Katara could not believe her luck. First she found herself in some strange nation, or future... whatever it was, with none of her friends and family to help her. And if that weren't a bad enough situation already, she just so happened to run into a gigantic man who also happened to be a firebender. His massive frame and built even made the intimidating Combustion man look small in stature. Either way, her instincts prepared her for a fight and pulled out all of the water she had of her canteen.
"You can tell every other fire nation soldier they are not going to be capturing me!" she declared and lowered into her guard.
Endeavor chuckled as he looked at the girls defensive posture. He didn't even process what she had said since she looked serious about taking him on. "Please, little one. I'm not sure where you are from, but you obviously don't know who I am."
"Why, are you a general or something?" She sneered at him.
"A general? HAHA!"Endeavor threw his head back and couldn't contain himself. "You must have hurtyour head recently, girl if you don't know who I am." he stuck out his hand trying to coax her to come towards him. "Now, how about you just walk this way and make it easier for me."
"How about you get out of my way!" Katara swung her arm forward and shot a column of water encasing his hand. She prepared to yank backwards to pull him off balance, but before she even could his arm released a blast of fire outwards vaporizing the water on his body.
Her eyes went wide as her water steamed off of him and back towards her. "What? How did..."
"Come child, I would rather not have to hurt you. It won't look good for me if I have to actually use force on a kid. Especially a young girl like you."
Those words sent a sting of anger in Katara. 'Does he think a girl can't handle herself?' she growled internally and pulled the water over her shoulders.
Seeing she didn't want to surrender, Endeavor frowned and ignited both of his hands. "You really want to make this difficult? Then fine." Bright white knives of fire formed in is palms as he walked towards the waterbender. "You asked for this, so don't complain when you get burned."
Gritting her teeth, Katara began launching her water whips towards him, but watched as he casually ducked and dodged both of them like they weren't even there. 'For his size, is speed is incredible.' she said to herself as the flame hero seemingly danced by her attacks. 'Looks like I won't be ending this fast like I had hoped.'
The two thick arms of water she manipulated then broke out into a mass of tendrils extending from her hands. She began waving her arms over her head creating a spinning whirlwind around herself and walked forward. Endeavor didn't try to evade from the incoming spiral of water however, simply using his flame knives to begin slicing through each of the small whips like they were butter. After a few more spins, Katara stopped and looked up to the incoming man with her worry beginning to grow. "He's just... the water is nothing to him."
Gritting her teeth, she formed the water all back into a single column around her and thrust her arm forward. The thick stream rushed towards Endeavor like a locomotive. But once again the fire hero simply held his hand up and shot out a powerful blast of fire back towards her. The opposing attacks collided in a burst of hot steam erupting outward. Katara pushed as hard as she could to gain some ground, but her panic grew as her water began to dissipate at a frightening rate. She looked passed the two elements to see him casually stand there, not any form of strain on his face. She could tell not only was he unphased by her techniques, but that he wasn't even trying between their standoff.
As the two of them engaged, crowds began to form along the sidewalk as the fire and water crashed in the streets. The spectators watched in awe as the number two hero battled this mysterious girl, whispers going through the citizens as they stood back and took in the show.
"Check it out, Endeavor's at it again! He's so cool!"
"Look at how powerful he is. His quirk is destroying hers."
"Yeah she should just give up. I'd hate to see a young girl get hurt."
"Oh come on, she's obviously a villain if Endeavor is after her!"
Seeing her water nearly vaporized, Katara pulled back what she had left and jumped out of the way of the still incoming flames. She covered up her neck to help block the intense heat running passed her body before it dissipated. Her eyes rose up to see the burning boots of Endeavor standing right in front of her face. She slowly looked up to the man staring down at her with a cold look that even Toph could have felt despite her lack of sight. She could feel the sweat drip down her forehead not just from the heat from the large man, but from the fear growing inside of her chest.
"Come now, let's end this little act of bravery now..." Endeavor taunted as his hand went towards her face. "I'm not in the mood to-
"Rah!" Katara whipped up a ball of water and encased Endeavors head. The flame hero stumbled back in shock as his face was suddenly covered in wetness before feeling it freeze solid. With him backing up, Katara used this moment to quickly get up and run down the road passed all the shocked bystanders. She looked down and saw her canteen was nearly empty and knew she had no chance if she kept fighting with what water was left on her. She needed two things right now; either a new source of water to challenge this man, or to simply escape this city. Her sprint came to a stop when she sensed a massive amount of water hidden underground to her right. She looked back and forth until her eyes came onto a hydrant on the street corner and grinned.
"Now there is the water I needed." She reached forward and began pulling at the air in front of it, straining at the pressure holding it inside. After a few moments, the top burst off and released a massive geyser of rushing water high into the air. "Now let's see who has the advantage now." she smirked.
Endeavor stopped clawing at the ice and clenched his fists. The ice glowed red before a burst of flames erupted out from his face and shattered the encasement. The flame hero turned in fury towards the waterbender. "Alright you little brat! I was trying to be nice for you, but now you pissed me off!" His glare dissipated when he saw the thirty foot wall of water behind his target. "Oh... so you do have quite the quirk like they said."
Not caring to hear him speak, she stepped forward and threw the great wave at her pursuer. The water burst down the street and fully engulfed Endeavor in a great crash, swirling around him in a spinning mass. Katara continued to wave her hands back and forth and made the water constrict tighter before clenching her palms together and slapping them down into the water passing her. In a quick flash, the water near her froze instantly and chased up the stream before spreading out over the large water prison. The cold sheet instantly rushed throughout and froze all the water encircling Endeavor. Once completed, the ice ball sat over thirty feet around and nearly engulfed the whole street.
Katara dropped her hands and fell to her knees. She took several deep gasps to catch her breath, somewhat exhausted from the massive prison she created but also relief she finally ended this small conflict. "Now I just need to get out of-
"Flashfire Fist..."
An immense glow began to form within the ice formation, growing so bright the street itself became illuminated. Katara quickly stood back up in terror as she watched the red light slowly turning blinding white. "No... there's no way."
"JET BURN!"
A fiery beam obliterated the frozen formation, massive pieces of ice flying through the air and smashing into all of the buildings above the terrified onlookers. Katara felt the intense shock wave blow her back several feet and knock her off her feet. She crawled back away from him before turning to face where she had encased the hero, only to find him standing there with a bright glowing fist. "He just... destroyed it like it was nothing..." She muttered out in shock.
The entire ice prison had been shattered like it was nothing more than a box of tissue paper. and whatever ice was left not only melted, but the water on the ground had evaporated into nothingness. Katara had never seen such a powerful use of fire in her life. Not even Azula empowered with Sozin's Comet had power to this level. And once again, he looked like he still wasn't going all out against her. He wasn't just better than any firebender, he was leagues passed them. Her heart sank when she now saw the inevitable truth.
There was no way she could beat this man.
Endeavor slowly walked towards the terrified girl, a large smirk across his face. "I must say child, you have impressed me. You have a very unique quirk and yet you have completely wasted it by being a villain. And now that you have no more of your water now, lets be done with this game, shall we?"
Katara crawled backwards in terror as the massive man came her way, but she hadn't the courage to try and run anymore. The water in her canteen was near empty, and the rest of the water all around had been vaporized. She came to the realization that running at this point was useless and would only make matters worse. But to surrender to this meant-
"Hey, watch out!"
Both Katara and endeavor looked back to the sudden cracking of concrete, the sections of buildings hit by the exploding ice beginning to fracture and break apart. Chunks of cement began falling down and smacking into the ground near the terrified spectators. Endeavor sneered and ran towards them. "Everyone get clear! It's collapsing!"
The panicked citizens panicked and began running in all directions to evade the chunks of wall falling around them. Using his fire, endeavor melted some of the smaller pieces of rubble dropping before they could hit anyone. As a larger portion dropped, He burst forward and grabbed a few of the stragglers and jetted them out of the way. Katara watched in awe at how fast he reacted to the situation, her own mind just processing the situation. But then she saw a small child standing petrified in the crowd, and a large piece of building falling down towards him.
"Look out!" she screamed and ran as fast as she could. The took out whatever water she had left and rushed it out to enshroud the bottom of the falling wall. It wasn't enough however and it began forcing through the small pool. The young boy screamed in fear and ducked down as the stone came closer. Katara quickly jumped underneath the stone and pushed back up against it to freeze the ice on the bottom. After a few moments however the ice began to crack from the weight.
Wincing, Katara used all her strength to try and move the stone, but with so little water she had now her bending wasn't enough to redirect it. Her heart raced in terror as the ice began breaking off and the stone coming closer. She shut her eyes in fear and dropped down to cover the boys body, waiting for the wall to fall onto her. Before it did though, she felt her side grabbed and yanked off the ground in blinding speed. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and saw the one who saved her.
The six foot man was wearing white armor over his whole body. She couldn't see his face due to the forward protruding helmet he wore. And from his elbows were strange golden protrusions sticking out, small smoke trails flowing from the top. She then noticed the boy she tried helping was being held in the mans other arm, his own eyes looking up in awe to the new hero before being set down and run to his parents. She then felt her body lowered allowing her to stand on her own. She sat silently as the tall hero stood tall and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"That was extremely brave what you did there. Are you alright?" He asked her in a kind tone.
"Y-yeah. Thank you for saving us." Katara stuttered out to him.
"Hey, Ingenium!" Endeavor yelled in anger as he walked up. "That one is my capture. Don't be trying to sneak in and take my prize!"
The named hero Ingenium turned and faced the fire hero. "This has nothing to do with who's capture it is or not. This girl is not a threat."
"Not a threat? She took out three others and caused damage to the street here." Endeavor shouted out. "I am the one who stopped her."
"And this destruction is all her?" Ingenium pointed up to the damaged building. "I saw the explosion you created is what launched all the ice into the walls."
Endeavor frowned and turned his head. "I'll pay for the damage!"
"And I heard the reports myself..." Ingenium continued, "She restrained Manual and the others without injuring them. They said she seemed confused to where she was, therefore she was panicked. And she just risked her life to save that child. No villain I've ever encountered would have dared do something like that."
Katara felt a warm feeling of relief there was someone who was giving her the chance to finally let her explain her situation. She looked back and forth between her former opponent and her rescuer, definitely choosing to side with the latter as he turned back towards her and removed his helmet. The man appeared to be around thirty with dark blue hair and eyes. He had a kind look to his face as he placed a hand on her shoulder. At first she shifted back, but the reassuring look he gave calmed her and made her more comfortable.
"How about we stop this fighting and I promise I'll help you figure out whats going on, alright?"
Some part of her wanted to shove him off and sprint away from here, not wanting to be taken into custody. She knew however it would only make matters worse and ruin the trust she had from the first person that showed any compassion yet. And even if she did run, she knew there was no way she could escape from that bender she had just engaged.
Realizing she had no better choice, Katara gave a small nod towards him.
"Okay, this is really not what I was hoping for." Katara frowned at the handcuffs on her wrists.
The walk towards the police precinct had only been a few minutes, but to the waterbender it felt like she walked for miles. She was willing to talk, but she still never felt truly comfortable with Endeavor beaming down at her from behind. Ingenium had walked beside her the whole time with a hand on her shoulder. He gripped soft enough to keep her comfortable, but just hard enough to if she tried to run she couldn't. She sighed realizing there was no other choice though and did not resist. Her eyes then were met with the large blue doors of the station opening up, revealing a big room loaded with men in matching blue and black uniforms with badges.
'This must be those police they keep mentioning.' Katara thought as they walked through the crowd of staring officers. Most were in awe that two big named heroes were here at once, but the fact they were both here for this young girl. All the looks she received made her more uncomfortable, clutching her hands together while they made there way into the back. After walking down another hallway they reached a door and opened it, revealing a small bright room with a single table inside. While hesitant to go in, Katara obliged the small push from Ingenium and walked through the door and sat down in one of the chairs.
"Sorry about the cuffs, but that is protocall." Ingenium stated before sitting in the chair across from her.
"It's okay. I understand." Katara responded.
The loud sneer from Endeavor made both of them look up and glare as he shot back the same look. "Apologizing to a criminal. You really are too soft."
"How about we let her tell her side of everything when the chief arrives, alright?" Ingenium shot back. "She's just a young girl frightened who-
"Who happens to have an extremely powerful quirk by the way...'' Endeavor interrupted, "...Lets not forget she is responsible for a considerable amount of damage."
"Hey, I'm not the one who almost got those people killed." Katara shot back. "You were the one who blew up the ice."
Endeavor's vein pulsed on his forehead. "Excuse me!? You smart ass little-
"I see you are conducting this talk without me."
All three in the room turned to see the police chief walk through the door. The very tall man matched Endeavor in height, but not as large built overall. The one thing that Katara noticed right away though was the brown and tan dog head sticking out of the suit. 'jeez, can't I meet one normal person?' she sighed to herself.
"So you are the one who caused the disturbance tonight, woof."
'Woof!?' her mind yelled at her for the odd pun that she almost didn't process the question. Shaking her head clear from the shock, she slowly nodded her head. "I didn't mean to, sir. I was thrown out of place when I arrived here and-
"So you take out three heroes just because you didn't know where you were?" Endeavor sneered and walked towards the table, "You really must think we are stupid or something to believe that."
Katara pulled back in her chair from the menacing man, but she glared and stood back up to face him. "Hey, they were the ones who attacked me first."
"After you destroyed a car in the road!"
"That tank was trying to attack me too!"
"A WHAT!? That was a Honda civic!"
"How about you both take it down a notch, why don't you?" The chief grumbled as he walked passed the flame hero. "Let's take it back a step. I am Kenji Tsuragamae, chief of the police force. And you are?"
Katara rubbed her thumbs together debating to use something fake, but with everything going on, the truth was the best option. Sitting back down, she sighed and looked up to him. "My name is Katara, sir."
He waited a few moments before raising an eyebrow. "Katara... what?"
it was Katara's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"
"What is your family name?"
Katara sat silent for a few moments, since only noble families ever had last names like her friend Toph. "I... don't have a family name."
The chief and Ingenium looked at each other for a moment, all while Endeavor simply pouted behind them. Ingenium looked back towards her. "I'm sorry. What orphanage did you grow up in?"
"Excuse Me?"
"You don't have a last name. That means you didn't grow up with a family-
"I have family, but we don't have a family name unless you are royalty."
"Okay... um..." Ingenium scratched his head and looked back to the chief with a confused look. "Is there a new thing lately about that I missed?"
"Definetely not..." Kenji scratched his chin and stared at the young girl. "It's quite obvious you are not from around here, so where exactly are you from?"
Katara looked at the dog and let out a small sigh. "I'm from the southern water tribe."
The room went so silent even the minuscule hum from the light seemed loud to the ears.
"Uhhhhh.... What?"
"Okay, I need a coffee after that shit." Endeavor grunted as he stormed out of the room. "Call me when she actually makes any sense."
After he slammed the door behind him, the chief scratched the top of his head and grunted. "I am not as bad as him, woof, but I do need a better answer than that."
"That is the truth, sir..."Katara pleaded, "I am from the southern water tribe that lives near the south pole. I don't how to explain it in another way, but that is the truth. I was with my friends and my brother..." She paused and took another deep breath, "It's going to be a long story."
While leaving out the minor details, Katara explained to the two of them everything that she could; the nations she came from, the hundred year war, and the 4 forms of bending. All of it led to the spirit incident that had led to her being here only a few hours earlier. While she assumed the two of them would have simply shut her up and assumed she was making it all up, they allowed her to keep going. They sat there, most of the time with puzzled looks and no idea what she was talking about, but they listened nonetheless.
After what felt like ten to fifteen minutes, Katara finally finished her summary. "And that's everything I know of how I got here."
Ingenium leaned back in his chair and rubbed a hand through his hair. "I have to say Katara, That's... quite the story."
She noticed the confused look in his eyes and felt defeated. "So... you don't believe me, do you?"
"Actually, that is the troubling part..." he revealed a genuine smile on his face. "I actually do believe you."
"As do I." The chief exclaimed behind him.
Katara's heart fluttered in excitement at finally seeing hope in her dark situation. "You do?"
"I've been on the job so long child, And I have seen quite the number of stories..." the dog cop paused as he popped his neck. "Either you have the most convoluted lie I've ever heard, or you really did come from some other place and just had no idea where you were when you woke up. And you seem truly genuine when you speak."
Katara let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you sir. Now that I've told you everything, could you is there a way to get these off now?"
The chief looked down to her raised hands showing off the cuffs, his blank expression not changing. "And who says that you are not under arrest any longer?"
The smile on her face melted off to his cold words. "What? But you said that you believed me and that I-
"Does that excuse you from breaking the laws of our country?" He cut her off.
"Sir, hold on..." Ingenium turned and looked to him in confusion. "It was very obvious she had no idea what was happening or where she was. You cannot blame her for this."
"If a person doesn't know how to drive and they cause a car accident... does that excuse them from the crash? Whether you knew them or not, the law is the law here."
"But chief!" Ingenium stood up to face the stern captain. "She didn't know where she was. By what she told us about where ever she came from, she thought that car was a weapon of war. You can call that a case of PTSD."
"PT what?" Katara asked him.
He looked back to her and glared. "You're not helping."
"So you are asking me to lie for her and to create a story to cover up this situation?" The chief snorted to the young hero. "Young Ingenium, you are notorious for helping many heroes who have struggled through graduation as sidekicks, even offering to taking some without licenses to work for you."
Ingenium closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I have always wanted to be a hero sir, but there are others who do not have the opportunity to do what they want. I have always wanted to give those who need help the chance to do the best they can to help others."
"And with her using her quirk in public without a license. She still caused the damage to that car and hydrant."
"I will cover the damages sir. You can bill my agency."
Katara sat dumbfounded to the kindness this random man was showing her. He didn't even know who she was, and he was willing to go through all of this to help her. "No, you don't need to do that. I did do what he said, so I should be responsible for that."
"I must agree..." The chief stared at the good samaritan curiously. "Why are you offering to do all of this for her?"
Ingenium smiled and looked up. "Because I can see the potential of her being a true hero, sir."
Both Katara and the chief looked at him in surprise as he turned back towards her. "When I saw you risk your own life and try and save that boy, I was shocked. You didn't even hesitate to jump in there to do the right thing. Only a true hero would ever do something like that."
Katara let out a small blush to his kind words. "I was... I couldn't just let him get hurt like that. I didn't really think about it. It just happened."
"And that is why I can see the great things you could do."
The chief hummed as he listened to his words. "I see you have taken a soft spot for the girl, and you have made some interesting points. However, there is still the situation of what to do with her..." He stepped forward and looked down to the young waterbender. "With no family here and no home, I can't simply let you free on the streets."
Knowing he was telling the truth, Katara felt the cold feeling of loneliness wash over her. What was she supposed to do, go back to the alley she showed up and live there? Ingenium rubbed his chin thinking of the same problem, but then his mind clicked with an idea. It may have been crazy, but it was the best he could think of.
"Sir, if I may... I will take full responsibility and let her stay with me."
Both Katara and the chief's eyes bulged out of their heads to the sudden offer he made for them. "Wait, what? You are offering me to live with you?" She exclaimed.
"I must agree, that is out of the question." The chief raised his paw hand up, "You are asking me to-
"I am asking this favor to help everything in the situation sir." Ingenium pointed out. "She needs a place to go and someone to show her the laws and how this place works. I will take on that responsibility and teach her the ways of our society." He bowed down to show his respect. "Please sir, I can see the potential in her, and she should be given this chance to be able to make up for the small mistake she made."
Katara's mouth hung open in disbelief from what she heard. A place to stay and someone offering to cover everything she ruined felt all to real for her, and yet it was happening. "This is... I can't..."
The chief gave a small smile to her stuttering words and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well I can't say this is protocol, but I can't deny the logic in your offer. I'll put something in writing so you can take all responsibility for the damages and for her actions from here on out. This is for sure a situation I have never experienced so I won't push this out to the public. Just remember, If anything else happens after this, I will not be letting it slide, got it?"
Ingenium smiled and bowed again. "Thank you sir! I'll make sure she learns the laws and will do her best from here on out."
While they talked, Katara sat silently in utter shock from the events that just happened. Even as the chief walked over and released the cuffs off of her, she still couldn't believe what was happening.
"Technically, you don't have a name to find and identify you here, so processing you would simply take too much time for me." The canine cop chuckled to his own joke. "Now it would be best if you go out the back to get less attention your way. It will take a few days to straighten everything out so have her stay indoors until it's all settled. And by the way, I would keep your story of how you got here to yourselves. The less questions the better." The chief stated as he opened the door for them.
"Thank you chief. I won't forget this." Ingenium nodded as he walked towards the door before pausing and holding his hand out for her. "You ready?"
Not wanting to waste this chance, Katara nodded and snatched his hand and followed him out the door. She shot a quick glance and smiled back to the large dog. "Thank you, sir."
The chief nodded back to her as they made their way down the empty hallway and around the corner out of sight. He watched until their footsteps vanished before he huffed and scratched his nose. "Well this is a case I won't be forgetting, woof."
"Oi!"
The chief turned to see Endeavor stomping back towards him carrying a large cup of coffee. "Oh, you didn't drink your coffee yet?" the dog mocked.
Endeavor's facial fire expanded out in frustration and his eye twitching. "This is my third damn cup! What's taking so long with this girl!?"
"Oh we finished our talk with her, actually."
"What!?" Endeavors hand began growing hotter, boiling the coffee inside the cup. "And you didn't tell me? Let me talk to her, I have some things to say!"
The chief shook his head. "She's not in the room anymore, so you can't talk to her."
Endeavors forehead vein twitched several times, his temper and the caffeine not mixing very well. "And where the hell is she?"
Sighing, the chief grabbed his walkie talkie and clicked it on. "Sergeant, activate the fire sprinklers in fifteen seconds."
making his way through the back door of the precinct, Ingenium glanced around to make sure there wasn't other officers around to question what he was doing. The less he had to talk to other cops the better. Once he knew it was clear, he signaled his new companion to follow him out into the parking lot. Katara slipped through the opening and ducked behind the nearby car.
"Alright, let's get out of this area before someone recognizes you and calls the police again." He said and walked towards the side street.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?"
Both of them turned to the loud scream when a sudden bright flash illuminated the entirety of the police station, followed by the high pitched fire alarm inside. Ingenium felt his brow sweat and turned back forward. "Oookay, let's go before Endeavor decides to follow us."
"Uhh, yeah." Katara has ecstatic she wasn't made to stay with a guy like that. She looked forward and noticed her helper was already down the sidewalk. "Hey, wait..." Katara yelled out and ran by his side, "Why did you do all of this for me?"
The hero smiled as they walked together. "I have a brother who is around your age, and he is aiming to be a hero just like me. Seeing what you did to save that boy made me think of him and what he will have to do soon. I can't help but want to see you do the same."
She looked back to the road as she rubbed her neck. "Well I don't really understand all this talk of heroes or stuff, but I can't thank you enough for helping me Mr. Ingenium."
"Please, Ingenium is my hero name. My real name is Tensei Iida." He turned and bowed towards her. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Smiling, Katara followed his act and gave a small bow back. "Katara, pleasure to meet you too."
Notes: Chapter 2 here now. will catch up to fanfiction in no time!