Asami's POV

It had been a long time since I had seen the Water Tribe girl. I was stuck with midterms and studying and all though that had paid off (I had gotten A's in all three of my classes) I missed my best friend. We talked on the phone once in a while and she let me know she had in fact convinced her parents to enroll her in the teen league of Pro Bending.

I was happy to hear that and I promised to go see one of her matches, however; my father had kept me busy after my midterms were over. But today I finally had a break. I took the ferry to the island and found the girl practicing in the patio with the yang-yang symbol. A smile tugged against my lips as I carefully snuck behind her and covered her eyes.

The Waterbender stopped her movements and I could see the beginnings of a smile. "Asami," she said, turning around to see me.

I chuckled at this and hugged her tightly and she did the same. Her eyes zoomed in on my wrist, the bracelet still tied there and her smile grew. I never took off the gift my best friend had worked hard on.

"How've you been?" I asked.

Korra sighed at this before sitting down on the steps. "I've been busy," she began, her voice apologetic. "Tenzin has been more brutal than usual with my Airbending and I've also been so caught up with Pro Bending.

I nodded at this as I stepped closer to her. I knew Pro Bending had been taking up a lot of her time.

"So," I began. "You're never gonna believe this."

Korra turned her head to look at me, a grin spreading across her face. "Yeah? What happened, 'Sami?"

I smirked knowingly and sat down on the ground beside her. "Well, I was watching the Fire Ferrets play a couple nights ago," Korra's eyes widened before she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "And their new Waterbender started Bending two elements. Care to explain?"

The brunette laughed a little at this. "I really wish you hadn't seen that." I raised my brow, waiting for her to continue. She sighed. "They needed a third player cuz Hasook was a 'no good, no show,'" she revealed, putting air quotes around the last part.

I chuckled at this. "Oh and you thought it was your Avatar duty to help a team in need?" I teased.

Korra stuck her tongue out at me and I laughed. The girl suddenly looked up, her brow furrowing, and I did the same, noticing two boys walking towards us. I raised a brow at this and turned to look at my best friend who shrugged.

"Hey Korra," the shorter of the two called with a smile.

He had bright green eyes, and a small nose. I could tell by the shape of his face that he was still younger than Korra and I. The other, however, was more brooding, walking behind the other boy, his hands dug deep in his pockets. He had warm amber eyes and sharp features. He was really good looking if you asked me.

"Hey Bolin," the teen greeted, standing up. "Hello Mako." The amber eyed boy simply nodded at her. "So to what do I owe the visit?"

"Well you were just so spectacular out there the other night!" Bolin replied. It wasn't hard to guess these were the Pro Bending players Korra had helped. "So we came here to offer you an official spot on the team!"

I saw my best friend's eyes light up. "Really?!" she cried. "You mean I'm in?"

He opened his mouth to speak but the other cut him off. "Don't think we're going to go easy on you just because you helped us out," the one called Mako said. "You're going to have to work hard to catch up and I don't tolerate people being late. You think you can handle that?"

"Of course," Korra answered, seeming slightly offended. "I won't let you down, I promise." And I knew first hand that Korra kept her promises.

He nodded and made a move to leave when I elbowed Korra, silently asking her to introduce us. She gave me a confused look and I sighed, covering my face with my hand. Sometimes she was a little slow.

"Oh!" Korra cried, finally getting the hint. "You guys, this is my best friend Asami, we've been friends since we were kids." Both boys turned to look at me.

"Hello, I'm Bolin. I'm the Earthbender," the green eyed boy introduced. "This is my brother Mako."

"Nice to meet you," I replied, shaking his hand but keeping my attention on his brother, who I assumed was the Firebender of the team. "I've seen you play, you have some serious skill."

Mako nodded at me. "Thank you."

"No doubt it's from the hard work you put into it," I continued.

He actually smiled at this. "Yeah, it's nice to know that someone understands," Mako said. I smiled back and nodded. "You can stop by and watch us practice if you want, maybe even come watch one of our matches," he added.

My grin widened. "I'd love to."

"See you tomorrow at seven sharp, Korra," he added, looking at my best friend. The brunette sighed and nodded, seemingly annoyed. "It was nice meeting you, Asami."

I waved at both of the brothers before turning to look at my best friend whose arms were crossed, brow raised.

"What?"

"Flirting much?" she asked.

"Well he's cute," I answered.

Korra rolled her eyes. "How about you take me to the racetrack?" the Waterbender asked. I nodded in agreement. "By the way, you might want to wipe off that drool you got on your face," she added, tapping her chin before walking towards the ferry.

"I'm not drooling!" I called after her. She only laughed in response.

Mako's POV

For years people talked about how Firebender's rose with the sun and surprisingly they were quite accurate. As the rays peered through the window in the Pro Bending attic and touched my skin I felt the urge to get up. My eyes opened and I turned to check the time, noticing it was a little after six in the morning. I stood up and stretched a bit before doing my daily routine to get Bolin up.

I yanked the blanket off him and he muttered something incoherent before placing the pillow over his head. I sighed making a small fireball appear on my palm, throwing it right on his rear. My younger brother woke with a jolt, turning onto his back and rolling to put the small flame out before falling right off the bed. I sighed. You'd think he'd be used to it by now.

"Get ready," I said. "Practice starts in less than an hour."

"Do you really have to do that?" Bolin grumbled as he stood.

I shrugged. "That's the only thing that works."

He sent me a glare before sulking towards the kitchen, probably to feed both Pabu and himself. I hopped in the shower and changed into my practice uniform before grabbing the bag with our equipment then heading over to the gym. To my surprise Korra was already there, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

She looked tired and if I didn't know any better, I would think she hadn't gotten any sleep. But that was her business, not mine.

"You better not fall asleep during practice," I told her as I opened the door. "We have a lot to go over."

"Well good morning to you too, sunshine," Korra muttered. Even half asleep she was still a smartass.

I just rolled my eyes before coming inside and dropping the bag on the floor before instructing the Waterbender to grab one. Bolin came soon after, still chewing on some bread. When he saw me giving him a pointed look he simply swallowed what was left and headed over to us. I sighed. He could never practice with an empty stomach.

"Hey guys!" Asami greeted, giving a wave as she walked. "I hope you don't mind me sitting in."

"Not at all," I replied, smiling a little.

I looked over at Korra and noticed she had her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking uncomfortable as Bo talked to her. I raised a brow at this but immediately shrugged it off as I ordered them to stretch. Once that was out of the way I grabbed a medicine ball and tossed it at my younger brother until it got back to me. We did this in silence until the newest team member spoke up.

"What's the big idea with having me train this early in the morning?" she complained as she caught the ball. "The morning is evil."

"We're the rookies so we get the worst time slot in the gym," Bolin answered.

"And you're the rookiest of us all," I added keeping the ball. "We have to get you up to speed if we want to survive the tournament. Deal with it!" I said as I threw the ball with a little more force than necessary.

Korra caught it and her eyes narrowed. "You deal with it!" she snapped as she threw it back to me, hitting me right in the gut and making me fall back.

I sat up and growled when I saw her smirking. But as much as I hated to admit it, I was impressed. No one had ever knocked me down like that, and for being the short girl she was, she packed quite the punch.

I stood up and asked her to show me the moves she used while in the teen league and I asked her to modify them a little.

I quickly learned that Korra didn't like to be told what to do because the minute I said she needed to change her style some, she started snapping at me, saying that she didn't know I was also a Waterbender. I pinched the bridge of my nose at that and counted to ten before explaining that I was simply showing her the best strategy to the game. She scowled at that but let me help her.

We sparred for a moment, asking her to show me the moves that I had asked her to change and she did pretty good. Not that I'd ever admit it. I quickly learned that her ego was as big as mine, possibly even worse and I couldn't let her slack off. So instead of telling her 'good job' I scolded her on her stance which was a little off balance.

"Do I ever do anything right?" the Water Tribe girl shot at me.

"Do you ever stop complaining?" I shot back, going toe-to-toe with her.

"Maybe it's time for a break," her friend suggested, walking towards us. I wasnt sure if she stepped in for Korra's safety or mine.

I diverted my gaze from my teammate and smiled a little to Asami. "Yeah, we'll call it a day," I said. "Practice that stance and Bolin will you quit eating before practice? If that ball ever hits your gut you're going to throw up!"

"I'm a growing boy!" my younger brother answered dismissively.

"So," Asami began as I put away our equipment. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Actually I don't," I said, picking the bag up. "Why?"

"Well I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out for a walk or something."

I smiled at this. "I'd love to."

"Hey, Bo and I are going to the zoo, want to come?" Korra asked, walking over to us.

"I have plans already," I answered. "You kids have fun."

I saw Korra roll her eyes but she said nothing. Bo on the other hand looked excited by the idea of it just being him and Korra.

I inwardly shook my head. His little crush on the Avatar wouldn't end well.

Korra's POV

After walking around the zoo for a bit, I just decided to go back to the island, maybe get some Airbending training in while I was at it. I'd had a good time with Bolin, just walking around, talking about Pro Bending and all the different animals. He was a nice guy.

Yeah, I'd noticed he had a crush on me. The boy wasnt exactly subtle. I just didn't see him like that. I'd thought about telling him this but didn't want to bring down his mood. He really was very sweet.

Once back on the island, I sat down in front of the spinning gates. I'd actually managed to get through them a couple days after my Pro Bending debut, and I could see the pride in both Katara and Tenzin's eyes when I had.

My parents had been proud to when I'd told them. Dad had patted me on the back and congratulated me, Mom had kissed my temple and smiled. They all knew about my goal, my drive to reach it. And I felt warm knowing they were proud of me.

The only thing that worried me was the lack of air I could actually Bend. The only air I produced was when I breathed. What good were the forms when I couldn't use them?

"Thought I might find you out here."

I looked over my shoulder to see Asami walking toward me. "Hey," I greeted.

"Hey. Whatcha doin?"

"Just sitting here. How was your walk with Mako?"

The heiress took a seat next to me on the ground, a smile on her face. She shrugged as if it was no big deal. "It was nice. We just walked and talked."

I hummed in response. "So he wasnt a complete jerk?"

Asami rolled her eyes at me. "He's not a jerk. He's just stubborn," she defended. "Besides, he reminds me of a certain someone," she revealed, giving me a pointed look. I chuckled.

She grinned back. "So how was the zoo?" she asked.

"It was pretty cool, especially the Fire Nation exhibit."

"Did you and Bolin have fun?"

I raised a brow at her. "It's not like that. He's nice but I'm just not interested."

She smirked. "He sure seemed interested in you."

I just shrugged.

She studied me for a long moment, her emerald eyes searching my face for something. Then, as if she'd found it, she gave a slight nod, almost answering her own question. "I see."

"What?"

She simply shook her head and gave a slight smile.

Amon's POV

My movement for equality had grown as the years passed. The old Avatar, Aang, hadn't even see it coming. As soon as he died I knew it would be easier, the next Avatar being younger and less experienced. Unfortunately, fate had other plans in mind for me and I was forced to leave Republic City temporarily when one of my hideouts was raided by the esteemed (italics) Chief of Police. I left, but vowed to return. They had won a battle, not the war.

Shortly after, my associate in my quest, Hiroshi Sato, informed me that to his demise, his daughter had befriended the Avatar. Though he detested the idea of them socializing he allowed the friendship in hopes that it would play in our favor. The man was intelligent. Keeping tabs on the Avatar proved to be the best strategy.

I had my Lieutenant follow her everywhere, studying her moves, her weaknesses, her entire life. I had followed her through most of her life and I was prepared for anything she might throw my way. I must admit that I was impressed; however, that at the age of seventeen she knew three out of the four Bending arts, making her an almost fully realized Avatar. Almost.

"What do you have for me today, Lieutenant?" I asked as I heard him come inside my office. I was studying the plans of the city, choosing which strategic points to build my underground factories that would soon help us take over.

"It looks like she joined one of the Pro Bending teams, the Fire Ferrets," he informed me. I smirked at this, shaking my head. Such a gullible child.

"That is of no interest to me," I answered.

"You said you wanted to get the city's attention," Lieutenant insisted. "I think you can use this."

I hummed thoughtfully before grinning once again behind the mask. Of course. It was probably all over the news that she had joined Pro Bending, the city's pride and joy. It was nothing more than entertainment to distract and brainwash the Nonbenders that were being abused, neglected and bullied.

"You might be right," I admitted. "That little detail could come in handy." I looked over to the Pro Bending arena's position on the blueprints and found that I could easily build a few trapdoors within the structure. I chuckled at this. Very clever indeed.

"Amon?" my second in command called. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to show the Avatar and the city my power."