AUTHOR'S NOTES: Korra's not one to go down without a fight, and this iteration of Korra is particularly proud and somewhat aggressive. Amon undoubtedly will try and use that to his advantage. Fortunately, Asami knows how to handle Korra, and so whether the night ends on a good note or a bad one remains to be seen—although considering that this is where they have their first proper kiss... odds are things might turn around for the better. Also, from here on out we return to the twice-a-week update schedule of Tuesdays and Fridays; and additionally: Merry Christmas, everyone.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: THE LIGHTNING GIRL
"That's impossible!" Korra exclaimed quietly, "There's no way!" She was not about to admit it, but she was scared—the fact that someone could strip people of bending with such little effort made her worry about how easily she might get floored.
Of course, her and Asami's attention was diverted back to the masked man as he spoke again.
Now for a demonstration…" Amon continued, before revealing a handful of benders, all of whom looked like Triad members of some kind, where a middle-aged man in bonds was led to the middle of the stage. "Please welcome Lightning Bolt Zolt: Leader of the Triple Threat Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals of Republic City."
There was a loud series of boos from the crowds, although Zolt himself looked unfazed.
"Eh, boo yourselves!" he shouted.
"Zolt has amassed a fortune by exploiting and abusing nonbenders," Amon continued, "but his reign of terror is about to come to an end. Now, in the interest of fairness, I will give Zolt the chance to keep his bending."
Zolt's bonds were undone and the man rose to his feet, taking a confident stance as some of the crowds gasped. "You're gonna regret doin' that, pal!"
Korra and Asami watched the fight between the two. Lightning Bolt Zolt lived up to his name by launching a series of powerful blasts of lightning at Amon, but the Equalist leader was too swift and nimble, evading every one of them in the same way that Korra evaded attacks in the Probending Arena. Each time Amon dodged, he moved closer and closer to Zolt until he was suddenly face-to-face with the mobster. In a deft move, Amon snatched Zolt's wrist, before the masked man pivoting and placed his hand on Zolt's forehead. Despite Zolt's hand continuing to emanate lightning, he was frozen in place at that moment, and to Korra's horror, she saw that Amon's claims of stripping bending were no joke.
The lightning crackled and fizzled away, giving way to a burst of fire which gradually became smaller and smaller before it too disappeared entirely. Amon released his grip on Zolt, who collapsed to the ground for a moment before pulling himself up to his hands and knees.
"What did ya do to me?" His arrogance had vanished from his tone, and he actually looked apprehensive, probably for one of the first times in years.
"Your firebending is gone… forever." Amon declared, "The era of bending is over… and a new era of Equality has begun!"
Asami instinctually grabbed Korra's hand, noticing her best friend's subtle trembling before it had even started. Korra paused, taking deep breaths as she tried to wrap her head around how it was possible for Amon to strip people's bending like that. She hated being afraid, much less in front of other people, and especially not in front of the girl she loved.
"Korra…" Asami whispered, not really having more to say than to offer her reassurance. Korra's own emotions and feelings surrounding this event were mixed. On one hand, she knew these were dangerous criminals who were likely getting what they deserved, but on the other hand the notion that that could very well be her—especially since she seemed to get in quite a few tangles with the Chief of Police, to say the least—scared her out of her mind.
They watched as the last four criminals were tried and done in the same way Lightning Bolt Zolt was, only none of them lasted nearly as long as he did. Korra took deep breaths to calm herself down, the cheering crowds drowning out any noise she might have made.
"Word of this event will surely spread," Amon announced triumphantly, "and even the Avatar will not be safe from this message. If she wishes to continue to abuse her bending and her position, she too will come to accept this fate—and be born anew, free of her bending. Perhaps that will be what it takes to stop her from abusing her power."
Korra had applauded herself for staying cool and calm this entire time, but now Amon had just made it very personal.
"Korra, no!" Asami tried pulling her back, but Korra was already pushing her way through the crowds, causing a stir and people around her to gasp.
"You wanna try and take away my bending?" she brandished earth and water on her hands for a moment as if to prove who she was, "Come and get me, you limp-noodled mask-faced third-rate fraud! Or are you too cowardly to face Avatar Korra in person?" Korra's eyes started glowing as well. Her control over the Avatar State had improved significantly over the last two years, and nowadays, she often flared it up more as a threat mechanism than as a reflex.
"For some reason, I knew it would come to this…" Amon's voice showed amusement, as Korra began punching and elbowing her way out of the crowds, who had tried to seize her. "Leave her!"
The crowds paused right as Korra elbowed someone hard enough to likely break their nose. Even Korra stopped when Amon spoke though.
"The Avatar has issued a challenge." He spoke again, keeping his cool, "And has tried to affront my honour. She believes I am a coward… that I wouldn't dare make good on my claims. Come, child. Either you unmask me and see if I am truly lying about my face… or perhaps I teach you a lesson on how to properly control your bending…"
"This'll be good," Korra cracked her knuckles, straightening her outfit a bit as she approached Amon's stage. With a deft burst of airbending, she launched herself up onto the stage, performing several midair flips before landing gracefully on her feet across from Amon.
"Of course," Amon taunted, "you could just go back into the Avatar State and obliterate me… leveling this building and taking out most of your opposition here and now. We're certainly powerless to stop you… but think before you act, little girl. Would you really want to give the Equalist Movement so much momentum by proving our point?"
Korra growled, knowing full well that Amon's terms were handicapping her to play by his rules.
"You want some of this," Korra tipped her cap back to reveal her combustion tattoo before flexing her arms threateningly, "come and get it!"
"Passion… I admire that," Amon mused aloud, "Very well, Avatar Korra. Make your move."
For a moment, the two enemies simply circled one another, Korra's face remaining vigilant as she stared right into the eyes of Amon's mask, which concealed his expression flawlessly. Predictably, Korra made the first move, but to Amon's slight surprise, she didn't seem to be trying to get to his mask as much as she was showing off how evasive she was. Amon was fast, but Korra did in fact prove to be faster, evading Amon's approaches even as he zigzagged around her bending moves, which this time were clearly more evasive and defensive. If Korra was going to fight for her bending, she was going to protect it at any cost. Amon's offensive maneuvers were fast jabs that were clearly designed to block chi, and so it had Korra bending over backwards (literally in some cases) to avoid them. A strike that would have disabled her left arm met only the air as Korra flipped backwards onto her hands before propelling herself several feet into the air, flipping head over heels twice before spiralling back down in a series of tornado kicks to keep Amon at bay. Another aimed fight for her forehead only missed because Korra dove into a rolling dodge at the last second, pivoting around and flipping back onto her feet with such grace that her cap didn't even slip at all. She immediately followed this into a backflip, landing on her hands as she kicked bursts of flame from her feet to keep Amon from getting too close, before subsequently pushing herself back into an upright position.
"I may have underestimated you," Amon cooed as he and the teen danced around each other, "I did not expect your level of discipline from such an uncouth little girl…"
"Looks like you've gotta deal with it," Korra paused, smirking as straightened her cap, "You still ready to play again, or are you finding your prey a little too slippery for you this time?"
From the crowds, Asami kept her view fixated on Korra as Amon took Korra's challenge once again, and the two enemies created quite the show on the stage. Korra's bending moves were more to augment her movements rather than hurt or kill Amon, since she was clearly taking his words a little too seriously. Even without her bending, however, Korra proved to be far too agile, although with all of her eye-catching moves, her stamina began to deplete, while Amon's carefully calculated movements preserved more of his own strength. Asami's reaction was a mixture of awe and anger—being inspired by just how swift Korra was even without bending, but also upset with her for allowing herself to be goaded by the Equalist leader. They would definitely be talking about it tonight… unless Amon did actually strip Korra's bending here and now.
"All I need to do is wait for your pride to kick in…" he taunted her, "and for you to get careless. Every bender does it, and not even the Avatar is an exception."
"I'm still waiting for you to come and get me," Korra taunted in return, making a beckoning motion with her slightly bloodied hands as Asami shook her head.
"Korra, you idiot…" she thought to herself, "he's putting you on strings!"
Whether prophetic or mere educated guessing, Amon did actually manage to get right up to Korra's face a moment later and put her on the defensive. Korra moved much more carefully, with Amon practically breathing down her neck, she slipped up and gave him just enough time to seize her hand. He twisted her right arm back in the same way that he had done to Lightning Bolt Zolt, causing a brief expression of abject horror to appear on Korra's face.
"As many of you know," Amon announced, keeping his grip on Korra's wrist as he raised it into the air, forcing Korra to stand next to him, "the Avatar also possesses the mythical ability to remove the bending of those who would abuse their power. Our little dance has given me a revelation of my own. Perhaps there can be reasoning between us. Now that she is aware that not even she can run… perhaps she will do as she promised long ago, and work alongside nonbenders to achieve freedom and equality for all."
He paused, noticing Korra's irate expression, "Or… she could of course just be performing a ruse, waiting for the right moment to annihilate the entire movement—and anyone else who dares stand in her way. The choice is hers…"
There was cheering from the crowds, as Amon leaned up to Korra.
"Your bending is safe, for now..." he whispered. "I am saving you… for last."
With this, he released Korra's arm and let her leave in relative peace. She was heckled by the crowds almost the entire way out, and so she sprinted outside to get a breath of the fresh evening air. The rally continued without her, but Amon had made his point.
Asami found her a few minutes later, and she looked cross.
"Korra, seriously?!" She snatched up her hands, "You walked right into his hands back there, and you know it!"
"He's trying to smear me," Korra fumed, "what would you do if a competitor tried to frame your dad as a villain? What would you do if someone tried to label you or someone you loved as a terrorist, just to get back at you?"
This time, and even to Korra's surprise, Asami gave pause.
"Korra," she sighed, "I was worried for you. You looked terrified before you raced up there, and what happened to your hands?"
Both of Korra's hands were smeared with blood, which oozed out of four distinctly-patterned slits in the center of her palms.
"I wasn't scared," Korra lied, "Just really tense. I guess I kind of dug my nails a bit too deep into my palms." Korra's nails weren't even long at all, which made the statement even more impressive albeit still unsettling.
Asami stared Korra down, knowing full well that Korra was lying.
"Okay… I was scared." She sighed, lowering her head. "I am scared. Bending's the coolest thing in the world to me, and the idea that someone could take that from me… I'm really kind of amazed the Avatar State didn't hijack me there…"
"Perhaps it goes to show that you're improving," Asami put a hand on Korra's shoulder, "and seriously, how are you that fast?"
"I've always just kind of trained that way," Korra shrugged, "and it seems it was the right idea. Right now I just wanna get out of here… we clearly took a wrong turn somewhere."
"I'm sorry for that," Asami sighed as they went back to their car, which remained untouched, "you were so happy too before we came here…"
"It's my fault for deciding to go in there," Korra admitted as they drove home, "although maybe it was for the best that I know about my enemy."
She paused, thinking of all the things they said to try and get inside. "Hey, about the stuff at the door…" Her face showed concern.
"All false, of course," Asami smiled reassuringly, "The Equalists might have a good message at their core, and stopping rogue benders like those mobsters would make Republic City a much better place, but they can't just lump everyone who bends in that category. It's not fair to people like you, Korra—people who do good in their lives."
"What good have I done besides destroying things," Korra thought back to what Amon had said when he villainized the Avatar, "well, besides meeting you."
"There's that," Asami smiled, "but even then, Korra, you're only 17. No one's expecting you to singlehandedly save the world, let alone Republic City. The Equalist Revolution will be dealt with in time, and while you might be a major player in taking these criminals down, you won't be alone. I promise you that much."
"I'm almost 18!" Korra pouted, still sensitive about her age, which to Asami made no sense considering there was just under a year's difference between them.
"18 or not, you aren't expected to do it all on your own." Asami replied.
"Still…" korra crossed her arms and pouted again.
"By the way, you make that suit look good, Korra." Asami couldn't pay full attention to it since she was driving, but she'd be paying a lot of attention shortly, "you should wear it more often."
"I gotta keep up the vagrant look too though," Korra chuckled, "I can't start being too consistent otherwise people might actually recognize me."
"Just don't cut your hair," Asami asserted as they pulled up to her family home, "you can do it up all you like, but your hair is pretty—I don't want to see it short because then how would I play with it the way you love when I do?"
"Hey, as long as I've got you to keep it from getting too out of hand, you've got yourself a deal," Korra chuckled as she got out and stretched.
"Deal," Asami glanced over at Korra before approaching her. "And seriously… you're really going to have to wear that suit more often. Dark blue really is your colour."
"Only as long as I get to do this…" Korra took Asami's shoulder, pushed the right side of her hair to the side and reached behind to plant a firm kiss on the lower right part of her neck—the same place she had planted a kiss before the outing. Asami tensed up for a moment, biting her lip as she seized Korra's wrist.
"How about… we do this…" she whispered, pulling Korra's lips to her own. Korra's eyes shot open for a split second and she emitted a comical squeak that was much higher-pitched than she would ever be proud of admitting, but after her body registered what was going on, she put her arms around Asami, only pulling back after what seemed like a glorious eternity.
And then she pouted. "I was saving that for some place more romantic," she complained, although her expression betrayed that she was clearly struggling to be upset, assuming she was even upset at all.
"And yet here we are, in the comfort of our home, in a place we can always so easily return to…" Asami giggled, tugging on both of Korra's sidelocks playfully. "And you're turning red."
Korra jammed her hands into her pockets and looked down and to the side. "Stoppit…" she mumbled, "you're doing it on purpose."
"And look how it cheered you up," Asami tried pulling Korra's hair to make the Avatar lift her face back up, "you're just shy, and it's adorable."
"Me? Shy?" Korra laughed, flexing her arms, "As if!"
"Why are you blushing then?" Asami teased, "Are you shy?"
"If I was shy I would have slinked away from Amon," Korra retorted, "not challenge him to a fight in front of hundreds of Equalists."
"So is your girlfriend scarier than a masked maniac who takes bending away?" Asami riposted. Korra narrowed her eyes, glaring at Asami and pouting defiantly before stomping off in a huff to hide her embarrassment. A few steps later, she stopped.
"Thanks for the night," she admitted, "And for uh…" she put her hand to her lips.
"There will be plenty more where that came from," Asami chuckled, "So are you sleeping outside tonight then?"
"I can't let Naga think I've forgotten her," Korra smiled. "Can I? I think I also need to just sort out a few things in my head. I'd ask to sleep in your room, but…"
"It's your fault, by the way," Asami laughed, putting a hand to the back of her head, "I woke up at 2 in the morning after someone kicked me in the head hard enough to push me out of bed."
"I can't help it!" Korra waved her arms, "I'm an active sleeper!"
"I'm sure we could argue the finer points of this issue for days," Asami joked, "but I'm glad I was able to help turn your night around."
"For sure," Korra nodded, blowing Asami another kiss, "I'm not washing my face for weeks!"
Despite the myriad of emotions that were swirling through her mind at this point, Korra couldn't help but agree that overall the day had been good. The Equalist rally had been unsettling, but at least Asami had helped turn the night around.
Theirs was an interesting relationship, when Korra thought about it as she got changed into more appropriate sleeping attire. She and Asami were rarely together and didn't even share a room, and really hadn't even gone on a proper date or anything. It wasn't that Korra doubted the sincerity of Asami's love, but she did hope to at least find more ways to show it—because there were never enough, and she could not be convinced otherwise. As such, as Korra dozed off to sleep, she knew what she'd be doing after her Probending finale had come to an end.