Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

One day when historians were looking back and telling this story, they’d say it started with the fire. They would only be partially correct. The day truly began as just about any other for fourteen-year-old Opal Pelletier. She had woken up to her alarm, had breakfast with her father and then departed for another dull day of school. Then, when the final bell rang and she was blissfully free for the evening, she returned to the home she shared with her father, Bael, and began her evening routine.

If it was Opal who was telling the story, she would probably leave out the part where she was stuck at her dining room table doing homework. She’d never been good at math in general, but she was particularly bad at algebra. Unfortunately for her, that was their current subject in class and thus, what her homework was on.

Bael was reading on the couch just a few feet away from her, finished with watching tv for the night once the news was over and knowing it would be nothing but a distraction for his daughter. Despite not knowing much about her family’s life in Tibet before they emigrated to America, Opal knew her father was from a small, remote village and she had advanced in school beyond what her father could help her with fairly early. She didn’t hold any ill will against him for it, it was just frustrating not understanding something and having no one to turn to who could help you understand.

With a defeated sigh, Opal leaned back in the chair and started tapping the end of her pencil against her textbook, eyes drifting across the room to the photos hung on the wall of the living room.

The only photo they had of her mother hung there in a simple frame. She didn’t recognize the background, it was just a simple hut with a strange symbol above the door, her mother, Jania, standing next to the front door. Though her father didn’t like to talk about it, Opal had put together that it was their village in Tibet and the home her parents had shared.

Opal was older than she wanted to admit when she realized she and her father didn’t exactly look like the typical kind of people one expected when she said her family was from Tibet. It was just how things were to her, she knew both her parents had been born there, as had she, but when she’d asked her dad, he’d told her his family and her mother’s had moved there from other parts of the world before they themselves had been born. Opal hoped there’d be a day where she could actually get her father to talk about her family’s history without getting that sad look in his eyes and telling her he couldn’t talk about it.

Sighing again, Opal dropped her pencil and pulled out her headphones, thoroughly done with math for the night. Her father turned and looked at her inquisitively as she slammed her math textbook shut.

“Giving up so soon?” he asked her.

“Letters don’t belong in math,” she answered.

Bael laughed. “Did you finish, at least?”

“No, I’ll finish it tomorrow before class.”

“Then you should get some rest,” he told her.

“Okay. Goodnight, Dad,” she said, standing up and crossing over to him, kissing his cheek before heading towards her bedroom.

“Goodnight, Opal.”

In her room, she changed into a pair of pajamas and climbed into bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders and settling in. She closed her eyes and let herself relax until she drifted off into a deep slumber.

She couldn’t be sure how long she had been asleep for when she woke up. Her room was still dark, but there was the distinct feeling of something being terribly wrong settling in her stomach. She pushed herself up into a sitting position, rubbing at her eyes and trying to wake up. It took her brain but a moment to clear as the acrid smell of smoke hit her nose and her eyes shot open.

Something was on fire.

Opal turned towards her bedroom door and saw dark smoke curling through the small spaces between her door and the frame and drifting up towards the ceiling.

The house was on fire.

Panic shot through the teenager like a bullet right before the adrenaline kicked in and she shot up out of bed, grabbing her phone and cursing when she tried to turn it on and saw the battery was dead. Opal pulled a sweater from her floor around her shoulders and tucked the phone into her pocket before racing to her door and recoiling when she grabbed the handle and it burned.

She pulled her sweater sleeve down over her hand and grabbed the handle and twisted it open quickly, pulling the door open and then letting go just as quickly. Smoke pushed towards her with the door no longer in the way and she coughed. From the living room, she heard a crackling sound like fire and knew that’s where the fire was currently. For now, at least, it was an advantage.

"Dad!" she called. "Dad!"

Covering her mouth with her sweater sleeve, Opal batted away the smoke from her eyes as she made her way to her father's room and kicked the door open, thankful he'd never gotten around to fixing the latch. Her father was still lying in bed, unaware of the disaster raging inside their home.

"Dad!" she exclaimed again, shaking his shoulder. "Dad, come on, you gotta wake up!"

He startled awake and looked at her in confusion before he smelled the smoke and saw the panic all across her face and sat up. Bael looked around and grabbed his phone from his nightstand, but his phone was also dead. The panic building in her stomach tied itself into a larger knot because it was a hell of a coincidence and certainly unlucky if it was. Which, of course, only made her think it wasn't a coincidence at all.

Bael stood and wrapped an arm around Opal, guiding her out of the room and towards the living room and the front door. Unfortunately, that was where the fire was. They turned towards the back door, through the kitchen, but the fire was raging there, as well. For a moment, Opal was struck with the crippling panic they wouldn't be able to get out and they'd be trapped in the house with the fire.

Then the front door burst open and father and daughter turned towards it to see a fireman standing there before he walked right through the flames in the living room and towards them.

"Let's get you out of here," he said, gesturing to the second fireman who had come in with him.

He leaned down and picked Opal up in one swift movement and she turned frantically back to her dad, but the second fireman blocked her view and in a moment, they'd cleared the living room and were stepping out into the clean night air. Opal lowered her sweater-sleeve-covered hand from her mouth and started coughing as she was carried towards an ambulance.

She looked back to the house and around it, seeing their neighbour standing on her lawn and looking nervous and she suddenly understood. Sarah was a nurse and she often worked into the late hours of the night. She must have come home and seen the house on fire and been the one to call 911 for them. Opal made a mental note to bake her some muffins after they got out of the hospital.

If we’ve got a place to bake muffins, she thought bitterly.

The fireman handed her over to a paramedic who got her up on a gurney. Opal coughed again, taking deep breaths of the clean air whenever she could. She didn't have the energy to fight the paramedic as he loaded the gurney back up into the ambulance and placed an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

As quickly as the exhaustion was coming over her, Opal couldn't let herself close her eyes until she knew her father was okay. He was all she had and she would be damned if she didn't make sure he was fine before they took her away.

"My dad..." she managed, pushing the oxygen mask off.

"He's fine," the paramedic assured her. "There's another ambulance on its way."

"Is he—?"

"Don't worry," he told her in a soft voice, placing the oxygen mask back over her face. "We're going to get you to the hospital and he'll be two minutes behind, okay?"

Opal didn't want to agree, she didn't want to go anywhere without her dad but now that they’d gotten out of the fire, now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, she was losing energy. The paramedic closed the ambulance doors and settled back down to a seated position right before the vehicle lurched into motion. They didn't get very far before her eyes drifted closed and she was asleep once more.

Opal spent a day in a hospital room and separated from her father, recovering from the smoke inhalation which had resulted from the fire. When she could speak again, she didn’t stop asking the nurses and doctors who came through her room if she could see her father or if he was okay or how he was doing. She couldn’t tell if they were annoyed by her persistence or endeared by her worry for her father. She supposed it didn’t really matter.

Eventually, though, they couldn’t ignore her requests. Especially as she recovered well and quickly. She wore them down and finally they consented to bring her father into her room. A nurse pushed him into the room in a wheelchair, Bael carrying an oxygen tank on a small, wheeled table similar to the one Opal herself was hooked up to. A wide smile broke out on her face when she saw him and it was mirrored on her father’s face.

“Dad,” she said, relieved, reaching out for him.

" Nyingdu-la ," he said, gripping her hand. He turned to the nurse. "Can you give us some time?"

"I'll be just out in the hall if you need me."

When the nurse had left the room, Bael wheeled himself closer so he was right next to Opal's hospital bed, and held her hand in both of his, kissing the top of it.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I should be the one asking you that," Bael said, laughing. " I am fine, Opal. How are you?"

"Better now," she admitted.

He leaned down and kissed her hand once more, leaning his forehead against her hand afterwards. Immediately, she knew something was wrong, something wasn't right in this scenario. Something more than them almost being killed in a fire set in their home was troubling her father and she didn't like the way the thought made her stomach tie all up in knots.

"Dad, is something wrong?"

"I am so sorry, Opal," he said.

Okay, she thought, that’s not exactly reassuring.

"Sorry? For the fire?" she questioned. "Dad, there's no way it was your fault."

"It is all my fault," he told her. "It wouldn't have happened if I had told you the truth."

Opal's heart dropped into the ball of knots in her stomach and was quickly swallowed up by it. Something was very, very wrong. "What are you talking about?"

"I thought by not telling you the truth, by keeping you in the dark, it would keep us... you ... safer from them. It would make it harder for them to find us. But I was wrong. Keeping all this from you only made it worse."

"Dad, you're scaring me. What didn't you tell me?"

"Everything," he said in a quiet voice.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your mother didn't die in a car accident, I didn't live in just any small Tibetan village and we didn't come to America just for a better life."

"Dad?"

Bael glanced behind himself at the door and then back to Opal. "Your mother, Jania, was a well-respected and well-loved leader of a tribe of people hidden in the mountains of Tibet. One of four tribes. These tribes were special, given gifts by our Gods that allowed the honoured among us to tap into one of the four elements and wield them, manipulate them to their will. Use them to their advantage."

"This is crazy. Did the doctors or nurses give you any pain medication?"

"Opal, I am not high. I promise I'm telling the truth,” he insisted. “These people, they called themselves benders and divided themselves up based on the element they could wield. There was Sa-Ri , the Earth Kingdom, Tso-Ri , the Water Tribe, Me-Ri , the Fire Nation and Nam-Ri , the Air Nomads. Your mother was the leader of the Air Nomads."

Her head spun and she didn’t know how to respond. Before she had to really think about it, her dad continued.

"There was a legend, a prophecy, among the benders of someone called the Avatar. A child born to a member of one of the tribes, a special child, who would be able to do something no other bender could. Wield all four of the elements. This child would have immense power, be a natural-born leader and this would mean she'd be able to lead all four tribes at once."

“Why did you start saying she?”

"I think you know, Opal."

"No. No, I don't."

"Opal..."

"Dad, no, this is crazy. This is insane."

"There was a man, the son of the Fire Nation's leader. He was barely a man, but he was next in line to lead the Fire Nation. Then you were born and we learned you were the next child of the prophecy, the next Avatar. This man was threatened by you. He would never get to rule with you around. He started a revolt and this led to not only war among the four tribes, but to the leader of each of the tribes being killed by the rebels."

"I— I was a baby, how could I be a threat? Ho— how could you even know for sure I was this… this Avatar or whatever?"

"We knew," Bael said. "Your mother was able to send us away before the rebels got to us. I thought coming to America would keep us safe. It has until now. I have no idea how they found us."

"This doesn't make any sense, Dad. I can't be this... whatever it is, I can't 'wield the elements' no one can."

Bael gave her a guilty look. "Yes, you can, Opal. I grew up among the Air Nomads, I've seen them do it, I saw your mother do it and I've seen you do it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you remember the earthquake when you were five?" he asked.

"Of course, I remember, what does that have to do with–"

"You broke one of your toys that day," he interjected. "It wasn't a special one, but I couldn't fix it. You started crying and soon enough it was a full-blown tantrum. That was when everything started shaking."

"You're saying I caused the earthquake?"

He continued without answering her question. "And how long has it been since we've been to a public pool?"

"I— I don't know, it's been a long time."

"You were eight,” he told her. “You were playing with some girls you met there, fetching toys from the bottom of the pool. You were winning. Then one of the toys slipped down into the deep end and the girls you were playing with said the toy was lost, but you went right down and fetched it."

"So? I've always been a good swimmer."

"You were down there for three minutes without coming up. The other girls started to panic because you weren't coming back up. I dived in after you, but when you came up, you were fine. You were showing off the toy like it was a lost treasure."

"Dad, where are you going with this?" Opal asked, her heart in her throat.

"I should've known since I grew up around benders, but I thought if you knew nothing then it would be safer but an untrained Bender is a dangerous thing when they can only Bend one element, let alone four."

Opal pressed her hands over her eyes, trying desperately to process what her father was telling her. Not only did she have abilities she'd never known about but it wasn't just coincidence. Her mother, who she had never known, had abilities, she belonged to a people who all had abilities, too. Someone had tried to kill her as a baby because she had a destiny which threatened him.

None of it made any sense at all, but what made the least bit of sense was how her father had kept all of this from her. How her life was something completely different than what she thought and he'd kept it from her for her whole life. 

Her whole life had been a lie.

Anger boiled up in her stomach. Someone had killed her mother, tried to kill her when she was just a baby and it wasn't important for her to know? She didn’t deserve to know she should have been on the lookout for the people who were after them this whole time? That he didn't have to shoulder the responsibility of this all by himself? It was her life, too, and it affected her just as much as it did him. Maybe even more.

"Did this... person ... who tried to kill me…” she started, then paused to take a breath. “Did they start the fire?"

"I don't know for sure."

"But?"

"But I believe so."

Though her anger was reaching a boiling point, she forced her voice to remain even. "Did you always know they could find us and try again?"

"I hoped they wouldn't."

"But you knew it was possible."

"Yes," he admitted.

"And you still thought it was a good idea to keep me in the dark?” she questioned him incredulously. “You always knew they could find us and still didn't think I should know about all of this?"

"I thought I was protecting you."

"Clearly you weren't."

"Opal."

"No, Dad. I think..." she started, tears prickling in her eyes as she looked away from him. "I think I'm tired. I'm going to try to sleep."

Bael looked down, dejected. He was quiet for a moment, and then he nodded. He wheeled himself back a little bit. He turned and called for the nurse, who came back and took him back to his own room. Opal rolled over onto her side so she was facing away from the door and forced back tears.

Chapter Text

Bael checked them out of the hospital the next morning. After getting a taxi from the hospital, they arrived at the burnt remains of their home and Opal was told to put some clothes in a bag because they were leaving. The bedrooms were the only part of the house left untouched by the flames so most of their belongings had been spared. It was a small comfort.

Opal didn’t know if they were intending to come back here or not so she didn’t just pack clothes, she made sure to pack up anything she wouldn’t want to lose forever into her bag with her favourite pieces of clothing. Everything reeked of smoke. She hoped a good wash when they got wherever they were going would be enough to get rid of it. She didn’t need any more reminders of what had happened.

She didn’t know where her father was taking her when she silently got into the car next to him and they headed out onto the road. But it didn’t mean she was going to ask. For all intents and purposes, she was giving her father the silent treatment. The anger at what he’d done still burned through her like the fire which had almost killed them. She didn’t want to talk to her father and if she’d had a choice, she wouldn’t even be in the same space as him.

But someone had tried to kill them and, more specifically, her. Bael seemed to know somewhere safe for them to go and once they reached it, she could really start ignoring him.

“Please don’t ignore me,” Bael said.

“Don’t keep secrets from me,” she answered.

Opal tightened her grip around her legs, resting her chin on her knees and keeping her gaze fixed out the passenger side window.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“And you failed. See why secrets don’t get you anywhere?”

“Opal, please.”

She rolled her eyes and kept her gaze out the window. She heard her father sigh and then it was only the sound of the radio and the car engine between them.

It was one thing for a parent to keep things from their child like maybe not being in the best place financially, the death of a pet or the fact that things like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny weren't real. Hiding things like that, small things, was one thing. But keeping something like this to himself, something which put her in danger, was a totally different story. Helping your child keep their wonder about the world around them was completely different than hiding the fact someone tried to kill them as a baby because of some prophecy and killed their mother in the process.

She didn't even want to think about the supposed prophecy and powers she had. Neither of which she was totally sure she believed. It was crazy, unbelievable, how could she believe him? Her memory of the examples her father had given was totally different than what he’d told her. She didn’t remember a broken toy before the earthquake and she was sure she’d retrieved the toy from the bottom of the pool quickly. She’d never seen any evidence of the supposed powers she had. She didn't remember anything like that, anything unexplainable or out of the ordinary. And in a world full of the unexplainable and extraordinary, it wasn't like people didn't see these things. The Avengers were a regular sight in New York. 

If there was anything different about Opal, how could she not have seen it in almost fifteen years?

The car suddenly slowed to a stop and Opal heard cars honking all around her. She straightened up in her seat, putting her legs down. They were in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge and traffic had slowed to a standstill. People were protesting all around by laying on their horns. Opal craned her neck to try and see around the cars ahead of them to no avail. Her brow furrowed and she looked further around, wondering what was going on.

As if to answer her question, a scream rang out across the bridge, bloodcurdling and terrified. Then a car flew up into the air and landed on the other side of the bridge, right into oncoming traffic. Opal's eyes widened. What the hell was going on? A blast of fire shot up into the air a second before she heard her dad mutter a curse in Tibetan.

"Opal, get out of the car."

She looked over at him in confusion. "What?"

"Out of the car, now,” he ordered her. “We have to get off the bridge."

"Dad, tell me what's going on."

"They found us again. Now get out of the car, Opal."

Beginning to feel panicked, Opal quickly pushed open her car door and got out, closing the door behind her and starting to back up to the back door so she could grab her bag. Her father got out as well and quickly hurried to the trunk of the car to grab his own bags. When her bag was over her shoulder, she looked over at her father just as he closed the trunk. Bael crossed to Opal and gripped her hand, pulling her back to the side of the bridge they'd come from.

Opal flinched as she heard another car get flipped into oncoming traffic from behind them. This one was closer than the last. She looked back in time to see a figure jump up onto the top of one of the cars. A blast of fire came from his hands and Opal’s eyes winded again, heart beating faster.

"Bring me the Avatar!" he shouted. "I know she's on this bridge!"

"Dad..."

"How do they know?" he muttered.

Bael pulled on Opal's hand, pulling her into a run towards the bridge's exit. It was still a long way and she didn’t know if they’d make it between having to dodge around cars and other people who were also running for it.

They ran for a while, Opal's heart hammering away in her chest, terrified. But they hadn't run for two minutes when someone landed in front of them and a gust of wind whipped past them, causing everyone and everything around them to be pushed well away. The only people barely touched by the wind were Opal and Bael.

"Zaynn!" the man called. "I've got her!"

"Leave my daughter alone," Bael said, pushing Opal behind him as they backed up against a car.

"Ah, finally..." another voice said. "The Avatar."

Opal turned towards the sound of the voice and immediately recognized this man as the one who had jumped on the car before. He was the one who shot fire from his hands. She swallowed and stayed behind her dad, not knowing what she could even do in this situation. If she did have powers — which she didn't think she believed — she certainly didn't know how to use them and this man, Zaynn, definitely did.

"I won't let you kill my daughter the same way you murdered her mother, Zaynn," Bael threatened.

"And what is a Non-Bender like you going to do about it, Bael?" Zaynn spat.

"Anything I have to."

"You're delusional!" Opal spat, surprised at herself. All eyes turned to her, surprised. She swallowed and continued. "I don't have powers, I'm not some mystical prophesied leader or whatever you think I am. I'm a normal teenager!"

Zaynn laughed. "You didn't tell her or even train her?"

"I was trying to protect her from maniacs like you!"

"Well, that'll make my next task so much easier."

Zaynn pushed Bael out of the way easily and before he could get up and get to Opal again, the other person grabbed him and held him easily. Zaynn grabbed Opal's arm, pulling her away from the car they'd backed themselves into. She struggled and pulled and tried to wrench herself free as her anger burned hot through her, but it was of no use, Zaynn was stronger than her. He brought her into the middle of the little circle they'd made themselves and stopped, turning her so she was facing him.

"Kneel."

"Never."

"Kneel," he commanded again, angrier.

Opal spat in his face. "No."

"Fine, die standing."

Zaynn let go of Opal and raised his fists, aiming them at her. She braced herself for the pain, closed her eyes and raised her arms to try and shield herself, but the pain never came. Instead, her anger and fear melted into an intense feeling of calm, followed by strength in her muscles she had never felt. She could feel she was doing something but she just didn’t know what that something was.

Do not be afraid, child, a voice spoke in her head, soft and gentle, reassuring. You are safe.

What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, Opal didn't feel like she was in complete control of her body. It felt as though someone was guiding her movements with gentle hands as if they were teaching her the correct position in a game of pool. She lowered her arms a little and opened her eyes, looking back at Zaynn with renewed vigour. Opal couldn't see herself, but somehow she instinctively knew her eyes were shining white. There was a curtain of wind in front of her, pushing the fire Zaynn was shooting at her away from her, preventing her from being harmed.

Holy shit!

Opal lowered her arms as Zaynn's stream of fire shut off and he stared at her with a mix of amazement and terror. The teenager moved her arms forward and a jet of air came forth, pushing Zaynn backwards until he toppled over the barrier between the opposing directions of traffic. She didn't see him or even sense him move, but Opal instinctively turned to the side just in time to see the person who had been holding her father come at her. She turned her jet of air on him, blasting him up into the air and then completely off the bridge.

More of the men came at her, but with the strength she still carried, she was easily able to dispatch each of them. When they were each lying on the ground, the strength sapped completely out of Opal and she collapsed, her father rushing forward just in time to catch her. The presence and the feeling of calm slipped away from her like a feather in the wind and she was left exhausted as if she’d run a marathon.

"Told you I was telling the truth," Bael joked. 

Opal gave a half-hearted laugh, too weak to laugh properly. He helped Opal up to her feet so she was standing on but still leaning heavily against him. As soon as she found her footing, they looked up to see Zaynn pushing himself to his feet and jumping across the barrier. Opal's heart dropped. There was no way she'd be able to fight him off again when she wasn't even sure how she'd done it the first time.

"Enough games!" Zaynn shouted. "You may have the past Avatars to protect you, but the power weakens you. This time you will not—"

He was cut off abruptly by something hitting him in the head and ricocheting away. Zaynn immediately dropped unconscious and Opal and Bael both turned to see Captain America standing on one of the cars on the bridge. The teenager's jaw dropped. A second later, none other than Iron Man himself landed next to him on the ground.

"Glad we didn't miss the whole party," Tony Stark said, walking over to them. Cap jumped down and walked up with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked Opal.

"I— I think so... but I don't think I can walk on my own," she admitted.

"You should come with us back to the Tower," Cap said. "It'll be safe from these guys. Are we correct in assuming they're after you?"

"Yes," Bael said. "They want to kill her before she can fully come into her power."

"That wasn't full power?" Tony questioned.

"I don't know how I did it, I didn't have any control," Opal explained.

"Come on then, let's get you two to safety."

"How? I can barely walk and all this traffic and destruction..." Opal started.

"We brought our own vehicle," Tony said, pointing upwards.

They looked up to see one of their small planes hovering over the bridge. Opal's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she stared up at it, unable to help the excited flutter in her stomach at the thought of getting to ride in it.

So cool.

Chapter Text

It was safe to say Opal was in awe the whole flight and even more so when they finally landed on the platform of Avengers Tower and were guided inside. She had never imagined something like this, being inside of Avengers Tower. She had admired the team ever since the Battle of New York three years ago, begged her father to buy her Avengers merch and everything. Now she was standing in Avengers Tower.

They were guided through the building to a seating area, where the father and daughter were told to make themselves comfortable. Not needing to be told twice, Opal let herself fall back onto one of the couches. She may have regained some strength on the flight here, but it was nice to be off her feet finally. Some food and drinks were brought out and Opal immediately dug in, feeling like she was starving after not only the hospital food she’d been putting up with for days, but the energy she'd expended doing what she’d done on the bridge.

Between food and drinks, Opal and Bael — though mostly Bael — explained to the Avengers what had happened on the bridge, why Zaynn was after her and how they’d gotten to this point. It wasn’t until they got to the point where Zaynn had tried to kill her and she’d decimated him and all of his lackeys that their story faltered.

“I… I don’t know what happened,” Opal admitted. “One minute I was bracing myself for the fire and then… then there was this voice in my head and I think, whoever it was, they were guiding my movements. Almost like it was them who beat Zaynn, not me?”

“Guiding your movements?” Natasha Romanoff echoed.

Opal considered how to put it. “It wasn’t like I could actually feel hands on me, but it was like I was standing the wrong way and thi— this presence was correcting me, fixing it. It wasn’t so much I was being forced, more like I wasn’t in total control of my actions. It was the first time I’d ever used these… powers or whatever they are. I don’t really understand how they work.”

“It must have been one of the past Avatars,” Bael said, mostly to himself, almost as if he was coming to the realization himself as he spoke.

“Past Avatars?” Opal asked.

“Yes,” Bael said, looking around the room at everyone before back at his daughter. “The Avatar is a reincarnated being from back to our nation’s founding. It happens once every other generation or so. The longest gap between Avatars was between you and the last, Roku. Every Avatar has access to their past lives. In time, with practice, you should be able to communicate with them, call them forth for wisdom and assistance.”

Opal groaned, dropping her head into her hands. This was all getting to be very, very complicated.

“So these… past lives,” Steve Rogers said. “They can control her?”

“I wouldn’t say control,” Bael said. “They will do what they can to protect Opal, to protect themselves, but if she truly doesn’t want them to come forth, they can’t force her down. If she is not strong enough to do something or if she cannot protect herself or she is not trained yet, her past lives can bring themselves forth. Since they are trained and know how to wield the elements, they can fight for her. We call it the Avatar State.”

“But they’re not controlling her.”

“No, not at all. She can still think for herself and, like I said, if she truly found it necessary — though I cannot see why she would — she could force them back, not let them guide her. In no way is she ever forced to accept their help.”

“This hurts my head more than algebra does,” Opal complained.

Bael laughed and wrapped an arm around his daughter. She quickly shrugged his arm off, reaching forward to grab some more food. She was still mad at him, no matter how tired she was. All this talk about her past lives and Avatars was beginning to hurt her brain and she was still exhausted from the show she’d unintentionally put on out on the bridge. She could really use three burgers, a bubble bath and a week-long nap. But she had a haunting feeling it wasn't in the cards for her for a while yet.

“So, this guy, Zaynn. He’s going to keep trying to kill you?” Clint Barton asked.

“Yes,” Bael confirmed. “He believes once he kills the Avatar he can secure his spot as leader of the Fire Nation. It is Opal’s birthright to lead all four tribes, meaning Zaynn would no longer be Fire Lord.”

“I just… I don’t get it,” Opal said, leaning back. “I mean, I’m a kid. I’m only fourteen. How am I supposed to lead anyone? He’s got it in his head I’m going to take over for him when I wouldn’t even feel comfortable leading anyone for… for years! He could die a natural death long before then! Or be crushed by an avalanche. Or fall off a cliff. Or—”

“Psychopaths don’t think logically, kid,” Tony told her.

“We’ll help you,” Steve said. “For now, you can stay here at the Tower. There’s nowhere with better security and protection for you than here.”

“Except maybe the Pentagon,” Clint said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Barton,” Tony said.

Steve gave his teammates pointed looks before turning back to Opal and Bael. “You two can rest up for today. Tomorrow we’ll come up with a plan to take down Zaynn.”

“Thank you,” Opal said. “I— I really can’t say enough how thankful I am. I would never have made it off the bridge without you. Whether or not I understand everything that’s going on right now… you saved my life.”

“All part of the job,” he assured her. “Tony, why don’t you find them a room?”

“Right, of course. Follow me.”

Reluctantly pushing herself to her feet, Opal pulled her bag up onto her shoulder, only wobbling a little before she followed after Tony Stark. While she still didn’t feel like she was back to full strength, the little bit of rest and food they’d had made her feel like she could at least support herself again.

They followed after Tony into an elevator and then out of it again, having reached a quieter area of the Tower. To one side was a hallway lined with doors and the other side was an open area with a small living space. It was cozy, a lot cozier than she had expected given the size of the place as a whole. And, well, one expected a lot more luxury when faced with money like Tony Stark’s.

He showed them to their rooms, two right next to each other, and explained if they needed anything, they only had to call out for JARVIS and he would help them to the best of his abilities. Thanking the billionaire profusely again, Opal parted ways wordlessly with her dad and entered her room, closing the door quickly behind her.

Opal didn’t take the time to survey the room. All she saw was the plush bed in the middle and her exhaustion was renewed with vigour. Half asleep already, she shrugged out of her cardigan and toed off her shoes and socks, making a half-hearted attempt to pull the covers back before she slipped under them and her head hit the pillow.

While she wasn't asleep instantly, she knew it was quickly coming on. As she sank into the softest sheets and most comfortable bed she'd ever laid upon, Opal could only think of one thing, despite how much information she had been told and had to process.

She was really glad to be alive.

Opal had never been good at being able to tell when something was a dream. At least not while it was happening. Normally, it wasn’t until after she’d woken up or several hours had passed that it clicked for her what her dream had been about, if she even remembered at all. And though she’d never had the dreams she usually saw in tv and movies with things like forgetting clothes or all of her teeth falling out, she was always unaware the events weren’t happening in reality while dreaming. It took time for her to realize when it was a dream and not something she’d actually experienced. This she knew to be true.

Which was why it was so odd when she found herself standing in a barely defined room and knew immediately what she was experiencing was a dream.

She could say the room was vaguely square-shaped with neutral walls and floor colours and there seemed to be no hangings on the walls. But she couldn't say for certain where the dim light in the room was coming from as there was no light overhead and nothing on the walls either. There were no windows or doors and she was sure she was alone.

"Opal," said a voice from behind her.

The teenage girl whirled around, a little startled but not scared. Now standing in front of her was a woman in yellow robes with long, dark hair flowing down her back, a blue tattoo of an arrow stretching from behind her hairline down her forehead and a beaded necklace hanging around her neck with a swirling symbol on it that looked vaguely familiar to Opal.

"You're the one who saved me on the bridge, aren't you?" Opal guessed.

"I am," the woman said with a smile.

"Who are you?"

"I am one of your past lives," she explained. "My name is Yangchen."

"Why are we here?"

"You have realized who you are and used your powers for the first time. It is time for you to know your destiny."

"My destiny?" Opal questioned, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

Yangchen placed a hand on her shoulder. "Be at ease, Opal. You will not have to face this destiny alone. We will be with you, as will your family and your new friends."

"New friends? You mean the Avengers?"

Yangchen nodded. "You must bring Zaynn to justice. He has killed his own people and his own father, to gain power, and tried to kill you. The Gods who granted you your power are not happy with him and have shielded you from him as best they could thus far. But now you must face him and take your birthright as Queen of Ri La and the Avatar.”

"I'm... I'm only fourteen," Opal protested. "I'm not ready to have to fight anyone or... or to be a queen! I don't even know how to use these abilities I have or—"

"Be at ease," Yangchen repeated, placing a hand on her shoulder again. "You do not have to face this destiny alone, remember. I will be here to guide you along the way with the knowledge you cannot gain elsewhere, your father can tell you of our culture and your new friends can help you train for your coming battle."

"I've never had to fight anyone before, Yangchen, I can't fight Zaynn, I'll never be able to win."

"You are the Avatar. We have all had our moments of doubt, our beliefs we didn't know what we were doing. And we have all overcome it with the help of our past lives and those we hold close to our hearts. You can do this, Opal."

Yangchen reached out to Opal, placing one hand on her head, her thumb placed in the middle of her forehead, her other hand just above her chest with her thumb placed on her sternum. Yangchen's eyes started glowing and Opal felt energy surge through her before Yangchen pulled her hands back and the teenager felt herself falling backwards as her eyes rolled back in her head—

A gasp fell from Opal's mouth as she sat up suddenly in bed in the dark, the duvet falling away from her and letting the cooler air wash over her. She panted, the memories of her dream — if you could call it that — rushing back, along with something else. How to do to someone else what Yangchen had done to her; how to relay information to someone else she didn't know how to explain. This was how the Avengers would be able to help her prepare for the battle she knew she couldn't avoid, she could show them how to train her without ever having to really know how to do it herself.

Opal ran a hand over her face and pushed the duvet away. She stood and padded out of the room, walking down the hallway until she reached the small living area and her stomach rumbled. She wanted a midnight snack, but she didn't know where to find it. Then she remembered what Tony had said about asking JARVIS if they needed anything.

"Um... JARVIS?" she called out quietly.

"Yes, Miss Opal?"

"Where is the kitchen?"

"If you follow the lights, I will show you the way."

Down a hallway, a light flicked on near the floor, bright enough for her to notice, but dim enough it wouldn't wake anyone or bring attention to it. She smiled, walking towards it and following the lights as they continued to guide her way. Finally, they reached what was clearly a kitchen, fancier than anything Opal had ever seen before, as was everything else here.

"Thank you, JARVIS."

"My pleasure, Miss Opal."

The teenager crossed to the fridge and pulled open the freezer door, finding a tub of chocolate ice cream and grabbing it before she started searching through drawers for a spoon. When she found one, she set the two things down on the island counter before hopping up on it herself and opening the tub, digging into the ice cream.

She didn't know how long she sat there, slowly working away at the tub of ice cream when a light flicked on, temporarily blinding her. She winced and raised an arm to shield herself, looking towards the doorway she'd come through, seeing Steve standing there in a loose-fitting white t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. Immediately she flushed at being caught eating ice cream while sitting on the counter and looked away.

"You eat ice cream on kitchen counters in the middle of the night often?" he asked her, smirking.

"Yeah," she admitted. "Don't tell my dad."

"Your secret is safe with me," he assured her, crossing to a cupboard and pulling out a bag of chips. "Why are you up so late?"

"Weird dream," she admitted, stabbing the spoon into the ice cream. "One of my past lives telling me it's my destiny to defeat Zaynn and become the queen of a place I haven't been to since I was an infant."

Steve leaned against the counter next to her. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"It's all just... so much, you know? A few days ago, my biggest concern was my math test. Now I’ve found out my dad was keeping secrets from me my whole life and I have some magical destiny and a man trying to kill me so I can't steal power from him I don't even want. And past lives telling me I have to do it and learn to control powers I've only used once and…” Opal trailed off with a sigh. “And I don't know if I can do it."

"I might not know what you're experiencing exactly, kid, but I get feeling overwhelmed. Right after I got the serum, I had to watch the scientist who created it and chose me to receive it be killed right next to me. Then I was in a war, lost my best friend, got trapped in ice for seventy years..."

Opal laughed. "I guess my situation doesn't feel so bad compared to World War II."

"We're not gonna let anything happen to you, Opal," he assured her. "We don't let the bad guys get away with doing bad things."

"Thanks."

"You'll make it through Zaynn, through becoming a queen, and you'll have your whole life to figure out how to do it right. And you won't be alone to do it."

"You're pretty good at pep talks, you know. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Steve smiled. "It may have come up once or twice."

Chapter Text

When it was finally properly morning, sun rising in the sky, birds chirping in trees and the smell of coffee brewing all throughout Avengers Tower, the team, Bael and Opal all gathered around the dining table next to the kitchen. Plates of food, now emptied, were scattered across it. Based on the interactions she had witnessed between the team, she could guess they didn’t all sit down together for breakfast very often.

Now that they’d finished eating and were all satisfied, they agreed it was time to talk battle plan. Apparently, between giving her a pep talk in the middle of the night and sleeping, Steve had come up with an entire plan on what they should do and how best to take Zaynn down with minimal casualties. He even had a basic idea of what to do with him after they took him down and captured him. Opal was impressed, but she supposed they didn't call him the ‘Man With A Plan’ for nothing.

Judging from the reactions of Natasha and Thor, the plan was a good one. And though Tony, Bruce, Clint and her dad had furrowed brows at the plan, they at least let Steve finish laying it out before saying anything. Opal didn't really quite understand it. The smell of food was still in the air and there were so many other things on her mind at the time that almost everything was getting a little hard to process. But as soon as Steve did finish speaking, there was a pause to be sure he was truly done and then Tony immediately spoke up.

"We're not using the kid as bait. Absolutely not."

"Tony," Steve said.

"No. No! She's fourteen, Steve! We're not sending her to be killed."

"I don't like it either, but we have to draw Zaynn out,” Steve explained. “I'm not saying we're not going to be there to protect her, but he's not going to come out if he sees just us. It has to be her."

"I'm with Tony, Steve," Bruce agreed. "She's just a kid, we can't send her in all alone."

"She wouldn't be alone," Natasha pointed out. "We'd all be there."

Bruce shook his head. "But she has to appear alone. We can't be right next to her, ready for this guy to jump out at her."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Opal asked.

"Yes," Steve said.

"No," Tony said at the same time.

"What do you wish to say, Opal?" her dad asked.

Opal took a deep breath and tried not to wilt under the stares of all the Avengers. "I wanna go along with the plan. I'll do it. Yangchen said the past Avatars would protect me, you guys would protect me and the gods aren't happy with Zaynn for trying to kill me. It just... it sounds like things are kind of favouring me, here."

"Yangchen?" Bael questioned.

"One of my past lives," Opal clarified. "She came to me in my dream last night."

"I don't think we should just trust what some ghost is saying," Clint said.

"She's the one who saved me from Zaynn on the bridge. And she... she's me, basically. I don’t really understand the whole reincarnation thing yet, but I trust her. I trust what she says."

"That's a lot of faith to have on something you didn't know you could do till yesterday," Natasha pointed out.

Opal looked down. She was right. Yesterday she didn't know she could do any of this, the day before, she didn't know any of it even existed. And the day before she was just a normal girl. She really shouldn't have so much faith in it so quickly. Especially since she still didn't know how to control any of it, how to use her abilities at her will.

But talking with Yangchen in her dream and then with Steve afterwards... Something had changed. Something had clicked. Was she still terrified? Of course. Did she understand it at all? Definitely not. If it came down to it, did she think she could call forth her abilities at will? She was actually pretty sure she'd die if it came to it. But all that aside, she couldn't explain why she had faith she would be protected. Maybe it was the knowledge she had her past lives to protect her, that there were gods who had given her these abilities and they were looking out for her, too. Maybe it was just coming face to face with one of her past lives.

She didn't know what it was. All she did know was that she had faith.

"Maybe," she finally said. "But they protected me on the bridge. They'll do it again if it comes down to it."

"You don't have to go along with this, kid," Tony said. "We can find another way."

"I don't think there is one,” Opal pointed out. “And I don't know that we have time to come up with one. Zaynn spent fourteen years looking for me and didn't stop till he'd done it. And when his first attempt to kill me didn't work, he came after me again as soon as I was in his grip. If the only way for me to be safe is to hide up here in this tower, I don't want it. I can't hide from the world forever and if I'm not hiding, Zaynn will come for me. It's better to go to him and, at the very least, have the next fight be on our terms, not his."

"You sound like your mother," Bael said, smiling softly at his daughter.

Something in Opal's heart swelled, and she smiled back at her dad. He didn't really talk about her mom much. It tended to be too painful for him. Opal didn't know any of the traits she may have shared with her mother, her father had never been able to tell her. So the fact he was doing so now... It meant a lot, suffice it to say.

"I'm not going to hide," she continued, turning back to the Avengers. "So if going to Zaynn is what it takes to get this done... I'm in."

"Alright, then here's what we gotta do..."

Somehow, Opal felt strange walking down the street towards the burned wreckage of her home. So much had changed since the last time she had walked down the street it felt almost foreign. She had changed so much since she had last walked down the street. She was a normal girl just walking home from school... now she was the furthest one person could be from normal.

Coming to the front door, Opal jogged up the steps and pushed the key into the lock and slowly pushed the door open to reveal the burnt remains of what was once her living room. She pushed the hood of her sweater off her head and closed the door behind her, not bothering to click the lock into place again. If she was supposed to be bait then there was no use in locking the door. They were supposed to come to her. The easier she made it, the quicker it would be over. Hopefully.

The brunette walked across the charred carpet of the living room to the front window and pushed what remained of the curtain out of the way. She watched a woman in a hoodie walk down the street on the other side of the road and smiled when she saw the small strand of red hair hangng in view.

"You okay, kid?" Natasha asked her.

"Yeah," Opal said, turning away from the window. "It just... feels weird being here. And I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Just walk around, be seen. Waste time. You've just got to give them time to come out of their hiding places," Natasha explained.

"Alright," Opal conceded. "But it still feels weird."

Making sure she was still in view of the front window, Opal picked up a nearly burnt to a crisp photo frame and looked at the photo within. It was still mostly intact, only a few edges burnt a little, but the photo itself was unharmed. That made Opal more than relieved, as the photo was the only one they had of her mom. It was an old photo, of course, and knowing what she knew now, it put the photo into a whole new perspective.

Opal had always wondered about where exactly the photo was taken. She was always fairly sure it was taken back in Tibet, in their home village, the simple hut with a symbol above the door being her only thing to go on. Now, she knew that to be true, for the symbol above the door was the very same one Yangchen wore on her necklace. It was one of the symbols of her people. The people she was destined to rule.

Shaking her head and turning away, Opal set the frame gently down on the charred remains of the dining room table and walked away from it. She made her way to the part of the house which had been saved from the fire, luckily the bedrooms, and into her own room, running her hands over her dresser and sheets as she crossed to her bedroom window. Somehow, it all felt so foreign to her. While it had only been a few days since she'd woken up in this room, the smell of smoke creeping towards her and the heat of fire only a few feet away, it didn’t feel the same. Maybe it was the fire or the events that the fire put into motion, but nothing could ever take them back to who they were before.

With a sigh, she turned away from the window and made sure to position herself in a way she was sure no one would be able to see her talking.

"How long do you want me to stay in here?" she asked.

"You could probably come on out now," Natasha said. "There's some movement out here."

"Some movement or our trap working?"

"We'll see when she comes out."

"Alright, coming out then," Opal said.

Turning back towards the hallway, she started making her way back towards the front door. Anxiety bubbled further in her chest, twisting in knots so complex the teenager feared they may never come undone. As she walked, she repeated Yangchen's words to herself. You will be fine, your new friends will protect you, your past lives will protect you and the gods who had granted your powers are on your side. Zaynn was destined to lose and be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

When she reached the front door, Opal stopped on the porch and pulled her hood back onto her head to make it seem like she didn't know she was being watched and locked the door. She turned and jogged down the front steps until she reached the sidewalk and stood there for a moment, looking around. No one started running at her, no one seemed to be watching her who shouldn't be and everything around her seemed to be just as it should have been. Opal's stomach dropped, beginning to think their plan was going to be a failure.

Then, suddenly, heat spread across her back and Opal went airborne, being thrown into the middle of the road. She quickly rolled onto her back and frantically unzipped her sweater, stomping on it to put the flames out. She pushed herself up and looked over to see Zaynn standing on the sidewalk, looking confident and arrogant.

"That was my favourite hoodie," Opal spat at him.

"You won't miss it when you're dead," he shot back.

Before she had a chance to respond back, he shot another blast of fire at her and she just barely managed to brace her arms in front of herself to block the fire with a gust of air of her own. Once more, Opal was shot back with the force and she landed in the park across the street from her house, rolling through the grass when she landed, pain beginning to blossom through her body. As much as she wanted to lie there in pain and not get up, Opal knew she had to, so begrudgingly got to her feet. Zaynn was stalking toward her again, a few people — presumably more benders — following after him.

"Your time on this plane is up, Avatar," Zaynn spat. "With you gone, I will be able to rightfully continue my role as Fire Lord unchallenged. I will continue to lead my people to prosperity without having to bow down to a child who knows nothing of her people."

"Well maybe if someone hadn't tried to kill a newborn, I would know my people," Opal spat. "How messed in the head do you have to be to feel threatened by a baby who's not even a month old?"

"As if you still weren't a threat to me then," Zaynn said with a laugh. "But now you are nothing. You are untrained and unknowledgeable. And here you are, alone in what was once your safe place."

Opal laughed. "Who said I came alone?"

Just like that, a quinjet soared by overhead, and the Avengers dropped out of it. From around them, what had been innocent people dropped their disguise to reveal themselves as even more benders, but loyal ones. Ones who were never loyal to Zaynn in the first place. For a brief moment, Opal saw panic in Zaynn's eyes.

"Attack!" Zaynn ordered. "Kill the Avatar! Whatever you have to do!"

Fights sprung up around her and Opal saw Zaynn marching towards her with purpose before someone jumped in front of her and engaged Zaynn in a fight, allowing her time to quickly back away from the fight.

There was a flash out of the corner of her eye and Opal leaned back just in time to see a tendril of water appear in front of her face before quickly retreating. She turned to see one of Zaynn’s loyalists dressed in blue coming at her and readying another attack. Fashioning a whip out of water, the bender snapped it out at Opal again and she quickly pushed a hand out, causing the whip to freeze into ice and fall to the ground, shattering into a million pieces.

Working on pure instinct now, Opal pushed her arms out, causing a large gust of wind to knock the bender over and then away from her. She felt entirely lost in the chaos for a moment as the noise level shot up and elements were being thrown all around her. She instinctively ducked under a blast of fire and looked up to see it was Zaynn. And he was getting ready for another shot.

The crescendo of noise around her reached its peak. Opal dropped to her knees and closed her eyes as the knot in her stomach forced its way out of her in the form of a scream. The wind whipped around her in a sphere like a forcefield, cracks in the pavement below started spreading out, and fire and water from benders nearby were sucked into her whirlwind until it, too, was circling around her with the bits of earth caught up from the cracks.

Opal's eyes burst open, blazing white. She could feel the power of her past lives burning through her entire body as she stood to her feet and started walking toward Zaynn. He shot blast after blast of fire at her in a desperate attempt to stop her, but they simply got sucked up into her whirlwind to be shot back at him as she got closer and closer to him.

When the edge of her bubble reached Zaynn, it knocked him down and she stepped up next to him. He shot a blast of fire up at her, but she simply raised a hand and blocked it, the fire fanning out around her until he stopped, realizing it was futile. The pure look of panic and terror in his eyes caused a strange feeling to rise up in Opal's chest. She stretched out her hand towards him and the elements at her command did as she wanted, bringing his neck into her hand. With strength she wouldn't normally have, Opal held his neck tightly in her hand and brought his face close to hers.

"I'm the Avatar, and you gotta deal with it."

With a cry and yet more use of her temporarily enhanced strength, Opal used her grip on Zaynn's neck to throw him as far as she could, using a blast of air to send him even further. Her whirlwind began to dissolve as she turned on those of Zaynn's loyalists who remained. The fights immediately ceased. With the villains dealt with, all the energy immediately sapped from the teenager's bones, her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out.

Chapter Text

When Opal came to, she was back in Avengers Tower and the room she’d been staying in for the couple of days they’d been there. She felt sore, hungry, and thirsty all at the same time. When she pushed the covers off her body, she could see more than one darkening bruise spread across her legs and arms, which she suspected came more from her being thrown around by Zaynn than any of the rest of the fight. Knowing she'd stopped the man trying to kill her made the pain she felt from the bruises feel insignificant and worth it.

She pushed herself out of bed and wandered into the adjoining bathroom, splashing water over her face to help wake herself up and then smiling at her reflection. She felt stronger than she had in a long time. It was strange how much accepting who she was and what she could do had changed not only how she saw herself, but how she carried herself.

Entering back into the bedroom, she was halfway to the bed again when the door opened and she looked to see it was her father. Without thinking twice, she ran at him and hugged him, burying her head in the crook of his neck. He had a moment of hesitation — likely due to the anger she'd expressed towards him the past few days — before he hugged her back and rested his head atop hers. Opal let herself soak up the moment for a little while before her dad pulled back and clutched her face in his hands, smiling proudly. He kissed her forehead and she smiled back.

"Come on, everyone is waiting for you," he told her.

Bael wrapped an arm around her and began to guide her through the Tower until they came to the room they'd had breakfast in the day they'd come up with the plan. Everyone was sitting around on the couches, seemingly waiting on Opal herself. Smiles lit up their faces when they saw the teenager come into the room and sit down next to her father on a couch.

"How are you feeling, kid?" Steve asked.

"Sore. Hungry. Thirsty. But... strong. And like I'm ready to face whatever lies ahead for me."

"Do you want some food?" Natasha asked.

"I could eat an entire buffet," she admitted.

Natasha nodded to Clint, who got up and walked into the kitchen area, retrieving a platter with a pitcher on it and bringing it back. There was a plate of eggs and bacon and the pitcher was full of orange juice. Clint set it in front of Opal on the coffee table and she immediately moved to sit closer, pouring the orange juice into the glass and taking a long drink out of it before refilling the glass and digging into the eggs.

"So what happened after I passed out?" she asked between bites.

"The benders who were on Zaynn's side all surrendered," Steve explained.

"After that, we easily rounded them all up," Natasha added. "They're in a secure facility now. Or, our best guess at secure anyway."

"We will take them back home to face justice by their people," Bael said.

"We?" Opal asked through a mouthful of bacon.

"Yes, Nyingdu-la," Bael said, smiling and laughing. "You must come home to meet your people and take your birthright."

Opal's eyes lit up in excitement. "I get to see the place where I was born? Where you met mom?"

"You will get to do more than that, Opal."

"What do you mean?"

"You are the Avatar and have accepted your place as such. With Zaynn out of the way, you will be crowned, as you rightfully should be, as Queen of Ri La."

"I can't believe I'm a Queen..." she said, smiling.

"It'll be a first for the Avengers, that's for sure," a voice said.

Everyone turned to see a man walking into the room. He wore a long black coat, had an eye patch and definitely looked like someone Opal wanted nothing to do with. She had no idea who he was but the Avengers all seemed to recognize him.

"Nick," Steve said in a warning tone, standing up.

"First for...? What do you mean?" Opal asked, standing up as well. "Do you— do you want me to be an Avenger?"

"Absolutely not," Tony said.

"Nick, she's a kid," Steve added.

"And she is a capable fighter," Thor said. "I do not see why she can't be on the team."

"Thor, she's fourteen!"

"And just kicked the ass of a man who tried to kill her as a baby so thoroughly the sight of it made all his supporters surrender," Nick pointed out.

"Wait, wait, wait," Opal said. "Who are you? Why are you talking like it's up to you who gets to join the team or not whether the team wants me to or not?"

"Because I'm the one who put this team together in the first place. There may not be any S.H.I.E.L.D. for me to be the director of anymore but this is still my team. I'm Nick Fury."

Opal's brow furrowed. "Nick Fury... aren't you supposed to be dead? I— I mean all the stuff that came out when the S.H.I.E.L.D. files were dumped said you were dead, you'd been assassinated."

"Yeah, and I'd like to keep it that way if you don't mind," Nick Fury said.

"She's just a kid, she's not joining the team," Steve insisted.

"We can train her," Natasha added.

"We can't put her in harm's way."

"You just used me as bait for Zaynn!" Opal pointed out.

"That was different, he was going to come after you regardless—"

"But I agreed to it," Opal said.

"I know—"

"Just like I'm agreeing to this now. I want to be an Avenger. What point is having these powers if I have no use for them? What point is being the Avatar if all it ever means is I'm destined to be the Queen of a place I only ever saw as a baby? What use is these powers as simply that?"

"Opal—"

"It's my decision to be an Avenger or not and I am deciding to be one. Besides, like Nick Fury said, I did just kick Zaynn's ass, I think I can handle whatever comes at the team."

"Well, the Queen has spoken," Fury said. "Sounds decided to me."

With that, Fury turned around and left. Opal was left with a sense of pride in her chest and a feeling of accomplishment. Not only had she just come out the winner in a fight against the man who tried to kill her as a baby, but now she was an Avenger. Her stomach rumbled and she sat back down to dig into her food and take another long drink of her orange juice.

"So, do I get like a membership card or something as an Avenger?" she asked.

Everyone laughed and she smiled.

"That's something we can deal with after you get back from your coronation," Tony said.

"Yes," Bael said, finally speaking up. "We can deal with what being an Avenger means for you and what our situation is going to be if we keep living in New York City after we deliver Zaynn's loyalists back home."

"Actually, that's a good point, Dad, what happened to Zaynn anyways?" Opal asked, taking a bite of some eggs. "Like after I passed out and everything."

There was a moment of silence following her question. She waited for someone to tell her he was in the secure location with the others but when no one spoke she looked up to see them all exchanging strange glances.

"What? What is it?"

"No one blames you, kid," Tony said.

"Blames me for what?"

"You threw him far and hard," Natasha said. "We did all we could but... Zaynn died."

Something in Opal’s chest wilted at those words. "What are you talking about?"

"He landed on concrete, Opal. If not every bone in his body, then damn near close to it was broken. He died before we could get him to a doctor," Steve told her gently.

"What?"

"Like I said, no one blames you."

"I... I killed him?"

"Not intentionally, we know that," Natasha assured her, reaching across to place her hand on Opal's.

"But he's dead and it's my fault..."

"He was trying to kill you, Opal," Bael told her. "He was a very bad man. He killed many people."

"I..." Opal faltered, unsure of how to feel. She pushed the tray of food away from her, suddenly feeling nauseous. "I think I've lost my appetite. I'm going to go lay down..."

Without another word, Opal stood and walked away, her stomach twisting in knots. She didn't know how to process what she had just been told and needed time to herself to think about it. To have another life on her conscience, even that of a bad man like Zaynn… It made her feel sick to her stomach.

Everyone gave Opal a day to think. They let her process the information she was given, not pushing her or asking her about it. She spent the time mostly alone, with only the occasional silent company of her father. And, after the suggestion by her father, she even meditated a little in an attempt to make contact with her past lives. Something she was eventually able to do.

She talked to Yangchen, who she learned was the last Avatar born of the Air Nation, and even Roku, the Avatar before her. They helped her understand how not only was Zaynn’s death at the hands of the Avatar a part of his destiny but something coming for him for what he did. He had directly gone against the Gods, tried to kill their champion, the Avatar, and would be punished for his crime. It was one of the worst things a person of their people could do, disrespect their Gods. If he hadn't done this, he probably would have survived.

The death still weighed on Opal and she vowed to do her best never to take another life again, but she felt more at ease now than she had before. Aside from the crimes her previous lives listed, Zaynn had killed her mother, tried to kill her and who knows how many other benders.

When the teenager joined the Avengers for lunch the next day, they were all surprised but didn't comment. They gave her smiles and joked with her about normal things. And when her father told her they would be leaving to return to Tibet that afternoon so they'd arrive in Lhasa as close to midday as possible, Tony offered them the use of his private jet since it would be at least a twenty-hour flight and they should at least do it comfortably. They were touched by the offer and happily took it.

Each Avenger offered to join the father and daughter on their journey, but given they were a private and secretive people, Bael turned them down. They would be picked up at the airport by Benders who would transport them back to Ri La and the villages there.

Opal was more excited than she'd ever been. Her father had never talked much about his home, always claiming it was too painful given how intertwined it was with memories of her mother. And while she had always and still did accept that as the truth, she now knew it was also because he’d wanted her to know as little as possible about her destiny so Zaynn wouldn't find them. She still didn't approve of him keeping secrets from her, but after everything she'd been through in such a short time, Opal didn't have it in her to hate her father anymore.

Seeing as they didn't have many belongings anymore, most of them having been ruined in the fire, packing didn't take very long. Before Opal knew it, they were driving out to an airstrip and loading their belongings into a private jet. A few of the loyal benders who had stuck around were accompanying them, mostly to protect Opal and keep Zaynn's benders secure in the cargo hold through the entire flight.

It was still strange, people who were strangers for all intents and purposes feeling the need to protect her.

She settled into one of the plush seats in front of the table, her father sitting across from her. A bender sat in one of the chairs behind her, another near the cockpit. Two more went down into the cargo hold with the prisoners. She waved goodbye to the Avengers who were still on the tarmac out of the window next to her seat as the plane started to head towards the runway.

"Are you ready to see your home, Opal?" Bael asked.

"I've been ready for years, Dad," she answered him excitedly. "I can't believe it's finally happening."

"Things will be very different," he told her. "Not only in the way the people act, but the way they dress, speak and treat you. The way they will expect you to act, dress and speak."

"But you'll be there to help me, right?" she said. "The whole way?"

He reached over and put his hand over hers. "I won't leave your side. I will be stuck to you like glue."

Opal smiled. "And then you can tell me everything about where you grew up. And where you met Mom! And where I was born!"

"Well, that won't be as interesting," he said. "You were born at our home."

"Really?"

"Of course. We do not have a hospital as you think of them. We had a healer with us, and your grandmother. As well as a, uh... a midwife."

"Huh..." Opal said, processing that. "Wait, grandmother? Are my grandparents alive? Will I get to meet them?"

"There will be many surprises for you when we reach Ri La, I think this shall be one of them."

"Aw, Dad, come on."

Bael smiled and leaned back in his seat. Opal huffed and crossed her arms, but it only made her father laugh and she couldn't stay upset after that.

Opal turned her eyes out the window as they took off. As the world grew smaller and smaller, she couldn't help but wonder about what it would be like, her home. She didn't know what to expect, but she did know she was excited for what was to come. She was going to see her home for the first time, and meet her people. See the place her mother grew up. This was a place she'd never known, having left it as just a baby. Not only did she have no memories of her mother, but she had no memories of her birthplace either. And despite that, she couldn't help a sense of going home, of something like nostalgia.

She was a Queen and she was finally coming home.

Chapter Text

It was late morning when they landed in Lhasa and were greeted by a group of people in clothes which seemed a little strange to Opal, but also familiar. Two of the people wore robes of orange and yellow which reminded her of the kind her mother wore in the only photo of her and also of the kind Yangchen wore. They greeted Bael first, speaking only in Tibetan, before turning to Opal and bowing deeply. She smiled at them in response, not really sure what to say.

There were two vehicles parked on the tarmac, one an SUV they gestured for Opal, Bael and the benders who had flown with them to get into. The other was a larger box truck the teenager assumed was for transporting their prisoners. Opal slid into the car, her father next to her and they were off.

Despite having taught Opal how to speak Tibetan growing up (it was easier for Bael than English, after all), he had never taken her to Tibet and rarely spoke of his home country. She understood his reasoning now, but it also meant she could only stare out the windows of the car in awe as they left the airport and started heading in the direction of her home. It wasn't what she expected for the most part, given what little her father had told her and based on the background of the photo of her mother, but they hadn't reached their destination yet.

It didn't take long for the large mountain range to come into view and as they continued to drive towards it, Opal was a little surprised. She figured they wouldn't be driving right up to the village and she was soon proven correct when they stopped at the base of a small cliff face and everyone but the driver of the car got out.

"Follow me, my Queen," one man in green robes said to her, gesturing for them to follow.

He lead them up a rickety wooden staircase and along an equally rickety wooden bridge which took them over the first small cliff and then into a cave. At the back of the cave, the man bended the rock to reveal a passageway. At this point, a man in red robes took the lead, igniting a fire in his palm to light their way through the dark passage.

They walked for what seemed like forever through the dark passageway. Opal began to wonder just how deep into the mountains they had to go to reach their destination but then she realized if they were just around the first big piece of rock, they couldn't have stayed secret for as long as they had. She wondered how they could stay secret in the age of technology they lived in, and if the continued secrecy meant they lived within the mountain itself. The only thing going against that theory was the picture of her mom. It was taken in daylight. You couldn't get daylight inside a mountain. They kept walking and Opal wondered just how deep they were going to have to go.

Her excitement grew the closer and closer they got. She had been dreaming of seeing her parents' village for as long as she could remember and now she knew it was so much more, so her excitement was as well. And she was very aware of the place inside her that felt like her connection to her past lives and their feeling of finally coming home after almost a decade and a half away. It was this feeling which eased her fear and anxiety the most. As well as her father holding her hand.

Soon enough, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Opal's excitement tripled as they drew closer and closer to it, knowing what was on the other side.

When they exited the tunnel, everything opened up. They seemed to be in an area which was almost carved out of the rock, the mountain curled around the fairly large one story house which was there. The house itself, while large for being only one story, seemed to be shaped like a square with a courtyard in the middle and facing out towards a pond on an open edge overlooking the area.

Without hesitation, Opal ran for the edge to see what she could see from there.

Just below was a large village full of people in green robes. In the distance to the left was a large lake, small huts and other buildings around the water's edge closest to them, as well as people in blue robes. Far to the right was what looked to be hot springs and a village set up around them with people in red robes. Opal's brow furrowed, feeling like something was missing until her father appeared at her side and pointed up the mountain behind them. Following his gaze, Opal squinted up. It was there, almost built into the mountain itself, right near the top, where she saw the fourth village, full of people in yellow robes.

As she looked around, a million questions rose to the surface. If they were in open air, just on the other side of the mountain they'd come into, how had Ri La remained a secret? In the age of satellites and Google Earth, how had no one spotted this village full of people doing unbelievable things?

“How…” Opal started, looking to her father. “How are we still in Tibet?”

“We are not,” Bael said.

Opal rolled her eyes. “I know we're in Ri La now, I meant—”

“I know what it is you meant, Opal. We are not in Tibet any longer. Ri La is its own world, apart from the world you grew up in. The only way in is through the passageway we came through and the only way through those is with bending.”

“We're… we're in another world?”

“Yes. There will be much to learn about this and what it means for your role as queen, but you do not have to worry about it now,” Bael assured her.

Opal looked back at the view of the village below, eyes impossibly wider than they were before. Her father had somehow failed to mention before that she wasn't just the queen of some small remote village in Tibet, no, she was the queen of an entire other world. She wondered what it meant, what he had meant by there being other things about it she would learn later. She wondered just what else she still had to learn.

"Avatar," a voice called out. Opal turned to see the man in red standing a little ways away. "Let us take you to your room."

"Oh, right. Lead the way," she said.

"The leaders of each nation who were loyal to Zaynn have been arrested," the man explained as they walked back towards the house. "They will be tried with those who followed him to America to get to you. And new leaders must be chosen, of course. But that can all wait until after your coronation."

"When will it be?" Bael asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon on the overlook," he explained. "Myself, as well as the others who led the rebellion against Zaynn's people, have done what we can to lead in your absence."

"Well, uh, I'm sure you've done a great job," Opal said, unsure of what to say.

"Thank you," the man said. "Here is your room, Avatar. Bael, yours is the one next door. If you need anything at all, please, just call."

"What's your name?" Opal asked, before the man could walk away.

"I am Tsewang," he introduced with a bow. "I have taken over the Fire Lord duties."

"Thank you, Tsewang. For everything you've done," Opal told him.

"It is my honour," he said.

Opal smiled awkwardly and looked to her father. He put an arm around her and easily said goodbye to Tsewang, saying to call on them when it was time for dinner and then guiding Opal into her room. This was going to be a long trip, that's for sure.

The next morning, Opal woke up with a smile already on her face. She had enjoyed every minute she'd spent in Ri La already, whether there had been numerous awkward moments or not. And today she was officially going to be crowned as Queen. Ball of nerves and anxiety in her stomach or not, she was excited.

Sitting up, Opal glanced out the window and saw the sun in the sky, the warm rays beaming through her window directly onto a plate of food and a set of robes. As the smell hit her nose, Opal pushed the blankets off and went over to the food, sitting down on the floor right there to eat it. Just after she finished, the door opened and a woman in Air Nomad robes came in.

"Ah, you have eaten, good. It is time to get you ready for your coronation," she said.

"Already?"

"We only have a few hours left."

Conceding, Opal allowed the woman to help her bathe (she was unaccustomed to bathing without running water) and dress in the robes provided. She helped Opal do something with her hair and then allowed her a moment to herself before they came to collect her. A moment Opal took to sneak out of her room and to the gardens she'd noticed the night before.

The gardens were quiet. There was no one else there when Opal arrived, and she allowed the silence and the warmth of the sun to wash over her. As wonderful and amazing as today was going to be, it was also going to be a long day, she could already tell. So she would take her moments of silence where she could.

When someone cleared their throat behind her, Opal startled, thinking she'd been caught. But when she turned around, it was only a boy around her age, with dark hair and hazel eyes and a scar under his left eye.

"Is the Avatar sneaking away?" he asked.

"Not far," she said quickly. "I just wanted to see the gardens."

"Don't worry, I'm not here to rat you out. I just noticed you in the gardens. I'm Tashi," he said, extending a hand to her.

"Opal," she said, shaking his hand.

"I know," Tashi said.

"Right, of course." Opal looked away. "What brings you out here?"

"I come out here every morning," he told her. "Usually I'm the only one here."

"Sorry to intrude," she said.

"No need to apologize, you're the Avatar, you can do whatever you want."

"I don't want to be treated differently. I'm fourteen, I'm not ready to be put up on a pedestal."

"But you are different," Tashi pointed out. "You're the Avatar, the only person who can bend all four elements. It will always set you apart and you can't change that."

"Not that long ago I was a normal teenage girl," Opal said with a laugh. "I guess it's just taking a bit of getting used to."

Tashi laughed but before either of them could say anything, someone called her name from behind them and they both turned to see Bael standing there. Opal said goodbye to Tashi and walked over to her father.

"Are you ready for your big moment, Opal?" he asked her.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said. "I'm a little nervous."

"Everything will be fine, don't worry," he assured her. "There is nothing to come in the way of this now."

"That's not what I'm nervous about, Dad."

Bael wrapped an arm around her. "Oh, I see. Opal, this is your destiny. You were always headed towards this moment, you couldn't be more prepared for this moment than you are now."

"Thanks, Dad," she said, leaning into him.

Soon enough it was time to make their way up to the overlook where the coronation would be taking place. Opal got to walk through the Air Nation village on the mountain to get there, amazed at the sight of it and hoping she got a chance to spend some more time there, before they reached the overlook.

Once there, the leader of each tribe (or the person standing in for each leader) filled one of the four podiums facing each direction with their element. A woman with greying hair in yellow robes stepped forward and beckoned Opal to step up in front of her. The teenager did so, and was then instructed to kneel down, so she did as well.

"Long ago, our Gods blessed one of our people with the ability to bend all four elements so they could protect our people in times of great need. Upon their death, they would be reincarnated into a new body the next time the people were in need. This person was called the Avatar and they were destined to rule our people during their lifetime."

The woman was given a golden circlet with a clear crystal at the front of it, and she held it out in front of her, over Opal's head.

"Today, it is my great honour to stand before the leaders of our nations and the Gods to crown my granddaughter the Avatar." Opal looked up, shocked, and received a wink. "After much strife, Avatar Opal has made her way back to us to take her rightful place as Queen of the world of Ri La. It is my great honour to present her to you and to the Gods."

The circlet was placed upon Opal's head and she was instructed to stand. As she looked out over the villages down below and the mountains around them, a surge of power raised through her and she recognized the feeling of her past lives coming to the surface. Her eyes glowed white and this time, so did the crystal on her circlet to match.