I do not own Legend of Korra and I do not claim so.

Korra entered Lin Beifong's office practically pushed in by commander Pang. She has almost lost balance and turned to man with critical stare, but he already moved back from the room. Apparently he didn't even want to look at his chief right now.

The office was very stark, befitting its owner. It was pretty small, for the most important person in the police, with only one piece of furniture – a wooden desk overflowing with papers. The only decoration that were softening rooms atmosphere was a single rug in the colors of Earth Kingdom.

When Korra entered the room, Lin raised her eyes and looked at her. She was in her early fifties, but as far as the girl could tell, was looking pretty good for her age. Maybe a little tired only, but being chief of police was probably not the most peaceful job out there.

"Sit down, please," Beifong waved her hand, showing girl chair in the front of the desk. She herself raised and came few steps closer to window looking at the city center. When Korra took a seat, she turned to Avatar, with her eyes hardened and said:

"I would like you to know, that in this City we do not tolerate teenagers running wild and fighting crime, as they please. What you did was both irresponsible and illegal."

"But those guys were some sort of gangsters!" Korra was surprised with that harsh reprimand, but she didn't intend to stay silent. "And this man was in danger!"

"And you figured out that the best way to help him, was to play hero and fight bandits off, putting literally everybody around in even more danger?" chief of police run out of patience at record speed. Avatar or not, Lin didn't feel like letting seventeen years old talk back at her.

"I was trained to do that," Korra raised from chair. They were almost the same height, so now she could eye chief, without looking up.

"Oh, what a coincidence, me too!" Lin started to shout, feeling anger flowing through her. All stress of the last month suddenly found its outlet and she neither could, nor wanted to stop it. "But when I do my job, the place does not look like a construction site afterwards!"

"Hey, what happened to 'Avatar helping people'?!" Korra also raised her voice, both confused and angry. "I rescued them from this giant, fucking boulder, remember?"

"Don't piss me off girl, there wouldn't be any boulder, if you didn't start a fight," Lin almost hissed, trembling from fury.

"There wouldn't be any fight, if police were there in time!" Korra replied scathingly, mocking Lin's tone.

Lin inhaled sharply and something threatening appeared in her eyes. It was this moment, when Korra started to realized, that getting in argument with chief of the police might not have been the best idea.

"Listen to me, you little brat…!" the door opened suddenly, interrupting Beifong and a robed man entered the room. Lin looked in his direction with furious gaze, confusing him for a second, but then he recognized the girl on her right and approached her quickly.

"For the Sprits! Korra, what are you doing here?" Tenzin asked, anger and surprise mixing in his voice. "Why are you not on the South Pole?"

"I bet she escaped," murmured Lin , before Korra had a chance to answer.

"No I didn't!" Korra snorted, oblivious for that not exactly true statement. She looked at Beifong. "I was let out and sent here, to learn airbending. All according to masters' plans."

"Ladies, please," Tenzin tried to calm two women down, sensing conflict in the air. They looked at man as if they wanted him dead, so he asked Korra quickly. "Why did they not send any letter about you leaving?"

"Because…," Korra paused as she didn't feel like sharing the circumstances of her leaving with Lin present. "I don't really know… "

"Oh my…," Tenzin didn't spot her sheepishness. Instead, he remembered happy bunch that were the masters of the Avatar, and imagining them simply forgetting to send it was not that hard. "Well, I assume they would not let you go if you weren't ready. Go and get your things from the repository and wait for me outside the building. I will take you to Island, and we will decide what to do with you."

"Okay," Korra didn't mind the free ticket out of jail. Lin looked as if she wanted to protest, but the girl left room almost instantly, casting one last hostile look at the policewoman.

Tenzin looked at the closed doors for the moment and then he turned to woman next to him. Since they were alone now Tenzin's voice sounded softly:

"You look radiant as always, Lin."

"Cut the crap, Tenzin," woman rolled her eyes, and sat back behind her desk. With only her close friend around, she allowed a little bit more fatigue to show on her face. "On the Earth, the Avatar coming to this city, starting to mess around and beating people up is really all I dreamt about," she looked up at him and mustered pale smile. "You know, in those dreams, from which you wake up screaming."

"These are nightmares, Lin," Tenzin prompted completely unnecessarily and he instantly wanted to take that words back. But at least Beifong chuckled a little bit.

"You and your wisdom, airbending master," she emphasized last word, teasing him.

"I have no idea, how will I fit her in my schedule," he grimaced, really concerned about this problem. He looked at his ex-lover. "I will try to keep her on Island, but I can't promise she won't make more problems for you."

"I know, I know," Lin waved her hand. "Don't be too hard on yourself. Her arrival was only the matter of time, anyway. It's just… Her timing is so, so bad."

"Yee…" Tenzin sighted and looked outside of the window. He could see city center's skyscrapers from there and that reminded him of something. "Have you informed White Lotus?"

"Why would I?" Lin snorted.

Tenzin had to agree with her. This organization knew everything about Avatar's whereabouts, so her arrival probably didn't surprise them whatsoever.

"Better go check up on her, before she will go catch more criminals herself," Beifong waved her hand, giving Tenzin sign to leave.

"Will you come by for dinner today?" Tenzin asked, knowing the answer already.

"I don't have time today. Really," she looked at him apologetically, as he was closing to the door. He was already opening it, when she decided to say one more thing. "Hey, when this Avatar of yours gets a little less cocky, tell her that she did quite a good job today."

"As you wish, Lin," Tenzin smiled at her warmly, as he was leaving the room. "See you soon."

"See you soon."

When the door behind man closed, all positivity Lin mustered for him fled her almost instantly. She looked outside the window, feeling her worries coming back twice as much powerful as this morning. She could see the highest skyscraper in the world, shining brightly in the light of the sun. Usually looking at it would make Lin unwind a little, but not now. With the Avatar in the city the Equalists' case, already unpredictable, could get out of anybody's control. And that included even the nearly almighty woman residing in White Spire.

Korra took her things from the bored man, that worked in repository and didn't even ask a her a single question, when she demanded her stuff back.

"Not very tight security they have here," Korra left headquarters, followed only with one guard's eyes. "Or maybe they just know already who I am?"

She found herself on the middle of a small square, that somebody thoughtfully changed into garden, softening the overall atmosphere that normally would surround such a place. Imposing form of the police's headquarters didn't help with that, but with few well-placed flowerbeds and trees architect managed to turn the plaza into quite a cozy place.

Korra approached the monument, that marked center of the small garden. It showed a short woman, with metalbender's uniform on her. She stood in the intimidating pose - artist somehow managed to grasp her strength, both physical and character-wise, in just her standing with her palms folded behind back. Toph Beifong – first metalbender and previous chief of the police. Korra approached the sculpture and looked at its face. Even though she has never seen this woman herself, she seemed familiar in some way, and so did her daughter. She assumed it had something to do with Aang's relationships with both of them.

"Korra!" Tenzin's voice sounded in the air.

"Coming!" she shouted back. The girl looked at sculpture one last time and walked in Tenzin's direction. When she was close enough to talk normally, she asked. "What about Naga? Where did they take her?"

"They were to take it to one of city zoo's…" seeing Korra's scared face he quickly waved his hands in calming gesture. "Don't worry. White Lotus got her midways and knowing them, she is already on her way to the Air Temple Island."

"Oh, okay," Korra relax a little bit and asked. "And how do we get there?"

"In the only way worthy of an airbender," Tenzin smiled and whistled with his fingers.

Korra suddenly felt movement above her, as sky bison flew down and landed between them. The girl was not used to large things suddenly appearing next to her and jumped away, almost trampling closest bed. However as she saw familiar animal, looking at her friendly she calmed down and closed to it. Korra touched bison's head, as she would do with Naga and when it did not protest, she started to pet it.

"His name is Oogi, if you don't remember," Tenzin jumped on the saddle on animal and waved his hands in fluent gestures. Gust of wind elevated Korra form the ground and placed her next to him.

"I could get here myself," Korra complained jokingly, sitting down as close to the edge of the saddle as it was possible.

"Yes, I can just imagine you propelling yourself, with some earthbending, destroying gardeners work in a process," man snorted. "Oogi, yip, yip!"

"Naah, I wouldn't do thaaa…," bison started sharply and Korra's words got pushed back her throat. She grabbed one of the handles next to her and held tightly to it. When the first surge of fear worn off, she leaned outside and looked at the ground, that was quickly getting further and further. After few seconds they were gliding slowly between the tops of skyscrapers. Korra goggled, unable to digest everything her eyes were seeing.

Peoples under her were almost invisible now. Satomobiles, tiny as bugs, were moving quickly in organized streams, reminding her of ants. Light glassed in countless windows of the Republic City, creating mosaic of colors under them, almost blinding Korra, as she tried to look at sun's reflection. She couldn't stop turn her head in every direction, trying to see as much as she could. And then something attracted her attention. To her left a massive, almost ideally white building was soaring above others. Korra leaned towards it as much as she had courage to, trying to get a better angle, as Oogi was getting further from skyscraper.

Tenzin, up to this time, didn't let his bison to fly too fast, so that Korra could enjoy the view. As he saw her amazement, he asked happily:

"Quite impressive, is it not?"

" 'Impressive?!' " Korra shouted. "There is nothing like that in Pole's capital. What is this one?"

Man laughed silently looking at highest skyscraper. "Well it is very white, isn't it? Will you try guessing?"

Korra looked at him a little bit surprised, not sure how should she be able to figure out, when she suddenly remembered something.

"Well, it is very high and very flashy and I am sure its creator tried to make up for some complexes with it."

"Impossible!" Korra leaned so far, that Tenzin started to be afraid about her safety. "This… This is White Lotus' headquarter?"

"Yes," man laughed seeing her face. "I am not sure if this is what my father imagined when he told them to 'get out of hiding', but this is it."

Korra was almost speechless. In her eyes White Lotus was this organization of elderly men she read about in books. Their guards were as mundane as it gets and as far as she knew, they dealt with dreadfully boring political conflicts. Pretty much the only interesting things about them were her master's, who all were honorable members. But almost half kilometer high building kind of contradicted this vision.

"Maybe there are not as boring as they seem," she laughed out loud, not noticing Tenzin's bewildered look.

When they were finally above all buildings, Oogi sped up, and city center was replaced with more regular, seaside buildings and they were soon replaced with waters of Yue Bay. Korra was sitting in saddle rearwards looking at Republic City that they left behind them. Once again she could see pro-bending arena and her heart beat faster.

"Soon," she thought.

"Hey Korra, is it not Naga, down there?" she heard Tenzin's voice

The girl turned and looked down. On the Island from the direction of the city, she could spot two buildings and a landing, together making a little marina. Apparently it was used by boats from city and one of them was just shipping out from there. Korra couldn't see it very well, but she was pretty sure it had a white markings on the board.

On the path that lead from it to the Temple a bright spot could be seen, smaller then tip of her finger, but moving in a very familiar way.

"Yes, it is her" Korra rejoiced. She looked at White Lotus' ship and laughed. "They have nice timing, don't they?"

Tenzin rolled his eyes and sighted quietly. "Yes, they do. Almost too nice sometimes." He patted Oogi gently and bison started to fly down.

Continued in part 2...