-:-


Book 1: Redemption
Chapter 2: Family Ties


Lei was in Chief Beifong's office, wearing her green civilian clothes as she implored, "Please, Chief! It's been weeks, and I've read the handbook six times."

The fifty-year old bending master frowned, her patience clearly wearing thin as she looked up at the cadet from her desk and explained, "It's Captain Lee's decision whether to take you back or not. I'm busy enough as it is."

Lei pinched her eyebrows together. "Chief, I'm begging you. You've known me all my life. Can't you just take me back yet?"

Lin rose from her seat, her voice booming through the office. "Enough! No one gets special treatment here, and you're no exception. When Lee thinks you're ready, he might let you be reinstated. Now get out, and let me do my job."

The teen sighed. "Yes, ma'am..."

Turning around, she sulked her way out the door, through the hall, and out the entrance. Looking up at the tall statue of the department's founder, Toph Beifong, she frowned. Gray clouds dotted the sky, blocking the sun as a crisp autumn breeze combed its way through her loose hair. Lei shivered, holding her arms together as she made her way down the steps and out to the courtyard. As she was making her way to her first leg of the walk home, a boxy police car stopped in front of her.

Taifeng peered outside the door-less vehicle as he commented, "I'm surprised to see you here."

Lei frowned as she explained, "I was trying to see if the Chief would let me back…"

The raven-haired officer pursed his lips for a moment before grinning as he patted the seat beside him and teased, "Come on—you look pathetic. Just let me drive you home."

She tilted her head. "You're on the clock. Can't you get in trouble for this?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "Come on, Lei. Taking a break from handing out parking tickets won't get me in that much trouble. Besides, if there's a real emergency, you'll just walk the rest of the way."

The brunette laughed. "Fair enough."

She climbed into the patrol car and held on as Taifeng drove off in the direction of her house. Several long and tense minutes went by as they went down the smooth streets.

With a pout on her face, Lei broke the silence. "Is your dad still mad at me?"

Taifeng frowned, his brows furrowed as he kept his light eyes on the road and struggled with his words. "He's not… I wouldn't say he's mad, but…" He winced as he spoke more quickly. "Okay, he's still kinda upset, but that's not necessarily a bad thing."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Look, he just…" Her best friend sighed. "He wants you to succeed. He just doesn't wanna see you get hurt."

She frowned. "Yeah, but I didn't get hurt."

"No, but next time you might not get so lucky," he calmly argued. "Dad just doesn't want you to make the same mistakes he did."

The younger teen let out a silent sigh as her thoughts turned to the very error he meant. "I remember you guys visiting a lot after Dad died."

Several moments passed before he quietly told her, "No one wants to lose you like we did your father, so everyone's just being extra careful."

Lei sighed. "I know." Changing the subject, she asked, "So, how's everything going in the city?"

"There was another Equalist attack last week."

The cadet raised an eyebrow. "An aggressive one or the same defensive 'don't-follow-us' attacks that they've been doing?"

"Defensive." Taifeng frowned as he added, "There was another kidnapping a few days ago. Just like all the others, they found him right outside his house the next day."

Lei pursed her lips. "Wasn't the last one only four months ago?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Whoever's responsible for these disappearances is picking up the pace."

She sighed. "Well, the one good thing about this is that we're more likely to find someone who remembers what happened. Did this guy have anything useful?"

Lei watched as Taifeng's expression contorted, his eyebrows pinching together, forming deep wrinkles on his forehead as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and released a frustrated sigh. "No. It's just like all the others. All he remembered was a dark room and a candle circling some guy in a mask while he was strapped to a chair. He doesn't remember what the guy looked like, or what he said. We still don't have any leads."

The corners of her lips tugged into a soft frown. "And you're sure this is the same culprit, not someone who heard about it on the radio and tried to use it to cover his own tracks?"

"It's definitely the same person," he assured her. "There wasn't any evidence of physical or sexual assault. We still don't know how these people are getting knocked out to be kidnapped in the first place." He hesitated before confessing, "Some people are starting to think we have another Yakone on our hands."

The metalbender shivered as stories of the infamous triad boss surfaced in her mind. A man who was able to bloodbend not only outside a full moon, but with none of the movements that waterbending required—a psychic bloodbender—Yakone committed countless crimes from extortions to murders. Avatar Aang took his bending away and had him imprisoned. He was later broken out by his gang, but that was over forty years ago. He should have been dead by now.

She felt a pit in her stomach as she wondered, "Could Yakone's legacy have returned somehow?"

His knuckles grew white as he tightened his grip even more. "I hope not…"

Folding her arms, Lei continued. "And what's the motive behind all this? It just doesn't make any sense. If I hadn't seen it myself, I would've thought it was just a scary story."

"I don't know," he admitted. "I just hope we catch this guy before he does more harm."

The pair grew silent again, allowing Lei's thoughts to linger over the idea of the faceless monster who stole away people in the night. Unlike the Equalists, whoever—or whatever—was responsible for these attacks did not discriminate against benders or non-benders. Just when everyone thinks he's gone, he swoops in and steals another random soul, returning them with no memories—only questions and a rising fear in the public's mind, or at least those who pay close attention. Luckily, the journalists choose to focus on the excitement of the pro-bending championships over the boogeyman that goes bump in the night. Still, if the frequency continued to increase, they would be bound to latch onto it—if the Equalists didn't take the spotlight first.

As the car hit a pothole, the brunette directed her attention to her surroundings. They were on a familiar cracked road just outside Dragon Flats borough, not too far from her home.

Taifeng's tone was both serious and sad as he asked, "Did you ever get used to your new house?"

She frowned. "Only just recently, but I still wake up confused sometimes." As the car stopped in front of Lei's house, she added, "I can't believe it's been six years already."

"Yeah." Taifeng turned to the younger teen with a grin as he gave her a playful nudge. "Chin up, alright? You'll be back on the force before you know it."

She flashed him a grin as she jabbed him back. "You bet!" She stepped out as she added, "I'll see you around."

"You too, Lei."

With that, she watched her childhood friend drive off. She remained there at her front door as she briefly glanced to the moped near the window and frowned. I'll never be able to focus with Jin around. Pursing her lips, she realized, I don't necessarily need to train here…

-:-

Lei was in a small yard, dressed in loose clothing with her feet bare.

Smiling, she turned to her neighbor. "Hey, thanks for letting me train here today."

Haku held his papers close as he bowed his head. "You're always welcome, Lei. I hid those extra pieces around for you. Please, let me know if you need anything else."

She nodded and watched as he took a seat on a chair that he had taken outside and opened his book. As the waterbender occupied himself, the earthbender stepped into the center of the yard, feeling the cool dirt beneath her as blades of grass weaved their way between her toes. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and spread her knees apart, taking on a horse stance. With her vision obscured, it allowed the teen to focus her bending senses on the vibrations in the earth below, painting a dynamic image of the yard around her.

Haku was watching on with the papers in his hands. A crumpled cloth was laying on the ground nearby. In the corner was an anthill hidden to the naked eye, running several feet underground. Lei felt each step as the insects carried their scavenged lunch into the ground. As surreal as this sensation was—as much as she could spend the whole day watching the world this way—she had to focus on her training: finding the three metal balls that were hidden around the yard.

Taking in the grounded parts of the scenery—that which she could see with her seismic sense—she was quick to locate one that was hidden in the corner. Reaching out her hand, she brought it out, letting it hover in front of her as she searched for the next one. As requested, Haku made sure that it wasn't in direct contact with the ground—that much was clear. Standing up straight, Lei turned her focus on sensing the metal spheres without seismic sense.

Several faint buzzing sensations split her attention, the telltale sign of metal reacting to her bending abilities as she reached out with it. Most were equidistant from the metalbender, and as she zeroed her senses in on one spot, she confirmed that these were the nails in the fence surrounding the yard. Reaching out with her mind again, she ignored these smallest sensations, leaving only a few remaining pieces.

The first was to her right, only an inch or so above the ground. As she focused on the area with seismic sense and her own bending sense, Lei found that there was a crumpled up sheet with something inside it. Grinning, she reached out to the metal ball and held it with the other one just in front of her.

With only one ball left, the brunette turned her attention directly behind her and opened her eyes. Haku raised an eyebrow as she pointed to his pocket and raised her finger, bringing her final target into the air.

As she returned all three balls to her hand, the blue-eyed man asked, "If I may, what is the purpose of this exercise?"

"Being able to sense and bend metal without seeing it could be very useful in the line of duty, especially when detecting weapons like knives," Lei explained. "Right now I can only do it when I'm well-grounded and standing still, but with enough practice, I'll eventually master this too."

"Is this not a part of typical metalbending training?"

"Well, most metalbenders can use seismic sense since it's an important piece of being able to sense the scarce earth in metal and bend it," she told him. "But that only gives you a picture of what's connected to the earth directly. This technique lets you 'see' and bend hidden metal." She sighed. "It would be easier to master if my father were here to help. He used to be really good at this. Captain Lee brought me up to his level of mastery, but he was never as good as my dad. I only really know to do this because I used to watch him practice from time to time."

Haku hesitated for a moment before asking, "What happened to your father?"

Lei frowned. "He was a metalbending officer. Dad was best friends with Captain Lee, so they took assignments together—watched each other's backs. One day, they were tracking down the Triple Threats, and they ended up on 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt's tail—they almost had him too. Zolt was desperate not to go to jail, so he fired lightning at them. Dad jumped in and took the hit. The shock was amplified by his armor, and... his heart stopped. Healers did what they could, but it was too late by the time they got there." She furrowed her brows as she added, "Zolt got away, and we haven't been able to track him since."

Haku's eyes went wide, horrified. "I'm so sorry. It wasn't my place to ask."

She forced a smile. "It's fine. Honestly, it is. It happened six years ago, and I'm over it now."

The waterbender frowned as his shoulders drooped. "Lei—"

"What about you?" she interrupted. "Are you in a similar situation with your dad?"

He hesitated before shaking his head, brown locks of hair flowing to and fro. "No. I miss my father, but at least I can still see him. He's just in the United Forces, so he's away often."

The metalbender playfully nudged him. "Well, at least you've got me to keep you company in the meantime~!"

His dark skin quickly gained a red hue around his cheeks as he glanced away. "Ah, you don't have to, really."

Lei laughed before giving him a genuine smile as she confessed, "You're keeping me company too."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it, Haku. I don't have many friends, and I really appreciate the time we spend together." She shrugged as she added, "It's just nice to know that someone other than Mom cares."

He smiled softly as he reminded her, "You're always welcome here."

She smiled back. "Thanks."

Growing flustered, he turned back to his papers. "I apologize. I shouldn't be distracting you like this."

The brunette shrugged. "I'm done with this round anyway. It's not a big deal." Raising an eyebrow, she added, "What're you up to anyway?"

He thumbed at the pages as he explained, "I'm reading through what is hopefully the final draft of my application to Ba Sing Se University."

She tilted her head. "Is there a particular reason why you want to study all the way out there?"

"While there are a few universities here and there, none are as good as Ba Sing Se University," Haku began. "I plan to study diplomacy. My father got me interested in the subject. The United Forces try to use it when possible to avoid battle—my father shared details with me when I was a boy, long before we moved to Republic City. I've found the subject fascinating ever since."

Lei put her hands on her hips. "They'll be lucky to have you. Don't worry so much, yeah?"

He forced a smile. "You have much more confidence in my abilities than I do."

The younger teen put her hands on her hips. "Come on, Haku. Why wouldn't I?" She narrowed her eyes. "Don't answer that." As the waterbender slowly closed his mouth, the brunette grinned. "You're awesome! I'm not even exaggerating. You're the smartest and most hardworking person I've ever met. If Ba Sing Se doesn't want you, then they're missing out on the chance of a lifetime. They won't be able to say," she took on a dramatic pose, one hand in the air and the other over her heart as she deepened her voice, "'We taught the genius, philanthropist, ambassador Haku, even though we learned more from him than the other way around!'"

He sighed. "Lei, that's kind of you, but that's—"

"Exactly how it's going to happen," she interjected before giving him an encouraging grin. "I mean it, Haku. You're gonna do great things one day, and I'm sure they'll be able to see that." She playfully punched him. "Have some faith in yourself."

"R-Right..." Haku winced as he rubbed his arm.

Lei flashed him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

-:-

Later that night, Lei had already gone home for dinner. As Haku's mother wasn't working overtime, he remained at his own house this time. The two had been eating together as they discussed their days.

Haku had just finished describing Lei's training exercise when Nanuq teased, "Dear, why don't you just ask her out already?"

The eighteen-year old raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Just like your father," Nanuq commented. "You talk about Lei so often, it's clear that you have a little crush on her."

His cheeks flushed red as he argued, "Mother, you're mistaken. I simply find her interesting, though she can be a bit… much at times."

"You can't seem to get enough of her," she teased. "You talk about her fairly often."

"She's the only other person I talk to on a daily basis," he argued. "I don't have other people to talk about."

"Uh huh. Just keep telling yourself that," Nanuq commented with a joking tone. "If you wait too long to make a move, she might move on without you."

Haku pursed his lips. Maybe she had a point after all…

-:-

Far away, in the tunnels outside the city, the highest ranked Equalists were gathered around a radio as they discussed their next plan. A man with a long, thin mustache approached the masked leader.

"Amon, we're ready."

The aforementioned leader of the anti-bending rebels put his hands behind his back. "It's time for the revelation." He turned to his lieutenant. "Target the Triple Threats."

"Yes, sir."