Endgame

"Takes one to know one, dick," Stefan folded his arms. Astarte looked at the floor.

Dalia continued on her way towards the docks.

Monu:<He's not a gang member.>

Tirea:<It's a weasel snake!>

Stefan stared daggers of contempt at Monu. Hector stifled a little laugh.

R"I already know. And if you think they can't tell, you're even dumber than you look."

*He gestures to Mortale. Euryale puts a hand on his shoulder.*

E"Now, now, I'm sure he wouldn't lie to an officer. And because he's not a gang member, I won't find out that he's known to associate with known Triple Threats. And he certainly won't cause any trouble that could qualify as a reason to arrest him when all of this is over. So!"

*She claps her hands & rubs them together. The effect is more irritating than it normally should be, since she's wearing armor. She looks down, frowns, & then just puts her arms down at her sides.*

E"Let's get down to business. First, thank you for making us breakfast."

*She inclines her head to the assistant. After putting a pan on the stove & turning it on, she just waves at Euryale.*

E"Second, as promised, I will explain to you how all of this happened: As you might recall, 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt had hired a group of police to cover for his crimes & help eliminate his rivals. We believed that we had caught them all, but as it turns out, it was always part of their plan to have a few of them get captured. You see, the officers from Ba Sing Se were brought in to make up the difference."

*She looks at Hector, Stefan, & Eduj, noting their surprised reactions..*

E"...I now believe that the Triple Threats were not aware of this, or if they were, it was limited to the very highest profile members. Now that he is dead, we can't question Saxeus to find out why he was involved. Other than him, the ringleader appears to be an officer named Kane. Once they had everything in order, they attempted to assassinate Zolt & the Chief. Fortunately, the Chief escaped, & we were able to save Zolt--to make sure that he takes responsibility for the mess he's caused, I might add--he is now on a train to another part of the United Republic."

*She once again points in the general direction of the trio as she says this.*

E"I don't know where the Chief went. I assume that she plans to contact the United Forces. Unfortunately, we all had to escape, including the interim chief. So now Kane is the Chief of Police, & without evidence of this conspiracy to present to the Council, he is effectively in charge of Republic City. It should be assumed that the vast majority of current acting officers are in his pocket."

*She looks around, spreading her arms a bit.*

E"So, does anyone have any questions about the situation, before we move on to actual planning?"
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*Since the man is apparently being ignored, he gets up, whirls around, & rushes out the door. Being a dick, he kicks back at Eve & swings his arm, sending a pair of blasts at her, either to cover his escape, make a last ditch attempt to kill her, or both. It should probably be noted that the fire on Eve's carpet is growing, & lapping at any nearby furnishings.*
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*It's quite a walk, & on more than one occasion, she narrowly avoids having a sudden deluge of sewage dumped on her, though it's probably gotten on her shoes. Once the mouth of the bay is in sight, the street level is less than a story above her. She can see bright flashes of orange from fire blasts reflecting off of the railing.*

Astarte and the trio were quiet, only Hector looking like he was actively considering the information.

Dalia kept to herself, but listened for sounds of something coming her way.

*Tirea and Monu nod in understanding*
===
*Eve dives aside, responding with her own blasts*

"You came in on a sky bison, right," Gabe asked, "Doesn't that mean that Tenzin is on your side too? With two council members on our side, why can't we have them persuade the others?"

Noct shook her head, "We'd need more than two of us for that, and to persuade the others we'd need more than just our accounts. We'd need hard evidence."

Mortal was just sitting there, hoping that the lady was making steak and eggs.

*Since I forgot her up until now, Ven comes in. Strapped to her waist is an authentic Water Tribe waterskin, with the seal of the Water Tribe royal family.*

E"They'll also be moving to discredit Noctis as quickly as possible. They may have already forged evidence against her, for all I know. But Tenzin has sent Air Acolytes into the city to help keep the peace, & he's waiting for us to find evidence that he can present to the Council."

*Euryale crosses over to the assistant & taps her on the shoulder. She looks back.*

E"I think Mortal wants steak & eggs. I'll just take the eggs. If you don't mind."

*She nods, then goes to the freezer to get out a steak.*

R"So, do Metalbenders have any weaknesses?"

E"We can't bend pure metals. Even Toph couldn't bend platinum."

R"Platinum, huh...I think I have something that might help. Think you can get me back to the apartment?"
=============================
*He's already gone, Eve just sets the wall of the hallway on fire. With a fine layer of smoke collecting on the ceiling, heavy footsteps are stomping up the stairs.*
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*She eventually reaches street level, where she sees a trio of police engaging a row of Agni Kai. The police step, kicking up rocks, & thrust out their fists, sending the rocks towards the Agni Kais. For their part, the Agni Kais have fire discs on their right hands to intercept projectiles. With their left, they blast the cops, most missing, the armor taking care of the rest. Every so often, one breaks ranks & runs into an alley.*

*Eve heads down the stairs, trying to see who's in her house now*
===
Tirea:<Why do you have platinum?>

*Monu just glares at Stefan*

Gabe was also confused as to why Roatha just had some spare platinum.

Noctis waved to Ven.

Mortal sees the steak come out the freezer and feels a kind of exuberant joy.

*Ven waved back.*

R"My dad is in the United Forces."

E"And he's paid in platinum?"

R"No, he applied for an officer's sword. It's a platinum alloy, makes it lighter & more resistant to damage, & the blade itself is entirely coated in platinum, for sharpness & corrosion resistance. About yay long."

*He stretches his hands to a little short of 3 feet.*

R"It's mostly ceremonial, but should still work in a fight. He left it to me when he went out on a long campaign. I think he expected me to sell it if I ever got into trouble with debt. You think it would help?"

E"Well, it still has steel in it, so it wouldn't be impossible to Bend, but it might be difficult enough. But what are you going to use it for?"

R"I'd like to have something to defend myself with if people start coming at me with steel blades & big chunks of rock. It'll also make my Firebending stronger."
================================
*She meets with a trio of Metalbender cops.*

<We got a report that there was Firebending in your apartment! Is something wrong?>

"How so?" Gabe asked, interested.

R"Oh, well..."

*Roatha starts ticking off examples on his fingers.*

R"You can make bigger arcs with a weapon. You could spin it to create a larger fire tornado. If it's metal, you can shoot lightning into it, & that makes it bigger. If you use 2 hands, you can redirect the lightning back into the blade, electrifying it. Various things."

E"Oh yeah, speaking of lightning, Kane can't be hurt by lightning attacks. I don't know why."

R"Hm...you said your armor is steel, right?"

E"Yes."

R"So that means it has chunks of iron in it."

E"Yes, I know that, that's how we're able to bend it."

*Euryale puts her hands on her hips.*

R"Yes, but if you were to align them all in a certain way, then you could channel the flow of electrons safely. It's the same idea as lightning redirection, & it's how we provide power to the city."

"So..." Hector brushed some hair away from his eyes. "That could help fight these people. But do we have any ideas about where to move? Where to hit?"
Stefan looked at Monu with an expression of 'I'm getting tired of your shit'.

Dalia watched for a few moments, then continued on her way, cursing under her breath.

Gabe seemed impressed, "The lightning idea seems really cool actually."

Mortal frowned, "So, that explains that. Maybe if we could splash him with water. I'd like to see him bend his way out of that."

Tirea:<Yeah, water conducts electricity right?>

*Monu does not give a fuck*
===
Eve:<A fire bender just tried to kill me.>

R"Thanks. Well, if you found some way to disrupt his magnetic charge, it should work, but I don't know whether or not that would do it. A wet magnet is still functional, after all."

*Euryale folds her arms.*

E"That's really only useful for you. Then again, if we're all fugitives, then we should probably all prepare. Alright, I will help you get back to the apartment, once we know where everyone will be going, & have a signal for if we run into trouble."
======================
<Fan out & try to find him!>

<Yes, Sir!>

<What can you tell us about the attack?>
======================
*Dalia is now at the docks. Of course, there are a lot of river patrols out.*

Eve:<He broke in and tried to kill me. Apparently there's a bounty on my head.>
===
*Tirea strokes her weaselsnake*

Monu:<I think I'm as prepare as I'll ever be. Unless...>

*He looks at Euryale*

<Do you think you could show me the basics of metalbending?>

"How much time do we have?" Hector asked, looking from Euryale to Monu. "Unless you're some kind of prodigy I can't see a quick train helping you much. Not that a little practice wouldn't go astray for some of us."
He gestured to Astarte, "Especially anybody lacking experience."

Mortal frowned, not liking Hector's tone.

Noctis giggled slightly, "So, smoke clouds are probably out of the question."

"Well, maybe if we all know what to look for it won't go unnoticed," Gabe said.

R"I already suggested a dragon. I take no responsibility for the failure of that plan."

*He folds his arms & glares at Hector.*

E"I can give you some hands-on pointers on the way to the apartment, I suppose."
==========================
<You'd better come with me while I phone this in to headquarters.>

*He sniffs.*

<Do I smell smoke?>

<Thank you.>
===
Eve:<I'm pretty sure my house is on fire.>

Hector shrugged, looking back at Roatha with his eyebrows raised, "What? We're talking about taking on the police and it's unreasonable to say some of us might not be ready for the job? Come on now."
Astarte looked awkwardly at her feet.

Gabe frowned, "Maybe one on one, but there are strength in numbers."

"The police will most certainly outnumber us," Noct pointed out.

"Oh, right..."

R"I agree, SOME of us should get more practice."

*He points to Hector.*

R"So hop to it. Somewhere else."

*Euryale grabs her hair, becoming annoyed by the bickering.*

E"This isn't getting us any closer to our goal. We can't travel as one group, we'll be too easily spotted."
=======================
<I see. Then we'll also have to dispatch a fire truck.>

*He heads down the stairs, motioning for her to follow.*
=======================
*One of the river patrol boats spots Dalia dicking around & comes up to the dock that she's on.*