Extremes are Met

Three days after the incident in the Sato Estate, Mako, Bolin, and Asami were finally arriving at Air Temple Island, where Korra and the Airbending kids were eagerly waiting for them at the docks. Koda had to leave early in the morning and didn't say why.

"They're here!" Ikki screamed.

As the three came to the docks they were welcomed by Ikki.

"Welcome to Air Temple Island. Your new home." Ikki said.

"Yes, welcome to my domain!" Meelo said.

"Well, aren't you a sweet little monk child." Bolin said, smiling and Pabu jumped off of the Earthbender's shoulder and went for Naga. "What's that fuzzy creature?" Meelo asked, looking at Pabu.

"That is a Fire Ferret. It's an arboreal mammal common to the bamboo forests of the central Earth Kingdom." Jinora said, but before she could explain more Ikki screamed.

"He's CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE!" Ikki shouted excitedly while running past Jinora who covers her ears from her sister's shouting while Ikki tries to run for Pabu who hisses and runs away from the excited Airbender.

Just then Meelo Airbends himself on Naga.

"Yip, yip. Fly sky bison!" Meelo said, pulling the polar bear-dog's ears.

Asami giggled at the scene, "You know, I've seen Koko's siblings, but I never got to meet them."

"Hey, thanks for sending the Air Acolytes to help us with the move." Mako said.

"Yes, they've been amazing. Such tireless workers." Asami said as they watched the Air Acolytes carrying too many bags off the boat.

"I thought you were bringing a few things." Korra said.

"Well, anyway, everyone here wants you to feel welcome." Korra said.

"Where's Koko, by the way?" Asami asked, noticing that the newfound platinumbender was nowhere to be seen.

"He's staying at his house right now. He didn't say why." Korra said.

They all nodded as they all walked to their rooms. As they walk Meelo smiles at Asami.

"You're pretty. Can I have some of your hair?" Meelo asked. Mako laughs at this.

"Looks like I have some competition. He clearly has his brother's charm." Mako said in a joking manner.

"And now for the grand tour. The flying bison sleep in the caves Koko made with earthbending down there. That's the temple Grandpa Aang built. And that's the greenhouse where we grow vegetables we eat." Ikki said showing them right where the man-made caves are, the buildings, and to the left for the greenhouse.

"Wait, Koko made a cave! How old was he?" Asami asked. She looked at the younger sister of Koda with a surprised expression, she knew that he was an amazing earthbender, but she didn't know he was this strong.

"According to Daddy, he was 7," Ikki said.

"Also, I have a couple of questions. Is this an all vegetarian island? Is that where you train Airbending? Do we have to wear Air Acolyte clothes? Do we each get our own sky bison? And the final question, how many trees are on this island?" Bolin asked.

"Yes, yes, no, no, ten-thousand-nine-hundred and fifty-two." Ikki answered all the questions, making everyone shocked.

'How does Koda deal with her,' Mako thought, thanking himself that Bolin isn't like that.

"So, where are we gonna be staying?" Mako asked.

"You're a boy. Boys have to stay on the boy side." Meelo said.

"I'll be happy to show you to the men's dormitory." Jinora said.

"I'm a boy." Bolin said.

"Meelo, you go with the boys too." Korra said.

"We shall meet again soon, beautiful woman." Meelo said leaving.

"I'll be happy to take you to your room this way." Korra said as she started leading Asami.

Korra, Asami, and Ikki are walking down the corridor on the woman's side and everything is quiet.

"Asami, did you know Korra would say Koko's name in her sleep?" Ikki asked, making the Avatar have a shocked face while thunder roars and explosions occur in the background behind Korra.

Asami giggled at this, "No, I was completely unaware of that though I do find it cute." Asami said.

"Well, let's move on!" Korra said grabbing Asami by her arm and they go down the halls while opening the doors to a different room allowing Asami to enter first and then follows her in and before Ikki could come in Korra quickly slams the doors in the Airbender's face.

"Hey!" Ikki yelled.

"Run along, Ikki!" Korra yelled through the doors making Ikki become angry as her eyes become comically white and begins growling and snarling and clawing like a cat but then pouts and walks off.

In the room and they look around it.

"So... this is your new room. I know it's a little rustic compared to what you're used to." Korra said.

"I think it's charming, and the thing about is that nothing reminds me of my father. You know, whenever Koko and I hung out, he said he would take me here to visit. Too bad you and Mako were the ones who had to take me here." Asami said.

Korra nodded until Asami said something.

"Have I done something to offend you lately?" Asami asked abruptly.

Caught off guard, Korra looked shocked, "What? Why do you say that?"

Asami shrugged, "Yesterday you seemed to be glaring at me behind my back. So I was wondering what the hostility was for."

Korra looked abashed at being caught; "It was just that, you and Koda were hugging and you two seemed to be so in sync that I felt..." she trailed off.

"Jealous?" Asami finished.

Korra seemed to find the floor very interesting at that moment, "Yeah."

Asami placed a hand on her shoulder and Korra looked up, "It's okay, you just got a boyfriend who happens to have a girl for a best friend, so the two of us hanging together probably seems uncomfortable to you." she said as she patted the Avatar's shoulder a few times in comfort.

"Thanks for explaining it to me. I really didn't have any friends to hang out with as a kid, so this is really new to me." Korra said in a sad tone.

Asami just smiled at the girl, seemed miss rough and tough was just like any other teenage girl.

A knock at the door grabbed their attention.

"Come in." Asami said and Tenzin walked in.

"Good day ladies. Asami, welcome to the Island." The monk said with a nod.

"Thank you for having me," Asami said with a bow which Tenzin returned, "You know Uncle Tenzin, Koko always wanted to take me here." Tenzin chuckled, "I know, he has expressed this to me for years."

He turned to Korra, "Koda is going to be inducted as the Chief of Police later. We will both be going." Tenzin stated. Asami and Korra's eyes were wide, "Why didn't he tell us?" Korra asked.

Tenzin shrugged, "I don't know. But Koda always was a bit secretive at times."

Asami agreed to Tenzin's statement.

"Now shall we get going?" Tenzin asked.

"Can I come too, Uncle? This is going to be a big day for him, so I really want to go." Asami said

Tenzin nodded, "Yes Asami, you may come as well." He said exiting the room.

"I hope he isn't nervous." Asami muttered to herself.

Korra raised an eyebrow hearing her, "Koko? Nervous? We are talking about Koko here, right?" the water-tribe girl said jokingly.

"He's not invincible Korra. Even Koko can get nervous." The heiress said. Tenzin nodded to what Asami said.

"This I got to see." Korra said rushing out the door.

Asami just shook her head in amusement.

...

Koda took a deep breath as he walked up to the podium and remained focused with all the flashing of cameras taking his picture. He saw Korra, Asami, and his father standing on his left side and Korra mouthed good luck to him and he smiled at her and turned to the crowd.

"As you know, my mother has retired from her position as Chief of Police. I would like to thank all those who have sent their hearts out to her for a speedy recovery. I have been chosen by my mother to be the next Chief of Police. Some of you no doubt are wondering why someone so young such as I would be taking charge of such a position of responsibility. It's true, while I may indeed be young, far too young for some people; I have been around this position my entire life and know the ins and outs of it. I won't make promises I know I can't keep, but I will say this; I will do everything in my power to keep the people of Republic City safe no matter the cost of my own safety, that I promise. I know most of you are wondering if the Police will be working with councilman Tarrlok, and I will answer yes, the Police will be working with the councilman from time to time when it involves Amon and the Equalists, all other times the Metal bending Police will be going above and beyond to continue protecting Republic City like they always have, Thank you." Koda said with a small bow and the crowd cheered for him and he smiled at them.

As the crowd dispersed Korra come running to Koda and gave him a big hug and kiss on the cheek, "Nice going Chief." Korra jokes.

"Thanks," Koda said.

Asami was on his right and approached the newly appointed chief, "Congratulations, Chief Koko." She cheered as she sent a look to Korra and the Avatar girl gave a small nod and Asami gave Koda a big hug.

They heard the sound of a nose blowing and saw Tenzin dabbing his eyes.

"Umm... are you okay Dad?" Koda asked with a sweat drop.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine...I just...something in my eye is all." Tenzin said with teary eyes, he was really proud of his eldest son.

"Yeah, sure." Korra said in a sarcastic tone.

"Greetings Chief Beifong." Said the voice of Tarrlok.

The group turned to see the northern water-tribe representative councilor.

"Councilman." Koda said with a curt nod.

Tarrlok smiled at him and saw the closeness that he and the Avatar seem to have and stored that tidbit for later, "Ah Avatar Korra, long time no see. Now that your little pro-bending distractions are over, I look forward to your return to my task force." He said with a curt bow.

"Heh, forget it." Korra said firmly, "There is no way I'm rejoining your vanity project." She said defiantly.

"That is unfortunate to hear, but I'm sure you'll come to your senses as you have in the past." He said as he looked at Koda, "No doubt you will be helping our young Chief here, so we will be seeing each other."

"Don't hold your breath bub. I'm only going to help Koda and that's it." Korra said firmly, "Tenzin's been right about you all along. You played me, you played Koda's mom, but Koda's too smart to be played by you." She said as she walked up to him, "Here's more news for you, you need me, but I don't need you. I'm the Avatar." She finished as she put her hands on her hips defiantly.

Tarrlok just looked at her with his obnoxious smile, "You are not in fact the Avatar. You are just a half-baked Avatar in training. Which reminds me, how is your air bending going?"

Korra took a sharp breath and her arms fell to her sides.

"Made any significant progress with that?" he asked further.

Korra said nothing.

"I didn't think so." He said condescendingly.

"Tarrlok." Koda said with a growl and bit back his retort as he put an arm around Korra.

"If you will not be a part of my task force, then you had best stay out of my way." The councilman finished firmly as he walked away, "I will see you at a later date Chief Beifong to discuss some things." He added as he made his exit.

Koda glared at his retreating form and turned to Korra as his eyes softened, "Don't listen to him, he's just an asshole and trying to shack you up since you won't work for his task force." Koda said as he pushed a strain of hair off her eyes and tucked it behind her ear, "You're amazing and you know it." He finished as he gave her a nice kiss on the forehead.

Korra blushed from the kiss and smiled, "Thanks." She muttered to him.

"Anytime." He said to her as he looked at Asami and his father and mouthed watch her. The heiress and Tenzin nodded.

"Chief Beifong, your needed." Said Saikhan as he walked up to Koda.

Koda sighed, "You don't need to call me that, Saikhan." He said with an annoyed look.

Saikhan's lips twitched to a small, almost unnoticeable smirk, "I know."

Koda rolled his eyes, "Great, just what I need, to be the butt of the jokes around the station now. Come on Saikhan, show me that mountain of paperwork I have to do." He said as he waved to Korra, "See you guys later."

"Bye Koda." Korra said as she, Tenzin, and Asami head back to the Island.

...

Koda sat in his new chair or his mother's chair and looked at the picture of a younger version of himself with his mother, father, and grandmother smiling like no tomorrow. He later looked at another photo and it was him as a baby. His mother was holding him and his father had a hand around Lin's shoulder. Grandpa Aang and Uncle Bumi were on Tenzin's side, while Grandma Katara and Aunt Kya were by Lin's side.

'I miss those days.' He thought to himself as he picked up the photo and gently traced his fingers over Aang's image. It was days like these that made him wish he could've rememered the times when Grandpa Aang would come over. He knew from his father that Grandpa Aang died when he was about to turn 3.

He sighed, "

"Saikhan... do you think I'm the right person for this?" he asked the older officer as he placed the photo back down.

"On the record I would say yes." Saikhan said.

"And off record?" Koda asked in worry.

"I would still say yes." Saikhan said with a smile, "You're young blood, the poster boy for the new recruits, and one of the best soldiers during your time at the United Forces, people are willing to follow you because you're a good leader and watch out for everyone you work with, a quality your mother has and has clearly passed to you, not only that you have your father's wisdom passed down to you. Now here's your paperwork." The older officer said as he dumped the pile of papers on the Chief's desk.

Koda looked at the stack of papers in front of him and groaned... now he knew why his mother wished she was a fire bender at times.

...

"Finished!" Koda cheered as he put the last piece of paper in the out box.

"Now to check on a few more things, then I can get some sleep and hopefully a warm dinner from Pema." He said as he stretched to get the kinks out of his back.

He was heading out his door just as screams started to go around the station.

"Oh. Come. On! Right when I was about to leave? What a drag." He shouted and muttered the last part to himself and headed down.

He saw some electric flashes, indicating the use of electro-gloves and saw chi-blockers hitting officers who didn't have armor on.

"You guys have got some balls attacking this station on my first day!" Koda shouted as he glared down at them in fury, "Drop the gloves and put your hands in the air and I'll promise to make the beating I'm going to give your asses will only be slightly painful." He growled.

The chi-blockers and whoever they had freed ran out the door as fast as possible.

"They really like doing things the hard way, don't they?" Koda said to himself with a sigh as he jumped over the railing on the second floor and headed to the garage and put on his goggles and his armor covered his head.

He hopped on his bike and revved it up and peeled out of the garage in pursuit of the truck with two Equalists on motorcycles tailing behind it and in front of it.

"You're so not getting away while I'm on the clock... that would suck on my first day." Koda growled in his helmet as he followed them, not even seeing Korra, Asami, Mako, and Bolin in a car he just passed by that intersection.

"Was that Koda?" Mako asked in shock.

"Yep." Korra and Asami answered at the same time.

"Let's give him a hand!" Korra ordered and Asami nodded as she shifted gears to follow the young Chief.

Koda zoomed ahead and as a truck was about to block his way, he skidded under it and continued going.

He raised both of his hands and shook them twice and shot them upwards.

Suddenly two earth pillars shot up under the two rearing Equalists and sent them flying into the air and landed roughly on the ground and Koda closed his fists and a hand of earth caught them, making sure they didn't leave anytime soon.

He saw a car chasing him and looked in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" He shouted over his engine and the wind from the speed they were generating.

"We're the new Team Avatar! You wanna join?" Bolin shouted.

Koda's hand twitched as he wanted to slap Bolin upside his head for asking something like that right now.

"Alright Krew, help me out!" Koda said.

"Crew?" Mako asked in confusion.

"Yeah, but with a K instead of a C for Korra, Krew." Koda shouted.

"We should make T-shirts later." Bolin suggested.

"We'll talk!" Koda said.

Mako stood up and launched an arc of lightning at one cycle and Bolin sent a barrage of rocks at the other.

Now it was just them and the truck.

"Korra! Bolin! Help me make a semi-loop de loop ramp!" Koda ordered

The Avatar and the other earthbender nodded and all three made a large loop and the truck drove right up it since it had nowhere else to go and flipped on its back after it tried to stop.

Koda shifted his armor off his face and whooped, "Nice!" he cheered and jumped off his bike and captured those trying to get away with Korra and the rest helping.

The press arrived to take their pictures with the captured Equalists just as Tarrlok and his task force arrived.

"Avatar Korra, what do you think you're doing?" Tarrlok asked angrily as he stormed up to her.

"She assisted me in capturing these idiots who thought it was a genius idea to do a jailbreak on my first day, but we got them." Koda said interjecting whatever Korra was going to say.

"That's all well and good Chief Beifong, but you tore up the city to do it." Tarrlok added with irritation.

Koda looked back to see the damage and shrugged, "Nothing a little earth bending can't fix." He said uncaringly.

"Fine, but this is Avatar Korra's last warning to stay out of our business." Tarrlok said and was about to leave when Koda spoke.

"Sorry, but the new team Avatar is now a deputy group to the Metal bending Police and can act on behalf of myself and they only answer to me." Koda said with a sly grin.

Tarrlok turned around and glared at Koda, "You're playing a dangerous game Chief Beifong."

"As are you Councilman Tarrlok." Koda countered.

Tarrlok left with a huff.

"That was awesome! Were deputies now!" Bolin cheered as he jumped up and down with excitement.

"Nice." Mako said with a smirk.

"So Krew?" Korra asked Koda as Tarrlok's task force brought the captured Equalists to their trucks.

Koda shrugged, "Avatar Aang's group was called the Gaang, and so I thought why not." He said with a smile.

Korra put a finger to her lips in thought and nodded, "I like it."

"Alright, but head home for now and I'll follow you guys later." Koda said as he gave Korra a quick kiss on the cheek and headed for his bike and drove back to the station to finish up and get some sleep.

"Bye!" Korra shouted, waving him off.

...

"A WHAT!" Koda's voice shouted from his office and everyone in the station winced... it seems the boy really takes after his mother if he's got her shout down.

In Koda's office, Tenzin arrived to explain his son about the new law Tarrlok had gotten to pass.

"Is the man insane? All this is going to do is instigate them more!" Koda roared at the monk.

Tenzin had his fingers in his ears and took them out, "You have my wisdom and your mother's yell, that's for sure." The monk quipped, trying to lighten the mood and getting the ringing in his ears to stop.

Koda smiled at that, "Thanks Father, I've been practicing."

Tenzin lost his sense of humor and looked at Koda with utmost seriousness, "What now?" the monk asked.

"We try not to step on the non-benders toes and hope things stay peaceful... but we know that isn't going to happen. That damned idiot really enjoys making messes that we have to clean up. Sometimes I feel like he's pissing me off on purpose." Koda said with a grunt and Tenzin nodded.

"Keep me posted on anything new." The air bending master said.

"You do the same for me too, Dad." the Chief said.

...

Koda was in the middle of his paperwork when his phone rang.

"Hello?" he asked

"...he did WHAT?" Koda roared.

He kept listening and slammed the phone on the hook, destroying the phone.

He stormed out of his office and shouted, "I want my bike ready five minutes ago!"

A new recruit scrambled to the garage to get his bike ready for him.

Koda walked to the garage, "Thanks." He said to the rookie and drove to where Tarrlok just messed up big time.

...

As he rode his motorcycle around Dragon's Flat Burrow, the first thing Koda noticed was the complete lack of electricity. The lampposts and the traffic lights weren't working, and none of the houses he passed on his way to the protest had any lights on despite being late at night. The Dragon Flats borough was one of the poorer areas in the city and power outages did happen there every once in a while. However, a power outage during an Equalist protest was simply too much of a coincidence.

Koda's theory was that some Equalists had decided to cut off the power supply and pin the blame on the government and the Police Department, thus instigating the people to defy the curfew and start a protest. It certainly seemed like something a cunning scoundrel such as Amon would come up with. With some luck, the authorities would already be fixing the problem and explaining to the protesters who really were the ones behind the power outage, but if his time dealing with the Equalist movement had taught Koda anything, it was to never rely on luck.

The metalbender was about to call the Police Department from his radio to ask for the specific location of the protest when he caught sight of several lights some distance ahead of him. Koda twisted the throttle of his vehicle and made his way forward, ready to see for himself how the commotion was being handled. He just hoped nothing had gotten out of control and that people hadn't resorted to violence yet. Once he arrived to the protest, Koda got off his motorcycle to get a closer look at the situation.

'Well, it's a protest alright,' Koda thought. A large crowd was standing behind a barrier shouting at police officers. There were at least two hundred civilians protesting, including old people and mothers with their children. Several vehicles were parked around, and out of the corner of his eye, Koda saw Asami's Satomobile among them, which meant the rest of Team Avatar had to be there as well.

As Koda approached the protest on foot, something struck him as odd. Despite the various insults that were being thrown around by the people protesting, nothing seemed to indicate this was an Equalist manifestation. No flags were being waved, no pamphlets were being handed out, and no one was being physically assaulted. If anything, Koda had the feeling the police officers were the ones who were about to move against the protesters, not the other way around as he had been expecting.

The metalbender recognized one of Tarrlok's task force members circulating around the perimeter and he hurried his pace. When the man saw him coming, he tried to ignore Koda by walking away, but he was forced to stop dead in his tracks when Koda called for his attention. "Officer, stop there!"

The officer did as told and turned around. Despite being a member of Tarrlok's task force, he was still an officer of the Police Department who had to respect the chain of command, and Koda's new position far outranked his. "Cheif Beifong, sir,"

"I want to speak with Councilman Tarrlok. Take me to where he is."

"Sir, Councilman Tarrlok is very busy right now. He wishes not to be disturbed by anyone,"

"I don't care what he wishes! Take me to where he is immediately or I'll have you punished for insubordination!"

"... Right this way, sir,"

Koda followed the police officer, who led him to a big tent not too far away from the protest. He saw Councilman Tarrlok talking with the rest of Team Avatar, but due to the distance and the overall noise, he couldn't make out what they were saying. However, judging by looks alone, it seemed like they were in the middle of an intense discussion. 'If they're arguing about something while a protest is going on, then there's no way things are gonna' end well tonight,' the metalbender thought as he walked past the officer, motioning him to leave with a wave of his hand.

"Avatar Korra, I will not repeat myself a second time. Get out of here and leave this matter to the competent authorities. You and your playmates have interfered long enough,"

"Koda!" Korra shouted as she saw her boyfriend walking towards them at a hurried pace. The two of them shared a brief glance before turning their attention to Tarrlok once again, for there was no time to waste on proper salutations.

"What the hell is the meaning of this Tarrlok? These people are no Equalists as far as I can see. Just non-benders who want their rights back." Koda stated

"These people are the enemy Chief Beifong." Tarrlok countered

"No! There not! Now turn the power back on." Korra ordered

"I suggest you and your playmates return home, Avatar Korra and leave this to the professionals." Tarrlok said in a dismissing tone.

"We are not done here Tarrlok; you go behind my back to get some of my officers to help you with this farce of an Equalist rally. That is something I can't just stand by and watch." Koda said in a monotone voice.

Tarrlok just glared at Koda and shouted to his men, "Round up these Equalists!" he ordered

"All officers stand down! This is a direct order from your chief, stand down!" Koda ordered and none of the metal bending officers moved, "Any attacks on civilians will be met with equal force Tarrlok, so I suggest you tell your men to stand down." He said to the water bender.

Tarrlok growled at the earth bender and saw Asami and sent a water whip to catch her arm.

Asami saw the water around her arm and struggled, "Hey, let me go!" she shouted

"You're under arrest." Tarrlok stated

"What? You can't do that!" Mako said in surprise.

"Actually I can. She's a non-bender out past curfew and her father is a known Equalist conspirator." Tarrlok states as he pulls in Asami, but a spear of earth rose from the ground and slices the water whip.

"Asami Sato is under my protection Tarrlok. She has been interrogated personally by me and holds no allegiance to the Equalists." Koda says as he steps in front of Asami, "I should have you arrested for assault, Councilman."

"You're a toddler playing an adults game, Chief, you should go back to your playpen." Tarrlok growled at Koda.

Koda just smirked at him, "Shows what you know, I've been playing this game since I was in a playpen."

They each stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, till Tarrlok spoke, "You win this round Chief Beifong, but know this... you've made an enemy today." He warned gravely.

"You can't always make friends." Koda quipped and watch Tarrlok leave and started to head to the civilians.

Tarrlok muttered something only Korra heard, "No one crosses me and gets out unscathed Beifong, you'll see." He muttered darkly.

Korra narrowed her eyes at that and followed Koda.

The crowd thanked him and Korra, though Korra felt like she didn't really earn it since Koda did most of the talking.

She was going to have to talk to Tenzin about some negotiation strategies... she was really just going to beat Tarrlok up if he didn't cooperate. She was thankful that Koda was here to moderate the situation.

"You guys head home where it's safe. I have to go back to the office." Koda said with a tired sigh, this was getting a little old, fast.

"Alright." Korra said reluctantly, "Promise me you'll be careful." She said as she gave him a quick kiss.

"Come on Korra, it's me. I promise though." Koda said reassuringly.

"Good." The Avatar said nodding as she and the rest of the Krew headed back to the Island.

Koda grabbed his bike and took a slow ride back to calm himself.

...

"Did I get a new phone?" Koda asked as he entered the station.

"Yes Chief Beifong. We just got it replaced ten minutes ago." Said the secretary.

Koda nodded and headed up to his office.

Koda collapsed in his chair and tried to close his eyes for a quick nap.

He suddenly heard a beeping noise and opened his eyes to see where it was coming from. He looked under his desk and his eyes open wide in surprise.

"Oh n-" He didn't even have time to finish his sentence as he tried to raise an earth wall to shield himself but was unable to in time as a bomb blew in his office, with him no doubt as the target.

'Wha... What the... hell...'

Koda wasn't sure when he had woken up, or if he even was awake at all. He blinked several times to clear his vision, but everything around him remained a blur. His sense of hearing was distorted, and he couldn't tell whether if the siren he was listening came from afar of if an ambulance was right next to him. Just like his eyes and his ears, Koda's mind was foggy, unable to remember where he was and what had just taken place. All he knew was that there was a fire going on, as the smell of ash and the sounds of a building succumbing to flames were the only things that reached his awareness.

When he finally restored some of his consciousness, Koda felt an intense pain at the front of his skull, as well as some sort of fluid dribbling down his forehead and around his nose. Still lying on his stomach, he moved his right arm upwards and slid two shaky fingers across his forehead. If he could, he would've been surprised to see blood dripping down his fingertips, but he was simply too disoriented to feel shocked. '... This isn't good... I have to... do something...' The only thing he could think of was calling for help, and in order to do that, he would have to reach his motorcycle and grab the radio transmitter.

Koda wanted to get up, but as soon as he tried to push his body off the ground with his hands, searing pain on his left ribs forced him back down. His trembling legs were too weak to support his own weight, so standing up was out of the question. With nothing left to do, Koda began to crawl his way towards his motorcycle using his legs and his right arm. His vehicle wasn't too far away from where he was, but the pain was sending shock waves throughout his body. A trickle of blood made its way to his right eye, forcing Koda to close it and rely solely on his left one. '...Come on, Koda... Push... Push... You can do this...'

When he finally managed to get to his motorcycle, Koda mustered all of his strength and willpower to extend his hand. If he could grab his radio's microphone and speak a few words into it, it would be enough to send a message to Headquarters. Koda was having trouble breathing due to the pain in his ribs, and his vision was going blurry for a second time.

After what felt like an eternity, Koda grabbed the wire that connected the microphone to the radio transmitter. However, his body gave in, and before he could call anyone for help, Koda found himself surrounded by darkness once again.

...

Tenzin's bedroom, his phone was ringing and he picked it up, "Hello?" he asked.

His eyes opened wide, "WHAT!"

"Tenzin, what's wrong?" Pema said with concern as the call had woken them up.

"Pema get dressed and wake up Korra, and get Oogi ready. I have to call Lin." The master monk said in a panic.

"What's wrong?" Pema ordered

"There's been an attack at the station... someone blew up Koda's office..." Tenzin started to shake, "While he was still inside."

Pema gasped in horror and rushed with all the power a pregnant woman could to get Korra and the flying bison ready.

Tenzin took a deep breath and dialed Lin.

...

Lin was still in bed from her soreness and cursed as she had to miss her son taking on the most important job of his young life. Her phone started to ring and she picked it up.

"Hello?" she said with a grunt, she was sleeping dammit.

"What? Tenzin slow down, what about our son... what?" she asked in a whisper.

"No, no no no, please," Lin said.

...

The waiting area of the hospital, despite being pristine and bright, felt like the darkest, most miserable of places for the individuals who were there. A woeful atmosphere shrouded the wide room, and it couldn't be any other way, for Koda was currently walking a tightrope between life and death and no one knew whether he would make it to the other end or if he had already fallen. The terrible news of Koda's accident, coupled with excruciating suspense, made the situation feel nigh unbearable.

Asami, who was being held by Mako, made no effort to control her emotions as she cried and sobbed into his chest. She couldn't stand the idea of losing her best friend, the guy she had known for years and whom she loved like a brother. Mako was hugging her tightly, doing his best to keep his composure, yet still unable to hide the look of dejection on his face. Despite not knowing Koda for nearly as long as Asami did, Mako had come to respect the metalbender and regard him as a friend after all he had done to help. Bolin was standing a little further away from his brother, frowning sadly at the floor with his arms folded. Just like Mako, Bolin had also made a friend in Koda, and it was painful to think his fellow earthbender might not make it out of this one.

Meanwhile, the family of Air Nomads wasn't handling things much better. A tearful Pema was struggling to calm her children down, who were either crying or asking questions she didn't have an answer to about their brother. She knew she had to look strong in front of her daughters and son, but the appalling prospect of their big brother, their idol, their role model dying and the emotional stress caused by her pregnancy made it nearly impossible for Pema to display fortitude.

But Korra was by far the most affected out of them all. The Avatar was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, crying incessantly into her palms as her shoulders bounced up and down. Her knees were trembling her chest was aching as if someone had plunged a knife into her heart. Tenzin was sitting next to Korra and was trying to give her as much support as he could by placing a hand on her shoulder, remaining in silence. The airbender wanted to speak words of hope and optimism, but his sunken spirit wouldn't allow him to, for he was just as devastated as Korra was about his son.

Suddenly, the doors at the end of the hallway were slammed open. Tenzin turned his head to see who had entered, and he immediately got on his feet when he recognized the pale face of Lin Beifong. "Lin, you're here."

Lin approached Tenzin and grabbed him by the collar of his robes. "Where's our son, Tenzin!? Where is he!?" she asked in desperation.

"Our son is still undergoing treatment. We have the best doctors and healers taking care of him," Tenzin replied, placing his hands on Lin's shoulder. "We haven't been told anything else. Please try to calm down, we have no other choice but to be patient."

"Aunt Lin." Asami said as she hugged and started to cry on her and Tenzin.

Lin rubbed her back soothingly, "It's okay, this is Koda we're talking about, he'll bounce back." The elder earth bender said, trying to reassure not only Asami, but herself.

Suddenly a doctor walked to them, "Councilman Tenzin."

"How is our son?" Lin asked as the two went up.

The doctor gave a small smile at Lin and Tenzin, "Your son will live. He has a minor concussion with some burns on his face, along with some bruised ribs and other injuries from the explosion. His armor leather jacket protected him from the brunt on the blast and the healers have already healed the burn marks on his face so there won't be any scaring... he'll most likely be out for a few long days, so we'll keep monitoring him." the doctor said.

The group sighed and cried in relief.

"Can we see him?" Korra asked quietly.

"Yes, but two at a time only." The doctor said walking away to see his other patients.

Lin and Tenzin were the first to go in and rightfully so as they are the parents of Koda.

They entered to see Koda lying in a bed looking completely unconscious. His leather jacket and outfit had been removed while he was still in his outfit. His shirt was the only thing that was torn while his parts were were fine, but his hair looked partially charred from the explosion. Lin and Tenzin saw some burn marks on their son's body that were beginning to heal slowly.

The two approached their son, "Scaring your parents like that... you're gonna be in so much trouble when you're better." She said tearfully. Tenzin sat on the other side with his hand on his son's head, "You're just too stuborn for your own good," Tenzin started to tear up with Lin as they hoped their son would be okay.

The next two to come in were Asami and Korra.

Asami had a teary smile on her face, "You always know how to make the girls who care for you cry Koko. Not a very gentlemanly thing to do." She said as she brushed his messy black hair with her hand.

Korra sat on his other side and was afraid to touch him, afraid she would hurt him more.

"You know... I once had such a crush on this idiot." Asami said wistfully.

Korra's eyes snapped to her once she said that and watched her warily.

Asami saw the look and laughed lightly, "I said once Korra. I'm over it. Though I never did understand why I got over him myself. Maybe it was because I had grown to love him so much as a brother that I didn't want that to be ruined by a new relationship." Asami said sadly as she turned to Korra.

"Did he know... or... did you two ever..." Korra began asking nervously but Asami cut in.

"Yeah we want on a few dates, but we broke up." Korra looked at Asami as she kept explaining, "You know, some part of me is happy the way it turned out. For so long Koko was like the brother I always wanted and all those years we spent together and that short dating period, really helped us to get to know each other really well. He and I may have broken up, but I still care for him all the same." She finished with a smile.

"Thanks for telling me." Korra said quietly.

"Actually, thank you. I've kept that bottled up for some time now." The heiress said in return.

Korra walked out of the room, but not before giving Koda a kiss and walked outside for some air.

She just kept replaying the entire day in her head till she stopped at a sentence she heard. She growled and rode Naga to see if her theory was right.

...

The ends will always justify the means, but only as long as the desired outcome is achieved. That was the very essence of Tarrlok's moral compass.

The truth was fairly simple, and that was that only three kinds of people habituated the world: Those who thrived, those who got by, and those who couldn't manage to do either. Most people fell into that last category. They were aimless souls who contributed nothing positive to society, who made nothing of themselves and whose lives were as meaningful as an empty box. No one cared about their existence and no one would bat an eye if they were gone. They were little more than faces with names that no one would bother to remember.

Those who got by were people who were as uninteresting as they were mediocre. They were the everyday citizen, the average person on the street. The most that could be said about them was that they weren't a nuisance to the rest. Tarrlok had nothing against them, mainly because they were irrelevant to him. He would shake their hands and give them a charming smile only to forget about them the second they were out of his sight. The only time they truly mattered was when the opinion of the general public had some actual weight on a certain subject, which thankfully didn't happen very often. All in all, they were too insignificant to be part of a problem, so Tarrlok didn't mind leaving them alone.

Those who thrived were the ones whom Tarrlok was interested in. They were individuals with goals and enough ambition to pursue them, regardless of what it took. They had the drive and the power to assert themselves over others with the subtlety of a whisper or the boisterousness of a war cry. Life was a game of constant competition, and those who wanted to become key players knew they had to sweet-talk, manipulate, and threaten their way into the big leagues, just like Tarrlok himself had done over the course of his career.

That was why Tarrlok had no respect for Tenzin. That naïve fool had no business in the Council whatsoever. The only reason he was granted a seat was because he was one of the very few living Air Nomads, but he had done nothing to deserve his place at the table. The other members of the Council thought the same, even if they wouldn't admit it out loud. Through honest and dishonest means, they had all worked their way up the political ladder while Tenzin had been given the position on a silver platter. It wasn't hard to see why none of them took him very seriously and why most of his objections and suggestions were often ignored.

On the other hand, Tarrlok did respect Koda up to a certain point. The boy had power and he wasn't afraid to use it. Unlike his father, Koda wasn't afraid to take actions, and although he didn't bother to participate in it, he at least wasn't blind to the sketchy, underhanded side of politics. However, just because Tarrlok had some degree of respect for Koda didn't mean he liked him or cared about his well being in the slightest, which was why the waterbender had gotten into contact with a few of his business acquaintances in order to get rid of him, a group of men whom he liked to call "trouble removers".

The services of these trouble removers were expensive, and they didn't do business with just anyone. Tarrlok had hired them only a couple of times in the past whenever he needed to blackmail people or expose their dirty laundry for everyone to see, but this was the first time he had ordered them to kill someone, which had warranted a considerably heftier price given how the target was none other than Republic City's Cheif. Tarrlok didn't mind that. The money he spent had been worth it and Koda would no longer be a thorn in his side. It was all for the greater good of Republic City, so as far as Tarrlok was concerned, his conscience was as clean as a whistle.

Tarrlok took a sip of his tea before standing up to rub his tense shoulders, feeling slightly tired by the lack of sleep. It was already past midnight and he had yet to hear back from his associates. He had no doubt the task had been efficiently carried out by now, but he needed confirmation. He was about to leave his desk for some more tea when he heard footsteps coming his way, and a tiny smirk appeared on Tarrlok's face. 'Finally, it took them long enough to come.'

*BAAAM*

Tarrlok's smirk evaporated the second he saw the doors in front of him getting kicked open by the Avatar. The girl was carrying a murderous expression on her face, one that contained unbridled anger. "Avatar Korra, what is the meaning of this? Why are you here?"

"You know why I'm here, you lying, cowardly piece of trash," Korra said through gritted teeth. "I'm going to tear you apart and turn you into mincemeat for what you've done,"

"For what I've done? And what is it that I've done, exactly?" Tarrlok asked, maintaining a perplexed expression on his face that made Korra grow even more furious than she already was.

"Don't try to play dumb with me, Tarrlok! It's not going to work this time!" the Avatar roared, digging her nails into the palms of her hands. She began to walk towards the waterbender, who had to refrain himself from taking a step back. "You did this. You're the one behind the attempt on Koda's life. He wasn't going to allow you to act like the power-hungry lunatic that you are and you knew it, so you tried to have him killed. I want to hear you admit it,"

For a fraction of a second, Tarrlok flinched. His eyes went wide and his hand made a faint wiggling motion, something that he failed to hide. However, his acting skills quickly kicked in. Tarrlok furrowed his brow and met Korra's eyes with an affronted glare, getting into the role of a wrongly-accused man. "I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about, Avatar Korra. Someone tried to kill Chief Beifong? And you think I had a hand in it? Are you delirious or have you gone mad?"

"You're the one who's gone mad if you think I don't know what you're up to, Tarrlok. I'm putting an end to your games right here and now. Going after Koda like that... You're a monster... YOU'RE SCUM!"

The shout echoed in the office, bouncing off the walls and resonating back to them. Korra stood there, slightly out of breath after the outburst. She was expecting Tarrlok to return the shouting, to feign ignorance, or maybe even flee the scene, but he did no such things. Instead, Tarrlok turned his back on her, redirecting his gaze at the large indoor water wall behind his desk.

"Congratulations, Avatar Korra. You have achieved it. You have finally made me lose my patience," the councilman said, his voice dark and eerie. "I am not a man who tolerates disrespect, much less from the likes of you. The Spirits are witness to how many times I tried to capitulate with you and your little boyfriend, but neither of you two cared to listen. You have the audacity to come before me and call me a monster, yet you fail to realize who made things turn out this way. All of this could've been avoided... I wanted to avoid this, but you and Chief Beifong gave me no other choice,"

Despite her scalding desire to pummel him into a bloody pulp, Korra was left confused by Tarrlok's words. "We gave you no other choice? What are you even talking about, you madman?"

Tarrlok then turned around, his beady eyes showing nothing but the most sinister of intentions. The man in front of her no longer resembled the charming politician that Korra had first met at Air Temple Island, as if Tarrlok had been wearing a mask this whole time. "I have worked my entire life to ensure Republic City becomes the place it deserves to be, and I will make sure my dream comes to fruition no matter what. The Triads, the Equalists, anyone who threatens the bright future of this city is a plague, and plagues must be taken care of before they spread. My only error was how long it took me to recognize you for what you truly are, Avatar Korra. But since you're here, I suppose there is still time to rectify my mistake."

And just like that, Tarrlok waved his arms and sent a stream of water at Korra, using the water wall behind him as the source of the element. Korra barely had enough time to shield herself with her arms when the water stream struck her, sending the Avatar tumbling backwards before sweeping her off her feet. Korra's body slid across the floor as Tarrlok's Waterbending continued to push her until she was slammed against the wall.

The councilman didn't stop there. As soon as his initial attack ended, Tarrlok sent another water stream at Korra, who quickly got on one knee and released powerful flames out of her fists. Her Firebending completely evaporated the water stream and gave the Avatar enough time to stand up, now fully determined to break every single bone in Tarrlok's body.

She jumped forward and released another jet of fire from her hands, but Tarrlok countered it by creating a protective sphere of water around him. Once the fire was subdued, the waterbender began to shoot small and sharp shards of ice at the Avatar, who performed several backwards summersaults until she was back at the end of the office. Since she didn't have more space to retreat, Korra started to furiously punch the shards of ice with her bare hands, shattering them one by one. However, she couldn't strike all of them, and some of the shards began to make small cuts on her arms and legs.

Realizing that she couldn't keep this up, Korra used Earthbending to raise a wall in front of her. Tarrlok stopped his attack and got into a Waterbending stance from inside his water sphere, ready to unleash another array of shards the second Korra stepped out of the wall. However, to the councilman's shock, the concrete roof above his head began to crack as Korra used Earthbending once again, focusing her attack on Tarrlok's blind spot. The roof began to crumble and huge chunks of concrete began to fall down. Not wanting to be crushed to death, Tarrlok had no choice but to dive out of the water sphere before a portion of the roof collapsed on it.

The moment he did that, Korra sent the earth wall directly at him. Tarrlok quickly reacted by using water tendrils to catch the wall and toss it to the side. The next thing he saw was Korra waving her arms above her head. Suddenly, the solid wall behind the decorative water wall began to rotate, and before the waterbender could move away, he was struck and thrown into the other side of the building.

A stunned Tarrlok was trying to get up after getting hit, growling in pain. A small cut on his left eyebrow was bleeding and his eyesight was slightly blurry. As he struggled to stand on his feet, the Avatar ran towards him and delivered a brutal dropkick to the chest, causing the waterbender to fall down from the second level of the building.

Upon landing on the ground, Tarrlok heard a snapping sound, followed by intense pain in his forearm. When he tried to move it, the pain only increased, and he realized he had a fractured bone. With eyes as wide as dinner plates, Tarrlok realized how much of at a disadvantage he was, for not only there wasn't a single water source nearby for him to bend, but he couldn't fight effectively with just one arm.

"Now you know how it feels like to be destroyed, just like you tried to destroy Koda!" Korra shouted before jumping into the first floor, driving her fist into the ground as soon as she landed. Just like a drop of water falling into a puddle, a ripple-like wave tore the ground apart, expanding itself until it reached Tarrlok. The councilman was sent back by the wave, bouncing off the floor like a pathetic ragdoll until crashing against a column of marble.

Korra slowly began to walk towards Tarrlok, watching how the injured waterbender wriggled his legs in an attempt to get up before falling to his hand and knees. Half his clothes were in tatters and his ponytails were completely undone, giving him the appearance of a hobo from the slums of the city, completely opposite to the impeccably dressed man that represented the Northern Water Tribe in the City Council.

"What are you gonna' do now, huh?" the Avatar asked out loud. "You're all out of water, your arm is busted, and you have nowhere to run. You should've thought twice before trying to kill my boyfriend."

Despite the weakened state of his body, Tarrlok raised his head and met Korra's gaze, his eyes filled with scorn. "Your boyfriend... He's always been a self-righteous dolt, always afraid of getting his hands dirty. This world we live in is surrounded by danger, and said danger cannot be kept at bay by insufferable moralists like him. Republic City needs to be protected by me,"

There was a moment of silence between them. Both benders glared daggers at each other. A single drop of blood dribbled down Tarrlok's face and fell to the wrecked floor, staining it.

"You're wrong, Tarrlok. Republic City doesn't need to be protected by you," Korra replied. She then opened her fist and created a bright flame that slowly grew in size until becoming in a condensed bomb of fire. "It needs to be protected from you," Having said those words, the Avatar pulled her arm back and aimed at the scumbag in front of her.

...

...

...

"W- What... What's... go-going o-n..."

Korra stammered in shock as her arm froze out of nowhere, becoming rigid and twitchy. She tried to wave it around, but her muscles felt tense and unresponsive, as if they had suddenly turned into rock. The flame on her palm faded away.

The sensation in her arm quickly spread to the rest of her body, and before she knew it, Korra was on her knees gasping for air, shaking from her head to her toes. An invisible force had taken over her, controlling every inch of her being as she tried to fight back to no avail. Gobsmacked by what was happening to her, Korra's eyes landed on Tarrlok, who was pointing at her with his hand stretched out, exercising some kind of power over her body. "Tarrlok... A-Are you..."

"Surely you didn't think I would risk invoking the Avatar's rage without having an ace up my sleeve, did you?" Tarrlok asked in a mocking tone as a crooked smirk appeared on his bloody lips. "The power of a waterbender derives from the moon. However, a full moon can grant us an even mightier gift. I wouldn't be surprised if the White Lotus, in its infinite weakness, hadn't taught you about this,"

'A full moon?'

As her body was being subjected to an oppressive assault, Korra's mind drifted back to her Waterbending lessons with Katara. Her old teacher had once told her about how the moon increased a waterbender's overall prowess, but there was something else. During a full moon, a waterbender of noticeably advanced skill could manipulate the fluids that were found within an organism's body, gaining complete control of their movements. It was a dark and foul ability practiced only by equally dark and foul individuals, a specific branch of Waterbending outlawed in every corner of the world...

"This is... Bloodbending!"

"Quite correct, Avatar Korra," Tarrlok said before closing his fist. Korra began to contort in an unnatural way, her feet leaving the ground. Suspended in the air, she howled in pain as Tarrlok's grip got stronger and stronger, to the point where Korra lost any resemblance of control over her body. "You have proven yourself to be far too problematic, and just like your predecessor's grandson, you must be removed."

She tried fighting against it but it was no use as Tarrlok threw her against pillars and walls until she started losing consciousness. So now she was beaten, tied up, and at his mercy.

She saw him closing a set of doors on her that look like a truck's back door.

"Where are you taking me?" Korra demanded

"Somewhere no one will find you. Say goodbye to Republic City Avatar Korra, you'll never see it or your boyfriend ever again." Tarrlok said menacingly.

In a last ditch effort she shouted and tried to burn him with some fire from her mouth, but he got out of the way.

"You can't do this! Let me out! Ahhhhh!" She shouted as Tarrlok started the truck and drove away to who knows where.