A/N: I'm obsessed with the idea that Mako learns how to bend lightning. I'm also obsessed with Makorra. (Yes I was a Zutarian. No I do not think Makorra is Zutara 2.0.) So here's a fiction on how Mako learns to bend lightning with hints of Makorra through it.
Disclaimer: Legend of Korra does not belong to me.
A boom of thunder resonated across the hills. It was soon followed by a searing flash of light and yet another crash of exploding air.
"Korra!" Mako yelled.
His voice was lost in the sounds of the storm. He was panting and he stopped for a second to catch his breath. His clothes were drenched in sweat and rain. They clung tight to his body and his scarf clung tightly to his neck and back. He couldn't see a thing in this stupid rain.
"Korra!" he yelled again. He cursed Korra and her stupid Avatar business. "Oh I won't go far, she said. I won't get involved with the Equalists, she said." Mako grumbled under his breath.
He felt a rumbling behind him and saw Bolin running in his direction with a group of Equalists on his tail. "Mako!" Bolin yelled. "A little help please?"
Mako cussed. This was not good. It was raining and it was at night. It took him extra effort to create the fire he needed. When he did shoot it the air fizzled and steam started filling the air. Soon Mako and Bolin were back to back with about eight Equalists surrounding them. "Can't you just suck them underground?" Mako yelled at Bolin.
"Easier said than done, bro!" Bolin yelled back. Bolin stomped and an Equalist soared into the air. Mako's fire was starting to fizzle out. They'd been running around in this forsaken rain for the past three hours. He was shaking from cold. He took a few breaths and focused on the river of energy that ran through him. His chi. He imagined his chi flowing faster, fast enough to warm him up. It started working.
"Mako! Bolin!" Korra's shrill screech echoed through the air.
Mako's attempts at warming himself up were gone. The screech chilled him to the very core.
Mako's reply to Korra was lost in the next boom of thunder. The lightning flashed and landed mere feet away. "Get us out of here, Bolin!" Mako yelled.
Bolin quickly shot the rock under their feet upward and they went sailing towards the top of the hill. They landed and rolled a few yards. When they came to rest they saw Korra running up towards them. She was dragging her left leg behind her and she kept swiping at her forehead. A crack of lightning illuminated her form and Mako saw that there was a cut on her forehead that was bleeding down into her eye.
"Korra!" Bolin yelled. "We're here!"
Korra was breathing heavily when she reached the top of the hill. "Are you guys alright?"
"We're fine." Mako replied.
"What happened to you?" Bolin asked quickly before Mako could.
"Long story. We need to get out of here." Korra replied.
"Wait a minute." Mako said. He stepped slightly away from the two. The hair on the back of his neck was rising. He felt a strange prickling in his skin. He held his hand up in front of him and noted that the hair on the back of his hand was sticking up too.
"Mako?" Korra asked.
And then Mako felt like the whole world exploded.
He saw the lightning bolt hit his outstretched hand, felt pure energy coursing through his body, and a horrible cry escaped his mouth. The river of chi he'd tried to warm up earlier was pulsing and twitching with raw power. It burned yet cooled. It was a horrible yet thrilling sensation. But the most overwhelming feeling was pain.
He could feel it suspended inside his body. He could feel it fighting to get free, but it seemed to stay in that river of energy that flowed through his stomach. He needed to get it out. The urge to get it out of him was overwhelming.
The opposite hand of the one that had received the energy started moving. It took so much effort for Mako to move it. He reached it out and all of the energy that had been stored inside him exploded outward. The bolt blew up the ground in front of the Equalists.
It had felt like an eternity, but all of this had taken about two seconds.
Mako twisted and saw Korra and Bolin staring at him with awed looks on their faces. He got a whiff of something burning and then collapsed.
-break-
Mako was sore all over. The only thing he found he could think about was the pain. It started in his core muscles and spread out across his body. He even felt it in his fingertips.
His eyes opened slightly and he found he was in a large room with lots of windows. The sunlight coming through the windows was a soft orange. Mako could tell it was sunrise. The rays of sunlight coming through the window felt nice on his bare skin. He focused on the energy the sun gave him and his pain dulled some. He breathed in deeply and then exhaled, a slight flame coming from his nostrils.
"I thought you'd like this room." Korra said quietly. Mako jumped. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Mako struggled to sit up. He didn't like feeling vulnerable, especially in front of Korra. And it was downright embarrassing that Korra was looking at him when he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Not yet, Mister Lightning. Tenzin told me to tell you that you are strictly forbidden from leaving this bed." Korra replied as she pushed him back onto the bed.
Mako scowled, but stayed put. He heard Korra pulling up a chair and sit down beside him.
"How's your leg?" Mako asked. His voice was hoarse.
Korra rolled her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine. You're the one everyone's worried about."
"I'm perfectly fine." Mako mimicked. Korra scowled. Mako brought his hands up and studied them. His palms were wrapped in bandages and his fingertips were black with soot. "What happened?"
"Well I thought you could tell us." Korra replied.
Mako gave Korra a pointed look.
Korra huffed. "The Equalists scrammed after you shot lightning at them. Bolin and I got you here to Air Temple Island because we weren't sure what was wrong with you. Tenzin assured us though that you should be perfectly fine, but that you needed to rest." She leaned forward in excitement. "What was it like? You know, with the lightning and everything? I bet it was super cool!"
"Not really." Mako managed. He took in Korra's face for a moment. Her whole face glowed with excitement and the shine in her eyes was genuine. A small white bandage was pressed against her forehead and blood had started to soak through. "Your bandage needs changed." He said and reached his hand up to her forehead.
Korra frowned and seemed to deflate as her excitement left. She caught Mako's wrist.
Something did a somersault in Mako's stomach. Her touch was warm and gentle, not what he would have expected from her strong calloused hands. Korra and Mako held each other's gaze for a moment before Mako cleared his throat. "Where's Bolin?"
Korra jerked her head over her shoulder. "Sleeping. He finally crashed an hour ago."
Mako listened carefully and could hear the slight whistle of a snore that was Bolin's signature. "Finally?"
Korra nodded. "You've been out for two days and it was driving Bolin insane. He was running from place to place trying to figure out something about what could have gone wrong with the whole lightning thing. It took a lot of convincing and calming tea to finally get him to sleep."
A smile danced across Mako's lips. He could imagine the ruckus his brother would have caused. He thought about all the nights they huddled in the streets together. Mako had always been protecting Bolin. And now when the roles were reversed Bolin had done the same for him.
"Would you like some tea?" Korra asked.
Mako shook his head.
Korra frowned and then put the back of her hand against Mako's forehead. She hissed and pulled her hand back instantly. "Mako, you're burning up!"
"I'm fine." Mako said easily. "Really."
Korra's frown just deepened. "I'm going to get Tenzin. I'll be back."
Mako's eyes slid shut and he was out before Korra even left the room.
He was standing there on that hill again. He could feel the energy prickling across his skin again. See the hair standing up on end. Right before the lightning struck everything froze. A booming yet gentle voice said, 'There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang; positive and negative energy.'
Mako experienced a few flashes of past memories. A small fire lit on the street. The rain pouring down. A pro-bending match. Thunder. Lightning. His father's funeral.
'Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together. You provide release and guidance, creating lightning.'
Mako felt the energy course through him. He saw it leave his hand and crash into the ground. Release and guidance. And then he was standing back on the hill again with his tingling skin and the sense of newfound energy.
'Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy. A waterbender lets their defense become their offense, turning their opponent's energy against them.'
Suddenly Mako was watching Korra. She was standing in the middle of what he could only describe as a block of ice. Only the buildings appeared to be made of the ice too. Mako had only seen snow a few times. He couldn't imagine that even in the South Pole there was this much snow. Korra took a deep breath in and then breathed out. Her motions were completely fluid. Korra seemed to be water herself.
'If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it. You must create a pathway from your fingertips up your arm to your shoulder and down into your stomach. The stomach is the source of energy in your body. It is called the sea of chi.'
Mako was back to the lightning. He remembered before trying to warm up his chi. To ward off the remembered feeling the flow of energy through his stomach.
'You direct it up again and out the other arm. The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart or the damage could be deadly. You may wish to try a physical motion to get a feel for the pathway's flow. Like this.'
He realized his attempt at warming himself was probably why he was able to redirect the lightning and not die of electrocution. His dream started again and he felt the lightning leave his body. And then he was watching Korra again. Her moves were exactly how the voice described to redirect the lightning. Her arms moved in one motion to point up, over, and then up again.
