A Terrible Synergy

Chapter 20

The hallways felt eerie and winding despite the large number of injured policeman and civilians filling the emergency bays. The trio had been walking in silence ever since the brothers agreed to the councilman's deal. They edged the entrance to the second ER bay where Saikhan was located, but were stopped short when the tall monk started to talk.

"You don't have do what he's asking. It's not your duty to do so."

The two brothers looked back at the older man, their gazes steadied with youthful determination. Their young appearances would trick anyone into thinking that they were both just innocent, naïve teenagers, but their eyes told a different story. They weren't innocent and hadn't been in a very long time, and for a second, Tenzin pitied them because they had experienced things before the age of ten that most would never have. And that's why they stood there looking at him with this resolve of 'I've been through worse' and banking their lives against fate.

The older sibling was first to speak, "If I have any sherd of decency, then it is my duty to act. And if this is the only way we can then so be it." Bolin crossed his arms and nodded solemnly in agreement.

The airbender exhaled and looked to the side trying to steel his emotions as he took in the boys' refusal of his attempt to protect them. There was an officer on the side in a cot. His blue eyes watched the poor man scream out in pain as the nurses worked on his leg, or at least what was left of it. He was being prepped for emergency surgery to remove it. The poor fellow was unlucky enough to have gotten caught by a crossbeam of the building collapsing.

He returned his attention back to the brothers and remembered that even though their eyes were those of wise men they were still just kids. And he knew for certain that Mako was not looking at this situation with clear eyes. His gaze scooted back to the brothers, to the earthbender who still said nothing. The boy hadn't said much in the recent hours. He was probably in shock. They were still just children and if he had to let children fight for him what kind of leader was he?

Almost violently, his large hands grabbed the fabric of their shirts and he pulled the boys to the side of the hallway. He did this to get their attention as well as to get out of the way of the moving cowards of medical personnel.

"I understand this sense of duty you both feel, and I admire it to some degree, but you are following bad judgement whether you know it or not. We're handing into a trap with no backup. You will lose your bending, or worse, you will die," the forceful grip on their clothes tightened as the man desperately tried to slam that point into their heads, "It's repulsive the kind of low he is at right now, playing with people's lives like this. I will not let you do this." The soldier screamed out again.

"You didn't think that we didn't know that?" Bolin finally spoke, "At this point, we can't just sit around and wait!" He looked straight into the Airbender's eyes, "There's no doubt that this man, Arata or Noatak or whatever his name is, is Amon. Did you see the damage done this morning? To the officers? The bruises on Tarrlok's chest? On his face? He looked like death," he fist tightened, "I have no doubt in my mind who this guy that Korra is dealing with is. I've experienced Amon's fighting prowess firsthand and I can say without any doubt that he did that to Tarrlok. That's the only explanation."

"And if that means that Tarrlok is going to use us and Asami to flush Korra out, we don't care," ended the Firebender.

The Airbender kept his hands locked on the boys, "But we don't know if it is him. We need to sit tight and get a better picture on what is really happening instead of putting our heads down and charging in."

"Bullshit," Mako spat pushing the man's heavy hand off, "You just can't take the fact that Korra is in cahoots with Amon."

"Maybe, I can't," Tenzin stared the firebender down, "A part of me doesn't want to believe it and a part of me can't look past the realities. But I know for a fact whose side she's on. Even if she has lost her way."

"And that's why we need to do this, Tenzin. We need to bring her home," Mako said quietly. He turned to his brother, "Come on, Bolin, let's go get Seikhan."

The monk watched them disappear through the ER doors and began to pace back and forth. He realized just how far Tarrlok's fingers were wrapped around their necks. He stroked is graying beard, maybe he was in denial and maybe he was greedy thinking he could save everyone, but even if it was a pointless endeavor he would try and he would bring Korra back to him. Someone tapped his back. The older man turned and found Tarrlok's nurse, Winona, behind him.

"Oh, it's you. I apologize. I'm in your way."

"No, no, you're not. I came to find you Councilman Tenzin, you have a call."

-0-

The sky was overcast, and, despite it being early in the afternoon, it looked as if the sun had never really rose that morning. It's been an hour and half since the police raid and 45 minutes since the building caught up in flames. They had been trekking silently through the snow and back alleyways to get to an entrance that would lead them directly to Amon's office in the equalist compound.

She shivered. The day was cold and winter didn't seem as inviting as it usually did. The whiteness of the cold only led more contrast to the black, bellowing smoke cloud that they were leaving behind. Korra tried to focus her attention forward or at her feet but her eyes would always would return to look at the dark smoke cloud ascending into the skies. Noatak seemed to pay no mind. He was more concerned with the crowds and watching eyes and keeping her out of sight. They paused behind a dumpster were the alley ended and funneled into a busier street. She watched children, men, and women walk past wearing heavy coats and hats.

"I think we are out of the police perimeter. Don't talk to anyone, walk behind me, and keep you head down."

"We are going on this road?"

"Yes, we have to cross this street."

She did as she said and they strode down the block. Until they reached a newspaper stand and telephone booth at the end of the block at the corner of the intersection. People bustled by them, not paying them any attention.

The vender was an old, pot-bellied man with tanned skin, green eyes, and gray hair with a prominent bald spot. He leaned back on a stool in his booth listening to music from the piece-of-shit radio he had playing on the counter. Abruptly, the static-filled music cut out for three load beat as an emergency broadcasting signal cut into the station. Korra and Noatak stopped, along with a small crowd of people, to listen. The emergency broadcaster spoke in an urgent tone: "Update to the residents of Republic City: South Bend is still in flames from equalist attack. Firefighter are still working hard to put out the flames. No deaths reported, but 52 were injured and 6 were critically injured which include Councilman Tarrlok and the brave policemen that were protecting the inhabitants of South Bend. Stay in homes if you live in the upper east borough. Repeat. Stay in homes if you live in upper eastern borough. Do not leave homes until conflict is resolved and perpetrators are found and taken in. Be on the lookout the Avatar and a 6' 3", male, with pale skin, dark brown hair, and blue eyes. Avatar Korra has been suspected to be working with the equalist plot. She has not been seen for the past 24 hours. If suspects are spotted contact RCPD as soon as possible. Suspects are extremely dangerous. Do not approach. Contact RCPD immediately. End of emergency transmission." There was a moment of silence before the jazz music filtered back in as if the call never happened. The vender shifted in his chair and said to no one in particular, "Sprits, can you believe this? I just can't believe it! You can't trust anyone anymore… not even the Avatar," and pulled out and lit a cigarette, "Looks like this world is going to shit. I thought it couldn't get much worse than the 100 year war."

"The Avatar?"

"Is the world coming to an end?"

"What are we going to do?"

"What am I going to tell my daughter?"

"Who's going to project us now?"

He could feel the tension from Korra's body beside him but did not let her emotions show. It was scary, he couldn't remember when she got so good at that. Maybe he was brushing off her.

"Yea, I guess you can't trust anyone anymore," Korra responded to the man. The group of people around them quickly dispersed. He knew that she could hear all the panicked whisperings, of how the Avatar abandoned them, how the world was coming to an end. She clenched her fists.

The butt of the vendor's cigarette illuminated the dark afternoon as he took a long drag in order to calm himself. The vender released the smoke out of his nostrils, "I suppose not, darling," he sighed scratching his temple. Noatak placed a hand on her shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze. He leaned down slightly as he fished around in his pocket. He handed her 50 cents, "Here, buy a newspaper, I need to make a call."

She nodded and took the money. He walked into the phone booth and closed the door behind him. She watched the vender's eyes follow him.

"Hi, can I get a newspaper?"

He placed the cigarette back his mouth and reached for a newspaper, "Sure, sweetheart, here you go." She handed the man the money and tucked the paper in her coat pocket. "You know, you should go home. With all this commotion going on in South Bend this borough is bound to be next. It's really not safe to be out here. I'm actually happy that they called Marshall Law. I survived the Great War, but I'm too old for this shit. I'm headed head home. You should too." He took another long drag with his gaze directed to the phone booth, "I mean you can see the smoke clouds from here."

"Don't worry, sir, I'm headed home too."

He shifted the cigarette between his lips. The man kept talking, "Well, get there fast," he straightened the magazines and newspapers out front and pulled out a key, "This shit seems to being getting worse and worse every day. Now they keep sending the emergency reports every ten minutes. And did you hear that the Avatar's an equalist now! I just can't believe it. I just can't! Do you think Avatar Aang would've done this? Hell no, I tell ya, hell no," he grumbled on stepping out of the booth. He pulled down the metal covering. He the butt between his teeth taking another deep inhale, again releasing the smoke through his nostrils, "Say do you live down here? I've haven't seen you around."

The lock clicked and he shook the covering to make sure it was secure. He turned and faced her fixing a scarf around his neck that he pulled from his pocket. Korra couldn't tell if the man was trying to play her or if it was just her paranoia. He just seemed like he was in a panicked mess, with his excessive smoking sucking and jumpy movements, but something about the man's gaze unnerved her.

"Yes, a few blocks down. We just moved in a couple weeks ago," Korra lied.

"Hmm, is that right?" He pulled out his butt and squished it against the sole of his shoe. His mustache curled upward as he smiled and laughed showing yellow teeth, "I live down that a ways too. Can't say that I've seen you around. Say you know, you actually do look familiar. I just can't seem to to put my finger on it."

"I'm sure you're mistaken, sir."

Noatak came out of phone booth and walked to her side. He placed a hand on the small of her back and from the controlled, forceful way he pushed her forward, she could tell that he was angry, but he hid it well. After all she wasn't supposed to talk to anyone. "It's quite rude to question a lady like that. You should mind your own business."

"Sure thing, sir. My apologies," the vender dipped his head not failing to notice the man's death stare. He watched couple cross the street and head down the road. He waited until they were out of sight and immediately walked over to the phone booth. He dropped two coins in.

"Like hell, I'm that stupid. That girl looked exactly like the Avatar and there was a man with her," he felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

A female dispatcher came online, "Hello, this is 9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

He opened his mouth but it was as if all the air were sucked from them. He wheezed. He already had trouble breathing but it had never been this bad.

"Hello? Hello? Are you alright?"

Then something came over him, a foreign sensation and, suddenly, his hand was hanging the phone up against his will.

"What the fuck? What the fuck!" he stuttered looking at his hand as if it wasn't his body. The dispatcher's voice went silent as the call disconnected. His feet started to move under him and body twisted and turned out of the booth into an alleyway. Was he possessed? The sensation was almost painful. He could see the veins in his hands and wrists budging out of his skin. His body made a turn where the street came out of view and found the same man standing at the booth there but the girl was gone.

"Are you doing this to me? What are you doing to me?" he stuttered in fear. The man's body slammed against the cold brick wall, "Are you some kind of demon?"

"Be quiet, I don't have a lot of time." His hands were his pockets and he had a bone-chilling look on his face. He squared his shoulders, "You know, you're not as dumb as you look, very observant, but I can't have people calling the police."

"Please just kill me if that's what you intend to do."

"That's awfully brave of you, sir, but I'm not going to hurt you, well, as long as you do as I say. You wouldn't want to upset me. I'm on edge you see."

Without warning, he was gasping for air again as a crushing, invisible force came down on his windpipe. The hunger for air overrode every function in his body. Noatak knew this and could clearly see in the man's green, bulging eyes as every single muscle in his neck, chest, and abdomen strained and fought to suck in air. He watched with hands in pockets as the older man struggled to breathe. The moment the man's fingers turned blue did crushing force subside and his lungs could fill again. He collapse onto all fours.

Noatak squatted down to his level with his hands between his thighs, "Do you really want to die?"

The man coughed and wheezed. "That's what I thought. At least I have your full attention now."

He reached into the man's trousers and retrieved the man's wallet and packet of cigarettes. He opened the wallet and glanced at his driver's license, "Xing, is it? You live just down the block on 12th. Not awfully far from here," there was a picture of two little kids, "Are these your grandkids? They look like nice kids." He closed his wallet and took out a cig from the pack pinching between his middle finger and thumb. The man's breathing has slowed to a normal rate. Noatak wasn't even restraining him with his bloodbening anymore. The man was just plain exhausted.

"Now, I suggest that you go home Mr. Xing. To your wife and stop sticking nose in places it shouldn't be." He patted the older man's back twice, "Alright?"

The older man lifted his head to look in the younger man's eyes, "I don't know what you are," he gritted his teeth from exhaustion and pain, "but you are worse than fucking demon."

Noatak smiled and pushed the cigarette between the man's lips to quiet him, "Whatever you need to say to rationalize it, Mr. Xing. Now, when you wake up, you keep that mouth of yours shut. You don't want to see me again. Have a good day now, Mr. Xing." Xing's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his arms collapsed making his torso and head slump to the snowy ground. Noatak pulled him up into a sitting position and leaned him against the building. He threw the wallet and cigarettes in the man's lap and dusted off his coat. He adjusted his hat, placed his hands in his pockets to warm them, and trekked deeper into the alleyway where he told Korra to wait for him.

He found her leaning beside a fire escape. Her eyes were downcast and her arms were crossed over her chest, "You really didn't need to jostle the poor guy like that," he wasn't expecting a response like that.

"And I thought I told you to buy a newspaper, not have a bloody conversation," he bit back just as bitterly.

She huffed and uncrossed her arms, "whatever," and started down to the end of the alley, clearly irritated. He followed. She was probably upset about what the people on the street said about her after the broadcast. The reality of what was happening was setting in and he could tell that she was struggling to come to grips with it. After all, she wasn't used to be on the other side of the law, but he didn't need or want to deal with a moody Avatar right now. If they got caught… he didn't even want to think about it because it wouldn't happen. He would protect her, and yet there was doubt in his mind. Tarrlok had Korra's sister. He didn't know how he had her sister but he did and that was a problem and he couldn't dispose of his brother until he could secure Auma's safety. But that wasn't the only problem that they faced.

"You can't be picky when you're covering your tracks, Korra," his palms clutched the linings of his pockets in an attempt to keep his anger at bay. There were more pressing matters then the man he just intimated. I could've been much worse. But he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want her to see him like that, the side of him that almost consumed his soul, "It's just an intimidation tactic. He will wake up in 20 minutes, scared shitless, and run home."

"Okay, I get it. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

He grabbed her from behind and pulled her aside, "What's a matter with you?"

"Nothing."

He rolled his eyes, "Look, we can't get caught. The city is in an uproar right now and people are on edge. Everyone's on edge! They'll call in anything they see as suspicious. Don't you understand that? Even if your face is covered by that scarf, people can still recognize you and call it in. For spirits sake, that man almost did! There's more important things on the line right now."

"I know, OK! You don't need to lecture me," she snapped. See wouldn't look him in the eye.

"What else is bothering you?"

"I don't like seeing you that way."

"What?"

"You say you don't like it, but you just bloodbent that poor man and almost seemed to enjoy it. You were fucking smirking when he was gasping for air."

He hesitated and glanced away, "I told you not to watch." It seems their conversation that started in the basement wasn't over yet.

"What because you're just going to revert to this nasty guy every time I turn away?" she clenched her fists, "And fucking tell me that it's the circumstance, I know what's at stake but I can't just stand here and watch you intimidate that poor man for my sake."

"I see," he whispered, "Are you having regrets about this?"

"No, I'm not," she closed her eyes. He could see her trembling, "I was naïve when I said your power was awesome before. And there's a part of me that is scared and terrified of it," his breath hitched, "but then there's a part of me that is in awe of it, to the point that all I can do is stand and stare like I'm fucking mesmerized. And I can't help but think that there must be something wrong with me that I think that." She knew it wasn't the best time for this but it was already left out on the table.

He wasn't used to people talking about his abilities, they never had the chance to. It was a new experience, "So you think there's something wrong with me? Is that it?"

"No, that's not what I said."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No, I'm not. I know you're in control and I know you'd never hurt me. It just upsets me. I am afraid of your power. I'm afraid of it, not only because of its danger, but because it might take you away from me. It makes me wonder what would of happened if we never met. What you would've become."

His facial expression was darkened, "I know there's something deep inside me that's dark and ugly. And I know that it will never go away. And you keep telling me that's not who I am, and maybe you're right but that part of me will still be there. I'm imperfect, fuck, I have billion problems with me and am not remotely close to normal. I try to be in control but it slips away sometimes… and you get caught up in the feeling, power over life," he sighed realizing what Korra said was true and, instantly, regretted his angry reaction towards it. And he believed that she was the one to accept him, all parts of him, "I guess I'll always be a dirty bloodbender until the end."

"Noa, that's not what I meant."

"No, it's fine, Korra. I understand."

She grabbed his hand, "No that's not what I meant," and pressed her lips to his, "remember I'm not exactly normal either."

He smiled and nodded, "Let's get going we are only a few blocks away. Let's put an end to this war."

A/N: Hello, my fab boo readers. I wrote a chapter! It's a miracle. Next chapters gonna be the bomb and I'm already writing it. Happy Summer (for those of you in the Northern Hemisphere)! Read and Review please. I love reviews (even though I've been off this sight for months reviews are still just the single greatest thing on earth). Idk about you, I still love Amorra a lot. Also, there's probably a handful of grammar mistakes/typos in here… I just got tired so I'm sorry about that.