Sorry you guys. There is no excuse for me to leave y'all hanging this long. I just couldn't find the spark to write. Its kinda back now, so I will struggle on! Tell me if my writing sounds strained.
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Days stretched into weeks, and life moved on for the Avengers and Korra. Clint developed a strong liking for Naga, and found that she made a great mount to ride to the grocery store. This made Pepper happy, because that meant that she no longer had to buy the food. Naga liked it because she got exercise regularly.
Naga also really liked Thor. Thor was big, loud, and didn't break easily. Naga could throw him around like a rag doll and he would laugh that big booming laugh.
Korra was finding that she could fit into the Avengers relatively well, and the Avengers accepted her pretty easily too. Korra found that she could spar with Natasha in martial arts and win. This astounded Tony to no end.
"You kick her-"
"Tony!" Bruce admonished. Tony only grinned like a two year old while Korra howled with laughter. Natasha only glared and gave Tony a well deserved black eye.
Korra also found that science was very interesting. In an I-don't-have-a-clue-what-you-are-talking-about-so-I'll-listen kind of way. Bruce and Tony took samples of her blood, and she let them because she knew that there was nothing different about her, bending was just in her, the way feelings were in most people.
And as for Steve, Steve was just there. He laughed with her, and they would watch old movies together, and he would hug her sometimes, just the way her father used to. One day Tony remarked on it.
"You and the Cap seem to be getting close." Tony smirked.
"Yeah, he's really nice." Korra remarked, gorging herself on the wonder known as Oreos.
"You think there might be something there?" Tony quirked an eyebrow suggestively.
Korra glanced up, caught his expression, and blanched. "Oh Spirits, no! He's like an older brother. That would just be… no way. Yuck."
"Aw, come on Korra—Eep!" Needless to say, Tony stark found himself with no eyebrows for a very long time.
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One night, Korra couldn't sleep. She was tired, but the moon was full and she just had so much energy. She grabbed a candle, and fled to the roof, settling herself at a gravel area that Tony had sectioned off as her earthbending area.
She sat gracefully, and then lit the candle. She then shut her eyes and began to meditate, making the flame flare higher with each breath. Then she began to focus on the earth beneath her as she breathed, feeling every slight tremor. The wind whistled by her, moist from rain in the vicinity. Surrounded by her every element, she felt peaceful. It was quiet, calm, and…. The stone vibrated underneath her ever so slightly.
Footsteps rang through the air, but Korra relaxed as she recognized them. "Why are you up at this hour, Steve?"
A sigh huffed behind her. "Nightmare." A few drops of water fell from the scattered clouds above. Steve settled himself beside her, as more water fell from the sky.
Korra looked up at the suddenly looming clouds. Steve spoke up, "Maybe we should go inside, it looks like it's about to pour." Korra stood and Steve did too, until he saw her stance. She stomped and brought her hands up, raising four low columns of rock. Then she clasped her hands together and formed a boulder, lifting it up and flattening it into a roof. Just then the rain began in earnest. Steve just rolled his eyes at her, before sitting down. The candle flickered on the ground between them, strangely comforting.
"So, Cap, what's your story?" Korra was lounging on the post behind her, letting rainwater trickle through her fingers.
Steve looked at her. "Don't you know? Our stories are in all of our files."
Korra just shook her head. "Not in the ones I read. Fury didn't seem to trust me with the full story, so I only got to read about your abilities."
Steve just frowned in response.
"C'mon Cap, you're what, 30? Natasha's probably younger than you, but I'm the youngest. The small- er, youth? - must band together, spill all your secrets!" Steve just smiled sadly.
"Next to Thor, I'm the oldest one here." Steve let that statement hang in the air, watching Korra's face change from nonchalant to shocked to disbelieving.
"Explain, please."
Steve sighed. "I was part of a program in the 40's, to create super soldiers that could be greater than normal ones. I fought and rescued a lot of people, lost my best friend, and fell in love. But then I had to stop the bad guy. So I, steered a plane full of dangerous bombs away into the Arctic ocean, and no one saw me again. I disappeared, and then almost seventy years later, they found me frozen in ice. I was alive. So they woke me up, threw me into the Avengers, and made me fight. It's still a lot to take in."
Korra watched him become agitated while he spoke, feeling his anger and loss just as clearly as if it were hers. She could sympathize with him, she really could. But at the same time, she couldn't. There was something in her that did, but… Aang.
"I know how you feel."
"No offense Korra, but I don't think you do."
"Yes, I do. The Avatar before me, Aang, felt overburdened by being the Avatar. He ran away, got caught in a storm, and was lost to the world for one hundred years. A war broke out, and when he was discovered by my mentor, Katara, his entire people had been wiped out, an evil guy had taken over the planet, and was trying to kill him. He didn't know how to do anything except airbend, and he was expected to save the world. So, since Aang is a part of me, I do know how you feel."
Steve looked startled at her passionate outburst, but then looked thoughtful as his mind began to spin. Several minutes passed in silence, before a quiet question filled the rainy air. "What happened then? To Aang?"
Korra smiled. "He won. He got a team behind him, learned how to handle the new world, and beat evil. Kinda sounds a lot like you, huh?"
Steve chuckled. "If you say so." He stood up and stretched. He was suddenly tired.
"Why were you out here anyways, Korra?"
"Oh, that." Korra grinned. "It's the full moon. Waterbending is affected by the moon, so it keeps me awake. I just came up here to practice, since I can't sleep."
Steve quirked an eyebrow. "You came to practice fire, on a water night?"
Korra looked sheepish. "What can I say, I'm a girl of contradictions!"
Steve ruffled her hair, yawning. "Time for bed small-fry."
"For you! And who you calling a small-fry, huh? I could take you in a fight!" Steve just shook his head, heading for the stairs. When he left, Korra just stared up at the sky thinking that maybe everyone back home was looking up at the same stars she was. And that was a comforting thought.