Republic City. The beacon of hope for the world following the Hundred Year War and the fall of Fire Lord Ozai. Citizens equipped with the latest cutting-edge technology, benders free to exercise their prowess in pro-bending tournaments, and, six months after Amon's reign of terror, all are content with their new Avatar, Korra. The city, it seemed, was finally back on track to being the place Avatar Aang dreamed that it would be.

Enter Saiorse (seer-sha). Eighteen years old and a fresh new face in this city. On the run for two years from her backwards, back-woods town, Saiorse has never heard of Republic City, or bending, or the Avatar. But Saiorse has a secret, and her arrival at this city may just turn the lives of the new Team Avatar upside down, and change the course of the world forever.

Saiorse stared up at the arch over the bridge that extended into the bright city across the water. She stared and stared, past the point of awe and on to the point of being frozen with confusion and, she hated to admit, fear. "Republic City…" she whispered to herself. "What is this place?"

Mustering all the courage she had left in her, she readjusted the small, nearly empty shoulder pack she had taken when she left her home and passed under the arch. Not knowing any better, she began walking down the middle of the road. It was black and smooth, so unlike the dusty, uneven back roads she had traversed for two years. It wasn't loud that morning. But the silence she was accustomed to was replaced by a low hum that seemed to pulse out from the city that stood ahead of her. And what a city it was! She had never seen buildings so high, so straight, so…shiny. The bright sun reflecting off the glass panes of the sky scrapers dazzled Saiorse's eyes. Dazed, distracted, and totally unaware of her immediate surroundings, she did not register the unfamiliar drone that was getting louder and louder very quickly.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK!

Saiorse jumped to the side as a large mechanized contraption sped by her, barely missing her. Suddenly the road was swarming with these machines. Afraid and startled, Saiorse looked for some clue. She was able to make out a strange word stamped across the back of one of them as they flew by her: Satomobile. She shook her head, not bothering to try and understand.

The bridge had now become a dangerous arena, with all the Satomobiles using Saiorse as target practice. She looked around for an escape route and another way to the city. Looking down at the water, she quickly abandoned that route. She couldn't…not in the open….it would be too obvious. And she was trying to start over.

But really, there were not many other subtle options. Pressed against the suspension wires, mind working rapidly, Saiorse desperately racked her brain for an idea. Then her hand clenched one of the wires behind her. While the water might prove too conspicuous, would anyone even notice a girl running atop this giant bridge, especially with all these Satomobiles with their flashy colors drawing the eye? She decided they wouldn't. Lightly and deftly she began climbing the wires until she had reached the top. She inhaled deeply, focused her mind, and began running smoothly over the thin ropes that held up the bridge.

She was in. Better yet, she was blending in. Sure, her clothes were a bit shabby compared to the citizens of Republic City. And sure, she didn't look quite like anyone else. But having perfected the art of hiding in the past two years, she managed to keep from being noticed quite well. Which was a good thing considered that her face registered complete and utter shock.

The city was enormous. It was bright, and sleek and clean. It oozed efficiency and had an esteemed air to it. But a person could also get lost. Disappear. Reinvent themselves. Saiorse smiled.

She made her way through the park. Children and parents laughed on the crisp lawns. Couples held hands on the elegant bridges. A few youths splashed waster at each other with unusual precision…

Saiorse stopped. Her breath hitched. These boys….could they be….they were. They were controlling the water from the man-made pond. Her stomach curled, her vision went blurry, and Saiorse screamed.

All eyes went to the girl. Realizing that this was worse, so much worse, than what she had just seen she cut her scream off sharply. Then she just stood there, eyes wide, mouth open, once again the object of everyone's odd, fearful, angry looks. Nicely done, Saiorse. Not an hour in your new life and already back where you started.

Unable to bear this thought, Saiorse turned and ran. But not out of the city. No, she wasn't going to do that again. Besides, she could change her face, her clothes, her name and leave the old Saiorse behind. She could disappear. The thought made her want to smile, even in the midst of this mistake. But then she remembered the two boys.

She still couldn't shake the instinct that made her scream. She had found an alley and hidden there for what must have been hours. It was dark, but not as dark as it was outside of a city. Here, the lights from the buildings and street lamps cast an artificial glow all around her. She must have been hungry, but it hadn't hit her yet. She was just….worried. She supposed the sight of the boys should have given her comfort. When she thought about it, no one else in the park seemed to register the scene as anything out of the ordinary, even though they were in clear view of many. Only she had had such a visceral reaction. Which was strange, mostly because it as hypocritical.

She felt cold. She pulled her thin jacket a bit closer. Looking around, seeing she was totally alone, she stuck out her ungloved hand and produced a tiny flame. The heat inside of her was instantaneous. She played with the flame, making it grow, making it dance. She twisted it into a star, a flower, a heart. This made her smile. She wanted the flame to stay for the night, but even with the lamps and skylights she knew it would draw attention eventually. With a sigh, she let it go.

She had finally gotten comfortable, more than prepared to spend the night in the open, when a splintering crash roused her. Voices were coming from an alley over. Deep voices. And laughter. But it wasn't the pleasant laughter of friends sharing a joke. This was the laughter of someone who was getting away with something nefarious. She had heard a lot of this on the road.

Deciding that this was a day of bad decisions, Saiorse stood and mentally prepped herself. Then, quietly, she began to move to the sound of the voices.

Another window crashed and Saiorse could barely make out the conversation.

"Load it in!"

"Man, all this ain't going to fit."

"I said load it! We've got Jovi around the block with a second van if we need him."

Robbery. The word flashed in Saiorse's mind. Well, this she could handle. Sometimes, she hated to admit, she had had to pilfer some food when towns were not hospitable and the people would not help her. She loathed doing it, but she needed food to survive. In return, she would become sort of a vigilante, stopping any crimes she observed at night. Usually, in the morning as she watched from a safe distance, the townspeople were confused but glad that the thieves had been stopped. Well, maybe they would be here in Republic City too.

She was a shadow. The men didn't notice her. Her body adjusted itself as she prepared to use her training. She supposed that was the one thing she was indebted to her village for: it had prepared her to survive, even without her strange powers. Which she would most definitely not be using here. Not now.

When the men went to break another window, Saiorse made her move. In a flash she had grabbed the leader in a headlock and thrown him against the van. He fell to the ground, unconscious. The second man was alerted by the metallic bang of his leader colliding with the van, and swung his tool, a lead pipe, around and his unknown assailant. But she was too quick. She ducked and delivered a swift uppercut to his jaw, propelling him back into the shop window he had just smashed. He stumbled and fell halfway into the shop, ramming his head on an elegant vase.

Saiorse stood, hands on hips, a small smile of victory on her lips. She reveled a moment in her handy work until the worst noise that could possible come at that moment did indeed came.

"Freeze! Police!"

Spinning around, she prepared to explain herself. But she in fact did freeze when she saw the man in front of her. He wasn't much older than her, but he was sharply dressed in some sort of uniform (context clues told her it was a police uniform). And instead of a handheld weapon, his fist was outstretched and engulfed in a flame.

Saiorse stifled the urge to scream. She tried to think rationally, connecting A to B and B to C. If this guy was a policeman, and a policeman enforces and follows the laws, then what he was doing…was legal. It was legal! Her smile grew wider and she opened her mouth to talk to the man, completely forgetting the position she was in.

"Hey! You can—" she began, stepping towards him.

"I said FREEZE!" he shouted, and, punching the air, shot a flame right at Saiorse's face.

She was shocked, but not shocked enough to become useless. With a wave of her hand, the flame vanished.

"What's the big idea! I'm trying to—"

The man looked amazed, but that amazement easily transformed into anger and focus. He began to rapidly fire flames at Saiorse, cutting off her words again. Saiorse contorted herself, ducking and leaping to avoid the flames.

"I'm—" Jump. "Trying—" Slide. "To—" Spin. "TALK TO YOU!" she shouted, raising a wall of fire that absorbed everything the officer had just thrown. The air was clear for a moment. She saw the office raised the object clipped to his collar and heard him say, "Bolin, Korra, this is Mako. 52nd street alley. Requesting backup."

Before she could hear a response he was firing again. Thoroughly annoyed by his obstinacy, Saiorse jumped and curled herself into a ball, creating a sphere of fire around her to protect herself from his blasts. She released some energy and the sphere grew, pushing the officer—Mako, he said his name was—up against the alley wall.

The fire sphere disappeared and, before he could recover, Saiorse rushed up to Mako and pinned his shoulders against the wall.

"Look!" she said, shaking him. "I'm trying to tell you that I didn't do anything!" Mako simply glared back. "I'm telling you! I'm inn—" BAM! A rock slammed into her side and sent her flying. She lost her grip on Mako and went sprawling on the ground. Shaking off the shock—she was, by this point in her travels, very thick skinned—she stood and noticed her new attackers. One was a boy who looked a lot like Mako. A bit shorter and with bulkier muscles. Probably brothers. He was standing in the traditional fighting pose, and Saiorse deduced that he was the one who had attacked her. Then there was a girl, tall and with darker skin. Again, very muscular. She looked nothing like the boys. Whereas they were dressed in almost identical black uniforms—Mako with a red belt and the other boy with a green one—the girl wore a blue ensemble, complete with fur boots and blue ribbons to hold up her hair. Saiorse was smart. She was no longer allowing the shock of seeing others who could control the elements get to her. Instead she was observing them. The one with the green belt could use earth. Mako, she knew, could use fire. This other girl was clearly water—why else would she be draped in blue? It was common sense. But Saiorse thought deeper. She sensed a different power radiating from her. It reminded her of Saiorse herself. Almost.

"You're under arrest!" shouted the earth-boy. Saiorse had had enough. She stood up and turned away, planning on running faster than they could catch her. But then the earth-boy shot out his wrist. SNAP! Saiorse spun and saw the metal rope wrapped around her wrist and connecting her to him. Metal, too, huh? Her eyes narrowed dangerously. They wanted a fight; she would give them a fight. This was her city now, too. And they had shown her she had nothing to fear from her powers.

She flipped her wrist around and clenched the metal rope. She gave her three opponents one cursory glance before sending a bolt of lightning through and around the metal rope directly at the earth-boy. He didn't have time to detach himself. The electric shock made him writhe and screech before he fell to the ground. The rope collapsed on the ground, broken off at both ends. The other two gasped and Mako yelled "Bolin!" Saiorse knew the boy—Bolin—was fine. She could have made it a lot worse. Look, he was staggering to his feet now.

Korra was in the middle of the trio. She waited for Saiorse to make a move. Did they not understand that Saiorse had done nothing wrong? She was there to defend herself, not instigate anything. When Korra saw that the girl wasn't moving, she became confused and wary. But he couldn't wait any longer. Unscrewing her water pouch she flung a far-range attack at the girl. "Take THAT!" she called.

Saiorse stuck her palm out and the water dropped to the ground. Now they looked scared. "What…" she heard Korra say in a strangled voice. Oh no. Not the looks again. Saiorse didn't want to attack them, really she didn't. But she couldn't stand being gawked at that way.

She pressed her palms together and closed her eyes, readying herself for her attack. Her eyes snapped open and she splayed her hands to the side. At this, the water from the air froze in an icy patch under the feet of Korra and Bolin. She tugged her hands around, punching the backs of their knees with air and causing them to slip and fall on the ice. With her foot she kicked an air blast at Mako, sending him flying. With her left hand she made a pyramid of ice surround the body of Bolin. With her right she send the metal rope twisting itself around Korra. Saiorse jumped and pulled the earth around Mako up into a pyramid, like the one around Bolin. Then, with a dramatic turn she rose on a column of air. She propelled herself on the roof of the nearest building and ran. She ran until she had crossed the city. Then she found herself another deserted alley and tried to sleep. But the adrenaline pulsed through her veins. As did happiness. She hated hurting those kids…but she had used her gift. Out in the open. And she finally felt free.

Korra, sore, scared, and quiet, met Tenzin in his home on Air Temple Island.

"Korra!" he exclaimed, rushing towards her. "I got your wire. What happened? What is so important that you had to tell me?"

"I…I don't know." She said, looking at the floor. "There was this girl…she…I can't believe it."

"What, Korra, what?!"

Korra raised her eyes, full of fear. "She bent all four elements, Tenzin. She's just like an Avatar."