Whispers of ‘traitor’ and ‘bender’ swirled around the compound for months. It was nothing out of the ordinary, these ones just seemed to linger though. The rumors had put Akira on edge, but Nemira always tried to calm his nerves. They had no reason to suspect him. So when he was asked to debrief in Amon’s office, nothing seemed suspicious. The questions seemed normal, the usual breakdown of events mixed with any intelligence learned, until the Lieutenant opened his mouth. “Tell us about your last mission into Agni Kai territory.”

That was months ago, his team had been ambushed by a group of Agni Kai’s after a reconnaissance mission into their territory. The battle was going fine until one of the Agni Kai’s got Akira’s mask off. A street rat, Rokai, recognized him. “That was - Look. I know I messed up letting them unmask me, but I got my team outta there. Injured but alive. I turned in a detailed report afterward explaining everything. As did the rest of my team.” Akira looked nervously between the two men. “Is there a problem?”

The Lieutenant cleared his throat, eyes full of concern.“Your report doesn’t fully match that of the rest of your team. Seems you left a rather important detail out of the whole debacle.”

A confused look crossed Akira’s face. “I don’t thin- I didn- if I did it wasn’t on purpose, sir. I promise. If you tell me what the issue is maybe I ca-“ Amon lifted a hand, cutting Akira off.

“You’ve heard the rumors, right brother? That we have a bender within our mix?” Cold blue eyes stared into Akira’s amber. “Seems your team overheard an accusation in the heat of battle. Care to explain?”

Rokai. He’d called Akira ‘waterbender’. The shock hits his face before he has a chance to stop it. The cold dread follows soon after, consuming his body as he looks into the masked eyes of their leader. He opens his mouth, there’s a pause. Nothing would come out.

Amon’s eyes narrowed behind the mask, followed soon by the Lieutenant reaching for his weapons.

After a few moments of silence, Akira spoke softly “I just wanted to help..” it came out as barely a whisper, followed by “What are you gonna do with me..?”

Neither man answered. The Lieutenant simply asked with a frown, “How do you wanna do this, kid?”

“I can’t- I wouldn’t..” Akira didn’t dare lift his arms, didn’t dare move a muscle; only looking away from the disappointment in the Lieutenant’s eyes. “I’m not gonna fight, but please.. no restraints.”

Thankfully, they obliged him; let him walk out of the office of his own accord. Amon stayed back while the Lieutenant escorted Akira through the compound, weapons in hand the whole way. The duo weaved their way through the corridors to the lower levels. The silence between them was suddenly broken by a crackling sound then Amon’s voice over the intercoms. “Sister Nemira. Please report to my office immediately.”

Akira froze. He knew she had to be briefed, she was Amon’s left hand afterall, but it didn’t scare him any less. The pause didn’t last long, brought back by the Lieutenant pushing him slightly with the kali stick. They finally found themselves outside one of the underused holding cells.

“Empty your pockets and take off your weapons belt.”

Keeping his hands where the Lieutenant could see them, he slowly emptied his pockets before unbuckling the belt and holding it out. “Can you see that Nem gets the knives back..?”

The Lieutenant simply nodded as he returned the kali sticks to their pack. “You know what I gotta do, kid.”

Akira returned the nod before the blows hit him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been chiblocked but it didn’t make it any less uncomfortable. He just thanked the spirits that they weren’t paralyzing.

The cell opened and Akira stepped inside. As the door closed, the Lieutenant uttered one more thing. “You’ll find no more kindness in this place.”

Akira had lost track of how long it had been. Between the darkness and the sleep deprivation, he could no longer tell and was sure he’d start hallucinating at this point. The only constants were the freezing cold and the guards. Either they were keeping him awake or dragging him to interrogation, not to mention the frequent beatings. He hadn’t expected how long it would take. How long they’d let him stew with his own thoughts. Let him question every moment on how he ended up in this situation. There was still a fight in him. He didn’t want to stand in front of his brothers and sisters and beg for his bending like he’d watched so many others, but the longer he waited, the more the fear crept in.

Curled up on the floor of his cell, Akira was brought back to reality by the sound of footsteps then three guards appearing. They unlocked the cell, weapons in hand as they entered.

“You know the drill. Get up.”

Akira winced as he moved, a small whimper escaping his throat. His body tingled and ached from the constant bombardment of his chi points. Clearly he hadn’t moved fast enough for them, receiving a kick to the abdomen as punishment. He coughed and gagged as he forced himself to his knees before, suddenly, being tugged up by the back of his tattered uniform. Without a second thought, the cuffs were slapped on and his chi points peppered with blows. The next thing he knew he was being shoved out of the cell to whatever awaited him.

He’d been dragged into an interrogation room, wrists shackled to the table before being left alone. Not this again. The blinding lights hurt his eyes. He wondered how long they’d make him wait this time. Putting his head down, Akira let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding. He could do this.

After an unknown amount of time, the door finally opened and a woman, Ai, stepped inside followed by a masked guard wielding a shock gauntlet. “Seems I’m stuck dealing with you again, traitor.” There was venom behind those words. “I don’t know what Nemira ever saw in a boy like you.”

With a nod from her, Akira’s body was suddenly lit up with electricity. It stiffened and convulsed, jaw clenching to prevent a scream from escaping. As quickly as it had started, it stopped. He fell forward against the table, eyes down and breathing heavy.

“How many more of you scum are hiding in our ranks?”

He simply shook his head, body still twitching slightly as it came down. “I don’t know anyone. I told you.. I don’t know.”

Akira was born in Republic City in the last month of 154 A.G. to a mixed family. His sister, Lusa, came 4 years later in 158 A.G. His father, Amaruq, was a healer from the Northern Water Tribe, while his mother, Jyoti, was a photographer from the Fire Nation Capital. They lived a relatively normal life until the year Akira turned 8. While sleeping on the couch, Akira awoke to the smell of smoke. The back hallway was engulfed in it. He’d heard his sister screaming and his mother yelling to her, but instead of heading to them, he ran. Standing in the streets, he waited and waited and waited. Watching the flames, watching the firefighters, waiting for his family to walk out of the building, but it never came. (His father helped run a healing practice on the edge of 2 triad territories. His mother took and sold photographs to newspapers as well as some other freelance photography work. This was a triad’s doing, Akira just doesn’t know that.)

The first year on the streets was the hardest, the next 5 were hardly any better, but odd jobs from the Agni Kais kept him fed and alive. He kept his bending a secret. They’d never accept a waterbender in their mix, even doing the minor work he was. When he was 11, a turf war broke out between the Agni Kais and the Red Monsoons. Burned buildings, bloated bodies, innocents caught in the crossfire. It seemed like nothing was off limits. Seeing bending cause such carnage only solidified his fear and eventual hatred for the ability. Pretending to be a nonbender only got him threatened, the worst of the grunt work, and eventually phased out of the gang, thankfully with his life. A few more years doing odd jobs lead him to a flyer that would change his life and bring him to his new family. Nemira, Aquene, Inia, Enlai, and the rest of the equalists. 

He loved his bending as a child, but every day on the streets showed him what it truly was. A plague on the city, the world even. It was the source of the triads’ power. It caused wars. He thought Amon could make a difference, thought he could help. (He hasn’t used his bending since he was a child. He still holds some blame on himself for not trying to do more when his family was dying. His chi is so blocked, even the most basic of waterbending would be difficult for him to perform even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t.)

Equalist Revolution In Fall OF 170 A.G 

He was 15 at the peak of the Anti-Bending Revolution and around 16 when Amon disappeared after being outed. Beginning of 171 A.G. The Equalists that remained went back underground. With most of the compounds having been compromised or destroyed by vines. Akira was forced out of the dorms and back on to the streets. Mid 172 A.G. (A little over a year later) (17) He got into a disagreement with an Agni Kai street rat named Rokai. The two had been at each other’s throats for years. Their arguments turned physical hundreds of times, but a burning hand on Akira’s throat turned things from harm to kill. A patrol officer happened to walk by the alley and found an unconscious Rokai being beaten bloody with Akira showing no signs of stopping.

Mid 172 - Early 174 A.G. (17-19) He lost 2 years of his life to prison and was released a few months before Kuvira’s invasion. He’d gotten out early from a mix of good behavior and overpopulation after having lost some of the prison to the agitated vines. Mid 174 A.G. Following the breadcrumbs, he returned to the Equalists. The group had gone back underground and had begun to regroup. An undercover mission into Agni Kai territory, a familiar face, and an ambush almost cost Akira his life. They’d caught him off guard. A wave of fire crashed towards him, burning his sleeves and singeing his cheek. He’d hopped up but a few perfectly placed fireballs led Akira right to the spot they wanted him. He hadn’t heard the goon moving around on the fire escape until it was too late. Turning towards the sound only got him two feet to the chest. He couldn’t breathe, but he tried to drive his fingers into the closest pressure point he could find, tried to throw a stream of water from a nearby puddle. All it earned him was a kick to the jaw and a low chuckle. Strong hands gripped his arm, “Now that was stupid, kid. How do you want it broken?” then a twist and a snap, splintering the bone in his left arm. Everything after that was a hazy, pained blur. The next thing Akira remembers was waking up in the med bay with Nemira and Enlai speaking over him. After that was a mess of waiting and paperwork, and no missions, while they tried to get Akira’s arm back in a working state. He’d been stuck assisting Nemira with cleanup when the rumors of an attack by the Earth Empire started swarming. Remaining supplies were moved onto remaining trains and taken to one of the storage buildings in the mountains, before Kuvira’s Giant Mech showed up on their doorstep.

Kuvira’s invasion has left him without his found family and no idea where they are or if they’re okay. He’s feeling the pain of being alone all over again as well as the stress of keeping himself alive in this new Republic City. He still holds some fear and disdain in his heart for benders but the current ways of the equalists are concerning. Amon had a vision, after him was rebuilding. These were angry fire ant-roaches scattering and looking for something to take their anger out on.

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Scars

• Hands are littered with small cuts. His main weapons are curved knives, years of training with them have left his hands scarred.

• Hand-shaped burn on his throat. Palm area is the worst of it and fades out into the fingers. Caused by Rokai. Covered by Equalist Scarf, or bandages.

• Outer forearms covered in burns. His left arm is worse than the right. Goes down his arm and over his fingers. Caused by Agni Kai Triads. Wears a glove on his left hand and sometimes wraps his arms.