"Korra" Asami's voice brought Korra out of her happy little bubble
"I'm afraid we have to move" Lin sighed when Korra reluctantly let go of Laura
"do we have to?"
"Yes, Korra, we do"
"I was beginning to think of this cave as home" Korra whispered regretfully
"i know, Korra. We can always come back here after we've got you fixed up"
"What do you mean?"
"we're going to reattach all your innards, Korra. You'll be able to go to the toilet like anyone else after the surgeries" Elizabeth spoke gently to Korra and smiled reassuringly. "I've been where you are now, after my accident"
Laura smiled nervously up at the newcomer, "are you mommy and Mama going alone?"
"No, we're all going, Laura" Lin whispered and the young girl let out a breath
"I didn't want to be left behind" Laura mumbled
"oh Laura" Asami wrapped her arms around Laura and cuddled her, Korra also pulled Laura in for a tight cuddle
"we aren't going to leave you anywhere sweetie" Korra promised
"We love you"
"Thank you" Laura cuddled into both of her parents and smiled
"Adorable kid" Elizabeth muttered to Kya
"yes. But also pretty powerful" Kya replied
"Korra, we need to get you walking far enough for us to get you to the car" Asami said enthusiastically, this was the true test of her labours
"A... Alright"
"you got this, kid"
"come on Korra you can do it!"
"Korra you mustn't be afraid of what could happen. Don't think, do" Elizabeth encouraged
Korra sat up, using the power of the motors to help pull her up. In a matter of seconds she was sitting unaided. Asami had shown her how to lock and unlock her hip braces and she did so quickly, unlocking the braces to allow her hips their full rotation. She still had to wait a few seconds while the motors kicked in but soon enough she was sitting on the edge of the bed she had been trapped on for years. "wow... 'Sami..." Korra breathed, her voice full of love.
"come on, Korra. Nearly there"
"Alright" Korra pulled herself forward and slowly stood. She remembered to lock her braces at the last moment but then she was standing for the first time in sixteen years
"Yay! Mommy!" Laura exclaimed and wrapped her arms around Korra's waist
"way to go, Korra!" Lin exclaimed, she ran up to Korra and put her hand on her shoulder
"Thanks mom" Korra blushed
"take a step" Asami ordered
"anything for you, sweetie" Korra smiled. She pushed her leg forward and smiled widely when she was able to take a step. The brace didn't do all the work but it did enough to allow Korra to take her first tentative steps. After a few steps, Korra turned and nearly fell down but caught herself. She walked back to the bed successfully
*
"Now we have that sorted..." Lin stated, she moved her arms down and the rock the bed was resting on dropped down, Lin waved her arms and covered the bed with more rock. She then flattened all the other rocky structures except from the toilet area, "anyone need to go?" she inquired. Laura nodded and ran in to the toilet but was out again a minute later. Lin promptly flattened it and turned to the entrance. "let's go"
Asami crawled out and checked for people in the second antechamber. "all clear" she called. Korra and Elizabeth followed Lin, the latter pulled her arms outward to create a nice hole in their wall that both Korra and Elizabeth could fit through. Asami then crawled out in to the main tunnels and back again. "all clear"
"right, Elizabeth, you and Asami go get the car, we'll be waiting for you outside." Elizabeth nodded and wheeled off, Asami in hot pursuit.
"quite the little family you've got there" Elizabeth smiled widely, "are they... Yanno, mutants?"
"yes, they are"
"now I understand why you were very cautious"
"Why are you helping us?"
"Because it's the right thing to do"
"thank you"
*
Asami and Elizabeth drove in silence and picked the other four up. "it's a bit of a squeeze back there, I do apologise" Elizabeth said over her shoulder, she returned to driving and they bumped on to the asphalt. "finally" she muttered. Lin, Korra and Laura were in the back seats, Kya was sitting alone at the very back of the car. Lin and Kya had argued for a few minutes because Lin wanted to sit next to Kya, Kya had argued because Laura needed people she knew next to her and with Asami sitting at the front with Elizabeth to ensure no unwanted attention was drawn to the car, it meant one of them would have to sit next to her.
"I'm sorry, sweetie" Kya whispered, "maybe when we're safely in Canada Laura will be able to sit next to Asami"
"How's it going back there, Korra?" Asami called back
"I'm a little warm" Korra muttered
"Sorry, Korra. That blanket is to keep your exorthosis hidden" Asami tried to soothe her
"i don't want to hide it"
"I know... It's just until we're in Canada"
"Border crossing" Korra pointed it out
"we can't use that, Korra" Elizabeth replied
"huh?"
"Because you lot are fugitives and walking weapons, besides, do you have passports?"
"what's a... Passport?" Korra asked, she looked at Asami who shrugged
"exactly. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. we're gonna have to scout the border before nightfall and then decide where to make the crossing"
"right"
*
Hours passed, Laura and Korra slept on and off, Kya kept watch from her rear facing seats, Asami was busy doodling and Lin was watching Elizabeth closely while holding Laura protectively. "you still don't trust me do you, Lin?" Elizabeth's voice broke the silence as the sixth hour came and went
"no" Lin replied
"She doesn't trust anyone easily, Elizabeth" Kya's voice echoed from the back of the car
"especially when my family are in danger" Lin stated bluntly
"Mom, we're not in danger" Asami interrupted
"we were in danger the moment we left that cave, Asami"
Asami rolled her eyes, "police officers!" she exclaimed
"it's a dangerous world" Lin replied
"Shut up already, you're scaring Laura!" Korra's angry voice was the last thing heard for a long while, none of the others wanted to risk upsetting Korra enough to make her eyes glow. In the enclosed space of the car, that would be a fatal decision for all of them, except perhaps Laura
"Sorry" Lin finally broke the silence
"Gran-Gran" Laura nestled in to Lin's side, aware that Korra had drifted back to sleep. The added heat from that blanket enough to make Korra incredibly drowsy
"I love you, Laura" Lin placed a kiss on Laura's forehead and they sat for another few hours just watching the scenery go by
"i need the pee" Laura finally broke the silence
"Crap" Lin muttered
"Alright, we'll pull over in this little wood and you can go in there"
"Gracias"
"you're welcome, Laura." Elizabeth stopped the car and Lin dragged herself out of the car, Laura ran off behind some trees
"Don't go far, sweetie!" Asami called out after her, having also dragged herself out of the car and pulling on her glove as she went
"i won't, mama"
A few minutes later there was a shriek
*
"what was that?! Laura!!" Asami had began to panic, Korra was struggling to get out of the car, Lin and Kya were already running towards the source of the noise
"¡Vete a la mierda!" Laura screamed
"hey keep your voice down little freak" a voice cooed
"shit!" Asami hissed, suddenly the wind picked up and she looked over her shoulder. Korra's maternal instincts had kicked in full force and she was floating, eyes glowing, surrounded by a ball of air, a ring of fire, a ring of water and a ring of chunks of earth. "fuck me" Asami whispered
"Laura!! I'm coming!!" Korra shot off towards her daughter, smashing down any trees and rocky outcroppings that got in her way
"What... Is that?" one of the men cursed blindly, the wind kicking up enough dust to temporarily blind Laura's attackers
"esa es mi mami!!" Laura yelled over the noise, "¡Y aquí vienen mis abuelos!" the men noticed Laura wassmiling
"GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!!" Korra's voice was otherworldly and she effortlessly broke through the final barrier of trees just before Lin and Kya smashed their way through another barrier of trees. Korra launched three massive fireballs at the men, two dodged but one fell. Korra followed up with another attack, Laura had been pinned to a nearby tree by one of the attackers and that was the reason she screamed. Kya moved in quicker than any of the attackers could see and created a solid block of ice around Laura and the tree, safeguarding her from any attack. Lin swooped in on one of her metal cables, the other wrapped itself around an attacker's neck like it was alive and threw him into the nearby river. Lin landed softly and created an earthen fortress which no attacker would be able to get through. Seeing that Lin was with Laura, Kya melted the ice that had surrounded Laura but hadn't touched her. Korra, meanwhile had flattened another two of the attackers with a well placed boulder and was chasing down the final three as they tried to make their escape in a speedboat. "I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" Korra's voice echoed around the entire valley. Asami had finally made it to the scene of the fight, she gasped when she saw the mangled bodies under the boulder, the frozen body of the man who had been chucked in the river, his arms and one of his legs were missing, his head was turned too far to one side to be natural. She had zapped the final man who had hidden in a small chasm and dragged him out into the clearing. Kya had promptly beheaded him.
"where's Laura?"
Kya pointed at the fortress. "i... In there" Kya stuttered, the adrenaline was rapidly fading and shock was begging to hit
"breathe, Kya" Asami whispered. Kya bent a wave of water to carry her and Asami over the walls and to Lin and Laura. What they saw wasn't a pleasant sight. Laura was pinned to a tree with several sharp pieces of metal having been shoved through her arms and legs, pinning her to the tree. Her adimantium claws were extended but she was pinned so she couldn't defend herself. Lin bent the metal out of Laura but she had already fallen unconscious
"Shit" was all Lin was able to say. She gently picked Laura up and cuddled her close
*
A massive explosion echoed through the entire valley with screams echoing in the aftermath. "seems like Korra hit her target" Asami muttered
"If you say so" Kya was rubbing Lin's back, trying to calm her. They didn't know how effective Laura's healing was because they hadn't actually seen her get wounded before. Korra landed, carrying three badly burned, but still alive men
"These were the scumbags who attempted to run" she declared
"They're still alive, Korra" Lin whispered
"that will be rectified momentarily" Korra's eyes were still glowing brightly, "the explosion seemed to attract a large amount of attention from people in cars with flashing lights on them so I didn't have time to kill themandget out of there"
"So you brought them back with you"
"Yes" Korra began to bend the air around them. She created an artificial vacuum and the attackers were rapidly deformed. Their eyes were sucked out of their sockets and their lungs protruded out of their mouths, their bodies swelled until they exploded seconds later
Seeing what was going to happen, Asami closed her eyes. "eww" she gagged when she heard the popping nose that had indicated their demise.
"they are no more" Korra declared, the glow faded, she fell to her knees unconscious and would've toppled over on to her side had she not been caught by Asami and Kya
*
"what in the name of all that's holy happened here?" Elizabeth had followed the trail of destruction in the car and had stopped in the clearing, all the trees between where they had stopped and where they were now had been decimated by Korra so Elizabeth had no difficulty navigating the car to the clearing. Lin was holding Laura and Asami and Kya were holding Korra up so she didn't fall and potentially damage any of her braces
"someone hurt Laura, mommy Korra got pissed" was all Asami was capable of saying. Elizabeth dragged herself out of the car and into her wheelchair, she went back around the back of the car, got the first aid kit out and wheeled over to Lin and Laura.
"oh Laura..." Elizabeth sighed
"She got pinned to that tree" Lin explained, "metal spikes..."
"I don't really want to know" Elizabeth interrupted. She was focusing on Laura to avoid looking around at the bits of body that were splattered everywhere. She wrapped Laura's arms and legs tightly and motioned for Lin to put her back in the car. Immediately she saw Korra was going to be more of a problem, she had barely fitted in to the car with all her braces on when she could help but now she was completely out of it. "shit" she hissed
After a bit of a faff they managed to get Korra into the car. Everyone else piled in quickly, it was now too late to attempt to navigate away without passing the police cars and possibly getting pulled over or even arrested. "shit" Kya muttered
Lin, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, she smiled reassuringly and pointed at the river. "turn so you're facing the river and drive. Leave the rest to me"
Elizabeth nodded and revved the engine, the car shot forward. Lin raised her hands and a pathway rose out of the bedrock under the river. Elizabeth drove over it at speed while Lin lowered one of her hands every few seconds which brought the rock they had just driven over smashing back down into the bedrock as if it had never been lifted. Once they were over the river, Elizabeth drove so the car was concealed from the clearing by a screen of trees before she stopped the engine and put it in park. "We need to stay here for a while, they'll be searching" she had whispered. Lin nodded and punched downward with both hands to lower them all underground, she then flicked her wrist and the ground above them sealed over.
"welcome to Canada by the way"
"We made it" Asami sighed