On the flip side, I am stupid happy with this chapter. Needs hella revising, but it was such a beautiful breeze to write.

Korra shook her head, trying to shake off the feeling of wrong. Taking out her distinctive hairpieces and letting her hair down had seemed like a good way to blend in with the crowd, but somehow it left her feeling naked.

"There's still time for you to back out," Mako said quietly. "You can go with Asami to the police station."

"No way," she snapped. "I'm not letting you go in alone."

"You do realize I'm more likely to be recognized as a firebender with you around." His tone was matter-of-fact. "There's only so much we can cover up."

Korra frowned and tugged Bolin's threadbare jacket over her hands. He was right, of course; Republic City's Water Tribe population was dismally small. The Southern Water Tribe didn't have enough people left to emigrate other places, and the Northern Water Tribe remained largely isolationist. Her dark skin and bright blue eyes made her stand out.

"Your face is better known than mine," she retorted. "And if something goes wrong, you're gonna want backup. Face it, I've got more combat experience."

She had him there. She could kick his ass even without her Avatar powers. Annoyed, Mako sighed his concession.

"Let me do the talking," he grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the brains; I'm the brawn." She rolled her eyes. "Get moving, Mr. Brainiac."

Mako reached into his jacket, and Korra caught sight of a flash of red -- the scarf he had tucked away as part of his own disguise.

"Let's go," he said.

Korra had to resist the urge to slip into a defensive stance as they approached the obscenely muscled man standing at the front door.

"Welcome, my brother and sister." His voice rumbled, ominous as an earthquake.

"Uh. Thanks…brother." Mako coughed and tugged at his jacket.

Smooth, Mako! Korra thought, shooting him a glare. Mr. "Let-Me-Do-The-Talking." He elbowed her as though he could hear her thoughts.

"We've come to hear the Revelation," he continued more smoothly.

"Only those who have seen the signs can hear the word," the guard said.

"The signs." Mako spoke slowly, drawling for time. "Yes! We have seen the signs."

The guard waited expectantly; evidently that was not enough. There was a long stretch of silence as Mako clearly struggled to figure out what the guard meant. Korra was just about ready to beat the man unconscious and bust their way in when Mako reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the fliers.

"These signs," he said, only the smallest hint of a question mark in his voice.

It's not going to be enough. The guard took the fliers, but his gaze remained on the two of them, reminding Korra of a wolf getting ready to attack.

But the expected attack didn't come. The man stepped aside. "Welcome to the revolution," though there was nothing particularly welcoming in his voice.

"Thanks!" Mako said. "Uh, yay revolution!" He quickly tugged Korra inside.

"Yay revolution?" Korra hissed when they were safely out of earshot.

"You try being the one talking!" the firebender snapped.

"You're the one who told me to let you do the talking."

He elbowed her to be silent, but it wasn't for lack of retort.

The room was massive -- as large as the entire auditorium in the Arena. More impressive still was the crowd; they were packed so tightly together, it was almost impossible to breathe. Korra hadn't thought there were this many people in Republic City, much less that they could all fit in one place.

"How are we going to find him?" she asked.

Mako pitched his voice almost too low to hear. "If he's been brought here for this "Revelation," then at some point they're going to bring him onto that stage." He jerked his head towards the other side of the room, almost too distant to see.

"What if it's too late?"

Mako's lips tightened. "It's not going to be too late."

"You're right." Still, Korra couldn't help imagining the horrific possibilities. "So we wait for them to bring him out onstage and then bust him out?"

Mako shook his head. "We're gonna need a distraction. Otherwise we're just going to be mobbed before we can get him out."

"What kind of distraction are we talking about?" Korra asked.

The lights suddenly dimmed, and fog rolled onto the stage.

"That kind," Mako murmured. "See if you can find the source. If we can get it to cover the crowd, we'll be able to sneak on stage and grab Bolin."

"How am I supposed to know what the source is?" Korra asked.

"Just figure it out."

Korra felt like she was being shoved aside, but another look at Mako's face and she decided not to push the issue. Bolin was his brother, after all; of course Mako felt like he had to be the one to rescue him.

"Fine."

They parted ways. Mako inched his way closer to the stage while Korra tried to head for the wings while still looking completely engrossed.

Actually, looking engrossed wasn't the hard part; remembering to move was.

A hooded figure emerged from the fog on stage -- Amon. It was the first time she had actually seen him. The propaganda posters with his face on them had looked cartoonish, almost silly, but in person he had an almost other-worldly eeriness.

"Brothers and sisters, you know why we are here." His voice was gravely and yet rich as cream. "You do not need me to tell you that the world is deeply out of balance.

"I grew up on a farm, not far outside the walls of our "fair" city. We were small and poor, and none of us were benders. We did not have a waterbender to irrigate our crops, or an earthbender to till the soil. We did not have any protection from the firebender who extorted my father. He bled my father dry. It came to the point where he had to choose between paying off this villain or putting food in his family's starving bellies.

"You know the choice my father made. It is a choice that many of you have made yourselves, in circumstances little different than mine. My father confronted him.

"That firebender killed him. And when my mother rushed to protect me, he killed her as well. I thought that he would kill me too. Instead, he burned my face, so that all who looked upon me would know the cost of defiance."

Korra felt her stomach roll uneasily. She remembered burns she had gotten when she was younger, before she had mastered fire. They had been minor, not nearly bad enough to scar, and she had quickly been cared for by the greatest healer in the world, but she could still remember how badly they had hurt.

She turned and finally made her way to the off-stage door. She didn't want to hear anymore; she just wanted to rescue Bolin and get out.

"The Avatar would tell you that bending brings balance to the world." The sound of her title stopped her. "But she is wrong. Bending has been the cause of every war in every era."

Not true! Korra wanted to shout. Benders caused those wars, because benders are people and people start wars! She tugged her hat further down her face. The murmur of agreement through the crowd was rather threatening; besides, she was here to save Bolin.

"All that is about to change. Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world, and they have spoken to me. They say the Avatar has failed humanity, and they have granted me a power that will make equality a reality. The power to take a person's bending away permanently."

A gasp rippled through the crowd, but Korra simply couldn't breathe. That's impossible. Only a fully realized Avatar can do that! Amon had to be a lunatic to think he could.

Yet there was nothing insane in the masked figure's calm, collected manner. He stepped aside and gestured off stage. "A demonstration. Allow me to present Lightning Bolt Zolt, leader of the Triple Threat Triad."

The crowd stirred with fear and disgust, a few braver souls shouting out recriminations. Chi blockers escorted out a line of men, the first of whom Korra assumed was Zolt but it was the last person Korra cared about.

Bolin. He walked with a faint limp, obviously favoring injuries sustained in a fight, but you would only notice if you knew him as well as she did. It seemed to Korra that they had gone out of their way to make sure all he looked like he was in fit condition -- no honor in roughing up a 16 year old boy.

"Over the years, Zolt has amassed a fortune by extorting and abusing non-benders. Today, his reign of terror comes to an end."

The crowd murmured nervous approval. There seemed to be a smile in Amon's voice as he continued. "Now, in the interest of fairness, I will allow Zolt to fight to keep his bending."

A chi blocker untied the gangster. "BIG MISTAKE, BUDDY!" the man shouted. He fired off a blast of his trademark lightning.

Amon neatly dodged it and walked closer. Blast after blast, none even coming close to singeing his hood. Zolt aimed a blast right at his heart, but at that point it was too late. Amon grabbed his arm and twisted it upwards, forcing Zolt to the ground as the lightning struck the ceiling. With his free hand, the Equalist leader placed a thumb on Zolt's forehead.

The lightning became fire. The fire became nothing. Groaning, Zolt collapsed to the ground.

The entire audience was still. Zolt pushed himself back up and tried to fire another blast, but nothing came out.

"Your firebending is gone forever," Amon told him. "You will never be able to hurt anyone again." He turned to face the crowd. "The era of bending is over. A new era of equality has begun!"

Korra felt suffocated in the roar of the crowd's approval. How could they be so happy? Sure, Zolt was a terrible guy and needed to be stopped, but… Even from this distance, Korra could see the pain on the gangster's face. Bending wasn't just power. It was as much a part of you as your arms or legs or lungs. Her heart ached for him a little.

Remember why you're here. The crowd had started chanting Amon's name, and another one of the benders was being untied. Amon wanted to give his mob a show; she had to create that distraction before Bolin could become a part of it.

She slipped into the wings, and found it easier to breathe away from the crowd. Fog machine. If I were water for a fog machine, where would I be?

[ Insert fight scene here ]

She flipped the man over and knocked him unconscious. Her satisfaction was cut short by an agonized scream.

Mako.

She peered onstage just in time to see Bolin fall to the ground at Amon's feet, Mako struggling against the grip of two chi blockers.

"Even the Fabulous Bending Brothers aren't innocent," Amon announced to the crowd. "They worked for Zolt. They have never done an honest day's work in their entire lives." It was a lie that the crowd ate up.

Korra didn't have time to feel angry or sick or sad. She had to get Mako and Bolin out of here before Amon could do anything more.

Instead of creating a fog, she used the water in the machine to trap the chi blockers in ice. Mako finally managed to break free and ran to grab his brother while Amon turned to face Korra. She called up flames to her hands, ready to fight so Bolin and Mako could run out.

"This isn't equality, Amon!" she shouted, trying to pitch her voice so the entire auditorium could hear. "You can't make everybody equal by making them the same! You're not fixing anything!"

She shook a little. She wasn't afraid of him, no. She could take him in a fight. She was the Avatar. But a one on one fight was different than a battle in front of a hostile crowd.

"What would you know of equality, young Avatar?" He made no move to attack; in fact, he gestured for new guards who had just run forward to stop. "You live in sheltered isolation. Everything you want has been handed to you on a silver platter."

The crowd roared its approval, and Korra finally viscerally realized just how deeply many people hated her.

"I know that this isn't the answer!" she countered, knowing it was weak.

"You don't want it to be the answer." He turned to the crowd. "The Avatar cares more about protecting her precious benders than the people of Republic City."

"That's not true!" Korra shouted. It was a losing fight.

"Korra, come on!" Mako shouted from backstage. Snarling, Korra threw a large fireball at Amon -- more to cover her exit than from any hope of hitting him -- and ran to help Mako carry Bolin. She tore a hole in the stone wall to get them outside and whistled loudly for Naga.

"Can you bend?" she asked Mako as the polar bear dog barreled toward them.

"In a few minutes," Mako said.

"Keep an eye out for pursuit," Korra said, practically throwing Bolin onto Naga's back before jumping up. She yanked Mako up after her. "Naga, go!"

Naga ran, but nobody followed. Somehow, Korra did not find this a relief.