Earth…

Fire…

Air…

… Water…

Only the Avatar can master all four elements…

And bring balance to the world.

Avatar—Legend of the Woman Warrior

Reboot By, Ro Oeuvre Belvedere

Korra's first impression of Republic City is one for debate. After losing her only friend, Naga, as consequence for her destructive yet well-meaning encounter against the members of the Triple Threat Triad, the Avatar is left feeling halfheartedly fulfilled. But as we all know, the enemy line drawn between her and police chief Lin Bei Fong is far from reaching a finish.

Book I:

Air

Chapter Two:

Stay or Go

Last night she got a call from Tenzin and he said one sentence.

"Korra is staying."

One sentence. Two words. One name. All he could say before she forcefully disconnected.

As expected, Lin's displeasure of Korra's indefinite fixture in Republic City is extremely tangible to even the most clueless of fools.

The ferrymen stands clear of the chief as she boarded the first escort of the day. Fellow passengers try to enjoy the ride, but the sharp and piercing feel of Lin's aura makes them squirm so bad that they literally jump ship and swim the rest of the way to Aang's Memorial Island.

Lin's focus on Air Temple Island never deters.

K

O

R

R

A

Tenzin is in his studies, sipping oolong tea his wife delivered to him minutes earlier while looking over some documents requiring his seal of approval. So immersed, he doesn't twitch when he hears a firm knock.

"Come in." He grants consent, "Hello, Lin." He greets as the door opens, his eyes remaining on the papers.

Lin marches to his desk, "We need to talk."

"That much I've figured." Tenzin takes another swig of his tea. "What about?"

"Don't act like you don't know." The chief chides, "What were you thinking to bend to her wishes and allowing her to stay?"

Tenzin sighs, having predicted this confrontation. "Even if I take her back, Korra would've found another alternative, as always."

"That's no excuse." Lin retorts, "If she had any sense of structure and discipline she'll follow orders and stay in the Southern Water Tribe. She has no place here."

"Is that right?" A nonchalant voice calls out, shifting Tenzin and Lin's attention to the doorway. Korra has a shoulder against the threshold with arms and legs crossed. One fine eyebrow is arched and her lips curve into a roguish grin. "Where exactly is my place, chief?"

Lady chief glowers at the young girl. "Back at the Southern Water Tribe."

"Nope, wrong answer." The Avatar leans off and saunters toward them. "See, my place is wherever I need to be, and I need to be here, learning airbending." Thick boots stop before metal ones, "And apparently cleaning up the city since your sloth slugs can't do it."

Lin grouses. "I won't tolerate you insulting my men."

Korra returns in kind. "And I'm not going anywhere until all four elements are at my beck and call."

"You don't have a choice."

Just then, shrewdness curls Korra's lips. "Well then lady chief… how about a little wager?"

A fine brow arches Lin's face. "Come again?"

"Tomorrow at noon, your little metalbending squad has until midnight to have me under arrest. If there's nothing tying me down, I'm staying – and I get Naga back immediately. If I'm bound by the law past the time limit, you can ship me back. Either way, Naga returns to me, got it?"

"I will not—"

"Let's set the ground rules:" Korra turns her back to the chief as she paces about the office. "Number one," She raises her first finger, "I'm allowed to use all my bending and all my skills – one versus a brigade, it's a fair exchange. Number two," Second finger's up, "it's only me against a nice portion your metalbenders, you still need coppers to scope about the city. Fifty at the most, although I can hold my ground against the whole force. Three," The ring finger, "the goal is to keep me contained, as I've demonstrated yesterday, so I'm allowed to break free – and to make it interesting – I'm only allowed to do so three times." She snickers, "Otherwise, I'm guaranteed to win. And lastly," Her pinky's erect, "so there's no confusion, have it so I know which officer is my opponent and which is on duty – have them wear a colorful sash or something, and if a cop who's not part of the game crosses me…" She trails off, momentarily giving off an aura promising something hectic. "It's an instant win on my part."

Tenzin had returned to his paperwork the second the showdown began.

Lin scowls as the arrogant girl. "Just who do you think you are?"

Korra peers cheekily over her shoulders. "I think I'm Korra," She turns full body to the chief, arms folded under her breasts. "But I know I'm the Avatar. So, what do you say?"

"I say you're hippo-pigheaded."

The Avatar trainee shrugs. "Don't agree for all I care," Then there's this ill-intent glimmering in her eyes, "I'm sure Taisho would be more cooperative."

A hitch in his fingers ruin Tenzin's elegant signature.

"Leave him out of it!" Lin suddenly snaps, marching two strides to get into the girl's face.

Tenzin's head shoots up at Lin's blare, no longer distracted by his work.

"You should've left Naga out too." It's glacial how Korra speaks those words.

The two women has an unspoken standoff with their eyes, and Tenzin rises from his chair, prepared to glide in as a buffer between them.

After many pregnant pauses the Avatar steps back, keeping eye contact, and raises her hand to Chief Bei Fong. "Deal… or no deal?"

The police chief's steel greens stare into the Avatar's ocean ones. She gives an askance glance at the offered hand, then inclines over her shoulder.

Tenzin exhales and closed his eyes, having no wisdom to give.

A few more seconds of contemplation, Lin broadens her shoulders and takes the younger woman's hand in a firm grip. "Very well."

Korra nods her approval with a victorious smirk. "Pleasure doing business with you." She saunters out of the room.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I've been studying on the best methods in becoming a storyteller, and I've received very accommodating advices. For one thing, when starting, you shouldn't overexert yourself – meaning you shouldn't make your project so large. Thus, I'm going to deliver in small doses for each episode, that way it doesn't feel as overwhelming. Another thing, it's good to have small deadlines rather than long ones; if the deadlines are too spread out, you'll risk in losing interest and lacking motivation. So, in order to keep myself invested, I'll be giving small portions of my stories from now on, just until I'm accustomed to delivering in a much larger scale.

So you guys will see more of me from this point on. I hope to receive constructive feedback from you fellow writers, and I hope what I learn from you will help me improve.

Much obliged!