(See the end of the chapter for more notes .)

I know, I know. I was tempted to put a "NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY" notice a while back, but I didn't want to tease any subscribers who would get a notification for a new chapter only to get... that. So let me say now what I didn't say then. No, I'm not abandoning this story, I'm finishing it if it kills me. I have way too many ideas for this universe to just let it die. It's just that life sometimes gets in the way, y'know? I'm really sorry it took so long, but hey, at least this chapter's the longest yet. That kinda makes up for it, right? (No, no it doesn't.) Anywho, enjoy, and if you've stuck around this long, please leave a comment.

Chapter Text

Korra

She opened her eyes for a split second before the sun coming in through a window forced them shut again.

“Son of a motherfuck ,” she muttered, raising a hand to her aching head. Korra must've drunk a lot if she had a hangover this bad. She was from the Southern Water Tribe, for crying out loud! Being able to hold her liquor was a point of national pride!

Groaning, she pulled a blanket over her head and tried to roll over… until she hit something. A warm something. Korra was in bed with someone who, judging by the amount of bare back she could feel, was naked, or at the very least topless. A quick examination of her own body revealed Korra wasn't wearing much of anything either.

Shit. She couldn’t remember going home with anyone. Although, to be fair, most of the previous night was kind of a blur at that point.

Korra opened her eyes again, squinting against the sun’s glare. She noticed pretty quickly that she was most definitely not in her dorm room, so that was good. Opal would've never let her live it down if she brought a girl home with no warning. Her mind a little clearer and her eyes adjusting to the light, Korra turned to look at the girl lying next to her. And all the memories came rushing back.

After leaving the first bar, Korra had led Asami to a small college pub about a mile outside the campus. There they had a few drinks, played a game of pool (which Asami won), then Korra demanded a rematch (which Asami won), had more drinks and played a third game of pool (which Korra won… barely).

After that, they got to drinking in earnest, starting with vodka, then rum, then something Korra couldn’t even name. Occasionally they had to fend off guys who came up to hit on them, although Korra wasn't sure if Asami was actually not interested, or just turning them down in solidarity.

Well into the night, Korra had stumbled up to the bar to get the next round of drinks (she insisted, Asami having paid for the last few rounds), and came back to find Asami talking to a guy. She marched over there with the intention to scare the guy away, when she noticed there was a third person at their table. A girl with short brown hair.

“Hi, I’m Adi,” she said as she saw Korra approaching.

“Uh…” Pretty girl… say something, idiot! “Korra.” Wow. The alcohol must’ve been hitting her harder than she thought.

“The big lug with your friend is my cousin Shaozu. I can reel him in if you guys are having a girl’s night or whatever.”

Korra glanced at Asami who seemed… amused at whatever Shaozu was saying. “If Asami doesn’t mind, I don’t mind.” If she actually liked this guy, who was Korra to deny her that? Besides, Adi was pretty hot, even if her being into girls was unlikely. Seeing that Asami already had another drink (courtesy of Shaozu, probably) Korra offered hers to Adi.

“Thanks,” she said taking a sip. “So what brings you here?”

“We’re kind of, um, celebrating.”

“Celebrating what?”

“It’s stupid but... well, Asami’s been training me in martial arts and today was the first time I managed to beat her. She’s calling it my ‘graduation party.’”

Korra noticed how Adi’s eyes slowly trailed downward and then quickly went back up. Had she been checking her out? “So you work out a lot?”

“Uh-- I--” Korra stammered. “A bit. So, um, what about you guys?”

“Shaozu’s visiting from out of town and he insisted I take him out tonight. He thinks I’m the perfect wingwoman, since I’m bi and ‘have been on both sides,’ whatever the hell that means.”

So that settles that, then. “Nice of you to humor him.”

“I know, right?”

From there they got to talking some more. And drinking some more. Which led to flirting, which let to kissing, which led to… other stuff.

Which brought her to where she was right now. Problem was, Korra had no idea what to do next. Did she wake Adi up? Wait until she woke up? Or should she just sneak out? Crap. This was her first one-night stand, alright? The movers never covered this!

It’s fine, just relax. Just breathe… brea--fuck! Tenzin. She had meditation with Tenzin. She had no idea what time it was, and she doubted alcohol-induced stupor led to early mornings. Well, at least the decision was made for her. She had to get out and make her way to Air Temple Island as soon as possible and hope that Tenzin didn’t kill her. The man had a thing about punctuality.

Careful not to disturb Adi, she got out bed and began searching for her clothes, which were all over the floor. Korra was nearly dressed, she just had to find a shoe when she heard Adi stir. “Morning,” she said. “You’re taking off?”

“Yeah, sorry. I have a thing in…” Korra fished her phone out of her pocket and checked the time. It was five past ten. She sighed. “five minutes ago. It's a work thing.” That was technically true. Tenzin was her boss. And besides “work thing” sounded better than “I'm trying to talk to the giant glowing kite who gives me my superpowers.”

“Yeesh, good luck with that.” Adi reached for a bottle of water on her bedside table and tossed it at Korra. “You might need that.”

“Thanks. D’you know how to get to the docks from here?”

“Yeah, we’re actually pretty close. Just turn right once you’re outside and head straight for a few blocks.”

Korra nodded. “Well, um… ‘bye. And sorry, again.”

Adi just laughed. “Relax, we went to a bar and hooked up. It’s not like I was expecting breakfast in bed or anything. But I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah.” With one last wave, Korra made her way out of the bedroom and onto the street. Her mouth felt like a desert so she cracked open the bottle Adi gave her and drank it all down.

True to Adi’s word, Korra found the docks after about ten minutes of walking. She considered just waterbending her way across the bay to Air Temple Island, but it was too crowded, and she couldn’t risk someone seeing her. So the ferry it was.

Once on board, Korra forced herself to relax. It was just a fifteen-minute ride to the island, and she'd been late before she even set out anyway. If Tenzin was pissed, then he was pissed.

She pulled out her phone to distract herself, when she noticed she had missed a call from Asami, so she dialed her back.

“Goooood morning!” was Asami’s way-too-chipper reply.

“Morning,” Korra muttered.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like my head got run over by several trucks.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised,” Asami replied, “considering the amount of alcohol you drank last night. It was pretty impressive, to be honest.”

“Southern liver, works twice as hard. And why exactly aren’t you on the verge of death? You were matching me drink for drink!”

“Yeah, about that. I… might’ve switched to virgins and water after a while.”

“You dick!”

“Sorry! To be fair, I was driving. And I was keeping an eye on you, if that makes you feel any better.”

“I hate you so much right now,” Korra groaned, rubbing her forehead. “You know, I kind of freaked out a little this morning. I couldn’t remember where I was right away.”

“You were with that girl, right? Adi?”

“Yeah.”

“She was cute. So are you gonna see her again?”

“I don’t know,” Korra sighed. “I remembered I had to be a Tenzin’s so I hightailed it out of there. I didn’t even get her number or anything. You think I should’ve?”

“What are you asking me for?”

“It was my first time going home with someone I met at a bar. I don’t know the protocol!”

“Well, one hook-up still puts you one ahead of me.”

“So last night, with that guy--”

“I sent him packing about five minutes after you left.”

Korra felt a stab of guilt. It was still a little fuzzy, but she remembered that part of the reason she agreed to leave with Adi was because Asami and Shaozu seemed to be hitting it off. “Oh. Sorry, then. For ditching you.”

“Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you had a good time. You did, right?”

“Yeah, it was great! The bits I can remember, anyways.” A horn sounded, indicating that the ferry was about to dock. “Hey, the we I just got to Air Temple Island, so I gotta go. Talk to you later?”

“Before you you go, I wanted to tell there’s a book club meeting tonight. Think you’re gonna be able to make it?”

“Book club” was the code they had for their superhero activities. “Sure, I’ll just take a nap or something, get rid of this headache.”

“Are you sure? We can reschedule.”

“It’s alright. We haven’t had a meeting in a while. I’ll be there.”

“Okay. Well, it’s at nine. Just let yourself in through the backdoor, and don’t forget your book this time.” That meant go in through the Cave and already in her suit.

“Cool. I’ll see you tonight.”

“See ya.”

Korra hung up and, once the ferry finished docking, made her way up to the main house and into the women’s dressing rooms. She still thought it was weird that she had to be dressed in a specific way in order to meditate, but it was Tenzin’s rule so she didn’t argue… much.

She had just pulled her pants on when she heard the door open. “You’re late.”

Korra turned to see Jinora, Tenzin’s eldest daughter, standing in the doorway. “Sorry, I went out last night. Your dad’s not mad, is he?”

“He’s meditating, so he’s pretty zen right now, but no promises once that’s over.”

“Fair enough,” Korra said, shrugging off her shirt. Jinora’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but in less than a second her expression was neutral again. Weird.

“So, when are you taking me with you?”

“What, to like bars and stuff? Turn eighteen first, and then we’ll talk.”

“Not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Jinora, setting aside the fact that your dad would literally murder me in my sleep if I ever put you in that kind of danger, you just can’t. You know why.”

Jinora’s grandfather Aang had been known as the Last Airbender, the rest having been killed during the course of the Hundred-Year War. A title that Jinora had inherited. While she wasn’t technically the only airbender (the rest of her family sans Pema, as well as several people with Air Nomad blood had some control over the element), she was the only who was known to have super-level powers. If a hero who looked a lot like her suddenly started blowing criminals away all over town, it wouldn’t take people very long to put two and two together.

“Besides,” Korra continued, “what about that security program you’ve been working on? You told me it was almost ready.”

In addition to a master airbender, Jinora was also a genius with anything electronic. Once Tenzin got elected mayor and had to renounce his Luddite ways, he finally bought a computer for the island. At eight years old, Jinora took to it like a fish to water. Within weeks she was writing basic programs, and by the time she was twelve, she could break into a lot of secure systems. Disappointed in not being able to find a firewall that could stop her, she decided to build her own. Typical of her, really. She finds a way to break the rules, and the next thing she does is find a way to make it harder.

“It is ready, I just can’t get anyone to buy it. Everytime I try to present it to some company they blow me off. No one wants to listen to a teenager.”

“Have you tried Future Industries?” Korra asked as she tugged on the top of her meditation outfit.

“Future Industries doesn’t do software, Korra.”

“Maybe not, but I’m sure they’d like the best security for their systems. Trust me, they won’t turn you away because of you’re young. Their CEO is, like, my age.”

“Yeah, but she’s Asami Sato . She’s super smart and super talented, not to mention flipping gorg--” Jinora cut herself off, blushing.

Korra smirked. “Your crush is showing. Besides, don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“Kai is not my boyfriend!” Jinora said, although Korra caught a very frustrated “yet” that Jinora muttered under her breath.

“Well, if he doesn’t get his ass in gear soon, you could always ask him out. Besides, you have a better chance with Kai than with Asami. I think she might be a little too old for you.”

Jinora scoffed. “Six years isn’t that much of an age difference.” Easy for her to say, considering Tenzin had over a decade on Pema.

“It is when you’re sixteen. Anyway, I better get going before Tenzin pops a blood vessel. Just promise me you’ll think about Future Industries?”

“Fine, I promise.”

With that settled, Korra left the comforting dimness of the changing room and back into the bright sunlight. Squinting, she slowly trudged over to the meditation pavilion, where her mentor already was, sitting peacefully with his eyes closed.

“You’re late,” Tenzin said without opening his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, Jinora already chewed me out.” Tenzin didn’t reply, merely raising an eyebrow. “Fine, I’m sorry, I had a bit of a late night.”

Tenzin finally deigned to open his eyes, concern lining his face. “Korra, I know you think being the Avatar and protecting the city is important, and it is. But you have to take care of yourself as well. Staying out all night won’t do you any favors.”

“I’ll, uh… keep that in mind.” If Tenzin thought she was doing Avatar stuff instead of going out drinking, she wasn’t going to be the one to correct him.

“Good. Now, shall we get started?”

Korra took a seat in the lotus position next to Tenzin, and tried not to fall asleep while the man droned on about clearing her mind and reaching out with her spirit. Since she hadn’t been able to get in touch with Raava, while fully awake and alert, she wasn’t exactly holding her breath about today being the day. Still, it seemed like an eternity had passed before Tenzin was gently shaking her awake.

“Korra?’

“Wuh--?” Shit. She’d dozed off.

“Korra, if you’re not going to take this seriously--” Tenzin began.

“I am, I swear!” Korra cut him off “I just had a rough night, that’s all.”

Tenzin sighed. “Alright, although I see little point in going on if you’re just going to nod off again. You’re off the hook for today.”

“Thanks Tenzin,” Korra said. “Next week I’ll be here one hundred percent, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Feeling slightly better after her unconventional power nap, Korra jogged back to the changing rooms, put her clothes back on and a ferry ride and two bus rides later, she was finally standing outside her dorm. However, as she went to open the door, she hesitated. Going inside meant facing her . Still, if she was going to be ready for tonight, she needed sleep. There was no getting around it.

“Looks like someone had a good night,” is the first thing Opal tells her when she walks through the door.

“Good morning to you too, asshole,” Korra replied. Opal was seated on her bed, staring at Korra, pretty obviously trying not to burst out laughing. “What?”

“Have you looked in a mirror today?”

“No, why?”

“You might want to, that’s all.”

Korra went into their dorm’s ensuite bathroom to take a look at herself. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot and had bags under them. Yeah, she looked like shit, but that wasn’t exactly surprising. No, the surprise came when she looked a little lower and saw a very noticeable hickey on her neck. Tenzin probably hadn’t seen it (thank god for air acolyte outfits and their high collars), but Jinora… goddammit. She stormed out of the bathroom to see Opal shaking in silent laughter.

“So,” she managed after a while, “Asami give you that?”

Korra sighed. This again. “For the last time, Opal, Asami’s just a friend. And not that it’s any of your business, but no, it was a girl I met last night at a bar.”

“And?”

“I spent the night at her place.”

“You suck at at this,” Opal groaned. “ Details, woman!”

“What? Why?”

“Because, I haven’t gotten laid in forever and since you managed to get lucky for some reason, my only choice is to live vicariously through you.”

“Uh, Ope, you realize I only sleep with women, right? Like, exclusively?”

Opal just shrugged. “Eh, it’s college. I’m allowed to have an experimental phase.”

“A vicarious experimental phase?”

Another shrug. “Why not?”

“Well, as much as I’d like to regale you with stories of my sexual prowess, I have a massive hangover, so I’m gonna sleep it off.” Korra flopped onto her bed, immediately burying her face in her pillow. Heaven.

“Welp, I’m out,” Opal said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Dealing with your snoring is bad enough when I have to, so I’m sure as shit not staying here.”

Knowing that was asshole-talk for “I’m leaving so you can sleep in peace,” Korra sent her a grateful smile. “Thanks. Oh, and Opal?”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever want to make your experimental phase a little less vicarious you let me know,” Korra said with a cheesy wink.

Opal just sputtered at that, and satisfied that she got the last word in (for once), Korra rolled over and promptly fell asleep.

By the time Korra woke up, the sun had begun to set. Good news was her hangover was gone. Better news, Opal hadn’t come back. That meant she could change into her Avatar suit in the comfort of her dorm room.

Checking her phone, she saw she still had a couple of hours to kill before the meeting, so she used them to do a quick sweep of the city. Fortunately, the city seemed quiet tonight. Eventually, she headed toward the Sato Manor and let herself in through the Cave’s secret entrance near the back of the grounds.

The inside of the cave was pitch-black. She’d been here a couple of times already (granted she’d been with Asami those times), and it had always been brightly illuminated. Maybe she was early? But no, checking her cheap digital watch (she couldn’t exactly bring her phone on patrol, could she?) it was already three minutes past nine. And if there was anyone who was more of a stickler for punctuality than Tenzin, it was Asami.

“As--Tempest? You in here? Wildfire? Landslide?” Asami hadn’t told her whether the guys would be there, but whenever she and Tempest teamed up, they tagged along more often than not.

“AT LAST YOU ARRIVE, AVATAR!” came a booming voice from the speakers. Distorted, but recognizable.

“Landslide, is that you? Where are you guys?”

“I DO NOT KNOW THIS LANDSLIDE YOU SPEAK OF. YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED HERE TO--” The voice was cut off by the sound of someone laughing in the background. “Aw, c’mon Tempest, I was nailing that!”

“You’ll have to excuse him, Avatar,” said Wildfire. “He likes the dramatics. We’re over here.”

The lights switched on, and Korra could see Asami and her team at the other end of the Cave, standing around a small conference table.

“So, what is the deal with all the dramatics?” Korra asked, taking a place at the table.

“Well, the three of us have given it some thought,” Tempest began. “Since you arrived in the city, crime has gone down.”

“Also, since we’ve had you backing us up, we’ve had way less injuries,” Wildfire said.

“Not to mention you kick massive amounts of ass all on your own,” Landslide added.

“Basically what we’re saying is, we’d like you to officially join our team,” Tempest finished.

“Holy shit, really?” Korra could barely stop herself from giddily jumping up and down. “Holy shit. I mean, yeah. Hell yeah!”

Korra was beyond excited. Well, sure, they’d let her tag along before, and she did hang out with Asami a lot, but this was still huge. She’d actually be part of a real super-team! She’d dreamed of this day since the day she discovered comic books!

“Alright, just a couple of preliminary things, then we can move on to the blood sacrifice,” Asami said.

Korra’s giddiness came crashing down hard. “Wait, the what, now?”

Asami smiled. “Sorry, but I needed you to calm down. You were practically vibrating. Although there are a couple of things we need to do before you officially join.”

“This team is built on trust,” Landslide chimed in, “Wildfire, Tempest and I all know each other's’ identities. If you feel like you can’t trust us with this, you can just leave, no harm, no foul.We’ll even still tag along with you if we run into each other on patrol.”

Korra thought about it for a moment. Asami already knew her identity, and thanks to that, she’d gained one of her best friends. If these two were good enough for Asami, she figured they were good enough for her. “Alright, I’m in. If Tempest… if Asami trusts you, so do I.”

Asami breathed out an audible sigh of relief. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

Wildfire went first, reaching up and pulling of his mask. “My name is Mako Shih, and I’m a detective with RCPD when I’m not doing, well… this. And I have a confession to make.” He glanced at Asami, who gave him a small nod. “I wanted to do background check on you before we let you into the team and…”

“And so, I told him who you were,” Aami finished. “I’m sorry. I know it was a shitty thing to do, and if you change your mind about joining us because of this I’ll completely understand and--”

“Hey,” Korra interrupted, placing a comforting hand on Asami’s arm. She hoped her smile didn’t look too forced. “I get it. I’m not gonna pretend I’m thrilled about it, but… I get it. You have to protect your team, right?”

Asami smiled back at her, which in turn made Korra’s genuine. “So does that mean…”

“Yes, I still wanna join.”

“Awesome! Well, I guess I’m next,” Landslide said as he removed his mask. “Bolin Shih, currently a freelancer with the Republic City Chronicle, and this one’s brother.” He jabbed his thumb in Wildf--Mako’s direction.

Brothers who could bend different elements, huh? That was interesting. The only other siblings Korra knew like that were Tenzin and Kya.

“Alright, I guess mine’s mostly ceremonial, since everyone in this room already knows who I am, but...” Asami took off her cowl, letting her hair fall free. “Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries.”

“Best for last, huh?” Korra said as she took off her helmet. “My name is Korra Sikku of the Southern Water Tribe, and I’m a student at RCU.” She set her helmet down on the table. “Alright, now that that’s over with, what next?”

“Now, we give you this,” Asami said, handing Korra a small square package. Korra ripped it open.

“A cell phone? I already have one these, you know.”

“It’s a communicator,” Asami explained. “Direct line to all three of us, as well as a few contacts we have throughout the city. It’ll also get you into any of our safehouses, and it has an earpiece you can attach to your helmet for use in the field. Don’t lose it.”

“Alright, so it’s a super fancy, super advanced cell phone,” Korra said with a smirk. “That’s cool, I guess.”

“Well, I guess all there is to say is, welcome to the team.” Mako stuck his hand out and Korra shook it.

“Group hug time!” Bolin yelled. He wrapped one arm around Asami and the other around Mako. Korra just stared for a moment before shrugging and joining in.

“So now that you’re officially a member, are you ready for our first team outing?” Asami asked.

“You know it,” Korra replied as she put her helmet back on.