Four
“I’ve looked at my figures. We have enough money to do it,” Asami nodded, leaning over her desk. “We’re going to want other companies to sponsor, though. But we can worry about that later.”
Mako smiled enthusiastically, “Perfect! Who do we talk to about the purchase?”
“Try asking Beifong.”
“Will do. And Asami… thanks!”
The CEO gave a tired smile and kissed her girlfriend as they exited the room. “Give me a proper draw-up of your plan. I can probably by-pass the board by making it a donation. I love your idea, though. See you later, you two,” she said with a smile.
“See ya, Sunshine!”
. . .
Korra knocked three times on the apartment door. She probably should have texted, but this was something she needed to tell Kuv about in person.
Shao opened the door and grinned.
“Hey there, Stranger. How can we help a humble soul?”
“Is your scoundrel home? I need to have a word,” Korra said with a smirk.
Shao laughed, “Yeah, she’s cooking lunch. Would you like to stay for some?”
“Sure!”
“Honey! Korra’s here!”
“Hey, kid! What brings you here.”
Shao patted a spot on the sofa and Korra merrily sat down next to the cop. Kuvira put the dish in the oven and sat down in the chair opposite.
“How can we help you today?”
Korra leaned forward in earnest, “I have a job offering for you!”
“What?!”
Kuvira had been juggling jobs at the moment, currently working as security at Future Industries. But what Korra had in mind… it would hopefully pay enough to support her and Shao.
“Mako and I had an idea this week, and we went to Asami for money. She approved and we’re going to start working on it this winter. As soon as we make a purchase, we’ll be good to go.”
“What the hell are you going on about?”
“You guys are going to love this.”
. . .
One Month Later:
Korra took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. The air was crisp but the sun was beginning to warm up the lawn. A cloud of dust had sprung up— disturbed by her Satomobile. Asami walked up next to her and gripped her hand.
She hadn’t been here in three years.
All things considered, the place looked alright. It hadn’t been in use after… after what happened. There was nobody to take over— all the staff had been investigated and laid off. They would need to put in new buildings; the ones still standing were rotten. And they needed to fill up… fill it up with cement.
“Where should we start?” Asami asked, staring at her checklist on her iPad.
Korra closed her eyes, “Just… just… I need a minute.”
Asami looked up with wide eyes, “Oh! Oh, Korra, I’m so sorry. Yeah… take all the time you need.”
Mako and Wu pulled up in their car, greeting Asami in a hug. Korra waved hello to them and continued to walk across the lawn.
Perhaps coming here had been a mistake.
“Well, don’t worry. We’re here to help, and we’ll get through this together.”
Perhaps she should call the whole thing off.
“Ah yes, Korra is it? Your Uncle Unalaq told me all about you. I do hope that you can find yourself on the correctpath here.”
The Water Tribe woman kept walking towards the one place that… they couldn’t touch. The best memories. She let out a small squeak as the rotten wood creaked and groaned— threatening to break under her step. Thank the Spirits she’d learned how to swim with the prosthetic.
“Your parents sent you away from a happy childhood. You had friends and family. Why, you even had a pet dog! But they sent you to live with your Uncle in the North without your input on the matter. There were better places to send you, weren’t there?
“You grew up without friends. You had to take all that anger and loneliness, and put it somewhere, didn’t you? A homosexual spirit can only enter our soul when we are at our lowest. You must’ve been an easy target.”
Korra put her hand in her pocket and calmly began to rub the smooth stone that Jinora had given her. She said that sometimes it helps to hold something when you need to calm down.
“You are the coolest girl I have ever met.”
“You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
She closed her eyes and felt the wind run its fingers through her hair. Freedom.
“You won’t see the picture unless you combine all the pieces of the puzzle.”
She broke a branch off of a tree, whispering “sorry” to it as she swirled the twig through the water.
“I wasn’t really happy up in the Northern Water Tribe. I guess I was lying to myself when I first came here. I thought it would suck balls.
“Well… um… I guess some of the activities… I mean, I don’t really want to be straight. I’m okay with who I am. I’m here because my Uncle is making me be here… so…
“I am happy with the friendships I’ve made. They mean a lot to me, and I know I’m going to have a lot of good memories here. I like the environment— the trees and the sky and the lake. I’m not used to this much green. It’s kind of amazing. I think it’s a good change of pace for me.”
Korra let out a sigh. She knew that, even if she would eventually get over what had happened, this place would be a part of her forever. So why not do something good with it?
“I’ve been thinking about that, Sams. I-I want to ask one of my family friends if I can move in. They’ve got a place— you know Air Temple Island?”
She could hear the trio walking around and surveying the compound— arguing about where new buildings could go, and what needed to be torn down.
“You guys can go into the Spirit World again. And girls?”
“Y-yes?”
“Try not to get into too much trouble.”
There were so many memories here. Permanently etched into Korra. Like scars? No… like… instructions. Teachings. How to be better. But this time…
“We have a lot of work to do if we want to find out what’s really going on around here. But I need you all to keep your cool and pretend we’re all still trying to be straight.”
Korra winced. She knew— after two years of working with Tenzin— that a part of her felt regret. Regret for joining up with Kuvira. For getting hurt.
“You do know how to find your way into trouble, don’t you?”
She heard them walk up onto the dock. Their special place. Asami intertwined her fingers with Korra’s. Wu put his head on her shoulder. They stood there, silently watching the lake.
“Kid, we don’t give two fucks about Dear Old Dad’s dream of ‘straightening’ the world. Well, maybe I care a little. You all are a bunch of sickos… but the real game is down here!”
They could never hurt her again. They could never tell her which gender to love. They could never do harm to the world. Never. Again.
“You are all weak! I will die like a fucking man!”
Korra let out a big sigh. Mako squeezed her shoulder. The four friends stood there— as one entity.
“The explosion malfunctioned— what with the delay and all. It didn’t set off at the radius Tarrlok wanted it to. It took out the four of us and a few crates of Meth. The others, even the back-up that Lin brought in— they were all unharmed. They’ve shut down the camp permanently— for investigation reasons, but none of the staff wanted to stick around when they learned what was really happening. At least…”
Not permanently. Just… it was going to be repurposed.
Her friends stood there, waiting for her to say something. She sat down on the edge of the dock and they followed suit. The sun was going down— and even though there was much work to do… but maybe not tonight.
Baby steps.
“Creating something new,” Korra whispered. “That’s pretty admirable, right?”
“Now you’re just looking for attention,” Wu teased.
End of Part Six