Bolin the Metalbender
Bolin threw up his hands and ruffled his hair. "How do you always win?"
The man sitting opposite him grinned, picking up the last tile he had played and flipped it along his fingers. "You ain't fast enough, kid. You're thinking when you should be moving and if you don't move quickly enough in this game you'll get caught out."
He flicked the tile towards Bolin, who drew it towards him and caught it with a flick of his wrist.
The edges of the man's lips curled inwards. "I see that you're earthbending is improving, kid. Learn a few more tricks like that and I'll have you off these streets and working for the Triple Threats in no time."
Bolin's face went red and he fiddled with his hands. "Wow, do you really think that I'm good enough for that? I mean, I have been practicing and I can throw rocks farther than all the other earthbending kids around here and-"
"He's not working for the triad, Shin, so I suggest that you pack up your Pai Sho board and leave."
Bolin twisted around to see Mako storming towards them, his red scarf oversized on his young teenage frame. "Mako! Hi! How are you? Did you get some food?"
Mako unslung a bag from his shoulder and tossed half a loaf of bread from it to Bolin.
"Oh, it's still warm," exclaimed Bolin, tearing a chunk off the loaf.
Shin stood, slouching all the way through the motion. "It's your brother's board, Mako and I'm not here for him."
Mako's eyes narrowed and he set down the bag beside and then crossed his arms. "What do you want, Shin?"
"Just your assistance with a little business, is all. I've seen you around, kid, and your firebending is really something for someone your age. The way you scared off those thugs who tried to mug that young woman the other day. Beautiful," he finished, clicking his fingers.
"What kind of business?"
"You don't need to know the whole operation, but you'll be busy keeping an eye out for wandering eyes."
Bolin stood, glancing between Mako and Shin.
Mako sighed and let his arms fall. "Okay, what's the rate?"
"A couple of hundred yuan," said Shin as he pulled a few tattered notes from inside his coat pocket. He handed the notes to Mako. "Here's half, you'll get the rest when the job's done."
Shin began to walk away and Mako turned to Bolin. "Stay here bro; I'll back in a few hours."
Bolin frowned. "Are you sure? Haven't you always told me that the triads were dangerous?"
Shin shouted back down the alley, "Hey, are you coming or what?"
"Yes, I'm sure," said Mako as he turned and ran after Shin. "Stay here!"
123
Bolin awoke to the sound of crashing metal and flying debris. He peeled the wet newspaper from his face and shot up, blinking. Fire came barrelling down the alley and he ducked back behind the dumpster, feeling the heat soak through the metal. Bolin peeked around the dumpster and saw a man running down the alley, his black coat lined with red fabric and his black hair curled into a quiff. He held a bag in one hand and a fireball in the other. His feet crashed into a nearby puddle as he swung around to toss the fireball at his pursuer. The fireball knocked aside the officer's wire.
"Stop, thief!"
The man snorted and made to escape. Bolin noticed that his Pai Sho set had fallen to the ground, its pieces scattered. He gritted his teeth and tensed, and then stamped his foot. One of the pieces flew up to eye-level and Bolin punched it towards the fleeing man. The piece connected with the back of the man's head with a small thump and the thief fell, dropping the bag and splashing the walls of the alley as he crashed into a puddle.
A wire shot past Bolin and wrapped itself around the thief's leg. The officer walked forward, standing beside Bolin as the wire dragged the thief towards them both.
"Thanks for the help, kid. You're an earthbender, right?"
Bolin nodded, watching the officer cuff the man and sending out another wire to pick up the bag he had dropped.
The officer slung the bag over one shoulder, using the wire to hook it to his uniform, and stood the dazed and dripping thief up. He opened a container in his uniform and took out a flyer. "Here, kid. You've got some skills. You should look into this."
Bolin took the flyer from the officer and watched him haul the criminal and his loot away. When they had cleared the alley Bolin unfolded the page.
He read aloud, "Metalbending tests weekly at noon in the yard to the back of the police. All welcome. Recruits will receive room and board and a thousand yuan a week if they graduate and join the force!"
He paused, staring at the page. "That's tomorrow… Oh, wow! A thousand yuan! Mako will be so happy!"
Bolin folded the flyer and stuffed it down his coat then began to hum as he picked up the wet pieces of his Pai Sho set.
123
"Bolin, wake up."
Bolin rubbed his eyes and yawned, sitting upright against the wall. "Hey, Mako. What's up?"
"Here," said Mako dumping a few crusty notes on Bolin's lap. "Go get yourself some food. I'm going to see if I can find us somewhere to sleep for a few days."
"Can I come," asked Bolin, shooting up from the ground. His stomach rumbled loudly.
Mako raised an eyebrow. "I think you better get something to eat or you'll be shorter than me for the rest of our lives."
"Hey!"
Mako smirked and turned to leave the alley. "Meet me Central City Station at this afternoon. I should have found us a place by then."
Bolin stuffed the notes into his coat and walked out of the alley.
A bowl of noodles or two later and he found himself walking towards the police station. The guide wires hung high above the plaza, radiating out from the building in its centre. Aside from a few posts around the outskirts of the city there was nowhere else in Republic City that could be called a police station. As Bolin walked towards the side street that led to the back of the station he found himself staring at its façade. Above the massive front doors stood a statue of the greatest earthbender who ever lived, Toph Beifong. Bolin remembered hearing stories from a couple of the old timers that still hung around the usual down and out spots about when she used to patrol the streets personally. The story about when she hung some thieves from a lamppost then drank in the bar below was his favourite.
Darkness fell across Bolin's face as he entered the alleyway and he felt himself bump into somebody.
"Watch it, pal."
He jerked his head forward. "Oh, sorry!"
The mountain of man before Bolin glanced at him over his shoulder and snorted before turning away. "Just a stupid kid."
Bolin breathed out and then looked around the man and saw a queue for the gates. He sighed, hoping that he wouldn't be late to meet Mako later. A sharp whistle sounded from a megaphone on the wall blocking the courtyard from the alley. The crowd began milling and the din of many conversations intensified. The metal gates creaked as they opened, then smoothly slid across the sand that was spread across the courtyard. Bolin craned his neck to see two officers approach the crowd.
One spoke, raising a rasped voice above the noise of the crowd, "This week's metalbending tests will begin shortly. My name is Chen and I will be supervising this weeks tests. The basic theory and stances will be explained to you and demonstrated. You will then be given pieces of metallic meteorite and will have an hour to attempt to bend them. Anyone who attempts to remove their meteorite piece will be banned from these sessions permanently. Do you understand?"
The crowd murmured and shouted in agreement and the officer turned into the courtyard, beckoning the crowd to follow. Inside the courtyard Bolin ducked under someone's arm and found himself at the front of the crowd. The officer who spoke to them had taken off his helmet, revealing a weathered and scarred face and held a large lump of metal under his arm. He was old enough to have been one of the first that Toph would have taught. After a quick speech about earth and metal he threw the metal into the air and shifted into a stance, catching the falling rock in mid-air before it hit the dirt. The metal hovered and seemingly bubbled as he twisted his arms and inched his legs forward and sang with vibration as it elongated into a five-pointed star. Bolin's mouth dropped. The cops you saw patrolling the streets rarely metalbent anything that wasn't their own wires. He's seen one throw a dumpster into a getaway van once but nothing as precise as this. His gaze shifted to the man himself. His stance was familiar but strange. It wasn't the old style of solid earthbending he had seen before nor was it the street bending he was more familiar with. It was more fluid, like Shady Shin's waterbending. Smooth, precise, but not slow.
Chen demonstrated a few more shapes and motions before splitting the metal into at least two dozen smaller pieces, sending one out to each person in the crowd. Bolin snatched his from the air and gleefully rolled it between his hands. Mako was going to be so proud.
He heard some loud grunting behind him and turned to see one of the other testees staring at the metal hovering before him.
"I- I did it!" The middle-aged man almost jumped with glee, his face plastered with an ill-suited smile.
Chen spoke, "That's very impressive, Mr.?"
The man spoke, his voice high and jumpy. "Yu, sir. My names Yu!"
"Well, Yu, you have a chance to join the force. There are a few more tests you will have to pass. Follow the officer and I hope you do well," he said, gesturing towards the cop beside him.
Yu grabbed the metal out of the air and rushed past the other testees, running after the officer and through a door into the station.
Chen turned back to the crowd. "What you just saw is very rare. Only one earthbender in ten can even bend metal, let alone those who can learn so quickly. However, if you practice over the next hour you may be able to achieve some measure of control over the element."
Bolin brought his attention back to his own piece and moved into the first stance that Officer Chen had demonstrated. He focused on the earth in the metal and pushed. Nothing. He tried again, and again, and again.
Sweat dripped from his forehead, obscuring his vision. He grunted and pushed, attempting another stance this time.
"This session is over!"
"What!"
A number of the other earthbenders joined Bolin in his outburst and shouts filled and echoed around the courtyard.
"But that can't have been an hour."
"Sorry, kid, but your time's up," said Chen, nodding to another officer who drew the pieces of meteorite away from.
Bolin felt his slip from between his fingers.
123
Bolin met Mako about an hour later. His brother had found a dive that they could rent a room from for a week or two. As they lay down in the musty darkness he asked Mako, "Are you going to do more work for Shady Shin?"
He heard his brother breathe deeply. "I don't know, Bolin. We have enough money from my last job to last a few weeks. I'm going to see if I can find some real work in that time."
"Oh, okay," he replied, pausing before he continued. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"
Mako turned away to face the wall. "Just don't get into any trouble, okay."
Bolin closed his eyes and drew the thin blanket closer to his body. "Sure, bro."