CLICK-CLUNK-CLICK
Korra took a deep breath as the turnstile wall slid out of view, opening up into an underground pathway. Her brow furrowed a moment later.
Korra raised a hand to her neck. The breath she took in felt like a solid fist at her chest and back, squeezing the air from of her lungs.
Her eyes bulged and she dropped to her knees. Her mouth fell open and air rushed out.
"Korra!"
She turned her head, hand a claw around her own throat. Asami rushed to her side, tearing the Equalist mask from Korra's death-grip. Her own was pulled down over her face.
Korra went blind as the fabric fell over her eyes. Her chest burned the more she gasped for air. Her hands were wild, grabbing at Asami's wrist.
"Stay still!"
Korra fell back onto her butt, wheezing. Asami chased her, yanking the mask down to cover Korra's nose and mouth.
"Breathe!" she told her. "Breathe, Korra!"
It felt like cold plastic pressed against her face, digging into her cheeks with how tightly the mask fit. Air rushed into her lungs, piercingly cold. Korra blinked, wide-eyed as she stared through the mask's goggles at Asami.
"What – what's happening to me?"
"You have to keep this on, okay? We're inverted now."
Korra's chest heaved. "We're what?"
Asami straightened up and held out her hand. Korra took it and was pulled to her feet.
She brought her own hands to her face afterwards, feeling the thick respiratory tubing that now ringed her head. The tubes, joining at the top of her head, sprouted from the breathing mask built into the headpiece, and the apparatus itself was sealed over her mouth. A singular grey tube dangled from the bottom the apparatus, Korra's eyes tracking it down into silver canisters installed in a utility belt.
"What is this?"
"Artificial air," Asami told her, kicking off her heels.
Korra stared as she began to wriggle out of her evening dress.
"Get dressed," Asami said, indicating the Equalist uniform.
"Where are we?" Korra asked. "And what do you mean by inver -?"
"Korra, get dressed. Please," Asami said, hauling on dark green pants, "I will explain."
She complied, eventually. Asami dragged on the uniform quickly, glancing over Korra's shoulder at the turnstile's innards.
"Should I be worried?" Korra said, following her gaze.
Asami moved over to her, picking Korra's utility belt off the ground. "We need to get going," she replied, crouching to cinch the belt around her waist.
Korra grabbed her hand. "Seems like you're avoiding every question I ask."
Asami paused to look up at her. Korra could not read her eyes behind the Equalist mask's opaque goggles. When she secured the belt around Korra's waist, feeding the air supply tube out of sight under the scarf of her uniform, Asami straightened in front of her.
"That," she said, pointing over Korra's shoulder, "took us from the present into the past. And I don't know if anyone else is coming through it."
"Into the past?"
Asami grasped Korra's gloved hands in her own. "I know this is all happening so fast. I'm sorry. Let me show you, okay?"
Korra bit into her lip, then nodded. "Okay."
Across the Bay, the Arena was on fire. Its flames licked at the sky, through which airships droned. Nothing about the scene was new; it was as they had left it not long ago.
Except for the fact that thick smoke coiled back upon the flames, rather than billowing into the air.
Except for the giant spouts of liquid slinking back into Yue Bay, rather than arcing high at the behest of waterbenders to fight the fire.
Except for the airships, police & commercial, now floating backwards through the night sky.
Korra stared across the Bay, breathing hard. Asami laid a hand on her arm.
"This, is inversion."
Korra turned to her. Her lips moved, but the words failed to come.
"We are moving backwards," Asami answered her silence, "through time. That's the purpose of the turnstile we went through."
"I don't understand," Korra said.
"Imagine there is a strong wind, blowing in one direction. If that wind is time, then according to our perception its direction is always forward. Follow me so far?"
"I think…"
"Now, rather than moving with that wind, as we're used to it, we are flowing against it. But we are still moving forward, from our perspective. Into the past, into everything that has already happened."
"You said this would make sense," Korra said after a long pause.
"It's okay," Asami told her. "Don't worry about understanding it right now. It takes...time."
Korra glared at her.
"I'm sorry."
She looked back across the bay. After a moment, her eyes narrowed.
"Asami, what's happening?"
The fire chewing away at the Arena's roof was growing in intensity, blossoming up and outwards. The air started to roar, like there was a demon at their back bellowing across the Bay.
Asami grabbed her arm. "We need to go."
"Stop that," Korra snarled, pulling away. "Go where?"
"Korra, we're moving backwards through time. Lin said there was a second explosion -"
"Under the Arena. I remember. I felt it when I had that Equalist dead to rights."
"We can find out what caused it!"
Korra paused. "Wait. Hold on..."
She looked across Yue Bay, the waters lit up by the plume of fire climbing into the night sky.
"If we're going backwards...we can go back to before the explosion even happened?" Korra said.
"Exactly."
She punched a fist into her palm. "We can stop it from happening in the first place!"
"Not if we keep standing around here," Asami said.
Korra grabbed her arm. "Let's go!"
Asami led the way down to a small pier, where a boat tied up against it bobbed gently in the water. Jogging in her wake, Korra cursed and pulled at her mask. The apparatus underneath it felt cumbersome.
"Don't take that off!" Asami scolded, looking over her shoulder as they got into the boat.
"I'm not," Korra fired back. "I just need the damn thing to sit still on my face."
"You have to deal with it," Asami said, firing up the boat's engine. "You'll suffocate otherwise."
"Why can't we breathe normally?" Korra shouted. "Spirits, what is that noise?"
It sounded like the wind bearing down on their backs, possessed and demonic. Korra grabbed hold of the side of the boat as Asami slammed it into motion. The outboard motor kicked up spray as the boat cut through the water, slicing through the Bay towards the Arena.
BOOM!
The pair flinched, ducking low. Korra swivelled to look over her shoulder.
"What the hell was that?!"
"The explosion!" Asami yelled.
"Coming from behind us?"
"Sound travels too, Korra," Asami said, curving the boat towards one of the Arena's raised piers. "Think about it! Woah!"
A chunk of concrete leapt out of the water in front of them. Asami swerved and Korra lost her footing, crashing to the floor. When she picked herself up, her eyes were pulled skyward.
A mushroom of blazing fire stood above the roof of the Arena. The sky shimmered with a thousand shards of broken glass. Hunks of concrete and twisted metal floated amidst the glittering rainfall, all of it illuminated in a brilliant orange glow.
And the next instant, the mushroom descended into the Arena, the roof rebuilding itself with terrifying speed.
In the same moment, as Asami turned the motorboat back towards the raised pier, Korra watched a flailing body pulled from the water – soaring into the air like salmon on a hook. It landed on the pier and stood at the edge, gazing out across the Bay.
Asami's steering bounced the hull of the boat awkwardly against the water's surface. Korra caught herself this time before falling. When she looked back up, the figure was gone.
"This doesn't feel right…"
Asami pulled back on the throttle, bringing the boat to a halt. Lashed to nothing at all, it bobbed high on the water and began drifting away from the pier.
"Where's your grapple gun?" she shouted to Korra, unhooking said tool from her utility belt.
"My what?"
Asami pointed at it. "Your grapple! To get up there!"
Korra glanced down at her waist. Hers was missing.
"Forget it," she said, eyeing the pier's edge and bending at the knees. Her limbs were no longer aching.
So she jumped.
The airbending boost rocked the boat under her feet – and threw Asami off hers. Korra, meanwhile, soared into the air, high above the surface of the pier.
And upon it stood the Avatar, glaring right at her.
All the tension left her limbs. Under her Equalist mask, Korra's jaw fell slack, eyes locked with herself.
The ground hit her before she realised it was there.
Korra landed on one foot, stumbled and fell hard. She tucked her shoulders on instinct and turned the fall into a roll.
"Ffo teg!" a woman yelled.
The next moment, as Korra's back hit the ground, something fell on top of her.
It was her.
Asami pushed the other Korra down onto her, flattening her hips to the ground, and stepped back out of sight. Korra, under her mask, was suddenly in her own face. And the Avatar looked pissed.
She looked away, towards the Arena, and just then Korra felt the ground quake.
BOOM!
The vibrations rumbled through Korra's whole body like a wave of sudden chill. She felt her mask slip, the breathing apparatus dislodged from her mouth. The Avatar's hands snapped to it and dragged the mask down over Korra's exposed jaw. Panicking, Korra grabbed her wrists and bucked her hips.
"Taht em evig," the Avatar snarled, staying put on top of her.
Korra winced when a fist hit her in the cheek. With a roar, she lifted her back off the ground and slammed her hands into the Avatar's chest. The Avatar fell off her and Korra scuttled backwards on her palms. She kicked out, hard. The Avatar parried, just barely redirecting her leg.
Bracing herself with her hands, Korra kicked again. Harder. Her foot slammed into crossed forearms and the Avatar tumbled onto her back.
Korra turned over onto hands and knees, coughing hard as she pulled her breathing apparatus properly into place. She took a deep, cool breath -
The Avatar pounced.
Korra heard her coming, jabbing her elbow backwards. The Avatar curled around the point of impact and grabbed the top of Korra's mask.
She felt it begin to slip again and grabbed the Avatar's wrist. An arm wrapped under her neck, the forearm pulling hard against her throat. Korra spluttered, eyes bulging underneath her goggles.
Wildly, she rolled her torso and swung an elbow back at the Avatar. Her head snapped back with the impact. Korra turned and rammed her shoulder into the Avatar's chest, driving her to the ground. She leapt on top of her, riding the fierce bucking of the Avatar's hips.
"Wait!" she cried, pushing away the Avatar's furious face with her hands. "Wait!"
Motion at the end of the pier pulled her eyes away. Asami appeared at the edge of it, a thick length of wire trailing from the grapple gun in her right hand. Korra looked down again. A fist shot up towards her face.
Barely, Korra managed to block.
"Kcuf!" the Avatar yelled.
It was as if the force of the punch dragged the Avatar bodily off the floor. Korra felt the weight of her body shift and was borne up onto her feet all of a sudden. She grabbed the Avatar – and the Avatar tried to grab her.
Pivoting on her back foot, Korra swung around and threw the woman – herself – away from her.
The Avatar sailed through the air. Korra was strong; not this strong, though. The Avatar's flight was unnatural. When she landed, it was on her feet. Running backwards at full tilt. Her eyes were like a wolf's, fixed on Korra as she started to give chase.
Korra ran after herself, the Avatar disappearing into one of the Arena's entrances. Her feet carried her forward, driven by the need to know.
"Korra! Korra, no!"
Asami caught up to her first, dashing in front to block Korra's path.
"That's me," she said. "It was me – us! We're the Equalists. I fought myself!"
Asami put her hands on Korra's shoulders. "The explosions, remember? That's what we're here for."
Korra took a deep breath, and nodded. Eventually.
"Okay. Okay, you're right."
Asami nodded back. "Come on. Where's the gym?"
They ran together. Korra could not help but spare a glance down a corridor they sprinted past. Two women stood in the middle of it, unconscious Equalists littered at their feet.
Beneath her mask, Korra met eyes with herself.
And then they were gone. Korra pulled her attention to the path ahead, to the gym.
They could stop this. They could stop it all from happening in the first place.