Injustice

by Julia451

Kuvira may be defeated, but her supporters haven't gone anywhere, to the disgust of Asami. She confides in Suyin how she's beginning to wonder if there's any point in trying to be a hero in a world that loves evil so much. Served with a side of Korrasami. Not for Kuvira fans.

"Another tragic story of a hero who doubled her efforts while losing sight of her goal."

"A victim of tragic circumstances, tortured by her inner demons."

"She dedicated her life to protecting the weak and exploited, to fighting for justice, equality, and stability."

"A hero with the noblest of goals, willing to do anything to get what she wanted."

"All she wanted was to protect the world, the way her parents should have protected her."

"She vowed she would never abandon her people in their time of need."

"She fought for the glory of her kingdom, short-changed and humiliated at the end of the last war."

"She was willing to make any sacrifice for the greater good."

"Everything she did, she did out of love for her people, for justice, and for equality."

"She spread peace and prosperity everywhere she went."

"Noble intentions sullied by the pain of her past."

"An honorable hero forced into evil by an unhappy childhood."

"A selfless philanthropist and fierce warrior."

"A hero."

"A hero."

"A great hero."

"A true hero."

"Long live the Great Uniter!"

"The Earth Empire will rise again!"

"You had no right to do this, Avatar!"

"Release Kuvira!"

"She doesn't deserve to be punished!"

"She never intended for anyone to get hurt!"

"She didn't want to hurt anyone!"

"She did the right thing!"

"We want Kuvira back!"

"We love you, Kuvira!"

Asami couldn't explain why she kept putting herself through the torture of reading the paper every morning. Was it to see if the stories had finally stopped? If the world had come to its senses yet? No – she'd given up hope of that long ago. Maybe it was because it would be pointless – even if she'd stopped reading what they wrote about Kuvira, she couldn't block out the sounds of the protesters screaming in the streets every day.

One of the few places she couldn't hear them was the cemetery. She'd carried out her father's wishes, set down in his will long before he'd met the Equalists – he'd been buried right next to his wife, his name and dates of birth and death added to the stone. She set a wreath of white roses down for them and knelt in the grass, savoring the peace. She pulled at a few weeds as she said, "Company's doing well, Dad, Mom. We're making a lot of progress demolishing the ruins of the old downtown – just getting it into a safer state. I'm working on a deal with the Bei Fongs about rebuilding the domes of Zaofu and installing a better rail system (they want to expand the city). I'm going down there next week to work out the details. They've offered me my own land in the city, if I want, but I haven't decided if I'll accept that or not. I wonder if I'd use it for anything... Korra and I are trying to figure out where we'll build our house... I know she likes it there – she'll be meeting me there next week. It's been almost a month since I've seen her... Avatar duties, you know. It'll be great to get away from this city for a while. Nothing's changed. Kuvira's old supporters are still around, still talking about how great she was and all the good she did and how much she suffered and how nothing she did was her fault and..."

She gripped her head in both hands and shook it to stop herself – she didn't want to bring that insanity here, of all places. "I don't know how long I'll be away. It'll be great to see Bolin and Opal again, too – Korra says they should be getting engaged any day now. Hard to argue with her – they must be the second happiest couple on the planet. Opal can't stand it, either; she's been back to some of the earliest provinces to join the Earth Empire and says people can't stop singing Kuvira's praises..." There she went again! Why couldn't she just forget about that horrible woman?

The answer was right in front of her. Asami sighed as she got to her feet. "I might not be back for a while, so... bye for now. I love you both. And miss you. Every day." Tears were coming to her eyes now. "I'm sorry you didn't get to meet Korra, Mom. I'm sorry you didn't get to know her, Dad. She's so grateful to you for saving me. For saving all of us." She could see it again – the suit moving away from her as her seat flew back into the air, the ice shattering, the hand coming down. She could hear the wind whooshing in her ears, the creak of the gears in the arm, the crush of the metal as it crumpled under the blow... She shook her head again and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad," she whispered before turning and walking away.

There had been a brief period right after she and Korra had returned from the Spirit World when she would get swarmed by reporters between here and her office or home whenever she left here, always at a technically respectful distance from the cemetery, though, as if they were predators waiting along the path they knew their prey frequented regularly and where they would have the best opportunity to pounce. At first, she'd ignored them, but she'd quickly learned that only made them more determined to hunt her down. Then, she'd tried to keep the conversation on things she didn't mind discussing with strangers, like Future Industries, but all they'd insisted on asking about was her and Korra. She had never given them any satisfaction in that area – that was too precious a pearl to be cast before swine, given up to the masses for their entertainment and gossip fodder.

It wasn't long, however, before she would have given anything to be pressed for nothing but juicy details about her relationship with Korra. The excitement of that revelation eventually died down and was replaced with the public's real passion – their worship of Kuvira. Oh, she had her haters, all right – people who had lost their homes, families, and freedom to her; who knew she was a tyrant every bit as power-hungry as Fire Lords Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai; who realized she used the same Advanced Culture's Burden argument they had to conquer lands and claim it was all in the name of sharing their nation's greatness with people too stupid to understand how the new technology and rules would benefit them; who didn't believe having an unhappy childhood gave you the right to try to take over the world; who didn't think the deaths and imprisonment of innocent people were a reasonable price to pay for some vague, undefined greater good; who didn't see loss of freedom as a greater good.

They existed... and the majority of the world hated them. Those who had supported Kuvira from the start still did so. They remembered her as a hero, the savior of the Earth Kingdom, a martyr for a good cause, selflessly devoted to the good of her people... or as a victim who was not responsible for her actions, whose parental abandonment issues excused everything she did and made her immune to criticism. Most of the public worshiped the strong, impressive, selfless, heroic, noble Kuvira and expected everyone who heard of her to do the same, and they chose the city where she'd met her downfall as their battleground.

The first time reporters asked for Asami Sato's opinion on the former Earth Emperor's trial for war crimes, she'd blinked in astonishment. "Do you feel sorry for her, Miss Sato? Do you think she did a good job? Do you think the United Republic should be returned to the Earth Kingdom? What do you consider Kuvira's greatest accomplishment? Will you be testifying? Do you think a woman who was just trying to save her people should be executed?"

They'd repeated the questions until, caught off guard by the insane implication that there could be any question of this woman deserving to be convicted, she'd blurted out the truth: "She was a monster! I hate her! She killed my father!"

"Do you forgive her, like you forgave your father?"

"I forgive her like Katara forgave Yon Rha!"

"Do you blame Raiko for surrendering? Do you blame the Avatar for not surrendering?"

"She had no right to demand people surrender their freedom!"

There was a hush she hadn't expected. "You're not saying you don't support Kuvira's cause? Regardless of what you have against her personally, you know she was an honorable warrior protecting her people?"

By then, the outburst of emotion had passed, and she was able to speak rationally and explain herself: "She killed my father. She tried to kill the woman I love. She killed anyone who wouldn't bow to her. She's an evil person, through and through, who killed and blackmailed to get what she wanted. She never wanted to 'help' anyone – she only wanted power, and she manipulated everyone into believing that she enslaved and plundered the provinces of the Earth Kingdom for their own good. It was her duty to share the greatness she possessed in technology and knowledge with everyone, she said, whether they wanted it or not – she was no better than the Fire Lords of the Hundred Year War. She took over a prosperous city that didn't need her help at all because she wanted its resources, so she could steal from its people – she was no better than Earth Queen Hou-Ting. She robbed people of their rights, their freedom, their homes, and even their lives, and for what? To unite them? Why?! What was supposed to be so beneficial about being 'united'? Why was this undefined 'unity' so great that it was better than freedom? How was forcing people to bow to her and give her everything she wanted heroic? She was just another, particularly clever, attractive dictator who had to be stopped like any other power-hungry villain! I don't feel sorry for her at all! I hate her and everything she did! I hate her!"

Once that was published the next day, the mob of protesters surely would have tried to kill her if Korra hadn't been there. How dare she disapprove of what Kuvira did! How dare she dislike the woman! How dare she not pity her! How dare she think what she did was wrong! A brief display from the Avatar made it clear they did not want to mess with the Avatar's girl, and they had never tried to gang up on Asami again, but Korra couldn't silence the protesters or stop the articles about what a wonderful person Kuvira was, how much everyone loved her, and how no one had the right to think otherwise.

There were moments when the injustice of it all made Asami want to scream, vomit, and punch something all at the same time. The world could forgive every crime except hating someone for the crimes they committed. Every sort of evil was acceptable except hating someone for being evil. Freedom was unimportant, but slavery was desirable if it came with bread and circuses. A dictator was a hero as long as she claimed to be serving the greater good. Evil was good as long as the doer claimed to be acting from selfless motives. Evil was to be celebrated, worshiped, and admired; those who disapproved would not be tolerated. Most importantly, as long pain caused you to do evil things, nothing you did was your fault. If pain drove you to hurt others, you deserved sympathy; if pain just drove you to feel unhappy, like it had for Korra, but you didn't hurt anyone, you were a whiny crybaby who should just get over it.

Asami used to wonder why Korra didn't hate the public's attitude toward Kuvira as much as she did, especially since they were the same people who criticized Korra for the stress and despair she went through after her traumatic experience at the hands of the Red Lotus and Zaheer. Shouldn't she have been outraged that the world worshiped Kuvira for trying to take over the world because her parents abandoned her but rolled their eyes at Korra for being in pain because she'd been brutally assaulted and almost killed? If Korra had coped with her pain by becoming a tyrant, would they have sympathized with her?

But Korra didn't see it that way. She still felt sorry for Kuvira, said her ordeal with the Red Lotus had taught her compassion. That didn't make any sense to Asami – lack of compassion had never been a fault of Korra's, never a major flaw that she needed to work on or correct – and she didn't like the theory that what Korra suffered for all those years had been good for her because it taught her something. But she couldn't say that – if that interpretation gave Korra some comfort, if that rationalization allowed her to accept and cope with what she'd been through, Asami certainly couldn't deny her that comfort. So pity and hatred for Kuvira became the one subject the lovers never discussed.

Nobody else had such qualms. Their first dinner in Zaofu, Opal had recounted how the people of Yai had recently dedicated the memorial statue to the hero who had saved their town from starvation; they'd waited until all the Firebenders and Waterbenders who had been removed from the province and had returned had left again, unwelcome by the pure Earth Kingdom citizens who had taken their homes and possessions and weren't happy about having to give them back. Korra asked if she should go and try to talk to them, but Opal told her there was no point – the displaced citizens would rather start over than live where they'd suffered so much. Korra wasn't surprised; it was a situation she had dealt with too many times to count over the past few weeks.

When dinner was over, Asami went out on one of the patios and leaned against the railing to watch the sunset behind the mountain. She was soon joined by Suyin. "I've invited Varrick to our meeting tomorrow," the matriarch informed her. "I thought it might help to have two great minds on board."

"It will," Asami agreed (she would never share a company with the man again, but she could work with him). "I heard about Zhu Li – how's she doing?"

"Couldn't be better," Su replied with a smile. "Not due for a while yet, but all signs are good so far."

Asami smiled back as she said, "Good," but her smile quickly faded.

"How are things in Republic City?" Su asked her, her smile now gone, too.

"Just fine. Same as always..."

Su frowned and nodded in understanding. "I see." Both women stared at the horizon for a while before she spoke again: "I'm glad everyone's enjoying the freedom to think and speak freely that the woman they worship never would have allowed them." She knew the passion of Kuvira's supporters as well as Asami did – probably even better, thanks to the reports Opal brought back after her missions for the Air Nomads.

Asami gripped the railing tightly, trembling, trying to resist the urge to seize the opportunity she'd just been given, sure she'd be entering dangerous territory. When she said nothing, Su asked her, "Are they still giving you a hard time after that statement you made?"

"No – now the reporters are ignoring me, and I could kneel before them in gratitude for it."

"But you can't ignore them... I don't know how you can bear it, Asami."

"I don't. Every time I look at the paper, every time I walk down the street, there they are: her fan club, raving about her heroics, ranting about the pain of parental abandonment, mourning the loss of such a great leader..." The dam had been broken – the flood couldn't be held back now. Asami pounded her fist on the railing, releasing all the pent up frustration she'd been holding in for weeks. "It's so ridiculous! She was a murderer and a hypocrite! She treated anyone who didn't see her as worthy of surrendering their entire life and soul to like an enemy who must be snuffed out! She didn't set people free – she took their freedom! She didn't make people safe – unless they obeyed her unconditionally! She ruled by fear, blackmail, and intimidation! Why can't people see she wasn't some tragic hero?!"

"It's nothing new," Su said matter-of-factly but with sympathy in her eyes. "People have always worshiped villains, always loved and cheered for evil."

"But why?"

"They don't see taking away people's freedom for the greater good as evil."

"Is everyone really that foolish?"

"Sadly, no – others know it's evil but admire people 'brave' enough to resort to evil methods. They say they're more interesting, more proactive than heroes who do good."

"But if that's the case..." Asami clamped her mouth shut, clenched the railing in both hands and looked down, but she could feel Su looking at her, asking her to finish. Could she admit her most horrible thought to this woman? One of the few people in the world who hated Kuvira as much as she did? Who had suffered just as much at the tyrant's hands? Lost something just as precious to her? Would she understand? She needed someone to confide in, someone to trust with her ugly secret. Asami took a deep breath, then, keeping her gaze firmly on the view before her, whispered, "Maybe it's better to just be evil." She had to pause before continuing: "I miss my mother and father so much. Every day, I wonder, how would they treat me if I took that pain out on innocent people, if I set out to create a dictatorship and snuff out freedom in the name of stopping anyone from hurting anyone else again, if I became madly devoted to creating a world where no one would ever lose a family member to violence again... unless they disobeyed me? Would they sympathize with me then? Would they stop criticizing me? Would they criticize Kuvira for killing my father if I'd just let her doing so drive me to evil? I lost my mother when I was a child. My father betrayed me, and I lost my home and fortune. I lost the man I loved. I struggled to redeem my family's and company's name and honor, only to be betrayed by the partner I trusted. I lost the woman I love for three years. Then I lost my father just after we'd started to mend things between us. It all hurt so much, but I thought the right thing to do was fight through it and not let the pain turn me into me something dark and evil."

"It was."

"Then why does the world punish and hate you for that and reward you for the opposite? Take your pain out on the innocent, and you're a hero. Fight against the pain, and you're a whore who stole the Avatar's guy and then stole the Avatar from him! Whine about how your suffering gives you license to kill and enslave, and you're admirable. Don't complain, and you're a prude. It's just so... so..."

"Unjust."

Asami hung her head, sighing in exhaustion. "Exactly. Sometimes, I just feel like... it's not worth it. I feel like I want to make all Earth Empire fanatics pay for what their leader did to my father. And I wonder... why shouldn't I? Everyone loves a villain."

"Why don't you?"

She'd never thought about that before. She had to consider it for a minute: "Because I know it's wrong. Because I'm cursed with a conscience."

"But why? Why do you think you care about right and wrong?" Asami looked at her, genuinely curious what she was getting at. "There's a theory that all evil is weakness – that those who resort to evil means to get what they want do so because they're too weak to get it by fair means. If Kuvira had truly been worthy of worship and tribute, she wouldn't have needed to threaten, blackmail, and bribe provinces with bread and circuses into submitting to her. The truth is, she knew she wasn't worthy of the unquestionable worship of an entire kingdom (no human being is), so she had to resort to extorting it from people. She needed others' worship to feel good about herself. But you, you're already satisfied with yourself. You're confident in your own strength and worth. You don't need to cause others pain to feel powerful. You don't need to extort signs of admiration from unwilling victims to feel proud of yourself. Your strength comes from within, not from others' fear or approval. As long as you know you're a strong person inside, you don't need to force people to fake it for you outside. Kuvira thought, if she could force every person in the Earth Kingdom and United Republic to bow down and acknowledge how wonderful and powerful she was, she would feel wonderful and powerful, but it didn't work – if it had, she would have been satisfied. She kept conquering and subduing more and more lands because it was never enough – she never felt satisfied; she couldn't because none of that changed who she was inside, except to fill her soul with even more darkness until she snuffed out the little ability to love she had. You already know that doesn't work, so you won't try it. And because you're strong enough to earn others' respect and love through honest means, you don't need to resort to that."

Asami was silent as she let all that sink in. "You really believe that?"

"I do. You're too strong to turn evil, Asami. Most of the world doesn't understand that; they see people who aren't willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want – no matter how unreasonable or dishonest – as weak and afraid. But what others think doesn't matter. You have every right to like what you like and hate what you hate. Don't let it spoil your life or happiness, but don't try to deny it, either. It's denial that drives people to redirect their anger to innocent targets."

"No danger of that." Asami narrowed her eyes and raised her head. "I know becoming some villain wouldn't make me feel better. I would never want anything to change me the way Amon changed my father. But I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive Kuvira."

"You should write to Katara. She knows what that's like."

"Maybe I will. But she can't stop the madness." She shook her head as the memory of all the praise and pity for the old Earth Emperor flashed through her mind again. "The injustice of it all is what I can't stand."

Su put a hand on her shoulder in support. "Well, then, you should enjoy your time here. There's not a person in Zaofu irrational enough to see Kuvira as anything but the monster she was."

A few days in the city showed Asami just how right she was. "You look happy," Korra said two weeks later as she came into the study where the head of Future Industries was examining a model of the city.

Asami removed a highway and said, "I haven't been this happy in weeks. I'm in my element here."

Korra giggled at her pun but frowned as she looked at the model, so different from the city they'd visited three years ago. She picked up a miniature piece of dome scheduled to be replaced soon. "I can't believe Kuvira took this beautiful city just to take it apart to make her death machine..."

Asami, realizing where this was going, reached over and laid her hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault. You fought to the brink of death to stop her."

"But I couldn't." Korra put the dome back and sighed.

Asami looked away and started moving some things around without knowing what she was picking up or where she was putting it down. "Well, it's over now, and she was just trying to help her people, right?"

"Not these people. I understand why she did what she did, but that doesn't make it right." That was more than Asami had ever heard Korra say against the woman before. It was still far too generous for Asami's taste, but it would do. "I like it here," was the last thing Korra said before she left. Was that her heart's way of admitting what her mind couldn't? That she was relieved to find a place that promoted knowledge and freedom instead of evil?

The next day, Asami finally decided to show Korra the land the Bei Fongs had offered her. There was no building on the site yet, but it was right next to a branch of the river and had a stunning view of the western side of the city. "What do you think?" she asked.

The Avatar gave her a knowing smile. "What do I think about what?"

Asami grinned back. "Do you think this would be a good place to build a house?"

Korra cupped her hand in her own. "I think it would be a great place."