The newly-assembled posse arrived at Air Temple Island before dawn via rowboats, finally making landfall at the rear face of the island, finding a solemn-faced Tenzin waiting up for them.
Korra couldn't help but rush to Tenzin, capturing him in a bone-crushing hug.
"Thank the spirits you're okay," he whispered into her hair. Jinora and Opal stood behind him, whom she also moved to embrace. Jinora's eyes misted slightly at the sight of her adopted sister in such rough condition. "You should be more careful," she said, not wanting to let her go.
When the moment ended, Korra finally stepped back to introduce their new friends.
"Tenzin, Jinora, Opal. These are the men that saved us. I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for them. This is Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo." Each turtle gave a gesture of acknowledgement as she said their names, ranging from Leonardo's honorable bow to Mikey's crooked smile and finger guns. She noted Opal's smile and hushed laugh at that.
Leo stepped forward, addressing the three Air Nomads. "We are honored to be in your presence, Tenzin. Thank you sincerely for your hospitality." He's so formal, Korra thought.
"Jinora, why don't you and your siblings give our guests the tour?" Her eyes lit up excitedly but faltered a bit as Ikki and Meelo entered.
"Mom, why are there four green men in our house? Are they aliens? Can they air bend?" She emphasized the latter part of her sentence by sending a whoosh around them that stirred the tails of their bandanas.
It was Mikey who approached her in answer. "No airbending friendo, just wicked cool ninja skills!" He whipped out a nunchaku, twirling it expertly for show. Meelo's mouth formed an 'o' at the display, while Mikey glanced to Opal, giving her a small wink as he showed off.
"Come on everyone, we'll show you around!" And with that, the air kids led the four turtles on the very same tour Korra had gotten her first day on Air Temple Island all those years ago.
…
It was midmorning now as Korra sat cross legged before a small pond, tossing bread scraps to the turtle ducks who inhabited it. They were always most active this time of year.
She attempted to hide her surprise as Raphael sat on the other side of the pond, coming to offer the remains of a leftover biscuit from breakfast. He averted his eyes and offered no pleasantries.
"…you liked the tour?" Korra offered, not sure what, if anything she should say to the man. He remained silent, lazily tossing pieces of the crumbly bread into the pond.
"or, not…" she grumbled, returning to her own business.
A long, awkward silence passed before Raph finally spoke.
"You know what I don't get, princess? I don't get how you slept around with a dude as evil as Bishop for so long and had no idea what he was really about."
She narrowed her brows at him, the hostility unexpected. "So what are you saying?"
He huffed. "I'm saying, I think you knew more than you let on. Maybe yer actually okay with all the wicked shit he did. And," he continued, Korra's mouth tightening into a thin, hard line. "I'm also tryin' ta figure out how you let those crazy Purist people commit mass murder when you were right dere. Aren't you supposed to be the savior of the world or somethin'? I'm not impressed."
Korra's rage grew, a widening pit within her. The bread crust between her fingers was smoldering, disintegrating into ashes, the startled turtle ducks paddling away.
"Do you have a fucking problem with me?" She spat, fire crackling in her veins.
Raphael was on his feet now, walking over to her in slow, mocking strides. She instantly rose to the occasion, now up and inches from his face faster than she could register.
"I'm just sayin,'" he continued, voice a low growl. "It ain't addin' up." Korra pressed even further into his personal space, attempting to intimidate him, but he didn't back down an inch. Her mouth was mere inches from his, the two nearly eye level.
"If you want to question the kind of Avatar I am," she shot, each word more heated than the last. "Why don't I show you? Right here, right now."
She did not back down. She did not break eye contact. Her wrath flared as he laughed, close enough to feel the breath on her face.
"You don't need to prove nothin, princess. Why don't you go prove it to the families of all those people you let die, right under your nose."
She let out a full-force growl now, fully intending on jumping him, had it not been for the sweet voice of Jinora breaking her from the trance.
"Hey Korra, I was going to see if you wanted to- oh… what's going on?" she stopped dead in her light footsteps as she witnessed the scene before her. Korra withdrew, receding her temper into that pit it resided in, deep within her, something she would have struggled to do in her younger years.
She turned to the younger woman, face instantly the picture of pleasantry. "Nothing, we were just talking. What did you want to do, Jinora?" Raph looked her up and down, unimpressed, but turned on his heel as he knew this was over for now.
"I was… just going to see if you wanted to play some Airball with Kai and I? Mikey wants to watch." She smiled warmly at her friend. "Of course I would, let's go." As she walked away, she glanced one last look behind her, briefly making eye contact with the hot-tempered terrapin that tested her limits.
…
That night, residents of Air Temple Island rested unbothered in their bedroom chambers, completely unaware of the threat that loomed before them.
A group of thirty-five hooded figures made their way into position, perfectly encompassing every entrance and possible escape route of Air Temple Island, with the precision that could only be acquired from studying the place and its intricacies day in and day out.
They spoke no words to one another, well-rehearsed and lethal. When every one of them arrived to their respective posts, their leader adjusted his dark face coverings and let out a low whistle, signaling them to move.
Six of them moved together in the halls, silent, unsuspecting. They stopped first at Ikki and Jinora's room, the door already cracked. One approached Ikki, pricking her delicate pale skin with a Shirshu venom dart before she could so much as open her eyes. She was awoken from her deep sleep in horror, no time to process or attack before being paralyzed and drug away.
The small group did the same with Meelo and even young Rohan, no commotion made to alert the others. The remaining group members held steady, guarding the exits.
"Almost too easy," one of the men rasped to his partner.
As they carried the silent, petrified air kids out, the leader nailed a small scroll to the wall with a dart.
A few shallow breaths later, the squadron departed on their nearby ship, met with no resistance whatsoever.