Howling wind brought Asami out of a light sleep. Her head was groggy. It had taken too long to fall asleep from all her worry about her company, but what she noticed was how cold it was. Their bedroom was frigid, snow whirling around in a minicylone with Korra at its center. She sighed deeply through chattering teeth and bundled their comforter around her body before touching her feet to the icy floor. At least this time there wasn't anything set aflame. Nightmares happened, if infrequently now, byt they didn't usually involve the Avatar State. The last time they had, Korra had felt like it was a premonition.
Cautiously, she approached her wife. Asami had to shed the comforter to get close enough to touch her, but when she did, Korra snapped out of it. Her eyes cleared, and she took in Asami's shivering form before enveloping her arms around her. "I dreamed you died again. Stabbed through the back."
"I'll keep one eye behind me." She buried her face into Korra's chest, letting her woman hold her protectively. There was no plea to stay home, no request to be careful. Asami wouldn't stay home, and she would be careful. But for a few minutes as the room warmed back up, she let her presence comfort her wife.
"You better," Korra said, finally. The words took some effort on her part. She peeled herself off of Asami.
"Maybe it's that false Avatar," Asami suggested. She watched Korra water bend the snow out the window. "Triggering something subconsciously. It's been so long since you had that dream. Been awhile since you had any nightmare at all."
"Jinora says it's impossible, but she was there. She saw it just like I did."
Asami took Korra's hand and led her out of the room. "Let me make us some tea." She was still freezing, and it would help calm both their nerves.
Korra smiled fondly. "You're so sweet."
"So you keep telling me." Once in the kitchen, Asami set to work. She felt Korra's eyes on her the whole time, but rather than making her feel warm, it made her feel nervous. She set out their cups and poured the tea before sitting across from Korra. "You don't have to keep staring at me like you'll never see me again."
Except Korra felt as though she needed to look at Asami like that. Every day, because some day one or the other of them might not come home alive. An accident at a plant, a disaster that Korra didn't survive, or someone targetting them because of who they were and what they did. "I think about it, sometimes. About Katara being all alone for so long. What that would feel like for me. And I already know how much it can hurt you." She wrapped her hands around her teacup. "My life is more balanced than it's ever been but sometimes I just can't shake that fear."
"Korra, I take your dreams seriously. I know with Avatar stuff that a lot of it goes beyond the physical. This could be a vision. But visions don't always show the full picture. Sometimes, you only get part of the story."
"You sound like Jinora."
Her own teacup halfway to her mouth, Asami replied. "That's because I've talked to her about this. It..scared me, the first time. I wanted to know how serious it really was."
"And I wasn't enough?" Korra set her tea back down, unsure on if she felt angry or hurt.
"Of course you're enough!" Asami put her hands over Korra's. "But you're also really close to the situation and I wanted to hear it from someone who wasn't as emotionally involved. I wanted to know more about how all that worked. I thought maybe I could take it apart and put it all back together in my mind and maybe I'd understand it better."
Korra looked appeased, and Asami pulled her hands back.
"I suppose I should talk with Jinora. Maybe she or her dad have learned something." Korra finished her tea and pushed back from the table. "It has to be faked."
"I didn't see it so I can't tell you if she was using some kind of technology."
Korra could see Asami that that look into her eyes. The one where she started brainstorming ideas and how things worked. She started to pull her hair back into a pony-tail. "She looked like she had fire bender ancestry."
"Doesn't mean too much. Maybe she was one of the airbenders from Harmonic Convergance. I could build a rudimentary fire thrower with the right parts. Or a special fan to shoot out air." Asami rubbed her chin. "Earth and water would be harder…"
Korra walked around the table. She hugged Asami from behind, and the inventor sank back into her arms. "If you can figure out how to do any of that, let me know right away."
"It's kind of what I do." Asami turned around. "Korra, before you go, there's something I need to tell you. It happened yesterday, but with what else happened I didn't want to bring it up."
Folding her arms and stepping back, Korra waited for Asami to continue.
"Future Industries is being sued. They say we're too big, that we're squelching competition." Just saying it left a sour taste in Asami's mouth. It was insulting. After everything she'd done for the city, for the Republic, after all the new conveniences and improvements in day to day living, this was how they repaid her?
"Who is? I'll go teach them a thing or two."
"Korra, you can't fight this your way." The thought was nice. Asami imagined Korra storming in all fire and brimstone. "I'll have to fight the President's office in the courts."
"The presid… the United Republic is suing you?!" Korra turned and glared in the general direction of the government building. "I'm going to have words with her."
"Korra."
I can't believe I voted for that jerk!" She balled her hand up into a fist.
"Korra, no."
Korra looked back at Asami, widening her eyes and puffing out her lower lip. "I just want to have a couple little words with her. While in the Avatar State."
Asami covered her mouth and nose with her hands and laughed into them. "I don't think intimidating the President will help with my case, but I love you for offering it." She dropped her hands to her sides, giving Korra an imploring look..
The Avatar sighed. "Okay. Okay. I won't go wreck the joint. But Asami….what if they're right?" Korra hated to say it, but knew it had to be said.
Was Future Industries too big? Asami had had that thought, too. She shook her head. "I don't know. That's something I need to talk over with my people. But all I've ever wanted to do with my company is make the world better for people."
Korra smiled ruefully. "Well, how many times have we seen where people either go too far to make the world a better place?"
"I don't think I like what you're insinuating."
Wincing, Korra held up a hand. "Asami, what I mean is, people don't adapt well to change. We've both seen this too many times to count. Even when someone isn't going to an extreme, people can still react as though you are."
"You almost sound like Tenzin."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Good thing."
Laughing with relief, Korra replied, "Just don't tell him that, I'll never hear the end of it."
Korra took her glider to Air Temple Island. Though most of the airbenders had taken to the habit of wearing their glider suits most of the time, it was something that Korra had never really adapted to. While it was a marvelous piece of engineering and useful, she reserved it for when she left the city. Asami kept coming up with improvements, hoping to find a design that meshed better with multiple bending styles and elements, and Korra enjoyed testing them out, but so far it was too specialized for her to use often.
Benders and acolytes were going through stances when she landed. She watched them for a few minutes before jogging up into the temple proper. Korra hoped she was early enough to catch Tenzin or Jinora. There was supposed to be another rally today and she wanted the back up in case the false Avatar showed up again.
"Korra!"
"Hey!" Korra greeted Ikki with a hug. While Jinora had grown into a peer, Ikki still felt like someone Korra would always see like a little sister she needed to protect. She ruffled her hair. "Good morning to you, too."
"If you're looking for Dad or Jinora, Dad already left for the city and Jinora is about to."
"Guess I'll have to catch up with Pema later. Come on!" Korra took off at a run, then deployed her glider. She circled the island until she spotted Jinora at the docks. She and Ikki landed next to the Airbending Master.
"Almost thought I missed you!"
"You almost did." Jinora stretched her arms over her head. "Dad went to talk to the President, I was going to fly by Future Industries, then meet him at the protest."
"Oh! I'll come. Maybe, uhm." Ikki folded her arms, her face coloring. "Well maybe you'll need backup."
Korra smirked, leaning on her staff. "Sure, that's the only reason."
Jinora looked between them, her eyes a little squinty. "Don't tell me, that's where your crush works?"
"I don't have a crush!" Ikki looked to Korra for help. She knew that she couldn't keep anything from Jinora forever but she wasn't ready for this right now.
"Oh, you mean you don't stare at Jia every time you're in the same room as her?" Korra raised both of her eyebrows, as if challenging Ikki to deny it.
Looking more closely at her sister, Jinora asked, "You like girls?"
"Well yeah? They're so awesome and pretty and smart and pretty…"
Jinora smiled. "Aunt Kya is going to be ecstatic."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We'll tell you when you're older," Korra chimed in.
"I'm twenty-one!" Ikki shoved Jinora's shoulder. "You're only three years older than me."
Korra laughed, putting her arm around Ikki. "Maybe next year?"
"Ooor since you and Asami are friends with Jia you could tell me more about her."
"Well. She's nice. Friendly. Pretty clever too. A really hard worker." Korra stared up at the sky. "Uhm. She likes the color green. She likes to tease us a lot." She lowered her head to look at Ikki again. There were a few other facts she knew about Jia that she couldn't quite share without permission. It had been hard enough for Jia to tell her and Asami. "Really, you should just talk to her. She won't bite."
Ikki worried at her lip. "Could you? For me? Talk, I mean."
Jinora rolled her eyes. "You know what, sis? I'll talk to her." Her face widened into a grin. "And let her know she has an admirer." Before Ikki could react, Jinora had opened the flaps on her suit and shot up on a burst of air.
"Aaah! No!" Ikki launched after her, leaving Korra standing on the docks, her hair blown undone from its tail.
"Who needs kids?" Korra mused aloud. "I get my fill just from Tenzin's!"
Sometimes, Mako thought that getting a new partner was a bit like babysitting. Yuki had been assigned to him for six months now, but even after all that time she still needed a guiding hand. But she'd be a good cop some day. If she lived long enough for it. Mako was going to kill her if she pried any more into his private life.
"I'm just saying, with that caterpillar-snake under your nose it's a miracle you can get dates, let alone landed a princess." She popped some fire flakes into her mouth, chewing loudly. As usual, her hair was in a messy bun. Her pale-green eyes were set into a dark face and fixated on Mako's mustache.
He huffed indignantly. "Azula likes the stache. Says it gives me character."
"She's the only one who does." Yuki smiled knowingly. She'd been there when his friends had first seen it. The Avatar had doubled over laughing and Mrs. Sato had stared as though it had been moving. She was a little envious of the company he kept. Avatars and influential CEOs, Earth Kings and Fire Princesses. Mako's story was a bit of a legend on the police force. Before she'd been assigned to him, she'd heard people talking about this street rat, a borderline criminal himself, had gotten involved with Korra and into Chief Beifong's good graces. The youngest detective in Republic City history and if the rumors were true, soon to be the first Police Chief who wasn't a Beifong.
"Wu liked it too," He muttered, and stretched the fingers on his left hand. He wore a stylish black glove, and the leather creaked as he clenched and unclenched his hand into a fist.
"Uh oh," Yuki said.
"What?"
"Every time your arm bothers you like that, something happens."
Looking at his hand, then at his partner, Mako shook his head. "That's crazy."
"No no no, bear with me here." Yuki punctuated each word with her hands. "My first day on the job, when we busted the New Agni Kais. You did that thing with your hand and five minutes later we walked into a room filled with fifteen fire benders. And then a month after that when we were assigned to King Wu's protection detail for President Tuyin's inauguration you complained about your arm aching and we had a bomb threat. And then-"
"Yuki, my arm does not predict trouble." He peeled the glove off, inspecting the black lines and grey patches of skin.
"What did it feel like? Was it anything like getting hit with an electric glove?" Yuki had been just a kid during Kuvira's invasion. Her family hadn't evacuated in time and had emerged from the rubble of their home to see the city in ruins. The thrum of the spirit cannon haunted her nightmares for years, but Avatar Korra and her friends had become her heroes. She still couldn't believe she was Mako's partner.
"Worse, much worse."
"Sir, you're one tough bastard." With the addition of non-benders like Yuki to the police forces, they had started to employ gloves or batons to give them a more equal footing when dealing with bender criminals. As part of training, every officer, without exception, had to be subjected to at least one charge.
The irony was not lost on anyone who'd fought during the revolution.
The car's radio blared to life. "Attention all officers. Major disturbance at the anti-registration rally. All units respond to the scene!"
"Don't even say it." Mako pulled his glove back on and reached for the radio. "This is Officer Mako, we're on our way."
When they reached the rally, part of the stage was on fire and many of the protestors had fled. On stage, a woman was fending off two police officers. Mako climbed out of the car as she shot fire then air at them. "That's not Korra."
Pulling her electric glove out of a compartment in the dash, Yuki quickly joined him. She swallowed her fear. "What do we do?"
Mako cracked his knuckles. "I'll play keep away, you see if you can get behind her and knock her out."
With a short nod, Yuki darted to the side, circling around a building to flank the "Avatar". Mako rushed to the stage, sending a scorching blast between the woman and one of the other officers. She turned towards him, and he dodged to the side to dodge a blast of water. The motion took him right into her fire, but he gained control of it and sent it right back at her.
"You're good, I'll give you that, but I've fought better." He shifted into a defensive stance on the stage, the woman several feet away. "You're under arrest for disrupting the peace."
"The only peace is a false one." She smirked at him, lifting her hand and challenging him with it. "As long as the old order exists, there will always be war, always be suffering."
"If you're trying to claim you're not violent, I think you need to take a good hard look at yourself."
She shook her head. "Think of a fire in the forest clearing the rotting wood. New growth can't exist without the destruction of the old."
Electricity crackled as she moved her arm in a circle in front of her. Mako immediately switched stances. Lightning flashed between them, then shot up into the sky.
Yuki was blinded by the flash. When her vision cleared, Mako lay on his back on stage, and the woman was standing over him. She vaulted onto the stage, sprinting towards the false Avatar. The woman turned, blocking the first of Yuki's punches. Yuki dodged left, hitting the woman with a jab that made her arm go limp. Mako wondered where she'd learned that move, but he'd worry about that later. Yuki punched the false Avatar in the stomach and set off her glove. The shock blasted the woman off the stage. Turning towards Mako, Yuki started to move, but he pushed himself up. "Make sure she's down!"
"Yes sir!" She hopped down, moving towards where she'd seen the woman land, but there was no one there.
"No way." The setting on her glove should have knocked the woman out for a good ten minutes, and she double checked it. Her attention diverted, Yuki didn't see the attack coming. Something hit her in the head in the head, and she stumbled. Picking herself up, she looked around for her assailant. Maybe it was the head blow, maybe her eyes were still hurting from the flash of lighting, but Yuki swore she saw double just before the false Avatar brought the stage down on top of her.
(AN: Vision referenced happened in the fic Morning Rituals.)
