Disclaimer: Do not own Avatar, Batman elements created by Bill Finger... and Bob Kane.
Danger On The High Seas: Part 3
Drifting high above the sea with nothing to hold onto except for a chunk of rock hurtling through the air really gives one an opportunity to think. About live. About decisions. Good ones, like having a nice meat dinner after all this is done. Bad ones, like jumping onto the back of a catapult round. Etc.
In particular, Sokka thought he really might enjoy the idea of flying without Appa under better circumstances. He figured maybe he ought to have been an airbender in another life… but then again he didn't actually like putting himself into abject danger as much as he had been letting on recently. Danger like the water that was rapidly approaching as he thought these things. The water that would hit him like a solid rock at his speed. The water that would likely shatter his bones no matter what side of the rock he was on, and drown him if he did somehow survive the impact.
Oh, this was a bad idea.
"Aaaaaaah!" Sokka yelled. He was at a loss to do anything else, really. Jumping off wouldn't help – might even make things worse. He had no bending to help him out, and none of his Wolfbatman gadgets would help in any way. So… yeah. Falling to his doom. Katara was going to kill him.
Still, there was nothing for it. All he could think to do was cling to the back of the rock, wince, and hope the impact wasn't too bad. But then the moment came and the impact didn't happen. Another moment passed with the same phenomenon – he was still falling, he could feel it, but he was not hitting the water.
Sokka dared to open his eyes to figure the situation out, and noticed that the rock was slowing down as it neared the water. "Toph…" Sokka breathed a sigh of relief, and felt a wave of gratefulness and pride in Toph's ability to control her earthbending even at huge distances.
He wasn't out of the woods yet, however. He would of course still have to jump off the rock – he didn't want to get dragged down to the bottom of the ocean with it once it broke the surface – and after that he would need to swim all the way to the pirates' ship. Luckily, Zuko's derelict ship was not too far away, and even from this distance he could see the pirates had a system of ladders and pulleys leading down to it: if he could get to it and deal with the guards he would have an easy time getting on board to save Zuko.
Well, not easy. But it could easily have been a much worse situation...
Thanking whoever he could think of for small miracles, Sokka dropped off of the falling rock, which sped up as he kicked off and sank under the waves, and started to swim…
Meanwhile, In The Penguin's Dining Room
Zuko couldn't help but marvel at the luxuriousness of the room in which he found himself trapped – a mere dining room worth more than everything and everyone he had seen above deck all together. The table was exquisitely sculpted by reclusive artists off the southern shores of the Earth Kingdom, the food clearly prepared by some renowned chef – likely a captive – and the silverware forged of silver and gold smelted in the same mines that he himself used for his royal court. All of which Penguin wasted no time telling him repeatedly.
The honest reason for his amazement, however, was not at how elegant the room was but at how much more expense was put into Penguin's own wants than into his men's – while his men were slovenly, probably ate cheaply and certainly did not have anything as comfortable as a private dining hall or bedroom, Penguin poured their ill gotten gains into private rooms and services for himself only.
It disgusted Zuko – even at his own worst he had never, ever mistreated or ignored the needs of his men. He had insulted them before, yes. Disregarded them in favor of brooding or revenge. Maybe even been harsh with them – but he had never disrespected them. Especially not so utterly.
He pointed this out – the word "disgustingly selfish" had come up – but Penguin just laughed it off.
"As though my men have the brains to say anything about it, milord," he sneered, spitting the title mockingly once again. "Here's the funny thing – they're still very loyal to me. Loyalty is an odd trait among pirates, should you find the right ones to ally yourself with. Not to mention that thanks to my expert tactics we have looted much more than we ever have before: even with the reduced share they get under my leadership the men are still much richer than ever before. So they have no reason to mutiny. Now, feel free to help yourself, your majesty."
And so it was that Zuko found himself sitting at the dinner table of the leader of the most well organized group of pirates he had ever seen. His sight was full of food, sweets and drink, but as Penguin had"accidentally" forgotten to unshackle him all he could do was watch, irritated, as his captor very slowly ate his fill. We wouldn't have eaten a bite regardless, but forcing him to be a prisoner as Penguin at a feast fit for a royal… Zuko understood there was little point to all of this beyond humiliation.
He would have none of it, however. Not lying down. "Why am I even here, Penguin?"
Penguin grinned. It was a very unsettling look for him. "Whatever do you mean?"
"You have me here when you could have just killed me, forced me into becoming your captive by bartering with my crew when it would be less trouble for you to simply execute everyone and drag me off, and now you have me a prisoner among luxury when you would be wiser to merely toss me in the brig. What's really going on here?"
Penguin's leer spread even wider, if that were possible. "You're proving yourself to be very blunt, your highness. Waugh waugh waugh…" he chortled,"A simple ransom and delivery, nothing more. Nothing less."
"This is far too intricate for a simple ransom, and you're too smart to risk all of your comfort going after the Fire Lord himself. There must be a purpose."
"What if I merely want to prove to world that I can? That the kings and heroes our people so worship are human – you can bleed. Waugh waugh. Perhaps I enjoy making you suffer for daring to think I'm less than the greatest mind on these seas! Waugh, waugh, Waugh!
"So, it's an inferiority complex then, is it? I should have known. Everything's clear now. So that's why you go out of your way to take on your betters and spend your ill-gotten gains on things so ridiculously extravagant. You know, that's actually pretty funny."
The smile on Penguin's face fell quickly, turning his already ugly face even more so. This time, however, it caused Zuko to smile himself. Finally, an opening.
"I'm inferior to no one, boy! Least of all you!" Penguin punctuated his rage with a fierce jab at Zuko's shoulder. Zuko, however, continued to smile.
"Oh, I beg to differ. And I'm sure deep down you do, too."
Penguin roared and raised his first as if to strike Zuko, but stayed his hand and struck the table instead. It cracked under the hit, sending cups and plates in every direction. After a moment Penguin forced himself to calm down, but seemed not to trust himself to speak yet. He made do by glaring instead.
Zuko smirked. It was clear that Penguin wanted him totally unharmed. Interesting. "Cheers," he quipped, picking his cup up from the floor and raising it in a mock toast. "Anyone for seconds?"
Meanwhile, In The Waters Outside
Captan Lanai fidgeted as quietly as he could, testing his shackles once again while attempting not to alert the pirate guards. He didn't know why he bothered, the result remained the same – there was no way he could break his bonds himself, he just didn't have the leverage. It made his blood boil to think of his ship, however wrecked and scuttled it was, being in the hands of these bloodthirsty bandits, but there was nothing to be done for it: all of his men were unfortunately in the same position. If only a few of them could escape – there was only a token guard left behind to watch them, the rest had gone back up to the ship… but even if they did succeed, there was little hope for escape – the flagship could blow them out of the water if they so pleased, and the ship would not make it very far before sinking anyway. Thing seemed to be at their absolute bleakest.
Lanai instead contented himself with watching the trio of remaining pirates walk back and forth, studying their movements for the rarest of opportunities. In fact, he was paying closer attention to his surroundings than even the pirates themselves were, so it made sense that he was the only one who saw it.
"It" was a sudden shuffling movement over the side of the ship, a glimpse of something that might have been grabbing onto the ledge. Lanai froze, not quite sure if he saw what he saw.
Minutes went by with was no further motion. Lanai was just starting to think he had just imagined it when one of the pirates – by himself, as the other two pirates were watching the prisoners about to be brought aboard the flagship - patrolled past the spot. Then it happened again. This time there was no mistaking the pair of arms that wrapped around the unsuspecting raider's neck from behind and pulled him soundlessly over the edge… but still, no one else noticed.
Another minute passed. The other pirates, unaware that they were one fewer, continued to wait for the next platform to come down, but Lanai was now closely watching the edge. Sure enough, a dark figure quietly climbed over the edge only not long after, looking around cautiously and loosely wearing the pirates hat and clothes over what looked like some kind of light armor.
With a catlike treat he inched over to the other pirates. Lanai smiled to himself – something told him he did not even need to look that way to know whoever this shadowy figure is would make short work of them.
He was not disappointed. First there were some surprised shrieks, then the sounds of a scuffle and two thuds. After some silence, Lanai turned to see the figure walking towards him, looking no worse for the wear. The figure then came around him and started using a dagger to break through Lanai's shackles.
"So, I'm guessing you're with us?" he whispered, ever cautious.
The figure chuckled slightly. "No need to whisper, they won't be able to hear up there on that ship." With a crack, the shackles broke. "And yes, I'm here to help. Help me get the rest of the crew free."
Lanai picked up a fallen sword and got to work on the nearest crewman to him. It did not take much long to free them all, as at least half of them had been taken on board – probably sitting on deck waiting for Penguin to give the word to kill them. The thought made Lanai furious, but it also gave him a direction with which to make use of his newfound freedom.
"I'm going to climb up there and personally stuff one his Penguin's trick harpoons down his throat," he snarled. The other crewmen nodded in grim agreement. The unknown figure, however, shot his hand out in a calming motion.
"Not yet," he warned. "We don't have the manpower to take on… you said his name was Penguin? Someone needs get him a more threatening nickname."
Lanai rolled his eyes impatiently. "Then what do you suppose we do, then? Wait here for the next guard to come and recapture us?"
"Most of the crew isn't here…" the figure mused. He rubbed his chin in thought. "I'm guessing the Fire Lord's Elite Guard is being kept on board?"
Lanai started in surprise "How did you know about that?" The figure gave him a long, flat look. "Fine… yes, they're all on board."
"Then we still have a chance. We have the element of surprise on our side. I'm going to go up there and soften them up for you – once it's time to join the party, get topside and help us finish them off."
"And how will we know when it's time to get up there?" Lanai
The figure leapt up to the side of the ship and began to scale it using what looked like a sword and a strange bent weapon. Taking a moment to make sure he had a good hold onto the edge, he turned back to the confused crewmen with a smirk.
"Trust me, you'll know."
Meanwhile, Elsewhere
Though she was too far away to see the action about to unfold on the flagship, not to mention unable to see what Sokka was up to at all through the water anyway, Toph would not allow herself to get anxious or worry… much. She was sure Sokka could take care of himself against a whole pirate ship - after all, he did take down a bunch of airships with a single one of his plans. Granted, that was accomplished mostly through trickery and strategy – they had barely had to fight directly at all. And he had had Suki and herself as backup, and in the end he (and her) would've died without Suki's help…
She had to remind herself that he had backup this time as well… they were just all imprisoned at the moment…
A shared glance or two between Suki and herselfas they went about setting up their mini-fort told her tat even with all her battle training the older girl was allowing herself to think the same worrying thoughts she was, and unlike Toph she didn't have the excitement of hurling boulders at pirate ships to distract her. Truth was, Toph kept most of her worry way in the back of her mind while most of her focus was on the fight – which she was definitely enjoying – whereas Suki, having finished setting up their beachfront, had little to do but sit around and worry. Toph was sure, as a warrior, the lack of action was probably driving her crazy. It would've driven herself crazy, after all.
At the moment, Suki was under the ship pretending to take orders from Sokka – she had the brilliant idea to take a few strong reeds from the beach and stringing them together in full view of the pirates, giving the impression that Sokka had been injured and needed a splint, providing a decent reason for why he didn't leave the ship.
As a result, Toph hadn't seen her in a while. She hoped she hadn't tried to swim all the way to pirate ship herself to give Sokka some backup, she didn't need both of them getting themselves killed (which, she reminded herself, was impossible, since there was no way she would let either of them die on her watch). It was already enough in her book that Sokka was beating down pirates in person while all she did was toss a few rocks at them.
Toph was finally snapped out of her thoughts and self-denials at being worried by Suki finally coming out of the boat. Toph knew the girl well enough to know that she was probably smiling as she approached, but her heartbeat and stance showed she was all business.
"How's it going so far," she said as she walked up.
"Well, we're not dead yet," Toph grinned, making a point of rustling up an extra large boulder to prove her point. It sailed through the air and smashed into one of the remaining ships, which miraculously managed to stay afloat.
"Always good to hear." Toph could just hear the ironic humor in her voice. "Anyway, 'Sokka' says stay the course and wait for an opening."
There was a brief silence as Toph raised an eyebrow. "Um… you know you don't actually have to give me fake orders or anything, right? You're not cracking up on me, are you?"
Suki laughed. "Nah, I just figured it would be easier to pretend to be saying something if I actually said something."
Toph rolled her eyes. "Ugh," she scoffed teasingly, "that's just what Sokka would say. You and him are by far the silliest people I know, I swear."
"Sillier than Aang?" Suki raised an eyebrow that Toph, naturally, couldn't see. But she could hear the expression in her voice.
"Ok, maybe not the silliest."
Suki laughed. "I kind of wish Aang were here. This situation could use a bit more silliness. Plus the whole "Avatar" thing. We could use the help."
"We've got this," Toph gritted her teeth as she launched another projectile at the pirates.
"Hopefully." She mused. "I wish I knew how Sokka was doing."
Toph said nothing.
"Come on, don't lie and tell me you're not worried either."
Toph remained silent for a few moments, then finally spoke. "I'll tell you one thing, I hope whatever's keeping Princess and Twinkletoes is worth all this, or I'm gonna get back at 'em somehow."
"I think you've said that already."
"Yeah, but this time I really mean it!"
At The Southern Water Tribe
Aang and Katara sat atop an icy mountain, huddled together in their heavy coats and gazing out toward a beautiful sunlit afternoon. All was peaceful, with no sound but the crackling of the small fire they had made, and no distractions from the sight except each other's company. It was, in short, a perfect moment.
"This is wonderful," Katara sighed.
"Yeah, who would've thought those pirates would barely be any trouble at all?" Aang grinned. "Now we have all day to ourselves. Great, huh?"
"Mmhmm…" Katara hugged Aang closer, and they silently leaned into each other to further enjoy the moment.
After a long time, Aang sighed. "I guess we should be going back soon, huh?"
Katara groaned. With all that was going on with the world after Zuko became Firelord, and especially now that the Phoenix King returned, she barely ever got the chance visit her home and see her family. Between being back home again and her romantic afternoon with Aang, also a rarity these days, she was feeling more ambivalent than usual.
"Aw… do we have to, really?" She said with an almost uncharacteristic pout.
Aang looked equally disappointed that the thought had hit him. "Yeah… I think so. The others might need us. You have to admit this pirate thing seem fishy."
Katara rolled her eyes, but bit her lip. She knew, after all, that Aang was right, even if she didn't want to. "I'm sure all we're missing is another day spent on a wild goose-snipe hunt for Azula. We're probably not missing anything."
Aang gave her an understanding but hard stare – it was the same kind of stare she was used to giving to people. She wasn't entirely sure she was happy it had rubbed off on him… or, she wondered, perhaps he had always been able to do that. "Could be, but with all this craziness going on it's better to be safe than sorry isn't it?"
She sighed deeply. "I suppose you're right, better tell Dad that we're going to lea-"
"Ahem."
The two lovebirds jumped at the sound of a third person in their midst. They turned to find Hakoda, who had apparently snuck up on them while they were engrossed in the view. Immediately the two slid away from each other: Katara looked away from her father sheepishly while Aang nervously brushed off his coat. They hadn't been doing anything worth worrying about, but if he were honest Aang would admit that Hakoda still kind of scared him, and it was best to follow his own advice about being safer than sorrier.
For his part, Hakoda merely chuckled. "No need to be so nervous, boy," he said between laughs, "as far as I'm concerned you've more than earned the right to be with my daughter. You're quite a catch, and so's my daughter – don't forget that!"
Katara slapped her forehead in a very Sokka-like way, but Aang beamed from ear to ear. "Thanks, sir!" He stood up and gave Hakoda an overly enthusiastic kind of salute. "I won't let you down."
"I'm sure," Hakoda smirked. "But I didn't come up here to interrupt your little rendezvous." Katara and Aang looked at each other in surprise, wondering if there wasn't some other danger they needed to help with. Hakoda, however, seemed to sense their thoughts. "Nothing like that, don't worry! It's just… I'm hoping you're not planning on leaving us just yet. You'd ruin all the work we've done!"
Katara and Aang looked at each other again, this time in confusion. "Huh?" She said. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's not every day my daughter comes home, and brings her boyfriend besides – though you're like a son to me too, Aang. It's really a shame Sokka couldn't be here, or the rest of your friends, but we plan on celebrating this occasion anyway! The village has been hard at work putting together a feast for you, and since you're the guests of honor we'd love it if you'd hold off on going back to join in! Don't worry, we've already packed a care package for Sokka so he doesn't feel left out."
Aang and Katara sported mirrored grins. "This is great!" Aang cheered. "We get to kick some pirate butt, have a whole peaceful afternoon to ourselves, and get to go to a feast! Wait 'til I tell the others about this!"
Suddenly Aang shivered as a feeling at horrible otherworldly foreboding shuddered down his spine. "T-then again… on second thought… maybe we shouldn't tell the others…"
Katara raised an eyebrow curiously. "Huh? Why?"
"I dunno," Aang said as he shook himself off, trying to throw off his shudders. "I just… got a bad feeling."
"That's silly…" she replied, but at that moment she shuddered as well. "But… on the other hand, suddenly I feel it too! You're right, let's leave this part out…"
"Sounds good to me…"
And at that, they left to enjoy the perfect end to a perfect visit together.
Meanwhile, Not Enjoying A Feast
Sokka silently thanked Suki for what felt like the twelfth time as he finally made it to the ship's deck – if this had happened months ago he never would have been able to scale the side of a ship this large without being detected, let alone without breaking a sweat, but with Suki's training it was almost easy. Almost. He chuckled – he could hardly believe now that when he had first met the young warrior he had looked down on her because she was a girl. It just went to show how much his journey had changed him for the better.
Peeking over the edge, he made most of the crewmen were either looking away or would be unlikely to notice him and, waiting patiently for the opportune moment, rolled onto the deck. Some of the nearby pirates turned at the sudden - if faint - sound, but the disguise he had stolen from the first pirate worked like a charm. With his baggy clothes and properly tilted had the other pirates would fail to notice his armor or unfamiliar stature, at least not unless they got close – which Sokka was not about to let them do. As carefully as he could, Sokka inched towards the suspended net holding Zuko's captured comrades while making sure not to get to close to anyone – a difficult task to do while trying to remain nonchalant.
As he got to the prisoners he looked back and forth to make sure no one was around or watching him especially close and then pretended to check the rope. While keeping his lips as motionless as he could, he then signaled the closest soldier out of the corner of his mouth.
"Hey…" he whispered. "You're the Fire Lord's elite guard, right?"
The soldiers who had heard glared at him. "So we are. What is it to you, pirate?"
Sokka grinned. "I'm no pirate…" he lifted his hat slightly to show his cowled and armored face. "I'm the cavalry."
"Ah yes…" the closest soldier mused. "You must be the agent the Fire Lord took on recently. Wolfbatman, was it?"
"That's me…" He gave a slight nod of his head in place of a dignified bow. "What did they do with the Fire Lord?"
"They took him below deck," the soldier grunted.
Sokka nodded and once again looked back and forth to check for watchers. Again satisfied that he wasn't being watched, Sokka pulled out his batarang and began using the sharp end to weaken the ropes. "You fellows ready to get some payback?"
The soldier smiled wickedly. "Oh, yes…"
"Great… I'll need a bit of a distraction to get to Lord Zuko, but if what I've heard of you is correct…" Sokka trailed off. Zuko had given everyone involved in the plan a very flattering description of the elite guard, describing them as master firebenders one and all who could even give him pause, with all of his training from the ancient masters and his Uncle. And the fact that they had been taken out of the fight without ever entering it, by what Sokka was sure they would consider a fluke, was not likely to encourage them to hold anything back.
The soldier's smile became a full blown grin. "Distraction is an understatement. An insult, in fact. These filthy pirates won't know what his them."
Sokka smirked. "Perfect. Just give me a couple seconds headstart."
He cut the ropes in strategic places, making sure they wouldn't fall apart ahead of time, and then after one last nod took off running for the door below deck.
The pirates he passed turned in alarm in confusion while some further on looked as though they were preparing to stop and question him, but he ignored them until he got about half-way there. Then he screamed at the top of his lungs: "RAISE THE ALARM! THE PRISONERS ARE FREE!"
Behind him he heard a thud, and the more-satisfying-than-he-expected sound of firebending (with the addition of what sounded like maniacally vengeful laughter). It's a lot better when they're not trying to roast you with that stuff, he concluded amidst his own faint chuckle.
The pirates around him began to panic almost immediately. Much to his hidden glee they all abandoned their posts to deal with the threat… which soon became a double threat as Lanai's men took their cue and climbed aboard deck to join the fray. It was pandemonium, just as planned. Sokka easily slipped past the panicked pirates up to the door's guard, a large man with long but slightly burnt hair (Sokka made a mental note ask Zuko about that later) who to his credit was keeping his post despite the absolutely terrified look on his place. Luckily, Sokka thought fast.
"What are you doing?" he shouted, making sure to keep his hat tipped so that the guard wouldn't see his face. "Can't you see they're getting killed out there?" He made a panicked gesture for good measure.
The guard took the bait perfectly. It only took him a moment to think about it before he made to enter the fight, but Sokka never gave him the chance: as he passed by Sokka deftly slammed his elbow against the back of the man's head, knocking him out
Then with one more look back to make sure the situation was going as he wanted he snuck through the door.
Below Deck
The next few minutes of Zuko's "banquet" with Penguin had passed with no deficiency of awkward silence. Penguin, evidently not wanting to risk losing his temper again, did not start any further conversation and instead took to watching his captive carefully. This suited Zuko just fine, as he had no interest in talking. At first he had eaten very little under the assumption that some of the food was poisoned despite Penguin's claims, but after seeing Penguin eat some he had decided there was little harm in it.
And so it went for a long time – Zuko eating with mock politeness while trying to think of a way out of this mess, Penguin glaring at him knowing he would inevitably try something, and the tension rising ever higher. And then, just when Zuko thought things would be come so agitated that something would explode… something did. Above deck.
It was less of an explosion than a thud, actually, but even through the walls Zuko recognized the sweet sounds of bended flame come right after. It seemed that someone, be it Sokka, his guard, or both, had made their move.
"What the devil?" Penguin shouted. He rushed over to the door and pressed his ear to it – not that he needed to: Zuko could hear the sounds of scuffling and running even from his seat. Penguin snarled, obviously not pleased with what he heard, and reached into a bin next to the door for what looked like an ordinary umbrella – much to Zuko's confusion.
It was an odd sight: Penguin huddled next to the door waiting while brandishing an umbrella of all things, but Zuko could tell there was more to this. Sure enough, as the sounds of someone approaching the door grew, Penguin raised the umbrella and Zuko could see the glint of a blade hidden
Unfortunately for Penguin, in his hurry he stood on the wrong side of the door, which flew open and slammed into him knocking him to the ground. In rushed Wolfbatman, who did no notice what he had done at all.
"Zuko!" He shouted as soon as he saw him. Immediately he rushed over and grabbed Zuko shackles, which with the help of his sword and some leverage were broken quickly. Zuko smiled slightly and gestured to the recovering pirate king next to the door.
"So, this is the so-called Penguin, huh?" Wolfbatman said with utter disdain. "Did anyone tell you that name isn't all that threatening? Though I suppose simply 'Penguin' beats Otter-Penguin..."
The Penguin spluttered as his rose to his feet. His parasol had flown from his hands, but without missing a beat he grabbed another one from the rack and pointed it at them. This one didn't seem to have a blade in it, but the enraged look in his eye betrayed danger regardless. "You hit me in the face, you blundering oaf!"
"Sorry about that," Wolfbatman said flippantly. "Or I would be, if you hadn't kidnapped the Fire Lord. Now give yourself up."
"Ha!" Penguin's face contorted into a very deranged smile. "Do you think this is the end? Suppose you were right, milord-" he glaced at Zuko, whose eyes narrowed. "Perhaps I was hired for this job by some greater power. If that were the case, I'd be careful if I were you. My part in this is done, I'd wager, but yours… you and everything you wish to protect should feel very afraid…"
Zuko look showed total control over the situation and his emotions, and it was with barely any worry that he regarded this threat. "Hrm… I'll have to inform Chon to keep the Earth King under closer watch. Not to mention send an emissary to- what's your problem, pirate?"
This question was directed as Penguin, as for some reason he had given a surprised jerk. It only took a moment to compose himself, but Zuko and Wolfbatman still clearly noticed. Instead of answering immediately, however, Penguin began to give an odd laugh. "Waugh… waugh waugh waugh… you still think this is concerns the Earth King? Ha!"
The Fire Lord and Wolfbatman both frowned deeply. "And whom does it concern, then?"
"You figure it out!" Penguin shouted. In a sudden movement, Penguin pressed a button on his umbrella and bolted for the door. A spray of what looked like water shot out the tip of the parasol, covering both heroes. Wolfbatman felt no worse for the wear, but when Zuko attempted to stop Penguin with firebending he found his flames turned to smoke in the the air.
Penguin's final taunt as he rounded the corner cleared up the confustion: "No flames for you today, Firelord – I've found that this particular liquid tends to disrupt fire in the air around it… perfect for my escape!"
Zuko growled, and took off in a run. "Come on! After him!"
Much to his surprise, his companion smirked and instead walked very calmly towards the upper deck. "No need," he said, "he's not heading into the best of situations."
And indeed, Penguin had run topside to find that the entire deck was secured by the elite guard and Lanai's men. By the time Zuko and Wolfbatman caught up, Penguin had already been tied up and his men detained – at least, the ones that did not try to escape by jumping overboard. Penguin said nothing but instead glared murderously at his captors, who had a nice, long relieved laugh at their success (and at one of the guard's attempts to stop Lanai from approaching Penguin with a particularly deadly looking cannonball).
So great was the celebratory mood that nobody noticed that, sometime after the Fire Lord's order to commandeer the ship and turn it to aid Sokka, Toph and Suki, Wolfbatman seemed to disappear. And in fact, by the time they came up behind the very surprised pirates laying siege to their allies' island holdout the masked warrior had vanished without a trace.
The soldiers' mirth continued to long after they had relieved the Fire Lord's tired comrades, as they took the opportunity to have a good-natured laugh at the situation they found themselves in. Sokka, their leader, had even been forced into a splint by the others and was sweating profusely for some reason, and they momentarily forgot that they themselves had been in a similarly harrowing situation not long ago. It wasn't until Sokka had curiously asked who saved them that they realized their rescuer was nowhere to be found.
They eventually concluded that he was off hiding wherever he had been while on the way to the attack, and dropped the issue. No one noticed how suspiciously silent the Fire Lord was about the whole thing, or the smirking glance exchanged between him and Sokka.
No, the only thing anyone was thinking about as the adventure drew to a close was how satisfying victory could be.
Author's Note: This note going to be brief. Anyway, told you this was very direct. If this chapter seems in any way rushed, poor continuously or if it seems to end poorly, blame it on the fact that I really wanted to get this done and didn't quite care about how I did it. I've been dealing with real life at the moment, and didn't realize I'd let this one lie until someone sent me a review the other day saying it was a shame I abandoned it. Oopsie. More, including a rant in the next chapter.
No epilogue this time, so I'll give you the "next time..." bit now.
There's something afoot, that's for sure, but exactly what it is... our heroes have no way of knowing. They'll need to to some serious investigating, but first they have a play to attend! The Play's The Thing next time on Wolfbatman, and it's definitely not going to be your average performance.