Lin

The streets were dark below the twinkling light from the windows of Republic City's looming sky scrapers. Dim lamps glowed at the end of each block, yet somehow made no difference to the darkness surrounding them. Between the grey buildings, the crowds from the afternoon and evening had since cleared from the road, save a few stragglers who kept to themselves as they journeyed home.

One of these late-night travelers, the newly appointed Chief of Police Lin Beifong, exited the police station and faced toward the direction of the bay. She could only see a sliver of black water from her location; the sea blocked from view by town square and the park.

Lin strode slowly through the quiet city, relishing the thought of lying in bed and falling asleep that night. Tenzin would most likely be asleep; though he usually waited up until she arrived on Air Temple Island, he had endured a very long day disagreeing with the council.

Lin stuffed her hands into her coat pockets as a frigid breeze wafted past her, chilling her core. It had proved to be a good idea to leave her metal-bending uniform in her office; the armor would have been unbearable in this cold, and the last thing she wanted after the tiring day she had was to feel uncomfortable.

As she passed through town square and the tall statue of Zuko, she wondered briefly where the former fire lord could be in the world. He had been traveling in recent years and after the death of Avatar Aang, letters ran scarce. She made a mental note to ask Tenzin if his mother had heard anything.

Lin yawned and brushed a few strands of black hair from her eyes. She smiled, seeing the island in the distance as she walked across the grass in the park.

All she had to do was walk alongside the water of the bayside where rancid garbage and various sea junk accumulated under the nooks of the boardwalk, then bend an oblong rock into the ground which uplifted a long earth bridge that spanned from the city to the island. The famous Toph, Lin's mother, was never keen on flying or sailing. She crafted this simple structure so earth-benders, but mostly her, could make the cross without the inconvenience of having to wait for a sky bison, or get seasick from a boat…

As Lin neared the area where she would hop down to the rocks next to the water, she decided that in interest of a nicer view, and a less-horrid stench, she would take the boardwalk instead, and then jump down to the location of the bridge when she arrived there. It was much nicer up there, atop the wooden planks of the boardwalk where she could see the exquisite landscape instead of the animals of the darkness that inhabited the ground below. Why did she never take this route? Tenzin… He always insisted that when she walked home alone at night, she take the path of solid ground so she could feel the vibrations of the earth, which unfortunately became a normal habit. The boardwalk was made of wood, and although she could still feel, her earth-bending sight became blurred and fuzzy because it was not as strong when she walked on certain surfaces. On a late night like this one, when the haze from the city and darkness intermingled, seeing with her feet was the only way to get a clear view of her surroundings. Lin disregarded Tenzin's warning; it was far too cold to bother with the uncomfortable precautions of wearing her protective uniform, or to take the path where she could see more clearly.

The sound of twigs cracking and a few stones tumbling down the rocks by the bayside stopped Lin in her tracks. She spun around, ready to attack. After being an officer for so long, Lin always expected any suspicious sound to be the sign of an ambush.

"Who's there?" She called out into the darkness. "Show yourself!"

A quite large spider-rat bolted out of the shadows and scampered away onto the grass.

Lin sighed out of frustration and dropped her arms to her sides, pursing her lips at the annoyance that a stupid little animal could scare her like that. She turned around, and continued on.

Ahead of her was the spot where the wide boardwalk intersected with the fishing dock that stretched out over the water. At the joint where the two docks met, she would ascend to her destination.

The sound of an object slicing through the air made her heart skip a beat. Her eyes widened, and in an instant tucked and rolled her body forward onto the wooden planks, the blade of ice just missing her body. She grunted and up-righted herself quickly, assuming her bending stance.

Three masked figures wearing dark clothing sprinted toward her from each side with attacks; the water-bender and fire-bender in front of her on the boardwalk by the bay, and the earth-bender to her right on the park side. Lin's heart was pounding, her eyes darting from one person to the other.

"Stand down!" Lin shouted, standing her ground as she bent sheets of rock from the park-side to create temporary shields.

The tallest attacker produced a bright flame which plumed forward, the heat grazing the side of her neck as she dodged the shot.

"I'm warning you!" She yelled as she lifted her head again.

The three benders continued advancing, causing Lin to be on the defensive, backing further and further onto the dock over the water. Lin blocked every attack they threw at her, but she was outnumbered and at her greatest disadvantage. When it finally occurred to her that she was being pushed away from her element, she blindly sent a few boulders from the shore flying in their direction. One large boulder luckily caught the fire-bender off guard, knocking him onto the grass. One down…

Lin focused her attention on the earth-bender who was within feet of her, bending a rock onto a condensed and sharp weapon. With one swift motion, she pivoted and threw her weight in his direction, blasting the material in his hands and launching him backward into a tree in the park. Two down…

The water-bender, clearly the best fighter out of the three, continued with a plethora of simultaneous hosing and ice attacks. Lin jumped and ducked, dodging each one as she sprinted forward to get out of the danger zone of the dock. Just as she was about to reach the security of land, water splashed between the cracks of the dock's planks, enveloped her boots and froze, causing her to fall elbows first. Lin kicked free of the ice, and as she stood she saw the previously fallen earth-bender getting ready to strike again. Raising her palms quickly into the air, she bent a column from the earth beneath his feet that launched him high into the night sky.

In the second that Lin was distracted, another ice blade slung through the air directly at the right side of her torso, slicing through her overcoat and cutting deep into her skin.

"Ah!" Lin doubled over at the shock of the agonizing pain and began retreating. The fire-bender returned to the scene and produced a flame from his fingertips that resembled a serrated blade, and then held it up to her neck. He lowered Lin to her knees, her chest heaving unsteadily and her heart pounding. She felt the heat pinpointed just under her chin; if she extended even an inch, she would get burned. Lin exhaled through her nose and gulped, raising her head ever so slightly.

"Wh-what do you want?" she whispered, trying very hard to only move her lips. The two standing before her exchanged a nod and waved over the earth-bender who was limping toward them from the park. The blood from her gash dripped onto her leg, feeling warm as it seeped through the fabric of her pants. She closed her eyes tightly then opened them again, starting to feel a little light-headed. Trying to think straight, she thought about how she could identify them; she had to get them to talk in order for her to recognize their voices later on.

"So, what do you plan to do with me?"

The water-bender murmured something under his breath to the limping man who seemed to pull a rock out of thin air. Lin's eyes widened, watching the man grip it hard in his hand.

"No! Wait!"

But before she could say anything more, she was knocked on the side of her head with a sharp blow from the stone. Her eyes rolled back and her vision blurred their figures. The man in front of her retracted his fire and backed away. At that moment, she fell onto her side and lost consciousness.

Lin awoke lying by the harbor, a searing pain in her side and throbbing behind her temple. Her eyes fluttered open and once she could focus on her surroundings, she attempted to lift her head. When that didn't work out too well, Lin looked around, relieved to see that she was alone in the dark. She couldn't have been out for too long because the dim lamplights still glowed eerily above her.

Not wanting to move, try, or face her reality, Lin relaxed her tense limbs and sighed, shivering from the cold. She watched the streams of fog from her steady breathing appear then fade away as she recalled what happened earlier. Why did they target her? Did they know that she was the Chief of Police? Were they planning this all along? Or was she just an unlucky citizen who was the victim of another mugging? With her right hand, Lin felt her pockets then brought her arm down again in disbelief; she was mugged. Lin felt angry, and almost offended that they did not know who she was. They had to be very lucky criminals to catch Lin on an off night where she wore none of her gear and decided to take the alternate route home.

Knowing that she had to get back to the island to bandage her wounds, she scowled and forced herself to get on her feet. Squinting from the pain, she hobbled to the edge of the boardwalk and slid down the rocks, falling forward with a thud into the dirt and sand near the water's edge. Lin groaned; she couldn't take much more physical abuse this evening from others or from her own stupidity. She crawled to the oddly shaped boulder and bent it into the ground below, uplifting the long rock bridge.

Never before realizing just how long of a distance it was to walk, Lin gazed over at the island pondering her options. She could stumble across and risk falling into the freezing water. Judging by the severity of the gash in her side, however, she decided that going on foot might kill her faster. The only other thing that she could think of was to bend the bridge into rubble behind her to propel forward; that way she would only need to move her arms and it would be more comfortable. This could destroy the bridge, but Lin was in no position now to get sentimental about her mother's old craft project.

Lin cringed then lowered herself carefully to sit on the base of the structure. Pressing her bare palms on the freezing stone, she inhaled deeply then dug her fingers down, rumbling the earth beneath her. As she slowly raised her arms the rock crumbled into small pieces and rose up under and behind her. Her hands trembled; tense with the power of the earth at her fingertips, she closed her eyes then pushed her arms back, launching a fast wave of crushed earth forward. Her dark hair blew back and she squinted at the cold air as it dried the water leaking from her eyes uncomfortably onto her cheeks. She continued a motion with her arms circling forward and around, and focused intently on it to distract her from the freezing spray of the sea that chilled her to the bone.

Once Lin neared the bank of the island, she slowed the monstrous wave of earth down to a calm roll and gently pushed herself onto the island. As she took to her feet, she felt her limbs failing her; she leaned on a large boulder to steady herself, then gazed for a moment at the destruction of the long trail of jagged rocks and gravel with a hint of grief. She shook off that feeling again quickly as she felt the pain from her injury swell up again. Lin sank the bridge so no one could even try to follow, then turned and looked up at the island, then hobbled quietly all the way up to Tenzin's quarters; there was no use in waking up the entire place.

"Tenz—zin?" she called quietly shivering profusely as she neared his chambers, then entered the dark room where they slept. She couldn't see and the only sound was gentle snoring coming from a lump on the bed. "Tenzin!" She said again, with more force. "Wake up!" She leaned on the wall for support, feeling as if she might pass out any second from the blood loss.

He stirred and the snoring stopped.

"Lin?" Tenzin asked sleepily "What kept you?"

Through heavy breaths and shivers she said "Q—Quick, get some bandages. I've been attacked." She slid down the wall in an effort not to have to stand anymore, and rested for a moment on the floor.

"Wh—What?!" Tenzin stumbled out of bed and turned on the gas lamps, squinting from the brightness. When his eyes came into focus all he could see was blood. "Lin! What—Who did—How did you—Are you alright?" He stammered, realizing that last one was a stupid question.

"Just—get me into bed." She snapped.

He leaned down and picked her up, noting that her light weight meant that she was not wearing her uniform. As he laid her on top of the bed, she started feeling more light headed and frantic than before.

"You're as cold as ice." He remarked as he brushed her skin.

"Get the—the gauze. Quick!"

He hurried to the cabinet on the other side of the room and pulled out some of the first-aid materials, then returned to her side. As he pulled back her coat it caused a ripping sensation from the blood that dried the fabric to her wound. Lin screamed in pain.

"Ah! What is wrong with you?!"

"Sorry—sorry... What—who did this?" Tenzin asked, and then started fussing with the gauze to try and stop the bleeding.

"Ow! I don't—eugh—don't know; they were masked. They—they were benders. – I think they were all men."

"What could they possibly want?"

"What do you think? Ah… They took my money and my identification."

She grabbed the gauze from him and pressed it hard onto the gash.

"S—Stop it. I'm fine."

"You most certainly are not!"

Lin rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I'm getting my mother." He said and stood to leave.

"No Tenzin. There is no need to worry Katara."

"Nonsense! She can heal you and then this whole mess will be over."

Before she could say "I'm fine" another time, he had already rushed out of the room and down the hall.

Tenzin ran through the outside halls of his family's living quarters to find and awake his mother. When he arrived at her room, he was surprised to discover that the lights were still on.

"Mother?" He called softly and peeked through her open door.

Katara sat on a chair at a wooden desk, as opposed to sleeping on the bed that was much too large for only one person. She wore blue and white night robes, but was not nearly asleep, as she was sitting up and writing what looked like a long letter. She turned to him, her face etched with the lines of age, her hair graying in strands, and a look of serenity.

"Yes Tenzin? My goodness, why are you up so late?"

"I could ask you the same question."

She turned back to her desk. "Oh, I'm just answering a few letters. Someone has to keep in touch."

Tenzin felt a pang of sadness; Katara was never the same after her husband, Avatar Aang died.

"Mother, I need you to come with me."

"Why, dear?" She asked sweetly.

"Lin's been attacked."

"Oh! Why didn't you tell me that in the first place!?" She scolded, and then crossed to the trunk on the other side of the room where she kept her healing kits. She pulled one out and together they rushed out into the cold.

"Mother, you must put something on. You'll freeze!" He said grabbing her arm.

"I think I can manage, son. I've been through much worse."

Lin heard running. Of course Tenzin had to cause such a disturbance over her. He and Katara entered the room and rushed to the bedside.

"Oh, dear, what have they done to you?" She said solemnly.

"How did you know that—" Tenzin began, but was cut off.

"What? Do you think she did this to herself?" Katara retaliated as she set up her equipment.

Even though her teeth were still chattering, Lin exchanged an amused glance with Tenzin, who was not too pleased with Lin's lack of urgency.

"My—mhh—thought's exactly. I'm fine, mom, really." She said trying to mask her shivering and discomfort.

Katara ripped the gauze that Lin had been holding to her side.

"AAAHH!" Lin yelled, throwing her head back.

"Fine." Katara scoffed as she bent a stream of water from her pack. "So like your mother."

"No—don't! Please!" Lin said as the water neared her abdomen. She winced at the initial sting when the water touched her skin, but almost immediately felt relief. She exhaled for a long time and relaxed her tense muscles, as a warm, comforting sensation pulsed into her body.

"Better?" Katara asked in a calm tone.

Lin nodded a little "Thank you." She closed her eyes feeling a strange combination of gaining her strength back, and also having all of the energy drained from her body at the same time. Now that all of the adrenaline was gone, she was left exhausted.

Katara smiled modestly and spoke to Tenzin, but kept her eyes on her work.

"Her flesh is severed, and it's deep. She has lost a good amount of blood, but she definitely got to us in time. She'll recover."

Lin opened her eyes just enough to look him in the eyes.

"Told you." She grumbled.

Tenzin shook his head and sat next to her on the bed, taking her hand. "Thank goodness, you're all right."

Katara pulled the blob of water out of Lin's torso, cleaning the blood off of her clothes and skin then waved it back into a pouch. She pulled some clean water out of another pack and moved up to Lin's forehead.

"What are you treating now?" Tenzin asked, furrowing his brow.

"Why don't you tell us, sweetie. What happened?" Katara asked in her old, soothing voice.

Lin caught Tenzin's pained look and sighed, not wanting to talk about the attack at all.

"The earth-bender knocked me out." She said flatly.

"With what?!"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe, a rock!" She explained, annoyed at his tendency to ask stupid questions when he was under pressure.

"Alright, you two. Cut it out." Katara interjected and retracted the water into her pack. "She needs to rest. Stay in bed, and we'll do another session tomorrow. They can manage one day without you, Miss Chief of Police."

Lin smiled with gratitude. "Thanks again."

Katara nodded and turned to leave. "I suppose I'll finish writing my letters. Zuko is still in the colonies, you know. It's a wonder when we hear from him nowadays."

Lin smiled.

"I'll walk you back." Tenzin insisted and stood, gingerly placing Lin's hand on the bed.

"No, no. Don't be silly. Stay here and care for your girlfriend. Honestly, son. You forget that I grew up in the Southern Water Tribe. These winters are nothing in comparison. Goodnight." She said as she left.

They were silent for a few moments. Lin adjusted her head and shoulders to be supported better by the pillows. She cocked her head to the side and studied his expression with a calm face.

"She's doing fine you know. I don't see why you worry so much."

He sighed and his eyes drooped sadly.

"After the loss of my father, she hasn't been the same."

"She can take care of herself. Honestly, she hasn't been acting very different from when he was alive."

"What?"

"I know that you're still mourning, but it has been a few years now and it might be time to start letting go."

Tenzin thought for a moment, and then changed his train of thought.

"Tonight is about you, not me. You have to give me every detail of what happened earlier."

Lin averted her half-closed eyes and forced herself to sit up.

"I'd rather not." She said, her voice restrained by the tightness in her side.

Impatient again with the way she was handling the situation, he said "We must find the men who did this to you and put them to justice."

"Tenzin— I will find the men who did this. Just give me some time." She started pulling off her over-shirt, but was too weak to move that way, so she fell back feeling embarrassed. Tenzin helped her, and pulled it over her head.

"Do you not understand how serious this is? You could have been—"

"I know." She said cutting him off, as she kicked off her shoes and lay back down.

He sighed, knowing that his previous point didn't matter to her.
"In the mean time, I do not want you walking home alone at night unless you have protection. You need to be more careful... I will send the acolytes to pick you up at the harbor if—"

"I do not need you to watch over me. I can protect myself. Those cowards just caught me on an off night is all." She said bitterly.

"I will arrange for the council to put this incident as our top priority this week."

"No, Tenzin. I want the press to stay out of this." She thought, seeing the possible headline in the paper: Newly appointed Chief of Police Lin Beifong was attacked and mugged yesterday by three mystery criminals. Is she really the right person for the job? Can a woman who can't even protect herself, protect the citizens of Republic City? Will this incident become her top priority? And finally, will she ever live up to her mother's greatness?

"Then we must alert the force!"

"I AM THE FORCE!" she snapped, feeling the pressure of her role. "I am the Chief of Police. This is my city now, and none of these rotten criminals are going to evade me."

"Alright… I'm sorry…" Tenzin watched her silently, knowing how much she was going through; no one had ever been able to get the best of Lin, except for maybe her mother… and she couldn't afford having a smear on her perfect record of fine police work thus far. "Are—are you going to be okay?"

"I've been healed, haven't I?"

"That's not what I mean."

She stared up at the ceiling, wanting to break down and give up, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had to be strong now; not only for herself, but for her city and her fellow metal-benders at work. Her mother never faltered, never lost a battle, and most certainly never gave up. Lin felt a momentary lapse of sadness at the thought of how much she missed her mom and the strength she gave her, but remembered what Toph would have said. "Toughen up! So, you lost one fight, BIG DEAL! It's not the end of the world. What you need to do now is collect yourself and find the creeps who did this to you, then kick some serious butt. Show no fear and don't let anyone phase you; that—is your most valuable weapon." Lin exhaled for a long time. "Not to mention, you can see with your feet and you're the daughter of the greatest earth-bender of all time, just saying." Lin glanced up at Tenzin then sighed quietly.

"Yeah, I'll be okay…"

Tenzin smiled half-heartedly and gently caressed her cheek while pushing a few strands of hair out of her face. "I love you." He said softly.

"I love you too." She said and closed her eyes.