Chapter Text
Pearl heaves, just like the rest of the agents do, she looks at the sky, exclaiming an "oh, no."
"What?" Luna asks.
"We need Aero, the air, it's…" she trails off, then looks at Rio, hoping, pleading for her to do something.
She stares at Pearl, looks around, and sighs impatiently. With a swirl of her hand, she motioned like she pushed something to Pearl who didn't feel a thing at all.
"Go," Rio says.
"But the water, I have to stay to control—"
"I meant, go. Bend air." Rio reiterates but Pearl hears a command.
Ignoring the goosebumps on her body, Pearl struggles to stand up, wobbling on her feet, she raises her arms mid-air and takes a deep breath, closing her eyes temporarily to feel Rio's gift.
She opens her eyes— as she takes the risk to bend the dust away at her first try.
Luna chuckles at how natural Pearl seems to be. She smiles and looks at rIo who looks like she just recovered from her amazement of her protege.
Pearl swirls it all around to form a giant sphere, and slowly, the air starts to clear up.
"What happens next?" Ami asks.
"I have to create a vortex to put this to but I can't yet."
"Use your mouth, Pangan." Rio tells her.
One long look, and Pearl gets it. Opening her mouth, she presses her fist against her lips to blow a vortex forming right beside the sphere she created.
As it goes in, it vanished.
Before the agents could celebrate her, she jumps up, the air supporting her, raising her arms horizontally, she swirls it around like she would water.
Then she comes down, confused. Luna shakes her, "you did it! You're amazing!"
She just smiles before walking to Rio, "you helped with that, right?"
She raises her brows in amusement, "I helped, yes, by giving you airbending abilities."
She laughs awkwardly, "yeah, but it couldn't be that clean quickly."
"I didn't take you for someone who doubts herself."
Pearl hides her lips then speaks again, "can I still bend water?"
Rio gives her a look so Pearl lowers her gaze, "I never took it."
Pearl blinks then gasps as she realizes, "so does that mean I can bend water and air?! Simultaneously?! At the same time?!"
"That's what it means…"
Pearl giggles and jumps at her place, fists by her chest, "that's so awesome."
"Don't be too happy, I'm taking it back now."
"Aw," Pearl stops, deflating with her shoulders slumped, "I was excited for nothing…" she sulked.
"You can still be excited," Rio walks to her, "it's not the last I'll give it to you."
Her eyes sparkled, life back in her body, "really?!"
Rio rolls her eyes, "behave."
Pearl nods, Rio touches her forehead with her thumb as she removes what she just gave, "wow, I didn't feel anything. You controled it too, didn't you? The pain?"
"It's air, Pangan." She deadpans, "and I don't see the point when you were already struggling."
She just smiles, "oh, imagine me as a firebender! An earthbender!"
Rio rolls her eyes again, "alright, I'm out."
Pearl giggles as Rio steps in the smoky portal, with the bodies forming a neat pile, she looks at Pearl. "Thank you."
Rio gives her a singular nod before disappearing along with the bodies and the portal.
Ling and some more agents arrived, astonished with the clean air, "what on earth just happened?"
Pearl grins, rushing to her to tell her and the rest the story of Rio's mercy and awesome gift.
"So we can bend air now?!" Ling asks excitingly and Pearl ignores the happy tingle on her stomach with Ling's "we".
"No, I'm sorry, Rio removed it as soon as I'm done with it."
"Oh, but it's okay, maybe next time she gives it to you, I'll be here." Pearl smiles as a response.
Pearl turns, agitated, to Amadeus and Jimmy, "see?! This is what I was trying to say when I said we need a firebender!"
"Why can't you put it out with water?!" Amadeus counters.
"Don't be ridiculous, Cho! Wave and Luna had been trying!" Ami tells them.
He takes a deep breath and then turns to Ling, "can't you control its direction?"
She lowers her head in shame, "it won't follow my wind."
Amadeus talkes a good look ont he defeated expressions that wear out on the elemental trios' faces. He gives Ling's shoulder a squeeze, "it's okay, let's just think of another way—"
A smoky portal appeared and Pearl's gasp told them who it as, "Rio!" She runs to her and clutches on her cloak like a desperate child, "Rio, please, I, we couldn't put out the fire, I couldn't save the forest—"
Rio raises her hand and Pearl shuts up effectively, "this will be warm."
"What?"
Rio holds Pearl's wrists holding her, Pearl screamed at the burning feeling then she gasps in awe, feeling how that same warmth heals the ehurt in her bodies.
"What…?"
"Put out the fire."
"Huh?"
"Put out the fire and restore my forest."
Pearl stares, but she immediaately understands, "don't tell me…" She turns her back on Rio, "I ppossibly couldn't…"
"And see why I don't accept you as my protege?"
Her eye twitched, she turned to Rio, "oh! Yes, you will!" She said.
"Ragebait works so easy on her." Ami comments.
"'Cause she's always mad." Amadeus adds. Pearl huffs and punches in his direction, sending a blast of fire his way.
Rio covers her mouth for a chuckle.
Pearl looks back at her and Rio just nods. She steps closer to the forest, "Ling, I'll blast another fire and see if you could control it." Ling nods and one practice proved her theory correct.
"I'll punch a bigger one in the middle of the forest, try to fly up and see my fire then spread it all thorugh the forest so I could have it all under my control."
Ling doesn't need to be told twice. She flies up and reaches the heart of the forest. Pearl then blasts fire right under where Ling floats.
"Got it!" She says, blowing to the fire and spreading it with her hands, "Pearl, now!"
She could feel all of the fire by her palms like she's just warming them by a fireplace. She takes a deep breath and starts controlling the fire by the entrance. Feeling insufficient, she blasts fire by her feet until she flies past Ling to have all of the fire under her command.
"What now?!" Pearl asks in a panic, not thinking her actions through.
Rio, with a wave of her hand, pulled a cloud near her, the thunder she made it emit was enough for Pearl to understand.
Pearl gulps, Ling asks, "what is it? Are you okay?"
"Lightning."
Ling feels goosebumps all over her body.
With full force, Pearl turns herself around in a 180, the fire approaching her.
"Lei, get down and catch Pangan."
Rio instructs via telepathy and Ling follows without question, "she won't be able to take it."
Then Pearl transmutes the forest fire to lightning, thunderous roar and blinding light erupted, Pearl did fall and Ling was quick to catch her.
She recovers before they settle on the ground, "don't rush."
The lightning brought rain and Pearl relaxes.
Standing in the heart of the forest, Rio floated where they rest, "you did a shitty job." She tells Pearl.
Ling wanted to protest but Pearl had apologized, "it's just so different with water and air."
"I see that, maybe I was too quick to hand firebending to you." Pearl recognizes the apologetic tone too, "but some of the trees were affected by the lightning you created, I'll have to fix it myself."
"I can help, I should help—"
Rio gestures her to sit down, "it's not that difficult." Rio squats, placing her palm on the now wet soil.
Pearl and Ling watch as she closes her eyes, the hit trees emanating a different, faint, and earthy glow. She stands and wipes her palm, "there, fixed."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't beat yourself up, you have a lot to learn." Just like how she removed Pearl's airbending, she did the same with her firebending, by holding her wrists. Pearl feels the same healing warmth before it completely disappears under Rio's touch.
"Will you grant me earthbending next?"
Rio steps inside the smoky portal, leaving her and Ling alone.
"… I'll take that as a yes."
Pearl feels the sleepiness hit her eyes while she sits still on the shore, Shang-chi and Ami told her it's best if she waits there— which she quite don't get since she's still mad at the Avengers for sabotaging her and Sierra.
Before she could even close her eyes, she felt a nudge by her butt and feet, causing her to stand up, squealing. She looks around and vaguely sees a familiar cloaked shadow.
"Wave!"
Hearing Sam's voice flying to her direction, she can feel a sense of stability within her.
She stomps her foot on the ground and a boulder shoots up, then she kicks it to his direction, all the while it splits into two.
She stands straight and claps her hands with her arms, enclosing him. But he was able to escape by the blast of vibranium on his wings.
Pearl grunted, raising her arms and controlling the vibranium on his wings and dagger he's to throw her way.
She slams him to the ground and bends the soil to trap him in. But, Sam got out after a goood few minutes of struggle.
When he seems to attack her, Shang-chi's rings got a hold of him and Ami runs to stand in between him and Pearl.
"You were late!" Pearl screams.
"Did you bloodbend him?!" Shang-chi accuses.
"No, I didn't! I was given earthbending!" Shang-chi and Ami's silence let Sam know that they knew who granted Pearl those abilities.
Shuri and Nakia came after Sam and demanded to know what happened.
"Your ally's sister just bended earth and your vibranium." Sam answers.
Shang-chi turns to Pearl, "even metal? That quick?"
"She turned fire to lightning last time." Ami says then smirks, "you should've seen it."
"I felt very numb right after, thank you." Pearl comments but Ami waves her off.
"You bend earth now too?" Nakia asks.
"Not for long." Pearl answers.
"Can you try bending water?" Shang-chi asks, motioning to the open ocean.
Pearl takes a deep breath and tries, she steadily sways her arms to one side, the waves diligently followed, as they always do, but Pearl fell to her knees, Shang-chi and Ami quickly help her sit up.
"Is earth tiring or I just can't handle two at the same time while the bending ability is inside me?"
"Try bending rock." Ami suggests and she does, punching to the ground then the piece of land it emerged.
"I feel normal."
"Maybe bending earth took over bending water." Ami comments and Pearl nods.
"I see."
She jolted and then she relaxed, the extra sturdiness inside her body disappearing, "I think she removed it just now."
"Punch then." Shang-chi teases and the two girls give him a look, shutting him up. "Dude, but what if, like, you are able to bend all elements, though?"
Pearl scoffs, "what am I, the avatar?"
"Death's avatar." Ami says.
She whines, "I'm her protege!"
"What does that word even mean?" Shang-chi asks but Pearl only pouted.
"Isn't that just another word for it?" Ami asks.
"Protege sounds nicer."
"Okay, Aang." Shang-chi teases.
Ami laughs, "don't you mean Korra?"
"Pearl is the next one."
The two of them clapped hands but Pearl— still— just pouted.