Avatar Rose: Justice

Ch.04: Prelude

Gwen's POV:

"What do you mean, he escaped?"

"I'm afraid it's exactly how it sounds."

"That idiot!" What was he thinking?! I quickly bring my hand up to my ear and press my microphone. My voice booms over the loudspeaker. "Nathan, you dimwit! Turn yourself in right this moment if you ever want to know Rose's fate!" I tap the com again, letting a little sigh escape my mouth. Gwen, you're such a terrible person.

A guard runs up to me. She's about the same age as me, dressed toe to brow in a grey cotton uniform, mirroring my own pale blue version. She gives me a little bow out of courtesy, "Ms. Gwendolyn, the prisoner Nathan has bypassed two gates already. Guards are reported to freeze in their tracks and attack each other randomly. Any directional advice, ma'am? The guards are running frantically around in confusion."

I smile. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it, personally." Nathan's beyond your league. "Get me two metal benders to back me up."

"Can you handle it?" She asks tenaciously.

"Of course I can!"

She nods, and barks something into her wrist. She listens for a moment, nods, and then turns to me. "Two metalbenders will meet you on the second floor staircase. He has to take that staircase if he wants to leave. You better hurry, he's already on the staircase, on the 5th floor."

I glide water onto my shoes, turning them into makeshift ice-skates. I always wear flat shoes for a reason. Taking off down the hallway, I ready some water in my hands just in case. Due to his bloodbending abilities, I may not stand a chance, but with some negotiation I might be able to pull it off. I've known him for a long time, I know him better than that crazy Avatar brat. I melt my skates to the ground. The two metalbenders are behind me.

I turn to them quickly. "Take me hostage, quickly," I whisper. "Hold a knife to my throat, say you'll kill me if he doesn't cooperate."

It's another teenage guy, but he does it surprisingly fast, sliding a knife from his wrist guard and pulling my forehead back, my neck at the mercy of his knife. The other person binds my hands together behind my back with a metal strip. It seems they've had some experience in this department. Good.

Nathan's footsteps slide lazily down the stairs, and I hear them clunking to the side, each dropping like weights. The seconds are precious. I hope they can do it. The footsteps ease ever closer.

"Move and the girl dies!" The teenager shouts with authority. Nathan must be in range.

The footsteps cease. "Well, well, Wendy dendy. You're gonna die too?" His voice is light, almost child-like. "Evan and Rose and Rowan and Liesel and Xander are already deep with Vaatu in the pits of hell. When can I join them?"

The poor soul...

He screams.

I'm sorry, Nathan.

"Coming up," I say, and the guy slides his blade back in his uniform. My hands are freed.

I look at my handiwork. Nathan's completely frozen in a block of ice. I was lucky the pipes came from the ventilation shaft above or I wouldn't have had the water to freeze him. Turning to the metalbender who blinks in awe, I say, "Get me a syringe with something to knock him out."

Nodding, he runs up the staircase, sparing a glimpse over his shoulder as he passes the Nathan Popsicle.

I glance at the other guy. "Nice work," I remark. "Have you held hostages before?"

"No, but it was in the training."

"For a good reason too," I say, walking up to Nathan and putting my hand against the ice. I bend a little pipe through to Nathan's nose so he can breathe.

"What I did was puny. I mean, you friggin' did that by twitching a couple fingers. Where did you learn that?"

I shrug. "As a child, I was part of a rain dance troupe," I recall. "It's intense waterbending, because you have to control every little drop of rain while circling around each other."

"Rain Dancing?"

"You've never heard of it?" I say, turning to him. "The dancers dance in circles while waterbending little droplets of water to form patterns, words, and drawings in the sky. You control 2 raindrops with each finger."

"Wow," is all he can muster.

The other guards comes sprinting down the stairs, a girl in a white uniform with a hairnet and hospital mask sprinting after him. I unfreeze the ice where the injection needs to go in, and the girl plunges the needle into a vein, squeezing a clear, colourless liquid into Nathan. His eyes, which I have been trying very hard to avoid, go blank and his pupils roll back. I unfreeze the water with my wrist and refill my satchel. Nathan's frame sinks to the floor, spread eagle in my puddle of water.

"Put him in chains and make sure he can't even move his fingers. I need to talk with him, before he does something stupid again."

"Ms. Gwendolyn," the guard says, his hand resting on his ear. "They've reached a decision concerning the Procedure of the Avatar's trial. They need you back in the conference room immediately."

"Tell them I'm heading there right away."