There was always a saying that 'Heroes are Made, Not Born'. That people always had a choice, and could do what ever they wanted to, but that isn't always true. Some people where born for greatness, and others for destruction, the stars had written it and so it must be. Yet some fools try and defy the fate, and design the spirits had woven for them in the skies.

This is a story about those fools.

It was not in some warm, happy home that the next Avatar was born into. In fact, it couldn't have been farther from that. It was in a house where woman sold themselves to men that a tired woman grasped onto the hands of another young girl. As the woman pushed and panted for breath she could see the looks of concern on scantly clad woman as they gathered around her.

"Come on Senna, be brave, push," One of them said, as she whipped the sweat off of her forehead, taking off thick layers of makeup in the process, "You can do it, push..." She said and Senna let out a loud cry, as she fell back exhausted onto a bed of lush pillows. A woman was watching and waiting, holding out her well manicured hands, as a small babies head started to appear.

"I can see it, come on Senna doll, just a little more!" She said, urging the tired woman to push a little more when a few whispers could be heard for the other girls who watched.

"See this is why we should make it a rule for all clients to wear rubbers!"

"I hear that it was Tonraq, you know that tall one that always comes in and announces his love for her-"

The woman who was whipping Senna's forehead let out a harsh hush, as she tried to calm the girls and Senna down. With one another strong push, the woman at Senna's feet was finally able to get a good grasp on the child, her long nails brushing against the babies delicate skin as she pulled the child out. "That's it Senna, you did good, she looks like a healthy baby girl..." She said smiling as the tired woman let out a happy cry, tears falling from her eyes.

"A girl huh?" A male voice said, as a sketchy looking man walked into the room. All the girls immediately looked down at there feet as they bowed in his direction, "Hopefully she'll take after her mother hmm?" he said a slimy smile on his face exposing yellow teeth, as he looked at the new mother with eyes like dirt.

"Good evening Master Gin," They women said and Senna had a look of fear as the old man came over and took the baby from the other woman. He picked the child up, holding it away from him with a bit of disgust as the women looked on in panic.

"Children are such ugly things...I'll give you a day's rest, you already taken up enough time giving birth to this brat..." He said as he roughly handed the child back to the woman so she could clean her up. "I expect you to be ready to work for the evening rush the day after tomorrow..." He said, acting as if he was being overly generous with the situation as he turned to head for the door, but before he made it out, he stopped and looked at the child;

"Call her Korra..." He said decidedly and walked out of the room as the women rushed to Senna's side to congratulate and ease her fears. Senna just looked down at the baby girl in her arms, the tears fall from her eyes as she held onto the child tightly.

"You my love," She said as she stroked her head gently, "Will be something so much greater than I will ever be..." She whispered and kissed her forehead. "I promise..."

A whore house was not always the best place to raise a child, but Korra somehow managed to make the best of it. The other woman who worked there acted like mother's and sisters to the tomboyish girl, encouraging her from a young age with all her interest, and did there best to protect her. Not to mention there where some other children who lived there, but most would eventually be taken away either by their fathers who felt a sense of responsibility or to orphanages. The young girl never felt alone, and grew up used to living in the harsh streets of Republic City's worst slum.

Her mother soon gave birth to more siblings, all from different men than her father who would come to visit once in a while. It was obvious that she was his daughter, for they shared the same eyes and face, and he would occasionally bring treats and gifts for her. He never told her who he really was, but she was always happy when he came, and greeted him with a cheesy grin as she would hold out her hands.

"Do you got any sweets for me today Mr. Tonraq?" She would ask with a smile of missing teeth and he would laugh as he poured some candy into her hands.

"My oh my, how many teeth did you lose this week, at this rate you'll have none left!" He'd tease, ruffling up her short hair. Korra would turn red and yell at him confidently, telling him she had plenty left and would run off quickly to devour her sweets.

Then one day, Korra had a surprise for her mother. She was excited to show her and waited until it was time for her bath when she would have Senna all to herself. "Mama, Mama look what I can do!" She said and slowly she bended the water from the tub up into the air.

Senna gave her a gentle smile and clapped her hands, "Amazing Korra, so you're a water bender!" She said happily but Korra pouted and turned red.

"No! No! I'm not done Mama! Look! Look!" She said as she gave a small punch, and a kick, flames surrounding her legs and fist and then she lifted the rocks out of the small flower pots. Senna's eyes went wide in horror and she quickly grabbed Korra yelling at her to stop.

The young mother didn't know why it scared her so much when she realized that her young daughter was the Avatar. Maybe it was for the fact that if people found out that she was the daughter of the whore, she would be treated as a failure, or that they would rip her away from her family and she would never get to see her daughter again. Though deep down her biggest fear she had was of Gin finding out and exploiting her. So she gently told her daughter;

"Korra you must never, ever do that again do you understand me..." She told her gently, as she took her small child into her arms.

But Korra didn't understand, 'Why Mama, is it a bad thing?"

Senna shook her head and kissed her eldest daughter's head, "No, no it's not a bad thing at all, but if you ever show anyone else that, bad things might happen okay. It's not your fault, but Mama couldn't handle it if anything bad happened to my baby okay..." She said sucking in a deep breath as she looked at Korra's dejected face. "Promise me Korra..."

The young Avatar nodded her head, "Promise Mama..." She said softly and she reached up with her small hands as she whipped away her mother's tears. 'Please don't cry Mama, I promise..."

-12 years later-

"Good work today Korra!" A man cried and Korra whipped the sweat off her brow after she loaded the last box of food into the arena. She thanked them for a hard days work as she peaked through the door, looking at the arena packed full of people, all excited for the pro-bending season to get started. "Wow! It's gonna be a good match today!" The same man said, poking his head above Korra's to sneak a view as well.

"I know! I can't wait to listen to it!" She said as she grabbed her parka, a gift from Tonraq, and put her hair up into a ponytail. The man looked back at her and sighed, a sad sigh escaping his lips.

"Won't you just stay and watch one match Korra?" He asked and the girl laughed it off as she always did.

"Not today you know I have to go cook dinner for my family..." She said and headed out the door into the cold Republic City air. By now Korra had realized what she was, and news that the avatar had not been found seemed to become yesterdays story. She was content with her life though, the world seemed to be at peace, her past life creating a place where people could live equally.

It was easier for her to pretend to be a non bender than just pick one element. This way, her siblings never asked questions, and her mother's mind was put at ease, also, being a non bender she tended to slip under the radar more. Korra headed home, blowing into her hands for warmth, as she looked around, seeing a poster of a man on a wall with the words 'EQUAL' written in large letters.

"Probably just another gang..." She muttered to herself, and walked over to pick up a small polar bear dog and hold him in her arms. "There you are Naga, did you miss me?" She asked the young pup, as it licked her face. This was another present from Tonraq, who was in her life since childhood, he brought it back with him from a trip to the south pole. "Let's hurry home, so we don't miss the match!"

The young Avatar hurried off to her home, completely unaware that the wheels of fate had started to turn and that the red string of fate had started to pull