AUTHOR'S NOTES: Turns out I posted the last one a day early and only now realized it. That aside, here we enter into the territory of Ep.6, "And the Winner Is...". This one plays out very differently due to Korra not being part of the Fire Ferrets team, and also due to the myraid of different abilities Korra has at her disposal. Those who have been waiting for Korra to blow more things up need not wait any longer. It also sets up for a handful of less pleasant things to come.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE: CHEATERS NEVER PROSPER
Even this early before the match, the Probending arena was packed and only going to get fuller as the time for the final match drew closer. Korra ducked aside and laid low for a moment as she noticed Tarrlok being interviewed by the press, overhearing bits and pieces about how he boldly decided to keep the arena open despite Amon's threats. She didn't think she'd get past the media gauntlet herself, and so it was more a matter of waiting for Tarrlok to leave, and hoping that the press would go with him. She was still rather embarrassed about her outburst at Tarrlok's gala, and knew full well that Tarrlok was exactly the type of person that would not let her live it down. She'd wait until he left, because she knew he wouldn't stay there forever.
Sure enough, Tarrlok soon disappeared, and the media brigade with him. As Korra sauntered over to the arena entrance, however, she was stopped by some of the journalists as well.
"And look who it is," one of the reporters pointed her out, "The girl, the myth, the legend herself, Avatar Korra, Republic City's favourite Probending champion!"
"Uhh, hey," Korra waved awkwardly.
"Avatar Korra," another reporter interjected, "It is said that you were instrumental in swaying the council to keep the arena open? Are you aware of the risks and motives behind such a move?"
"This city has some fine leaders—some more than others," Korra slipped in a slight jab at Tarrlok while also praising Tenzin, "but Amon isn't one of them. He can't tell us what to do, and keeping the Probending Arena open is a message from Republic City to the Equalists that Amon's campaign of fear and terrorism isn't going to work on the citizenry."
"Word has it that Amon managed to instill fear in you after your challenge backfired," a different reporter hit on a very touchy subject for Korra, whose expression reflected her ire at once.
"That's because Amon used cowardly underhanded tactics to trick me!" Korra barked, "I assumed he was a man of honour like he claimed—I was wrong!"
She paused. "And see what happens when you keep your questions coming one at a time?" She couldn't help but take a subtle jab at the press as well.
Of course, these remarks were being broadcast all across the radio, including wherever Amon and the Equalist leaders were hiding—or making their move.
"It seems the Avatar is back," Amon's Lieutenant turned to his leader, "And back to defying you."
"Let her try," Amon steepled his fingers, "Everything is going according to plan…"
Korra still was not fully sure how she escaped the legion of reporters who seemed curious about the slightly elusive Avatar's motives, but she found out that this match was a bit different from some of the others she had been at.
"Holy wow!" Korra's eyes lit up as she found a little booth in one of the foyers that was selling merchandise related to some of the more popular probending players and teams. To her utmost delight, she found "Avatar Gauntlet" merchandise, which she naturally scooped up a great deal of—including several action figures built in her likeness. Unfortunately for her, she was also something of a celebrity to the point where a great many fans asked for her autograph among other things. Korra did not part with any locks of her hair, despite that being a somewhat popular request, although there was a gaggle of teens probably only a few years younger than herself that were cosplaying as Bolin, Mako, and Hassook that were all watching her with sense of awe and excitement. With the three boys was also a girl dressed in blue who did her hair up the same way Korra did.
In a spell of goodwill, she waved them over and autographed their merchandise. To Korra's surprise, the girl actually gave her a hug.
"I hope your friends win tonight!" She beamed at Korra before racing off to rejoin her friends who headed into the stands. Korra hoped they won for obvious reasons, but now also because she had taken a liking to the young girl and her friends.
Either way, she soon joined Asami and her father in their VIP booth which gave them a prime view of the field and the stadium. She felt comfort in seeing all of the police airships keeping watch over the arena, as well as several dozen officers scattered throughout the facility.
"The anticipation is palpable as we are just moments away from the championship match!" Shiro Shinobi had commenced announcing as the games were set to begin, "Will the Wolfbats' ferocity help them repeat as champs? Or will the Fire Ferrets serve up a surprising bowl of smackdown soup?"
It was clear right away that both teams were going for the win, with the Wolfbats acting surprisingly aggressive, and much to Korra's annoyance, getting away with it. They took the 1st round almost decisively, although the Fire Ferrets managed to get a tiebreaker in the 2nd round that had Hasook squaring off against Tahno.
"Knock his stupid hair off his stupid head!" Korra called out, earning a set of much-approved grins from all three of the team members, who also flashed her a thumbs-up to indicate that they had in fact heard her over the din of the arena.
Hasook moved and did a feint with a bolt of water, throwing it to coax Tahno into dodging right into a subtle 2nd attack that blasted his helmet clean off and into the stands. Unbeknownst to Korra, the young woman who was now in possession of a Korra action figure with the Avatar's autograph on its back had actually caught it. There were several moments of awkward silence as she and her friends stared awkwardly at it, unsure of what to do.
"Round 2 goes to the Fire Ferrets!" Shiro Shinobi announced. "One round apiece; who wants it more? The Wolfbats fly out of the gates, swinging with bad intentions. The challengers are showing a lot of heart but the champs are really starting to show their rhythm now. Can the Fire Ferrets hang in there with the best, especially when the best are frankly getting a little help from the refs?"
The first two rounds had been littered with moments that should have been fouls under normal circumstances, but that the referees had clearly overlooked. Even Tenzin and Lin had commented on it. The only reason Korra wasn't stringing multiple profanities together was because she tried to behave at least somewhat civilly around Hiroshi.
"It's all down to this final round," Shiro continued, "Mako is leaving it all in the ring, but it looks like Tahno and Ming are up to more shenanigans! Oh this is going too far! That water had rocks in it!"
With this sweeping movement, all three of the Fire Ferrets were dethroned and in the drink.
"Knockout!" The referee announced almost too eagerly. The crowd, however, was in an uproar, including Tenzin and Lin; but especially Korra.
"Okay, what the fuck!?" She roared, not even realizing that Hiroshi had excused himself, "That was RIGGED and everyone here knows it! I'll beat 'em down myself!"
"Oh come on, those were illegal headshots!" Tenzin's outrage was much more subdued, although he could see Korra across the arena sticking her head out the balcony and screaming profanities at the referees, "Open your eyes, ref!"
"Well folks," even Shiro seemed a bit bummed by the clearly unfair victory the Wolfbats had 'earned', "it's a controversial call but the Wolfbats notch a nasty knockout to win the match! For the fourth year in a row, they'll be crowned the tournament champions!"
There was a mixture of cheers and boos, and the crowds were once again in an uproar—which was the opportune moment for the Equalists hidden amongst the crowds to make their move.
Korra did not notice the movement from where she stood, but even Asami looked confused as she poked her head out to see what was happening. It was not hard to see the electricity that surged through the water below them though, and there had definitely not been enough time for Mako, Bolin, or Hasook to escape that.
"Equalists," Korra turned to Asami, who seized Korra's shoulders.
"Don't lose your cool, Korra," she warned, "I'm not going to stop you, but you have to keep a level head and don't let these maniacs get under your skin. If Amon is here, he's going to try and goad you, and you know it!"
"All the more reason for me to listen to your warning," Korra sighed, giving Asami a firm embrace before turning to the arena, "Stay safe!"
"You as well," Asami replied as Korra launched herself into the air with a powerful propulsion of blue firebending—just in time to watch a pair of Equalists take out Tenzin and Lin as she landed on the playing field not far from the Wolfbats. In the mayhem, no one seemed to notice what she had just done; not even the Equalists
"What's going on here, ref?" Tahno exclaimed, and even Korra cocked her head towards the man, almost as if to accuse him of being an Equalist as well. Any rivalry between her and Tahno could wait. Korra dove straight into the water below as chaos began to overtake the stands.
"Folks," Shiro Shinobi continued announcing the events around him, "there is some sort of electrical disturbance in the stands! Metalbender cops are dropping like bumbleflies. There appear to be masked members of the audience wearing electroshock gloves and attacking. One of them is now in the booth with me now; he's leveling one of those gloves and I believe he is about to electrocute me. I am currently wetting my pants—"
There was the sound of electricity surging through the loudspeaker and suddenly Shiro's voice was cut out entirely.
Korra saw the unconscious Fire Ferret team bound to one of the posts, and of the three, only Mako was conscious—and only barely.
"Korra?" he uttered in barely more than a whisper. Korra put her finger to her lips as she used her free hand to sling a swathe of water with such precision that it just sliced their bonds. Ming-Hua might not have taught Korra a specialized technique the way Ghazan and P'Li had, but Korra now knew 1001 ways to use a water whip to great effect.
There was a commotion going on directly above them, and then Korra heard a noise that made her stomach drop.
"Wait, please don't do this!" it was Tahno, and he was pleading to someone, "I'll give you the championship pot; I'll-I'll give you everything, just please don't take my bending!"
For a moment Korra was petrified, realizing that the man she feared the most was directly above her, only a few feet away. She launched herself up to the underside of the playing field, crawling to one of the edges to try and get a peek at what was going on without Amon spotting her.
"I believe I have your attention now, benders of Republic City," Amon announced, "So once again, the Wolfbats are your Probending champions. It seems fitting that you celebrate three bullies who cheated their way to victory, because every day, you threaten and abuse your fellow nonbending citizens, just like the Wolfbats did to their opponents tonight—and just as the Avatar does when she's not cowering in fear of our movement. These men were supposedly the best of the bending world and yet it only took me a few moments to cleanse them of their impurity. Let this be a warning to the rest of you benders out there: any and all who stand in my way will earn the same fate. As for my followers: for years the Equalists have been forced to hide in the shadows, but now we have the strength and numbers to create a new Republic City. I'm happy to tell you that the time for change has finally come. Very soon, the current tyrannical bending regime will be replaced by a fair-minded Equalist government. You and your children will no longer have to walk the streets afraid. It's time to take back our city!"
Korra swore for a moment that she made eye contact with an Equalist in the crowds, which caused her to shrink back. With most of her friends still unconscious, there was no way Korra wanted to take these Equalists all down on her own—not without severe collateral anyways, and Korra did not want to become more of a murderer than she already was. She'd let him continue his monologue for now.
"For centuries," Amon did in fact continue, "benders have possessed an unnatural advantage over normal people. But thankfully, modern technology has provided us with a way to even the playing field." he stopped and brandished one of the electroshock gloves, "Now anyone can hold the power of a chi-blocker in their hands. Unfortunately, while this might serve to equalize us against benders, there is still the issue of the Avatar at hand. Tell me, what is fair about a single woman possessing not only four different bending arts, but a wide array of supernatural abilities that do not belong in this world? The Avatar is a foreign entity that does not belong in this world—and as such, she too will, in time, be purified. My followers and I will not rest until the entire city achieves equality, and once that goal is achieved, we will equalize the rest of the world. The Revolution has begun!"
Korra sprung up right as part of the glass dome above them shattered, and she sprang into action. Ripping off her headband, she aimed a combustion beam towards the retreating Equalists, only to be thwarted by the Lieutenant, who struck her and caused her attack to fire several feet to the left, blowing another clean hole through the glass dome. Korra launched herself into the air with a mixture of airbending and firebending, taking off after Amon in hot pursuit. Shortly after she did, a loud rumble shook the arena below them. Korra glanced down only for a moment and saw that she had literally just escaped with her life. The center of the playing field had been blown clean apart, and had she hesitate for but a few seconds longer, she would have been scattered across the arena in thousands of bloody pieces. A piece of debris also struck her right out of the air, destroying her focus. As Korra tumbled back down to the smoky abyss, she felt a metal cable wrap around her waist. As she glanced up, she saw Lin swinging from another cable attached to heaven-knows-what, and for a moment, Lin and Korra made eye contact.
"Hang on, kid," she grunted before bending her cables to propel Korra with remarkable accuracy through the hole the Equalists had made. She landed with grace atop the glass dome and took a moment to breathe in and focus. A second later, she fired another powerful combustion beam right at the underside hatch of the Equalist airship. She regretted not aiming higher, for while it blew several of the Equalists away, Amon was still visible as his airship made to leave.
This left Korra dealing with several formidable Equalists in what was a 5-on-1 fight. Korra was forced back onto the glass dome, taking a defensive as she tried to prevent her chi from being blocked, and while also limited to firebending and airbending due to the lack of water or earth within her reach. If the dome collapsed, she was going to be in trouble—and with a sizable hole from Amon's airship platforms to one side and a massive hole on her other side thanks to her missed attack, there was no telling how long the remaining glass would hold. A quick glance around her showed her unfavourable circumstances considering that all of the Police airships were either crashed or in flames, which means the Equalists had somehow managed to successfully sabotage them before they could do anything.
Korra tried to avoid jumping at first, but with the fast, overwhelming pressure from the five Equalists, even throwing fire from her hands was starting to prove to not be enough. She was not the only person in Republic City with swift reflexes and high dexterity.
She launched herself above the Equalists, only to get intercepted and slammed back down. Korra managed to recover by flipping onto her hands and back onto her feet as she followed up with a tornado kick, but it was clear where the Equalists were trying to push her, and they were doing a remarkable job at keeping her from getting out.
Fortunately, Korra received backup a moment later as Lin shot through the hole and helped dispatch three of the Equalists with her metal cables. In this brief moment of reprieve, Korra felt herself get struck in the side and knocked down. Before the Lieutenant could come down on Korra with his fully-charged kali sticks however, he was interrupted by Lin, who nearly kicked him clean off the dome.
It seemed that a victory against the Avatar and the Chief of Police was not the Equalists' goal at this point, however. Instead the remaining Equalists, as well as the ones that had recovered from Lin's attack started jabbing at the glass surrounding Korra. Any time she tried to launch herself over them they were able to intercept them, and by the time Korra had made a move for a way out, one of her feet sunk through the glass. Her other foot immediately followed, and she plunged back down into the smoky abyss.
Lin stopped what she was doing and dove through the hole after Korra, lassoing her arm with her cables as the Equalists fled onto Amon's airship. Korra used her free arm to seize the cable and reduce stress on her arm as she and Lin made a fairly smooth landing in the stands not far from where Tenzin, Asami, and the Fire Ferrets had landed.
"You alright, kid?" Lin actually asked Korra,
"Thanks to you I am," Korra looked her right in the eyes, "Seriously—I owe you one."
"Don't mention it," Lin cast a glance upward, "Still… we lost this one. I can't believe Amon did this. I played right into his hand."
"He played us all," Tenzin frowned. "Republic City is at war."