Not Your Hero

Chapter 18

⚠️Warning: this chapter contains mild cussing and in-depth description of death. Does not contain actual death, but may be unsettling to some. Read at your own risk.

"Put down your weapons, Korra. You're under arrest." Tenzin said.

In novels, where heroes are being threatened at gunpoint, the author does a poor job of describing the situation. Korra couldn't blame them. No one would do well if they hadn't had such an experience themselves. The gun pointed at her neck felt cold, and Korra knew that the gun would soon heat up with the incredible speed of a bullet if she failed to comply. But she probably wouldn't feel that heat, the bullet would've damaged all the neurons around that area.

When your life is being threatened, everything slows down, because nothing matters anymore, but then you're suddenly attuned to everything that is happening. Fear is the body's natural fight-or-flight reaction. Humans are afraid because the body is telling them to get out of danger. Escape or fight, it doesn't matter. Just survive. And that's the basic component of humanity. When you're millimeters away from the bullet of death, your first thought isn't continuing some sort of mission. It's to survive. That's what makes the soldiers who sacrificed themselves so admirable because they resisted the survival instincts that got humans here in the first place.

The authors failed to mention the big question you're facing when threatened. What do you do when every single fiber of your body is telling you to get the hell away from the gun and do whatever is necessary to live? What do you do when every single neuron in your fucked-up brain is telling you that surrendering is wrong, that living after this would be a crime?

And here comes the memory flashes, the part authors do mention. The human components that makeup being human, not just another species. You relive your life in a few seconds. In those few seconds, Korra saw everything. Her parents, only vague memories the sudden shock had brought back. The day Zaheer took her. She knew the truth now and shuddered at the cruelty of the action. Various moments from the Academy and the compound fled by, but none caught her eye. The day she met Kuvira, that was something. She hated her friend's guts for the first month. The day she met Asami, Mako, and Bolin. The two brothers whose friendship she would forever value. The woman who gave her a real home. The woman she loved. Asami. She must be safe now. The more attention on Korra, the better. Then, Asami would have a higher chance of making it out alive. The guards outside should still be knocked cold.

But what about Korra? Asami would never forgive her and herself if Korra was captured, or dead. Korra knew that much.

The gunpoint was still cold against her bare neck. But Korra had to drag her sorry ass away from this place, for the sake of Asami. She couldn't leave her girlfriend alone and heart-breaking. Just the thought of Asami brought a sort of warmth to Korra's heart, and with that, determination.

The memories had reminded Korra of something. She didn't have a life before Asami. Before that, it was all black and white. She couldn't let this all end now. So she snapped her head back to the situation at hand. She's going to get out alive to see Asami.

Tenzin's first mistake was getting so close to Korra. Korra could already see his stance. A gun doesn't give an excuse to have a weak form, especially when your victim is right in front of you. His second mistake was even thinking a gun would restrain Korra. Korra wasn't sure about this third mistake, but it was worth a try.

"Kill me." She said, "Go on, Tenzin. Kill the only person who could be of use to you. Your precious little avatar. I know you need my help. This is just an empty threat."

The gun on her neck slackened. Tenzin was hesitating, and Korra whipped around to pull the gun from his hands, pointing it back at its previous owner. As she'd expected, he didn't maintain a fighting stance and was completely caught off guard.

"Guards, restrain her!" Tenzin ordered. But nothing happened. Korra smirked. His third mistake was trusting the guards.

Instead, Korra hit Tenzin in the head, stunning him. The guards pulled off their helmets revealing their faces, just as Korra expected.

"Thanks for having my back. I missed you guys." Korra said to Bolin and Mako. The brothers smiled. "Anytime, captain," Bolin said.

"I'll thank you guys later. But I gotta go, Asami is probably waiting for me at the rendezvous point." Taking a tracker out of her pocket, Korra injected it into Tenzin. Asami had designed this herself. It was a nano-tracker that could be injected into the bloodstream without anyone noticing. It would be completely harmless to the host but would be transmitting signals constantly. The only problem was that it'd probably be metabolized in 48 hours.

Giving each of the brothers a quick hug and promising to stay in touch, Korra pulled her mask on and ran out of the compound. She didn't meet any trouble. Once she was out of the gates, she was immediately dragged into an alley and engulfed in an embrace, filled with the unmistakable jasmine scent of her girlfriend.

"Missed you too." Korra grinned.