_"Akira, I have to go, okay? I'll be back some day. I'll write, so please..."
"Lee! Lee! Don't leave me, I'm begging you! I don't want to be alone!"
The world grew black, and papers replaced the shadowed boy, letters that incited anger and excitement in her heart. Letters of his missions with the freedom fighters, and how much he missed her. And then they stopped, suddenly. That day, instead of a letter appearing at her apartment step, a woman did instead.
"I'm sor-ry... Lee... Vanished... Gone... Gone... Gone"_
**Republic City
9:00 AM
Green Heights Apartments
**
The complex stood silent in the middle of a bustling slum. Fog covered the streets, hiding the smog-covered sky in a sheet of white. It was a cold morning, and people rushed around quickly, hoping to loiter in warm shops and restaurants for the time being as the daily alley check went on. The police weren't very friendly in this part of town, and it was almost apart of the poor's routine to run away from their sleeping place before the clocks read nine. Inside Green Heights, no one stirred. Most of the Jiyu workers were already down in the basement, and the rest were either preparing for their normal jobs or sleeping in.
A near-empty apartment stood within the plant-covered complex, quiet as can be, yet glowing like a star through the foggy-morning air. From the half-covered windows, papers could be seen. Large stacks of whites and grays and yellows, covered in a scrawling, messy handwriting that would be impossible to read to most. Cups were the next prominent thing, empty coffee holders that had yet to be thrown out of washed. Finally, between the stacks of papers and Styrofoam, a head could be seen, face down on the desk. Black hair, rough from lack of brushing, curled viciously across the wooden surface and hid Akira's face from the light of the desk-lamp that gleamed on throughout the hours. She had fallen asleep a mere two hours ago, just after she had finished compiling the information needed, and with everything figured out she definitely deserved a good nights sleep.
But now wasn't the time for sleep, it seemed, as her wrist suddenly buzzed to life. She woke with a start, nearly knocking over a pile of papers as her knee slammed into the bottom of the desk and her hand quickly spread out to gather the mass. Akira's head rose slowly, hair covering half her face as her sleep-filled eyes drifted across the desk slowly, finally landing on the watch on her left wrist. Words echoed from within it slowly, a wake up call from Tai-Mei, and then her pocket vibrated as well. She flicked open her phone, eyebrows lowering as she was reminded of the fact that she would be working with a new team for the mission she was supposed to have completed by now, and with a small smirk she snapped it closed and stood, stretching until her back let out a satisfying crack.
"There goes my day of rest... Better get ready." A soft sigh escaped her lips, and with the laziness of a cat she drifted towards an open door, slipping inside silently. With the flick of a light, a small bathroom appeared, tiled and dirty from years of abandonment and recent use, and Akira wandered quickly into the square room, stripping and prepping the shower. She, of course, couldn't help but sneer at the dirt-covered floor, but with her current money situation, she couldn't get anything better. In newer homes and buildings, most rooms would be based around holograms. They could appear to be anything the user would like, from a fancy dinning room, to a grand bathroom room. Holograms were the new "in" thing.
_And I'm too poor to afford an actual apartment, let alone a hologram._
Steam clung to the mirror as the shower-head spat hot water down into the tub, and Akira ran her fingers through her hair slowly, washing the slickness away as her eyes glared daggers at her feet. To tell the truth, her heart was pounding furiously over the thought of working with a bunch of new agents. She was never one to connect with others, and yet Tai-Mei always says that she believes leading to be Akira's best aspect. Another sigh came from her parted lips, and she turned her eyes upward, allowing the hot water to run over her face. Her mind finally started to blank with ease as her sore muscles and aching head subsided with the spitting water, and as peace finally claimed her for the time being she stopped the water and stepped out, drying quickly with a nearby towel. Water dripped onto the tiled floor, sliding carefully through the cracks and then vanishing as Akira threw her towel down and exited the room. The rest of at apartment was basically bare of furniture, save for the desk covered in papers, a closet for clothing, and a messy futon that had been left in a frazzled state. She really had no need for anything else, since all she really did do was work and sleep. There was a kitchen downstairs to use and a gym full of equipment to train with, so why get anything else, right?
Akira dressed quickly and brushed her hair until it was sleek and dry before finally setting out, exiting her bottom-floor room into a narrow hall. The hall light flickered dimly across the sepia-toned walls and floor, and whispers from nearby rooms filled the air. Whispers of what they should do for the day, or what jobs they would be put on. Perhaps some of those whispers belonged to her new teammates? A third sigh appeared, and with one last look at her wrist she started towards the lobby. The dimness of the hall soon melted into the white light of the morning, and Akira glanced sideways at the fog just outside the window before making a b-line for elevator. Once inside, she pressed her watch to the button that read "BA". There was a moment of silence, then a ding as the descent began, and she glanced at her hands quietly, face formed into a stone mask.
The elevator let out another ding, and the door slid open carefully, revealing a stark difference from the lobby above. In this basement room, computers (though, older than most would have now a days) lined tables, and a large meeting area was arranged in the center. Many people were already hard at work at many of the computers, speaking carefully into headsets and taping away at keys. Akira knew this part of the complex like the back of her hand; to her left was a brightly lit hall that lead to a dojo/training area and meditation room, and to her right a break room and Tai-Mei's apartment. It was a small set up, yet a helpful one, and with only a slight smile Akira stepped down into the center of the room, seating herself at the head of the table. Some workers lifted their heads and nodded as she passed, others simply ignored her presence, acting as if they didn't realize she had arrived. That was fine though, Akira realized she didn't exactly have the best reputation or appearance, so others would easily be able to hate her or ignore her.
_Hopefully none of my team is like that... Shit, stop worrying..._
She rose her wrist to her lips, and murmured a quick,
"Send them down," before sitting back, letting out her fourth and final sigh. It was going to be long day.
GM
_Worldly Inn - 5:00 AM_
Like most nights, Terra had a good night's sleep, and woke to a rather sudden alarm. Under the pillow that she slept under, was a small alarm that made noises and vibrated heavily to get her to wake up. The noises could only be so loud, as they would disturb the paying guests if played any louder. She knew that she couldn't have anyone, especially the employees, get alarmed and check up on her room, so she had to get up and get ready quickly.
Reaching under the pillow, Terra deactivated the alarm with the push of a button, and shoved the device into the pocket of her coat. The young woman then got out of the bed and made the sheets, as to make it seem as if nobody had been there. She had stayed at the Worldly Inn many times before, and was accustomed as to how the housekeeping made the beds. She had a connection at the Inn, which helped her known when she could take the room, and could also redirect the housekeeping to stay away from her unofficial room. She made sure to keep her goggles and mask off until she was outside, as they would no doubt bring attention to her if anyone was up at the hour.
Once she was done with the bed, the young earthbender slipped out of her jacket and sleeping clothes to take a brief shower and clean herself up. She always wore a full set of clothing to bed, in case she needed to leave on the spot or in the middle of the night. She went through her usual routine, the same one that she had been using for a number of years, and was able to slip out of the Inn unnoticed, with the exception of her connection, who always worked the lobby to ensure that Terra and others could get in or out without trouble. Terra gave a nod to the woman at the counter, who nodded back and watched as the earthbender put on a pair of goggles and a breathing mask.
Terra was thankful that she had grown up the way she did. She had reliable connections all over Republic City that could help her get to many places, and she was a master with locks and most technology. Sure, her ways might have been a little thievish, but she knew well that she could have been much worse than she was now. She knew that she had made the best out of her situations, and made herself one of the most civilized scoundrels in the city. With the exception of breaking into hotels and inns almost every night to sleep, she lived a rather honest life. Still worked as a master locksmith, and since she hardly payed for housing or utilities, she had a decent amount of money in her pockets that she didn't enjoy letting go of. Still, she payed for clothes, food, and a few other things, which kept her from having too much money.
As she walked about the cold and misty streets, Terra, found herself wandering closer and closer over to a certain headquarters. She had been a freedom fighter for some time now, taking on missions here and there whenever she was needed. One or two times before it clashed with her job as a locksmith, but she was still able to make everything work out for her.
When the time came for the band on her wrist to light up and vibrate, much like the alarm she used for waking up early in the mornings, Terra was already nearby the building in which the freedom fighters operated at. It was the perfect place for a hideout like their own, and she had joked on more than one occasion that all it took was a simple costume change and they'd all be superheroes.
terra quickly made her way over to the headquarters building and stepped inside. It was a somewhat run down place, but she knew that she'd probably be living there as well if she didn't have her current deal going on. The young woman stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the basement. As she stood there, she thought about how she was briefed about being put on a new team. While she didn't know who was going to be on the team, she did know that everyone's skills and tactics would be varied and different, to accomodate all sorts of situations that they could get themselves in.
With a ding, the doors of the elevator opened, and Terra walked into the headquarters of the freedom fighters. She knew the deal about being briefed and introduced to new people, and looked at the woman at the head of the table before sitting down to the left of the woman. Terra took off the breathing mask from her face, allowing the plethora scars that traced her jaw and lower half of her face to be seen. She looked at the woman to the right of her. "We're being put on a team together, right?" She asked her, making sure that she was where she was supposed to be at.
**REPUBLIC CITY – 9:00 AM – GREEN HEIGHTS APARTMENTS**
Lying on the ledge that separated the top floor and balcony of Green Heights from the sickening drop down to concrete and tarmac below, the airbender Jun was already awake, soaking in the fog – or was it smog? – of Republic City. A sickly fern from a potted plant tickled his nose as if irritated that someone had the audacity to move its' plastic container for such a silly reason as meditating. It didn't care whether or not its' itching tendrils were causing Jun's nose to twitch and ultimately distracting him from achieving spiritual clarity.
He huffed, eyes straining against closed eyelids when opening them would mean defeat and failure – proving to the world that, yet again, Jun was unsuitable to become anything but a layabout, too flighty to sit still and think about the world around him for anything longer than two seconds. Circling inside his head was the Old Man's wispy words of wisdom, the ones he could hear as clear as day even though his teacher had long since been buried: “*In and out. Breathe in – and hold it! Three... two... and one. Breathe out, letting all of your earthly foibles drain away with it.*”
Man, it really was cold this morning, wasn't it? The Air Nomads of centuries past must have felt something similar, living up on their mountain temples of dizzying heights and forceful winds–
*Focus!*
It was definitely hard to “focus” as his inner voice commanded him, especially when all he could think about was his pressing need to pull on a hoodie over his sleeveless shirt and move away from the icy brickwork to the nice, relatively warm insides of his 'penthouse' flat. Such low temperatures made his back ache, his knuckles freeze up and his knees lock into place to the point where it took a good few moments of steady breathing to prepare himself as he rocked back onto his feet, propelled by an upwards blast of air.
Meditation would have to wait, he decided as the tracker hanging underneath his shirt began to rattle against the buckle of his belt. Tugging it out, he frowned. Was there meant to be a meeting? He could hardly remember – the days blurred together in a haze of vigilantism on the streets of the capital and hours upon hours of personal training and sky-watching. Still, working with the rebels was still much preferred to life as a weather reporter or worse, a barista.
Jun lazily slid open the curtain that split his living quarters from the outside world in place of a door, stepped over the boxes that blocked the draught out and shuffled his feet around on the piles of – for lack of a better word – _junk_ on the floor. He kicked a soft cotton jacket up and swiftly pulled in on, checking the pockets for what little money he had and his pre-prepared gadgets. All of his clothed had at least one “getaway device” stealthily concealed inside it, and in the case of this khaki monstrosity, it was smokebombs.
“Good enough,” he murmured, pressing a small, downwards pointing arrow on the wall and waiting waiting for the elevator to make its way up to his floor. If only he had a spare sheet to spare, he could've simply glided down to the ground below rather than standing around uselessly... but bed linens were too expensive to waste. Thankfully it wasn't broken for the top floor – those had been an interesting few days, when he had first moved in – and soon the doors opened for him to step inside.
Jun hated elevators. Claustrophobic, stifling, and in the case of this one, it would be going underground where even the faintest of breezes couldn't touch him. Most people would find that reassuring, in such cold weather, but not an airbender – or, at least, not him. If he'd felt uneasy trapped inside an open school building for six hours a day in his teens, the meeting place could only be worse. Pressing the button to descend into the basement, he shifted from side to side uneasily as the metal coffin creaked on its way down and just about fled the elevator as the doors reopened, and not a moment too soon.
Shaking out his limp in a few steps as the relative heat of the room enveloped him and straightening his posture, Jun studiously ignored the workers as they typed away. He probably looked like a vagrant, or at least *weird* with shorts and sandals on in such unforgiving weather. With his feet barely touching the ground and making no sound at all, the airbender approached what appeared to be the meeting table with two women already there – one of them sitting at the head of the table.
He took a seat on the free side of her, inclining his head slightly in each of his future teammate's direction as a cheerful grin reappeared on his face, not long after it had vanished in the elevator. Despite his 'long' career as a solo agent (doing absolutely nothing noteworthy), he was excited at the prospect of being a part of something much larger than himself. “Ladies,” Jun greeted, flexing his fingers to crack his knuckles for a few moments of sweet, sweet relief.
Barioth probably can't read
Member
Seen
5 yrs ago
**CITY HIGHWAY 51 - 4:30AM**
For so early in the morning, the traffic on the highway still seemed to produce a significant amount of noise. People going here and there no matter the time, the bustle of the city never truly let up. The highway was 2 separate lanes each going to and from the heart of the city. In between the lanes was a gap where one could see the highway suspended above a fenced off area filled with litter, wreckage, spirit vines, and the occasional hobo.
Tartok sat quietly atop a cardboard sheet, legs crossed and back rigid against one of the concrete pillars holding the Highway 51 afloat. The waterbender seemed unfazed by the loud noises of traffic above his head as the headphones over his ears played the soft soothing sounds of the ocean. He had meditated from dusk till dawn. His chi in alignment and his breaths steadied he meditated unfazed by his surrounding. He had found this place sheltered from the weather and had made it his own some weeks ago, though not much like a home to many, it served Tartok's base needs, and that was all he could ask for. Small spirits floated and bounced around the young man as he meditated in tranquility.
Tartok's white eyelashes flickered open as his bracelet began to vibrate and buzz, he disliked the peace of technology, it reminded him too much of the Buzzard Wasps he had encountered in the desert. The buzzing brought unpleasant memories of that journey. Letting out a deep breath, he rose to his feet limberly as the spirits who sometimes stayed with him in his dwelling flew off to do whatever they did during the day. Tartok directed his gaze up towards the gap between lanes above him, the light of dawn starting to fill his dwelling. _A nice day_ he thought to himself as he observed the morning sky. The grey clouds and thick fog always seemed to remind him of white paints made from pearls, a pleasant thought for someone of odd tastes like him.
With a bright mood, he brushed his wispy white hair back as he began to make his way towards Green Heights. The enthusiastic soul an odd sight amongst the dreary city-folk. He looked around at the towering structures and wide myriad of sights as he walked, the city still never ceased to amaze him even after having held. Residency within its territory for a few months now. He had. Joined the freedom fighters very recently and was interested as to what this team he was going to be a part of was going to be doing. He shrugged to himself as it was no use in worrying on those thing, it would all be revealed in time, with patience.
At last, He arrived at Green Heights and promptly entered the beaten apartment complex. The place was quaint and had a certain sentimental value to it despite its' appearance, in Tartok's opinion and he had grown fond of the building in the few times he had paid a visit to the location. The elevator dinged as the doors slid open, bidding him to enter. As the doors closed, Tartok removed his headphones from his ears and put them around his neck as he pondered what he would do for dinner that night. Just as he imagined the usual ramen cup noodles, the elevator dinged and the doors reopened. He was greeted by a room filled with computers and workers tirelessly tapping away at their keyboards. He approached the table where three had already gathered and gave a respectful bow, "Greetings, I do hope I am not late" After rising back up, he took a seat next to the girl with the mask in front of her.
With a quick glance he carefully took in his new would-be teammates. They all seemed to be characters of varying background and disciplines, all seemed to be rugged and familiar to some extent with martial arts or bending. The team as a whole so far was ragtag and potentially dysfunctional, but still maintained a charm to it, giving the faint idea that such a gathering of different people could possibly _work_.
GingerBoi123
Member
Seen
4 mos ago
*Freedom.* Kai always felt this when he ran. Sprinting across the rooftops of the city, Kai, vaulted over a low pipe and slid under a high one. He was reaching the edge of the building he was on, so he quickly glanced back. Yep... two small time gangsters chasing after him still. They never give up do they? Kai blasted two small fireballs from his hand, but missed, as they split off to the sides of each pursuer. Kai whipped around to face the edge of the building which was only about 10 steps away, the next building was a good leap away but Kai had jumped this before. Kai sped up and when he reached the very edge he sprang from it to the other building. A great rush of air passed him and Kai felt the sense of freedom again.
After what felt like an age, Kai reached the other building but he misjudged the distance as his foot caught the side, making him fall. Kai clambered up eventually and sat on the side towards the apartment complex he just jumped from, witnessing the two frustrated chasers cussing him from afar. Kai happily gave them both the finger and stood up before starting to run again. His wrist communicator began to buzz, drawing Kai's attention. It was a call to Green Heights, only a couple of blocks away. Kai decided to set off but figured that street level would be good so clambered down an alleyway before running on ground level to get to Green Heights. When he reached the place he entered the elevator and put his gas mask into his bag as he awaited the elevator to open again.
GM
**Republic City 9:00 AM Green Heights Apartments - Jiyū Main Base**
As the elevator doors began to open and close with workers and staff, Akira stood up, hands folded against her thighs as she awaited her new members. The new team mates walking in one at a time, and Akira's judgmental gazed cast over each and everybody that sat around the table. The first to arrive was apparently the only other female on the team, an earthbender named Terra. The first thing she seemed to notice about this younger woman was her gas mask, an odd fashion choice, though probably healthier one due to the city's horrid pollution. The mask came off after Terra sat down, though, revealing a young, pretty face to match her young, pretty eyes. Lips moved suddenly, a simple remark filled the air, and Akira nodded at Terra's question, the shadow of a smile present on her otherwise poker faced lips. The next person to come in was a lanky man. He was tall, yes, Akira was normally too aware of the heights of other people due to her own shortness. She had to stare up quite a bit to look the man in the face much to her annoyance, but he sat down as soon as he came in thankfully, leaving her to be the only one standing.
He was a nice-enough looking man, with a friendly smile and bright eyes, and from his windblown hair Akira swore she could smell the city's winter air which always seemed to be a mixture of horrid smog and ice. This man's name was Jun, and he would be their airbender. Akira glanced up as the next man came in, the waterbender Tartok. Water Tribe blood was clearly rushing through his veins, anyone could tell with just a glance, but instead of the black or brown hair most would possess his was white, like snow. From his opening phrase Akira already felt as though she was talking to some old, polite grandparent, which wasn't exactly a bad thing. She shook her head in response, uttering a low
"Nope, not late at all."
Before allowing her eyes to fall upon the final member. The firebender, Kai. The final to enter, Akira looked him up and down with slight interest. He was young, probably the youngest out of all of them, meaning he would probably be a bit reckless. She couldn't determine his character as of yet, well, she couldn't determine _any_ of their characters yet, but it would be nice to assume. Once everyone was situated at the table, Akira rose her hand slightly, an act of gaining attention. Her heart was pounding heavily against her chest as she searched for opening words, and while her face was as stone cold as it usually was panic was filling her throat and head. Anxiety wasn't a common occurrence, mostly because Akira had gotten so good at avoiding those she didn't want to talk to, but now it seemed like the only thing she knew. She sucked in a breath suddenly, slowly, and held it for six seconds before exhaling, and then the words came after that, clear and concise thankfully,
"Thank you all for coming today. Due to your various skills and backgrounds, our lovely finder, Tai-Mei, has picked you to be apart of a special part of Jiyū." Akira rose her hand, brushing back a strand of red-dyed hair as her eyes narrowed slightly, "we'll be in charge of many of the important hands-on missions for the Jiyū, in fact..." She turned slightly towards the large screen that was just behind her. A few taps on her watch and then a nod persuaded the screen to life, and instantly rows of information and pictures gleamed brightly. The two most used words on the documents were "avatar" and "Seekers".
"We actually have a very big mission on our hands as of today. I'll be sending you the rest of the data via your phones, but for now I'll explain the specifics." Her eyes narrowed, leaning forward on the table as she examined each of their faces with slight hesitance, "there have been some... Rumors that the Seekers, whom you will learn more about in the data, have gotten their hands on the Avatar." Her face grew graver with each words,
"And our mission, if you choose to accept it, is to either disclose this rumor as false, or save this poor sucker before the Seekers do anything to him. So," she straightened, forcing a small smile between a sigh, "any questions?"
Terra watched as everybody entered the room and sat down around her. She smiled and nodded as Jun announced himself to her and Akira. Like all of the others she would meet in the near future, she never really knew anything about them. She was the kind of person that was moved on from team to team because of her skill set, knowing people only to a certain extent because of the brief time she had with them. Not it seemed like she was going to be on a permanent team, or at least one longer lasting than the others she had been on. This Jun person was an airbender, the opposite of her own element, but she had a feeling that her beliefs and techniques of earth and metal bending wouldn't clash with the airbender lifestyle.
Tartok looked like a nice person from what Terra saw. She saw that he was quite a mature person, but maybe she pointed that out first because it battled her own immaturity. That wasn't to say that she wasn't mature sometimes, but she normally acted a few years under her own age. It was obvious that he was a water bender, but she was unable to give guesses about how good he was with his element.
Kai was the next one to come in. Terra couldn't be sure that he was a bender, but with all of the consistencies so far, it was probably pretty likely since they had all of the other elements at the table.
When everybody was situated, Terra looked at Akira in the way a child would to an adult or parent figure. Almost expecting for her to explain the situation and all the ins and outs of what they'd be doing.
As Terra expected, this team that she was set on was looking to be a permanent one. A core team, it sounded like. Almost a task force, but instead of just being passed any mission that people didn't want to take, they'd be doing special missions that would have an effect on Jiyū itself and Republic city. She looked at the rows of information that appeared on the screen and took as much in as she could. The words "Avatar" and "Seekers" appeared more than any other word, and it got the gears turning in her head.
Terra looked at Akira once more as she spoke again, and thought about the questions in her mind. It wasn't really a 'should you choose to accept it' kind of deal, since this was a group with these specific people, with a specific mission involving the Avatar. It doesn't seem like Jiyū could quickly replace one of them in the event that one decided to go, and while the choice of leaving on on the table, Terra assure herself that it was only the illusion of choice, as something this important was not to be passed up.
"Are the white lotus involved in this?" Terra asked. She was curious to know it the aid of the Avatar and the slightly official 'binders of the world' were involved in any way to the discovery or maybe even capture of the avatar.
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