Big Trouble in the Little South Pole

[subpar-superstar]

Neigong Zhi Wang

Taking a brief moment to center himself, Neigong swiftly follows the officer into what little of the fray remains, but finds himself surrounded by little more than battered gangsters, who groan and writhe. Scanning the area, and finding no more immediate threats, the air-bending youth ascends with gust bolstered bounds to the rooftops for a better vantage point to get a bigger picture.  

[subpar-superstar]

Kenichi Himura

There's a slight splash as Kenichi drops into the mostly dark tunnel, but a few still operating--though sparking--lights struggle to provide illumination, shedding light on what seems to be a utility tunnel of some sort, likely providing access to the pipework required for the now destroyed fountain that once rested above. Water pools from broken pipes around his feet, and at this rate he surmises that it will only be a matter of hours before this section of the underworks is flooded completely.

But those thoughts as distant as the faint sound of his landing causes the three individuals only a few dozen feet down the tunnel to turn about. The trio, still masked, share short glances before the shorter of the two men signs something with his hands and then darts off down the tunnel, followed by the masked woman. Unfortunately, this leaves behind a hulking brute who turns to size up Kenichi and his feline companion.

After a moment of thought, the strangely tattooed terrorist draws himself into a defensive stance and whips a muscled arm back and then forth again, tearing a large square section of stonework out of the wall and sending it speeding towards Kenichi.

Neigong Zhi Wang

From his newly gained vantage point, Neigong sees the panicked crowds fleeing from the plaza. From here, it's even more difficult to differentiate the once masked individuals from the crowds.

Despite the chaos below, something does catch the airbender's eye. As his gaze is drawn to the air by the sound of whirring engines--incoming airships, no doubt--he catches sight of a pale and almost lanky woman garbed in dark colors and concealing garb. She stands on the roof of a building some hundred feet distant, overlooking the plaza. Before he can get a better look, however, a stray beam of light reflected flood lamp from one of the airships above blinds him for just a moment, and as soon as Neigong recovers the woman is gone, leaving Neigong to wonder if he was seeing things.

Despite the retreat of the dangerous element, the crowds now thronging through the distant streets are still filled with a primal panic. Suddenly, they're illuminated by the sweeping floodlights of Police Airships, which are slowly drifting into position above the plaza. At least one more metalbending officer has joined the first, but seems somewhat at a loss with the instigators having seemingly vanished.  

[Silveta Kinoku]

Anaba Harjo
Out of the corner of her eye, near the fountain, Anaba saw some movement. Her instinct told her to follow it, so she did which ended with her in a secretly secret cave of secrets.

I need to be careful she thought to herself as she crept along in the cave. That didn't last long though because she absolutely ran into someone else who had encountered a dude throwing rocks.  

[subpar-superstar]

Neigong Zhi Wang

Captivated and curious, Neigong springs forth from his position to try and find the vanished woman, scanning the crowd and other rooftops as he leaps off of his perch and bounces off of a tarp with the help of a bending generated gale, sending him soaring over the plaza in the direction he'd last seen her.  

[subpar-superstar]

Kenichi Himura

Freezing up in the face of imminent danger, the hefty stone block shatters against Kenichi's chest, sending the scholar sprawling backwards. Dazed and battered, only his feline companion keeps him from landing face down in the water as the tigerlope deftly moves to cushion his fall, growling as its belly is forced into the water for a brief moment.

Anaba Harjo

Anaba is swiftly shocked out of her daydream of spelunking as the glasses wearing gentlemen in front of her is struck by a heavy stone block, sending him flying past her through the tunnel, a large feline creature darting after him protectively. The dusty electrical lighting flickers sporadically, wiring frayed by the damage to the tunnels.

Now she stands alone in the slowly flooding utility tunnel, a scant fifteen feet away from a masked hulk, who simply continues his bending form into its next movement, deftly spinning on his heel as a kick tears a stone from the opposite wall and casts it towards Anaba. The tattoo on his left shoulder brightens for an instant as the rock speeds towards his new opponent.

Neigong Zhi Wang

As he bounds across the plaza, Neigong is suddenly struck down by a flying kick to his side, thrown back to the hard stones of the plaza where he bounces and rolls to a stop before rolling back to his feet in a defensive crouch. A dark haired woman in the signature flight suit of the air nation's warriors lands gracefully before him before him, as she too settles into a combative form, declaring, "Stand down, you and the rest of your cronies are under arrest!"

It seems that the swifter members of Republic City's defenses are beginning to arrive!