This is an AU where all of the seven have powers from the Air bender movie.
Joshua Faraday knew he was different when he was ten years old. While it wasn't unheard of around these parts for someone to have a bending skill, it was unheard of for someone to have more than one. In the big cities bending was very rare with perhaps one in twenty showing any signs of a skill, but the further out people moved the ratio changed to every two in ten that presented with a skill.
Josh's mother was an air bender, and what he had been told of his father, because he had left when Josh was young, he was a water bender. So when Josh had presented with an air bending skill, everyone assumed that that was his talent. He spent his days practising his air bending by flinging pebbles at some bullies and then using his gift to carry him up out of harm's way when they spotted him and gave chase.
Josh had been very proud the day that he found out that he could bend water as well, and had raced from the stream to his house to tell his ma. He sloppily showed her by bending the water from the well and making it land at her feet with a splash that had drenched both of them. He looked up at her expecting to see pride in her eyes, and was startled to find fear there instead. She ushered him into their cabin without saying a word, and it wasn't until she had shut the door and took him over to the chair to sit down that she explained that having two bending powers was unheard of and that only the mythical Avatar had more than one power. She told him that the Avatar was supposed to return in this lifetime to help fight injustice and to keep the peace, she warned him never to tell anyone as they would use him for their own purpose. She had hugged him then and had looked at him sadly, as if somehow his life was over, and maybe, Josh thought, it was. They packed up their meagre belongings that day, and in the stillness of the night they left their home. That was the first instance that Josh realised the problems he would face.
It would be another ten years and countless towns later, with his mother dead and gone the last few years, and Josh now going by the name of Faraday that he found that he could also bend Earth. It was nearing night and the bar he was in was quiet. He was in another backwater town fleecing the locals out of their money when he started to feel a tingling along his spine. Having felt this familiar sensation before when he had received his water bending powers, he quickly folded his hand, and gathering up his winnings and his hat, he hastily left the table. He ran up the stairs at the back of the bar two at a time, and on reaching the landing he went to his room and started pushing his things into his saddlebag. His powers gave him a split second warning before his door was pushed open and three men piled into his room. He had only a few seconds to recognise them as the men he had been cheating before they had cleared the room and were on him. Two held his arms while the third, Fred? hit him across the face.
"I want my money back." Said Frank? angrily. "I know you cheated. I just can't figure out how."
"Well, that's because you're not very bright". Faraday replied as he spat blood onto the floor.
"Hit him again Earl." The thug holding his arm said.
Faraday twisted his arm and using his elbow, he smashed it into the thug's nose. With a howl he let go and clutched his face, "You broke my nose." He said thickly.
Faraday quickly pushed his arms out and rolling his hands across each other he sent two streams of water gushing towards the two still standing. They sailed across the room and hit the wall. The slid down to land in a heap on the floor, neither of them got back up. The tingling was getting worse and it pushed Faraday to his knees. He braced his hands on the wood and the floor trembled violently. He watched in shock as the beams of the ceiling started to shake loose.
One fell towards him and he quickly cushioned himself in a balloon of air, so that the beam bounced harmlessly off. There was a loud roar and suddenly Faraday found himself sliding towards the window, as the saloon started to sink to one side. He staggered upright using the air to keep himself balanced, as he wobbled to the bed to reach for his saddlebag. The saloon was collapsing around him, and if he didn't escape he would be buried as well. Turning around slowly, and making sure he had his guns, Faraday ran towards the window, and using a bust of water to break the glass, he jumped through, using his air to slow his descent. The ground underneath was soft due to the water he had thrown and he rolled out of the way. He moved to the side as the building rumbled once and crumbled to the floor. He left the town that night. Some time later he heard that a renegade Earth bender was being blamed for bringing the saloon down and killing eight people. Faraday never went back to the town.
Faraday had been in Amador city less than a month before something exciting happened. He was holding court in the saloon playing a game of cards. Suddenly one of the men at the bar turned his head slowly to the door, where footsteps could be heard walking along the boardwalk. As every man turned their head to the door, and the women walked quickly towards the exit, somebody stopped just outside the door and paused there for a second as if waiting for something. The door was pushed open slowly as a tall black man entered the saloon. He glanced around the room before making his way over to the bar, everybody following his progress. The atmosphere in the bar was tense as every man waited for something to happen. The tension in the bar went higher as he began to ask about powder Dan.
Faraday relaxed back into his seat and lit a cigarette. He watched as the man at the bar suddenly fired four shots in quick succession and took out all of Dan's backup. It was then that Faraday realised that the man was Sam Chisolm, although he had never met the man, he knew him by reputation as being the fastest quick draw with his guns. He was also an incredibly powerful fire bender. Faraday took out his gun and cocked it at the man at his table who had thought to shot Chisolm and he shook his head. Faraday relaxed back and he felt a thrum of anticipation go through him as Dan went to throw his fire at Chisolm, but Sam got there first with his own fire and Dan went crashing backwards. Everybody knew that Sam Chisolm always fired first. After that everyone left the saloon pretty quickly and Faraday was left alone with Chisolm.
"That was some pretty impressive fire bending Mr Chisolm." Faraday said as he turned over the cards on the table, and winced at the bad hand he had.
"You have to be in this line of work, things can change quickly if you're not prepared." Sam turned and slowly looked Faraday up and down. "What about you? Any bending powers of your own?"
He kept his face neutral as he picked up his hat and his whiskey bottle. "Nope, I'm as ordinary as they come." He couldn't quite make himself meet Sam's eye, afraid that if he did he would be able to see the lie, so he settled for walking around the table towards the back door. "I'll be seeing you." Faraday called as the door swung shut behind him.
Faraday couldn't quite believe that he had met up with Sam so soon after he saw him in the saloon. He was arguing with the stable owner who he had apparently gambled his horse away to when he was drunk last night, but come on, he had seriously thought that the guy was a leprechaun and it had been a dream. He wasn't overly worried because he knew that Jack would not tolerate any other rider than him. Hell sometime Jack didn't tolerate him and Faraday found himself walking into a new town and getting a few strange looks because he was walking next to his horse and not riding on it.
Everything happened really fast after Sam had offered to pay for his horse.
"I'm looking for a few good men." Sam said as Faraday glanced at him.
"To do what?"
Faraday was surprised by the response.
"Take on a man by the name of Bartholomew Bogue."
He was even more surprised when the total number of people he had was just two.
Faraday paused to consider this. He would get paid and at the end he would have Jack back, so really there was nothing to think about. He agreed and Chisolm paid for his horse and his gear. They rode out of Amador city as the sun hit high noon.
"Do you have a bending skill Mr Faraday?" Asked Emma Cullen as they rode slowly behind Sam. Teddy Q who was riding next to Emma leaned forward in his saddle to hear the answer.
"Nope I'm as boring as can be. If I want anything doing, I have to do it myself. What about you?" Faraday asked quickly before either of them could start asking more personal questions.
"Well I'm an Earth bender and Teddy here is a Water bender. There are a couple more in town, two fire benders and another Earth bender." Explained Emma.
"Couldn't you all take on Bogue yourselves?" Asked Faraday.
"No he's too powerful. Rumour has that Bogue has two bending skills, Earth and water. He only ever uses his water bending skills when he needs to." Sam replied from the front where he had obviously been listening to the conversation.
Faraday's head shot up at that. In all of his travels he had never come across somebody who had more than one bending skill. "What?" He asked shocked.
"It's never been proven as Bogue stays well away from any fighting. He always sends in his people to do that. McCann is a Water bender and he has Denali, a Comanche assassin who is a fire bender, and he is a mean one at that. I've seen him attack and kill women and children without mercy." Said Emma.
"Bogue killed my husband and countless other people when they dared to stand up to him. He must be stopped."
Chisolm called a halt for the night when they found a relatively dry cave for them to sleep in. They all attended to their own horses, and Faraday watched with mild amusement as Emma slowly dug a trench into the earth with her power and Teddy Q filled it up with his so that the horses would have something to drink. At the front and to the left of the cave mouth Chisolm waved his arms twice and fire shot out and hit the branches that he had been collecting to make a fire.
"Well seeing as how everybody else has been contributing I guess it's up to me to go and find dinner." Faraday clapped his hands together as he stood up and reached for his guns at his belt.
"Are you sure, I could go?" Sam waved his hand lazily as his fire danced across his fingers.
"Yeah I got it. Wouldn't want people to think I wasn't pulling my weight. I'll be back soon, I hope." Faraday gave a cocky grin as he disappeared into the forest.
As soon as he was out of sight he replaced his guns into his holsters and scrubbed his hand through his hair. He was going to have to be careful not to reveal his bending powers to these people. It's not that Faraday didn't want to tell them, because he did, but if he used one, he would just naturally use the rest because they were all linked and a part of him. If they found out that he was the Avatar they would either fear him or try to exploit him, his mother's words from long ago ringing in his ears. Faraday moved slowly further into the forest as he searched the ground for signs of any game. He paused and bent down every so often to brush the ground as he spotted tracks for a young doe heading north.
He took out Maria and held her out, he walked slowly making sure not to make a sound. Suddenly he spotted the doe to his left as she darted quickly away from him. Instinctively Faraday reached out his hand, the one without the gun, and the doe paused in mid jump. He pulled his arm back and the doe started to move towards him. He knew it was a risk to use his air bending powers but they needed to eat and it was only a little thing that he used it for. Once the doe was level with him, he lifted up his other arm and because he knew the others would be expecting a bullet hole, he shot her in the head. He tucked Maria away and bent to pick up the doe, picking it up he slung it over his shoulder and started to make his way back towards the camp.
"Dinner is served." Faraday shouted with a flourish as he stepped into the clearing, only vaguely registering three sets of arms lowering to the ground at his untimely arrival.
"Faraday you crazy son of a bitch, we could have killed you then." Sam said with a sigh.
Faraday snorted a little at that because they could try, but what he said out loud was, "Sorry next time I'll give more warning." He threw his prize down on the ground and stretched out his aching muscles with a groan. "Next time let somebody with a power catch the food that was a long trek."
He glanced over at Sam who had come over to look at the doe.
"Faraday how on earth did you make such a clean kill?" Sam looked at him puzzled.
Oh crap he should have put more bullet holes in it. "Um she was sleeping when I found her?" Faraday winced when it came out as a question instead of a statement.
Sam looked at him in disbelief for a minute and then muttered, "Whatever you say man." And apparently that was that because Sam moved away and Emma and Teddy stepped forward. Emma using her power to use the rough earth to skin the doe and Teddy using his to clean it, and when that that was done they all stood back as Sam sent a blast to cook it. The whole process had taken less than half an hour.
"Well that's handy." Faraday commented as they sat down to eat.
After that they led down to sleep with Sam informing them to be ready to ride at dawn.