1. A Vigilantes Life

Red n' Black

_Please review and also there are character descriptions for age and occupations on my profile. _

Chapter One- A Vigilantes Life

A thick fog covered the city streets making it hard for him to see the street below. The moon shone through the hazy mist that covered the night sky, cast an eerie glow over Hai city. The dim streetlights only added to bleak city, the lights didn't aid the city at all; only gave it a harsh appeal. Of course, Hai City wasn't always like this, only at night. During the day the city was lively and a bit more secure than during the hours when the sun was down and darkness filled the streets.

Of Course most cities did indeed have crime, only, Hai City seemed to be overrun by it, and that was only the start of the city's problems. That was when _he_ stepped in. Standing on top of a cathedral bell tower located near city hall the masked man snarled as he tried to focus on the area below. The blue mask he wore that only covered his face from the nose down contrasted with the black attire he wore. The thick black armor he wore protected his torso and arms, even though he did preferred to wear bag cargo pants that left him unprotected. He tucked his cargo pants into boots that rose up to his knee. He wore a mid length blue cape that only covered his right arm and half his back. The cape ended at his knee and stayed in place as the humid air, which was stale and damp showing no signs of a wind or breeze. Pushing the cape over his shoulder and out of the way of his arm he reached up and pressed a small button on the side of his mask, thus switching the mode of vision to inferred within lenses of his mask.

The B.S. in blue which was print on his chest stood for the name his Uncle had given his alter ego. The name Blue Spirit, the name Zuko agreed and took for his alter ego. It had seemed like a good idea at the time and he had taken a liking to the name. But it wasn't till he saw the initials stamped on his chest that he really cringed at the thought of what people would think. He had a problem with what people thought of how he looked and he could only imagine the degrading jokes he would hear over time about the topic of the letters stamped on his chest. Though he had become well know by the public and widely accepted viewed as a vigilantly and was often slandered by the news paper and the news one industry in general. It was like the news would slander both ends of his life; his alter ego and Zuko Richu, the discarded son of Ozai, he great corporate businessman and felonious overseer of the black marketing of weapons; or so Zuko believed.

He wasn't able to prove this publically just yet; even though no one would go against or speak out against his father. A lesson Zuko and his mother sadly learned the hard way, though Zuko was the only one disfigured by his father. Zuko believed he also killed his mother, even though the police reports claimed suicide; he knew his mother too well to except that lie. His father was a cruel man and a crooked one. Zuko only wanted to stop him at any cost. But he often found himself preventing and stopping crimes in the city, trying to find a connection to his father.

He let his mind wander so long that he almost didn't noticed a strange van pulling up to the city hall stairway. Zooming in on the van, he watched as three figures slowly crept out of the back end of the van. Zuko watched behind his mask as the figures made their way up the stairway and to the large doorway of city hall. He was still unsure of their intentions, and watched as the three figures looked around and each pulled out some unidentifiable item out of their pockets. He pulled out a black rod from the belt he wore and simply pressed a button and the rod opened to become a grappling hook. The figures below seemed to remain in the same spot, not moving all too much, still doing their own thing standing outside city hall

Zuko smirked to himself as he pointed the grappling hook at the roof of city hall.

Pressing the button on the side of the rod once more he made the grappling hook fire across the air with a thin wire strong enough to handle heavy weight but thin enough to be easily missed at first glance. Zuko looked down, trying to calculate his next move. Looking behind himself, Zuko aimed the back end of the rod at a religious statue and pressed yet another button that fired an anchor at the statue. As the anchor took grip wrapping around the statue, it had caused disfigurement to the statue, not that he really cared all too much about the damage to the statue. Zuko then slightly put his weight on the line, testing it stability. Felling that it was secure enough, Zuko took grip of the rod and zip-lined through the air toward city hall.

Pressing a button in mid air, both the grappling hook and anchor retracted back into the rod and Zuko plummeted down right behind the mysterious trio silently as not to alert them just yet. Removing the inferred vision in his mask and returning it normal, Zuko grumbled under his breath when he realized what the trio where doing. The three seemed to only be vandalizing the front face of city hall. So far they only where able to get one word and the start of the second, so it only read 'Freedom Fi…' they continued to work as Zuko hid in the dark behind them, debating how to take this petty crime. It wasn't the biggest of crimes like a bank robbery or a weapon or drug trade, but Zuko knew he would have to do something and stop these vandals.

Zuko cleared his throat in order to gain the trio's attention. All three stiffened and dropped the cans of spray paint onto the marble floor, each making a large clang as they hit the floor. Zuko noticed the three figures varied in height. Zuko may have been unable to see any distinct features in the dark, but he could see the out lines of the figures. The tallest was thin and slightly lanky, while the shortest was short and had a rather untamed bowl hair cut of some sort that was at least shoulder length and was unable to tell if they where male or female. But what got Zuko was the distinct male figure with wild hair; Zuko could make out a silhouette of a tooth pick in his mouth as the man turned to face him.

Taken back by the man's boldness to face him, Zuko couldn't help but be slightly creeped out by the strange smile he held. Shaking the feeling away, Zuko again cleared his throat.

"You all most know Vandalism is illegal and punishable by the court of law" Zuko stated in a stern yet discerning voice.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stop and maybe I'll let you off easy" Zuko stated in a rather bland tone. He didn't care too much for the vandals all too much he had actual hoped the job was bigger then this. Like maybe some thugs trying to break in to city hall, or maybe get some form of lead that connected to father, something a bit more interesting then this.

As soon as Zuko had finished his sentence the wild haired male stepped into the dim lighting from the street and began to laugh sadistically. The males brown hair slightly fell across his face.

"So you must be the Blue Spirit I presume. Yah know you and I aren't too different we're trying to change this city for the better. So how about you let us go or things may get ugly for yah." The brown haired male moved the tooth pick from one side of his mouth to the other with his tongue.

Zuko snarled, not one to like to be belittled by this vandal; to be compared to the petty criminal.

"Look I don't reason with convicts, I gave you a chance to come quietly!" Zuko snarled, as he yelled at this criminal.

"Well that's too bad you don't see it my way. In that case you should get to know your enemy. Names Jet, the leader of the freedom fighters!" Jet yelled taking a defensive stance and both his companions soon stood behind him. Zuko reached for his belt to grab a weapon but his reaction was too slow as he hadn't notice the crow bar Jet had pulled out of his sleeve. Zuko's eyes widened underneath the mask he wore as he felt the blunt force of the crow bar against his skull. Though his mask took most of the blow Zuko was left a bit disoriented as the freedom fighters ran past him, bolting toward the van.

Zuko sneered and growled as he quickly recovered and ran after Jet. Zuko's temper had gotten the better of him as he tackled the brown haired male to the hard ground against the pavement. Jet's body skidded against the black pavement of the street from the force of Zuko's tackle. Jet's comrades had made it into the van already and appeared to be getting ready to get out and help, but Jet knew he would have to end the fight quickly.

Zuko struggled to keep Jet in his hold. Zuko wrestled Jet to the ground, pinning him down with his fore arm against his head as Zuko tried to get hold of his arms with his free hand. Struggling to get a grip of Jet's arms, out of Zuko's blind fury he hadn't notice as Jet pulled out a small butterfly knife and quickly stabbed Zuko in the thigh.

Zuko rolled onto his back and arched his back against the pavement as he howled in pain. Jet smirked as he quickly stood up and kicked the Blue Spirit in the side of his rib cage from feeling victorious over the masked hero.

"Yah should have taken my offer when you had the chance, you masked freak!" Jet snickered as he held a cocky smirk. Jet made his way in to the back of the van and closed the doors behind him. As soon as he got in the Vans wheels screeched against the pavement until the tires gained grip and the van drove off leaving, a cloud of burnt rubber and dirt in Zuko's direction.

Gagging and coughing from the bad smell of burnt rubber, Zuko rolled over on to his stomach and stood up on his hand and knees. Catching his breath Zuko sneered as he reached down to the knife in his right thigh and took hold of its hilt. Taking a deep breath and clenching his teeth Zuko quickly pulled the knife out of his thigh. He groaned in pain for a moment before he stood up of the ground, leaning on his left leg as he applied pressure to his wound with his cape to stop him from bleeding.

Taking deep breaths Zuko sighed in a bit of relief he was still slightly annoyed at the fact he had his ass handed to him by so common criminal. Zuko then looked up at City Hall and Laughed slightly as he saw the vandals where only able to write 'Freedom Fig'. This lightened Zuko's mood slightly as he pressed a button on his belt which lit a red light on his belt. Shortly after, a blue and black Dodge Viper pulled up in front of Zuko. Zuko limped as he made his way into the car and sat into the driver seat.

Zuko glanced at the digital clock on the dash board of his car it was three in the morning. 'Damn' Zuko said to himself he would have to get up in two hours to get into his daily routine as CEO of The Jasmine Dragon Tea Corporation. Grumbling under his breath as he started to drive and make his way home to his uncle's. The bleeding of his thigh stayed under control with the make-shift bandage he had applied. Zuko figured he would be able to maintain the wound on his own as he was able to reduce the bleeding as is.

The sun had already begun to rise as Zuko pulled up to his Uncle's mansion, pulling into the large drive way and parked the car. Reaching for the stick shift, Zuko lifted a small cap on top that revealed a red button. Looking around for a moment to check if the coast was clear it usually was due to the Location of His Uncle's home. It was Gothic styled Mansion out side of the city along the water front where not many came because of the usual threat of flooding in the area, though his uncle's home was built far from the flood line and was built to withstand the flooding in the area if it did happen. The mansion it's self had a wonderful view of the beach making the gothic styling a bit out of place. But the red colored brick boarded by tan slaps of stone placed at each corner and edge of the mansion, the same tan stone was used for the pointed arch ways and main door way and various cravings in to the stone gave the Mansion a unique appeal of it's own.

Zuko pressed the button on his stick shift, which made the drive way to open into a steel platform in front of him. Zuko drove on to the platform and the platform locked Zuko's tires with steel claws that gripped the tires. The plate form the flipped up side down with Zuko and the Car underground as the platform disappeared the drive way closed off the platform returning to what it appeared to before just a drive way. Under ground Zuko waited a few moments under ground as the platform locked on to a large conveyer belt, which slowly moved the platform along a C shaped track. Setting Zuko and the vehicle down and unlocking the grips on the wheels.

Zuko sighed as he opened the driver's door and removed the mask from his face. Holding the mask as the ca door automatically closed it's self, Zuko made his way over to a large open glass case. He placed the mask on to it proper place and began to remove the rest of his suit unlock clasps that held bits of his armor together. Having removed the armor from his torso and arms, Zuko sighed as he sat down a bench that was next to the case for his armor. He slowly began to remove one boot after the other. Sneering as he stood up Zuko took off his belt and hung it up in the case along with his boots he placed at the bottom. He then began to pry off the bloody pants from his wound. Zuko sat in his boxers staring at both the bloodied pants and blue cape; he knew he would have to replace them both. Before he disposed of his pants he removed Jet Knife from his pocket and placed on the bench next to him, he would deal with that later.

Zuko was a bit annoyed at the fact that removing his pants made his wound begin to bleed again, opening up a draw under the bench revealed a vast amount of medical supplies. Grabbing a sterile pad, Zuko removed it form the wrapper and forcefully applied it the pad to his wound with one hand on this wound. With his free hand Zuko grabbed the gauze from the draw and began to wrap the gauze around his thigh.

Being content with the job he had done on his leg Zuko be slipped on a pair of sweat pants and slowly made it through dark room as he passed the motion sector lights lit as he passed by the room wasn't as big as one would think it was fairly small, the room it self was completely steel from floor to ceiling. The dark grey made the room dull and bland. Their where few items in the room the bench from before Six foot tall glass case which held his suit, there was a computer system in the corner in the corner of the room.

Walking up to the scanner on the far side of the room, Zuko pressed his hand against and waited for the scan to finish. As the scanner accepted the print, a part of wall lifted open. Walking through the door way, it opened up to the wine cellar in his uncle's basement. The wall fell along with a wine rack closing the door behind Zuko. Making his way up the stairs and into the kitchen, Zuko glanced up at the clock against the wall. It read five thirty in the morning. This meant he would have no sleep today and he would have to get ready to leave soon.

Zuko sighed having not yet to notice the small black haired female sitting at the counter top eating a bowl of captain crunch.

"Had a rough night their senor pompous!" The female yelled.

Zuko stumbled from being startled, Catching him self on the counter trying to prevent himself from falling. Zuko could see the female roar with laughter as she snorted her milk out of her nose.

"Toph! Don't startle me like that!" Zuko snapped at the blind teenager.

"Daw come on Sparky, I was just having some fun with yah. You're acting as if it's a crime to have fun." Toph snickered at her, own joke as she knew of her house mates alter ego. Zuko calmed himself and looked back at Toph she was wearing a brown band shirt of some sort, Zuko didn't bother to red the name on the shirt as he focused on Toph's face.

"Sparky? Never Mind I don't want to know the reason for this nickname but any way what are you doing up kid?" Zuko leaned on the counter as he watched Toph; Zuko's uncle had taken the young teen in shortly after he hired her at the tea shop.

Toph snorted at the question "Gettin' ready for school duh." Toph said as she picked up a spoon full of cereal and placed it in her month and began to chew in a loud obnoxious manner.

"Da-busss-comes-in-eh-hour" Toph stated with a mouthful of cereal. Zuko nodded even though he knew she would not see.

"I see… Is my uncle up yet?" Zuko asked her.

Toph swallowed her food and placed her spoon into her bowl as she jumped down from the stool she sat. She was fairly short for her age not that she really minded about appearances all to much, She usually put her hair back with a head band but allowed some to fall on to her face. Picking up her bowl she placed it into the sink.

"I wouldn't be up if the old man hadn't woken me up." She retorted back at Zuko.

Zuko smiled as he crossed his arms over his chest. Zuko knew he would have to hear it from his uncle about his late night adventure, but he wasn't to worry about that. His uncle was a very forgiving man but disliked Zuko's crazy motives to get back at his father but did see the good Zuko did for other.

Zuko had been cast out by his Father shortly after his mother mysteriously died. Zuko had spoken out against his father about the illegal sale of weapons to crime organizations and gangs. Hearing this his Uncle took Zuko in and started a tea shop which became more the just a tea shop but a large corporation but that was no surprise since his uncle had once been the heir to Richu Weapons Industries and was a good businessman him self. Zuko followed Iroh each step of the way and began to show promise in the corporate life, he was good at math and numbers as well as being able to investigate deals and companies before making deals. Though Zuko wasn't the strongest public speaker he was able to persuade and make deals with easy, so it was no surprise Iroh when he retired left and the corporation to him knowing full well it would be in good hands.

"Thank you Toph and you should hurry up and gate ready" Zuko stated rather blatantly

"Pst I've got all the time in the world" Toph left the kitchen and felt her way along the wall into the living room, she sat down on the couch and turned on to the TV. Zuko watched her as he knew she wasn't really watching but listing. As the news flashed on Zuko watched as a News reporter stood out side of city hall.

"As You can see here The City Hall entrance has been vandalized earlier this morning Police have yet to find any lead on who may have done this, people are asking who are the vandals and what this Freedom fig" The news anchor woman finished and the news channel flashed back to the news office.

"Well I didn't see and what the hell is a freedom fig. That a flippin' lame thing to write on a wall." Toph grumbled under her breath a bit annoyed at the anchor woman's brief description.

Zuko chuckled at Toph's remark as well as the seeming confused Anchor Woman who was lost on the topic of the Freedom Fig.

Zuko turned way from the view of the TV from the Kitchen and made his way up to the main stair way and to his room. Opening his closet Zuko began to put on one of his suit he picked the dark Navy colored suit with a white button down shirt. Putting on the white shirt first Zuko began to button up his shirt. Zuko was distracted by getting dressed that his Uncle had walked into his room just as Zuko had removed his sweat pants and was getting ready to put on his suit pants.

"Ah I see this room has been untouched all night nephew." Iroh leaned against the door way as he raised one of his eyebrows looking at his nephew.

Zuko had almost fallen again as he was once again startled this morning 'today mustn't really be his day' Zuko thought to him self.

"Gez Uncle can't you knock before entering" Zuko snapped at his uncle.

"But Zuko, how could I have knocked when the door was already open." Iroh laughed at this finding his own joke funny. Wiping a tear from his eye, Iroh looked at Zuko and spotted the bandage oh his leg.

"Hmm… Zuko May I ask as to how you received that injury?" Iroh asked at his nephew with concern.

"Uh … I uh just had some trouble with a few thugs it's nothing to be worried about Uncle I'm fine it's just a small cut" Zuko gave his Uncle a faint smile as he put on his pants and tucked in his shirt into his pants and tightened his belt.

"If you are sure nephew I won't go into the subject any more Zuko, but you do have to work and with no sleep is an unhealthily habit of yours" Iroh Looked down at the floor as he began to get lost in thought.

"Again uncle I'll be fine." Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle's worry.

"Ah I know what would help with your lack of sleep and would make come home more often, if you had a pretty girl waiting for you in that bed. Yes?" Iroh Smiled widely at this nephew as he rubbed the end of his white beard.

Zuko doesn't know how he did but at that comment Zuko started to choke on his own saliva. He started cough heavily trying to clear his lungs

"But Uncle" Zuko's Voice slightly screeched trying to speaking and clear his throat.

"I don't have time for that and that isn't what I need at the moment. I need to stop my father for you, for my mother, for Toph's father and for every one my father ever hurt or harmed. It's my Job to stop him "Zuko exclaimed to his uncle.

"Plus I don't want risk someone else in my life it's bad enough I put you and Toph at risk each day" Zuko stated as he looked at the floor not wanting anyone to see his weakness.

"Ah I see…" Iroh continued to rub his bread but his features where saddened at his nephews statements, he just really wanted to see his nephew happy but is want for vengeance toward Ozai often left Zuko blind to everything else. Iroh knew his younger brother needed to be stopped he just wished Zuko would tell the police take of that so may move on in his life.

"Very well Zuko… I hope to see you in the after noon at the Jasmine Dragon to pick up Toph and I after work." Iroh smiled faintly and the walked out of his nephew's room.

"Don't worry Uncle I'll be there!" Zuko called after his uncle after he but on his suit jacket.

Reaching up into his closet once more Zuko grabbed a red tie and walked over to the mirror. Zuko looked in the mirror as he made his tie and tucked it under his suit jacket. Looking at him self for a moment, Zuko's frown deepened as he looked at the scar on his face.

Leaving his room Zuko walked down the stairs and maid his way out the front door and in to the large court yard in front of the mansion. He quickly spotted Toph waiting out side for the bus, holding her book bag and walking cane as she sat on a large rock that was on the front lawn.

"Hey Sparky!" Toph turned toward Zuko as she heard him close the door behind himself.

"I was Just thinkin' maybe you could drop me of at school to make sure I got their safely" Toph gave him a cheesy grin as she waited for reply.

Zuko raised his eyebrow and looked at the blind teenager. "Aren't you always the one telling us you can handle your self and that you don't need any help from any one" Zuko stated with a smug tone.

"Pst well yeah, but uh… your not gunna force a blind kid to ride on a bus with a bunch of morons are yah?" Toph tried to persuade her way into getting a rise from Zuko. Zuko laughed at her statement

"I'm sorry kid but you have to deal with all the morons today I'm late for an early meeting maybe when I'm not such a rush" Zuko said to the blind teenager.

"Gez Sparky you are a downer, you know that" Toph grumbled as she turned away from Zuko and sat on the rock with her legs crossed as she rested he chin on the palm of her hand as she continued to sit and wait.

Zuko did feel bad for leaving Toph and had grown rather fond of the teenage girl. She had crude but funny sense of humor. She was independent despite her disability, which she didn't consider a disability at all. She wasn't family but in some ways she had become family to both him self and Iroh. Toph was once the daughter of Poppy Bei Fong, once a great advisor to Ozai in the Richu weapons industries but mysteriously died from falling ill that seemed to begin after he and Ozai had a personal meeting together. Soon after her father's death, Toph's mom began to struggle with trying to by for all her father's bills and take care of her blind daughter, though Toph was perfectly capable to take care of her self her mother cracked under pressure and left her alone she was 12 at the time and spent a year on her own. But it wasn't till She applied for a job at his uncles old tea shop did they learn this, it wasn't to long after his uncle had taken the girl and she became some what of a permanent resident at his uncle's home.

Getting into his regular every day car, Zuko put on his sit belt and fixed each of his mirrors. He put on sunglasses to make it easier to drive with the morning sun. Placing the key in to ignition and turning on the engine, Zuko placed his foot on the break and shifted gears. He looked behind him as he pulled out of the drive way and on to the street, shifting the gears in to drive Zuko then began the long drive back into Hai City.


	2. A Horrible Start

**Author's Note: Okay I'll have to admit I didn't expect to write about Azula and Aang at the end, but I found the state of affairs to be interesting and amusing. So, please review and tell me what you think.**

Red N' Black

Chapter Two- A Horrible Start 

Katara could not believe she was late. She had spent far too long writing a term paper that wasn't even due till next week and overslept for work. _Well, at least it was done,_ she thought to herself. She may be a resident in Hai Hospital, having already received her Medical Degree, but she also wanted to further her education in the medical field in the hopes of possibly becoming a pediatric neural surgeon. This often left her with little to no time for herself, as she often juggled between school and labor. Katara wasn't too happy with the fact that she had to pick up another resident's dayshift, when she only worked nights. Damn Chan. It was so _nice _of him to take the day off and leave her to cover his shift. Doctor Zhao was the Clinical Director of the Emergency Department and Katara's boss; he wasn't the kindest of men and neither was he the most lenient with his employees. Katara knew she would have to answer to him about her tardiness and could only imagine how severely she would be penalized and degraded by him.

Katara sighed as she peddled as fast as she could on her bike. She really had picked a bad day to cycle to work. She was already tired from not sleeping too well and biking wouldn't help her to much. The humid weather didn't benefit her either. She had put her hair up in a bun and wore her lavender scrub pants and a black tank top with a backpack strapped to her back. She didn't want to wear her scrub shirt as she cycled. She didn't want to get any sweat on it –that would leave her to be forced into feeling disgusting and sticky for the rest of the day and she just wouldn't have that. Katara didn't own a car as she didn't see the advantages of one, or so she told herself (in actuality she couldn't afford one). But Katara did find biking to be a healthy habit. But yet, it wasn't the best solution for this day. _I should've taken the bus,_ Katara complained to herself as she groaned aloud in frustration. Katara peddled as hard as she could, trying to at least make up for lost time.

So, she was starting off her day badly; she only hoped it would at least better itself in some way. _Maybe it would rain,_ Katara told herself in a gleeful manner; she was probably the only nutcase to hope for rain when she had a bad day. She peddled along the bike line which ran along the street. Katara, trying to get her mind of how horrible her day was beginning started to wonder about her brother, Sokka. She already had her own stress to worry about, but she had realized her brother hadn't been around much lately. No one, except maybe his co-workers, had seen him for some time now. Even his girlfriend, Suki was uninformed of his whereabouts and that downright wasn't like Sokka. Katara knew his job was hard, as he was a detective, but it was something he loved. He was out to make good of his hometown; sadly, in this city, things didn't always go according to plan, probably because of how corrupt and vial Hai City's court system was. Katara knew her brother wanted to be some big hero and save the day, but she felt that would only put him in harm's way. She would never admit it to Sokka, but she didn't want to lose him like they had already lost their mother. Maybe she was just overreacting about Sokka's wellbeing but it was just in her nature to be concerned.

Speaking of the city's defender, there was the fact that Hai City had its _weirdoes,_ as Sokka put it, a statement she would have to agree with to some degree. This city actually had its own superheroes. To start, there was the ever-so-famous "Avatar," some orange-spandex-wearing superhuman who could somehow control the elements around him. Then there was the infamous Blue Spirit. Katara had to admit that she didn't know too much about this character, since the he often left little to no evidence at a scene and had few eyewitness accounts to his name. The Avatar, however, was bold and out in the open about his heroic acts and almost everyone knew about him. This was all she knew and this was information her brother and co-worker Aang gave her and had seemingly obsessed about when she had last visited her brother at work.

Katara continued to peddle along on her bike as fast as she could, trying to hopefully make it to work on time –if not a just few minutes late.

…

Zuko was having his own problems to worry about. He didn't want to admit it, but he was exhausted and it was making it hard to focus on the road as he drove through the Hai City streets. Maybe his uncle was right. He needed more sleep, but that meant less time tracking down his father, Ozai's trail. Zuko refused to allow that; he had worked too long and hard to get as close as he had to finding solid evidence to link his father to the black market and funding gang organizations. He just need more time, but this run-in with Jet last night had proven to be a bust. Or, was it, Zuko pondered. Maybe he needed to look more into this Jet guy and the Freedom Fighters. His gang could have some link to Ozai, though why would his father want someone to deface government property as a threat? He was already in control of the city's officials. Why would Ozai want such a thing? Perhaps there was no connection at all? Zuko needed to find this out for himself. He would need to investigate as the Blue Spirit.

Zuko was too distracted by his own thoughts to notice he had run a red light. It wasn't until a brunette woman with a tan complexion came out in front of Zuko on her bike as she tried to cross the street. Zuko quickly snapped back into reality. Realizing what he was doing, he slammed hard on his Anti Lock breaks, breaking the peddle quiver under his foot. The woman stopped dead in her tracks as she locked at the driver out of shock. She stood in the road on her bike like a deer in front of headlight. The car's tires screeched against the pavement until the car came to a complete stop just a few inches away from hitting her.

…

Katara's heart was pounding ferociously. She could hear the heavy pumping of blood in her ears. Catching her breath, her expression completely changed from shock and fear to total irritation. Her eyebrows furrowed; one twitched slightly from how tense the muscle was as she glared at the driver through the windshield of his car.

"What the hell is wrong with you, moron?" Katara cried out at Zuko. She didn't know who this bastard was nor did she care. All she knew was that this idiot had almost killed her.

Zuko couldn't believe he had almost caused an accident; it was unlike him to be irresponsible like this. He had almost killed someone and he felt horrible about it, well that was until she opened her mouth and offended him. Taking offense by her insult, Zuko took off his seatbelt, opened his side door, and stepped out. Snarling at the cyclist, Zuko glared at her from behind his sunglass; he didn't care to remove them from his face.

"Who are you calling a moron? I wasn't the imbecile who stopped in the middle of the street in front of traffic!" Zuko complained as he held up traffic; the driver stuck behind him began to honk and shout.

_The nerve of that asshole,_ Katara thought to herself as stood, holding her bike up, clutching the handlebars tightly. She had a strange familiarity of this man but she wasn't sure as to why. Ignoring it, Katara snapped back at the man in the suit: "Are you kidding me?" Bystanders and passersby were trying hopelessly to avoid the confrontation. "I had the right of way; I wasn't in the wrong, sir, and I didn't run a run light, asshole!" She yelled this at the top of her lungs, trying to emphasize her point, though she knew the situation was partly her fault. She hadn't been looking where she was going and maybe if she had she wouldn't have gotten into this mess, but he just as much the fault as she was and he couldn't take an insult, it seemed.

Zuko scowled at the cyclist, enraged by her accusations.

"You know what? You could go fuck yourself, miss!" Zuko snarled as he let the insult roll of his tongue, he was unable to come up with anything else and he usually didn't curse like this.

He was doing a lot of things today he usually didn't do, it seemed.

The brunette stood with her mouth agape as she drew a blank trying to come up with at least a comeback.

Before she could think, she found her self speaking: "Yeah… well… I think I will!" She hopped back on her bike and peddled away out of frustration. Katara mumbled to herself, being still irritated by the driver, until she let the words she had said before settle in. She hung her head in shame as she blushed. She must've looked like an idiot for saying that, plus what it implied didn't help. She continued to peddle on, trying to forget the situation and her embarrassment –even if she had left a stunned Zuko behind standing in the road.

…

Zuko had to confess, he hadn't expected her to say such a thing. She may have looked like the fool in the end, but he somehow felt more involved. As the traffic stuck behind Zuko's car began to be more outraged and impatient, the honking and shouting became more forceful. Sighing to himself, Zuko sat back into the driver seat and closed the side door. Zuko rubbed his sore leg before he put on his seat belt and started the car. Driving off, Zuko decided what was to be anticipated from this woman. He presumed she would give him more of a fight, but he was glad their little scrap in the street didn't escalate into something more.

He himself was already late and knew he would have to answer for this at the meeting he had now delayed. Taking out his cell phone as he drove, Zuko began to dial his secretary, Mai. He then held the phone between his shoulder and ear as it rang. Keeping both hands on the wheel, Zuko tried to multitask and not cause any more problems today. After the dial tone rang a few times Mai's voice message picked up. Cursing under his breath, Zuko snarled as he hung up the phone and flung it onto the passenger seat next to him.

Driving through the city, Zuko found himself slowing up as he passed the city hall. Zuko did this not because it was what everyone else was doing, but he found him self curious as to what was going on at the scene of the so-called crime. He could have easily bypassed the traffic, but felt he needed to see what was going on –even if it took up a bit more of his time, since he already was late after all.

Zuko quickly glanced out of his passenger window to see the stairway and street clustered by police and investigators. The perimeter was surrounded by yellow caution tape. Zuko held his glance as he felt a bit uneasy; he wasn't sure as to why just yet. He hoped he hadn't left any traces last night; he usually was more careful, or maybe it was the strange look a bald-headed man wearing a sweater vest and glasses gave him as he passed. Shaking his head, Zuko decided not to worry too much about it and put his focus on making it to work once more.

…

Watching as the black car passed by with a suspicious figure driving, Aang ran his hand over his bald head and tried to figure out why this one man had left him with an uneasy feeling. He wasn't able to see much of the man, with the windows tinted and all, but he could feel the man's glare as he passed. Aang made sure to take a good long look at the driver's license plate to make sure he knew it if it ever came up later in the case.

Bringing his attention back to the case, Aang turned and faced his partner with a wide grin. He chuckled as he watched the brown-haired man, harassing the new portal officers that had been given the task of keeping the area secure.

"Do you know who I' am, I'm Detective Xiongshui! Do you know that that means? I outrank _you!_" Sokka called out, emphasizing the word 'you' at the end of his sentence. He was trying to prove his authority to the few baffled officers who stood around him.

"Sokka, leave the portal officers alone. We have work to do." Aang shouted after Sokka. The pair had only been there for a few minutes and hadn't found much.

Aang held his forensics kit in a metal briefcase. Though it wasn't an entire lab, it was enough to get some answers if needed. Placing the brief case down, Aang kneeled down and unbuckled the clasps on the top end of the brief case and opened it up onto the ground.

"Sokka, come on," Aang grunted as he pulled out a few cotton swabs, veils, plastic bags, orange florescent magnetic powder, and a small brush out of the briefcase This wasn't too much but these where a few of the items he would need to find and test evidence.

"Oh, Aang, we both know that today I'm only here to stand around and look good." Sokka grinned at his younger partner.

Aang chuckled as he stood up and put on a pair of latex gloves and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Aang then picked up a spray-paint can and dusted for prints. As the orange powder coated the entire can, he used his small black flashlight to see if any prints appeared; to his dismay, none appeared. Sighing, Aang knew he would have to test the can back at the precinct lab for materials that came in contact with it, seeing as the vandals used gloves of some sort. Placing the object into a plastic bag, Aang sealed it and placed into his briefcase.

Aang was a bit annoyed at the fact he couldn't find anything. He had looked early for obvious evidence with no luck. Walking into the part of the street that had been closed off, he looked up at City Hall and scratched his head. Finding nothing out of place, Aang wanted to call it a day considering that everything so far was pointing to teenage vandals trying to be funny. Taking a step forward, Aang saw something gleam in the sunlight. Crouching down, he was able to find a small spot of blood that had been missed. He would defiantly test this at the lab. Using a cotton swab, he took a sample of the blood and placed it into a plastic bag as well. Standing up and sealing the bag, Aang walked over to his briefcase and was about to pack up and leave when he heard a deafening shriek.

Aang turned his head toward the noisy tying to find out if he can see anything. It was too far for him and that would mean he would need to get a better view. But this also meant he would have to slip away from work for while, scrambling to put his brief case together Aang closed it tight before picking it up. Running over to Sokka, Aang shoved the briefcase into his partner's chest.

"Umph! What the hell, Aang?" Sokka shouted as gripped the briefcase Aang had forcefully handed to him. Glaring at the bald man, Sokka wanted answers for what was going on.

"Uh… Sokka, look, I need to go. Could you please take this back to the lab for me?" Aang's eyes pleaded with his partner.

Sokka frowned slightly, as if not sure if he should let Aang leave a crime scene but he then figured if Aang had to leave it was for a good reason. "All right, buddy but don't think I'm going to cover for you back at the precinct." Sokka nodded as he agreed to let Aang go.

"Thanks, Sokka." Aang smiled at Sokka before bolting down the stairs and leaping over the caution tape. This left Sokka a little suspicious, but he shrugged it off, as he was quite used to Aang leaving in a hurry.

Aang had ran down the block and looked around for a dark alleyway or someplace to hide; he needed to change and quick. Aang stopped as he spotted a decent place. He took his opportunity and stood in the shadows as he took of his glasses and pulled his sweater over his head. Aang then pulled open his button-down shirt to reveal a little blue 'A' printed on his chest. He wore orange spandex with little blue arrows running along his arms, leg and back.

Removing his clothes, Aang then set them on fire and stepped on his glasses, breaking them. Manipulating the air around him, Aang lifted himself in the air as the Avatar.

People in the streets pointed high in the air in awe as Hai City's great hero appeared into the sky above them. Aang listened and looked for the distress call. As if on cue, the loud scream was heard once more. Aang was able to spot a woman in a red dress on a rooftop, and seemed to be backing away from a man cloaked in black.

She was in obvious distress and a hero as himself would be shamed if he stood by and watched as the innocent were harmed. Spinning in a circle as fast as he could, Aang created a tornado and began to travel through the city without causing any damage.

The poor woman found herself pinned against the edge of the building as the man who held her hostage came closer. This black-haired woman knew she shouldn't have trusted the bastard to hold up his end of the bargain. She sneered as she glared at the man intently with her gold eyes. She reached for her gun that was strapped to her thigh under her dress.

"You shouldn't cross my father and I know you that." Azula smirked as she tried to appear helpless waiting for her opportunity to act.

"Help me, please someone!" Azula cried out pretending to be afraid. She was about to grab her gun when the wind around them picked up. Shielding her eyes, Azula held on to the edge of the building, the wind had become rough as it whipped around her.

Before Azula knew it, the wind died down and she heard a loud thud and her father's associate groaning in pain. Opening her eyes and moving her arm from her line of sight, she blinked a few times and saw a man levitating a few inches of the roof top as he pinned the scoundrel against the wall of the penthouse. The felon was gripping onto Aang's arm, struggling free himself as he was held in the air.

"Please, let me go!" the criminal begged Aang.

Aang growled as he held the man, "What gives you to right to beg?" His voice boomed as he made himself sound tougher than he was.

"I –I –I –uh, I uh…was only talking to the lovely lady." The crook grinned behind his ski mask.

Even if he wasn't completely lying Aang didn't believe him. Azula found this to be an opening for the hero to aid her. She quickly stood up and ran toward the Avatar, grasping onto his arm, leaning his arm as to appear weak.

"Oh, thank goodness you came. I would have been doomed with out you," Azula exclaimed with a false tone to her voice. That man tried to kill me, you can't let him go." She laid it on thick and began to weep as she fell to her knees. She covered her face with her hands.

Aang felt remorse for the woman as he debated what to do with the criminal. He held his grip tight on the man's shirt as he gently let him softly touch the solid gravel on the rooftop.

"I think the cops can handle you, criminal," Aang snarled as he walked over to the roof's edge, still holding the man by his shirt. The man began to beg and cry as he believed the Avatar would drop him to his death.

"L –l –look, I don't w –w –w –wanna die!" The man stuttered in fear, trying to reason with Aang. Aang smirked as he jumped down off the roof, slowly pushing the wind up against his body to slow down his fall as he kept his grip on the man who was now scrambling up the Avatar's arm and neck, trying with all his might not to fall. Azula found herself a bit annoyed for being left behind as she stood up and looked over the edge, glaring at the Avatar as he gently glided down to the ground. As Aang touched ground, the crook shook with terror as he slowly slid off of Aang's body, his eyes widening. As soon as he stood on his own feet, he was pushed up against a wall once again, only this time by three police officers who had heard the ruckus from up above.

Aang chuckled as watched the villain be apprehended and taken into custody. He smiled as the people in the streets applauded and shouted out of joy. Aang waved to the crowed before once more leaping up to the roof to receive his thanks from the poor victim he left on the roof. Landing on the roof, he smirked as he raised his eyebrow and placed his hand at his chest.

"Are you alright, miss?" Aang was now able to get a good look at the woman. Upon realizing who she was, Aang's eyes bulged out of his head as he stuttered.

"Y –yy –you're Azula Richu… Azula Richu, the sole heir to Richu Weapons Industries!" Aang exclaimed to mostly him self in shock.

"Yes, the one and only…and you are the Avatar, Hai City's champion," Azula said as she wiped the fake tears that still remained on her face from before, still playing into her damsel-in-distress act. She then continued in her falsely innocent tone, "I'm so glad you saved me. I was… helpless."

"No problem, Miss Richu, it's what we champions do." Aang grinned as held out his hand toward her. "Now, how about I help you down from here, miss?" Aang asked in a soothing and claim voice.

Azula's brows furrowed. She didn't quite like the idea, as she was in a dress, but she figured she would amuse the man, since he felt obligated to help her. Taking his hand, Azula found herself being pulled into the man's chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Aang smirked sheepishly as he held Azula close to him to keep her safe. Azula blushed as she stood on top of his foot to keep herself stable. She really hadn't expected this whole heroic scenario or the closeness of herself and the hero. Keeping her eyes glued to the 'A' on his chest, Azula held on to his shoulders and hoped her face would return to its natural color before he noticed. Aang grunted at the awkwardness of his stance as he held Azula, Quickly pushing himself of the rooftop, he drifted above the street for a few moments before descending slowly. Azula's hair flung into her face as the wind blew past them.

As his feet made contact with the concrete, Aang's grip around Azula's waist lessened. Though she didn't want to admit it, she was slightly humiliated by this random display for all to see. She gently let her hands slide down from the Avatar's shoulders. She quickly stepped away from him, she stared at the ground while the crowd roared and took pictures. The hundreds of flashes didn't help with Azula's embarrassment.

"Uh, why thank you. I wish I could repay you somehow." Azula tried to be courteous, as to keep up her innocent image for the public.

"You don't have to repay me. Thanks is all I need," Aang stated as rubbed the back of his head, blushing slightly. He really didn't need all this attention at the moment, though he often enjoyed it. It was only today that it felt a bit odd, considering that he had just saved Miss Richu.

Azula's eyes glistened evilly, and the wheels within her head began to turn. She thought if the media wanted a story she sure as hell would give them something to talk about. That way, she could keep them from investigating anything connecting her to the thug she had made a deal with just before. She knew the thug would blab eventually and the only way to keep people from talking about that even if they couldn't find any real connection she would at least give them something else to talk about.

"But a small reward would be sufficient." Azula grinned as she placed a kiss on the Avatar's cheek to have him turn as red as a tomato in front of the crowd as the flashing started once more.

"Why, uh, thank you… but I really must go." Aang voice screeched slightly as he gently pushed Azula away as he blushed furiously. He knew he'd have to get changed back at home before heading back to work, but he also wanted to leave as quickly as he could to avoid any more discomforting situations.

Leaping into the air Aang, left Azula and the crowd watching as he made his escape into the sky.


	3. A Visit

Red N' Black

**Author's Note: Please review and also there are character descriptions for age and occupations on my profile.**

**OMG! I know this new chapter took forever so it is fairly longer then the previous ones; I guess it's to make up for the very long wait, so enjoy and review.**

**Beta read by: Passionworks**

Chapter 3- A Visit

Aang hadn't taken too long to make it home. He would have to change quickly before heading back to work. Landing onto the fire escape outside of his apartment window, the Avatar looked around to make sure no one was around to witness him completing this procedure. He had a reputation to uphold and he didn't need to be found in the middle of an act that would be deemed as breaking and entering; plus, he didn't need anyone to get suspicious and come to his place and ask questions. Pulling open the bottom half the window as far as it would allow, Aang ducked his head through the frame and climbed into his apartment. The room he entered was a dull gray; very little light could make into the small apartment and the building itself was surrounded by taller and bigger buildings that blocked the sun from ever really reaching it.

Setting foot onto the hardwood floor, Aang tried not to make any noise even though no one else lived there but him. He felt the need to be cautious and to keep alert as if at any moment he would draw attention to himself and be caught. Sliding his feet along the floorboards, Aang slowly made his way across the living room and toward his bedroom. _He was in the clear,_ he thought to himself. He was almost to his room and he hadn't drawn attention to himself. Yes, Aang did indeed live alone, but he did have two lively pets that kept him company. He took a deep breath and sighed with relief as he had hoped they would remain asleep as he changed and left for work yet again. He began to make his way into an even darker hallway leading to two doors on to his left and one that led straight down.

Aang ran a hand over his bald head as he turned to his left and gripped the doorknob to his bedroom. As Aang opened the door, he was met by an Old English Sheepdog which leapt onto him, knocking him back into the hallway wall. Leaning up against the wall Aang groaned as the dog licked his face vigorously. Aang tried to push hi, away with his hands. Aang chuckled at the dog's affection.

"Come on, Appa, stop!" Aang shouted between fits of laughter.

The dog continued ignore his master's plea. Aang still struggled with the dog as he began to feel the slobber start to drip from his face.

"Ah-ha! Gross, boy! Now, sit," Aang shouted once more at the dog, this time with a stern tone; he was no longer pleased with his pet. Appa quickly took note of this and sat down. Aang tried to look at Appa behind the mass of hair that draped over his eyes. He wiped his face with his sleeve as he sneered in disgust.

Pushing himself off the floor with one hand, Aang stood up and continued to wipe his face. He immediately glanced down as he felt something brush up against his leg. Smiling at the small Siamese cat, which purred and brushed it's self up against his leg, he bent down and ran his hand over its back; the animal arched its spine into Aang's hand, receiving his affection.

"Hey, Momo," Aang called cheerfully at the cat.

Standing up again, Aang brushed past Appa, stepped over Momo, and made it into his room. He opened the draw to his dresser. The two animals followed him into the room and jumped onto his bed. Appa laid down and watched his master as Momo sat up and curiously kept his gaze on Aang, as if trying to figure out what he was doing.

Aang pulled out a shirt, a black tie and a black pair of slacks from the drawer which had been neatly piled in that exact order next to each other. Aang had the same array of clothing for each drawer, making sure he had at least fifteen pairs of the same kind of clothing for occasions such as this (or, it could be the fact he was slightly neurotic and a bit nerdy). He stood in his room with the orange spandex pairing to dress. He found himself recalling about how he had become the Avatar, a name passed down to him from his family. Aang had these powers since as long as he could remember. His grandfather, Gyatso, had trained him since he was little and had even taken care of him after his parents had died in a terrible accident when he was just a one-year-old. His grandfather had explained to Aang that these kinds of powers ran down into his family line through blood. It was a great gift given to a select few within his family, passed down by blood and spirit from their ancestors. Aang wasn't too sure how this great power was given to his family, as he honestly blanked out when his grandfather tried to explain the story to him. He knew it had to do with an emperor of great China dubbing his family line great protectors of the people of the land or something like that. Aang later regretted not listening and never thinking to ask his grandfather about the origin of his family's powers before was sadly killed three years ago.

Thinking back about his grandfather, Aang's heart ached as his eyes watered. Fighting back the tears he sniffled and wiped his eyes as he subconsciously stared at a framed picture of his grandfather and himself, both smiling and standing shoulder-to-shoulder as they stood in the park surrounded by a sea of bright green that came from the trees and grass. Unbuckling his belt, Aang revealed the fact his spandex suit was in fact two split items. Removing the boots from his feet and putting on the white button-down log sleeve dress shirt, Aang quickly fixed the buttons, collar and the cuffs of his sleeves to make sure that the suit underneath didn't not reveal itself at all. It was a close call, since he often found it difficult to even find a type of shirt thick enough to hide the orange he wore underneath. Placing the black tie under his collar, Aang began to finish off the knot. He laughed at the thought of himself and his little display today as the Avatar. He and the Avatar were two very different people, according to him; he was shy and the passive type, whereas the Avatar was bold and cocky. Sure, these were different aspects of himself. He wasn't schizophrenic or anything; he just needed to put on a bit of an act to separate himself and the Avatar.

Pulling up his back slacks and fixing his belt, he scanned his bedroom. A dog and cat on his bed made slightly messy, but that was expected. There was his dark brown dresser with the second drawer open and an end table the same color as the dresser next his bed with a small lamp on it. His room was bland and boring by most people's standards –not that Aang cared for what other's thought. He only cared about the people close to him –not that he actually had any real friends besides his coworkers and a few acquaintances he had met over the years. Before his grandfather died, he didn't have many friends at all and for a while he was content with this.

After finishing getting dressed, Aang grabbed his briefcase and placed it on the bed between Momo and Appa. He carefully placed a few files and his Avatar belt into the briefcase and quickly snapped it closed, clipping the clasps together. Picking up the briefcase by the handle, Aang left his bedroom and headed down the small hallway and to the door to leave his apartment. Exiting the building, he stepped into the elevator and watched as the steel doors shut.

Sighing to himself, he waited for the elevator to stop at the lobby. It was early in the afternoon and most people where either at work or doing something else, so Aang knew he would be alone for the moment. Stepping out of the elevator, he strolled outside, passing the doorman and giving him a faint smile as he passed. Aang waited at the bus stop and kept impatiently glancing at his watch. He had wasted a lot of time already and knew his partner, Sokka wouldn't be pleased and would begin to ask questions. Aang would have to come up with some explanation for his disappearance; the problem was Sokka knew Aang very well and knew his background. So Aang couldn't say it was some sort of family emergency or anything. He would have to come up with something else. He would have to think of something on the way back to work. Stepping onto the bus, Aang paid the toll and sat down and contemplated what he should say.

…

A disgruntled Zuko had just left his board room only to find himself even more agitated than before. This wasn't an unusual sight for his secretary to see. She arched an eyebrow as she looked over the computer screen that sat in front of her. Her black bangs lied flatly against her forehead and the rest of her hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She wore a black overcoat and a plain black skirt along with a white shirt, black stockings and black heels. He had cursed and praised the day his uncle hired Mai, but Zuko would never admit that to his uncle in person, even if he was sure his uncle had a hunch about Zuko's attraction to Miss Kuai.

"Are you going to say something, Mister Richu, or are you going to keep staring at me with the same angry look on your face till clock-out?" Mai stated with the same tedious tone as always. She had a knack for seeming to be disinterested in everything. She stared blankly at the computer screen as she continued to type.

Zuko straightened his posture and fixed his tie, trying not to show his embarrassment for having been caught staring at her. _What the hell is with the formalities,_ Zuko thought. Mister Richu was his father and he didn't want to be affiliated with this man at all. Maybe he should have changed his name or something, but that would mean turning his back on who he was, and that seemed to be too much for Zuko. Plus, every day he had to hear about how great of a businessman his bastard of a son was and he would have to bare that thought each and every moment. This brought a smile to his face.

"Hey, Mai. No need for formalities; we've been working together for at least two years now. I believe we can be causal in the work area," Zuko said with a small smile.

Giving a faint laugh, Mai stopped herself from the task at hand and looked up at Zuko as she leaned back against her chair.

"I'll be causal when you aren't my boss, but for now I shall treat you as I would any other employer. But anyway, may I ask how the meeting went?" Mai retorted back and began to turn her attention back to the computer.

Zuko snarled at the question; he really didn't want to even think about the meeting. Those morons on the board could go shove it for all he cared. They, of all people, were trying to tell him how to run _his_ business. _Those bastards,_ Zuko snarled to himself. He paced in front of Mai's desk as he clenched his fists.

"How could they think they could decide to have a merger between the Jasmine Dragon and Bujing Food Incorporation without me knowing?" Zuko roared, his temper rising once more. This briefly took his mind off of observing his secretary's features.

"I will not allow it; never in a million years would I ever consider such a merger!" Zuko's rage was getting the better of him; he noted this, but could not care less. His whole day had been nothing but a large pile of crap and he doubted if it would get any better.

"You know, a merger would be a smart move, Mister Richu," Mai stated with her usual monotone, ignoring the world around her as she continued her work.

"Stop calling me that. I've told you many times, Zuko is fine, and, no, it would not. Bujing works closely with my father.

"We don't need my father's influence in the company, even if it's through another," Zuko grunted as his temper slowly faded. He was still agitated, but at least he wasn't about to kill anyone at the moment. He rubbed his leg as he leaned against Mai's desk.

"Is there anything else I should know, Mai?" He suddenly asked as he looked back at her, trying to pay no mind to the pain in his wounded leg.

"Your uncle called and asked me to tell you to have a wonderful day…" The sentence fell from Mai's mouth tastelessly. Zuko nodded his head in response as he rubbed his chin.

"He also asked what it is that you're planning to do about the annual employee appreciation party this Saturday." Mai looked up at Zuko. His eyes widened; he had realized he had forgotten the yearly celebration his uncle had started when the company came to be. Iroh had also planned that Zuko would keep this tradition as a means of maintaining the employees' happiness and to, of course, let them all know that they were appreciated at the Jasmine Dragon Corporation –this included those occupying the lower chains of the shop. This was something the aged man was proud of. Iroh may have been the big business type, but he made sure that everyone who was a part of his corporation knew how grateful he was to have these fine workers. Zuko didn't want to mar the man's image and believed that, as nuts as he may have been at times, he was right about this point. So, Zuko would uphold his uncle's wishes, despite the fact that he wasn't the type to take part in social gatherings.

"Hmm… I would have to guess he is asking because he already has something planned…" Zuko stated as his tone became softer; he held a faint smirk on his face.

"I wouldn't know, sir; you would have to ask him yourself," Mai replied, showing clear indifference towards the matter at hand.

"Very well. Thank you, Mai…and please hold any calls for now; I need time to think." He passed by Mai's desk and entered his office.

Taking his seat behind his large desk, Zuko sighed as he leaned back into his chair, staring at the large pile of papers before him. He was too tired to even look at a piece of paper, let alone begin to go over the mass of contacts, deals, sales and stockholder reports. Looking up at the clock on the plain wall at his side, Zuko cringed at the time. It was four thirty in the afternoon; he would have to leave soon and pick up his uncle and Toph from the tea shop. Closing his eyes, Zuko leaned forward and placed his face into his hands and leaned against his desk. He took a deep breath, trying to relax from his hectic day.

…

Aang had spent hours avoiding Sokka as he walked around the forensics lab, testing samples and looking at evidence for any leads on the vandalizing case. It may have been a minor crime, but who the heck would go out of their way and take the chance of getting caught by spray painting the entrance of City Hall? That alone was a big statement; the words themselves made no sense, but Aang figured there must had been some reason the vandals where unable to finish whatever the hell they wanted to say.

The spray paint cans had proven to have no traces on them except those from the latex from his gloves, or, possibly the vandals. Maybe both. Picking up the swab of blood, Aang placed it into a small tray of liquid, which absorbed some of it. Placing the tray down on a counter, he grabbed a small plastic dropper and set it into an open bottle of luminal. Though Aang was sure the swab was blood, he didn't want to just rely on a hunch, and the luminal would help verify if it was blood or some other bodily fluid. Depositing a small drop into the tray, he turned off the lights in the room and put on a black one to see how the chemical reacted to the sample. As the sample began to glow a dark red, Aang smiled. This confirmed that the sample was indeed blood –this would narrow down the search.

Standing up in his white lab coat, Aang turned the lights back on and, with his latex gloved hands, picked up the tray, and placed it into the STR nucleus extractor. This stood for Short Tandem Repeat, a method of profiling samples of DNA. It referred mainly to when DNA had a pattern of two or more nucleotides that are repeated and are directly adjacent to each other. This allowed one to compare and test DNA within the national database to find any matches from past criminals. If he couldn't find any matches, he would have to ask for samples from suspects, and there was a high chance that most would not be willing to give samples freely. Plus, at the moment, there were no suspects, as no one had witnessed the crime when it initially transpired.

Aang mumbled under his breath and waited for a match as the DNA he collected was analyzed and compared. His mouth was held agape as the computer screen showed a match to his DNA; the name next to the match is what shocked Aang the most. Looking at the picture, Aang could tell it was outdated and probably had been taken when the newly found suspect was a lot younger. Zuko Richu wasn't the most likely suspect for vandalism, but his criminal record may have proven otherwise. He had a domestic violence charge against his father; this could've given him a motive. But why would he get his hands dirty if he had the money to pay another to do the job?

Aang anxiously waited for the paper to print. Snatching the paper from the printer as it finished, Aang's heart was racing, either from the shock of finding a suspect or because he was now sprinting down the hall to find Sokka. Aang ran as fast as he could down the hall, passing an obviously confused Sokka, who watched his bald partner rush by in a hurry, leaving him baffled and wide-eyed; he could only guess as to why Aang was so flustered. Sokka hadn't seen his partner since this morning and Aang always seemed to be running off to some place.

Aang was hit by reality as his shoes skidded against the smooth tiled floor until he stopped. Aang had just run past the person he was looking for and blushed due to his foolishness.

"Hey, Sokka!" He quickly ran up to his counterpart as he tried to think of what to say. He pushed the files into Sokka's chest, expecting his partner to understand the message. Sokka just raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what Aang was doing as he stuttered in front of him.

"Uh… Aang … Hey, what's up?" Sokka grinned at the slightly shorter male. "Where have you been all day? I wanted to ask if you found anything with the evidence we found." Sokka held his smile as he watched Aang.

"But that's what I want to say...and it doesn't matter where I was, so shut up and let me speak," Aang grunted up at Sokka, running his hand over his smooth scalp. Aang took a deep breath and sighed, trying to gain some composure.

"I found some blood at the scene…" Aang began say but was quickly cut short.

"Oh, that's good! So we have a lead as to who it may belong to?"

"But that's just it, Sokka; this isn't just anyone. It's Zuko... Zuko Richu. You know, the business tycoon and Ozai's son," Aang finally finished, his face full of concern. His face grew pale after exposing the information; how the hell would they get near a Richu family member without losing their jobs? Yes, there was the fact Zuko and his father had fought in public before, and there were some theories to how he received his scar. They may have not been on the best of terms. Feeling mightily successful, Sokka absently rubbed his chin.

Aang moaned out of frustration, feeling he wasn't going to gain an understanding from the media; the press reports weren't too pleasing either, but there still could be a link between the two. Nonetheless he and Sokka would have to look into this evidence and ask a few questions.

"Wait… T –_the_ Zuko Richu?" Sokka finally stammered, his eyes wide with realization and shock.

"Of course, Sokka, who else? I think we should pay a visit to ask some questions."

"And if he refuses, Aang?" Raising his eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest, Sokka watched his fellow compatriot closely.

"Then we'll have to wait for a warrant from a court, but it doesn't hurt to try." Aang smiled halfheartedly, trying to reassure Sokka in some way.

"Then all right, man, lets go!" Sokka shouted with a grin as he began to run back to his own office and grab his things before heading out.

Finding himself in solitude, Aang sighed heavily and headed back to own office and grabbed his things. It looked as though Aang would have to deal with two Richu family members in one day…

…

For the moment, Toph was alone at the counter of the teashop. She sighed as she leaned against the cold countertop. Business at the small shop was slow today, and Iroh was in the back tidying up in the kitchen. Toph could only assume it was quitting time soon. It didn't matter that she was blind; she sure as hell could pull her weight around the teashop. She didn't work the cash register, despite the fact that each button was laced with Braille. She found it difficult to trust paying customers with the bills they handed her, but she could clean the tables and make one hell of a good cup a coffee. She knew where everything was as long as each and every item maintained a proper place.

Yep, she wasn't helpless, and she hated the fact people thought so because blindness was marked as a handicap in society. She didn't think of being blind as a handicap, so, to her it just wasn't; _only people who admit to believing they are handicap truly are,_ Toph told herself as she blew the hair away from her nose. Taking a deep breath, she heard the bell above the door ring as the door was opened. She heard the hard footsteps approach the counter and stop. Toph grinned as she recognized the awkward silence that came along with the footsteps.

"Sparky," Toph yelled sarcastically, "you sound so thrilled to be here!"

Zuko snarled as he sat down on a chair. "Why, hello to you too, Toph. Are you and my uncle ready to go home yet?" Zuko asked as he sat up straight for a moment and fixed his tie out of habit, he quickly glanced out the window and saw the sun was beginning to set.

"Well, I am, but I'm not to sure about Iroh. He's in the kitchen cleaning," Toph replied dully. "Iroh! Captain Angst is here, so hurry up and get ready to go!"

With a startling clang of pots and pans hitting the hard-tiled floor, Iroh emerged from the swinging door of the kitchen with a large grin on his face. His work apron was stained with grease, coffee and, of coarse, tea.

"Zuko!" Iroh bellowed with joy as he ran to his nephew and hugged him tightly, making Zuko uncomfortable with embarrassment. The young man's face turned a faint red as he tried to pry his uncle off of him.

"Good to see you too, uncle," Zuko replied, trying to regain his composure. Toph giggled as she listened to the two men; she found Iroh's displays of affection more or less entertaining. Zuko was a stick in the mud, so he wasn't the most social person, nor was he very open with his emotions. But Toph learned he could be compassionate in his own way, even if he could sometimes be cold toward others. He was just overprotective of himself and those close to him. Though Toph would have to admit that he really needed an attitude adjustment or a new perspective on life, but she didn't really care that much to go too far into the situation.

"Ah, gross, you two. We should hurry up and go before you both infect the world with cooties," Toph retorted.

Iroh finally let go of his nephew and chuckled at Zuko's uneasiness.

"Very well. Miss Bei Fong is right. We should head home." Iroh nodded as he rubbed the beard on his chin. Zuko nodded and agreed; he wasn't the only one who had a rough day and needed to relax.

"All right, uncle, I parked right out front." Zuko stated and then turned toward Toph.

"Toph, here let me help you to the car." Zuko gripped Toph's arm, trying to help her to the car as his uncle walked ahead of them and held the door open. Toph growled as she slammed her walking stick into Zuko's shin and yanked her arm away from him.

"I don't need your help, Sir Glom-a-lot. I'm able to take care of myself, you know," she snarled.

"I was just trying to be courteous. I didn't mean anything by it…" Zuko answered.

"Yeah, yeah I get it, no need to get sappy and apologize. Just don't do it again." Toph declared to the world and Zuko watched as she walked out the door and used her walking stick to feel around the curb. Toph stopped as her walking stick hit the street floor and slammed up against the car's tires. She felt along the car's side to make sure she was at the right vehicle and tried to feel for the door handle.

"Well aren't you going get the door for a lady?" she mumble, trying not to admit defeat.

Zuko rolled his eyes as he walked over and opened one of the back doors of the car and held it for Toph, while his uncle got into the front passenger seat before sitting down and buckling up. Zuko shut the door behind Toph after making sure she was in and seated before walking over to the driver's side and getting in himself. For some reason, his thoughts went back to the cyclist that he had almost killed today. He had never been so careless in his life that he had been stupid enough to almost hit someone. He really should have been paying more attention. Shaking his head, he started the car while he tried not contemplating too much on the topic.

Pulling out of the spot in front of the teashop, Zuko started the long trip back home as his uncle cheerfully looked out the window, watching the view pass by. Zuko then glanced into his rear view mirror to see Toph bobbing her head to some song that she was listing to on her MP3 player. Zuko didn't pay to much attention to the brand, due to the fact that he needed to focus on driving. He didn't need a repeat of this morning.

"Zuko, stop!" Iroh shouted.

Zuko slammed on the breaks as he realized what his uncle was yelling about. The same cyclist had appeared in front of his car once more. Goddamn it, he had run a red light again. The cyclist stopped, as she seemed to recognize the car and its license.

…

Walking her bike up to the driver's side of the car, Katara knocked on the window, ignoring the other passengers in the car. She was too angry to care at this moment because the same jerk had almost killed her twice in one day.

As Zuko rolled down the window, he smiled, trying to mask his panic. He sat up straight as he held that dumbfounded grin on his face while his uncle stole glances from Zuko to Katara, trying to figure out what had just occurred. Iroh had seen Zuko almost hit the girl but they seemed to know each other and where not on the best of terms. Iroh noted this as he saw Zuko's discomfort and the girl's anger. Toph had removed her earphones right after the sudden halt of the car –even she wanted to hear what was going on.

"Why hello, Ma'am, it's nice to see you again, how is your day going?" Zuko said with his teeth clutched tightly together.

Katara sneered at his question. How dare he ask her how her day was! He had no right to even speak to her at this moment.

"Ugh! You! How dare you?" Katara emphasized her point by directing her anger at the man, who was strangely familiar even prior to their first encounter. "You know, you should get your license revoked for almost hitting me twice! And I won't even mention the red lights you keep running past!" She was screaming now. Luckily, there was no one around them at the moment, so Zuko wouldn't have to suffer too much embarrassment.

"Twice?" Iroh asked with an amused grin on his face, while Toph burst out laughing in the backseat.

"Ah-ha! A repetitive hit and run? Nice one, Sparky! How did you manage that?" Toph snickered as she held her stomach, trying to stop her laughing.

"Not now, Toph!" Zuko hollered as he turned toward Toph and then back to Katara.

"Look, I'm sorry, lady; I'm usually not like this…" Zuko started to explain but was cut short.

"What? You're usually _not_ an arrogant moron? Well, you could have fooled me the way you acted this morning, jerk!" Katara yelled.

Toph laughed even harder as Iroh tried to shush the young teenager in the back of the car.

"Sparky, she got you pegged in one sentence!"

"Toph, Please!" he hissed, he then reached into the front pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a card. Looking back up to Katara, Zuko sighed.

"Please, Miss. Again I'm sorry, I've just had a rough day. I'll admit, it's my fault." Zuko sneered, trying to bite back his pride. "Look, take my card and call my secretary. She can set up free coffee or tea at any Jasmine Dragon shop in the city. Let me try to make up for it at least. I really must be going." Zuko handed Katara the card and rolled up the window before driving away.

Katara was left angry, her mouth agape as she watched him drive away. Why would he be able to get her free coffee, she wondered before looking at the card. It wasn't until she read the name that Katara realized who had almost killed her twice today. Geez! Who would have thought? Zuko Richu had almost run her over, she read, her eyes wide in disbelief. She quickly shrugged it off before getting back on her bike and peddling away; it wasn't like she'd ever see the pompous fool again. So she continued to make her trip home. She was lucky she didn't get stuck with a double shift; she could at least go home and sleep now. She really could use a break; maybe during the weekend she would hopefully be able to unwind and go out, that is if she didn't get stuck covering again.

…

Zuko, on the other hand, was stuck in a car polluted with awkward silence. Neither Toph nor his uncle asked anything about what just happened. It obviously would aggravate him even more then he already was and they knew when not to push Zuko, so they chose to leave him be.

He smiled finally as he spotted home just at the horizon and slowly made his way along the road to his uncle's place. The problem was that there was a police car parked outside. This set off alarms in Zuko's head. Did the house get robbed or something worse? He didn't want to over exaggerate the situation just yet. Uncle had already raised his eyebrow as he looked at Zuko.

"I doubt the girl would call the cops that soon on you, Zuko." Iroh joked halfheartedly.

Zuko groaned as he pulled up into the driveway, passing the police car. He watched as a bald man stood next to a taller man with his hair pulled back into a ponytail. Turning off the engine and removing the key from the ignition, Zuko stepped out of the car and was shortly followed by Iroh and Toph. He cleared his throat as he approached the door where to two men stood, trying to peek into the house. At the sound, Aang and Sokka obediently turned to him.

"May I help you two?" Zuko asked the two officers.

Sokka smiled and tried to lighten the mood as the two men and a young girl stared at them uncomfortably (well, maybe the girl wasn't staring; her gaze seemed to be unfocused). Sticking out his hand, Sokka smiled as he waited to shake Zuko's hand.

"Mister Richu, it's nice to meet you, and I wish I was here on better terms than this, but we must discuss some evidence we found at City Hall this morning," he slurred out nervously. He still kept his hand out until Zuko nodded and shook his hand.

"I see, gentlemen. I think this is something that should be discussed inside, don't you?" Iroh smiled, masking his concern for his nephew.

Opening the door, Zuko led the two officers into the living room. Toph and Iroh stood behind him as he sat down in one of the lounge chairs. He allowed the two officers to sit on the couch. Sokka and Aang both sat in an unnerving manner as they looked at the three in front of them.

"Mister Richu," Aang directed toward Zuko, "we found a blood sample at the site and it matched with a previous DNA collected during the case of domestic violence against your father."

"I see… You can't think that I would behind an act of vandalism?" Zuko raised his eyebrow after raising the question.

"We're not saying that, but what was your blood doing at the scene and if you didn't commit the crime? Did you see anything? Why where you there? The data revealed that the blood was fairly new and can be pinpointed to about the time the crime was committed," Sokka said as he looked at the file Aang had printed.

At this, Zuko turned paler then he already was. How was he going to explain this? He couldn't think of anything and racked his brain. It wasn't until Toph spoke did Zuko's mind get back into gear.

"Zuko was taking me to the doctor and we ended up stopping in front of City Hall," Toph stated mirthlessly, trying to cover for Zuko. This only made Sokka and Aang raise their own eyebrows.

"Why would you be going to the doctor that late and why did you stop?" Aang asked, not entirely believing the story; it seemed too off the top of his head.

"Well, you see, I was having trouble breathing last night, so I woke Zuko up and he freaked out and said he wanted to take me to the hospital. I insisted I was okay but he made me go. Halfway he stopped; I didn't see where we stopped, since I am blind, after all. All I know is that he stopped and got out of the car, complaining about a nose bleed and trying not to get blood on the interior of the car or something like that. So, after he said the bleeding stopped he got back into the car and I told him I was feeling better. I said maybe the fresh air had helped my breathing and stuff, so he agreed and we went home…" Toph rambled, trying to make the story at least realistic.

Sokka and Aang both just stared at the blind girl. They were both highly confused.

"And who are you, little girl?" Sokka asked.

"My name is Toph. Toph Bei Fong. And I'm not a little girl." Toph stated proudly

"You're Bei Fong's kid? What are you doing here? I mean, I know about what happened to your father… but why the Richu's?" Sokka asked in a flabbergasted tone.

"They took me in when no one else did; they helped me." Toph may have hated to admit she needed help but she was grateful for what Zuko and Iroh have done for her.

"So, Zuko, is this what happened? If so, did you see anything going on around when you stopped the car? I assume you stopped the car right in front of City Hall," Aang said, glaring at Zuko.

"Correct. It was at City Hall, and no, I did not. It was too foggy and dark to see anything and I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around me," Zuko replied.

"Well, I see." Aang nodded, unsure about what to do at the moment. They couldn't take Zuko down to the police station for more questioning and the story seemed plausible and he had a reliable source to back up his claim. Zuko stood up out of his seat, fixing his tie as he left both Sokka and Aang staring at him.

"Gentlemen, if we're done, I must ask you to leave so we may start dinner." Zuko said with a stern voice, causing both Aang and Sokka to scramble to their feet. Zuko walked the two officers to the door and slammed it behind them. He paced along the living room floor with his fist clenched, contemplating what to do now. That was close. Thankfully, Toph covered for him.

"I know this isn't easy, nephew, but please, calm down. You're going to pop a blood vessel if you keep this up," Iroh begged Zuko.

"I am calm!" Zuko snarled and looked at his uncle, who was clearly taken aback by the outburst. "Sorry, uncle. You're right. I didn't mean to yell." Zuko sighed as he tried to let go of his anger.

"I understand, Zuko, but I would say that that was a close call today," Iroh mused as he stroked his beard.

Zuko nodded as he turned to Toph and smiled, knowing quite well that she couldn't see him doing so. She had done him a big favor by covering for him. "Thank you, Toph. That helped me out more then I'd like to admit," he declared.

"Yeah, yeah I'm your savior. I know. Don't worry about it, Captain Angst. That's what we do. We look out for each other. Plus, Iroh, I'd like to start training if you wouldn't mind. May we begin our session early today?" Toph asked as Zuko headed to the cellar.

"Yes, Toph, we can. Zuko, I have already set up plans for the party and you must show, so please try not to get into any trouble tonight," Iroh called after Zuko.

Zuko replied silently with a courteous wave and descended to the wine cellar and pulled the bottle that opened up the door to the Blue Spirit's Headquarters. Zuko needed to do some investigating tonight –even if his lack of sleep was getting to him. That bastard, Jet, had really wormed his way under Zuko's skin, literally. Zuko rubbed the wound on his leg, still trying to ignore the pain. He snarled as he entered his headquarters and closed the door behind him.

He had work to do.


End file.
