Senior Year

Things went from bad to worse in an instant.  Here I was standing in front of Leu, who turned out to be Amon’s electric baton boy, and I had nothing to defend myself against it.  Well shit.  We began to circle each other around the room, but with every step taken, Leu was adjusting his angle towards me.  He knew he had me pinned and that I couldn’t defend myself from his batons.  I could hear Tahno from the ring begging Amon to allow him to keep his bending.  Leu smiled when he heard Tahno’s scream.

“One less bender in the world,” he said before launching towards me.

I ducked down, elbowing him in the knee as I jumped forward into a roll and out of his reach.  I spun around as he cried out, pulling my fists up in front of my face in a defensive position.  If we were going to fight, then I was going to give him one hell of a fight.  Turning around, a scowl on his face, he launched at me again.  I ducked underneath his arm and to the left, bringing my leg up and kneeing him hard in the gut before moving to the opposite side of the room.

He wrapped his arm around his stomach and turned to look at me. “It’s people like you that make me sick.  Being all for the people who have an advantage over the rest of us normal people.”

Another attack, another dodge and counter. “And it’s people like you that make me sick.  These people haven’t done anything to deserve this!  You even dated Korra; how could be so hateful towards people like her?” I asked, making sure to keep my distance away from his batons.

That seemed to rile him up worse. “I could have made her perfect!  We’re going to make everyone equal!  No one has to be different from one another in this world!  But you ruined it when you took her away from me!” he screamed as he launched himself at me again.

I stepped to the right, this time holding my leg out a moment longer and tripping him.  He fell forward and rolled into the wall.  Groaning, he moved back to his feet, the anger still clear as day on his face. “I didn’t take her away from you, Leu.  You made her walk away.  That’s what happens when you beat a person you’re supposed to care about,” I said, knowing what was going to happen next.

His face red with anger, he yelled. “Liar!  She left me because of you!”

He rushed at me, his thoughts clouded by his anger towards me, failing to notice I was smiling.  I grabbed the arm he swung at me and flipped him over my shoulder.  He landed on the floor with a thud, a gasp escaping his mouth as the baton’s energy pack dug deep into his back.  I picked up one of the batons and shocked him unconscious.  When it was clear he wasn’t going to be getting up any time soon, I dropped the baton.

“I’m no liar, you psycho,” I said, trying to control my breathing before turning my attention to the main platform.

I walked over to the opening area where the lift was and saw that Korra and the boys were still tied to one of the pillars.  At closer inspection, I saw that Bolin was currently freaking out about something I couldn’t see.  I need to get over there now before Amon turns his attention to them.  I leaned forward, reading myself to jump into the water, when I saw them.

The Wolfbats were slowly swimming towards the platform on the water below me, their faces shocked and…and hollow.  It didn’t take me long to figure out why as I looked up towards the main platform.  He had taken their bending away.  I shook my head, turning my attention to the task at hand.  I wasn’t going to let him get the chance to do the same to Korra and the boys.  I jumped into the water, finding my swimming rhythm with practiced ease; being a member of the swim team hand its perks.  Two minutes later, and I was pulling myself onto floor of the platform, running over to the gang.

Korra looked at me surprised. “Asami!  What the hell are you doing?” she asked, concern filling her voice at the thought of the danger around us.

“Helping,” I said, pulling out a small knife and cutting the ropes off.

As I cut away at the ropes, my mind finally registered that Amon was still speaking.  Only, it was his last words that actually got my attention. “The revolution has begun!” he announced from over us.

We all looked up at the main platform. “That can’t be good,” Mako said, standing and pulling the excess rope off his arms.

Suddenly, an explosion rained out above us, knocking us all to the ground.  Korra was first to her feet, jumping out onto the water and freezing a portion of it so that she could look towards the roof.  Her face turned determined.

“I’m going after Amon,” she announced, looking at us.

My gut filled with worry, but I knew that she wasn’t going to listen to reason. “Be careful,” both Mako and I told her.

She nodded, launching herself into the air with waterbending.  I watched as she got halfway up towards Amon’s aircraft, Chief Beifong giving her an extra boost towards one of the rising mini-platforms.  Fear and worry ran some crazy thoughts through my mind, but it wasn’t until a rogue platform came sweeping down towards us that I thought about actually using one of the ideas.

I looked at Bolin, who had been hugging Pabu to his chest watching Korra, and said, “Bolin, I need you to launch me to that platform.”

He looked as the platform started to come closer to us on its swing. “Are you crazy, Asami?”

The platform was getting closer. “Yes!  Now do it!” I yelled, my eyes fully on the platform.

Though his face showed his fear, he nonetheless launched me towards the platform.  I grabbed the wire it was attached to and pulled it close to my body, allowing for the platform to move underneath my feet.  The timing of the launch was perfect; as soon as my feet met the platform, it begun its rise up towards the aircraft.  Within a minute, I was pulled up through the hole in the roof, my attention going to the battle that was taking place on the roof between Chief Beifong and Korra against Amon’s chi blockers.  I frowned when I noticed that Leu was also a part of the battle.

Successfully knocking back Leu, Korra looked up and noticed my rise towards the aircraft, an expression of fear on her face. “Asami!”

I was about to call out to her when I felt a sharp kick to the back of my head.  Knocked off the platform, I began to fall towards the hole in the roof.  My vision blurred, and I was vaguely aware that I was back inside the arena.  I turned my head up and saw the smoking arena platform coming closer and closer.  This is it.  This is where I’m going to die.  I closed my eyes, waiting on the inevitable end.

It was then that I felt two arms wrap around me and my body jerk back towards the direction I had fallen from.  Suddenly, the person who had their arms around me and I were swinging.  Then came the hard landing, but the person who had grabbed me had adjusted our bodies so that I landed on them.  Groaning, I placed my hands on the ground and slowly lifted myself up, opening my eyes to see who my savior was.  A mixture of surprise and happiness flowed through me.  It was Korra.

“Hey, you alright?” she asked, slowly sitting up on her elbows.

I nodded. “Thanks to you.”

She smiled as I moved off of her. “Good, because you are one crazy person.  What were you thinking?”

Chief Beifong soon landed beside us. “I could ask the same thing, Ms. Sato.  That was some very dangerous thinking.”

Korra and I both stood up as I answered. “I saw an opportunity to help, so I took it.”

Whatever Chief was about to say, Dad’s yelling soon drowned it out.  I got the entire “What were you thinking?!  You’re grounded!” speech and more as everyone crowded around us to make sure we were alright.  Yet, I didn’t care.  My friends were safe.  Korra was safe.  And we had bigger problems on our hands.

Amon had proved that he could take on Republic City’s police department and come out on top, evident by their destruction of the police’s aircraft and their ability to knock out the metalbending officers with ease.  Not to mention, knowing that Leu was Amon’s top agent was unsettling, especially for Korra.  Yet, there she was, taking the news like a champ.  Like she always did.

Statements were taken, the Wolfbats were taken to the hospital to be looked at by the healers, and soon everyone was dispersing.  Thankfully, I had driven myself to the arena, giving me a chance to break away from Dad’s disapproving looks.  I watched as his limo drove away for home, sighing in relief.  I know he won’t be mad for long, but it’s still hard to be under that much scrutiny by him.  I walked over to my car where the gang was currently conversing.  Opal was standing beside Bolin holding Pabu, while Korra was leaning up against my car with Mako.  The boys both had looks of despair on their faces.

“I think we’ve all had a rough night tonight, guys.  No need for those faces to add on,” I said, trying to break the gloomy mood that had surrounded them.

Mako sighed. “Butakha just informed us that he won’t be able to continue paying for our apartment’s rent.  He’s closing down the arena.”

“Oh, Mako, I’m so sorry,” I said as my mind already had begun to work on different living arrangements for them.

No one had a clear solution as to the boys’ problem.  They were both content to going back to the homeless shelter for the night when the thought hit me. “Why not crash with me?  The house has plenty of space,” I suggested.

Bolin’s mood instantly perked up. “You mean your mansion of a house?”

Opal and I laughed. “It’s not a mansion, Bolin,” Opal said as she continued to stroke Pabu’s fur.

“No, it is a mansion,” Korra said, a smile on her face.

We all laughed, finally breaking the gloomy mood.  It felt good to laugh with them, considering what had just gone down tonight.  As we continued to discuss plans for moving Mako and Bolin’s things to the house, I couldn’t help but find myself watching Korra.  I watched her laugh, crack her own jokes, and just be herself.  I could tell underneath she was hiding the hurt of finding out who Leu really was, how she couldn’t have seen through his charade when they had been dating before.  Standing there, watching her tough through this, made me think back to what Opal had said earlier in the evening.  Had I really fallen for my best friend?  The flutter that engulfed my chest after I mentally asked that question confirmed that I had.

Life just loved proving that it could get worse.  A few days after Amon’s attack, Cabbage Corp, one of Dad’s biggest rivals, was found to have Equalist ties.  This put a lot of people on edge at school, especially for Ralph Gan-Lan.  As I stood at my locker, putting my things away and getting ready to head home, I saw as several benders began their already-tiring tirade on him.  They began pushing him around, calling him lousy names they made up on the spot. 

I slammed my locker shut, storming over to the bullies. “Enough.  Leave the poor guy alone,” I said, my hands clenched.

The leader looked up, smiling when he saw me. “And what are you going to do about it, Sato?  You a part of that Equalist movement too?”

“No, but I sure as hell won’t let you pick on someone like Ralph.  He doesn’t deserve it,” I said, standing toe to toe with the leader.

He smirked at me. “Tahno and Zolt didn’t deserve to have their bending taken away because they were benders.  Neither did those who were around them at the time.  Just because we were born with our gifts doesn’t mean people like you and Ralph and this Equalist movement can just come in and take it away because you’re different than us.”

I was ready to knock his lights out for trying to put me with the Equalist movement when a familiar voice broke into our conversation.

“Yun, I hope you have a good reason for beating up little Ralphy here.  Because if you don’t, then we’re going to have a problem,” I heard Korra say from behind me, knuckles cracking soon after.

Yun’s expression dropped. “We-we were just leaving,” he said as he and his friends backed away from Korra and I.

Korra moved so that she was standing beside me, a smile on her face. “Good.  Now beat it,” she said, nodding towards the entrance to the school.

It didn’t take them long to run out of the school.  I went over to Ralph, helping him to his feet. “You ok?” I asked.

He nodded slowly. “I will be.  Thanks,” he said, looking up at Korra. “Thank you.”

She smiled softly at him. “You didn’t deserve that.  You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He looked down, clenching his fists. “Korra, I know my dad.  This isn’t something he’d get mixed into.  Someone’s trying to frame us and a lot of other companies around Republic City.”

Korra’s expression turned serious. “If that’s true, then we’ll stop them.”

Ralph nodded, bidding us goodbyes as he turned to leave.  I watched him leave before turning my attention to Korra.  She sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

“Sorry; I know you’ve handled that yourself, but I don’t think your dad would like you getting in trouble at school after what happened at the arena,” she said with a small smile.

I shrugged. “Made for an interesting end to the day, at least.”

“Any plans for the rest of the day?” Korra asked as we walked out of the school, eyeing Bolin, Mako, and Opal waiting by my car.

I smiled. “Course.  Why don’t you come join us?"

She laughed as we met up with the three by my car. “Just what do you plan on doing?”

I opened the driver’s door, letting Bolin, Mako, and Opal pile into the backseat, while Korra jumped into the front passenger’s side.  I smiled as she buckled her seatbelt in. “Swimming, of course."