fuse_box | love builds prisons

Entry tags:

universe: after the city

love builds prisons

WHO: Hei & Korra
WHAT: After losing the baby, Korra sneaks out of the metal clan city to find Zaheer.

[Korra walks quickly and quietly down the corridors, using every technique she'd learned during the civil war to remain unnoticed by the guards. Snow and metal were two entirely different elements, but when you looked beyond the surface differences, the techniques for one can guide techniques for the other. She's heading for one of the isolated service doors that open up to the world outside the metal clan's city. Naga's already outside — earlier that day Korra had gone for a ride with her, and returned on foot after the guards had changed shifts. Her escape has been carefully, meticulously planned. The only person who could stop her is Hei, and he's not going to notice. He's been off in his own little dark world since she lost the baby. He doesn't see her at all.

Nobody does. Tenzin, Bolin, Mako, even Asami... They're so caught up in their pain for her that they can't see they're drowning her. Every time they say Korra, I’m so sorry, all she can think is Why? She's never wanted to be a mother. The Red Lotus is gunning for her and every other world leader. It's honestly for the best that the baby is gone. She knows there's a part of her that's grieving, but she can't feel it. That numbness and detachment frighten her, but there's no one she can talk to about it because all she'd get is more sympathy and orders to rest. Take it easy. Stay inside. Love will once again build her a prison — but she doesn't plan on giving it the chance. More than anything else, she's the Avatar, and she's not going to just hide inside a metal fortress while the world burns because she's "recovering." Even if she has to do it alone, she's going to find Zaheer and stop him.

She reaches the service door and lets out a relieved breath. Almost there.]

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[The way he says that — I know — gets her to glance back at him, largely disbelieving and maybe a little concerned. He sounds like he's about to express a feeling. Except there's no way that would happen. Still, she slows her steps a little, the instinct to reach out momentarily overpowering her anger and hurt. Of everyone, Hei is the one most likely to understand how she feels: that mixture of grief and relief, the emotional detachment that allows her to function but she wishes she could bridge. It's almost as much his loss at it is hers. Her fingers twitch like she wants to take his hand —

Then Naga leaps on him.]

[ He's as disbelieving as she is. As a rule, Hei isn't demonstrative. After the atrocities he's witnessed in his lifetime, he's learnt to coat his core in psychic teflon-plating, so even the most disastrous events can be cataloged with a tactical detachment, a layer of aloofness. But he hasn't realized that there are some emotions that operate on a register above diluted sadness. They live on a mindless dog-whistle frequency. Their existence is in itself a horrifying discovery: like scanning a shortwave radio in the dead of night and tuning in to an alien wavelength -- a heavy whisper barely climbing above the static, voices muttering in a brutal language that human tongues could never speak. ]

[ In his peripheral scope, he watches Korra's fingers twitch. He becomes aware of an ache in his jaw from the way he's clenching it. Cutting his gaze away, he lifts a brusque hand to wipe his face. Swallows and deliberately breathes in and out, in and out, trying to steady himself. A hundred jumbled thoughts are pinballing in his brain. ]

[ Which makes it easy for Naga to blindside him. ]

[ In a moment of detached disgust, Hei knows if he were himself, he'd have reacted more effectively. He'd have decimated the threat in an eyeblink. In that sense, the Polar Bear Dog is lucky. If his mind were in default mode -- the killswitch flipped off -- he'd have slit the beast's throat without hesitating. ]

[ Instead there's a hot brush of white fur. A sudden suffocating weight. He goes down like a sack of bricks, pinned by massive forepaws. ]

Ow. [ A spasm of pain jolts through him, bleeding quickly into anger. ] Dumb dog. Get off.

[If it had been a matter of consciously choosing to do this, Korra would have changed her mind about her original plan. But Naga had been told not to wait for a signal, and to incapacitate anyone who wasn't her. With events already in motion, she gets swept along.

She bends the water out of the flask on her hip — a decision she won't have a chance to regret — and uses it to freeze Hei's hands to the ground. Then she leaps onto Naga's back.]

Naga, go!

[ The ice is a white-hot shock encasing Hei's palms. Sluggish, his body seems trapped back at the moment he'd awoken to find Korra bleeding, a fly in the sticky web of retrospect. His mind too, is glued there, digging out from under the filmy, viscid swathes of denial and grief. ]

[ He watches Korra leap on Naga and take off. And he can feel his psyche responding to his unconscious wish for more time, for a few more precious seconds to decide what to do, trying to weigh his body down. Except he refuses to let it. It isn't even a decision as such, more a reflex honed by a lifetime of combat and killing. A reflex that had been delayed by his unaccustomed emotional state, but that now, as he recognizes the rashness of Korra's decision, snaps ferociously into place. ]

[ A searing volt melts the ice in a fraction of a second. It takes him a fraction more to leap to his feet, one hand already launching the spring-loaded wire under his sleeve. It tangles like a lasso around Korra's ankle. When he lets off the jag of electricity, it is a brilliant crackle -- non-lethal, but nonetheless effective. A K.O dose. ]

[ She'll be furious with him when she regains consciousness. But he can't afford to let her get away. ]

[Blinding, searing pain — and then darkness.

Naga growls and spins to a stop as Korra screams and she feels the girl pulled off her back by the wires. She bares her teeth, each one a pointed threat, and charges at Hei, ready to rip his throat out.]

[ Why is his every encounter with Naga like a showdown at the OK Corral? ]

[ Hei's entire body floods with the acrid tide of instinct, his operative mind fully online again. He rolls beyond Naga's range, swiftly, cautiously -- aware of the animal's power, a single snap of those glistening teeth, the end of his world. ]

[ At an angle from the beast, he doesn't hesitate. Strikes out with a second wire, letting it snag one massive hind leg, before his eyes flash red, the electric shock piercing along the thin bridge between them and across Naga's fur and bones without prelude or delicacy. The air crackles with the scent of singed hair, and, below that, the reek of ozone. ]

[Congratulations, Hei. You are going to have two very pissed off ladies when they're conscious again. Naga tumbles to the ground with one last roar of pain and defiance before her consciousness goes black.]

[ He watches the animal's enormous body drop with complete indifference. It falls with a thud across cracked earth and dry scrub, sending up a whorling waft of dust. Still breathing, and that's as far as his interest extends. Naga isn't his concern. Instead, he tucks his wires away, carefully, because if there's anyone out here -- a lurking threat -- then to be careless is to put Korra in deeper risk. ]

[ He closes the space between himself and Korra's prone body. His footfalls are soft in the burgeoning silence, his touch softer as he untangles the wire at her ankle, checks her pulse, scoops her up. He knows it was necessary to knock her out. But he can't repress a surge of remorse surfacing at the back of his throat like bile. Can't make the raw surface of his face harden. ]

I'm sorry.

[ She can't hear him, of course. But he hopes, when she awakens, that she'll give him a chance to explain himself. Hopes she'll understand that he can't let her head out alone. Not in her state. She's too precious to him to risk that way. ]

[The threat is not outside. The real threat lurks inside the metal city, with four figures hiding in the shadows.]

[ As hyper-alert as Hei is at this point, his paranoia is at a full simmer. If he hadn't been doing his own obsessive, unobtrusive scans of the area, he would have missed the intruders' lurking at the fringes entirely. ]

[ But he doesn't. ]

[ Keeping Korra bundled close, he drifts at a steady clip toward the Beifong residence, not wanting to do anything out of the ordinary, anything that might suggest he's spotted something and is preparing for it. But he is preparing, the acidic tide of adrenaline leaking in, and as a plan unspools in his mind and the preparation lets his muscles ease into a deceptively innocent shape, and as the presence of danger and the certainty of how he needs to deal with it settles into place with an awful, familiar clarity, he has to acknowledge that he might be outnumbered, overpowered, defeated. ]

[ But there's no point in speculating. He wants them to tail him to a venue they'll find sufficiently dark, or isolated, or otherwise suitable for the business at hand, so they can do what they came for and depart. ]

[ But that's the problem with dark, isolated, and otherwise suitable venues, isn't it? Like tracer rounds, they work in both directions. ]

[Too bad for Hei that they're not going to wait for somewhere sufficiently dark or isolated.

A tentacle of water lashes out and grabs Hei by the neck, strangling him tightly before throwing him backwards.]

[ The tentacle wraps around him, a smooth slippery grip, and Hei's pulse blazes and leaps as he's flung backward. The bricked surface of an adjacent wall swoops in to meet him. His shoulder slams off the surface -- but it's better than his skull, or Korra's body. Even as he was flung backward, he'd torqued his torso protectively around her, so he took the brunt of the impact. ]

[ Pinwheeling stars explode behind his eyes and abruptly his senses are filled with blood, its scent and taste, its drumming and surge. ]

[ Shaking the pain off, he tightens his grip around Korra, swinging his dizzied body away from the wall. At the same time he manages to get a grip around that watery noose around his neck, letting a sharp current arc across its length -- enough to fizzle it to steam, or hopefully, touch whoever is wielding the tentacle. ]

[The water evaporates immediately before the charge can make its way up the full length. Another tentacle lashes out, but the wielder has learned her lesson — it's aimed to strike quickly and then dissipate. One thing is clear — the perpetrator(s) are aiming for silence.]

[ The attackers may be aiming for silence. But Hei has already resolved to trade stealth for speed -- and fury. ]

[ When the next tentacle swings toward him, he's ready. Leaping clear, Korra slung across one shoulder, he lets fly a set of glinting stilettos in the general direction of his attacker. If they strike, good. If not -- it's a ruse, anyway. He's utilized the feint to launch a wire toward the closest building, rearing up nearly five stories high, gathering speed and momentum like a soundwave -- before his feet hit the rooftop. He doesn't stay there, though. His focus is on the modest-sized water tower, positioned at the edge. ]

[ In a series of weaving movements, he's looped his wires around the structure. In the next instant, a flash of electricity strikes the steely supports, exploding the tank like the skin of a giant balloon, branding the exoskeleton shape in the retinas of everyone nearby. In the flare of luminescence, water erupts everywhere, a brutal deluge spilling over the rooftop's edge to drench everything below. ]

[ It's not Hei's usual method. But right now he's aiming for something bombastic. Something guaranteed to alert the guards who patrol the parameter of danger. ]

[ And the plus side? The ground around his opponents will be soaking wet. The ideal surface to use his ability. ]

Edited 2014-08-27 02:26 (UTC)

[Not when you're up against a waterbender. His opponents — still hiding in shadows — have registered his skill with electricity, and the waterbender quickly gathers all the water so he can't use it against them. Meanwhile, the earth turns to sand beneath Hei's feet, Korra's weight sinking him quickly.

The alarms go off, lighting up the city and granting Hei his first look at his opponents. An outrageously tall woman with her third eye tattooed on her forehead. An earthbender who'd look more at home in the streets of Republic City. A woman with water tentacles instead of arms. And in the center, flanked by them all, a small bald man radiating calm and charisma even in silence.

Zaheer.]

[ Shit. ]

[ He starts to sink, the floor like hot wax sucking at his toes. Reflexively, he adjusts his grip around Korra, one damp hand on her spine, transmitting a pulse restless with adrenaline into the chambers of her still body. ]

[ Just before he lets fly a second wire, the blaze of spotlights illuminates the scene, to the blaring shriek of sirens. In the stark glow, he has a visual on the attackers. Two men, two women. He's gathered enough intel on their appearances, their reputed abilities, to mentally fix a name to each one. P'Li. Ghazan. Ming Hua. And in the center, a solid man possessed a preternatural state of calm unusual for the moment; it would be easier to picture him in the Lotus position on a beach, eyes serenely shut, totally Zen-ing out. ]

[ So that's Zaheer. ]

[ In the next beat, his wire snags a taller building. Wrenching free of the quicksand with a harsh squelch, he leaps feet-first to the second rooftop. Lets rip another surge of electricity, this one narrower, more intense, along the iron pole jutting adjacent to the ledge -- letting it disperse in fritzing blue veins along the half-wet floor below. ]

[ Maybe the group will deflect the shock. Maybe not. But underneath the dark curl of determination, there is a gutting edge of anxiety. He is the best at his field. But right now he feels far from a superman or a blessed protector or anything else that Korra deserves. ]

[He may not be a superman or a blessed protector, but in this moment, he is very, very lucky. Just as P'Li gets ready to send a blast straight at him, the city guards jump into the fray. The four invaders are hemmed in by a barrage of earthbending from all sides.

A breath later and Mako & Bolin both join the city guards in the fight. Asami holds back — her tactics work best in close range combat — which is why she's the first to notice Hei and Korra. She runs over.]

Li, what happened?!

[ He watches the earthbenders trap the Red Lotus in a rocky testudo. But he knows it won't hold them for long. Not when they have a reputed lavabender in their midst. Still, he's grateful for the distraction. The more distance he puts between Korra and these assassins, the better. ]

[ When he's reached a relatively safer spot, he loosens his grip on Korra, crouched low to keep them out of visual range. His skull blazes with fire, but everything else has that familiar, prism-sharp clarity. He hears Asami at once, head jerking her direction as she runs over. His expression shutters between blank and sharp and blank again, varying degrees of danger flashing beneath his gaze. His hands, though, stay curled around Korra. ]

The Red Lotus were already in the city. They were obviously waiting for a chance to ambush Korra.

[ Ironic to realize that if she hadn't chosen tonight to sneak out, they might've gotten to her sooner. ]

Edited 2014-08-27 03:26 (UTC)

[Asami drops to her knees by Korra's side, and brushes the hair from her face.]

What did they do to her?

[Korra stirs faintly at the other girl's touch, the first signs of eventual consciousness.]

[ It's idiotic to say That wasn't them. That was me. So he doesn't bother. Korra stirs fitfully to the other girl's touch; he knows if it were Mako or Bolin, he'd rarely allow them such an intimate vantage on Korra's face. Beyond them there's a hot flare of light and flickering bursts of heat -- the lavabender, Ghazan, tearing down the barrier. The orange glow catches in Korra's eyelashes, on the curve of her cheek, and in the topography of one eye. Hei knows she'll be awake eventually. A feisty Avatar would be a welcome contribution to the battle. But he knows better than anyone she's not up to her usual 110%. Not yet. Worse, if Zaheer and his crew have a contingency plan for incapacitating her, then they need to keep Korra beyond his reach. ]

[ Finally, flatly, ]

She'll be up soon. But we need to get her out of here.

[He never actually answered her question — and Asami shoots him a look that says she noticed it. But she sets it aside to focus on the more pressing emergency.]

We can take her to my room. I've got my glove there.

[And I’ll use it against you if I have to. She tries not to show it, and to play off her wariness as keeping an eye out for the Red Lotus, but to someone like Hei, it'd be readily apparent who the real target of her suspicion is. It's not like she knows him, after all. Nobody really knows him except for Korra...]

[ It's clear she doesn't trust him. But who can blame her? He's not going out of his way to project his usual persona. To disguise his true agenda behind Li's nervous stutters and civilian ineptitude. Those qualities that hold him in fine stead until he peels the layers back to unleash the Reaper, with his bloodlust and quick fists and cruel ways; only then does it drive home the point that Li is no better than frippery. ]

[ It doesn't matter. Now isn't the time to play games. ]

[ He keeps one hand circled around Korra. The other, after a moment's hesitation, comes to rest on Asami's wrist -- slow and measured and easy to see coming. (Except no contact Hei makes is ever that innocuous.) Her wary look gets an unblinking one in reply. ]

Bad idea. If the Red Lotus beat off the guards, they'd trap us in an enclosed space. The safer option is to keep moving. [ A beat, then: ] We need all the fighters we can get. Knocking me out with your glove won't help anyone.

[Asami doesn't acknowledge his overt reference to her suspicions. Knocking him out wasn't her first plan — just a convenient backup.]

If we need as many fighters as we can get, then I need my glove. I'm not a bender, but I can fight just as well as any of you can.

[Korra stirs with a little moan, and her eyes flutter open. Her expression remains dazed — until an explosion from the fight jolts her to full consciousness.]

What's going on? What did you do to me?

[Those words are all Asami needs to hear. If there's an innocent explanation, he can give it later; she yanks her fist away and grabs Korra.]

Run!

[ Despite the blazing violence of the battle beyond, Korra's soft vocalization sinks into Hei's brain like a tiny shock. He glances down at her, and, as the explosion judders through the air, tightens his arm reflexively around her. He doesn't get a chance to speak, though. Asami, taking her slurred question as proof of his untrustworthiness, grabs her and tries to wrench her to her feet. ]

[ Irritated, Hei restrains Korra with one arm. Grabs Asami by the back of the neck with the other -- a matter-of-fact application of brute force. Another explosion reverberates, this one close enough that he can feel the outrushing heat. Scowling, he hunkers low, dragging the two girls with him. All his senses feel dialed up. Over-dialed -- the needle creeping into the red. ]

[ When he speaks to Korra, it's taut and steady as a highwire-act balanced on a tightrope. ]

The Red Lotus laid an ambush. That's all that matters right now. [ Then, to Asami: ] I can cover you until you get Korra indoors. Grab your glove -- then head for the cellar. There's a passage there that leads out of the city.

[ Better for Korra to be nowhere near the vicinity, if the Red Lotus break free. ]

[Like Asami is going to take orders from some jerk who manhandles her like that! She glances at Korra, ready to follow her lead (or take it if she has to).

Korra nods in acknowledgement — half-reluctant to leave the fight, half-reluctant to give him any kind of satisfaction, but she knows she can count on him in a fight.]

Fine. [She gets to her feet a little unsteadily, and lets Asami help her.] Let's go, Asami.

[Asami shoots Hei one last suspicious look before the two girls take off.]

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mortemscintilla - 2014-08-27 23:40 (UTC) - Expand

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