Fire, air, water, earth. Only the Avatar can master all four elements, and bring balance to the world.
Coming across a small township on their way to Ba Sing Se, Torin and Kira stop at a nearby store for supplies. Noticing the desolation, Torin asks the store clerk where everyone had gone.
"Ever since the Li and Kung families moved into town, their gangs have ruled these streets with an iron fist for years, competing for territory. Everyone's too frightened to come out of their homes for too long." The clerk says.
"What do they want with this town? It doesn't look like much." Torin replies.
"Well, you see the Li's are a family of firebenders, and the Kung's are a family of earthbenders. This area is known for its rare minerals and so both families own refining mills throughout this land making them terribly rich. They have their own borders, but recently one of the Li family's newly constructed factories was destroyed in the northern mountains only a few days ago. Naturally, the Li family blames the Kung family as there's been evidence of metalbending at the scene. Come to think of it, it doesn't make any sense why the Kung family would want to do such a thing. There's barely anything up there. Hmmm..." The clerk explains.
Thinking back over his time out in the wilderness with Kira, Torin remembers that he was also in the northern mountains only a few days ago. In fact, he had even discovered what seemed to be an abandoned factory as well. Suddenly realising that not only was he was wrong in assuming that it was old and abandoned, but rather the factory he came across may have just been in construction and that it was he who had destroyed it while training for metalbending. Without letting on about his revelation, Torin quickly thanks the kind man for his services and scurries off down a nearby ally way. Awkwardly laughing with embarrassment, he attempts to calm himself.
"Don't give me that look. How was I supposed to know?" Torin says to Kira, as she stares at him blankly.
Knowing what he must do Torin stands with his fist clenched.
"C'mon girl, we have to help these people end this." He said aloud.
At that moment, the sound of a large explosion attracts their undivided attention. As they rush toward a familiar smell of thick smoke, they are able to see the remnants of a small building reduced to rubble in the distance. In a flash, Torin hears a loud scream of laughter and is forced to bend almost completely over backwards as a boy of about 15 years old leaps overhead in a hurry. Catching only a glance, Torin notices that the boy is almost entirely covered in strange metal contraptions until he disappears out of sight once again. Suddenly, Torin crashes to the ground as someone viciously thumps into him from behind. Attempting to recover, Torin turns over to see a young girl not that much younger than he, sitting on the pavement rubbing her head. Frustrated, the young girl slams her fist on the ground demanding to know if Torin had seen where the other young boy had gone. Torin remains speechless staring at her as the she unleashed a series of verbal abuse. With her long straight black hair and hint of a fringe beneath a woollen beanie, Torin finds himself unable to move.
"Are you listening to me!" The girl shouts. "Useless." She mutters under her breath.
Noticing another female presence, Kira growls at the young woman.
"Oh, sorry I'm Torin and this Kira. Nice to meet you." Torin smiled awkwardly, holding out his hand.
Kira turns away with her nose pointed to the sky. Staring at Torin with disbelief, the girl doesn't return the offer.
"You didn't hear a thing I just said did you?" She asks. "Figures. I'm Zizi. So, wanna tell me what you're doing getting in the way of people chasing after lunatic arsonists?" She continues.
"Sorry about that." Torin stutters and laughs, as Kira shows her jealousy. "We just came to see what all the commotion was about." He replies.
"Well, all the commotion, as you put it just ran straight past you and you let him get away!" Zizi says with a condescending tone.
Picking themselves up, Torin notices that even on such a hot day, every inch of Zizi's body is covered with clothing, but her face.
"Aren't you hot in that?" Torin asks.
"I'm fine. Worry about what you're wearing jungle man." Zizi scoffs.
Torin looks down at his worn out traditional Earth Kingdom outfit.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Torin asks, baffled.
"Nothing, if you live with a pack of wild skunk-bears." Zizi replies.
Cautiously, Torin smells his shirt only to be thrown back as if hit by a train.
"Hey, can you earthbend?" Zizi quickly interrupts.
"Uhh, sure." Torin replies with a smile.
"Good, because you owe me and I have a job for you." Zizi says with an evil twinkle in her eye.
Later that night, Zizi leads Torin to the roof of a large warehouse outside one of the town's local refining mills. Curious as to why they are sneaking around in the dead of night, Torin questions himself as to why he agreed to this in the first place. Reaching the top, they're able to peer through a sky window at what seems to be a meeting of two parties. Unable to hear what's going on, Torin takes the opportunity to find out what's really going on.
"So, what exactly are we doing here again? And why did I have to leave Kira behind with the store clerk?" He asks softly.
"Down there, those are the Li and Kung families." Zizi replies.
"You mean the big bad firebending and earthbending families whose gangs rule this town with an iron fist! Torin mutters.
Zizi replies only with an awkward expression, staring at Torin with confusion.
"Well, rumour has it the Kung family is making an offering to the Li family in the form of a rare jewel. An ancient family rune passed down the Kung family for generations... We're going to steal it." Zizi continues.
"What!" Torin screams, as Zizi forces him to duck down. "Are you crazy?" He whispers.
"I managed to stake out their operation this morning at the warehouse in town. I was about to make my move before that brat with the metal suit showed up and destroyed the place. I need you to create a distraction by rattling some rocks over at that refining mill just there. They're all so paranoid about all their factories, it'll give me a chance to get in there, swipe the jewel, and get out before they come back. Are we clear?" Zizi ordered.
A strange combination of fear and inspiration compels Torin to nod his head in agreement, before the rumble of an explosion is felt coming from inside the warehouse. As the resulting dust lingers, a familiar psychotic laughter is heard amongst the cloud. In the confusion, the Li and Kung families stand at the ready. Suddenly, a large rock is hurled through the air taking out one of the gangsters.
"An earthbender?" One of the Kung family members says aloud.
Out of nowhere, a stream of water blasts through the dust which is quickly followed by a ball of fire, striking down two more people. Now standing in fear, both families tremble as a shadow appears out of the darkness.
"It's the Avatar!" Someone shouts, as his knees wobble.
"The Avatar? That's impossible!" Torin whispers.
"I know that laugh." Zizi replies, as she clenches her fist.
"We have to help them!" Torin shouts.
Another explosion quakes the building as more dust is kicked up, engulfing everyone inside. No longer able to see anything, Zizi grits her teeth as she slides into the warehouse through the window, ordering Torin to follow. Without hesitation, Torin does as he's told.
"We have to find that jewel." Zizi says to Torin, as they land.
Not wanting to reveal his identity as the Avatar by clearing out the dust, Torin asks how they'd be able to find anything in amongst the thick cloud.
"Leave that to me jungle boy. Hold on to your pants." Zizi replies with a confident grin on her face.
With Torin utterly confused, Zizi thrusts her arm out directly ahead with her palm open. Like magic, a blast of wind clears a small tunnel through the dust as Torin stands in awe, jaw-dropped, catching dirt in his mouth. As Torin coughs, Zizi proceeds to look for the jewel.
"She's an airbender!" Torin says to himself, in shock.
Following after Zizi, Torin hears screams of pain through the dust. Pausing, he calls out to Zizi asking her stop so they can help rescue the people from whatever it is attacking them.
"We find the jewel first!" Zizi scoffs.
More screaming is heard, before everything suddenly goes completely silent. Torin begins to worry. Suddenly, out of nowhere a boy scurries straight through Zizi's path, between her and Torin. Split seconds later, the same boy slowly walks backwards into the path once again. Confused, the young boy scratches his head at the anomaly of the tunnel. Torin observes closer, suddenly realising who he is.
"It's that brat from today, the one who blew up the last warehouse!" Zizi shouted angrily. "You ruined a perfectly good heist this morning!" She continues, quickly advancing on the boy.
"Oh hey! I know you." The boy smiles. "You're the girl with the tattoo's and the greasy hair." He says.
"Greasy hair!" Zizi screams, wide-eyed.
Zizi runs directly for the boy relentlessly before jumping in the air with a closed fist. Coming down over the boy, Zizi directs a powerful punch at him, missing only by inches as he jumps backward, landing within reach of Torin.
"Who're you?" The boy asks Torin. "You look funny. Are you from outta town? What's your name? Are you from Republic City? What're you wearing?" He continues, baffled by Torin's presence.
"Keep still you little brat!" Zizi shouts in a rage.
Noticing Zizi build up for another attack, the boy reacts by quickly hiding behind Torin. Without time to realise what's happening, Torin stands dumbfounded as Zizi blows the both of them into a nearby wall, clearing out all the dust in the process. The uncoordinated blast of wind reveals numerous people in the building to be either knocked out or tied up. The few remaining Li and Kung family members left standing are thrown into shock by the attack, as three strangers stand before them. Noticing their fellow family members scattered throughout the warehouse, they begin to deal out a series vicious attacks of earth and fire against the three teenagers. Quickly taking action without regard for his identity, Torin blocks the attacks summoning walls of earth, before rising into mid-air over a small tornado.
"This ends now! No more." Torin says aloud.
Witnessing the power of the true Avatar, everyone in the room ceases up.
"This town now falls under the protection of me, Avatar Torin! The Li and Kung families would be wise to remember it." Torin says sternly. "Now take your family and leave." He continues.
The two families waste no time in gathering all they can and vacating the area, leaving nothing behind. As Torin powers down returning to the ground, both the boy and Zizi approach him.
"That was totally wicked!" The boy shouts. "How'd you do that?" He asks.
"He's the Avatar." Zizi says calmly.
"Mhm, mhm. The Avatar, of course! That's so awsesome!... What's an Avatar?" The boy asks again.
Zizi looks at him in disbelief, before she quickly motions her palm toward her forehead.
"Idiot." She mutters.
"My name is Torin." Torin says.
"And I'm Tobi, Mr. Avatar sir!" The boy replies.
Tobi enthusiastically explains how he had been looking for a pair of identical motorbikes that were taken from him by the Li family a few days ago. He was looking for them this morning in a warehouse owned by the Li's, but to no avail. When he was discovered at the scene, he explains how he attempted a quick get away by distracting them with a small bomb. His small bomb however, obviously turned out to be a not so small bomb and ended up blowing the entire place to smithereens. He eventually ended up following the Li family to a warehouse where he then decided to try out his new automated flamethrower and hydro-pump, which finally leads them to now.
"Then how did you manage to toss the rock?" Torin asks.
"Ooo a nifty invention that is. I call it... arm!" Tobi shouts.
Upon closer inspection, Torin notices that Tobi's entire left arm is made of metal. A fully functional bionic prosthesis is placed where his arm should be. Not only that, but both arms accommodate some sort of tube, each leading to a backpack sized capsule behind his shoulders. Tobi explains how half is filled with water that gets pumped out one arm on command, and the other half is fuel for the flamethrower on the other arm. Torin is intrigued by every detail of his contraptions, while Zizi rolls her eyes, as she gets bored.
"That's all very nice, but what about my jewel?" Zizi interrupts. "You owe me a priceless artefact Avatar Torin." She says condescendingly.
"I can't, I'm on my way to Ba Sing Se to find out what happened to my grandpa." Torin replies.
"In that case, I'm coming with you. You're not getting away with that one." Zizi firmly states.
In Torin's excitement, he turns to ask if Tobi would also like to join them, only to find he has already disappeared as quickly as he had blown through the wall.
"I guess it's just us then." Torin mumbles.
As they make their way out the large warehouse doors, Zizi asks if Torin was serious about what he said earlier to the Li and Kung families.
"No." He replies. "But by the time they find out, the townspeople will already have reclaimed this area."
As Zizi responds with a smile, they hear the rumbling of an engine coming from outside. Making reappearance, Tobi pulls in riding on what seems to some sort of motorcycle.
"Ain't she a beauty? Tech'd her out myself." Tobi smiles. "I found it out back with the other one. If you grab it, we can use them to take us to Ba Sing Se!" He continues ecstatically, as Torin stares in amazement.
With Zizi on one bike, and Tobi and Torin on the other, they set their sites for Ba Sing Se.
"You girls ready for this?" Zizi asks with a smile on her face.
"Onward, to Ba Sing Se!" Torin replies proudly.
Without warning, Tobi fires up the engine and speeds off into the distance with Torin barely holding on, and tears in his eyes.
"Hey, what about your gorilla-wolf thing?" Zizi shouts.
"Kira? Kiraaaaaaaa!" Torin cries out, as Tobi lets out another psychotic laugh.
End.