Chapter 36: Derailing Plans
Aang, Kal El, Katara, Toph, and Sokka were riding bareback on Appa. They flew straight for the palace, bypassing all of the defenses on the ground. As Appa flew down near the palace large boulders were thrown at him, which Sokka called 'Surface-to-Air Rocks'. Appa dodged most of them, and the rest were destroyed by Aang earthbending.
When Appa came close to the ground dozens of guards approached. Kal El jumped off Appa and hit the ground, the impact leaving a crater and shaking the guards off their feet. Aang followed, using earthbending to force the guards back. Appa landed and everyone else got off him and ran towards the palace.
Several guards approached from the side, and sent stone bricks inward. Aang and Toph destroyed them with earthbending while Kal El blurred past the guards and tossed them aside. Katara was using a water whip on guards Kal El forgot to disable, apologizing to each one. More guards approached from the front, which Toph imprisoned in rock.
As everyone approached the steps to the palace the guards earthbended two large badgermole statues into the air and threw them. Kal El jumped into the path of one statue and broke it into pieces, and when he hit the ground he blurred back to his friends and caught the second statue and set it down.
At the stairs they saw more guards coming down them. Toph flattened the steps into a steep ramp, sending all of the guards sliding to the bottom. Then Aang and Toph earthbended the ground beneath them, lifting it up the ramp and past the sliding guards. At the top more guards arrived, which Kal El blew away.
Kal El led the way into the palace, having looked through the walls and found King Kuei in this throne room. More guards showed up, and Kal El was getting tired of fighting the same opponents over and over. Not wasting any more time he blurred past all of them, taking them out in seconds. Then Kal El showed the way to the throne room's big fancy door, and opened it.
Inside the throne room King Kuei was sitting on his throne, with Long Feng at his side. Several Dai Li moved into position to protect him. Then King Kuei recognized one of the intruders as the Avatar. "Wait a minute" Kuei said. "Long Feng, you never told me the Avatar was trying to get in."
"He's here to overthrow you" Long Feng said.
"That has to be a misunderstanding" Kuei said. "I asked the Avatar to find the cause of City Sickness, and left orders to let him inside if he finds the answer."
"We did find the cause" Aang said. "When we tried to tell you Long Feng got in the way."
"He claimed that he would pass on what we found out" Kal El said. "The source of the disease is the green rocks left by the meteor shower several years ago."
"Green rocks?" Kuei said. "The same rocks the Dai Li have been studying?"
"Your majesty, that is classified information" Long Feng said. "We shouldn't be giving out state secrets."
"Like how Long Feng used them to brainwash me!" Toph yelled.
"Brainwash? That is a very serious accusation" Kuei said.
"She's not the first person he's done that too" Kal El said. "There are dozens of women brainwashed into being 'Joo Dees' which are used to keep tourists under control. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the Dai Li are brainwashed as well."
"Lies" Long Feng said.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with my advisor" Kuei said. "Just how would you prove such a claim?"
Kal El blurred out of the throne room, surprising King Kuei. He came back and left again every ten seconds, dropping off one of the Joo Dee each time. When over a dozen Joo Dees were in the room Kal El stopped in front of them. "Raise your hand if your name is Joo Dee" Kal El asked. All of the women did.
"Believe us?" Sokka asked.
"Dai Li, arrest Long Feng" Kuei ordered. "I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom."
For a moment it appeared that the Dai Li weren't going to follow the order. But they did, and took Long Feng to a cell beneath the palace. When he was gone Sokka explained how the meteor rock caused City Sickness, and that the Dai Li had legitimately started to remove the rocks from the city. With the cause of the disease dealt with King Kuei agreed to invade the Fire Nation on the day of black sun.
King Kuei ordered his generals to search Long Feng's office for anything of use. They found secret files on everyone in Ba Sing Se, including the Avatar and his friends. There were also intercepted letters for Toph and Aang, and an intelligence report relevant to Sokka and Katara.
Toph handed the letter for her to Katara to read out loud. "It's a letter from your mom. She's here in the city"
"That's not true." Toph interrupted. "Clark dropped her off in Gaoling this morning."
"Yea, and she was there yesterday as well" Kal El said. "That letter has to be forged."
"Wait you went all the way back to Gaoling?" Sokka asked.
"Long story, I'll tell you later" Kal El said.
Tossing out the letter for Toph, everyone turned their attention to a scroll meant for Aang. It had been attached to Appa's horn when he was captured. It was from a Guru that wanted to speak with Aang at the Eastern Air Temple about mastering the Avatar State. Then Katara and Sokka received an intelligence report that claimed their dad was protecting Chameleon Bay.
"That's wonderful news" Kal El said. "Chameleon Bay isn't far from here. It's even between here and the Eastern Air Temple, Aang can drop you two off on the way."
"Clark and I will stay here to help the King plan" Toph said. "You three can have fun on your road trip."
While packing supplies on Appa's brand new saddle Sokka overheard the guards taking about the arrival of the Kyoshi Warriors. Sokka vouched for their skill and loyalty, so the Earth King decided to welcome them to the city.
After Appa left Kal El went to the top of the palace. His hearing was acting up again and he needed to practice with it. On the roof he shifted through all the sounds coming from the city, slowly tuning them out. Then he heard someone in the lower ring crying for help, and a child screaming in a burning building.
Immediately Kal El blurred to the lower ring, stopping near the building that was on fire. He looked through the walls and smoke, and found a little girl trapped on the middle floor. He ran into the building ignoring the flames. When he reached the girl Kal El picked her up and blurred out of the building, fast enough to shield the girl from the flames.
Outside he found the girl's mother crying for her daughter. Kal El walked up to her and handed over the child. "Thank you" the mother said.
"Mommy, who is he?" the girl asked.
The mother turned to ask for Kal El's name, but he was gone. "A hero" she said.
Kal El heard more people needing help in the city. There were a few fires, several muggings, two collapsed buildings. He blurred in and rescued the people in danger, and left before they realized what happened. Within the hour people were talking about the mysterious rescues, wondering if they were the Avatar's work or something more.
When no more people needed rescue Kal El stood on one of the walls, glad with what he was doing. The Fire Lord had wanted him to use his powers to destroy lives, and here he was using them to save lives. It gave him a purpose, something to use his powers for when the war was over. However his satisfaction was short-lived, as he heard a voice he never expected to find in this city.
"We are the Earth King's humble servants."
Azula! Kal El thought. He immediately blurred to the palace, where Azula was disguised as a Kyoshi Warrior. He ran past everyone present and took Azula, and within seconds tossed her into a cell beneath the palace.
"What the… Kal!" Azula said.
"What have you done with the real Kyoshi Warriors?" Kal El demanded.
"They got in my way" Azula said. "They're on their way to the Boiling Rock, should be there in a month."
"In that case it's only reasonable that you rot in this cell" Kal El said. "I don't know what your plan is, but this will surely slow it down." The he walked out the cell, closed the door, and welded it shut with firevision. Even if someone picked the lock or had the key the door won't open. For good measure he told the guards to keep a constant watch on the new prisoner.
However Kal El didn't realize that Long Feng was in a nearby cell, and overheard everything. He recognized the name Azula called Kal, and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. 'Clark' was Kal El, the Fire Lord's missing Super Soldier, and the 'Kyoshi Warrior' was from the Fire Nation. Long Feng devised a plan to use her to take back control of the city.
A/N: Azula's deception as a Kyoshi Warrior should have never worked in canon. First Sokka should have at least said hello to Suki before leaving, which would have exposed Azula. Second Katara was there and should have introduced the Warriors, again exposing Azula. Third, Kuei should have asked for a demonstration of their fighting ability, and while Azula 'might' have passed Ty Lee and Mai wouldn't have been able to replicate the Kyoshi fighting style and be exposed.
Having Kal El fall for it here would be inexcusable, especially with super-hearing and knowing exactly what Azula sounds like.