Thank BG-13

Mako's POV

The Chief had said she wanted to speak with me before I left for home with Korra as an order from the judge. I already knew I was about to get an earful so I took my time walking to her office. Tenzin stayed with Korra in the courtroom to make sure she didn't try one of her disappearing acts that she loved so much. I went inside Bei Fong's office and she looked really pissed off.

"Before you start yelling at me-"

"Why would I yell at you?" she barked. "You're only defending the girl who killed your brother."

I clenched my jaw at this. "Korra didn't kill Bolin," I snapped.

"If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have gone to that rally."

"I appreciate your concern but I don't think you're being fair with Korra, and that's why you're doing this."

"No," Lin answered. "I'm doing this because I have a witness, along with enough evidence to prosecute that murderer."

"This is Avatar Korra were talking about," I said. "She wrecks fancy cars and gets drunk. She doesn't kill people." She couldn't... Korra was many things, but she was not a murderer.

She scoffed at that. "No, she only uses people," the Earthbender began. "Like she used Bolin and how she's using you. She only asked you to be on this case to get back at me."

"No," I countered. "She asked me to be with her in this trial to get throughto you. You hate the Blue Spirit and Korra and you want more than anything for them to be the same person." Lin didn't say anything, just stared at me. "But Korra wasn't the one who killed Bolin."

"Fine," the Chief barked. "Defend the murderer for all I care."

Asami's POV

When Korra had said she was going to represent herself she hadn't been joking. I had mentally sighed at the sheer stupidity of it all. Korra wasn't an idiot. She knew Bei Fong wanted her head on a platter. So why... That's when I noticed how calm she was. She was waiting for something.

Then Tenzin and Mako had walked in and a knowing twist of the younger woman's lips let me know that her patience had paid off. I shook my head. She'd known. Once again Mako had saved her rear end.

People started to file out till Korra and I were the only ones still in the courtroom. She was still sitting in her chair, feet up on the desk and arms crossed behind her head, eyes closed.

I walked over and sat on the desk next to her feet. She didn't even bother to open her eyes. I closed my eyes and counted to ten, trying to gather my patience. But I just couldn't do it.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I snapped. Korra opened an eye and raised a brow at my tone. "How could you? I mean, argh!" I was beyond frustrated with her.

"Relax, Asami," she said. "I had it all under control."

"Do you know what kind of hell you put your parents through?" I continued. "They were worried sick because they thought their only daughter was going to jail for the rest of her life. I mean, did you like the prison so much you wanted to go back?"

That must have gotten her attention because she was on her feet so fast, jaw clenched and her hands turned into fists at her sides. I could see the anger in her eyes and I immediately regretted what I'd said.

"Korra, I didn't mean-"

"Twenty percent of my body is covered in burns and scars," she said cutting me off.

My eyes widened at this. "I didn't-"

"With that being said, do you think I enjoyed being in that hell hole?" she asked.

"No! Of course not!"

"Then I suggest you keep your mouth shut about things you don't have a clue about." Her eyes were blazing, and her voice held a threat that I didn't want to interpret. Her fists were shaking by her side and I thought she might actually punch me.

I could see I'd stirred up something that was better left untouched, a memory better left forgotten. "Korra." My tone was soft, careful. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just concerned...we all are."

Her shaking stopped after this and her expression softened the tiniest bit. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. When she opened them the fire was gone.

"I'm sorry, Asami," Korra said. And she sounded like she meant it. But I'm not sure that meant anything anymore. "Just don't-" She actually tripped over her words. "-don't ever bring that up again," she said before leaving after Tenzin called her.

I hadn't known. I hadn't known about the scars and burns on her body. Now I knew why she wore that glove, why her clothing was much less revealing than it had been before. In that moment I understood why Korra seemed so distant, so…dead.

My best friend never did come back from that prison. An empty vessel was all that did.

Howl's POV

Korra had asked me to go and see her shortly after she was released from jail. Mako would be her knew body guard for the meantime so I would have a vacation. I knocked on the door and found her on the windowsill, as usual. She was holding the dairy she had showed me and put it away when I came in before standing up.

"Thank you for coming," she said. "Shut the door."

"I guess it was only a matter of time before the police caught up with you," I stated, trying to hide the smugness out of my tone.

She let a small smile appear. "Except they didn't," Korra answered.

I raised a brow. "Korra, there's a witness who saw you right before the jail break."

"I knew that witness was there," she stated. "Just like I knew Bei Fong would find the witness and arrest me. All part of the plan."

I didn't know about that. I raised a skeptic brow. "So you wanted to be arrested?"

"Lets look at this logically." I coughed, trying to hide my laugh. There was no logic at all to what she was doing. "I return to Republic City and a few days later, suddenly, the vigilante appears," the Airbender said. "Sooner or later someone was going to make the connection."

"So what part of serving yourself up to Bei Fong and possibly going to prison for the rest of your life is supposed to help you?"

"There's more to it."

"Well there better be," I snapped. "Because your family is freaking out. Korra, your mother and father just got you back, and now you're going to put them through a trial, maybe even worse? Don't you care?"

"Of course I care," she said. "But the mission comes first."

"And that is?"

"Get everyone off my back," Korra said. I had a feeling she was also referring to me. "Thank you for coming."