Author's note: Sorry for the erratic post schedule, I've had to reprioritize my schoolwork recently. I kinda was doing nothing in class but writing on this and it was messing me up a good amount. BUt, about the story, I'm writing this because I absolutely loved the series and its finale, but following it, the fandom seemed to be obsessed with Korra and Asami getting together and having a happy ending, a loving close to their story. But, lets be frank, that's so BORING. Just because Korra and Asami's relationship is 'different' from the norm as far as television love goes, that doesn't mean (in my opinion) that they are exempt from the cold, harsh reality that some people in this world are vile, horrible human beings. Just because Korra is a girl, and is in a bisexual relationship, doesn't mean that all her toil and hardship is over. I guess, deep down, I'm a horrible person that when I see something or someone TOO happy, I feel like it's my duty to show just how south everything can go.

A little sadistic, I know. But, since when has the contract of life ever had a sanity clause?

Chapter 2

Kuvira awoke in a daze, tied to a wooden chair in a pitch black room that smelled like a Satomobile garage. Her hands were tied to the arms of the chair, painfully binded by thick rope. Her feet were secured to the ground underneath her chair, though she could not tell by what. Her feet and legs felt wet.

"What is this!?" she roared angrily, "When the warden finds out someone took me from my cell and tied me up, heads will roll!" She struggled against her bindings, but to no avail.

She heard a door creak open, followed by the sound of light footsteps that were approaching in her direction. Then, they stopped. A few faint clicks echoed in the room, each followed by a small flash a few feet in front of her. With one last click, a small flame revealed itself to her, protruding out of a small, palm sized green box held by a blood-stained white glove. The flame was guided to the center of a small circular wooden table in front of her, where it lit a white candle. Although dim, the light of the candle illuminated a bit of the room, as well as the face of her captor.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a rude house guest. I expected more manners from you, Kuvira." The man's pale white face hovered over the candle, and the grin on it was the stuff of nightmares. Kuvira could feel anger boiling in her gut as he continued to mock her.

"I mean, I knew you were a bit brutish, not to mention a terrible fiancé, but I expected you to be at least a little bit grateful to the person who busted you out of that bland wooden box."

"Wait, I'm not...how did..." Kuvira tried to speak, but it was like she couldn't form the right words.

"Darling, when you've been in as many looney-bins as I have, you pick up a neat trick or two." The man walked around the table until he stood at her side.

"The best part is, no one will know you're gone until tomorrow night, and by then it'll be far too late, I'm afraid." He laid his hand on her shoulder.

"But, I'm such a hypocrite! Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself." The man placed his other hand on Kuvira's cheek and turned her head to meet his sight.

"I am The Joker, my darling, and I've heard so much about you! Alas, not all of it was good. You were so close, so unbelievably close to killing the Avatar and ruling your nation with a fist of Platinum. But close only counts in Horseshoes and handgrenades, my dear." The Joker leaned in close to Kuvira's face, and she felt paralyzed with fear.

"W-what do you want with me? Why did you set me free?" Kuvira stuttered, something she hadn't done in a very long time.

The Joker laughed maniacally. "Free? Ha ha, ah ha, oh that's a good one, dearie. Yes, you're no longer in that Earth Kingdom prison, set on display like some trophy. But free?" The Joker drew a small dagger from his sleeve, "Free is the last word I'd use to describe you." He slammed the knife into her right forearm, and she screamed as it broke through her bone.

"You remember your old gal pal Korra, right? Well, news flash; shes living out a happy life with a family of her own, surrounded by people who adore her. She has everything you wished for and more, and that's funny!" The Joker began to twist the knife into her arm. The pain was unbearable, and her screams showed that.

"If you seek to turn me against the avatar, you shouldn't waste your breath." she said, teeth clenched as she tried to hide the immense pain, "Korra helped me see the real evil of my actions. So, what do you really want from me?"

"I'm simply stating facts. You're pathetic, Kuvira, a bad joke. You, and everyone else that's went up against Korra in the past. See, you're all to wrapped up in your 'Ideologies'. Whether it's about Equality, philosophy, some disillusioned perception of a greater good, order, or even power. You, Zaheer, Amon, and that piss-poor excuse for a dark avatar, Unalaq. You were all doomed to fail from the start. You never had a CHANCE!" He withdrew the blade from her arm, blood dripped from it onto the floor. She struggled as searing pain ran through her arm all the way to her shoulder blades, still screaming. He turned his back to Kuvira.

"But, I am more...enlightened. It's not about any of those things, my dear. No, far from it. You have all failed. Failed at giving Korra a worthy adversary. Failed at making her into the woman the world deserves instead of needs." The Joker turned to Kuvira, a lone lit match in his fist. His red lips weren't curled up into a smile, but a frown. A raging, seething frown.

"What...the world deserves? You...flaming psycho…" Kuvira groaned. "All you want to do is hurt...people. You don't have honor, you're...a monster."

"You know, Zaheer said something really close to that, you know? Well, he was on the floor bleeding out and scrambling to put his eye back into his head, so its not all that close." The Joker lept to Kuvira from across the room, gripping her neck tightly and putting his forehead against hers. The match in his hand burned Kuvira's neck as he held it against her skin. She tried to struggle, but the pain from her arm and the bindings around her limbs proved too much for her. All she could do was sit and wait for what he planned for her next.

"I will succeed where you and so many have failed, girl. I will show Korra what she can really be, what she's meant to be. We shall do this dance of good and evil until the end of days. We have to. It's not just the way things should be, it's the way they have to be. She must hate me, she must hate herself. She must lose her chains and become...my...new dark knight." The Joker let out an evil cackle as he released her, walked a few feet away from her, and finally threw the match at Kuvira's feet. Time slowed to a stop as she realized the gravity of his actions.

Smelled like a Satomobile garage.

Her legs and feet were wet.

Gasoline.

The dark room illuminated in an instant as Kuvira was set ablaze, her screams and The Joker's laughter filled the room.

"But don't fret, dearie. I won't let the flames kill you. No, because you are the first big step of my masterpiece. Zaheer was a nice warm up, but he wasn't really my best work. Afterall, it's rude to not have a present ready for that special someone's anniversary. And believe me, Korra and her children are going to love it."

The Joker withdrew a small pail from his jacket pocket, and emptied its contents onto Kuvira's lower half. She no longer had the will, nor the strength to scream. She looked down in horror at her badly burnt lower half. The flames had subsided, but she still felt she was cooking alive. It was like a nightmare, she thought. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real. But in that second of surveying her burns, she knew that it had to be real, dreams didn't hurt this much.

Then, The Joker lifted her low-hanging head to the back of her chair. She stared at the ceiling, and out of the corner of her eye saw that The Joker was holding the knife he had used to stab her arm. He traced it around her face, leaving a small outline of a mask-like shape made of blood.

"Say cheese, sweetheart." Then, The Joker began to cut into her face.

The flight back to Air Temple Island was one of silence. Asami still clung to Korra's arm, and Korra could sense a whirlwind of emotions coming from her in the way she gripped her. The signals were subtle, Asami never once let her true feelings show, but Korra had known her long enough to tell what she was really feeling. Disgust, horror, disbelief, sadness, but the most prevalent emotion Korra felt was fear. Asami had the same thoughts as Korra when they discovered the not-so cryptic message on the cell wall. They both feared for their children's well being, but Asami was nearly comatose in her fear. Korra shook Asami off of her, only to turn to the frightened woman and embrace her in a tight, protective hug.

"Honey, it's going to be okay, I promise." Korra assured her, breaking the silence.

"I've never seen anything so...brutal." Asami whimpered as she leaned into Korra's embrace. As strong as Asami was, everyone had a breaking point, Korra knew that more than anyone. Asami shook as she spoke. "Those people, they had brothers, sisters, children, families. They never did anything wrong, but…" she trailed off. Korra felt her tears slide onto her shoulder. "What could have done that?"

Korra found that question hard to answer, rather, to give a meaningful answer. But Tenzin spoke before Korra had a chance to.

"I don't know, Asami. Lin said she had every man and woman under her order working to find out just that." Tenzin didn't turn to face them, but that was typical of him.

"Kids, I won't lie to you, when I was a child, my father used to tell me stories about what he saw during the Hundred Years War. Labor camps, public executions, even about how Zuko's own father fought and scarred him for life because of a simple outburst. But, in my life, I've never seen or heard of anything this brutal. It's...disturbing to say the least."

"But, why go after Zaheer? He was in prison for a decade. He wasn't any use to anyone." Asami said, nestling her head further into Korra's embrace.

"Maybe it was an angry dark spirit. We've seen just how much damage one of those things can do. It would explain how it passed through forty or so benders like they were flies."

"No," Korra retorted, "dark spirits are malevolent, but they don't think very much. Whatever did this was cold and calculated. Spirits don't...torture people, and they definitely don't leave messages like the one on the wall." Korra knew what had to be said, but that didn't mean it didn't worry her.

"Guys, it's obvious why this happened. Whoever did this didn't want to send a message, or collect some bounty. They did it because they wanted my attention, why else would they write 'Happy Avatar Day, Korra!' on the wall in the blood of one of the most feared men on the planet? He wants us to know what he can do, and that he has his sights set on me." She slouched in the bison's saddle with Asami. "Ugh, Zaheer didn't deserve what happened to him. For all he did, he still helped me reach the Spirit World. I guess...he wasn't totally bad in the end."

Asami sat straight up, forcing Korra to as well. "We can't change what happened to him, but we can still protect ourselves. Korra, I think it's best if the children and us stay at the Island for a while. It's definitely safer there than in our penthouse. Would you mind, Tenzin?"

Tenzin didn't move a muscle. "Of course I wouldn't mind. I'll double up the number of Air Acolytes on the Island as soon as we get there. Korra, I know in the past you haven't exactly liked having others shelter you, but it's much different now. You've got children to think of, and you've got to put their safety in front of everything else."

"I understand, thank you, Tenzin." Korra released Asami to give her former Master a small bow.

It was late in the afternoon when they returned to Air Temple Island. As dire as the situation was, Korra couldn't neglect the beautiful bronze reflection of the setting sun on the water. Though she had seen it many times, it never lost its beauty. As they landed the bison, Korra and Asami spotted the three airbender children, Jinora, Ikki, and Melo, playing a game of tag with Kara and Sokka. They immediately dismounted the bison and ran towards their children.

Kara and Sokka soon saw them, and ran towards them. The four collided into a big, warm group hug.

"Were you two nice to your uncle and aunts?" Asami questioned the two small children. Though they weren't blood relatives, Korra and Asami considered Tenzin's children to be their brother and sisters, a trait that their children soon picked up themselves.

"Are you kidding? They were great! You guys have to drop these two off here more often! Sokka gave me a run for my money in hide and seek! He's got so much energy in him, he's like a little Melo!" Melo playfully responded. Ikki and Jinora nodded in agreement.

"Jinora, what are you doing here? I thought you were heading reconstruction of the Western Air Temple." Tenzin asked his daughter as he finished removing his saddle from the bison.

"I was, but then I heard about what happened at Zaheer's prison. Word travels quickly when that type of stuff happens. So, I left Kai in charge and flew here as fast as I could. I thought you'd want more benders on the Island after that." She answered as she crossed her arms behind her back. Though certainly older and more wise, Jinora still knew that her family kept precedence over most other things.

Tenzin rubbed his eldest daughter's head. "I can always count on your support when it comes to family, Jinora."

Korra noticed her children getting ancy in her arms. "Mom, can't we please just stay the night? We love it here, and it'd give me a chance to practice my waterbending on the shore!" Kara pleaded with her Korra.

"Yeah, and Melo could teach me how to fly an air bison!" Sokka squealed. Korra and Asami released their children from their embrace.

"Funny you should say that, kids. Turns out that Asami and I are taking a break from our work in the penthouse, and Tenzin was so nice as to invite us to stay for a while!" Korra told the children. Before she even finished her sentence, Kara and Sokka were beside themselves with joy. It reminded her of how the Airbender children acted when they found out Korra was going to be staying with them. They ran over to Tenzin, arms out

"Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The two children chanted as they clung to Tenzin's legs. Tenzin let out a deep sigh that Korra was all too familiar with, and she couldn't help but chuckle. It wasn't that Tenzin was annoyed by them, he just felt that his days of being rushed by small children were over.

¨Ikki, would you be so kind as to show these two to their room?¨ Tenzin gestured toward the entrance to their home. Ikki nodded, and collected the kids from Tenzin's waist. The two then shifted their attention to Ikki, and began to ask her a multitude of questions about the Island, like where games were played and where the Bison were kept, and if Pema's cooking was as good as Korra had said it was. It was obvious Ikki had her hands full, and even Tenzin could not hold a smirk as he observed the irony. Tenzin reverted his focus back to Korra and Asami.

¨You two will take one of our larger guest rooms, and you kids will take Korra's old room. Now, please, let's go inside and see if Pema has prepared anything for dinner.¨

Korra was awoken later that night by the faint sound of something clacking against wood. She sat up groggily and looked over at her wife, who was blissfully asleep. She rubbed her eyes, and the sound continued, almost at a beat. That might be Kara, she thought. She might have had another night terror about her family. She pulled herself out of bed, careful not to wake Asami, and walked out into the hallway, following the noise. It was dark, probably around midnight, but Korra had no problem finding her way to the source of the disturbance. She came across the threshold of the kitchen, and noticed a small orange glow coming from inside. As she entered, she saw that a fire had been lit beneath Pema's cooking pot, and a lanky, shadowy figure was contrasting against it. Korra's first instinct was to light up her fists and illuminate her would-be intruder, as well as prepare to defend herself. But, to her surprise, her fists remained unlit. She struck an airbending pose and punched forward, but again, nothing happened.

¨Ah, you've finally arrived. Excellent. Don't waste your time trying to bend, it won't get you anywhere, dear.¨ The shadowy figure turned to Korra in the darkness. She could not tell what he wore, but she saw that his eyes glowed red like rubies, unnaturally so. His voice was calm, but certainly not friendly. It alarmed her that she could not bend, scared her, even, but she knew she'd get nowhere fast by showing her surprise.

¨You've got ten seconds to explain why you're on this Island before I kick you off of it.¨ She threatened him, trying to display the sternness in her voice.

¨Island? I'm dreadfully sorry, I must have lost my way while looking for the bathroom! Hehehehehe...¨ The figure chuckled. His laugh felt penetrating, like he wasn't laughing at his joke, he was laughing at her. Spirits, that laugh, she thought. Chills ran down Korra's spine as she stared coldly at him, trying to feign fearlessness. ¨And, I don't believe you're in the position to be kicking anyone off of anything. You know as well as I do that you're useless without your bending.¨ The figure began to walk around the kitchen, circling the dinner table.

"You'd be surprised at what I can do." Korra retorted. While she wouldn't be completely defenseless, she knew that the man had a point, she would be in a spot of trouble.

"Oh, please. Don't build yourself up like that, not to me. You can lie to anyone you want, you can even lie to yourself. But, you can't lie to me. I know just how fragile you become when you're alone." He responded. The arrogance and confidence in his voice was nearly unbearable.

¨But, I'm such a rude guest. Say, why don't we sit down and talk this through like adults? I think you'll find that I'm a very reasonable man.¨ He stopped at the head of the table and took his seat slowly. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the chair closest to Korra shot out from under the table and ran behind her. She saw it coming, she had the reflexes to dodge it, but she felt paralyzed, she couldn't move a muscle, no matter how much she struggled. The chair scooped Korra off of her feet and carried her to the table, pushed by an invisible force. It seated her at the end opposite of the figure.

"Hey! Let me out of this chair!" Korra yelled in anger. Her cries were not met with an obvious acknowledgement, as the man continued to speak as if she had remained silent.

¨I'm sure you're really confused as to just what the hell is going on, I'd be too in your situation. I'll start from the top.¨ He began, voice still unnervingly mocking.

¨ You see, Avatar Korra, I've kept my eye on you for a fairly long time now. I've heard the tales of your adventures; the Equalist uprising, Harmonic Convergence, that little spat you had with that frilly flower club, even your glorious victory over that shrewd Kuvira girl. I was very impressed, and believe you me, that's saying something. The world has thrown everything it had at you, all the torture, the hardship, the heartbreak. Hell, it even put you in a wheelchair, but even that couldn't stop you. After all that, you're still an agent of balance, a beacon of light in the darkness.¨ Korra could tell from the dim glow of the fire that the man had placed his hands on the table and began to look down at them. ¨But, do you know what it's like to lose the reason for your entire existence?¨ His voice was no longer jovial or mocking, but sad and grieving.

Korra thought back to the day she lost her bending to Amon. She recalled how terrified she was that she could no longer be the avatar if she could only bend one element. ¨Yes, yes I do. It's enough to break a person.¨

The man looked up at Korra, his red eyes shining brightly. ¨You speak of when Amon took your bending away. Your lively hood may have been at risk, but you still had friends, family, a lover. You could have lived a perfectly happy life if you chose to. I speak of a...person. In reality, all I had to live for.¨ He rose from his seat and walked over to Korra's side, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she was powerless to do anything but endure.

¨I lost someone a long time ago, a person who meant everything to me. We were far from friends, though, he he he. You could say we were mortal enemies, but knew each other better than the closest of friends.¨ The reflection obviously put the man in a better mood, as his tone reverted back to the morbidly happy and sadistic one he originally spoke with. Though, what he had to say with such a tone made Korra's skin crawl.

¨I'd try to kill him, he'd beat the crap out of me and put me in a cell at that damn Asylum. I'd break out eventually, each time with a funnier and more complex plan to end him, thinking 'This time, I've got him!'. I'd try to take all the things in his life that he held dear. I crippled his friends, killed the poor, misguided youth that he had taken under his wing. Oh, I remember that so fondly! Jason was so adamant, never once gave in, even after I beat him for HOURS with that crowbar. And then, I left his body behind, so Bat-brain would know exactly what I did and what he could have done to stop me. I was so sure that'd break him! And, best of all, I killed the only woman he ever loved RIGHT IN FRONT of him! Oh ho ho ho, the memories he and I shared!¨

Korra had been completely overtaken by anger. This man, this monster, had obviously done so many terrible, unspeakable things. But, alas, she couldn't so much as lift a finger, and was forced to play the role of the audience in attendance to this evil creature's twisted storytelling.

¨We were destined to repeat that cycle to the end of time, like the darkness fights the light. I was so certain of that. But, no matter who I killed, how many people I scarred, or what unimaginable horrors I had inflicted upon him, he never tried to kill me. He never had the heart, he could never take a life, you see. Not even the life of demented mad-man like me. That was his one rule, and I tried every DAMNED thing I could think of to make him break it. But, even though I tried to kill him at every turn, I never wanted him to actually die. I knew he'd always survive, always beat me. But the fun was in trying! Avatar Korra, we completed each other.¨ He took Korra's face by the chin and turned it to meet his gaze, which was inches away from her. Korra yelped in fear.

¨But, that all changed in one day.¨ His face was now fully illuminated. His pasty white face bore a sadistic, malevolent smile that was outlined in red paint. His hair was a dark green, and blended in with the dark almost perfectly. But, while the paint on his face was drawn into a smile, the man's real lips were in a small sloped frown.

"W...who are you?" Korra whimpered. Not since her battle with Zaheer had she felt so...intimidated.

The man released Korra's chin and walked back around to his seat, where he stood next to his chair.

"I am the Joker, my dear Avatar. THE Joker. For ten long years, I have planned and worked in the shadows, scheming to acquire a new purpose in my depressing life, manipulating every piece in the puzzle to be exactly where I needed it to be." Korra's ears rang as the sound of crackling flames and laughter engulfed her. She looked at her surroundings, and found that she was no longer in Pema's kitchen, but a field of fire. She looked down to find her wooden chair to be replaced by a...throne made of human bones. Then, finally, she looked back up at The Joker. He was a few feet away from her, but on either side of him were two familiar outlines. On his left stood the figure of Zaheer, on the right stood Kuvira, but she could tell nothing more about them.

The Joker walked slowly toward where Korra sat, and the two followed him. As he got closer, her previous arch-enemies' details became clear. Zaheer looked exactly like his corpse had been left as, a hole in his chest that revealed still-functioning lungs and innards, bruises along his stomach and legs, and a missing eye. But, Kuvira was far from what Korra remembered her looking like.

Kuvira wore the same outfit she wore while trying to conquer Republic City, but her pants legs all the way up to her kneecaps were badly tattered, burnt black, along with her actual legs. Her hand had a large, circular hole right through the center of her palm, and her bones were visible through it. But the most ghastly of all, Kuvira's entire face was...gone. What replaced it was a blood-gushing...wound. Her facial muscles contracted and extended visibly, like she was trying to call out to the Avatar. Her nose and lips were completely missing, and her teeth were stagnant, but Korra could swear she looked like she was smiling. The Joker stopped in front of Korra's chair.

"You're not him. I know that. But, see, Batsy was really just as crazy as I am, he just never wanted to admit it, hee he he. So, what we need to do is make you just as crazy as he was! And all it takes is one bad day, Korra. One. Very. BAD. DAY!"

His voice lowered to a whisper, but Korra could hear him plain as day. "I'm going to take everything you love away from you. I'll douse it all in gasoline and make you watch it burn to cinders. I'll kill your friends, I'll kill your enemies, I'll destroy everything, and I'll make your family beg for death by the end of it. With their last breaths on this earth, they'll curse ever having met you. I'll make sure your children suffer."

At the mention of her children, Korra was ablaze with rage, and her eyes soon glowed a burning, bright white. She rose from her chair and began to levitate off of the ground. She reached out to The Joker, aiming to grab his flimsy, evil, MONSTROUS neck and wring it like an animal. The laughter and the ringing in her ears was gone now, replaced by the low hum of unbelievable anger.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY CHILDREN!" Korra roared with animalistic fury.

But, just as she was within an inch of him, he lurched forward, and placed his arm around her back. She was puzzled for a second, then realized what move he had pulled when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

Lodged inside her chest was an ornate Water Tribe dagger. It glowed with a dark, shadowy aura. Her light blue clothes began to flood with crimson, but Korra was frozen, in utter shock at what had just transpired. Color began to fade from her vision. The Joker was looking directly into her eyes while a sinister smirk adorned his lips.

¨Seems I struck a nerve, there.¨ He whispered again. ¨But don't worry, I have nothing but your children's best interests at heart. In fact, I got your little girl, Kara, a present!¨

Korra was barely conscious at this point, only managing to stay up via The Joker's hold on her. ¨S...stay away from my...family.¨ She managed to gasp out. She felt blood filling her lungs, and the light in her eyes began to flicker.

¨Aww, but Korra! It's a really nice gift. I'm sure she'll love it! In fact, its already been delivered. She should be opening it riiiiiight...about...¨ The Joker trailed off.

¨Now.¨

Korra woke up in a panic in her and Asami's bed. She was in a cold sweat, and was gasping for air. She felt like her lungs were on fire, and someone had just submerged her in arctic water. Tears streamed down her face as she raised up to a sitting position, her hands held on to the orange airbender blanket, seemingly for dear life. She pulled up her nightshirt and scanned her chest, thankful to find that there was no stab wound in its center. But, it felt so real, she thought. It couldn't have been a dream. Asami shot up with Korra, and placed her hands on Korra's shoulders, trying to calm her down.

¨Korra! Korra, it's okay! Wha-¨ Asami began to say, but the blood-curdling scream of a child cut her off mid sentence. Instinctively, Korra sprang into action and sprinted out of her and Asami's bedroom and into the hall.

¨Kids' Room!¨ was all Korra shouted back at her surprised wife. As she ran down the hall with all of the living quarters, she could see out of the corner of her eyes Tenzin and his children emerge from their rooms, alert and concerned. They followed Korra's tracks without a word. If Korra was in action, that meant trouble was about.

Although Tenzin and his children were unbelievable airbenders, Korra skyrocketed past them at a blinding speed. She never knew she could go so fast. But, that didn't matter to her right now.

She was the first to enter Kara and Sokka's room. Korra found her daughter at the foot of her bed shaking and screaming continuously, while her forehead and hands were smeared in blood. Sokka was across the room and under his covers, in a similar, but less severe, state to Kara.

Asami skid into the room behind Korra, somehow able to outpace Tenzin's family. She knelt down to Kara and wrapped her in a tight hug and rocked her back and forth.

¨Shh, shh, Kara, baby it's okay, it's okay. Your parent's are here now, it's okay.¨ Asami said in a rather distressed tone. At hearing his mother's voice, Sokka leapt from his bed and joined in on the embrace. Korra just stood silently and still.

Finally, Tenzin and his family arrived behind her, still in their sleepwear.

¨What on earth is going-¨ Tenzin questioned, but stopped as soon as he saw Korra staring at something on the wall.

"Spirits…" He gasped.

Korra and her old master shared a moment of shock and horror as they observed what had been placed above Kara's bed.

Above the head of the bed, nailed to the wall and still dripping with fresh blood, was the disembodied face of Kuvira, nose, cheeks, and all. Its lips had been carved to look like it was smiling, and blood pooled on top of Kara's pillow in a dark, crimson pit.