Kuvira's Assistant

Chapter 24

"Alright!! Let's fire it up again!" Varrick charismatically exclaimed. He swivelled a wrench in one hand as he patted a hummingbird prototype with the other. The CEO of Future Industries along with Varrick's assistant - who both sat inside the two control pods of the hummingbird suit - flicked a few switches, and with that the hummingbird began flapping its wings... Only to crash into a nearby pile of boxes a few seconds later.

"I can't stabilize it!! I thought you fixed the hydraulics!" Asami cried out from inside it.

"Honey, I DID!! TWIST HARDER!" The Water Tribe business mogul yelled back as he twirled the ends of his mustache. "You know what, I think if we could... Awh crap. Are you okay?" He scurried over cautiously to help up Asami and Zhu Li.

"Varrick." Asami sighed as she placed her hands behind her head. "What are we gonna do??? I can already HEAR the giant stomping, so she can't be that far away... It's weird that the Chief and General haven't gotten back to us yet... These two suits have to be up and running within a matter of minutes. What if I reassemble the connection between the control valve and motor? Think that could work?" She inquired.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem." Mako announced as he stepped into the workshop at the Future Industries Tower, closing the door behind him.

"Mako? Where are the others? Any, uh, general updates?" Varrick asked him.

"The Chief took a detour to do something, I don't know what. She'll join us here soon. The others are currently trying to take down the mecha, because Akemi wouldn't - or couldn't - get Kuvira to stand down. She sort of abruptly hung up on us after General Iroh tried to convince her to do something, so I have no idea if she's okay or what she's doing..."

Asami looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief.

Mako continued, his tone somewhat sounding defeated, "She hasn't contacted us since, and the giant's heading this way, so I assume nothing's stopped Kuvira's plan... And I hope you have something that can stop a PLATOON of mechasuits, cause they're headed our way."

"How can you say that so BLANDLY?! You mean she could literally crush us any minute now, and Akemi's not even doing anything about it?!" Asami frowned as she inched towards him.

"Well, I know how to take down some mechasuits!! Relax, kid!" Varrick optimistically chirped as he squeezed himself beside Asami, "My technique might just take down that giant, too!!"

"If it's of any consolation, knowing Akemi, she's not about to give up that easily. I'm sure she's got a plan of her own going. She just doesn't have the means to communicate it to us right now for all we know." Zhu Li squeezed in beside the young CEO from the other side, giving her a gentle smile. Asami looked down at her feet, seeming a little disappointed.

"Commander, we're SINKING!!"

"What do you mean we're SINKING??" Kuvira, who was still holding a mellowing Akemi, exasperatedly looked up at the operators who had just barged back into the control room. A few minutes prior, they had spread out into rooms with windows, nervously watching how the airbenders and Team Avatar had started ambushing the mecha, and found this enough of an emergency to rush back to Kuvira.

The Great Uniter snapped, "We're standing on CONCRETE, Ran, not a WATERBED!!"

"No, he's right, as in we're sinking into LAVA... It's BOLIN!! We urgently need to get this giant mecha moving again. We absolutely cannot leave it immobile any longer." Operator Sen explained, raising her voice a little as more loud splatters of paint covered the glass around them, dimming the room.