The call came right before the pro-bending finals were about to begin. It was the Fire Ferrets' first time losing that critical match in three years. The two-time pro-bending champions had done well in the past three years, rarely losing any matches at all. Today, they lost the finals before any bending began. Mako, Bolin and Avatar Korra didn't enter the ring at all.
There were more important things to deal with. Tenzin's injuries were at the top of the list. Chasing down the assassin who'd burst in the council chambers, taken out two council members and injured the rest was a close second.
"Tenzin…" Korra's voice trailed off as she sat at her mentor's bedside. He looked so frail with those bandages wrapped around him. Her healing lessons from Master Katara had helped, and there were waterbending healers attending the injured council members. Tenzin's life was not in danger, but there were limits even to the healing properties of waterbending. Even the Avatar's, it seemed. It was so frustrating, and she fought back the tears that began to sting her eyes.
"Korra," said Tenzin, flinching in pain as he reached just a few inches to place his hand on his student's hand. "I'll be fine. You did everything that you could for me."
Mako moved out of the way when Pema entered the room teary-eyed with Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and Rowan in tow. He exchanged awkward looks with his brother. Neither brother really knew what to do, here. All they knew was that there place was here, for the time being. Tenzin's compassion had spared them from having to go back to life on the streets, and Tenzin was Korra's airbending master.
"Not quite," said Korra. "That assassin needs to be caught. I'm not letting him get away with this!"
"The metal-bending police—" Pema began to say.
"—are having bigger problems than expected," said Lin, walking into the room without an invitation. The bold and brash woman looked exhausted, even though she held her head high and confidently. "You were right, old friend. That man is a metal-bender."
"Did you catch him?" Meelo butt in hopefully.
"I'm afraid not, Meelo," said Lin, softening her tone only slightly once she saw that even Tenzin's youngest son was present. "He got away…and he hurt several of the police in the process."
"Just how strong is this guy?" inquired Bolin. The idea that earthbenders as strong as the metal-bending police could fall to a single earthbender was somewhat frightening. He'd begun to learn how to metal-bend in the past few years, but it was a slow-going process and Bolin couldn't honestly say he had any real mastery of it. Not the way Lin had. The idea of an earthbender escaping not only her, but an entire team of trained officers gave him a bad feeling. This was the person Korra would be going up against? What was more, he knew his brother would never let Korra go into that fight alone, and Bolin in turn couldn't just ignore it and make it their problem. They were a team.
Lin sighed, some of her weariness coming through in her body language at last. "The strongest earthbender I've ever encountered, including my mother. I don't know how he did it, but he even bent platinum. I thought they'd all been destroyed, but he managed to get hold of a few Equalist tanks and he used bending on the controls to use several at a time."
Korra stood up abruptly. "I'm going to stop him."
"I'm helping," said Jinora.
"Me too," piped in Ikki.
"Me three," said Meelo.
Korra looked at Tenzin's children. First at Jinora, Ikki and Meelo, then at Rowan who was clinging to Tenzin's hand like his life depended on it and fighting off tears. They'd all grown so much in the past seven years. Particularly Jinora, who was the same age Korra had been when she first came to Republic City. It hurt that the kids had to see their father like this, and she understood how they felt. Tenzin wasn't her father, but he was like a second father to her. A father away from home. Being told 'no' would upset the young airbenders, but it needed to be said.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "But I can't take you with me."
In the end, it was Mako who helped her cut off their objections before they even began.
"Your parents and little brother need you right now," he said, gesturing to Tenzin's bedside.
"Don't worry," said Bolin. "We'll come along to help Korra."
The young airbenders considered this for a moment before nodding.
"All right," said Meelo. "But you've gotta punch him in the face. A whole lot!"
