The air acolytes had offered at first to take the Avatar across the bay to the city but Korra had refused them, ordering them back to the temple to keep themselves and the airbender family safe. She was Southern Water Tribe, after all, she could handle a ferry boat. She, the bending brothers, and Asami all piled onto the ship while Tenzin took off across the bay on his air bison. Korra wasn't certain of her plan once she'd let loose the moor lines and set off for the opposite harbor but she knew that City Hall would be the first place that Amon would strike, and she intended to be there when he did.
The four members of Team Avatar stood on the small deck, watching the city grow opaque behind a veil of dust and smoke. Every fresh boom brought with it an ache in Korra's bones. The figure of Aang, watching from his memorial at her left, only encouraged her harder to save his city. His legacy.
Halfway across the bay and Asami turned from the sight to walk aft and draw nearer to Korra where she stood at the rudder, guiding them along. The heiress was stiff, holding her arms about herself, but the smile she passed onto Korra was full of quiet affection.
"We're going to need a car when we get there," she said, matter-of-factly.
Korra was glad to see that Asami, as usual, was fearless in the face of outside danger. It was only peril close to heart which bothered the woman, it seemed.
"I left yours on the docks," she nodded, trying to recall where exactly. It had been late at night and she'd hardly been in her right frame of mind that night driving home.
Asami arched a brow at that however. "You drove my car?"
Korra's features twisted downwards, sheepishly. "It was that or leave it in the middle of a street."
Asami shrugged, relenting, and came to stand beside her as they coasted closer to the docks. They didn't touch, not now, but with Asami so close Korra could at once feel their earlier passion like a shadow between them. She still couldn't believe that she'd just given in and kissed Asami that way. On reflection, she realized that she hadn't really thought about it as much as she probably should have. She'd just reacted to the intensity that she'd seen in Asami and it made her shutter inwardly to imagine what might have happened if the other woman had recoiled.
"Asami," her voice was low, not meant to be overheard by the brothers. "I think we should keep whatever this is between us... between us. For now."
The other woman glanced back at her, placid and cool, and Korra was reminded of the first time they'd met one another when she saw those secret-laced eyes. "I agree," she said and Korra sighed with soft relief. She'd almost been worried that Asami would have been mad at the thought. Asami gave her a small, knowing smile. "It's not going to be easy though."
Korra tilted her head, fondly. "It will be easier than having to explain to Mako that I stole his girl. Or... distracting Bolin. The last time the three of us were all having crushes on the wrong person, our teamwork tanked. I don't know what to expect when we get to the city, but it's going to be ugly and we need to work at our best, together."
Asami covered a grin. "All right, well I guess we'll just act normal for now then."
She gave Asami a thankful smile and looked back towards the city. They were coming in on the docks now and she began to use her bending to help steer the ferry slowly in. It was cheating, said her Water Tribe heart, but they didn't have the luxury of taking their time to do things the proper way.
Before they docked, the heiress cleared her throat. "Korra, I want you to know that whatever this is, it's important to me."
Korra glanced back at Asami, who was still her usual cool self even in light of her confession. She grinned. "Me too." She tore her attention from Asami's smile and lifted her chin to the brothers. "Mako, Bolin, hop off and tie us down."
The brothers moved with the harmonized swiftness that kept them alive in the ProBending arena and Korra's waterbending helped to secure the ferry at the dock. They all scrambled off the boat and took a look around them. The city streets were all but deserted at this corner of town, and Korra could only assume that people had already evacuated or were hunkering down to avoid the bombing. The airships continued to hover, but the drops were less frequent now. The smell of sulfur and ash was thick however and she found herself snorting several times to clear her nose of it.
"So, where did you park my car?" Asami asked carefully and Korra cringed.
'Riiiiiight. The car...'
"Um, over here, I think." She took off in a direction and the rest followed. Asami's car was where she remembered, all right. It was also in the shape that she remembered. The satomobile was half on a curb and what had actually pulled it to a complete stop was the light post that she'd partially bent over the hood. Asami stood stunned for a moment and then cast Korra a sidelong glare. "Hey, don't give me that look. You got arrested and I've made it clear that I don't know how to drive."
The heiress rolled her eyes and opened the trunk to search for something while Bolin attempted to assuage Korra's pride. "It's on the side of the street at least. And look, you locked the doors! There are an awful lot of tickets though..." he looked warily at the stack of stubs under the windshield wiper but Mako scooped them up then bent a flame to incinerate.
While Korra hopped in the backseat, Bolin gasped dramatically at his brother. "Mako you can't just do that!"
"The city is under attack, I don't think anyone cares about parking tickets," he scoffed in answer and moved to the side door. Asami was pulling on her chi-blocker glove but as the firebender made to get in the seat beside her she glowered at him. "Maybe you should sit in the back," she suggested. "With Korra."
The Avatar caught the tone, as did everyone else in the car. Oddly, Asami sounded legitimately annoyed and Korra's mouth turned down, unsure if she had done something wrong already.
"Okay," Mako glared back. "Maybe I will." He shut the door then slipped over the rear of the car to saddle beside Korra. The Water Tribe girl looked from him to Asami's green eyes in the mirror. She had suggested that they act normal, and had taken her usual seat in the back to feed that lie, but Asami's possessive glare didn't appear faked. As the engine rolled over in a stutter of mechanism and the heiress pulled it out into the street, Korra wondered for a moment if being discreet was going to be something easier said than done.
The battle for City Hall had failed, but Asami knew that hurt Korra far worse than it did her. She was worried at first that Korra would take the defeat as poorly as she took any other failure but the Avatar had remained focused and adaptive. Perhaps, Asami hopped, she was beginning to trust in her own ability to persevere.
The fight had not been gainless. They'd rescued Tenzin (at the cost of Asami's beloved car) and they had made it back to Air Temple Island before the Equalists could cut their way through Lin Beifong and the airbender kids but more airships were on their way, looming over the bay as harbingers of the inevitable.
Tenzin and the Avatar stood beneath the arcade awning while Mako and Bolin stared at the coming ships, however Asami watched Korra as the two benders debated quietly. She realized, incisively, that it didn't matter what Korra decided to do; she would be at her side regardless. Fight or run, she was going to trust in Korra.
The Water Tribe girl and airbender master embraced briefly and then Korra jogged towards Asami and the boys.
"We're going into hiding," she announced in a firm voice and Asami felt taken by surprise. It was one of the last sentences she had expected to hear from Korra's mouth. "I'm not going to abandon the city, but we can't fight today. Tenzin sent a distress call to the United Forces and they're on their way, we just have to wait Amon out until they get here and then we can really fight back." She looked directly at the heiress and Asami knew what she would say before it came. "Asami, you don't have to go with us. You aren't who they want, and your father can probably protect you better than we-"
"I'm going with you," she cut off simply. She wasn't about to abandon Korra now and she sure has hell wasn't crawling back to her father for help.
Korra sighed tightly but nodded back and then turned to run and leap onto Naga's saddle with practiced ease. "Everyone on, we need to go."
Tenzin and the airbender family were already piling on top of Oogie, with Beifong joining as support. Asami saw the former police chief catch Korra's eye and offer her a stiff salute, and then the flying bison was floating upwards. At once, two airships changed coarse to pursue. Bolin and Mako climbed on the polar-bear dog behind Korra and Asami was forced to take the rear, inwardly annoyed at her poor traction as well as having to wrap her arms around Mako for stability. He placed a hand over hers however, offering her a brief smile, and she had to give it to him that his obstinate heart was still endearing.
Korra turned Naga and heeled her in the direction of the temple ramp and the moment they began to amble off at Naga's lopsided gate Asami missed her car. How Korra could prefer this rocking to a smooth satomobile was beyond her sensibilities.
At the cliff drop Naga picked up speed and then leapt full force from the rocky outcropping and Asami had a moment of stomach-flipping thrill before they were inundated by stunningly cold water. Korra let go the reins and within a moment they were enveloped in an underwater bubble of air. Beneath the waves of the bay, they could travel unseen as long as Korra could keep the water bent around them but Asami was still miserably wet and cold.
"Here," Mako made a flame in each hand, holding one towards Asami and one in front of him towards his brother and the Avatar. The heiress clutched to him and his warmth-filled fist as they worked across the bay.
"K-Korra," Bolin shivered. "Where are we going to h-hide?"
"I don't know," she answered as Naga paddled them along. "I thought maybe we could find someplace abandoned?"
"We're going to be at risk on the streets," Mako argued. "We don't know how many people in the city support the Equalists and we're all too recognizable. Everyone knows the Fire Ferrets and the Avatar, and most people know the Sato heiress."
"I guess that mean's we can't hangout at the mansion," Asami sighed dryly.
"Aw, man." Bolin moaned.
"We may be safe in the underground," Mako suggested but Asami shook her head.
"You mean the tunnels where we looked for Korra? They're covered with Equalists."
"That was just one part of the tunnel network. It runs all over the city, there may be a corner we can stay in."
"Well," Bolin scrubbed his chin. "The homeless guys all live in that corner under the industrial park. Maybe they'd feel welcoming."
"It's worth a shot," Korra agreed. "I've met a few of those guys around the city and they seem to not hate me."
"Great," Asami huffed quietly. Really, what was the point of access to Future Industries millions if she couldn't use it to hide herself and her friends from her father's revolutionary plots?
They swam their way across the bay and then around the coastline until they found the concrete seawall of the industrial sector. Naga had done well to bring them this far but the swim with so many passengers had taken its toll and Korra quickly asked them all off as soon as they were out of the water. Asami's clothes continued to cling to her and she wrapped her arms around herself in some vain attempt to conserve heat but her chattering teeth quickly gave her away. Korra turned to her with a sympathetic glance, then waved her hand. Fine droplets of ice bent suddenly off of her clothes and collected in a pile at her feet. Asami looked from the snow to Korra with a grateful smile.
"Thanks."
"Waterbending perks," she shrugged and turned to follow the brothers towards a massive storm-drain opening that glowed metallically in the fading sunlight. Fortunately, the entry way was empty for the time being and easily passable. At the cusp of the pipe, Korra paused and Asami followed her look towards Air Temple Island, where an airship with Amon's mark floated proudly. It was an alarming image, and Asami rather wished she hadn't seen it.
Mako placed an arm around Korra's shoulders as the Avatar stared bitterly across the bay. "Come on," he insisted and began to lead her further down the tunnel, much to Asami's annoyance. She was right in her prediction that their being discrete was going to be difficult, but being unable to tell Mako to keep his hands to himself was going to really strain the heiress's self control.