Korra's jolted awake to an explosion, shaking the concrete roof above them.
"That was close by," Korra muttered.
Phoebe's eyes shot open, wide with terror. "Miss Korra, what happens if the Equalists attack us?" she whimpered, clutching Naga.
"They won't harm a hair on your head," Korra vowed, patting her hand reassuringly. "Just stay here with Naga, OK? I'll go check it out."
As if she understood, Naga stood up and protectively positioned herself between Phoebe and the outside world.
Korra dashed out of the drainage tunnel, running towards the source of the noise. Just outside her camp, there was a small factory with a hole blown out of the wall. Smoke billowed out of it, and a single man came stumbling out, coughing violently.
Korra rushed over to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and spinning him around. He was about her age, with the green eyes of an Earth Kingdom native, and a stocky build just a bit taller than Korra, with soot covering his face and arms covered in burns and blisters. "Are you alright?" she shouted.
The man dropped to his knees in another fit of coughing, but managed to nod at her question. He pointed at the hole in the wall, gesturing wildly. Korra nodded, and dropped to a waterbending stance.
With a smooth wave of her arms, she pulled a stream of water from the bay, sending it crashing through the smoky room. She repeated the action several times, pushing the flames back and putting them out.
The smoke thinned, but the water itself was boiling and bubbling, as if something was burning beneath it. It flowed away, and Korra's eyes widened. A pool of molten metal slag covered the floor, still glowing orange. She could feel the heat radiating off it, even from a distance.
Having composed himself a little, the man stood up, adopting a bending stance that Korra had never quite seen. He moved his arms in slow circles, almost as if he was bending water. The pool of molten metal dimmed, until it finally solidified into a smooth sheet of metal.
Korra blinked. "Was that lavabending? On metal?" she breathed, staring at the guy in awe.
He nodded, still gasping for air.
"Here, sit down, let me take a look at those burns," Korra ordered, gently lowering him onto the grass. "I'm a healer." Korra wrapped her palm in a bubble of glowing water, and placed it on his blistered forearm.
The man let out a sigh of relief as the burns healed. "Oh, spirits above, that feels amazing," he weakly laughed. He finally stopped to take a good look at his savior, a Water Tribe girl with big blue eyes, dark hair in a messy bob, a dark complexion and an athletic build. She was dirty, smelly, wearing a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves, torn pants and worn boots.
Korra smiled. "Good," she said. "I'm Korra, by the way."
"Ren," the man introduced himself in a deep but quiet voice, still raspy from the smoke. "I think you just saved my livelihood, Korra. Thank you. I owe you, big time."
"Don't mention it," Korra replied dismissively, offering him a hand up. "I just wish I could catch whoever did this to your place."
Ren narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I think you're about to."
Korra turned around, following his line of sight to see two figures approaching through the smoke. One was short and scrawny, the other tall and fat. Both wore the garish colors of the Red Monsoons, Republic City's waterbending crime syndicate.
"Peng. Qwen. What brings you here?" Ren asked warily, crossing his arms.
"Quite an accident you had here, huh?" Qwen drawled, smirking nastily. "You know, these kinda things tend to happen when you're behind on payments."
Ren stiffened, his eyes flashing with frustration. "I already paid you guys. You can't keep asking for more."
"Oh really?" Qwen sneered, stepping forward menacingly. "I don't recall seeing any cash. Maybe we need to remind you of your obligations."
"Hey, back off," Korra growled, stepping between Ren and the thugs. "He said he already paid. Leave him alone."
Qwen laughed derisively. "Or what? Are you gonna save him too, sweetheart?"
Without warning, Korra lashed out with a blast of water, knocking Peng flat on his backside. Qwen gaped at her in surprise, clearly not expecting such a reaction from a street rat.
"I said leave," Korra repeated, her voice colder than ice. "Now."
Qwen scowled, but wisely decided not to press his luck. He bolted, leaving his partner lying sprawled on the ground behind him.
"Thanks," Ren said breathlessly, visibly relaxing.
Peng pulled himself up, spitting water and muttering curses as he shuffled to his feet. "Sorry about this Ren, you know how it is," he whined as he tried to squeeze his clothes dry. "Qwen's a crook, double-dipping and pocketing half our tributes. The asshole is gonna get me killed."
"Yeah, whatever," Ren dismissed, waving a hand at him. "Why do you stick around the Red Monsoons anyway?"
"I've gotta make a buck somehow," Peng shrugged. "You know how tough it is in this town."
"Right," Ren sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "Look, I'll try to give Qwen what he wants later, okay? Just stay out of our hair."
Peng nodded reluctantly, casting a wary glance at Korra as he backed away. Once he was gone, Ren turned back to her, a mixture of gratitude and curiosity in his eyes.
"You're one heck of a waterbender," he observed, scratching the back of his neck. "Where did you learn to move like that?"
Korra flushed, suddenly self-conscious. "Uh, just picked it up over time," she mumbled evasively. "My family taught me a few moves."
Ren could tell she was holding back, but he didn't mean to pry. "Thanks. Really. I can't spare much cash right now, but I'll pay you back as soon as possible."
"I don't mean to sound greedy, but I would appreciate that," Korra admitted, looking embarrassed. "I've got mouths to feed."
Ren scratched his chin. "So you're looking for work? I mean, you seem pretty skilled, and I could use help putting my shop back together. Would you be interested?"
"Really?" Korra asked eagerly, hope sparking in her eyes. "You'd just hire me on the spot?"
"Well, you did just save my business," Ren pointed out reasonably. "Why not? You seem trustworthy enough."
Korra stared at him in amazement, mixed with a little suspicion. "Alright," she said decisively. "When do I start?"
Ren grinned. "How about right now? Give me a few minutes to catch my breath, then help me clean up this mess."
"Oh, wait, I'll be right back," Korra remembered, turning to run back to her campsite. A few minutes later, Korra brought back an older vagrant and a... polar bear dog?
"This is Gommu," she explained, gesturing to the first. "He's taken care of me since I got to the city. Think you could use his help too?"
"Sure thing," Ren agreed easily, extending a hand to greet Gommu. "Uh, and what's her name?"
"Naga," Korra supplied proudly, stroking the polar bear dog's thick fur affectionately. "Don't worry, she's super obedient."
"A tame polar bear dog? Now I have seen everything," Ren joked, leading the way towards his ruined workshop. "Mind if I give her a treat?"
"Go ahead," Korra encouraged. "She likes jerky, if you have any."
Ren happened to have a bag of fish jerky in his toolbox, which he generously doled out to Naga. "That's a good girl," he praised, ruffling her fur.
Korra couldn't help but smile. Naga seemed to like Ren, thumping her foot happily as he scratched behind her ears.
"So Korra, think you can you sweep up this ash with your waterbending?" Ren asked, pointing at the ruined junk surrounding them.
"Sure thing, boss," Korra quipped, dipping down into a fighting stance. She wove her hands in intricate patterns, summoning streams of water from a nearby sink that obeyed her every command. Within minutes, most debris was swept cleanly away, revealing the charred foundations of Ren's workplace, and the smooth metal of the solidified slag.
"Wow," Ren breathed. "You're good."
"Thanks," Korra replied modestly.
"Come on, let's see what else we can salvage," Ren suggested, levitating some twisted metal bars littering the ground.
The three worked into the evening, cleaning up the wreckage and salvaging what remained of Ren's equipment. Naga and Phoebe stood quietly in the background, mesmerized as Ren and Korra used their bending. Korra felt a sense of purpose creeping back into her bones... even if it was just cleaning up trash. It was a long way from bringing balance to the world, sure, but it was better than nothing. And the smooth motions of waterbending eased her troubled soul.
Korra watched in awe as Ren levitated chunks of his furnace into the air, heating them up and welding them back together using his unique brand of lavabending. He was so focused on his task that he hardly noticed her observing him.
"Whoa. I've seen a lot of bending," she marveled, "but never anything like that. I didn't even know lavabending metal was possible."
Ren smiled awkwardly. "It's a family tradition, I guess. My dad was a lavabender too, and taught me everything I know."
"He must be proud," Korra commented. "Your skills are incredible."
"I hope so," Ren muttered, frowning slightly. "My parents died when I was a teenager."
"Oh," Korra said, feeling stupid for bringing it up. "I'm sorry. That must have been rough."
Ren shook his head. "It's fine. My sister and I immigrated here after it happened. We had heard so much about Republic City, and wanted a fresh start... though it wasn't exactly what we expected."
"Yeah, I hear that," Korra sympathized.
"We were on the streets for a while," Ren admitted. "So I'm just saying... I know how tough it can be. You won't hear a single lecture from me."
Korra nodded. "Thanks. I appreciate that."
Ren finished up with his repairs, letting out a satisfied sigh as he stepped back to admire his work. "It's not perfect, but it'll do," he pronounced, gesturing grandly at the rebuilt furnace.
"It looks great," Korra assured him. "But speaking of machines, what is it you actually make here?"
"Technically I'm a metallurgist," Ren explained, "though I prefer to call myself an inventor. I design and build machines, tools, whatever people need. Sometimes I repair or restore stuff."
"Cool," Korra remarked, nodding appreciatively. "Crafting things with bending instead of using it for combat... That sounds nice."
"Yeah. My dad was an engineer, and my mom was a scientist, so I guess it runs in the family too," Ren reminisced fondly. "I miss them sometimes... especially now that I've built something worthwhile."
"I know they'd be proud," Korra offered kindly.
"I hope so," Ren echoed, smiling a little.
Korra looked around the workshop, taking in the various gadgets and gizmos scattered throughout. She didn't understand half of what she saw. But as they cleaned up the last remnants of the damage, she bit her lip, thinking.
"Hey, maybe I can help with some smaller stuff from now on," she asked, pressing her luck.
"Actually, I was hoping for more than that," Ren confessed sheepishly. "If you're willing, I'd like to hire you full-time. I could use a waterbender like you around here to flash-cool alloys, and that's just the start."
"Seriously?" Korra asked, surprised.
"Yeah," Ren confirmed, offering her a hopeful smile. "Gommu too. I'm behind on rent and supplies, but I promise I'll make it worth your while."
At that very moment, Gommu collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. "I'm not quite cut out for this, kiddos. I think this is a younger man's job," he wheezed.
Ren laughed. "How about part-time then? Just whenever you feel up for it?"
"Sounds fair," Gommu agreed, managing a weak thumbs up from the floor.
"Thank you," Korra told Ren earnestly. "This means more than you know."
"I'm glad to have you here." He walked over to his safe, flipping its pins with metalbending. "Here, take this," he offered, handing her a healthy stack of Yuans. "It's the last of what I have, but hopefully it'll tide you over until I can pay you both properly."
Korra's eyes widened. She had never held so much money in her life. "This is just for one day?"
"For starters," Ren amended. "I promise there will be more once I get back on my feet."
Gommu eventually left, claiming exhaustion. Korra stayed behind to help Ren tidy up and lock up for the night.
"You know, I forgot to ask. What's your story?" Ren said, lighting a lantern hanging from the ceiling.
"Not much to say," Korra demurred, leaning against the new furnace. "I grew up in the Southern Water Tribe, lived a pretty sheltered life. Came here looking for a fresh start, ended up stuck here in the industrial district."
"Huh," Ren hummed thoughtfully. There was an akward pause as he waited for her to continue.
"It's not a story I'm proud of," Korra added, shifting uncomfortably. "There are parts I'd rather forget."
"Well, I'm not one to judge," Ren apologized immediately, holding up his hands up. "I get it. I've got my own skeletons in the closet."
"No worries," Korra assured him, smiling wanly. "It's nice to talk to someone who doesn't automatically assume the worst of me."
"Not everyone in this city is a jerk," Ren reminded her. "A lot of good people end up cornered, looking out for themselves and their families. It's easy to lose yourself when you're desperate."
"I suppose," Korra agreed slowly.
Ren looked out the window. The last rays of sunlight were long gone. "Hey, it's getting late. Shouldn't you head home?"
"Home? Oh, yeah," Korra realized, chuckling nervously. "Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. Thanks again, for everything, Ren."
"Likewise," Ren said sincerely. "I mean it. See you tomorrow?"
"Count on it," Korra promised, slipping out of the workshop climbing down onto the beach. Who would have known... her future employer was working just outside her little hideaway.
She curled up inside the drainage tunnel, pulling a blanket over herself. Phoebe and Gommu had found somewhere else to crash for the night, leaving Korra and Naga alone.
Naga lay down beside Korra, resting her massive head on the girl's lap. "Hey, girl," Korra greeted her companion. "How was your day?"
Naga whined contentedly, nudging her gently. "Yeah, I bet it was," Korra chuckled. "I told you things would get better. Look at us now, huh? Employed, by someone who isn't a creep."
Naga whimpered, as if she could sense the guilt inside her master's soul. "I know, I know," Korra consoled her. "I... I just need time to heal, okay?"
Naga pressed her snout against Korra's cheek, and Korra wrapped her arms around the beast's neck, burying her face in her fur. "I love you, girl," she murmured softly. "You're the best friend I could ask for."
Naga gave a soft grunt of agreement, settling down beside Korra as the moon rose higher in the sky. As she drifted off to sleep, Korra allowed herself a rare smile. For the first time in months, she felt like she had a future. Like she had a shot at pulling herself out of the darkness she'd sunken into.