Prompts: Checkmate, Zuko, 1324 word restriction. Word count: 1324 words. Queen: Write about someone who is capable but not a leader.
The frustration rose in her body. It had been weeks since anything was done to stop the Equalists. Korra didn't like Tarrlok taking his time with this. Every minute spent doing nothing was a minute closer to the Equalists securing their victory over Republic City. Korra and Tarrlok butted heads frequently. He opted to wait and gather as much information as possible. She wanted to take action now and take out as many Equalists as possible. Other members on the Task Force started to feel irritated by the tension between the two.
"I'm sick of sitting here waiting for them to come and attack. We need to take the fight to them. We have information on them; We know where Amon is hiding! Why are you sitting around here doing nothing but talking?!"
Tarrlok pinched the bridge of his nose. He had called for a meeting but of course, he had to invite the Avatar. They sat around a rectangular desk with him, of course, at the head of the table and Korra sitting to his left. In the middle of the table was a map of Republic City with markings to indicate what territories the Equalists controlled and where they were expected to strike next. Right now, half the city was taken. Amon had been much more powerful than he anticipated and it frustrated him more than it did Korra.
"Korra, the last thing we want to do is to rush into battle unprepared. It would be perilous to.."
Korra slammed her fist on the table. A few of the others jumped. Her face was twisted in anger. Tarrlok felt for a split second that she would boil his own blood. "We're ready. We can take them. We need to end this now before it gets worse and you're just sitting on your lazy hindquarters."
"You need to calm yourself, Avatar. You can't let your emotions take over when you're fighting a war. We don't know enough about the situation to launch an attack yet. The only reason you're anxious is because the Equalists almost captured your little boyfriend but we stopped them because I gave the right order."
"It wasn't good enough." She said, standing up. The other members watched awkwardly, eyes darting back and forth between the two. "I think it's time that we do something new for a change. Something that will actually get results."
"And you don't think my methods get results?" Tarrlok stood up. His fingers gently scraped over the large map on the table. "The pieces are coming together. We're finally tracking Amon's movement. Our time to strike will be soon but you need to calm down and trust me for once."
Korra growled. "I'm not waiting any longer. If you won't go after Amon, then I will." She kicked her chair backwards, forcing it into the wall behind her. She turned her body to leave.
"You're going to go after him yourself? You plan on attacking the Equalists by yourself?"
She stopped when she got to the door. "No. I'm going to make my own force." She said before walking out, followed by slamming the door behind her.
Later that day..
"Korra, you're crazy! I'm not trying to sound mean or anything, but you can't go against the Equalists by yourself! What if you get hurt?"
Team Avatar was gathered on Air Temple Island, one of the few safe havens in the war. They were standing outside, watching Korra practice her punching against Asami's punching mitts, despite Asami's fear of being physically injured due to Korra's rage. Bolin and Mako were sitting on the ground, watching the two.
"Bolin's right. It's better to let Tarrlok handle this."
Korra concentrated on her punching. "It's not an army, it's a new Force. I'm sick of waiting around. I'd be a better leader than Tarrlok. I can get things done. I'm forming my own Task Force."
Bolin and Mako looked at each other before looking over to Asami's worried face. They knew she was upset over Mako almost having his bending taken away but no one would dare say anything about it, least they aggravate her. Instead, they stayed silent. It seemed there was no way to talk Korra out of it.
"Koooooorra!"
Bolin and Mako were startled by Ikki suddenly sliding between them and singing Korra's name.
"Dad said there's a man on the phone. He didn't say who but it sounded really urgent because he said 'Ikki, go get Korra right away and tell her it's important.' but it couldn't have been your dad or mom so on the way here, I thought of other-"
Korra held her hands up. "Thank you, Ikki."
Korra walked into Tenzin's study to find whoever he was on the phone with, he was having what seemed to be a lengthy conversation with them.
"Oh, Korra just walked in now." Tenzin put down his phone's earpiece. "It's Firelord Zuko."
She nodded, approaching the desk to take the phone from him.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Korra. It's been so long. I haven't spoken to you since you were a child. I hear you're taking on Amon soon."
She remained silent.
"You know, Aang once-"
"No disrespect, but is this going to be a lecture?" Tenzin probably asked Firelord Zuko to talk her out of it. "I have to go." She said before hanging up.
For days she had been waiting for this moment. The moment they were all outside the rumored hideout of Amon. Anxiety had been swelling in her mind but the fury plaguing her overshadowed it. The night was cold and covered in snow but her boiling blood warmed her.
They had discovered a small hut out near the mountain side. She knew Amon was there. She could feel it. They quietly made their way inside and opened a secret compartment activated by a book on the shelf, just like their sources had told them.
The passage split into 5 different corridors. Before Korra could decide what to do, they were ambushed. They were at a disadvantage being in such tight quarters. It made all their bending awkward while the Equalists, trained in close combat, took them out one by one. She knew then it was a mistake. She was the last one standing. She didn't want to run, but she did, down a random corridor. She couldn't bring herself to bend. Was she that afraid? No, she couldn't have been. She didn't know. She just kept running.
The tunnel she took lead her to a large room but it was empty. The room was brightly lit by a bulb hanging from the ceiling. The décor was plain, simple white paint and dark wooden floors. Nothing else was in the room except a window on the far side. The Equalists had stopped following her a while ago. Why?
She felt herself growing angry and turned around. She stopped when she came face-to-face with the eyes of her enemy. She couldn't move. It was like the anger fled her body to let the fear take over. She knew he was smirking. "Checkmate."
The lights suddenly went off. A soft whisper carried over to her ears.
'You're not ready..'
She heard the shuffling of clothes and the feel of lips pressed against hers. Then the lights turned on and he was gone, only left with a ghostly tingle on her lips.
She didn't now how long she was standing there before the window behind her broke and Tarrlok came tumbling in, quickly positioning himself with his hands up to defend himself.
"Where is he?" He asked.
Korra stared at the door she came through. She didn't know how she felt. She had came face to face with her enemy and couldn't even act. "I'm not ready.." She whispered.
Tarrlok placed a hand on her shoulder whilst giving a hand signal for the rest of the Task Force to come in. "I know, Korra. I know."