As Bolin led the way, I worked on my first spell, Lust Touch. By forming the spell and dissipating it, I gradually improved. With enough practice forming, it would come instantly. Once that happened, I would be ready for tier 2 spells and combining tier 1 spells. Linking multiple complimentary spells together can jump tiers in power, but I was getting ahead of myself.

"So, are you benders?" Bolin asked.

"I am; he's not. So are you going to rant about how we shouldn't be together because we're different?" Korra asked.

"No, of course not; what do you think? I am an equalist. What do you bend?"

"Water, fire, and earth, but I'm working on air," Korra said.

I managed 3 cycles already falling for the same mistakes. Cracks appeared over the spell, threatening to shatter the piece. Hopefully, I fixed it with a few weeks of hard practice. While it was a tier 1, it was the easiest tier 1 I had. Even Fireball had 6 parts compared to the 3 parts plus 1 seed Lust Touch spell.

I patted Korra on the shoulder without a second thought and unleashed the spell. "You're going to master air in no time. Tenzin didn't want me to say it, but those fans should have taken you weeks to get through." I said. 

Korra grinned. "I am pretty great."

I picked her up and hugged her. "And so modest too."

Bolin turned away with a sour expression. "You're the avatar."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. "What was that?"

Icy fingers gripped my spine as my stomach fell out. Korra fell out of my arms as the buzzing went off for a second time. Of all the cataclysmic events that could happen, why did it have to be my fault? A switch flipped, and suddenly, I wasn't on vacation anymore, enjoying a long game of courting Korra with feel-good spells. The buzz would only happen if a friend of mine sent me a message. Due to timeline differences, a message shouldn't be received until I made a dimensional jump. This could only happen if someone in the guild tracked me and chose to message me. Or it's possible they sent me a message earlier and chose to come here to a world I vacationed in. From my understanding, that couldn't happen.

My hand shook as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. "Something that shouldn't happen here." Korra straightened up and pushed her cheek against mine as I pulled my phone out.

Message From King

"I can't read any of that. So what does it say?"

"It's a message from a friend. But he shouldn't be close enough to send me a message."

"I think you're lying to sound cool. But, listen, I get it. I'm a pro bender, and you're a non-bender dating the avatar. But you don't have to lie to impress her or make yourself out to be a big shot. There is no way that thing can receive messages; it's too small and looks like a piece of paper with a light bulb behind it." Bolin said.

"Is he from the spirit realm?"

"No multiple realms of infinity further away than that. I should only receive messages from King if he's in this realm. There is also something you should know about him."

"What is he also crazy strong with future technology?" Korra asked.

"Sort of, and if that was it, I wouldn't make a big deal out of this. You see, some of my friends aren't exactly nice people. While he is a friend of mine, he sees normal people as balls of unseasoned chicken."

Korra opened her mouth and closed it. "Come again," Korra said. "You make it sound like you're friend is a cannibal."

I nodded. "He is a blood cultivator. So I will ask him politely not to destroy Republic City."

"Yeah, I'm the Avatar; it's my duty to protect the world, not just this city."

"He would either play with you until you're exhausted and turn you into a monster like him or drain you dry for fun, maybe both. Killing the bridge between the spirit and the physical world would be a nice feather in his cap. He might use you as a bridge to get into the spirit world and feed on the spirits." I stopped and read his text. "He injected equalists with a drug designed to turn them into qi hungry monsters. Once they get stronger, he probably planned to feed on them like a vampire to break through his limits." I texted that it was awesome he found a way to put a stake in the heart of his hunger, but I was trying to form a relationship with the avatar.

"What's a vampire?" Bolin asked.

"A blood-drinking monster that passes its curse from human to human through their own blood. Knowing King, the equalists will probably act a lot like them." I said.

Another buzz from my phone alerted me to a new message. "King apologized, but he's already injected multiple agents and gave them the formula. Then he promised to leave the city and that we should meet up in the earth kingdom for tea one night." I replied sure, sounds good. I'll invite you to the wedding if everything works out and my pity party if it doesn't. He replied with good luck.

"So, what do we need to do?" Korra asked.

"Nothing, let's continue our date. Bolin was going to show off his pro-bending gym, and afterward, we were going to get some food. King's drugs kill most people in a few hours. If we're lucky, they will all be dead by dawn."

"Can I come? I know a great place?" Bolin asked.

"If you can find a date, sure," Korra said and looked at me. "Compromises, right? You need to tell me more about your past."

"This wasn't a possibility I considered. When we get back, we should tell Tenzin; he'll most likely demand you stay on the island." Korra gave me a sour look. "It's a good idea the equalists will attack his family. They're the grandchildren of your past life. We need to wait and watch what they do first; also, I can't sense them. After a week of being enhanced, human eyes can't track them when they move; in the dark, they're invisible. If you look directly at them, your eyes will slide off or lose focus."

"You know what, this is, dumb; I don't want either of you to come back with me now," Bolin said.

"Well, fine, I didn't want to go back there anyway," Korra yelled.

We heard the distressed voice of the announcer over the intercoms. "Ladies and gentlemen, a crazy red-eyed equalist is trying to get into the announcer's booth. The ushers try to hold the man down, but he just flung one off him like a toy. Oh my gosh, that man is dead. The equalist is biting the neck of my other guard; it's the most horrific thing I've ever seen. He just punched through the glass. Someone, please save me; this man must be possessed. Oh god, he's in." Bolin started laughing.

"Alright, that was funny; how did you get the announcer in on this. Oh, is this an introduction to a storyline in pro-bending? Will it be used against these monsters? It sounds like a promotion for a movie. I got to tell Mako."

"The time has finally come. We non-benders have the power now, and it's something we will share with our brothers and sisters. As for you who stood above us and ruled on high, you will feed us."

Screams could be heard even down here as Bolin's cheery face slowly morphed into a look of confusion. "You can't come in here." One of the ushers said before he was silenced.

"Korra, can you earth bend a wall in front of us." She snapped out of her daze and moved the 1ft thick wall popped up blocking the hallway. A fist smashed through the wall, and I grabbed it. This vampire felt soft compared to its older kin. I was used to fighting. I yanked it all the way through the wall and pummeled it. The enhanced equalist didn't have the beehive-like latticework of qi enhanced flesh to tank heavy damage and ease repairs. My initial strikes turned its muscle and bones into paste. I reared back and stomped down hard, turning the equalist's head into mush.

"Please restore the wall and raise a few more to give us extra time. I have a feeling there will be more in front of us." I said and turned to see a shaking Korra.

She looked up at me with the fiery blue eyes I loved, swallowed up by fear. Korra wasn't crying yet, but it was close; she hadn't dealt with anything like this before. The white lotus made sure she was isolated for most of her life. Maybe this was too much for her, but I would leave Korra defenseless if I unleashed my full power and tried to destroy them. Then there was the blood on my hands. I had just killed someone in front of Korra. This might have been the first-time seeing death like this up close. I couldn't expect her to just get over it.

After wiping the blood off my hands on the woman's clothes, I took my white ape robe out of my inventory and wrapped it around her. "Their claws find it difficult to cut through the silver ape's hide. It's the light from the sun. My cloak is full of the stuff, and addicts don't like it. Just wearing it will make them shy away from you."

I turned my head to see Bolin in an earth-bending stance some distance away. A wall formed in front of him in the narrow hallway, and another. Soon, several feet of rock separated us from the underground gym.

"He doesn't listen well," Korra said, regaining some of her inner spirit.

I raised an eyebrow. "You said there were probably more equalists ahead."

"Without a doubt, the walls were to ensure we weren't attacked from behind. So, the only way out now is back the way we came. Are you prepared to see what the vampires did to those people?" Korra shivered. "I didn't think you were." I held out my hand, and she took it. "I'm not going to bother trying to kill them all, and I'll only save whoever is in reach. You are more important to me than the citizens of Republic City." I said.

"Is this my fault?" Korra asked.

"No, it's mine, and I'll bear the responsibility for their deaths. They are all because of me." 

"But I'm the Avatar, so why do you have to deal with it."