A/N: Here is Chapter 4 of Tale of Two Avatars. Hope you like it. Please review and critique if there is anything wrong.

Noatak punched the metal wall of the cell in frustration, still not making a dent or moving it like Lin wanted him to. He moved to the opposite wall and slumped down, sighing as he fell to the floor, recounting how exactly his life had gone since he had arrived in Republic City.

He was absolutely exhausted, spending almost three hours a day for the past two months in this small cell, trying to learn Earth Bending in a very unorthodox manner to what most would. His teacher, one Chief of Police Lin Beifong, had insisted that he learn this way, learning to sense the small bits of earth trapped within the metal. Apparently it led to him being acquainted to the earth, as he would have a greater ability to sense earth than if he had learnt to Earth Bend first.

He had been in Republic City for three months and already things were getting difficult for him.

He had been thrown straight into working for the police task force after he had gotten used to being in Republic City after the first month, working as a detective for the various crimes throughout the city. Not that he minded, really. He loved helping people, and now he was getting payed to do what he loved. Even though he was only two months onto the job, he had quickly replaced one of the knuckleheads who had been a detective before him, unwittingly throwing him out of the job.

Suffice it to say, that particular ex-cop was arrested the next day for attacking Noatak outside the station of the Police Force. No one seemed to bat an eyelid at the fact that Noatak had beaten him up before dragging him in, as he had acted in self-defence.

As the weeks passed, the increasing threat of the Equalist's had been a pain for the entire force, especially once news that the Avatar had arrived. It seemed that Amon was almost desperate to get his hands on the Avatar, in an effort to show how human he was after all, or so the posters had said. Of course, the whole of the Police Force had known about Noatak and Azulon both possibly being the Avatar, and how no one knew which. Secrets didn't really stay secret within the force for long.

Azulon, on the other hand, had decided to get in trouble (as usual) and had gotten arrested within a couple of days of him joining the Police Force. He was so glad he had missed the phone call that night, he had heard it from three rooms away. And then, he had had the gall to destroy a three hundred year old artefact in frustration, and had run off, only to somehow get into a pro bending tournament team, not that he really cared. Though he wasn't as addicted to the bloody sport as his brother was, Noatak still liked the game, and would listen to the games over the radio when he had the chance.

Of course, he had stuffed up and bended water and earth in the middle of a bloody tournament. The press had had a field day with that one. Headlines had blared in the papers for the next week about how the Avatar had arrived, and how he was going to be ridding the city of the various criminals and triads one street at a time. No one on the force blamed him when he burnt every paper he could get his hands on in a fit of frustration.

As Noatak was mussing over the events of the past few weeks, the thick, metal door slid open admitting a heavy set officer with broad shoulders and a goatee, with a distinctive Earth Kingdom look to his features. He was wearing the usual police garb of thin, yet durable metal, along with the strong, metal cords that allowed the force to move around so easily. He saluted, holding the position until Noatak nodded his head in acknowledgement of the movement.

"I'm sorry, Detective Cato, but Chief Beifong has requested your immediate presence in her office" the man said immediately, addressing him by his last name. "Apparently, there has been a tip off saying that Cabbage Corp is in on the Equalist's, and she wants you there with her. She said this was an area of your expertise."

Noatak's head snapped up at this last comment, emerald green eyes meeting the confused brown of the officer. "Of course, I'll be there right away" he said quickly, rising to his feet with a grace that belied his imposing figure. "I shall go and get my coat and gloves, and then I will meet you in her office, officer."

Another salute and nod of the head, Noatak left the cell, quickly making his way to the second floor where his desk was, grabbing his thick, woollen coat of dark grey with light blue trimmings, reminiscent of the colourings of the Southern Water Tribe, along with the leather gloves and dark blue scarf his mother had knitted for him as a gift for his latest mastery. Quickly walking to Beifong's office, yet another floor above, he pulled on the leather gloves and wrapping his scarf around his neck, the loose, thin material belying the warmth it gave. He never knew how his mother could do it, but she always managed to make clothes that were thin yet always warm.

Shrugging on the woollen coat that reached the backs of his knees, he rapped sharply on the door to Beifong's office before, with a stiff yet polite 'Enter' he stepped into the utter chaos that was the Chief of Polices office. There were about twenty other officers, all of lower standing to him aside from the three sergeants standing at the head of the throng of people before the thick, wooden desk that was piled high with papers. A large, communications console stood on one wall, two communications officers sitting at it, listening to various reports from across the city, jotting them down on paper, and then switching the plugs from one socket to another to repeat what had just been said to the appropriate department. On the other wall was a map of the entirety of Republic City, along with the surrounding lands and the port where the ships docked. Pinned on the map were small flags of the Equalist's, marking where the various Equalist rallies had been situated. He looked at the map, specifically where the warehouses were located, remembering the adventure his brother had gotten into a few nights previous.

Azulon and one of the members of his pro bending team had found where the latest rally had been, while looking for the third member of their team. From what Noatak had gathered, Bolin, the missing member, had been kidnapped and taken to a rally, where Amon was showing off his ability to remove bending. When Azulon and Mako, the older brother of Bolin, had found out where the rally was being held, Azulon had decided that the Avatar was able to sort things out on his own. If it hadn't been for Mako discreetly informing the police, the precious Avatar would be without his bending. Oh what a shame.

"Detective Cato" the chief called out, snapping him out of his reverie. He snapped to attention, saluting her quickly and efficiently, receiving a nod in return, allowing him to relax.

"Sorry chief, what was it you were saying?" Noatak said quickly, cutting out all pretence of small talk, making it quick and efficient, just how the chief like it. "I'm a little tired from my practice, is all. I'm sorry."

"You are forgiven, for now" she replied, giving him a glare that rivalled Tenzin's, showing that it wasn't over. "Now, as I was saying, we have been given a tip off on the location of some of the chi blocker gloves that we retrieved from the Equalist's three days ago." She held up a glove as she spoke, giving it a look of disgust that said it would die if it had been living. "We have need of your, how shall we say, expertise in this area."

"Yes chief" he said quickly, nodding in understanding. One thing that had managed to make Noatak rocket through the ranks so quickly had been his ability to sense the energy one gave off, as if it were the ambient body heat they gave off. He knew that it was more noticeable with benders, as they had the extra energy for their bending, but he was also able to sense the energy given off by certain objects, like the chi-blocker gloves. All he had to do was examine the glove as they made their way to their destination and he would be fine.

He walked up and grabbed the glove from her (he was sure he heard her heave a sigh of relief), and returned to where he was standing, and started to examine the glove as she continued talking to the rest of the officers. This was going to be a long day.

-Line-Break-

Of course, nothing could go the way they wanted it. When they had arrived, Azulon, Bolin and Mako were there, along with a tall, beautiful looking woman with long flowing black hair and dark green eyes, nowhere near as vibrant as his own. Though, he couldn't keep his eyes off of Mako, as his thoughts moved to the short cut, styled hair that seemed to stand on its own, the piercing, amber eyes and the tall, lithe figure that made up the boy. Shaking his head, he wondered where those thoughts had come from, before focusing back on the task at hand. Stepping out of the car, he strode over to the four, shooting death glares to his brother as he attempted to calm himself.

"Brother, what are you doing here?" he asked in a neutral tone, skirting around the other officers in his way, before stopping in front of the group. The woman glared at him down her sharp nose, as if he were a piece of meat, arms crossed under her breasts in an attempt to make herself look imposing. From this distance he could tell she had a smudge of what looked like grease on her nose. "Ah, excuse me, Ma'am, but you have a little something on your nose. And please don't glare at me, I've had worse before. Also, who are you, and why are you here?" he said in a rather bored tone, still examining the glove.

The boys in front of him paled and glared at the glove as Noatak continued to tinker with the device, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he adjusted a few screws from his trusty belt. Because of this, he missed the look on Mako's face directed towards him. The woman cleared her throat before holding out her hand and answering. "My name is Asami Sato, daughter of Hiroshi Sato. I am here because I was asked to be here by the Avatar."

Noatak distractedly shook her hand before his head whipped up with a snap, his attention now fully on her, the glove forgotten. "Asami Sato, daughter of Hiroshi Sato, and heir to the Sato fortune? As in, heir to Future Industries, arch rival to Cabbage Corp?" At her nod of the head, shocked at his sudden attention, he called out to the closest officers. "Please remove this woman from the premises officers, she may attempt to sabotage Cabbage Corp if we find nothing to incriminate them."

He revelled in the joy when he could almost hear the jaws of the four in front of him hit the ground. Before anyone could protest, the officers had picked her up by the arms and moved her out of the tapped off area the police force were in. He had to chuckle when she started kicking and screaming to unhand her, and turned to the other three present, still currently picking their jaws up. "How did you meet her?" was the first thing he could ask. "I thought she was all snooty upper class, the kind never to be found off of their fenced off compounds." At Mako's blush, he knew it had something to so with him. "Well? Spill, I haven't got all day."

"She may, or may not, have hit me with her scooter yesterday" Mako said quietly, staring at his feet and rubbing the back of his neck.

Nodding in acceptance, not wanting any more to the tale, he turned to Azulon. "Can you three stay here for a minute, while I finish up here? I won't be long."

"But you just got here" Azulon said quickly. "How can you be finished, when all you've done is talk to us?"

"A good detective doesn't reveal all of his secrets, dear brother" Noatak returned cryptically. "However, I can show you, just don't interfere. Please."

At the nods from the three, he made his way into the factory, led by the other officers towards an area marked out by the small raised square of earth situated in the dead centre of the building.

"Now watch and learn, boys."

He stood onto the square, standing with his feet shoulders width apart, with the glove held between his now bare hands, the long, thick fingers and heavily calloused palms brushing the metal and leather, carefully avoiding the shock dispenser on the palm of the glove. He closed his eyes, allowing his hands to search the glove for every detail he could get with his touch. He breathed in deeply and then exhaled. A soft, purple glow surrounded his palms, circling the glove in his hands, and as he moved his hands apart, the glove stayed suspended in the air, in a perfect sphere of purple light, that slowly grew darker and darker, reminding Azulon very much of his brothers flames. A breeze blew through the factory, being pulled in towards the purple ball of light, quickly growing in strength, before a pulse of pure energy burst from the sphere, the glow fading as the pulse moved through the whole factory, purple glows surrounding numerous boxes and crates.

Without warning, Noatak fell to his knees with a heavy thump, startling the others out of their revelation. He fell forwards, now on hands and knees as he dry heaved, thankful he hadn't eaten since breakfast. Once he had gained his bearings, he motioned to the officer closest to him, and asked for his water skin that had been left in the Sato-mobile. Waiting quietly, he shrugged off the heavy woollen coat he had been wearing, along with the dark grey shirt he had been wearing as well, bearing his torso to the cool air helping him clear his head as he was quickly covered in sweat. Sweat poured heavily down his broad back and shoulders, falling down the thick, heavily chiselled chest and abs, falling into the deep crevices craved out from years of training. He couldn't help but smirk at the stares he was getting from the other two boys standing in front of him, though he didn't know who.

Once the officer returned, he poured half of the skin of water over his head and back, before gulping down the rest in three large gulps. Leaning back on his hands, he laughed before saying "Sorry about that, guys. How's everything going little brother?"

"You know I'm the oldest" Azulon quickly bit back, still a little shaken at what he had seen. He distantly heard the sound of crates and boxes being smashed open, much to the dismay of the owner, and the frustration of the police.

"Yes, yes, but we all know that I am, physically, the big brother here" Noatak said back quickly, mirth filling his voice and completely unashamed for being shirtless in front of almost complete strangers. But he was right, he was the physically bigger brother. Everyone agreed with him there.

"Fine, whatever" Azulon brushed it off quickly, offering his hand to his younger twin. Grabbing it, Noatak hauled himself up, embracing Azulon in a brotherly hug, before shaking the hands of Mako and Bolin. "So what exactly was it that you just did? Is it pat of being the Avatar, or what?"

"I'll answer the second question first" Noatak said, gathering his things from the ground and pulling his shirt on over his broad shoulders, the material stretching over his large chest and around his thick biceps. "I don't think it is something the Avatar can do, as it wasn't in any of our lessons while we were at the compound, and if it were, we should have known who was earlier, because I've been able to do this since I was ten. Anyway, for the first question, I can track the energy and traces of people and materials within a certain range, and can track people we are searching for using the energy they give off. What I did was try to find any materials that were on the glove-" at this, he held it up in his hand to show the three "-and marked where they were in the factory, so it could make our search quicker. And by the sounds of it, it is just the trace materials, all of which go into Cabbage Corps vehicles anyway, so we can't charge them. And before you ask, I don't think I can teach it to you, it's a lot like my Air Bending trick with cooling and heating it. Anyway, how about lunch, hm? My treat. I've just got to tell the chief what I found. And go and get Asami so I can apologise."

He quickly split from the three, smiling when he finally heard Bolin speaking, recounting, well more like exaggerating, what exactly had happened in the factory, while he went to find chief Beifong to finish for the day. And boy was he hungry.

-Line-Break-

Noatak had found a nice, small restaurant about three blocks down from the Police Station, and so they had decided to walk there after he had filed his report. It was a small restaurant called Southern Delights, with meals based on Southern Water Tribe diets, but also with some twist to them from being made in Republic City.

The dining area was decorated in tones similar to those of the Southern Water Tribe, swirling light and dark blues looking like waves that moved along the walls, with pale wooden walls and dark wood floors and ceilings. Low sitting tables with little square pillows for seats, done in light shades of purple, for sitting on the floor, like they would traditionally in the South Pole. Small rooms branched off from the main room, divided by beaded hangings in the traditional Southern designs, with the Water Tribe symbol emblazoned in the middle in light blues.

"Ah, detective, it's good to see you again" Quorra, the elderly matron of the restaurant greeted him from the desk as he walked in. "And I see you've brought guests? I am assuming that you would like the usual private room, along with the usual meal?"

"Yes please, thank you, Lady Quorra that would be wonderful" Noatak replied politely, bowing slightly, two fists held together at the knuckles, just below his chest to show a position of equal status. "And yes, the usual Seal dumplings with noodle soup and frosty dip please." He turned to the other four in their group, who were looking around the lobby with impressed looks on their faces. "Would you like to order your meals, guys? I'm quite sure you are hungry."

The others snapped out of their reverie and quickly ordered their meals after looking over the menus that were provided. Quorra hustled them over to one of the empty private rooms, done up in tones of green and blue that complemented each other, and quickly brought in refreshments and a basket of kelp bread before handing their orders over to the cook, who waved over at Noatak in a friendly gesture.

As they sat down at the low, pale wood table and took a sip of their refreshments, Azulon spoke up. "So how did you find this place? I didn't know there were any Southern Water Tribe restaurants in the city."

"Me neither" Noatak replied with a smile on his face. "And what I find funny is that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have found this place either." At the questioning look from the others, he continued. "You remember when you trashed up the street to stop the Triple Threat Triad?"

Azulon shuddered and muttered "Don't remind me of that phone call" while the others snickered behind their hands.

"Yes, well, this was the store the car crashed into when you bended the earth under it" Noatak said calmly, remembering what had happened from his point of view. "While you ran off and got chased by Lee, I think, and the others, I stayed behind to help with the clean-up. Quorra out there was very kind and understanding of what had happened, and also thankful that you had done it. Not happy about the store front, I can assure you that, but happy that the Triad was gone from the area. Apparently they had been forcing her to give them money for 'protection', and it was running the place into the ground. If it wasn't for you, she would have closed up shop the next week."

He stopped when the beads clattered, and Quorra came in with their orders, giving a polite nod and 'thank you' as she did so. When she had left, he leant over the plate and bowl, breathing in the scents and breathing a sigh of contentment, before picking up the chopstick and eating some of the noodles, absently noting that the others did the same.

After a few mouthfuls of noodles, he continued. "She was delighted when offered to help her fix up the store during my free time, and loved the help. Her husband had died a few years ago, so she didn't have much help around the place anyway, aside from Kai out there. She payed me in free meals, and I've been coming here for my lunch as often as I can. Anyway, sorry about what happened back at Cabbage Corp. Asami, you never know what could happen in an investigation."

"Apologies accepted, Noatak" Asami returned after a mouth full of fish. "I understand in the circumstances that were present, I shouldn't have been there in the first place. But my father insisted, saying some nonsense about watching your competitors and ensuring you always stay on top." She said this while waving her chopstick around the table, forcing some of the others to duck out of the way to avoid going blind.

"So how is it working on the Force?" Bolin asked, looking between Mako and Noatak as he asked. "Mako always said how he wanted to be on the force, but due to circumstances was unable to."

"It's quite good, actually. I always liked helping people back home at the pole" Noatak replied, with an 'it's true' from Azulon. "And I didn't know you wanted to be on the force, Mako. I could always see with the Chief if there is an opening. What would you like to do?"

"I always wanted to be a detective" Mako replied quickly, surprise glowing in his eyes at possibly doing what he had wanted. "It always seemed interesting to me, so it was something I wanted to do."

"Well I know there is a definite opening to be filled in that case, and you'd be working with me if that were the case" Noatak continued after Mako's reply. "The other knucklehead that works with me is useless. Seriously, I've helped on more cases in two months than he has in six. Prove your worth to the chief, and you've got the job. Can't be too hard, can it?"

"Yes, yes. Well not everyone is as skilful as you, Noatak" Azulon said, smiling as he talked. "Not everyone can do the flashy light show you did back there, just so they could strip and show off afterwards."

Everyone laughed, while Noatak flushed and replied defensively "I burn up when I do it. I have to pull off layers, or else I faint." Everyone shut up at that.

"I'm sorry" Azulon said quickly, eyes downcast. "I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it" Noatak said, grasping Azulon's arm in a reassuring grip. "As you said, you didn't know. Any who, how is your training going with Tenzin? I know he wasn't happy after you joined the Fire Ferrets."

"He's the devil, that one" Azulon said in reply. "He is non-stop with the meditation, and it's going no- where at the moment. But he was surprised when the pro bending tournaments helped with the movements required. I finally got past the spinning frames last week. How about you? How is Lin treating you with your training?"

"She's got me punching a metal wall for three hours straight every day" Noatak deadpanned, while everyone laughed at his situation. Sighing, he continued on with the explaining. "She believes that punching a metal wall will help make me a better Earth Bender, if I can bend metal first. I have made some progress, though, and I have been able to sense the earth in the metal, but so far, that's it. As it is, it could be worse. You remember Zuko? He blasted me with lightning, hoping for me to be able to redirect it on the run. Now that was traumatic and horrifying."

Everyone laughed at his plight, and he even joined in with them, remembering the fun he had had too. They continued to banter and chat for a couple more hours before they left about random topics that caught everyone's attention, from Asami taking them test driving in a car, to watching Pabu dance for more food.

All the while, Noatak couldn't help but notice the fact that Mako always had one, amber eye on him, he couldn't help but wonder what that was about.