Okay, so hopefully my allusion in this story doesn't confuse you about the Gaang. We just have to pretend that the timeline that was ATLA has been replaced by a different group, meaning a different Avatar, a different waterbender, firebender, earthbender, etc. I will go more into that later. You just have to wrap your head around the fact that ATLA never took place, because I've moved the characters to the present day. Just PM me if you have any questions and I'll be happy to answer. Sometimes there is just simply no avoiding confusion.
In A Suburban Colony -September 2015-
"Flameo, hotman!" Aang said, bowing low to a passerby who, thank God, was too busy burying their nose in their smartphone to notice the comment. Katara leaned around and backslapped Aang, who stumbled backward, clutching his redding cheek. "Are you trying to be funny?" she hissed, ignoring Toph's look of offense. Aang narrowed his eyes, pulling his hood tighter around his head. "Of course not," he said. "I just thought that's what Fire Nation citizens said to each other, and since this used to be Fire Nation land," he remarked. Katara wanted to drag her nails down her face at his ignorance.
"Yeah, maybe a thousand years ago, but times have changed," she said. Aang swallowed and tucked his hands into his jean pockets. "I'm sorry, Katara. I'll just keep my mouth shut from now on," he said, his voice low. Katara huffed, pulling her chapstick out of her bag. "Yeah, maybe you should," she muttered, applying the chapstick to her cracked lips. The group of benders were in the midst of a suburban colony, and based on the signs, they were only a few hundred miles from the area formerly known as Republic City, the ancient city founded by that era's Avatar, after the end of the hundred-year-war. Katara was eager to visit it, even if it had been overtaken by the oppressive anti-bending government of today.
The group had basically stumbled upon the colony, and were forced to maintain their new identities, and that included shedding any artifacts that weren't strictly modern and up-to-date with today's societal norms, which meant that Katara had to let all of her old water tribe collectives drift down the river. She didn't speak for an hour because of it. Even when they were outlaws, the government still had a hold of her. Despite that, the group still looked like refugees, like runaways, and so they had to hastily memorize their vague backstory and venture into town, hoping someone would take them in.
At first, they didn't encounter anyone, for all the citizens were driving in cars or inside coffee shops, and Katara had to remind herself that they weren't in Omashu anymore, this wasn't a huge city, where tourists often came to visit. They'd have to find the central hubbub, the downtown. And it wasn't particularly hard. In fact, there seemed to be some sort of festival going on.
After cleverly burying their backpacks in a hole that Toph creatively covered up using earthbending, the four benders, undercover, walked towards the sound of music and the smell of fried food. All of sudden, the four were sucked into a crowd so thick it was hard to tell which way was left and which way was right. "Wow, this is quite the celebration," Toph said, squeezing between two rather gluttonous men who were too busy taking ridiculous selfies to notice tiny Toph.
"I wondering what exactly they're celebrating," Zuko mused, looking at the electric billboards and signs that lit the street with their neon glow. There were advertisements for various Mango products and their competitors flashing wildly. Seeing them made Katara miss her smartphone badly, and her computer, and all other forms of technology. It was going to be a rough couple months. As the group waded through the crowd, they eventually made it to a point where the amount of people thinned, and they were able to grab a table and sit around it.
"Okay, according to that banner, it seems to be the anniversary of something," Zuko said, pointing to a large white plastic banner stretching from one building to the other, high up in the sky. It was inscribed with a date that occurred about five hundred years ago. Katara recognized it, and she tried very hard to keep the disgusted look off of her face. "It's the anniversary of when Avatar Korra was defeated, and the anti-bending movement spread worldwide, and became the new form of government," she said, and the words burned her throat. Had it really been that long since benders had their freedom?
Suddenly, a waitress appeared, tablet in hand, with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Hello, what can I get you four to drink?" she asked. Slightly shocked, for none realized they had entered a restaurant, they each assumed their different personas. "Um, just a water for me," Toph said, her voice an octave higher than usual, and her back straight, rather than hunched like usual. The waitress tapped on her tablet, and then looked at Zuko. Katara couldn't help but notice her eyes scan him, giving him the once-over, and it made her a bit frustrated. "And for you, sir?" she asked, a hint of lust in her voice.
Zuko, oblivious, hid his face in the shadows, and ordered a water as well, using a thick accent that resembled someone hailing from the north. Aang, who had dropped his voice lower and somehow sounded very much older, ordered jasmine tea, and did his best to keep his hood tight. He looked like a dork, but what else could he do? He had been stupid enough to put the damn marks all over his body in the first place. Katara was last, and in her effort to keep the waitress's eyes from wandering, she looped her arm through Zuko's, and used a typical valley-girl voice to order her soda.
The waitress, looking a bit offended, scurried away. After she was gone, the four benders relaxed their exaggerated stances, and Toph burst out laughing. Katara narrowed her eyes as she separated herself from Zuko and crossed her arms. "What?" she asked stupidly. Toph shook her head, trying to catch her breath. "I just think it's funny that you chose to use that accent, because now you'll have to use it whenever we run into anyone," she explained in little pockets, having to pause and laugh between each. Katara groaned at the realization, and felt like an idiot for doing it. Zuko and Aang chuckled too, and Katara just shoved her seat back and crossed her arms even tighter.
Zuko scooted back too, and placed his hand on Katara's shoulder. "I just can't believe you're jealous," he said. Katara looked at him, eyebrows scrunched. "You can't? She was obviously interested," Katara dropped her eyes to the ground, focusing on a crack in the brickwork. "And she was taller than me, and, uh, curvier, and," she was about to keep adding to the list, but Zuko held up his hands, his face serious. "Katara," he said, taking her hand. Katara wasn't used to Zuko acting this way around her.
He spoke slowly, keeping his voice low. "Don't worry about other girls looking at me, because I'm not paying any attention to them, okay?" he said. Katara blinked at him, and then nodded, swallowing and looking at the ground. Zuko lifted his hands from hers, and Katara was grateful that he didn't say something romantic and sappy, because she didn't feel like discussing anything like that right now. Not when they were in hiding. And so Zuko didn't press the issue, and the two returned to the table, and Toph and Aang were polite and pretended to have been super interested in a reenactment of how Korra was killed. Although, if Katara knew any better, she'd say that the look on Toph's face was one of utter amusement.
