A New Avatar Arrives

[Alex Mercer]

The white of the world was blinding. It was so bright he almost thought he had stepped into the sun! Rubbing his eyes, Aang focused his thoughts. What just happened? Well, for starters... this was not where he fell asleep last night. Aang realized immediately he had been transported to some new location, and from what that ominous figure said an entirely new world.

After his eyes adjust, he takes a long look around. Strange, how things looked so blank. The long stretch of white floor, the infinite white of the sky - or maybe even roof - and the way that the horizon seemed almost seamless. To be frank, Aang was in awe. Whoever built this place was either a madman or a genius.

He could not help the chuckle that escaped. The combination of madman and genius immediately brought up thoughts of Bumi. The old coot would definitely build something like this. Sadly, these floors were probably not made of Jennamite. Aang had to resist the urge to lick the floor and test the faint suspicion.

A sigh escapes the Avatar. A whole new world had been set at his fingertips. What should he do with it? It was the Nomad in him that spoke the loudest. Exploration... A grin split his features as he imagined what creatures he could ride here, or the strange cultures he could experience. Just as quick as the wanderlust struck, so too did a wave of remorse. Immediately he thought of his family.

Inner conflict boiled. Aang was alone here. Team Avatar may have parted ways so that everyone could follow their own paths and tend to their new responsibilities, but they never stopped being a family. Aang would make a point to visit Toph's metal bending academy, and Sokka never missed a chance to stop by and catch up. Katara... well... they had their little lover's quarrels, but they were never apart. And then there was Zuko; the busiest of them all. Poor guy.

Then again, maybe this was for the best. This world could be dangerous - or maybe only he could enter it; like the Spirit world. The thought had Aang looking around with a renewed curiosity. Why was he chosen? What did this Omni want? Was he some sort of powerful spirit?

Regardless. Aang rationalized this new world was worth exploring. Maybe he could find a way back, or maybe he they had appeared elsewhere. For all he knew, the whole gang could have poofed in to the same greeting. The only thing he knew is that they were not HERE.

There was no sense standing still. Aang moves on only physically. He drags the past with him through memories and a heavy heart. A few steps in, he stopped. His eyes darted around for a moment. "I have nooo idea where I'm going..."

[Alex Mercer]

The Avatar continued to look around, as if hoping to see something new with each pass of his eyes. Nothing appeared... it was just an empty expanse of nothing. The Avatar in him told him to be patient, but that was never his biggest virtue. Nope; he picked a direction and aimed that way.

He took a few swift steps, his arms circling through the air in broad arcs. With a fluid sweep, his hands move together to form a rapidly swirling ball of air. Aang underhand pitches it a few paces ahead, then leaps atop of it as it expands into a fairly large sized Air Scooter. With a quick loop to test his balance, he was off - speeding across the blank landscape at high speed.

It was not long before he saw something appear upon the horizon. Through squinting eyes he found the specks to be human! "Hello!" His first instinct was to call out and greet him. It would seem their first instinct was to stop and stare. Aang did not blame them. The Air Scooter was almost the size of a hippo-cow and Aang was standing atop it like a common surf board. 

"Don't be afraid!" He stops just over five meters from the group. With a small jump, the transport vanished into a slight breeze and he drifts lightly back to the ground. "I'm friendly! My name's Aang, I'm new here and kinda lost... Could you help me?" 

The group of people in front of Aang looked a bit strange. They wore no colors denoting their nation, but more over they had strange armor and odd weapons. Amongst the group, Aang counted two women and four men, all wearing matching uniforms and carrying similar weaponry. One of the women was looking him over quite thoroughly, like Katara sometimes does...

After the shock passed, one of the men steps forward. "Are you a Prime?"

"A what?"

"That's a yes," said the brunet same woman that had looked the Avatar over so thoroughly. "I mean, it's pretty obvious."

"Could be a hermit, or something, I mean look at his clothes." The other woman chimed. She was dark skinned and tall, with thick curly black hair. She was as pretty as she was intimidating. Her hands were on her hip, and instead of the regular black metal weapons the others held, she carried what looked like  a short metal rod.

The Avatar reeled for a moment. "Hermit? These are traditional Airbender robes... I mean, some Airbenders were hermits, but mostly we were monks that lived in the mountains. Well, there was one temple in a gorge." Noticing the deadpan look of the tall, dark woman, he silenced his ramblings. "But you're right, I'm not sure what a Prime is. I just kinda woke up next to that fountain back there. Some guy calling himself Omni brought me here."

"Sweetie," the brunet cuts in, before the less gentle voiced group has their say, "that's exactly how Primes come here. Because you popped up there, you ARE a Prime. It's really that simple." That... kind of made sense. "We're actually looking for Primes, if you'd like to come with us?"

Why would they be looking for Primes? "I'm still not following... Are you guys Primes? I mean... I'm still the Avatar, right?"

The first man to speak does so again. "Look. Primes are immortals in this world. You are still who you were where you came from, for the most part. Some say they feel weaker when coming here, others say they feel stronger. Most usually become stronger than they were in their previous life. Sadly, they cannot RETURN to their previous life. You are here now. Forever." That last bit sounded a bit smug...

"What Egon means to say," a shorter, slightly rotund man chimed in here, "is that we are not Primes. You are something special, and we are looking for special people to bring back to our superiors. We have food, drink and a warm bed open for you, of course."

Food sounded great right about now. Food always sounded great. Aang blamed that on spending too much time with Sokka. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to someone... What exactly does your superior want?"

[Larfleeze]

Chakravartin paused in his walk West, toward the most pleasant-looking of the gates, when he set his eyes upon- humans? 

His eyes narrowed, what was the likelihood, of all the species of the universe, that so many humans would be chosen the same way he was?

He supposed that there wasn't much for it. He needed more information after all, "Greetings!" he called to them from a distance, so as to not startle them. In his old life he would descend, surrounded by golden clouds- really make an impression, but neither flight nor clouds were forthcoming. If he really focused, he felt like he might be able to perhaps make the cloud, but doing so made his Omnilium supply feel... smaller, or ready to become smaller. 

Omni had said that Omnilium was key to attaining his desires. He wasn't ready to part with it yet. 

So he supposed a simple hello would have to do. 

"What are the chances?" he asked the group as whole, "Thousands of species and warriors from around the universe, and yet so many humans have been chosen by Omni." he didn't recognize any of them from the gathering of Earth's strongest warriors he had dueled on the planet. "Do any of you happen to recognize me?"

His Chi-Sense was, like his flight, nearly unresponsive. Trying to activate it felt very dangerous to his Omnilium supply, so he left it as it was. As such, he had no way to judge the group before him. None seemed too dangerous, but he didn't recognize many of the weapons, and the armor was a giveaway that they were ready for a fight. The tattooed man the group had been looking at was without the armor, and unarmed, but Chakravartin knew that if anything, it implied he was the strongest of the group.

In his weakened state, it might not be the best idea to attack. 

"My name is Chakravartin." Now, what did humans find friendly? Chakravartin extended his hand to the tattooed man, "Might I ask your own titles?"

[Alex Mercer]

While the rest of the group turned quickly towards the new arrival, Aang had seen the approach coming. A greeting and a handshake, this welcome was far more becoming. He was accustomed to a bow, but he was familiar with this gesture. Aang happily grabbed Chakravartin by the wrist, a handshake Toph had taught him, and responded in kind. "I'm Aang. I'm the Avatar." It had not quite sank in that they may not know what that means.

He gestures with his free hands to the rest of the group. "These nice people were just helping me get my head right! If it's not obvious, I just arrived not too long ago." He thought he must wreak of newcomer. These gun-toting people seemed to think so.

The tall ebony woman turns, eyeing the newcomer up. "Chakra...vartin..."

"Can I call you Chakra? That sounds much cooler, very sage-like." Aang was quick to try and dissolve the tension. It would seem the group was full of it. The more time he had to think about it, he considered they were unsure of escorting two primes.

Not missing a beat, the other young woman of the group chimed in. "Ohhh, that name is so cute!" The innocence in her voice was what threw Aang for a loop, he could not be suspicious of such kindness.

"Not even a fraction of Primes are human. Humanoid, maybe. Two arms, two legs, a head..." The ebony woman responds. "There are a few that are a bit more alien. And as we were informing our charge here, not all of us are Primes like you."

[Larfleeze]

Chakra?

He smiled, "I can answer to Chakra. I've also only just arrived to this place. Aang, could you tell me what Entity you are the Avatar of?" he asked, clasping his own hand around the wrist of the taller man. He could deal with Avatars. After all, the body that he was possessing was his own avatar. The Saru was a race of avatars. 

It wouldn't make Aang his equal, by any means, but it meant that he was a step above the rest. Someone who might make a good contact. He looked to the rest of them, so they were humans, but only some of the beings here are. 

He enjoyed the title 'Prime'. It was a suitable title for a god.

[Alex Mercer]

That put a hankering in Aang's groove. He had never been asked that question before, and to be honest he had no answer. "What... am I the Avatar of..." In all his years as the Avatar, he had never thought much about what that really meant. Well, the role, yes... but why was he called the "Avatar."

"Woah... I think I'm about to have an existential crisis..." After the handshake is released, he rubs a hand along his head, rubbing the tattooed scalp in thought. "I don't really know. I was born as the Avatar... I sort of reincarnate into different lives... I never really thought about what started it."

The escorting party stopped, most of them to listen, but the dark skinned beauty looked more annoyed than anything. "You can figure it out later," she interjected without hesitation.

Aang's hand drops. "I'm not in any rush... Maybe we could just... take a rest?" He was stalling for time. Maybe he could meditate and speak to the First Avatar. He had never gone back so far though... Maybe twenty deep, max, but never to the First. Returning his focus to Chakra, he responded with a bit more of what he knew. "The Avatar is the bridge between Humans and the Spirit world... Where normal Benders are attuned to only one element, I bend all four, and have some... spiritual abilities as well." He did not mention the power to remove bending... that might upset a few people present.

[Larfleeze]

Hm. Unfortunate.

Chakravartin supposed that not all those who went through the Cycle of reincarnation went through the process of obtaining the True Fist, and meeting the personification of their power. But with someone with the title of 'Avatar' one would think exactly that.

Then again, humans didn't reincarnate, not like Saru. For all he knew, it could be something entirely different, unfortunate, but he hadn't exactly been seeking out others like himself either. When he had some time and power to spare, he could just simply create some.

Though this 'bridge between humans and the spirit world' was intriguing. He'd have to wait and see. "Four elements? On my world, we had the five classical elements of water, steel, earth, wood, and fire, though I suppose it was more a cultural notion?" Chakravartin asked Aang, "I am also unfamiliar with the term 'bending'." after asking that, he looked to the woman, "And what's the hurry on your end? Is there some kind of time limit involved with this void?"

[Alex Mercer]

The Avatar's explanation was a swift one. With a sweeping movement he channels  a strong air current around his body, then down his arms and into a highly condensed ball of what is essentially pressurized air. Even the human eye could see the sphere. "This is airbending!" There. Simple enough. "Bending is the ability to just... bend an element... Earthbenders bend Metal, and Waterbenders can bend plants by controlling the water in them."

At the mention of Earthbending his mind went to Toph. Waterbending brought Katara along with it. For a moment, Aang looked almost distraught.

Before the Airbender could ramble any more, his funk was snapped away by the dark skinned woman. "I would just suggest we keep moving... No stops till dark."

"Yea, our boss doesn't like to be kept waiting!" The brunet chimes. Almost immediately, the rest of the group gives her a harsh glare. "Um... Because he has a lot of official things to do...?" Innocent words never sounded any less sure in his life. Aang instinctively takes a few steps away. "Aww, don't do that!"

The ebony woman reaches for that metal stick at her hip. In the blink of an eye and a very odd sound, a light burst from it. The light was like a solid stick of lightning caught at the end of the metal rod. A sword of fire? He had the same idea for an airbending sword once!

"Come on, let's not let's not fight! I'd really prefer a peaceful roundup, alright?" One of the previously silent men chimes. He was lighting up a cigarette with a zippo, stepping back as well. His free hand falls to the grip on his rifle.

The portly man was equally battle ready. The other two men, brothers it looked like, were side by side, almost mirror images with guns. The small brunet woman looked unsure, but the ebony amazonian style woman seemed poised to strike.

"Feels like I'm sixteen again..." Always getting into trouble, it would seem. So naive was the Airbender, trying to see the good in everything.

[Larfleeze]

Chakravartin frowned at the group, beam swords, really? He could remember only a few races still relying on something so paltry. A quick burst of Chi would send them all flying-

And he didn't have that ability either.

Annoying.

Fist of God, Palace Hands! Chakravartin thought, expecting a gold wave of metal to form from his Chi, taking on the form of a hand the size of a house, but to his shock, only a single hand- no bigger than his own, began to bud from his body.

This... was a problem. A very big problem. These mortals might be able to actually hurt him! Perhaps diplomacy was in order? "Now, there's no need for this level of violence." he said. It was against his nature- he enjoyed watching mortals throw themselves at each other very much, but weighing the consequences of his own death, versus defusing the situation, he decided he could allow it. Small sacrifices for big rewards.

He had only been in the Omniverse for a short while, the immortality Omni promised was conditional based on how 'interesting' he was. If he died right out of the gate, perhaps the god might consider Chakravartin a misjudgement.

"Perhaps you could explain why we're suddenly arming ourselves? Or why the 'boss' doesn't like waiting? Or, for that matter, what kind of time limit you're working with here?" he eyed Aang, the young man didn't seem worried, but if he was also a Prime- he might not have all the strength he remembered either. He couldn't be sure his fellow Prime, and fellow Avatar, would be able to fight at full strength. "I don't think anyone here wants a fight?"

The second golden hand formed, but he left them where they were, before starting on a third, stalling for time. The Palace Hands he was creating seemed to be made from his own body, rather than biomass created from nothing. Truly, unfortunate.

[Alex Mercer]

Chakra's sudden acquisition of new hands did not go unnoticed. He may notice now that the ebony woman was definitely not patient, nor was she the hesitant to deal out some damage. Her response to his attempt at diplomacy is to swing that "beam-sword" his way. It would seem, however, Chakravartin had chosen wisely when greeting Aang so pleasantly.

In response to the attack, Aang pushes the gathered and compressed air pressure towards the Avatar of another universe. At first it seemed to be mutany, but it curved, finding home instead on the ebony woman's upper abdomen. She was knocked back, slamming into the portly man and bringing them both to the ground.

Aang was already gathering a follow up. Swift, broad motions channeled air into another arcing current, this time striking one of the brothers - knocking him into the mirror image. In two strikes of nonlethal damage, four combatants were proned.

The brunet stood in the center of the battle, almost whimpering. The last standing man lifted his rifle towards Aang and squeezed the trigger. The Avatar could feel it burn across the side of his head as he just barely dodges the high speed projectile. The sting hit him immediately, breaking his concentration.

"Are all of you Lightning benders?!" Because this definitely did not seem like ordinary Firebending.

[Larfleeze]

"Unfortunate." Chakravartin said, very well. The hands shot out, as he advanced, all four of them now. He tried to make more- but it felt like pressing too hard. The rest of his biomass was either too vital, or there simply existed some kind of limiter. Three of the hands began a fast orbit around himself and Aang, ready to react to another bolt from the gun. Considering Aang's head wasn't irradiated vapors, it wasn't too powerful a weapon, but if a near-miss could cause that hiss of pain, it wasn't ineffective.

The last went for the gun.

Chakravartin gripped the end of the barrel, and yanked it upwards, out of the grip of the surprised man. He had the Palace Hand bring it to him, and he analyzed the weapon. Unfamiliar, but there was a trigger, and he knew which end sprayed death. Anything else was more or less extraneous. "Now then." he looked at the two standing, and aimed the weapon at them. Aang tensed slightly at his implied threat- hm. "Are we going to be more civil? I am told that Primes are immortal. If you aren't Primes, you may be less so? Why don't we begin answering questions?" His fourth Palace Hand joined the circling orbit, ready to defend as best they can.

[Alex Mercer]

So much tension in the air, Aang might as well have been a Tension Bender... The other Prime had the gun and all the secondaries were down, disarmed or... in one case... unwilling to compete.

The brunet dropped her gun, lifting her hands. It would seem her resolve was not strong, her alliance with this group clearly either new or unenforced. She held her hands in the air, making no moves - hardly even breathing - while the gun was aimed at her.

The newly disarmed man was quite annoyed, but even he had stopped. Not a word had been spoken from this man the entire encounter, and it would seem that would remain true. He did not even grunt as Chakravartin pointed his own weapon at him.

The portly man had landed atop the dark haired beauty. He carefully picked himself up and was about to take aim. Before the barrel could move more than a few inches, he had taken note of where the power currently rested.

The twins... well, they had disregarded combat altogether. The victim of the air blast was still reeling, but the other brother was bickering at how clumbsy his twin was, and how heavy.

The only true contestant left was the ebony woman. She stood, headless of the new situation, and lunged for Chakravartin.

Aang's response was swift. He slid in front of his new ally with a fluid dash. The same motion bled into a low sweeping kick. The curve brought another arcing gust that lashed out. It caught the ebony swordswoman's ankle, sweeping her off her feet. Before she could land, Aang was sweeping back up, his right arm rising in an elegant uppercut. Another gust flew forth, catching the woman from beneath and juggling her upwards.

The final strike was a bit more devestating. The Avatar's motion had not stopped. He was an endless flurry of motion, curving, sweeping, practically dancing. He did not stop moving upwards after the fist. The uppercut bled into a hop. The hop came with a forward arc and downwards heel kick. The channeled air formed an arc that flew up, then came down, slamming into the ebony woman. She was forced back to earth with a resounding impact.

The Avatar lands, practically panting. He felt so weak... That should have been so easy, yet it had taken so much out of him to chain so quickly. "I feel so... out of shape..."

[Larfleeze]

"My own power has been severely weakened as well." Chakravartin grumbled, "Each of these hands is supposed to be the size of a house." He took a step to the side, so that he could keep the gun trained on the group. "Well? I'm not receiving answers to any of my questions?" He took a few steps forward, and his Palace Hands went to work, taking hold of and pulling towards him one weapon after another, depositing them in a pile around him.

"You." he singled out the one who had surrendered first, "Explain where you were intending on bringing us. Why the hurry? Who's the boss?"

[Larfleeze]

The girl nervously shuffled in place. Was she loyal enough that she wouldn't talk when no one else was, but not enough that she would rather surrender than fight to the death? It didn't matter in the end, he supposed. He was about to press the trigger, when he glanced once more at Aang, who seemed to disapprove of the weapons. 

Chakravartin sneered at the gathered... mercenaries, he thought. They were lucky that the only other 'Prime' he had found happened to be both interesting enough to stick around with, and idiotic enough to refuse weapons. 

At first he might have thought of them as soldiers, or as travelers, but now it was clear to him they weren't anything so organized. The woman with the beam sword- hah! -was obviously the most competent of the gang, but she wasn't their ultimate boss. One of his Palace Hands reached down and grabbed the primitive weapon, tossing it up and down, before feeling around for the activation button. 

The weapon reignited, and he began to spin the hand. It was soon a glowing circle of death. He picked up one gun, and tossed it through the whirring circle of energy, watching with satisfaction as molten slag sprayed out the other end. "Take one." Chakravartin said, nudging one of the larger guns towards Aang. "Until our powers return- or in the case they don't, we'll want other methods to attack with." for the sake of his pacifistic ally, he rendered the rest of the stolen weapons into half-burnt debris, before turning off the beam sword. He would keep it, for now. For amusement value. 

"I'd prefer if you answered out questions." Chakravartin addressed the leader, the dark skinned woman, now, "Who knows? You were intending on peacefully tricking us into following you before, so I assume that there was a chance you could have gotten us to follow you without trouble, except that Aang had to stop and rest." he gestured at the Avatar, "So, you need a Prime for something, and it's urgent, and you think you can make us do it peacefully, or forcefully, since you were willing to try the nonthreatening approach to begin with... I'm honestly curious. Would it hurt your prospects in any way whether you told us or not?"

[Alex Mercer]

Aang's face twisted into a deep frown at the offer of a weapon. They were definitely not his style, and he preferred to keep it like that. "No thanks," he offered before nudging it back.

The ebony woman stood, proud and defiant against the threats. "Our boss has an... arrangement... He needs new primes. Willing or not." Aang refocused on this woman. He glances around at the others, even the twins had settled down.

"You're bounty hunters?" The Avatar was quick to come to the conclusion. He had known his fair share of bounty hunters.

The rotund man frowns at the accusation. "Mercenaries... Bounty hunters are so cliche." A confused look was cast by most of his party, as if questioning what the difference was. Aang's attention flicked between the various people of the mercenary group. Their group was not a very strong one.

The young brunet chimes in, her voice a bit weaker. "I was under the impression we were bringing Primes back willingly, I didn't--" She released a yelp in immediate response to the ebony woman's backhand. The smaller woman fell to her backside, holding her cheek.

Aang's immediate response is to sweep an arm out and flick upwards. Another gust arcs from his gesture, throwing the amazonian skyward. This time, he let her fall on her own. She tried to catch herself, but from the height she landed with a hiss. The way her ankle twisted with such a faulty landing did not look too good. However, it was still only a twisted ankle. The pair of Primes could undoubtedly do quite a bit worse to the misfit group of Secondaries.

"Okay," the Avatar begins. "This is how this is going to play out... You guys can go back to your boss and tell him you found no one..." The Avatar gestures to most of the group. "You," he points to the brunette, "should just find another employer, I really don't think you have a mean bone in your body." The woman sighs, defeated by Aang's truthful words. "How does that sound? Before you answer... know that I am the Avatar, and that means I can control air, water, earth AND ... Fire..." All Aang did was create a spark by snapping his fingers. The spark lingered, growing into a small, persistent fireball. It lingered in the air. Hauntingly. Would they buy the bluff? He glanced to his fellow Prime to see how he reacted to this false bravado.

[Larfleeze]

Chakravartin simply raised an eyebrow at Aang. Attempting threats? Hmph, if there was anyone present without a mean bone, it was him. He picked up the weapon Aang had rejected, and thought about how he would destroy it- when it began to be transformed into glimmering light, of many colors. He nearly dropped the precious stuff, shocked at the existence of new Omnilium, but he managed to grab it in time. It wasn't much. Barely anything, in fact. But it was more. And it used to be a gun.

"...I have more questions." Chakravartin announced, stepping past Aang and his oh-so threatening fireball. "You never said who your boss was. Or what he wanted with 'new Primes'." He walked up to the woman, lifting her up with one of his Palace Hands, by the shoulder, and keeping her suspended a few milimeters off the ground- he wasn't a sadist, he wasn't going to force her to put weight on her newly twisted ankle. It served no purpose. "And, now I've just figured out a new trick!" he said, smiling evilly. "Tell me, if I can turn a gun into Omnilium, can I turn other things into Omnilium?" the Palace Hand squeezed lightly, and the Amazon's jacket began to glow brilliant color. A few paltry more OM, he thought. Just barely more than he accumulated through simple existence, but it was there. Another Palace Hand lightly landed on her head, tracing a tiny circle on her forehead, and she began to look worried.

Chakravartin wondered, if Omnilium measured the worth of all things, how much was a person's life?

Was he, a Prime, so great that simply standing in place for a half hour could accumulate more OM than the entire lifetime of a Secondary?

His eyes slid slowly over to Aang. The Avatar was threatening them with death by fire- the implication at least. He couldn't have a problem with Chakravartin threatening something similar as well.

"Now... I'm in sore need of a teacher. We're new to the world, and we need information. Answers to questions. You can start with your employers, and from there we'll move on to the Omniverse at large." he said mildly, like making small talk. "Or I see how much your life is worth. Less wasteful than fire, wouldn't you agree Aang?" he looked out over the others, of the mercenary band staring at him with genuine fear. "And if she's too stubborn a teacher, I'm sure I can find someone else."

The rotund man audibly gulped.

It felt right.

[Alex Mercer]

Aang holds up a hand, telling Chakravartin to ease up. He did not know this "avatar," or if his threat was a bluff. Clearly though, the pair of primes made their point. The brunet looked outright terrified, tears welling in her eyes. The rotund man had paled and the twins were slowly scooting back. The fourth man and ebony amazonian seemed on edge, but did not reveal how deeply the threats hit.

"You," he gestures to the brunet woman again, "can come with us to answer questions." Aang clinched his fist, snuffing the flames with an audible hiss. "The rest of you, start walking." The Avatar used his baritone, vocally demanding obedience. It worked on some people, and it seemed to work here as well. Perhaps because of all the threats and show of force?

"Lysandra..." The brunet woman offered, eyes on the ground. The others begrudgingly moved away from their payday, leaving one of their own behind without a second thought. This was definitely a very poorly assembled team. "It sounds better than being called "you" all day..." Even the small woman, Lysandra, seemed she could care less about her partners. Aang gave the others a moment to clear off before approaching.

He places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That's a pretty name. Not one you'd expect from mercenaries... or should I call you bandits?" The woman winced, but did not deny it. Aang had seen this before, plenty of times. "You stole those uniforms and weapons too, didn't you?"

Lysandra shook her head. "No... well... maybe they are stolen, but I didn't! I thought we were supposed to escort new primes back!"

Aang glanced over towards his fellow Prime again. "Why?"

The woman's shoulders slumped. "I thought we were trying to help the good ones, like you... They said the weapons were for the bad ones..."

With a heavy sigh, Aang nodded his head. "She's telling the truth... Her heart rate is stable." Toph's nifty trick. It worked most of the time, though there were instances where it failed. Azula, mainly. Sociopaths in general, actually. "I don't really care who their boss is, he obviously isn't much of a threat if his hit team is so..." He left that as a fill in the blank. Lysandra sighed in defeat. She knew her team was horrible. "Do you have any questions, Mr. Vartin?" Because obviously he thinks that would be this man's last name.

[Larfleeze]

"As I've said before, I'm interested in what their plans for us were."And it seems fairly obvious Lysandra was the most out of the loop out of all of them, and that this one-" he raised the amazonian still in his grip up in the air slightly, "Is the most in the loop."

So, the Avatar could read heart rates to detect lies? That was an interesting ability. Chakravartin wondered whether it worked the same on other species, or humans alone. Not out loud, however, he wouldn't want to bring attention to something like that, best that Aang assume whatever he wished about him. "The rest of you can scurry off."

He pushed the other two Palace Hands to their top speed- flying around him as fast as his hardest punch would be, and to the maximum distance they could, seeming to chase after the four remaining, male, mercenaries. They quickly got up to their feet and retreated, not wanting to face the wrath of two Primes. One of the men looked back, somewhat regretfully, at their two- well, Chakravartin supposed only one was an actual captive. Their former comrades.

When they had gotten out of earshot, Chakravartin's other two Palace Hands returned, moving to the ankles of the woman, while Palace Hand on her forehead moved to one arm, and the other to her other arm.

He walked back toward Aang, his captive floating behind him, "...My first question, miss," he addressed the captive, "Is whether we can return once we head through one of those gates."

"..."

"There's no harm in answering." He promised.

"Of course you can return through the gates. How did you think we got here? There aren't exactly houses in the Nexus. There's no food, water, or soil in this place. The only things that can stay in the Nexus for long are Primes like you."

"Hm. My second question, what makes a Prime different from whatever you are?"

"Primes are monsters." She said bitterly, glaring down at him, "They can turn things into Omnilium, and turn Omnilium into things." she sighed, "And people, too. People that Primes summon- either from their imagination, or from their own world, are called Secondaries. But we're real people, realer than things like you. We need to eat, sleep, and make things the old fashioned way. We don't have special powers, and we don't get to come back every time we bite the dust."

Chakravartin grinned, "Ordinary mortals, then."

"Now, for my final question; who is your boss, and for what purpose does he require new Primes?"

[Alex Mercer]

The way Chakravartin was becoming more and more dominant, the less Aang felt comfortable with this situation. Any further, he promised himself, and he would have to step in. The way Chakravartin commented on the woman's mortality almost made his skin crawl. He took note of this major difference, reminding himself that even if he can be revived... not everyone can. Even in this new world, he could not forget his teachings. 

The ebony woman did not seem the happiest with the situation, but she knew she had no choice but to talk. There was no telling how long these drifting hands would last, and death by dehydration would be hell. "I don't know his name... We were conscripted online. We never saw his face." Her dark gaze stared at the startling white ground now. "He is experimenting on Primes... promised us a small fortune per head. He sent the weapons too." 

Aang was quiet. He watched Chakravartin carefully, to see what he would do with this information. At this point, Lysandra had put Aang between herself and the man of many hands. She did not like the idea of being held aloft, especially considering her uniform included a skirt, where the dark woman's had long pants. "Mr. Marlo hired me... The... uh... plump one... But I think he did it because I was a cute face, not because I have skills, I mean he probably thought I had skills, but not, like, fighting skills... He was kinda perverted..." He wanted to laugh at Lysandra's banter. She had Aang's problem. Tension gives her a chatterbox. 

Refocusing on Chakravartin, he verbalized the question that rang in through his head. "Are you going to let her go?" Aang had a noticeably worried look on his face. The ebony woman was still full of defiance. Defeated, but defiant nonetheless.

[Larfleeze]

"Well of course." Chakravartin answered truthfully. "In fact, if you'd give me a moment..." he began to close his eyes, and thought about making, rather than unmaking.

Something simple, at first, he decided. Unmaking the gun took a few minutes, and making something took just as long. But he felt he needed to experiment. Test his limits.

The object was going to cost Omnilium, but considering how much his Omnilium supply grew naturally every second, the cost of a piece of wood was negligible. He didn't close his eyes, even if it might have helped his concentration a little, as he wanted to see the process unfold. The multihued light expanded in front of him, emerging first from him, before fusing into a sphere ahead of him. It wasn't as dense as the sphere he had been shown by Omni, but that sphere had contained thousands of points worth of Omnilium, while this thing was barely a two or three.

Within three minutes, it was finished. A simple wooden crutch, with a small cushion for going under the arm. He smiled, proud of his creation. Less than a few hours ago, he had constructed his own spaceship in seconds, with nothing but his own Chi and flesh. Making a stick should have been a paltry achievement, but at the same time, it was something entirely new. The stick wasn't made of gold, it didn't thrum with his own limitless life force.

It was just a stick, carved as if by a carpenter, with a leather cushion that didn't come from any kind of animal.

And he had made it from nothing. Out goes some limits, in comes others, hm?

He lowered the woman, before holding the crutch out for her, keeping a Palace Hand on her bad ankle. "Now get out of here."

She looked at the crutch with deep suspicion, for a few moments, and Chakravartin frowned, releasing her foot for her ungratefulness. She winced as her bad foot hit the ground and suddenly supported some of her weight, and she reached out and took the offered crutch, quickly taking her weight off her bad ankle. "I hope I never see either of you again." she growled, before hobbling off at great speed. She was strong, Chakravartin had to give her that.

The former god turned to Aang, a benevolent smile on his face, "So, now that we've narrowly avoided torture and experimentation at the hands of a mysterious master," he said almost amused, "how should we proceed? Lysandra, which Gate was your group planning on leading us through? It might be best to avoid it- unless we want to track down whoever's experimenting on other Primes, stop them, report them? Who knows how many others they've already gathered."

Aang was a gentle soul, he could tell. It was a shame, but it wasn't like he hadn't dealt with the type. There were heroes, Paladins, even pacifists, among the Saru. Even powerful ones. Ones he occasionally required the service of, and ones whom would still remain so- peaceful- even after he killed them and watched them reincarnate. He had to learn to work around them, guide them to his own goals. Aang was a peaceful man, who would only stir to violence when protecting someone- Chakravartin, in this case, or to make people stop attacking.

Chakravartin didn't honestly care much for the one who had hired these mercenaries, he wasn't offended- he had gained much information from the experience -but for the moment, he had no goals. Best to take a direction that would keep Aang closer. Give the Avatar something sufficiently evil to feel justified in fighting.