The moment Jin spoke Amon's real name, several things happened.
The Equalists with electrified gloves found their feet stuck to the ground, dozens trapped simultaneously, their gloves coated in a thick layer of sand and their face coverings shattered, rendering their weapons and the anonymity that gave them the courage to act useless.
The "fallen" metalbenders rose and quickly subdued the Equalists in the stands, barely affected by the shock thanks to the insulating jumpsuits worn beneath their metal armor.
The tailor's work had truly been top-notch!
They removed the giant banners over the stands along with those trying to hang them.
Lin leapt down and dealt with Amon's second-in-command, making sure he couldn't take the Avatar or anyone else hostage.
As for the airship that was supposed to pick up the Equalists, Lin had already given orders to capture everyone in the hangar during the match so that Amon couldn't be aware.
How did they find the hangar? Jin.
Why didn't the airship's machinery allow them to escape once discovered? Jin.
The situation shifted too abruptly for Amon. He knew of Jin, but his inaction and the gathered information hinted that he was not the legend the stories claimed—just a skilled Earthbender at best, and nothing more.
But now, the important thing was to stay calm.
"Calling out a random name?" he sneered. He would have to play that card sooner than expected. "Is that your plan? Like—" He tried to keep diverting attention while subtly assessing his surroundings, but he noticed his ceramic mask being forcibly ripped from his face.
Exclamations of horror and surprise erupted from the crowd.
People saw his face, but it wasn't a problem.
"Well, you wanted to see my face?" he said, pointing to the side of his face marred by a large burn that disfigured half of it. "Look at me! This—"
"A firebender when you were little, blah blah blah," Jin mocked mercilessly, cutting off his false story. "How about we clean your face before continuing the conversation?" With a flick of his wrist, the mineral-based makeup turned to smoke, revealing Noatak's undamaged face beneath.
An hour of makeup in front of the mirror, wasted!
"He lied to me?" Amon's lieutenant, the second-in-command, looked on in shock as he realized that the childhood injury his leader had talked so much about was fake. "Wait… did he just say Jin Beifong? Like… the same Jin Beifong historically known for his revolutionary treatment of non-benders and benders alike?"
That had been his childhood hero!
Amon himself had used him as a spiritual reference for what they wanted to achieve!
"Yes, that's my uncle!" Lin secured her bindings while breaking the electrical equipment. She wanted to hear what he had to say and couldn't risk a sudden escape. "Now zip it. I want to hear what he knows about Amon. Oh, right, his name is Noatak."
But there was no speech, no revelations. Jin simply accelerated and punched Amon in the face, launching him like a projectile into the water.
"What is he doing?" Lin asked, caught off guard.
Was he avenging her?
What she didn't expect, nor anyone else (except Jin), was to see Amon momentarily panic from swallowing water and then resurface using waterbending, forming a whirlpool to return to the arena.
"Well, what a surprise. Turns out Amon—or, excuse me, Noatak—the leader of the Equalist movement is none other than a waterbender. And quite a skilled one at that, it seems!" Jin kept a flat tone, far more humiliating than a sarcastic one. "As for your supposed encounter with the spirits… it's laughable."
Jin landed on the sand and approached Noatak, who had a dislocated jaw and had to force it back in place to speak. Reaching this point, Noatak had no choice but to reveal his ace up his sleeve, extending his hand toward Jin to take control of his blood and use him as a hostage to escape.
Several seconds passed, but nothing happened.
Strange. His chi wasn't blocked; Jin could sense it. So why couldn't he bend his blood?
"Oh, did I mention you're also a bloodbender?" Jin added casually, as an afterthought. "Just like Yakone, no need for a full moon to act."
The revelation shattered everyone's perspective, Equalists and non-benders alike. Amon's lieutenant, in particular, was devastated by the news.
No one doubted it—the move the Equalist leader had just tried was obvious even to non-benders.
"But, too bad for you," Jin crouched to be face-to-face with Noatak. "Turns out I do know several spirits, not to mention I'm immune to the bloodbending you're so proud of using as a last resort. Thanks to the spirits, in fact." He rose, spreading his arms wide. "And conveniently, at this distance from everyone else, you can't bend anyone else's blood, can you?"
Noatak paled. He didn't believe a mortal could ignore bloodbending, but Jin had evidence right under his nose.
He tried to use the water in the arena channels to attack Jin, but realized the water wouldn't respond. He tried again—nothing. He hadn't noticed that the seawater in the arena channels contained salt, creating cycles that disrupted any attempt to bend it.
Noatak lowered his head in despair, subtly moving his hand behind his belt…
"I'm not going to ask what you hoped to achieve by deceiving everyone and starting this movement. I don't care; I'll leave that to the police," Jin cut him off. "But making a move against me, knowing exactly who I am and where you were… few have the stupidity to manage that."
The waterbender lunged at Jin, revealing the electrified glove he had been hiding. When he made contact, he cranked up the power to lethal levels!
All that effort, so many resources to fund himself, and in one night, he lost everything—his reputation ruined and exposed to the world.
He had to pay!
Jin wasn't worried about jail; Tarrlok would pull the strings if he didn't want his shared past to be exposed.
"Die!"
Electricity erupted from his hand, forcing even him to close his eyes against the light. But a few seconds later, he noticed the usual screams of pain hadn't come, and he opened his eyes to see what was happening.
"A very relaxing massage, really stimulates the circulation," Jin said, steam rising from his skin, yet showing no visible harm. "Want to try it?"
He manipulated the glove's metal to extract it from Noatak's hand and placed it on his chest.
"No—!"
(Electric crackling sounds)
"Ah, a bit strong it seems," Jin paused before stopping Noatak's heart, yet smoke still rose from the unconscious waterbender.
He crouched as if checking his pulse, but he was really giving Noatak a dose of his own medicine, subtly dislocating some bones to prevent a quick escape.
"Hey, Lin!" he shouted, turning to his niece. "Better get a doctor—don't think he's waking up anytime soon! And send someone to check on my commentator!"
That guy was a consummate professional, and Jin wanted him back sooner rather than later.
"Jin!" Korra signaled frantically. "Mako needs a doctor too!"
Ah, right, that guy was still there…
Jin rose into the air again, hands behind his back, making sure he looked composed.
"I hope this clears up the fraud that's been living in this city," Jin declared. It was a shame no reporters were present, but something could be arranged later. "I'm Jin Beifong—the same guy from your school books. I won't go into details, but I'm back, and no one better get any ideas. I've seen Republic City for what it is, and let me tell you something to the Equalists—" He moved his head as if surveying the crowd. "I understand why you do this, but I do not approve of your methods. Instead of pushing initiatives, taking injustices to the authorities, and trying to truly change the situation for non-benders to level the playing field, you chose a violent movement to vent your frustration—like children! Worse, benders who help regardless of others' conditions, and non-benders who disagree with your movement, are also victims of what you're doing… and you should be ashamed!" Jin's voice rose. "You don't seem like people seeking equality—you're just playing power games for people like him!" He pointed to the unconscious Noatak. "If you're proud of this, congratulations, you've become what you despised."
His speech was broadcast on the radio, having an unknown effect on listeners.
Tenzin stared at Jin flying, completely stunned. He was glad he had taken his wife's advice and put aside his grudge against this guy!
Lin nodded, satisfied at Tenzin's expression. She'd have to pressure him to get the Council moving. Amon's—Noatak's—trial had to happen quickly to avoid unforeseen complications.
But some were far from calm.
Like Tarrlok, who had a headache knowing his brother had been caught.
Like Hiroshi Sato, completely frozen—not just by Jin's radio statement signaling the Equalists' fall, but by seeing his daughter, his little girl, his wife's last treasure, make the water in his glass float with a hand gesture.
"Dad?" Asami called, worried by his lack of reaction. "Dad!"
Suddenly, everything went dark for Hiroshi.