A/N:
Hello interested readers. While I have uploaded my own fiction on FictionPress, I was asked to make a fiction in the Korra-verse by mankanshoku, who I highly recommend for a solid story. Take a look at the prologue, leave a comment and review, if you feel that the story could improve.
And, above all, thank you for coming. If anyone is interested in my other story, I can provide a link to you at your request. Or, if there is a general interest, I will include it in some form in the next chapter. I do intend to edit it far more according to your comments on my writing style.
Revival
"Take your time Korra, there's no rush."
The Avatar, protector of balance and overseer of the spirit and physical realms, tapped her foot impatiently. She was somewhat upset that she was spending her Sunday on Air Temple Island when she could have been with her friends at the Ty-Lee International Traveling Circus that only comes twice a year.
"Why am I even here? I can clearly airbend just fine." Korra said while producing a small whirlwind in the palm of her hand. She could feel her relaxed muscles tense as she grew slightly more frustrated.
Tenzin, her mentor and guardian, put a calming hand on her shoulder and smiled softly.
"Certainly. I would even say that you are a master. However, there are still things that you must learn. Enter your Ba Gua circle." Tenzin said softly, his voice emanating wisdom, as usual.
Korra moved her limbs into a loose stance, standing inside of the aforementioned circle.
"Now, close your eyes."
Korra did as instructed and loosened her muscles, preparing to move. Tenzin went through a complex airbending form, letting out blasts of air, periodically.
"Feel the wind around you, Korra. The air is a fluid, much like water. Move around the wind. Try to mimic my form." Tenzin said as he threw light wave of air at her. The azure-eyed young woman scrunched her nose in response.
"Don't feel with your body, feel with your spirit. Now that you have become accustomed to energy-bending, sense the spirit energy being pushed around."
He continued his form, pushing blasts of wind at her at random. The experienced Avatar, despite her years of Airbending, was hit by all of them. Normally, she would have gotten frustrated and stormed off. However, her years of training and the recent events over the years that she had been in Republic City had forced her to mature exponentially. She merely continued, her focus increasing with every failure. Her eyebrows relaxed after a minute of exercising and, finally, she found her inner peace. Her body glowed as the energy around her became still.
"That's it...you're doing it, Korra." Tenzin said as he sped up his form, throwing blasts at her more frequently.
Soon after he said that, Korra began bobbing around the wind, twisting and turning in response to the distortion in the energy around her, but not quite repeating the form. The leader of the Nomads continued for another thirty seconds before stopping and signaling Korra to relax.
"What did you see?" Tenzin asked with genuine curiosity.
Korra glanced at her rough, but small hands, contemplating how different her actual sight was from her...other sight.
"The entire world was black. The only thing I could see was white outlines...I guess that was flowing spirit energy. It was everywhere. But I could see several burst flowing from you." Korra said. "I'm actually kind of tired..."
The airbending master walked over to Korra calmly.
"Alright. We will try this again another time. I'm sure you're extremely excited for the circus." he said with a genuine smile.
Korra's exhausted face brightened immediately into one of joy. Her lips curved into an almost child-like grin at the thought of being able to attend the circus with her friends after all.
"Thanks! Looks like you'll be my teacher for a little while longer!" Korra said as she ran away smiling.
Her boots smashed against the grass, crunching it as she made her way to the ship port. As she arrived there and observed the abundance of people leaving Air Temple Island, she decided that it would be more plausible if she avoided it all together. Knowing that she needed to move faster than these boats, she pumped more energy into her powerful legs. The amount of speed that she was generating brought her to the edge of the island quickly. Without a second thought, Korra jumped into the air and span, conjuring air behind her and entering the water like a corkscrew. Her form allowed her to propel her lithe form through the water like a missle. The Avatar's toned core allowed powerful dolphin kicks against the water. As she lost speed, she span once again and bent more water to her will, pushing her further. Within a few minutes of pushing herself with water, she decided that she had traveled far enough and pushed herself above the water. After spotting the Republic City dock, Korra circulated a blaze from her lungs down to her feet, propelling her several yard. Before landing, she bent the air underneath her to cushion the impact of her feet hitting the solid ground.
"Oh yeah...I've still got it." Korra said, after her perfect utilization of three of the four elements.
She continued walking on the empty dock and eventually stumbled upon the busy streets of Republic City. The frigid air of Republic City hit the furs of her new outfit, similar to her old one, but with fur armguards and fur covering the bands of her tank-top on the shoulders. The fur wrapping that hung loosely from her waist was longer, with the symbol of the Southern Water Tribe at the bottom.
"That was...pretty impressive."
Korra looked over to a car, where a woman with jet-black hair was looking at her with interest. Her green eyes pierced through Korra's tough exterior immediately, making her drop her ever-present defenses.
"Asami! What are you doing here?" Korra asked after walking up to her.
"I knew you would try to sneak out of training with Tenzin. It was only a matter of time." Asami said, matter-of-factly.
Korra played with a lock of her hair absent-mindedly and pouted.
"I'm not predictable...and he let me off anyway. He's trying to teach me to use energybending in combat and it's pretty exhausting."
"Ah...I see. Well, in any event, my work is done for the day. And since I knew I would be seeing you, one way or the other, so I went and got you a ticket to the circus." Asami said, holding up a ticket.
Korra took it eagerly.
"You're the best, Asami...I don't know what I would do without you."
"And you better remember it." Asami said with a clever smile. Korra looked at her lips, covered in lipstick, as usual, and felt an immediate desire grip her.
"...If you're not doing anything..." Korra snapped to attention immediately. "...Would you want to get some lunch before the show?"
The Avatar sighed with relief, thinking that she had been caught staring. She slowly relaxed as she regained her misplaced composure.
"S-Sure." Korra said.
She jumped over the door and sat in the car seat next to Asami. Running her fingers into her long, brunette locks, she looked at Asami with a quick, but authentic smile. Within seconds after her doing so, the engineer kissed her pillowy lips tenderly.
"You wanted that, I just thought I would oblige." the raven-haired girl said with a smooth smile.
Korra blushed slightly and looked at her lap, not knowing how to respond. Instead, the proclaimed "most powerful", shoved her hands in between her thighs shyly. Asami chuckled, making her girlfriend even more flustered, and turned the key; the automobile started with a hum.
"Check this out." Asami said. She reached a gloved finger out and touched a button on the dashboard of her car, causing a thin roof to detach from the back and extend to the front and hooking onto the windshield of the front of the car.
"Woah! This car has a roof! How did you do that?!" Korra asked while poking the roof curiously.
Asami pressed another button next to the first one, causing the seal between the roof and windshield to tighten.
"Just a little thing we tried at work. We thought we'd give the customers some options." she answered as she accelerated, moving the car to the road.
It was a quiet day in Republic City. It took 3 years for Republic City to be repaired after Kuvira's invasion, but it got done - mostly with help from Future Industries. Every building was better than it was before. In fact, buildings grew so tall that they were said to touch the skies. Asami called them "skyscrapers", a term that was soon adopted by everyone in Republic City. Everything had taken a turn. Crime had almost stopped completely, but still existed. It seems that the Avatar making Republic City her home had scared off many of the gangs.
In that three years, the relationship between Asami and Korra had grown exponentially. In fact, the two women decided that it would be best if they lived together in Republic City. Of course, rumors spread as they were seen together more frequently. Korra quickly ended the hushed conversations of the city during a press conference for the optimized Hummingbirds, which were being adopted into the Republic City Military, where she confirmed that she and Asami were dating. Everyone was very accepting of the Avatar's choice in partner, and soon, other matters inhabited the minds of the populous.
Asami stopped the car in front of a red building. Korra opened her door and walked over to Asami's side. Quickly, she opened Asami's door as well.
"Why, thank you, Korra." Asami said with a smile.
"Don't mention it." she responded casually.
Korra looked at the building, noticing it's name.
"Four Nations Restaurant and Cafe..." she said. Looking down onto the door, she noted a piece of paper that said 'Spirits Welcome'. The young Avatar couldn't help but find that somewhat cute.
The two walked into the building, where, immediately, a woman came to greet the two.
"Hello Avatar Korra and Ms. Sato. We've been expecting you two."
Korra blinked and leaned to the side of her perfect girlfriend. Ignoring the scent of Asami's well-managed hair, the Avatar thought to tease her girlfriend a little.
"You plan everything, don't you?" she said in a whisper. Her warm breath hit Asami's neck with each word, making the engineer internally shiver.
Asami merely smiled on the outside, keeping her attention on the hostess.
"If you'll follow me, I'll be happy to seat you." she said, presenting a guiding hand before walking in the direction of the restaurant's interior. Passing the common area of the restaurant, the pair entered a secluded area with more dim lighting that complemented the red walls and carpet. There were far fewer tables in this area, but they were more lavish, insinuating that this area was used for special reservations.
"Here you are." the hostess said while pulling the chairs out and ushering the ladies into the seats.
After the two were seated, they were left alone with two menus and a pot of tea.
The Avatar absent-mindedly stared at the steam coming out of the spout. She silently wound a small lock of her brunette hair around a thin finger, appearing to be in deep thought or nervous.
"You're so cute when you play with your hair."
Korra looked up at Asami, who was resting her elbows on the table and propping her head up on her hands. The raven-haired woman smiled, gazing directly into her girlfriend's azure eyes. Avatar Korra could feel her composure slipping slowly as she became somewhat aware of her hands becoming more sweaty.
"Spirits! I hate what she does to me." Korra thought as she grabbed a menu and looked into it to distract her from Asami.
Asami smiled slightly more and decided to check her menu as well. It wasn't long before the ebony-skinned girl grew agitated at the lack of conversation and looked up at her intelligent companion and lost herself.
"So what were you thinking about?" Asami asked, quickly breaking Korra out of her thoughts.
"O-Oh. Nothing really. I'm just a little exhausted."
Asami's green orbs locked onto Korra's neutral face, and knew that there was a greater problem. However, when she opened her mouth to respond, a well-dressed waitress entered the room to take their orders.
When she left a few moments later, Asami looked back at Korra, noticing that she was taking a sip of tea in such a manner that made the Avatar look like she was hiding behind the cup. She continued to stare at Korra, waiting for her to break down.
"Alright, alright, stop that." Korra said with a pout.
Asami smiled at her small victory and basked in Korra's childish pout for a few seconds before taking a sip of tea herself, signaling her girlfriend to continue.
"I'm somewhat anxious. It's just that now that the Equalists have scattered, the Red Lotus was dismantled and Kuvira is behind bars, it's gotten kind of hard for me to get used to the realization that the world is looking to help me manage the balance of both physical and spiritual worlds instead of me doing it all on my own."
Asami lightly tapped a finely manicured finger on the table as she listened to her distressed mate.
"Well, you are still necessary. You still have the strongest connection to the spirits and, from what you tell me, it's because of that connection that only you can energybend."
"That's why I'm anxious. There's gotta be a reason that Tenzin is training me to be able to energybend. I'm lucky that he knows so much about that spiritual theory stuff."
"You know, Korra..." Asami began.
"Here we are."
The two turned their heads to the sound of the waitress who took their order. She was now holding a platter with a lid on it. After placing the platter on the desk, she took off the lid, revealing two bowls of soup.
"Your Egg Drop Soups, ladies. Enjoy."
Asami smiled and nodded in thanks to the waitress. She left the two to their business moments later. When the inventor prepared to continue her conversation, she noticed that Korra's face had become more serious as she stared down at her soup. Asami looked at her own, wondering if there was something strange about it. Noticing a solitary dumpling floating in the center of her soup - odd for this particular type of soup - she picked it up with her spoon and nearly recoiled when she noticed a pulsating blue light from within. Korra's head jolted upward to meet the blue light, and she immediately shot her hand upward, bringing the liquid of the soup around the dumpling in a sphere. The light stayed blue after being surrounded by the soup.
"What...What is that?" Korra asked.
"I don't know. Some kind of technology, clearly, but I can't know for sure without opening the dumpling up."
"That's too dangerous. We don't know if that's some kind of bomb or something."
As the Avatar finished her thoughts, the room's lights went out. The two looked at each other, bathed in the radiance of the device, reflecting and refracting off the clear broth of the soup. If it were not so strange, perhaps the two would have more calm faces.
"I would be able to answer that question for you, Avatar."
A female voice appeared to resonate around the room with authority.
"It looks like things are going to get exciting around here after all." Korra said, almost sarcastically.
"Your joviality amuses me." the voice teased.
Korra slowly lowered the device into the bowl with the rest of the soup and fully extended her fingers outward.
"Enough with this game of hide-and-seek, come on out." Asami said, discreetly pulling a slim glove out of her pocket and putting it on.
"You're quite confident, Miss Sato. I would slow down, though. For your own safety." the voice said.
Asami extended her fingers like Korra did for hers.
"I don't see why she should." Korra said.
Asami's glove immediately began to began to crack with an immense amount of electricity, which she directed toward her more-than-ready girlfriend. The Avatar conducted that electricity through her body, flawlessly. The effect was similar to that of a miniature lightning storm; it was both beautiful and effective.
"Resourceful...the reports that I've received are quite different than the reality." the voice said, understanding the amount of skill and cohesion required to execute such a technique.
Korra pointed one finger upward, discharging only a small amount of lightning into the ceiling of the room, forcefully opening a bridge for current to flow into the lights and turning them on.
Asami stood up and put on another glove.
"So we have company on our nice lunch...you know, between the publicity and this, I think I prefer the cameras..." Korra said, while standing up and getting into a grounded stance. Her arms became coated in the remaining lightning that she channeled.
"I don't think anyone is a fan of opponents they can't see, so why don't you just come out. Or I can go ahead and fire away in here." Korra said with no sign of fibbing.
"Try your hand at it. I guarantee you won't have much luck."
A shadow appeared directly from behind Asami. She appeared to have glowing green eyes and a facemask. Asami flipped around and threw an elbow in an attempt to disorient whoever was behind her and missed. Korra ran around to the side of Asami and shifted her foot, focusing on the return of vibrations from around the room. Detecting the intruder, she aimed all of her fingers her direction and discharged a quick bolt of lightning. It hit the red walls, marking them black at the location of impact.
"Dammit. How?!" Korra said with frustration. "Asami, we need to get out of this room!"
The sound of laughter was heard bouncing off the walls moments after Korra announced her retreat. Korra began to sweat at how familiar the laughter sounded.
"...Amon?!" Korra exclaimed silently.
A pregnant silence followed.
"The Equalists were flawed. They could not see beyond the removal of benders, an arguably natural part of our world. They pale in comparison to what will follow. However, there is one thing that I do agree with...You, Avatar, and your cohorts are no longer needed as figureheads in this city, nor are you needed in this world...You will be incarcerated one-by-one for your interference. And if you resist, we will eliminate you."
"Incarcerated...you know, the last person that tried that is in prison right now." Korra said with a grin. "You're welcome to try..." Korra said as she closed her eyes, slowly feeling the spiritual energy flowing around her. Hardened, azure-eyes looked toward the one spot that energy was not flowing and knew her opponent was there. "...but know this. Since you've threatened my friends, I will not hesitate to bring you down."
"Hmph..."
Suddenly, the energy in the spot that was occupied by her opponent began flowing naturally. Korra lost all traces of her opponent.
"Where did she go...?! It's as if she just vanished into thin air!" the Avatar exclaimed.
She felt Asami's hand grab her arm and pull.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Asami said quietly. The dark-skinned woman continued to look at the spot occupied by her opponent and grimaced, letting Asami calmly lead her out of the restaurant.
As she entered the Satomobile, Korra's mind became a battlefield of theories.
Unfortunately, she could not shake the thought that the incoming threat would change her world, both for the better and the worst.
"I don't like this..." Korra said. "I think we need to make a trip to the police department. Lin's going to need to know about this."
"Right...and Korra?" Asami put her hand on Korra's lap and rubbed it slowly. "Don't worry. You have all of our support. We'll stop whoever this is."
~END~
