answers to reviewers questions or statements:

free man writer: Glad you like the story.

Omni-Creator Kami of Anime: Of course you'd side with whoever the hell Marvel is.

WriterSpenser: Yes Piandao will and his outfit will be based off Spider-man Noir.

MeteorelDrago: Wont be the last time we see good old Carnage.

Hbarrera98: Yeah, I wanted to show that while she is progressing at a remarkable rate, at the end of the day she hasn't been truly pitted against someone that's holding back for her safety. It's something I'll be exploring a bit, on how Korra being sheltered for so long has done more harm than good for her in some areas.

gontheone: It'll be a while till Korra arrives at Republic City, but the wait will be worth it. Her arrival will be a lot more memorable than the one she made in the show.

MajorBrony95: Believe it or not, Carnage will top what he did in the South Pole... and it wasn't the worse thing he or venom and the others have done in this universe.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Legend of Korra characters seen, mentioned or used.

The day that everything changed for Piandao, like really changed, started off like any other.

With school coming to a close in just a week and a half, and Piandao having passed his exams with flying colors, all the teen had left to do was simply wait until summer well and truly began before he could consider looking for another job. coincidently enough, business had started to increase at the Silver Tea Spoon which meant that Piandao's pay was steadily increasing each day to the point that if it kept up he might not even have to look for a second job to support him and his aunt...

'And maybe it'll be enough to stop Mai from... from her new job' Piandao bitterly as he steadily mixed several ingredients into a tea pot as the water began to boil as several patrons of the café quietly spoke with one another and another sat in a corner and silently read a novel of some sort.

For weeks now Piandao's been trying to muster up the backbone to confront his aunt on her comings and goings late at night. How sometimes Piandao will come home and feel as if someone else was just in his home. How sometimes Piandao will catch glimpses of marks on his aunt's neck and shoulders when their exposed, how she would sometimes walk with the barest hints of a limp. Piandao wasn't stupid, he knew what those marks were from, why he's found some of his aunts clothing seemingly ripped in certain areas.

'But how in the name of Agni, Tui and La am I supposed to confront her about it?' Piandao thought with a dismayed look 'It's not like I can go up to her and say 'Hey Aunt Mai, you mind telling me why you seem to be bringing men over to our home when I'm at work and why they leave you money?''

Piandao didn't need to be a fortune teller to know how that would go.

Than there was Asami, ever since Piandao sorta maybe said no to a date with her, and he's fully aware that it may have well been the universe's only pass for him, she's been... acting like she never asked him out in the first place. The young Parkah was relieved that things hadn't fallen apart between them, but there was no denying the awkwardness between them.

'Maybe once everything settles down I'll see if she's still interested' Piandao thought with a sigh 'Though knowing my luck she wont be interested still by then'

"Hey Parkah?"

Piandao paused in his tea brewing and turned to see the café manager putting on a coat and hat as he headed for the door "Yeah?"

"I'm going to meet with... well, you know. Talk to them about their rising 'fees'" the man said with a sigh of dread "Your in charge until I get back... if I get back"

"Got it" Piandao said with a nod towards the man as he stepped out of the café and was quickly lost in the crowd outside.

For the past week the Triple Threat Triads had been raising heir protection fees to almost ludicrous levels. Piandao wasn't sure why but he had a bad feeling that they infamous triad wasn't going to donate the money to some charity.

'Hopefully it's just them being a bunch of greedy asses' Piandao thought as he finished brewing the latest pot of tea and quickly handed it off to Rafa and got to work on the next tone.

The next hour or so went by relatively slow in Piandao's opinion but a near steady stream of people kept coming in and out of the café and ordering, some of them leaving rather generous tips for Piandao and the others. It wasn't until close to an hour and a half had passed since the manager left when a new customer arrived in the form of a rather large individual. The man was massive, easily towering over just about anyone that Piandao's ever met by a good six or seven inches. He was also built like a bear, nothing but a mountain of sheer muscle and the teen swore each step the man took created a small tremor. His face was mostly covered by a tan colored face mask that reached up over his nose, leaving the rest of his head exposed. His skin, or what was exposed at least, was darker than most of the people that Piandao's met, but not as dark as someone from either the Northern or Southern Water Tribes. His green eyes marked him as someone of Earth Kingdom descent but they were a tad paler than the usual green Paindao's seen and seemed to stare into one's very soul with how intense they looked.

'And here I thought the Crusher was intimidating looking' Piandao thought as the large man made his way over to the small bar and sat down with a muffled grunt before speaking with a rather gravely voice, as if the man had a sore throat almost.

"You have any masala chai?" the man asked with narrowed eyes.

"We do..." Piandao nodded as he pulled out a pen to write with "Anything in particular you want in it? We have just about everything for it thanks to one of our workers"

"Cinnamon if you would be so kind" the man said with a small shrug "With a bit of honey added. Don't care for the amount, just enough that'll be able to taste it with the cinnamon"

"A few tea spoons worth should do that" Piandao asked as he finished writing down the man's order "And your name sir?"

"Zhong, of the Si Wong Desert" the large man replied gruffly, though Piandao swore there was a hint of tired amusement in his tone "And no before you ask I'm not good at building sandcastles"

Piandao paused for a moment at this before he hummed and quickly turned back to the bar and began to pick out the various ingredients he'll need to make Zhong's drink "Wasn't going to ask that but good to know I guess. So, what brings you all the way from the Si Wong Desert if it's not to take part in the national sand castle building competition?"

Far as Piandao knew there wasn't, but than again he hasn't been paying attention to the radio lately.

"It's... complicated" the man replied with a tired sigh "Needed to get away from... family"

"You traveled half way across the Earth Kingdom because you wanted to get away from family?" Piandao said with a raised brow.

"Yes" the man replied gruffly as he reached up to pull down his scarf to reveal the lower part of his face, mainly around the jaw and upper neck, was horribly burned at some point in the past "If I stayed any longer, it wouldn't have ended well for anybody"

Piandao winced at the faded burns as he could just make out what looked to be bone far closer to the surface of the man's skin than it naturally should be. He didn't know what could cause that kind of injury in a desert where all that's there was sand, but something told Piandao it wasn't because the man fell face first into a campfire. The skin, it didn't look so much burned as melted in some parts.

'Doubt spending too much time in the sun did that' Piandao thought as he began to brew the milk for Zhong's tea "Well, you have any plans of staying long in Republic City?"

"I was thinking of heading down to Yu Dao" Zhong replied as he looked around the café with narrowed eyes.

"Any reason in particular?" Piandao asked as he waited for the milk to reach a certain point before adding anything else to it.

"I heard they have much better art galleries there than here" Zhong said with a snort "Thought I'd see some of them"

"Your a fan or art?" Piandao said with an amused brow raised "Funny, didn't strike me as the type"

"Admittedly there are few Si Wong tribesmen that hold any kind of affinity to art" the man said with a shrug "Outside of stealing it and than selling it to the highest bidder that is. Though one could argue that's a form of art in of itself"

Piandao snorted at this as the mil finished brewing and the young Parkah quickly went about putting Zhong's drink together.

"So, what part of Si Wong are you from?" Piandao inquired as he searched for a small jar of cinnamon.

"The Northern Dunes, out passed the 'great' Si Wong Rock" Zhong revealed as his brow furrowed "Why?"

"We have a guy named Chin that's from the Si Wong Desert" Piandao said as he found the cinnamon and not long after, the honey and quickly added them to the black tea "His tribe was from somewhere near Omashu I think"

"Oh, one of the cavern dwellers" Zhong said with a hum.

"Cavern dwellers?" Piandao said with confusion.

"Sandbenders there tend to take up root in caves at the base of the mountains surrounding Omashu. Some call them the Tribe of Bats given they make some of their things from Wolf bat skins" Zhong stated.

"Huh... cool" Piandao said as he finished mixing Zhong's tea and poured it into a small cup before offering it to Zhong who took it with a mute nod and gently cupped the small cup.

"Their assholes if I'm honest" Zhong said as he took a tentative sip of his drink before humming "Not bad, not bad at all..."

"Thanks, I've had a lot of practice making tea here" Piandao said with a bit of pride.

Zhong hummed at this before taking another sip of his drink. Piandao was just about to ask if the man wanted some sort of pastry when he felt his body stiffen and a familiar tingle at the base of his head. Zhong seemed to notice Piandao's tense up and furrowed his brow in confusion before he, and everyone else in the café, heard the sounds of tires screeching and the roar of a overly modified Satomobile.

"What in the name of-" Zhong began as he turned towards the window, as did another of other patrons as a Satomobile came to a screeching stop outside on the street.

Piandao paled as he recognized the car as belonging to the Triple Threats Triad and was just about to tell everyone to get away from the window when one of the car's passengers jumped out and slammed his foot into the ground. A massive slab of stone shut up and hovered over the ground before the man kicked it towards the cafe's window, causing a number of people to let out screams of fear as they threw themselves to the floor to avoid being hit.

The slab of stone tore through the glass with ease and flew through the air before it slammed into the wall opposite the window with enough force to send cracks throughout it's surface. Piandao peeked out from behind the bar's counter to see that everyone but Zhong had dropped to the floor. Zhong simply glanced around as he took another sip of his tea before he placed the cup on the countertop and pulled his facemask back up and cracked his neck.

"So much for a quiet day..." he muttered as he slowly stood and turned towards the windows.

"Hey uh, Zhong I think you need to-" Piandao began before he felt the familiar tingle again an looked outside to see the earthbender that sent the slab of stone into the wall had several more hovering around him.

With a yell, the man sent them flying towards the café, forcing people to try and hide under the tables as the front of the store was pelted by stone, sending glass and dust everywhere. Zhong simply knocked several slabs out of his way as they were about to hit him, causing them to ricochet into either the ground or ceiling around him, nearly hitting a few of the cafe's cowering patrons.

"Zhong stop, your gonna hit somebody like that!" Piandao yelled over the sounds of stone striking the building and people both inside and outside screaming.

Zhong paused for a moment before he let out a growl of frustration and ducked under another slab of stone as it sailed over him and tore into the wall behind him. Several more tense seconds passed before the onslaught stopped and Piandao heard the man outside break out into a fit of laughter as he jumped back into the Triple Threats car and it began to drive away before it suddenly stopped and a man opened the driver's door and stood up with his arm pointed towards the café. Piandao felt another tingle, this one stronger than the last several just before a small fireball shot out from the man's hand and raced through the air before slamming into the bar behind Piandao, igniting several of the tea plants stored there.

The firebender let out a laugh of his own as he climbed back into the Satomobile and quickly drove off as the door closed.

"Well... that was uncalled for" Zhong said as he stood up and brushed some dust off his shoulder before a hand gesture from him sent most of the blocks of stone that slammed into the café back out into the street "Couldn't wait for me to finish my drink before they went and starting trashing the place..."

"Is everybody okay?" Chin said with a cough as he came out from the back of the store, a look of sheer panic on his face as he took in the destruction of the cafe's interior.

"We're fine" Piandao said as he leaped over the bar's counter and went about helping a few people back to their feet.

"What happened?" Chin said as he looked around the shop to see the front had all been but destroyed, and the bar that housed the various tea blends of theirs were now burning.

"The Triple Threats" Rafa said as he rushed over to the small fire with some tea bent out of several cups and pots and used it to douse the growing flames "I recognized the car"

Chin's eyes widened at this before he glanced at Piandao with confusion "But I thought the boss was going to go talk to them"

"Guess talking didn't pan out well for him" Piandao said with a worried frown as the sounds of police sirens could be heard approaching.

Zhong tensed at the sound before he pulled his hood back up and quickly made his way through the smashed window. Piandao watched the man go for a second in confusion before he shook his head and turned his attention back towards Chin and Rafa while Toz came out from behind Chin and stared sadly at the various destroyed tables and spilt drinks and food.

"Guess this means we're closed for the day?" the old man said mournfully as a piece of ceiling that had been dislodged from a stray stone slab that Zhong had deflected earlier fell and landed on a table that was close to it, shattering it and the tea cups and pot that were on it.

...

"Asami, are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Hiroshi Sato said from the passenger seat of Asami's Satomobile with a hint of unease as the two drove through a less than friendly looking block.

"Yes dad, we are" Asami said with an eye roll as she switched gears as they came to a stop before turning down another street "Also, why are you so nervous? You've grown up in places as rough as this when you were my age"

"Yes, but I wasn't in a hundred Yuan's worth of clothing in a thousand Yuans Satomobile" Hiroshi said as he noticed a eyes on his daughter's car "You tend to get ignored easier because of that"

"Well it's a good thing that I'm top of my class in self defense" Asami chuckled as she neared the street that housed the Silver Tea Spoon.

"This place must be good if your taking such a risk" Hiroshi said with a thoughtful look on his face "I can't say I've ever seen you so excited to have tea before"

"Well, the tea's nice. But the company is what really sells the place for me" Asami admitted as she mentally played through how to introduce her dad to Piandao.

She couldn't make it too obvious that she liked him in front of her dad, at least, not right off the bat. He'll go into instant overprotective dad mode and likely be less willing to help get Piandao a job at Future Industries if he believed it'd protect his daughter's 'virtue'.

'Bit late for that at any rate' Asami thought with a sigh before a concerned look grew on her face as she and her father noted a number of police cars ahead along with a Airship on approach.

"What on Earth?" Hiroshi said with confusion as Asami brought the car to a stop a few meters from where the police had set up a barricade that was a mixture of raised earth, metal barriers, and the police's own Satomobiles.

"Wait here" Asami said as she quickly switched the car off and hopped out, leaving her surprised father behind as she ran up towards one of the officers standing watch to make sure no one tried to get through "What's going on here?"

"Triple Threat Triad made a hit and run against one of the shops on this street" the officer revealed.

"Which one?!" Asami demanded as she stepped right up towards the officer "Was it the Silver Spoon? Was that what they hit?"

"Ma'am, I'm not at liberty to reveal- hey!" the officer said as Asami slid past him and rushed into the secured zone "Stop, you can't go in there!"

Asami didn't bother to reply as she brushed past several surprised officers and headed towards the Silver Spoon Tea shop. She passed several more parked cars before she came upon a small group of shaken but alive people that were being quietly questioned by several officers. One of them, Asami realized, was Piandao and quickly rushed over to him.

"Piandao!" she said, causing the boy to jump and turn just in time for Asami to crash into him.

"Asami?!" Piandao said with surprise as he found the young woman burying her face against his chest "What are you doing here?"

"I was coming by for lunch" Asami said into his shirt before she pulled back, ignoring how running into him felt like trying to tackle a statue "What happened?"

"Triple Threat Triads" Piandao revealed with a sigh as he nodded to the now destroyed tea shop "My boss went to try and negotiate them into lowering our 'protection fee'. Safe to say, they didn't"

"Is he okay?" Asami asked as she could hear her father calling out for her.

"One of the officers told me that he was just 'dropped off' at a hospital" Piandao said with a uneasy look on his face "He's... he's in bad shape I'm told"

"How bad?" Asami asked worriedly.

"Bad enough their not sure he'll make it to tomorrow" Piandao said in a grim tone before he turned towards Asami's father, being escorted by two police officers.

She could see Piandao's eyes widened as he recognized the man, just about everyone, even the homeless uneducated and drugged out of their minds denizens that inhabited the city could recognize the Hiroshi Sato from all of the times his photograph has appeared on the front of either newspapers or billboard signs scattered throughout the city.

"Asami!" Hiroshi said as he finally reached his daughter, a bit out out breath from all the running "What in the Spirits names has gotten into you? Rushing into a obvious crime scene with no idea of what's going on! You could've been hurt or worse young lady!"

"Sorry..." Asami said with a wince as her father continued to scold her before he finally noticed Piandao standing next to her.

"Oh, excuse me..." the successful businessman said with a embarrassed grin "I'm afraid I didn't see you there mister..."

"Parkah... Piandao Parkah sir" Piandao said with a cough as his eyes flickered back and forth between Asami and Hiroshi, the dots finally connecting "I uh, I take it Asami is your daughter, sir?"

"She is indeed" Hiroshi said with a nod before he turned his gaze back towards her, a frown growing on his face "We'll talk more about this later young lady"

"Yes daddy" Asami said with a sigh of defeat, so far things were not going how she hoped.

Hiroshi nodded firmly at this before he seemed to notice the tea shop behind them "Oh my... is that-"

"Yes daddy, that was the tea shop I was bringing you to" Asami said with dismay as she finally got a clear look at the damage inflicted upon it.

In all honesty, it looked like some of the pictures she's seen of long abandoned villages and towns from the Hundred Year War scattered throughout the Earth Kingdom that were never reclaimed following the war's conclusion. Chunks of earth sticking out of it and clear signs of a fire had broken out at some point during the horrid event.

"Oh dear..." Hiroshi said with a sad expression "It did seem quite lovely"

Asami nodded before she turned back towards Piandao "Was anyone hurt?"

"Thankfully not" Piandao said with a shake of his head as he looked around "There was an Earthbender here when it happened. He deflected a lot of the stone slabs thrown at the store before he high tailed it out of here when the police arrived"

"Not a fan of the law I take it?" Asami said with a small grin in attempt to somewhat lighten the mood.

"He was a Sandbender, so probably not given a lot of them are thieves and raiders" Piandao said with a shrug before he frowned "Wow... that sounded kinda racist"

"If he was a Sandbender mister Parkah, than I doubt your wrong" Hiroshi said with a slight scoff, earning an annoyed glare from Asami.

"Dad" she said with an edge of warning in her voice.

Today was supposed to be the day where she introduces her dad to Piandao, maybe swing him a good job at Future Industries and maybe, just maybe get a actual date with him. Not listen to her father's anti-bending rhetoric that in her opinion was just a few shades shy of the garbage she'd heard some of those 'Equalists' sprout out at some of the parks and markets she's been to.

Hiroshi blinked at the tone in his daughter's voice and sighed "I'm sorry dear..."

"To be fair, he did admit that some Sandbending tribes weren't very law abiding" Piandao said with a cough in attempt to dissipate the somewhat tense and awkward atmosphere.

"Don't encourage him Parkah!" Asami rounded on Piandao and pointed a finger at his nose.

"Sorry" he gulped.

"You better be" Asami huffed as she turned her attention to her father who was now speaking to one of the Metalbenders that had responded to the attack "Well, this isn't how I wanted to introduce you to my father"

"Could've been worse... Asami Sato" Piandao said as he spared a glance at Asami.

"Sorry..." Asami winced at the addition of her last name to her first "I just... I just wanted to you to like me for me... not because of who my family is"

"Too late, already like your last name more than you and I expect a brand new straight off the line Satomobile as a result" Piandao said with a straight face "I want it cherry red with platinum engravings in the shapes of ancient fire and water spirits. and I want the headlights to be red instead of white or yellow"

"I'll get right on that mister Parkah" Asami said with a eye roll before she froze and gave Piandao a playful look as she folded her arms across her chets and quirked a brow at the teen "Do you even know how to drive Piandao?"

"..."

"..."

"...That's besides the point" Piandao said with a cough as he adverted his gaze from the smirking woman.

"Well lucky for you I do and I'll be happy to give you lessons if you even need them" Asami said as she reached up and poked Piandao's nose.

"I'll keep that in mind" Piandao said with a soft chuckle as he reached up and pulled Asami's finger away from his nose before she could poke it again.

Asami giggled at this before her father called her over to give a statement to the police officer, leaving Piandao to his thoughts.

Piandao turned his gaze from Asami back towards what was left of the Silver Spoon with a saddened expression before he glanced down the road that the Triple Threats drove down after they attacked the shop. His eyes narrowed and his hand slowly began to contort into a fist as he remembered the laughter the Earthbender and Firebender made after their respective attacks on the shop. The screams of the men and women that were just enjoying tea when suddenly the shop they were in ended up like some old Hundred Year War battlefield. Just a bunch of innocent people trying to enjoy their day when some bully came out of nowhere and started to harass them. It was than that the interior of the tea shop, or what was left of it, was replaced with the underground ring he took part in... where his Uncle Bato had died.

All his power and he couldn't save the closet thing he had to a father...

Piandao shook his head of those thoughts and quickly turned to leave when he felt Asami's hand on his shoulder. He paused and looked to see the young heiress looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

"Piandao, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm-..." Piandao began before he stopped as he considered what he was doing.

He had the ability to lift fucking cars and forklifts over his head, scale across walls like some kind of demented spider thing, could dodge explosions and literal lightning fired from crazed firebenders and some kind of sixth sense that allowed him to dodge said explosions and lightning fired from said crazed firebenders. And what was he doing with all that power?

Nothing.

And because of that, people like the Triple Threat Triads were allowed to do whatever they want...

'They wouldn't have done this if they knew someone would push back' Piandao thought as he glanced back down the street the car went 'None of them would'

"Piandao?" Asami said as she stepped in front of him and forced him to look at her "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing Asami... just thinking is all" Piandao said with a blink before he adverted his gaze.

"About?" Asami asked with a frown.

"Just... just I wish someone would actually do something about these people" Piandao nodded in the direction the Triads fled "Show them that they wont get away with things like this..."

Asami felt a slight chill crawl up her spine as she noticed the dark anger in Piandao's eyes.

...

And done.

Next chapter, Retaliation...