Not Your Hero

Chapter 14

"Oh, spirits... This explains everything. Why didn't you all tell me?!" Korra burst out after an hour of intense discussion at Zaheer's place. "Was I too young to be trusted? Or do you fear that I will be blinded by my own power? My whole damn life, I was kept from the truth, for what? So the adults can play? And all this while, the world was in chaos! Why?"

Zaheer sighed. "It was never my intention to keep this from you. I had faith in you, but then I was only the leader of a mere training organization. President Raiko and his associates always held more power than I ever had, and they decided it was best to keep you in the dark."

Korra stared into the cup of green tea Zaheer had offered. Her head was swimming with their conversation earlier, and Asami's hand holding hers which was an attempt at comfort, while sweet, had little use.

--

"I wasn't expecting a visit from you, Korra. What is it that you've come out here seeking a retired old man, so important that you interrupt his meditating session?" Zaheer asked with his eyes closed, sitting on his patio. Korra groaned internally. She never minded Zaheer, but he was always so calm that it became somewhat invigorating. And yet Zaheer was the only person she knew she could trust, besides Asami of course. The woman was always by her side and always calmed her. Zaheer held a different kind of trust: he has always been skeptical of the government, and him being retired just added to Korra's trust in the man. So Korra told him the entire tale, including Tenzin and Raiko's involvement with the Saviors and the part where Tenzin called her the avatar.

Zaheer sighed. "Tenzin was foolish, he shouldn't have messed with you like this. You'd know that I'm an anarchist, and I still am. But I'm not as foolish as I was in my younger years to blatantly oppose the government, being in a different branch of government myself."

"Whatever I tell you, Korra, you must understand that all is past. The only thing you can do now is to focus on your future, and the mission you're on."

"I was quite fortunate to have known Aang in my years. He was a great man and a strong leader. The United Republic was very lucky to have Aang there to stabilize it during its turmoil. When Aang died, he charged me with a mission. You, Korra, you're my mission. But alas, once Aang was gone, the United Republic sank into chaos once more in a struggle for power. The turmoil was unbeknownst to the public of course, but those scuffles for control came at the price of my mission."

"So what's your mission then?" Korra asked. Zaheer's narrative had only provoked more questions than it answered. But the old man simply chucked. "Haven't your years with Tenzin weathered your temper, Korra? You must have patience, I'm in the process of explaining. Everything will make sense by then."

"Have you ever wondered how the Academy got its name, Raava Academy? A lot of people just assumed that this name had a ring to it, which is true to some extent. To divert attention away from Raava, the name is often shortened to just the Academy. The legends say that Raava is the spirit of light and peace, that ten thousand years ago the spirit merged with a human named Wan and started a cycle of powerful people keeping peace in the world. Well, the legends are true."

Asami gasped while Korra just stared with raised eyebrows. She couldn't believe that there are actually people with spirits living inside them. Zaheer continued, "Wan was the first avatar. There was a lot of chaos in Wan's time; the world was witnessing dozens of civil wars just because ignorant yet arrogant humans could not see past their differences. So Wan, who was just a banished human trying to find a solution to the fighting, sought Raava for help. They combined their energies and Wan did succeed in bringing peace and balance in the world. Since then, there has been a cycle of avatars, each possessing Raava's power and wisdom and tasked to bring peace to the world. Aang was the world's last avatar. And he's your predecessor, Avatar Korra."

Korra continued her staring. Zaheer's explanation did offer some answers, but still brought even more questions than before. What is this power that she possessed? How did they know that she was the avatar? How is this legend true? And what's she supposed to do now?

"So what about your mission? You said it was Korra. What does that mean?" Asami spoke up after silence.

"For centuries, the legend of the avatar was kept secret. Your predecessors all worked in secret, some in the government, some in the military, some as civilians, to keep the peace. They wanted to avoid attention and people trying to take advantage of their power. All that changed when Aang had to make himself known in order to restore peace. He was afraid that the secret of the avatar would get out, and so tasked me to find the next avatar, you, and keep you safe."

"Wait, so how did those avatars, my predecessors, know their identity then?" Korra asked. It was a strange question, true, but legitimate. Zaheer chuckled softly. "Messengers, like me, are chosen by the previous avatar to watch over the next one and tell them the truth when it is time."

"Alas, the secret of the avatar did get out. President Raiko and General Tenzin were among those who knew of this secret. They decided to train an elite force and have the next avatar lead such a force to do their bidding. As the avatar, you would have inhuman speed and power. You won't have any excess power--the legends of the avatar controlling the elements are a bit far-fetched--but you will be the best fighter of all, and you will also have the wisdom of your predecessors."

Korra let the information sink in for a long while. Her questions were mostly answered now.

"Oh, spirits... This explains everything. Why didn't you all tell me?!" Korra burst out.

--

Zaheer sighed heavily. "It was never my intention to keep the truth from you, Korra. But there's still a part of this you must hear. When we found out that you were the next avatar, our first impulse was to keep you safe. But then Raiko had better ideas. He wanted to train an elite special force and then recruit you. He and Tenzin decided to keep the truth from you then promote you quick enough for you to take over the force. Once you're ready, they'll tell you the truth of the avatar. Then, you could use your powers to lead this force of theirs. You know I was an anarchist, and I tried telling Raiko that you should make your own decisions, but he didn't listen. I'd already fallen out of favor with those people, and the only way to keep you safe was to play along. So I became the leader of the White Lotus and I recruited you to the United Special Operations Force, the force that was created for you to lead. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. But like I said before, you shouldn't dwell on the past. Focus on right now. You have a mission, Avatar Korra. You have all the power in the world, how are you going to use it?" With that, Zaheer looked at Korra sharply.

This was it, Korra thought. If life gave everyone a chance to turn their fate around, then this was Korra's chance. She was the Avatar. The world needs her help, and she was going to fix this. It felt like every moment of her life has been building up to this moment. Her decade of training, her missions, her constantly questioning her identity, were all waiting for her to say what she is going to do as the avatar. With a look at Asami, Korra stood up. She knew what to do.

"I'm going to take down the Saviors, and I'll throw Tenzin and Raiko in jail. Then I'm going to take down USOF and let all these people go home. That's my mission."

Korra walked to Asami and extended her hand. "Asami Sato, would you like to join me?" Her girlfriend nodded. And everything felt clear in that second.