Fandom Avatar: Benders Underground IC

[Kirkodirk]

Getan had managed to hobble his way to the Tavern. It was easy at first, with so many equalists attracted to the fire. Still, the police were monitoring the city for whatever delinquents roamed about after curfew was a bit harder to avoid. That is if you didn't know the city like the back of your hand. Getan might as well have been the city's architect for how well he knew it. Every street had it's nooks, enough to hide a wounded criminal at least. It'd been a few hours before he was finally able to get to the back door of the Tavern.

He lingered there a moment. This was going to be a bit embarrassing. Not only was he less than fond of asking for help and showing that kind of weakness, but this was a wrong impression to make on his new "boss" in the first few weeks under her employment. He gritted his teeth as he swung his bag over his head to free up his good arm. "Suck it up, buttercup," he told himself. He raised his meaty hand and knocked three times. He panted heavily as his arm swung back to his side. The pain was exhausting him more than he realized. He could hear some scuffling and voices from inside as he waited eagerly for someone to answer the door.

Lil Shirou ThatGuyWithSouvlaki S Siesta TenshuZninja Spiderverse

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Adrien listen closely but the only bit she understood was about what food she brought down."The house special." Adrien said but the true is she changes the special to what ever she has more of. This time being fish from around republic city season with local herbs and vegetables. It wasn't as good as in the northern water tribe but it still good. "Just try it, toru." Doing her best to do a pouty face, before switching to a more serious face and asking " Did you hear that the equalist capture more benders today?"

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

Toru gave a brief look of childish disgust. "Fish... "It disappeared quickly as it seemed it inspired him again, setting aside another piece of parchment and grabbed another and began drawing. "Equalist stepping up effort. Anniversary today after... Dads finest moment..."He trailed of stopping his drawing and looking down sadly. "Yes want to leave this room... Do something more than draw...Water filtration unit designed..." He seemed to go of again to one of his tangent but stopped himself groaning in frustration and slapping the side of his head angrily. "Focus Toru. Important. Want to fight... Want a mission more than just producing bombs and gadgets... Getting Stir crazy," He said slowly like it took him considerable effort to stay in topic.

 

[Lil Shirou]

"Wait Toru you said bombs, right? Do you have anything that can be use in conjunction lightening. I have a plan to remind amon the war isnt over yet. " Adrien paused for a bit in anticipation before continuing. " I want to bring done that new factory. The one that been making equalist weaponry. While their busy we could take it out. What you think?" Adrien said with smile.

Then there was a 3 loud knocks on her door. "Who could that be at this hour,"Adrien said as she headed for the door.

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Kirkodirk S Siesta TenshuZninja Spiderverse

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Toru paused to looking at Adrien but randomly about as if thinking whether to her suggestion or something else was not clear for a few seconds. "Lightining detonation? Lightning effect? "He asked he turned back to draw. "Not like making bombs but dont mind if i plant... Plant... Lightning powered irrigation facility for growing plants? Soil issue thought himm..." He went to go on in this manner before there was a bang at the door.

Mai helped herself with some food and eat slowly, not really hungry but wanted to keep appearance. She scanned the people around her trying to figure out which one to approach before there was a knock on the door. Her hand quickly reached into one of the fans, knocks like that were never good."Shit.."

 

[Flooferton]

It wasn't really the propagandist's place to work on the front lines. Her place was in the workshop, jamming ideas into the filter that was her team, who-- if they liked it enough-- would create the art and finally put the ideas on some of those harsh-looking posters all throughout the city. Her place was also, occasionally, on stage. Though it was only Miyu's pipe dream that she be allowed to open for their benevolent leader, there were always rallies and speeches which never featured the man, even before Republic City was taken and he found himself infinitely more busy.

In essence, Miyu Takeyama would not normally have been among the front-liners, at the burning apartment complex... Except, she was rudely awakened in her bed that night by the smell of smoke and a bright, orange glow. At first, she'd thought it was another bad dream, between memory and reality; She'd thought she would have to watch that boy fall asleep again, as the smoke choked him out, but the setting shifted to her relatively-new home-- a cozy apartment in Republic City-- instead of some little house down the road from her childhood manor. The problem was, the more she felt awake, the more real the blaze became. The less she could breathe.

She scrambled to her closet to grab something-- anything made out of cloth, to cover her face before she could get into the locked box in her closet. She usually left her keychain on the table by the door-- The table was bare-- "Fuck." Had she left it on the kitchen counter-- Yes. Only one problem. A support beam, engulfed in flames, suddenly fell between the kitchenette and the rest of her home. "Ghh..."

Miyu stalled for only a moment, before she grabbed a hammer out of her closet and smashed a hole in the wooden box. She grabbed the gas mask from inside and slipped it on; the rest of the combat gear, she could get another set of if she really needed it, but at the rate things fell to the flames in front of her, she didn't exactly have the time to change out of her pajamas! As she ran toward the fire escape connected to her own room, another support beam fell in front of her, and the rumbling sounds from above told her: She had to get out now.

She scrambled out her front door, then ran down the hallway to the stairs, greeted by a firefighter who shouted across a pile of burning wood and rubble which blocked the flight of stairs down, "Tell everyone you can to get to a window! We'll have to get them down from outside!"

"R-roger!" Miyu turned on her heel, waited to hyperventilate under gas mask until she was out of the firefighter's proximity-- Then, she started checking apartments. One by one, she told each person to get to a window, anyone she could find., until the other end of the hallway collapsed in front of her and only one door was left. She opened, to a scene that struck her down where she stood; A blue-clad water tribe member, her hands surrounded by an orb of water as she hovered them over the unconscious body of a little boy. The boy's skin, as the waterbender moved her hands, shifted from charred and burnt to olive and healthy.

The two women locked eyes, though the orb of water remained. Miyu's heart twisted, turned into something unrecognizable. Benders who chose to keep their power as if they were owed it as a birthright were corrupt. No, benders were inherently corrupt, and they needed to work hard to redeem themselves! Yet, when she looked into the eyes of a bender whose only goal was to heal someone else, all she saw was the same fearful look she used to earn as a firebender.

"Do you know him?" Miyu asked.

"N-not really," the waterbender squeaked, as she refused to look away from the pajama-clad woman in an Equalist's mask. "He's Mr. Amaki's son, but I don't really talk to this family..."

Miyu's lips pursed under the mask. "And Mr. Amaki?" she pressed, but the waterbender only shook her head in reply. "Damn it..." It had to be expected; not everyone could have been saved. "Okay. I'm... I'm going to ask you something. What's more important to you? Helping other people or keeping your powers?"

"That..." The waterbender coughed, wheezed as the smoke thickened and her lungs burned from the inside. "I can't do one without the other..."

Miyu paused. She needed to rephrase the question. "If you ran away right now, you'd doom this little boy, but I wouldn't be able to catch up to you." She heard a little rumble behind her. "You could lay low then, and you'd keep your powers. Or... Or you could see this through... and you'll definitely get caught." The waterbender only hacked up a lung as she focused on the boy again. Miyu stood stock still. She hadn't accounted for that answer, even though she gave the other woman that option... What now? What could she do now but wait for the healer to do what her own organization wouldn't?

As the healer finished her job, she doubled over, her breaths labored and eyes red. Miyu took in a long, deep breath of air... Then, took off her own gas mask. She would be fine long enough to get the others to the window, but if Miyu had to watch someone suffocate on smoke again-- No. Nobody else. Not again. It didn't matter who it was. She slipped her mask over the waterbender's face, then offered her shoulder to lean against as she carried the boy over to the window. "This is the last from floor five!" she called to the first responders far below.

The ladder couldn't have made it to their window fast enough, but all was well that ended well. Except, of course, for the waterbender. That woman quietly thanked her for giving away her own mask, while she was directed toward the back of an ambulance. One of the first responders asked for Miyu's own condition, but she brushed off the concerns with, "I'm fine. I had my mask on for most of it." She felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her body, but that was nothing new. She couldn't exert herself this much, but she couldn't have simply stopped at saving herself, either.

As she watched a firebender-- presumably the culprit of this arson-slash-homicide-- get dragged away by her fellow comrades, she sheepishly approached the woman in charge of all this. Miyu, in her cute, pink bunny pajamas, raised a hand at chest level to get Hati's attention. "So, um," she stalled. "I-is it okay if I spend the next few nights at HQ? At least until my home gets rebuilt? I... I woke up to all this, and, I don't have anywhere else to go... I lost most of my gear in the fire, too..."

Karcen Smeghead

 

[Lil Shirou]

Adrien opens the door to a man on her door step." Oh it you." Say Adrien with a smile on her face. Trying not to laugh the cocky bastard in front of her. She knew he didnt like her style, but there a good reason her and toru were never caught. . " You think you can make it to the bar. " adrien said as she walk behind it and pulled out a large bottle of alcohol. " oh you owe me for this big time." Adrien said pouring herself a shot as she waits for him.

Kirkodirk ThatGuyWithSouvlaki S Siesta TenshuZninja

 

[Karcen]

before hati could get an answer from the new recruit another person, from inside the building this time, came up to her. hati knew the woman after only a moment, who in the equalists would not know their chief propagandist. She was dressed in her pajamas, which were not exactly proper for an equalist, but to each their own. This made hati notice a woman in blue with an equalist gas mask on. There was a story behind that and now Hati had to get it out of Miyu. hati didn't suspect the woman of being a waterbender, well not to a point that would be reasonable. People still wearing the colors of their nation or element often struck Hati as off, but such were simply traditions. Miyu would also need a place to stay and while HQ of course had plenty of beds for those on shift, but not active Hati did not believe that was the best place for a creative person. Hati would solve that problem after she got an answer, the ambulance would not be living for some time as there might be others in and around the area.

" That woman in blue she has your gas mask why?" Hati asked her suspicion clear in her voice and that one wrong word, one bad lie would make 2 lives very, very bad " i will solve your housing situation after you explain that" Hati continued Miyu was not going anywhere till Hati got her answers

Flooferton

 

[Smeghead]

Jin slowly rose from his bow, revealing the cheeky smirk that had crept across his mouth. Without saying a word he pulled his equalist mask back over his face. He had planned on saying a lot more - about how he admired the ruthless reputation she had earned, and how it was an honor to work with her. Given how the start of his little introduction went, he figured he’d be better off saying nothing at all. Besides, the sooner they got to work, the sooner he could prove his worth to Hati. He was pretty confident she’d warm up to him after seeing him in action.

Jin fell in line with the rest of the equalists around Hati. He turned once more towards the flaming apartment building, then in the direction where the firebender had been hauled off to. He had since been dragged out of view, but Jin squinted his eyes and pursed his lips regardless. He wondered what his punishment would be. Debending was a given, but what beyond that? To Jin the answer seemed simple: Death. The firebender may have committed arson and murder here today, but he had committed a far more heinous crime long before that. The crime of being a bender. The only suitable sentence was death.

Before Jin could finish the thought, a figure stepped into view in the corner of his eye. He had to stifle a chuckle when he turned to face her and was greeted by pink bunny pajamas. Jin had never met her before, but her and Hati’s conversation seemed to imply she was an equalist. Jin’s grin widened. If he had gotten in trouble for taking his mask off, he could only imagine how Hati would react to this. He continued to stand by, curious to hear how their conversation would play out.

Karcen Flooferton

 

[Flooferton]

Although Miyu could hear Hati's harsh undertones, and the implications that a bad lie might ruin her entire life... The propagandist didn't even sweat. Not one ounce of confidence was shed from the off-duty ex-bender, pink pajamas or not. As if she had a choice when the rest of her wardrobe was up in flames. Still, this event warranted a full report, on duty or not. "Yes, ma'am. I'll give you my full report of the situation."

Miyu straightened right up, cleared her throat, and started. "When I woke up, the first thing I did was get my mask out of storage. The building was coming down fast, so I didn't have any time to change. Turns out the fire escape and stairs down were both blocked, so I took it on myself to start directing civilians to the windows. That water tribe woman was suffocating on the smoke, while I was safe with the mask on, and I-- I couldn't watch someone die like that again." The tears she simultaneously held back and choked on made her constant exhaustion all the heavier on her shoulders. "There's one more thing I need to tell you. When I saw her, she was focused on healing our neighbor's kid, with that... healing thing... waterbenders can do. And she stayed, knowing I'd report her, to make sure that boy would live. We should still de-bend her; I'd just... Like to make sure she's not going to die." As long as that woman could bend, there was always a chance for her to go back on her morals and embrace the inherent corruption that power inflicted on people. Miyu had to call it in to the front-liners. The only way she wouldn't have, was if she was sure Hati would outright kill a non-combatant.

No agent of justice, no matter how ruthless, would do that.

Karcen

 

[Kirkodirk]

"Yeah yeah," he retorted with a grunt as he shambled to the bar, "I don't know if you heard, but there was a fire in the dragon flats tonight. You can guess how well that went with how many waterbenders are out of the job these days." Getan slumped onto the counter as his bag slid down onto the floor.

"Speaking of which," he leaned in a little closer with a hushed tone, "you wouldn't happen to have a healer around to help me with this shoulder." He let go of his disabled arm to see it sag like a sack of potatoes at which point he couldn't help, but let out a grunt of pain. "As you can see I'm not in the best of shape, so I'd be happy to take that 'medicine off your hands." The earthbender haphazardly lunged for the liquor.

 

[Lil Shirou]

Adrien started to move her hands around getan's arm and shoulder. It didn't feel to bad. " you know you probably shouldn't speak about benders in front of my guests. You never know who they be ." Adrien whispered as she gripped what she thought was a pull shoulder. She took another shot for herself and spoke "Bad news It looks like you pulled your shoulder out. Good news for you is can pop it back in, but it going to hurt. on the count of three. 1, 2" adrien said as she move the joint back into place. "3" as she smiles and let's go of his shoulder.

Kirkodirk ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[Karcen]

Hati thought about it, they had a bender that had used bending and they were a water bender. That last bit made her angry just by itself, yet the bender had only healed a boy. Hati was conflicted she hated water benders, yet this one had risked so much to save some random kid a noble action. She could easily send her to a debending show and have that removed, yet that for some reason bugged her and she she hated it. Hati mused for a moment if this bender had someone who hated benders like her pleading for her then maybe just once mercy was allowable. Hati enforced the laws and rules, she didn't just murder people, those she killed were threats and rioters this bender wasn't either. Hati let out a sigh she would do something she never did and never thought she would do.

Hati reached out and put her hand on Miyu's shoulder " You are still sleepy and in shock, you are seeing things like water benders where they don't exist understand" She said firmly as much to Miyu as to the others. This wasn't exactly the cold ruthless enforcement of laws, this was mercy something water benders had never shown her but she could show them because she was better than them. " As for where you will sleep you will stay with me the bunks are no place for someone creative to stay"

Flooferton Smeghead

 

[Kirkodirk]

He scoffed as she told him off about mentioning benders, and gave her a sly smile. "Well, isn't that why we're whispering?" he asked rhetorically. "Besides, you shouldn't be serving equalist supporters. Damn dogs should be lucky to drink the dumpster water out back." He took a swig of the bottle as the cell leader took a shot. She looked almost as tired as he felt. A drink was probably exactly what they needed.

Her hands almost felt soothing a she felt around for the damaged area. As she made her way towards his collar bone, he could feel a sharp twinge of pain shoot down his bicep. "Yup, you found it. Your skills of perception are practically breathtaking," he retorted through gritted teeth. As Adrien positioned her hands on his arm, he braced himself. '1...2...' "FUCK!" he groaned before taking another few gulps of the bottle. He manages to speak through pained breaths, "You...pant*... are an evil woman." Getan wiped a few beads of sweat off of his forehead.

"Also, I'm going to need a place to sleep tonight. That burning building I mentioned might've been my apartment complex."

 

[Lil Shirou]

Adrien smiled and giggle at Getan's remark. " you cant get information from a stone. A lot of information is freely given to me with a smile and booze. Dont drink to much of that your working in the kitchen until you are better. You get to ask toru to be his roomate." Adrien said quietly in his ear. Adrien was no light weight when it came to drinking, but had to be 100% for what her and toru were going to do tomorrow. She owed alot to Toru's father.

 

[Kirkodirk]

Getan tried to raise his arm a bit, but a sharp pain shot up from his shoulder to his temple. He gave out a grunt as his arm shuddered on its way back to his side. "Yeah, I'll talk to Toru," he said with a drawn-out sigh. He turned his body towards her and said with a sober, earnest look and a finger pointed at her, "I'll cook, I'll wait tables, I'll even bartend, but don't expect me to be some piss pot janitor. Ain't happening." He pushed himself off the counter and gave a soft smile. "Otherwise, if you need something, just ask. I need to get out more. These lovely curfews are starting to get to me. Good night."

He dragged himself downstairs after snatching the bottle from the counter. He surprised himself with his honesty. He wanted to help. He needed something to do. Lack of action made him feel slow and helpless. With each step, he made down the wooden stairs; he could feel his body get heavier. Until he finally made his way to Toru's room. "Howdy ho bunkmate," he smirked before leaning against a wall. He slid down to a sitting position and took another swig.

Lil Shirou ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Mai eat quietly watching as the new person entered and tried her best to eavesdrop on the conversation. This Adrien seemed to act like a Mother Lizard-Hen of her community or at least clients and though she couldnt hear much Mai could swear he heard something negative about the Equalist. Maybe she was in the right place. She thought for a moment trying to think how to approach the woman, something subtle but clear enough, so she wont be suspicious though make sure she has a way out if she was wrong. Practically the impossible. Seeing both that she might overthinking it and her opportunity arising as the person who just entered went into the back room. She took a deep breath got up and approach Adrien

"Hey... I hear you attract a particular clientele." She began instantly regrating it as the wrong thing to say but she was in it now might as well go on. "Of the kind that has issues with the current regime like my own group..."

Toru had followed Adrien briefly concerned for her getting just to the top of the stars enough to see into the tavern but not enough to be seen. Seeing it was one of their own, he returned to his room and went back to his inventions. Soon he saw Getan enter but as usual didnt react just kept going on the work. Despite his indifference, he liked Getan, he taught him one or two moves when Toru could focus and always seemed to have good stories full of inspirations. "Explosive improvement... Greater burn than explosive... Or flash....Phosporus Maybe... Got any new stories?" He finally said."Got in to trouble again?"

Kirkodirk Lil Shirou

 

[Lil Shirou]

"Oh talk, what the issues with current regime." Adrien says from behide the bar looking for something special. With some loud clanking and shuffling around she finds what she looking for a brown bottle with a fire nation symbol. " here this will calm your nerves." She pours a glass in front of Mai and continues to talk " tell me about your group." Adrien says sitting in front of Mai. Adrien had a talent for reading people. She didnt suspect Mai of being equalist, but she couldnt be sure.

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Mai was surprised how accepting Adrien was of her and willing to talk. She felt a little more at ease before leaning against the counter. She took the offered drink and took a sip though mostly because she wanted a second or two to think of what to see. The drink was a little to stronger than she was used to, burning her throat enough for her to cough. "Oh gees... Sorry.... Well, that aside... Similar to yours i would imagine, dethrone the equalist and a return to the United Republic of Nations with democratic government. You might have heard of the Restoration Movement?"

Lil Shirou

 

[Lil Shirou]

Adrien smiled " dont worry if you could drink that without coughing I would have mighty impressed." Adrien said laughing at the reaction. Adrien poured a little into her own cup. Smiling a the change of events that had happened. " what you had told me could get you a foreigner in alot of trouble. Lucky for you I can careless what the current regime thinks. I do team up with your organization from time to time." Adrien says with as she sipped on the rather strong drink.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

"Well, I dont really drink myself beyond socially even that only a little. My training sort of frowns on that sort of things." She mentioned before listening to Adrien's reaction to her reveal of her group. The fact that Adrien was able to work with her organization surprised her. "Oh really? You are resourceful to do so considering my organization is not exactly pro benders. Not that follow that belief in fact my aim was to bridge the gab between the two groups."

 

[Lil Shirou]

Adrien sigh* while trying to think about what to say. " dont get me wrong mai. I dont expect to be a free woman after we take out Amon and his followers. Their whipping out so many benders. The good, and the bad their no difference to them. I fear the imbalance they are creating. Something far stronger than the fire nation reign" Adrien said as she continues to sip on hear drink. Dispite the strong alcohol their was a pleasant fruitiness to it.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Mai took another sip of her drink, mostly out of a sense of pride to show she could take her drink. More prepared now, she took a small sip and seemed to avoid a cough though she had to clear her throat twice. Still, she too seemed to notice the sweet taste of the drink. "Good drink." She said finally. "I agree. The biggest thing the Equalist did was to divide us. There is now a definite line in the sand between benders and non benders now even among the non Equalists... This is a problem we need to solve as well before we have balance... We need to show we can work together."

 

[Lil Shirou]

Adrien walk towards the stair cast leading to the cellar. " come on, let's bring this to the boys. Talk about my plan tomorrow. " adrien loud enough so they would hear her in toru's workshop. Something said could trust Mia but she couldnt be sure. Maybe the others could help gauge her sincerity.

 

[Kirkodirk]

Getan slid the bottle away from himself, not out of reach, but enough that it would be a strain to retrieve. Like Adrien said he had work tomorrow, too much booze meant shitty mornings and he'd already be dealing with a busted shoulder. He turned to Toru as the fellow earthbender quit his mumbling and struck up a conversation. "Haha, always in trouble. Never not in trouble Toru," he told him with a chuckle steadily turning into a tired sigh.

"Not much of a story today pal. A building caught fire. No one came to put it out. All I got out of it was a net loss of just about everything I own and an arm thrown out of its socket," he answered with a tinge of annoyance. "The fire kinda flew up the stairs. Now that I think about it, I don't think the building was up to code. Only one fire escape." Getan rubbed his eyes harshly, but it only made him feel more sleepy. He'd been trying to avoid closing his eyes, cause every time he did, he'd just see their frightened faces. They were like cornered animals, frantically looking for an exit that didn't exist.

"It's fine. Adrien got me covered. Give it a few days and I'll be good as new," the thug reassured, more to himself than Toru. "Also, its looking like we're roomies for the foreseeable future. At least until I can find a new place." He let that sink in for a bit as he shuffled his body around, trying to find a comfortable position. "What about you? Got any stories for me Toru?"

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Mai sigh in slight relief as it appeared things were going well with Adrien if she had invited her to meet others of her organization. Though it did occur to her that it could be a trap to capture her as an equalist spy. Well it was not like he could not defend herself if necessary and maybe an interrogation was something she had to go through to gain their trust. Either way there was not much choice but to follow. She took a longer sip of her drink and stood. "Lead the way."

Back down at the workshop, Toru continued to work away as Getan talked about what had happened to him. He gave away little reaction to Getan's story or that he was even listening. "Sad." He said matter-of-factly when Getan was done talking. He did little to indicate whether he meant that Getan's story was sad or he was. "Fire... Socket....Is there something there? No... No... Fire code? Hmmm... What would have helped with the fire? Water bending or Firebending i suppose... But for non benders? Bending micri device?" He said thought fully. "I am going on assignment soon." He added suddenly. "No longer stuck in here making bombs... Container of pressurized water for fire fighting, squeeze handle and water shoots out... Put how though hmm... "