The day I met the avatar was a day cursed for the rest of my life.
I was born in the fire nation where orders were simple, not here. I dressed in my uniform and buckled my sword and checked the seal on it, unbroken as the day I sealed it. The only fire bender of the police and only because I aced the police academy with perfect scores, yet I was doing parking duty, today.
I was doing my rounds on my bike because it made travel easier than getting in and out of a Shota mobile. Then I stopped to see two counts of illegal bending of public property. "Ma'am, do you have a permit for construction?" I asked, seeing the damage. "No, I did your job for you." I took one breath. "I apologize but how is causing public damage and causing a crash, doing my job for me?" I glared, she didn't look like an earth bender, but mixed families were more common now, and she didn't dress like a citizen of republic city either. "I stopped those guys—'' I looked at the dog and interrupted. "Do you have a license for the transport of a large tamed animal?" I was waiting for the answer one would get you a ticket the second, I was allowed to chi block and contain. "What no, Naga's my pet."
In an instant, I acted chi blocking her and the dog tried to bite my head off. I, Jet stepped out of its range and threw needles into the overgrown Mut's nose causing it to feel the effects of Shirshu Venom. "Well, you're under Arrest, and everything you say now will be used against you in court." I cuffed her and she yelled out. "I'm the avatar."
I just told her my opinion. " I'm Aang's great-grandchild and you're under arrest for public damage." I went to a phone booth and called for a dispatch. "Connect me with the police line, badge number 126394. yes, I request a police blimp." Looked still fighting to move. "To carry a large animal to the station and a woman between the ages of 16 to 17 claiming to be the avatar. Yea, lun gue street, she is detained." They came quickly and cabled the criminals, I went back to work riding my bike to the station to write the report. "Good Job on the Arrest, she's in the interrogation room with the chief," Saikhan told me and I was surprised. "Is she a celebrity or something?" I shrugged it off and sat down at my desk.
Then I was found by my great Uncle Tenzin. "What brings you here uncle?" He looked stressed but honestly, he always looked stressed. "Do you know where they're holding the avatar?" I guess I had captured the avatar which made me chuckle. "Oh, she's in the interrogation room." He went to the room
I was laughing inside my head as I had done something that my ancestors couldn't, capture the Avatar. "Hey Kazuto, what are you smiling about?" Saikhan demanded as I finished my paperwork. "About my first arrest." Then I waved at the woman. "Hey, good luck next time!" She showed her tongue at me and I laughed it off. "So who's taking the tab today?" They argued. "I paid the last one, Od Tseven paid the one before, and Kazuto before that and so—." They all turned to Saikhan. "Sir, when was the last time you paid for drinks?" I was smirking at the response at the man's jaws clenching.
After break time he was laughing with the rest of us. "How did you catch the avatar?!" Sadly I was the victim of today's mockery. Od grabbed me over the shoulders. "I mean is it in your blood?" I laughed with them. "It's not as bad as arresting that granny! Isn't that right Altan?" He groaned a bit. "The granny was more ferocious than the platypus bear!" We all laughed at that.
Then we dispersed one by one.
I was the last to leave and went home to the dragon nest flats. I looked at the city and remembered the rants my father had.
The next day I had breakfast with my grandmother and she was tired at best and frustrated at worst. "How's it going Gran Gran Zaya?" She shrugged. "I'm trying to get a relaxing day, I'm waiting for your grandfather to come and repeat our honeymoon. I'm also waiting for your father to come and rant about how this city is corrupt and should be burned to the ground. I can't blame the man, his eye got cut out and was held ransom at six." I nodded at her response, her eyes showing guilt. "Yes councilwoman, so any improvement to stopping corruption?" I spoke sarcastically but the veteran didn't take anyone's words.
She gave a look that could silence any Child. "Sorry, Gran Gran." She nodded. "Yea, the avatar came and I got a letter from your Sister." The golden child. "She sold one of her glass statues for five million." I sighed, of course, she had the fire talent and figured out how to translate it into her passion as I did, yet she made much more money. "The Avatar came, the moment I saw her I wanted to slap her." I chuckled. "I don't know it's just how smug she is." She drank her tea and sweat. "I arrested her yesterday." She laughed out loud. "What happened?" I smirked. "She attacked a few triad members and told me she was doing my job. Before I chi blocked her and paralyzed her stupid Mut."
She smirked with pride. "Good, I didn't think learning chi blocking would be useful but your mother has an odd trait of planning." I smiled. "How's your job search going?" I sighed. "Finding a lab job in this city is a bit of a nightmare. Even though I created artificial Shirshu venom." She kept her stoic demeanor. "That venom could change the world. No more learning chi blocking, just throw the needles, and done, your opponent is on the ground! The perfect self-defense tool." I just wished people didn't imagine the beast it was inspired by.
"I want to go through the park like we did when you were still my little man." I smiled and we did so, it was peaceful, walking over the bridge and sitting in the shade. "Stand with equality! Stand against the bender brutality!" My grandmother walked or better said ran to the megaphone man.
She glared at him. "So you want all benders to disappear?" He yelled at her and I was worried she would murder him. "Yes! All benders are cruel and subjugate us non-benders!" She looked at him with complete annoyance. "Then you want all benders to be killed? get rid of the healers, the lighting benders, the construction workers? You want births to be fatal, to have no power, building workers to die more often?" She smirked as the foundations of his arguments started to crack. "If you want to get rid of evil benders, get rid of the triads. Instead of cursing all benders for the crimes of those who are cruel, you should protect those who can't defend themselves." He stumped as the people around her mumbled agreeing with her. "Instead you should be angry at the council and demand it to be disbanded and that you select your leaders." The man started packing as people agreed with the woman. "Aren't you the councilwoman?" One of them asked and she turned to him. "Yes, and I feel guilty for the state of this nation and if I could I would have you reign yourselves." I sighed as the crowd disbanded.
"You hate your job huh?" She shrugged. "Hush, even if I hate it I have to do the best I can." I smiled, Gran Gran Zaya was one of my heroes, even if she didn't act like one. "Keep an eye on these equalist movements, the more stupid a movement is the more radical its followers are." I nodded then she looked at the stand. "Remember Sozin wanted to bring his prosperity to the world, even if it meant through violence and these people might do the same." I tightened my fist.
It should have been common knowledge but most had forgotten the start of the war only remembering Ozai's failure. "All good intentions end in a path of fire when one is blinded by virtue. Virtue corrupts as it turns to malice." I smirked. "Is that from my father's book?" She looked at me with pride in her eyes. "Your father and aunt are the gems in my life. Both were unlucky in life but were able to rise above it as you should." I agreed even if my father was too paranoid. "So what do you predict today?" she smirked. "This city will see chaos, I honestly hope that I will get through it without losing my life." I was alarmed at what she told me. "Don't worry, I will last another decade or three." I felt relieved at that.
I went to the stadium to make bets though when I saw someone bending two elements I was amused. "Someone is being mischievous." I watched and it was irritating as I lost four hundred yuan. The brat made me lose a bet, and now I was more than angry.
I sat at my desk writing my report and my comrades noticed my aggravated demeanor. "What happened?" Od asked, drinking a cup of tea. "Simple, I lost four hundred Yuan. Because that cursed Avatar came out of nowhere!" Saikhan looked angrier than me. "I beat a thousand Yuan you brat! I wanted to buy a new Sota mobile!" I grumbled. "Stupid Avatar." They all laughed but Altan, a burly guy was crying into his desk. "I bet my entire paycheck!" I patted his back as he cried. "I wanted to buy an engagement ring for my sweet Nemu!" I sighed and got my paycheck book. "Here, see it as a favor for saving my head in that gang war last month." He took it and the man stared in shock. "Thank you!" He hugged me and almost crushed my stomach. "Thank you so much!" I sighed pulling away. "Five thousand Yuan is chump change to me. Just invite me to the wedding." He teared up. "No man, you're my second best man! You earned it you slimy bastard!" I sighed and Saikhan, our boss, yelled out. "Drinks on Kazuto!" I sighed, the family-thrust accountant is going to kill me. "Then I'm taking my vacation days." I did the next day.
I stalked the equalists wearing the mask my grandmother had worn and as my father did when he hunted the man who scarred him. Their members were odd, their target audience was non-Benders yet they were too radical, too extreme.
When I caught one of their members in the cover of smoke. "Who is Amon?" I asked, wearing a voice-changing device that made it sound like I had been eating coal for my entire life. "I won't tell you—" he screamed as I passed lighting through his nerves causing him unbearable pain, a trick my father taught me. "I want answers." He nodded, crying. "There will be a meeting at a warehouse, here!" He pulled out the poster on the back side marking the warehouse. "Thank you." I placed three fingers on his forehead and bent small neural pathways in his brain erasing his short-term memory. He fell to the ground and I flew using smoke and ran across the rooftops.
I looked over what I could gather and my hands were shaking there was only one method of getting rid of all bending and it was genocide. I got all the supplies I would need: needles, throwing knives, the metal-tipped gloves.
I needed to destroy this before it sprouted and the course of action was infiltration and then have the members be arrested. Though sneaking through maintenance was annoying after knocking out and shocking them, I saw the back of a giant man who I knocked out with lighting. "What the?!" I look at the young woman, before realizing it was the avatar. "What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice altered by the mask as I stepped closer. "I need to save my friend and I think we're on the same side." I agreed if she was here to save someone it meant they were going to perform public executions. "What's the plan?" She grabbed a wrench and broke a pipe, great!
I flew past the crowd, toward who I believed to be the head of this organization before dodging a hit from the man who had two electric sticks. Now I want one. I dodged easily both police and family training made this until I saw an opening in his last attack, where I blocked his chi, causing him to fall limp to the ground. I wish I had killed him at that moment.
