It was Korra's fifth night in the new world and in two days she would be starting what the other members of the team called high school. Korra was nervous having never attended a real school before. She had spent most of the morning, with her "guardian" Red Tornado and the combat instructor Black Canary, taking tests to help determine where she would be place.
"Ugh, my brain hurts after all that. Why do I have to attend school anyways? I'm only going to be here for a short time! I should be learning to master airbending or figuring out how to best defeat Amon," she demanded as she tossed down her pencil and handing over the final scantron.
"While I'm certain that mastering the art of airbending is important, the Spirits sent you here to learn and overcome your weaknesses. While you are here you need to blend in. That is why you need to go to school to learn and grow," Red Tornado explained to her. He held out a folder containing her cover identity. As he explained to her earlier the easiest lie is one close to the truth. "You'll need to memorize this identity. We've prepared a history that will explain any slip ups you might make and help cover for you when your struggling to comprehend the world and its tech."
She took the folder with only the slightest hesitation. "Thank you. Okay, whoa I have a last name! Only the richest families or nobles have last names. Korra Tribe, I'm from Juno, Alaska. You kept my birthday the same and lets see I've been homeschooled my whole life and raised in the native ways of the Inuit's, which is why I'm struggling a bit with computers, tech and such. I came here to spend time with my godfather John Smith, you, and attend regular school for awhile to get use to how life in college would be like. Okay, that makes sense. There's some other stuff here, which I'll try to memorize later. Um, thanks again for volunteering to be my guardian."
"It was no trouble at all. I'm very interested in working with you to develop your airbending and exploring the spirituality of the world with you," Red Tornado replied. He could pick up on her body language that she was still unsure about how to talk with him let alone act. He hoped with a bit more time she would open up to him.
"You'll have all weekend to learn about your new identity. The team would be happy to help you out. I'm sure that M'gann and Zantana will be happy to pick out your first day outfit. Right now, it's time to see what you can do exactly and how well you work with others on missions. Go put on your uniform and meet us in the central hub for training," Black Canary told her.
"Yes! Finally I've been getting some action! I'll be there in a few minutes! Come on Naga lets do this!" Naga panted happily. The adults left and she quickly slipped on her probending uniform. Robin and Kid Flash had tweaked it making it bulletproof, reinforcing the fibers so they wouldn't fray and made it lighter for more movement. The Spirits had changed the colors of the uniform. Her faceplate, besides containing a communication device and computer scanner, was blue with the Water Tribe symbol on it. Her arm covers stayed orange, but now had Air Nomad symbols on them. Her front chest plate was red with the Fire Nation symbol while the back was green with the Earth Kingdom's. Her legs were covered in the United Nations symbol. She was literally representing her whole world. She stood in front of the mirror for a few minutes admiring her new look while Naga waited patiently for her to finish primping.
"Come on Naga, time to show what we can do! I can't wait to get to know more the others. I hope I don't embarrass the others too much with my bending!"
Everyone was in costume and was waiting for her. When Korra entered everyone started cheering. The team had bonded rather quickly to their other world guest, even if she was still somewhat intimidated by them. They all looked at her uniform admiring it.
"Girlfriend that is an incredible outfit, it really shows off your figure," Rocket commented earning a blush from the other teen.
"I would think the colors would have clashed, but you pull it off nicely!" Miss Martian said bubbly.
"I hope the improvements we added aren't too difficult to manage. I know your still struggling to get use the idea of wireless technology and computers," Robin said to the girl.
She just waved him off refusing to show any discomfort or unease. "Its fine, I'll figure it out. I just really want to get in some bending right now! I want to show you what I can do and see you guys in action!" Korra exclaimed.
"Okay settle down this is a simple training bout. The Spirits showed us flashbacks of what you can do, but that's not the same as seeing it for it ourselves," Black Canary informed her as she guided the teen onto the sparring floor. "You'll fight two at a time and only use one element. This will help us evaluate your skills and how you mesh with the team. You'll go water, earth, fire, and then air. I know you said you can't airbend, but Red Tornado wants to see how he can help train you. Please try not to destroy the mountain or harm anyone okay?"
"Promise! Naga, you should go sit down over there with Wolf. Try not to bug him to much. Okay who am I battling first?" Korra asked. Aqualad and Zantana took their stances getting ready to attack. Korra switched into her lithe and flexible waterbending stance. She watched them waiting for the attack to begin. She didn't have long to wait.
Aqualad charged with his water bearers and sent a powerful jet of water at Korra. She reached out twisting the water around her, compressing it into thin blades that snapped at Aqualad. He brought up his arms blocking the attack, but thin cuts appeared on his arms causing him to bleed. He nodded at Zantana who nodded.
The female magician grinned knowing she was about to throw Korra for a loop. "It's time to see how you handle my magic. Senolc fo ymra na etaerc!" Dozens of clones of Aqualad and Zantana appeared. They all ran at her;p some of them shooting water at her or using other magic spells to bring her down.
Korra reached out pulling water condensation from the air and flinging ice daggers causing several clones to go poof. She bent and did a half air roll out of Zantana's way taking on her on her on her on a probending stance. Moving her legs in a wide sweep she spread the water out and managed to ice Zantana legs trapping her. Korra was so busy celebrating she didn't see Aqualad sneak up behind and use electricity on her. As she stumbled forwards Zantana cast another spell evaporating all the water. "No water equals no water bending."
A whistle blew signaling an end to the fight. Aqualad helped steady the girl on her feet before offering some praise. "Enough, you did well for your first bout. I'm impressed by how well you control the push and pull of water. You could teach a few things to the Atlantians at the conservatory."
"Okay, time to show you what a speedster and Martian can do. You better bring you're A game because no way can you handle me!"
"Let's not get overconfident Wally. She did manage to nearly bring down the Watchtower with her bending."
Korra rubbed the back of her head embarrassed by her past actions. "Yeah, well I'll be more careful. Shall we begin, because I like to go first!" Korra completely switched from upper body movements to lower body movements. She ripped chunks of rock from the walls levitating them in front of her. She focused compressing the rocks before shooting rock bullets at the two of them.
Kid Flash zoomed out of the way and Miss Martian blocked them with her telekinesis. She them meshed them into a giant ball and sent it back to Korra. Korra stood still letting the rock coming closer until it was inches from her face and stomped hard on the ground. Sparks flew as the training floor was ripped open by columns of earth forming a wall.
Miss Martian flew over the wall and shape shifted into a large snake. Behind her she could hear Kid Flash coming up fast to get her. Taking a firm stance she formed fist and twisted her legs around. The earth shifted and spun around launching Miss Martian into Kid Flash. "Tired of getting your butts kicked?"
"It's not over quite yet. Miss Martian help me out here," Kid Flash said creating a mini tornado. Korra created a rock armor to protect herself only for Miss Martian to take it away by making a suggestion in her mind. The mini tornado hit her sending her flying off the training deck. Naga let out a woof of concern ready to leap over to help her, but Wolf bit her neck holding her down into a submissive position.
Korra wanted to create an earth fissure to bring the two of them down, but one look from Black Canary stopped her dead in her tracks. She instead got ready to firebend against Rocket and Superboy. She didn't even wait for the signal to begin; she just took off running doing a quick succession of fire punches.
Rocket took off in the air and Superboy endured them. He let out a yell as he took a flying leap at her intending to hit her, but Korra started spinning doing several fire kicks. Some of the flames fell towards Miss Martian and the equipment. Rocket used a force bubble to contain the stray flames until they were snuffed. The hovering girl looked at the Avatar upset. "Would you watch what your doing? One stray spark could bring down the whole mountain if you're not careful!"
Korra wanted to retort, but had to move around to avoid Superboy's speedy attacks. Battling superheroes was harder then it looked. She threw up a firewall before compressing it into long fire lashes designed to strike at a distance and cause damage. Superboy powered through grabbing her and holding her tight.
Korra screamed frustrated before taking a few deep breaths and letting loose a roar of flames surprising Superboy. who let her go and stumbled away. Rocket flew in shooting kinetic energy blasts at Korra who countered with a close range fire bomb that Rocket quickly encased to prevent an unwelcome explosion. This fire fight was getting out of hand.
"Korra enough! I fear that if we continue with your firebending you might hurt someone. I'm not saying you don't have control, but you are not yet use to working with people with different abilities that might manipulate your bending in dangerous ways. We can work on it later. Now, its time to see how you handle normal people with weapons while trying to use airbending," Red Tornado told his pupil.
Korra nodded taking a few deep breaths and regaining her control. She brought her arms up close and got ready to dodge. Robin attacked doing a double aerial flip tossing three birdarangs at her. Korra spun around in circles moving around to avoid the attacks. She quickly spun and moved in a zigzag pattern to avoid Artemis's long range arrow attacks. She wasn't fast enough and two arrows grazed her uniform. Artemis put her bow away taking out her crossbow and moved closer to Korra firing.
Korra moved to the right and swung her arms behind and then thrusted them forward trying to create an air blast, but nothing came out. One small arrow missed her by inches and she managed to catch the other one. She then ducked and maneuvered behind both Robin and Artemis as they attempted to kick out her feet or chop her in the chest. She kept moving, but they kept pressing their attack managing to move in and land several strikes on her shoulders, chest, and legs before Robin tossed a gooey capsule binding her feet so Artemis could tie her up with a bolo arrow.
"You don't look so whelemed! You really had the air knocked out of you or did you have it in the first place?" Robin joked. He leaned down to help to free the girl from the goo and bolo.
"Not bad with the dodging, but..." Artemis started to sa
"But what?"
"Its just that it seems, while you have some experience with people using weapons, your not sure how to counter them or make use of them yourself. You could have held onto that arrow dart and got close and stabbed me with it or picked up the birdarang and used it to block or attack. Haven't you ever used a weapon?"
"Not exactly. In the Southern Tribe the men use boomerangs, machetes, and spears. It's not against the rules for women to pick up a weapon in self defense, but the men usually are the warriors. I did experiment a little with a boomerang when I was five because of the stories Master Katara told me about her brother, but then I was to busy training in bending to continue."
"I think that you would benefit greatly from expanding your range of use. From what you told us you don't know how to defend yourself without bending. It's clear that you could fight hand to hand combat if you learned to use your movement in a fight without elements."
Korra looked at the blond lady in surprise. Not use her bending movements to bend? That was absurd.
"You're a strong fighter Korra, but from what we witnessed you react or attack quickly without fully thinking through how to win the battle or deal with the unexpected. You need to learn to think and how to defend yourself without your powers. Also try to control those emotions a bit more," Black Canary pointed out.
Korra bristled, she thought through her fights! Sure a lot of the times it was Mako or Bolin who came up with a strategy, but she could think of things on the fly! As for hand to hand combat or weapons she could learn them fast enough, but her bending was still her main weapon. Besides she had pretty decent control on her emotions. "Thank you, but I'm pretty sure I can pick up on strategizing and emotional control with only a little help."
"Oh, are you snubbing us or are you saying your to all powerful to accept help? Come on no one has to fight by themselves. While you're here your part of our team," Kid Flash said to her. He looked very put off by her words and so did the others.
"He's right you know. If you work with us you can really grow as a person. Team members have to support one another," Rocket said.
"We can do team building exercise later. Right now you'll all tired and need rest. So have some lunch and hang out. M'gann; if you, Connor, and Zantana would be so kind later to give Korra a tour of Happy Harbor and explain more about school it would be greatly appreciated."
"Sure no problem Red, it's going to be fun not kidnapping someone for a tour."
"Yeah whatever. Someone will have to take Wolf out for a run."
"Don't worry about it. We will take both Wolf and Naga out for a run later," Aqualad promised.
"When will get started on my airbending training?" Korra asked hurriedly. She was looking forward to the tour of the town, but at the same time she wanted to get back to training.
"We shall practice later tonight. For now enjoy being a teen."
The next two days went by fast. It was fun to hang out with the girls and Connor. Touring Happy Harbor was a lot less crazy then her first day at Republic City. Probably because she had tour guides. She opened up a bit asking more questions about Satomobiles, or cars as they were called here, or how to replicate things like TV and music devices. She absolutely adored them. At an Internet café, Connor helped her practice using a computer and how to navigate the Internet, before the girls dragged her off to the mall before heading home. When they got back Korra and Connor had to break up a mock fight between their respectful animals.
Finally Monday came and Korra was eyeing herself nervously in the mirror. M'gann had picked out her outfit and assured her she looked great, but she was still scared. She was wearing a navy blue sweater with a white belt and black pants. Her regular boots had been switched with some sneakers and woolly socks. She also put in some simple studs because Zantana had convinced her to get her ears pierced. She also applied some light make up as the mage had instructed. She grabbed her backpack and met with Red Tornado who had had transferred a portion of his consciousness into his John Smith body.
He put a supportive hand on her shoulder looking at her with some pride. "Are you ready to go my dear? We still have to finish registering you and pick up your class schedule. We managed to get you into a few classes with the others to help you out."
"Yeah, I'm ready I think. I haven't been this nervous before. High school should be an interesting experience. What's that in your hands? Is it a present?" Korra asked uncertainly noticing the blue and white blinking device for the first time. She suddenly realized what it was and took a step back conjuring a flame. "No way! You're not putting that on me! I thought that you trusted me enough to control my bending without revealing myself!"
"Korra, this is a precaution only. You instinctively bend to protect yourself. The Batman and the others after watching video of your training session, think it's necessary because you might accidentally hurt someone in the heat of a moment. The collar can be taken off at anytime if there's trouble, but I would think hard about it before doing that. Please, this is an order."
Sighing in defeat she allowed him to put the disguised collar on. It wasn't like when the chi blockers struck her. She could still vaguely feel her bending, just couldn't access it. Without further complaints she allowed Red Tornado to escort her to school, where after meeting with the principle and getting her locker and schedule, she headed to homeroom with the others.
Korra was nervous after Mr. Carr introduced her and asked her to say a few words. She barely managed to remember her cover identity once in the spotlight. Good thing she didn't have to leave the classroom. Her first class was World Events with Carr. As she took out her notebook and pencil she glanced around at the others hoping they couldn't tell how scared she was.
"Don't worry so much Korra. You'll be fine," M'gann whispered in her mind. At least this time she didn't freak out like the first time M'gann had used her telepathy. She concentrated on Mr. Carr as he was attempting to compare the American and French Revolution to the actions of both Egypt and Libya's recent overthrowing of their dictator regimes.
"As we've seen history is filled with incidents where people are willing to use different methods to overcome inequalities. Both the American and French revolutions dealt with issues of unfair representation, oppressive governments, along with issues dealing with everyday life and human rights. During the American Revolution the colonists were fighting for the right to make their own decisions to rule their states and manage the political affairs without having to deal with England micromanaging their lives."
" In the case of the French Revolution there were serious issues such a mass hunger, financial hardship, and the indifference of the royal monarchs who didn't care about the lower classes. During the course of each revolution the citizens would use both diplomatic actions and violent riots to help further their cause which eventually lead to the modernization of both America and France. While these events have major difference including the role of woman, conflicts, and relationships with other countries, the main point is that political change was radically brought about by small groups who joined in a common cause to bring about change."
"But Mr. Carr, are such revolutions or civil resistance necessary? Shouldn't the people trust their governments to help lead and protect them? I mean I understand change is necessary, but all war and violence seems to do is cause more problems correct? How can anyone find balance that way?" Korra spoke up. She instantly regretted it as everyone was looking at her strangely. She had forgotten to raise her hand just blurting out her opinion.
"So normal citizens should suffer under governments that don't have the people's best interest in mind?" Marvin replied, challenging her from his desk a row over.
"She does bring up a good point. Surely there are other ways to bring about change without causing so much bloodshed," Wendy pointed out from her seat next to him.
"Actually all three of you make good points. While revolutions cause upheaval and chaos, sometimes they are necessary to help with the suffering of a country. Many times before revolutions reach the stage of mass mobs and violence group leaders try to air their grievances or find other ways to bring about change. In the case of Egypt's revolution last year was brought about only after the Kefeya movement for democratic reform and civil liberties failed to result in changes that would help end some of Egypt's political problems within its country as well as foreign relationships. "
"Similarly, the inspired revolution in its neighboring country of Libya resulted in a final climax to its civil war that eventually lead to them being sanction by the UN. Only after the fighting and old regime had been destroyed did we send in help to get the country back on track."
"These revolutions all have similarities and differences, but the main point is that people attempted to avoid bloodshed by trying non violent methods. For the next two weeks I would like you to partner with someone in the class and analyze a specific revolution or war. Explain what the groups were fighting for and what they hoped to change. The roles of major parties as well gender involvement and explain other methods that might have been implemented to avoid the death toll."
Naturally Zantana decided to be Korra's partner, who was finding it hard to believe that it was a coincidence that the topic in this class was revolutions.
The rest of the day was filled with analogous topics. In second period English Lit, the teacher told the class they would be reading modern young adult fiction to understand how classic writing techniques and plot ideas evolved. She also asked for them to pick genres they weren't usually drawn to see how it impacted their thinking. Third period was gym and Korra was suddenly glad she was collared. While she was warming up several girl said nasty things about her upbringing calling her a little savage and stupid because she didn't even know about badminton. At least Connor was there to stop her from trying to beat up the girls and get detention. At least fourth period natural science was fun. She was fascinated by the lector on magnetism, electricity, and sound waves.
Fifth period was divided in three slots for rotating lunch. She had C lunch with the rest of the gang, but in the meantime she was struggling in remedial math trying to make sense of Algebra II. It was a real struggle for someone who hadn't learned anything beyond the basics and few things about percentages and fractions. Still she strove to be the best. At least sixth period Health wasn't to squeamish learning about the basic hygiene and first aid. Her last period class was her only elective and she had chosen sociology to learn more about understanding groups in general.
Naga and Wolf were having a contest to see who was better when the kids arrived back at home. Naga raced over and pinned Korra down licking her face. She woofed in delight seeing her after she'd been gone for so long. "Hey girl, how are you? Did you have fun today playing Wolf? Oh I bet you did! Did they remember to take you out for a run? Maybe we could go for a quick run in the forest! You like that wouldn't you wouldn't you girl?"
"Woof!" Naga wagged her massive tail, eager to get out of this mountain and back under the sky. But Red Tornado put a damper in those plans. He told Korra she would have to first do her homework before she could play. He also reminded her after dinner he wanted her to join him for mediation. Korra made a face, but was happy to take off the collar. M'gann whipped up some snacks and soon the girls were giggling as they did their homework and Connor watched static. Later she took a long run in the forest with Naga remembering to stay out of sight and after dinner she joined Red Tornado in his quarters where they sat in silence for an hour meditating only to have Korra fall asleep halfway through it.
The next two days were the same routine. Korra was slowly easing into school although she was still struggling to understand the cliques and where she fit in. Homework was harder then she thought and she found herself spending time in Mt. Justice Library a lot just to make sense of what was being assigned to her. Both she and Naga were getting restless for some action, not enjoying being cooped up or that Red Tornado hadn't started teaching her the physical bending yet. But Thursday afternoon that all changed!
Korra was working with M'gann on her math in the living area. Naga was sleeping next to her. Korra was in incredibly frustrated that she still wasn't getting which steps she had to take to solve for x or y. "I don't understand why you use letters instead of numbers to solve these problems. In my world the highest math we usually use is percentages I guess. No one's gone beyond that. At least, I don't think so. Ugh schoolwork was never my forte."
"Its complicated I agree, but inventing or discovering new techniques to solving problems is important. Math, even algebra, can help you in real life solve unique issues."
Connor and Wolf entered the living space with a serious look on his face. "Finally I found you two. Batman has a mission for us. Korra, you better suit up quick and bring Naga along. We might have use for her."
She did a fire enhanced fist pump. "Yes, finally some action! Oh sorry M'gann I forgot about your aversion to fire. Come on Naga, let's hurry." Ten minutes later the whole team was assembled in the central hub. Batman was looking over some data on the computer with Red Tornado. Standing nearby was Red Arrow who was giving her a weird look. Korra was still trying to grasp the fact that in a way he was like her. He was a copy of someone, but he was also a reincarnation of someone in a way. Artemis gave her a nudge so she stood at attention quickly trying to best ignore the way he effected her feelings.
"Batman, what's going on? Has the League made any progress on solving the mystery of the missing sixteen hours or what the Light's next move is?" Robin asked anxiously.
"So far the League has been unable to determine what the Light's plan is. All member of the Light, including the public figure ones such as Lex Luther and Queen Bee, have disappeared from the limelight. At the moment the League is divided with certain members handling normal affairs while the rest are tracking down criminal leads that might help us out. Both Green Lanterns are off planet at the moment. Hal is patrolling the rest of his sector asking questions about the transfer of Apocalyptical tech and John is heading to Oa to find out if Savage somehow might have sent us off world."
"So what is it that you want us to do?" Aqualad asked serious as ever.
"Red Arrow recently got a lead from a former member of the Light's forces whose turned double agent. Cheshire has discovered that Lady Shiva, a high ranking member of the League of Shadows, is holding a recruitment drive to find replacement members for the Light's operations. The meeting will be taking place in club in the Bronx. We need the team to get into that meeting and identify who the possible recruits are and if they are willing to join."
"We also have reason to believe that since Lady Shiva is acting on the behalf of her Light master Ra's a Ghul, she must have a way to communicate with him, as well as access to the Light's mainframe. A small team will need to find that communication hub and hack into it so we can track the members as well as copy any data that might help. Cheshire said it was possible that data pertaining to the location of Speedy might be found in the mainframe," Red Tornado explained.
"So Speedy might still be alive?" Kid Flash interjected. The whole team smiled at that thought.
"Cheshire found evidence that support this and the League collaborated after an intense investigation of Cadmus operations. I'm going with you on this mission as League liaison as well as an expert on information with the Light's resources. This is a covert operation we get in and out quickly without any trouble. Do you think you can handle working with us Avatar?" He asked the newest member, looking at her with such intensity.
"Hey, I was on a task force that captured Equalists. I think I can handle a mission," Avatar assured them. The team was dispatched and they were heading off on the bioship. Avatar and Naga were enjoying the flight and Rocket gave her a smile understanding how she felt about being in the air.
Aqualad turned to face the team. "We'll be dividing into groups to achieve all our objectives. Zantana, Artemis, Rocket, and Miss Martian will infiltrate the meeting by replacing some of the workers at the club. Be on your guard at all times and be ready to pull out at a moments notice. Don't be identified by the targets. Superboy and I, along with Wolf and Naga, will patrol outside keeping an eye on whose coming and going. The rest of you will look for the command center and achieve the rest of our objectives. Avatar, please remember that there are civilians so don't use bending that's too destructive. Everyone understand? Miss Martian, link us up."
The mission was going according to plan. The girls managed to knock out four waitress and Zantana cast an illusion spell to hide their appearances while Miss Martian just shape shifted. They entered the club and started serving the customers while keeping an eye out for trouble.
"Aqualad were in. Zantana and I have spotted Lady Shiva. She's heading for the VIP room," Miss Martian reported in.
"Is there anyway for you to infiltrate the meeting without being discovered?" Aqualad asked. He was riding Naga patrolling the nearby rooftops.
"Artemis and I have managed to get in. It's quite the crowd of female power. I see Aquamarie, Golden Glider, and even Morgan Le Fay! These girls are major trouble."
"Yeah and Silver Banshee, Giganta, and Cheetah are major powerhouses. They've gone up against Wonder Woman and Superman as equals nearly taking their heads off. Lady Shiva is really trying to sell them on joining as Light lieutenants. Morgan is bit of a hold out and Aquamarie is resistant, but Lady Shiva is being quite persuasive."
"If those ladies join up with the Light then we're looking at a whole new game," Superboy remarked.
"Robin, Red Arrow, how are you doing on your end?"
"We're going as fast as we can, but they've upgraded their firewalls. It's going to take a little while. Trying to get into the communication network might be impossible," Robin told them.
"You better hurry, I think someone's coming up here to check on why the guys haven't responded," Kid Flash warned.
"Avatar and I will handle it. Just complete the objective and get that data!" Red Arrow insisted.
Red Arrow and Avatar moved into the corridor. Red Arrow notched two knock out arrows and Avatar got ready to use some water whips she managed to pull together from the nearby pipes. Her heart was pounding as the footsteps got closer. "Don't attack until they're right on top of us," Red Arrow hissed.
"Don't worry I'm not going to mess this up." Four guards along with a few Shadows entered the corridor. Without waiting for Red Arrow to knock them out she attacked. Her whips knocked their guns right of their hands. She pulled back her whips solidifying them into ice disks that she sent flying at the guards only for them to shatter with a single punch.
Red Arrow knocked her into a thin alcove firing his arrows. The gas started spreading, and the guards were starting to drop, but the Shadows had filters. Red Arrow blocked them with his bow and shoved them back. He launched several arrows nicking their uniforms as they shaved his arrows apart. Kid Flash zoomed into help creating mini tornados. Avatar's faceplate flashed warning her of an incoming attack.
She used fire daggers to partially melt the Shadows sword. Rushing in she ducked under two attacks spinning around to use thin fire blades to take out several Shadows. Seeing two guards get up she pulled out some sheet rock and jumped on top of it and kicked it into the stomach of her foes. She brought up a shelter to protect herself from the bullets, not realizing that all her bending had caused the building to become unstable.
Robin had barely managed to hack the communication hub and was forced to abort a full download of data to avoid being hit by blazing roof pieces falling towards him. He tossed a few smoke bombs trying to smoother the flames, but the building began to shake. "What's going on? The building is coming apart at the seams!""
"Avatar's bending has shaken the foundation and caused the building to catch on fire. She must have fractured the water pipes because the sprinklers are barely working!" Artemis shouted.
"Aquamarie and Le Fay are using their powers to help the villains escape! Should I pursue them?" Rocket demanded.
"Negative, evacuate the club. Get the patrons and workers out of the building. Superboy and I are moving in to help with the evacuation. Miss Martian, see if you can use your telekinesis to hold the building up. Avatar, if you have any water left try to put out the flames!"
"Understood Aqualad, sorry about this. Red Arrow, Kid Flash you better get the bad guys out of here. I'll handle putting out the flames!" Avatar told them.
"We're not leaving you here. We're going to try and help you undo your mess," Kid Flash told her.
Avatar nodded and focused pulling the water up from the pipes and nearby sources creating a mini water spout. Kid Flash ran at her transferring the water to himself and racing all over trying to dose the flames. Avatar did the same thing and then pulled together more earth trying to stabilize the building while Red Arrow got the bad guys out. As the last patron got out Naga raced up and scooped Avatar up barely managing to get her out before the building partially collapsed. Emergency personal were moving in to help, but the villains and their captives had escaped. It was not a good end to the mission.
Later at the debriefing Korra was looking down at the ground clenching her fists. She was so angry that she had messed up so badly. Why hadn't she remembered to be more careful? She was jarred out of her thinking by Batman's stern voice. "Um yes, sorry what did you say?"
"Avatar Korra, you were warned to be more conscious about your bending while on the mission. Your faceplate computer gave you amble warnings and suggestions of how to use your abilities without compromising safety and the mission. Red Arrow instructed you to wait until after he took care of the first attack and you didn't listen. Your disobedience will not be tolerated. As of now your on probation and forbidden to go on any missions or leave the Cave without permission."
"You can't be serious! I know I screwed up, but I fixed the situation didn't I? The building is still partially standing and I helped put on the fire! I can be more careful. You just can't just ground me. I'm supposed to be here learning stuff and being stuck here is not helping!"
"Korra what are you doing? You don't yell at Batman. You don't yell at any member of the League!" Robin told her, but Korra wasn't listening.
"It's my destiny to keep balance not stay on the sidelines. If I was back home my friends would have made sure that nothing bad happened. Maybe if I was partnered with someone who could support my abilities then this wouldn't have happened."
Red Arrow's eyes narrowed and he strolled over to her standing right in front of her and gave her a look that made her shiver. "You're being rude, ignorant, and egotistical. I don't know how your friends put up with someone who thinks her title and abilities can exempt her from punishment. If I were you I would zip it and accept my punishment instead of acting like an immature brat!"
Korra was ready to hit him when Red Tornado separated the two. "Miss Korra, I would like to have a private word with you in my quarters. Batman, I will handle Korra's punishment. Korra," Red Tornado gently lifted her up into his quarters and had her sit down on a chair. She had never really looked around his quarters before, but now she saw little knickknacks and a few photos of older heroes and him and his team.
"So are you going to collar me and lock me in my room? I'm sorry I back talked, but I was just so frustrated that I messed up and then everyone was trying to put me down and I reacted poorly…"
"Miss Korra, if you would be quite a moment I have something I want to show you. Do you know who this is?" Red Tornado asked showing her a photo. It was him and a very sick man in a hospital bed. She shook her head confused.
"That is my father, T.O. Morrow. He's very ill and near death now, but when he first created me he wanted me to infiltrate the Justice Society and use my abilities to take them down. That was my destiny, and because I had little understanding of my emotional responses, I had great difficulty interacting with the Justice Society. I messed up a few times and nearly did what my father wanted me because I thought it was my destiny. I let him tell me what to do. Sound familiar?"
"Yeah, I told Master Katara I wanted to follow my own path, but I guess looking back I did let others dictate my actions. I let my emotions control me instead of trying to understand them. So, what happened? Did you carry out the destiny your father wanted?"
"No, my friends in the Justice Society, they discovered my mandate and instead of shutting me down they helped me overcome it. I became a hero and my own person because I let them help me. Since then I too have been on a spiritual path trying to overcome my weaknesses and become a better person. Korra, the Spirits sent you here not as a punishment, but as a gift. You have chance not only to better yourself, but learn to overcome your shortcoming and grow into your role. All you have to do is admit you have problems and let others help you. Do you understand?"
Korra was quite for awhile thinking over his words. Finally she spoke, "You're right, I was just having trouble admitting it because I don't like talking about what scares me. You're world is so amazing and as tough as it has been I'm really starting to learn no see what could be possible for my own if I would just change a bit. I want to be better, but I don't want to be weak either. I haven't really given the team or the League a chance to help me, but I will now Master Tornado. Will you give me another chance?"
"Why don't we ask the team that?" Korra spun around surprised to see the team and Red Arrow behind her giving her smiles of encouragement. They had heard everything. Korra got up and bowed in apology. "You have been wonderful friends and I haven't been fair with you. I know I have difficulty controlling my emotions and I'm not as open minded as I thought. If I had thought through my actions more clearly, or even just used my skills without bending or a weapon, the mission might not have been a failure. I want your help so I can be a better avatar. Will you help me?"
"Of course all you had to do was ask. The girls and I would love to have chats with you. We'll help you sort out your emotions and learn to act more like a teen," Zantana assured her.
"Hey, we can help you with your homework and show you our homes and the world. You need to see the good, bad, and in between if you want to connect with the world. By the time you go home you'll be so smart and open minded I bet you could teach a class on it!" Wally said.
We'd be honored to help you hone your fighting prowess and I'm sure we could find a weapon for your use. If you want to work on your bending to improve it or develop the sub skills we'd be honored to help you as well," Kaldur told her.
"So are you willing to give us a chance?" Connor asked.
"Only if you're willing to give me a second chance."
"Then to new beginnings and better friendships." Everyone cheered and hugged. Korra was so happy and finally ready to enter into her real learning curve on the path to being a better Avatar.