This is a preface/short story before the actual story line begins. Chapter 1 is where the story officially starts. This is just a little back story that I wrote before coming up with a set plot.
Liang was rather tall for 9 and she was still growing. Standing at around 5'2", Liang appeared in Republic City's Police department where her Uncle Mako worked. While she was the daughter of Bolin and Opal, she kept a low profile. Today she sought out her Uncle who worked way too many hours at the police station according to her father. He was always very busy, but today was an especially busy day. There were tons of adults running around and Liang was starting to get lost in the crowd. She'd been at the police station several times, but never when it was this crazy. Keeping her eyes alert, Liang spotted her Uncle or at least what she thought was her uncle. It looked like him from the back. Liang pushed her way through the crowd and reached out for the man, who turned around startled. The man wasn't her uncle. He looked at her and held her wrist as he spoke quickly. Liang tried to pull away, but was held in place as the man leaned in closer and spoke louder. Liang tried to push the man's grip off of her, but it didn't budge. She let out a sound that was almost animalistic as she struggled. As she struggled, the man dragged her through the building and was about to throw her out the front door when he stopped. Liang turned to see what stopped the officer and saw her uncle running towards them.
The two spoke quickly before the officer apologized to Liang and Mako. Liang watched the man walk away as Mako hunched down to converse with her. 'What are you doing here? Did something happen?' Mako asked using his hands to communicate with his niece. He knew there were things happening with his brother and his family, especially since they were planning on going to Zaofu to visit Opal's family. Liang didn't reply all she did was grab Mako's hand and pulled him aside.
'There's something I need to show you. Can you come with me?' Liang asked as she looked around somewhat nervously. Mako saw the seriousness in her face and nodded. Liang guided Mako out of the building and in a back alley. Mako had a bad feeling about this, but he followed without question. He sympathized with Liang because he understood what it was like to have adults push and pull you in various directions without your consent. He also knew that she had to make tough decisions at a young age.
Once they were away from everyone, Liang let go of Mako's hand and took a step back. She looked at him for a moment before opening her hand. As she revealed her palm, a spark of electricity appeared. It grew and grew until it surrounded Liang's hand in a form of a gauntlet similar to Asami's electrified glove. Mako watched in silence as he tried to understand what was happening. Liang looked at him with quiet eyes. They gave nothing away about what was going on in her head. As the electricity subsided it turned into a yellow flame tinged with green before completely disappearing.
"You're a firebender," Mako stated in disbelief. He looked at Liang and signed, 'How long have you been able to do that?'
'Almost a year now. I've been training in secret because it's not Mom or Dad's bending. Why am I a firebender?' Mako could feel the uncertainty in her aura, but there was also something else that he couldn't place. She seemed so sure of herself and her abilities, yet she was unsure of her place in the family. 'Am I a freak? Is dad really my dad?'
Mako took a knee and reassured his niece, 'Yes, your dad is really your dad. Your grand-mother, my mother, was a firebending, which is why I'm a firebender, which also explains why you're a firebender. It's not uncommon for children to have different bending abilities than their parents.' Still, Mako was unsure. He knew that he had to reassure Liang, but at the same time there was doubt in his mind. He wondered if she could sense that doubt. 'We should talk to your parents'
Mako told Liang to wait outside of the building while he finished business inside. He appeared only a few minutes after he went in and drove to his brother's house. While they were driving Mako asked, 'Who taught you how to firebend?'
'You did. Remember when I ran away last year and you had the police department look for me. I got really angry and was letting off steam and as I threw a punch...boom'. Liang made an explosion sound with her mouth as her hands expanded. Mako thought about the story and thought for a moment. That explained a lot. Liang ran away during the winter without proper clothes. She was gone for almost three days and when they found her she was perfectly fine. Surviving the nights using fire bending would explain a lot…
They got to the house and Mako got out of the car. Liang didn't want to get out. Instead she stared ahead as if ignoring the rest of the world. Mako's eyes softened as he could tell that she didn't want to talk to her parents about this. Mako stood outside of the car and waited for a moment before sighing heavily. He got back in the car and turned to Liang. 'It's better if we told them. Then you could get firebending training.'
'They'll just want to change me. They'll tell me that everything's alright, but then they'll send me to another healer to fix me. Can't I just learn from you? I can just watch. I promise I won't be a bother.' Liang didn't want to think about what her parents would do when they found out that she wasn't an airbender or earthbender.
'I could talk to them for you, but you know it's better to hear the story from the source. As a police officer I like to find the truth and everyone's story is different. Wouldn't you rather tell your story instead of someone else telling it for you?' Mako wasn't great with kids, so he tried to treat his niece and nephews like adults. He didn't water anything down nor did he assume they were ignorant. He stated the facts and let them figure things out.
With a deep breath, Liang turned away from Mako and got out of the car. He smiled as he realized that she conceded. They two walked into the house and immediately Bolin ran out and embraced his daughter. Today was his day off, but Bolin had his hands full with the twins who were just shy of their 5th birthdays and still very energetic. The two boys were running around the house and Bolin yelled at them to stop running and bending inside the house. "Mako, I'm so glad you found Liang. Thanks. There was so much going on…"
Mako stopped Bolin before he could say anything else. "Bolin, Liang has something she needs to tell you." The two exchanged looks. They had an unspoken language that developed when they were children themselves. Bolin seemed to get the message and nodded he turned to his daughter and asked, 'what's up?' There was a lightness to his tone which made Liang feel even more uncomfortable with what she had to say.
Liang shifted in her spot for a moment or two and said, 'I'm a firebender.' This statement caught Bolin off guard and he froze trying to comprehend what just happened. Bolin stood there for a moment before composing himself and replying, 'Fire?' Maybe it's lava? I'm a lava bender. The two can look very similar.' For some reason Bolin wasn't thinking properly and was saying things that were obviously not possible. This comment made Liang angry though. She clenched her fists and turned away from her father.
Liang's face contorted in anger as she replied, 'No. You're not listening. You never listen! You just want to hear what you want.' With that Liang stormed out the door. Bolin began to chase after her, but Mako stopped him.
"I'll handle this little brother. But yes, she's a firebender and she's really angry with you and Opal. To be honest, I can understand why. We'll talk about this later," Mako said as he followed Liang's path. She ran off and Mako knew that if he didn't do something quick she could disappear for another three days like before. Mako knew that calling her name was pointless, so instead he thought about where she could go in that short amount of time. Using his knowledge of the city, he eventually found her.
Liang was very upset when Mako found her. 'Hey, I had a feeling you'd be here. Want to talk?' Liang looked at her Uncle and turned away. Mako sighed and thought to himself for a moment. She reminded him of Bolin when they were younger. He nudged her to get her attention as he offered, 'Let's go somewhere fun.' Liang looked at her uncle skeptically before agreeing to go with him.
Mako made a few calls as they drove. If Liang didn't feel so terrible she'd try to read his lips, but at the moment she didn't want to put in the effort. Mako drove up to the pro-bending training building and Liang's face lit up. She jumped out of the car before Mako killed the engine and was through the doors in a heartbeat. She looked around as the large gym was pretty much empty and breathed in the air, which wasn't a great idea. Mako looked at the owner who stood by the front door. "Thanks for this," Mako stated before the owner shrugged Mako off and disappeared down the hall. Mako approached Liang and said, 'Ready for your first firebending lesson?'
Mako waited for Liang to get ready. She was eager to start and listened intently. Mako explained how to generate a flame and put power behind it as well as how to make short, yet powerful bursts of flame. Liang picked it up fast. As Mako watched her he noticed that her flame was unique in color. It burned a bright yellow with green flames mixed in. He read about Azula's blue flame, but didn't entirely believe that flames could vary in such ways. Liang was light on her feet and able to precisely attack. He defending and dodging was interesting though. At times she'd dodge like an airbender, using circular motion to evade. At other times she'd stand her ground and weather the attack like an earthbender, returning the attack with an even more powerful blow. As Mako worked with Liang he discovered that she was extremely talented, especially when she let loose.