Hey there folks! And welcome to yet another exciting chapter of Lost Girl! I know you've all been waiting patiently and now that patience is about to pay off. But before we begin I have a few things to say. 1. I shall be closing the poll on my profile as soon as the total hits 25, so anyone who hasn't voted yet, please do. 2. I just want to remind everyone that this is still Arc 5. I know it's a lot longer than the first four but I promise the surprise at the end is worth it. 3. There was a slight miscommunication with one of my reviewers a while back and I just want to make sure we're all on the same page. Arc 5 is not the final story arc in Lost Girl. There will be two more after this one. 4. To all the One Piece fans out there. What are your predictions for the upcoming Dressrosa Arc? Because I think it's gonna be epic! 5. Also on the subject of One Piece. Are there any LuffyxRobin supporters out there reading this? Cause I think that pairing really works and I don't see as much support for it out there as I think I should. 6. Legend of Korra is owned by Nickelodeon and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is own by Marvel. 7. On with the show!

Chapter 28: News from Home.

Footsteps…

That was the first thing Doom noticed when his surroundings shifted once again; this time into a vast field of tall brown grass.

They were so soft, barely audible above his own, and yet to him each one was as deafening as a church bell.

He wasn't quite sure how long they'd been following him, but he knew with absolute certainty who they belonged to.

'So Bloodbender, you have finally decided to reveal yourself.' The metal lord thought to himself as he pretended not to notice anything. 'Good! I was growing weary of your little game.'

The owner of the footsteps suddenly grew much closer; Doom could feel his hot breath on the back of his neck.

'Attempting to frighten me are you? Well I shall not give you the satisfaction. No! If I am to die here it shall be as a man, not as a whimpering dog!'

The metal monarch came to an abrupt halt and with his iron fists clinched he spoke.

"Hear me, O hunter of little naked cubs! Doom fears no man; least of all one that threatens innocent children and has the audacity to call himself a hero!" He announced boldly to the mysterious figure; without even bothering to turn around. "You worm! I am actually glad my ritual failed, for it gave me the opportunity to put you down like the animal you are!" The figure said nothing, which only intensified his righteous fury. He turned around to look his tormentor square in the eyes. "You shall haunt me no longer! You soulless… panda?"

As absurd as it might sound, that was indeed what was standing before him. Granted it clearly wasn't an ordinary panda, it was much too large, but still it had all of the necessary physical characteristics.

A sudden and rather humiliating realization dawned on the usually proud Latverian Lord; this entire time he was being followed not by a vengeful spirit, but by a… panda. In less than an instant all the fear and anger that had been building up inside him melted away and was replaced by overwhelming embarrassment.

"Oh… hello there…" Doom said awkwardly to the large and fluffy animal in front of him, thankful that his mask hid his intense blush. "My sincerest apologies to you, o noble spirit… it seems that I've mistaken you for someone else."

The panda-spirit only nodded in response, then bent its head down and placed something from its mouth on the ground.

Out of curiosity, the metal monarch bent down to get a better look and much to his surprise, he found a very familiar, if slightly wet, looking bronze bobble.

"Plunder's Compass!" he said excitedly as he palmed the tarnished artifact; taking a few moments to check it for damages and wipe off the slobber. Once he was sure it still worked he stood back up and stared at the monochromatic spirit confusedly. "You… were just trying to return my compass?"

The creature nodded once again.

"Well… thank you… I suppose." Doom said as politely as he could, despite his lingering embarrassment.

This time the panda-spirit responded by giving the tin-plated tyrant an affectionate lick to his metal face.

Before Doom could even react, the rotund creature hopped up onto a cloud several miles above and nestled down for a long nap; effectively breaking just about every known law of physics.

"A stranger place than this, I fear I shall never see." Doom said to himself as he looked on in astonishment; failing to notice the large bison flying in the sky above him.

XXX

'Incredible…' Korra thought to herself as she followed Katara down the crowded street; taking in all the wondrous sights and sounds around her. Everywhere she looked she saw little children playing in the snow, women gossiping while roasting strips of Tiger Seal meat over roaring fires, old men swapping tales of heroic battles waged long ago, and so much more. To the likes of you and me, these things might not seem like anything special, but to someone like Korra, who had spent so much time away from home, this was paradise.

In many ways the humble snow village greatly resembled the one she grew up in back on her home world. In fact, were it not for the abundance of phantasms and the strangely warm climate it would've been an almost perfect copy.

Still, as much as she enjoyed being in a place that reminded her so much of home, the young Avatar couldn't help but feel an unpleasant pang in her chest whenever her eyes fell upon her old teacher. Granted she had always known Katara was no spring chicken, but she just had so much life in her that, in an almost childish way, Korra assumed she would live forever.

To see her in this place, in this state, it was just heartbreaking.

"Um… Katara…" Korra spoke up meekly. "How… I mean… when did you…"

Die?

The old shade finished, much the young Avatar's discomfort.

Oh… about a week or so after your tussle with that Thanos character, I just fell asleep one night and when woke up the next morning I could see through my eyelids.

Katara had meant that as a joke, but from the look on her former pupil's face, she could tell it had not been well received.

I'm sorry Korra.

The former waterbender said apologetically.

I've been spending far too much time with my older brother.

"No… its okay." Korra replied, and then quickly tried to change the subject. "So… how's everyone back home?"

"Well, I'm afraid I've been gone too long to give you anything current, but I'll tell you what I know."

She paused for a brief moment to collect her thoughts before she continued.

Your parents were doing alright the last time I saw them. They were very distraught over your 'death' of course, but all things considered I thought they were holding up rather well.

"They think I'm dead?" Korra asked aloud, though it really came as no surprise; after all Thanos' beating hadn't exactly been gentle. Looking back on the whole ordeal, she suddenly realized how lucky she was that Doctor Strange just happened to be there when she landed in the East River all those months ago.

Oh yes, and everyone was so devastated by it; though I suppose Tenzin took it worse than anyone else.

"What do you mean?"

He blames himself for what happened.

The aged specter said with a sigh.

He thinks he's failed in his duty as your guardian and that he's unworthy of being Aang's son.

"He said that?" Korra asked in disbelief.

In words no… but a mother always knows what her child is thinking.

Katara answered, her voice full of concern.

I hope he's doing alright.

Korra placed a caring hand on her old mentor's shoulder… or at least she tried to. Her hand passed right through her, earning a laugh from just about every shade and phantasm in the vicinity.

"Sorry…" the young Avatar said, her face flushed with embarrassment.

No need to apologize dear, that was just the pick-me-up I needed.

Katara replied with a chuckle.

Now… where was I?

"You were telling me how my friends were doing."

Oh yes, of course.

Katara paused for moment as she searched the memories of her final days for any relevant information.

Well, Lin was released from the hospital the day before your funeral. Unfortunately, the doctors say she'll never walk again. She's been forced into early retirement.

"That's horrible!"

That's what I said… sort of, but don't feel too sorry for her. I think she'll grow to love retirement, now that she has someone to keep her company.

"You mean…"

Oh, it's nothing like that, but it seems that your old friend Naga has taken a liking to her and they're going to be living together from now on.

"Whoa…" said the young Avatar processed this new information. 'Didn't see that one coming.' She thought to herself before she spoke again. "So what about the rest of Team Avatar, how are they holding up?"

Last I heard Bolin was planning on joining the Republic City Police Department.

"Bolin? You're kidding right?"

It's the truth. He said something about wanting to honor your memory by protecting the people of Republic City.

Korra couldn't help but smile at that.

"What about Asami, is she doing alright?"

Well, after Cabbage Corp bought all of Future Industries' assets Asami felt that she didn't have any real reason to stay in Republic City so she agreed to join the White Lotus on their quest for your successor.

Korra didn't respond that time; she had far too much on her mind. So far it sounded like everyone, except Tenzin, was getting along just fine without her. Unfortunately there was still one person her old teacher had yet to mention and the fate of that particular person had plagued her nightmares for some time.

"Katara… how's Mako?" she asked, though she dreaded what the answer might be.

The former waterbender let out a deep sigh. Then with a heavy heart she told her former student what she knew.

I have absolutely no idea.

XXX

About two hundred miles south of the spectral ice village and roughly five or six miles above the ground, the hulking form of what had once been a Sky Bison flew gracefully amongst the astral clouds.

Granted this wasn't anything too unusual for the Spirit World, as many of these ancient beasts could be seen soaring through the sky on any given day.

This particular Sky Bison however, was different from the common stock one would normally find on this spiritual plane. For you see faithful reader, this bison was none other than Appa, animal guide to former Avatar Aang, and at the moment he was carrying a most… unlikely passenger.

Near the backend of the massive beast's saddle sat a pensive, and still quite embarrassed, Dr. Doom.

It was no secret that the metal monarch had an overdeveloped sense of pride and to be fair it was mostly well deserved, but being caught screaming at a panda in the middle of field by the spirit of a long dead pacifist was a monumental blow to his self-image.

'I pray none of my followers hear about this.' the tin-plated tyrant thought to himself as he continued to sulk.

"Monk!" Doom called to the shade sitting at the front of the saddle. "You are to tell no one of my little… outburst. Is that understood?"

Don't worry; your secret is safe with me.

Aang answered with a slight chuckle.

Oh… and by the way, my name is…

"I'm well aware of who you are; Avatar Aang." The metal lord interrupted in an unintentionally rude tone. "Tarrlok's description of you was very… thorough."

Oh… I see.

The former Avatar replied awkwardly.

So… how's that… thing of yours? Is it still working?

"If you are referring to my compass, then yes; it is at this very moment zeroing in on the location of the next gateway."

Is the needle pointing to the west?

The old phantasm asked seemingly at random.

Doom was perplexed by the old monk's question. He looked down at the bronze bobble in his hand and sure enough it was pointing westward.

"Yes… why?" he asked suspiciously.

I was afraid of that.

The former airbender said with a sigh.

You see, the only gateway out of the Spirit World is to the west, on the Isle of Avalon, and if that's where you and Korra are headed, then you two are in grave danger.

"Elaborate." Doom commanded inquisitively.

Well, the island used to be completely deserted, but very recently a new spirit has made it his home. He calls himself the Warrior of Avalon.

"Fascinating…" the metal monarch replied, half sarcastically. "…but what precisely makes this 'Warrior of Avalon' so dangerous? I have defeated many foes in the past, and they have all bared far more impressive tittles than that."

Now, I've never actually seen him myself, but according to the rumors, any spirit that ventures to close to the island is never heard from again.

Now that little tidbit piqued the metal lord's interests.

"Are you saying that this… warrior… has the power to destroy spirits… permanently?"

That appears to be the case.

Doom, admittedly, was starting to get a little frightened. This so-called Warrior of Avalon sounded like he would be quite a formidable opponent. Fortunately he had the perfect human shield in mind for this stage of his quest.

Still… there was one last thing he had to be sure of.

"Exactly how long ago did this mysterious warrior appear on the island?"

Oh… about six… or seven moths I suppose.

"How very… interesting." replied the Latverian monarch, with an edge of fear in his voice.

End Notes: Well that's the end of another one folks. I hope everyone enjoyed it and please don't forget to leave a review before you leave. Also, if you skipped my notes at the top go back and read them. There are some very important points up there. Anyway, see you next time loyal readers.