The Good and the Bad: Kainora

Chapter 8: Love and War

Korra was furious when they returned to their mansion. She couldn't wait to slap the living daylights out of the Earth Queen when she got the chance.

"I can't believe Miss Queeney Smug-Face had them right under our noses the whole time!" Korra gritted her teeth. 

"We have to get those airbenders out," Tenzin reaffirmed. 

"Alright," Uncle Bumi said. "We go in under the cover of darkness; two small insertion teams and a third on the outside. Then all we'll need is twelve tons of blasting jelly, a medium-sized bulldozer and..." He looked around questioningly. "...does anyone have a badger mole that knows Morse code?" Everyone stared at Bumi for his ludicrous plan. Tenzin sighed. Abruptly, someone knocked at their door.

"Oh great, not the Queen again," Asami muttered. 

"Everyone, act natural. Bolin-" Korra instructed. 

"-I'm on it!" A reluctant Pabu dove into Bolin's shirt and gave him the impression of a potbelly.
Korra and Tenzin answered the door. To everyone's surprise, it was Lin, Chief of the Metalbending Police Force, that knocked. 

"Lin? What are you doing here?" Tenzin asked, surprised. She walked in and came to the table. 

"We need to get Korra out of here immediately," Lin informed him. "Her life's in danger."

The Avatar's life in danger? That can't be possible!

"What?!" Korra stood in between the two. "What's going on?"

"I just got word from Lord Zuko and Tonraq."

"Why is Lord Zuko with my dad?" Frankly speaking, Jinora had no idea what was happening either. 

"Zaheer and the others have escaped." This news seem to take Tenzin by surprise. 

"How is that possible?" 

"Because Zaheer is an airbender now."

"No..." Tenzin said in shock. Evidently, Tenzin had encountered this mysterious individual before. 

"All right, hold on!" Korra said, irritated. "Will you quit ignoring me and tell me what's going on? Who's Zaheer? Why is my life in danger?"

Tenzin turned to Korra and took a breath. "Shortly after we find out you were the Avatar, Zaheer and three others attempted to kidnap you. Luckily, your father, Lord Zuko, Chief Sokka and I were there to stop them. We apprehended the criminals and locked them away in prisons designed to impair their abilities."

"So that's why you and my dad sheltered me away," Korra said in realization. 

"It was for your own safety."

"Why were they trying to kidnap Korra?" Mako asked. 

"We spent thirteen years interrogating them, but they never broke." Lin replied. "To this day, no one knows what their motive was." She turned to Korra. "Now we need to get you back to Republic City where I can protect you."

"No," Korra said defiantly. "I'm not running."

"Korra, you don't understand. These criminals are like nothing you've ever faced before."

What kind of criminals would be powerful enough that they would want to kidnap Korra, much less the Avatar?

"Look, I'm not a little kid anymore," Korra said in her typical tough fashion. "You don't need to protect me. I came here for one thing, to find airbenders, and I'm not leaving without them."

It looked as if there might be a war of words. Jinora was surprised when Lin said, "Fine. Let's get them and get out of here. Where are they?"

"In a military compound."