III

O

He didn't want to get up. He just wanted to sleep in bed for until noon. It was Friday and James didn't have school, he deserved to sleep in. But he woke up just as the sun was beginning to rise. Whether it was him being used to waking up this early for school, or something else but he didn't want to move his butt.

But he's been trying to sleep for the past hour and a half. James finally decided to get up out of bed, throwing my covers off, he slipped out of bed and walked to the dresser. Taking out some jeans, socks, and a grey, long sleeve shirt and a light blue hoodie, he looked at the mirror on his door.

His dark brown hair was messy with bed head, using his fingers as a comb he brushed it over to his right. Opening the door, he walked down the hall past the bathroom, his mom and dad's room, and his little brother's room.

His name is James Hudson, and he's a Canadian. His Adoptive parents, Jerry and Heather, took him in back when he was a infant, it wasn't until he turned thirteen a few months ago they told him the truth. he wasn't angry about it, in fact he had his suspicions. Mainly because his stepmother had ginger red hair and his stepfather was a blonde like his brother Sammy.

As for his birth father, he didn't know much about him, my parents said that they did and he was a good man. However he was a solider first and knew he couldn't be a father with his lifestyle. James respected that in a weird way, he knew he couldn't be there for his son so he gave him to someone who could.

His name was Logan.

As he made my way down the stairs to the front door of the house he slipped on his old sneakers and opened the door and stepped outside. The Hudson family lived outside of Quebec, the city was a fairly short drive away though.

As he walked down the side of the road, a few cars passed him by on their way towards the city. A small worn path trailed off the road, walking into the brush, he felt the northern wind blow over his clothes and through his hair. A bit of snow from the tree above hit his shoulder, he simply brushed it off, living up here, one could get used to the cold pretty quick, but it seemed James did not get cold as quickly as others do. His brother made a joke once that I must be part Griz.

Following the path, he soon found himself at a small pond. It was a little hideaway he discovered a few years ago, during the summer he would come down here with his brother and they'd fish. He eventually stopped coming along, but James still came here on his own from time to time.

Walking over to a downed tree, he used his sleeve to brush snow off the bark before taking a seat. It was still fairly dark out, the sunlight didn't even touch him, but he wasn't dead tired anymore as well. Inhaling through his nose, he blew the air out through his mouth.

Part of his brain was telling him that he was stupid for coming outside in the cold when he instead could be at home in a nice warm bed. A nice, cozy bed with blankets. But the peacefulness of this little pond always made him feel…..better. It's not descriptive, but it was the best way he could describe it.

A howl in the distance made his head snap up, wolves. It was dangerous it is to live in Alaska. Well mostly because of the dangerous wildlife in Canada, James knew what to do in case he came across a dangerous animal however.

But that didn't mean he looked for cougars.

So when he heard a very closer howl behind him, he turned around and saw a brown wolf looking at him. James gulped, it growled, his first instinct told him to run like hell, but you NEVER turn your back on a wolf. Mainly because they will outrun you and kill you.

You keep eye contact, and back away slowly.

So James eyes locked with the wolves, He slowly backed away as it stalked forward. "Easy buddy, I'm just gonna-" James started before he took another step back on the slope of the pond. The teen fell into the water. This sudden action caused the wolf to pounce over the log and into the now wet prey.

It's claws cut into his chest, James cried out as his flesh was torn. It's jaws locked around his shoulder as it pulled and ripped at the skin. Instincts took over, James kept punching the animal in the neck, he kept hitting it as the wolf it pulled it's head back and ripped his skin and hoodie.

James wailed from the pain.

Skint!

The wolf yelped loudly before falling on top of James. The wounded teen writhed in pain, somehow slipping out from under the now dead animal. His hand flew to his shoulder, his other one was stinging like crazy. Looking at his hand he saw it was covered in blood. He didn't dare look at the wound, either out of fear or unwillingness, he didn't know.

James managed to sit up straight, looking at the wolf, he saw it's right side smeared with blood, the fur turning from light brown to dark red. Three cuts leaked blood, from the same side he kept punching it from. He raised his right hand to see if it was wiry from whatever killed the beast.

His hands were bloody. From both their blood.

Between the knuckles of his first were three…...metal claws…..each of them sharpened to a point with a slight curve to them. Three of them, He had three claws poking out of my hand. He of course responded as anyone would.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

The rush of adrenaline made the other hand sting as three claws also emerged from between his knuckles. "GAAAHHH! WHY?!" James screamed as he grabbed his other hand. Now both hands were bleeding, and the claws both were coaxed in the teen's blood.

James slowly got up from the red tinted water and waded out from the pond. He looked down at my shaking hands, the claws dripping with blood. The teen looked at my shoulder, wondering if most of the blood came from me or the wolf, only to see that the wound had healed!

"Ok…...so how the hell do I put them back in?!" He yelled out.

III

O

When James got back home, it didn't take long for his family to discover my…..condition. "Does it hurt?" Sammy asked, James's younger brother had blonde hair like father, it was long and was parted down the middle and a few freckles across his nose and cheeks. Sam was only two years younger than his stepbrother, he was Heather and Jerry's son, he knew James wasn't his biological brother.

He's still a tool to him, showing him that things were still the same between the two.

"They're sharp knives coming out of my knuckles. What do you think?!" James asked, racing my hands up and accidentally stabbing the fan over the table. He quickly pulled back, him and his brother looked at one another, both of us sharing a look of shock. "Say. Nothing." the older brother threatened, pointing at him with my claws.

Their mom and dad had told James to try and keep calm and sit down while they talk. He took a shaky breath before letting my head rest on the table, his palms resting on the back of his head, the claws grazing one another slightly. "Sam could you leave me alone? I…..I gotta process this." he asked, the step brother gave him a look of concern before standing up and walking by him.

"It'll be ok man. We'll get you declawed." he said, patting James on the back before leaving him alone. After he left, James craned my head backed in my seat. This can't be happening, this has to be some sort of bad dream or something!

"I just got off the phone with her, she'll be here pretty soon." Heather said.

He snapped his eyes open, that was my mom's voice! 'Good…..how did this happen? James hasn't shown any signs of….'

Dad….wait they knew this would happen?! How?! Wait, how can I even hear them? They're in the next room behind a closed door, I usually can't hear them from that far away.

Today just seems to be getting worse and worse. James was about to run my hands down his face but stopped himself, he didn't want to cut himself with his own claws. Holding his hands out in front of him, he looked at my claws, they didn't hurt now thankfully. But seeing them…..it still scares him.

Well they came out, so they have to go back in right?

He took a deep breath through his nose, and exhaled through his mouth in a long drawn out blow. He watched as the metal slowly retracted back into his forearms, the holes caused by them quickly sealed back up. Like they are never there. As soon as they were gone, the door opened.

In stepped his mom and dad, his mom had red ginger hair with freckled cheeks, green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasse with concern. Taking a seat on each side of him, his mom put a hand on his shoulder while his dad ruffled my hair. "It's going to be alright bud." His stepfather said reassuringly.

James looked at him skeptically, "How!? I got fricking claws! How is that even possible?" he asked, trying my best not to panic. If relaxing made them go back in, then panicking would probably make them pop out again.

James's stepfather was always a calm man, in part it was his time in the army that shaped that. He was part of the government, Department H, a response force to meta human events. It was made back when the Avengers was formed, his father was head of operations there. He even got to meet a few of the members of Superhero teams over the years..

"James you're going to be fine. I promise." he said reassuringly, the teen visibly calmed down from the reassurance. "Listen, we have someone who's coming by in a bit who…...is a expert on this sort of thing." he explained.

James was somewhat unnerved by that, 'this sort of thing' sounded like another way of saying 'freak'. The three of them waited at the table, his mother asking him if he wanted anything to drink or eat to try and help him stay calm. He was a mutant, he's heard of this happening but it had become more rare over the past few years that he never really had a fear for it.

Not that there was anything wrong with mutants, but he had sharp and dangerous looking claws that could kill someone, that wasn't exactly something to show off.

James's head snapped up as he heard footsteps at the front door, the footsteps stepped before the door. They went off to the side, James heard the crunching of snow going around the house. "Um…...guys, I'm gonna get some air out back." he said before standing up and walking out the back door.

Closing the door behind him, he walked around the side of the goose to where the person who was at the door moments ago was heading. Rounding the house, he found no one was there. However in the snow where footprints leading away from the house.

James followed them, around his house was a large yard that led into the forest. Walking through the shrubbery, James followed the footprints, hopping over a fallen tree and down a hill before pushing through a few tree branches and nearly stumbling into a clearing.

He wasn't alone, standing in front of him was a girl. She was older than him, with long black hair, green eyes, and had fair skin and an athletic frame. Her clothing consisted of a button up winter coat, cargo pants, and pink gloves. "Um…..hi." James greeted.

"Hey. You must be James." she greeted, making the teen nod. She could tell he was nervous, she raised her hands in a non threatening manner. "My name's Laura, Laura Kenny." she introduced. James still did not look entirely calm, but he seemed better. She turned her palm towards herself as she took the off her left hand.

Two blades popped out from between her knuckles.

James's eyes widened in shock, his surprise causing his own claws to pop out. "GAH! Sonofvabitch that hurts!" he yelled out as he fanned his hands, unable to touch where his claws emerged.

"Yeah it's a literal pain at first. But it gets duller. Instead of knives coming out of cuts, it feels like papercuts." she explained, sheathing her own claws. James looked down at his own blades, he wiggles his hands, trying to urge them back in. "Just focus." Laura said.

James stopped struggling and imagined them going back in, they slid back inside him. "So….you're like me?" he asked, somewhat still in awe. She nodded, "But how did this happen?! I-It just happened today and-" he plopped down in the snow, his hands over his face. "I don't think I can handle this." he breathed out.

Laura walked over in front of him and kneeled down, "Hey, hey, hey, don't worry. Your dad called me and told me what happened, I'm here to explain." she began, the teen dropping his hands to look at her. "What do you know about your father? Your birth father I mean?" she asked, wondering just how much the Hudsons had told him.

"His name was Logan….and he met my dad in the service." he answered.

Laura stared at him expectantly, as though there was more to say. When he kept quiet her expression changed from expectant to disappointed. "Your kidding…...your dad dropped the ball. Big time." she said, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

She took a breath and began to explain, how over one hundred years ago James Howlett was born into the world, and how he discovered he had the ability to heal from everything, that also meant the aging process. Logan was over a hundred years old, he served in both world wars, the civil war, the cold war, and the Vietnam war before joining up with a department of the government called Weapon X. As she talked, James couldn't believe that he didn't realize it sooner, three long sharp claws who else could it be.

He blinked, "Um…...wasn't he a dude?"

"Yeah and I'm not. Obviously. But look…...Wolverine is your father…...wow there's no other way to say that is there?" she asked out loud as soon as she said it.

James meanwhile was in a mixed state, shock over the revelation, anger that he hadn't known about it beforehand, and strangely a sense of excitement. His father was a superhero, "But wait, why didn't he….you know….raise me?

Laura raised her hands in a calming manner, "Look it's a long story. And I'll be happy to tell it but we should get you back home." she said before standing up and raising a hand to him. James looked at it before clasping it, Laura had to dig into the ground to pull him up, surprising her a little.

Metal Claws, and skellington maybe? Guess you got more of Logan in you than we thought.

III

O

"Why did he leave me with you guys though?" James asked his parents. Laura, James, Jerry, and Heather had all taken their seats in the dining room table, Laura had just finished explaining Logan's story to him. He was sad to hear that his father had been a test subject, but he was more curious as to why Logan would leave him.

"Logan had a lot of enemies, not all of them were superpowered, but enough were. He just wanted to keep you safe James." Laura explained to the teen as his mother put a hand on his shoulder.

His stepfather nodded, "Back then, we were trying to have a baby, but when Logan came to me and explained that he wanted you to have a loving home…..how could I say no?" he asked, making the teen smile at his father's words.

James shifted his gaze to Laura, "So what happens now?" he asked simply.

Laura looked at both his parents, they nodded solemnly. "Well…..I can teach you how to control your gifts. Have it so that your claws don't come out every time someone jumps out and yells 'boo'...or…...I could train you, you could come with me and I could teach you how to fight, and who you should fight." she offered.

James looked at both his parents unbelievingly, they wouldn't be ok with this would they?!

His mother smiled, "What? It's not like you can get hurt." she pointed out.

James looked at Laura, she gave him a small smile, "Your choice….you get a costume."

"Why would I want a costume?" James asked.

"Who doesn't?" Laura asked.

James thought it over, was he comfortable with having a normal life, knowing that he could do more?

"...sign me up." How long would be be gone anyway?

III

O

It was years, heartbreaking, brutal, violent years. Soon after meeting Laura he met Logan, it was awkward at first of course. They sat outside the cabin they were holding up in when Laura broke the silence, saying that he could do much worse for an absent father. After they both asked her what the hell, they started talking, they talked about many things, from which decade was his favorite to live in to which hockey team was is favorite. James finally asked about his mother, a japanese woman named Mariko who Logan loved with all his heart. Soon after he suggested that they go on a trip to Japan at one point so he could learn more about his mother's lifestyle. Logan was more than for the idea, he and James spent a summer in Japan, and the young man loved every second of it.

Learning the language was a challenge, however Logan was patient with him and eventually it was almost a second language to him. James eventually sought to learn the same code that Logan did, the Bushido code of the samurai. James and Logan both found the experience to be great, bonding over the ideals of the warriors. When he and Logan returned, the father and son were closer than ever before.

Of course being a mutant he also attended the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, and later the Jean Grey School for higher learning as a teacher, while he did partake in training new recruits, he rarely joined the team on missions. Like his father, he too prefered to be on his own, but when he was a part of a team he worked well with them. He joined the X-men on numerous adventures, seeing them like a second family.

He also found out more about his own mutation through the school, like Logan his body had bone claws, however unlike his father James' claws and bones were covered in proto adamantium, the same type that Captain America's shield was made with. And unlike wolverine's it wasn't susceptible to magnetism.

He also found out that he had foot claws, however it he still hadn't found out the exact way to pop them out yet. But even without them, he could still fight, with training courtesy of Kitty Pryde (one of his favorite teachers and one of his best friends) and Laura, he was well on his way to being a martial arts expert. He even got along with Scott Summers very well….well before the Skism.

However, James's life had his fair share of tragedy as well. His half brother Daken, the one who impersonated Wolverine during the Dark Reign found out about him, and he was not happy about his new sibling. James came home one day to find his home turned into a slaughterhouse, and Daken standing in the middle with a shit eating grin. He doesn't remember much through the blood, tears, and sheer rage he fought against his brother until he plunged his blades in his brain and his own heart had been torn out.

When he woke up, James found Daken was gone but Logan was there to help console him, he lived at the School since then. the other X-men on the team gave him their best condolences afterward, but James only had one thing on his mind, Killing Daken. In the most slow, painful, and horrible way he could come up with. He found out he was in Madripoor, trying build up a criminal empire that he was the head of. James butchered his way through his organization until he reached Daken himself.

It wasn't their last fight however, for the next few months the pair fought again and again, James was hellbent, not stopping until Daken was dead for good. This went on until James was taken onto X-Force with his father to help take on the Masters of Evil who had kidnapped Kid Apocalypse (long story) who was being led by Sabertooth and Daken. That was their last fight, ending with James drowning him in a puddle. But after the battle, James found no solace with himself.

He had killed his own brother….but it didn't last.

To be fair it shouldn't have surprised him when Daken reportedly came back to life, the school was named after a woman who came back to life a number of times after all, but this time, he didn't go on the hunt. Instead he stayed at the school, joining the X-men while his father took a leave of absence after a virus wiped out his healing factor.

Three months later, Logan died taking down a Weapon X reboot.

James and Laura both mourned the loss of their father, but they both knew that Logan was finally at rest.

III

O

James rubbed his hands together as he looked down at the Stark Industries lab facility, he and Laura had heard buzzing that Daken was planning to steal something to the Kingpin in order to help reassemble what was left of Sabertooth's international criminal empire. He still hated Daken, but with Logan dead….he had to at least try to talk to him. And if that didn't work Laura would be there to slice his throat. "Anything?" Laura asked behind him, the young man looked back to see the former assassin inspecting her right hand claws.

They were stationed in the top of a belltower of an abandoned church a few blocks away from the compound, the facility itself was fairly guarded, Tony Stark did not screw when it came to his security. But with Daken's training it would be a challenge, but not impossible to sneak in undetected by the high tech security system. For them however they informed Stark and he had given them the proper clearance to his bioscans so they wouldn't be attacked by security.

"Nothing yet, think he may be onto us?" he asked, looking through the pair of binoculars he had taken with him. James wore a pair of black jeans with a longsleeve shirt with grey arms and a coal grey trso with the sleeves rolled up his forearms. His hair was slightly trimmed with his brown hair combed to the right with a five o'clock shadow on his face. Laura was wearing her X-force suit she had from when she was on the team, minus the domino mask.

Laura retracted her claws and walked to the open archway, "I doubt it, we've been hold up here for the past few weeks, and we made Frost mindwipe the lackey we interrogated. Can't think of how he could know." she said. Emma Frost had erased the memory of them interrogating one of Daken's informats so he wouldn't spill the beans when he saw Daken next. "We are running llow on supplies though, we may need to call takeout if this keeps up." she added, looking at the box of goods they brought for their stakeout.

"If Daken does show up, we won't need to worry-"James started before a loud explosion went off at the left side of the facility. "Ok then nevermind." he said, tossing the binoculars aside and jumping from the belltower with Laura, they hit the church rooftop running at full speed towards the compound. If the explosion on the left side of the building then all attention would be focused from the right side, and that would be the most likely place Daken would infiltrate in from. The pair hopped across the building rooftops towards the facility, taking one last great leap they landed on the other side of the fence inside the stark property. "Thank god the place runs by itself right?" he asked Laura as they rounded the right of the building.

"That's Stark for you. Stay together ok?" she asked as they rounded the corner of the building,, they saw a garage door had been jimmied open, walking over James lifted the metal sheet door up so Laura could slip in under the door. She held it up from her side as James did the same, the inside of the facility was a thing of future. There were a number of projects being worked on behind plated glass. Flying objects, hard light constructs, personal holograms and other scientific achievements, but as soon as the pair caught Daken's scent their claws popped out, following the smell through the halls of facility, they came across a few robotic sentries that had been cut and sliced with precision.

When they came to a door that had been cut off it's hinges, James and Laura looked at one another before nodding. James retracted his claws before entering the room. Inside there was a large machine with a gyroscopic glass containing something that looked like a black hole that was connected to a large haul that displayed a number of readings that James couldn't possibly comprehend. "JAMES LOOK-" Laura started before a sliding metal door came down in the doorway, James turned to see Daken beside the door panel.

Daken was a fit man, only a few years older than James physically but was much older in actual terms of age. He had black hair that was cut into a mohawk, his blue eyes stared back into James's brown ones. Daken wore a simple black dress shirt,grey pants, and matcing jacket, "Daken."

"Brother." the half brother greeted back, a small smirk on his lips. James wanted to punch it off his face, "So…...our father is dead…...good riddance." he said, James gritted his teeth at his words. ""Please did you expect anything different?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest.

James sighed, "I hoped I would…...Darken, your my brother."

"Really now? You're just realizing that?" he asked, digging into the fellow mutant nerves.

"No but I am realizing that you ARE my brother…...you killed my entire family…...but that was out of hate, you hated me because Logan accepted me…..but he accepted you too." he said, trying to get through to his brother, usually at this point the two would be trying to kill one another with little results on either side.

"Spare me." Daken snapped at him, "Logan accepted me as a mistake. I accepted him as the reason my mother is dead, he's the reason your's is too. All he did was ruin people's lives and they treat him like a hero? I'm glad he's dead. I just wished I could do it myself." he said, making James's eyes turn angry and his claws emerge from his fists. Daken just smirked, "There we go."

His two claws were out in an instant and the two were clashing already, James parried and dodged the claws away from him but took the heel slamming into the side of his knee, making him kneel down so the claws of Daken's left hand could cut into the side of his face with enough force to knock him onto his back. James rolled back onto his feet, raising his hands to lock claws with Daken's , the killer smirked as his third claws shot out from his wrist's into James's, the young man grit his teeth before grabbing Daken's fist's with his hands. Pulling his arms outward and Daken forward he headbtted him, making him stumble back as James stood.

The cut on his face stitched itself together, "Dirty tricks. You really have no honor do you welp?" he asked.

James held both his arms out in front of him, "And still more than you do. I don't kill innocents." he replied, making Daken sneer before jumping forward at James. The younger brother sidestepped and swung his right claw around towards Daken, who ducked in response, James's claw slicing into the globe surrounding the dark orb inside. "Um…..whoops." he muttered before the orb broke out and blinded them in a black light.

Laura's claws finally cut through the five inch thick door that she had been cutting at for the past ten minutes. Looking inside however, the room was empty, "James!? Daken!" she called out, but getting no response. As she began searching the room for clues of her brother's' disappearance, she failed to read the label outside the door, 'Trans-dimensional gateway lab'.

III

O

When James opened his eyes he saw the night sky, he was soaking wet and his entire body hurt like a giant bruise. He tried to remember exactly what happened, Ok I was fighting Daken, then there was that weird light….then I was…..falling…..yeah I fell. Then I hit the water but I couldn't swim because amy muscles and tended needed to heal…..and then I blacked out. He thought as he tried to get the details straight. That's when he heard the heavy breathing beside him, he turned over to see a young woman about his age. She had fair skin, her black hair was long and had a small portion of it tied up into ponytail that was over her right shoulder with her bangs cover the corner of her left eye with a few strands beneath her left eye, her clothing was heavy winter gear, a blue coat that had white fur on the cuffs, collar, inner hood, and rim of her jacket. She had on a pair of grey,slightly baggy pants and fur boots, all of which looked soaked and covered with snow.

He suddenly realized the ground around them was covered in snow, the air was freezing, Canada was never this cold. She turned her head over, her blue eyes looked into his, "You *gasp* *gasp* your heavier than you look." she breathed out. James was also breathing hard, he suddenly broke into a laugh, the girl looked at him strangely. "Ok, what's so funny?" she asked.

James's laughter died down to a small chuckle, "I have no idea….you saved me from drowning huh?" he asked, she nodded, still trying to catch her breath, "Well thanks, I owe you one." he said before letting his head fall back against the snow, he was soaked to the bone like she was, thankfully his power set included being able to survive in the freezing cold. Laura once dumped him naked in Alaska as part as his final test to see if he could survive on his own. "What's your name?" he asked.

She chuckled, "Mia….I'm Mia. You?"

"James…...James is...my…" he trailed off, his eyes feeling more and more heavy within the next few seconds, Mia looked over with worry. Sitting up and rolling onto her side, her glove hit her palm against the side of his face, keeping him awake. "Mmmmnnggg, let me sleep." he groaned out, thinking that getting some sleep would be nice.

Mia slapped him, "No you idiot! You'll freeze to death and I am not hauling your heavy ass all the way to my house without you helping." she said, kneeling beside James and taking his arm and hoisting it over her shoulder before pulling him up with a small grunt of exertion. She dragged him through the snow a few feet before she spoke, "Could use some help." she said, James moved his legs, "Thanks." she said, pulling his arm a little more. James could feel her shivering against his side, the cold was getting to her more than him, and the constant snowfall didn't help. However through the snowfall James saw their destination, a hut that was about the size of a large house was a few feet away.

Walking around the dome house, Mia opened the wooden door to the home and guided him inside. The home was modest, fur pelts lined the walls of the home, a stove in the center of the hut had a fire burning already with bamboo floors and a few lamps spread over the room. Kicking the door shut, they both nearly collapsed in front of the roaring fire. "O-o-ok, n-n-now just s-s-stay here while I get a-a-a blanket." she stuttered out, her teeth chattering from the cold water that she was soaked in.

She tried to stand up again, but James pulled her down, "I got it, just sit here and get warm." he said as he stood up, and walked around the hut to the couch where a large fur blanket was draped over the back, grabbing the thick blue tribal blanket he walked to Mia's kneeling body, her arms wrapped around herself as she shook slightly. Draping the blanket around her, he rubbed er arms over the blanket to try and warm her up.

Mia slowly began to warm up, "Thanks…..cope a feel an I'll throw you out in the cold." she warned, but the small smirk on her face showed she was playing with him. She held out the blanket for him, he looked at her curiously, "You wanna freeze to death? Get in and warm up." she said, James knew he would be ok and wouldn't freeze to death, but he couldn't arouse suspicion from Mai. Kneeling down, he moved himself beside Mai who dropped the blanket over him. The blanket was open to the fire, letting the warmth in.

James rubbed his hands together, looking over he saw Mia was running her hands through her hair, squeezing any excess water out from her black locks, "So…...how did you end up in the ocean?" she finally asked the obvious question. "I saw this big flash of light outside my window I saw something fall into the water, I went out and saw you. How how did you fall into the water?" she asked, looking James in the eyes. The blue ones locked with his, what could he say? He was in New York one second but then he was outside in the freezing waters?

"Honestly? I have no idea whatsoever." he said, it was the truth after all. He had no earthly idea how he winded up in the water when last time he checked he was in a lab fighting Daken was beyond him. Mia's eyes did not leave his for a second. He almost held his breath, hoping that she would believe him but not wanting to show his desperation.

She finally broke eye contact, "Ok. Well to be fair I shouldn't expect you to know I mean you did kinda land in the South Pole, if I were you I don't think I would know what the hell happened." she said, make James stiffen.

He was silent for a few seconds, letting the information sink "I'm sorry where did you say we were?" he asked.

Mai gave him a nervous smile, "Um…...the South Pole."

James blinked before looking back at the fire, "I'm….I think I may need a moment to process this." he said, his brain trying to think of how the hell that could even be remotely true.

III

O

Mia let James stay the night on the couch with the blanket, as long as he made sure the fire didn't go out while they slept. James though had a hard time getting back to sleep after finding out he was in the South Pole, in somewhere called the Southern Watertribe. However he eventually decided that the only thing he could do was sleep for the night and try to learn more about his situation tomorrow. When he woke up, he smelled something cooking, getting up off the seal skin couch, he entered the kitchen to see Mia preparing two plates of food, jerky of some sort with a scrambled egg. She turned to see him walk in, "Oh good, you're awake."

Since James wasn't shivering himself half to death in a ball huddled on the floor she now got a better look at him, he was very fit, about five feet tall, she was maybe a few centimeters shorter than him. "Sorry about the couch, that thing sucks to sleep on." she said as she walked to the short table close to the ground, James sat on the floor with his legs folded under him, a tribe that had Japanese esque customs was strange.

"It's perfectly fine, I can't really complain, you did save me last night." he said gratefully, he managed to kill Daken (temporarily) by drowning him in a puddle, ever since then he's careful around large bodies of water. Metal bones don't exactly help swimming either, "I am grateful that you saved me." he added honestly.

Mia's cheeks heated slightly from his words, "I'm just glad I didn't pull some poor drowned guy out of the water….so you have any idea how you got here? At all?" she asked as James took his chopsticks to eat some of the eggs. He shook his head sadly, "I just remember a city but everything else is just fuzzy. Really tall buildings." he said, he didn't like flat out lying to this young woman but he certainly couldn't tell her the truth. At least not until he knew her opinion on Mutants.

Mia thought for a second, "I guess that would be Republic City. But how you got all the way to the South Pole is beyond me." she said. Republic CIty sounded like this world's version of New York City, it might be worth checking out. But a ship to the city is pretty expensive." she added.

James raised a eyebrow, "How expensive is pretty expensive?" he asked.

Mia raised her hand and gestured around the room, "See this hut? This nice little hut? Took me all the money I had brought with me from the Northern Tribe to get it built, and twice that much to get here." she explained before taking a bite of her jerky. The mutant's hand went to his wallet, he had two hundred bucks on him, but that was even if this world even had cash as it's form of currency. Mia looked him over, "Tell you what, I got a friend at the docks, old man Pao, he thought me how to hunt and that's how I make my money, I bet he could find you a job." she suggested.

James gave her a smile of gratitude, "Mia I would really appreciate that…..what is this anyway it's really good." he asked, holding up the jerky.

"Seal jerky." she replied with a smile.

"...I like this place already." he said before taking a bite out of the meat.

After finishing their food, Mia found a old brown jacket that James could wear outside, upon exiting the hut, James got a good look at the Southern Watertribe. He had expected some huts similar to Mia's but instead it was a miniature city made out of ice, James had never seen something so extraordinary, as Mai led him into town he saw that most of the southerners were friendly, however when he saw a little boy run past them on the street with water hovering in the air behind him, he froze in place.

Mia noticed he stopped and looked at him curiously, "What's wrong with you? You look like you never seen waterbending before." she commented, making the mutant shake his head.

"Sorry, just…..haven't seen a kid that young waterbending." he said, completely lying his way though the conversation. Mia shrugged at this, but meanwhile James was trying to wrap his mind around what he just saw, a kid that young who showed a special power and wasn't even uncommon? He honestly never thought he would see the day. Shaking those thoughts aside, the pair arrived at the bustling docked, boats large and small were scattered on the water. Walking over to a bald man with a buttoned up sailor's coat, overalls, and boots, Mia tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Pao, how does it go?" she asked in a joking tone, the man turned around, his hace was covered with a white goatee, he smiled at the girl, "Mia, good to see you girl how are you?" he asked before noticing James, "Who's this?" he asked.

"Oh this is James, he's new to the South and he's looking for a job. I was hoping you had a job for him." Mia explained, the older man looked over James,

He ran his hand over his chin as he sized James up, "Are you strong?" he asked, James nodded, the sailor pointed to a net of fish hanging off the side of the dock. Mia rolled her eyes, this was Pao's way of giving someone some humility, he told her if she wanted to be a hunter that she had to find and kill a Polar Bear dog with a knife, she failed of course but it taught her not to 'get too big britches' as Pao said.

"That's a little much isn't it?" Mia asked, folding her arms over her chest as she watched James kneel down and get a good grip on the net. "I mean you'd have to be-" she stopped herself when James hefted the net up and began pulling it like a rope up onto the dock. All activity stopped nearby to watch the young man pull the net, which was holding over three hundred pounds of fish, onto the dock singlehandedly. When he was finished, he looked to Pao.

The old man's mouth opened and closed like the fish he had spent half a hour pulling up onto his ship. "When can you start?"

III

O

James started on the fishing boat the very next day, he was a huge hit with the other fishermen. And after three months he was halfway through with the money for a boat ride to the city. Mia was letting him stay at her place until then, on the couch of course. But if he were being honest? James wasn't sure if he wanted to leave, the tribe was so nice and peaceful, plus a fair amount of the citizens were grateful to him for helping bring in so much fish.

But there was one large glaring problem with this. Daken.

His brother was just as likely as to have be here as well, and Daken probably came to the same conclusion as he was here as well, and the longer he stayed at the South Pole. But then there was the possibility that Daken wasn't here but still, there was a possibility, and if he was being honest he expected the X-Men to appear any day now, they were familiar with parallel dimensions and alternate timelines.

But until then, he enjoyed his time in the tribe. He also used the time he had to look up what he could about this new world. Finding out that there were four types of benders and that they were widely accepted was very shocking considering how Mutants were treated back home. Mia had been instrumental in finding out about how the world worked, but he felt horrible lying to her like he did. In fact he wanted to tell her the truth, she welcomed him into her home, it felt wrong lying.

Mia was a amazing young woman, she was one of the only women who went hunting with the other men, not there was any law but it was certainly uncommon. When he asked her why she let him stay with her one night she simply shrugged, "Why wouldn't I? It's the right thing to do?" she simply stated.

James let his thought's of the last few months drift off as he made his way to Mia's hut, he had finished the day's routine a little early and had collected his pay and decided, usually he would train with his claws but since he had came here he had not popped them since the night he arrived to make sure he still had them. As he neared the hut, he listened briefly for any sounds that told him not to come in. he had almost walked in on Mai dressing at one point, earning him a night kicked out of the hut until he came back the next morning with a heartfelt apology and some well done seal jerky as a small bribe.

He didn't hear the sound of shuffling clothes, or anything that sounded private, but he did hear water running. Opening the door, Mai looked over and nearly jumped, the water splashing back down in the basin on the floor she was sitting at, "Do you just not knock!?" she shouted as James stared at the basin of water in front of her, she followed his gaze and sighed. "Not a damn word ok?"

"You can waterbend!?" James asked surprisingly.

"Can we not talk about this?" she asked, picking up the small tub of water and walking into the kitchen with James following close behind her. She poured the water into the sink and set the container down on the countertop, she looked back to see him in the doorway, "Drop it."

"Why?" he asked, "Mia you have a gift, that's nothing to be ashamed of." he said, Waterbending wasn't rare by any means, there had to be around million of waterbenders in the world at least. Not to mention they were accepted by all nations and people. What was there to be ashamed of?

Her eyes narrowed, "Look it's personal just…..drop it." she said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Mia-" James began.

"JUST DROP IT!" she yelled, the water in the sink shooting up from her sudden outburst and soaking herself with the water. James shut his mouth when she glared at him, "Not. A. Fucking. Word." she threatened before she raised her hand and pulled the water off her clothes, before it could reach the container the water wavered before suddenly falling to the ground in a splash, soaking the floor, "Shit!" she cursed as she reached for a rag and knelt down to clean up the mess, "Fucking useless."

James knelt beside her, "Hey don't be to hard on yourself, it happens." he said sympathetically. He had et a number of young mutants back when he was a X-man who barely had any control over their powers, but they managed to gain control of their powers with a little encouragement.

She scoffed at his words, "Yeah sure. Waterbender that can't bend right….it's pathetic." her tone was bitter, full of venom directed at herself as she wiped up the mess almost robotically. James reached his hand out and put it on her shoulder, making her stop with a small flinch from the unexpected contact.

"Mia…..you are not pathetic." he said earnestly, Mia stared at him. "Look, I get it, you're not a pro at it but it doesn't matter. You think masters get where they are because their naturally gifted? Hell no, they practice, a lot." he said, thinking back to Yukio, the woman in Japan who helped train him in the ways of the ninja. She wasn't a mutant and could hold her own against Logan and him, even after she was confined to a wheelchair for a time she still could fight on their level.

Mia sighed, "James I appreciate it but….there are kids who can waterbend better than me. And i've had to try and do this since I was their age and…..I still can't." she admitted.

Had to? James thought, he filed that away for later. He was determined however, "Mia you hunt large dangerous animals in freezing cold weather…...and your scared of not being able to waterbend?" he asked, "Look I've seen grown men go to learn how to bend, there's no shame in it." he said, recalling seeing a group of adults learning how to bend the ocean water on his way to the docks one day.

"It's not shame…..it's honor." she admitted, head turning to look at the spilled water. "I'm…..I didn't grow up here in the South, I'm from the sister tribe in the North Pole." she explained as she sat down on the bamboo floor. "My mom was a businesswoman, she ran this big shipping business out on the docks. My dad was a master waterbender….he was pretty strict." she said, refusing to look him in the eyes. James thought back to when she flinched at his little touch, a growl emanated from his throat and he could feel his claws start to toke at his knuckles. If there was one thing he hated it was abuse in any form, she noticed the mean look on his face, "Woah, James you look like you wanna kill someone." she noticed in a surprised voice.

The young man's claws retracted, "Mia…..if you're saying what I think you are…...screw them." he said, making her eyebrows raise up in shock. "Look you are your own woman, your family doesn't define you…..believe me." he said, thinking of all the atrocious acts Daken had done simply to enrage James. It didn't mean that he was a bad person, Daken was just a psychopath, james was perfectly….fairly sane.

Mia slowly smiled as some wetness gathered in the corner of her eye, "James…...thank you…..and i swear if you tell anyone-"

"Secret is safe with me. I promise." he said truthfully, making Mia smile. "You wanna head into town? I kinda want someone else to cook." he asked as he stood up and offered his hand to her. She took it before he helped her up onto her feet. The two went out too a restaurant to eat dinner, James may have spent a little of his boat money but it was worth it.

III

O

It was two weeks after James and Mia talked about her waterbending, with his encouragement her practice had gone from once in awhile to three times a week, and she was showing slow improvement. "The hunting party is going near the forest today so I won't be back until later tonight, so find your own dinner, or better yet make some for me." she said as she pulled the parka down over her head. James held the door open for her as she exited the hut.

"You're the hunter, it's your job to get food." he pointed out, Mia hit his shoulder in response before walking around the hut to the shed where she kept her hunting supplies, a bow and quiver, hunting knife, and a short spear, before heading off towards the edge of town, waving James goodbye as she did. The young man shook his head, "Hell of a girl." he muttered.

James couldn't deny that he fancied the huntress, she was a very kind young woman, she also did save his life sso that was big tick mark in her column as well. But she also was his ONLY friend in the entire world, but there was a big problem. Well six, sharp deadly problems between his knuckles. He couldn't keep this to himself forever, his claws, his healing, his true origins. And if she somehow found out some other way she would hate him for it…..but still, he was a mutant, hate was something that spanned dimensions.

As he neared the docks, he saw Old Man Poe talking to someone, James recognized him as Chief Tonraq, the leader of the Southern Watertribe. James had not talked to him, mainly as to not draw any unwanted attention to himself from the chief of thee entire tribe. He prefered to fly below the radar, not draw attention to himself, "James! There you are!" Pao called out to him as he tried to walk around the two. James mentally slapped himself, he waved over as he approached the two, "Chief this is the boy I was telling you about, strong as a moose-lion this one!" he said, patting James's shoulder.

James gave a respectful bow to the chief, "It's an honor to meet you Chief Tonraq." he greeted.

Tonraq gave him him a nod, "Nice to meet you James Pao's told me that you've been pulling your weight with the fishing crew, I'm glad to hear it." he said gratefully. The man turned to Pao, "Now as I was saying we need to recall all ships, I just got word that there's a snowstorm heading down from the north." he said, catching James's attention. He had witnessed two snowstorms since coming here, they were so bad that he couldn't leave the hut with Mia ,

Oh shit Mia!

"Chief Tonraq, my friend Mia went out with her hunting party before I left." he said, making the chief's eyes widen at the news.

"The storm will be here in a hour and a half, we need to find them before the storm hits, I'll get a search party together." he said before striding off to assemble any able bodies that could help search. James chased after him, "Sir I want to help." he proclaimed, Tonraq eyed the boy before nodding. He needed all the hands that he could get and any volunteers could help. After getting Tonraq's blessing he ran ahead towards the hut of Mia. By now he had memorized her scent, when he reached the home he followed her tracks in the snow.

III

O

Just as Tonraq said the storm rolled in hour and a half later, James was following the snowmobile tracks at the time along with the fumes they made. When the storm hit he couldn't see more than ten feet away and the tracks were gone. But that didn't stop him, laced in the smell of diesel was her scent, Mia was still out here. He had ran across the other members of her hunting party and helped make sure they had fortified themselves in tents to ride out the storm.

Hopefully Mia would get in one as well before he found her, as he trotted through the snowbank, the now was getting deeper, but nothing James hadn't been accustomed to. As he passed a pine tree, he heard something crunch in the now behind him and give a low growl, turning around he saw a animal with white fur, sticky front legs, thiner hind legs, a huge frame, a snout like a bear but with floppy ears like a dog, and it was covered in scars. It was a Polarbear-Dog.

The creature was massive, it had only one functioning eye that was locked with his, James could feel it was angry, it was wounded, a arrow stuck out of it's side. One of Mia's.

James felt his blood boil but remained calm, there was no blood on the creature's paws or snout, Mia must have seen it and attacked with the others, but instead of running it must have charged. "Easy big guy I just-" he started before the beast lunged forward and swung his front paw, it's claws slicing into James's torso and making blood spurt out onto the snow.

The mutant hunched over, steadying himself on one hand as the hound stalked around him, James let out a primal growl, "Ok pal don't say I didn't-" he started before a spear was thrown over his head and embedded into the snow in front of him, making the hybrid animal retreat back into the storm for the time being.

"JAMES!" the young man turned in time to have Mia nearly run into him, falling onto her knees before him when she saw all the blood, "Oh my god…...James just, just, stay still, I'll get some snow and-" she began before she saw the claw marks on his skin stop bleeding and the skin reform without a scar as though it never happened. Mia looked at the wound, then at James, the look of devastation on his face made her stare. "H….How…" she started before James turned around.

The Polarbear Dog was bag, and it swiped the spear aside unafraid, suddenly James was thirteen years old again and he was facing the world that made him bring out his powers. He was scared again, but not from the animal, he was scared of Mia, he was scared because now she had to see the truth, if he didn't then she would get killed. But he wasn't a boy anymore, he had to be brave. "Mia…...I'm sorry….I should have told you…." he said with true regret in his voice.

Before she could ask what he meant by that, she heard something come from him.

SNIKT!

His claws popped from between his fingers, blood coaxed them from not being used in so long. Mia's eyes watched with a mixture of shock, confusion, and fear as James raised them up. "Ok furball, let's go!" he shouted before charging forward with a growl that would make Logan proud.

The animal sprinted at full speed, biting into James's shoulder, the mutant jammed his claws into its shoulder blades and pulling down, making the beast drop him and swing it's paw across his face, cutting gashes into James's face. The dog kneeled close to the ground before pouncing at the mutant. James jumped overhead, slicing into the beast's back and flipping his legs forward and landing on them, the two animals turned to face one another, the polarbear dog breathed heavily, it was not backing down. Neither was James.

The polar bear dog pounced again, this time James let it collide with him, stabbing his claws into the Polarbear dog's chest cavity as the beast tore into his throat and ripped it out. "JAMES!" he heard Mia yelled as the bear hybrid fell on top of him. The huntress ran over and started to push the large predator over to try and get to James, he pushed as well, rolling it over onto it's side, she looked down to see James's throat was reforming and the claw marks on his face were just starting to fade. His hands, torso, neck, and hands were covered in blood with some blowback splatter on his face. He started up at her panting as his claws sheathed into his arms.

James sat upright, his coat was in shreds as well as his shirt that was being held together by a few threads. "Mia….I….I…" she hugged hi in a vice grip. James faltered for a moment, his hands wrapped around Mia as well.

"Y-Y-Your alright. How are you alright?" she stuttered out after seeing James's throat being torn out a second ago only to see him without a scratch on him. The storm winds blew over both of them, they decided that his explanation could wait until she set up a storm tent.

After setting up the tent and both of them were inside, Mia tuned on the small lantern that gave both light and warmth. He spent the next three hours explaining his story. Where he came from, how e discovered his powers, what a mutant was and how he had gotten here. She hung onto every word he said, listening intently, barely blinking even until he was finished telling her his tale.

"James…why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked, hurt clear in her voice.

The mutant looked at the lamp's flame, "Mutants…..back home. We're not welcome, people hate us, they hate us because of our gifts, because of how we look, what we represent. I didn't want….I didn't want to lose you." he admitted bashfully.

Mia was silent for a moment before moving the lantern over to the tent flap, "You are a fucking idiot."

"That's not the reaction I expected." James muttered to himself as Mia reached out on the ground and pulled herself closer so she was in front of him.

""You told me I have a gift. So do you…..I showed you mine…..show me yours." she stated, staring him right in the eyes, her deep blue eyes bore into his. The mutant silently consented he raised his right hand and popped the claws out, the metal reflecting the light from the lantern. Mia stared at the metal claws, reaching her hand up she touched the side of one of them with her finger, "Do they….hurt?" she asked tentatively.

"When they come out? A little bit…..I got used to it." he admitted as she reached her other hand up and grabbed his hand and rotated the hand. When she had finished looking at them , he retracted them back into his forearm. Mia watched as the small cuts in his hand healed before her eyes. "I can hear and smell well too." he added, finding more confidence with her.

Mia's hand was still holding him, the two looked at where her hand was, slowly her fingers entwined with his. Jame's looked up into Mia's eyes who stared back into his. They didn't have that same determined look in them but the fire that fueled it was still there. Her lips captured his before he realized what was happening, she pulled back. His eyes looked into her's like when they met the night she saved him

His lips crashed into her's as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him back down onto the ground. James pulled away briefly to look at her, her cheeks were dusted pink and she was panting slightly. "Why'd you stop?" she asked.

"Because I have no idea what the fuck we're doing." he said before leaning down and kissing her again, his hands were coaxed in blood so he couldn't dare touch her even though every thought in his head told him to.

She parted their lips, "Me neither." she said before their lips touched once again. The lantern's light went out, they both broke apart and saw in their moment of passion they pulled on the fur floor and extinguished the flame. "Shit, one second." Mia said, crawling out from under James and tried to reignite the flame. James crawled over a second later and to see her progress, the wick was sticking out but her hands were shaking with the matches, from either cold or anticipation to get back to their previous act.

James moved beside her and popped his claws, entwining them together he slid them against one another, making sparks that ignited the wick and brought light and warmth to the tent once again. James and Mia looked at one another before Mia crawled over to him again, before she could kiss him James stopped her by the arms, "I am not complaining whatsoever but I am covered in Polarbear Dog blood and I really think we should talk about this." he said, gesturing to his torso and hands.

Mia snorted, "You know I've been skinning and gutting animals for the past few years now right?" she asked. "And I like you, you're nice, brave, your sweet and what else? Oh yeah, you took on a polar bear dog and won." she pointed out, "I just think that last one is amazingly cool but yea…...I like you." she said honestly, her confidence not wavering.

James bowed his head with shame, "Mia I….I've killed people."

Her hands cupped his cheeks and made him look at her, "James. Did you kill for the right reason? For the greater good?" she asked. James nodded, "Then I don't care…...just tell me everything from here on out ok?" she asked, wanting only his honesty from not own.

James was somewhat surprised, but he smiled nonetheless. "Come here." he said, holding his arms out, Mia smiled before crawling into his embrace, wrapping his arms around her they laid down on the floor. "My body is naturally insulated, I can survive in the cold without clothes so I should keep you warm." he explained.

Mia looked at him with a tad bit of mirth in her eyes, "Really? Well I'll have to keep that in mind." she said, resting her arms underneath her head on James's shoulder as she closed her eyes, welcoming sleep.

III

O

The next morning James and Mia returned to the the Southern Water Tribe, they were a strange sight to behold, especially with James pulling the dead polar bear dog for Mia. They had fabricated a story about Mia had killed the huge beast by herself by saving James who went looking for her. However Mia shot this to bits when she simply told the gathering crowd that they both had killed the beast, and that James had gone at it like a madman with only a knife.

It garnered him a huge reputation with the rest of the tribe, Tonraq himself gave him a strong pat on the back and a firm handshake before he declared a feast was in order. In the Northern district of Harbor City was the feast at the Royal Palace, James sat at the banquet table along with the chief and his lovely wife Senna. Mia sat the other end of the long table, the hall was packed with other hunters and sailors, he looked down the table to see Mia eating her food. She glanced over and gave him a wink, The young man smirked before betting back to eating.

Mia told the story and he listened closely so he could so he wouldn't get any details messed up if he was asked, he still couldn't stop thinking of his and Mia's heated moment of passion the night prior. He spilled his drink while his mind wandered, making a chorus of laughter echo through the hall at his expense, Mia chuckled as well.

After a few hours the feast was starting to wind down, James had a swarm of small kids after him, begging for every detail of their battle with the ferocious beast. He had managed to bait them off by promising to tell them all the details tomorrow and teach them a game he played when he was little. Hockey. He was a little surprised that they hadn't already invented it yet.

The young man was returning from the restroom when he nearly bumped into Mia, the two recoiled from the intended collision, "Oh! Hey, sorry I uh….didn't see you there." he apologized.

Mia was smiling, "Come with me, I got a surprise for you." she said excitedly as she took his hand and led him through the palace to the main hall where the attendees had gathered in rows from the door all the way to the stage where Tonraq stood awaiting him with a small bowl in one hand, it smelled like ink.

James gulped before walking down the row between the attendees up to Tonraq, he spoke loud enough for the entire hall to hear him, "James you ventured out into the middle of a snowstorm to make sure our tribesmen were safe and sound. Even going as far as to risk his own life to save one of our own." he said, Mia nodded her head at her mention. "I see no reason for James to live among us but not be part of us." he said as he directed his gaze at James who had a moderately shocked look on his face.

Tonraq dipped two of his fingers in the ink as he nodded, James kneeled down onto his knee as he lifted his fingers from the bowl. He drew a marking onto his forehead in the shape of a crescent moon, James knew that the moon was a very important symbol to the watertribe culture, he felt honored. "Spirits of the water bear witness to this mark, The Mark of the Brave. This mark is bestowed to those of our tribe who show bravery in the face of danger, with this, you become a honorary member of the Southern Watertribe." he pronounced loudly, James rasing as the hall erupted in applause as James was taken into the tribe.

As James bowed his head to the chief as his wife approached the mutant's side and presented him with a blue watertribe coat, it had the standard white fur collar and light blue coat. On the forearms the light blue was cut off with a white fur cuff with dark blue sleeves stretching down to the hands, beneath the outer light blue layer there was a dark blue zip up undercoat that went up his neck. The light blue outer coat could be buttoned up as well to offer a extra layer of protection, slipping the coat on over his shoulders, he couldn't help but smile with pride at being accepted.

He was part of the Water Tribe, and he felt honored by it.

AN: I know I basically took James from Son of Wolverine's backstory and mixed him with Marvel. I actually started a wolverine/legend of korra crossover before I started SoW and got fairly far with it before making the Young Justice crossover. Now this does not mean that Young Justice crossover is done and finished, not by any means. And before anyone asks this also does not take place in the Legendary Spider-Man timeline either, this is just James and no other heroes that were made in LoK's world like in the Spider-man fic.

As for Mia I largely based her appearance on zoro4me3's Atla Oc character Luta, except her hair isn't looped in the back and her backstory and name are changed. You can find a picture of her on deviantart if you're curious. While we're on the subject of waterbenders, I understand that the marks of the brave, wise, and trusted were given after ice dodging, however it has been shown that they are willing to adapt traditions on the Southern Watertribe culture (shown when instead of ice Bato used rocks as a replacement) and given that at the time of legend of Korra there was no indication that the practice was still in use given that a majority of sips had gotten bigger and were more durable.

The only exception being the boat korra left on in book 4 however given that she piloted the ship herself I conclude that it was not meant for the use of going through the rite.

As for the Polar Bear Dog it has been stated that most of them are deadly and will attack, Naga is the only known domesticated PolarBear Dog in the entire series. So a wild one attacking is not uncommon at all.