Hidden Powers -- Chapter 10

No one would ever accuse Korra of being a strategic planner. The most strategy she'd put into this rescue was to leave Mako with the hot air balloon so they could make a faster escape. But, hey, among the many perks of being the avatar was the ability burst into a scene and still pretty much defeat anyone who came her way.

In her defense, she did at least look around before she threw the first fireball. She saw Bolin in the cage -now that seriously hacked her off- two fire ferrets, (when did Pabu find a friend?), and two opponents.

She'd dealt with the first guy already. He was wriggling back and forth mumbling something that sounded like, "Eh, wur the avalar!" Now she just had to take care of-

Korra gasped. The woman standing next to the guy she'd metalbent into submission displayed the same eye-shaped forehead tattoo that P'li had. Her breathing sped up.

Okay, calm down, Korra. It's one-on-one. You can handle this.

Bolin's cage was strategically placed on some pretty sandy ground, but he was doing his best to climb through the convenient gap in the bars she'd left. If she could get a few rocks closer to him, all the better. Then it'd be two-on-one.

Unless this woman calls her friends, she thought. The combustion bender still hadn't made a move; she seemed intent on watching what Korra would do first.

Do I use bloodbending to keep her from yelling? Strategically, it made the most sense, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Then she lost her chance to think any more. As soon as Pabu's ferret friend ran out of range, the combustion girl shot a ray of energy in Korra's direction. The impact hit the edge of Bolin's cage, leaving it broken and singed. Bolin squealed like a terrified kid as he toppled out of the cage and onto the ground. Pabu followed quickly behind him.

"Leave my friend alone!" Korra demanded. Then, just to prove she meant business, she sent a burst of wind in the combustion bender's direction. The woman sidestepped it easily.

"I don't miss targets that are only ten paces away from me," the woman said. "That was a warning shot. Your friend can go."

"Yeah, well, if you want to play it that way, then- wait, what?" Korra didn't drop her stance per se, but her defenses lowered. Since when did the people she attacked actually do what she asked?

"My handler only captured him to lure you here," the woman continued. "Here you are, so he is free to go."

"But I want Korra to be free to go, too!" Bolin exclaimed.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "I'm afraid that's not possible. I have my orders."

"Yeah?" snapped Korra. "Well, your orders can bite my-"

"Why are you even fighting us anyways?" Bolin jumped in. He pointed to the guy wrapped in the bars of the cage, who was struggling to get his hands free enough to do some bending. He wasn't having much luck. "I mean, that guy was a total jerk to you! Why do you want to be on his team?"

The combustion girl narrowed her eyes, and Korra thought this had to be the most ridiculous attempt to resolve a battle she'd ever been involved in. Even more ridiculous when it seemed like it was working.

"I don't want to be on any team. I'm a weapon. I perform as my handler commands."

"That's sick," Korra spat, getting into an attack position again. Okay, she wasn't going to try bloodbending right now, but she was pretty sure she could take this girl with her air and firebending.

Only she didn't get the chance to try. Just as she readied a fireball, Bolin ran past her, screaming incoherently. He was headed straight for the combustion-bender.

"What the-?" she exclaimed. Her forehead mark started to glow, but Bolin tackled her as she fired, sending the beam blasting off into the sky. Korra heard it connect with something nearby, but she couldn't see what right away. This was bad. As the two of them rolled along the ground, Korra ran up to defend her friend. Then she felt her arms being yanked backwards. She looked over her shoulder to see that the bloodbender she'd trapped in the cage bars had managed to pull his hands partially free. He couldn't do much, but he could do something.

Tenzin would murder me for dropping my guard like that, she thought. Probably Izumi, too. I'd get murdered twice.

Still, the fact that she was thinking about her teachers' wrath and not falling into complete panic meant some degree of progress. She focused on her arms. The bloodbender's lack of full movement left him pretty weak. Compared to Izumi holding her still, this felt like Korra was being held back by a toddler. She focused her powers and ordered her arms to move back into her command. They did so easily. The bloodbender's eyes widened in shock. Just to be on the safe side, she tightened the bars around his wrists and his fingers this time. Then she sprinted in Bolin's direction, hoping she wasn't too late.

The two had rolled past the sand on onto more sturdy ground, where a few trees had taken root. Bolin was struggling to get the upper hand.

She hasn't fired at him yet, Korra thought with surprise and relief. She shot a blast of wind that was supposed to push Bolin away from the combustion-bender and leave Korra with a clear shot. Instead, the two combatants turned at the last second, and the combustion-bender was hit with the blast instead. She flew backwards into the tree. Then Korra finally figured out where the stray beam had gone. A sizeable limb felt from the tree straight onto the combustion bender, smacking her on the shoulders and head. Bolin squealed as he rolled back. Korra ran up to their opponent. She appeared to be knocked out cold.

"Aw, man!" Bolin said, getting to his feet. "That was scary!" He ran over the girl and pulled the limb away.

Korra inspected the woman's limp form. There was some bleeding on the shoulder, and the obvious loss of consciousness, but she seemed all right otherwise. Korra could heal her shoulder if she had some water, but-

She heard footsteps approaching. "Um, I think this is about to get scarier," she said. Silhouetted against the setting sun, she could see a group of armed ruffians headed right for them.

Bolin had scooped the combustion-bender up in his arms. "Run for it!" he cried.

Korra didn't argue. She should have; there was no reason to take along extra weight. The woman's comrades would have tended to her injuries. Maybe she was just too focused on escape to argue with him.

The two of them kept running as fast as they could until Korra reached the grove where Mako had the balloon waiting for them. With a quick bit of airbending, she hoisted Bolin, the unconscious combustion-bender, and herself into the basket.

"Go! Go!" she called. Mako didn't have to be told twice. He blasted one plume of flame after another above their heads. Within seconds, the trio had floated into the air, far out of range of even the most skilled bloodbenders.

#

"What. Were. You. Thinking!" Korra snapped as the night wind whipped through her hair on the way back to the palace.

"What Korra said," Mako echoed. "Bolin, what made you think that capturing the combustion-bender was even a remotely good idea?"

Bolin shrugged, still holding the woman in his arms. Sweat still ran down his face from his effort of running with her. "She said she was a weapon. Doesn't that bother either of you?"

Korra hadn't really thought about that. Then again, she had been trying to dodge explosions at the time. Mako spoke. Good, logical Mako.

"She was still working for the bad guys, Bolin."

"Not by choice," Bolin insisted. "Now she's free of those guys. Who knows, maybe we can even get her to help us."

Korra looked at him like he'd turned into a flying bison.

"Oh, right, that's how it works," she said. "So when the Red Lotus was trying to murder me, all we needed to do was kidnap P'li and politely ask if she would be on our side now. What was I thinking?"

Bolin made the sad face. She couldn't stand the sad face. "They were being jerks, Korra," he said. "You should have seen it. One of them even used bloodbending on her."

Korra shivered. She knew they weren't dealing with a nice crowd, but she'd have thought at the very least, they'd save the worst offenses for their enemies and not their allies.

Maybe Bolin is right. Maybe she wasn't anything more than an object to them.

She looked at the woman's shoulder. The bleeding had slowed, but still hadn't stopped yet. Korra reached into their water supply and drew some out, letting it rest overtop of the woman's injuries. As she focused and moved her hands, the water glowed and the bleeding ceased.

"So, how exactly do you plan on explaining this to Firelord Izumi?" Korra asked as her hands moved rhythmically back and forth. "We can't just let this woman walk free in the capital."

Bolin shrugged. "I was hoping you would take care of that part."

Korra groaned and splashed some of her water in his direction. Of course, everyone always thought that as the avatar she had a great relationship with world leaders. Hadn't anyone noticed when President Raiko kicked her out Republic City? Or when the Earth Queen sent an army after her?

I'm not exactly friends with Firelord Izumi, either. Korra shifted uncomfortably against the rough wicker basket. Even with Bolin safe, she still couldn't get Izumi's last words out of her head. "You think that no battles arose during my father's reign in which bloodbending would have been a powerful asset?" Korra gritted her teeth. She knew next to nothing about Lord Zuko's battles, but she still knew which of Zuko's battles she cared most about - the one when he failed to contain the Red Lotus after Zaheer's escape. Just thinking about it ate away at her.

Of course, the only way to know for sure how that battle had played out was to ask someone who had been in it. That meant asking either Zuko, who she was pretty sure wouldn't be fully honest on the topic, or asking Zaheer, the man she could always count on to be way too honest. Also, the man that had tried to murder her.

No way. That is not an option. Bolin is safe now. I just need to focus on… Korra turned around to see the still form of the combustion bender lying behind her. She tightened her grip on the basket's edge. …to focus on giving Firelord Izumi a really, really good explanation for all this.

Hidden Powers -- Chapter 9

The cage the metelbender gangers made for Bolin was nice and sturdy, and a surprisingly decent size.

"Only the best for Nukbug," teased the big bloodbender who still controlled him.

"Ugh! How many times to I have to tell you? It's pronounced Nuktuk-ahowf!" Bolin was tossed in and landed flat on his face, evoking laughter from the big guy, the metalbenders, and a irritated squeak from Pabu, who was still in his shirt.

"Whatever you say, Nuktukahowf," he mocked, grinning. There were more than a few muffled snickers from the big guy's pals as he ushered them away.

Bolin sat up and rubbed his most certainly now-purpling nose. The rest of his body hurt too. His feet and toes throbbed from innumerable stubs on rocks and other things the bloodbender hadn't bothered to steer him around. And his muscles ached with the kind of deep fatigue he hadn't felt since his pro-bending days. He leaned against the cold bars, struggling against the urge to sleep. Not far away, he heard the leader of the gang giving orders.

"The town's ours now. Pack up whatever supplies aren't nailed down."

"What about the bait?"

"I'll have the weapon guard him."

It was nearly dark when Bolin woke again and for a moment, he forgot where he was. He stood up too suddenly, whammed his head, and fell back over.

Oh right. I'm in a cage. All because I had to go open my big mouth.

Of course, this cage wouldn't be a problem if he could metalbend. Why, oh why, couldn't he metalbend?

"Well looks like we've done it now, huh Pabu?" Silence. "Pabu?" He looked around. Where was the agreeable "churr" of reply? Or the wet poke of a little fire ferret nose on his cheek? Where was Pabu! "Pabu? Buddy, where are you?"

He flagged down a nearby trio of gangers who flashed him a looks of amusement over their hefty bowls of stew. "Um, excuse me, evil kidnapper guys… have you seen my fire-ferret Pabu?"

The three exchanged glances. One snickered.

"Yeah we seen him. Bout an hour ago before dinnertime." He crammed an enormous spoonful of stew into his mouth. "mmmm.. now that's good eatin."

Bolin blanched, prompting the three gangers to burst out laughing as they wandered off.

Bolin's heart sank. "Oh, Pabu. This is all my fault." He slumped down against the bars.

"Churrr?" questioned a little ferret voice.

"That's right, Pabu, I am an idiot! If only I didn't drag you out here, then maybe you'd still be-" He looked down, rubbing his eyes to see Pabu looking back up, his furry head cocked to one side. "Pabu!" Bolin hopped to his feet, scooped up his pet and twirled him about. "You're alive! And your… owf… kinda heavy actually." He blinked at his pet's overly round belly. "Who fed you?"

Pabu squeaked, wriggled free from his hands, and squeezed (barely) through the bars.

A woman stooped nearby over a small cookfire. She was roasting nuts by the smell of it. Bolin could hear them popping in the flames.

Pabu went over to her and squeaked again. She glanced over. A hint of firelight reflected in her amber eyes. They reminded Bolin of his brother's eyes—flinty and dangerous. Yet they seemed to soften just a bit when Pabu nudged her. She pulled several nuts from the fire, blew on them, then offered them to Pabu. He made happy noises as he munched and he "churred" even louder when the woman ran a hand down his back.

Bolin's stomach growled, drawing her gaze. Without a word she left and returned a moment later with a bowl in her hand.

"Here," she said, not unkindly, and slid a bowl of the evil bender's stew through the bars. Bolin peered at the food. It smelled like grease and old shoes and looked about as appetizing.

"Um, thanks," said Bolin. He put a small spoonful in his mouth, stiffened, turned a sickly shade of blue, gagged and finally managed to swallow.

"On second thought… I'm not hungry."

#

Fuse's captive was a horrible liar. For the next several minutes, she could hear his stomach growling all the way at her cookfire. Still he edged the bowl of stew away like it harbored a contagious disease. Though judging from the smell of that stuff, it wouldn't have surprised her.

She sighed. "I suppose I can't have you starving to death." Her handler had told her to keep the hostage safe, after all.

Her own food was almost done. Boiled rice, fresh picked spring greens, and some spicy roasted firecracker nuts. Not exactly a feast, but it would serve. She retrieved the grease-stew from Bolin's cage, making sure to toss the contents far out of stinking range of her camp, and rinsed the bowl and spoon. Then she divided her meager meal three ways, since Pabu already had his share. Of course this didn't stop him from prancing back to Bolin's cage and trying to beg for more.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Bolin half spoke, half mumbled as he inhaled his supper. "Mmm. Wow, you're a great cook!"

She didn't reply. Of course he'd say that. Anything would taste better than that shoe-leather stew.

She heard a rustle. Right on time. Shouga bounded through the foliage, this time hefting a shimmering river fish nearly the length of her body. She froze when she realized there were new visitors at the camp.

"Oh, cool! A volcat! I've never seen one up close before!" Bolin exclaimed. He leaned close to the bars. "Hello there, little lady."

Shouga looked hesitantly at him and started to back away. Bolin's face fell. "Oh no! Don't be scared. I won't hurt you, I promise. See, I love fire ferrets." He grinned and held up Pabu as a shining example. Pabu churred in greeting.

They certainly are a friendly bunch, these two. Don't they remember there're prisoners trapped in a cage?

Trapped. In a cage. Fuse felt an involuntary shiver at the thought and she had to take a second to steady her breathing.

No fear.

Shouga slowly stepped back to the fire and the meal Fuse had set out for her, though she kept an eye on the two newcomers. Mostly Pabu, in fact.

"Thank you again, Shouga," Fuse praised her. The fish she brought would more than feed the three of them and Pabu too, if he could manage to wolf down any more food. While she set to preparing it Bolin amused himself making beckoning kissy noises at Shouga while stretching out his hand between the bars for her to sniff. Anything to try to lure her over for a better look.

"Shouga, what a pretty name. Yes, it is. Yes, it is."

Surprisingly, Shouga did eventually go over to him. Though only to snatch the fish kabob Fuse gave him right out of his hand.

"Wha- Hey, that's mine!" But Shouga was already darting away, tail bristling with excitement. Pabu squeaked excitedly at this and tackled Shouga from behind. The two ferrets toppled and rolled then bounced up again playfully and war-danced around each other, the pilfered kabob forgotten.

For all her training, this time Fuse couldn't resist a smirk.

"Never try and get between a volcat and something it wants. They've even been known to chase off dragons."

Bolin's eyes got round. "No way! Really? I'd pay to see that."

Fuse didn't reply this time. She even wasn't looking at him anymore. Her attention was on the treeline and the faint sound of footsteps and cracking twigs. These weren't Shouga's footsteps either. They were like her master's. Not as graceful, perhaps, but soft as wind whispering in the night.

The sound of them sent a tingle of nervous adrenalin down her spine.

"Hey, sparky sparky boom girl." A husky voice broke in along with heavy, uncoordinated footfalls.

Of all the lousy timed…

She turned and narrowed flinty eyes at the big bloodbender, Crull, who had shambled over and was now leaning on Bolin's cage. Judging by the color of his face it was safe to assume the celebratory drinking portion of the evening was well underway.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Marren's whipped up her famous seven-layer dumpster cake. You should come have some."

More cracking twigs. Another intruder, different then the one before, just at the treeline. If she moved quickly, she could get the drop on them.

The oaf shifted around, stepping directly in her path.

Her mouth twitched. "You spoke with Jarvan? Then I'm sure he already explained why I'm here."

"Oh, he explained all right. He says you have to do whatever he tells you. Well, tonight Jarvan told us to celebrate! That means you too, Sparky." He took a swig from a large brown bottle and grinned. "C'mon. "

"No, thank you."

"Ah, c'mon. It's not really made in a dumpster." When she still didn't move he pulled his hands in a bending stance, forcing her body to stiffen, stop, then turn around. She looked him square in the eye.

"Release me." Her voice was unwavering.

"Not until you try a piece."

"You will not get another warning."

He was already moving away, dragging her along behind.

"Hey!" Bolin banged his fists against the bars. "That's no way to treat a lady."

Crull gestured with his other hand, yanking Bolin up then sending him crashing into the opposite side of the cage.

"No cake for you, Nugglow."

His concentration divided, Fuse jerked away.

No, Bolin thought. More like she danced away, nimble as an airbender.

Fuse drew a quarter breath and exhaled with a sharp "huf." A beam of energy shot from her forehead and struck the earth between the bloodbender's feet just as he was shifting stances. He jumped at the sound and the spray of dirt. His right foot caught in a hole where solid ground had been just seconds before. He stumbled backwards, slamming hard into Bolin's cage.

"Ow! Hey, that wasn't nice!" He tried to stagger up but his effort was stopped when the cage's bars sprang apart and curled around him like a snake.

"Wah?" he stuttered.

A woman dressed in water-tribe gear stepped from the undergrowth. "It's pronounced Nuktuk!"

Hidden Powers -- Chapter 8

Korra was making progress. She fell on the floor a lot less now. Actually, she hadn't fallen on the floor once all afternoon. She was very familiar with the floor right now; its slick surface made falling easy. She always tried to work her way towards the few areas of the throne room that were actually carpeted, just to give herself a bit more traction.

"Watch your left side," Izumi commanded. Korra had fallen for that trick before. She focused her efforts on her right arm instead, making sure to keep it within her control as Izumi tried to hold it down.

The Firelord smiled. "Not bad. You're learning."

"Yeah, but…" Korra rubbed her arm. "This is going to sound weird, but isn't there anything you can teach me about bloodbending that isn't all… um… " She never had much of a flare for words, so she circled her hands around and made the type of noises she imagined came from creatures under her bed when she was four. Izumi gave her the eyebrow raise for the fifth time that day.

"Clarify," the Firelord said.

"Creepy," Korra finally summarized. "I mean, I get it. I know it's really awful that you can control another person's movements. I've gotten the receiving end of that way more times than I would've cared to, all right? But I mean, it's really awful that you can burn houses down with firebending, too. And yet we've got all this technology that depends on firebenders."

Firelord Izumi steepled her fingers. "You want me to demonstrate something positive that could be accomplished through bloodbending?"

"Yes, exactly."

Izumi stroked her chin thoughtfully for a few moments. "Well, I can demonstrate how effectively I can keep your lungs moving when they otherwise would refuse to do so, but I gather you don't care to nearly drown yourself for the sake of that demonstration."

"Erm, no," said Korra.

Izumi's expression softened and she walked over to the red carpet in the corner where Korra was standing. The two of them knelt down, the huge portrait of Firelord Ozai looming behind him.

"There is… one thing I trained myself to do as a child," Izumi said. "I can see if I still remember it."

Korra nodded. The Firelord stood and positioned herself in a basic waterbending stance. She breathed deeply, like she was going into some sort of a trance. Korra was about to ask what exactly was happened when she suddenly realized that Izumi's feet no longer touched the ground.

"No… way…" she whispered. She couldn't help it. The little girl inside of her, who always watched any kind of flying animal in wonder, completely took over her brain. She remember how she couldn't wait for the day she'd learn airbending, just so she could glide wherever she wanted. As she had to confess, as much as Zaheer had terrified her, something in her envied the skill of flight that he'd mastered.

Izumi's arms were shaking now; a line of sweat rolled down the side of her face, and her feet lowered to the floor. She sat down instantly, panting from the effort.

"To lift a whole body into the air is much different than controlling just a few muscles in it," she said. "But the effort is worth it sometimes."

"Let me try," Korra said, jumping to her feet. Izumi offered no objections and demonstrated the waterbending motions she'd used, slower this time so Korra could follow them in more detail.

"Let your whole body relax," she advised. "It's much more difficult if your muscles tighten up."

"Got it," said Korra. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly, imagining herself in one of Tenzin's meditation sessions. Her muscles felt loose, but ready. She went through the motions Izumi had showed her, letting her arms move as if a strong wind simply happened to be blowing them that way. Then, finally, she focused all her attention on her own body and pictured it floating. The floor she'd slipped and fallen on so many times… she suddenly could no longer feel it beneath her feet.

"Very good… keep your focus…" she heard Izumi saying. There was some other voices far off in the distance, but she didn't pay attention to them. Didn't open her eyes, either, for fear it might all end the moment she did.

It ended soon just the same, though. Mako burst through the door.

"Korra, it's Bolin! You have to-"

Korra's face found the floor again. She grunted and sat up. Mako was standing in the open doorway, with several of Izumi's guards rushing in behind him.

"Your majesty!" several of them stuttered at once, until one finally took charge. "We apologize! We knew this young man was with the avatar, so we let him enter the palace freely, but then he suddenly ran for this room, and-"

"It's fine," Izumi said, pushing up her glasses. Korra could tell from her tone that it was the opposite of fine. She eyed the look of shock on Mako's face. How much had he seen? How much it could Korra explain away? She'd had her eyes closed; was Izumi bloodbending at the time Mako burst in?

Calm down, the guards aren't acting like anything is weird. It must have just been Mako who saw.

"Were you just… flying?" Mako finally asked.

"Y-yes?" Korra said. Then, she cleared her throat and said much more firmly, "That is, uh… yes. Yes, I was. Empty the wind! Enter and become void! I mean-"

"Okay, that's great, congratulations," Mako said. "Korra, we need your help. Some of those bloodbenders just kipnapped my brother."

"What?" Korra asked. She thought she heard an echo in the room and looked back, realizing that Izumi had voiced the same thing.

"I think they were trying to get to you," Mako explained. "Someone recognized him from the movers and thought you were a big Nuktud… I mean Nudtuk… I mean, arg!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Korra said, feeling more than a little strange at the idea of telling someone else he needed to cool off. "Do you know where they took him?"

"I think so. They've pretty much taken over this one town… Sunport, it was called. So I think if you go there, you'll find them easily enough."

"All right. I like easy." Korra pounded her fist into an open palm. Izumi stepped forward.

"Sunport contains one of the Fire Nation's largest harbors," she said. "It's a very strategic location, but one that would be difficult to keep. They've either got some asset we don't yet know of or they're idiots."

"Well, they've definitely got idiots," said Mako, rubbing the back of his neck. "But they're pretty organized, too. I don't think whoever's running this operation is anywhere near as stupid as his subordinates."

Izumi nodded thoughtfully. "All right, then. The two of you go and rescue your friend, and report back to me what you find."

"What do you mean?" Korra asked. "You're coming with us, right?"

"Um," said Mako, "why would the nonbending leader of the Fire Nation come with us?"

The look Izumi gave Korra for that little slip up strongly implied she wanted to go back to demonstrating just how painful bloodbending could be. Korra quickly tried to cover her tracks. "Um, she wouldn't. Obviously. But we were doing important… um, meeting stuff before you came in, and-"

"More important than rescuing Bolin?"

Korra winced.

Izumi stepped forward and cleared her throat. "If one of my towns has been taken over, my army will need to plan a counterattack," she said. "I hope you understand why this information is quite sensitive and why I would rather not discuss it with everyday citizens, however close they may be to the avatar."

Mako stiffened at the word "close", which irritated Korra to no end. How long did she and Mako have to officially be not-an-couple before their friendship could go back to normal?

"I assure you," Izumi went on. "I am putting your brother's rescue at the top of my priority list. Go with my guards and prepare a hot air balloon. They're a common sight around the Fire Nation, and I imagine they'll draw less attention than a sky bison."

Finally, Mako brightened up a bit and left. Korra thought she heard something about, "Where can I get a balloon guy" before he was out of earshot. She shut the door and turned to Izumi.

"Come with us," Korra whispered before Izumi got the chance to scold her. "We need you."

Izumi looked at her, not so much like she was shocked at the suggestion but more like she was shocked that Korra had been stupid enough to make it.

"If I were willing to reveal my powers to deal with these bands of ruffians, don't you think I would have done it by now? You've been training for almost a week now, and you clearly retained some skills you learned from my father. You can save your friend just fine."

Korra gritted her teeth. She knew the answer might be no, but she'd at least been hoping for some hesitancy on Izumi's part. "These bloodbenders are causing chaos in your kingdom, you're one of the few people who can counteract them, and you won't come?"

Izumi shook her head. "Korra, you miss the larger picture. You think if I go into this battle and start bloodbending that my citizens will be grateful? They'll be terrified of me. My father spent his entire life trying to show the world that the Firelord was someone who could be trusted. Not a tyrant, but a partner in world peace. You think that no battles arose during his reign in which bloodbending would have been a powerful asset? I refuse to sacrifice all his hard work. You will go without me." And with that, she waved the avatar away, making it clear that the conversation was over.

The words stung. Not so much because Izumi was refusing to help; Korra had kind of figured that would happen the first time she asked. But the sting came from all the other possibilities that whirled around in Korra's mind as she left the throne room and headed after Mako. If it was really true that Zuko had mastered bloodbending seventy years ago, then how many times had he refrained from using it in battle, just to keep it secret? And was one of those times his battle with Zaheer?

Would I have ever been poisoned if Zuko had used bloodbending on the Red Lotus? She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in the what ifs. Bolin needed her help.

Hidden Powers -- Chapter 7

Fuse rose the next morning, two hours before dawn. She tidied her little edge of the camp far away from Jarvan and his fish-smelling pals. Though she really should have stayed within earshot of her handler, no one in this group had the spine to argue with her. They hadn't they gone out of their way to offer her food or blankets for the night, either. No matter. She didn't need them, anyway. Master had equipped her with her own camping supplies and food—and the skills to acquire more if needed. It was a point of pride with him. His weapons were meant to get the job done as quickly and effectively as possible—not burden the handler with the cost of their upkeep.

She set to work. Perhaps not quite as efficiently here in the wilderness then back at the compound, but quickly just the same. She prepped her small cookfire. Gathered water from a nearby stream. Paused a moment to gather a patch of wild mushrooms. Began to boil rice porridge...

Something rustled. A small shadow darted just at the tree line.

"So you found me again, did you?" she said, her mouth curving ever-so-slightly. A slender fire-ferret emerged and bounded over—as best as she could bound at least, with a meaty squirrel-toad clutched in her mouth.

"A gift? For me? Thank you, Shouga." She took the present, silently grateful and eager to eat something other than her rice rations or what edible plants she had time to gather. She could have hunted. Rather well, in fact, if she was alone. But traveling with a rowdy gang of rogue benders wasn't exactly conducive for luring out the local wildlife.

With a few quick strokes of her dagger she prepared the squirrel-toad and set it to roasting on her small cookfire. In the meantime she divided up her porridge and wild mushrooms, offering Shouga a sizable portion.

How long had it been now since the two of them had shared a meal like this? A year? Yes, at least. Towards the end of her first mission. Shouga was just barely passed kithood—a half-starved, wild-eyed creature torn from her nest too early by the greedy man Fuse was hired to escort home. He was a collector by trade, with many rare treasures in need of guarding. Shouga, a rare volcano-dwelling fire-ferret (or volcat as they were often nicknamed), was among them. She was the fancy pet he promised to present on a pillow to his swooning lady friend. Unfortunately for him, Shouga had other plans, none of them particularly friendly.

When the man finally lost patience with her a few days into the trip he had thrown Shouga's cage at Fuse's head and ordered her to "take care of the blasted thing." So, she had. Just not in the way he'd had in mind.

Fuse divided the squirrel-toad next, savoring hers with guilty slowness. She watched the young animal bolt down her portion, then sit back to groom her whiskers with a steady paw. It was hard to believe that skinny kit had turned into the predator currently curled by the fire.

Footsteps sounded. Jarven's most likely, since he was the only bender in this lot not secretly terrified of her.

"Is that a volcat?" he asked, catching only a blurred glimpse of ginger and flame-orange fur as Shouga disappeared back into the trees.

Fuse nodded.

"Don't see many of them this far south of the volcanoes. How'd you tame him?"

"Her," Fuse pointed out. "And I didn't."

Taming would imply that Shouga was her pet. And weapons weren't allowed to have pets. But the rules were different for travel companions. Shouga could hunt and feed herself, find her own shelter, and defend herself from enemies. So could Fuse. What was the harm, really, if they happened to do these things in the same vicinity now and then?

"Right…" said Jarven with a look that suggested she must have grown a second head or something. Then he straightened.

"We've nearly reached Sunport. I want you to go in ahead of us. Then, when I give the signal, I want you to create a big, noisy, explosive distraction to draw off the guards."

Typical. She thought. 'You go handle the trained soldiers. We'll take care of the scary unarmed civilians. Bwa ha ha!' Coward.

"I can do that." she said.

#

It took about a two-hour train ride for Mako and Bolin to finally make their way out of the capital. Mako actually preferred it out here. None of the royal guard around, the houses all a mix of colors… the world felt real here.

Of course, with the pleasant weather outside, the town streets were full of happy couples walking alongside each other. Bolin watched each of them pass with his tears on the brink of producing waterfalls. Mako sighed. His brother hadn't taken the breakup with Opal easily, and Mako had hoped this trip would help distract him a bit. Clearly, it was having the opposite effect.

"Arg, I don't get it! Why am I being rejected by all the women in my life?" Bolin lamented way too loudly. "Opal hates me, Korra doesn't want me around. I bet if I met Firelord Izumi, she'd kick me out for being too Bolin-ish!"

Mako glanced around them. This town was not as well-policed as the capital had been, and more than a few heads had raised when Bolin started ranting about the avatar and the Firelord.

"Let's try not to draw attention to ourselves," he said quietly. Then, only because he couldn't resist, he added on, "and you did meet Firelord Izumi. She was sitting there when you burst in on the world leader meeting and President Raiko tried to have you arrested."

"Oh, yeah," Bolin said in a surprisingly upbeat tone. "I'd totally forgotten about that."

Mako glanced back at the crowd around them. Most the people whose attention they'd drawn earlier had gone back to whatever they were doing before the crazy loud guys interrupted them. But two men, two particularly unfriendly looking men, stood up and moved in Mako and Bolin's direction.

"What was that you were saying about the avatar?" one of them spat. The street was not particularly wide, and they had tactfully positioned themselves to block off any easy escape. Mako and Bolin exchanged nervous glances. Mako tried to hazard a guess about how much these men had heard and calculate how much they could downplay any connection to Korra whatsoever.

"That's right! Me and the avatar are like best buds, is what I was saying!" Bolin announced. "Why, if she found out you were messing around with her numero uno friend, she'd kick your butts so bad, you'd… you'd, um… wish you didn't have butts!"

Mako covered his face. Not surprisingly, the two men erupted with laughter. Pabu groaned and hid in Bolin's shirt.

"Friends with the avatar, huh?" one guy laughed. "Now that's a good one!"

"Hey, wait a sec!" the other guy said. He grabbed Bolin's chin and turned his face from side to side. "Ain't you that mover star? That Numbtuck guy?"

"Nuktuk," Bolin quickly corrected, even though regret flushed across his face half a second later.

"Yeah, that's it!" the man said. He released Bolin's chin and turned to his colleague. "You know, I heard the avatar is a huge Nuktug fan. I bet if we kidnap this guy, he'd make great bait."

"Nope, I'd make terrible bait!" Bolin exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "Korra hates Nuktuk. The only thing that Avatar Korra hates more than Nuktuk is people who mispronounce Nuktuk's name."

"Ha, nice try."

The two mens' stances changed. Rather than trying to block off both brothers' escape, they were now focused only on "Nuktug". Bolin put up his fists.

"All right then, I'm afraid you leave me no choice. Prepare to face the wrath of Nuktu—" His words were choked off as his body was pulled suddenly against his command. "Ack. Oh.. bloodbenders... you're bloodbenders!"

"That's right," grunted the bigger of the two. "and you're comin with us Nuklug."

"It's pronounced… oh, never mind."

The three started to head away, the two men in front, Bolin jerking clumsily behind like a puppet on a string.

Everything in Mako screamed that he had to protect his brother. But the two thugs had hardly taken an interest in him. He advanced a step, ready to scream at them. To tell them they'd have to rip him apart before they took his brother away. Bolin yelled instead, even louder then usual.

"Okay, okay! I'll go with you… seeing as how there is no way someone like me could possibly defend against bloodbending. Yeah, I really don't know how I'm going to get out of this one. If only there was someone who could GO GET HELP!"

Mako froze. Bolin was right. This might be his one chance to slip away unnoticed. His only chance to get help.

Sorry, bro, he thought to himself. Then, wincing, he turned and sprinted down the street. He heard a few shouts behind him, but as his lungs screamed for a breath, the voices got softer and softer. No sounds of footsteps followed.

I have to get Korra, he thought. I have to get help.

He rounded the corner at a full sprint. He had to find the messenger hawk station. He had to get word to Korra…

Something flashed in the corner of his eye. A light to bright to be the sun. Then came the explosion.

Hidden Powers -- Chapter 6

"Ouch!" Korra fell flat on her face as Izumi bloodbent her feet out from under her. The Firelord released her hold once Korra was down, and Korra scrambled up to her knees, feeling her nose to make sure it wasn't bleeding.

"Geez, what was that all about?" she exclaimed. "Your dad always made me announce what I was about to do whenever we practiced."

"Yes, I'm aware of his training methods," said Izumi, lowering her arms from their bending stance. "Announcing is pointless. Your opponents aren't going to announce their intentions to you, so why should I? I'm guessing you even argued as much to my father when you were training?"

Korra felt her face grow hot, and Izumi smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. Now stand up. And try to actually resist this time. You make it too easy."

Korra dragged herself up with a groan. This was her fourth day here, and so far her best achievement was that once, she got to wiggle her fingers while Izumi was holding her still. She was pretty sure that wasn't going to be useful and hoped at the very least that Bolin and Mako were having a better time than she was.

#

"I can't believe Korra kicked us out again!" Bolin wailed as he and Mako made their way down the streets of the Fire Nation capital. It was a pleasant enough walk… balmy, warm, and lots of vendors selling all kinds of goods that Republic City didn't carry. Mako put down a coin for a bag of fire flakes and munched them thoughtfully. Maybe the heat would ignite some creative part of his brain.

"Didn't you have posters to give out or something?" he asked his brother.

"Gave them all out the first day we were here," Bolin said with a sigh. "They're hung up all around town. See?" He pointed and Mako realized that the vendor he'd just bought the fire flakes from had a large Nuktuk poster hung up next to the menu. "Honestly, bro?" Bolin said. "For coming here to deal with roving gangs of evil bloodbenders, I'd have thought we'd see some more action by now."

"Yeah." Mako rubbed his chin. "It is weird that all her meetings with the Firelord are taking so long. I thought they would have come up with some solutions by now. Korra's never been one to talk strategy for too long."

"Maybe Firelord Izumi is teaching her the art of patience and planning?" Bolin suggested. Mako raised his eyebrows. "Okay, okay, maybe not."

Just then, the two of them heard the sound of a wings fluttering above them. Pabu let out a small bark, and Bolin looked up to see a messenger bird perched on top of the stall. It pecked at the edge of the Nuktuk poster and tilted its head curiously at them.

"Uh, something for us?" Mako asked.

It titled its head the other way and held out its leg. Sure enough, a small slip of paper with Bolin and Mako's names on it was attached. Mako slipped the paper off.

"I, um, don't have anything to feed you," he said. "But thanks."

The bird glared at him, then nicked a hole in Nuktuk's face before sailing back towards the palace. Mako unrolled the slip of paper and began reading. It contained several high-denomination bills and he tactfully slipped them into his pocket in a way that no one standing nearby would notice.

"It's a letter from Korra," Bolin whispered with excitement, noting the name at the top of the letter. Mako got excited at first, too. Then he read the message in its entirety.

"She says she's going to need at least another week with the Firelord," he muttered. "But she says to go enjoy ourselves and see the sights of the Fire Nation together."

Mako had a strong temptation to burn the letter in his fingers, but Bolin seemed in much better spirits. "Oo! Oo! Could we go to Ember Island?" he asked happily.

"I think that's a bit far out," Mako replied. "But there's a few nearby villages with some good theaters, if that's what you're looking for." He pulled out his map. "Here we go. 'Sunport. A friendly town with plenty of local entertainment.' That sounds good, right?"

"Anything that takes my mind off Opal sounds good," Bolin said with a sigh. Pabu gave him a sympathetic lick on the cheek.

Opal. Mako knew it had to come up some time. The best he could hope for was a good distraction. He patted his brother on the shoulder and looked around them. "Come on, there's a train station a couple blocks up from here. Let's see what we can find."

#

"We need to draw out the Firelord," Fuse's handler Jarvan announced to his trusty crew, which was growing larger by the day.

Hs spread a map of the Fire Nation across an old plank supported by a barrel and a bale of hay. Jarvan's kid brother, Kasan, sat on a second barrel. Fuse stood aside, motionless and alert, her arms crossed over her chest. Jarvan's tent didn't have much room to spare, forcing the leaders of two other gangs to edge in much closer to her then they would have liked. Fuse didn't protest, even if they did smell like rank fish and nervous sweat.

It was probably her presence that made them all twitchy in the first place. Not surprising. Part of the reason to carry a weapon was to inspire fear as well as respect. Master knew this, and had outfitted her accordingly with black and red mercenary leathers. At his son Eagon's suggestion, he had even permitted her to dye the tips of bangs a popping red.

"We could start attacking villages… that would lure her away from the palace." One leader suggested.

"As if, genus. The Firelord wouldn't come all the way out here just to defend farmers and fishwives. She'd send soldiers," Jarvan spat back.

"So? I've already taken out plenty of soldiers now that I can do this…" The leader flexed thick fingers and spread his arms, forcing a nearby underling to conk himself in the head with his own fist. Raucous laughter erupted. The dazed underling laughed, too.

"Good one, boss!" He smacked himself again, this time toppling over backwards.

"Ha ha!" the big man bellowed. "Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!"

"That's enough, Crull," snapped Jarvan. "I'm being serious. We can't risk hitting the palace again. Not until we even the odds…"

These morons really made it into the palace? The Firelord must be slipping.

That wouldn't be the case any longer, though. Thanks to these careless fools, the best chance they had now of luring out the Firelord was to capture her family. Like it was that easy.

Lord Zuko was off diplomatting with a caravan of heavy guard—flames only knew where. And General Iroh never seemed to go anywhere without a sizeable portion of the Fire Nation military. The same went for his wife.

A different target then. If not the Firelord's family, then someone important to her. Someone indispensable… like the avatar.

The avatar didn't travel with guards. She had power, yes. The four elements plus metal and now bloodbending. It would be a hard fight. But even bloodbending wasn't a foolproof discipline. It had limits. To control multiple targets the bloodbender had to sacrifice precision. And maintaining the hold required great concentration, which reduced range. If the avatar was taken down quickly and from a distance….

Why was she even bothering with this train of thought? It wasn't her job to plan. She was a tool and was there to follow the commands of her handlers… even if her handlers were incompetent.

"So it's settled," said Jarvon with a nod, drawing back her wandering attention. "Sibeen's crew will start hitting villages to the west. Tarman's to the east. That should give General Iroh enough reason to spread the troops nice and thin. Kasan and I will take the rest south, towards Ember Island, where we will rendezvous with Tomas. Lord Zuko must return to his home there eventually. Once we have him as our hostage that should draw the Firelord directly to us."

"You plan on taking Lord Zuko hostage?" 'Skepticism' didn't fully cover the level of disbelief in Crull's tone.

Jarvon gave a wide, wicked smile. "I've got a source that tells me the old man has a certain… weakness. Tomas will be fetching it for us."

Crull stared at him blankly.

"Yes, we can take him hostage!" Jarvon snapped. "Now stop questioning me and get out!"

The crowd began to disperse, but not without Kasan leaning close to whisper, "I don't like this plan. What if the avatar shows up to protect Lord Zuko?"

"Relax. Not even the avatar can take on all of us at once. Especially not if we have a hostage. And don't forget we've got the weapon."

Fuse straightened at his mention. Huh. Guess they figured out a plan after all. Go, idiots.

Hidden Powers -- Chapter 5

"No fear. No pain. No mercy." 843 whispered the words as soon as her eyes opened.

It was still early. Two hours before sunrise. She rose. Her body moved like clockwork. She rinsed her face in the small basin by her bunk. Donned her uniform. Made her bed. Went to the dining room. Two young potentials, orphans both, served her food, just as she had once served those who were now Weapons. Breakfast was a small bowl of plain porridge and a papaya. There was tea as well—a special blend of ginseng for energy, burdock root to prevent muscle fatigue, and licorice to support healing. It tasted awful, but it had had everything a living weapon needed.

She sat in her usual seat, third table down, second-to-last seat from the exit, beside the other tier one weapons. She sipped her tea, saying nothing. The boy to her right didn't speak either. He rubbed his forehead as he poked his food.

Lack of appetite. Another migraine, she thought. Third one this week. Pity. She had just gotten used to sparing with this one. But if the headaches kept up he would break, just like the one before him. Then Master would have to make a new weapon to fill the empty chair. One of the kitchen orphans maybe? The girl was just about the right age…

A tremor ran up her hand. She swallowed.

No fear. No pain. No mercy.

She repeated the words again, silently until the feeling passed. She touched her own forehead. Not sure why. She could see the vague reflection of the tattoo in her tea. The third eye was vivid on her skin, red as fresh blood. Her chakras' path was clear, too. It was years since her last migraine.

Footsteps sounded. Her master's and another—a older man, she knew from the gait. He was wearing boots. Fire Nation military. And he was wealthy. The kind of wealthy that let their coins jingle on their belt.

A buyer.

The tier twos and threes were standing now—the tier threes already in rigid attention. She rose and turned too, right-ways, so that she would be facing the door when her master entered.

"I admit I'm surprised to see your families still in business, Master Eli. Especially after Lord Zuko took the throne," said the stranger with the clunking boots. Her master's footsteps were much lighter, like wind whispering in the night.

"People will always need weapons, Tomas. Even Lord Zuko. I imagine that's why the young lord never bothered to make an appearance after he came to power. Then again, my father said he always was a coward."

"True," said Tomas. "But I doubt Firelord Izumi will make the same choice if she ever finds out the truth about this little operation."

The two men entered side-by side. The stranger wore fine Fire Nation clothes with gold embroidery but no armor. Ex-military then? A former officer most likely, since he still carried himself with authority. Her master wore his usual flowing robes of orange and yellow.

"And how would she learn that? Are you going to enlighten her, Tomas?" her master asked. He was a soft-spoken man, but his voice was as soothing as eel-hound claws raking slowly down her spine. She sucked in a breath.

No fear, she thought.

Tomas chuckled, making the coins on his belt jingle even harder. "Me? After what her father did to my family? Surly, Eli, you know me better than that. Why do you think I came all the way out here personally?"

"I see." said Master. "In that case, let's get right to business."

He beckoned towards the tier three table. Without instruction, the program's most powerful weapon stood.

"Weapon number 459, Morter," Master announced.

Morter was burly and muscled and still incredibly limber for his years. But it wasn't his combat skills that made him Master's most prized weapon. Morter had single-handedly leveled more ground, taken more lives with his combustionbending then the rest of them put together. As a sign of his rank, his third eye was slashed with three other horizontal tattoos in matching red.

"Morter will serve you well. Consider it a gift from my ancestors."

The Fire Nation man didn't reply. He was too busy making faces at Morter, as if he couldn't decide whether to be in awe or afraid. Not an uncommon reaction, actually. It took him a moment to realize Master had addressed him.

"He's magnificent. I promise his talents will not go to waste."

"Is there anything else?"

The Fire Nation man gave a yellowed smile. "Actually, now that you mention it, I wanted to discuss equipping my associates."

Her master's mouth set into a line. "A weapon is only as good as its handler, Tomas. Those glorified bandits you call associates barely have the sense to handle their own bending, let alone command one of my weapons. "

Master had a point. Apparently his father had made that mistake once and loaned his prize weapon to a warlord. But the weapon, number 613 Pike, tried to break her contract and escape with a rebel called Zaheer. She even had the nerve to give herself a human name. For this treason, Master's father left her for scrap, refusing to free her even after she ended up in a Northern Water Tribe ice prison. Or so the story went. Master never said what happened after.

Tomas shifted in place.

"So you know then…"

"My son informed me. Word tends to spread quickly when the royal palace is invaded by rogue benders who attack the Firelord in broad daylight." He shook his head. "How utterly sloppy of you."

His tone was reproachful, disgusted even and his tone made old Tomas squirm.

"Yes, well, there were some… complications. The Avatar made an unexpected appearance." He swallowed. "And she has mastered bloodbending."

Her master's brows lifted. "Has she now?" He fingered the snowy beard that ran halfway to his chest. "Interesting. In that case, perhaps I will loan you another. A lighter weapon… something even your bandits can handle.
He gestured again, this time to the tier one table. To her. She rose and stepped forward.

"Weapon number 843 Fuse," said Master.

The Fire Nation man scratched his narrow chin and looked her over with equally narrow eyes.

"This one doesn't look as powerful as the others…"

"She's been field-tested and received top marks for agility, combat, and accuracy. She's more than enough for your bandits, I assure you. Well, provided you pay collateral, of course."

The Fire Nation man was still eyeing her.

"Wha-? Oh, money. Yes, of course." He produced an impressive gold box filled with, surprise, more gold.

"Very good," said her Master. "I'll have them outfitted and shipped by tomorrow. Just make sure your associates are prepared. This isn't a toy for them to play with."

"I'll make sure they know. Thank you, Master Eli." The Fire Nation man turned to go.

"Oh, and Tomas? The next time you visit, I expect better news."

Hidden Powers -- Chapter 4

"So, wait, why are we going to the Fire Nation again?" Mako asked, a large backpack slung over his shoulders. Granted, most of the stuff in it was his brother's - maps, mover posters, and some weird lotion of Varrick's creation that Bolin insisted would keep skin from burning no matter how sunny it got.

Korra glanced over her shoulder to the waiting sky bison. Though Tenzin had offered a ride on any number of the sky bison, they had somehow ended up with Opal's bison, Juicy. Big, dopey, booger-nosed Juicy.

The animal looked at her now with lulling, saggy eyes.

Geez, Tenzin, she thought. Of all the flying bison in all the nations, why oh why did it have to be that one? Of course, she might very well end up swimming her way to the Fire Nation if the two brothers didn't hurry themselves up. "I'm going to have an important diplomatic meeting with Firelord Izumi," she finally answered Mako. "I have no clue why you two are here."

"I'm going on a tour through the Fire Nation to promote, 'Nuktuk: Hero of the South!'" Bolin announced proudly. Did you know the movers just now started to gain popularity there? It's insane!"

"Uh-huh," Korra said. Her gaze fell to Mako. "And why are you tagging along, again?"

"You want me to leave this guy wandering freely around the Fire Nation while you meet with Firelord Izumi?" Mako asked, pointing to Bolin, who was now opening one of the Varrick-Lotion bottles and rubbing it all over his face. The stuff smelled like rotten sea prunes.

"Fair point," Korra said with a shrug. Lousy cover-up that you're just tagging along because you're worried about me, but fair point, just the same.

"Where's Asami?" Bolin asked suddenly. "Shouldn't she be coming to?"

"Yeah, unlike us, Asami has an actual job," Mako reminded him.

"Oh, yeah."

#

Firelord Izumi got a great number of visitors from time to time, but Avatar Korra's arrival was a surprise to her. So much so, in fact, that when one of her guards came and announced Korra's arrival, Izumi asked him to repeat himself twice just to be sure she'd heard correctly. He then stepped aside and sure enough, there was the young waterbender standing in the throne room's doorway. She looked around like a lost child and Izumi could not decide who seemed more out of place - her guard or the avatar.

"There's.. something else, your highness," the guard said nervously. "The avatar specifically requested to have a conversation with you in private."

Izumi gave a wry smile. "A private conversation, hm? That should be interesting." She raised a hand and motioned to the palace staff around her. "You may leave us. I will call you when you are needed."

"B-but, your highness-" the guard stammered. Not out of rudeness or defiance, but that was the infuriating part of it. There was a look in his eyes that Izumi just knew past generations never gave the Firelord. No one ever thought Ozai would get hurt if he wasn't being watched 24/7. But she was the nonbender, the helpless one. Even alone with the avatar, her guards still worried about her. Especially with gangs of bloodbenders about the capital city.

"I understand your concern, but my father taught me to defend myself perfectly well, and besides, I'm here with the avatar. If anyone could get through her, I'm quite positive you'd be just as useless." She smiled politely as the guard's face fell from the blow to his ego. Hanging his head, he walked out of the room. The doors echoed as they shut behind him.

"Now then," said Izumi, stepping up to Korra. "Tell me what's on your mind."

#

Korra twisted her fingers. She'd thought Republic City was big when she first visited, but this palace took things to a completely different level. She wished she could have Asami here. Asami talked to important people all the time. Even Mako with his weird way of babbling when he got nervous would probably botch this up much less than she was about to. Still, she'd promised to keep this secret, and the best way to keep a secret was to go it alone.

"It's╔ about the new bloodbenders. Iroh says there's been some issues with them."

Izumi frowned, but nodded. "My son is correct. We've had several gangs of bloodbenders causing issues in the capital. Most of them are still too unskilled to handle more than two or three officers at a time, but they do drain our police resources."

Korra swallowed hard. "Yeah, so╔ Iroh, Lin, and Toph had a talk with me. They wanted to know what ideas I have for, um╔ y'know, for stopping these gangs."

"And you have an idea? Or you're asking me for an idea?" Izumi said. Her voice had gotten softer now. Korra had no clue if that was a good or a bad thing.

"I╔ have an idea. But I need your help with it."

"With manpower? I just explained to you, we're barely containing the problem here as it is. I have little resources to offer you."

"No, no. I mean, I want you to teach me bloodbending. So I can use it to defend people."

Izumi went silent. No widened eyes or raised eyebrows, just an impassive, focused stare, like Korra had done nothing but annoy her. Korra was now fairly sure that the soft voice had been a bad sign.

"And how do you expect a nonbender to teach you an advanced waterbending technique? Ask Katara if you're determined to learn that dark nonsense." She rose from her seat.

No, Korra thought. Don't let her call the guards back in now.

"Katara doesn't know it anymore," Korra said quickly. Maybe if she just revealed that Izumi had nothing to hide from her, she'd listen to reason. "Zuko told me. Aang used energybending to move Katara's ability to bloodbend to Zuko, and he╔"

Korra stopped and Toph's words flashed in her mind. "She detests that fact more than she ever lets on." Bringing it up might just make Izumi more upset with her. But at this point, what did she have to lose?

"Zuko passed it onto you. He didn't tell me. Not on purpose, anyway. He was trying to teach me to help with my healing and just mentioned he'd had another student, and-"

A crash resounded throughout the room. Bits of shattered glass started raining down on Izumi and Korra. On instinct, Korra started to run forward to protect Izumi, but felt her body jerked backwards. This wasn't the floating sensation she got when Zuko had demonstrated his bloodbending skills on her. This was someone who had no issues with hurting her. Or worse.

Her breathing picked up speed. Not too long ago, this sensation would have sent her into a panicked frenzy. It threatened to now. But she had to fight it. She was the avatar.

Korra looked up to face their attackers. There were three of them, two men and a woman. None of them bothered wearing masks to obscure their faces, and Korra realized when one of the men got closer that he was actually a teenager, no older than fifteen. His comrades looked closer to Korra's age. The woman had Izumi pinned to a wall, while the man and the kid had their arms raised, attention focused on Korra.

When did I get old enough to think of a fifteen-year-old as a kid?

She tried again to step forward, but the attempt sent pain shoot through her body. She struggled to remember some of what Zuko had taught her, even a hint would help right now, but everything felt like a blur in her mind.

Meanwhile, Izumi remained calm and didn't look the least bit upset that someone was in a good position to snap her neck. "I would exercise caution, if I were you," she said to the woman. "The avatar has mastered bloodbending herself, and I doubt she plans to wait much longer for the group of you to come to your senses."

"Shut up!" the woman snapped. She moved her arms and lowered Izumi's body slightly, only to shove her hard against the wall again. The impact knocked Izumi's glasses to the ground. "We came here to give the demands, not take them."

Izumi gave an exasperated sigh. If there was any pain, she didn't show it. "Very well, then. Avatar Korra, do what you need to do."

"You've got it." The words didn't come from Korra. Or, rather, they did, but not of her own free will. She could feel her lips moving, the sound coming from her throat, but she had no more control over it than she did her own feet right now. And then, suddenly, her arms felt free again. She stepped forward, flexing her fingers, just to make sure her attackers weren't messing with her somehow. But when she looked up, all three of them were tensed up, grunting with frustration. She knew that look. Knew it better than anyone. Someone had used their technique back on them, freezing them in place. Izumi collapsed into a sitting position, but never took her eyes off the battle.

Now sure she had full control of herself again, Korra shot a blast of fire into the air and announced, "Get out of here, all of you! And if I see you threatening so much as a beetle-moth, you'll get much worse than that. You understand me?"

None of them answered her. They were too busy scrambling up the ropes.

#

Later, when the palace guards had been assured that everything was fine, that their leader would not have their heads for being absent during the attack, and that she could not be safer than when she was with the amazing avatar, Korra finally had the chance to spill out everything on her mind.

"F-Firelord Izumi? What you did today╔ that was unbelievable," she whispered. "Your hands barely moved. And you still controlled three people. In the middle of the day."

Izumi shrugged her shoulders, though she still managed to look regal doing it. "I keep telling my guards my father trained me to defend myself, and yet somehow they never do believe me." She turned to Korra. "I now find myself in the awkward position of reconsidering your request," she said. "As this gang has clearly seen what the avatar is capable of, I have no doubt they'll attack you again."

"I'm sorry," Korra said, hanging her head. "If anything I said before brought up memories, I mean."

Izumi shook her head. "I am not upset that my father told you what I am," she said. "Aang knew about it, and had your connection to your past self been left un-severed, you could have learned that fact anytime you wished. But let me be clear. When my father taught you, I'm sure he was quite gentle about it. I am not gentle. The technique is violent and dangerous and I'm going to treat it as such. Do you understand?"

Korra nodded nervously, wondering if it was too late to just go back to Lin's first idea of letting Toph kick her around a room.

"Very well, then. Let us move to a space that is not full of broken glass, and we will begin."