Alex smiled as Air Temple Island came closer and closer in sight as the Ferry he rode on sailed through the waters. He was still working the Triple Threat Triads, and thought that maybe some info from Korra, who had an encounter with them, could help. And in no way was he there purely for the sake of meeting the Avatar. No-sir-ee.

"Thanks for the lift." Alex said to the Ferry driver, who nodded, as the boat stopped at the island's docks. "I'll be back in about an hour or so. Can you wait here?" He asked the asked the Ferry Driver, who nodded again, to which Alex smiled and walked onto the island over the Ferry's plank. He walked along the path towards the temple, only to be stopped by two guards.

"Wait, why is the White Lotus here?" He thought to himself.

"Halt." One of them said sternly.

"No trespassers on Air Temple Island." The other spoke in an equally stern tone. With an internal roll of his eyes, Alex moved his coat's collar to the side, showing the badge on his chestplate.

"Detective Alexander Beifong. I'm here to consult Councilman Tenzin and Avatar Korra on a case I'm working on." He told them. Their eyes widened as they saw the badge.

"Apologies, Detective." They both both bowed.

"We were unaware of you rank. Please, go on." The other guard told him. With a chuckle, Alex returned their bow and continued on his way. Now, knowing Tenzin, he's probably training the Avatar in the courtyard. So, that's where Alex decided he'll go.

"Huh, I was right." Alex mused to himself. There he was, leaning against a pillar at the top of the stairs, finding Tenzin, his kids, and a tanned, blue eyed, brown haired girl. All of them wearing Air Nomad robes. From the looks of it, Tenzin was about to explain how the spinning gates exercise works. "Wait, why is he skipping to the spinning gates?" Alex asked himself. He'd seen how those things work. You need to know how to move like an Airbender before actually doing any of these things. Then again, Tenzin's the Master, not Alex.

"The key to this exercise is to be like a leaf." Tenzin explained, holding up a leaf. He let it go and sent a small gust of wind at it, making it float towards the spinning gates. It gently levitated through the gaps between the gates as they spun, not touching them at all. "You have to flow, with the movements of the gates. Jinora will demonstrate." As Tenzin continued speaking, his eldest daughter walked up to the gates, going through them like the leaf did. "Airbending is all about spiral movements." He explained as Jinora went on, spinning and walking. "If you meet resistance, you must be able to switch directions at a moment's notice." He finished as Jinora came out of the gates and made a strong gust, keeping the gates spinning.

"Let's do this." The Water Tribe girl said with determination. The look in her eyes told Alex that she's definitely the Avatar.

"Five Yuans says she's gonna fail." He whispered to himself. With a deep breath, Korra charged the gates. "OK, she's done for." He sighed. As expected, Korra got pummeled by the gates. She wasn't even able to avoid the first one, and it only got worse. The first gate hit her back, pushing her further into the gates and getting hit by many of them at once. Tenzin was visibly cringing at the sight. By the time Korra came out, she was right back in front of Tenzin, who sighed in exasperation. "Maybe you should teach her how to move like an Airbender before having her go through these obstacle courses." Alex spoke up loudly, gaining everyone's attention.

"Alexander?" Tenzin asked with wide eyes as Alex removed his sunglasses.

"Alex!" Ikki and Jinora exclaimed excitedly. They rushed over to him and hugged his waist tightly from both sides. "We missed you so much!" They said happily.

"I missed you too Girls." He said with a chuckle, kneeling and hugging them back.

"Unhand my sisters, Strange Man!" Meelo yelled, sending a large blast of wind at Alex. He quickly let go of the girls and brought up a wall of earth, blocking the blast.

"Nice to see you too Meelo." He deadpanned at the young boy, who looked at him with narrowed eyes as he brought down the Earth wall.

"Oh!" Meelo's eyes widened. "It's you!" He said happily, shooting towards Alex and hugging his neck. "Are you here to help me expand my domain?" The Airbending child exclaimed in excitement. Alex chuckled and hugged him briefly before putting him down.

"Who's this?" Korra asked with a groan as she got up from the ground with a hand on her head.

"I must say Alex, I was not expecting you here." Tenzin said as he approached the Detective who was hugging his children, letting the Avatar regain her bearings.

"Well, I'm working on a case, and I was hoping to get a little bit of info from you and the Avatar?" Alex asked. Tenzin hummed and stroked his beard.

"I'd rather Korra not be distracted during her Airbending training." He said, giving Korra a small glance.

"Oh, I won't take up too much of your time. Just wanting to ask a few questions is all." The young Earthbender assured him with a smile. Tenzin sighed heavily.

"Fine." he conceded, making Alex smile.

"So, I believe introductions are in order." He said with a smile towards the Avatar, who had regained her composure and approached the group. "You must be Korra." He gave her a small bow of his head. "My name is Detective Alexander Beifong." He introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Korra, but you already knew that." They chuckled at her words as they shook hands. Then, Korra seemed to take in Alex's words. "Wait, did you say Beifong?!" She asked in shock. Alex laughed and nodded.

"Yes. I believe you had an encounter with my mother on your first day here, no?" He asked with an amused smile as her jaw dropped to the ground.

"That crabby old lady is your Mom?!" She almost yelled. Alex nodded. "How on Earth did SHE land a boyfriend? Much less get less some action?" She asked incredulously. "No offense." She added quickly.

"None taken." Alex laughed. "Anyways, getting down to business, I was hoping I could ask you some questions about the incident with the thugs you ran into." He told her, showing her the badge. She took a step back.

"I'm not in trouble am I?" She asked nervously. Alex chuckled and shook his head.

"No. I'm working on a case involving them and I'm hoping maybe you have some info." He explained, making Korra let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright then, why don't we talk about it over some tea?" Tenzin asked. Alex looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

"Pema's Jasmine?" He asked eagerly. At Tenzin's nod, Alex grinned widely and nodded in acceptance. Pema's Jasmine tea is easily the best he had EVER tasted! One would be hard pressed to find a tea shop that makes it as good as she does. And Alex wasn't even that much of a tea person.

"Alex!" Pema smiled brightly as Tenzin, Korra, and Alex entered the dining room of their home. She walked over to the young Detective and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you." She said as he hugged her back, being careful of her pregnant belly.

"And you too Pema. Sorry for not coming over sooner." Alex smiled at her as they separated. The Earthbender took a look at her belly and placed a hand on it. "How is the radiant Mommy-to-be, fourth time around?" He asked with smile.

"Amazing, thank you." She smiled brightly, placing a hand on her cheek. "I have a pot of Jasmine ready if you'd like some." She told him.

"Do you have to ask?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow and smile. Pema giggled at the answer and nodded, gesturing for him to sit down before walking off. Normally, Alex would have insisted that she take it easy, but Pema was stubborn. More stubborn than him, and he's an Earthbender!

"So, what can we do for you?" Korra asked as she and Tenzin sat opposite the Detective.

"Well…" He started, reaching into his coat. He pulled out three pictures and showed them to her and Tenzin. "Remember these guys?" He asked as the Avatar took the pictures.

"These are the guys I beat up when I first came here." She observed, earning a dirty look from Tenzin, who was no doubt still very unpleased by the endeavour.

"Yes, they are." Alex confirmed for her. "Since then, they've made bail and have been released." He informed.

"What?!" Korra exclaimed in shock, clearly not happy with the turn of events.

"I share your displeasure, believe me." Alex sighed. "Anyways, I've been working a case concerning their gang, the Triple Threat Triad, for about two weeks. Still got nothing. I was hoping maybe you heard something from them before you took them down." He told her as Pema came with a few cups of tea. "Thank you Pema." He smiled at her, gratefully taking the cup as she offered it. She smiled back and nodded, giving Tenzin and Korra a cup before leaving.

"Well, when I ran into them, the were extorting money from a phonograph shop owner." Korra told Alex, who nodded and took a note of that in his notebook.

"Do you know the name of the shop? Or the owner?" He asked her. She frowned in thought, rubbing her head.

"I think it was something like, Chum? Or Shun?" She mused, tapping her chin in thought.

"Mr Chung?" Alex asked. He knew of that guy. Korra nodded.

"Yeah, that's it." She confirmed. Alex smirked and wrote the name down.

"Thank you. This gives me somewhere to look." He told her, closing the notebook and sipping the tea. "Mm, delicious~" He thought with delighted smile.

"Well, glad I could help, but I don't see how such little info could give you lead." She said with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't be too sure Korra." Tenzin spoke up, gaining the Avatar's attention. "Alex here is one of the best Detectives in Republic City. He is known for making the most of the smallest clues. On top of that, he's also known to be an Earthbending Prodigy." He explained, making Korra stare at the older Earthbender with wide eyes.

"Prodigy?" She asked in shock, making Alex laugh before he nodded.

"Yep. I've been training since I could walk.. Builds up a bit of skill." He chuckled. Her jaw hit the ground at this point. "Anyways…" He trailed off, swallowing the remainder of his tea. "I should get going." He said, standing up.

"No!" A small voice suddenly yelled before Alex got pounced on. He landed on the ground with a slight 'oof,' finding himself lying down on his back with Ikki sitting on his stomach. "You're not going anywhere! You promised to stay for dinner!" She pouted at him with a glare.

"I don't recall making any sort of-" Alex was cut off by Ikki snarling at him like a feral animal, her eyes glowing bright white and her teeth growing to be about 2 inches long. "Uh, I mean, yes! I'll stay!" He gulped. Ikki instantly went back to her cute little girl self.

"Yay!" She cheered, allowing him to sit up with her on his lap. "So, how many bad guys have you caught this week? Did you come here to arrest Korra? Do you think she's pretty? When are you going to become Police Chief?" She asked in rapid succession, making Alex sigh in exasperation.

"Seven. No. Yes. Don't know." He answered her in equally rapid succession. Korra's face dusted a slight pink at a particular answer, but she didn't say anything.

"Awesome!" Ikki cheered before getting off of him. "I'm gonna go tell Mom!" She squealed, zooming off on an Air Scooter. Alex sighed heavily in perfect unison with Tenzin as she sped away.

"Tenzin…"

"Hm?"

"Your daughter is adorable, but terrifying."

"I know." Again, they sighed in unison.

"What was that about?" Korra asked with a confused look.

"Alex has come over here many times, as you've probably gathered. My children are rather fond of him." Tenzin explained.

"To the point that they'll behave when I'm babysitting." Alex chuckled. Korra's jaw dropped at that. She has never seen the Airbender kids behaving before. Aside from Jinora of course. "Anyways, I should probably go before Ikki straps me to a tree." Alex said, standing up.

"No!" Tenzin yelled, a terrified look on his face. "Are you trying to get me killed by my own daughter?" He asked in terror, shivering slightly.

"Tenzin's right Dear." Pema said as she walked in, smiling happily. "Ikki will indeed be a force to be reckoned with if you leave now. Plus, it's always a joy to have you around." She said with a smile. Alex gulped. Pema's words and bright smile are not easy to say no to… Not to mention the fact that Ikki gets her terrifying nature from Pema, so… Yeah, not going there. The memories are too terrifying for our local Metalbender and Airbending Master.

"Alright then, I'll stay for dinner." He conceded, eliciting a relieved sigh from Tenzin. "Afterwards, I'll need to get back to my case." He continued.

"Of course." Pema smiled as she walked out with Ikki. "We'll be glad to have you." Alex chuckled inwardly. He had a feeling that Pema put Ikki up to this…

"So, Tenzin tells me you've mastered three of the four elements?" Alex asked Korra as they walked through the courtyard. They decided to try and get to know each other a bit more before dinner.

"Yeah. Water, Earth and Fire." The Avatar told him with a confident smile.

"And you've just started Airbending, right?" He asked. She nodded with a slight wince.

"Yes and no." She said honestly. "I've never been able to Airbend before. Not even so much as a single gust." She sighed in depression.

"Hey, don't feel bad." Alex told her with a cheery smile. "Every Avatar has one element that's difficult." He reminded her. "Have you ever heard of Avatar Jensu?" He asked. Korra shook her head. "She was an Airbender, and she had the biggest temper of any Avatar." Alex chuckled as he remembered some of the stories he'd read. "It took her six months to even start mastering the basic push and pull of Waterbending, since she just couldn't be patient enough to lether body flow with the water.." He explained.

"Really?" Korra asked with wide eyes.

"Yep." Alex nodded. "So, this little block your going through is completely normal for any Avatar. You'll get it eventually." He assured her.

"Thanks." She smiled at him. "So, tell me about this whole 'Earthbending Prodigy' thing." She smirked at the apparent Prodigy competitively.

"Why, Miss Korra, is that a challenge I sense?" He asked, smirking back as they stopped in a small clearing in the island's forest.

"Maybe." She responded. Alex chuckled and looked right into her eyes. Those beautiful, blue eyes that seemed to be able to draw any man in.

"Alright then." He said simply. In an instant, he slammed his foot on the ground, sending a fissure towards her. Startled, Korra quickly jumped to the side to avoid falling down the pit that was created.

"Alright! Now we got a party!" She grinned wickedly, sending a flurry of fireballs at Alex. He brought up a stone wall to block the fireballs. After they dissipated, he collapsed the wall and shot his cable whip at her, just barely missing as she whipped it away with her own whip of water. "A Metalbender too huh? Should've guessed!" She threw a boulder at him. He just stood in place and punched it, shattering it into dust.

"That's not all I have!" He said with a wide grin, slamming his hands down on the ground. The area in front of him melted into lava, shocking Korra, but not enough to stop her from jumping to the side to avoid falling into said lava. "Take this!" He exclaimed, bending the lava toward her in the form of a stream. She yelped in shock and pulled water from a nearby pond, dousing the lava and shooting it to the side.

"Lavabending too?!" She asked incredulously. "I see why you're called a Prodigy!" She remarked, sending a jet of water at Alex. He brought some of lava in front of him up, blocking the water and making it turn to steam.

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" He exclaimed, still grinning, as he sent a jet of lava towards her. He moved differently though. Instead of the hard, stubborn stance of an Earthbender, he adopted the calm, gently flowing stance of a Waterbender, shocking the Avatar.

"You… You look like you're Waterbending!" Korra gasped loudly in shock before jumping out of the way of the lava jet.

"That's the idea." He told her, smirking as he brought another blob of lava up. He compressed it down a little, making it flat and spinning in the shape of a shuriken. "Try this!" He yelled and shot the shuriken towards her. Korra rolled to the side, evading the attack, grinning at Alex as she did so. However, when she saw him grinning too, her eyes widened. He pulled the shuriken back towards himself, with her in the path. The Avatar yelped as the spinning blob slammed into her back, knocking her down. Discarding the lava, Alex shot towards her and kneeled next to her, extending the blade in his gauntlet out and pushing it at her neck. "My win." He smirked at her. She looked up at him in awe of his skills as he retracted the blade with his Metalbending and held a hand out for her.

"That… that was amazing!" She gasped as she took his hand. "The way you moved! You were like a Waterbender with the lava!" She said with an excited grin. She'd never seen a bender bend with such charisma and strength like that.

"Well, lava is liquid rock after all." Alex pointed out, putting his hands in his coat's pockets.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Korra asked in awe and excitement.

"I was taught by a Waterbender to move like one and applied it to my Lavabending." He shrugged. "No big deal."

"No big deal?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm hardly the first Lavabender Korra." Alex chuckled. "It was a simple matter of drawing wisdom from the other nations." He explained. "By using Waterbending movements, I was able to bend the lava better than I would have if I used Earthbending stances." He continued. "Most Earthbenders believe that there's no other way to bend rock, but that's not completely true. The key to being a good bender, of any element, is versatility." He finished, crossing his arms with a resolute nod.

"So… do you know how I could be a better Airbender?" She asked hesitantly. Alex hummed in thought and pinched his chin.

"Well, you're unable to Airbend at the moment because it's most opposite to your personality." He reminded her. She nodded.

"Tenzin said so before."

"Well, your Airbending will come when it does, I can't help you get it before then." Korra deflated at the answer. "However, I can tell you why you did so terribly with those exercises earlier." She instantly perked up. "You don't know how to move like an Airbender, and that's not your fault. You need to learn how Airbenders move before doing any of their exercises." He explained.

"I don't completely follow…" She said, a small look of confusion on her face.

"Well, Tenzin isn't teaching you the fundamentals of Airbending motion. You've never had to use spiral movements like Jinora did, right?" He asked. She confirmed his assumption. "As such, you've never been taught said movement. That's why you got knocked around by the gates." He told her. Her eyes widened in realisation.

"I get it now!" She smiled brightly. Alex chuckled as they continued on their little walk around the island.

Well, dinner with the Airbender family and Korra was great for Alex. He'd never been much of a veggie guy, but there's just something about the way Pema cooks that's just fantastic. Plus, he got to know Korra a little better. Turns out, they both share a certain love for Pro-Bending. Tenzin scoffed at it and called it 'a mockery of a noble tradition,' but he's an old man. They always say new things are terrible. Anyways, after dinner, Alex headed out to to the dock to head home, and Korra decided she wanted to walk him there, for whatever reason.

"It was great hanging out with you today." She said as they walked, breaking the silence.

"Same here." He smiled at her. "You're a lot of fun to be around." He said. She smiled back with a minor blush.

"I'm still shocked with your bending. You're unlike any Earthbender I've ever seen." She complimented him.

"Thanks." He grinned. "You're not so bad yourself Avatar." They shared a chuckle.

"Seriously though, Metalbending, Earthbending, and Lavabending? How may Earthbenders can do all that?" She asked.

"Adding in the Sandbending, not many." He smirked proudly. He'd always taken pride in his Earthbending prowess, knowing that very few people could accomplish what he has.

"You're a Sandbender too?!" She asked with wide eyes. Alex laughed and nodded.

"Yeah." He grinned. "I like to consider myself a 'Pseudo-Avatar' if you will." Still, he used Metalbending more than anything else, so there is that.

"I don't know wether to be flattered or insulted." Korra deadpanned as they stopped at the docks.

"Both if you want." Alex smirked. Korra rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder playfully. "Anyways, thanks for your help earlier." He said, holding out his hand. "I'll try to get my Mom to lay off of you a little." He told her. She took his hand and shook it.

"That would be great." She sighed in exasperation before they both laughed.

With one last goodbye, Alex boarded the small boat that would take him across the water and leaned on the railing. He suddenly remembered something and facepalmed for not remembering sooner. He had two tickets to the Pro-bending match that his childhood friends were going to play in the next day, and he should have invited Korra to go along with him. He didn't have anyone else to go with, so why not her?

Then again, Tenzin is a strict man. Alex highly doubted that the Airbending Master would allow the Avatar to attend a 'mockery of Bending' match. Honestly, that guy is expecting too much from Korra too soon. He's not expecting her to bend quickly, not at all, but he does expect her to act like an Air Nomad, which she wasn't. Tenzin needed to realise that there was a difference between Air Nomads, and Airbenders.

"I'm home." Alex announced half-heartedly as he entered the house he and his mother shared. He was greeted to the sight of his Mom sitting on the couch with a cup of tea. She didn't even acknowledge him, just continued with the book she was reading. "Hello Dear, nice to see you." He murmured in an imitation of Lin's voice.

"Did you say something?" She asked, sending her son a sharp look.

"No, nothing at all Mother." he sighed, heading for the kitchen.

"Did you make any progress with the Triple Threat case?" She asked, acting like a Police Chief instead of a mother again.

"Yeah; got a lead on someone they harassed. Gonna question them tomorrow. Might get some info on the guy I'm after." Alex shrugged, heating up the kettle. He grabbed a cup from the cupboard and put a spoonful of this brown powder called coffee in it. It's a product that wasn't completely capitalised on until recently, though it has been around since the 100 year war. It is somewhat of an acquired taste, but he acquired it quite easily. Adding in the cream and sugar, it wasn't that hard.

"I sense something else about your day." Lin spoke up as Alex poured some hot water into his mug.

"I don't think you'll be interested." He shrugged, taking the cup. Her blunt look told him that she wanted him to tell her regardless of what he thought she'd think. With a sigh, he relented. "I got the intel from Avatar Korra." He said nonchalantly.

"What?!" Lin demanded.

"She ran into a few Triple Threat thugs when she got here. Nobody thought to report who or where they were harassing." He explained calmly. "She was the only one who had a plausible lead." He shrugged.

"Did you not think to ask me?" His mother hissed. Alex raised an eyebrow at her, sipping his coffee.

"Who were they harassing? What kind of shop?" He asked, almost daring her to answer. Lin gritted her teeth in frustration, making Alex smirk on the inside. Since the bad guys were caught and the 'vigilante' detained, no one thought to take that info down. Not even his Mom. "They were mugging Mr Chung who owns a phonograph shop." I answered for her, smirking.

The lecture that followed was not a pleasant one. Seriously, Alex knew his Mom wasn't exactly the Avatar's biggest fan, mainly due to what happened with Tenzin, but this was ridiculous. And what did Korra have to do with it anyway? Her problems were with Tenzin, not Korra. She didn't do anything wrong, and neither did Aang. So that begs the question, why is she taking her problems out on Korra? Anyways, as the lecture continued, Alex just tuned Lin's voice out, nodding and agreeing whenever he saw a pause. For a top notch cop, she sure is easy to fool in an interrogation. Well, for Alex at least.

"So, are we clear on everything?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes, Mother." He sighed, glad that she was finally done.

"Did you even hear a word I just said?!" She demanded.

"Of course." He replied nonchalantly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I wish to go to bed." He stood up, giving her a half-assed salute. "Goodnight Chief." He said, walking away.

"Are we having a problem Detective?" Lin asked dangerously. Alex could feel her glare boring a hole in the back of his head.

"No, Chief." He said in monotone, turning to face her.

"Then what is with your tone?" She asked, glaring sharply.3

"I'm just a little tired is all. Sparring with the Avatar, investigating the Triple Threats, and listening to your lecture can be really tiring." He stated bluntly. Lin opened her mouth to retort, but Alex wasn't finished. "Plus, I'm 19 years old, and a Detective. How I solve my cases is not up to you." He continued in a firm tone. "If you want this case done your way, do it yourself. Otherwise, let me do my job my way." He finished. "Again, goodnight Chief." He said with a sarcastic salute.

"Ugh! I don't why I put up with you!" Lin yelled.

"Don't worry; you won't have to for much longer." Alex retorted, facing her once again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "I just bought a condo not far from the Station. I'll be gone by the end of the week." He told her, slipping the key back into his pocket. With a sigh, he turned and continued on towards his room, leaving his mother with a shocked look on her face. "I'm really getting sick of this shit." Alex thought sourly, slamming his bedroom door.

OK, before anyone says anything about the little exchange between Alex and Lin, keep in mind that their relationship is very strained. Lin was never cut out to be a Mom, we all know this. As such, any interaction between Alex and Lin would end up like this more often than not.

Before anyone asks, NO. Tenzin is NOT Alex's father. I might make a big reveal about who his father is some time, or I might not reveal it altogether. I don't know.