A/N: Surprise! I'm not actually dead! So here's more of my Korrasami word flailings in the form of a part 2 to The Dream Team. Hope you all enjoy!
Raiko glared at her, though clearly still shaken by the display of her powers, if his racing heart and heaving lungs were any indication. Korra couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth twitch in amusement.
The President cleared his throat nervously, before speaking, a veneer of calm, presidential authority over everything, which she didn't even need X-ray vision to see through. "And what," he straightened his tie absentmindedly. "Do we so desperately need to discuss about that criminal, that you would break in to my office to do so?"
Korra did smile then. "Exactly that actually." She pointed at him, and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You just called Shadow a criminal, but she's not a criminal. In fact, she's a heroine, just like me…No," she corrected herself almost immediately. "More than me even. I may save and inspire people with my powers, but she does it with brains and gadgets. No powers to speak of. If that doesn't make someone heroic, then I don't know what does." She looked pointedly at the man. "My point being, that she doesn't deserve the title of criminal or the City's Most Wanted that you've given her, and I'd like you to remove it." She crossed her arms. "Please."
The man stared at her incredulously for a moment, his mouth hanging slack, even as he trembled, his anxiety clear, before sputtering, "W-what?! Remove the status of criminal from an obvious menace to society!? Are you mad?!
She glared at him, resisting the urge to smirk as he gulped and scooted back in his chair. "No," she declared, her voice even, but low and dangerous. "You wouldn't like me when I am. So I suggest…you do as I say before I become so, and remove Shadow from your criminal list."
The trembling, terrified man seemed to find a bit of courage in that moment, and Korra observed curiously as he clenched his hands and bared his teeth at her. It was rather amusing though, as he was still slumped in his chair as if trying to avoid her. "Are you threatening me, Avatar, the esteemed President of The United Republic? And in my own office no less?" He vaguely gestured to their surroundings.
"Ok firstly," Korra countered. "'Esteemed?' I think not. I think the word I would use…well actually there would be several in a row, starting with 'Steaming,' and I'm sure you can guess the rest." She smirked at the man's indignant face. Honestly, he looked like a bullfrog suffering from indigestion. However just as quickly, her expression turned serious once again. "And secondly," she continued, her voice dropping in to low and dangerous territory. "I don't make, 'threats.' I make promises. And here's a promise for you, Mr. President," the last two words spoken in a highly mocking tone. She raised a single finger, her right hand pinky. "You can do as I ask and everything will be just fine." She smiled sweetly, though still dangerously. "Or…you can ignore my request and I will break you…as easily as this desk." She kept eye contact with him even as she lowered her hand, and with nothing more than the first knuckle's worth of her pinky finger, she tapped the desk as lightly as the fall of a snowflake.
There was a split-second of silence that filled the room unlike any other sound, just enough time for Raiko to raise an annoyed and curious eyebrow at her. Korra just smiled at him, and enjoyed the way his face paled, when with a mighty CRRRRRAAACK! The desk split down the center, and collapsed inward upon itself, papers flying everywhere, and a stunned Raiko looking back and forth between the heroine and the remains of his desk.
Korra simply smiled that same sickeningly sweet smile at the man, crossing her arms as he met her eyes once more. "So," She examined her nails casually. "What do you say, Raiko? Want to give my request some more consideration?"
A much longer silence followed, the man clearly angry if his grinding teeth were any indication, his gaze flickering between the destroyed desk and the woman who had done the destroying, and briefly to his balcony door, which hung open, the melted metal of the lock visible. When he finally looked back at her and held her gaze, it was Korra's turn to raise an eyebrow.
However, instead of acquiescing as she wished, the bastard tightened his fists, grit his teeth, and growled at her, his racing heart and trembling being the only things giving away his fear, as he flatly declared, "No."
Yet another silence filled the office, the only thought in Korra's head a resigned, Is this idiot serious? What is he thinking? as she sighed. "Very well then," she answered, her resolve hardening. She would do whatever it took to protect Asami. "I was rather hoping it wouldn't come to this." In the blink of an eye, she shot forward, her hand wrapping around the President's throat as she picked him up off the chair, and sped out the open door, straight up in to the air, gaining altitude faster than any plane or rocket ever could.
She dragged him up, up, and up until Republic City looked like a toy replica far beneath them, his wind ruffled hair, and now glasses-less face staring at her with a mix of fear and determination up to her own, her arm stretched out fully. His suit was ruffled, and looking further, he had lost a shoe.
"Last chance Raiko," she told him evenly, ignoring the chilled wind at this altitude that didn't effect her at all, but was causing the man, dressed in nothing but a thin suit, to shiver. "Take Shadow off the Most Wanted list. She doesn't deserve to be on it. She's a great heroine who helps people. I know her personally, and can vouch for her, for the sake of whatever weight my word carries with you. She's not a criminal. She's a heroine."
There was a long silence between them, the man staring angrily in to her unblinking eyes, before he spoke again, fraught with conviction and even malice. "No."
The single word made Korra frown. "Are you sure?" She looked at him pointedly.
He growled at her. "Immovably. Now unhand me." He glared at her.
Korra raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that really what you want," she questioned, a hint of amusement in her tone.
Raiko struggled, prying at her hand and kicking his legs futilely, his feet bumping at her shins. "Yes," he declared angrily. "Put me down, unhand me. Let. Me Go!"
The heroine couldn't have stopped the grin that spread over her face as she heard those words, even if she had wanted to. "As you wish," she replied in the sweetest voice possible, and enjoyed his momentary confusion, then relief, then confusion again as his face changed rapidly.
She let go.
His expression quickly went from slight confusion and annoyance, to shock, and then to horror as he realized what was going on, his hands briefly scrabbling against her arm, seeking some sort of purchase that they did not find, before slipping away, and he began to plummet through the air. She counted. It took him a full thirty seconds for his mind to catch up to what was happening to his body. And then the screaming started, the man pathetically flailing and twisting around as he dropped rapidly toward the hard, unforgiving ground below.
She followed, unable to stop grinning, flying upside down with crossed arms, as she lazily kept pace. "So," she offered casually after a few seconds of enjoying Raiko's pathetic flailing, watching him flip and twist through the air. "Ready to consider my request yet?"
All she received in response was more of his incoherent screaming and flailing. Smirking, she briefly craned her head back, glancing towards the rapidly approaching cityscape below, calculating distance and time to impact almost instantly after years of practice. Shrugging upside down, she spoke again, "I suggest you decide quickly." She glanced down again. "Ground's coming up awful fast." She chuckled. "Ya know, " she continued, gesturing casually with a hand, as if the two of them were having an ordinary, casual, everyday conversation. "That's actually one of the great things about being able to fly. No fear of heights or falling. You however…" She shrugged, and couldn't help but grin at the thought of what an upside down shrug must look like. "Well I'm sure you'll make a very nice pancake. Won't be long till we see either way though."
Raiko continued shrieking, making Korra roll her eyes.
Sighing, she shook her head. "You know," she offered, the weariness in her voice over this whole experience just present enough. "I could catch you. There's no reason for you to become a pancake today, but only if you give me a few words. That's it. That's all I'm asking. You just have to say a few simple words, and we can forget this whole thing ever happened."
He looked at her for a moment, the terror on his face clear, the speed of his heart impressing the superheroine. "Ok, ok," he spoke frantically, his voice having gone up several octaves. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, ok?! Please!"
The invincible woman laughed outright at the change in attitude, crossing her arms across her chest as she smirked at the man. "Well, while that's certainly nice to hear, and appreciated, it's not exactly what I'm looking for from you."
Republic City was rapidly approaching from beneath them, or, more accurately, she and Raiko were rapidly approaching Republic City, the buildings growing larger, the sounds of the populace growling steadily louder.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh," Raiko screamed, practically insensate at this point as they had dropped down low enough that they were nearly within the city.
Sighing, Korra shook her head. This man was getting on her nerves, and ever so briefly, she couldn't help but consider just letting him hit the ground. But that wasn't how she operated, (most of the time) fortunately for Raiko. She didn't simply allow innocent, (if extremely annoying and arrogant and stubborn) people to die like that, especially not by her hand.
"Ok! Ok!"
Korra quirked an eyebrow, the man's sudden frantic speech drawing her attention once more.
"I'll do it! I'll take Shadow off the list! I'll do whatever you want just Please don't let me die! Please! I swear!"
The young superheroine couldn't help but smile at him at this. It seemed even the most stubborn old oak could bend and break under enough pressure. Wind pressure in this case, she thought pleasantly to herself. And a healthy dose of gravity. However, she wanted to make sure the message really stuck with the arrogant man the U.R. currently called President, so she waited until the last second, zipping down with a burst of super speed to catch him by the ankle, his head so close to impacting with the ground, his hair swinging down to delicately brush the tips against the pavement. She couldn't hold back the slight self satisfied grin at the pop his leg made as it dislocated from his hip, the man crying out in pain, making the young woman happy her aim had been true as his scream echoed off the walls of the buildings that bookended them on either side, the alley they were in concealing them from unwanted eyes.
When his scream died off, he simply hung there, face scrunched and groaning in pain. Korra allowed to continue for a few seconds before releasing her hold, his body thumping on to the ground, an additional groan leaving his lips, as he cracked open his eyes to look up at her. She hovered off the ground, arms crossed, a reminder of the immeasurable power she held within her, power far greater than anything he had, even as the President of a nation. She had to stifle a giggle as she noticed the deep, dark stain growing on his pants, and heard the sound of liquid against fabric as the President of the United Republic pissed himself in terror before her.
"I'm glad you could finally see it my way Mr. President," she half mocked him, grinning happily, before sighing, her arms dropping and her tone becoming more genuine. "I honestly wish I hadn't had to resort to that. I had hoped to settle the issue diplomatically. I sincerely hate using my powers that way, to threaten someone that should be an ally to me, and to the people." She clenched her fists. "I have these powers for a reason, and I want to use them to help people, good people like Shadow, who, even without the same powers that I have, strive to help others, even at risk to themselves. And good people who just want to live their lives free of danger and pain." She let out a breath. "However, I will do what I must to protect the people I love, and that includes Shadow." Her look pierced Raiko, pinning him to the spot as easily as if she had done so physically. "So remember your promise Raiko, because I can assure you, cross me again and our next meeting will be far less…benign for you." With a quick punch of a fist in to her palm, making a mini shockwave, she turned and shot back up in to the sky, intent on rejoining her wife, who must be starting to wonder where she had gone to by now.
With Asami's life no longer in immediate danger, Korra took the opportunity to lose herself in the joy of flight over her city, smiling widely down as she flew high above the buildings, the people below going about their daily lives, safe under her protection. She opened up her senses, her hearing, smell and sight able to cover the entirety of the city with ease, flicking through multiple sensations as she took in the sounds, sights and smells of her home, catching snippets of conversations and delicious, (and some not so delicious) smells, watching the people go about their lives.
As she was enjoying her slower flight above the city however, an explosion pierced the silence, drawing the superheroine's attention, who zeroed in on the source, her head snapping over, vision settling on the largest bank in the city: Republic City National. She frowned, gazing through walls, and people to see multiple thugs holding both the patrons and the staff at gunpoint. Looking deeper, she could see that they had blown open the vault, located in the depths of the buildings, and heavily reinforced with concrete and steel. There were multiple armed thugs trailing in and out of the vault now, their sacks laden with cash, gold and jewels. An armored truck waited out back, several more men guarding it and supervising the transfer of the valuables from the vault in to the truck. There was also a group of them out front, guarding the entrance, armed with guns and RPG's, a rocket launcher or two, and…was that a tank? How in the hell did these bastards get a TANK of all things? Sure enough, there it was, sitting outside of the front doors, its turret rotating back and forth, scanning the street.
The wail of sirens attracted her, and she turned her attention to a string of Police cruisers and armored trucks rapidly approaching the bank through the city. She smirked. "Sorry Lin," she murmured. "This one's mine." As much as she respected the abilities of the Republic City Police Force, she knew they would be hard pressed to deal with a Military grade vehicle such as a tank, especially if they wanted to come out of the engagement without major casualties.
Changing directions quickly, she flipped around in mid-air and headed rapidly back towards city center, formulating a plan of attack as she moved. She had to do this right. There were hostages after all. She'd have to be fast, efficient and keep collateral damage to a minimum. The tank would be her first priority. She'd have to disable it first so it couldn't be used against her, or, more worryingly, the building and the hostages within. The men at the front door would be her next targets, and she'd work her way inside the building from there, taking things floor by floor. It would have to be fast. She couldn't allow a thug with an itchy trigger finger to take their shock and fear out on one of the hostages, or accidentally fire off a round or two, injuring a civilian. Once the hostages were safe however, the idiots who thought they could get away with robbing a bank in her city would feel her super powered wrath. The truck at the back could be dealt with last, after everything else. Even if it drove off while she was clearing the bank, it wouldn't get far, she knew that. There was no doubt in her mind, she'd be able to catch it in an instant.
Korra's grin turned serious as she sped up, rocketing on to the scene faster than the human eye could follow, scanning the tank as she did so. Perfect. Barely slowing, she plummeted feet first on to the top of the metal monster, her aim true, making the otherwise formidable weapon of war fold in two, the opposite ends touching as if they were meant to, like a newly made sandwich finally coming together, the men trapped inside, the ingredients. She allowed herself a brief smile at the thought, knowing that later on she would have to pry the thing open for the R.C.P.D. For good measure, she also shot back in to the air, curving around before grabbing the tank's main gun, and twisting it back to render it useless, the barrel now pointing directly at the fold she had made in the machine. Inside, the men were groaning, but she ignored them, knowing they were still alive.
Wasting no time, (the men around her staring with shocked expressions, their weapons limp in their grasps) she sped away, her movements only a blur of color to the poor bastards that thought they could get away with robbing this bank on her watch. Briefly, she appeared behind the pair of RPG wielding criminals who had positioned themselves closest to the doors, a carefully controlled, synchronized chop to the base of their skulls sending them crashing to the ground, their weapons falling useless from their hands.
Korra moved too fast for the crimnals to track, darting down the stairs, and burying her fist in the gut of a rocket launcher-wielding thug, sending him down as well, his body rolling down the steps like a slinky. Mere milliseconds after taking him out, she repeated her process with the other rocket launcher-wielding criminal stationed behind her and midway up the stairs.
The group of stunned criminals only now started sluggishly moving in to action, shouting at one another, holding their weapons as if ready to use them, but lacking a target, twisting and turning in an attempt to locate their super powered assailant. It was no use, the super powered assailant in question picking them apart with ease, Korra only needing one blow to drop even the largest of them, and faster than the eye could blink, they were all dealt with, even those wielding heavy machineguns, prompting her to move inside.
Wasting no time, she crashed through the ornate wood and glass doors, leaving them in shambles, every head, villain and hostage alike, turning to her in shock. The scene was just as she had observed from outside, each teller having a gun pointed directly at their foreheads by an invader, and the group of patrons herded in to the middle of the floor, guarded by a cordon of thugs with a mixture of weapons, from pistols to assault rifles.
Striking a heroic pose, her feet spread and planted strongly, hands confidently on her hips, she beamed widely at the shocked patrons and criminals alike. "You're safe now," she declared in her energetic, (some might say over the top) dramatic, hero voice. "Why? Because I am here!" On the word "I" she enthusiastically gestured to her chest, with her thumb, her symbol displayed proudly, before returning her hand to her side.
Her response was immediate joyous cheering from the patrons and tellers, and a hail of bullets from the robbers, who had apparently decided it was more prudent to attack the new, super powered threat, than to keep a bead on average, everyday people. Overall, Korra couldn't be more relieved. She knew she was taking a risk announcing herself that way, with the hostage's lives in danger. Instead of focusing on her, any of the thugs could have decided it would be a better idea to pop a bullet or two in to a hostage or two, rather than go after her. She would never be able to forgive herself if that had been the case. But it had turned out well, the hostages bolstered by her presence, and all the robbers' attention focused firmly on her, the hail of bullets feeling as if she was being bombarded by mere feathers, the deadly pieces of metal impacting her invulnerable body and crumpling harmlessly, dropping to the floor. She sighed, shaking her head. One day these guys will realize that this really doesn't work, she thought to herself. But until then I'll enjoy it. They always manage to look so shocked.
But she couldn't stand there taking bullets forever. She had a job to do after all. People to save. Focusing, she fired off a burst of heat vision, heating the metal, and melting the one heavy machinegun that had been pelting her with fifty caliber rounds. The man screecheed, dropping the heavy weapon on his feet, and screeched more even as he waved his burnt hands, the brute of a man looking ridiculous as he staggered around in pain. She did the same for the others, firing off quick, accurate bursts of heat vision, targeting weapons, and the screams of shock and pain started ringing out all over the bank, weapons clattering to the floor.
While the criminals were all busy groaning and distracted by pain, Korra made her move, darting in at super speed, and delivering a swift punch to the first thug, sending him flying in to a second, and knocking the pair back in to the wall, sliding down it to slump on the floor, unconscious. Before they could react, she spun in to a kick, planting her foot into the stomach of the man to her left, sending him flying in to the row of teller windows to equal unconsciousness. Not hesitating, she allowed the momentum of the kick to carry her through, spinning her around to face her next target, and launching herself off the floor with one foot, flying towards the big man who had been carrying the machinegun. She reached down, snagging a leg and lifted, sweeping the brute off his feet as easily as turning a page in a book.
With the big idiot in hand, Korra charged head on at the remaining criminals, swinging her improvised weapon like a human sledgehammer, slamming him in to his comrades, sending them flying left and right, the satisfying crack of bone on bone echoing throughout the lobby. It didn't take her long to take out the majority, looking around as she finally paused in her onslaught. The only criminals remaining were a small group of six, all of whom had retreated to the far corner, nearest the teller stations. They had an assortment of weapons, two with knives, three with what looked to be crowbars and the last with a pistol. But it was the man with the pistol that made her frown in anger.
"Not so fast Avatar," he spoke, a confident grin on his face, yet his body was trembling in miniscule tremors of fear, perhaps undetectable to the normal human eye, but not to her. "Now you're going to stay right there and do exactlyas I tell you…that is…unless you want me to blow this bitch's brains out?" His grin widened as he tightened his hold on the middle-aged woman in his arms, the pistol pressed up against her temple, and his arm around her neck. Her hands held on to his arm and her eyes were wide with fear, her breathing heavy. She was looking at Korra as if she was her only hope, which, Korra knew, she was right in this moment.
She wasn't about to just stand by and let an innocent be used against her like this, especially not with the woman's eyes staring at her, pleading with her to save her. Well, was she Avatar or was she Avatar? "Don't worry," she assured the woman, her bright smile coming back in full force. "I'll save you. You're going to be just fine, do you understand?"
Hesitantly, the woman nodded, a tentative smile forming on her face.
"Good!" Korra's smile brightened. "Now I need you to do something for me. Don't move. Can you do that for me Ma'am?"
Again she nodded, tiny and terrified, but there.
"That's good," Korra replied. "Now hold still."
The man keeping the woman captive laughed, tightening his hold on her, and Korra could hear her choke. The Superheroine's smile twitched but didn't leave her face. "Don't be stupid," the thug scolded. "I make the rules here now." He pressed the gun harder in to the woman's head. "Do you think I'd let you-"
But Korra was already moving, dropping her human cudgel, and blitzing across the space between them faster than a lightning strike. Her hand reached up, pulling the gun away from the victim and crushing both the hand and the gun within in one go, the criminal screaming out in shock and pain. Simultaneously, her other hand reached out and rid the woman of the man's other arm, before darting in and pulling her away from him, sliding her gently across the floor until she bumped up against the rest of the civilians, who were now grouped by the doorway, blinking in surprise.
"You know," she counseled, irritated as she moved in, getting right in the man's face, seeing the fear in his eyes and the trembling that was now fully fledged. "It's not nice to threaten a lady." Reaching up, she casually tapped her knuckle against his temple, his body going limp immediately as he was knocked into unconsciousness. A quick punch to the left and a kick to the right, barely turning her body, was enough to take out a knife and crowbar-wielding thug on each side, their bodies going in opposite directions as they too were knocked out.
She saw movement in the corners of her eye and could hear the rustling of clothes, the squeaking of shoes and the inhale and exhale of breath of a person in motion. Turning her head, she watched in interest, as two of the crowbar armed criminals apparently grew a pair and decided to attack her, stepping up on both sides of her and swinging in unison.
The men might as well have been moving in molasses compared to her, and she reached out with each arm, easily catching the weapons in her hands and tugging, the criminals so shocked that they were pulled in. She let go, grabbing each man by the head and knocking them together with a "thunk" both robbers crumbling to the ground on top of each other as she sighed and shook her head, never losing her smile.
That just left one man on this level, and she looked over towards him, seeing him cowering in the corner, the knife he held pointed uselessly towards her, his entire form shaking like mad. "St-stay back!" His voice even trembled as he spoke. "Y-you crazy bitch! Stay away from me!"
Korra scoffed. "Right. I'm the crazy one. You guys tried to rob a bank in my city, and you don't expect me to show up? I think not sir." She shook her head.
"I-I," he stuttered. "You crazy bitch I'll kill you!" And he charged forward.
If anything she admired his guts, if not his brains. Not everyone had the courage to come at her, when they knew it would only end badly for them. Sighing, she let his attack come, the knife extended in a badly shaking arm and hand. He charged and the knife made contact with her stomach, folding like an accordion, as if in some kind of cartoon.
In disbelief, he slowly pulled his arm back, staring at the formerly formidable weapon in shock. "H-how…wh-what are you? What are you!?" He pointed at her accusingly.
She grinned brightly at him, and replied with a simple, "I am the solution."
He shivered, and opened his mouth to say something, but Korra didn't let him, extending her hand out and giving the man a simple flick to the chest with her middle finger and thumb, sending him blasting back in to the wall cracking it, and sliding down, out cold. There was a moment of silence, before all the civilians gathered, burst out in to cheering and clapping, with a few whistles thrown in for good measure. Grinning, Korra turned to them, flashing that big hero grin of hers, and throwing up a peace sign in victory.
"Thank you everyone." She gave a small bow. "Now if you please, it's not safe here. Please make your way outside in an orderly fashion, cross the street, and wait for the Police to arrive. They're on their way and should be here soon. In the meantime, I have to deal with the rest of these miscreants." More cheers greeted her declaration, even as the civilians began to follow her directions, rising to their feet and helping those who were having difficulty, even the tellers moving out from behind the counter to join them as thy made their way outside, shouting their support to the young heroine.
"You're the best, Avatar!"
"Kick their assess!"
"Thanks for the save!"
These were just a few of the comments the civilians made as they found their way out, and Korra couldn't help the widening of her smile. Even after all her time as Avatar, this kind of praise still made her feel as warm and fuzzy inside as it did the first time around. She couldn't afford distractions here however, and so she simply waved at them, before turning her attention to the back of the bank once she was sure the last of them had made it outside.
A quick X-ray of the back of the building revealed some troubling things. The door leading to the stairwell that would take her to the vaults was solid steel, not in and of itself, a problem. However, the criminals had obviously planned ahead, as the doorway and the hall beyond were rigged with explosives, a few thugs standing by towards the other end of the hallway, ready to detonate if someone tried to force the door no doubt. And from what she knew of explosives, (extensive given her line of work), the hallway looked packed with enough firepower to bring the entire thing crashing down if those were set off.
"Damn it," she cursed quietly. This, for lack of a better word, sucked. SHE of course, would be fine if those explosives were set off. She'd hardly feel it. But she didn't want to cause any more damage to the building around her, and she'd already taken out the doors with her entrance, something that formed a little pebble of guilt in the back of her mind. Certain other superheroes may not care about the property damage they cause to their cities in the name of protecting them, flying about, crashing through buildings and ripping apart the city in the name of saving its people, but Korra wasn't like that. She, though exorbitantly wealthy with both her own, and Asami's income to draw from, understood the value of property, and understood how much it cost to repair such things.
She sighed. "There's nothing for it," she muttered out loud. Firing off two quick bursts of heat vision, she watched as they made tiny pinpricks in the door, melting right through the metal, and zipping down the hallway, to impact with the trigger mechanisms each man held in their hands. The devices were rendered useless, and were dropped to the floor, with shouts of surprise from each man. Their guns came up to point at the door, and sweep the hallway, clearly scanning for enemies. "Right then." With the explosive threat basically neutralized, she charged the door. It crumpled before her like paper, and she sent another mental apology to the Bank for breaking more things. Whatever damage she caused, she knew the bank was going to get a generous check from one famous author, Korra Sato, later.
The criminals yelled in shock as she crumpled the steel door in to a ball and tossed it at them, the two barely managing to dive out of the way, landing awkwardly and opening fire on her. Once again, the bullets merely bounced off her harmlessly, and she covered the remaining distance in the blink of an eye, grabbing the both of them, one in each hand, and slamming them in to the floor and ceiling respectively.
Pausing, she took in the sight of the gate in front of her. This would lead her downstairs and to the vaults. Stepping forward, she ripped it from its hinges, and tossed it aside, adding it to her mental checklist of things to pay for later. Zipping down the stairwell, she came to another gate, which she burst through, startling the long line of thugs that were making their way from the vault, bags heavy with valuables, and up a separate staircase. A quick X-ray showed her that this stairwell led up and out to the back of the building where the truck was waiting.
"Sorry boys," she grinned as she stood in the middle of the hall, fists planted on her hips. "But the game ends here."
"It's Avatar," one of the thugs yelled out, pointing at her. "Smoke the bitch!"
All along the line, bags were dropped and weapons raised and cocked, all pointing at her, before a hail of gunfire flew out towards the caped heroine, a cacophony of sound filling the hall as all the weapons went off in close proximity.
Her hands were a blur as she brought them up, snatching bullets out of the air before they even made contact with her as easily as if they were baseballs. "Heeheehee," she giggled once the rain of bullets had ended, the robbers all staring at her with open mouths and smoking gun barrels. They look so shocked, she thought to herself in amusement. "That tickled boys." The Avatar reached her arms out and let the bullets fall from her hands like rain, the metal clattering loudly on to the stone floor. "My turn." She grinned.
With an inhale, and a slight cock of the head, she breathed in, and exhaled powerfully through pursed lips. Instantly, the temperature in the tunnel dropped, ice forming on the walls, the floors and the ceiling, racing towards the robbers in an inescapable advance, rapidly catching them, crawling up legs, and arms and coating them all, leaving only heads free, and freezing the lot of them in place in an instant, cries of shock and fear and protest coming from the criminals' mouths.
Admiring her handy work for an instant, Korra grinned, nodding, her hands going back to her hips. "Sit tight boys," she told them smugly. "Maybe use this as an opportunity to rethink your life choices? Think about your place in the universe?" She chuckled. "See ya." Giving a two-finger salute, she was gone in a blur of color, zipping up the staircase and out the door in to the alleyway beyond.
Pausing just outside the doorway, she took in the scene. Here the thugs were loading their bags of loot in to the back of the armored truck she had spotted earlier. There was a long silence as she grinned at them and they gaped at her, all movement halted, before she decided to break the silence. "Yo."
"It's her," one of them yelled, and Korra sighed as they pointed their guns at her. "Kill her!"
Korra rolled her eyes, darting forward and sending the first of them flying with a punch to his stomach, though really all her attacks against them were love taps compared to what she was capable of. The others opened fire sporadically, the heroine easily darting in between the flying bits of metal, knocking thugs unconscious until those surrounding the truck were all down and out. All that remained were two in the cab, and four in the back.
"Let's get outta here," one of the men from the truck yelled, and two of them in the back slammed the doors closed as the truck peeled out and sped off, leaving behind their fallen comrades and whatever loot bags they hadn't managed to load up.
Korra couldn't help but laugh as she watched the truck disappear, cocking out a hip and resting her hand on it. "Really," she asked herself in a tone of disbelief and amusement. "Why do they always think they can get away?" She shook her head. "I'll give them a thirty second head start, just to make things a bit more interesting." Grinning, she started the countdown in her head.
Lin was slightly tense as she the convoy pulled up to the bank, stepping out of the armored car, her assault rifle clutched tightly to her armor covered body. The reports said these thugs were packing some serious firepower after all. She was taking no chances.
The scene that met her eyes however, wasn't the one she expected at all: criminals scattered about unconscious, weapons strewn all over the ground, and a crowd of people milling across the street, talking amongst themselves. Briefly, she scanned the area, taking in the busted open doors of the bank and the erstwhile robbers lying around. When her eyes landed on the folded up tank however, the tension in her body released, and she chuckled. She understood. "Nice work Avatar," she mumbled to herself. "Alright! Secure this area! Make sure the civilians are safe and get ready to storm the building! If my guess is right, Avatar is inside and she may need some back up!" She couldn't help but laugh at that last statement. She knew Korra. That girl was like a one-woman army after all.
She shook her head. No, she corrected herself immediately. Korra makes the worlds armies look like a bunch of children playing at being soldiers. She could wipe us all out in an instant without even trying. Good thing she's on our side. Lin smirked as her officers got in to position, cordoning off the area and making sure the civilians were unharmed.
"Ma'am," a young officer jogged up to her, saluting. "Area secu-"
He was interrupted however, when a loud screeching sound met their ears, and they both whipped their heads around to see an armored car come hurtling around the corner from behind the bank, and out on to the road, coming dangerously close to tipping over as it made the turn.
"Shit!" Lin pulled up her assault rifle, aiming for the tires. "Open fire!" She pulled trigger, as did the group of officers that had come with her, bullets pinging off the metal of the van and thunking in to the tires. "Damn it." She frowned as the van sped out of range. "Run flat, reinforced tires. Cease fire! Cease fire!" She chopped her hand up and down in front of her face, and the stream of bullets petered out and died. "Everybody back to the trucks! We'll run them down! We just have to set up a roadblock! Call HQ and-"
She was interrupted as a colored blur shot past them in the air, the wind from the shockwave buffeting them as it shot towards the armored truck. Lin watched for a moment, understanding blooming in her eyes, and she grinned again. "Never mind then." She allowed the barrel of her gun to come down, just watching. It was always incredible to watch Avatar at work after all.
"Chief," one of her radio operators called out. "Do you still want me to contact HQ?" The young woman looked at her curiously, holding the radio speaker in her hand, and adjusting the dials.
"Negative," Beifong replied with a shake of her head and a calming hand motion. She pointed. "Just watch."
Korra grinned as she flew over Beifong and her cops, waving at the woman as she passed, even though she knew she was going too fast, and the other woman wouldn't see. She had the armored truck in her sights, and caught up to it within seconds, thrilling in the speed and adrenaline of the chase. But she knew it had to end. These criminals had to be brought to justice.
Dropping down, she knew she couldn't get in front of the truck and simply stop it, the way Superman or Supergirl would. The shock and force from the sudden stop could easily break necks and kill. She wasn't prepared to risk that. Instead she simply flew down, matching the truck's speed effortlessly, and took hold of it, lifting it from the ground as if it were no heavier than a model.
The wheels were still spinning madly, and she could hear the men within shouting in confusion and anger, heavy bags full of money and valuables, and various loose items tumbling around the interior. Her grin widening, she tossed the truck in to the air gently, easily flipping the large metal box, hearing the shouts of protest and surprise from within, heads knocking and bodies tumbling, and flying back towards the bank and Lin's police.
She set the truck down on it's flat top as if it were nothing but a child's toy, the wheels still spinning away. Grinning at the shocked expressions on some of the officer's faces. They must be new, she thought to herself. Never seen Avatar in action before. She floated down and around to the back, taking hold of the doors, her fingers sinking in to the metal. With a casual jerk of her arms, the heavy, reinforced steel parted like soft butter, the screech of tearing metal accompanying the movement.
Glancing inside, the heroine's grin widened. The inside of the truck looked as if a hurricane had blown through. Money, jewels and all manner of valuables were strewn everywhere, as well as the erstwhile thieves. Some lay unconscious or nearly so on the roof-turned-floor, and others hung equally so from the seats, their weapons dangling limp in their grasp, or having dropped to the roof along with their comrades. A few of the more conscious ones let out groans of distress, making the heroine chuckle.
Hearing the clomping of feet behind her, she turned, to be met with the grinning face of Lin Beifong in heavy riot gear, accompanied by equally awed and appreciative officers.
"Well. Thanks for the assist, Avatar," the Chief teased her, hitting the safety on her firearm, and slinging it over her back. Turning to her team, she barked out, "A, Squad, take them in to custody." She pointed to the robbers strewn about inside the truck. Then, she spoke in to the walkie mic on her chest. "B Squad secure the building and round up the rest of the criminals. C Squad, secure the Civilians. D Squad, confiscate any and all weapons." As her people got to work, she turned back to Korra.
"Of course," Korra agreed, using a less bombastic version of her, "hero voice" once again as she gave the Chief a brief salute, before placing her hands on her hips. "I'm always glad to help the R.C.P.D."
Even as she spoke, she grinned at the older woman, her eyes telling a different story. "Assist," they said. "More like: Did the job for you guys."
If Lin's eye roll was any indication, the Chief was picking up on her message, her own expression saying, "You're lucky I like you, you cheeky little shit."
Avatar's face turned serious again however, as the words registered with her. "Oh, speaking of clearing the building. They planted explosives in the lower hallway leading to the vault. I melted the detonators before they could set any off, but those will have to be dealt with."
Lin nodded. "Roger that. Thanks for the warning Avatar." She spoke in to the mic again, "I need an explosives specialist team on the lower levels. Avatar reports explosives placed there."
"I can do it," Korra quickly protested, shaking her head.
Lin frowned. "Avatar," she started to argue, but Korra was already zipping away, catching the older woman's sigh, and grinning to herself.
In no time at all, she zipped back in to the bank, past the cops that were beginning to secure the building, and down in to the lower levels. She collected the explosive charges in a flash, and was standing in front of Lin, with an armful of C4, the Police Chief's surprised look making the corners of her mouth turn up.
The older woman cleared her throat, and, giving the superheroine a slightly annoyed look, spoke in to her mic again. "Belay that last order. Avatar has the explosives. Team report to the armored truck."
Korra couldn't resist giving her a grin and a bounce of her eyebrows. As much as they tried to keep things mostly professional when they were both, "On the job" as it were, they couldn't really resist messing with each other from time to time. Before the older woman could react, Korra declared a quiet, "Merry Christmas," before stepping forward and pressing the bundle of small explosive charges in to her arms.
Stumbling in surprise, and reflexively clutching the items to herself, Lin let out an almost inaudible, "Son of a bitch!" before glaring at the young superheroine.
Korra simply grinned cheekily at her and winked.
Creaking from the truck's cabin sounded loud in her super hearing. She tracked it, the image of the man crawling around and grunting clear in her head. Sighing, she gave a small, shake of her head, placing her hands on her hips.
"What?" Lin looked at her curiously, tilting her head.
The superheroine could almost compare it to a dog, and the imagery was quite amusing. "Wait for it," she replied quietly.
Lin looked on in more confusion, but Korra could hear the thug in the truck building up for a push, his heartbeat increasing rapidly as he scrambled around, like thunder in her ears, the sound of metal on metal as a gun was drawn and cocked. Clearly the idiot thought they were being sneaky, but there was no fooling her ears.
"Three, two, one," Korra mumbled, as she heard it. The inhale, and then the lunge and the sudden slam of the door and the slide against the asphalt. Then came the click of the trigger and the whine of bullets through the air…Avatar caught them without even looking, without turning, simply flipping her hand around as she counted beneath her breath, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." Tiny movements of her hand were all she needed as each projectile made contact with her palm, their touch as light as a butterfly to the invincible woman.
Another click signaled the empty clip of the magazine as the man continued to pull the trigger a few times. Korra could hear the intake of surprised breath and the quiet, "Shit, shit shit," as he ejected the clip and started fumbling for a fresh one.
"I don't think so," she spoke calmly, zipping backwards through the air without even bothering to turn around. Lifting her foot, she tapped her heel oh so gently on the man's temple, and watched his eyes roll back in to his head, body going limp as he passed out. "Hmmph." She looked down at the criminal in disdain, extending her hand out over his fallen form. "Pathetic." She opened her hand, the bullets falling like rain and cascading over his face one by one.
The young heroine was busy scanning the area for more threats, but vaguely, she was aware of Lin handing off the explosives to arriving bomb squad, and then starting to berate her team for their incompetence, loudly proclaiming their ineptitude at performing simple tasks like a full check of the area, perimeter and interior, and detaining common criminals. She heard something about how if Avatar hadn't been there, things would have no doubt gotten messy. That one made her chuckle to herself. She tried not to get an ego, even with her job being what it was, and with literal fan clubs all over the United Republic, but it was always good to hear nice things about oneself after all.
She stepped away as a pair of officers came over to collect and cuff the thief, searching him for other weapons. With a final scan of the area, including the bank itself, she could see Lin's officers swarming all over, the civilians being escorted to safety and checked for injury. With a shake of her head, Avatar determined that she was no longer needed here. Time to go home. After all, she hadn't planned on being gone so long, and she wouldn't want Asami to worry. A grin found it's way on to her face as she thought of the beautiful goddess waiting at home for her, the woman who now knew everything about her, including her other identity. It was a weight lifted off her shoulders knowing she no longer had to lie to Asami, even if it was supposedly for her own protection. She could certainly breath a bit easier now thanks to this.
Clearing her throat, she stepped over towards Lin and her officers. "Excuse me Chief Beifong. I don't mean to interrupt, but if you've got everything under control here, I should be going." The corner of her mouth curved up in to a small smile.
Lin turned, appraising her for a brief few seconds before nodding curtly. "Of course," she replied in what Korra had come to refer to as her, "Chief Voice." "Thank you Avatar. You've done great work here today, saved a lot of lives. We can take it from here."
Korra grinned. "It's what I do." She shrugged. "Call me if you need me. You know how to get in touch."
"Of course." Lin nodded again, saluting her.
Korra returned it casually with two fingers, before blasting back in to the sky with the slightest crouch. With a brief stop off at the bank, where she helped the R.C.P.D. pull the men out of the folded up tank, ripping the thing open as if it were a tin can, she set her course for home. She couldn't help but revel in the awed reactions of many of the police officers scattered about, especially the clear newbies that hadn't interacted with her before.
She laughed aloud, unrestrained, spinning and even doing a few loop de loops just for the excitement of it, the sheer thrill, as she sped off back towards home, and the woman she loved awaiting her there. Her chest swelled with warmth and joy at the thought, as it always did when she thought of the woman who held her heart, and now, with no more secrets between them, who knows what they might be able to accomplish together? Two, driven, intelligent, influential women such as themselves? With Asami's intelligence and gadgets, and Korra's powers, plus her influence with the people, there was almost nothing they couldn't accomplish as far as she was concerned.
"Together," she told the world with confidence as she flew, "We truly will be the Dream Team. The greatest pairing of superheroes the world has ever seen! Look out world, here we come! Woo!" With that, she increased her speed, rocketing forwards towards her future with the woman she loved at her side. Nothing could stop them now, surely. Not so long as they were together.
"Amon," the calm voice came from behind him, and soon the figure was standing beside him, arms crossed behind his back, green goggles occasionally glinting in the low lighting.
"Lieutenant," he acknowledged with a small nod.
The pair was silent for a time, images on the monitors in front of the masked, hooded, figure, flickering and casting shadows across him and the room. Then the Lieutenant spoke again. "Did you find what you were looking for with the bank operation?"
Amon chuckled. "I'm beginning to. This was merely the first of several such missions." He smiled beneath the mask as he watched the displays on the screen, each showing a different angle from today's attack on the bank, each displaying Avatar utilizing her powers. "Consider it a probe."
"You're testing her abilities." It was a statement from the goggled man, not a question. "You want to know what she's capable of." He grinned.
More chuckling came from the masked man, and he nodded. "Indeed. One must first know a thing, in order to destroy it. This is doubly true for someone like her. It wouldn't do for us to go charging in blindly against someone with her abilities. And unlike the Kryptonians, and that vigilante in the Earth Kingdom…we have seen that not only is she quite capable of using deadly force…she has far less compunction over killing. This makes her dangerous. More so than the others at least." He nodded again.
"So what are you going to do?" The Lieutenant was glancing down at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Simple my friend." He crossed his legs and rested his head on two of his fingers, supporting the elbow on the arm of the chair. "For now, we continue probing, searching for weaknesses. When we have a clearer picture of the foe we face, well…then things will get interesting."
The standing man grinned down at him. "I can't wait." His voice was eager even if not overly so. "Do you think you're going to Equalize her?"
"That is the end goal, yes. Until then, we need a better grasp on her abilities. So until we do, the probes shall continue…and we have a little fun experimenting. After all," He reached out with a hand, shutting off the screens and rose from the chair. Crossing the room, he stood before the large windows there, a faint glow coming up from below, his arms crossed behind his back. The Lieutenant joined him momentarily. "I imagine we'll have no shortage of volunteers."
Arrayed below him, the massive, underground base was alive with activity. People ran and jumped and trained, pushing themselves to the limit. Trucks rolled in and out, supplies and people pouring in and out at a steady rate. Muffled shouts and clangs and cries of an organization hard at work filtered through occasionally, bringing an odd sense of peace to the masked man. "Soon, Lieutenant," he murmured, his voice almost reverent in it's solemnity. "Soon we will be ready to reveal our existence to the world. Soon, everyone will know what we are capable of, what I am capable of."
"And then?" The Lieutenant was grinning at him, as if he already knew the answer to his own question. And, considering how long the pair had been working together, he did.
"And then, my friend," Amon spoke, wistfulness and longing in his tone. "Then…the world will become, truly…equal. No more godlike beings with abilities far above that of ordinary men, running about unchecked and dangerous, deciding people's fate by their whims alone; a ticking time bomb outside the laws that govern the rest of us mere mortals, outside the very laws of physics, of the universe itself. Everyone will be equal and have the same opportunities in the new world that's coming. Of that I can assure you."
The Lieutenant's grin grew. "I look forward to it. For now though, I should see to the men."
Amon gave another nod. "Very good Lieutenant. You are dismissed."
"Sir." The other man gave a slight bow, before departing.
Amon watched him go, the soft click of the door signaling his departure, and underneath the mask, a smile broke over his face. "Naïve little man," he spoke quietly to himself. "The world will be indeed equal. No more godlike beings yes…save one. All shall be equal under me, and I shall be the new God of this world. Just a few more…conquests, and even Avatar shall not stand against me. And with her power... even the so called, 'Justice League' shall be made humble, brought to their knees and forced to beg before me."
Slowly, he brought a hand out from behind his back, and gazed at it, turning it this way and that. And if, in the darkness of the underground, that hand seemed to blur for a moment, as if moving at speeds that shouldn't be possible for ordinary human beings, well…in the dark, anything could be misconstrued as supernatural, yes? One couldn't always trust their eyes after all.
"I'm coming for you, Avatar," he declared quietly, returning his hand behind his back and clasping them together, looking down on all his future subjects and servants, his army which was slowly growing, and over time, would help him cleanse the world in preparation for his rule. "Soon." The word seemed to echo with a terrifying finality in the darkness, that perhaps, not even Avatar's shining light could penetrate. After all, there were places where even the brightest of lights could not overcome the all-encompassing shadow. Sometimes only darkness could understand darkness, could infiltrate it, could smother it with something darker than itself. To have them working together? Well…that would simply be impossible. Wouldn't it?
Korra touched down on the balcony outside the Master bedroom, smiling at the thought of seeing Asami again, even if she hadn't been gone all that long. Stepping in through the doors, she found her wife waiting for her on their bed, curled up with a book and a cup of hot chocolate, reading glasses perched adorably on her nose. "Hi," the superheroine greeted her warmly, grinning.
Asami looked up at her, smiling. "Hi," she returned the greeting with just as much warmth.
Korra 's smile widened, as she happily declared, "I'm back…partner."
A/N: So this chapter was quite a long time in the making. So long in fact, that I actually forgot I had uploaded the first half of this as The Dream Team Pt. 1, which was part of the reason it took even longer to get finished and edited...yeah I'm dumb ok? :P Anyway, apologies for my long absence from the fanfic world for anyone that cares. There's definitely going to be at least a third part to this little mini-series, though counting Avatar and The Shadow, I guess that would be part four...but anyway, more to come of this AU! And yes, for anyone that caught the reference, it is in fact referring to another popular superhero out there, whose show I was watching quite a lot at the time I wrote that bit. I need to catch up...Anyways, let me know what you guys think. As always, Comments, Favorites and Follows are all appreciated and encouraged! Enjoy!