Korra knew how to drive. She'd even gotten a lot better at it than when she was younger, enough so that she often drove Asami to functions (or just around the city to relax). But despite that, nothing could quite beat rumbling down the street on Naga's back. The polar-bear dog was a strong and energetic as ever, and the pair were as familiar a sight in Republic City neighborhoods as airbenders in their glider suits. The city was her home and she enjoyed this part of her day. She got to chat with people, get into street games with kids and watch the spirits roam about.
She'd questioned herself now and again over the years. If she'd done the right thing with the portals, or with Kuvira. But in her gut and in her heart she'd known she'd done right, and outings like today only reinforced that.
Naga and Korra weren't alone today. Keeping pace on either side of the Avatar and the polar-bear dog were Naga's two puppies. Barely a year old, they were already bigger than Korra. Ronav was the boy, and his sister was named Ronak, and while they were a handful Korra had experience training polar-bear dogs, and it was paying off.
Mostly.
They suddenly bolted ahead of their mother like a pair of runaway trains. Korra's eyes widened as she caught sight of their target. "Oh no."
She brought Naga to a halt next to the newly overturned sausage cart, and surveyed the carnage. Ronak's head had disappeared into the storage compartment, while Ronav was happily slobbering all over the cart's owner. Sliding off of Naga, Korra held up her hands. "I'm so, so sorry, Ji-hwan. I'll pay for everything."
"That's the second time this month!" He took her offered hand and she pulled him to his feet.
Korra grinned at him. "That's progress, right? Last month it was four times." She grabbed Ronak by the collar and pulled her out of the cart. The polar-bear puppy sat on her haunches, her mouth covered in sausage goo as she flicked her tongue around to try to lap it up.
Ronav looked up at Korra and sat at attention.
Fishing around for some money, Korra shook her head at them. "I just don't get it, you two. What is it about these sausages?"
"They're the best sausages-on-a-stick in town." Ji-hwan brushed himself down, then stuck his thumbs into his suspenders. "And I can't really get better advertising than routinely getting bowled over by the Avatar's puppies."
"Well," Korra said, smiling sheepishly as she handed over a stack of bills. "This is my favorite sausage-cart in Republic City."
Half an hour and one cleaned up sausage-cart later, Korra hopped onto Naga's back. "Okay girl, lets hope that the kids don't get us into any more trouble today." Naga huffed, and looked back at the puppies. She let out a bark and then trotted off, her children close behind with their tails tucked between their legs.
The area around the old downtown had had many buildings brought down in the years after Kuvira's assault. Most of the structures had been too unstable to risk leaving standing, but in their place spirits had settled in new homes amongst vines and wildlands. Smaller buildings still remained, inhabited by both spirits and humans living in mostly harmony. Korra liked to cut through the area, talk to the spirits and the people living there and marvel at the transformation.
The city had grown outward, though in recent years it had started to grow upward again as well. The new downtown had several buildings taller than any that had existed before the new spirit portal, three of which were the tallest in the world, surpassing even the Fire Nation's Roku Tower. They seemed to touch the clouds, and on days like this, the tops were obscured by cloud cover.
Marvels of engineering, Asami had called them. The Future Industries logo hung proudly on the tallest; Bolin had once joked that he thought Varrick was the person who thought size mattered. Asami had thrown her sweater at him.
Korra turned her gaze away from the skyscraper, and guided Naga in the direction of one of the new parks. During the planning stages of the reconstruction, Tenzin had suggested that the city could stand to have more open spaces and he and Asami had worked with the rest of the planners to include a dozen parks. Several were named after the founders of Republic City.
Katara Park was crowded today, and people were chanting. She couldn't make out all the words, but several people were carrying signs. Many of them had the letters SFEBBANB on a background filled with the symbols of the four elements. It looked like a mouthful and it wasn't until she saw a sign with it spelled out that she understood what they meant. Korra sighed and slipped off Naga's back.
"Korra!"
She turned and caught sight of Jinora gliding down from a nearby rooftop. "Jinora! What's going on?"
"Another protest."
"Just a general one or is it something specific this time?"
The airbender folded her arms, looking back towards the crowd. "People are unhappy about that new law the president is trying to push. I've been keeping an eye on these protests for a few months now. "
She ruffled her fingers in Naga's fur. "The registration act? I thought it was pretty fair. It doesn't single out non-benders and benders aren't exempt.
"It's more nuanced than that. But it'll make gatherings like this illegal, among other things. It's pretty sweeping."
Korra studied the crowd. They didn't look violent, and if there was one thing she'd learned was that people needed an outlet and to feel like their voice was being heard. But if people were protesting, it meant something was wrong. Maybe it was time to do the Avatar thing and help find balance. "They're not hurting anyone. There are benders and non-benders protesting together. I'll talk to the president, but she's more stubborn than Raiko was."
"She might listen to you. She's a big fan." Jinora smiled, putting her hand on Korra's arm.
Someone jumped on stage, snatching a bullhorn from the woman who'd organized the protest. He shouted into it. "AMON WAS RIGHT!"
A hush fell over the crowd, and Korra bristled, just before everyone started to shout and push at each other. The organizer tried to grab the bullhorn from the man as he continued to shout in increasing hysterics.
Cursing, Korra said, "I gotta stop this before they prove the President right."
Korra had barely started to move when a Fire Nation woman landed on stage in a ball of flame. She spun around on one leg, shooting fire in an arc towards the man with the bullhorn. He ducked out of the way, only to take a blast of air from the woman's fists.
It was enough to bring Korra to a stand still. An icy feeling worked its way from her stomach to her limbs, and she looked at Jinora. "You saw that, right?"
Jinora nodded mutely.
On stage, the man turned to flee, only for the woman to wrap a tendril of water around his leg and yank him into the air. She flung him out into the crowd, which had once again fallen silent. The woman shifted into an earthbending stance, lifting a chunk of rock overhead. She had chin-length dark hair, and her eyes were the color of the sun at dawn. Her features were angular, with an elegantly pointed chin.
Leaping forward, Korra took control of the rock, lowering it to the ground and moving between the man and woman. "I don't know who you are or how you're doing this, but killing the guy isn't going to accomplish anything."
The woman shifted into a stance the Avatar didn't recognize. "You heard the part where he said Amon was right, didn't you? Maybe we need an Avatar willing to fight for her people." The woman's voice was deep and smokey, with a slight upwards lilt to it.
"Everyone deserves equal treatment. It was Amon's methods that were wrong, not his motivation." Korra could sense Jinora moving into a better position. If they timed this right, they could capture her and figure out what was going on. A lot of the rules had changed with Harmonic Convergence and the opening of the third Spirit Portal. Korra wasn't sure what could happen if more people could suddenly control multiple elements, but she didn't like it.
"You'd think you'd be more in tune with the people." The woman swept her arms towards the crowd, her voice rising. "Discontent has been growing for years. People are unhappy with the spirits. With dictators being let off the hook, with benders and non-benders alike being pushed from their homes by people with too much money."
Korra pointed at the woman. "Kuvira was not let off the hook! She was sentenced fairly in a tribunal!"
Behind her, someone shouted, "She should have been executed!"
"You defended her!"
"We all saw the newsreels from the camps! She's a monster!"
The crowd was pressing close to her, and Korra raised her voice until her throat ached. "No one deserves to be executed! We're better than that!"
"Then why didn't you take away her bending?" The false Avatar's expression was smug as she folded her arms.
In the resulting silence, Korra could hear her heart rush in her ears. "She isn't a danger any more. She's serving a life sentence and was willing to accept that punishment." And Kuvira was just enough like her that losing her bending would shatter her. Korra just couldn't bring herself to do that. It was as good as a death sentence. It hadn't even been something that had occurred to her; Korra didn't think she had it in her to do that to anyone. Not after experiencing it herself. "This isn't about Kuvira. Who or what are you?"
"I'm the future, Avatar Korra. The world doesn't need you any more and soon the day of reckoning will come. Lucky for you, I'm patient." The woman shot out a jet of flame. Korra caught it and harmlessly redirected it, but by the time she'd advanced to the stage, the woman was gone.
People started shouting questions at her. Some shot demands, others hurled insults. She looked around for Jinora, then held her hands up. "Everyone calm down! Please, keep this peaceful! I'm on your side!"
The airbending master landed next to her. "Korra, I've got this. You better go talk to my dad."
"It's been ten years, you think people would be over this by now. And used to the spirits, too."
"Change is hard, Korra."
She smiled ruefully. "Don't I know it."
Asami should have been used to rib crushing hugs by now, but Bolin always managed to surprise her. She hugged him back, then smoothed her blouse down with her hands. "Sorry I'm late. A meeting ran late."
"Don't worry about it!" Bolin waved his hand. "I just got here a few minutes ago, I already ordered the drinks but I couldn't remember if you liked the duck dumplings or the chicken dumplings better so I got us some wraps as an appetizer and ooh how was work?" He plopped down, leaning forward and resting his chin on his fist, a broad smile on his face.
With a laugh, Asami sat down across from him. "I can't give you details in public, but we had a successful test of a new engine. It's going to do to long distance travel what the sato-mobile did for families in Republic City."
"Ooh, that's so exciting! I can't wait to see it!"
"I'll make sure you and your brother get a demonstration later this week," Asami promised. The waiter came by with their drinks and appetizers, and she ordered duck dumplings. Once that was settled, she turned back to her old friend. "How was your trip to Ba Sing Se?"
"Pretty good." Bolin popped a wrap into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully before continuing. "Construction is complete, families start moving in next week."
"It's a wonderful thing you're doing." Asami reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "Affordable homes are sometimes hard to come by for people." A fact that she knew Bolin was intimately familiar with.
"I couldn't have done it without your seed money. Speaking of which…!" Bolin reached into his pocket, and pulled out a billfold. "One last repayment!"
"Bolin, you know you didn't have to pay me back."
"I kind of needed to, Asami. You're my friend, and you've done so much for Mako and me. I didn't want to take advantage." He ripped the check out of the book and held it out. "Go ahead, take it. I'm kind of in the black now."
As Asami took the check, he added, lowering his voice. "That's the right word right?"
Asami tucked the check into her purse. She'd donate it to a charity. "That's the right word. How are you getting along with your accountant?"
"Oh, he's amazing! I still don't know how I found him, but he's just so good at this! I just don't have a head for the numbers, All I really want to do is help people."
"Sometimes, the right person finds the right person," Asami replied neutrally.
"How's Korra? I haven't had the chance to talk to her since I got back."
"Korra is doing fine."
"Oh, there it is."
Asami blinked, raising an eyebrow. "There what is?"
"You get this little smile when you say her name. It's kind of like me with Opal." Bolin demonstrated with the absolutely most dopey, over the top smile he could muster.
It made Asami laugh so hard she had to cover her mouth. "I don't look like that. Seriously, Bolin. She's doing fine. I think she's getting a little stir-crazy though. Helping out at the dam was the most action we've had in a year. I've missed doing that kind of stuff, and I know she has, too."
"When I was in the Earth Republic, there were rumors of a drought in the southeast. People are blaming it on spirits."
Rubbing her chin, Asami replied, "I'll bring it up with her. Might be something we could go check out, if it really is an upset spirit."
"Let me know? I'll drag Mako away from the city if I have to bribe Beifong myself."
"Bolin, Chief Beifong would toss him onto our airship personally if it meant he took a few days off of work."
Bolin's laughter joined hers, and Asami settled back in her chair, smiling at her friend. "I'm glad your back. How are things going between you and Opal?"
The man's face lit up like the spirit portal. "Oh. Oh it's just going great, you know? We had dinner when I got back last night since she couldn't go with me because she had some airbender stuff to do at one of the temples, and it was kind of romantic. Then we fed the turtle ducks, and she proposed, and after that we got sweet rolls from this cart and I ate so much I threw up."
"Uh, back up a little there." Both of Asami's eyebrows had retreated into her hairline. "Opal proposed? ...aren't you already married?"
"Yeah." Bolin waved a hand. "But it was this quick thing and not everyone was there and she wanted to do this vow renewal thing that her mom and dad did last year and then I thought we could do it right this time!"
Asami smiled, reaching over and putting her hand on Bolin's shoulder. "I think that sounds like a great idea, Bolin. I'm behind you one hundred percent!" She laughed when he pumped both of his fists in the air and it reminded her of some of the better times in their lives. When he'd found out she and Korra were dating, or when Opal had proposed to him the first time. It only made a good day even better.
"Asami, you're the best."
"Well, I certainly try." She winked, pushing her hair back over her shoulder. Before she could say anything else, a waiter approached the table.
"Mrs. Sato?"
She turned towards him, still smiling. "How can I help you?"
"There's a call for you. She said she was your assistant and she'd knew you'd be here today. She said it was very urgent."
Asami stood slowly. "I'm sorry about using your phone, but thank you."
"Oh, it's quite all right." The man laughed. "This way."
"I'll be right back."
Bolin gave her a thumbs up, and she turned to follow the waiter into the back. She nodded at the chef and she smiled back. "Ilara, how are you?"
"Pretty good, Mrs. Sato. Did you enjoy your dumplings?"
"Perfect, as always." The situation was too urgent to spend time catching up. Asami smiled apologetically and into the little office where the phone was waiting. She picked it up. "Hello, Jia? What's going on?"
"Ma'am, we need you back at the office as soon as possible." Asami heard papers rustling on the other end. Jia sounded calm, but that didn't mean anything.
The delay sent Asami's stomach into free fall. "What's wrong?"
"The government is suing us."
Asami punched the table, then winced and shook out her hand. "For what?!"
"Anti-competitive practices." Her assistant took a moment to let that sink in, before she dropped the real bomb. "Asami, they want to break Future Industries up."