In Hiding

Summary: Korra tried hard not to think about Kuvira living in a jail cell waiting for her trial to start – until she finds her sitting on her bed, looking for a place to hide. Set after series finale.

Chapter 11

"Good, you're here," Lin barked as Su stepped off of the train. She jerked her head before turning on her heel, a motion meant for her younger sister to follow her. "Let's go. We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Nice to see you again too, Lin," Su said sarcastically. She widened her stride to catch up to the quick pace her sister had set. "You're looking lovely as usual."

Lin immediately stopped, a foot rose about to ascend a staircase. Su caught herself before running into her back. Lin exhaled sharply out of her nose before turning on her heel. "I'm sorry. It is good to see you," she said sincerely.

Su smiled warmly before giving Lin a hug. "It's good to see you too. Although I wish it were under different circumstances," she admitted. "So, what's been going on?"

Lin ran a hand through her hair before starting up the stairs. Su matched her pace, shielding her eyes as they exited the train station. She frowned when she noticed a few members of the police force standing around a black satomobile. Lin walked over and quickly climbed into the driver's seat. Su offered the officers a brief smile before getting into the passenger seat. "We believe she is somewhere near Air Temple Island." Lin looked in the rearview mirror and watched as the rest of her police force piled into a satomobile behind them before starting the car and pulling away from the curb. "We found her platinum handcuffs in the bay."

"Avatar Korra lives there, does she not?" Su questioned. "Have you asked for her help?"

"Yes, and so far she's been hard to track down," Lin muttered. She clenched her jaw before rolling her eyes. "As great of an Avatar she is, she is still a kid and huge pain in my side." Su chuckled softly which pulled a smile from her older sister. "I am going to bring everything to Tenzin's attention before officially setting up the city wide curfew. This way we can protect his family."

"Why would Kuvira stay in Republic City?"

"You know her better than I do." Lin looked over at Su with a raised eyebrow. She cursed under her breath and jerked the steering wheel to the left, barely avoiding a porcupine spirit that had appeared close to a nearby spirit vine.

"I thought I did," Su answered with a hard sigh. She propped her elbow up on the door frame before looking out the window. Her

"Su, I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead."

Lin slowed the car down as she reached a red light. She pressed her foot firmly on the brakes and rested her left arm on the steering wheel. The chief of police turned slightly in her seat to face her younger sister. "You had once mentioned that you took Kuvira in and loved her like one of your own children." Suyin nodded. "When the time comes, will you be able to separate the two? Seeing her as a daughter as well as the Great Uniter?" she asked.

Su inhaled sharply through her nose. "I've been doing it for six months. What's a lifetime?"

Kuvira winced as the bright lights in the room suddenly flicked on. She tried to raise her arm to cover her eyes, but hissed in pain once it moved off of the ground. She rolled onto her side and pushed herself up so that her back was resting against the wall. Kuvira licked her lips and winced at the at the pain from the cracks and splits in her skin.

"Get up," a male voice said harshly.

"I am up," she muttered with bite. Stepping into the light, the guard rolled his eyes. He was twirling a set of keys on a key ring around his finger. Kuvira watched the metal moving around the ring, her green eyes widening at the light clinking sound from the keys hitting each other.

"Don't even think about it," he said with a smirk, "they're platinum just like the lock keeping you in here." Kuvira squeezed her eyes shut before turning away, clenching her jaw in anger. "Let's go."

The guard stuck the key into the lock before popping it open. It was then Kuvira noticed two other guards were standing behind him at the door to the room. She watched in confusion as the guard with the keys opened her wooden cell door. "Grab her."

Kuvira felt her heart beat increase when the two other guards entered the room. Their uniforms had a symbol right above the left breast pocket. She craned her head to the side, struggling to read the patchwork as they stepped closer towards her. Kuvira yelled in pain as they grabbed her roughly by the arms and pulled her to her feet.

"The doctor would like to see you," the guard with the keys said as she was forced past him. Kuvira's eyes widened once his words settled. She tried to drag her feet along the ground and winced as a few stray splinters pierced and poked the bottoms of her feet as well as her toes.

They four of them stepped out of her holding area and into a dimly lit hallway. The harsh combination of chemicals and a burning smell filled her nostrils. The lights flickered and flashed, forcing Kuvira's eyes to constantly adjust to the changing lights. The further down the hallway they went, the quieter everything became. The paint on the walls had started to peel, and various bodily fluids splashed across doorframes.

The air grew stale and hot, forcing beads of sweat to erupt across the earthbender's skin. One of the guards dragging her across the floor suddenly sneezed, letting go of our arm. Kuvira shouted as her knees dropped to the floor. Without the use of her hands, her head slammed into the ground, pain flashing across her temples. Her vision swam as tears started to flood her eyes.

"The once Great Uniter, is nothing but a joke," the guard with the keys started to twirl them around his finger once more.

"Where…are you taking me?" Kuvira spat the sour liquid that had filled her mouth. She groaned when she noticed the dark color under the dim lighting. She felt it dribble down her chin and drip underneath her threadbare shirt. "This isn't…part of the jail."

"It's a secret part," the guard on her left said while yanking her to her feet. Kuvira felt the pain in her arm intensify. Bone scraped against bone as her arm was pulled up harshley as she was brought back to her feet. The guard who sneezed laughed gleefully as he took her right arm. "Something Chief Beifong doesn't need to know about."

They reached the end of the hallway and came across a set of double doors. The guard with the keys pushed them open with his hands. Kuvira shivered as her feet were dragged across the cool tile. An examination chair sat in the center of the room, the mirrored ceiling reflected them all. She looked up and winced, finally taking a look at her disheveled state. The two guards holding her up dragged her over to the table.

"Doctor," the guard with the keys greeted a man sitting in a corner reading a magazine. He looked up at the mention of his name and gave a curt nod, before taking in the sight of a battered and bruised Kuvira. He bit the inside of his cheek as she took in her surroundings. The two guards who had brought her into the room, picked her up and dumped her into the chair.

Kuvira grunted as the wind was knocked out of her. She gasped for air as the guard with the keys motioned for the other two to leave the room. As they turned, Kuvira caught sight of the icon on their shirts: small lightning bolts. They both smirked over at Kuvira before heading towards the exit. One of the guards reached into the breast pocket and pulled out a pair of Republic City police badges. The two fastened them over the lightning bolts on their shirts before exiting the room. Kuvira stared at the swinging doors, watching as her only means of escape closed.

"Why am I here?" she whispered.

"For some rehabilitation," the guard answered. "Doctor, if you please." Kuvira rolled her head over to the side, the muscles in her neck tensing with exertion. She blinked rapidly as a bright light shined into her eyes. A second later she heard a ripping sound. Kuvira jumped when she felt something poke into her skin, a second later something was placed on top of the area and smoothed out with a warm palm. She shifted her gaze down to see two wires taped into place on the top of her red and swollen foot.

"What?" Kuvira tried to sit up. The doctor placed a hand onto her shoulder and forced her back into the chair. "What's going on?" her voice rose as the two men started to strap her arms, leg, and neck to the table. She flinched as the guard lifted her shirt up to the top of her ribcage and fastened a large strap across her hips.

Neither men answered as the continued to patch more wires into place on various parts of her body. The top of her feet, her inner thighs, her arms, her abdomen, her upper arms, and her collar bones where spotted with black tape holding the wires to her skin. The doctor coughed into his arm as he made his way over to a nearby table. A grey box sat on top of the table and was plugged into the wall. Two screens showed needles, currently sitting at zero, and a black switch in between them. A smaller box with a dial was connected to the box.

"No," Kuvira whimpered as the doctor's hand moved to flip on the switch. The doctor looked over at her for the briefest of moments before turning his attention to the guard. "Don't. Please."

The guard looked at her with a sneer. He slowly walked over towards the chair, never shifting his gaze from the earth bender. Once at her side, pressed two fingers on every black patch placed on her body. His smile only widened when she tried to move away, her movement limited from the straps holding her down.

Kuvira gritted her teeth and growled in pain as the guard suddenly placed his hand flat on her bruise and pushed down hard. She wiped her head from the left to the right; her fingers curling into her palms, pressing deeper and deeper. The doctor got up out of his seat and walked over to her. He pried her fingers out of her hands; tiny red crescents prints marked the middle of her hand, glittering a dark red underneath the lights. The doctor shook his head before pulling a disinfectant swap out of his pocket.

The guard pulled his hand away from Kuvira's bruise as the doctor wiped at the cuts in her palm. A tear slipped out of the corner of her eyes as her cuts began to sting. The doctor tossed the wipe to the floor before walking back over to the table. He tapped the grey box and hummed happily as the needles shifted with every tap.

The guard turned and looked at the doctor, raising one eyebrow and nodding his head. The captain nodded in response before reaching over and flicking a black switch on the box. Kuvira flinched when she heard a soft crackle fill the room. "You didn't give those people a fair chance. So why should we?"

Kuvira felt her stomach churn as the guard let out a deep laugh. A lump formed in her throat and her hands began to shake. She pulled her trembling lips into a thin line, trying to suppress the cry that was fighting its way past her gums.

The guard laughed deeply as he made his way towards the exit. He passed through the two doors, just as the doctor turned the dial on the small box. The guard continued to head down the hallway as Kuvira's screams echoed up and down the corridor.

AN: I got rid of my schedule for updating my stories so this fic, as well as my other fics, will be updated sporadically when I get the time. It is easier for me to write this way instead of being stressed and somewhat forcing out a chapter just to reach a deadline.

As for this chapter, I've been meaning to work on writing description, and I felt like this story was a great place to test it out. Please, let me know what you all think.