Senior Year

Just when I thought that my luck was turning around, life decided to prove me wrong.  Upon our return to school, news started to spread that Arlin had resigned from his teaching position to take a full time position within the Republic City Police Department in their push to stop the Equalists.  I stood beside Korra at the ceremony introducing the new Chief of Police, a man named Saikhan, and watched as he shook hands with Arlin, smiles plastered on both of their faces.  I felt Korra squeeze my hand at the sight; I gently squeezed back, smiling softly at her.  With the police department now under Arlin’s thumb, I can only imagine what kind of trouble he’ll be causing Korra.

Following the ceremony, Arlin made his way over to us, a smile wide on his face. “Tenzin, Avatar Korra, Ms. Sato.  Did you three enjoy the ceremony?” he asked, his arms spread wide in an open gesture.

I frowned, but Korra beat me to speaking. “What are you up to, Arlin?”

He smiled at us. “I’m only trying to help my city take down these terroristic criminals, dear Avatar.  Speaking of which, I’m looking forward to you returning to the Task Force and possibly helping to recruit some more people to our cause,” he said, his attention shifting to me.

I shivered slightly at his gaze, which Korra felt and instantly stepped in front of me, her hand still holding mine. “I told you, Arlin, that I’m done with that stupid little task force you have.  I have more important issues than that, namely Amon and the Equalists.  I don’t need your help to take them down.”

Arlin narrowed his eyes at Korra. “Is that so?  And how are you going to stop them when you can’t even learn how to airbend?” he asked with a smug smile.

I felt Korra’s confidence take a step back.  Even though she had managed to memorize all of the techniques and forms that Tenzin and his kids had taught her, she still was unable to airbend.  It had been one of the main things topping her list of concerns, rivaling the Equalist movement for the top spot.  She looked down, and Arlin’s smile widened a little before Tenzin stepped in.

“Korra is the Avatar, Tarrlok.  Even my father had trouble when he was learning to bend the other elements.  I would suggest you back off of this topic,” he said, staring down Arlin.

Arlin grinned then turned his attention to Korra and I. “Let me know how the airbending goes, Avatar, because if you won’t rejoin the task force, then I highly recommend you stay out of my way.” He turned and left after saying his part, that smug smile still on his face.

I wrapped my arms around Korra’s waist, hugging her close. “Don’t listen to him, Korra.  He’s just trying to get under your skin,” I whispered softly as Tenzin left to go get Oogi, his sky bison.

Nodding and returning my hug, Korra looked up at me and smiled a little. “Thanks.  Let’s just…get out of here.”

I nodded, taking her hand and walking with her to Oogi.  She was quiet for most of the trip back, only speaking up to talk to Tenzin about her airbending and her past lives, which through me for a loop honestly.  To hear her and Tenzin speak about being able to talk to her past lives like it was an everyday thing had me more confused than the problems I’d find in my projects.  Korra must’ve seen my confused look because she started to laugh.

I rolled my eyes. “Not funny, Korra.”

Trying her hardest to collect herself, she smiled at me. “Kind of is when you’re staring at me like that, ‘Sami.”

I smiled at my shortened name that Korra had begun to use.  Whenever she’d say it, I’d feel a little warmer because she was the only one who would call me by that.  Spirits, she was the only one that I’d let call me that.  The three of us stood up as Oogi landed, Korra and I sliding down his tail to the ground while Tenzin jumped and airbent his soft landing.

“Even still, Korra, I would recommend meditating on those visions.  If it’s Aang you’re seeing, then he’s possibly trying to tell you something,” Tenzin said before taking his leave.

We watched him leave, my hand still in Korra’s.  I looked over at her, about to suggest we go find the boys, when I paused.  She was looking down, her mind thinking.  I smiled softly, leaning over to kiss her cheek.  Her attention snapped back to the present, and she smiled at me.

I smiled back. “Come on.  Let’s go find the boys and see what they’re up to.”

Korra nodded, and we began to walk towards the common area.  It worried me how much Arlin’s words had affected her.  Her mood may have been easy to read as Bolin rose to his feet when we entered the room, a similar worried expression on his face.  Opal turned around, Pabu visibly asleep on her lap.  Mako was sitting on the window sill, his back up against the frame.

“What’s wrong?” Opal asked, gently moving Pabu so that she could stand up.

Korra sighed. “Just…I feel like the worst Avatar ever.”

Bolin smiled, coming over and wrapping his arm around Korra’s shoulders. “Korra, you’re not the worst Avatar ever.  That’s just a stupid thing to think in the first place.”

Korra shook her head. “If I was even worthy of being called the Avatar, then I’d able to airbend right now.”

Opal walked over to us, her hands taking Korra’s free hand. “Korra, when Aang was battling the Fire Nation, he wasn’t a master yet.  He was twelve, and he had the help of his friends.  Just like we’re here for you,” she said with a soft smile.

Mako rose from his seat and joined the group. “Besides, we all know how you are, Korra.  No matter how grim it looks, you always find a way to beat the odds.  That much was evident in the tournament matches.”

That got us all to smile.  Korra looked at all of us, her gaze lasting a little longer on me when it was my turn. “Thank you.”

Suddenly, Bolin’s eyes went wide, his smile being the one he made when he got an idea.  Opal and I looked at each other, matching expressions of dread.  Now what could he have possibly came up with?

“Guys!  I’ve got a great idea!” he shouted, causing Pabu to jump at the sudden volume of his voice. “Let’s become the new Team Avatar!  We could patrol Republic City and save people like when Aang was the Avatar!”

We all stared at him in surprise. “That’s…not too bad of an idea actually,” Korra spoke up first, a grin appearing on her face.

Mako, Opal, and I all looked at each other, grins appearing our faces.  It looked as though we were all in agreement.  Excited that his idea was actually becoming a reality, Bolin suggested that we start a patrol tonight.  Opal volunteered to stay behind in order to monitor the police chatter.  As we were discussing where we would start the patrol, an idea popped into my head.  I ran inside to my room, opening one of the drawers that held some of my smaller finished projects.

“’Sami, what are you doing?” I heard Korra ask from behind me.

Pulling out the small box, I took her hand and kissed her quickly. “Come on,” I said as I dragged her back out to our friends.

I was met by confused expressions as I returned with my box.  A smile on my face, I opened it to show five earpieces, all of my design.  Pulling one out, I showed them how to put it in.  I designed them to adjust perfectly around the right ear of the person, and they were wireless as well.

“These are amazing, Asami!” Opal said as she began to adjust hers.

Mako looked at his questioningly. “How’s the distance faring on them?”

I smiled as Bolin and Korra began to put theirs on. “The entire length of Republic City.”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the distance. “Seriously?” Bolin asked, his mouth on the verge of dropping in amazement.

I pulled the Equalist shock glove that I had kept since that night, sliding it onto my right hand. “I’ve been working on the earpieces since I was thirteen.  My father put a satellite up specifically to help boost the range of them.  He and I had tested them before the school year started,” I said, a slight drop in my tone at the memory.

Noticing my change in mood, Korra placed her hand on my arm gently and smiled. “Hey, they’re great, and they’ll help us spread out more over the city.”

I nodded, ready to get on with the night.  Agreeing that taking Naga into the city was probably a bad idea, since there were four of us going, we decided to take my Satomobile in.  I slid my goggles onto my head but adjusted them so that I could pull them down in a quick second.  Never know when they could come in handy.  One of the few lessons I learned from my father.

The night was quiet as we drove through the city.  I focused on the driving while the rest were scanning the city.  I had left Opal my Cabbagetop in case she needed to give us any directions based off of what was coming from the police chatter.  As we traveled down one of the longer streets, I couldn’t help but look up and admire the star-filled sky above us.  It would’ve been a perfect night to do a stargazing, but we were onto more important things.

“Guys, there’s been jailbreak by the Equalists.  They were last seen heading east from the police department’s headquarters,” Opal called in on our earpieces.

Just as I was about to reply, the escaped convicts and their Equalist companions sped past in front of us, nearly causing an accident in the process.  Quickly changing gears, I sped off after them.  Though it was late at night, there were still some cars out on the streets, making it difficult to maneuver.  The convicts and Equalists had no problem driving down the middle of the road, causing accidents to happen on both sides of the streets, but I wasn’t one to hit an innocent bystander on our way to catching the criminals.  A truck, cut off by the Equalist convoy, blocked the street, cutting us off in the process.

“Korra!  Bolin!  Ramp!” I shouted.

A ramp was quickly earthbent, and we found ourselves flying over the truck and landing hard on the other side of the street.  Thank god for those erratic races on the track.  It was a bit more difficult to control the wide motions of the car as it landed not impossible.  Soon, we were back on track following the convoy with Mako and Bolin trying their hardest to knock two of the chi blockers on motorcycles out of commission.  They were successful, but the remaining two chi blockers were onto us.  Smoke began to emit from their tailpipes as they swerved in front of us.  I slid my goggles down over my eyes, keeping my eyes clear from the smoke, and noticed the convoy make a sharp turn.

“I need help with this turn, Korra!” I said, my fingers wrapping tight around the steering wheel.

An earthbent ramp made its appearance, and we were able to make the turn without the convoy knowing that we were still behind them.  As I positioned the Satomobile behind the two remaining chi blockers, I lowered my voice. “Get ready.”

I slammed hard onto the accelerator, slamming into the motorcycles and causing the chi blockers to fly off of them.  They landed with grace on the hood of the Satomobile, their attention fully on us.  The boys began to fight them, but Bolin’s fight quickly became too much for him as the chi blocker proceeded to hit the pressure points on his arm.  Hearing him fall back against the backseat, I reached up and grabbed the chi blocker’s leg, electrocuting her.  With Korra’s help, Mako was able to knock the second chi blocker over so that they were hanging over the windshield; a shock from my glove later, he was in the backseat with his partner.

Pulling up next to the convoy’s main truck, Mako was able to electrocute the driver.  The truck flipped onto its side, but luckily none of the passengers were hurt beyond a few scratches and bruises.  Rounding up all of those involved, the press were already taking pictures of us by the time Arlin and his task force arrived with the police.  The angered face that Arlin had on almost made me smile.  I watched as the police began to move the convicts into their vehicles while Arlin spoke with Korra.  By the smug look on her face, she was enjoying this just as much as the rest of us.

”Asami, everything alright?” I heard Opal ask.

I pressed the button on my earpiece. “We’re ok.  Police are here picking up the chi blockers and the escaped convicts.  And by the look of it, Korra’s having fun mocking Arlin with their late arrival,” I told her, a smile playing on my lips as I continued to watch her.

“Alright.  I’ll see you guys when you get back here,” Opal replied.

Smiling, I snuck up behind Korra, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and kissing her cheek.  She smiled as we walked back towards the car where Mako and Bolin were currently waiting for us.  We agreed that we had seen enough action tonight, and it was better that we only ran into Arlin once tonight.  If only we had known what kind of trouble we ended up stirring up as Team Avatar.