Mindbending
Summary: After her return from their Spirit World vacation and the end of Kuvira's reign, Avatar Korra believes she will finally have the time to just relax. Numerous reports rise that people are disappearing and acting out of the usual. With one of the members of the defunct Red Lotus returning, it is time for Avatar Korra to face her toughest opponent yet, herself, since she is public enemy number one, all because of mindbending.
Setting: Set after series finale.
I. Blossom of the Red Lotus
The dark cave underneath Laghima's Peak hadn't been touched since massive battle of Mako and Bolin versus Ming-Hua and Ghazan three years ago. The ground remained crusted over from the cooled lava, and the smell of smoke wafted through out of the air. Singed rock constantly cracked as cool air wafted in.
In a deeper part of the cavern a giant pool of water was consistently filled by a small waterfall. Numerous sharp rocks broke the surface of the pool, causing small whirlpools around the edges. Electricity filled the air, crackling every few minutes.
A small stream of water from the waterfall started to glow a light blue. The stream was bent and floated in the air, slowly crawling its way over to the giant pool of water. The stream glowed brighter before slipping into the giant pool of water. It squirmed its way down towards the dark depths of the pool.
At the bottom a lone body floated across the ground with the current. Long dark black hair fanned out around the head in all directions. The glowing stream of water stretched out so that it became long enough to spiral around the body; slowly pushing it back up towards the surface of the pool.
Once near the top, the glowing stream of water forced itself through the chest of the body. As it disappeared fully, the body began to shine brightly. The electricity in the air quickly disappeared, and the waterfall immediately ceased to flow.
Ming-hua's head broke the surface as she took in a deep breath.
"Now that you two are back from where ever it was you went, Team Avatar is in full force mode!" Bolin said happily as he plucked the cherry out of his drink and fed it to Pabu before sucking down the frothy liquid.
After returning from their Spirit World vacation, Asami and Korra realized they were gone far longer than they had intended to be. Around a month had passed in the Physical World, although in the Spirit World it only felt like a week or two.
Upon their return to Air Temple Island, they were happily greeted by the rest of Team Avatar and their friends. After answering and deflecting questions, the group of four had settled out in the quad of Air Temple Island; enjoying the calm and quiet day. Korra had bundled up her hair into a messy bun and stuck a twig into it to hold it in place.
"Is Team Avatar really needed now?" Asami questioned.
Bolin quickly swallowed the drink in his mouth before belching. Asami rolled her eyes and glared at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Korra took a seat on the grass next to Asami. She slipped her shoes off before wiggling her toes on the cold ground. "Asami has Future Industries, Mako is working closely with Prince Wu in the Earth Kingdom, you're back with the Fire Ferrets and working in Zaofu," she listed off, "And I'm….the Avatar. Has anything happened since I've been gone?"
"No," Mako admitted, "but you said it yourself, you're the Avatar. Someone or something is always after you or out to destroy the world."
Bolin nodded in confirmation, "Team Avatar first and foremost have been friends-"
"Actually, we were two brothers and two girls fighting over one of the brother's," Asami pointed out. "Later, we all became friends."
Bolin looked over at her, annoyance flashing over his features for a second before brightening up again. "My point is...we probably won't get much time to spend together anymore, especially with Korra working on her spiritual stuff and going back and forth to her water tribe. We need to be close and there for each other as much as possible."
"So what are you suggesting, Bolin?" Mako questioned. He picked up a piece of grass before placing it between his lips. He started to chew the blade softly. "We all travel back here every weekend and hang out?"
"That's actually not a bad idea," Bolin tapped his chin as he pondered the thought.
"I was joking. Aren't we a little too old for that?"
Korra earth bent a small piece of rock. She flicked her finger and sent the rock smacking into Mako's forehead. Asami giggled.
"Well, first things first, we can't have anyone date anyone else in this group," Bolin declared.
Korra shrugged her shoulders. Asami shifted a bit and placed her hands behind her and leaned back to hold her weight while crossing her legs. She felt heat radiating off of Korra's arm and forced herself not to glance over.
"Does that need to be a rule?" Mako asked.
"Well, when you dated Korra you two basically were split down the middle and helped cause the Civil War between the North and South Poles," Bolin explained. Korra looked over at Mako before grimacing. Mako coughed twice into his hand before scratching the back of his head.
"And Asami-"
"Yes?" Asami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Didn't really do anything," Bolin quickly finished. Asami smiled before flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. "Actually, she was more of an innocent victim, so that;s directed more towards Mako and Korra."
"Hey!" Korra cried.
"Bolin!" Mako moaned with agitation.
"What? I'm sure deep down you both still have feelings for each other, and we can't go down that road again." Bolin picked up Pabu and placed him in his lap before petting his back. Pabu chirped happily before flopping over onto his back to get a stomach rub. "We need to be friends first and to be there for each other. We need to live up to the reputation of the first Team Avatar."
"What about you?" Mako asked. Bolin looked over at him in confusion. Mako smirked, "you dated Korra."
"You dated Korra?" Asami repeated. She looked between the earthbender and the Avatar before laughing.
"It wasn't a date," Korra said stiffly. "Just a misunderstanding, but everything is cool now."
"Geez, you sure do get around Korra," she chuckled.
Bolin, Mako, and Asami laughed at the shocked look on the Avatar's face. After a few seconds Korra joined in. Naga slowly crawled her way into the group and nuzzled the side of her owner's cheek. Korra happily handed her a small treat from her pocket before using Naga's side as a pillow.
We need to get back to work," Mako said. "Chief Beifong will have my head if I'm late; she only let me have an hour and a half break." He waited as Korra and Asami climbed to their feet before giving them each a hug. "It was great seeing you. Let's catch up later."
"See you soon, ladies," Bolin said while giving a swift bow. He smiled softly before wrapping them in a big embrace. "Come, Pabu. The Fire Ferrets will not do well in the upcoming tournament without their mascot." He held his arm out and Pabu jumped up and climbed onto his shoulder.
Asami and Korra waved as he rushed off. Korra brushed her hair out of her face before motioning down at the ground. Asami shrugged and nodded once.
"That Bolin," Korra chuckled. She resumed her seat on the ground and snuggled into Naga's side. Asami sat down next to her and started to pluck some pieces of grass. She removed a flower from the soil before placing it behind her ear.
"I love the guy but he sure knows how to get my bad side kind of quickly," Asami sighed, "of course, not as quickly as Varrick."
"I think he's afraid of you," Korra commented.
"Is that so?"
"Well you silenced him pretty quickly just by looking at him," she pointed out. Korra looked up at the sky and smiled in content as she felt the breeze. "Who knew, under that girly exterior may just be a badass."
"May be?" Asami repeated. She ripped up a handful of grass and threw it towards Korra's face. Korra simply tilted her head to the side; a strong breeze of wind picked up and blew the blades of grass away from her face.
"I'm only kidding." Korra smirked. "I know you can kick some serious ass when needed." She knocked Asami's shoulder with hers, "he is a breath of fresh air, though."
"Very true," Asami nodded. "He does make playing Pai Sho a lot more interesting."
"Ow!" Korra cried out while grabbing at her head.
Ming-Hua groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She whimpered in pain as water splashed up into them. Her water tendrils planted themselves firmly onto the banks of the pool so that she could lift up her body. She groaned as she felt her feet sliding on the floor from old soot and ash that turned into a slime.
"Oh, my head," she murmured.
"Come quick," a voice echoed in the cavern. Ming-Hua grimaced at the booming voice. She used her water tendrils to move herself to a piece of dry ground before collapsing. While panting and struggling to get to her feet, she heard footsteps echo all around her.
"Don't move," a gruff voice ordered. Ming-Hua twitched sharply as an electric current shot up her body. A man dressed in gold and red robes slowly walked up to her. Ming-Hua twitched again before taking note of him out of the corner of her eye. "You'll only make things worse."
Ming-Hua growled and used a water tendril to grab the air nomad by his ankle. He yelled in shock as he was flung back and forth in the air. "Miss, I'm only trying to help," he shouted. She slammed the air nomad down into the pool of water and held him under for a few seconds before pulling him back out. She then pulled him over towards her, still upside down.
"Y-y-you will tell me….w-w-what I want to know…" she hissed.
"What do you want?" he asked, grimacing as felt the effects of his blood rushing to his head.
Ming-Hua grunted in pain as her body twitched again. She rolled her head to the side so that her hair would fall out of her face. She glared at the airbender while struggling to form a sentence. The airbender swallowed hard. He lowered his ear to her mouth, to hear what she was whispering.
"What did you say?"
Ming-Hua cleared her throat before rasping out, "Where, is she?"
"W-who?" the air nomad asked.
"Y-y-you're…uselesssss!" Ming-Hua threw him over her shoulder, not even flinching when she heard him hit the ground. She took a deep breath before bending her water tendril towards her forehead. She titled her head back, closed her eyes, and touched the limb to her forehead. While grunting in pain, she slowly bent the water straight through her damp forehead.
Millions of lights flashed through her subconscious. She whimpered and twitched as she bent the tendril to go deeper and deeper. The further she went, the number of lights started to fade. The corners of her lips twitched up when she spotted the brightest light.
"Are you okay, Korra?" Asami questioned while placing a hand on her shoulder. Korra squirmed away while continuing to hold her head. After a few seconds she instantly relaxed.
"I'm fine," she muttered while rubbing at her temples. "I just got a bad headache all of a sudden. It's gone now."
Asami continued to look over at her with concern. "Well it's a good thing you're outside. The fresh air always helps me with my headaches."
"Speaking of fresh air, now I can just relax," Korra said happily. She laced her hands behind her head before lying down. Asami smiled softly before laying down next to her; humming softly while looking up at the clouds as they passed by.
"Korra, we need to talk," Tenzin said while exiting the temple. Asami quickly sat up and turned her attention towards him. Korra opened one of her eyes and looked up at him. He was frowning and had a look of discomfort. "It's urgent," he added.
"And here we go," Korra sighed.
"Korra…."
AN: This chapter has been edited by ReinaCole and has been re-posted to reflect the changes.