Bolin's Lavabending Adventure: Ch.1 - An Unexpected Discovery

This is a commissioned story by an Anonymous individual! It revolves around Bolin x Korra with Bolin discovering his lavabending ability much sooner. This is the start of a potential multi-chapter story!

STORY START:

Bolin steadied his breathing, sitting in a crossed-leg position. He was working on spiritual training with his teacher, Tenzin—a powerful airbender located in their wonderful abode of Republic City.

He was located at the Air Temple Island, a common training ground for his teacher.

Normally, the hyper Bolin would've been hard-pressed to sit still or meditate. That was until he had been forced to grow, to change.

It all started on the day he unlocked his lavabending.

For the longest time, Bolin had been forced to raise himself on the streets of Republic City. Both he and his brother, Mako, did everything they could to survive. With no parents, they were left to fend for themselves as orphans. It wasn't the best or easiest life, but it was theirs. They made do with what they had.

That led to one of the dumbest mistakes he ever made. In a desperate attempt to find work for shelter, food, clothing, and other necessities - Bolin turned to the Triple Threat Triad. An organized crime syndicate that ran their schemes in Republic City.

Mako didn't approve but Bolin explained they didn't have much of a choice. He had been approached by a Triad member and offered some work after seeing him practice a few earthbending skills he picked up. The Triad's offer was practically a golden ticket to the orphaned child!

It seemed easy enough at first. All Bolin had to do was escort some Triad members outside of the city and into the mountains to meet some contacts. Mako had joined him as well, his brother sticking by his side like usual.

The trip was normal enough at first. They didn't speak on the long trip, choosing to remain silent as they trekked through the mountains. The moonlight shined on their forms, making visibility low.

Then, as they came into a rocky scenery, Bolin realized they reached their destination. It was deep into the mountains, much farther than he'd ever gone before. Small streams of bubbling molten rock shined below. Even Mako eyed him warily, feeling something was off.

His naive nature at the time prevented him from picking up the red flags.

The contacts came forward and everything seemed fine. Words were exchanged and handshakes were given. Crickets chirped in the distance. Nothing was wrong.

That was until they killed the Triad members out of nowhere.

It had happened so fast. One second they were talking, the next, each Triad member was lying on the rocky floor with blood pooling around them. Bolin had frozen momentarily at how quickly the situation went sideways.

Being caught off guard afforded him a fierce kick into his ribs, sending him sprawling against the floor. Even his brother, a fierce firebender in his own right, took a beating.

Whoever these individuals were, they were strong. Trained. Bolin regretted not asking more questions about this escort mission.

In a blur, Bolin had been slammed into the ground. His brother joined him, groaning in pain. The small streams of molten rock flowed dangerously around them.

That's when he peeked out through an open eye, watching as his life flashed before his eyes.

But it wasn't for his life. It was for his brother.

Because at that moment, time seemed to stop for Bolin. He could see a series of throwing knives aimed at his recovering brother who was completely unaware of the impending danger.

These weren't some simple Triad contacts. No, they were assassins. Killers. Someone of note.

However, that didn't matter to Bolin. He only cared about protecting his brother - the last family he had in this world.

In a moment of desperation, Bolin called forward his earthbending skills to erect a barrier around Mako. He didn't think, he simply acted. His actions were fueled by a desire to protect. 

And it worked. However, it wasn't Earth that saved Mako, it was the molten rock. Because at that moment, Bolin had unintentionally used lavabending. A technique so rare, it was only thought Avatars could use it.

The streams around him provided the perfect pool of raw material. He used it to his advantage, saving Mako and stopping the throwing knives altogether. After seeing his newfound power, the individuals decided it was best to cut their losses and leave.

Normally it would've ended there, but Bolin had another surprise. Soon after his attackers left in the dark of night, they were approached by Lin Beifong and her police squad. The police chief of Republic City had been tipped off of a suspicious deal going down in the mountains, so they had investigated personally.

Seeing Bolin's molten structures and the dead Triad members had led to hours of interrogation. When it was all said and done, Lin realized that Bolin was truly defending his brother from what he thought was a simple escort mission. He hadn't killed those Triad members, the marks on their bodies were from weapons - not bending.

Bolin thought he would be locked up forever, and even worse, he got his brother involved!

However, instead, Lin Beifong had extended an olive branch. She offered a spot on the police force with her, his brother included. The police cheif saw promise in them, she had even been amazed to see his lavabending firsthand!

Safe to say that Bolin and Mako thought about the offer for a total of five seconds before accepting. It was the best thing they could get as orphans from the street! Much better than a life of crime.

It worked well for Bolin. He got to work on the other side of the law AND practice his skills with people like Tenzin. The Airbender had been referred to him by Lin, allowing Bolin to visit with him frequently to polish his abilities.

He no longer wanted to be naive. To be caught off guard. To miss the red flags. No, he wanted to be prepared. Focused. Disciplined. Driven. Ready.

Bolin still goofed off and cracked jokes - no one could take that from him! However, he took his training seriously. He didn't want to risk his life or his brother's life again like that. He meant too much to him.

Tenzin had trouble helping his lavabending specifically, but they did what they could. His airbending teacher even said there may be a few things he could do to help polish his newfound power. It was all in the testing stage since it was new territory for them both.

Mako also trained, but he mainly focused most of his time at the police station. In Bolin's opinion, he was shaping up to be quite the role model.

People looked up to them. They helped civilians, disrupted crime, and gained real experience in combat scenarios. They still had much to learn, but they had already come a long way from where they began.

Although their reputation didn't come without risks. Whispers of their prowess had reached the ears of many Equalists, finding the brothers to be a nuisance. Bolin didn't know exactly how to deal with them since it was a complicated situation according to Chief Beifong.

While Bolin took a nice route down memory lane, he got rudely interrupted by his teacher.

"...-olin. Bolin!"

"Huh!" The lavabender blinked his eyes open, watching as Tenzin stood across from him.

"It seems you've taken a much bigger liking to meditating than I expected," Tenzin spoke in a calm tone, eyeing his student, "I was simply notifying you that formation was called twenty minutes ago."

"Wait, what?! Twenty minutes ago!" Bolin stood up on his feet in a hurry, a panicked expression on his face. He had lost track of time while reminiscing. "Oh man, Chief Beifong is going to kill me! This is going to be my third time being late! And that's only this week!" 

He could already imagine his brother scolding him with that firm tone he hated!

"Then I assume you must hurry after it. Run along, we'll pick up your training after your duties are completed for the day," Tenzin spoke in a firm voice but the faintest of smirks could be spotted on his face. 

"Right! I'll be back later!" Bolin spoke in a rush, running at top speed. It would be horrible if he lost his job over simple tardiness - he was already getting comfortable in the daily routine part of it too!

Watching his diminished form, Tenzin shook his head in slight amusement, "That boy. Even after all our training and experience, he still acts his age..."

While it sounded negative, Tenzin enjoyed it. He hoped Bolin never lost his goofy self, even when he grew older. It's what made Bolin the lovable idiot to be around.

He could remember when Chief Beifong told him about his bending ability. It had surprised the master Airbender beyond words. Finding someone who could lavabend was extremely rare. After hearing the escort mission story as well as Bolin's drive to better himself - Tenzin had no trouble training him. He also liked helping Mako from time to time when he showed up.

Even after discovering he could lavabend, Bolin didn't let the skill get to his head. Tenzin could see his potential, he assumed Lin did as well. That boy could go far if he continued to apply himself. If he continued to strive for greatness.

Tenzin decided to get ready for the day, mentally going over this week's training schedule for the lavabender.

Minutes later, Tenzin could've sworn he heard the pained whines of his student across the city. Along with Beifong's infamous screaming voice.

Oh well, must've been the wind.