-:-
Book 1: Redemption
Chapter 3: Missing
The sun was just rising as Lei strolled through the park, colorful leaves gently floating to the grass below. Despite the beauty and peace of that silent morning, she was still tense. She hadn't heard anything from the chief or Captain Lee in a while. Truth be told, a part of her was beginning to wonder if she should just give up on her dream and start searching for a job elsewhere.
The brunette shook her head. What was she thinking? She couldn't just give up like that! Maybe she should go to the station again today and try to work something out. Still, as much as she tried to keep a positive attitude, the stress from her jobless limbo was leaking into other aspects of her life, particularly with her high levels of agitation at home.
Something shuffled in the leaves nearby. The metalbender froze and reached for a pouch on her belt, but a familiar smiling face popped out from behind. The homeless man waved as he greeted Lei by name.
She relaxed as she stepped closer. "Morning, Gommu."
He ignored the fishing rod in his hand as he asked, "What're you doing here so early?"
Lei's thoughts turned to earlier. She had gotten into a bad argument with Jin over something so trivial that she couldn't even remember what it was about. It quickly devolved into a shouting match. Lei said some things that she regretted, and she left before she could see her sister react.
The teen shrugged. "I just wanted to go for a walk."
He nodded. "Say, would you mind helping me catch one of those tasty fishies to cook up later?"
Lei glanced around to make sure the park patrol wasn't around before bending a long needle from a pouch on her belt and spearing it into the water. Several moments passed before she levitated her needle—and the catch—out and into Gommu's bag. After slipping the fish off her steel, she cleaned it and returned it to her pouch.
"Thanks a million, Lei." After closing the bag, he eyed her two pouches and asked, "Say, aren't those the ones the old Elite used to wear before they switched to the spools on their backs?"
She nodded. "Yup! These canisters were my fathers—though I emptied this one to make room for my needles."
He nodded with a grin. "You sure are creative, kiddo. Just like your folks."
The young woman smiled and thanked him, thoughts turning to how lucky she was to have her parents—at least for the time her father was alive.
Changing the subject, she asked, "So, have you heard any news lately?"
Gommu put a hand on his bearded chin. "Well, Avatar Korra and some handsome fellow are searching for his missing brother." He pointed to a tree in the distance. "They're sleeping right over yonder, waiting for that Equalist protester to show up."
Lei grinned. This was the perfect chance to prove that she was worthy of being an officer!
She ran off as she called back, "Thanks, Gommu!"
As the earthbender approached, she saw a man and woman sleeping against a polar bear dog with a fire ferret on its back—though the people seemed to be about her age. The woman on the left was of clear Water Tribe descent with her dark skin and hair on top of her blue clothing. She must have been Avatar Korra.
The guy on the right was pale, his black hair styled up. The gray clothing told Lei that he was probably a native of Republic City and didn't likely care much about his heritage, though his bright red scarf stood out against it. Truth be told, he seemed oddly familiar.
She stopped before the sleeping teens. "Excuse me."
Neither of them moved.
She cleared her throat, but that didn't work either.
Eyebrows twitching, she shook the ground with her earthbending, just enough to wake them as she repeated, "Excuse me?"
Their eyes groggily peeked open before they glanced to each other and awkwardly jolted away. A few moments passed before they realized Lei's presence and both scrambled to their feet. The man was the first to speak, his tone irritated as he straightened his clothes.
"What's the big—" He stopped as he looked up at her, stuttering his words for a moment before forcing a cough and glancing away. "Uh… Can I help you?"
Avatar Korra frowned slightly as she glanced between the two.
Meanwhile, the earthbender grinned, oblivious to his reaction. "Yeah, it looks like you guys could use some help finding someone. I'm Cadet Lei Chen of the Metalbending Elite."
The Avatar winced slightly, unsurprising as Lei had heard about her arrest on her first day here. "I'm Korra, and this is Mako."
So that's why he seemed familiar. The Fire Ferrets were featured in an article a few months back, and all three of their faces were included—though, this was before Korra joined the team.
Mako remained silent as he carefully scrutinized Lei, likely not believing her story with her being in civilian clothes.
Frowning, the metalbender added, "I'm… off-duty right now, but have experience in missing persons cases, if you'll have me, and with my seismic sense, I could easily find places where someone is being kept."
The older firebender pursed his lips before Korra chimed in, "Having someone experienced might help us save Bolin sooner."
He glanced between Lei and Korra before warning, "We're up against Equalists. They'll paralyze you without your armor."
"Trust me, I'll be fine even without it," she assured him. "After years of sparring with my sister, I can easily avoid their attacks."
With both women's expectant gazes on him, Mako conceded and filled her in. Apparently his brother was kidnapped by Equalists last night, and they were waiting for a protester to show up to see if he knows anything. Sure, it was a long shot, but it was the only lead they had right now.
Right on cue, a loud voice erupted from behind. "Equality now! Equality now! We want equality now!"
Lei turned around to see a man with a megaphone standing on a short table in front of a poster of the Equalist leader, Amon.
Korra pointed to him. "That's the guy."
As the three of then headed over, Lei recognized the protester as a man who had a history of being arrested for disturbing the peace until he moved on to the Equalists. She frowned. This man was just an attention-seeker. She highly doubted he would know anything useful.
"Non-benders of Republic City: Amon calls you to action! Take back your city! It's time for the—" He stopped and gasped as his eyes landed on the group. "It's you again! You cannot silence me, Avatar!" He turned to Lei. "And I am within my rights to protest here! You cannot arrest me this time!"
Mako raised an eyebrow. "This time?"
Korra slapped the protester's megaphone to the ground. "Shut your yapper and listen up. My friend got kidnapped by some chi-blockers. Where'd they take him?"
He folded his arms and looks away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
She narrowed her eyes, tone low. "Oh, I think you do."
Before the others could react, Korra launched his table into the air, sending flyers everywhere as the protester fell to the ground.
As he scrambled to gather them all, Mako caught one and read it aloud. "Witness the revelation tonight. Nine o'clock." He looked up at the non-bender. "What's this revelation?"
The protester narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that concerns the likes of you three."
Korra grabbed him by the collar and held him above her head. "You better believe it concerns us. Spill it."
Lei frowned. The Avatar was just going worsen the rift between benders and non-benders if she acted like this. "Uh… Korra?"
"N-No one knows what the revelation is, and I have no idea what happened to your friend, but if he's a bender, then my bet is he's getting what's coming to him."
Mako narrowed his eyes. "Where's it happening?"
A whistle blew in the distance as a park patrolman slowly ran over. "Hey, what's going on over there?!"
Lei tensed as her lips curved into a sheepish grin. It did look pretty bad, didn't it?
The protester cried out, "The Avatar is oppressing us. Help!"
Korra dropped him, addressing Lei and Mako. "Let's scram."
The earthbender followed closely as the firebender grabbed a handful of flyers. Korra jumped onto her towering polar bear dog. Mako was next before Lei jumped on behind him and the three of them made their escape.
Later at a bus stop, Lei frowned as she held two flyers together, the backs forming an oddly familiar image with a red spot on one corner.
Korra pouted. "Why didn't the Equalists put a location on these?"
"Probably because they don't want just anyone waltzing in on their big 'revelation'," Mako suggested. "Whatever that is… I bet the information's on here somehow. Look at the backs. There's four different images."
Korra smiled. "So, it's a puzzle?"
"Or a map," Lei suggested.
Mako reached down and matched two together. Lei's eyes widened as she moved over and held hers against his, forming a large image. He took the flyers and held them over the map on the wall until he matched the location.
"Bingo. That must be where it's going down."
After a few moments, she asked, "Now what?"
"We should probably find something to disguise ourselves," Mako suggested. "Between that protestor recognizing you two, and my face being in the papers, we can't risk people figuring out who we are—not before we save Bolin."
She nodded.
"We should probably split up," Korra pointed out. "I can go with Mako and you can meet us inside."
The firebender raised an eyebrow at her before turning to Lei. "You said that you have seismic sense, right? How good are you at recognizing people with it?"
"Well..." She waved her hand to indicate her so-so feelings. "I'm not very good when it comes to new faces, but I can track you guys as you walk in and just come a few minutes later."
-:-
Later that night, dressed in less vibrant clothes with a knit hat concealing much of her face, Lei followed the plan and made her way up to the warehouse entrance, where she was stopped by the bouncer.
He folded his arms. "This is a private event: no one gets in without an invitation."
Following what she had just seen Mako and Korra do, the earthbender showed him a flyer.
The bouncer smiled as he stepped aside and beckoned her into the warehouse. "The revelation is upon us, my sister."
Lei gave him a short nod before making her way inside, where hundreds of bender-hating civilians were gathered with bated breath to see their hero, Amon. At the far end of the warehouse was a long stage. Ignoring the non-benders, she made her way to her acquaintances in the center of the crowd. The three of them exchanged glances before the announcer's voice rang out from the rafters.
"Please welcome, your hero, your savior… AMON!"
Cheers roared from the crowd as the stage floor opened with a bright light and smoke, a platform rising up from below. On it were the masked man, Amon, and several of—what Lei assumed were—high ranking Equalists in a row behind him. Most of them were wearing the same gas-masked uniform that she was used to seeing with their few scuffles with the Elite, but one man stood out from the rest. He was wearing the same green-tinted goggles over his eyes, but his face below that was shown with a long and thin mustache and a neutral expression. Also unlike the others were the two batons strapped to his back. Perhaps he wasn't a chi-blocker like the rest of them.
Amon stepped forward and took the microphone as he addressed the crowd. "My quest for equality began many years ago. When I was a boy, my family and I lived on a small farm. We weren't rich, and none of us were benders. This made us very easy targets for the firebender who extorted my father… One day, my father confronted this man, but when he did… that firebender took my family from me, then… he took my face." Gasps erupted from the crowd. "I've been forced to hide behind a mask ever since."
Lei tightened her lips into a thin line. No one deserved that.
"As you know, the Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City," Amon continued, prompting boos from the crowd.
Korra pulled up her scarf to cover her face more as Mako took a step closer.
"And if she were here, she would tell you that bending brings balance to the world, but… she is wrong. The only thing bending has brought to the world is suffering. It has been the cause of every war in every era. But that is about to change…"
Lei scowled at the stage. That couldn't possibly be true. Selfish people were the cause of wars.
"I know you have been wondering: what is the revelation?" the masked leader addressed the audience. "You are about to get your answer... Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world… and they have spoken to me. They say the Avatar failed humanity. That is why the spirits have chosen me to usher in a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality: the power to take a person's bending away… permanently."
Korra tensed and whispered, "That's… impossible. There's no way."
"This guy's insane," Mako commented.
Amon drew Lei's attention again, gesturing to the side. "Now, for a demonstration… Please welcome 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt—leader of the Triple Threat Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City."
The man who murdered her father was dragged onto the stage, his arms tied behind his back. He was met with hundreds of boos as he scoffed and called out, "Ah, boo yourself!"
Rage swelled within Lei as she clenched her fists, her entire body shaking, but she couldn't move. She was too scared. Alongside her anger came a sense of relief and guilt. She knew it was wrong to feel this way, but a part of herself insisted that what was about to happen to Zolt was karma for killing her father.
Four more men, each tied up, were taken onto the stage and pushed to their knees in a row at the back. To the far right was a teenaged boy, looking terrified.
Mako tensed. "That's Bolin."
Korra took a step forward, but the firebender stopped her. "Wait. We can't fight them all. We need to be smart about this."
"Then come up with a game plan, team captain."
Amon addressed the people again. "In the interest of fairness, I will give Zolt the chance to fight to keep his bending."
As the crime boss was untied, he warned, "You're gonna regret doing that, pal!"
Immediately, he began an onslaught of attacks, but the masked man effortlessly dodged each fire blast and his sustained lightning. Amon managed to twist Zolt around with one hand on the base of his neck and the other on his forehead, directing Zolt's lightning to the ceiling as his eyes widened. Slowly, the lightning became fire, and withered into nothing before the firebender collapsed.
Amon spoke again. "Your firebending is gone… forever." He turned to the crowd as he added, "The era of bending is over. A new era of equality has begun."
Lei tensed, overwhelmed with a mixture of awe and horror at the man's power. Meanwhile Mako instructed Korra to bend a steam cover from the machines off to the side.
"Me and Lei will run in and grab Bolin without anyone seeing," he continued. "Then all four of us can make a run for it."
Korra nodded. "Sounds good to me. Good luck."
"You too."
The Avatar silently backed away, leaving Lei with Mako as the two of them carefully pushed forward. As they neared the stage, one by one, the Triple Threats' bending were being taken away until there was only the young teen left.
Bolin was untied and stood across from the masked Equalist, nerves pouring through his shaky voice. "Uh… hello, Amon, sir… I think there's been a big misunderstanding…"
Amon took a step toward him, and Mako tensed.
"Times up. Let's move!" Lei launched herself onto the stage, landing with her back to Bolin and her arms raised to attack Amon.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized what she had just gotten herself into, the masked man staring wordlessly at her.
Mist exploded from the side wall, rapidly expanding into the warehouse as the crowd screamed in horror and tried to escape. Amon turned to see where the explosion had occurred before slowly backing away. Mako was quick to arrive by their sides.
A chi-blocker grabbed Bolin from behind, but Mako twisted his arm and flipped him off the stage.
Turning to his younger brother he asked, "Bolin, you alright?"
The earthbender was silent for a moment before opening his arms for a hug. "Yes! Mako! I love you!"
To the side, Lei sensed a metal ladder that they could use to escape. "Over there!"
She ran ahead, the brothers following shortly after. As the three of them were climbing down the ladder outside the building, Amon's mustachioed lieutenant appeared at the top. Lei raised an eyebrow as he took his batons, swung them around, and hit the top rung. Electricity surged through their bodies, making them cry out as they fell to the ground below. The Equalist jumped down after the teens, but all three managed to back away just in time, forming a triangle around him.
Lei narrowed her eyes as she realized that she wouldn't be able to use her cable against his electrified batons. Raising her fists, she immediately launched a chunk of earth at him. The lieutenant dodged as he came after her. Narrowing her eyes, she repeatedly attacked, but was unable to land a hit. He was quick to electrocute the metalbender again and go after the brothers as she collapsed to the ground.
Her nerves were fried from the attack, leaving the brunette lying there as she heard him take down one of the brothers and go after the other. Clenching her teeth, Lei weakly pushed herself up and saw him electrocuting Mako against the wall. Narrowing her eyes, she shot a needle at the lieutenant, embedding it in the main chi point in his upper arm, making him drop one baton as his arm went limp. He backed away from Mako, letting the firebender drop to the ground.
He narrowed his eyes as the metalbender took back the needle from afar. "Where did you learn that?"
As she stood and raised her fists to fight again, he was blasted against the wall with an earth attack.
Turning to the side, she saw the Avatar returning to a normal stance and calling out, "Naga!"
Her polar bear dog raced to the area as she and Mako mounted the animal. As Equalists surrounded them, Lei launched herself into the air and used her cable to propel herself forward on the overhead wires. Naga grabbed Bolin's shirt with her teeth as the trio escaped with her, narrowly avoiding getting caught.
The lieutenant pointed with his good arm. "The Avatar. That's her!"
Amon stepped out from behind, his voice calm as he commanded, "Let her go. She's the perfect messenger to tell the city of my power."
-:-
After ensuring that they weren't being followed, the four teens went their separate ways—though they thanked Lei for her help first. Korra went off to tell Councilman Tenzin, who she was apparently staying with on Air Temple Island, while Mako and Bolin decided to just go home. In the meantime, Lei made her way downtown to Police Headquarters.
The moon was high as she stood at attention in Chief Beifong's office, Captains Lee and Saikhan on either side of her, eagerly explaining her role in the discovery of the Equalists' true purpose, and of Amon's power.
When the cadet was finished with her tale, Lin frowned from her desk. "If that's true, then this rebellion is more dangerous than we've given them credit for."
"It's all true, Ma'am," Lei assured her. "I saw it with my own eyes—just ask the Avatar: she was there too."
The chief thanked the teen for the information before dismissing her.
Eyebrows briefly furrowing, Lei pouted. "Isn't there anything else you have to tell me?"
Lin raised an eyebrow before dryly telling her, "I may be chief, but I trust Captain Lee to make the best decision for his team—he's your mentor, not me."
Turning to Lee, he frowned. "You're not allowed back on the team yet."
"Why not?"
He sighed before explaining, "You should have come to us right after finding out about the missing boy. You only should have gone forward as you did if we didn't have the resources to help. What you did was incredibly reckless."
"But—"
"No 'buts'. You have to think about the consequences of your actions. As one of the Elite, you have to make the best choices for everyone," he reminded her. "To be honest, I was going to let you back next week, but now I'm beginning to worry that letting you back at all would be bad for both you and this team."
Lei opened her mouth, more than ready to fight for her position, but she held her tongue. Clearly this style of approach to the situation was bringing her nothing but grief. Perhaps patience would be the key this time. With a short nod, she left.
-:-
After a long trudge across the city, Lei finally made her way home. As she closed the door behind her, she noticed her older sister washing the dishes. Jin looked to Lei and frowned—likely expecting their mother—before wordlessly turning her attention to her task. Lei's shoulders drooped as she recalled their argument that morning and all the horrible things she said to her older sister. Taking a deep breath, she rolled up her sleeves and stepped beside her. Jin tensed as Lei reached into the sink and started helping.
Several long minutes passed before Lei broke the silence. "I'm sorry… about what I said this morning."
Jin froze and glanced to the brunette, lips tightened into a thin line.
"I know that Dad's death really affected you too," Lei admitted. "I know that you tried to hide it to make me feel better. It was wrong to say otherwise."
Jin's silence drowned the earthbender before she continued washing and finally answered, her voice soft. "It's weird how much can change in such little time."
Lei nodded as she thought back to their childhood with a soft smile. "Do you remember when Dad worked nights, how we used to hang out in the back room of the studio when Mom was teaching those self-defense classes? You used to read her chi-blocking books to me."
"You used to get so into those—probably more than some of her students."
The younger sister nodded with a laugh. "Oh, and remember the time you knocked out that kid who was picking on me?"
Her lips twitched into a small smile. "Yeah… it was before you got your bending. No one hurts my little sister."
With a wry grin, Lei pulled her soapy hands from the sink and outstretched her arms toward her sister. "Aww~! You're the best big sister ever. Gimme a hug~!"
Jin immediately backed away and held up her hands. "Ew, no! You'll get my dress dirty."
"C'mon~! You know you want to."
"No way."
Before she could escape, Lei caught Jin in her embrace. The redhead let out an exasperated groan as she accepted her watery fate.
Snickering, Lei playfully called out, "Love you, Jin~!"
The older teen patted her sister's head with her own soap-covered hands, holding back a laugh. "Love you too, brat."
"Jerk."
She chuckled. "Now let go. We need to finish these before Mom gets home."
Author's Note: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and the tease at canon overlap. If you did, please feel free to leave a review!
