Avatar: Pacification of the Asuras: PILOT EPISODE (COMPLETE)

As the last Airbending family flew away from the Southernmost compound of the White Lotus on their family bison, Jinora had the sinking feeling that her father was, once more, naively optimistic about simply announcing a hiatus on the Avatar’s training.

It had taken Jinora a while to get used to being… well, Jinora. Having memories of a past life was… tricky? It was tricky when you were a child, but after a few years, Jinora had decided that the two lives were separate. Her old life was dead, and while she had grieved over it, Jinora had long accepted her present one.

It definitely helped JInora get used to reincarnation that there was precedent for this in the Avatar. Each Avatar was their own unique person, but simply had access to the knowledge and abilities of the old one. JInora wished she had more to draw upon than a simple High School dropout, but being able to draw on modern 21st century knowledge was already pretty helpful in the burgeoning 20th century tech that was the present world.

That being said, from what she could vaguely remember of Avatar: Legend of Korra, Jinora definitely knew that Korra was definitely coming to Republic City.

“Are you sure about just leaving, dad?” Jinora asked, trying to subtly prepare her father for the upcoming events, “The White Lotus seems to understand why you can’t teach her right now, but… Korra didn’t look too happy.”

Stroking his beard, the last Airbending Master in the world nodded stoically, “Yes. I’m-- Meelo! Stay inside the saddle when the bison is flying! How many times do I have to tell you this!?”

Grabbing her five year old brother, Jinora chuckled tiredly, “Meelo, you can’t fly yet.”

“I can!” Meelo said with the surety and belief in his own belief that only childhood could bring, “I just need to believe! Like your stories, Jinora! I believe in fairies!”

Tenzin scowled, “Your sister’s stories are just--”

Holding up a hand, Jinora held off her father’s lecture. When he obligingly fell silent, Jinora began stroking her little brother’s shaved head, “If you stay inside for the rest of the trip, I’ll teach you windsurfing, ‘kay? You can borrow my board!”

“Okay!” Meelo nodded, vibrating in excitement before shooting off to hug their pregnant mother’s side. For all his excitement, he was careful to not crash too hard into Pema. Near immediately, he began snoring.

“Are we there yet?” Ikki mumbled, rubbing her eyes from the sudden jostle. The second youngest had energy comparable to the youngest when she got going, so best to head that off as soon as possible.

“No,” Jinora quickly but quietly muttered, “Go back to sleep.”

“Mmkay,” Ikki mumbled, returning to lay her head back onto Pema’s belly.

Jinora sighed fondly. While Meeko and Ikki were often a bit loud and much for Jinora, it was so much better having a large and loving family than the crappy foster system. And being an Airbender was awesome.

“You’re good with him,” Tenzin commented.

“The trick is to make him want to do something else instead of making him stop.”

“I’ll have to remember that,” Tenzin nodded before frowning, “What were we talking about?”

“We were talking about how Korra is definitely going to sneak after us.”

“Nonsense, Jinora,” Tenzin laughed softly, “Korra is a perfectly responsible girl who knows restraint. The White Lotus will simply train her in other things until the situation in Republic City is under control.”

Jinora looked at her mother, pleading silently with her eyes. Her mother was much more sensible about this sort of thing.

Closing her eyes and wriggling in to join her children in napping, Pema sighed fondly, “I’ll make sure to keep an acolyte room empty for Korra when she comes. You won’t have to share a room with her.”

“Thanks, mom!” Jinora chirped, crawling over to avoid the headwinds. Joining her siblings in piling on top of their mother, Jinora allowed herself to begin drifting.

“Pema!” Tenzin said, shocked at the impromptu betrayal.

“As much as you’d like to think Korra takes after your father, I’m afraid she’s much more similar to your mother.”

As her parents began ‘discussing’ the preparations for Korra’s arrival, Jinora smiled, once more content with her life as it was.

Perhaps if she was cleverer or more driven, Jinora would have used her foreknowledge based on both of the Avatar shows to become a powerful world figure, shape the world to her desire, something along the standard power fantasy trips.

But Jinora was always a simple girl, even in her past life. A loving family, having the amazing ability of airbending  to learn and hone, Jinora was content with her life.

Besides, she’d leave changing canon to the other two reincarnates.

===

Bandages? There were still some, but always better to have extra. Check.

Muscle Ointment? Bolin and Toza went through it like Pabu went through jerky. Definite check.

Vegetables? Cabbage looked a bit wilted, but lots of carrots and Bok Choy, so Bolin was going to eat something vaguely healthy even if it was stir-fried. Check.

Meat? Old Man Gin caught extra eel-otter when he went out, and had given away some for free. Unexpected bonus. They needed more protein anyhow. Check.

What else was there to buy?

Oh, right. Snacks.

A little red head stuck out from between her breasts as if summoned by the mere thought of food. Smiling fondly, Maka patted Pabu’s head, rubbing the fire ferret’s ears between her fingers, “Yeah. We’re going to get some snacks. Jerky for you, mints for Bolin, and a few gingers for me.”

Pabu purred in contentment, wriggling in excitement and agreement. Today was a nice and idle day, and Maka was idling along in a way rare for the firebender. If she could bask just a bit longer, Maka thought she would almost be able to remember what it felt to be not stressed.

Which was why the car running straight at her was an annoyance.

Stepping to the side, Maka ignored the car crash to run forward to the sounds of fighting in accordance to her first responder training. A quick look around showed no signs of victims that needed to be evacuated. Thankfully.

Maka sighed. That would have been unfortunate. Now that there was no immediate danger, Maka looked around to find the cause of the incident.

Red. Green. Blue. Three idiots dressed up in three different colored suits. They looked as if they had just gotten their asses collectively handed to them by a waterbender, so they could only be from the Triple Threats. Every other bending gang was element-themed and would sooner shank a different element-bender than work together.

The waterbender was definitely not local. Not with the giant dog or with that outfit. Nobody dressed in furs in the urban centers of Republic City. Fur got too hot and if oil got on it, it’d be cheaper to sell as kindling than to try and clean out the muk.

So much for the famed cooperation of the Triple Threats if a single bender could take them out.

Maka petted Pabu’s head, luxuriating and allowing the fluffiness to chase away the migraine. What the hell was Boss Zolt doing if this was the level of members left? Best to just sneak past them and make it to Grandma Mai’s Shop. She was done with that life.

Unfortunately, one of the idiots noticed Maka’s attempt to sneak past.

“You’re in for it now,” the blue idiot cackled, “Molten Maka’s here!”

“Oi, shut up,” Maka gritted, glaring. She was strictly independent now. Bolin and her didn’t break the old HQ just to be dragged back in by some idiot grunt. If this got worse, and this idiot better pray it didn’t get worse, then Maka and Zolt were going to have words. Or more likely, Zolt was going to have to have a new fucking wardrobe.

“Yeah, shut up, Wet Lee,” the green slightly-less-of-an-idiot grumbled, “Boss said she’s off-limits.”

“Shut up! It’s Ice-Cold Lee!”

“You’re literally the only one who calls yourself that,” Red Idiot groaned.

“Are you with them?” the random waterbender scowled, already preparing a globule of water.

“What? No. Weren’t you just listening to the--” Maka found herself cut off when the waterbender dashed forward with a punch of water. It was so telegraphed that Maka spent half the time she should have spent dodging, watching for a trick.

As it was, it was still ridiculously easy to dodge with a simple step to the side and a twist of the body.

“Guess, we’re doing this then, “Rolling her eyes, Maka stepped in, closing the distance  to her opponent’s surprise. Most benders wanted range in an effort to get the largest range of motion to achieve the maximum effectiveness for manipulating the elements. Maka wasn’t like most benders.

Coating her hands in a sheen of electricity, Maka grabbed the waterbender’s outstretched arm. As the waterbender’s eyes rolled backwards into her skull as she was knocked out, Maka immediately laid her down to the ground to begin checking her over. Electrocution was difficult to make non-lethal, but it made things efficient.

Two fingers on the throat, pulse was heightened but returning to normalcy. Bit twitchy in the limbs, but that was to be expected. Maka nodded in satisfaction. She did good work.

“Yeah! Molten Maka!” the grating voice of blue idiot screeched. “You sure--”

Cutting him off, Maka ordered, “Sit down, wait for the police to come.”

“What!? Are you betraying the--”

She did not have the patience for this idiot’s whining, so Maka zapped him. As he dropped to the ground twitching, Maka began the process of checking his vitals, idly asking his compatriots, “Will I have to do the same to you too?”

“No, ma’am, we’ll sit quietly here,” the red idiot nodded, bowing politely.

“I’m handcuffing myself!” the green idiot explained, bending a pair of earthen cuffs around his arm.

Nodding to them, Maka looked back at the two idiot waterbenders and sighed, “Better tie you up just to be safe.”

A series of thumping footsteps had Maka spin into a defensive stance. She quickly relaxed at the familiar black and chrome of the Metalbending force.

“No need for that, ma’am. We can--” the officer’s voice cut off, “Maka!? Is your brother here with you!?” Has he finally gone full-bonkers?

“Nope, Jee just called it in, he’s at the precinct,” his shorter comrade corrected.

Crossing her arms, Maka blew a stray bit of hair out of her face as she glared at Republic City’s supposed finest, “I’m offended that you think Bolin’s responsible for this mess. My brother’s not this bad.”

Both officers looked at the rent in the street. Maka did not look at the rent in the street. She knew what it reminded them of because it reminded her of it too and…

Maka gave up on defending her brother. He was a bit too casual about destroying the landwork when he fought, “Okay, Bolin is that bad, but he also starts fixing the crap he broke as soon as possible.”

“Good point,” the taller officer nodded as he motioned for the shorter officer to begin restraining the perpetrators. It gratified Korra to see the three idiots help cuff themselves, “So, who did it?”

“She did,” Maka jerked her head at the out-of-towner.

“I just helped catch these three assholes! They were roughing up that guy!” the waterbender interjected, having just woken up and not happy about being in cuffs.

“And in the process,” Maka drawled, “You’ve destroyed Lee’s Clockwork and Antique’s Shop, broke the front of Jai’s Jewelry, and left a pretty damn big rent in the street. Traffic’s going to be murder here.”

While Maka didn’t care about Jai’s store, because Jai was a ‘Karen’, Maka loved Lee’s Clockwork and Antique’s store since Lee was always nice enough to lend her classical manuscripts to study.. It was unforgivable that Lee’s store was broken.

The waterbender looked around and actually seemed ashamed at the aftermath of her ‘arrest’. Good..

“Well, we’ll just take her off your hands then,” the taller officer nodded.

“Feel free. By the way, you mentioned Bolin’s at the precinct?”

“Eeyup,” the shorter officer answered, herding the three idiots onto the platform that would be pulling them back up to the airship, “If it makes you feel better, he’s only in for public vandalism, and nobody wants to send him to the main prison after last time.”

“Shush,” the taller officer smacked the shorter one’s head, “You’re not supposed to say that out loud.

Maka snorted. Rookies, “Thanks for watching out for my brother. I’ll drop off some donuts later when I stop by to check up on him.”

Pabu’s head stuck up from between Maka’s breasts, curious as to why it was taking them so long to get to the snack shop. Scratching his head, Maka baby-talked, “Sorry, widdle Pabu. Mama Maka had to beat up some idiots for a bit. We’ll get the snackies soon!” She then addressed the officers with a polite nod before leaving with the groceries.

“....I wish I was that ferret,” the shorter cop murmured as the lift started, bringing the two officers and their prisoners back to the zeppelin.

“And this is why everybody thinks you’re a creep, Short En.”

“Fuck off, Tall Er. I’m the one with a girlfriend.”

“And the Moon must have been missing from the sky that night for that to happen.”

Maka very politely did not whirl around to blast Short En with fire.

---

This was… not what Korra imagined her first day in Republic City would be like.

First she got lost. Then she almost got Naga hit by a car. Then she couldn’t get food because she had no Yuans and when she tried to help, she got arrested, and now, she was stuck here.

Damn that girl! She didn’t fight fair! Korra didn’t even know what happened when she was tied up and… Ugh. Today was not a good day.

Korra slumped against the wall of the cell and sighed. So much for being the Avatar. Her arms were cuffed together, but her legs were free, so maybe she could firebend her way out. Unfortunately, everything surrounding her was metal and… yeah. The metalbending guards would just put her back in.

…She just wanted to learn Airbending and complete her Avatar training. And maybe help out a bit.

“First time in jail?” the boy in the cell opposite to her commented. Dressed in the green typical of someone from the Earth Kingdoms, or what Korra could remember from her Culture Studies with the White Lotus, the boy was Cuffed. Korra was also cuffed, but this boy was Cuffed with a capital C. He had his ankles cuffed together, his wrists cuffed together with two shackles, and Korra didn’t know why there was a belt binding his upper arms to his sides, but it was a bit intimidating.

“...Yeah,” Korra sighed.

“You’ll get used to it.” the boy chuckled, “Want some tips on dealing with the po-po?”

“The what?”

Placing an arm behind his head to lie upon, the boy rolled his eyes as he picked his nose, “The police. Tips. You want some?”

“Yeah, I’d--” Korra nodded before her eyes widened, “Wait, you’re not cuffed! How’d-- What the-- WHEN!? Why aren’t you escaping?”

Seriously, how!? The belts that had bound his arms were rolled up on the side, the two shackles that had bound his arms now dangled one each on each wrist, and his ankles were… still bound. How’d he do that!? There should’ve been no way to make any movement for any meaningful bending to escape.

“First off, you just yelled loud enough to make escaping moot,” the boy sighed, examining the booger he had filched with a discerning eye, “Second off, I”ve got things to do at the precinct.”

Korra cringed as the first part of the boy’s statements came true as the warden slapped the bars of the cell. Eyes squinting shut, the armored police officer sounded pained as he said, “Spirits damn it, Bolin, can you stop breaking out of the restraints?”

“Just appreciate that I’m not breaking the cuffs, Jee.”

“What happened to the belts!?” Jee snapped.

“I took them off,” Bolin said, lifting the belts in question.

Jee rubbed his chin,  “I’ll get you tea if you at least pretend to keep the cuffs on”

“Excellent! You’re getting better at negotiating!” the now-named Bolin smiled, slipping on the cuffs again, and clicking them shut. He then turned to Korra, “So first things first, did they read you your rights?”

“My whats?”

Bolin scowled, “Oi, Jee! Who’s responsible for arresting this gal?”

“Not me!”

“Good! Because I’d kick your ass! Make sure that Boss-Fong knows nobody read her her rights!” As Jee swore something about demoting someone back to being a private, Bolin smiled at Korra, “So here are your rights. First off is the right to remain silent.”

Korra blinked twice, but being a waterbender, decided to go with the flow, “Uh… Why is that important?”

“Getting to that,” Bolin smiled with a side of wryness. Korra wondered if the boy ever stopped smiling, “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to a lawyer. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you.”--he then placed a hand on his chest--“Or if you’re amazing like me, you can be your own defense.”

“Literally only works for you, Bolin.” Jee returned, sliding the door open, “Literally only works for you. Your interrogation room is ready.”

Following the warden, Bolin called back, “Anyways, just remember to keep your mouth shut until you get your lawyer in the room with you! See you around!”

“See you around,” Korra chirped back before blinking. She never chirped. What the… This guy was weirdly… fun? Korra didn’t know what to think of Bolin, but he seemed like he knew what he was doing.

As another guard opened her cell to take her to another room, Korra decided that, yeah, that was good advice. They couldn’t accuse you of anything if you didn’t say anything.

She just had to remember to keep quiet in the interrogation until a lawyer came to help. Whatever a lawyer was.

===

As the Avatar followed Tenzin out of the precinct after giving Lin the stinkeye, Lin reflected and despaired over the future of the world if that girl was the new Avatar.

That was a shitty… Lin felt that calling that an interrogation was wrong, but she didn’t know what else to call it. Whatever that damn meeting with the new Avatar was, it was a fucking mess. First, the girl shouted, but when Lin started asking questions, she clammed up and demanded a lawyer.

Which good for her. She knew her rights. Lin was going to have to commend her officers for following protocol. A bit annoying.

Unfortunately, the damn lawyer turned out to be fucking Tenzin. Fucking. Tenzin. WHo just waved his hands, offered to pay for damages, and just take the Avatar away, leaving Lin to deal with the fucking mess in the luxury goods section of Merchant’s Lane.

Fine. Fucking fine then. Just ignore the law and protocol and just… Waffle off like the baldass fucker he was! Lin wanted to punch something.

Damn teenagers with Messiah Complexes. Damn Tenzin and nepotism. Damn today and damn this fucking headache that damn girl gave her.

It was so easy for the Avatar to waltz into Republic City and beat up a few minor thugs, but the sheer gall she had in thinking that it was a good thing!? By the fucking Spirits, the sheer arrogance and naivette of the girl. And then Tenzin thought that letting the girl off without any consequences would… what!? Help her!?

Lin didn’t know what the fuck was going on with the Avatar right now, but she knew that it wasn’t anything good. One fucking day and already the Avatar had caused a ruckus and now the Triple Threats were gearing up to break out their boys from the hospital. At least the shopkeepers who got their stores damaged would have money to help them survive.

Note to self, complain to Pema about Tenzin’s idiocy when they next had brunch. Pema would nag Tenzin, and those shopkeepers would get a nice little bonus. Help them back onto their feet and then some.

If Tenzin wanted to shield the Avatar from her own actions, then Tenzin would get that plus some.

She should have taken the White Lotus’s request a few years back to teach the new Avatar Earthbending. At least then Lin could have slapped some fucking sense into the girl’s arrogant head. Forget spirituality and shit, that girl needed to find some common fucking sense.

Whatever, that headache was Tenzin’s now. Lin had a… more familiar headache to deal with now.

“What’s he in for this time?” Lin asked her second-in-command, Saikhan as they walked from the high-security rooms to the lower ones.

“Public vandalism,” Saikhan grunted.

“Really?” Lin raised an eyebrow, “He’s usually not that overt.”

“...He had opinions on Tarrlok’s new beautification plan,” Saikhan didn’t make the physical motions for quotation marks around the beautification plan, but his voice heavily implied it. It also implied that he may or may not have agreed with Bolin’s opinions on Tarrlok’s new plan.

“...Go take a break, I”ll take this one.”

“Thought you’d say that,” Saikhan nodded, already taking off his cap.

Lin shot her second-in-command a glare. If he was implying that she had a soft spot for this idiot…

Placing two hands up and failing to hide a wry grin, Saikhan backed away. Pity, Lin would’ve liked to have a sparring match with him later. Taking a deep breath, Lin prepared herself for the conversation ahead.

“Bolin,” Lin scowled as she walked into the interrogation room.

“Hi, Boss-Fong!” the bright-eyed annoyance waved the best one manacled to a table could.

“Don’t call me that, Bolin,” Lin sighed as she broke protocol to metalbend a chair to sit on. Nice and rigid with a flexible back to lean on, Lin luxuriated in the feeling of simply sitting down after a long day of being on her feet.

Bolin. Bolin. Bolin. It would be so much simpler to call him a thorn in her side, but… he was a good egg. Cracked in the head, but filled with goodwill and cheer like… Avatar Aang. Unfortunately, he had the type of humor that Lin’s mother would’ve liked, and considering that Toph Beifong thought that beating one asshole with another asshole was the peak of comedy… Well… It was strangely nostalgic lecturing Bolin.

Lin sighed as the scent of Jasmine tea reminded her of better times, Bolin was the unholy combination of Toph’s sheer… personality and Aang’s unrelenting goodwill and optimism.

…Wait, why’d she smell Jasmine tea? Ah. It was because Bolin was nursing a cup of Jasmine tea.

“...Where’d you get the tea?”

“Lieutenant Jee gave it to me,” Bolin smiled before chugging it all in one shot, “And you can’t take it from me now.”

Closing her eyes, Lin felt the will to stay upright simply leave her. Thankfully, she had conjured a comfortable chair to slump back against. She wished she was on a bed now though.

“Because I--”

“Finished it,” Lin cut off, feeling a migraine incoming. For all his smiling persona, Bolin was an asshole of a kid when he felt like it, and more annoying than not, had good reasons for being an asshole, “Just give me the cup.”

“Sure,” Bolin nodded, flicking the cup over with a finger.

Catching it with one hand, Lin immediately crushed it. Stepping out of the interrogation room to toss the former-cup into the designated bin, Lin then stated clearly to the room at large, “Will someone please inform Lieutenant Jee that he is now scheduled to be my sparring partner for the next week.”

“Will do, Chief,” Peng drawled as she sorted papers. Lin liked Peng. For a new rookie, she was remarkably dead inside and thus not a fucking idiot like every bright-eyed rookie Lin had the misfortune of meeting. Peng was going to go places.

“DAMN IT, BOLIN!” Lieutenant Jee shouted. Jee never grew out of being bright-eye, annoyingly enough, but damned if he didn’t file his warrants properly. Jee wasn’t going places, but he was always in the right place at the wrong time. It was a miracle he wasn’t dead yet with his luck.

“I’LL GET YOU DONUTS!” Bolin shouted back as Lin returned to her chair.

“I WANT A DOZEN! JUST FOR ME!” Jee shot back.

“FINE! I’LL SET ASIDE A BOX NEXT TIME I MAKE A DONUT RUN” Bolin rolled his eyes even as he grinned. Leaning his cheek on his fist, Bolin grinned, “Your police force is going to make donuts a fucking cliche, eh?”

“Please stop bribing my workforce,” Lin pinched her nose. WIth her free hand, she motioned for Bolin to place his wrists back onto the table to be re-manacled. Lin didn’t know why they even bothered trying to manacle this idiot at this point. Damn fool would just break himself out again.

Testing the restraints noisily, Bolin replied, “Please stop putting spikes under bridges and benches or anywhere people might need to rest and sleep. Oh! And stop adding unnecessary railings to everything. Also, stop trying to bully the homeless and actually help the homeless.”

“There are welfare programs in place to help the poor be fed, find housing, and enter reeducation. Should they desire to, these homeless can find assistance in building new lives. The new spikes are part of a beautification project planned by Tarrlokk and--”

The snap of his fingers was drowned out by the snap of the cuffs as Bolin broke free to slam his palms on the table. “The welfare programs are a fucking joke and are just money laundering schemes for the rich fucks to draw money from,”--Slapping the table a few more times, the perpetual grin on his face belied the angry tremors of his voice--”And calling that shit infrastructure is an insult to infrastructure. You and I both know that those spikes were there to deter the homeless. Remember my rants about Hostile Architecture? Remember my promise to destroy them? The only reason that I’m not filling the ‘Shove the spikes up Tarrlokk’s arse’ bit of that promise is because I have better things to do than spend time in prison over him.”

“You might still end up in prison, Bolin!” Lin snapped, bending the manacles back into shape and back onto Bolin’s wrist, “Tarrlokk’s looking to pass new regulation that makes it a felony to do what you’ve been doing. Besides, you know the workers will just put it back up again. You’re only one man.”

“Then he’ll be happy to know that this isn’t a one-man job,” Bolin snorted before placing a hand over his mouth like he was a lass playing coy, “Oh shoots. I mean he’s going to get fucking ulcers with how pissed he’s going to be.”

“...What’d you do?” Lin asked, already regretting the action.

“Well, I talked with a friend of this guy who’s sister I helped build a little shop for out in the outskirts of town.”

“You know you’re not supposed to build housing,” Lin reminded pointlessly, “You’re not licensed.

“Eh, it’s fine, the sister’s dating this gal who’s the daughter of one of the heads of the building groups here. He helped fudge the details.”

“You mean fill out the paperwork.”

“That and they also did all the wiring and plumbing. Those bits I don’t know how to do, and I’m humble enough to leave that to the professionals.”

Lin pinched her brows. It was really hard to remember that Bolin was an Earthbender when he was slippier than fucking Tarrlok.“How does that relate to this?”

.”Well, that job got me to being friends with one of the foreman of our fine city! He’s a real, nice guy; takes care of the guys under his charge. Classic rough and tumble with a heart of gold. Anyways, he knows that Tarrlok’s new ‘beautification project is bullshit and what it’s really for, but he’s pissed that he can’t do shit and well… he’s got to pay his guys and gals and money’s money, so he took the damn job.”

“Get to the point,” Lin waved, still keeping her eyes closed.

“Anyways, I tell him, you just got to build it, don’t gotta preserve it. I’ll just go break it up for you right after.” “And for legal reasons, I am going to tell you that he was so appalled by what I said that he made me pay for lunch that day and then told his entire crew not to break the stupid spikes and that they shouldn’t be caught breaking that shit no matter how stupid they thought this project for. He was so pissed that he called a wholeass meeting with all the other building crews and well, I have to say, it’s going to be real annoying for them to have to keep on putting the spikes back in after they mysteriously get destroyed,” Bolin shrugged, holding his once-more unmanacled hands to exaggerate the effect, “...But hey, they’ll get paid for it everytime, right?”

“...Bolin,” Lin didn’t quite beg.

“Boss-fong,” Bolin replied with a strange amount of respect. It would be so much simpler if he was just your standard cocky ass streetrat, but no. He had to be the kind of streetrat who was respectful and likeable.

“You know this isn’t going to work.”

“Well, it won’t if you’re going to be anal about it.”

“...You got caught on purpose,” Lin stated. Why she was surprised at this point, she didn’t know. Bolin always chose the most dramatic way to show off his latest scheme. Getting caught vandalizing to alert her to the latest plan was par for him.

“What can I say? I tripped on my shoelaces,” Bolin replied. It should be noted that Bolin was wearing laceless boots.

“...Fuck it, it’ll be fun seeing Tarrlokk’s damn smile crack,” Lin decided. She hated Tarrlok’s smarmy face anyways and fuck his stupid plans. The Police Force was meant to keep the peace, not enforce politician’s petty-ass power shows, “If he wants to treat vandalism as a felony, then I’d have to arrest the entirety of my police force and myself everytime we grappled around.”

“Huzzah!” Bolin cheered.

“Just go already,” Lin sighed, turning away to hide her smile. Yes, it would be so much easier if Bolin didn’t make it so easy to like him.

“Can’t. Got to get bailed,” Bolin sighed, placing a hand on his face despondently.

…It was also a bit much to say that Lin didn’t wish to slap him sometimes. Flicking her fingers to bind Bolin’s hands to the table again, Lin then stuck her head out of the room to ask, “Is Maka here yet?”

“She was,” Lieutenant Jee said, voice muffled around a donut.

“What do you mean was?” Lin scowled, noticing that every one of her off-duty officers had a donut.

“She came in to say that she doesn’t have the money yet, but that even if she did have the money, she’d make Bolin sit in jail for a week,” Peng explained, “She brought donuts by the way.” lifting an azuki-covered one in demonstration.

…Well, then, Lin supposed that meant that Bolin was going to have to room with her for a week, annoyingly enough. Last time, Bolin was left in the precinct cells by himself, he had gotten every perp and officer singing ‘The Girls from Ba Sing Se’ non-stop for a week. Couldn’t just let him go free, but leaving him to do that shit or something like that shit was out of the question.

So he was going to have to room with her for a week. If pressed, Lin would say she wasn’t looking forward to it even if Bolin was an excellent cook.

“Save me a matcha one,” Lin commanded as she returned into the interrogation room, ”Anybody who sneaks Bolin one gets to join Lieutenant Jee in sparring practice with me.”

“Oh, come on! No donuts?” Bolin whined, having overheard.

“Consolation prize,” Lin rolled her eyes, “You get to join Lieutenant Jee in sparring practice this week. Also, you’re filling out your week in jail under my supervision”

“Woohoo! Sleepover buddies!” Bolin cackled, breaking free of the manacles, “I’ve got a few new tricks to show you, Boss-Fong!”

Giving up on the manacles, Lin left the room, forcing herself to scowl. Only Bolin would be the kind of guy to cheer at that sort of news. Every other Bender feared facing Steel-Laced Lin, but not Bolin. That was the type of idiot that Bolin was. Always the first one up to fight for what’s right and always down for a good fight.

Annoying then that Lin liked him so much then.

===

“...And I just don’t know what to do, Pema,” Tenzin sighed into the phone.

What a way to cap off the… afternoon? By the Four Winds, was it really only the afternoon? Tenzin already had to deal with Tarrlokk wasting half of the Council’s time by ranting about the failure of his “beautification project” and planning new ways to help protect it. Granted, it was satisfying to see such a vile project fall by the wayside, but still. The man was incessant.

Then as soon as he got out of the meeting to finally head home to lunch, Lin called in about Avatar Korra. Irritation compounded upon annoyance especially as the Master Airbender’s first thought was of that conversation where he had reassured his daughter that Korra would not be coming at all. Tenzin was so very thankful that Pema wasn’t the sort to go “I told you so”, but he was fervently praying that Jinora hadn’t reached the rebellious teen phase.

Korra, thankfully, had somehow learned not to incriminate herself by remaining silent, but Lin’s burning glare made that gratitude curdle quickly. Worst of all, Lin’s points about raising the Avatar in isolation for 18 years was getting harder and harder to refute with the… immaturity of Korra’s pleas. Or naivety based on some reports.

Korra had snuck in, started a riot by inciting a fight against the new Equalists, raising already intense tensions even further, ran away and resisted arrest, and just… Ugh. Even stole food. That last bit was somehow to most infuriating bit because that really highlighted the failures of the White Lotus

The girl had no concept of money! Didn’t the White Lotus have a stipend for her? Why did she not have a concept of money? Lin was right about isolating rotting away common sense. First, Pema and Jinora rightly predicting Korra’s escapade, and then again with Lin calling out this particular disaster years ahead. Oh, why were all the woman in his life always so right? And why did he never listen to them?

…Tenzin’s stomach hurt. Fu… Dam… Tribulations upon him, he was going to have to go see his sister for a checkup again, wasn’t he?

And now Tenzin was stuck borrowing Lin’s phone in her office, calling for help.

Not truly private since he didn’t doubt Lin and every other officer in the precinct eavesdropping, but better than using a public phone booth. Damn tabloids and newsies tryign to get a glimpse and if Tenzin had his way! He would-- He would invite them all to a cup of tea and a lecture because peace was the way of the nomads.

…Even if newspapers were simply paper and very easy to blow away in a storm.

Tenzin sighed, massaging his temples as he waited for his wife’s response. Calm down, calm down. He was Councilman Tenzin, Master of the Airbending Arts. He was raising three airbenders with a fourth on the way. He had helped quell the Three-way War of the Triads, stood alone against the Seven Sparks of Shura and was the one to walk away; Tenzin could handle a little bit of teenage rebellion.

After a moment of silence, Pema answered his unspoken question, “Just keep her here. Might as well.” She said it with such airiness that Tenzin knew that she was shrugging.

“Pema!” Tenzin whisper-shouted, mindful of the fact that he was still in a police precinct. After explaining the fiasco that was Korra’s day here, after all that, his wife still thought it was a good idea to keep Korra here!?

“You called to ask for my opinion on what to do and that’s what I think you should do,” Pema huffed before sighing with heavy nostalgia, “She reminds me of me, just without the motorbike and my spear. If I was still running the Blackcoats, I would have loved to pick her up as a tagalong. Ooh, I can just picture it! A nice black cloak for her! With the accents of all four nations at the bottom. Wouldn’t that have been something?”

“Pema!” Tenzin pleaded. WHile that would’ve been nice for Pema to fantasize about, Tenzin felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He loved his wife, he truly did, but she embodied the Air Nomad’s philosophy of freedom a bit too well.

“What? It’s true!” Pema cackled, “Imagine how many gangs we could’ve wrecked! It’d have been good for her, you know. Korra needs to experience the rough and tumble of real life, learn some new things, beat down a few assholes and help feed some poor fucks. I’m betting she’d have a gang up and running in a couple of months! Maybe Maka and Bolin could give her tips?”

If the thought of Korra running around with a younger Pema was nightmarish, the idea of Maka and Bolin, especially Bolin, running around with her was… Well, it was something more and nothing better, that was for sure.

“Absolutely not! Maka is fine, I want Bolin nowhere near her!” Tenzin snapped. He then took a deep breath and massaged his temples, “Look, Korra has been trained in a safe facility with all the greatest masters of the world. She is perfectly well learned and… Why are you chuckling?”

Pema chuckled a bit longer before explaining. For some odd reason, Tenzin could picture Pema shaking her head ruefully, “You sound like those stuffy professors at Republic University. Book learning’s all good, but sometimes you gotta get in the muck and actually start getting dirty to learn shit, Tenzin. Korra’s the Avatar. She’s going to be helping the world. How can she learn to do that if she’s locked away from it.”

Tenzin was silent at that. For how crass Pema usually was, his wife was surprisingly wise and eloquent at times. What a strange way to have a worldview shaken. Tenzin couldn’t help but reflect at how long Korra had been locked away in the compounds of the White Lotus now. While he maintained that it was a good idea, Tenzin found that… Well, it didn’t excuse the property destruction that Korra had wrought, but it certainly explained why Korra had no restraint or common sense.

“Bring her to the temple, Tenzin,” Pema said softly,” and let her stay in Republic City. Let Korra live in the world for once instead of learning about it through others. She’s going to need to learn about the world sometime anyways, and what better place than the melting pot of the world?”

“What with the triads and the equalists and everything, this melting pot is damn near boiling over, Pema. You know that,” Tenzin sighed. Still, this was the sort of thing that the Avatar dealt with, right? Or at least needed to learn how to deal with.

…Perhaps, Pema was right. Korra should stay. At least this way, Tenzin could help guide her, right?

“Ooh, clever wordplay,” Pema laughed. Tenzin felt proud of that. It was always nice when he could make his wife laugh, “And an almost-cuss from you! Spicy.I knew there was a reason I kept you around besides the sex.”

Tenzin had been about to say something, but choked at his wife’s crassness. It shouldn’t surprise him at this point, but it still did. Covering the phone, Tenzin whispered harshly, “Pema! I am in Lin’s office!”

“You didn’t mind that when we were making Meelo though.”

Looking around, Tenzin was so very grateful that he was making the call alone. Lacking any comeback to his wife’s lewdness, Tenzin coughed in an attempt to regain his poise, “I’m still worried about the Equalists and the gangs and…”

“Korra would be the sort to jump right in,” Pema finished, voicing his worries correctly. “It really is like looking at a younger me. Maybe I should lend her my old coat.”

Tenzin sighed, “Please no.”

“You’re right. She needs to make her own gang for the proper experience.”

“Pema.”

“Ah, I love you, Tenzin,” Pema chuckled before her voice slipped into something more soothing, “You’re not alone in this, Tenzin. We’ll figure something out. I’ll call up the old gang and let them know to keep an eye out, okay?”

“Thank you, Pema.”

“Love you too, Ten-ten. Don’t forget to clear your schedule for the Zhōu Wǔ after next. Lin’s kids’ match to enter the championship is then! Meelo and Ikki are excited for it, and we should show support.”

While a quick change of topic, Tenzin was used to his wife’s whims and adjusted accordingly, “They’re not her kids, Pema.”

“Only by technicality,” Pema snorted, “Besides, she never shuts up about them when we have our little tea dates. We should invite them over again, actually! One big family dinner! We could do it after their championship match too!”

Tenzin scowled, “Bolin and Maka are--”

“Tenzin,” Pema said softly, her voice as soft as pillow smothering a victim, “I love you, but if you say what I think you’re about to, I will tell Lin what you said, word for word and leave you to deal with the fallout.”

“...Very intense people,” Tenzin hopefully recovered.

“You say that as if you didn’t date Lin and me back to back.”

Trust his wife to be petty enough to bring back old flings. Tenzin spluttered, “I’m married to you now though!”

“...Do you want to be just married to me?” Pema said slowly.

“Yes!” Tenzin snapped, doing what any dutiful husband should.

“...Pity,” Pema drawled, “I thought Lin would be the hard sell, but apparently, it’s you.”

Blinking twice, Tenzin was confused. Why’d Pema sound annoyed about him being filial, “Huh?”

“Nothing. It’s a surprise that I’m sure all three of us will like,” Pema non-answered before flitting back to the original topic of the call, “ So have you decided what you want to do?”

Tenzin raised an eyebrow, “I thought you told me what I should do.”

“I told you what I think you should do. Ultimately, it’s your call. I’ll be there to catch you regardless. That’s my job.”

“...Prepare an extra room please,” Tenzin sighed. He suspected that the decision had been made long before Korra had ever arrived in Republic City, but there was something concrete about acknowledging it now. Freeing too, but also… concrete.

“I’ll get Jinora on that. And go pick up some Donuts. The ones with pickled plum-apples please! And some tuna-rat dip.”

“I will. I love you.”

“You know me so well! Love you too. Tell Lin I said hi!”

“I will.”

A soft chuckle, a smacked kiss, and the familiar bellring of a hung phonecall left Tenzin in a silent room. Placing the phone receiver back into its cradle, Tenzin opened the room to almost run into a scowling Lin Beifong.

Taking a few steps back, Tenzin blinked, feeling a strange sense of anger emanating from Lin. Coughing twice, he fell back onto polite mannerisms,“Pema says hi.”

“I heard. Pickled plum apple donuts and tuna-rat dip?” Lin huffed, blowing a dangling lock of hair out of her face, “I already have Bolin getting it. From the shop on the corner of Cook’s Street, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“That woman, for all her chaotic whims, is consistent with her food choices at least.” Lin almost smiled. Almost because it returned to a deep scowl, “Also, you accidentally turned on the intercom.”

“...Ah,” Tenzin sighed. Looking around, he saw that the entirety of the police precinct was quiet with the whispering gossip of fools with far too much time and the giggling stares of too many idiots.

“Did you really do it in my office?”

Tenzin didn’t blink twice because that would cause movement. He stayed very carefully still in the face of an angry predator. At least he knew why he had been sensing anger from Lin now. He wish Pema was here, so he could glare at her.

He loved his wife, but sometimes she was a trial that gifted surprise tests of strength.

“Don’t tell me,” Lin shook her head, shaking her silvery strands in angry allure, “Peng, put in an order for a new desk please. I want this one gone. I don’t care how. I just want it gone.”

“Hai,” an officer saluted. Lin smiled at that before hiding it with a scowl. Tenzin almost smiled at that. Same old Lin, still trying to hide her kindness.

Coughing twice, Tenzin shoved back all fear and admiration of Lin away to resume a professional demeanor, “I’ll just… take Korra and go now.”

As he walked away, Lin snapped, “I expect to see you at the Fire Ferret’s match, Tenzin, by the way. Don’t think I forgot what you almost said.”

“I will,” Tenzin said in his best accommodating husband voice.

Guess Pema was right about Lin’s relationship with those two kids. But then again, she usually was.