Behind the Mask
Mar 9, 2018 22:52:35 GMT -5
Post by Zuka on Mar 9, 2018 22:52:35 GMT -5
Click on the names to see a picture of the mask used. For full descriptions and uniform pictures/information please see the respective profiles
The Shadow
Name: Jaya
Bending Type: Earthbending, Metalbending and Sandbending
Rank: Leader of the Black Hand Triad
coming soon
The Vigilantes
The Ghost
Name: Kenji
Bending Type: Earthbending, Metalbending and Sandbending
Rank: Leader
Expertise: Jack of All Trades
Every team needs a leader. Someone that isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty, who can fight but knows when to walk away, who can make the plans, keep their cool and improvise when those plans don’t go…well, as planned. Someone who will put his teammates before himself. Kenji is all of those things and more. No stranger to crime, Kenji is a reformed criminal who spent most of his youth hoping around the Earth Kingdom stealing to make his way, a drastic change from his families Dai Li roots.
During this time, he met Jaya who, after a small game of hide and seek around the Earth Kingdom agreed to teach him what she knew. In his time with her Jaya taught him to be a better thief and the two began a relationship. That relationship was short lived, when Jaya began feeling too comfortable she knew she had to end things and during a heist Jaya took everything and ran, leaving Kenji to fend for himself. It was a hard lesson but one he was glad he learned.
After this Kenji returned to hoping the Earthkingdom, never settling in one place for too long but offering his services to the Triads he came across for a fee. It was during his time in Ba Sing Se that he met a girl. Zuka was low on the Triad totem pole and whenever they had a job for him it was Zuka they sent to deliver the message. The Rat Vipers had a lot of work for Kenji, so the two of them became fairly friendly. All their time spent together gave Zuka a idea and she begged Kenji to teach her how to be a thief, something he always outright refused. But, Zuka was annoying and persistent and eventually she was able to wear him down and offered to teach him upper class etiquette in return. She was a pain and stubborn as a bull, but she was willing to learn and the two worked well together. Determined not to make the same mistake again Kenji kept her at arms length and their partnership was cut short when the Rat Vipers had been taken down by the police and Zuka was forced to skip town.
Needing a change of scenery as well Kenji made his way to Republic City.
During this time Republic City’s wealthy had seen a string of seemingly impossible robberies. Using his Dai Li training Kenji was able to slip in and out of locations unnoticed and leave no trace. Honing his skills and perhaps getting a little too cocky from it Kenji was eventually caught by the police and thrown into the city jail. Kenji would bide his time there by playing pai sho and he used that as a way to fine tune his strategic abilities. During the Equalist occupation Kenji escaped but not before taking a spare metalbending police uniform as cover.
With a new lease on life Kenji decided to change things up a bit and started a PI business. With his new metalbending suit and a spare Equalist mask Kenji came up with a plan. Using the disguise to continue his thievery while helping the little people of Republic City Kenji made a name for himself. His antics and ability to get into highly secure locations and ‘disappear’ through walls lead to the papers calling him The Ghost and that is when the trouble started.
The Ghost had drawn unwanted attention by the name of The Talon. The Talon was flashy and would hit Triad locations and because of their similar MO everyone thought they were working together. Knowing he had to put a end to this Kenji set a trap for her. Their battle was lengthy and both of them retreated to mend their wounds.
The Truth about the Talon came out the next day when Kenji went to the Blue Dragon for a drink to dull his pain and saw the same injuries on Zuka that he had given the Talon the night before. Knowing that Zuka was the Talon didn’t seem to come as much of a surprise because of course it was her, Kenji was unlucky in that way.
While he was battling with her and her increasingly self destructive behavior another ghost from his past came back to haunt him: Jaya.
Jaya began to worm her way back into Kenji’s life, using their past relationship and is old feelings to snare him into helping her and she had her hooks in him once more. Jaya spun a story of how she was trapped with the Terra’s and wanted out but couldn’t do it without his help. Her act eventually lead him to believe she was being held against her will in the Terra mansion and he went there to save her, nearly killing Lao, the Terra leader…just as planned. Knowing he had been used again and with Jaya knowing his secret they made a truce. He would leave her alone to do as she pleased with the Triad and she would keep his identity to herself.
Eventually after a lengthy… battle with each other Kenji and Zuka put aside their differences and started working as a team. Together they took down Jaya and Ula’s attempt at a takeover, faking their deaths after so no one could come after them or their families. With the deed done the two left Republic City, together.
Their bliss was short lived with the rise of The Black Hand and The Shadow. Jaya, bent on revenge pulled the two out of hiding and threw them back into the spotlight. Given Jaya’s massive power and influence in the city now and her knowledge of them Kenji knew the only way they were going to get out of this was with more help and he reluctantly agreed to bring Zula into their group. Kenji’s ability to lead matched with his iron will has gotten the team out of many dangerous situations. Situations they probably wouldn’t be in it if wasn’t for him, but he knows he will do whatever he can to make sure they all make it out alive.
The Talon
Name: Zuka
Bending Type: Waterbending, Plantbending and Bloodbending
Rank: 2nd in command
Expertise: Weapons
Zuka’s journey as the Talon began on a whim. One of her enemies had decided to take a jab at her and used their contact in the Northern Water Tribe embassy to plant false information that her father, councilman Sota had been a Equalist supporter. The timing was perfect as all the information came out right before a scheduled statue of her father was to be unveiled in a new wing of the consulate for all of his work and service to the city. Anyone who knew her knew Zuka loved her father and would do anything for him which is why she knew she couldn’t do anything about this outright. Her reputation as a Triad leader was well known enough that anything she did would draw too much attention so, instead she turned to an old friend.
Hiring Kenji had been a good move because he worked quickly, gathering all the information she needed to prove her fathers innocence in just a few short days. Zuka planned on taking the information he collected to President Raiko to clear her fathers name but she knew how this would all play out. Yes, Sotas name would be cleared but the scandal would be swept under the rug to save face and Zuka couldn’t have that. But, doing anything worthwhile would defeat the purpose of hiring Kenji to find the information in the first place. Zuka tried to put the idea out of her mind, planning on taking the information she had to the president the next day. It wasn’t that simple though and Zuka began looking for ways to occupy her time as a distraction and settled on reading that days paper.
That was when she saw it. There, right on the front page was an article about The Ghost and his latest clash with the Triple Threat Triad and it was like a light bulb went off in her head. Using a old festival mask, some dark clothes and her training sword Zuka put together a rough costume and paid the weasel a visit, scaring him to the point that the next day he went to Raiko himself and confessed.
Zuka was hooked after that. Wearing a mask allowed her to do so many things she couldn’t do otherwise without harsh repercussions and after a few improvements to her suit she started going after her competition. Using the mask as a cover to destroy their business. The paper had even given her a name: The Talon.
Naturally, another vigilante was going to draw attention and it didn’t take long for The Talon and The Ghost to meet or for her and Kenji to figure each other out. Whatever friendship they had before quickly crumbled with her unwillingness to give up the mask. Kenji threw anything he could at her, trying to scare her with repercussions of her actions but Zuka didn’t care and the two of them routinely clashed both in and outside the mask.
Her constant run ins with Kenji as well as the Triads stepping up their game to stop her lead to Zuka self-medicating with black fin to manage the pain. At first it was only when she needed it when Neva couldn’t see her right away, then it was every now and then and before she knew it Zuka was using every day. The addiction caused her behavior to become sporadic and unhinged as she began mixing other vices. During one of these fueled frenzies Zuka had another run in with Kenji. Not thinking rationally Zuka attacked him and used her bloodbending to make him submit. Zuka doesn’t like to think about what could have happened but there was a very real chance that she was going to kill him that night but in a brief flash of clarity she released him from her control and took off. Packing her bags and heading to the Northern Watertribe where she could get help.
In the months passed Zuka was able to get herself clean and see things more clearly and realize how wrong she had been. With help and encouragement from her grandmother and uncle Zuka returned to Republic City intent on fixing what she had helped break. Once she returned Zuka distanced herself from the Triad she had built and stepped down. With that done there was one last thing she had to do and it would be the hardest.
Kenji had not been happy to see her when she came to him to apologize and Zuka knew he wouldn’t be but it was something she had to do to clear her conscience. What he did with it was up to him. Kenji all but threw her apology back in her face and the two of them parted ways, once again enemies.
Zukas refusal to give up The Talon made her a target for Kenji, he not believing she had changed and wanted to do right by the city instead of make more of a mess. It took a very long time but eventually the two were able to work past what she had done and she was able to gain his trust back. The Talon and Ghost started working together for the first time. Zuka followed his lead in everything, knowing she had a lot to learn and they worked well together like they had back in Ba Sing Se. Kenji had been the leader and the man with the plan and Zuka with her love of fighting was his muscle.
When news of Jaya’s and Ula’s plan to take over the Traids Kenji and Zuka acted in kind, setting a trap for the two with Kenji as the bait and Zuka waiting to spring it. The battle had been a close one and Zuka barely took down Ula, having to resort to bloodbending to do it but, they had been victorious. In one last blow to the Triads The Talon and Ghost set fire to the warehouse and destroyed what was left of the short lived alliance.
Or so they thought.
Kenji and Zuka had been living a nice, quiet life together far away from the city and all its problems but not even they could run from them forever. A new threat has risen and pulled them from their hiding. No small feat considering Kenji and Zuka didn’t exist anymore. The fact that someone was able to find Kaito and Umi was enough to put them both on edge. What’s worse was that Zula had started her own masked persona and put herself in the thick of things right along with them. With this new threat and her sisters own stubbornness Zuka has taken it upon herself to train Zula and anyone else that sides with them and make sure they know how to defend themselves. Using her knowledge, skill and expertise with various weapons Zuka makes sure they all have a fall back should their bending fail. If they were going to take The Black Hand on head on then they would be prepared.
The Cinder
Name: Zula
Bending Type: Firebending, Lightning bending
Expertise: Explosives
coming soon
The Whisper
Name: Anil
Bending Type: Airbending
Expertise: Open
coming soon
Other
Doc
Name: Neva
Bending Type: Waterbending, Healer
Expertise: Medical
Neva had come to Republic City for a change and some excitement, but she never imagined that she would be part of a vigilante group taking on the Triads. How does one even become part of something like this? Neva used to ask herself that same question and could probably give a few answers, but everything boiled down to it was the right thing to do. In the short time she had spent in the city Neva worked within a few Triad owned businesses. During that time, she had seen her share of horrible things and looked the other way. It was what you had to do if you wanted to survive, you kept your head down and hoped that they didn’t hurt anyone too badly. A horrible way to look at things but what more could you do?
Things started to change when Zuka began coming to Neva personally with strange injuries instead of going to the usual Dolls healer. As always Neva never asked questions, but she began to wonder what was really going on and it was one night in particular when a badly injured Talon showed up on her doorstep when Neva learned the truth. Everything made sense then and after a lengthy conversation with Zuka and what her plan was Neva agreed to help. Once The Talon and The Ghost finally started working together instead of against each other she helped heal Kenji as well.
When Kenji and Zuka went into hiding it was Neva and Teo who helped them escape and go into hiding and when Zula decided to put on her own mask it was Neva who helped her. Using her experience in dealing with the others to try to guide the grieving sister.
Neva has seen it all and now as their group continues to take the Triads head on Neva has been there, ready to heal their wounds so they can keep on fighting. It is messy, stressful work and while she may not wear a mask herself Neva knows it is just as dangerous. Neva knows something else also. Without her none of them would have made it as far as they have.
The Mechanic
Name: Teo
Bending Type: Earthbending, Metalbending
Expertise: Research and Development
At first glance no one would ever expect Teo as being part of a vigilante group bent on taking down The Black Hand. Hell, sometimes he still doesn’t even believe it. Teo was a small-town farm boy that moved to the big city and had never been one for conflict. While he could use his bending to defend himself he preferred using his skills to create things. Teo moved to Republic City with big dreams of owning his own mechanic shop, but, big dreams cost money and he worked as a under paid and overworked mechanic to get by.
Teo’s work schedule left little room for much else so getting mixed up in the vigilante group was all out of coincidence and luck. Kenji had saved Teo from a mugging by some drunk thugs to which Teo offered to repair his satomobile anytime he needed as thanks. Kenji's first impression of Teo was…not good, in fact he told Teo to return to whatever small town he came from if he wanted to survive. To be fair, Teo didn’t have the greatest opinion of Kenji either but he owed him a debt and planned on seeing it through. During his time working on Kenji's car when repairs were needed the two began to tolerate each other more which lead to Kenji agreeing to tutor Teo in the art of metalbending. Teo’s progress with metalbending lead to him putting what he learned to his work and Teo would routinely show off his new inventions and repair techniques to Kenji when he came around.
It was shortly after this that he began receiving visits from “The Ghost” to repair his gear.
While that was happening Teo had met Neva while she was working during his first visit to the Blue Dragon. Neva had been kind to him and had taken the time to talk him out of blowing his life savings at the underground casino the Dragon had been known for. Convincing him that the small chance of payoff wasn’t worth the risk. To thank her Teo asked her to dinner and the two became good friends shortly after.
Weather he liked it or not Teo had been thrust into the mess by association.
When the group finally came together as a whole Teo took on the role of the tech guy. Designing, repairing and developing new suits and weapons for the spirits. Teo is a firm believer that everything can be improved and expanded on and he will constantly tinker with the groups uniforms, adding new tech as fast as he can think them up. While he might not be out there in a mask of his own Teo knows his work is just as important. He helps keep the others safe and well equipped so they can keep fighting the good fight.