Asami's thoughts strayed as she put the finishing touches to her makeup. Korra had been on her mind all night and she slept uncomfortably. When she closed her eyes she saw Korra's face just before the elevator doors were pulled shut, her expression one of poignant hurt. Asami woke to a collection of thoughts and feelings she didn't know how to sort through. She tried to focus instead on getting prepared for the day ahead, skimming over her documents once more over a strong cup of coffee.
A sharp knock on the door caught her attention as Asami was gathering her things together. Her mind immediately jumped to a conclusion, one she swiftly dashed. If she was certain of one thing it was that her prospective visitor definitely wasn't Korra, and that made Asami wonder who it could be. She was not used to having her morning rituals interrupted. Her curiosity piqued, she walked over to the door and, after unlocking it, pulled it open.
Mako stood there in front of her, uncertainty evident in his expression and the way his eyes flitted away from hers. Beside him was Chief Beifong. The look on her face was severe. She carried a black binder with her, one she produced from beneath the folds of her grey overcoat as Asami looked between them. Bewildered, her mind was utterly blank. She couldn't think of a single thing to say.
"We need to talk," Lin told her.
A tight feeling gnawed at the pit of Asami's stomach. "We do?"
The older woman's gaze was piercing. "I know who you are," she said simply.
--
They were on opposite sides of the coffee table, Lin sitting on one sofa and Asami the other. Mako was standing, arms folded as he looked down at the binder laid open in front of them all. His frown was deep, eyes concerned as he glanced back and forth between the two women. Asami sat forward, hands clasped together between her knees as her eyes swept over the papers spread in front of her. Evidence, irrefutable evidence, all of it, and yet it was still difficult to accept it for what it was.
"How did you get all of this?" she said, looking up at the stern faced Chief.
"I've been at this since before you could walk," Lin replied. "I have contacts in places you wouldn't dream."
Asami grimaced. She had always had a bad feeling about losing her grapple hook launcher, despite pushing it to the far corners of her mind when nothing seemed to come of it.
"When did you find out?" she finally asked.
"Three days after the attempt on Korra's life," Lin said. "Efforts to source the origins of your weapon pointed to the Fire Nation before hitting dead ends on every front. After the equalists attacked Korra, I started calling in some favours."
"They worked fast."
"I was owed to, big time. You left a money trail behind – a small one admittedly, but I know people who are good at sniffing them out."
Asami sat back. "So my identity is out there, then," she said quietly.
Lin shook her head. "No. The trail only led back to Future Industries accounts, not directly to you."
"Then how did you link the Equalist to me?"
"Educated guesses," Lin said. "The Equalist was a woman highly skilled in combat and you have extensive experience in several forms of self-defence, dating back to shortly after the time of your mother's unfortunate passing. I personally went through the police archive of blueprints confiscated from your father's underground workshop and was able to match the weapon we recovered to several admittedly rough prototype drafts. Also, the movement of money from Future Industries to the private military contractor who produced the weapon suggested executive level management."
"I see," Asami said slowly.
"Now answer me this," Lin said, shifting her eyes onto Mako, "did you know Asami was the Equalist before or after she shocked you in that alley?"
He stared open mouthed at the Chief. Asami spoke instead.
"Afterwards, I told him myself." Asami glanced at him. "We didn't part on good terms."
"Meaning?"
"We…I decided we needed to let go of the shred of a relationship we were holding onto,"
Lin briefly held her eyes before turning back to Mako. "The reports the night Liwei Hong was arrested made their way across my desk. In light of discovering the Equalist's identity, I connected the dots. She was reported to have evaded capture because of a misaimed lightning bolt you fired off. It was then reported that you, alone, alerted a number of officers to your position after discovering an open manhole. You helped her escape, yes?"
Mako closed his mouth and swallowed hard. "I did," he said finally.
"Why?"
"We couldn't have caught and exposed Hong without her actions. I tried to make her see that she'd done enough as the Equalist."
"And you had met with her – the Equalist as you would have known her then – prior to that night in the alley, hadn't you?" Lin said.
"Yes, I had," Mako capitulated.
"So you lied to me the night I interviewed you, directly to my face."
Mako lowered his eyes and didn't reply. Lin looked away from him.
Asami tentatively breached the tense silence. "I have to say, Chief Beifong, I'm not quite sure what's going on here."
Lin folded her arms, her expression carved of stone. "Go on."
"Well, for starters, you put the Equalist on the city's most wanted list," Asami said. "You were making a big push for my capture. You've now discovered who I am, yet you haven't arrested me."
"During the furore that Republic City is presently caught up in?"
"I don't imagine it would have been difficult to paint Korra's attack as a machination of the Equalist," Asami said carefully.
Lin arched her brow. "Are you giving me ideas?"
"I'm just very confused," Asami quickly clarified.
The Chief sighed, glancing at Mako, who seemed to have edged closer to the other side of the coffee table.
"I should throw you both in jail cells and lock you away. You in particular," she told Asami, "despite what your actions ultimately helped accomplish in the end. Your potential list of charges would make a prosecution team's day and the press would eat you alive. However, let us simply say that attempting to bring you to justice now would only heap more problems onto my plate."
Asami swallowed. "So you plan to in the future."
Lin sat forward, unfolding her arms. It took her a moment to speak. "I am prepared to weather the questions as to why the Equalist was never found and brought to justice later, if you will help me prevent a potential catastrophe now."
Asami first glanced at Mako, who happened to have looked at her in the same moment.
"What do you mean?"
"Mako informed me last night that he and Korra had a falling out, to put it lightly, concerning an intimate relationship he had with you during her time of absence," Lin said. "Korra has never been anything but straightforward. She'll dive straight to the heart of the matter, so my hunch is that she came to see you after leaving Mako's apartment yesterday."
"She did," Asami replied, nodding. "She was…well, she was angry, and hurt. She left and I couldn't stop her."
"Do you have any ideas where she might have gone afterwards?"
Asami shrugged. "Air Temple Island?"
Lin shook her head. "First place I tried. Now I have Tenzin on my back asking why I was calling at such an hour with such a request. I need your help, Asami. Korra has gone missing."
The young woman blanched. "What?"
"I don't know what relationship you and Korra have had since she came back to Republic City," Lin said. "I remember at least that you used to be friends during the equalists' initial uprising." She looked at Mako. "I assume she has at least told you what really happened before she left three years ago."
He nodded, glancing at Asami. "It's a long story."
"I've heard it," she replied.
Mako's eyes grew. "What? When?"
Lin merely tilted her head a fraction. "I see."
"I invited her here to talk after all the questions about her absence started being raised," Asami said. "She told me what happened. Li Hong, the deal she made with Zolt, everything."
"I'm surprised she felt so comfortable with you after so many years," Lin said.
Asami caught her tone and Mako's disbelieving expression in the corner of her eye. She looked down at her hands. "We, uh, had some history," she said.
"History?" Mako repeated.
Lin watched her closely for a long moment. "Did Korra know who the Equalist was?"
Asami eventually nodded. "She stripped off my mask the night we fought on the rooftops. She came here afterwards. We exchanged words, you could say, then and afterwards."
"Korra never mentioned this to me once," Mako breathed, perhaps more to himself than anyone else.
"I don't believe you have the luxury to comment on keeping secrets," Lin said bluntly, and Mako fell into silence.
"So you know the story," she said to Asami. "Last night I provided Korra with a security detail to escort her from Air Temple Island to Mako's apartment. She gave them the slip when she left there and now we've no idea where she is. I could only put out so many people to actively look for her, those I know without a doubt I can trust, because should this get out to the media it would be an utter nightmare. Unfortunately, she has not turned up."
"Korra is one of the most honest women I know, in many ways," Lin continued. "She wears her heart on her sleeve and should something upset her, she will take it very personally. This may sound strange to you both, but the longer she kept herself on the island cooped up in her room, the happier I was.
"I had to interview her mere minutes after she miscarried. There was so much anger in her eyes. Nothing can get through to her when she is like that. I hoped that anger would have subsided in the weeks since then, that she would focus on recovering. I don't think it has. She called me yesterday, asking about the progress of our investigation. I could hear it in her voice. That's part of the reason I advised her to visit you," Lin directed at Mako. "I hoped you would take her mind off the matter."
Mako couldn't reply. He seemed to give a feeble, defeated half shrug. Lin turned back to Asami.
"Once Korra makes up her mind, the earth and sky will move before she changes it. Korra will do whatever she must to see that decision turned to action. She gave Zolt his bending in exchange for Li Hong, and I believe she knew full well what the consequences would be even then. This, now, is much more personal to her and I fear the lengths she may be inclined to go to this time," Lin said gravely.
Asami spread her hands. "I don't understand how I can help," she said.
"Korra will go to where the most prominent source of influence is to find what she wants," Lin said. "The equalists primarily operate underneath the city and though I hate to admit it, the police never had even close to the knowledge of Republic City's underground network. I believe you do, Asami. As the Equalist you gave us the slip at every turn."
Asami squeezed her hands together, betraying her hesitance. The instinctive urge to guard her secrets sprung up within her as the Chief watched her intently. But would she really have any further use for them herself, when she had promised that her days of wearing a mask were over? Now, especially, was not an appropriate time to become jealously protective.
"I have maps," Asami said at last. "They're fairly extensive in detail."
The light of relief briefly filled Lin's eyes before her stern composure quelled it. "I need to see them."
And that meant going to the basement. Asami had locked it up in the hopes she would never have to go down there again. And it went without saying that she was somewhat uncomfortable showing the Chief of Police the place out of which the Equalist had operated. At the very least, she didn't want Mako to see it either. The less people that knew it existed, the better. Lin agreed before he could get a word in edgeways. Asami asked him to watch the apartment while they were gone. Sullen, he nodded.
Asami reluctantly pushed herself up off the sofa, Lin following suit. She took a deep breath.
"Follow me."
--
"Ugh. Naga, do you have to?"
A rumble came from the polar bear dog's throat, and Korra felt it through her thighs as she sat astride her. Naga promptly slunk herself low and Korra all but got the message. Rolling her eyes and muttering under her breath, she swung her leg over Naga's back and slid down onto the ground. The polar bear dog had spotted a breathing hole, and once she decided she was hungry there was no changing her mind.
Korra sighed, patting Naga's flank. "Alright, girl, go do your thing."
Naga briefly turned to Korra, breath hot as she nuzzled her snout against her cheek. She lifted her hands and, as best as she could while wearing thick mitts, scratched the polar bear dog behind the ears. Naga responded with a pleasant whine, dragging her rough tongue up the side of Korra's face. She chuckled and pushed the polar bear dog away.
"Yeah, yeah, you love me. Just don't take all day," Korra said. "It's cold and I'm hungry."
Before the world turned on its head and Korra found herself a stowaway on a ship making for Republic City, Naga had been infamously adept at still-hunting. She could lay in wait at a breathing hole for hours. Korra was loathe to be parted from her, and more than once were White Lotus sentries sent out to find her as the day waned. However, though she was prepared to wait for her, Korra could never stomach watching Naga make a kill. She hadn't been lying when she told Jinora the polar bear dog was vicious. Seeing a seal's skull crushed between her jaws was too gruesome a spectacle.
Korra adjusted her fur-lined hood as she turned away. Their usual routine was for her to take a walk and Naga to track her down when she had finished feeding, so long as the kill itself didn't take too long to make. Otherwise, Korra would eventually find her way back to the breathing hole Naga was waiting at, averting her eyes when necessary. She did not mind the solitary walks; in fact, she enjoyed them. The expansive arctic landscape was pristine and the air sharply fresh. Korra appreciated it all the more having spent years in a city whose roads were choked with automobiles.
All was quiet save for the crunching of her boots on the ground as she drifted further away from Naga. The path her feet took was for the most part aimless; she had no destination in mind. She took Naga out for these walks mostly to get away from the hustle and bustle of the village. Her father was eager to get her involved as they all prepared for the arctic winter, and Katara had taken her on as a teaching assistant. The enthusiasm of the locals, particularly young men, to attend her classes had notably increased. Korra preferred to keep her opinion to herself whenever the old woman good-naturedly teased her about that.
The attention was not lost on her, though. Korra didn't want to admit that she…well, it was nice. She warmed to some of the more quick-witted boys in one of Katara's groups. They genuinely made her smile and it didn't take them long to make her laugh. She appreciated it, even if they did not quite realise what they were helping her to do. Her thoughts were ever on the letters she had toiled over and sent to Republic City, and the responses she had yet to receive.
Korra felt like she was constantly strung tight with a sense of anxiousness. Her mind was always on him, where he was, what he was doing; why he hadn't written back to her. Each day he did not reply tied another knot into her stomach and Korra was beginning to feel ill with worry. She took these walks to get away from all of that, yet she found herself wondering aloud why Mako was ignoring her. It was easy to answer her own questions, Korra was just afraid to give them a voice. She stopped in her tracks at the sound of another's.
Korra stood completely still for a long moment before she slowly lifted her hands and pulled back her hood. It sounded like…barking, and as she scanned the ever undulating landscape her eyes zeroed in on a tall mound of snow, its crest curved forward like that of a wave. Korra listened again, turning her ear towards the snowdrift. It definitely seemed to be barking, young and high pitched. So many years had passed since she heard that sound, when Naga was but a cub.
Could it be? Polar bear dogs were naturally solitary creatures and she had encountered very few after meeting Naga. Those she did were from a distance, and Naga would always insist on turning away. Besides her, Korra had never seen a cub before, and Naga was comparatively old when she stumbled upon her. Such as it was, her curiosity was powerful.
Korra carefully crept forwards toward the snowdrift. Her boots crunched loudly and she almost winced with each step. She paused when she heard another voice answer the first, once more young and pitched higher than an adult polar bear dog's would be. There was more than one cub? Korra pressed her powers of recall; she thought they sounded younger than Naga had been. Had these cubs been abandoned? Mothers chased away their young after they were weaned. It seemed cruel, but how could one argue with nature's order?
Her heart was beating with the anticipation as she slowly came up beside the snowdrift, moving as quietly as she could. The cubs didn't seem to have noticed her presence yet, which she was glad for. Then the thought struck her that a wolf would have shared the sentiment, for entirely different reasons. The cubs were young and vulnerable. She hoped she wouldn't panic them. When Korra finally peeked around the side of the snowdrift, her chest swelled.
They were so small, bundles of pristine white fur with small, dark eyes and the large black button that was their nose. They were beautiful. Something softened within Korra and she couldn't put a name to it. The cubs did not notice her immediately – they were too busy playing with each other. The sight melted Korra's heart. Both stiffened and became utterly still when their eyes found her however.
"It's okay," Korra murmured, lifting her hands, "I'm not going to hurt you."
They continued watching her warily, pressing themselves close to each other. Korra slowly pulled off one of her mitts and extended her hand towards them. One of the cubs barked loudly and she paused.
"I won't hurt you," Korra said gently, slowly moving her hand forward again. "I won't hurt you."
The cub barked again, less fiercely this time. It was still cautious. Its sibling, however, was more curious. It did not take long for it to inch forward its head and lick the tips of Korra's fingers.
She could not stop the joy spreading across her face when both began exploring her hands, pushing their noses against her fingers. Their heads bumped against each other in their enthusiasm to sniff and taste her. Korra grinned as she watched them, the ticklish sensation of their tongues making her chuckle.
"What are you two doing out here all by yourself, huh?" she wondered quietly, scratching one of the cubs behind its ear. The purity of their innocence was such a rare thing in this world. The cub turned its face into her hand, its little tail wagging left to right. Korra frowned as its sibling pressed in towards her, looking for similar attention. Her heart panged at the thought that they had been abandoned so young to brave the wild.
A deep, rumbling snarl from behind her told Korra otherwise.
Her eyes grew wide and her hands fell still. The cubs started barking and were answered with a growl that chilled Korra's blood. They scampered past her and she slowly, ever so slowly, turned around to face their mother.
Fear caught Korra by the throat as her eyes found the great, hulking beast. Its thick fur was bristled, lips peeled away from large, sharp teeth. Korra was all too familiar with what those teeth could do and the sheer power held in a polar bear dog's jaws. The animal was infamous for being aggressively territorial. She had gone one step further and interfered with its children. Now she was a threat. Korra knew how a polar bear dog fiercely loyal to its master handled those. A mother protecting her cubs was a different matter entirely.
Her heart was pounding as the polar bear dog took a step towards her. Korra lifted her arms and slowly rose to her feet. Her hands were shaking. "I'm going away," she said, hearing the tremor in her voice, "okay? I'm going away now."
If the animal understood her intentions, it didn't care. It moved forward and Korra stepped back, holding up her hands. She was sweating beneath her parka as the snarling polar bear dog's breath condensed thickly in the air. When it suddenly barked, a fierce and vicious sound that cut right through to her most primal instincts, Korra panicked. Startled, she stumbled backwards and threw out her hands, inadvertently bending in the process.
The mistake was fatal. The polar bear dog treated the jet of air that struck it in the face as an attack. Korra screamed as it pounced on her, one of its claws slicing into her thigh. Naga came to her rescue moments later.
--
Korra couldn't sleep. It was nothing new, and neither were her dreams. They tormented her and there was nothing she could do to stop them. So she lay awake.
The sound of the mantel clock ticking away kept her company as she stared at the bare, cold wall. It was a constant, comforting presence, the only one she had. With the room having no windows, she did not know when the night melted into a new day, when the sky faded to light with the coming of dawn. Korra had no idea how long she had sat there, staring at the brass clock components as they revolved slowly through the air around the focal point of her will.
They were decidedly bigger than a watch's innards. Perhaps at another time she might have studied each of them with great interest. Instead, Korra watched the floating nebula of metal pieces with detachment. Her eyes were drawn and darkly circled, hardly blinking when the door to her room rattled with a knock.
She did not respond to a second askance of invitation, sitting silently with her back against the wall and arms folded. Eventually, the door was simply pushed open. Anyu stepped into the room, and only then did Korra's eyes shift. She waited until the woman closed the door behind her before speaking.
"Have you found them?"
Anyu looked at her meaningfully. "The White Lotus is bound to serve you, Avatar Korra. But I must ask: what is it you intend to do?"
Korra's gaze left the woman's. She lifted her hand, guiding the floating pieces in front of her.
"You can't save me..."
It was Takka's voice, eyes growing dim as he told her it was too late.
It was Naga, with a bloody flank and weak, laboured breathing, limping as she carried her back to the village.
It was the son she knew she would have had, and only now did Korra begin to hear what he was always trying to tell her.
"You can't save me."
But she could make it right again, all of it. She should never have relied on anyone else but herself; Korra realised that. No more waiting. No more second thoughts. It was her turn now. She closed her fist and in a swift series of clicks, the components of the clock came together as one. It began ticking again. Korra looked up at Anyu, reluctance etched into the woman's face before she even spoke.
"Tell me where they are."
--
"How much longer are we keeping this up, Shou?"
The man took a pull from his cigarette, smoke seeping from the corner of his mouth afterwards. "You know why we're doing this, don't you?" he asked.
His fellow triad folded his arms, the shadow of a scowl crossing his face. Shou tapped ashes to the floor as he watched the man.
"Well?"
"Damn it, Shou, I know why. It's just the more time we spend down here, the more uncomfortable I get about it all."
"I can attest to that," a third man interjected, emerging from a crate with a smaller, rectangular box in hand. "Heaven knows I'm tired of listening to you whine like a little bitch about it."
"Fuck off, Hao."
Shou blew smoke into the air. "We're establishing a trail for the Police Chief and her ilk to follow. Hiding the fact that firearms are being brought into the city is impossible. We're simply throwing the police off the scent by pinning their sale and distribution squarely on the equalists." Shou took another pull on his cigarette. "I have to say, Yun, I'm getting rather tired of explaining this again and again to you."
The man glanced away. "Like I said, I'm just uncomfortable being down here is all."
Shou slipped off the edge of the crate he had been sitting on. "Is it?" he said. "You're not losing your nerve now, are you, Yun?"
"What?" he said as Shou moved to stand in front of him. "No, of course not."
"I don't know," Hao said, voice echoing around the insides of the crate he was digging through. "You're always moaning about how going after the Avatar was a step too far."
"The hell?" Yun burst out.
Shou shifted his attention as Hao straightened with another box in hand. "Is that true?"
Yun was having some difficulty meeting his eyes. "Even if it was, so what?" he said. "Fuck, Shou, the Avatar? That's way above our pay grade. We've got the whole damn force looking for us and we didn't even finish the job."
"That's why we're here, in the equalists' playground where Beifong doesn't have a hope of finding us," Shou replied. "Every one of them we get a firearm into the hands of will think they're the hottest shot in town. They'll finish what we started with the Avatar. We don't have to do a thing except point them in the right direction."
"On that note," Shou said, shaking back the sleeve of his uniform to check his watch, "our latest potential buyer should be arriving any moment now. Hao?"
"Got them all here, boss. Everything's in order."
Shou nodded. "Good. That just leaves –"
He stopped abruptly, cigarette paused in the air halfway to his mouth. "Did anyone else hear that?"
Yun frowned. "Hear what?"
"Shh!" Shou tilted his head, staring at the floor with narrowed eyes. And there it was again.
"Is that shouting?" Hao said uncertainly.
It was, muffled by the walls of the room and distance, but, undeniably, it was. All three men stood still for almost a minute, straining to listen. A loud, distinct pop made them all straighten; a firearm had just gone off. Shou looked up slowly several moments later at the clatter of noise that followed it: earthbending.
The subtle shiver of the ground beneath their feet told them its source was much closer than any of them would have liked. And still they stood there, trapped in disbelief, caught in the headlights. Then they heard the heel of boots scuffing along the ground. Shou was sure it was only one set of footsteps. Yun and Hao were glancing between him and each other, waiting for instructions. All three jumped when something pounded against the door.
Shou's cigarette dropped to the floor. He carefully eased the firearm out of the holster strapped around his waist, jerking his head at Yun. The man stared blankly at him as Shou waved the firearm in the direction of the door, then he vigorously shook his head.
"Screw that," he muttered and turned to Hao, who was also removing his weapon from its holster. "You do it."
Whoever was on the other side of it beat at the door again, even harder this time. Shou had no illusions that it was anyone they had been expecting.
"Yun, move," he hissed fiercely. "We have you covered, alright?"
He swallowed, staring down the barrel of Shou's firearm. "Shit," he whispered, drawing his own. "Fine."
Shou lifted his firearm up to his right hand as Yun walked across the room, checking the contents of the cylinder before swinging it back into place with a distinct click. Hao had crouched down behind his crate, forearms resting along one of its edge with his weapon levelled at the door. Shou followed suit, moving around to the back of the crate he had been sitting on to face the door at an angle.
He wished he had use of both hands to steady the firearm as he likewise propped up his arm. Yun looked back at them both as he reached the door, eyes lingering on Shou. He nodded firmly at the man and readjusted his grip on his weapon. His palm was slick with sweat. Yun, with his firearm clutched in his left hand and his throat pulsing as he swallowed, reached for the panel covering a narrow eye-level grate. A blinding white gaze was staring back at him when he pulled it open. Yun's eyes widened.
"It's her!"
Yun stumbled backwards as the door buckled in on itself, rent from its frame with a horrible screech. His arm whipped upwards, firearm pointed right at the centre of it. His hands were shaking. The heavy sliding bolt buried into the wall whined loudly as it began to bend, contorting right before their very eyes. Metal in its entirety, Shou watched speechlessly as the door was slowly crunched like an empty tin into an ugly, misshapen mass. It was when he glimpsed dark brown boots on the other side of it that he finally found his voice.
"Yun, move!"
But it was far too late. Shou instinctively ducked his head at the thunderclap of a firearm going off. The next thing he saw was Yun's body sail across the room. He bounced off the back wall with a dull thud. When he fell, the deformed door-turned-projectile clattering to the ground beside him, Yun did not move again. Shou stared, open-mouthed, and then he rose with a vengeance and pointed at the Avatar.
She acted first.
Wind filled the room and bellowed in his ear, whipping itself into a fury. Shou went blind as the buffeting gusts dragged tears from his eyes. He raised his arm to shield his face, scrambling backwards as the crate he was crouched behind scraped along the ground, jolting into him. He couldn't see anything nor hear his own voice over the roar of the wind when he called out to Hao. But then as quickly as the gale had risen, it ceased. Shou lowered his arm and looked up to see the Avatar in mid-flight.
Jagged slabs pulled up from out of the floor were congregated in front of her fist, dripping dust. Unbalanced by the unnatural, sudden winds, Hao had just about gained his bearings when she punched forward. He had no time to lift his firearm. The man was sprawled out unconscious by the time the Avatar landed from her leap off of the wall. She turned her white, sulphurous eyes on Shou and he didn't even think. He simply pulled the trigger and fired.
The shot went wide, far wide of the woman. Her boot was a blur as it sliced through the air and straight into his wrist. His hand sprang open upon impact and the firearm flew, clattering noisily off the wall. Shou panicked as the Avatar set her foot to the ground. There were no other options left. Flames surged out from his fist and engulfed her – but only for a moment. She tore them apart like a curtain, tongues of fire flickering into non-existence. And Shou was undone.
The Avatar stared at him with wide, confused eyes. They searched him, moving to focus on his arm, his right arm, strapped across his chest in a splint. And then a terrible shadow darkened the woman's face. A snarl curled her lips as she cycled her hands through the air and bound Shou in the grip of the earth. He was trapped. Shou couldn't move. The Avatar straightened and looked down on him. When she spoke, her voice smoked with fury.
"You."
She said nothing more. Korra had no more need for words. She recognised the man. He wore a mask then, but she recognised him. It was from him that Takka saved her life. She saw all too clearly the ice that shattered against his arm. She remembered how it hung limp and lifeless at his side when he beat his retreat. She did not know his name; she knew nothing about him, but what did it matter? With that arm, he pointed death straight at her face. With that arm, he had killed Takka. Korra cast out hers to the side. If the world demanded balance, she would satisfy it.
The firearm skittered along the ground before jumping up into her hand. The metal was cool against her skin. She didn't understand how it worked. She wanted to. So Korra pulled it apart and, in pieces, it hung in the air in front of her. Her eyes never once left the man's face as she studied it. The rise and fall of his chest was all the more pronounced when the firearm came together again and Korra took it almost reverently into her grip. And then she pointed it at him.
The man's eyes bulged. "Wait! Wait. It wasn't m-mmrph!"
Korra silenced him. She lifted her right hand, her fingers curled into claws, and forced his lips shut. Pain flashed intensely across the man's face as she bent his blood. There was nothing he could say that she would ever want to hear, nothing. She locked his voice in his throat and let it die there.
Resolutely, Korra lifted her thumb and cocked back the firearm's hammer. Without hesitation, without a moment of doubt or delay, her finger curved around the trigger. She saw the light in Takka's eyes dimming as he stopped her hand. She remembered the doctor's face, tight with worry as nurses scrambled to stop the bleeding. And she heard the voice of her baby, a mournful whisper she wished she had never deciphered.
"You can't save me."
Korra's grip tightened on the firearm when her hand started to shake. Tears fell when she pulled the trigger.