Work Text:
One Month after Zhu Li takes office- an Air Bender ceremony at the spirit portal
Tenzin, Jinora, Lin, Varrick, Zhu Li, and Korra are all on a platform.
Tenzin: Thank you all for coming. Today we will be performing an ancient Airbender ceremony to cleanse this portal and help the spirits become acquainted with these new wilds. My daughter Jinora will lead the ceremony. However, before we begin Persistent Moon would like to say a few words.
Zhu Li: “Thank you Master Tenzin, and Master Jinora for allowing me to speak here today. And thank you to the spirits for allowing us to be in these new spirit wilds...
*Bows*
Zhu Li: ...and thank you all for coming today and to the thousands of you tuned in on your radios around the world. We have faced many hardships here around the world in the last few years.
Amon and his "equalists" attempted to drive a wedge between benders and non-benders, not only here in Republic City but around the world. But we prevailed, and non-benders got a larger say in how Republic City is run, my predecessor President Raiko and I are examples of that.
Uunaloq pitted the two water tribes against each other and started a civil war and owned the northern and southern spirit portals, just so he could fuse with the dark spirit Vatuu and bring chaos to the world. However, he was stopped thanks.to the efforts of Avatar Korra, her team, and Avatar Aang's children, and grandchild Jinora. After Uunaloq's defeat, the water tribe made peace and the South finally gained its independence from the North. And on the bequest of the Avatar, the spirit portals remained open and allowed the spirits to be in our world. However, it also had another unforeseen outcome, Airbender started to reappear in the world, 170 years after they were exterminated by Fire Lord Sozin. And under the guidance of Masters Tenzin and Jinora, the Air nation started to rebuild.
However, the hardships did not end there. A group of extremist terrorists known as The Red Lotus wanted to topple the governments of the world and kill the Avatar for good. These terrorists killed Earth Queen Hue and left her nation in ruins and lawlessness, and they poisoned the Avatar and Almost succeed in ending the Avatar Cycle for good, however under the instruction of Jinora, the new Airbenders were able to defeat Zahir and the poison was able to be removed from Avatar Korra in time. However, all was not over, the Avatar was left broken, and the Earth kingdom was left in a lawless shamble.
While the Avatar recovered, the newly minted Air Nation anointed its first master in a generation, Jinora, and pledged to regain its nomadic roots and help restore balance to the world. A bold leader arose in the earth kingdom and vowed to restore order, Kuvira.
However, the power went to Kuvira's head and she became a conqueror. She forced my husband Varrick to create a weapon that harnessed the power of spirit vines or she would kill him. After she completed it, she turned the weapon against me. Thanks to Bolin and Opal I survived and made my way back to Republic City.
Kuvira and her army made their way to this great city and attacked it, in some misguided attempt at unity. However, it was unity that defeated Kuvira, a unity of benders of all four elements and non-benders that took down her army and her giant mech suit. And that is Republic City, in a nutshell, benders of all types And non-benders working together to make the world a better place.
Avatar Aang once said, "When we get our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." Republic City may lie in ruins, you may be temporarily displaced, a refugee, but we will rebuild our great city, and build it stronger than before. Both because our buildings will be stronger and taller than before, but also because our connection to the spirits will be stronger!”
The crowd started cheering and clapping.
Varrick smiled and looked at his wife, insanely happy for her, she was slipping into the role of president effortlessly. He then turned to the crowd and started looking at people's faces, all of them were happy and enthused by his wife's speech. Varrick then realized that only a few months ago he would have been standing there thinking about himself. He's never actually cared what the crowd was thinking when he wasn't the one giving the speech, heck, he didn't care what they thought when he did give a speech.
That's when he saw him. About 4 rows back in the crowd. He was wearing a dark brown overcoat with something olive green and metal underneath it. He looked to be about 40 with a strangely unkempt beard and a mean look of absolute hatred in his eyes, staring right at Zhu Li.
Varrick saw the man pull his right arm back and the glint of metal. Before he even realized what he was doing he stood up and started sprinting towards Zhu Li and dived at her, knocking her over. As she fell in front of her he felt a sharp searing pain in his shoulder, and another in his back. But he didn't care, his Zhu Li was safe and that was all that mattered.
Lin was getting bored when she saw Varrick run across the stage with his wife. For half an instant she thought he was just being foolish until she saw him dive and hear the sound of metal entering a body and scraping against bone. She stood up and instantly made the perp. Fourth row, dark brown trench coat. How had she missed him, she should have been vigilant. Instantly she stood up and rocketed 2 cables right at him, wrapping him up before he broke free. She cursed as she realized he could metal bend.
Tenzin felt something vibrate along with his skull and saw Varrick running up to the podium before seeing two projectiles being hurled out of the crowd and into Varrick as he dove in front of President Moon. In an instant, he stood up and scanned the crowd for the assailant. He saw Lin's cable wrap him up but he escaped, so he and Jinora in perfect sync wrapped him in a column of air so he couldn't escape again.
Korra was trying to pay attention, really she was, but even though she had only been in political office for a month Zhu Li had already mastered the art of saying a lot, yet absolutely nothing at the same time. Suddenly, Varrick darted across the stage at Zhu Li and dived in front of her as 2 projectiles rocketed towards her, taking them in his back. Then a second later Tenzin, Jinora, and Lin were already after the assailant, while she wanted to help them she knew that she had a different job.
She rushed over to Zhu Li and Varrick in her lap. She water bent an ice sculpture she made earlier of Ravaa as a decoration for the ceremony into water and instantly knelt over Varrick's back and only then did she see just how bad it was, blood was oozing out of his wounds and he was mumbling incoherently. The water washed over her fingers and she started to heal his wounds
Zhu Li sat there on the stage crying as her husband lay there bleeding out and dying in her arms, even though the Avatar was there and using her water bending healing abilities it still broke her to see her beloved like this.
Zhu Li: Varrick, you...you saved me
Varrick weakly: Of course I did Zhu Li. I love you. Besides dearest, you're always saving me, and I did say that I would treat you as a partner. I gotta even the score.
Korra: Stop taking Varrick, it punctured your lung.
Zhu Li: Oh Varrick~
Tenzin running over: Will he be alright?
Korra: It's really bad Tenzin, it severed an artery. I'm doing the best I can right now but he needs spirit water, and he needs your mother
Lin runs over and gingerly picks Varrick up as Korra continues to heal him. Then they run into the spirit portal along with Tenzin, Jinora, and Zhu Li.
They enter the portal and place Varrick in a spirit pool as Korra uses the water to heal him.
Zhu Li with tears in her eyes: Will he be alright? Please tell me Korra, please.
Korra: This will stabilize him, but I'm not skilled enough to heal him. He needs Katara. Spirits please help us!!
Spirit 1: Why should we help?
Korra: This man is dying.
Spirit 1: So, I am not a healer. I am a spirit
Korra: Yes, but you could get one. Katara of the southern water tribe
Spirit 1: Let me rephrase the question. Why would I help this human? The only being who harnessed the energy of the spirit vines in a weapon! Who used us in a human war.
Zhu Li, crying: Please you must help him!
Spirit 2: Why would you want us to help him. He has done nothing but uses you and humiliates you since he met you?
Zhu Li: Yes he was terrible to me for years, but in my heart, I knew that he could be a good man. And that when that happened, he would truly change the world for the better. Please I love him. I love him with all my heart.
Spirit 1: He still used spirit energy as a weapon
Suddenly Varrick coughs blood and speaks, his voice very weak and dry: You're right. I did use the spirit vines as a weapon. But that was never my intention. I wanted to create an infinite amount of clean energy. But once I realized what that energy was capable of, once I realized what Kuvira wanted me to use that energy for I tried to stop. I tried to destroy everything, but I failed.
Spirit 2: He speaks the truth
Spirit 1: It doesn't matter, he still did it. Coerced or not.
Spirit 3, the Phoenix dragon: He is a man of many mistakes, yes. But mistakes he is trying to atone for. I believe he should get the chance to see his atonement through.
Korra: Jinora, please go with him and get Katara, then come back, we need her.
Jinora: Yes Korra.
She hops onto the spirit and flys away
Zhu Li with Varrick's head in her lap: It's gonna be fine dear, Katara will be here soon. You'll be back to normal in no time, love.
A few minutes later the spirit returns with Jinora and Katara. They slide off the spirit and Katara, Korra, and Kya (who joined them after she helped with crowd control and assassin freezing in the material world) all work together to heal Varrick
Katara after almost 20 minutes: He will live. He had a strong will and a lot to live for. However, he will need to continue treatment with me in the south for several weeks so that he can fully recover.
Zhu Li to them and the spirit who got Katara: Thank you all. Thank you all so much. Please take care of him. And don't let him boss you around too much. He can be quite a handful.
Katara: I was married to Aang and I raised Bumi. I think I can manage your husband.
Korra and Kya load Varrick onto the spirit's back
Varrick weakly: Don't worry Zhu Li, I'll be fine besides It'll be nice to go home for a bit. I'll radio you as much as I can. Now go run Republic City. They need their president.
Katara, the spirit, and Varrick fly back to the south.