tushanshu_logs | Catching up, checking in... [CLOSED]

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Catching up, checking in... [CLOSED]

Characters: Rex Salazar (

alphatar)
Date: May 11th
Location: Korra's suite, Metal Sector
Situation: Two friends getting in some needed vent/talk time, catching up post-bomb attack.
Warnings/Rating: None.

The trip from Rex's suite to Korra's was a short one, given they both lived in the same sector. Likewise, his call to her had also been quite short. Between Malicant watching their every move and listening in on every word over the consoles, plus the annoying bursts of static that made it difficult to communicate at all, the call had largely consisted of asking to if it was alright to show up on her doorstep and permission being granted.

Rex had a lot on his mind and he was sure that given recent events, Korra likely did, too. He did want to check up on her as well, make sure she was doing better after being wounded right before the bombings. There were also a few things he wanted to ask her and he would be lying if he said he didn't want to take a little time to get to know her even better. Given he hadn't been there long and things were going to hell in a hand basket, he needed people he could trust and count on. Having already felt something of a connection with Korra prior, building on the foundation they'd already started to lay down seemed like a good idea.

Landing on the walkway out in front of the building Korra lived in, Rex built the Boogie Pack down and then made his way up the door, knocking once he got there.

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There was plenty on Korra's plate, and she had been doing what she always did. Carry on and keep giving her help wherever it was needed, even if it wasn't wanted. With the consoles down, she refrained from using them unless it was an emergency, but getting a chance to metaphorically let her hair down came in the form of Rex and she sorely needed a chance to simply sit down with someone who wasn't a part of the mass hysteria her life on Tu Vishan was becoming. The fact that she got along with Rex rather well didn't hurt things either; getting to know him felt like a good idea.

Naga's raised head and lifted ears were the reason Korra was able to answer the door as soon as Rex knocked. First thing she saw was Rex's face and she smiled; they were in much better circumstances now than the last time they saw each other.

"Hey. Come on in." She left the door open for him to follow her into the living room. "Make yourself at home. You doing all right on food and water?" The basics. She needed to make sure that her friends were getting by with the shortage, even though it was steadily improving.

Edited (dear html, i do not need everything to be a link. thank. WHAT IS TYPING?) 2014-05-13 13:00 (UTC)

When the door opened, Rex smiled in greeting. "Hey to you, too."

Stepping inside, he shut the door behind him and glanced around a bit as he followed Korra into the living room area. Her question gave him a brief moment of pause, however.

"Yeah, I'm getting by, at least." Rex rubbed at the side of his neck, not quite up to admitting that part of his problem was with prepared food being a little harder to come by. He was a fighter and lessons on how to cook had not really been included in his training. Fortunately, this was one of those times when not being a picky eater was to his advantage. "What about you? And I mean in general on getting by. You seem like you're doing a lot better."

"Getting by?" Asked with an abundantly rich tone with a hint playful uncertainty, his body language a dead giveaway and the main reason the corner of her mouth curled into a smirk.

But she wasn't about to grill him on that. That's something she could fix before he left. As usual, she always had fish in her standing freezer.

"Yup! I finished healing my leg, not even a scar to show for it." She put up her boot onto the arm of the couch and peeled back her baggy blue pants up just past her knee. Sure enough, her leg showed almost nothing unless one was looking for it. A small crescent of lighter skin was the only indicator that something had opened. "Bone and all."

Having similar conversations at the hospital during the average week left Korra fairly desensitized to anything regarded in a medical manner.

"You didn't get any of those spores, did you?" And of course she was quick to turn the subject around. Deflect. A trait she had picked up from Jim, and now she wasn't even aware that she was doing it. Not when she wanted him over to talk about that very subject.

Ah, that smirk. Rex managed a somewhat sheepish smile as he debated whether or not to explain further. Part of the point of visiting Korra was to get to know her better and, likewise, to allow her to know him better, as well. Might as well get the truth out on the table.

"I don't know how to cook...much," he explained with a small shrug, that last word added on at the end just so she wouldn't think he was completely worthless in the kitchen. "Given how things have been around here lately, though, I should probably do something to change that."

When Korra put her foot up to roll back her pants, Rex examined what had once been the wounded area without thinking initially about what he was looking at. Of course a couple of seconds later, it hit him that he was staring at a girl's leg and he began to notice more about it than just a lack of injury. Her skin tone, the curve of her calf... Feeling his cheeks getting a bit warm, he straightened up and forced himself to look at her face again.

"If I didn't have my quick healing ability, I'd probably be knocking at your door any time I got hurt. You, uh... You really did a good job fixing yourself up." He cleared his throat a little, almost glad to press on with a slight shift in subject, if just momentarily. "And no, I don't think I did. After running into you, I found some cloth to keep my mouth and nose covered. Saint Walker also did some energy shielding thing for me later when I ran into him."

“I can show you how to grill a fish later.” Then, as an amusing after thought: “Without bending.”

But she gave a casual, dismissive wave on that. She had to teach Bean on cooking Southern Water Tribe food, so she now had experience on the issue. Rex left a good impression on her and Korra was sure he’d pick up on it easily enough.

Hearing that was a relief and her face showed it. “Saint’s a good guy.” Korra knew that Saint Walker would have helped Rex if he needed it.

She rolled her pant leg back down and turned to look at Rex fully. That he lingered just a little longer than he should have at where her wound was didn't escape her notice, but she wasn't going to give him grief over it.

But it was something that did make her brighten a bit.

“That’s okay. My clinic over there isn’t much to look at.” She put her thumb over her shoulder to point to her bedroom where Naga was lazily laying in the doorway. “You wouldn’t be missing anything.“ There was a small, almost inaudible, popping sound from setting her boot back on the floor.

"I'd appreciate that. Actually getting a demonstration would help eliminate the whole trial-and-error thing, which obviously isn't too good when food's kinda hard to come by in the first place."

Rex caught himself looking at Korra's leg again as she rolled her pants leg down and he was almost grateful to have his attention directed elsewhere immediately after. Granted, that elsewhere was Korra's bedroom, but he didn't let himself think too long on that, either. While he hadn't come over with the intention of noticing all this or even attempting to flirt, Rex was still a bundle of teenage hormones, after all.

The slight popping sound caught his attention just enough to get a small quirk of the eyebrow out of him. On the whole, though, all this reminded him that a certain question had yet to be answered.

Rex turned his focus fully back on Korra again, expression becoming a little more serious. "So how did you get shot, anyway? And who did it?"

Korra couldn't help but give a confident half smile about food being hard to come by. This was nothing compared tot he rationing that went on for months, and surviving had become a key skill of hers on Tu Vishan. Sharing it with others was just it's own reward.

That and she liked the thought of spending the time to teach Rex.

But that would have to wait. For now, she crossed her arms and revisited the morning that the bombs went off. After a moment she sat on the arm of the couch. Her tone was fairly neutral aside from a hint of resignedness. "I got shot when I was chasing down a kedan that stole my money. But I lost him when he went into a crowd. He probably shapeshifted to look like someone else. So I kept an eye out for someone suspicious."

She sighed before her blue eyes traveled up the sleeve of Rex's jacket, all the way up to his eyes. "And I saw a foreigner that kept looking over his shoulder, like he was keeping an eye out for something. Or someone." Then she gave a small pout as she continued. "I grabbed his shoulder and asked him to give me my money back. Then he pointed something at me. A gun. I didn't know what it was at the time." She shrugged her shoulders, something like that simply didn't exist in her world. "So I kicked it out of his hand and he threw me to the ground, I kicked him as I got up. He had another one and shot me in the leg."

There was more, and she opened her mouth to say it, but she wanted to give Rex a moment to catch up. Sometimes she did go a little fast on the talking, but she also was remember that sudden burning on her leg out of nowhere. The sensation that followed afterwards was one she didn't want to remember, but she wasn't going to withhold it.

As Korra began to explain how she had been injured, Rex took a seat on the couch, sitting back with his arms folded across his chest. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth as he listened, suddenly keenly aware of how different their two worlds really were terms of technology. In this case, just a lack of knowledge on Korra's part could have landed in her a lot more trouble than just a bullet wound to one leg. She could have been killed. That one Foreigner with a firearm had managed to hurt her seemed almost unbelievable given her abilities and skill level. She was the Avatar, after all. Yet in that instance, it hadn't been enough.

It was also at that point that Rex realized why Korra had skirted around the subject at first. Given her status, the incident had probably been painful in more ways than one. There was the physical aspect, of course, but her pride had most likely taken quite a hit, as well.

"Got you at point blank range. You're lucky all he wanted to do was take you off your feet." His brow furrowed a little more. "So what happened after that?"

That really did have a lasting effect on Korra. Something Rex would be able to understand considering how they were unique in their own world. She wasn’t invincible, being the Avatar didn’t mean anything in that instance and it was as if that bullet broke through the perception she had of herself. More than seeing her own future beyond her defeating Amon did, because it was real and she herself was there.

Not just a spectator.

Korra folded her leg up onto the couch’s arm so she could see Rex without straining her neck too much. "Afterwards I pushed him away with airbending and brought up an earth wall between us. Then Mako showed up and got him to let us leave. I don’t remember everything that happened, but I was really out of it and sweating a lot. I lost a lot of blood…"

While Rex had yet to meet Mako, he knew one thing about the guy just from Korra's relation of events - that he was likely the reason the Avatar hadn't died. He'd had the guts to intervene and probably ended up doing a little fast talking to get them out of a bad situation, something Rex could respect.

"Well, at least now you know what a gun does, even if that's not much of a silver lining in all this." Rex leaned one elbow on the couch's arm rest, frown still firmly in place. "You should know there are a lot of different kinds out there, though, like just from my version of Earth alone. So if you think something might be a firearm? Probably better if you assume it is and don't let it get pointed in your direction."

He sighed and glanced away a moment, though when he looked back at her again, his expression and tone softened somewhat. "I'm really glad you're okay, though. If the worst had happened, well... I might have had to hunt this guy down and pound him into the ground. And you know how hard I hit."

There wasn't any argument from Korra about guns, or firearms, now that she had learned first hand what they're capable of. But this was Korra, and she would likely end up overreacting by brutally taking someone down via bending if they had one in hand. Of course the only concern she had was Ellie; the kid had one of them and now she wondered why...

But that could be saved for another time, and she looked over at Rex, a little surprised by his threat.

Obviously not because she wholeheartedly condoned payback or because she had seen just how much damage Rex ould dish out, but because he said it with sincerity. "Well, I probably could have handled things a little bit better." Guh, she hated admitting that she had some fault in it; but it was true. She put her hand on her knee, right over the very spot that she had spent sessions of healing on, and leaned on it as she gave Rex a nod that had just the hint of a smile in it. "But thanks."

After a moment, she realized that she was leaning on her side a little too heavily towards the couch and straightened up her posture.

"Did you want some water?" Playing hostess. Even after all this time on Tu Vishan she wasn't used to doing it. "I think I still have some of those carbonated drinks left." Having Zatanna as a friend and doing frequent movie nights meant always being stocked up on junk food.

"Maybe." Rex shrugged while at the same time considering what he might have done in the same situation. Truth be told, he might not have done all that much better, either. "Then again, it's not like having shape shifters all over the place around here makes tracking down a pickpocket easy. Anyway, the important thing is that you're okay."

As Korra's pride had already taken enough of a hit when the incident occurred, Rex wasn't about to pick at that sore spot. Besides, she'd learned not to underestimate anyone with a gun and Rex was all for lending a little support to his friends. No need for Korra to feel guilty over it all so long after the fact.

At the mention of carbonated beverages, Rex perked up. "Soda? Yeah, sure. I'd be good with some of that."

Korra gave a light snort at the shape shifter comment. It was true, but more over was the sentiment. Korra had bitten off more than she could chew, and anyone who was familiar with guns wouldn't have been treating her the way Rex was.

She nodded with a smile and stood up from the couch. "You got it." The kitchen door was kept wide open as always and she got a pack of cans out from the cabinets along with a couple bags of snacks. Pretzels and dried fruit.

"Hope you like sigma berry flavor." She held the cans out for him to take when she got to the couch, a thin layer of frost spread down from her fingers over the sodas. "It took a while, but eventually the kedan started making foreigner food and drinks. Well, with their own twist."

Taking a seat on the couch next to him, Korra opened both bags. "Did your suite or work get damaged in the explosions?" That should have been the first thing she asked when arrived, but it was easy to get sidetracked when he was around.

Rex sat forward to take the cans before settling back against the cushions again, selecting one out of the pack before setting the remaining ones down between himself and Korra as she took a seat.

"Don't know if I do or not, but I'll try just about anything once when it comes to food. Well, as long as it's not moving, anyway." Popping open the can, he sniffed at the contents and then took a sip, allowing himself a second or two to pick up on the flavor rather than just swallowing it straight down. "Huh. Not bad."

Rex got his free hand into the bag of pretzels before answering Korra's question, taking a couple out and popping one into his mouth.

"My suite's fine," he managed to reply as he chewed, then swallowed. "One of the kedan owned garages where I was helping out with some of the equipment got messed up pretty bad, though. Part of the building next door collapsed and one of the walls fell in on the garage. Kind of a domino effect. The owner wasn't hurt, though, so at least there's that.

"I just hope someone comes up with a plan sooner rather than later on what to do about all this. I'm not big on sitting around and waiting, but I haven't been here long enough to come up with any decent plans of my own."

Without even looking or missing a beat, Korra grabbed four pieces of dried fruit and tossed them over shoulder. A large, white, furry mouth emerged and chomped down the pieces with a snap before lowering back down. Naga scooting may have been silent and unnoticeable for anyone who wasn’t paying attention to her, but Korra more felt her presence than saw it.

That and it had become a habit between the two of them.

"I’m glad no one got hurt at least." That meant Rex might be out of a job. Something she was already thinking of how to fix while opening her own soda can. “Well,”

She paused to chug the drink, and held her hand up when she was halfway through it. The carbonation hit her throat rather hard, but this obviously wasn’t the first time she did this. And it didn’t help that she was really thirsty to begin with.

Finally done, she wiped her lips with her wrist and crushed the can.

“I’ve been thinking about testing that spiky barrier around the palace. See if it can handle some heavy bending.” She said it tentatively, but with a raised eyebrow while looking at Rex to see if he was interested. “I’m kind of tired of waiting for someone to actually come up with a plan.”

That wasn’t her forte. Korra was the muscle of her usual group, and it’s a role she filled rather well. Albeit impatiently.

One of Rex's eyebrows arched at the sudden motion, gaze tracking the tossed food until it abruptly vanished into the maw of the polar bear dog behind them. He hadn't been expecting that and he jerked to one side instinctively, though not much more than an inch or so. That was the second time Naga had taken him off guard and inwardly he berated himself for it. He would need to get used to the big animal being nearby and shoving her face up around him.

"At this point, it has been about three weeks since the bombings," Rex responded as he settled once more and ate another pretzel. "I realize we had injured to take of and a huge mess to clean up, but seriously if we wait much longer, we'll probably get hit again. We can't just sit here like a bunch of targets. So if you decide to test that barrier and want someone to watch your back and help out, I could be game for that."

Though if they did go through with that idea, that meant it was more important than ever that Rex have a certain discussion with Korra. He needed someone to know what he was capable of in case the worst came to pass, as well as what to do about it.

"How much longer are you going to hold off before you try something, anyway?"

Korra barely caught Rex’s reaction, and it never crossed her mind that Naga could be intimidating to other. Unless she ordered her too of course. That sure was a mental note she made to see about making some time to get Rex used to the polar bear dog.

She popped open another can with one hand and grabbed a handful of pretzels with the other. A smile worked its way on her face. That was exactly how she felt: unable to sit around and do nothing when something like that could happen again. Having someone watch her back is exactly what she needed and Rex was perfect for the job, they complemented each other perfectly.

A spiritual force of nature and a bio-mechanical powerhouse.

“I’m going to wait a week so I can make up for the days I couldn’t train and give the other foreigners time to come up with something. If they don’t after the week’s up, I’m going in.” She took a sip of her soda and shifted herself so she could look at him. “Between the two of us, I think we can do some damage to it.”

"Sounds like a plan." Rex met the Avatar's gaze, a smile to match hers pulling at the corners of his mouth, though one slightly cocked eyebrow lent itself to an expression hedging on mischievous, even cocky. "And I think you're right. I bet we can. Plus I gotta admit that I've been wanting a chance to team up with you. Ever since we met up to do a little showing off, I've wondered just how much damage we can do side by side in a combat situation."

Despite his excitement over what may be in their near future together, acting as a demolition tag team, Rex knew this was as good a lead in as any to talking about related issues. If Korra was willing to fight alongside him, to have his back, she deserved to know what she was getting into with him.

"There are a couple of things I want to talk about related to situations like that, though. It's the kind of serious business stuff I don't like bringing up, but I don't think it'd be fair to keep it from you." At that point, his tone and expression sobered a good deal. After taking another drink from his can, he plucked at the tab on the top with one finger for a moment, debating how to start before deciding to just go for it.

"All these problems we've been having with the consoles... Makes it pretty clear that the maniac we're dealing with has the ability to take over and control machinery. Remind you of anyone else you know?" He held up his free hand, tech lines flaring to life from the wrist down, a few crackles of energy sparking at his finger tips.

What Korra was hearing, she was liking. It was an aggressive maneuver and Rex voiced her thoughts, spot on. After taking a gulp of soda, she inclined her head curiously. Seriousness wasn't something she expected after he gave his agreement on trying to trash the barrier.

The sound of light metal being toyed with filled the air as she leaned in, slightly concerned, and the light from his display reflect in her blue eyes as she looked from them to him.

"I" didn't even think about that possibility. "You can do that too. ...Could he be able to take control of you?" Or maybe even vice-versa.

Something Eshai told Korra months ago had been the one thing she felt might come in handy later, and that very situation might be it. But she didn't explain everything about what she was capable of doing, just the basics of being the Avatar.

Now she was realizing that she'd have to tell Rex everything as well.

"It's...possible." Pride wouldn't let Rex respond with a flat out "yes", it seemed. He lowered his hand as he went on, the tech lines fading. "People back home have tried before to control me using equipment meant to brainwash and enslave EVOs, but it never worked. Not for more than a few seconds, anyway. I was always too strong for them to control me that way."

Gaze falling on the can in his hand, he picked at the tab again for a few seconds, if just to keep his hands occupied. "Thing is, if I'm honest? There have been two separate instances where my powers were stolen from me. Well, the second time it was more like half stolen. I only lost half my machines. And my brother was once able to gain control of this thing inside me called the Omega-1 Nanite. At the time, he didn't know where it was and was trying to instruct it to do certain things so he could find it. It basically took control of me and my powers and made my body build all this weird equipment it doesn't normally produce."

Rex shrugged, looking up at Korra again. "I might be too strong to be controlled again, I don't know. I just can't say it's one hundred percent impossible. And if something ever causes my nanites to go completely out of my control - out of anyone's control - that wouldn't be good either. It might trigger something in me that I only found out was there right before I got here."

Seeing her uncle try to manipulate her was one thing, but being forcefully controlled by his brother the way he described made her just as disgusted and angry. All she could think of how awful that must have been even if it was for as short of a time as a few seconds. She wasn’t even aware of the fierce look she had, not until he mentioned that there might be consequences.

That’s when her hard look gave way to curious concern and Korra brought her can into her lap, holding it with both hands as she gave Rex her undivided attention.

"Sounds like what I need to talk to you about." She shrugged her shoulders, stating the obvious. “Without the machines part I mean. What might happen with you?”

Korra's reaction to hearing about what Caesar had done with the Omega-1 was enough to keep Rex from mentioning anything else his brother was responsible for anytime soon. At least anything even remotely questionable, anyway. Caesar honestly had not known where the OM-1 Nanite was when he tried to send it instructions. That much had not been his fault, really. Other incidents, however... Those had been carried out purposely with catastrophic results.

Hearing that Korra had something similar to discuss gave Rex pause. The look he gave her was questioning, though he really did need to finish explaining his own issues before they moved onto hers. Important details might be omitted on accident, otherwise.

"Well, the difference between me and just about every other EVO that's ever existed is that I can fully control my nanites. Usually, when nanites go active they mutate their host, sometimes even reducing them to something like a wild animal. My ability to keep tight control over my nanites is why I look human as long as I'm not using my machines," he explained, figuring a little background information might be helpful. "If I get hurt really bad, though, like to the point where I might die? My nanites take over and change me completely."

There, he paused for a just a second, recalling the last time something like that had happened. It had been just before he'd arrived on Tu Vishan, just by a day or so. While he had not seen footage of his battle with the Consortium, he still instinctively knew what that larger form looked like, as he could see something akin to blueprints in his mind.

"It's big. Like, building-sized big. My full machine form, I mean. My eyes glow blue and my armor is silver and dark gray and black, and...it's like my hair turns to blue flames." Describing it all, Rex couldn't help but smile because damned if that mode wasn't cool. "Seriously awesome, really, and the last time that happened I was able to control what I did."

There, however, his smile faded away.

"But before I learned to build that form, there was another one my nanites would use when I'd get into deep trouble. Still cool looking, but I had no control over it and it would just...rampage and destroy things. And that's what worries me about ever losing control. That I might end up with the old form or even the new one, but not be in control. Even stopping me would be difficult because when my body in that form takes too much damage, it explodes. Like, we're talking a blast big enough to level a city block and leave a crater behind. I'll live through it, but anyone else who's too close..."

Rex didn't feel he needed to finish. The implication of the danger involved was clear enough.

The only reason Korra knew anything about nanotechnology, or tiny machines as she better knew them, it was because Tony Stark had shown her the Bleeding Edge. The way he controlled him seemed similar to how Rex constructed his builds, but losing that control, obviously it had devastating results. Anything that size could easily cause some heavy damage to a city.

Korra would know.

Which was why she couldn’t blame him in the slightest for thinking it was cool, not when she was trying to picture blue flames for hair. "Okay, that does sound awesome." She had to admit it at least.

"That’s a risk, and it’s up to you if you want to take it." Korra set her soda on the coffee table and placed her hand on her knee. "But I’ll do what I can to protect you and make sure that doesn’t happen. If it does and you can’t control it, then I’ll figure out something." It wasn’t something she was one hundred percent certain of, but between her own Avatar abilities and the power ring Korra was sure she could.

Either way, he trusted her with that information. After living on Tu Vishan for a year, Korra knew all too well how dangerous others knowing what you’re capable of could be.

"I'm not asking you to protect me," Rex clarified, expression hardening, his grip on his soda can tightening a fraction. "I'm asking you to protect other people if something does happen. And to do whatever you have to in order to stop me."

There wasn't anything overly dramatic about it, just what he felt needed to be done, stated simply. In the end, the majority always mattered more. That was the bottom line.

"Killing me if I ever lost control was Six's duty, something I didn't find out about until just before I got here. With him not around, though, someone else has to know and be willing to go that far if necessary."

Taking a life wasn’t something Korra ever really thought herself capable of, but after seeing her future and what she had to do to stop Vaatu…

"Rex." She took a moment to actually look him in the eye; what he asked was a lot and while the Avatar had a lot asked of them, this wasn’t something she expected to ever have happen. Her mouth was dry, and not from the sweet soft drink. "I’ll do what I have to if it means keeping people safe."

Just getting that out relaxed her posture, her body had tensed and she wasn’t even aware of it.

"Guess you picked the right Avatar to ask." Taking that all in was going to take her a few moments, and she completely forgot about the pretzels in her hand.

That Korra understood was enough. Rex wasn't going to take up much more of their talk time than necessary with his own issues or reinforcing the importance of what he'd already said. While he was proud of what he was capable of, it was depressing to think of what it all could be used for when taken beyond his control. In a case like that, he wasn't any different than all rampaging the EVOs he'd ever had to fight. Great way to take one's ego down a peg.

"The only other thing to say, really, is that you should be able to figure out pretty quick whether or not I'm in the driver's seat if I go full EVO. You know, whether it's actually me or something else controlling me," he went on as he leaned back against the cushions and taking another sip from his soda. "And I trust your judgement on how far you think you need to go. Like I trust you to know all of this."

And therein was the unspoken request to keep that information to herself for now.

There was more to tell, too, but for the moment Rex held back. What he'd already shared was a fair amount to take in and in terms of a situation going bad, was the most likely to occur.

"So what was it you needed to tell me about?"

Since Korra had implied that it was similar in nature, might as well get everything out on the table.

Having someone place their trust in her wasn’t something that happened to Korra that often, and she gave a small smile without knowing it and put those pretzels in her mouth. Unspoken didn’t mean she didn’t hear it, that neither of them spoke about this beforehand was reason enough to not share it with anyone else.

"About the Avatar State." Korra brought up her legs and crossed them, still sitting an angle to look at Rex. This was just as important to her as his Full Omega EVO was to him. But how to even start…

Korra took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few moments, opening them only to reveal her glowing eyes firmly locked onto Rex. While her voice was the most prominent, it was not alone.

"The Avatar State is the Avatar’s strongest and most powerful ability; I am able to control it. All the knowledge and skills of the past Avatars are at my command; the glow is my past lives focusing their energy through my body. I may be at my most powerful, but there is a danger. If I am killed in the Avatar State, my reincarnation cycle will end"

The glow faded from her eyes as did the chorus of voices save her own.

"and the Avatar will cease to exist." Having them, her past lives, able to help her explain it was something she cherished. It made her think of her future when she would lose contact with them, and she dismissed the thought to continue.

"If I enter the Avatar State when I’m-" She paused to look for the word, and it came to her instantly when she remember what Jim had once told her. "emotionally compromised, then I won’t be able to control it."

Aang was tied into that, but she would broach that subject later.

Rex arched an eyebrow as Korra shifted to change how she was seated. Being told that her concerns regarded something called "the Avatar State" didn't do much to prepare him for what happened next, however. When her eyes shut and then reopened a few seconds later, glowing white, Rex stared. It was a look he was familiar with, having had his own eyes end up white lit on one occasion or another for various reasons.

But her voice.

Rex had only spoken with a voice that was not his own once that he was aware of and that had been when he'd been overtaken briefly by One. That had been a surreal experience and as Korra explained what was going on, he had to wonder if it was even anywhere near the same. If there was a feeling of flowing energy, of being keenly aware of another presence, of one that almost seemed to take up space within.

Believing in all this reincarnation and past lives business was not easy. It was somehow easier to deal with than magic because of how closely it was tied with bending and martial arts, but it still went pretty deep into territory that Rex was completely unfamiliar with. But as Rex had to accept that magic was somehow real, so he was also having to accept what he was seeing directly in front of him. That a bunch of Avatars long deceased inhabited the body of his friend. Or perhaps it was that they were all one with different facets to their singular being or...something.

"So it's kind of a last resort deal, like my full EVO mode," Rex said once Korra was done explaining. "Just...it affects more than you and the people immediately around you if the worst happens."

Something he would have to be sure never occurred. He didn't understand it all, precisely, but it was important to Korra and the world she came from. For now, he'd let that be enough.

"Is it possible to calm you down if you enter the Avatar State while you're emotionally compromised? I mean, that's an alternative to trying to catch and hold you or knock you unconscious, right?"

A lot rode on those words. Affecting her world form that point and on. She felt more foolish now than ever before with the way Rex worded it. Foolish for not listening to Tenzin about the Avatar State and how it was something she didn’t appreciate.

"Well," She scratched the back of her head underneath her pony tail and looked up as if the answer was going to fall from the ceiling at any moment. "yeah. It might take some effort, but getting through to me over my past lives is doable." She reached out to grab that soda off the table.

"I'll keep that at the forefront as 'Plan A', then. You're already pretty strong as is without getting all amped up, so I'd rather talk you down than get knocked down. On the other side of things, restraining or even punching friends isn't exactly a good time, either."

There were a lot of factors to keep in mind in a situation like that. Obviously Rex was interested in full on fighting Korra because it could physically hurt them both. Of almost greater concern, however, was how the Avatar might feel once it was over. He didn't want to give her any reason to feel guilty. Not being in full control of one's powers was bad enough without anything else added to it.

Taking out a few pieces of dried fruit, Rex popped them into his mouth as a handful, chewing thoughtfully and washing them down with a sip of soda before saying anything further.

"Who else knows about that, by the way? The possibility of you being out of control while in the Avatar State?"

"My Plan A is to control it and use it if I have to." Korra had come a long way since living on Tu Vishan and seeing just how she abused the Avatar state.

But guilt was definitely there, it was what contributed most to her deciding to use the power sparingly. And Rex unknowingly touched on that part. The answer to his question was tied with the memory of the only time she'd ever entered the state while emotionally unstable. After realizing she had been staring at the bags of food between them completely lost in thought, Korra grabbed a dash of both pretzels and popped them into her mouth in an effort to not look distracted.

"Just Mako and Jim." Mako was a given since she already said he was from her world, so she said his name with simple shrug of her shoulders. "Jim Kirk. He and I arrived on the same day." And it was weird to say, but Korra nodded as much to herself as she did to Rex when she said: "He's kind of like a big brother."

Rex noticed that Korra seemed distracted for a moment and he had to wonder just what she was thinking when it came to the subject at hand. Obviously, it was enough of a concern that she'd brought it up at all, but if she wasn't ready to voice whatever else was on her mind, he wasn't going to pry. She would tell him if or when she was ready, just as he would voice what else he had on his mind when the time was right.

"Haven't met Jim. Guess I'll have to fix that at some point. Both him and Mako sound like good guys."

As always, Rex was continuously on the look out for more people he could add to his "friends and allies" category, and given the similarities between himself and Korra, it seemed probable that people who got along with her might get along alright with him, as well. It also didn't hurt to know people she could vouch for as being reliable and trustworthy.

"You're lucky to have someone here from your world, too, I think. I know this is a rough situation and all, but it's always nice to have people you can depend on. You know, where you already know their track record, what they can do and that they can be trusted." He automatically thought back to Holiday and how he'd missed her by just a few weeks or so, but his mind also went to Six. More than he wanted to admit out loud, he missed his partner.

"They are. I'll see about bringing them to meet you next time I see either of them." Something Korra loved doing was introducing new friends to ones that she trusted implicitly, and it felt as if Rex was heading that way. Something Korra neeeded, even if she wasn't fully aware of it yet. "But yeah, that works for Mako. Jim I met here, but we got there. And hey, if it happened to me then it could happen to you. When I first got here the only ones from my world were Amon and Tarrlok. One tried to take my bending away and the other kidnapped me and kept me trapped in a metal box."

Those were not fun times and she let out a heavy breath before taking a big, final drink of her soda.

"But some of my friends showed up, so who knows, right?"

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Catching up, checking in... [CLOSED]

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