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This wasn't how she planned her day to go, Jade did not set out with the intent to knock someone out. She was in the 6th grade and they were in bending class. At her school everyone had to take either a bending class or an arts class in last period. You could choose what you wanted to learn. Jade did not want to be in the earth bending class. She was the daughter of one of the greatest earth benders in the world, Lin Biefong and the granddaughter of Toph Biefong who invented metal bending. And that's precisely why she did Not need to learn monkey form which she had mastered at the age of 5, she had already started metal bending and these basic earth forms were not something she wanted to spend her time on. But music or dance didn't interest her either and she couldn't learn swordplay because it was first offered to non benders and it filled up before she could take it. So here she was in the back of a basic earth bending class that was going slower than usual because their normal teacher was having a baby. Sifu Cho was a nice lady and normally didn't care what Jade did during class because she knew the girl was easily better than the kids two or three years her senior. Sifu Cho knew that Jade's mother trained her on the weekends and was better than anything she or the school could offer. Unfortunately Sifu Cho had not passed that message on to her replacement, a youngish man by the name of Wang. He had already yelled at her twice this week about barely paying attention in class.
"Okay class, I'll make you a deal." Sifu Wang said. Jade wasn't even sure he was a real master, his ability wasn't bad but her mother would have had her head if she ever let her footwork ever get that sloppy. "If any of you can beat me in a friendly sparring match, I'll give you Friday off." He told them grinning. The class murmured excitedly. The top kids naturally volunteered. Some of them weren't that bad Jade thought at least for the age of 12. Isha was the top bender in the class besides her and frankly would be almost as good as Jade if she had a better teacher and more instruction. but her father worked a lot and her mother was non bender. Lee was just arrogant, he was good, but his ego could lose every fight for him. Huy was a good student and the class clown he had volunteered just for the fun of it, not cause he thought he had any shot at winning.
Huy was up first. He rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles making a show of it. "Alright Sifu, I promise this will be over quickly." He jested getting a laugh from the class and a grin from Wang. He struck first, punching a rock straight at Wang. Wang broke it and the next one that came his way before sending one of his own back at Huy. Huy dodged and waved Wang on like he was the master. Wang smiled again and sent another rock at Huy, who broke it but didn't see the pillar of earth Wang had sent to him which sent him into the air and out of their ring.
"You were right, Huy. That was over quickly." Wang laughed with the rest of the class. Huy always good natured got up and took several bows for the laughed and mock applus that followed.
Lee was next, he was a joke of a bender if you asked Jade. He only used muscles grunting with every move like he was picking up a mountain. He could not 'see' the earth as her mother and grandmother put it. Her grandpa Aang used to tell her the secret to bending was patient that she had to wait and listen to the earth to tell her when to strike. Lee knew none of that, he only knew attack until he was beaten and sure enough in under a minute he too was beaten.
"Yo Jade," Huy said sidling up to her while Lee fought. "You wanna bet on how long he'll last?" He asked.
"No because he won't make it through this conversation." Jade told him. Huy laughed a little too loud. Wang looked over at them barely able to dodge Lee's attack.
"What about Isha?" Huy asked.
"2 minutes." Jade said.
"What really? Huy said. "I lastEd maybe one and Lee isn't going to make 30 seconds." Sure enough Lee was knocked out of the right just as he said that.
"Yeah she's not that bad just need to learn more." Jade told him.
"Jade." Wang called. "If you don't think it's worth your time to pay attention then you must think you can beat me. You're up next." He said motioning for her to come into the ring. The rest of the class all looked at her excited, they all knew who she was and knew that she was the best chance at getting tomorrow off.
"I don't think it's a good idea." Jade deflected looking for a way out of this. she felt weird sparring with these people she never knew how much she should push it.
"Nonsense I insist. no reason to be scared." Wang said. Jade gritted her teeth at that and she heard Huy stifling a laugh that quickly became a cough when she glared at him.
"Fine" She stepped in the ring to face him. They bowed then stood looking at each other.
"Whenever you're ready." Wang said gently.
"No you start." Jade said firmly. Wang paused for a minute before kicking a rock at her. it was a direct move and one that was easy to dodge. She twisted around it, her hands coming up opened palmed, not the fisted style earth and fire benders used in their resting positions. Jade choose to go with a more air bending style, more defensive rather than offensive. They look at each other again. Jade had seen that he had looked best on the counter attack then again that was not hard as both Huy and Lee had left themselves wide open. She was doing that now of course but this was practically slow motion compared to what she did with mom or even what Aang and Toph had done with her when they were around. Wang finally gave up waiting for her and sent three rocks at her. She twisted out of the way, like her father had taught her spinning effortlessly through the barrage. She hadn't fought this slow with anyone in a few years, it was almost insulting to her.
"Come on Jade. Do something besides dance. Do some of the moves we worked on this is supposed to let me see if you're learning." Wang sighed when they were staring at each other again. Jade almost laughed at him calling her father's airbending technique dancing, her mother would certainly agree.
"Come on, Jade." Huy called. "Get us this day off." She heard her classmates mumble in agreement.
"Look Jade, you have to try even if you aren't a natural at it it will come." Wang says it gently and if it was true, it would have been good comfort.
"Yeah come on Officer. I thought you're going to be the chief of police one day." Huy mocks her. He knows very well she does NOT want to follow in her mother's footsteps. Something that both mother and daughter agree on.
"If you want to be an officer oneday. You need to be a better bender." Wang tries to encourage her.
But Jade could help but laugh out loud at that one. She was a prodigy after all. "I don't think you could handle it." She almost scoffs.
Wang must have been offended by the laugh because he says. "I think I can handle a 12 year old."
Jade doesn't stop the smirk that comes across her face now. "Okay. If that's what you want. Then I'll give you the best I got. Your move then." She says when he nods.
He stomps his foot summoning a rock and kicks it towards her. She dodges again spinning. This time she lands on one foot kicks the other into the ground and scissor kicks to rock she just brought up at him. She needs to see how he'll move, she lets her eyes close 'seeing' the way Toph taught her. He doesn't really. He only side steps his base firmly connected to the ground. Jade grabs the next stone he throws at her next, using its own momentum to lift her in the air the way her mothers been working with her on with metal cables. As soon as she lets her toes touch the ground the earth responds to her allowing her to change the stones direction and send it back right at Wang's front foot. He takes a step back getting out of the way, but by that time Jade has both feet back on the ground and slides her foot along the ground to spend a pillar of earth into his chest using his own momentum to send him flying into the clay pots behind him before his front foot ever touches the ground. Jade winces maybe she put a little too much on that. She and her classmates run over to him. Wang is lying on the ground groaning.
"I'll go get the nurse." Isha says and runs off.
"Nice going, Beifong. I think you broke our teacher." Huy teased her punching her in the arm.
"What happened?" Nurse Ming said running up to him with another teacher and Isha following her.
"I uh put too much on an attack." Jade said sheepishly. The nurse was examining him. The other teacher said "Come on kids let go sit down." ushering them all back into the school building. Jade was about to enter the classroom with her friend when the teacher stopped her. "Not you. I think we better go to the office." Jade groaned her parents were going to strangle her for this.
"Ah, Sifu Razo, and miss Beifong. What can I do for you?" Their principle asked.
"Miss Beifong," Razo said slowly just now, realizing who the girl was. "Knocked out her earth bending teacher."
"By accident" Jade jumped in. "I put too much on an attack. I didn't realize how off balance he was. I don't normally have to worry about that kind of thing with mom." She did her best to look innocent and apologetic, hoping that the fact that it was true that she could go a lot hard on her mom without her breaking a sweat would get this all dismissed.
"While, I'm sure that is true. I'm afraid I'm still going to have to call you parents out of formality." The principle warned her. "Are they at work?"
"Mom definitely is, call headquarters and ask for Lao, that's her secretary. Dad might be home, but call city hall first and ask for him. Say your calling from the school and they transform you at once." Jade told him slumping in her chair. Razo gave her a sympathetic look as he left the room. Jade tried not to fidget while she heard the principal talk to her parents. He had definitely gotten through to her dad, but she was 98% sure he hadn't gotten her mom. She really did feel bad for hurting Wang. She had meant to put him in his place not knock him out. It wasn't his fault either if she had told him who she was he most likely would have let it go anyway. She hated the fact her parents were famous, luckily she went to a private school where everyone was rich so it had stopped after the first few days. But some teachers were bad at the beginning of the year and history was her least favorite subject because everyone asked if it was true, did Aang and Toph really do this. The door opened and Wang walked in. He had an ice pack in his hand and a bandaid on his forehead but otherwise looked fine.
"Ah, Sifu Wang. I hope you're alright, I heard there was an accident." The principal said kindly.
"Yes, I'm fine now. thank you." Wang said, easing himself into the chair next to Jade. Who he looked at out of the corner of his eye.
"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to put that much on it." Jade apologized to him.
"It's alright I was surprised is all." Wang said. "I didn't realize you were so good."
"Yes I'm afraid Miss Biefong does still lack some control." The principal smiled ruffly at her.
"Beifong?" Wang asked, surprised.
"Yes, you didn't know?" The principal said, confused.
"No but I suppose it does make sense and makes me feel a little better about what happened. The kids were all cheering her on like they expected her to win." Wang admitted to the principal. Before either had a chance to respond the door flew open and her parents walked in, well Dad walked her mother all but stormed in. Her eyes landed on Jade.
"Are you hurt?" She asked in a clipped tone that she used with her officers.
"No," Jade said quickly.
"Did you get into a fight with some kid?" She continued.
"No"
"Then why are we here, kid?" Lin said her eyes now fastened on the principal who had called them.
"I'm sure there's a good reason." Tenzin said peacefully sitting down in the far chair. "Good Day headmaster. How is your wife?"
"Tenzin I did not leave the scene of a triple homicide for you to gossip." Lin snapped out. Jade held back a smirk watching Wang and the principal squirm under her mother's glare.
"I'm afraid your daughter did get into a fight so to speak." The principal said diplomatically.
Lin's attention went back on her daughter, her eyes narrowing. "You said you didn't beat some kid up."
"I didn't beat a kid up." Jade confirmed. "I beat my teacher up," She gestured to Wang sitting next to her. "In my defence he told me to and I said it was a bad idea." Jade added quickly holding her hand up to her mother.
Lin switched back to the headmaster. "Explain." She said shortly, crossing her arms. Lin Beifong was not someone who cared who you were, if you got in her way she didn't like you and she treated everyone with the same abrasiveness she treated criminals and the press.
"I'm afraid I haven't gotten the chance to ask yet," The headmaster admitted, rubbing his hands together a little nervous at the irritated police chief.
"Well I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this," Tenzin said calmly as if they were talking about the weather. Jade almost rolled her eyes but stopped herself figuring she was already in enough trouble. Her mother had no such qualms.
"I'm embarrassed to admit it but she is right. I did ask her to attack me." Wang admitted. Lin eyes narrowed and he went on quickly. "I told the class that if anyone could beat me sparring they could have tomorrow off, I'm new here and I want to get them to like me." He said hurriedly. "Anyway, Jade was talking to a friend and I called her out on it because she wasn't paying attention and told her if she had time to talk then she must be able to beat me in a fight."
Lin smirked. "You didn't know she was my kid." She had caught on to what had happened and Jade could see the way her mother's lip curled that she was biting her cheek trying to fight the smirk from growing on her face. Well at least mom isn't mad at me, Jade thought.
"Yes, I was only given a list of first names." Wang explained. "So she stepped into the ring and just stood there. She dodged a few rocks, like she was dancing but won't attack. I called her on it. I didn't think she was that good at bending," He said rubbing his neck.
Lin's eyes shot right to Jade. Jade spoke without promoting knowing mom would expect it. "Mom, it is monkey form one and its northern style. You can't expect me to put a lot of effort into that" Jade explained with some disdain knowing her mother would take her side in not being interested in a form she had mastered before she had started school. Her father still gave her a slightly disappointed look at not being a model student.
Lin nodded. "Really?" She turned to the headmaster. "You're teaching a 12 year old Monkey form one." She said with contempt.
"Not everyone learns from Toph and the Avatar before they can walk dear." Tenzin reminded her calmly. Lin still snorted and shot Jade a look of sympathy.
"Ah, so I threw another rock at her and she grabbed it and spun in the air and threw it back at me forcing me to dodge and hit me with a pillar of earth before I could brace myself and sent me into some clay pots." Wang finished. "It was like nothing I'd ever seen." Jade could see her mother losing the fight to keep the smile off her face.
"Sifu Wang, I apologize for my daughter's lack of self control. I promise we'll work with her on it." Tenzin said, speaking for his wife. Jade was 95% sure he too had noticed her mother's expression.
"Thank you, master Tenzin. As I said on the phone this is just a formality you understand." The headmaster said.
"You called me away from a triple homicide because of a formality." Lin growled at him.
"Lin, he was right to inform us. We should know-" Tenzin started.
"Inform us of what? that our kid can beat her teacher's ass, I already knew that, hell she can beat half my officers even with their superior metalbending." Lin scoffed, still mad.
"Oh I'm fine really. I'm afraid I can't teach your daughter much. She must be at or near mastery in earthbending." Wang admitted jumping in.
Everyone's eyes went to Lin, Jade looked at her mother pleadingly. "She is at mastery for earthbending." Lin confirmed. "Let her work on metal with the class in. Its similar forms and she could brush up on the basics with the metal. I'll give her a pair of cables to bend with."
Wang nodded and Jade shot her mother a grateful look. "I'm still sorry you were hurt in all of this." Tenzin apologized again.
Lin rolled her eyes at her husband. "Come on kid, let's get out of here." Jade eagerly jumped up and followed her mother out the door.
"How bad was he?" Lin asked as the door shut behind them.
Jade didn't hide her snicker. "Rohan has better footwork than him at two."
Lin laughed at that too. "That bad kid? I can't believe they would have a 12 year old learning monkey form one. Do you know how much we pay for you and your sister to go here? And that's what they're teaching you?" Lin grumbled.
"So I'm not in trouble?" Jade asked hopefully.
"Spirits no kid, I'm proud of you." Lin smiled down at her. "Don't tell your father I said that and if he takes away dessert or something go to bed early and I'll sneak it to you."
"You're the best mom!" Jade smiled hugging her. She quickly let go as the door opened and Tenzin and Wang walked out, both mother and Daughter went back to looking pissed and bored.
"Again, I'm so sorry this happened." Tenzin was saying. Wang seemed to know enough to brush it off good naturedly.
"Tenzin lets go. I still have to go back to work." Lin said impatiently.
"Coming dear." Tenzin said reaching them in a few strides. "He seems like a nice man."
"More like incompetent. " Lin grumbled. "I'll see you both tonight." She said, giving him a quick kiss and patting Jade's head before leaving.
"So I'm in trouble?" Jade asked tentatively.
"I have to talk to your mother later but you really should have had more control." Tenzin told her daughter. Jade nodded her head figuring her mother would be sneaking her dessert tonight.