A Legend of Korra Snapfic

A Flock of Seagulls

By

Joshua Trujillo

Asami absently watched her little redheaded adjunct, Abigail, bounce around the engineers at trackside. There was truly something soothing about watching the girl as she went through her duties in Asami's name. She thought it odd that she should trust the girl as much as she did, but she knew that Abigail would never betray that trust in her. Loyalty had been something her father cultivated in his people and Asami saw little reason to change it. She sighed to herself. The more she tried to get away from her father, the more she realized that he really did do things the right way around. She stopped her ruminating and sat up a little as her car coasted in to a stop. It sounded a little off, but then, her new test driver had a bit of a lead foot too. That was fine with Asami as her other drivers seemed to want to baby the machines.

Asami smiled as she looked around the track. She'd always been into machines, ever since she was a little girl, but she felt something of an affinity for the track. Racing around it at ridiculous speeds soothed her and even calmed her better than almost anything. Well, that was until she began to fly the new aerocars. Those went even faster. Bolin had thought it was a strange name, aerocar, but it fit. It had an engine, it went fast and it could, in theory, transport lots of people. If she could build one big enough. She'd have to think about it. Aeroplane was the name Korra came up with. She didn't know where either, it just came to her. Okay, so they'd been her father's invention, but didn't that mean that Asami was the one who got to name them?! Seriously. She huffed out and brought her attention back to the track.

The driver got out of the car and stretched a little as he removed his helmet. Abigail picked up a towel and presented it to him. He seemed surprised, but happy about it. Abigail looked so cute when she crushed on someone. For his part, the taller man wiped his still-gaunt face and gratefully began to run the numbers with her. He looked up into the stand and gave Asami a wave. Asami smiled and waved back.

No. He still hadn't recovered his memories yet. Asami couldn't say it was a pity for the man called Ran Tzu, for she didn't know what the man would do if his memories ever did return. Maybe he would want to kill them all. Maybe he'd just be grateful for the opportunities Mako and she and, truth be told, Korra, had given him. Humans didn't act like that, though. Humans were selfish critters. Asami knew she was. She wanted Korra all to herself. She wanted Mako, but not in the same way. He had burned her, no pun intended, and it still hurt. She forgave him and Korra had made sure that he gave as much time to Asami as he did to her. That helped, but not in the way Korra intended. It only made Asami want her more.

Ran waved off Abigail as some of the engineers wanted to talk to her and he made his way slowly up the stands. He sat stiffly and scratched at his lank hair.

"How'd I do, chief?"

Asami smirked, "The tires didn't come off this time, Ran. I'd say that's an improvement. You know you're still a bit harsh on them?"

"Yeah," Ran chuckled. "Just, when the power kicks in and I can feel it in my bones…I dunno. It's hard to hold back."

"I know," she nodded. "I certainly know."

"I also want to thank you again," Ran said quietly. "You and Mako. I know I must've done some bad things in the past…sometimes, I'm glad I don't remember them."

"We've accepted you for who you are now, Ran," Asami began. "I want you to remember that, if your memories ever come back. Yes, you weren't the nicest person, but people can change. You were filled with a lot of hate back then and I think the hate has gone."

Ran nodded sadly.

"I don't think I want them back, if that's the case," he said. "I'll just be the person I am now. And maybe that's good enough."

"It's certainly good enough for Abigail," Asami smirked.

"What do you…mean…?"

Ran looked off into the distance as he worked through things in his head. His eyes grew wide and shot a glance back down to the track, then back to Asami, who wagged a finger at him.

"Now, now," she chuckled. "Play later. I've actually got something of a challenge for you, if you're feeling up to it. Not today, of course, but a challenge for later."

"I will do my best, whatever it is you want from me."

Yes, Asami thought to herself. I can see where Amon would have wanted you right next to him. With that kind of drive, the Equalists would've been happy to follow you, wouldn't they?

"I'll get my driver to take you to the aerofield tomorrow," she said out loud. "We're thinking about a new type of aerocraft. I honestly think it's inherently unstable, but it does fly."

"Sounds like a paradox."

"Somewhat is, I think," Asami nodded. "But I need a person not afraid to put a machine through its paces."

A slow smile spread on the man's weathered face.