[ Her shriek cuts into the darkness before she goes lax. Warily, Hei circles her. She was damn persist a moment ago. Is she playing dead now? Or is it something else entirely? ]
[ Doesn't matter. Non-necessary input is being ignored, filtered out to focus on the Now. In the space of a heartbeat, he's crossed over to Korra, binding her wrists tight behind her back with the spool of wire. He keeps part of his weight on her, knee braced on her back, pinning her flat on her stomach. Both eyes on her, cold and calculating. ]
[Korra lets him tie her up without even a token struggle. She isn't paying attention to him.
She had seen Aang.
It's been months since her last contact with her past life -- not since he revealed the truth about Amon to her. When Amon blocked her bending, she felt certain that he had blocked her contact with Aang as well. No matter how much she meditated, she could never reach him. And after she died, she didn't know what to think. Did the avatar cycle move on in her world? Had the cycle been broken entirely?
But he's here now. Why? Why now? Why not when she died?]
[ Terse and impatient. One-armed, he reaches out. Pats her face none-too-gently with the back of his hand. There's a blankness in her gaze he associates with Dolls. Did he end up frying all her neurons? ]
Wake up. Don't get catatonic on me.
[ How ironic it'd be. All that trouble trying to erase her mind -- only to succeed accidentally. ]
Understand: I can't take your word for it. [ He's never taken anyone's word for it. Only Amber's -- and she'd turned on him snake. ] I expect a guarantee.
[ Barely a few minutes into the talk, and he's already found her boiling-point. Her friends. He tucks the detail away, keeping her firmly pinned down. ]
I won't. Unless you give me a reason to.
[ The threat -- underplayed -- is still crystal-clear. ]
Good. [ Not that he believes her -- he never believes anyone. But he has choice knowledge at his disposal. He'll continue monitoring these kids. Info and the element of surprise can be deadly tools in the right hands. And Hei is nothing if not skilled at what he does. ] If you do, I guarantee I'll know. You won't like what happens then.
[Hei, she hasn't liked anything that's happened since meeting you. Even the memory of her perfectly pleasant afternoon with Li now makes her nauseous with revulsion.]
If you do anything to hurt them --
[She lacks the words to describe the number and level of ways she will make his life complete and total suffering. That he's a better fighter doesn't matter. She can train and get better. She would do whatever it takes.]
[ Hasn't liked anything since their meeting? Unsurprising. Back home, his aliases -- Hei, BK201, The Black Reaper -- bred vendettas, terror and mistrust in their wake. Why should it be different here? He's long since accepted that he's cursed. That anyone he comes into contact with is ultimately smeared with the same filth as him. It's why he'd tried to keep Korra at an arm's length. ]
[ Now she's in over her head. And must be dealt with. ]
You'll make it so I won't have to. Won't you?
[ Hard-edged, dead-eyed, his expression says it all. She has something to lose. He doesn't. That stacks the odds in his favor. He knows what'll hurt her most. ]
[ He'll see to it that she says nothing at all. His right hand lifts. Palm pressing to the back of her head. Better to render her unconscious, than risk the possibility of her coming after him. ]
[It may go without saying, but that doesn't mean Korra will forget.
Her limbs have had some time to recover while they've talked. It's not much, but when his weight shifts, she kicks up her legs. Most airbending is done with the hands, but there are many firebending techniques that utilize the feet, and she quickly adapts one of them to hurl a blast of air at him. If it succeeds at upsetting his balance, she plans to roll onto her feet and get out of his immediate reach. She's not going to try and attack him -- she's not dumb -- but this encounter will end on her terms, even if it kills her.
[ Pinning her in the dark, hyperware, Hei feels her kick out. The air-blast takes him by surprise. He chooses to avoid being hit, throwing himself to one side, avoiding the whoosh of wind. But he doesn't stop. Because if there's one thing Korra needs to learn, it's when to accept a deadlock. Even before she's moved to rise, he strikes out, lightning-fast and without holding back. One hand shoots out to grab her throat, slamming her down before she can get up, legs twisting to trap hers. ]
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[ Doesn't matter. Non-necessary input is being ignored, filtered out to focus on the Now. In the space of a heartbeat, he's crossed over to Korra, binding her wrists tight behind her back with the spool of wire. He keeps part of his weight on her, knee braced on her back, pinning her flat on her stomach. Both eyes on her, cold and calculating. ]
No sudden moves.
I'll let you up once we're finished.
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She had seen Aang.
It's been months since her last contact with her past life -- not since he revealed the truth about Amon to her. When Amon blocked her bending, she felt certain that he had blocked her contact with Aang as well. No matter how much she meditated, she could never reach him. And after she died, she didn't know what to think. Did the avatar cycle move on in her world? Had the cycle been broken entirely?
But he's here now. Why? Why now? Why not when she died?]
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[ Terse and impatient. One-armed, he reaches out. Pats her face none-too-gently with the back of his hand. There's a blankness in her gaze he associates with Dolls. Did he end up frying all her neurons? ]
Wake up. Don't get catatonic on me.
[ How ironic it'd be. All that trouble trying to erase her mind -- only to succeed accidentally. ]
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What are you doing here?!
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I'm here to talk.
Our last discussion [ such as it was ] yielded no results.
[ And that's what he's after. The guarantee of total and complete silence. ]
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[ Something tangible. Something concrete. ]
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[You make no sense to her, Hei, and her simple worldview.]
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[ The less sense he makes, the better. His world-view is a cold and interoperable sort. Nothing normal. ]
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I won't let you touch them!
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I won't. Unless you give me a reason to.
[ The threat -- underplayed -- is still crystal-clear. ]
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If you do anything to hurt them --
[She lacks the words to describe the number and level of ways she will make his life complete and total suffering. That he's a better fighter doesn't matter. She can train and get better. She would do whatever it takes.]
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[ Now she's in over her head. And must be dealt with. ]
You'll make it so I won't have to. Won't you?
[ Hard-edged, dead-eyed, his expression says it all. She has something to lose. He doesn't. That stacks the odds in his favor. He knows what'll hurt her most. ]
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I won't say it again.
[You know the answer, damn you.]
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[ He'll see to it that she says nothing at all. His right hand lifts. Palm pressing to the back of her head. Better to render her unconscious, than risk the possibility of her coming after him. ]
This meeting never happened.
[ It should go without saying. ]
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Her limbs have had some time to recover while they've talked. It's not much, but when his weight shifts, she kicks up her legs. Most airbending is done with the hands, but there are many firebending techniques that utilize the feet, and she quickly adapts one of them to hurl a blast of air at him. If it succeeds at upsetting his balance, she plans to roll onto her feet and get out of his immediate reach. She's not going to try and attack him -- she's not dumb -- but this encounter will end on her terms, even if it kills her.
Again.]
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[ An anaconda's stranglehold. ]