"Asami." The heiress was numb to Korra's touch. Her eyes hadn't moved from the spot where the laptop had been, her fiancé scooted it as far as she could without moving too fast or far away. "I can't tell if you're freaking out or not."

She was kneeling in front of her, blue eyes shining through the now dark gym and cupping her cheek.

"I don't know how I feel." the engineer admitted, her internal feelers were coming up empty handed. From one moment to the next as she scanned her memories, she couldn't actually place the moment her eyes became pressed into that perfect shoulder. While she didn't cry instinct let her slight hands to palm up Korra's shoulder blades. Those beloved rough hands palmed over her ears, hissing a soft ocean into her psyche as she stroked.

I would be honoured to accept their invitation.

Hiroshi had written these somewhere in her subconscious, in his blue prints his notes, scarred into his desk at the edge of a knife. The man had been obsessed and once again Asami had been too swept up to see his madness spiralling. There was always a dull ache from the loss of her mother, but it wasn't any worse, or any better seeing her die. It was just easier for her heart to identify. Her brain however was going a million miles in an unexpected direction. It was quick, she was gone in a flash and really she had only been afraid for a few seconds. But it looked like, she knew her killer, at least the man who had spoken to him, and was controlling him. That was definitely what had happened, there was no other way to explain the flow of events. One moment rage; the next, totally calm trigger happy suicide bombing.

If this Jumper hadn't planned Yasuko's death then who did? What had Hiroshi deduced for himself to make him so violent? The only thing the video had done was raise more questions. Questions that couldn't be answered here. She detached herself from Korra, finding her feet and balance off of the impromptu bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go." Asami surprised herself at how strong her own voice sounded, despite everything that had happened the engineer still found the will to carry on and do what was needed.

"What? Now? Asami it's the middle of the night, come back-"

"To bed? Like I can sleep after what we just saw!" She instantly regretted snapping, but had her back to Korra now, and looking at her would make her lose her resolve, she was sure about that.

"To talk." Korra whispered softly, hyper aware that her parents were snoozing not twenty feet away. "I am not letting you carry this alone."

"I am not carrying this, I'm figuring this out. This goes deeper than either of us imagined."

"So let's figure this out together."

"I can't do that."

"Because I'm not some super genius and I obviously can't keep up?" Korra couldn't help the sharp edge that took her voice as she grabbed her arm and turned her. They were falling into argument territory, and despite its obvious downward spiral neither of them could bring them selves back from the brink.

"Because you're part of the problem!" Asami twisted out of her grip suddenly, but took a step toward her as she back tracked. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Oh I know how you meant it." Even in the dark the heiress could detect that dejected streak in Korra's eyes. I'm a freak.

"It's not you!"

"Doesn't matter - I'm not letting you go out there alone."

"I have to leave just for a little while - just to process all this,"

"And I don't?"

"You're in danger Korra. Look at everything that's happened today."

"Coincidences. The Universe-"

"Doesn't pander to the likes of two gay women! The odds are stacked against us and I refuse to believe that a greater force is bringing balance to the galaxy because that means there is nothing I can control!"

"So what if there isn't?"

"Then it's madness, everything is insane and the power you people have is terrifying! You alone can tear this Universe apart when you get upset, or scared or angry."

"That's what you are here for."

"And when I die are you just going to destroy time and space to get me back?"

"You would if you could."

"We're not meant to be able to make these kind of choices Korra. You can show me all the future you want but it wont change the fact that time is relative. Even knowing can change anything and everything. You taught me that!"

"Would we be together without all the things that have happened?"

"Wow." Asami took out her imaginary timeline in the back of her mind and crossed her mind, when would they ever have gotten together if she had never found the confidence in a future that was seemingly already written for them. Still it hurt to have Korra question it. As if she could have been with anyone else should the fates allow it.

"Asami I'm saying it's a good thing."

"Save it. I'm going."

"Asami wait. I'll take you somewhere, you can't drive like this."

"I'll get a cab."

"Asami!"

"Korra. Don't… Don't jump we don't know where it'll send you. I can't have you going missing again." The Rookie officer flinched, her hand slipped from her sleeve, and she listened to Asami step step stepping towards the exit.

"Asami I love you."

"I know."

XXX

Returning to Tenzin's place was a bittersweet mix of that homey feeling clumped messily with dread and despair. Still the family had taken a shine to Mako and Bolin after they had taken Jinora under their wing and she had come clean to her relatives about her abilities. Much to her surprise this was nothing new, although it had skipped a generation, much to her Grandmother's relief.

It was an easy decision to let Mako and Kai sleep in the living room, guarding the family and ready to evacuate the many non-jumpers Jinora lived with while Bolin did the same at the Beifong residence a few doors down. Opal lived with Huan, Suyin and Toph, her brothers and father were away at an economics conference and it was decided there were too many witnesses surrounding them for them to be targeted outright and they had very little to do with Teleporters anyway.

One thing Mako enjoyed about being included in the family was being able to sit in a room full of people and never have to speak. They'd talk around him and he could still feel accepted, and while Bolin usually did all the talking for him, Ikki and Meelo were another caliber of endless information.

They spotted him and Kai almost immediately, ignoring their sister and b-lining for the orphans, their shouts joined mid air and sounded a lot like,

"MAK-KAI!"

Meelo tackled Jinora's boyfriend while Ikki somehow managed to climb onto Mako's shoulders.

"Giggles," He acknowledged her with a cool nod and his own affectionate nickname, before looking down at Meelo, "Farticus."

"Admiral Farticus if you don't mind Officer!"

"When did he get promoted?" Mako mumbled snarkily as he lowered Ikki from his shoulders.

"He conquered Ba Sing Se on that Redemption War Game last night and rewarded himself." the girl explained, tugging Mako by the hand to the bed she'd prepared for him out of a couch and a plethora of girly cushions.

"Rose petals?" The cop deadpanned.

"Clumsy!" Ikki blushed brushing them from the blanket, "I tripped with a vase and forgot to pick them up here. Nothing suspicious ha ha." Ikki had never been so grateful to have her father interrupt her in that moment.

"Mako may I have a moment." There was something about his tone that demanded respect, perhaps it was the context as well, fear hung above them all like a murder of hungry wolf bats.

"Sure thing Sir."

They left the room, the Psychiatrist leading the Cop into his home office. He seemed pensive and tense, even in his own home, running his long hands over his bald head as he mused how to go about this.

"My mother wouldn't let me ask this but I feel I must. I have a different set of responsibilities."

"I get it. I would do the same, if I had, uh, kids. Family. What not." Mako nodded and fought every instinct to bury his awkward chin into his awkward chest. Tenzin nodded in agreement and tugged on his beard before continuing.

"I've asked Lin to keep an eye on any suspicious activity, any more, suspicious activity. Regarding the old Paladin intel. Their old hide outs, murder sites that sort of thing. There's only so much she can do, I would ask Korra but given the circumstances… A teleporter's senses are for the most part better than most humans. Especially with regard to these matters."

"What are you asking sir?"

"I'm suggesting you go back to work. Keep an eye out, dig in to the records Father's murder. The dates we lost my uncle and Longshot. In those records there may be the key to deciphering those files. I don't mean to ask you to go looking for trouble, and I don't have to tell you how unsettling it is to have to spend you time constantly looking over your shoulder. But it's harder to live with it without asking all the questions that need to be asked. Am I clear?"

Mako let his eyes scan the room for the moment, specifically the picture frames, that held beneath plexiglass, and between wood and steel were the smiling faces of everything he had always envied, that perfect family dream. Even though it wasn't really his, he would do anything to protect it.

"Yes Sir."

XXX

"We have a connection!" The Professor crowed at the full body pictogram on his console let up with veins, organs and bones, pumping, breathing living alongside it's host; oceans away. "The blood is enough to let us sense what is happening to her."

"Can we send anything her way?" Leuten asked.

"It's not impossible," The Professor mused.

"Then make it possible," Amon arched back in his chair, polishing his mask with care as he watched Korra's heart pump.

XXX

It was midday, and Korra had neither slept nor heard from her fiancé. Her parents had woken, forced food upon her and Senna especially ripped into her for watching that awful video without them but her words fell on numb ears. Nothing could make Korra feel worse than she already did.

"This is fantastic! Zhu Lu! Come watch the thing do the thing!" She felt nauseous as Varrick took more blood. "Your healing abilities," he was speaking to Korra now, but she was only half listening, "come from the trading of living molecules for dead ones—from anywhere else in space and time. You can take pieces from any place and bring them straight to you! And because it's you! You are in a constant state of flux!"

"And at risk of tearing rifts open with your emotions." Zhu Li deadpanned.

"Then why don't I?" Korra snapped, "Why haven't I destroyed the universe with my amazing freaking powers?"

Varrick reeled at her sudden harsh tone, but recovered in classic Iknik style.

"Well you don't want to do ya kid?"

Korra hung her head, at first ashamed that she had snapped so easily, then because deep down she knew she had a lot more that she could control, and then a resounding reminder that she had pissed her girlfriend off so much she had pretty much sprinted into an unforgiving winter night.

"I'm sorry." she mumbled, feeling her nausea build suddenly she recognised what was happening and yelled, "GET BACK!"

She was herself, but not in that time, behind her own eyes, reliving her old times; she was back with Kuvira, eight or nine months ago. Kuvira had a habit of sleeping with her back to Korra, facing the wall, thinking out loud albeit quietly. Mostly about her work. Korra heard strips and lines about the Teleporter Ray how she wanted it to bring everyone together with this one universe altering ability.

"Hey get some sleep; big day tomorrow," Korra mumbled reaching over to sling her arm over Vira's waist and press her cheek against her protruding shoulder blade, "Great Uniter." She snarked proud of the nickname she gave the military scientist as she spiralled in and out of sleep.

Korra twisted and screamed aloud, her physical body barely managing to raise herself, take a step towards the consoles and fall, once again onto her hands and knees. She could barely sense the vessels bursting in her nose and blood trickling down her lips before her eyes shone bright green and she was elsewhere once more.

She felt tiny palms under her thumbs, squeezing with all their miniature might as Korra opened her eyes. The child on her lap was maybe a year old, amber eyes staring lovingly up at her, freeing one pudgy fist to jam her hand into the Jumper's mouth and feel her teeth. She was sitting cross legged, in a room of rich carpets, warm red walls and fine gold inlays, littered contrastingly with crayon sketches and plush dolls. Right then she knew she never wanted to leave this moment, she needed it with every inch of her burning soul.

"Ngh!" Korra giggled with surprise, removing the hand before remembering to cradle his soft downy head of dark hair. "I'll get you!" She crowed, gingerly she laid him down, lifting his teeny sweater and blowing on his darling bloated baby-soft tummy.

"Korra?"

"Serious Officer Mom business going on, not for Satobot not it's business." She mumbled against skin before resuming her attack. The baby beneath her howling with sweet giggles.

"MANA! MAGA! NGHGA!" Kuzon protested with words that always came close to sounding like Mama or Naga, Korra was never sure which.

"Oh Naga would eat you too for being so adorable - scamp!"

It made her heart almost leap out of her chest to hear those noises, she was sure it did when Asami kneeled beside her, pawed the ponytail from her neck, careful not to get paint that covered her hands on Korra's shirt, so she could blow a raspberry into the Officers neck.

Korra toppled clutching her ribs, looking up at her wife through tears of glee. Asami bit her lip as she watched the scene, collecting herself just enough to speak.

"Katara wanted your opinion on her wall."

"Does she want Kuzon's too?"

"Of course."

Korra scooped the boy into her arms as she stood, grinning like a madwoman, bobbing didn't make her look anymore sane either. "You have a little something."

"Right here?" Asami poked her nose and left a splurge of paint, "Or here?" another on her lips.

"I'll get it." Korra dropped her dopey grin and before Asami could ask her lips were on hers, "This stuff tastes nasty." she commented angling her head to kiss a little deeper the second time.

"S'not for eating." Asami meant it to sound more sarcastic but she had to admit Korra's kisses still left her flustered.

Kuzon squealed and tugged on Asami's hair, indicating he was after a switch.

"Alright Fusspot." the heiress lifted her heir into her hands and cuddled him, regardless of paint and mess as she kissed his temple.

She led Korra into Katara's room, the five year old had her cheeks in her hands, leaving paint prints on them which for the moment she ignored as she concentrated on her wall, her master piece it seemed.

"What's cracking sweetie?" Korra kneeled beside her, stroking a finger to slip the hair out of her ice chip blue eyes.

"Naga won't sit still for her portrait!" she huffed pointing at the dog who was happily rolling around in paint and protective sheets.

"What if we use a photograph?"

"Mom! That's not real art!"

"Did Huan tell you that?"

"Doesn't matter if its true!" She's picked up her Mother's arguing skills, Korra thought, knowing better than to pick a verbal fight with a professional Sato she decided to wrestle with Naga into position, earning an armful of hairy paint and a fateful of playful licks as Katara painted her with a completely straight face. All the while Asami watched until she was engrossed in what her own child was doing.

After Naga had settled, Korra looked over, cocking her head as she tried to decipher what in the Earth Kingdom Asami was doing. Sitting cross legged from Kuzon, and Kuzon doing his best to stay upright as he engaged with his mother's strange test, arranging objects between them.

"Baby? I know sleep doesn't come easy, but you have to let me know when you start hallucinating…"

"No Korra this is psychology, Tenzin told me about it, you arrange three objects in front of the baby and what he chooses could determine the kind of goal he'll value later in life."

"Three objects like what?"

"We got Yuans representing money and financial prosperity. The pen, the pursuit of knowledge and this fluffy mini Naga."

"Thats mine!" Katara piped in momentarily distracted from Naga, who sensed this and licked Korra's face again.

"You got the real one right here," the Officer reminded, "Slobbering all over me!"

"Toys represent fun." Asami finished, setting the doll in front of Kuzon, who stared at them while chewing his hand. "It's not certain, and by no way proven or written about but Tenzin said it can be eye opening and kind of fun to fantasise about. Meelo's apparently going to be this big artist but you know how Huan feels about his cartoons. It just made me curious." She added with a light chuckle until she returned her attention to him.

He made no noise, which was odd because out of the four of them he was usually the most verbal, one years old and on the edge of coherent speech. Still he sat, and assessed, playing with his fingers before working his legs under himself, and readying his stance so he could crawl. Korra heard Asami take a breath, which froze in her lungs as Kuzon swept the items completely aside, grinning, eyes bright as he did so. But he didn't stop there, he wiggled himself onto his feet and damn near ran into Asami's chest, splaying his arms in an effort to hug her tight.

"What does that mean?" Korra asked, inspecting her wife's blank, confused expression from afar.

She took a moment, and finally another breath before squeezing him up as he babbled and played with her hair. Looking up at her emerald eyes like they were the best things he had ever seen.

"Asami baby are you crying?"

"No!" but her denial came out weak and choked and Kuzon was already playing with the tears on her cheeks, spreading the water and giggling as drips touched his own. "I didn't think he would pick me." Her voice sounded like knowing this was everything she always needed to be whole, from her mother dying, her father betraying her, almost losing Korra all those times. Being chosen by this boy above everything else was more precious than anything she had already bought or could ever buy.

"Why wouldn't he? We love you." And like that Korra was Zip gone.

…Time is relative. Even knowing can change anything and everything…

Korra came to then, despite how much she wanted to stay in that room. Asami was elsewhere, doing God knows what. The blood had stopped as far as she could tell, on her back looking up at the tungstens alight above her she felt a final pull. This one was almost familiar in its presence, and it reminded her, unfortunately, of when she witnessed Sokka and Toph fighting for their lives on that fateful night four years ago.

Mako was walking into her new work, through the bull pen where she would share a desk with one of five new officers joining on Wednesday. Mako, detective that he was tucked some files under his arms and made his way back to his own office. When he stopped, spying a present, gold and gleaming on Korra's desk.

Congratulations on your engagement!

Suspecting it might get swiped in the open communal space of the sheriff station he worked his fingers around it while balancing papers and coffee. He missed the wire hidden beneath clippings of reports, He couldn't react when the gift lifted with a click and sent the incendiary charge alight beneath the desk. He didn't think at all that it would end this way. So quick and firey, almost like lightning.