Author's Notes: So, you should never trust me if I comment on romance before the first few chapters are out if there are multiple options, because I forget that I always end up changing my initial decision after getting to know the characters more. In other news, the romance is actually planned out now xD

Review Responses:

Wanderstar: Thank you! I'm glad you liked that scene. And you'll get more action soon ;D

Guest: I'm glad you liked it! Taifeng isn't gay, but I can definitely see why his behavior would make you think that, especially during his conversation with his mother. You'll get the true context for that very soon, though... On a related tangent, I was surprised to realize that none of my characters ended up LGBTQ in this story, especially considering that half of my major characters were in my last one.


Book 1: Redemption
Chapter 7: Hurt


When Lei finally woke up, her mother told her everything that happened. Even being on medical leave didn't faze the cadet this time. She didn't even notice the days pass by as she hid away in her room. The sun had long gone down on that winter's day as the brunette laid on her side, eyes glued to the armor mocking her from across the room. Its once-pristine shine was gone, now replaced with scuffs and dark spots where the electrified wires had wrapped around her body.

She shut her eyes and pressed her lips together as her stomach churned. Withholding a sigh, she carefully rolled over, facing her back to the metal that failed to protect her. Even then, she knew it wasn't to blame. Lee had been trying to teach her this whole time to work as a team and watch out for her comrades. It was her selfishness that brought them down. Constant reliving of those moments reminded her daily.

There was a soft knock at the door, but the bender remained unmoving.

Light peeked into her dark room followed by a silhouette as Haku called out, "Lei?"

As light fully flooded the room, she closed her eyes halfway and tilted her face further toward the mattress. Her neighbor crouched in front of her and put a hand on hers, drawing green eyes to meet his deep blue ones.

He couldn't help his soft frown as he told her, "Your mother is preparing dinner. It's time for a healing session."

Taking a deep breath, Lei weakly pushed her aching body up. She turned and sat on the center of the bed, facing the headboard as she took off her shirt, exposing her bare skin to the healer. He took his place behind her as he let the cool water cover the injuries around her upper back.

Meekly placing her hands in her lap, the metalbender looked down at the lightning-like burns around her arms—concentrated where the wires had wrapped around her, but spreading out several inches on either side. Her chest hurt slightly as Haku moved to her arms, but she managed to keep her pain hidden as far as she was aware. When Nanuq returned from the hospital, she would heal what was beneath Lei's bra. She didn't care how long it would take her older neighbor to return—truth be told, the young woman couldn't remember time passing by in the past week or so… however long it had really been.

Haku wrapped her injuries when the healing session was over, then the two of them joined Lei's mother and—surprisingly—Jin and Tahno at the dinner table. All was silent for a while until Ping turned to Tahno.

"It's good to see you again," she began. "How have you been coping?"

He sighed, but smiled slightly. "It's been rough… but Jin has been making it easier. I'm really not sure if I would be able to get through this without her."

Jin smiled back at her boyfriend and gently squeezed his hand.

Ping turned to her eldest daughter. "Are you going back to Tahno's place tonight?"

"Yeah. Actually…" She placed her utensils down and nervously smiled at him. "We've been talking, and… I'm going to fully move in next month."

Ping smiled. "That's wonderful, sweetheart."

Lei tuned out the conversation as she mindlessly picked at her mostly untouched meal. Haku remained silent, quietly watching the brunette until she decided that she was done. As she stood to wash her plate, he followed.

The waterbender gently offered, "Please, I can take it. You should rest."

She nodded quietly and held it out for him. He took the dish and brought it to the sink while Lei remained chained where she stood, unable to smile.

Suddenly, everything went black as the hum of flowing electricity stopped. Ping pulled out a flashlight as everyone moved to the windows—the whole neighborhood's power was out.

Haku furrowed his eyebrows. "The forecast didn't predict a storm today…"

The battery-powered police scanner rang out from within Lei's room. "All available units please respond to the fifty-six-hundredth block of Dragon Flats Borough. Equalists have taken to the streets. Consider them armed and dangerous. Proceed with caution."

The cadet narrowed her eyes. That couldn't be right—she would have heard them…

The five of them went outside to investigate, following the peaceful crowd to the only lit road in the vicinity. Barricades separated them from the Elite officers on the other side, with Councilman Tarrlok off to the side as he supervised. Lei tensed as she recognized the formation.

Chief Saikhan was standing on the roof of a police car as he called out through a megaphone, "All nonbenders: return to your homes immediately!"

"Yeah, as soon as you turn our power back on!"

The crowd erupted into cries to return their rights.

Even Jin joined in. "You can't treat us like this!"

Lei roughly pulled her sister back. "Don't draw attention to yourself."

"What?"

"Go home," Lei instructed the group. "This is the formation for mass arrests."

Tahno furrowed his eyebrows as he turned to his girlfriend, who glanced between Lei and Tarrlok before nodding. They paused by Ping, whose shoulders drooped as she frowned.

With a sigh, she submitted. "Please, be careful, Lei."

"I will," her youngest assured her.

As they quickly headed home, their neighbor remained.

The earthbender took an unusually stern tone. "Haku, you need to leave."

He put a clenched fist in his palm as he suggested, "We should try negotiating with them."

She frowned as she nervously glanced over her shoulder. "It's too late if they're in this formation already. You need to go home before it gets worse. I'll try to do what I can in the meantime."

His shoulders slumped and his gaze fell before he took a step forward and took her hands. "Please, Lei... be careful, and try to take the path of diplomacy."

She looked back again as she pulled away, her speech rapid. "I'll try. I promise. Now, please, just go!"

Haku hesitated a moment before backing away. Weaving through the crowd, Lei made her way to the barriers to confront Tarrlok and found Korra and her friends trying to do the same. She raised her hands to bend the barricade out of her way, but stopped herself. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled her arms to her sides.

"…They are the enemy!" the councilman declared. "Round up all these Equalists!"

Saikhan's team moved toward the crowd.

Lei tensed and called out, "You can't do this, Tarrlok! This is against the Forty-Second law of the United Republic's Rights Concord, subsection—"

He smirked. "Not anymore—and I'm shocked that the daughter of such a well-known partner of justice would defend these terrorists."

She clenched her fists and roared, "You're targeting a bunch of normal people. If you want to stop the Equalists, then you have to start by not acting like the kind of benders they fight against!"

He narrowed his eyes and accused, "The Equalists are infiltrating the police too. She's an accessory—arrest her!"

"What?!"

Two officers exchanged glances before grabbing the cadet from behind.

The teen scowled as she tried to worm her way out of their grasps. "You have no right to do this!"

More officers turned on her until she was fully apprehended.

-:-

The Republic City Police only had one wooden cell for metalbenders since most of those trained in the art entered the force—and Lei was its first major occupant. Even with the precautions to take away her metal surroundings, she was strapped in a full-body straitjacket with platinum latches that she couldn't bend. She had been there all night, left to her thoughts as she laid on the mattress pad in the corner of the room.

She never should have challenged him. All her actions did was bring more grief to her family. Still, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

A sigh pushed through her lungs as she thought back to her neighbor, hoping that he wouldn't blame himself for her arrest.

With nothing to do, Lei had started to drift off again when the door quietly opened, revealing Taifeng. She could just make out his deep frown as he silently closed the door behind him. She furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head. What was he doing there?

He came close, gritting his teeth as he hissed, "It's your fault that my Dad's gone. I know he took a hit for you. You're both idiots!" He winced and glanced over his shoulder before lowering his volume to a stage whisper. "Why didn't you back out when you could? That other earthbender got in there, so you all could've gotten out."

Shrinking back, she averted her gaze, her voice hoarse. "I know. I'm sorry… This is all my fault." Closing her eyes, she added, "I wish they took me instead…"

He recoiled. "What? Don't— Don't say that!"

She pinched her eyebrows together as she looked back up at him, her lips pressed together. "What do you want with me? You get mad at me for screwing up, but you get angrier when I agree with you."

He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. "Look, I'm only here because you're gonna help me find my Dad."

Lei frowned. "Why would you come to me? I'm in jail—you'd be risking your job."

He grabbed her collar and lifted her so only her feet were touching the wooden floor as he hissed, "I can't track him the easy way because I'm not a bender! I need seismic sense to find him, and no one else around here would be crazy enough to help me."

Taifeng was too lost in the heat of the moment to notice the door open behind him as another familiar face stepped in. Lei furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced between her friend and the newcomer.

Lin folded her arms, "What the flameo is going on in here?"

Taifeng tensed and glanced back as he gently released his friend. "Nothing... Why are you here? I thought you resigned."

The ex-chief approached them, revealing Mako, Bolin, and Asami standing in the hallway as she explained, "Korra's in trouble. Amon captured her... You kids shouldn't be locked up in here anyway."

Mako's eyes went wide and Asami looked equally distraught as he muttered, "No… No, she can't be gone."

Lin bent down and let Lei out of her restraints. Taifeng glanced over his shoulder, sparing the teen a long gaze until he looked down with pursed lips.

After a few moments, he declared, "I'm coming too."

As Lei stood, Lin nodded. "Come on. We have an Avatar to rescue."

-:-

Lei glanced over her shoulder as Lin boldly led them into Councilman Tenzin's office.

His eyes went wide as he nervously told the person on the other line, "I have to go… Call me back the minute you hear anything." He hung up and immediately stood. "Lin? Wh-What are— What are you— You should be in the hospital!" He turned and pointed to the group of teens. "And you four—you should be in prison!"

Lin put her hands on her hips. "I figured you could use our help finding Korra."

Mako stepped forward. "Do you have any leads?"

Tenzin walked around desk as he explained, "I've been on the phone all morning, but nothing yet."

"We need Naga," the firebender suggested. "She can track Korra."

The airbending master looked down. "I'm afraid her polar bear dog is missing as well."

"Then where do we start?" Bolin asked.

Lei pursed her lips as she mentally reviewed the locations of each Equalist sighting throughout the years. There were three main hotspots, each about a five-block radius, and all over the city.

She opened her eyes as she announced her findings, adding, "They must be using the underground tunnel system to get around. Those places are our best bets at finding the entrances."

Mako's eyes went wide. "That's where we saw the truck that took Bolin. Come on, we should start looking there."

As Bolin and Asami followed the firebender, Lin turned to Tenzin. "Wherever Amon's keeping Korra, I bet that's where my officers are too."

Taifeng's back was to them as he clenched his fists, and set off after Team Avatar.

-:-

Once they were there, the rescue team found the entrance and started making their way into the tunnels, following Mako's lead at he lit the way and picked a random path. Asami was hanging back as she quietly talked to Bolin. Taifeng was off to the side of the group, body tense as he silently pressed forward. Lei hesitated as she felt a strange sensation in the wall to her right.

She paused and scrutinized the wall. There were odd scuff marks in perfect lines in a square portion of the steel. She stepped closer for further examination, but the buzz of engines echoed through the tunnels as headlights appeared from around the bend. The group hid behind a support wall as Equalists sped down the road, watching as a piece of the wall opened to let them through. It quickly shut as the motorcycles disappeared behind it.

The metalbenders immediately ran to the wall and placed their hands on it, feeling what laid behind it. Lin managed to locate the locking mechanism first, and she and Lei raised the door.

Once down the tunnel, everyone was peeking around a corner of the Equalist hideout as a tram car arrived from one of the paths.

The woman riding it jumped off and informed the man, "Everything was delivered to the prison, sir."

As they walked off, Tenzin pointed out, "That's where they must be keeping Korra."

"…and my father," Taifeng grumbled.

"We need to get down that tunnel," Lin announced.

She signaled all-clear and everyone boarded the tram. Asami quickly figured it out and sent the machine forward. Lin took out chi-blockers standing at the end of the path, leaving them tied up as the team disembarked.

The ex-chief turned to Bolin and Asami. "You two, keep an eye on them." She closed her eyes and scanned the prison with seismic sense. "My officers are inside."

"What about Korra?" Mako asked.

"I don't see her yet," she told him before turning to the cadet. "Lei, why don't you try?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Me? I mean, I'll try, but I don't think I'll be able to find anything you can't."

Tenzin was quiet as he stroked his beard and carefully watched the young metalbender. Closing her eyes, she kneeled and placed her bare hand on the ground, shifting it slightly to reveal the full layout of the prison. It was surprisingly large for a secret organization, but she only found one occupied cell—the one containing Captain Lee and his team. Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately—she was unable to locate the Avatar.

Standing, she turned to Mako and shook her head. "I'm sorry… I can't find her. Maybe she's being held somewhere else?"

The metalbenders led the way as Tenzin, Mako, and Taifeng followed close behind. The group came across a pair of Equalists, who the airbending master blasted against a far wall. Lei hanged back for a moment as Lin and Taifeng pressed forward. Meanwhile Mako ran up to one of the chi-blockers and forced him up.

"Avatar Korra. Where are you keeping her?"

Lei frowned and glanced between Mako and Tenzin before reluctantly following her colleagues. At the end of the hall, Lin forced the bars apart and stepped into the cell containing Lei's teammates.

One of the youngest officers looked up from his cot and weakly asked, "Chief Beifong?"

She looked down. "I'm too late… That monster already took your bending, didn't he?" He nodded, and she sighed. "I'm so sorry."

As the officers exited the cell, they paused at Lei and Taifeng.

Captain Lee was the last to come out, and he smiled weakly at his young cadet. "You made it out…"

Her stomach churned as she averted her gaze, unable to will herself to speak. Taifeng clenched his fists as he looked away, and Lee's eyes widened when they landed on his son.

"Taifeng…? I… never would have expected you to come," he admitted.

The nonbender narrowed his eyes. "What?! Wh-Why— Why wouldn't I come?"

Lee frowned. "You don't seem to like me very much. Even Lei—"

He clenched his fists as tears accumulated in the corners of his eyes. "Why do you always bring it back to her?! You always pick her over your own family!"

His father's eyes widened. "That's not—"

"Ever since her dad died, you've only paid attention to her—not me, and not Mom." Taifeng shook as tears streamed down his face. "I know you try to keep her safe for Shang, but that doesn't mean you have to throw your life away for her! Lei can handle herself. Did you ever stop to think about what would happen to me or Mom if you died?"

Lee's shoulders drooped. "Taifeng…"

"Why can't you be selfish for once in your life?!"

Lei placed her hand on the wall as she shrunk to the side, frowning as she felt soft rumbling across the complex. Word of the rescue team's presence must have spread.

Nervously tapping her fingers against the wall, she straightened her posture and faked a cough. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get outta here. We're about to have company."

Taifeng squeezed his eyes shut as he looked away and nodded.

As they made it to the end of the hall again, Lei saw Mako threatening the chi-blocker with a fistful of fire. "I'll ask you one more time… where is she?"

The man's voice was weak as he explained, "We don't have the Avatar, and the Equalists didn't attack city hall. Tarrlok's lying."

Mako let him down. "What?"

Lin chimed in, "I scanned the entire prison. Korra's not here."

The firebender dropped the man to the floor. "Why would Tarrlok make up a story about getting attacked?"

Tenzin scowled. "Because he has Korra. He fooled us all."

Alarms blared through the hideout, confirming Lei's earlier suspicions as everyone ran to the tram. Halfway down the tunnel, a car full of Equalists was hot on their trail. Lei tensed and moved to jump off the tram and take them on herself.

Taifeng roughly pulled her back. "Don't be stupid!"

She lightly smacked her head. "Right!... That's right..."

Furrowing her eyebrows, she glanced to the earth walls before breaking them down. Bolin chipped in, collapsing the walls between the team and their pursuers. There was a thud from the other side as they slammed into the blockade.

The younger earthbender laughed. "Ha! Try to chi-block that, fools!"

At the end of the tunnel, a fleet of Equalists were lying in wait.

Lin called out, "We've got more company!"

She bent the top rail to form a ramp, sending the tram up. With Lei, they blasted a hole in the ceiling as the vehicle soared onto the second floor. After assuring that everyone survived the landing unharmed, they made their hasty escape.

-:-

The captured officers went home, but Taifeng stayed behind to arrest Tarrlok. The remaining group later went to city hall to confront him with the other members of the council and found out that not only was he a bloodbender, but he had indeed captured Avatar Korra. While they were lucky that Chief Saikhan wasn't there to arrest escaped teens again, Tarrlok knocked them all unconscious with his abilities. They woke up several hours later and continued searching for the bloodbender and Avatar, to no avail. Eventually they heard Naga call out and located her carrying a badly injured Korra into the city again.

They had just brought her back to Air Temple Island, the moon high as Tenzin stepped out, joining Lin, Lei, and Taifeng.

"Thank you for helping us find Korra," he began. "I'll fly you back to your homes."

Lin was silent for a moment, glancing to the young metalbender before turning her attention to the airbender. "Actually, I need to ask you for a favor. Saikhan knows that Lei is gone, and the first place he'll check is her house. Will you let her stay here until I smooth things over?"

He nodded. "Of course." Turning to Lei, he added, "You are welcome to stay as long as you need."

She frowned as she noted her lack of foresight on the matter. "Right... thanks..."

Tenzin nodded. "I'll bring you home so you can gather your belongings and inform your family." Turning to Lin and Taifeng, he added, "I'll drop you two off on the way back."

As the two adults left to speak and retrieve the flying bison, Lei stayed there with Taifeng. Snow flurries fell around they as briefly locked eyes before turning away, Lei holding her arms together and Taifeng shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked down and shuffled his feet.

Taking a deep breath, she nervously spoke. "Hey... I'm sorry for coming between you and your dad. I... I didn't know... Why didn't you ever say anything?"

He whipped his head up, eyebrows pinched together as he took his clenched fists out of his pockets. "Because it wasn't your fault. You needed guidance—you needed someone… It was my father who took it to the lengths he did—he's the one who tried to overcompensate for his failure to protect your father." Sighing, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry for blowing up at you earlier. You didn't deserve it."

Releasing her arms, Lei clasped her hands and lowered them, gaze still pointed at the ground as she asked, "Are we going to be alright… as friends?"

Taifeng smiled softly as he playfully ruffled her hair. "Of course we are. One argument isn't going to stop us now. So, stop worrying."

Lei looked up at him, lips curving into a small grin. At the very least, she wasn't down to just one friend anymore. When Tenzin and Lin returned with his sky bison, their first stop was the Chen household. Taifeng stayed on the saddle as the others came down, frankly not wanting to go through the trouble of climbing back up in a few minutes.

The power was on as Lei walked inside—it seemed that Tarrlok's true nature led the other council members to repeal his order. She flipped on the lights before making her way to her mother's room to inform her of the situation.

Meanwhile, Lin and Tenzin were on the lookout outside as he commented, "Lei seems unusually skilled for someone her age."

"She used training to cope after her father was killed in action," the metalbender explained. "She's the most talented person I've ever seen go through this department, and I don't even think she realizes it."

Tenzin briefly raised his eyebrows. "Do you think she will surpass you one day?"

"Maybe one day when she has more experience in a fight, but she already has in raw skill," Lin blatantly told him. "You saw her in that hideout. I can't use seismic sense as effortlessly as she can. The only person who's better than her is my mother, but she's leagues ahead of Lei."

-:-

As Lei stepped outside with a bag of her hastily gathered belongings slung over her shoulder, a voice called out to her. Squinting, she turned and saw Haku with his hair loose and dressed in his pajamas as he carefully crossed the beaten path between their two houses. With a wide grin, she raced to him.

They briefly embraced as he confessed, "I went to the chief of police to negotiate your release when he told me that you escaped. I'm so glad you're safe."

Lei blinked owlishly as he pulled away. "You did that… for me?"

"I-I… well, of course." He sheepishly looked away. "Without the tension of that night, I would have a higher likelihood of getting you out of there."

She smiled softly as she looked down before sighing and nervously rubbing her arm. "Haku... I'm sorry if I worried you. I didn't really expect them to arrest me."

The waterbender was quiet for a moment before assuring her, "I'm just glad you're okay."

Lei smiled up as him as she removed her hand, wincing as her fingers brushed a little too hard against her burns.

His eyes widened. "Are you alright? Do you need another healing session?"

Tilting her head, she admitted, "Well, I'm still sore—and obviously need to be more careful—but I'm gonna have to go without for a while."

"Then, I can give you one last session before—"

"Sorry to interrupt your lovers' reunion," Lin began, prompting a raised eyebrow from Lei, "but we need to get out of here before she's spotted. I'll do my best to smooth it over with Saikhan in the meantime."

Oblivious, Lei shrugged off her confusion and said her goodbyes to Haku. He waved her off as they flew away, thanking the dark night for hiding his blush. Once out of sight, Lei leaned back on the saddle and looked up at the night sky. Beside her, Taifeng watched on with a knowing smirk.