AUTHOR'S NOTES: And here's where things start to get intense, as we enter endgame territory. The next 7 or 8 chapters follow much of the events of the 10th, 11th, and 12th episodes of the show, with the showdown against the Equalists in full swing. Korra's extremely powerful and can wreak absolute havoc against her enemies, but despite that, she's still one young woman against a literal army. She's simply outnumbered.
Happy Reading!
BOOK TWO: CHANGE
CHAPTER EIGHTY: THE UNITED FORCES
The Equalists had gained full control of the city in the three days since Tenzin had fled, Korra had gone underground, and Lin was stripped of her bending. Tenzin's whereabouts were unknown, and Korra had no clue where Lin and Kwan were either. On the other hand, radio announcements from the Equalists told Korra and her friends exactly what was going on topside—much more than they suspected, even.
"It is a glorious day my Equalist brothers and sisters," it was Hiroshi, and it sounded like he was being broadcast from a rally of some sort, "Amon has torn down the tyrannical bending government and declared bending illegal. Three of the corrupt council members have been removed from the picture, with a fourth in custody and the fifth on the run. Our leader has declared bending illegal, and now even has the great Avatar Korra on the run."
Had Bolin been a split-second slower, Korra would have spewed her drink all over the side of his face as she snorted at this remark.
"Our great leader has a vision for the future," Hiroshi continued, "One day soon, bending will not exist, and we will live in a world that is finally equal. The United Forces are on their way right now to stop that dream—but we will prevail!"
"Can you believe this guy?" Korra scoffed, thumbing at the radio, "The Avatar's on the run, my ass. I'm not running from anyone! Let's go back up there and knock some heads in! They wouldn't know what hit 'em!"
"Relax," Asami put a hand on her shoulder, "General Iroh's coming with a fleet of battleships. Then Amon will be the one who's running."
"I hate this being patient stuff," Korra slumped and pouted, "where's Kuvira when I wanna do pushups with someone?"
Suddenly the radio crackled with static and came back on again, distracting everyone present from the subject at hand.
"Gooooooood morning, citizens of Republic City!" A woman's voice filled the radio this time. Korra wasn't sure who it belonged to, but it sounded an awful lot like Kwan. "I'm sure most of the wonderful benders of this town are on edge what with the Equalist regime up and running the place, but worry not! Thanks to the old Chief of Police and her infinite knowledge as well as some tips from a brilliant little mechanic, we've got ourselves nested deep inside enemy territory to give you the first line of details about everyone's favourite masked maniac!"
"Lin!?" Korra knew that the voice didn't belong to Lin, but she was fairly certain the woman on the radio was not talking about Saikhan considering she had called the Chief of Police a 'she'. "Oh thank Raava she's okay…"
"That aside," the woman continued, "let me assure all of you that while the Equalists are definitely gonna be on our butts after this—especially after they realize we're broadcasting this from Mr. Sato's own estate—know that the benders of Republic City aren't about to take this lying down. Remember, ladies and gentlemen—you are not guilty for atrocities you did not commit. Just because other waterbenders, earthbenders, or firebenders have done terrible things doesn't mean you're guilty by association; any more than nonbenders are guilty by association because of the radical Equalists! Benders and nonbenders can coexist without one group oppressing the other, and while the Avatar's a bit crazy at times, lemme assure everyone that she's a good kid. This is Isikiro, reporting live from Sato Estate, and have a wonderful day!"
"I swear that's Kwan," Korra shook her head, laughing, "I don't know an Isikiro apart from one of my past lives from 6000 years ago or so, but she knows me, she knows Chief BeiFong, and she's infiltrated Sato Estate? That totally sounds like Kwan."
"Honestly, if that's Ikiza, I'm impressed," Asami admitted, "And I've got no remorseful feelings for my father after what he did to me—or what he did to you, Korra."
"I agree," Korra sighed, "But I mean, it still feels kind of awkward to tell my girlfriend her dad's a really nasty dude. It just… doesn't feel right."
"It's okay," Asami assured her, "but thanks for caring. He betrayed me—and he betrayed you, Korra. After everything you've been through, you deserve better."
"Speaking of which," Bolin chipped in, "how are you holding up, Korra? You've kinda been hard to read these last couple days."
"I'm fine," Korra shrugged, "I mean, still kinda feeling like I could have done better and done more, but it is what it is. I'm alive; my closest friends are alive, Tenzin's far away from this mess, and even Lin's out of Amon's clutches too. Since I'm pretty sure that woman on the radio was Kwan, she's safe too, and that helps me be at ease a bit more."
"And that's what makes you amazing," Mako pointed out, "Korra, you're the most loyal, brave, and selfless person I know. I know we clashed a bit when we first met because I couldn't grasp your career choices, but I'm glad to have met you."
"Me too," Bolin added, "and hey, I dunno how much it means just coming from a guy like me, but you're not a failure, Korra. You're so strong and clever, and wowee I'd hate to be up against you in a fight. You're fast, you're powerful, and you put the Equalists in their place every time you face 'em. You've got this, girl!"
Korra chuckled. "I don't always win against them," she shook her head, "but thanks, Bolin. I just don't want to sound like I'm whining and complaining just to try and get praised or anything. That kind of narcissism doesn't suit me."
"I'll say," Mako chuckled in agreement, "you show; not tell."
"You know the kinds of things I'll say about you if I get started," Asami chortled as she stole a kiss on Korra's cheek, "I think it's about high time we start watching for the United Forces though—as soon as they arrive we need to help in any way we can."
"Any way, and every way." Korra nodded in agreement, "once they arrive I'm taking the fight to the Equalists and this time I'm not running away!"
Mako was the first one to poke his head out of the massive drainage pipe, peeking around for any sign of anything. The waters were calm, and there was no noise apart from the general ambience of the city behind and above them.
"The nerve of these guys though!" Korra cursed as she peeked out and noticed the Aang statue in the distance. On its face was a large mask resembling Amon's, and hanging from its staff were two large Equalist flags. In a way, by desecrating Aang's memorial, the Equalists had desecrated Korra as well.
The four of them climbed to a higher vantage point, where Mako and Bolin pulled out telescopes to spy across the harbour. It only took a moment of looking towards the horizon before they noticed shapes cutting the water.
"They're here!" Bolin exclaimed, "really far off tho—whoops!" Mako had flipped Bolin's telescope around mid-sentence so he was now looking through it the right way.
"Hold it," Korra squinted, glancing skyward, "where are the Equalist airships?" Maybe it was her own paranoia, but she had expected there to be a legion of airships waiting to drop bombs on the approaching battleships. And yet, the waters were silent and so were the skies.
"Something's not right…" General Iroh muttered as he looked out towards the city before lowering his telescope. "There's the Avatar, but where are the Equalists…?"
Almost as if this was a cue, an explosion rocked the water, blasting one of the ships not far from Iroh's flagship.
"It's a trap!" he shouted before turning to his men and issuing orders. "Waterbenders; earthbenders; detonate those mines!"
Korra's keen eyes spotted the explosions, and while she was not quite sure what had caused them, she took it as her cue. Mako, Bolin, and Asami knew better than to try and question Korra's motives when she went into a fixated mode like this, and so instead they just watched as she launched into the air with a remarkable flip, before diving straight into the water and propelling herself towards the heart of the conflict, surfacing for a big breath of air before plunging beneath the waves.
Using waterbending, Korra shifted the water around many of the mines to pull them deeper below the surface and away from the battleships, causing two to collide and blast each other apart rather than one of the United Forces ships. However, despite her efforts, there was still something else going on above the waves, and there were too many mines for Korra to go around detonating each one on her own. It was a similar overwhelming feeling to the one she had felt when she was in the skies fighting Equalist airships.
When she came up for air, she heard a strange buzzing in the sky, and her friends noticed it too. A slew of biplanes were approaching them from the city; the likes of which none of them had ever seen until now.
"Man," Bolin groaned, "Where does Hiroshi keep finding all this time to keep inventing all of these new evil machines?!"
Much like the airships against the city, the planes were also armed with bombs and explosives, which they dropped to lay ruin to the battleships below. Korra may have just been a speck in the water, but the Equalists learned a moment later just how accurate she could be with some of her abilities. The air around her forehead crackled for just a moment before she sent a powerful combustion beam that curved towards the nearest offending aircraft, blowing it to smithereens right out of the sky. For how skeptical Korra had been of Zaheer's training in archery, accuracy, and focus, she found that ultimately, like most of his lessons, it had paid off.
She launched herself out of the water, dredging up a rock from the depths as she launched it to intercept a torpedo. She was skyward in a streak of blue flame a moment later as she was ready to confront the aircraft more directly. At one point she actually managed to land on a biplane directly, although the pilot ejected before Korra could do him in. Not having any clue how to pilot the machine itself, Korra sprung off of it before kicking a fireball from her legs to make it catch fire, where it exploded moments later after the flames reached the fuel reserves. She knew she wouldn't be this lucky again though, as some of the other biplanes around her began trying to strike her right out of the sky—and even without taking how deadly getting eviscerated by the propellers would be, a half-ton of metal would easily win a high-speed collision fight against a 160-lb teenager.
On the other hand, Korra's insane reflexes and reaction times that had served her remarkably well in her probending stunts came in handy here, because she avoided many of these attacks, and barrelled for the nearest aircraft. To her slight surprise, this time fortune appeared to favour her, because as she clung to the wing of the craft, she made eye contact with the pilot.
"YOU!" She roared, her eyes flashing as she recognized Hiroshi Sato.
"Do you like them, Avatar?" Hiroshi shouted as a taunt as he increased the speed of his craft, forcing more velocity onto Korra to prevent her advancing on him, "I thought it would make the two of us a little more… equal!"
Hiroshi barrel rolled and managed to fling Korra from the wing of his craft before she could do any damage, but she caught herself before she was flung against the waves or the wreckage below. Flames emerged from her hands and feet as she regained her balance, but she had lost track of which plane was Hiroshi's. Rather than trying to be showy, it seemed the man had designed them all to look the same, much like Amon had done with his airships during the bombing of Republic City.
Korra did not have time to ponder such things, however; and that one moment of trying to single out Hiroshi cost her. An air current from the wings of one of these planes actually disrupted Korra's flight as it whizzed by, causing her focus to drop. She spiralled through the air as she plummeted towards the sea, gaining momentum with each passing second. Rather than try to recover, Korra used this moment as an opportunity to position herself strategically, and as she tumbled through the air, she moved herself with airbending to target the water right next to Iroh's flagship. Korra let the water catch her, and she disappeared beneath the waves in a well-formed waterspout, which almost appeared to jump out of the sea and devour her like a leviathan.
A moment later, Korra emerged on a spout of water and a column of rock, launching into the air as her eyes glowed. A powerful vortex of wind diverted many of the aircraft, especially as Korra started bringing water, ice, and blue fire into the mix. It was not going to last long considering how much of Korra's energy it was draining, but it was effective in knocking out a few more planes and causing the rest to turn away. The problem at this point was that it was too little, too late. Most of the battleships were in ruins, and a low-flying aircraft escaped Korra's view, headed straight for Iroh's ship.
Korra expended her energy quickly, and let herself fall back towards the water, which in turn swallowed her up again with hardly a splash. It seemed that this was the better option for her in the end, because a moment later there was a thundering explosion and a rumble just above her. The aircraft pilot had boldly sacrificed his life in a kamikaze attack that had taken himself, the aircraft, and the flagship all with it. Korra glanced up from the watery abyss where she had plunged, and saw the flagship starting to fragment, with debris plunging into the water around her. She spotted Iroh's lifeless form sinking into the void below, and so she took action and went after him. She was tired but not completely worn out, using the vestiges of her energy to snatch the general up, and propel the both of them to the surface. Iroh gasped for breath as they surfaced, and Korra held to him.
"It's fine," she spat, "I've gotcha."
"Avatar Korra?" it took a moment for Iroh to register what had happened, where he was, and whose arms were wrapped around him. "You saved my life. Thank you."
"It was nothing," Korra frowned as she looked around, "...man, they totalled you guys though."
There were likely survivors, but the biplanes came around for a few more bombing runs on the disabled battleships, and there was only so much even Korra could do before they made their escape. The Equalists had clearly been waiting for them with this ambush, and they had walked right into it. Now they had little to show for it apart from a few downed aircraft, while the remainder of the legion, including Hiroshi Sato himself, had fled.
"We need to get out of here," Iroh muttered, "And fast."
"Say no more," Korra turned around, propelling them back towards the shore with some powerful waterbending and airbending. However, as the shore came into view, Korra swore loudly.
"Oh for fuck's sake, REALLY?!" she screamed. A large mecha tank had just barreled down into the tunnel before Korra could even so much as launch a fireball at it.