenzin took the note and read it out loud. "This is only the beginning. In time, the Four Winds will extinguish the corrupt flames of this world and the great Air Nomads will be avenged." At the bottom of the note, the elemental symbol for "air" had been scribbled.
"This has to be some sort of sick joke!" Tenzin said to Lin "who would dare commit such horrific murders in the name of my ancestors!?" "OUR ancestors" Bumi grunted but everyone ignored him. "That's why we've kept this from the public so far" Lin continued "it would cause far too much chaos if our theory panned out."
"And what theory is that Lin?" Tenzin asked in an increasingly agitated voice "do you believe another long lost acquaintance of yours is involved?" Korra winced at the edge in her mentor's tone. He had become increasingly moody ever since the Rumblers appeared and she had heard him getting into arguments with the Chief over the phone for the past several days, pressing her for info on her connection to the Boulder. In a weird way, it reminded Korra of herself and Mako.
"This has nothing to do with me Tenzin and everything to do with that band of Air Nomad loving fan-boys you surround yourself with!" A tense silence followed and Lin actually looked guilty. It seemed she had just let slip something she had intended to handle delicately.
"WHAT!? Lin, are you actually saying you believe the Acolytes are involved with this!?" "It's a theory" Lin replied a bit more softly than before "I looked through some of my mother's old files and some of them were reported to be dangerously obsessed with your father and his culture."
"Tell me about it" Bumi said with a roll of his eyes "some of them were even under the delusion that Tenzin was an only child. I also remember Kya telling me about 'Hei-won the Terrible' , an old nemesis of hers back in the day. Apparently, she was Mom's rival on the Council and had an obsessive crush on dad. I was about four when she was kicked out but I don't remember much."
"I saw it" Korra spoke up "she made a pass at Aang and he finally banned her. I wonder why he put up with her for so long?" "Well, dad always was forgiving and Kya said Hei-won was subtle about her insults and the things she did until she left. I guess she doesn't think much of that any more." Bumi said darkly as he stared at the image on the screen.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Tenzin exclaimed as he turned red in the face "you're all jumping to conclusions! Even if Lin's insane theory is even partially true, what makes you think this 'Hei-won' is involved? She'd be Mother's age by now at least."
"Better not let Mom hear you say that bro, she might take it as a challenge. She's always eager to prove she can still kick ass these days" Bumi chuckled but was once again ignored.
"Insane or not, suspects are suspects" Lin replied firmly "I'm asking you this as a friend Tenzin, keep a close watch on your acolytes or my officers will launch a full, public investigation. With everything else that's happened lately, we don't need any more panic in the streets."
Tenzin scowled for a few minutes more and then let out a sigh. "Very well, I'll call everyone on the island for a meeting but that doesn't mean I support this theory of yours." "I'll be able to help you there" Bumi insisted "if any of them won't talk, I know some interrogation techniques my old Commander taught me."
"That's great and all but what about potential victims?" Korra asked "did anyone forget my boyfriend is a fire bender? And Asami's family is descended from the very first Fire Nation colonists. Whoever's doing this might go after them next."
"I already thought of that" Lin replied "I sent a full unit over to the Sato Mansion earlier this morning and gave it a once over myself. Your boyfriend and his brother were already there." Korra immediately felt a twinge of something at finding out Mako was with his ex but surprisingly, it wasn't jealousy. Then what was it?
Deciding to forget it for now, the Avatar merely nodded. "I'll go there now and see if I can offer extra help. I think some of the officers are finally starting to like me." Lin and Tenzin looked at each other warily but eventually nodded. "Okay kid but be careful, we still don't have a clue as to who we're dealing with."
Korra nodded at Lin's warning and walked out of the office, leaving the adults to themselves. "Do you think we made the right decision?" Tenzin asked Lin a moment later "these new developments with the Triads are shaping up to be far worse than the Equalists and this new development is just going to put more weight on Korra's shoulders. She's still such a young and inexperienced Avatar but she's had to deal with so much in such a short time. There are days when I regret my decision to let her stay here."
"If you hadn't. Amon would've taken the city in half the time he did" Lin pointed out "I know I've been harsh with her in the past but the truth is that Korra has the makings of an amazing Avatar. I know she can take anything that her life throws at her because she learned from the best." The police Chief gave her ex a rare smile and the tensions that had been between them recently seemed to fade but it did little to lift Tenzin's mood. "Perhaps, but I can't help but think that what's coming is something no one, even the spirits couldn't have predicted."
….
As Korra and Naga headed North to the Dragon Flats District, a knot formed in the Avatar's stomach. Something felt off and it wasn't just the thought of seeing Mako. The wind had picked up since they started their journey and was growing stronger by the minute. It actually sent a chill through Korra and made her shiver, a rare thing to see from a native Water Tribesman.
"Looks like the weather forecast was a little off today, eh girl?" Korra said with a uneasy chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood. Naga's whine made it clear that the effort had failed.
"Yeah, you're right" the Avatar said after a moment "this wind is weird. Maybe a little air bending will calm it down though." With that said, Korra began to try bending the wind to make it calmer. It was generally assumed that Avatars couldn't effect the weather, even when they were in the Avatar State, but Korra was too stubborn not to try. That, and she was eager to test her limits now that Tenzin had practically called her a master. Maybe "wind bending" could even be her new move.
But something was wrong. The wind actually seemed to be fighting against her manipulations. In fact, it almost felt like someone was bending against her, if that were even possible. Eventually, a monstrous gust managed to knock her off Naga and hurl her into the back wall of a nearby alley.
Naga immediately rushed over to her mistress and attempted to revive her by licking her face. Korra's eyes fluttered open a moment later and let out a low groan. "Guess Aang was right" the Avatar muttered more to herself than anyone "air really is a tougher element than most people give it credit for."
Korra pulled herself to her feet and shakily mounted Naga once more. As they exited the alley, they were greeted by an eerie calm. The wind had completely stopped but Korra didn't feel safe. In fact, she felt more uneasy than she had before.
…
The rest of the trip to Asami's was uneventful but it didn't stay that way. The moment Korra arrived at the gate of the Sato Mansion, she saw there was no one there to greet her like before. Either Asami had made some cutbacks on the staff due to the company's recent financial problems or something was wrong. Deciding to go with her gut, the Avatar urged Naga to jump the gate with a mighty bound and land on the lawn with unexpected grace. It wasn't long before she saw metal bending officers, hired guards, and even the butler scattered the landscape.
Fearing the worse, Korra rushed over to the scene. She immediately noticed that the hired guards, all prominently Fire Nation, had been killed and marked in the same way as Beifong's slide show victims. The metal bending officers and butler on the other hand, were badly injured but alive.
The Avatar reacted quickly and drew some healing water from the skim on her belt. Since the incident at the Cultural Center, she had decided to become more prepared for situations like these and carry her native element with her. She started with Song, the officer who had been present during the battle with Hiroshi Sato and whom Korra had been partnered with while on patrol. After a few moments, he began to stir.
"Ugh…Korra? What happened?" "I was about to ask you the same question" Korra replied as she worked on healing him "who did this to you? Where are Asami and the Bending Brothers?"
Song looked like he was about to explain but all he could mutter was "the wind" before collapsing into unconsciousness. These two words however, were enough to horrify the young Avatar. 'It can't be!' Korra thought franticly 'can it!?'
As if to answer Korra's question, a great gust of wind blew the door of the mansion open from the inside and a very familiar figure was hurled straight towards her. "Bolin!" Using a light burst of air bending enhanced speed, the Avatar shot forward and caught her friend in the nick of time. While his weight was nothing to someone of Korra's great strength, she was pleasantly surprised by his girth. The stocky Bolin actually felt like he was more muscle than fat, the opposite of what the Avatar had always assumed in a good natured way.
She was pulled out of these thoughts by Bolin first noticing her. "Oh! Hey Korra, when did you get here?" "Good to see you too buddy but how 'bout we catch up after you tell me what's going on?" Korra said as she allowed herself a slight smile at Bolin's sudden cheerfulness. The smile didn't last long however as the earth bender suddenly turned solemn.
"It's crazy! This big wind came out of nowhere and this guy in a hood just appeared right after and started attacking everyone! He killed some guards, knocked out the cops, and went after Mako and Asami saying that they would 'pay for their crimes' or something. I tried to fight him but he shot some wind out of his hand and blew me outside where you caught me."
Korra listened intently but one part of the story stood out in her mind. "Wait a minute, he shot wind from his hands? Are you sure?" Bolin nodded. "Yeah, it was almost like he was a-"
Bolin was cut off by a loud scream from inside the mansion. "That sounds like Asami!" The two Team Avatar members quickly burst into the mansion and immediately saw the Sato heiress hurled over the banister at the top of the stairs by the hooded figure Bolin described. The Avatar reacted quickly and sent out a cushion of air to break Asami's fall just as Tenzin had done for her some time ago. With this done, Korra looked up to see Mako fighting the hooded figure at the top of the stairs.
"You take care of Asami, I'll help your brother" Korra instructed Bolin as they rushed to check on the unconscious heiress. Bolin nodded and the Avatar rushed up the stairs to aid her boyfriend. The earth bender watched her leave with a sigh. "Be careful."
…
Korra rushed up the opposite flight of stairs with air bending enhanced speed and was soon behind the two combatants. From what she could see, the figure was easily dodging Mako's attack because they were frontal assaults. A good sneak attack could catch any enemy off guard, at least that's what Bumi said. The good Commander had been all too willing to share his military experience during their hand-to-hand training.
Igniting her fists with fire bending, the Avatar rushed forward to defend her boyfriend. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" At the last moment however, the hooded figure suddenly vanished and Korra slamed into Mako, sending them both to the floor. "Great job Korra" the fire bender grunted sarcastically "next time, be a little less subtle why don't you?"
"Nice to see you again too Mako" Korra quipped with equal sarcasm "you at least enjoying the view?" She was referring to the fact that she was now on top of Mako and giving him a pretty generous view of her chest. The cynical fire bender didn't respond, roughly shoving her off with a scowl on his face and a light blush in his cheeks. "I'm serious!" Mako snapped as he stood up "charging in like an idiot the way you always do is exactly why everyone can see you coming!"
"Actually my dear murderer, the Avatar's slightest breath would have alerted me to her presence no matter how well trained she may become in the art of stealth. Such is the way of things when one can sense even the smallest vibration in the air."
The rich voice seemed to come from nowhere until the estranged couple looked down to see a great swirl of wind gather on the floor below. After a moment, it formed into the hooded figure before their astonished eyes.
Korra was shocked. "You can turn into wind!? What are you, some kind of spirit!?" The figure chuckled condescendingly at this remark. "A spirit? No Avatar, this is merely a testament to how fully one can connect with their native element."
"Your native element?" Mako asked with a raised eyebrow "but that would make you a-" "An air bender? Yes fire bender, it would." The hooded figure's voice hardened as he said this, hatred and disgust oozing from his tone as he addressed Mako. He then shocked all present by removing his hood to reveal a handsome, lightly tanned face with grey eyes, a pencil thin moustache, and a head marked with the arrow tatoos of a master air bender. Unlike the light blue displayed by both Tenzin and Aang however, these arrows were pitch black in color. "Your foul ancestors may have tried to purge our greatness from the world but the element of freedom cannot be snuffed out!"
Korra was in shock. Her past lives were in shock. She could feel the spirit of every past Avatar within her grappling with mixed emotions, particularly those who had been born Air Nomads. Every past Avatar that is, except Aang. Her predecessor's shock had given away rapidly to what felt like shame. The only question was why?
"That's not possible!" Korra exclaimed after a lengthy silence "the air benders were wiped out! Tenzin and his family are the only ones left!" The rogue air bender laughed again, enjoying the Avatar's shock.
"So the world was lead to believe. I am Sao, Northern leader of the Four Winds Triad and I and my brothers and sisters are here to avenge our great loss and take our rightful place as rulers of this city!"
"Not gonna happen!" Korra cried out as she and Mako leaped from the banister to confront their enemy. The Avatar hurled a series of fire balls at Sao but the rogue air bender stood his ground. He merely waved his hand and the flaming projectiles were reduced to puffs of smoke. Korra's jaw dropped. "What did you just do!?"
"A simple yet severely underused air bending move called 'air absorption' my dear." Sao said with a grin "fire needs air like a living thing and I merely drained the air out of it. Had my fallen comrades used it, perhaps they wouldn't have fallen to Sozin and his ilk." Korra remembered that Aang had said the exact same thing but why hadn't she been told of this move before? Moreover, why hadn't the Air Nomads used it during the genocide?
"You can't steal air from lightning!" Mako proclaimed as he started charging the strongest bolt he could muster. "Perhaps not murderer, but I can steal it from you" Sao said with a hard glare right before he took a deep breath. Mako immediately stopped his attack and began clutching his throat as the air was forcibly sucked his lungs, color draining from his face.
"Mako!" Korra gasped in shock as her boyfriend was being murdered right before her eyes. Before she could think of what to do, Bolin struck from behind with a cry of "KEEP AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!"
The young earth bender performed an earth stomp that caught the occupied Sao off guard and sent him into the air. The attack was stopped but Mako still fainted from lack of oxygen. Sao was quick to become wind again however and appeared behind Bolin before anyone even knew it, swatting him aside with an air blast. "Earth benders, dumb as rock and always seeking conflict" he said with disgust "the half-breed should count himself lucky I spared him for only having inferior blood rather than tainted."
The rogue air bender then turned his attention to Asami, who still lay unconscious close by. He studied her for a moment and said "this one however, is too much like he father to have the same luxury."
"KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Korra yelled as she unleashed an even bigger torrent of flame at Sao. He simply doused it with air absorption and proceeded to create several small daggers of air to hurl at the Avatar. She easily them and began attacking with a combination of her own air bending and water bending. When Sao became preoccupied with countering these moves, she hammered the ground with an earth punch and knocked him down.
The angry Avatar then picked up her fallen enemy by the collar and hoisted him high in the air. "Alright you, I want answers! You said you were part of a Triad? How many of you are there and how can you air bend?"
Sao was not intimidated. "There are more of us than you know and together, we shall give the Fire Nation back what they gave us long ago. My Southern Brothers have completed their portion of the mission and my partners and I have only just begun ours." "What mission!?" Korra snarled. "One you cannot be allowed to stop. Avatar Aang owes us this revenge!
With that said, Sao became wind again long enough to escape Korra's grip. He then created a sword of air and slashed at her. She wasn't cut but she suddenly found herself paralyzed and fell to the ground, as though she had been chi-blocked.
"Ah, the Air Sword" Sao said with nostalgia in his voice "every child's favorite. Shall we play another fun game? How about 'death of the Avatar?' I think you'll like it!"
"I'm more for Pro Bending!" Bolin, newly recovered, yelled as he hurled two big chunks of earth at Sao the same way he would as a Fire Ferret. The rogue air bender easily swatted them aside and glared. "You know earth bender, I was going to let you live as an act of charity but if you insist on meddling in my affairs, I have no choice."
So saying, Sao raised his left hand and clenched a fist. Instantly, Bolin screamed in pain loud enough to be heard throughout the mansion. "The 'Air Vice' is a move that allows me to bend the pressure in the air around anyone I choose" his tormentor explained "a normal person's insides would be crushed in seconds but your people are supposed to be resilient, right? What say we test those limits?"
Bolin screamed even louder and Korra's face contorted in anger. "DON'T YOU DARE HARM HIM!" The Avatar's eyes suddenly flashed a brilliant white and she could move again, levitating high into the air with her air bending. She was in the Avatar State, that much she knew, but it was different. Rage coursed through her being and her mind was in a haze. She knew only two things: protect Bolin and defeat Sao.
With a beast- like roar, Korra unleashed all four elements upon the rogue air bender, who could only stare in shock at what he saw. Sao soon found himself hurled through the walls of the Sato Mansion in an explosion of power and would've died had he not become wind at the last second. 'I was told nothing about the Avatar State' he thought as he made his escape 'my southern brothers must made aware of their informant's error. Only then can we plan our vengeance on the Fire Nation and the traitor Aang!'
…
Bolin was at a loss for words. He had seen both an angry Korra and the Avatar State before but nothing like this. She was floating in a ring of elements and her face was completely solemn as her eyes glowed with power. Though Sao was gone, she continued to attack with all four elements and the earth bender was quickly running out of places to hide. "Man, Korra's gonna destroy everything if this keeps up!" Bolin muttered seemingly to himself "there's gotta be something that can calm her down but what?"
Pabu, who had hidden in his master's shirt during the whole affair, suddenly popped out and gave a few squeaks, to which Bolin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I've heard the stories about Avatar Aang getting like this, so what?" More squeaks. "Are you crazy Pabu? Master Katara's like a billion miles away from here, she can't help Korra." More squeaks, sounding slightly agitated. "Me? But that's gotta be Mako's job, it has to." Bolin protested as he looked towards his brother's unconscious form.
Pabu gave his master a sideways look and Bolin frowned. "What? No, I don't feel that way about her anymore! I mean yeah, she's cool and funny and awesome and really,really hot but I only like her as a friend!" Pabu seemed to be glaring now. "She's with my brother" Bolin tried again but the glare only intensified.
The earth bender let out a long sigh. "Okay,okay, I'll do it but you're my wingman…ferret, got it? Paby chirped happily and assumed his place on his master's shoulder as he walked towards the rampaging Avatar. As he approached Bolin couldn't help but think the sight was almost beautiful up close.
"Uh…hi Korra! You look good, love what you've done with your eyes." The Avatar turned her gaze on the earth bender but didn't respond. In fact, she seemed to look right through him.
Bolin scratched the back of his head nervously and tried again, "So…listen, you beat the bad guy and that's great but do you think you think you could tone down the whole 'glowing eyes of doom' thing? Not that you don't look good, I think you look great, but I said that already, didn't I? Uh…anyway, you're kind of destroying things and if people saw that, well, they might think you're a monster. I for one would hate for people to think that because you know…you're you."
"I AM THE AVATAR" Korra's voice, mixed with all the voices of her predecessors, rumbled forth and made Bolin wince a bit but he kept his composure, now getting into the spirit of his speech. "Yeah, but you're more than just the Avatar. You're also really nice and funny and smart and just way fun to be around. You're a great fighter and an awesome Pro bender and you can beat anybody, I mean anybody in a belching contest. I also like how you're so brave and even when you do or say something wrong, you'll always make it right in the end. That's a lot more than most people I know, including my brother. And even though I know you don't about it that much, I think you're pretty, way more than Asami if I'm being totally honest. It's cool that you're so buff and strong."
For a moment, Korra's face seemed to soften so Bolin prepared his big finish. "Those are all the things I love about you Korra and I'm glad we're friends, even if I wanted to be more at first. You're very special to me…and Mako and I…we, would hate to lose you."
Long seconds passed until finally, Korra's eyes stopped glowing. The ring of elements holding her up faded and she fell forward, forcing Bolin to catch her. "Korra, are you okay? Can you here me?"
The Avatar moaned in response and her eyes fluttered open. After a moment, her gaze fixed on Bolin and she smiled. "Hey Bo, good to see you." "Good to see you too Korra, really good."
AN2: Next chapter: Origin of the Four Winds Triad.