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]

"It is."

She nodded her agreement of the simplified explanation. However, her (construct) facial features twisted into an expression of great displeasure when she mentioned exactly where she had found it.

"You found it...in the trash?"

[alphatar]

Korra held up her hands before her at the change in Aya's appearance and said "Yeah, it fell in there while I was taking out the garbage bags. I don't know where it came from." She shrugged her shoulders after trying to think of anything else that might have helped her explain.

[looksfine]

Her eyes lowered in concentration.

"That is no place for a ring to be. Unless...an individual purposely placed it there." A thought was beginning to form in her mind. And she did not like it. "But why would anybody discard their ring? And...how is that possible? Green Lanterns rings are bonded to the wearer for life."

[alphatar]

Korra hovered there, her green aura sticking to her like a second skin over her new uniform. Unsure of how to answer the rhetorical questions, or at least she hoped they were rhetorical, she tried making something.

After a second's concentration, the ring projected a holographic image of the dumpster and a tiny, pulsing signal indicated where the ring was. All from Korra's memory as she saw it, given form by the ring and her willpower.

"So what do you think happened?"

[looksfine]

Aya took note of the image, although it did little to provide a definitive answer. She looked back up at Korra, and it would be obvious that Aya placed no blame on her whatsoever. It was the situation as a whole she found unsettling, not Korra's role in it.

"There is one of two distinct possibilities at this time. Either a Green Lantern currently unknown to us was brought here and perished before we were alerted to his or her presence...quite possibly in the area which you have just showed me...or else..."

A hesitation. Neither option were preferable, but it was the latter that caused her great unease.

"...or else the ring has come from one of the Green Lanterns already here."

[alphatar]

"...wow, okay." Now that she knew she might be wearing the ring of a recently deceased Lantern, Korra looked at it somewhat sadly. Even if she never met the person, Korra was the Avatar and the weight of just one life was a constant throughout many incarnations.

"Well, I know it's not Kyle's." She said as the image faded and her arm dropped to her side. That reminded her that she probably should speak with him sometime soon, and maybe it would keep going with the trend of them actually not fighting with each other.

"So, what does this all mean for me?"

[looksfine]

No. It probably wasn't. Nor was it Aya's, as she possessed no ring to lose.

Which left either of the two Hal Jordans. Each, distinct possibilities.

"For the moment, it does not affect you in any way. The ring chose you. It is yours to weild."

[alphatar]

Blinking a few times as the notion sunk in, Korra looked from Aya, to the ring, and then back to Aya again. Obviously she had a hard time taking it all in again. She was sure that Aya was about to claim the ring and was preparing herself to just live with enjoying the moment of being able to freely fly.

"That's-" a smile came over her face and she laughed as her happiness came out in her tone. "amazing!" She shot up her arm and a single green light flew from her ring into the sky and exploded in a brilliant display of green fireworks.

"Okay, so what do I have to do?" Things had to work differently here than what she learned from Kyle. Different sectors and planets really didn't apply to the back of Tu Vishan.

[looksfine]

The smile she returned was weak, but genuine. Of course she wouldn't reclaim the ring. She had no right to.

"Under normal circumstances, you would immediately report to Oa for basic training. From there, you would be assigned a Sector--often, it is simply the sector in which you reside, for that is where the last Lantern would have originated from as well. However, in this case, I believe it would be safe to assume that "normal circumstances" do not apply."

[alphatar]

"Normal doesn't apply anywhere on this turtle, Aya." Said with a bit of a cocky smirk on her face. But Korra could tell that the robotic girl was more of a by the book person, as close as a robot could get anyway.

"So I know about making constructs and stuff, I've seen it a few times in person. Do I just treat the turtle like you guys would your sectors?" The ring gave her the lowdown on those, but like Aya said, that doesn't apply here at all.

[looksfine]

"You make an excellent point." Her smile grew. There was something about Korra's presence in that moment making it difficult not to. "One might argue that it does not apply to me as well. Which would make our current meeting all the more appropriate."

Construct 101 (with a bonus class on how to make boxing gloves) was a necessity for every new recruit, but if Korra already possessed knowledge of it, then there was no need to start with the basics. Aya's methods of explanation were vastly different from those of her mentors, who had mostly taught her by acting rather than explaining. She already knew the (relatively) scientific explanations for each and every thing she was capable of doing. Mostly.

The question of sectors, however, drew her attention back to the conversation at hand. If only because she did not have a singular answer to that one.

"That would be the most logical conclusion. Although I should remind you that there are at least four other green lanterns, including myself, who share this sector, it is not unheard of for multiple lanterns to coexist simultaneously."

Earth had been notorious (and would only get worse) for such a reputation. Three living lanterns from not just a single sector, but all from the same planet?

[alphatar]

"Yeah, I met the other three." How she met the first one, Kyle, wasn’t something Korra wanted to delve into right then, even if it was over seven months ago. That one of them might have died didn’t cross her mind until she said just that.

Realizing that’s what Aya meant, Korra focused on what Kyle had done once. Scan the turtle for a specific people. She brought her fist up and the ring glowed green, bright enough to illuminate Korra’s face. Then it dulled down to its normal color and brightness to verbally confirm that each Lantern was alive and accounted for.

That put her mind at ease a bit more.

"I think we can share." The Avatar was used to the notion of protecting the whole world by herself and limiting it down to one turtle, along with others that were just as powerful or more so, that made it even easier to accept.

[looksfine]

"I am glad you have come to that conclusion, because I do not believe the alternative would be possible."

Something actually stated with a...humorous grin? Maybe? It was often difficult to tell with Aya, given the perpetual softness of her tone, but that was definitely a smile on her face.

[alphatar]

"I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Aya." Korra liked that she was by the book, but still swung a subtle joke here and there. It was refreshing from the usual straight laced people who didn't flex once in a while.

"Come on, you can show me some new ways to use this ring." Korra beckoned for Aya to follow her over the city so they could fly while trying out constructs.

[looksfine]

And follow, Aya did, because she had no reason not to. Many of her pleasant memories in Keelai had involved participating in similar recreational activities with those she had come to accept as friends. Korra seemed to be no exception.

"It is not for me to show you how to use the Ring, Korra. It is for you to use your imagination and thought processes, for those are your only limits."

Go ahead, Avatar. Think of something.

[alphatar]

"You know, I actually thought that construct stuff had limits. But here goes."

Pointing out her sparking ring, Korra created a massive green light construct of a sky bison. Oogie. Larger than normal and wearing a huge saddle with pillows and seating arrangements.

"Whoa…" Amazed that it actually worked, she expected the ring to reject something of that size, Korra flashed a toothy smile at Aya and made a loop in the air before landing into the saddle. "Ever ride a sky bison?"

[looksfine]

"I can truthfully say that I have not."

She did not need to ask what a Sky Bison was, taking in the large construct Korra had just created. Smiling, she floated up and over towards the large saddle.

[alphatar]

"Then you're in for a treat." Settling on one of the larger cushions, Korra put her over the edge of the saddle and turned to face forward.

"Yip-yip!" she shouted happily, knowing full well that the construct was her own doing and didn't need the command. But it was a piece of home in her mind and she turned back to Aya with a smile as the sky bison let out a low, booming acknowledgement before taking off with a flap of its huge tail.

"I could get used to this."

[looksfine]

...oh!

If Aya had hair, the wind would have been whipping it in every direction possible (and may one or two that should be). As it was, she could register the sensation of it blowing across her construct skin. A very pleasant sensation.

"I believe I can see the value in such a method of travel. I do not have to focus on maintaining altitude, which allows my attention to be directed to alternate sensations being experienced at this time."

[alphatar]

One of the reasons why Korra has her hair in tails, her loose hair would just be everywhere. She turned to smile at Aya and let her hands hang idly, her elbows perched on the saddle behind her.

"A sky bison air cruise is one of a kind." Something she could say with full certainty now that she had seen other methods of travel, including space. "But I think that’s called relaxing." She couldn’t help but poke at the technical definition.

"Can you make something for me? I want to see what your imagination’s like." Korra was infinitely curious how Aya handled the powers of a Green Lantern now that she knew what an Artificial Intelligence was.

[looksfine]

"I know what relaxing is, and while I am not certain that is precisely what I am feeling at the moment...I understand the reference."

There was a little too much excitement for it to be completely relaxing.

"Did you have anything specific in mind?"

[alphatar]

That she was feeling at all made Korra lean towards Aya slightly, looking at her curiously. From what she learned from her ring’s scan, she was a robot which wasn’t supposed to be alive. But everything about her was telling Korra otherwise.

Artificial Intelligence or not.

"No, not a thing. This one’s all you." She smiled, eager to see where the she generated the green energy from.

[looksfine]

She thought about it for a long moment. Torn only because of a single loophole. While she was supposed to refrain from sharing certain classified bits of information from the general public...Korra was not exactly the general public. She was a fellow Lantern.

And besides, it fell just under the realm of personal enough that Aya felt justified in her decision. After all, Korra wanted something that was all her, right?

The palm of one hand began to glow, and she sent out a wave of green energy that soon took the form of a large spaceship, although the construct was hardly to scale. Instead, it was created to be roughly two thirds' the size of the construct bison, flying alongside them as if to escort them anywhere they chose to go.

[alphatar]

Korra turned to lean her side on the edge of the saddle to follow the green energy. When she saw what form it took she looked back at Aya with grin on her face. Spaceships. It wasn’t the Enterprise obviously, but the sleek design was the main factor in her assumption.

"Where did you come up with that one?" Imagination yes, but Korra wanted to know what inspired it. Oogi was from her world, so what did that mean for Aya?

[looksfine]

"Technically speaking, this was my original physical form, until I was able to assume one of my own choosing. What you are seeing is the ship I navigated before my arrival in Keelai."

In just about every way, it had been home more than even her planet of origin.