AUTHOR'S NOTES: Korra's amazing plan from chapter 34 finally kicks off. Also, Tahno returns. Now, I don't think he's a huge unredeemable douchebag or anything; the way I see it he's just very egotistical and extremely competitive, and since Korra is one of the few that can not only hold her own against him and his team, but also soundly whip him into submission, he's got a rivalry with her, hence their mad smacktalk. Ultimately however, I don't think they actually harbour any ill will towards each other beyond Probending defeats or the like. Just my thoughts, at least.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: THE AVATAR GAUNTLET
Korra actually managed to wake up (relatively) early the next morning, and wasted no time in rushing to the Probending Arena to make sure she was still in the clear for the afternoon's events. Her knowledge of the streets of Republic City was still lacking, but it was improving insomuch that she only took three wrong turns and managed to correct them. Despite these holdups, she still made it to the arena in time.
"Ah, Avatar," Butakha smiled as Korra finally found him, "I almost thought you wouldn't show up and that we'd have to cancel. It's a relief for both of our sakes that you showed."
"Had a little altercation a couple nights ago that drained me," Korra was still a little short on breath from running, "Chief of Police got involved, there was a huge fire, it was pretty cool actually. Don't worry though; I'm raring to go."
"So I can see," The balding businessman put his hands together. "I'm honestly impressed you managed to wake up at all before 11."
"Normally I wouldn't," Korra flat-out admitted, "The morning is evil. I had to come a little early this time though; you had me at 11 instead of 12 for some reason?"
"Just a few formalities," Butakha explained, "See, when you and the Prison Breakers showed up last time, the buzz around the city that the Avatar had returned was all the rage for weeks. But then you vanished again, and have only surfaced sporadically since then. I figured if you planned on making this event of yours a regular occurrence, that you were here to stay for real this time—at least for a while."
"That's the plan," Korra nodded, "If I can keep steady employment I won't need to wander off and pick fights with people across the Earth Kingdom and the old Air Nomad Realms."
"Magnificent!" Butakha beamed, "I don't know if you've seen your lineup, but one of the benefits of my additional planning time was really reaching out and putting your name out there. I think a lot of people didn't even believe me when I said the Avatar would be here."
"Well here I am, in all my awesome glory," Korra put on a smug grin and flexed. "I'm ready to rock a few faces off and earn some cash."
To her delight, the time was close approaching. Butakha had decided to make it something of a public affair, with news reporters and everything there to ask the recently returned Avatar questions. For how many times she had appeared in Republic City, it seemed that ultimately, very few people recognized her unless they had seen her in action. Perhaps this was how Nakkoa and Kwan were able to lay low for so long, despite being notorious criminals. If even the Avatar, a renowned public figure, could stay hidden for so long, how much easier would it be for two sleeper agents to slip under the watchful eyes of the citizenry?
She shook the thoughts aside for now and took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she focused. This was going to be an exciting day, and as she checked herself out in her one-of-a-kind probending uniform, she couldn't help but admire it. It was black and silver, with rich purple accents where the orange, blue, or green accents would be on a normal probender's attire. Since she was the Avatar and didn't want to have all three colours, she chose a new one.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Shiro Shinobi announced as the seats began to fill up for the event, "after nearly two years of disappearing from the face of Republic City, the Avatar has resurfaced, and this time, she's going to try her hand at this game by her lonesome. As a master of four elements in one, she's got the gusto and thinks she can take on the best of the best in Republic City's favourite pastime! Will her claims ring true, or will some of her competitors dethrone her before her winning streak even begins?"
"Avatar Korra," a reporter got her attention, "Word has it that you were partially responsible for this innovative new game idea! Are these rumours true?"
"You're damn right they are!" Korra beamed, "I thought to myself, 'hey, I'm a master of four elements… if I can't get myself a probending team, I'll go and be my own Probending team!' and so here I am: your new Avatar!"
This was met with applause as she was asked another question by another reporter.
"The story of your altercation with the Triple Threat Triads has been all over the news the last few days," Korra made a mental note to read the paper more often as the reporter looked Korra in the eyes, "Are you trying to send a message to them?"
"Sort of," Korra admitted, scratching her head, "They don't own this city, and I think the citizens of Republic City should be able to go where they please without having to worry about shakedowns and violence from these hoodlums!" She had contemplated talking about dealing with them herself, but after dealing with Lin and her 'metalbending training', she reconsidered right away.
"So what brings you to Republic City?" This was a wide enough question that Korra planned to cover all points in a spur-of-the-moment speech here and now.
"Republic City is a glorious land of opportunity," Korra began, "A shimmering metropolis of entertainment and excitement…" She stammered, only for a brief moment, as a momentary glimpse of Nakkoa rushing her surged through her mind. She cleared her throat.
"And I personally think that rather than being exalted beyond my station," she continued, "that I should be seen as an equal. At the end of the day, I might still be the Avatar, but the Avatar is also only human. I mean, I'm only 17 years old for crying out loud, and despite my share of wild adventures, I want to connect with people from all walks of life. Heck, my best friend is a nonbender, and so let it not be said that they would get left out either! Bender or not, I look forward to serving you, citizens of Republic City!"
She was met with a round of applause before she continued. "And in a few minutes, I look forward to providing some damn near top-notch entertainment for you, in the form of… what did Mr. Shinobi call it?" she paused for a split-second, mostly for effect, "Right—Republic City's Favourite Pastime! Now, who's ready to watch some high-octane Probending Action!?"
Her last remarks had been unexpected but not unwelcome. Korra was bold and much more charismatic than she gave herself credit for. She was unaware of it, but Asami Sato had appeared in the stands, cheering and applauding Korra from one of the best seats in the house. She didn't want to draw Korra's attention to her, because she felt like Korra was exactly the type of person that would get distracted (and was unknowingly correct).
As the preparations were made for the initial game, however, there were still many people across the city that were tuning in through the radio. Among these, in some far corner of the city, were a group of the same masked men and women that had run into Korra a few times over the last few years. A mustachioed man shut the radio off, and turned to a man behind him.
"Amon," he spoke, "How do you wish to handle this?"
"So the Avatar has returned at last and wishes to settle down," a man in a white and red mask spoke with a level of vindictive confidence not unlike Korra's, "Don't worry Lieutenant. This simply means that we'll have to accelerate our plans."
Korra's pride was fuelled spectacularly that afternoon, proving that her braggadocio was backed by actual talent. She did not use airbending as an attack, but she was permitted to use it to bolster her already frightening speed as long as she remained in her appropriate zone. This agility was paired with legions of flips, spins, and tornado kicks, to the point where Korra's feet spent more time in the air than on the ground. Considering that Korra revelled in these abilities, she was having the time of her life. Being able to sling fireballs and earth coins alongside her bolts of water made her feel right at home.
"Four rounds in and the Avatar is so far untouchable!" Shiro announced, "Teams from all walks of life are trying their hands, but it seems the wily teen is just a bit too fast for them to actually strike her! How much stamina does she have, and what's the extent of her abilities? With this current relentless winning streak, we may never know!"
There were breaks and downtimes between sessions to let players (and Korra) catch her breath, get a drink or a bite to eat, and rest up a little bit, and during one of said downtimes, Asami met her down in one of the break rooms.
"Asami!" Korra's face lit up as rose to her feet. She had taken off her uniform and was bare-armed and barefooted, her messy hair hanging over one of her eyes. "Glad you made it!"
"You're doing incredible," Asami put her arms around Korra. "Untouchable by the sound of it."
"You're the first one that's touched me in a couple hours," Korra teased. "I plan on keeping that way at least till I get past the amateurs."
"I'll be cheering for you," Asami stole a kiss on the cheek. Korra was in love—make no mistake about it, but whether it was coincidence or just subconscious awareness, neither of them seemed to want their first 'official' kiss to be just anywhere. What occasion they were saving it for, however, remained to be seen.
Korra put her uniform back on, finishing the look with her purple-colored belt, and a helmet with a similar colored stripe down the middle. In a way it reminded Korra of just how one-of-a-kind she was, what with being the Avatar and all.
Her versatility and even her volatility served her well in the arena, almost as if the little Avatar was born for pit fighting. Her lightning-swift reflexes and reaction times had her evading most attacks, and her nimble airbending-style dodges kept her in the game much longer than normal. Her airbending itself was a very renegade style considering that she was essentially self-taught, but even then she wished that she could use it without breaking the rules. Alas, some things had to be sacrificed in the spirit of competition.
Korra also couldn't help but feel vindicated and downright smug to the point of being punchable every time she looked at the large scoreboard. On one side of the scoreboard was the word "Challengers", while the other read "Avatar Korra" and had a stylized cartoonish image of her grinning comically. Her vulgar displays of power that she performed after every victory remained, but the one she had performed when she had been on a team with Nakkoa and Kwan was still the most glorious of these—almost as if Korra restrained herself out of respect for Kwan. Her feelings regarding Nakkoa were still terribly conflicted, and instead of trying to sort them out, Korra merely buried them and focused on the situation at hand—winning this gauntlet.
The gauntlet for the day was a total of 21 rounds, and Korra went the first 8 of them without even getting hit, and was only knocked back one or two zones in a total of seven matches. There would be more teams next time, (and likely returning competitors from today) but Korra still felt a personal sense of vindication from seeing her final opponents—the White Falls Wolfbats.
"You ready to count to 37, Tahno?" Korra leered.
"Hmm, before the Uhvatar goes for her first little swim?" Tahno retorted.
"The way you bicker almost makes it sound like you have a crush on me." Korra riposted with an idiotic smirk plastered across her face.
"Everyone loves the Uhvatar," Tahno flipped his hair, "But you know what I smell in here?"
"Let me guess," Korra jeered, "the smell of losers?"
"No, actually," Tahno caught Korra off-guard, "It smells like…" his nostrils flared for a moment as if he was sniffing the air again, "...teen spirit."
"Oh, it is ON!" Korra cracked her knuckles, rolled her shoulders and stretched. She didn't exactly tell this to people, but she was very sensitive about her age, even if her three best friends were all within a year or two of her. She blamed this on her sojourn with the Red Lotus, where even Kwan, the youngest member of the group (besides Korra herself), had all been more than twice her age when she had been with them. In a way, it always made her feel like she stuck out or didn't belong, even if this belief was overall irrational.
Korra took several hits this round, and was actually pushed to the final zone for the first time that day. Tahno and his team kept the pressure on her, and forced her to dance across her zone to prevent getting struck and thrown into the drink. Korra spent a great deal of the match twirling, spiraling, or corkscrewing through the air as she evaded the slew of fast-paced projectiles. The strike that had pushed her from zone 2 to zone 3 had been a well-placed header, because of course Tahno would use a headshot.
"This could be where the Avatar's 20-game streak ends, folks!" Shiro announced, "they're keeping the heat on her, and while she's playing hard to catch, they're wearing her down! Are the White Falls Wolfbats going to—no! Korra strikes back with a triple attack that throws the wolfbats back! Their waterbender is down! Their firebender is down! And there goes their earthbender! It's a knockout, and what a comeback for Avatar Korra!"
The adrenaline rush from winning the first round put Korra back at the top of her game, where she finished the match much more decisively, cheering for herself at the end with a glorious display of her power, with a particular emphasis on fierce, wild airbending tricks.
"Airbending…" Shiro Shinobi mused as the events started to close, "Now that would be an interesting dynamic to the Probending Arena if I say so myself. Quite a shame there aren't a few more of those fellows running around. Still, ladies and gentlemen, the debut of the Avatar Gauntlet goes to its host, Avatar Korra! Join us on Friday for the next exciting round of The Avatar Gauntlet, where we'll see if Avatar Korra can hold up her streak, or if she'll walk away soaked to the bone!"
Korra was fairly confident that she'd be able to maintain this routine for the three days a week that Butakha had scheduled her for; barring any external circumstances, in the which case she would telephone Butakha to alert him of any necessary changes. For now, however, she hoped to relax and revel in her victory. The winner's purse was considerably heavy, much to Korra's delight, even if she had no clue what she was going to do with all this money. Regardless, it was time to celebrate, and as Korra headed for the changing room, she wondered if she'd be able to convince her new girlfriend to join her in said celebration.
Asami was practically waiting for her once she stepped out, changed back into her everyday attire. Her exposed face and arms were noticeably red and sweaty, and her bad posture betrayed just how winded Korra was from all of that activity.
"You look like you had fun," she chuckled.
"Damn skippy I did," Korra pumped her fist, "Man, oh man I can't wait until the next game! In the meantime though, I think I've earned a little R&R." She brandished her victor's purse in her other hand, looking rather proud of herself.
"What are you going to do with all that?" Asami chuckled. Korra had proven over the last couple of years that she was rather proficient at earning money, but that she had a tendency to spend very little on it apart from candy, snacks, and the occasional knickknack or change of clothes. As such, she had amassed a rather large supply of cash, which made Asami curious as to what the Avatar planned to do with it all.
"Oh I dunno," Korra shrugged as she raided a hidden sweets pouch and stuffed her face with some of these confections, "I mean besides candy, I kinda want to take you out somewhere, but where do you take the girl who has everything, y'know?"
"Korra, you know I'm not picky." Asami ruffled Korra's hair.
"I know," Korra pouted, "but I want it to be special. A special woman deserves a special date. That's kind of common sense, isn't it?"
"Well, I don't know how inclined you are to spectate probending matches," Asami pointed out, "But the championship playoffs are happening on the days you're not playing… and I know who I'd love to have watching those games with me."
"Makes me wish my old team was still around," Korra sighed, "but if you want to watch the Probending playoffs, then we're going to watch them and I've gotta deal with it!"
Asami laughed. "You're cute when you're happy." she chuckled, being rather adamant about this belief in particular. Korra was very fun to be around when she was in high spirits.
"Oh stop, you're gonna make me blush," Korra pouted, even if her face was still red anyways.
"Hmm…" Asami paused as if to contemplate her comeback, "I think you gotta deal with it."
"Touché," Korra laughed, "and well-played."
All in all, it was a good day for Korra. The brief moment where she had been haunted by Nakkoa had been fleeting, and Korra had successfully repressed those negative feelings to deal with for another time. Knowing that her best friend loved her as much as loved her best friend also helped a lot—and was part of why Korra was walking on air the whole way out of the arena.