Fic Title: Break Blossom
Summary: An intricate web of love and mayhem, spun in the deadliest place of all... high school.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Ship(s): Zuko/Katara
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Title: Prologue: The Kid-Friendly Version of Mata Hari
Warning(s): Sokka being a potty-mouth :3
Word Count: 2, 277

Author's Note: Why, yes, this is the first installment of an alternate-universe Avatar fanfic, set in our modern world and dripping with high school hormones.

I have no regrets.

"Sokka? I'm home. I---"

Katara faltered to a dead stop once she entered the living room. Four strange, bearded men regarded her with grave expressions. Her brother was tied to a chair.

"Katara, get out of here!" Sokka cried as he struggled against the ropes. "These people are maniacs! Run!"

"Now, now," said one of the men in a soothing voice, "there's no need for that---"

"Who are you?" Katara demanded, surreptitiously casting her gaze around the room. Water, water, she needed water...

"We shall introduce ourselves shortly, Katara," said another man. While the previous speaker's hair was piled into a neat topknot, thisone sported a messy white mop, the ends sticking up haphazardly in all directions. "We apologize for restraining your brother, but he would not listen---"

"Fuck yeah I wouldn't listen!" Sokka raved. "What do you expect me to do, huh? I've never seen you guys before in my life---"

"How do you know my name?" Katara asked. Aha. There you go.

"--- and you come barging in here---"

The man with the topknot opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by another companion, one whose gray hair flowed from a bald spot to his shoulders. "There will be time for explanations." His voice was cold and dry. "But first you children need to calm down."

"--- looking for my sister, acting all mysterious---"

Katara snapped her wrists.

Water shot out of a large flower vase and hurled itself towards the strangers, hardening in mid-flight to form several ice-tipped daggers. The balding man made a sweeping gesture in the air, and the daggers reverted to their liquid form, falling to the floor with an audible splash.

A strangled yelp escaped Sokka's lips. Katara's fists clenched at her sides.

"Now will you let us explain?" snapped the balding man as his brow furrowed in exasperation.

A high-pitched cackle burst from the only stranger who hadn't spoken yet. "Oh, fine work, yes, very fine," he said, green eyes examining the water on the floor before focusing wildly on Katara. "Swift, aggressive, a bit lacking in technique, but that can easily be remedied---"

Katara decided she'd had enough. "What is going on here?"

"I was getting to that," the man with the topknot said serenely. "I am Piandao. This is Jeong Jeong." He indicated the messy-haired man, who nodded. "Pakku." The balding one. "And Bumi." The apparently crazy one.

"We are members of... an organization," Jeong Jeong began carefully, "and would like to discuss certain matters---"

"You guys are from a cult?" Sokka gasped. "Sorry, but we're not interested---"

"Shut up," said Pakku in the voice of a man relinquishing his already tenuous grasp on patience. "Shut up, or I will kill you where you sit. This I swear."

"On second thought," the boy squeaked, not missing a beat, "I have always been very concerned about the possibility of eternal damnation..."

A muscle started to twitch in Pakku's jaw. Katara sighed. It had been a long day at school. The last thing she needed now was complications, especially in the form of old men who had broken into her house, one of whom seemed to share her special ability to manipulate water.

But what could she do? They weren't going away any time soon, from the looks of it, and, besides, Katara reasoned, if they had wanted to hurt her and Sokka, they would have done so by now.

"All right," she announced, plopping into an armchair. "I'm listening."

"You have a rare gift, Katara," said Piandao. "We have been aware of your existence since the day your power first manifested itself, when you were five years old. Do you remember?"

The siblings exchanged glances.

"How could I forget," Sokka muttered, deadpan.

"We were by the pool. Sokka was teasing me," said Katara, that fateful day's events surfacing from the depths of memory. "I got mad, and suddenly this large... tentacle of water rose up and wrapped around Sokka, dragging him into the pool. He almost drowned."

"Good thing Mom and Dad were there to pull me out," Sokka added.

"Yes." Pakku's tone dripped with sarcasm. "Good thing."

"Pakku here has the same talent, girl," said Bumi, slinging a large arm around the other man's shoulders. "He's a Waterbender, like you! Isn't that just strawberry?"

"Peachy, Bumi," Jeong Jeong said at last, into the blank silence. "You mean peachy."

"Eh? What's that?" Bumi cocked his head. "I like strawberries better. They're delicious."

Piandao cleared his throat. "Pakku can train you, Katara. He can teach you how to control your gift, while at the same time maximizing it to its fullest potential."

Waterbender? Katara mused. The idea did have a certain appeal, but Sokka raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"What's in it for you guys?" he asked bluntly.

"Once she is fully trained, we must ask her to embark on an important mission," said Pakku. "Although, frankly, it is as much for her benefit as ours."

Before Katara could ask him what he meant, Bumi leaned forward. "Tell me, Miss Katara," he said in a low, almost conspiratorial whisper, "how do you feel about... revenge?"

"Huh?" The girl blinked. "Well, the concept has always struck me as pointless. I'd have to say I'm rather against it."

"Not even on the man who killed your mother?" Jeong Jeong pressed.

The color drained from Sokka's face. Katara's eyes blazed with fury, but her voice was as cold as arctic frost when she spoke. "My mother died in a fire."

"Set by Ozai's men," said Piandao quietly.

Katara's brow wrinkled. "The business magnate? What does he have to do with this?"

"The fire started in a warehouse that belonged to one of Ozai's rivals," Pakku explained. "It spread to the neighboring buildings, including the office where Kya was working. Our intelligence reports have confirmed that Ozai ordered the blaze."

Jeong Jeong's lips twisted in a humorless smile. "Arson is, alas, only one of the numerous methods he employs to wipe out the competition."

"Ozai is not just a businessman," Piandao chimed in. "He's also a crime lord. He controls most of the smuggling, gambling and drug trafficking operations in New York. Fire Nation United is merely a front for his illegal activities. He has destroyed countless lives, and he gets away with it because of his wealth and connections."

Katara sank deeper into the armchair. Ozai's face loomed in her mind's eye as she had seen it in periodicals and on television, handsome and stern, his voice and words oozing with power and confidence as he smoothly answered questions. He was one of the richest men in the world and had seemed so far removed from Katara and her sleepy little hometown in Connecticut, but now...

Now, because of him, her mother was dead.

"We are from the Order of the White Lotus," said Jeong Jeong, "a secret task force organized with a very specific goal in mind: to bring down Ozai and thus eliminate the threat of Fire Nation United, allowing peace and justice to reign once more."

"On weekends, we have tea and poetry readings," Bumi chirped. "Board games, also."

Piandao continued where Jeong Jeong had left off. "Despite all our best efforts, as much as I hate to admit it, we have so far failed to breach Ozai's inner sanctum. He is too careful, too well-protected. We have spies everywhere, but so does he. His men are fiercely loyal because they fear his wrath."

"So what do you want me to do?" Katara asked. "I'm only sixteen. How can I possibly help?"

The Order looked at one another uneasily. This was clearly the part they had been dreading.

"Ozai has a son," Pakku said at last. "His name is Zuko. He is of high school age, as you are."

Katara's eyes widened. Surely they weren't suggesting...

"No, no, no, no, no!" Sokka yelled at the top of his lungs, shaking with such anger that he somehow managed to look threatening despite being tied to a chair. "You disgusting creeps! Katara is not going to whore herself out just so your side can win! She's not Mata Hari, you bastards, she's my little sister!"

Through the haze of shock, Katara couldn't help feeling mildly impressed that Sokka knew who Mata Hari was. Before she could commend him, Bumi shrieked with laughter.

"Nothing that sleazy, young man. That's FNU tactics."

"Bumi's right," said Piandao. "All we are asking, Katara, is that you become Zuko's friend. Get close to him and, through him, find a way to Ozai. Once you have discovered that opening, leave the rest to us."

Sokka looked bewildered. "So she'll be like... Mata Hari, the kid-friendly version?"

"Succinctly put, yes," replied Pakku, nodding.

"That's still insane! What if she gets caught? They might hurt her or, God forbid, kill her---"

"We will assign someone to watch out for her at all times," Jeong Jeong interrupted quickly. "And with Pakku's training, she will be able to handle any pressing dangers. Water extinguishes fire, after all."

"But she'll still be risking her life." Sokka shook his head vehemently. "I won't allow it."

"I think, Sokka, that decision is not up to you," said Piandao.

All eyes turned to Katara, who said nothing.

"Well, Katara?" Jeong Jeong prompted. "The plan is simple. You and Sokka are due to be sent to New York anyway, to live with your father, in the absence of a legal guardian following Kya's death. You will be enrolled at Ba Sing Se Academy, where Zuko and his sister go to school. From that point on, it's only a matter of seeking him out and gaining his trust."

"Why can't..." Katara drew a deep breath, attempting to clear her muddled thoughts. "Why can't I make friends with the sister, instead?"

The Order stiffened.

"No," said Piandao.

"Absolutely not," said Pakku.

"Bad idea," said Bumi.

Katara frowned. "Okay...?"

"Believe me," said Jeong Jeong fervently, "the last thing you want to do is get close to Azula."

Katara looked down at her hands, which she'd folded on her lap, and contemplated the choice set before her. Her mother had died two weeks ago, and while the grief was by no means diminished, the days had almost returned to their normal pace. She and Sokka had spent the time packing their things and wrapping up loose ends, preparing for their move to New York City. If she refused the Order's mission, she would still have to go to New York, but then she'd lead a normal life--- well, as normal a life as you could get when swimming pools didn't hesitate to commit fratricide for you. She wouldn't have to deal with danger and intrigue.

She would never gain mastery of her element.

She would never have the chance to stop an evil man.

She would never be able to avenge her mother's death.

Katara's gaze snapped up. "I'll do it," she said firmly.

Sokka's jaw dropped open. "Katara, have you gone nuts? You can't---"

"Sokka, please," she begged. "Remember how scared I'd be every time my power got out of control? Remember how lost and angry we felt when they called to tell us Mom died in the fire?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"This is my chance to do something. Something great. Something that matters. I can't just let it pass me by."

Conflicting emotions rolled over Sokka's face like thunderclouds. Finally, he sighed. "All right, sis. All right." He looked sharply at the Order. "But you're going to have to train me, too!"

"Train you in... what, exactly?" questioned Jeong Jeong.

"I don't know! Guns. Swords. Weapons. Martial arts. Whatever." Sokka raised his chin in defiance. "Katara may be the freakishly powerful Waterbender girl, but I'm her big brother. It's my job to protect her, and I can't do that if I can't do... anything."

"I think that can be arranged," said Piandao, with a trace of warmth.

"Just one more thing." Katara frowned. "How did you know where to find us? How did you know about, well, me?"

"Your father, of course!" Bumi exclaimed. "He's one of our agents. The day he realized you were a Waterbender, he contacted us straight away. We've been keeping tabs on you ever since."

Katara's frown deepened. In the four years since her parents' divorce, Hakoda had existed merely as a voice on the other end of the line. He hadn't even come to Kya's funeral. Way back in her childhood, even then, he'd always seemed a distant figure, closer to Sokka than he would ever be to her. And now, to find out that he was working for a top-secret organization aiming to bring about the downfall of an empire... There was so much she didn't know about him, Katara realized.

"You will begin intensive training once spring break starts. I shall come to you," Pakku informed her. "During that time you will also learn more about FNU, the Order... and Zuko."

Katara nodded, ignoring the flutter of apprehension that welled up in her stomach at the mention of the boy she had to eventually betray. She shook hands with each member of the Order, Bumi being last.

"Miss Katara," said Bumi happily, "I think this is the start of a beautiful alliance."

Katara smiled. "I think so, too, Bumi."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" You could have squeezed out molasses from Sokka's tone. "I'm glad we're all such good friends all of a sudden. I'm glad everything's soft kittens and sparkly rainbows." He inhaled, then shouted, "Now will someone please get me the hell out of this chair?!!"