Air Temple Island(6)

In a dimly lit room, a wounded man was tied to a chair. The room was a small one-by-one-meter metal box, inside there were two chairs, one for the wounded man and one where a masked person stood holding a gun.

The tied man started to show signs of waking up. Confused he started to ask scared.

"Where am I? Do you know who I am? Release me now!"

He was hit hard across the face with the back of the gun making him shut up. In a deep voice, a person started to speak.

"Tarrlock, son of Yakone, brother of Noatak, representative of the water tribes, and a very rare kind of water benders. You came to Republic City to reinvent yourself, to take control of the city, not like a criminal as your father was, but as a person backed by the law."

"How... How do you know so much about me? Who are you?"

Calmly the hooded man spoke, not too fast but neither too slow. His words made Tarrlok shiver.

"In the darkest day, in the blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. We are Heaven's Gate. I think you've met one of our youngest recruits, he goes by Ethan in the mundane world. He brought to our attention that you've been acting in a way that has violated one of our primordial rules, instigating another world war. We are here to punish you."

"Did that little runt bring enough evidence to convince you? I'm a respected member of a water bender community, I want a trial."

"Unfortunately for you, he did, unfortunately for him, he has been slacking off and because of this, the situation has escalated to this point. Right now he's back at headquarters receiving his punishment."

"May I ask how is he punished?"

"I would be more concerned for my well-being than other people's. He's going to survive, I can't tell the same thing about you. But, since you are so curious, for falling his task he is to be given a thousand cut by the people present at his trial."

Hearing this Tarrlok started to tremble, the way the other person said it made it look like it was a simple slap, not the savage punishment it was in reality. If this was installed for one of their own, he couldn't begin to imagine the amount of pain he was going to be in soon. He tried to use blood bending but he wasn't able to focus.

"I knew that sooner or later you will try to bend your way out of here, fortunately, we have a drug that inhibits bending for a few hours. Now as much as I want to punish you the elders told me to give you a chance, so I will give you an offer, work with us to save Republic City and you will be spared a fate worst than death."

"Of course! I will do my best in aiding you, sir!"

"You will not aid me, Unlike me, I have a lot of things to do, we are going to send back Ethan since you already know him and he knows the city best. It might take a few days for him to be able to move again in that time I suggest you get your mind straight. The order hates traitors more than anything if till now you might have been given a way to die early if you betray the order it will hunt you down and find you. We have ways to prolong a person's life so believe me when I tell you that we can make you experience an endless living hell."

"Of course! Of course! I promise I will not disappoint!"

The masked man approach Tarrlok and whispered in his ear, pointing the barrel of my gun to his head.

"I was never here, we never had this conversation, if someone asks you what happened you tell them any lie you want, but remember, we are always watching. Now close your eyes and repeat there times our creed."

Before Tarlock even finished his first recital a guard hit on his door to make him shut up, telling him that there was no one with him in the cell. This prompted him to look inside the cell. He didn't find the man, but instead of becoming calmer, he became more afraid, cold sweat running down his back.

In another room inside the precincts, the masked man pulled his mask down, revealing it to the people standing gathered at the table in front.

"It has been done."

"Well done, Ethan! I knew you could pull it off, I didn't know you were such an actor! You played your part to perfection!"

"Thanks, guys!"

Yes, it has been me the whole time, impersonating a guy from the start, there was no Heaven's Gate, no council, no punishment, it was all a setup.

I convinced captain Beifong to let me talk with the prisoner first and scare the shit out of him. At first, she was reluctant since he was a blood bender and didn't need a full moon either to bend. When I told her that I had a drug that could make a bender lose its ability to bend for about an hour she finally let me do it.

I told her my plan and I have never seen her laugh as hard as she did this time. I have to admit the plan was amazing but to cause such a reaction, well it made me rather proud. Also, I manage to show some of my pop cultures in this world, even though no one got the reference it made me feel that I didn't lose hundreds of hours reading comics.