Shine a light in the dark

[alphatar]

Characters: Korra (alphatar), OPEN
Date: March 17th (Day after her return from Teyran)
Location: Brazen Turtle, Flying around
Situation: Korra finds a ring...
Warnings/Rating: N/A

Sliding the last empty glass on the bar into her small tub, Korra wiped the counter off as she made her way back to the other end of the bar. The smooth surface shone against the light from the hanging lanterns of the Brazen Turtle and she looked around at the nearly empty bar. Just her and the bartender left to clean up now that they were closed.

"Be back to help with the tables after washing these and taking out the trash." She promised over her shoulder as she went into the kitchen. Of course the dish washing was easy, all she had to was fill up the sink with soap and water, load it up and just bend the water to scrub them spotless. And drying them was just as simple as letting them air dry, only she used airbending to do so. The small amount she needed for it had been helping her refine her technique and control.

When she went to take out the garbage to the bins outside the bar, the bags practically overflowing and heavy; all of which she held up easily thanks to her physical strength. A single kick of air lifted the lid with a loud bang and she was just about to heft the bags over when a single glint of green flashed across her blue eyes.

Pausing, Korra blinked and slowly lowered the bags to the ground. It was too fast for her to get a good look at what just landed in the trash. Putting her hands on the edge of the bins, Korra rolled up onto the balls of her feet and then had to go to her tippy toes to see the inside of the bin. Despite the strong smell of old garbage, Korra’s mouth fell open and she stared at a ring.

A green ring.

It bore a symbol she recognized and, tentatively, Korra brought her arm up and tried to reach for it. There was no way it could have been real, of that she was sure. The power ring was the most important thing to a Green Lantern and no one would be foolish enough to just-

She couldn’t reach, her fingers came shy of just a few inches.

Then the ring twitched and Korra stopped moving to watch it. It hovered into the air and smoothly slid onto her finger. She shook her head at first and then the words came, causing Korra to stare at the ring on her hand.

"Suitable host located."

"What do you mea-"

That sentence was interrupted when a green glow drew her attention downwards and the symbol of Oa was alight on her chest, and from it the light spread out to cover most of her body. Then her clothes were replaced by a black and white suit that looked much like Kyle’s since he was the lantern she had the most experience with.

"No way…" Pressing her luck, Korra curled her fingers in and pointed the ring at the sky in hopes that it worked just like she had experienced only once before.

And it did.

Her feet lifted off the ground and she surrounded in a green aura, made purely by her considerable will, flying upwards. Against the night sky, she was a glowing beacon of green light and she looked around at the city below her as it shrunk away. Even her hair tubes had turned green and the smile on her face was more genuine than most she had given in the past few days.

Avatar Korra wielded the most powerful weapon in the known universe, and she knew it.

Comments

[looksfine]

Aya sensed a disturbance in the force.

Okay, that might have been a slight exaggeration...but only slight. She could sense the presence of another Green Lantern in the vicinity. It was an innate ability granted to her thanks to the Energy that continually made up her very being.

She was not afraid. She was not even hesitant. Her first assumption was that this new presence must be a recent arrival. One who should be greeted as an ally and colleague.

"...hello?"

[alphatar]

"Explanation of functional capabilities complete."

Korra floated in the air, staring at the ring with her mouth slightly open. Everything she had just heard sounded impossible, but she knew it wasn't. She had seen a lot of it happen, but there were a few things that made her stay quiet in thought.

That was until a trail of green cut through the clouds.

"Uh– hi." Korra barely got that out while she took in the green faced robot. The closest she had for a reference were mecha tanks, and even those didn't have a face or a voice.

After a moment's silence, she realized she was gawking. Specifically at the symbol on her chest, just like the one she now had.

"I'm Korra."

Beat.

"Are you a Lantern?"

[looksfine]

A name and face Aya had no personal familiarity with. However, she took a moment to access Kyle's memories...and was surprised at what she learned.

"Korra. Also known as the Avatar. You...did not arrive in Keelai with a ring."

[alphatar]

Raising her eyebrows, Korra looked at her ring. "Did you tell her that?"

"Negative."

Her blue eyes wandered up to the full blue ones of the living machine and Korra nodded. The only Green Lantern she ever managed to get along with right off the bat had Soranik and to through doing some teamwork, Hal.

"That's right. What are you?" It wasn't phrased offensively, just curiously.

"Artificial in-"

"I didn't ask you." she sighed while rolling her eyes.

[looksfine]

One the initial surprise faded, Aya found...a sort of amusement to Korra's conversation with her new ring. She, of course, had no idea how the Avatar could have come upon it. Aside from...the usual way...

But even then, it would not be Korra's fault. If the ring had chosen her, Aya would accept that choice.

"Perhaps not, but it is correct. I am an Artificial Intelligence. And a fellow Green Lantern."

Note the chest symbol.

[alphatar]

The symbol was the sole reason Korra was curious enough to ask what she was, how she related to the Corps. What little she knew of it from Kyle and the small bits she picked up from the ring. Her hand went to the symbol on her own chest absent mindedly.

"So you knew right away." the hand over her chest curled in so the green light from the ring shone brightly. "About the ring."

The concept was simple enough, but ringslinging wasn't something Korra was familiar with. Creation as a foundation was slightly related with bending, but that had just as much physical movement as it had mental concentration and spiritual focus.

"Can you help me use it?" Willpower wasn't something Korra was short on, not by any means, and she wanted to know more about what exactly she just inherited.

[burnseternal]

Walking was a perfectly serviceable pastime, and one that Saint Walker indulged in frequently, but occasionally it was nice to simply let go and go flying. His own personal happiness was simply a side effect of being a Blue Lantern, not its true purpose, but that didn't mean that he didn't indulge himself every now and again. Of course, he didn't typically expect company when he took to the skies, and he stopped in mid-air when he spotted a figure that certainly wasn't like any bird he had ever seen.

As he drifted closer to Korra, it was all too possible that she would be able to feel the extra charge that Blue Lanterns provided all Green Lanterns washing over her, a significant boost to an already immensely powerful weapon. "Hello," he called out, hands kept loosely at his side. "I did not realize how many Green Lanterns we had here."

She appeared to be human as well, Saint Walker privately noted. How curious that a single planet would have so many Green Lanterns, and curiouser still that they all seemed to end up here!

[alphatar]

After coming right back down from being atop the clouds in the night sky, Korra came to a stop and hovered in the air, green light clinging to her being like a second skin, while making a small 3-D map of the city. In green of course, it was what she had gotten from flying around to take a scan of the city. The ring was a foot away from her face, projecting the small image when she felt a surge that caused the projection to become solid.

"Hello?" Her first thought was that he was a kedan from his appearance, but his uniform was blue and the symbol he had wasn't the Green Lantern one she's become familiar with.

"You're, not a Green Lantern. Are you?" It was obvious, but she wasn't sure how else to ask such a question. Especially when she wasn't sure if she should be called a Lantern.

[burnseternal]

"No, not quite," he said, a faint expression of amusement on his face. "A shade or two off for that, I think. I am Saint Walker, and I am a Blue Lantern."

The fact that a Green Lantern wouldn't know of his or his Corps' existence wasn't troubling in the least. Kyle had already explained to him that people came from different times and places here, and after all, his own Corps was in its infancy, more of a duo than any proper organization.

"And you are?"

[alphatar]

Korra's eyebrows shot straight up at Blue Lantern and she parted her lips to ask what that was, but she was getting ahead of herself. "Korra. I'm- I don't really know a whole about the Green Lantern Corps. Only a little bit, and I just found this ring earlier."

For some reason it was easy to tell him, his mannerisms were familiar. Like her adoptive airbending family, namely Tenzin. The construct model of Keeliai dissipated and Korra's ring glowed while occasionally sparking off bits of energy.

"It said I was a suitable host..."

[burnseternal]

"It came to you here?" Saint Walker said, surprise vivid in his voice before what counted as his brows knitted together in worry. "Oh dear."

That meant a very limited number of things, as far as Saint Walker knew. The first and most likely scenario was that one of the Green Lanterns that found him or herself in this place had recently died, a sad affair even if he hadn't known them. He would have to contact Aya or Kyle later and see what they knew, but for now, there was a new Green Lantern on his hands that would doubtlessly appreciate any information he had to give.

"Tell me, Korra, what do you know of the Green Lantern Corps? I may not be a member, but perhaps I can be of some assistance."

[alphatar]

It took a moment for to realize why he seemed concerned at first, then she remembered what Kyle had told her when Aang had arrived. So she started with that since it seemed most relevant to her current situation.

"When the ringbearer dies, their ring goes and finds somebody new." That was what Kyle had told her, word per word. Just as when the Avatar dies, the spirit goes to someone new in the cycle.

"I know about patrolling sectors by making constructs and that the Corps has been around for billions of years." There wasn’t too much else she could recall off the top of her head. Much of what she learned from Kyle about it was at a time when she was too interested in the subject. Mainly her and him butting heads.

After that, she simply shrugged with a wan smile.

[iguanasolution]

The problem with Frank's shape-shifting was that while he could easily fly by turning into an eagle, while he could easily follow the newly appointed Green lantern through the skies as soon as he had spotted her because it was a hero, and one he had never seen around before, how could he not?! ... He still couldn't talk to her.

So Korra gets a bald eagle flying around her in circles, trying to get her attention so she gets down so he can talk to her.

[alphatar]

Arms spread out, Korra soared through the air with her eyes closed and a huge smile on her face. The uniform she had was strangely comfortable and the green aura that surrounded her was keeping out any of the moisture that came from flying through the clouds. It wasn't until she was descending below the clouds did she open her eyes to notice an eagle circling around her.

"And what are you doing way up here?" She asked idly, knowing full well it couldn't understand a word she was saying. "Hope you're not looking for a game of tag." Grinning, Korra brought her arms in and went straight into a nose dive towards the ground just outside of the Earth Sector.

"Because I'll win."

[iguanasolution]

Well, he had gotten his attention. Just not in the way he had hoped.

He didn't know how it worked, but as soon as he transformed into an animal he'd get that animal's abilities and knowledge without making any effort. Like knowing how to swim and breathe underwater when he was a fish, or knowing how to fly when he was an eagle. So if she wanted to play tag- well, he could do that. And it got them closer to the ground, anyway. So he followed her, diving down and letting himself enjoy it for a second-

Until they came closer enough to the ground that he could just skip down, transform back into good old human Frank and land (albeith not very graciously, the eagle's grace left him as soon as he transformed back) on his feet with a grin.

"You fly really well!" He yelled to the skies, hoping she was close enough to hear him.

[alphatar]

Seeing the eagle passed her, Korra actually had to stop in mid-air when it became a person. She hovered for a moment after he spoke and then lowered down to set her green boots onto the ground.

"Thanks? It's not my first time." By this point, Korra knew better than to assume someone was a spirit. He wasn’t a kedan, she could make that much out and it only left more questions. She hadn’t run into anyone who could do what they could.

"You do too, for a- bird." She didn't even know how to ask what he was.

[iguanasolution]

He let out an awkward laugh. He'd wanted to talk to the heroine! But now that he had actually gotten her attention he wasn't quite sure the kind of conversation he was supposed to have with her.

"No, I'm- I'm a kid. A kid that can turn into animals but still very much a kid." And a demigod, but he wants to focus on talking about her and not himself. "And you are a green lantern! Right? I recognize the ring."

[alphatar]

Animal-shifting. That was a new one on Korra and she gave a faintly amused smirk at his laugh. Of all things, she was expecting him to be a superhero since they had powers that seemed other worldly, unlike her bending.

Like the ring on her hand. All of which meant she had to re-think her view of superheroes when she wore it.

"I guess I am, yeah." She wasn’t one hundred percent sure that made her a Green Lantern, but she would have thought the same thing of anyone else wielding a power ring. "I’m Korra. So; kid-that-can-turn-into-animals, what’s your name?" her smirk spanned into a toothless grin. Teasing was something she liked to do, and he was just as excited as she was.

The perfect combination.

LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

[imaginate]

Kyle dresses casually, in his sleeveless green shirt with the logo, and reaches half an hour early. He'd had a short, unfulfilling breakfast, and was certain he owed Jim an apology for leaving his food. He spends five minutes doing some short stretches, the next three wishing it was Kilowog doing this, and the one after that regretting it: he never wants them trapped here the way he's been, for nearly one and half years.

(The next two minutes trying to forget that fact and failing.)

Instead, he sits down and starts sculpting with a block of stone of nearby, using a construct chisel. His carved animals have been popular with the neighbours and he'd taken to selling a few at the market. It used to mystify him, why anyone wanted to buy something that wasn't a comic strip; sculpting wasn't his forte but he'd become good after months of practice and ruthless perfectionism. These stones are small, fitting into his palm, and he takes great care in carving the ears, absorbed in his work but alert to the sound of approaching footsteps.

[alphatar]

Being up since the wee hours in the morning thanks to getting a call from Asami, Korra steps out of her suite as the dark sky begins to turn a light grey. A single flash of green light changes her clothes to the Green Lantern suit that she's getting still getting used to.

Green trails behind her as she zips into the air and uses the ring to pinpoint Kyle's location. The green streak slows and she touches down near the large sword where Kyle's sitting.

"Like I said, bright and early." Having time be awake, Korra's not her usual groggy self and her eyes go from Kyle, to the small animal carving in his hand, then finally at the claymore and the flowers where its been thrust into the ground. "Yours?"

[imaginate]

The ring sounds its proximity alarm but Kyle ignores it, preferring to use his senses to see if he can pick anything up from her approach. True enough, he hears her before he sees her; and greets the sight with a small smile. Every rookie loved the freedom of flight. Even for Kyle, it had never lost its charm, even now when he was bitter over both Hals deciding to quit.

He stands, dusting himself, putting the stone near the bouquet. 'A friend's,' he says, genially, though faintly subdued. It was Hilda's sword and while Miria was long gone, he knew the weight of fallen comrades.

[alphatar]

After a moment her green aura fades and Korra leans down to look at the flowers and she traces the sword up to the hilt. Seeing that is what makes her pause and tilt her head to see it at a different angle, the right one that makes it click in her memory.

"Oh." She says it in more of a breath than anything. The girl she met...Korra can't recall her name just now, but her face is there in her mind's eye. "She gave it to you."

[imaginate]

'Miria,' he replies, gently. When all one had of dead or absent friends was a face or a number, it became a matter of principle to remember their names. He had to talk to the families, after all. She's not dead - or at least, he tells himself she isn't. Hilda's needs remembering, too. Her symbol - her name - is on it. 'Yeah, she did.'

[controlledvariable]

When Steph read through Bruce's files on what had been happening recently, there hadn't been any mention of a human woman with a Green Lantern ring, so the sight of one flying through the air is more than a little surprising. She doesn't even know of that many women lanterns, although she knows there could be ones floating around space that look human, but aren't.

Anyway; Green Lantern, and one she isn't familiar with, so Batgirl stops in her path across the rooftops, sticks her fingers in her mouth, and whistles loudly enough to hopefully catch the Lantern's attention.

[alphatar]

Enjoying what is now the second time she has flight, Korra’s soaring over the city at a leisurely pace. Just when she is about ready to start pushing her flight speed to test the ring’s limits, the whistle pierces the general quiet and she’s looking down for the source of it.

When she spots the figure, Korra descends still smiling jubilantly. "Were you trying to-" but she stops after touching down on the rooftop. Confusion and wariness clash on her face when she sees the suit and symbol on her chest.

"Who are you?" Not Batman, obviously; but Korra’s never seen anyone outside of him. Not even the Robins she’s heard about.