Resisting (adj.): in a state of resistance, either to internal or external change—or both.

3 hours later

Police HQ, Republic City

2 years, 6 months after the fall of the Red Lotus

Blue orbs eyed a short, dark-haired man as he sat down on the other side of a steel table, looking away after a few seconds, unable to meet his gaze. To the surprise of the woman sitting handcuffed at one end of the table, he smiled at her.

"So, I guess everything turned out okay in the end, huh?"

She glanced up, looking away again almost instantly.

"I mean…for a second, I had my doubts, but—" he shrugged, "—you know the Flash." He grinned. "He always delivers."

Bette slowly dragged her eyes up to his smile, feeling guilt nagging at her. "I'm sorry I clocked you in the head," she said softly.

Cisco just grinned and shrugged. "You know, it wouldn't be the first time that's been done to me by a beautiful woman." He pressed his lips together and cringed. "Yeah, still inappropriate."

Bette smirked. "I don't mind." She waved at her surroundings. "How can I? I mean…thanks to you, I'm still alive, and…free."

Cisco stared at the cuffs. "Gonna have to work on your definition of free."

"Free to make my own choices, I mean. And that's what really matters."

He nodded slowly in agreement, shrugging. "Well, the Flash did most of the legwork."

She smiled. "Maybe, but the Flash didn't hold my hand and tell me everything was going to be okay. He didn't help me through day after day of despair." Bette finally managed to look him in the eye. "You helped me believe that I was more than just a human bomb, that I could still be a person after everything I've done." Her gloved hands held one of his. "You're a real hero, Cisco."

His face turned progressively redder as the seconds passed, until he cleared his throat and straightened up.

Bette just smirked. "So, how'd he pull it off, anyway? Getting Eiling, I mean."

"Oh, now that was a stroke of brilliance. Took some convincing to get Raiko to lure Eiling to his office, but based on what we showed him about you and some other operations the general conducted, he realized that giving Eiling the Fifth Freedom was a mistake. The rest was just a matter of preparation and wiring." He smirked. "I helped."

Bette chuckled. "'Course you did."

Silence reigned over the room for a few moments before Cisco took a deep breath. "So, I have some bad news and some very good news. Which do you want first?"

"The bad, of course." She smirked. "Long as that news is very good."

Cisco grinned. "Very good." His throat cleared. "So, um…it isn't set in stone, but…despite the fact that your actions for the last three years have been almost entirely under duress…you hurt a lot of people, Bette, so prison time is on the horizon, non-negotiable."

She winced and looked down.

"The good news is, based on the evidence and testimony you've leveled against Eiling, plus his own confession to corroborate it all—and the fact that you were under duress—the judge that's been overseeing your case has already said that you'll be put in low-security."

Bette looked up in shock.

Cisco grinned. "For as little as four months. Nine, tops."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. Despite all the damage you caused, you've never killed anyone…not even Eiling."

"Cisco—" She lost her ability to speak as tears filled her eyes and laughter bubbled in her chest.

He laughed with her, loudly, uninhibited, as he gripped her hands. When they had calmed enough to speak again, they locked eyes and held gazes for a while.

"Everything's gonna be okay, Bette," he assured her. "I promise."

She smiled. "I'll take it. You make good on your promises."

…

General Wade Eiling sat with his back against one wall of his eight-by-six cell, seething in anger and staring at a far wall.

"Shame you couldn't bribe them to bring some of your scotch."

The general's head snapped over to the darkness outside his cell, eyes scanning the shadows but finding nothing. A few moments later, a figure clad all in black stepped forward, a hood and mask covering the entirety of his features except for his eyes.

The figure nodded to Eiling. "You look like you could use a drink."

Eiling's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

"I'm known by many names." He began to pace around his cell, hands clasped behind his back. "Terrorist, assassin, the Dark Archer." He stopped and turned his head to face Eiling. "But you may call me Al Sa-Her, or the Magician, if you so desire."

Wade stared at him. "What do you want?"

"To help you." Al Sa-Her began to pace again. "It's come to the attention of my benefactor that you have a very particular set of skills, specifically when it comes to studying and understanding metahumans." He glanced at the general. "We need someone of those skills."

"Why?"

"For the same reason why you broke all the rules to understand metahuman physiology. To defend our nation from all threats, foreign and domestic."

"And what nation is that?"

Al Sa-Her came to a stop, facing away from Eiling. He turned his head to look back over his shoulder. "Accept my offer and you'll find out."

Eiling's eyes narrowed. "How am I supposed to help you? I'm stuck in this cell for the next forty years at least."

Al Sa-Her chuckled darkly. "My dear general…do you know why they call me the Magician?"

A pause. "No."

"Take a guess."

Eiling took a deep breath, jaw working as he thought hard about the offer.

"Accept my offer, and I can guarantee you both your freedom…and the chance to take vengeance on the Flash and everyone that's put you in here."

The general looked up, fire flashing in his eyes.

"Thought that might grab your attention." He turned to face Eiling fully. "So what do you say, General?"

Eiling's jaw worked as he took another moment. "I'm in."

"Excellent." Al Sa-Her made back toward the shadows.

"Wait!" the general shouted, grabbing the bars. "Where are you going?"

He paused and turned back. "To make preparations. Breaking you from this place will take time, preparation, and most importantly, distraction. The authorities cannot know you're gone until we've escaped the city."

Eiling exhaled a relieved breath. "Got it. I understand."

"Don't worry, General. We will take good care of you." Fire flashed in his eyes. "But make no mistake. If you at any point begin to favor your personal vendetta over the well-being of my benefactor…we will meet again, under far less pleasant circumstances."

Eiling paled slightly at the deadly tone of his voice, gulping and nodding slowly.

"Just sit tight." He turned away and made for the exit. "All you have to do now is wait."

…

4 days later

"Okay, bring it!"

Avatar Korra smirked and lowered her shoulder, then leapt into action as several arcs of high-force air blasted through the space between her and the blind crone facing off against her. A water stream was yanked from the bed of the swamp when her opponent dodged everything without even twitching a muscle, the mud of the swamp enough to keep her out of harm's way. A wall of said mud slammed into her chest a moment later, and she was sent flying into a pile of some more. A clump of muddy grass smacked directly into her face, much to her displeasure, and she sent a glare at the approaching woman as a frog squirrel landed on her shoulder.

"Tell me what you did wrong."

Korra peeled the animal off her shoulder. "Well, I was thinking that you were gonna—"

"Exactly!" she interrupted. "You were thinking!" A moment's pause before she turned and walked away. "Go again."

Arcs and bolts of every element at her disposal were bent and thrown with abandon as she leveled everything against her opponent. Once again, nothing landed, and she effortlessly countered with another muddy attack. Korra landed unceremoniously in a puddle some distance away, groaning as she turned herself face-up and stared into the canopy of trees overhead.

"Pathetic," the old woman spat as Korra slowly regained her footing. "Of all the Avatars I've worked with, you're by far the worst." She shrugged, walking past her. "I know that's only one other Avatar, but still."

With a disdainful air, Toph walked past her, a sharp, massive pain around her elbow causing a yelp to come from Korra's throat. Sparing a brief glance at the circular-mouthed slug that had been pulled off her arm, she sent a glare at the older woman.

"Hey! It seems like you're enjoying having someone around to beat up an awful lot."

Toph gave an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, the swamp benders out here really can't take a punch."

Korra's face screwed up in confusion. "So…what made you want to drop out and disconnect from the rest of the world?"

Her tone of reply was nothing less than affronted. "I'm more connected to the world than you've ever been." Her tone shifted with a slightly wistful note. "The roots and vines—they run all over the world. I can see Su and Lin, Zaofu and Republic City. I see everything."

Korra thought the statement over for a few seconds, a conspiratorial smirk coming to her face as she slowly lifted her hand, a thick tendril of water rising with the movement. The moment she lunged forward to send it at Toph, a wave of mud pummeled her into the ground.

To add insult to injury, Toph continued. "You're blind compared to me."

Korra slowly pushed herself upright, mud falling off her in chunks as she caught Toph approaching in her peripheral vision.

"And you're distracted. You have been ever since you arrived."

The Avatar groaned softly as she doused herself in the nearby water. "And you know this how?"

"Same way I can see; same way I can tell when people lie to me." Her lips pursed. "I wouldn't advise the latter, by the way."

Korra sighed hard and slumped onto a nearby log, fingers knitted together and tucked under her chin.

"So?"

The Avatar blinked twice and looked up at her interrogator. "So what?"

Toph's arms crossed as she looked down at the younger woman. "What's got your mind so wrapped up?"

Korra took a long breath, eyes flickering to the side before looking down.

She could hear the smirk in Toph's voice. "Maybe the better question is 'who?'"

Korra snorted. "Is it that obvious?"

"I can sense your emotions, girl. Every time I ask about the source of your distraction, your heart rate hikes a couple dozen beats, and it isn't out of fear. That one's pretty easy to identify. No, this is something far more regular. Felt it a couple times since you've been here." She bent a pillar of earth to serve as a high chair and sat down. "And every time, you've been alone with your thoughts, staring off blankly into the distance." Toph smirked. "So what's his name?"

Korra sighed again and looked up at her dubiously, arms crossed. "You don't really want to hear about my nonexistent love life."

"On the contrary. For the last couple years, my life's consisted of bending, watching, and little else. I may be able to see what's happening around the world, but there's something about conversation that's lost in translation. You get the cold, hard facts without any of the juicy details." Her wizened head cocked, a smirk playing over her lips. "And based on the way your heart's racing, I wouldn't say this love life of yours is quite as nonexistent as you're insisting."

The Avatar just stared at her blankly, lips parted as she sighed in resignation and looked back down.

"So…let's start with a name."

"Barry," she replied in a quiet voice, "Barry Allen. He's a CSI with the Republic City PD."

"Nonbender?"

Korra nodded blankly.

Toph leaned forward, chin resting on her hands. "What's he like?"

"He's…" Unknown to her, Korra's eyes glazed over slightly. "I…don't even know how to describe him." Her hands toyed in her lap. "He's sweet and kind and…and…" A thick mist clouded her vision as her voice cracked briefly. The back of her forearm wiped across her eyes. "He understands me better than anyone I've ever known." She looked down at her legs, absently kicking them up and down. "Without him…I probably wouldn't be where I am."

Toph snickered. "Slow, dull-witted, and mired in self-pity?"

Korra sent a glare at the older woman. "Walking, for one."

"And?"

"And…" she blinked rapidly, Barry's auburn hair and smiling face filling her vision. Korra sighed hard. "Barry came into my life when I was at my absolute lowest, when no one could reach me—not my best friends, not even my family." She frowned. "I withdrew from all of them, from everything. My entire life just…stopped, and I let it. I know I would've gotten back up eventually, but Barry…" a smirk played over her lips, "Barry didn't give me a choice. He reached inside me and…he didn't put the pieces back together." Her head shook. "No, he did one better. He picked them up…and showed me that I could.

"When I didn't know—when I couldn't know, he showed me my own strength. He was my lighthouse. He gave me light and hope when I felt nothing but pain, saw nothing in my future but chaos and fear. He took my hand and helped me rise until I knew I could stand again. Barry opened my heart in ways I never knew were possible,and he…" her lips twitched upward, eyes glazing over again, "made me love again." She was silent for several seconds before the fog over her mind passed and her head shook, eyes blinking rapidly as her voice dropped to a whisper. "I…I love him." Another couple of rapid blinks, voice rising in volume and intensity. "I love him."

Korra rapidly looked over at Toph to see the old woman yawning dramatically, eyes half-lidded in boredom.

The Avatar glared. "Told you you didn't want to know."

The metalbending master rolled her unseeing eyes and rose from her seat, snorting derisively. "If nothing else, I now understand that no matter what body the Avatar is in, no matter how hardened or tough they appear, they're still as unbelievably sappy when it comes to romance." She turned away and walked off in the direction of her cave dwelling. "Come on, Twinkletoes. It's a decent hike back, and I won't be stopping if you fall behind."

Korra groaned as she stood, joints and shredded muscles protesting the movement. "I'd expect nothing less."

…

City Hall, Republic City

"Now, rise, Wu of the Hou-Ting Dynasty, king of all the Earth lands and glorious defender of Ba Sing Se. Long may you reign!"

Barry clapped as halfheartedly as the rest of the crowd, lower lip sucked in as he restrained laughter at Mako's perpetually irritated expression. Between his head-bashing (which Barry had managed to curtail once he found out) and the sheer boredom of his detail for the last few months, Mako was going stir-crazy. Barry was decently sure he'd lost a good portion of his brain cells since being assigned as Wu's bodyguard, but it was nothing a few tough cases and an all-nighter with the station's bad coffee couldn't cure. The speedster subconsciously tuned out Wu's following speech as his eyes scanned the plaza, his left index absently toying with the ring on his right middle finger.

Between the radical protesters the cops had had to deal with earlier and the lackluster reception the prince was getting, it was clear that the monarchy was completely out of favor. Barry didn't think it would descend into open violence, but he'd gone to the chief and volunteered as backup security, just in case. She'd agreed, of course, even going so far as informing him she'd have ordered him onto the job if he hadn't come to her first. His mind snapped back to the present when Kuvira's name came from Wu's lips.

She marched up to the center of the stage, posture erect and—dare he say—regal as she faced Wu.

"For your service to the realm, I would like to present you with the Kyoshi Medal of Freedom, our nation's highest honor—which was somehow not stolen, unlike the royal pinky rings."

To Barry's mild surprise, Kuvira straightened up once receiving the medal around her neck and smiled back at the prince. "Thank you, and if you don't mind, I'd like to say a few words."

Barry could see the corner of Lin's lips twitch slightly, even at this distance. Apparently, the chief didn't like something she saw.

Wu's response was nothing less than disgruntled, though not at her. "Why not? We've got six hours to fill."

Though he generally didn't approve of the prince and his devil-may-care attitude about most things, Barry couldn't deny his point, and smirked as a result. His ice-blue eyes watched Kuvira take the stage and stand before the microphone with a firm look in her eyes. He watched as she scanned the crowd, taking a moment before finally speaking.

"Growing up in Zaofu with Suyin Beifong, I learned that the idea of a royal family passing a title from one generation to the next was archaic, and that technology and innovation should be what drives a nation forward. It was the pathetic rule of kings and queens that caused the Earth Kingdom to descend into such incredible disarray. It's taken me three years to get it back on track, and there's no way I will allow it to slip back into the dark ages."

A cold, uncomfortable feeling settled into Barry's gut as he exchanged a brief glance with Lin.

"I'd like to make an announcement to the world." She paused and scanned the crowd again. "The Earth Kingdom is no more, and from here on out, this man—" she pointed squarely at Wu, "—has no authority."

A disbelieving shudder passed through the crowd as the cold spread throughout Barry's body.

"Wait, what?!" Wu yelped in shock. "But I just got the royal brooch."

Kuvira turned back to the audience, undeterred. "I have created a new Earth Empire, and I will continue to lead it into the future myself, bringing about a new era of prosperity for my people."

Evidently, not all were so opposed to the idea, as everyone from the Earth Kingdom—Empire delegation erupted into cheers and applause.

"And let me assure my fellow leaders of one thing." She tore the medal off her chest and levitated it with metalbending. "Anyone who crosses our borders or stand in our way…will be crushed." On the last word, the medal crumpled into an amorphous mass and was summarily dropped to the floor of the stage.

Cameras flashed by the dozens, and cheers of approval sounded from many in the crowd. Barry saw Wu hang his head dejectedly and mutter something to himself, but never got the chance to wonder at it when a massive explosion sounded from behind him, somewhere in the city. He, and everyone else, snapped to it instantly, watching as a thin stream of smoke rose in the distance. His head turned back to the stage, where Chief Beifong gave him a slight but visible nod. Barry nodded back and vanished into the press of excited bodies, disappearing into a nearby alley moments later.

In a flash of golden lightning, Barry took off running, his ring lighting up and expelling its contents a split-second later. His suit molded around his body in sections as he pulled it on in the space of four seconds (not quite a record, but still fast enough), the cowl yanked over his features last as he took off in earnest.

…

City Hall

Lin looked off into the distance in worry for a moment before a uniformed officer came to a stop next to her and saluted crisply. "What's the situation?"

"One of our prisoner transfers has been attacked, Chief."

"Which one? Who's aboard?"

"A few Triple Threats, low-level thieves, and…"

Lin arched an eyebrow impatiently. "And?"

The officer's lips pursed. "And General Wade Eiling."

The chief blanched, lips parting as half the color left her face. "It's no coincidence this is happening today." She glanced at the crowd. "Eiling must've planned this to take advantage of the decreased police presence around the city." Lin frowned for a moment before turning back to the officer. "Dispatch our people to that site immediately, as many as you can send."

He saluted sharply. "Yes, ma'am."

"Mako!" she called. "You too!"

The detective looked between her and the despondent prince. "But Wu—"

"I have him handled, now go!"

He gave her a firm nod and sprinted off toward a nearby squad car as Lin looked off toward the smoke for a while.

"Chief."

She turned around to see Kuvira approaching with a concerned expression.

"If there's anything I can do to help—"

Lin stopped her with a single hand, upper lip twitching as she caught sight of her half-sister's betrayed expression. "You've done enough."

…

The Flash streaked toward the crash site at Mach 1.5, the smoke giving him a clear location as he turned down another street every split-second or so. When the overturned transport came into sight, he immediately spotted the busted-open back and discarded shackles sitting on the pavement. And five rough-looking criminals recovering their bearings.

One of them spotted him while he was still far off and pointed with a yell. "It's the Flash! Waste 'im!"

Three of the criminals ignited flames in their hands—Triple Threats, he'd guess—while the fourth and fifth used earth and stolen police weaponry, respectively. The cops themselves were nowhere to be seen, probably out cold in the front. Barry refocused on the criminals as two firebenders sent arcs of flame in his direction, curving around them to slam the third Triple Threat in the jaw with a dashing cross. He hit the pavement hard as the others kept fighting, the speedster weaving in and out of their ranks with meticulous steps and practiced ease.

Two more fireballs and a large chunk of asphalt were dodged before the Flash started really laying on the hurt. Two dashing punches to one firebender sent him reeling, while a rising palm to the chest of another sent him flying into the air. The earthbender seemed to favor small projectiles to larger ones, splitting a larger chunk of pavement into dozens of smaller pieces and sending them at him at massive speeds. He withdrew step by step as he either dodged or punched the shards out of the air, finally getting enough breathing room to think through his next step. In the next split-second, he was snatching the shards out of the air and throwing them right back.

The veritable hailstorm of hardened tar pummeled the earthbending criminal until he groaned loudly and keeled over in pain, various bruises forming all across his battered body. The last man took one look at the Scarlet Speedster before dropping his stolen weapons and raising his hands in surrender. The Flash smirked and ran toward a nearby inactive power line that had fallen due to the crash, running around and tying up the beaten criminals in a cluster. He took another moment to observe the crash site, noting something about the vehicle's interior with a frown. He turned to the one unconscious escapee.

"There are six seats in there, but there are only five of you." He pointed at the van's open back. "Where's the last guy?"

"I'm right here," a voice answered from behind.

Barry turned around slowly, right hand tightening into a fist as Wade Eiling came into his line of sight. "Eiling," he half-hissed.

The former general just smirked. "Flash. Been a few days."

"Forever wouldn't be long enough, you son of a bitch."

"Ooh, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He looked up and to the side in mock thought. "Oh, that's right—" his cold eyes turned back to Barry, "—nobody does."

Barry snarled and charged for him only to stop halfway when a sharp, piercing pain lanced through his back. His legs gave out a few seconds later as he collapsed to his knees at Eiling's feet. He looked up at the general, then behind, then back to Eiling just as a masked, black-suited figure armed with a bow stepped into view.

The Flash's ice-blue eyes widened. "The Magician."

"You know him?" Eiling asked almost absently.

His gaze turned back to the general. "I was friends with the Arrow. What do you think?"

"I think that I made an excellent choice of partner." Wade pointed at the silent black-suited figure. "You see, the Magician here mistrusts people like you almost as much as I do—or, at least, his benefactor does."

Barry's brows furrowed. Benefactor?

"Sure, they see the value in metahumans, but they don't trust them." He snarled. "As well they shouldn't."

The Flash attempted to stand, but felt his legs give out a moment later, remembering the pain in his back as it flared up again. He reached back and yanked out a long black arrow with a needle tip, looking back up to the pair in front of him.

"Tranquilizer? You should know by now that I can burn through that crap in seconds."

Eiling smiled malevolently. "Oh no, Flash. This stuff isn't meant to slow your heart rate." He leaned over the speedster. "It's meant to speed it up."

Barry took several rapid breaths, his chest tightening and heart hammering hard in his rib cage.

"That arrowhead was filled with a highly concentrated dose of tetrodotoxin—pufferfish venom."

The Flash gasped for breath as he started to collapse to the pavement.

"In fact, it's so concentrated, that if your system couldn't already withstand extremely high heart rates and blood pressure, your innards would already have exploded."

Barry clawed at him incoherently, lungs barely functioning as he felt pressure build in every corner of his body.

Eiling crouched over his seizing form. "I figured it was fair pay for ruining my life. There's still a chance—however small—that you'll survive to get me back, but…" he shrugged, "I wouldn't bank on it." He stood up straight when the Magician pulled at his shoulder with his empty hand. "Goodbye, Flash. I'd say it's been fun—but then I'd be lying." He brought his boot down into Barry's gut several times. "Instead, I'll say: 'see you in hell.'"

The pair marched off together, leaving the spasming Flash in unbelievable agony. His entire body felt like it was on fire, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. Without his regeneration, he'd already be dead, but attempting to speed up his metabolism—the usual way of burning through unwanted chemicals—would only make matters worse. After what felt like hours but was actually just over a minute, his lungs virtually stopped working altogether, spasming uncontrollably as his heart rate went off the charts. A brown blur passed above him, and his eyes flitted around in panic until Mako's face slowly resolved in his vision.

"Barry!" he shouted in alarm. "What's happening?!"

"I—can't—can't breathe," he managed between gasps.

Before he could say anything else or Mako could respond, Barry felt his entire torso lift off the ground in a massive seizure, his back hitting the pavement hard several times before he came to a stop. And when he did, all breath left him, and there was only darkness.

…

"Barry? Barry!"

Mako's lungs inflated and deflated at a rapid rate as he failed to find a pulse, and panic began to fill his veins. Shaking his head rapidly, he tightened his jaw and took a breath. His arms moved, and sapphire lightning sparked between his fingers as he charged up and pulled away from the Flash's body. His hands came down a moment later, sending a massive electric shock through the speedster's body. He didn't wake afterward, didn't breathe, didn't even twitch. Mako's head shook again, hard.

"Come on, buddy. You do not get to clock out on me."

Another, stronger shock; still no response.

"Not like this!"

Another lightning strike. Nothing.

"Come on, you stupid, geeky son of a—"

"Gaaaaaahhhh!"

Barry's entire body arched massively as he yelled. His lungs greedily sucked in air as Mako held him firmly, taking his hand and giving him an anchor as he slowly got his bearings. A good minute or so passed before Barry's breathing started to normalize. Another twenty seconds passed before he was coherent enough for speech.

"E-Eiling—"

"He's gone," Mako interrupted softly. "It's okay."

"N-No it isn't. He's—"

"Barry, shut up. Right now, the only thing that's important is making sure you're okay, understand?"

The speedster took a few more labored breaths before giving him a shaky nod. "Let's…please never do that again?"

Mako huffed a small laugh before slumping over and sighing in relief. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

…

"That was terrible."

Toph laughed heartily. "Maybe for you. I had a great time." She paused and sat on a log. "I never realized how much I missed tormenting the Avatar." Her tone became bored. "I wish you were putting up more of a fight, but it was still fun."

Korra's shoulders slumped as she rubbed a sore spot on her arm. "You were tossing me around like a ragdoll all day long."

"I know! And I'm an old lady! Imagine me in my prime! I would have destroyed you!"

Korra arched an eyebrow and frowned. You're enjoying this entirely too much. "I just don't understand why I can't get back to my former self."

Toph remained silent as they resumed walking.

"It's like I'm a step slower. I'm tentative, I'm out of synch. I just can't get back in the groove."

Toph came to a stop. "Probably carrying around that metal doesn't help."

Korra's eyes widened in alarm. "What metal?"

She turned to the Avatar. "The little bits of metal poison stuck in your body." She chuckled. "Are you trying to tell me you can't feel metal in your own body? You really are the worst Avatar ever."

Ignoring her barb, Korra pressed on. "I thought Su got it all out."

"Oh, my girls never really picked up metalbending all that well, if you ask me."

Korra arched a disbelieving eyebrow before remembering just how many times she'd been pummeled that afternoon—not that it was unusual nowadays. And then the implications settled into her head, and she moved toward Toph with an exhilarated glint in her eyes. "That's been my problem this entire time!" She grabbed Toph at the shoulders and pulled her to face her. "I gotta get it out! You can get it out for me, right?"

Toph's expression twisted in affront. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

And then Korra was shoved out of her personal space by the head.

…

Aang Memorial Hospital, Republic City

"Nngh…"

Barry's ice-blue eyes fluttered open as pain lanced through his head and chest, vision blurry and slowly sharpening over several seconds, much slower than usual. When he finally came to, a single pair of familiar green eyes greeted him. A smile slowly spread over his features, another long groan coming from his throat when another sharp pain lanced through his chest, eyes shutting again a moment later.

"Easy, kid." He felt Lin's gentle grip on his shoulder. "You've been out for a while."

Barry looked up at her, taking a long breath.

"Mako would've been here," she added, "but he had to escort the prince to Little Ba Sing Se."

Barry's brows furrowed. "Why? Wu's coronation got the kibosh big time."

Lin crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow right back. "Ever considered that maybe he just wanted a little taste of home?"

"No, I mean…why bring Mako with him? He's just a private citizen now."

The chief frowned a little. "I'll admit, you have a point." She sighed. "Either way, we'll have to manage this Eiling business on our own."

Barry hissed in pain as he pushed himself into a rough sitting position. "Maybe not. Eiling didn't escape on his own. He had outside help."

"From whom?"

"Al Sa-Her, the Magician."

Her green eyes widened slightly. "The psycho archer Queen's been looking for?"

Barry nodded. "I don't know why, but he's allied himself with the general. And there's something else. Eiling mentioned a secret benefactor, someone who 'values, but doesn't trust' metahumans like me. Ideas?"

Her head shook slowly. "None, but we'll have plenty of time to think about that after you're recovered."

He frowned. "Shouldn't take too much longer, right? I mean—"

"According to Caitlin, you shouldn't be alive right now, considering the damage done to your system. I didn't understand all the doctor speak, but suffice to say, the only reason you're still breathing is the Speedforce in your system—and even then just barely. If Mako hadn't resuscitated you—"

"I try not to think about it," Barry interrupted as she looked off into the distance.

Lin flinched and nearly jumped when another hand entered hers, tightening around her fingers a little. Her gaze turned back to Barry, who was smiling up at her a little.

"You okay?" he asked.

She blinked several times, staring at him blankly. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked nonchalantly, unaffected.

His head shook. "No reason."

The speedster smirked as his eyes flickered down to their intertwined hands faster than she could notice. Despite her lack of obvious warmth, he noted with some degree of satisfaction that she didn't pull away from his touch. His fingers closed a little further, and to his surprise, her grip tightened as well, even harder than his, and something twitched at the corner of her lips. Barry didn't ask her about the city or work, and she didn't bring it up. He just stared at the ceiling and smiled, more than happy to sit still and wait for his body to recover.

…

"Okay, if you want me to bend out this metal, you need to relax."

Korra cringed in irritation, her body laid out on a wooden slab. "I am relaxed."

Toph scoffed. "Oh, seriously? Your body is like a twisted tree trunk."

Her head snapped up as she glared at the metalbender in annoyance. "Just do it! I'm ready!"

Without another word, Beifong cracked her knuckles and neck, gearing up for the task at hand. Korra's eyes were closed, excited breaths entering and exiting her lungs in anticipation. And then pain lanced through her lower abdomen, and she shot up in a flash.

"It wouldn't hurt if you would just relax! Stop fighting me!"

"I'm not fighting!" Korra insisted, slumping back down a moment later.

With a sigh and another crack of her joints, Toph repositioned herself and made another attempt, this time seeming to go smoother. Seconds in, though, the darkness behind Korra's eyelids was no longer safe, as visions of her near-death and Zaheer flashed through her mind. And the pain returned full-force, even worse than before.

"All right, that's it!" Toph declared, throwing her hands up. "You're going to have to do this yourself. Clearly you want to keep the metal in there."

Korra's head snapped to her incredulously. "What do you mean?! Why would I want poison inside of me?"

Toph shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe so you have an excuse not to go back to being the Avatar." Her hands went to her hips. "If you don't get better, you can't do your job, so you don't have to worry about getting hurt again."

Her eyes went wide. "Wha—that's ridiculous!"

Toph snorted and turned away. "Whatever. When you want it out, you can bend it out. I can't deal with all your issues for you."

Korra watched her leave until she blinked. "Wait! What am I supposed to do now?"

"How should I know? Ask the spirit that brought you here. The good news is, if you're looking for a place to hang where no one will bother you, you picked the best swamp in the world."

Korra just sighed hard and clutched her arms around her throbbing midsection, lying back down as despair settled into her gut. She laid her head down numbly.

Barry…have I undone everything you changed in me, everything you tried to heal? She frowned hard. You were right. Her ocean blue eyes closed as she sighed again. I never should've left.

AN: Good news: I'm not dead. Better news: neither is this story. It's been a hella long hiatus, I'll admit, but I think we're finally back on track to finish. Might not be on schedule for the end of my school year, since there's a lot occupying my time these days, but I'm going full speed ahead with this story. I'll be releasing a chapter a day until the end of a fairly wrapped-up arc, which is about eight chapters total, and then we'll see.

On another note, all this depressing emo garbage is a necessary evil, but rest assured, it ain't sticking around forever. On the contrary, as I've stated in the past, because of the existence of the Flash and other heroes and villains from DC, new threats will arise, yes, but new (and in my opinion, better) solutions to old conflicts will as well. You'll see what I mean in later chapters.

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this chapter well enough. Toph was always one of my favorite characters, but I really want to get past this introductory stuff and into the real action. This act is going to be...interesting. A lot of interwoven storylines, a few of which I'm hesitant to explore in this story, since they lean heavily on characters from the Arrow side, but I don't know. We'll see.

To close, please review at your leisure and recommend this story to your friends.

Oya, vode.

- CDrake

Musical Inspirations:

Arrow: Season 3 - Like Father, Like Daughter: start-1:23—Eiling's visitor