反射

Book 1.5: Reflections

Chapter 13: The Avatar Returns: Part III

In the early morning, the bare apartment in the Dragon Flats borough was enveloped in silence, aside from a familiar voice that issued from the radio, her tone wavering with uncertainty.

"Hello, Republic City. I am… Avatar Korra."

There was a clatter as Bolin dropped something in the kitchenette. Mako's eyes widened and he lunged for the volume dial, turning the radio all the way up.

"I know a lot of people have been wondering where I am. All I can say is that I have had some personal issues to deal with. But I look forward to serving as your Avatar once again."

He gazed out the window, across low-rise buildings in the general direction of the city centre. No doubt there was a huge crowd gathered there. No wonder Korra sounded so unsure of herself. But her voice grew steadier as she went on.

"Republic City has fallen out of balance, with a war that threatens to leave this city – and possibly the entire country – scarred and divided. Many of you believe it's because we can't coexist with our neighbours anymore."

Mako listened intently and nodded in agreement. It was common knowledge that, in the aftermath of the Equalist Revolution, benders and non-benders throughout the city were uncomfortable living next to each other. Clear divisions were making themselves known, with some neighbourhoods almost entirely populated with one or the other. The Dragon Flats borough was one of these districts, with a vast majority of its population being non-benders. Mako and his brother often received dirty looks in the streets, as though people thought they were just as bad as the bending triads fighting in the streets.

"I am sorry for not being here for you when you needed me most," Korra continued the press conference, sounding humbled and apologetic. "But this city is my responsibility, and I will not rest until we enter a new era of peace and prosperity."

"This girl is crazy," the firebender muttered.

He had seen firsthand what the Equalists were capable of in the past few weeks. Their attack on City Hall the previous day was hardly their boldest move, and despite what the police were saying, everyone knew the rebels still held a vast portion of the network of tunnels beneath the city.

Korra was only making herself a target again, and he was worried.

Beneath a grey and blue sky, the young Avatar stood behind the podium as she looked out across the crowd in the plaza before City Hall. The people had, for the most part, been silent as she spoke, although she was still being blinded by the intermittent flashes of cameras. Korra glanced sideways at Tenzin, standing off to the side, who gave her a nod and reassured her to continue.

"In a world of hate and violence, we cannot grow," she said, her microphone-amplified voice ringing across the public square. "Standing united is the only future to success – a success I want this city to be a part of."

"The Avatar is back!" a man near the front steps suddenly shouted, glee in his voice. "She will help us rid the city of the Equalists!"

A chorus of cheers rose up at his words.

Korra was shocked, and looked at the man who had spoken. "Please, don't say things like that. I'm not here to 'get rid' of anyone – "

"Amon took my bending away!" he interrupted. "But I don't need it to pay the Equalists back for what they did to us!"

"Yeah!" another cried. "Those terrorist scumbags will wish they'd never been born!"

"No! Please, listen to me – "

However, Korra's voice was drowned out by the shouts of the crowd. She was shocked by what had been said. She knew that people had been looking to her as a beacon of hope, particularly those who had lost their bending to Amon. But now she was expected to threaten violence to anyone who associated themselves with the Equalists?

It was a police state waiting to happen.

Even Tenzin looked stunned.

"Look," she said after a moment, causing the stir in the crowd to quieten down. "Avatar Aang had a dream to found a city that was peaceful and prosperous – one to which the other nations could look for an example. Fighting in the streets is not the answer to our problems. We are all one people, and I know we can work together to restore our city to its former glory." The growing sounds of discontent throughout the crowd unnerved her, but she steeled her resolve. "Please help me, but not with more violence. Thank you."

Her departure from the podium was immediately met with a renewed and dazzling array of flashes from cameras and cacophony of noise, amidst a bombardment of questions hurled by reporters.

"Avatar Korra! What personal issues were you referring to? Will they affect your ability to perform your duty to this city?"

"Excuse me, Avatar! Will you be fighting increasing crime rates and the triad uprising?"

"Avatar! What do you have to say about the rumours that you yourself have had your bending taken away by Amon?"

However, she was quickly guided away into City Hall by a group of police officers. As she crossed the entry foyer with Tenzin toward the ornate staircase, their footsteps echoing across the cavernous room, a voice rang out from the entrance.

"Tenzin. A word, if I may."

The Avatar and her airbender teacher turned to see an elderly and balding man with a short white beard standing there, his large figure shrouded in a regal green, white and yellow tunic.

"Korra, I'd like you to meet Minister Oma," the monk introduced as they crossed the hall to him.

"It is an honour to welcome you back to Republic City," the old man said, he and the teenager bowing respectfully to each other. "I, and the rest of the Provisional Government, offer our heartfelt thanks to you for your help against the Equalists yesterday."

"Oh! Um, thanks…"

"It's my pleasure, and I look forward to working with you," Oma said pleasantly, before his tone abruptly changed. "So, I have sources that say you lost your bending to Amon. Is this true?"

Korra was taken aback by the blunt question. "Well, uh…"

"Where did you hear this from?" Tenzin cut in, his hushed voice echoing across the room. He stole a glance toward a contingent of police officers walking past them, but none of the metalbenders gave any indication to have heard anything.

The Earth Kingdom diplomat laughed good-naturedly. "Why, Tenzin, you should know by now that nothing happens in this city without my knowing about it." He adjusted his monocle as he returned his piercing gaze back to the young Avatar before him. "So it's true then? You've lost your bending?"

"No, she hasn't," the monk cut in firmly. "She can still airbend."

"Hm," his colleague mused, scratching his short white beard thoughtfully. "Well, it's good to hear that our Avatar isn't completely handicapped, then."

Korra winced at his callous words.

"Although I wonder how this… development will affect her ability to perform her duties for the city."

"Being the Avatar is about more than bending all the elements," Tenzin said sharply. "She is the reincarnation of the Avatar spirit, the great bridge between the natural and spirit worlds, and the keeper of balance." He found his mood quickly souring the longer this conversation went on. How dare this man accuse Korra of being anything less, after everything she had done for the city?

Oma waved a hand dismissively. "All very good points, Tenzin, and I agree with you fully." His tone grew grave. "But with what has happened, all we have here now is an airbender with a fancy title. I doubt she will have much of an influence on events here, beyond being a figurehead now."

Korra, who had, up until that point, remained quiet, quickly found her anger boiling over. She already had a volatile temper as it was, and hearing this guy talk about her dismissively, like she was not even there, was wreaking havoc on her self-control.

"Just because I can only airbend does not mean that I am no longer the Avatar!" she snapped, startling the two men. "No matter how many elements I can bend – whether I'm a non-bending Avatar or not – I'm going to do what I can for this city!"

Oma raised his hands in a placating manner, taking a step backward in lieu of being directly in the way of her wrath. "Now, now, Avatar Korra, I meant no offence. But the fact that you can no longer bend all the elements could have consequences for your credibility in civil matters. What you are suggesting is essentially redefining what your title stands for."

He said these words in an effort to make the wild and volatile teenager see reason, but a spark appeared in her turquoise eyes.

"And isn't it time for my title to be redefined?" she asked quietly, her voice low and determined. "The world has changed. The Avatar should change with it."

With that, she turned on her heel and marched away up the stairs. Tenzin gave him an awkward nod before following her, leaving the elderly man alone in the foyer, aside from the occasional police officer, public servants and general passersby.

"A non-bending Avatar…" he mused thoughtfully. "How interesting…"

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity for the young Avatar. Meetings with officials, press conferences, public addresses over the radio. All of this on top of airbending training, early in the morning and late in the evening.

On the third day since the incident outside City Hall, she managed to convince Tenzin to allow her to make peacekeeping visits to a number of districts of the city that were still under Equalist control. Their bases were hidden underground, but the revolutionaries were out there, most likely watching her from darkened windows with binoculars. It was in these boroughs that Korra reached out to the Equalists (deliberately provoking them, some would say), her microphone-amplified voice calling for hostilities throughout the city to cease, and for benders and non-benders to come together.

However, no Equalists ever approached the temporary podiums to accept her offers of peace. In fact, one of her visits brought her to an outer borough of the city – a grim industrial sector, where the highest concentration of known Equalist supporters lived amidst smoggy factories. There, the only responses the Avatar received were jeers from the crowd that had gathered before the podium. A few men and women – turning out to be Equalists dressed in plain clothes – had thrown electrified bolas in her direction, and her escort of metalbending police officers had been forced to act, making several arrests.

Disappointment flared up inside her. Benders wanted her to violently quell all opposition, while the Equalists were rejecting her appeals for peace.

Aang, I need your wisdom…

It was later on that evening, sitting at the edge of a cliff on Air Temple Island where she often came to think, that she found herself calling out to him. The lonely place gave her a beautiful view of Aang Memorial Island, standing watch over the bay. The golden lights of the city glowed in the distance, and the darkened indigo sky was streaked with crimson and pink clouds.

Of course, Aang remained silent.

Trails of tears ran from her eyes as she gazed out across the dark water at the statue. Despite everything she was doing, she was not bringing balance to the city – things were getting worse. Maybe Oma was right. Maybe she had lost all credibility as the Avatar.

Later on, before collapsing onto her bed in sheer exhaustion, Korra vaguely remembered Ikki mentioning that Bolin and Mako had both come by the island (independently of each other) looking for her, but she had missed both of them. However, she fell asleep too quickly to dwell much on it.

The following day, the young Avatar was addressing yet another crowd before City Hall, its main entrance still held up by the makeshift pillar of earthbending. Korra had heard that the police officer responsible had received a medal of bravery for his actions, but that was neither here nor there.

"I know that we can bring this battle for Republic City to a peaceful resolution," she was saying. "We are all one people, and it's time we started acting like it."

"What a load of garbage!" a protester suddenly shouted. "If you're back, then it only means you're here to impose your ideals over non-benders again!"

A considerable size of protestors around him began to scream out abuse. Benders in turn hurled insults back, and it seemed as though another riot was at hand. Police officers converged on the instigator –

"Wait!"

Everyone froze, and turned to look at the podium.

"Don't arrest him," Korra said firmly. "He is entitled to the freedom of speech, as it was stated by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko, during the Harmony Restoration Movement."

The police relented, looking uneasy, while the protestor eyed her with suspicion.

"I'm not here to impose my ideals on anyone," she said, addressing him directly. "I'm your Avatar, too. The Equalists drone on and on, that doesn't make equality! Equality is not making everyone the same. It's accepting everyone who's different. They're asking for people to leave behind their heritage and their ancestors, to make them forget where they came from and why they're here."

There was a murmur throughout the crowd, as people harbouring anti-bending sentiments appeared to be considering her words. Korra was just glad to have removed the fire and oil from a volatile situation.

"Look," she continued, hoping to appeal to everyone present. "Benders and non-benders have coexisted for thousands of years. Allowing this war to escalate could lead to a conflict worse than the Hundred Year War. No one will be safe."

Silence reigned throughout the plaza as everyone – benders and non-benders alike – took in her words with bated breath. Perhaps the anti-bending movement could be appealed to. She sure hoped the Equalists were listening too.

"This is the United Republic of Nations, a place where everyone from all over the world – no matter who you are or where you come from – can live and thrive together, in peace and harmony. We have the power to make this dream a reality, but only together."

Korra stepped down from the podium, signalling the end of press-conference. As the reporters bombarded her with questions, she spared a glance at Tenzin to see him smile encouragingly at her, and nod in approval.

Later on that evening, Korra was practising her airbending forms in the darkened courtyard outside the White Lotus quarters on Air Temple Island, a warm yellow glow emanating from the windows. A radio-set sat on the banister of the front balcony, blaring out the 'Music Hour', when the volume was suddenly muted. The young woman turned in surprise to see her mentor standing behind her.

"Tenzin! Uh, hey. What's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know how well you've handled your responsibilities in the past few days," he said, his eyes shining with pride. "You have matured spiritually and mentally. The way you handled that protestor today only proved how much you've grown. I am so proud of you… Avatar Korra."

Hearing him address her by her full title, for the first time ever, sounded strange, to say the least. But her spirit rose with the words spoken. "Thanks, Tenzin. I couldn't have done it without you."

He smiled warmly at her and switched the radio back on before turning to leave. However, hissing static, as the radio signal was hijacked, drew their attention. After a moment, the noise cleared and gave way to a heavily layered and distorted voice.

"Good evening, Republic City. Tonight, I would like to exchange words with the Avatar, who has so graciously announced her return to our fair city, to uphold peace and balance." Despite the layered and almost-robotic voice, the sarcasm in the speaker's tone was more than obvious.

Korra scowled, while Tenzin looked worried, drawing his red and yellow cloak around himself as a chilling breeze snaked through the air.

"You say that the Equalists create fear and intimidate the public," the voice on the radio continued smoothly. "Can the same not be said for benders? The same people who run the triads, extorting and terrorising the boroughs. The same people who hold positions of power to oppress the lower classes of society. You cannot deny the class division that exists between those who can bend the elements, and those who cannot. The Equalists simply wish to create a city where a person has the same opportunities as everyone else."

A dramatised pause occurred, the spokesperson allowing his words to sink in.

"Prepare yourself, Avatar," he said firmly. "The battle for the hearts and minds of Republic City has only just begun."