The amber liquor left a burning trail from the back of Korra's tongue, down her throat, and settled warm in her stomach, a sloppy grin sprawling like a pair of loose limbs across her face. She wasn't a drinker. Only on social occasions where it was expected of her. Maybe this wasn't quite the level of social occasion that typically drove Korra to alcohol, but she didn't want to be the only one sober. Mako and Opal were already flushed, and Bolin and Asami were a ways down the path.
"I thought just maybe, one time, Varrick would have a good script for me." Bolin thumped a meaty hand against the side of his head. "I'm not the smartest rock sent flying off a fist. Sometimes I wonder why these Nuktuk movies still make so much money."
"Because they're fun!" Mako slurred.
"They're stupid," Opal groaned. "You deserve better, babe. You deserve someone as smart as Asami to fund your movies. She'd put an honest effort into it."
"Like my fingers aren't knuckle deep in enough honey jars already," Asami said. Somehow, she was maintaining her poker face against the liquor's influence.
Bolin lifted the bottle to his shot glass, and frowned when it clinked ineffectually. "Already?"
"I'll get it," Korra said. Despite the growing drum beat in her head, her voice came out clear and calm. "Continue with your conversation."
She walked around the bar to the cabinet, stretching the length of the bar itself and stocked with every kind of liquid Korra knew could get a person drunk, and a few she had never heard of. A new bottle of their current intoxicant sat nestled between a thin-necked flask of something clear and a square bottle cradles softly within velvet. She removed the bottle she sought and turned back to her friends.
Asami's hands were waving about as she spoke, the attention of the others entirely enraptured by the spell her softly scratched voice sang. Korra sat and watched, loving the skill with which her lover could command any social setting, sharply contrasting the Avatar's blunt, ineffective interactions. Bolin's rumbling laugh spewed from his gaping mouth. Opal's eyes watered from both inebriation and amusement. Even stone-faced Mako, he of little humor, was trembling with every word.
###
They had met in that same room while Korra watched Asami manipulate a different assembly with the same skill. As the Avatar, she was forced on occasion to attend political and social functions where frightened partygoers would whisper perfunctory greetings and questions before leaving her to stew alone in a corner. Nothing positive was ever accomplished such gatherings. If anything, agreements on the cusp of completion were only driven further apart as drink and vice took hold of the attendees.
She'd found a comfortable corner to sip her wine in silence once the last of those brave enough to approach her had melted back into the indistinct mass of expensive clothing, and watched the party's gorgeous host navigate her guests with the grace of an airbender navigating Tenzin's spinning gates.
The raven-haired beauty had stood out not only for her attractive features, alluring dress, and role as host, but for the way she seemed to always extract the proper reaction from her guests. Everywhere Asami Sato walked, the room followed. Circles formed and dissipated. Conversations did not cease to exist when she participated, but grew livelier. She flowed through the room with such skill that Korra did not realize the beautiful engineer was working her way until her skirts sent a tickle of wind up the Avatar's legs.
"A pleasure to meet you, Avatar Korra," Asami greeted. A deft hand jutted expectantly forward.
Korra took it, surprised at the fusion of soft and rugged flesh. Hands the woman took care to moisturize and manicure but was not shy to dirty when necessary. She realized how little she knew about Ms. Sato, and how incorrect her preconceptions based on what little she did know may be.
"Likewise," Korra replied, the half-truth spilling easily from her lips.
"I'd heard of your tendency to hide in corners. You picked a good one. You can take in the entire room from here and go unnoticed since the bar attracts all the attention. You're a pro at this."
"Um, thanks." Korra cleared her throat and rubbed her forehead. "Sorry, but I wasn't expecting conversation tonight."
"Well, maybe I'll try again later," Asami said politely, though her mouth twisted into a disappointed frown.
"Yeah, maybe."
The Avatar snuck from the room and out of the mansion minutes later. She was halfway back to her apartment when two police cars screamed by, sirens blaring. There was no choice but to follow. Korra sucked in the warm spring air and sprinted off in the direction of the flashing lights.
A perimeter of cars, painted blockades, and itchy trigger fingers surrounded a Future Industries factory. Chief Lin Beifong stood amidst her officers. The disdainful twist of her mouth and shine of the scars on her cheek were no different than if she were shopping for toilet paper. The chief broke away to meet Korra.
"You're not needed Avatar. We already have two dead in there. All you'll do is add to the body count."
"How many are you dealing with?"
"Alright, guess I have to be more blunt. Fuck off, and let me do my job."
Not many had the guts to talk to Korra that way. Her history with Beifong had more than made clear the chief's willingness to do so, but the words still caught Korra by surprise. She strolled past the older woman and snapped her fingers at the only officer looking her way. "How many are inside? And if you look at your boss I'll snap your leg in half."
"Fifteen. At least that's what the one who escaped said."
Child's play. "I'll handle it."
"You take another step and you're under arrest," Chief Beifong said.
Korra turned around to find one of the barricades raised above the woman's head. Words she could brush off. Physical threats must always go answered. The Avatar is power. Those who challenge you must always learn, no matter how minor the challenge. She bared her teeth, lips curling back like a snarling polar bear dog.
"Try your best."
Beifong stomped her foot, raising an asphalt pillar beneath Korra's feet. The barricade flew towards her, creaking as it reformed into a half-circle. Korra caught it well short, lifted a leg backwards, and kicked the top of the pillar towards the police chief's head. A jumping stomp sent chunks of the raised street spiraling in every direction, obscured the Avatar in a cloud of dust. When it cleared, Chief Beifong lay on the ground struggling against steel bindings wrapping her from shoulder to waist, pinning her arms to her sides.
"Consider yourself lucky. I could just as easily have wrapped it around your head and crushed your skull. Now if you'll excuse me, I have thugs to deal with."
The warehouse was empty, dark, silent. Korra crouched on a nearby roof, watching for any sign of movement. A salty breeze swirled off the ocean, the sharp tang keeping the Avatar awake and focused. She hadn't thought to ask how many of the workers might still be alive inside. Rushing the warehouse would put them in danger. Korra found it hard to care. She tensed on the balls of her feet, aimed at a window directly ahead, and readied to pounce.
"Wait, Avatar," a soft, unknown voice whispered.
Korra turned with flames at her fingertips, assuming one of Chief Beifong's lackeys had grown a spine. The heat went cold and steamed off her skin when she found Asami Sato perched like a slim gargoyle on the lip of a neighboring roof. She had traded her clinging dress for well-traveled khakis and a long-sleeved shirt. A scrunchie secured a ponytail behind her head.
"I'd rather you didn't burst in there and reduce my factory and workers to rubble," the businesswoman said.
"Don't see much of a choice," Korra said. "Another factory is a drop in the bucket, you'll manage."
"That's not the point. And I have a plan that will allow us to get a good look inside and plan an actual attack strategy."
"Us?"
Asami nodded confidently, uncaringly. "I'm going in. It's my factory."
Korra snorted. "Back off pretty little rich girl. I'll handle it."
"Avatar Korra, I will show you the respect of asking permission. But if you say no, I'll go in anyway."
Those who challenge you must always learn, no matter how minor the challenge. Korra spouted a line of flame at Sato, propelled herself forward with a burst of wind, and grabbed for the woman's hair. Long fingers wrapped around her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. A slender, surprisingly powerful arm wrapped around her throat. Korra slid a foot backwards, shifting the roof beneath Sato's feet, disrupting her balance enough for Korra to wriggle her other arm free and push Asami away.
She turned around to find Asami with feet spread and fists raised. Her expression held the calm focus of combat experience. Korra had not expected that. She respected it.
"Alright," the Avatar said. "What's the plan?"
Asami jogged over to a chimney and pulled a duffel bag from behind it. "Can you lift me up to the roof? There's a window that opens onto a balcony overlooking the production floor."
Korra grabbed her around the waist. "Hold on tight."
They landed on the roof without a sound, prompting an approving nod from Korra's billionaire companion. Asami placed her bag on the ground and began removing equipment. A rope, binoculars, a belt with various tools, night-vision goggles. She placed a glove with switches on the wrist on her left hand.
"What kind of glove is that?" Korra asked.
"A family tradition stretching back a little more than a hundred years that I've improved upon." Asami answered. She flicked each of the switches, and the gloves hummed louder or quieter accordingly. One end of the rope was secured tightly around her waist. She held the other end to Korra. "Hold tight. I don't want to fall."
The Avatar gripped the rope securely, feet planted at the lip of the roof, while Asami crawled down to a window, removed a tool from her belt, cut out a section of glass, and slipped inside. It was impressive. Korra again wondered how badly she'd misconceived who Asami Sato was and what she was capable of.
Two men lay unconscious at Asami's feet when Korra followed inside. The dark-haired woman was crouched near the railing of the overhang, focused solely on the lower level where inactive machinery and tarp-covered completions rested motionless. Featureless silhouettes navigated the spaces between. Their voices were soft as the wind, echoing unintelligibly to Korra's ears.
"Minus those two, we're down to thirteen," Asami said.
"How do you know?"
"Because I counted. How else?" Asami pointed down to a corner where a half-circle barricade of wooden crates stacked five high imprisoned a frightened huddle of figures. "I'm surprised they didn't keep them in the office up here." She pointed down to a spot where two of the intruding silhouettes were wiring explosives. "Cabbage Corp. Has to be."
"Kind of extreme for a corporation, isn't it?"
Asami raised a condescending eyebrow. "You don't know too much about corporate warfare, do you?"
Korra glared. Asami ignored her entirely.
"Looks like they're only putting a token effort into watching the hostages. I only see two. I can handle them and keep my workers safe while you deal with the rest. Is that okay?"
"Say the word."
Korra waited while Asami crept over to a section of balcony above the makeshift barricade. A shadow stared up at her and turned around, seemingly unaware. Asami swung one leg over the railing, then the other, and stared over at Korra. With a nod, she dropped to the floor below.
Time to work. Time to water the earth with the blood of its worse scum.
The first of them was crushed against a wall by a piece of machinery broken off from the factory line. Another turned towards the sound and was rocketed into the air, thudded off the roof, and fell with a snap like a twig back to the floor. The click of a gun when a bullet loaded in the chamber preceded the bang of its firing. Korra deflected it into the neck of a third. The shooter let out a pitiful squeak when she blood bent him. His spine popped like a champagne cork.
Electric shrieks sparked from the corner where Asami and the hostages were, but they were not the Avatar's concern. She continued to work her way through the factory. Two men attacked her at once, and both drowned on their own blood, clutching to ruined throats. Another, a bender, wrapped a water vine around her wrist. She smiled, yanked him towards her, and ran her fist into his nose.
Outside, the officers shouted and prepared to storm the building. One man was smart enough to attempt to flee towards them, preferring imprisonment to the Avatar's judgment. Korra ripped the entrance doors from their hinges, catching him square. No one escaped the Avatar's judgment.
When the earth settled, the dust floating back down to cake Korra's hair, and went silent, she walked over to the corner where Asami had fallen, expecting to find her cowering or dead. Instead she found the billionaire standing four three sleeping bodies and appearing every bit as comfortable as she had navigating her party. "Everyone is safe?" Korra asked.
"Yes." Asami grimaced, staring over Korra's shoulder. "I hope one of these four is the ringleader of this little group. Doesn't look like you left anyone else alive to talk."
"Why bother?" Korra asked, braced for the typical bullshit about morality and the value of the human life. No man who chooses to risk his life against the Avatar places enough value on their life for you to concern yourself.
"I'd like to know who sent them. I suspect Cabbage Corp, but that's not enough to act."
Korra frowned. "Good point. Sorry."
Asami shrugged. "Nothing to do about it now." She raised an eyebrow again. "Well, this turned out to be an interesting night. A little more violent than I'd hoped, but it was an…experience to see the Avatar in action."
"Same here. Well, regarding you, of course. I see myself in action plenty."
Chief Beifongs officers were inside now, picking over the wreckage of broken steel, rubber, plaster, and bone. They kept a wide berth of the Avatar. Asami reached out a hand, much the same as she had when she held a drink in her hand and her hair flowed stylishly around her shoulders. "Thank you for your help, Avatar Korra. Maybe we can do it again, sometime."
Korra shook the hand. Smooth, well manicured, but roughened by hard work. "Maybe."
###
"Are you going to bring that bottle over here at some point?" Mako shouted, snapping Korra back to reality. "Or are you going to hide in the corner and drink it all yourself?"
"Err, yeah. Sorry."
Asami laughed, throaty and loose. "Korra likes her corners. You know the first time we met, she stood in that corner right over there…," she pointed to the left of the bar, "…during a function I held. Didn't speak to anyone, didn't want to speak to me when I tried. Slunk out of the house unseen a few minutes later. About an hour later we were beating the crap out of bad guys in one of my factories."
"That's a night with Korra," Bolin said.
"Sounds just like the night we met," Mako agreed.
Korra placed the bottle on the table between them. "I am what I am."
Asami nodded and leaned into her side. Korra hoped that what she was now was better than what she had been then.
Yeah, Korra is damn near a literal God in this story. Bullet bending, crazy reflexes, insane power. I mean, you could still kill her same as any person if you managed to get a bullet or a knife in her, but doing so is really, really hard.
