Not Your Hero

Chapter 25

Lin and her officers soon followed, breaking down the glass windows and taking down all the security guards on the ground floor. More guards soon came running out from the elevators and the stairs, wielding batons and pistols. They weren't a match for the heavy assault rifles they found themselves facing, and Korra grimaced at the blood pooling around on the marble tiles. She's seen bloodshed but she didn't want people to die on a mission ever again, no matter what side they're on.

They could hear more people coming. "Go find Amon!" Su yelled to Korra. "We'll handle these people."

Korra nodded, leading Asami and the brothers up the stairs. Bataar said that Amon's office was on the top floor, which was seven stories above them. Korra slashed at the couple of guards running her way, not killing them but giving them injuries that'll immobilize them for quite a few hours. They soon reached the top floor, but there were no guards there, surprisingly. It also had no glass windows, unlike the other floors.

"Where is he?" Bolin whispered. Korra shook her head, slowly proceeding to a pair of oak doors. There wasn't a sound coming from inside. Hesitating, she carefully opened the doors and held her gun in front of her. The conference room was empty, except for the big blueprints laid on the table. Upon closer inspection, they were extremely detailed plans of the hospital the Saviors were planning to bomb. Various places were circled, no doubt where they intended to install the weapons (some kind of highly radioactive bomb made out of almost entirely pure uranium that would expose nearby citizens of a fifty-mile radius to radiation for three months, as Asami later figured out). Mako took out a portable camera and quickly snapped photos of the blueprints.

The door opened again, and Korra's blood chilled at the sight. A man, whom she could only presume was Amon without his mask on, entered with a dozen followers in tow carrying electric-shock batons. Korra could judge from their stance that these were all highly-trained.

"I see you've found our little hiding place, avatar," Amon said. "But that's of little use now. We have your friends downstairs all tied up. I guess Bataar Jr. underestimated our manpower a little bit. You'll soon be joining them."

Korra stiffened at the mention of her crew. She didn't believe they were captured easily, but she had a sinking feeling that Amon was telling the truth.

"Chief Beifong?" She asked her comm. She only heard static. "Kuvira?" Nothing. "Su?" Again, nothing. Korra felt her teammates shift uncomfortably when no one replied. She wished she could say everything would be fine, but she couldn't lie.

"But today is your lucky day, avatar. I'm feeling generous enough to give you a choice. You and your three pathetic friends could all walk out of here alive. You'll tell everyone you've failed. And then you'll never mess with my businesses again. Or, you and everyone who has set foot in this building today will all die."

Korra expected something like this to come. She looked at her friends. Their faces showed emotions Korra had trouble deciphering. Anger? Fear? Hesitation? But Korra knew her answer already, clear as day. It would be the easiest choice she'd make in years.

"I can't ask you to do this." She told the three of them.

"We signed up for this months before we left for Republic City," Mako said firmly. Asami and Bolin nodded in response, leaving no room for argument. And that was it. Korra was grateful for those three people to be in her life, no matter how late they came. She unsheathed her sword solemnly, marking the beginning of every fight. She smirked at Amon, her answer ready. "I didn't come here to live and be a failure, Amon. Either you die or we die fighting."

--

Korra knew that those people were well-trained, but she didn't expect they would be this fast. Their agility could almost go toe-to-toe with the constantly-renewed combat bots back at the compound. If Korra had a few years less training, she'd be overwhelmed by the flurry of movement. She guessed that this was the reason why the Saviors became the dominant underground organization in a short month, scaring off almost all of the triads in Republic City. So far, her sword had been able to destroy a couple of their batons but since they were electric this was no easy task. Korra was risking being fried every time she went for a swipe. She just hoped the voltage was set to stun, rather than kill. Death by electrocution is a painful death, as you have to experience your internal organs vibrating and then being literally fried up, which ultimately leads to complete bodily failure. Not the most pleasant experience.

So far, Amon was only standing to the corner silently watching. Korra didn't know how long she could keep this up. She'd just taken another one down, leaving nine in total. All four of them had enough stamina to last them a good while, but even Korra had trouble keeping up with the Saviors' speed.

With a kick to a man's torso, Korra decided to change tactics. It was useless playing defense, they'd only wear her out eventually. She had to force them into defense, which is something speed would never compensate for. Korra silently thanked the combat bots back at the compound for maximizing the power of her blows.

Dodge, slash, swipe... And his weapon's gone. Blow to the head... Another down. Unbuckling her gun, Korra immediately shot the two leaping in her direction. Turning around, she left a deep gash in the shoulder of the man grappling with Bolin while Mako finished off his own attacker as well. Asami, apparently, was unconscious but not without taking down three or four of the assailants. Her strong pulse told Korra that she was mostly unscathed, most probably just hit with the baton, but did nothing to dissolve the knot of worry in Korra's heart.

A sudden flash in the corner of Korra's eye startled her, and the next moment Bolin's unconscious body fell down, Amon standing over him.

Korra stood up, taking hold of the two swords on her back. It'd been ages since she'd used those, but she knew they'd be of more use when it's a competition of speed. "Surrender, Amon. You have nowhere to go." Fortunately, Korra was near the door and blocked Amon's exit. Mako stood up next to her, his gun pointed at Amon.

"You're more stupid than I thought, avatar," He said quietly. "Zaheer should've taught you better. But I really thought that you'd understand the significance of what I'm doing."

"You mean murdering poor people because they don't have a claim to your precious resources like you do?" Korra sneered. "There's not enough for everyone!" Amon snapped. "This is the only way. So when you walk out, avatar, ask yourself how many people are starving and how many more people have no electricity. Ever heard of global warming and climate change? I used to be a scholar in those fields. Try to solve these problems, avatar!" Amon said. "You'll see that I'm right. And another thing: I know you won't kill me. I've seen the way you look at all that blood." Amon smirked.

Korra's jaw clenched and she lunged at Amon. He hopped away and lept out the window. Korra saw his figure descending quickly on a grappling hook. He soon disappeared from sight.

Suddenly, Kuvira and the rest of the attack force burst into the conference room. "Where's Amon? Did you get him?" She asked.

--

It turned out there were signal jammers surrounding the top floor, as Amon took the security precaution. The rest of them were doing just fine with the four gone. Asami and Bolin soon woke up--they weren't hit particularly badly.

Korra looked at the time. 4:37. It was time to head back and finally clean up the mess this whole ordeal has left. She wanted to go home, wherever that was. The whole mission definitely took its toll and Korra could only begin to feel its effects on her with the adrenalin gradually fading out.

[End of Part 5: Let's Take Them Down, For Real This Time]