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invoking_uraniaTitle: Survivors
Fandom: The Legend of Korra
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Words: 800
Notes/Warnings: Spoilers for Episode 7: The Aftermath. Since we now have two characters named 'Song' in the fandom, Officer Song was the guy that was supposed to watch Mako, Bolin and Asami. Not to be confused with the girl Zuko stole an ostrich horse from.
Summary: Officer Song is full of complicated feelings about the events of the episode. Chief Beifong offers some advice and a favor.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Korra copyright Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko/Nickelodeon and this derivative work was created without permission.
The worst part was the guilt.
Song knew the chief had put him on babysitting duty because he was the new guy and was still coming in borderline on the practice field. Good enough to be part of the metalbending squad and to be on Equalist raids, but the guy you always stuck guarding the rear. Or, in this case, three kids.
The chief had also told him that assume any suspect you meet could be a bender, and every bender you meet was fully trained and capable of fighting back. And his grandma always said teenagers were trouble; along with never trust a firebender with livestock, it was one of her favorite sayings.
Anyway, he'd known the kids were benders: Song didn't follow pro-bending but everyone knew the Avatar had been competing and the two were her team. He didn't think they'd attack an officer. He also didn't think that the girl -- Sato's daughter -- would know where to find rope to keep him from being able to get enough footing to bend.
So, he'd waited out the conflict. Seen the boys follow the chief and the rest of the squad down into the darkness. See the girl decide she wasn't staying behind and follow them. Seen them return, with Councillor Tenzin, the Avatar and the chief half-conscious and limping, and the rest of the squad gone. Taken by the Equalists.
Song knew most of the men and women had made a career out of being earthbenders. They could still be cops without their bending; would still be cops, no matter what injuries they took in the line of duty. But not being a bender meant working the beats where you probably would never have to have a weapon. And everyone would know why.
Song got enough pity being a mediocre earthbender in a family that had been working for the law in Republic City before it was even Republic City, back when it was a Fire Nation colony and earthbenders had to be twice as good to get promoted. He couldn't imagine what he'd do not being an earthbender.
But, really, it should have been him. Everyone knew he was the worst on the squad. And stupid enough to get outsmarted by a pair of kids he was supposed to be watching to boot. It wouldn't be a loss, not like… well, any of the others.
The guilt nearly made him call in sick the next day, but he'd used up the last of his leave on some really bad noodles last month. So he was in the office to see the chief turn in her resignation. And he hadn't believed it.
She met his eyes. Even some of the police found the chief intimidating. She was a woman carved of stone and iron, who left emotions for lesser mortals. He couldn't imagine what the police would be without her at its head. "You're leaving?" he asked. He didn't want to say 'you're giving up', because that was unthinkable. He couldn't even form the words for that.
"I'm going to get the rest of them back," she said. "The rest of it is a distraction."
Song figured she meant Councilor Tarrlok trying to pull her down. If he thought he could just waltz in here after the chief left and take over, and get the same respect that the chief had earned, he had another think coming. "I can help! I mean, sir, they're my teammates, and I don't want to leave them behind." The chief would be the hero, here. The best Song could do would be to be her sidekick and not get into the way.
"No, stay here," the chief said. "Someone needs to watch the larger picture, and make sure Tarrlok, or whoever he appoints, does his damn job instead of trying to pull political crap."
"No one here would let the Councilor pull that kind of stuff," Song answered. "We're your people."
"You are. Maybe once all of them were, but I don't know how much support I've lost." It was the closest he'd ever heard the chief to admitting weakness, even with the Equalists running them all ragged. "I need as many people I can count on here. If you find any leads, Tenzin will probably know where I am, since he's a busybody."
"I won't let you down." Song bowed to the chief -- even if she wasn't chief of the Republic City Police any more, it seemed almost sacrilegious to think of her as anything else -- and she bowed back.
He only hoped that it was a promise he could keep. He'd screwed up before, but he could not screw up again.
Fandom: The Legend of Korra
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Words: 800
Notes/Warnings: Spoilers for Episode 7: The Aftermath. Since we now have two characters named 'Song' in the fandom, Officer Song was the guy that was supposed to watch Mako, Bolin and Asami. Not to be confused with the girl Zuko stole an ostrich horse from.
Summary: Officer Song is full of complicated feelings about the events of the episode. Chief Beifong offers some advice and a favor.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Korra copyright Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko/Nickelodeon and this derivative work was created without permission.
The worst part was the guilt.
Song knew the chief had put him on babysitting duty because he was the new guy and was still coming in borderline on the practice field. Good enough to be part of the metalbending squad and to be on Equalist raids, but the guy you always stuck guarding the rear. Or, in this case, three kids.
The chief had also told him that assume any suspect you meet could be a bender, and every bender you meet was fully trained and capable of fighting back. And his grandma always said teenagers were trouble; along with never trust a firebender with livestock, it was one of her favorite sayings.
Anyway, he'd known the kids were benders: Song didn't follow pro-bending but everyone knew the Avatar had been competing and the two were her team. He didn't think they'd attack an officer. He also didn't think that the girl -- Sato's daughter -- would know where to find rope to keep him from being able to get enough footing to bend.
So, he'd waited out the conflict. Seen the boys follow the chief and the rest of the squad down into the darkness. See the girl decide she wasn't staying behind and follow them. Seen them return, with Councillor Tenzin, the Avatar and the chief half-conscious and limping, and the rest of the squad gone. Taken by the Equalists.
Song knew most of the men and women had made a career out of being earthbenders. They could still be cops without their bending; would still be cops, no matter what injuries they took in the line of duty. But not being a bender meant working the beats where you probably would never have to have a weapon. And everyone would know why.
Song got enough pity being a mediocre earthbender in a family that had been working for the law in Republic City before it was even Republic City, back when it was a Fire Nation colony and earthbenders had to be twice as good to get promoted. He couldn't imagine what he'd do not being an earthbender.
But, really, it should have been him. Everyone knew he was the worst on the squad. And stupid enough to get outsmarted by a pair of kids he was supposed to be watching to boot. It wouldn't be a loss, not like… well, any of the others.
The guilt nearly made him call in sick the next day, but he'd used up the last of his leave on some really bad noodles last month. So he was in the office to see the chief turn in her resignation. And he hadn't believed it.
She met his eyes. Even some of the police found the chief intimidating. She was a woman carved of stone and iron, who left emotions for lesser mortals. He couldn't imagine what the police would be without her at its head. "You're leaving?" he asked. He didn't want to say 'you're giving up', because that was unthinkable. He couldn't even form the words for that.
"I'm going to get the rest of them back," she said. "The rest of it is a distraction."
Song figured she meant Councilor Tarrlok trying to pull her down. If he thought he could just waltz in here after the chief left and take over, and get the same respect that the chief had earned, he had another think coming. "I can help! I mean, sir, they're my teammates, and I don't want to leave them behind." The chief would be the hero, here. The best Song could do would be to be her sidekick and not get into the way.
"No, stay here," the chief said. "Someone needs to watch the larger picture, and make sure Tarrlok, or whoever he appoints, does his damn job instead of trying to pull political crap."
"No one here would let the Councilor pull that kind of stuff," Song answered. "We're your people."
"You are. Maybe once all of them were, but I don't know how much support I've lost." It was the closest he'd ever heard the chief to admitting weakness, even with the Equalists running them all ragged. "I need as many people I can count on here. If you find any leads, Tenzin will probably know where I am, since he's a busybody."
"I won't let you down." Song bowed to the chief -- even if she wasn't chief of the Republic City Police any more, it seemed almost sacrilegious to think of her as anything else -- and she bowed back.
He only hoped that it was a promise he could keep. He'd screwed up before, but he could not screw up again.