Chapter 1:

Six Months Earlier:

Bumi hated being bored. One would think that the son of the Avatar would always have something fun to do, but that wasn't the case. His parents were usually busy helping his siblings' develop their bending abilities.

When he was younger, he hated not being a bender. He was jealous that Tenzin and Kya could do amazing things, and he couldn't. It was also very embarrassing with him being the Avatar's son and all

. His parents were very sympathetic to his feelings, and assured him that they loved him just as much as they did Kya and Tenzin. After that, Bumi was confident that he could do amazing things as well, even without bending abilities. Over the years he had proven to be quite a rambunctious child. His parents were always scolding him for getting into trouble, but Bumi didn't mind. He believed that life was short and that one should make the most of it.

But today, he didn't know what to do. Normally, he and his siblings would go exploring on Air Temple Island or take the ferry into Republic City to play with their friends. But with Aang training Tenzin, and Katara training Kya, he was all alone. He would ask his parents if it would be OK to go into the city by himself, but he knew they would say no. Even though he was sixteen years old, Aang and Katara still treated him like he was five.

One afternoon, Bumi went down by the water and began to skip rocks. He had nothing better to do, so this was his fallback plan. It was tedious, but at least it gave him something to do. After skipping a rock across the water, he looked to his left and saw his mother and Kya practicing waterbending. Maybe they would like to do something with me," he thought to himself. Bumi ran towards his mother and sister, who were both in deep concentration with what they were doing.

"Now Kya, this move isn't as easy as it looks, so don't get distraught if you don't master it the first time," Katara said, as she bended the water into the air.

Kya followed suit and watched closely as her mother demonstrated the move. When she was finished, Katara signaled to Kya to give it a try. But before he should make a move, Bumi came running over, breaking her concentration.

"Hey mom, Kya, do you guys want to go to the city with me?" he asked.

Kya glared at him, angry that he broke her concentration. "Bumi, can't you see we're training?" she cried.

"I know, I just thought you might want to take a break and go do something fun," he said.

Kya sighed. "Bumi, life isn't all fun and games. There are times when you have to stop playing and get down to business. As the eldest child I would think you of all people should know that."

Bumi looked at his mother for comfort, but didn't find any. "Your sister is right Bumi. We're in the middle of practicing at the moment. Come back in an hour or two and maybe we'll go have lunch together."

Bumi sighed. He should have known they wouldn't want to have fun. He gave his apologies for disturbing them, and quietly walked away. He would ask Tenzin and Aang if they would play with him, but he already knew the answer to that question. No.

Besides, Tenzin was Aang's favorite, and he knew that if he had a choice between him and Tenzin, he would pick Tenzin. Bumi looked out at the ferry docked by the harbor. His parents never let him go anywhere on his own, especially the city. But this time, would be different. If they wouldn't accompany Bumi to the city, then Bumi would go to the city by himself. He wouldn't stay for very long, just a few hours. Enough time to have fun and get back before anyone noticed he was missing.

He ran to the ferry and paid the small fee for a trip to the city. When he arrived, he gave the ferryman permission to sail back to Air Temple Island, but reminded him to pick him up in two hours. He then headed for downtown Republic.

Downtown was probably his favorite place in Republic City. There was always something to see or do, so one could never lose interest. Lately however, a lot of organized crime had been going on downtown. Aang had been working on these cases for months now, working side by side with Chief Bei Fong to help capture the gangs responsible for these crimes. Bumi wished he could help, but he was too young to join the force and wasn't a very good fighter to begin with. Sure, Uncle Sokka had shown him a few moves and even given him a sword for his thirteenth birthday, but Bumi wasn't ready to take on a gang leader. Still, nothing would please him more than to prove to Republic City and his family that even a non-bender can be a hero. As he rounded a corner, he saw his friend Radon leaning on a wall while watching the cars go by.

"Hey Radon, how is it going?"

"Well Bumi, I was wondering if I would see you today. Are you here alone?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, Tenzin is busy training with my dad and Kya is training with my mom, so I'm here by myself."

"Well, that's too bad. I guess that means more fun for us, huh?"

"I guess so," Bumi agreed.

"Come on, I have something I want to show you," Radon said

. He led Bumi into a back alleyway where his secret hideout was located. They crept through a small hole in the wall, which led into an abandoned building. Bumi and Radon had found the place a few years ago, and had been coming there ever since. Together, they collected many valuable items from around the city and kept them hidden in a chest underneath on the floorboards. When they were inside, Radon lit a candle and sat it down on an old table. He then lifted one of the floorboards up and pulled out the chest.

"You're going to love this," He said with a smile.

Radon opened the box and pulled out an authentic water tribe boomerang.

"Wow, my Uncle Sokka has one just like that," Bumi said. "Where did you find it?"

"I found it near the harbor the other day. I was just swimming around in the water and I noticed something shiny at the bottom. So I swam down to see what it was. When I got closer, I noticed the Water Tribe insignia, and knew instantly it was from the Water Tribe. I know you have Water Tribe heritage and all, so I thought I would show you."

Bumi took the boomerang in his hands and looked over it. "Wow! This is great Radon."

"It's yours if you want it," he said.

"Really?" Bumi asked, puzzled yet excited at the same time.

"Sure. I have no use for it. Besides, maybe your Uncle Sokka can teach you a few things with it.

"Wow! Thanks Radon, I really appreciate it," Bumi said.

"No problem, hope you enjoy it."

The boys then heard a scuffling noise outside, they peeked out of the hole in the building and saw an old man being backed into an alleyway by a man.

"Alright old timer, just give us the loot and nobody gets hurt," he said.

The old man looked frightened and struggled to speak. "I told you, I don't have anything. My grandson is working a job at the factory to help make money to take care of me. I'm broke!"

"Likely story. Then where did you get that shirt?"

The old man was wearing a green Earth Kingdom shirt with a gold collar. "It was a gift from my wife. She gave it to me for my birthday."

"Well, if you don't have the money, then I guess the shirt will have to do. After all it looks pretty expensive," said the mugger.

"Stay away! You can't have my shirt," cried the old man.

"Just watch me old man."

Bumi could watch no more, he stepped out from the crevice and ran towards the man, throwing a mighty punch to the face. The man stumbled back, still confused from the blow. When he saw Bumi, he couldn't help but smirk.

"Alright little runt, if a fight is what you want, then it's a fight you're going to get."

The man drew a sword from a holster on his back and held the blade in front of Bumi. In return, Bumi took out the boomerang and stood his ground. He was going to take down this thug. He was going to make sure there was no place for evil in Republic City.

But just before he could strike, he heard a siren from behind him. Turning around he saw a police van with three metalbender cops jumping out.

The mugger panicked and tried to flee down the alleyway, but was caught by one of the metalbender's metal wires. He was quickly apprehended and thrown into the back of the van. Before Bumi and Radon could make their escape, one of the officers caught them as well.

"Not so fast you two," he said. "Just what are you two doing in this part of town? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"We were just exploring, and were about to leave," Bumi replied.

"Wait. I know you. You're the Avatar's son. Boy he's not going to like it when we tell him what you two were mixed up in. Come with us, we'll send a telegram to your folks so they can pick you up."

Bumi and Radon walked away with the officer. They took a seat inside the van and sat quietly as they drove to the police station.

So much for a fun day.

And so begins Bumi's inspiration into becoming a masked protector of Republic City. But where will he learn to fight like an expert?

To be continued.

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