Avenging Avatar Book 2- Earth

by TheWriterForGod42

After defeating the Fire Nation and starting to master the element of water, Aang, Steve, Sokka, Thor, Momo, Appa, Katara and Natasha all head back to the Earth Kingdom to both look for the remaining three Avengers while trying to find Aang an earthbending teacher. But the combined forces of the Fire Nation and Hydra will throw all they have at the group.

7. Chapter 7: Zuko Alone

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Avatar the Last Airbender or the Avengers (MCU), only the story. Avatar the Last Airbender and its characters belongs to Nickelodeon and Avengers belongs to Marvel. I apologize for any errors in grammar and/or if I was not accurate in reference to something.

A/N: This is gonna be a great chapter.

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Katara: Water, Soldier, Mechanist, God, Earth, Fire, Spy, Archer, Monster, Air

(One by one, eight figures do something to show off their skills: the Waterbender weaves a stream of water from the ground, around him and then thrusts it towards the side, the soldier blocks an attack with his shield before throwing it, the mechanist has armor envelope him and then uses the repulsor on his hand to blast something on the side, the god holds a powerful hammer high to summon a bolt of lightning, the Earthbender kicks the ground bringing up a large rock before he kicks it away, the Firebender twists around as she summons fire from her foot before doing a high kick to the ground and makes the flames spread, the spy drops down from above and displays a few moves, the archer rolls across the ground and fires a few arrows, and finally the monster comes down from a jump and smashes his huge fists on the ground, the Airbender drops down and then with a circle of his arms he creates a blast of wind.)

Katara: Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

(Docked on a shore, five Fire Nation ships with the Hydra insignia released their soldiers. With a jump forward and a palm thrust, the firebenders released a wave of fire as the Hydra soldiers used their advanced technology.)

Katara: Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

(The Avatar, a man with a crown on his head and dressed in robes stands on a pillar of stone as he bent the four elements of water, earth, fire and air to show his skill in the arts of bending. After releasing a powerful disk of wind, he disappears from existence.)

Katara: A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar: an Airbender named Aang and met the team called the Avengers.

(The water tribe siblings find a young Airbender frozen in block of ice. After freeing him, they are then joined by heroes called Captain America, Ironman, Thor, Hulk, Clint, and Natasha.)

Katara: And although with the teams help and his airbending skills are great, hehas a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.

(At an Air Nomad path, Aang creates an air scooter and starts to have fun with it. But when he expands his circle a little bit, he runs right into a statue. He rolls over onto his back as all six of the Avengers then poke their heads from behind the statue to check on him.)

Katara: But I believe the Avengers and Aang can save the world.

(Aang, Steve, Katara, Tony, Thor, Bruce, Sokka, Clint, Toph and Natasha stand side by side, looking down at the world on a mountain's peak for a moment as the reader's view is turned upwards to the sun.)

Nickelodeon and Marvel

The Avenging Avatar

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Avatar Roku: Previously, on Avenging Avatar…

A few years ago, a younger Prince Zuko stood in an Agni Kai arena. The shadowy figure of his father stood on the other end. Seeing that he would have to fight him, Zuko fell to his knees and pleaded, "Please, Father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart."

"You will learn respect." Fire Lord Ozai said as he approached his son. The crowd watched as Prince Zuko lowered his head. Ozai stopped in front of Zuko as he said, "And suffering will be your teacher."

Not too long ago, Zuko approached his uncle and said what was on his mind, "We no longer have anything to gain by traveling together." Iroh's smile fell when he heard this, "I need to find my own way."

Zuko picked up the pack before slinging it on his back and walking away. But before he could get too far, Iroh gave him the ostrich horse.

When he was all alone, a man with a small beard and wearing brown robes appeared. The man smiled at him and said, "Don't worry about your nephew. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Who are you exactly?" Iroh asked the stranger.

"Well, my real name is Tony Stark." The man said with a grin. He opened up his tunic a little, surprising Iroh with a glowing device and said, "But some people call me Iron Man."

During the Siege of the North Pole, Zuko had Aang's body bound as they were hiding in a cave. He looked out into the blizzard and said, "You're like my sister. My father says that she was born lucky. He says that I was lucky to be born.

"But I don't need luck, though. I've always had to struggle and fight, and that's made me strong." Zuko said as he thought about his life so far. He thought of the friends and family that's stuck by his side. Turning to his right and hanging his head he sounded proud, "It's made me who I am."

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Book Two: Earth

Chapter Seven: Zuko Not So Alone

It was a very warm spring morning in the Earth Kingdom as a man riding on the back of an ostrich horse walked along. The man riding on the back of the bird horse was the disguised Prince Zuko. The banished Firebender kept a stoic face as he rode through a rocky terrain. He had been riding through the Earth Kingdom for several days now and it was starting to take a toll on both him and the ostrich horse. His steed stumbled a bit as it passed by a tree but continued going.

They soon came across an old wooden bridge built high above a wide river. The wood creaked when the ostrich horse went across. But after taking a few steps, the ostrich horse's leg went through the old wood and Zuko fought to control the struggling animal. The ostrich horse was able to free itself before continuing forward. When they were across and out of sight, a man in a brown tunic and a small beard on his face came upon the bridge. Scratching the top of his head he said, "Guy kind of tends to leave a trail."

But he continued to walk after Zuko.

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It was much later into the day as Zuko continued to ride along. When he sniffed the air, the smell of meat came to his nostrils. Stopping the ostrich horse, Zuko looked around before looking down a hill. He could see a slab of meat roasting over a fire. The sight of meat caused him to clutch his stomach as it growled quietly. Deciding to get a meal in order to keep going, Zuko placed his hand on the hilt of his swords. But before he went to make a move against the man, he saw the guy getting up and walking over to a woman sitting under a dried-up tree. When he took a closer look, he saw that the woman was pregnant. Deciding to do the right thing, Zuko removed his hand from his weapons before carrying on.

The man had appeared on top of the hill and had seen the whole thing. He gave an approving smile and said, "Well done, kid."

Keeping out of sight of the couple, he continued to follow after Zuko.

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The sun was shining harshly down on Prince Zuko and the ostrich horse as they trudged along. His steed groaned quietly as they walked through an old battlefield. Blackened and dusty earth coins were littered all over the place. Zuko raised the water pouch to his lips, but became disappointed when he found that it was empty. With a sigh he moved it away from his mouth. As they continued through the battlefield, Zuko began to feel the effects of the heat and fatigue in his body and started dozing off. But he was able to snap himself out of it as he gasped and sat up straight. He wasn't able to keep himself from dozing again and his eyes closed.

He saw a woman smiling in the dark. She turned and walked away while lifting a hood over his head. But he remembered that the woman was his mother when she had disappeared. Prince Zuko once again snapped out of his daze and continued to ride. But after the ostrich horse took a few more steps, Zuko once again dozed off and started to fall off the ostrich horse. Luckily, a pair of hands caught him before he could hit the ground. The man, Tony Stark, shook his head before looking down at the exhausted Prince Zuko and said, "Kid, you gotta stop pushing yourself."

"Unh." Was all that Prince Zuko said. With a sigh, Tony said, "All right, up we go."

The ostrich horse stood still as it allowed Tony to place Zuko back onto its back. When he was securely seated, Tony kept a hand on Zuko's side while motioning for the ostrich horse to move forward. It brayed before it started walking again.

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It was early in the afternoon when Tony, Zuko and the ostrich horse came to the outskirts of a small village. Tony once again sighed before shaking Zuko's shoulder. It was enough to snap the prince out of his daze. He looked about, "What? Huh?"

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty." Tony said from the side. Zuko looked to his right and saw him standing there. Narrowing his eyes he said, "I remember you from the other village. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I did manage to catch you after you fell off your bird horse. So, you're welcome for that." Tony stated with a shrug. Zuko looked away from him for a moment before Tony continued, "And I've been watching over you since you and your pointy bearded uncle split apart."

"You've been following us. And you're still following me." The Fire Nation prince angrily questioned. He clenched fist and smoke started to come from it. Tony held up his hands and said, "Ah, ah. I wouldn't do that. Wouldn't want to make the town suspicious."

"They're all the way over there." Zuko shouted when he pointed to the village. Tony nodded, "True, but I bet even from a distance that an Earth Kingdom village can tell what firebending looks like from a distance."

"Erh!" Zuko growled before calming down as he knew that Tony was right. Tony then said, "Look. I promised your uncle that I would keep an eye on you."

"I can take care of myself." Zuko snapped and glared at him. But Tony didn't look deterred when he said, "You think that it's been easy watching over you when you've basically been riding for nearly six days straight. I had to make some educated guesses to where you had gone and I'm just thankful that I was able to keep up with you."

Zuko just scoffed and started to head into town. Tony watched him go before saying, "I'm not following you. I'm just heading into town too."

"Ugh!" Was all that Zuko said as they continued into town.

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Everyone in town was hustling and bustling as Tony and Zuko walked in. Though he was keeping his distance, the wearer of the Iron Man suit kept up with the Fire Nation teen. Zuko looked about the streets before guiding the ostrich horse in a certain direction. Up ahead they saw a group of men in Earth Kingdom uniforms squatting and playing a game. One of the men raised his fist and shook it as he said, "Come on, spider snake eyes!"

He threw a pair of dice down and they tumbled when they landed. They both stopped on a pair of fives and the man looked happy. The others looked a little miffed while he raised his fists and cheered, "Ha, ha! Yeah!"

His friends responded by lightly punching him in the gut. The man in the back gave a small smirk and shook his head. The sound of the groaning ostrich horse made them look up to see Zuko coming up to the stall behind them. The leader's grin fell when he looked to Zuko and had a feeling about him. The disguised prince also cast a glance to him as well while Tony stayed back a bit. Zuko hopped off of the ostrich horse's saddle and walked up to the stall. An old man with a pair of orange tinted glasses and a small mustache was running it. Zuko held out a few coins in his palm and asked, "Could I get some water, a bag of feed for the ostrich horse and something hot to eat?"

"Sorry to say, but not enough here for a hot meal." The old man said with a shake of his head. But then he shrugged as he offered, "I can get you two bags of feed."

Zuko only sighed before accepting the man's offer. But a voice from his right said, "Maybe I can sweeten the deal a bit."

Both Zuko and the vendor looked to Tony as he walked up. He pulled a few more coins out of his pocket and then asked, "There enough right here?"

"It would seem so." The vendor nodded before heading into the back. Zuko looked to him and said, "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Well, I like helping out where I can." Tony countered with a grin. He looked over to the four men in uniforms while Zuko glanced back as well. They almost didn't hear the sound of giggling as two boys hid around a corner. One handed the other an egg and the boy stood up. Then flinging his arm forward, he threw the egg at one of the soldiers. It smacked him in the back of the head and the soldier cried, "Ow!"

The others looked to him as the yolk started to drip. Tony and Zuko watched as the boys quickly high tailed it out of there. All four soldiers looked to see the two standing there and got up. Tony turned fully to the stand and said, "Soldier boys coming in at our six."

But Zuko didn't say anything as the lead soldier said, "Hey!" They walked over and questioned, "One of you throwing eggs at us, strangers?"

"No." Zuko simply said without looking back. The lead soldier looked to Tony, but the inventor shook his head, "Sorry, pal, but already had my breakfast."

One of the soldiers snickered before being silenced by a look from the others. Their leader then questioned, "Either of you did see who threw it?"

"No." Both answered at the same time, covering for the boys. Zuko turned and placed his hand on the joined hilt his duel swords while Tony held out a hand to calm him. The leader happened to take notice. One of the soldiers then asked, "That your favorite word, "no"?"

"Egg had to have come from somewhere." The leader pointed out. Zuko turned and suggested, "Maybe a chicken flew over."

The same soldier laughed as he found it funny. But another look from the boss shut him up. Tony stepped between Zuko and the soldiers and asked, "Look, egg could have come from anywhere." With a shrug he added, "But getting worked up over it isn't gonna help anyone."

The vendor came out with the two bags of feed, but just as Zuko was about to make a grab for it, the leader came up and grabbed them first. Looking between the two he said, "Thanks to the both of you for your contribution." He tossed them to his comrades and said, "The Earth Kingdom army appreciates your support."

They started to leave, but the leader turned and warned them, "But if I were either of you, you better leave town." He then added, "The penalty for staying here is a lot more than either of you can afford." He patted one of his hammers, "Trust me."

"We'll keep that in mind." Tony said as he slightly glared at the lead soldier. The soldier turned and left them alone. The shopkeeper had a glare when he explained about the soldiers, "Those soldiers are supposed to be protecting the people of this town from the Fire Nation and Hydra. But they're just a bunch of thugs."

Zuko walked back to the ostrich horse while Tony and the shopkeeper was looked to him. But just as the disguised prince was about to get on, one of the boys from earlier popped his head up on the other side. The kid had a smile and he said, "Thanks for not ratting me and my friend out, guys."

"No prob, kid." Tony said and joined them. Zuko just hopped up onto the ostrich horse and started to take off. The boy looked to Tony and asked, "Uh…?"

"Don't take it too personally, kid." Tony said as they watched him go. The young man got an idea, ran forward and said, "I can take the two of you to my house and feed your ostrich horse for you guys."

"His ostrich horse, really." Tony said and pointed to Zuko. But Zuko didn't seem to eager to take up his offer. With a shake of his head, "No, thanks."

"Come on, I owe you guys one." The boy said and pulled the ostrich horse along. He looked back and asked Tony, "You coming, Mister?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm coming." Tony said before following after them. They walked out of town and headed down a road. Though he wasn't too keen on going with them, Zuko did think that at least a meal would do him some good.

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The three soon arrived on a farm and both Zuko and Tony were a little astonished to see a bunch of pig mixed hybrids all around the place. Zuko had hopped off of the ostrich horse and continued to follow after the boy with Tony as they walked. As they passed, by all the cow-pigs, sheep-pigs, chicken-pigs and maybe a few other kinds of pig hybrids, they were all grunting, squealing or clucking about. The boy looked between them and pointed out, "No one can ever sneak up on us."

"Tch. No kidding." Zuko turned his head to the boy. Tony shrugged and said, "You've got one heck of a security system here, little man."

Zuko stopped while the boy, Tony and ostrich horse all went ahead. The disguised prince looked to his left to see a rooster-pig standing on a post. The pig hybrid was looking at him before letting loose an odd squawk. A man walked out of the house and asked Tony and Zuko, "You two friends of Lee's?"

Lee came running out of the barn with a smile on his face. His father looked to him when he pointed to Tony and Zuko, "These guys just stood up to the soldiers. By the end of it, they practically had them running away."

"Does these guys have a name?" A woman, obviously Lee's mother, asked as she came out of the house. Zuko was a little worried when he tried to come up with a name, "I'm, uh…"

"They don't have to say who they are if he doesn't want to, Sela." The father quickly said. He had a smile when he said, "Anyone who can hold their own against those bully soldiers in the town are welcome here.

"Those men should be very ashamed to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms." He shook his head. Sela looked up and said, "The real soldiers are off fighting in the war," Lee smiled when his mom said, "like Lee's big brother, Sensu."

Neither Tony or Zuko said anything but Selena then said, "Supper's going to be ready soon." Then she offered, "Would the two of you like to stay?"

"I can't." Zuko shook his head. This caused the family's face to fall. He then turned to the barn, "I really should be moving on."

"Well, if he won't take it freely…" Tony said and stopped Zuko with a hand. Tony then suggested, "Then maybe we can earn it."

Zuko wanted to argue, but Selena then said, "I guess that could work. Gansu here could use some help fixing up the barn. Why don't the three of you work on it for a while and then we'll eat?"

"Sounds like a plan." Tony nodded in agreement. Looking to Zuko he said, "That sound good with you?"

Zuko's only response was a nod and the three moved to get started on the barn. The animals had quieted down as the three men worked. Zuko, Tony and Gansu all sat on their knees as they hammered some nails into tiles for the roof. They worked for about an hour and had covered a majority of the roof. Lee climbed up the later and looked to Zuko before asking, "You don't seem like you're from around here."

Zuko stopped hammering for a moment before shaking his head. Lee looked to Tony and asked, "What about you?"

"Same as him." Tony said while still working. Lee then asked, "Where are the two of you from?"

"Far away." Was all that Zuko said without giving too much away. Tony glanced at the kid and said, "Very far away."

"Oh…" Lee said as if it explained a lot. And just as both Tony and Zuko were about to hit another nail into a tile, Lee asked, "Where are you guys going?"

It made them stop in mid-swing and one of them became annoyed by the constant questions. Gansu looked to his youngest child and said, "Lee, give it a rest. Stop asking these two such personal questions, got it?"

"Yes, sir." A dejected Lee sighed and leaned his face against the ladder. But after the three men swung the hammer a few more times, Lee looked to Zuko again and asked, "So how'd you get that scar?"

The question made Zuko miss the nail and instead whacked the hammer against thumb, "Ow!"

"Ooh." Tony winced while Lee looked a little surprised. Gansu then said, "Lee. It's not nice to bother people about things they might not want to talk about." What he said surprised both Zuko and Tony, "A man's past is his own business."

"Sounds like something my old man would say." Tony shrugged and had a slight grin on his face. Gansu looked to Tony and asked, "What was your father like?"

"He was strict, but he also had his moments that showed that he cared." Tony said with a smile. Zuko on the other hand thought that his father and Tony's would be nothing alike as he started to think about his childhood as he continued working.

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Long ago…

It was a nice day over a pond as its waters were still. But soon that stillness was broken when a woman gently dipped her finger into the water and created ripples. The ripples seemed to attract a turtle-duck as it quacked and swam over to her. The woman turned her hand over and opened it to reveal a few bread crumbs. A little turtle-duck swam over and took the crumb from her hand as its siblings and mother soon joined it. Sitting by the woman was a young man and both were wearing royal Fire Nation clothing. The boy looked to the woman and said, "Hey, Mom, do you want to see how Azula feeds the turtle ducks?"

The boy then chucked a huge loaf of bread at one of the turtle-ducks and it created a huge splash. But the mother looked to her son and questioned, "Zuko! Why would you do such a thing?"

The little turtle-duck resurfaced and shook off the excess water from it before the mother turtle-duck swam over to it. Then with an angry quack, the mother turtle-duck made a beeline for Prince Zuko before biting him on the ankle. He cried out in pain, "Ow!" He tried to shake her off, but the mother turtle-duck wouldn't let go, "Ow! Ow!

"Ow!" Zuko cried when his mother carefully removed the turtle-duck from Zuko's ankle. She set the angry mother back in the pond as the turtle-duck quacked before swimming away. The turtle-duck looked back before giving a few harsh quacks before swimming off. All the little turtle-ducks followed after her with one racing to catch up to them. The young Prince Zuko sat where he hugged his knees and glared, "Stupid turtle duck!" He looked away and said, "Why'd she go and do that?"

"Zuko…" His mother said as she sat beside him. Knowing from experience she said, "that's what moms are like." He calmed down a little when she wrapped her arms around him, "If you mess with their babies…" She teased him by pretending to take a bite, "They're going to bite you back."

Zuko started laughing as they held each other close. Mother and son rose from their spots and started to walk back into the palace. They soon came to another section of the grounds that had a few trees here and there while a fountain sat in the middle of it. Three little girls were currently playing about. Well, two were, the third was currently sitting under the tree. The younger Princess Azula started to do a cartwheel, but fell on her back at the end. The younger Ty Lee came cartwheeling across the courtyard finishing up with a midair spin before landing on both feet and raising her arms. Feeling a little jealous, Azula got up before shoving Ty Lee to the ground. Azula started laughing while Ty Lee looked to her friend and said, "Azula!"

The younger Mai was playing with her fingers when she looked to her left. Her face was slightly surprised when she saw Prince Zuko walking with his and Azula's mother. Her cheeks started to blush and she quickly looked away with a smile before he could see. But Azula happened to be watching it before looking to her brother. And just as Ty Lee rose back onto her feet, Azula leaned to her and started whispering to her, "Watch this."

Ty Lee giggled as she knew that Azula had something funny in mind. Azula ran up to the walk way and said, "Mom, can you please make Zuko play with us? We need equal teams to play a game."

"I am not cartwheeling." Zuko refused. Azula crossed her arms and looked miffed with her brother when she said, "You won't have to. Cartwheeling's not a game." Then she muttered, "Dum-dum."

"I don't care. I don't want to play with you." Prince Zuko still refused. Azula uncrossed her arms and said, "We are brother and sister." Then trying to make it sound like a good thing she said, "It's very important for the two of us to spend time together." Looking to their mother she asked, "Don't you think so, Mom?"

"Yes, darling." Ursa agreed as she did have a point. Looking to Zuko she said, "I think that it's a good idea for you to play with your sister." She rubbed the top of his head, "Go on now." Ursa walked off to leave them alone, "Just for a little while."

Prince Zuko sighed before joining his sister and her friends out in the yard. Azula walked over to an apple tree before plucking a fruit from the branch, "Okay. Here's the way it goes."

All four children walked across the grounds before stopping at the fountain. Both Zuko and Mai didn't look very amused by what Azula was planning for the game but didn't say anything. Setting Mai in front of the water fountain, Azula then placed the apple on her friend's head while explaining, "Now what you need to do is, try to knock the apple off the other person's head.

"Like this." Azula said before joining Zuko and Ty Lee. Mai looked up to the apple on her head before looking to Azula with an unamused look. The princess brought her left hand close before extending her arm and throwing a small jet of fire from her two fingers. The flame hit the apple at the top and it made Mai very worried about before she looked to the others. Zuko decided to try a different approach by running at the apple, and Mai in the process. Mai screamed as he came right at her. Zuko was able to knock the apple off of Mai's head, but also ended up knocking Mai off her feet. Both of them fell into the fountain with a splash and it caused both Azula and Ty Lee to start laughing at them. Azula looked to the Ty Lee and said, "See, Ty Lee, I told you that it would work."

"Aww, they're so cute together." Ty Lee said as she looked between the two in the fountain. Both Mai and Zuko were glaring at the two. While Zuko stomped out and away from the fountain, Mai stood up and said, "You two are such…" She couldn't think of the right words, "ugh!"

Zuko stomped across the walk way just as Ursa came walking down the steps. When she saw him she held up a scroll and said, "I was just coming to get you and Azula. Uncle Iroh has sent us a letter from the war front." She then noticed the state of her son and commented, "You're soaking wet."

"Girls are crazy!" Prince Zuko shouted as he walked right past her. Ursa could only quirk a brow as she had no idea what was going on.

The three had reconvened in another room in the palace. Ursa unrolled the scroll and began to read what Iroh had wrote to them…

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When Iroh wrote the letter…

There was a large V-shaped hole in a towering wall. A large pile of rubble sat at the bottom while the Fire Nation forces made camp there. Iroh sat at a table with two Firebenders standing guard and wrote the letter, "If the city is as magnificent as its wall. Ba Sing Se must be something to truly behold. I hope that you all may see it someday…" He laughed a little when he joked, "if we do not burn it to the ground first."

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Ursa held the letter in her hands as they all lightly laughed from Iroh's joke. Ursa then continued to read, "Until then, Prince Zuko, Princess Azula, please enjoy these gifts."

Zuko and Azula looked over to a couple of servants that held objects on pillows. The two ran over and Zuko stopped by a servant that held a blade in its case. Ursa read, "For Zuko, a pearl dagger from the general who surrendered when we broke through the outer wall.

"Note the inscription and the superior craftsmanship." Ursa read while Zuko unsheathed the blade. Looking down at the inscription he read, "Never give up without a fight."

"And for Azula, a new friend." Ursa read when the princess approached the servant. She didn't seem too keen on her present as she picked up a stuffed doll. The doll was wearing fancy Earth Kingdom clothing as Ursa continued, "She wears the latest fashion for Earth Kingdom girls."

"Yuck!" Azula cringed at the sight of it. An idea crossed her mind and a grin formed on her face as she asked, "If Uncle doesn't make it back from war, then Dad would be next in line to be Fire Lord, wouldn't he?"

"Azula, we don't speak that way." Ursa scolded her daughter while Zuko started carefully swinging his blade around. Ursa thought the notion would be heartbreaking, "It would be very awful if Uncle Iroh didn't return to us.

"And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is still a picture of health." She reminded. Zuko stopped playing around and turned to his sister before questioning, 'How would you like it if Cousin Lu Ten wanted our Dad to die?"

"I still think that our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than his royal, tea-loving kookiness." Azula stated as she looked at the doll in her hand. She held it out from her before setting it ablaze. The young princess looked to her mother and brother before adding, "And I think that Johann would say the same thing if he were here at the moment."

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Present…

Back in town, the soldiers were currently enjoying some grub at a local joint. But while the three with the spears were enjoying what they had, their leader looked as if he were thinking really hard about something. One of the soldiers looked to their boss and said, "Hey, Gow? What's wrong with you? You better eat or something?"

"Just can't stop thinking about those two newcomers." Gow said and placed his hands together on the table. One of the other soldiers shrugged and said, "What about them? They aren't worth our time. They're probably long gone as we speak."

"I'm not so sure." Gow shook his head. Another voice said, "And you'd be right about that, my friend."

Everyone in the joint looked to the doors to see a man dressed in fancy looking clothes and glasses walk in. He walked up to the soldiers and they all gave him questioning looks. The man gestured to himself and he said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Justin Hammer. My associates, who are not here at the moment, and I are following up on a lead about two dangers fugitives."

"We didn't get any word about fugitives here, stranger." Gow said and narrowed his eyes. Justin chuckled and said, "I highly doubt that you would have." Removing his glasses he said, "Because they aren't Earth Kingdom fugitives. They've been more on the Fire Nation and Hydra's bounty for quite some time."

"Bounty?" One of the soldiers asked, a little interested. But Gow stopped him by raising his hand. Standing up he questioned, "You know what these guys look like?"

"I do, but I think you already met them today." Justin said as he put his glasses back on. With a smirk he said, "They came into town this afternoon."

Gow's eyes widened to this news. But he narrowed them again as he questioned, "What do you and the Fire Nation gain from this?"

"What we gain is taking a few pieces from the board if you understand my meaning." Justin said as if it were obvious. Then he said, "Plus, not only will I make sure that this town stays off the warpath of my associates, but I'll also throw in a sack of gold to compensate for your troubles."

This got all four soldiers intrigued and Gow asked him, "We'll conduct a search in the morning. And we'll report our findings."

"I'm glad that we could come to an understanding, gentleman." Justin said before taking his leave. But before he left, I'll be sure to be in town. I have the money, just bring them to me."

"Sounds good to us." Gow said and Justin walked out the door.

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After finishing up the barn and having dinner, Gansu and his family had allowed both Tony and Zuko to sleep in the barn for the night. But as they laid against on either side of the hay, Zuko had a lot on his mind and couldn't get to sleep write away. Deciding to at least pass the time, Zuko looked to the side of the pile of hay and asked, "Um, hey, are you awake?"

"Who's to say." Tony said as he still had his eyes closed. But he opened them anyway and asked, "What's on your mind, kid?"

"A lot at the moment." Zuko said as he turned to lay on his back. He then asked, "How long exactly have you been following me and my uncle for?"

"Ever since you took those girls' ostrich horse." Tony said. Then he added, "But you might want to be careful, an agent of Hydra was also following after you."

"Thanks for the advice." Zuko said with an eye roll. But then he asked, "Why exactly are you following after me?"

"Because I've done the whole lone crusader bit once or twice myself." Tony said as he thought about it. Then he said, "Plus, considering who's chasing after us both, we could use all the help that we can get."

Zuko pondered about what Tony was saying and agreed with him on that much. Zuko asked, "Aren't you going to find your friends? I'm pretty sure that they're all together by now."

"In due time, but right now, you and your uncle need me a little more." Tony said. Zuko was about to say something when they heard the creaking of the barn door. They both pretended to be asleep as Lee quietly snuck into the barn. Lee made sure to stick to the shadows as he quietly snuck up on Zuko's side of the pile of hay. The boy looked down to the sleeping prince before looking to the sheathed swords hanging up on the wall. Lee gently started to lift it when Zuko shuffled in the hay, making him freeze for a moment. But when Zuko or Tony didn't get up from their spot, Lee carefully took the swords off the wall before quietly making his way out of the barn. When the barn door shut, Zuko opened an eye and looked to the door. Both he and Tony sat up and the latter asked, "Where do you think he's going?"

"No idea." Zuko said before getting up. Tony got up as well before reaching into a pocket. He held out his hand with something sitting in his palm. Zuko looked down at it and asked, "What's this?"

"Let's just say that it's an alarm for me. It'll let me know if you're in trouble." Tony explained. Gesturing to a button at the top with his thumb he said, "Tap this so I'll be able to get the alert and track you."

"Uh, okay." Zuko said before warily taking it. Placing it in his pocket he asked, "What's your name?"

"Call me Tony." Tony Stark said with a grin. Zuko walked out of the barn and when he turned his head to the left, he saw Lee quickly yet quietly making his way down the road.

\_|_/

Lee soon came to a stop in a huge field of sunflowers before unsheathing the combined blades. Splitting them apart, Lee started swinging them around and hacking off a few flower heads in the process, "Hah!

"Heh! Hah!" The boy shouted when he swung the blades again. He slashed some more as he jumped and spun through the air. When he came back down he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Then he looked to his right at the dead tree before starting to impale it with the blades. He soon was out of breath as he continued to plunge them. Zuko quietly walked up behind Lee before saying, "You're holding them all wrong."

Him surprising Lee caused the boy to fall back with a yell and disappeared in the sunflowers. Lee slowly came back up and faced Zuko with a sunflower on his head. Knowing that he had been caught, Lee stood up and held the swords to Zuko. Zuko took them, but instead of being angry with Lee, he said, "You need to keep this in mind, these are dual swords-" He brought them together in their combined form, "two halves of a single weapon."

He moved back a few feet to demonstrate what he was talking about. He fluidly swung them around as he said, "Don't be thinking of them as separate weapons, because they're not." He moved and swung again, "They're just two different parts of the same whole."

Zuko quickly spun around before slicing the heads off of a few more flowers with the left blade. Maneuvering the blades to where they sat horizontally in his arms, Zuko walked back over to Lee and presented him with the duel swords. Lee carefully took them before moving his arms and the blades like how Zuko had. He spun them around before turning and rushing at the tree. Then with a yell he was able to use the blade in his right hand to slice off a stick from the dead tree. Zuko was a little surprised and impressed with how fast Lee learned that. When he landed, Lee looked over to Zuko who had a smile and nodded in approval. Lee gave a happy grin before he and Zuko started to make their way back to the farm.

"I think that you'd like my brother Sensu. Even your friend would too." Lee said as they walked down the path. Lee had a smile when he said, "He used to show me stuff like all the time when he was around."

"I'm sure that he'll be home soon." Zuko said with a reassuring smile. Lee still had a smile on his face as he appreciated Zuko's words.

\_|_/

They made it back to the farm and Lee quickly snuck back into the house. Zuko then entered the barn to find Tony sitting on the pile of hay. He had a grin on his face when he asked, "So? How'd it go?"

"I didn't chew him out or burn him to a crisp if that's what you're asking." Zuko said as he walked over to the pile of hay. He happened to notice that Tony was working on something and asked, "What are you working on, exactly?"

"Just my next project." Tony said as he continued to tinker to the best of his ability. He looked down to his project and said, "J.A.R.V.I.S. see how long it would take to get the program up and running?"

Zuko became both confused and weirded out by Tony apparently talking to himself. But he was surprised to hear a voice say, "About a few hours at least, Mister Stark."

"Who or what was that?" Zuko asked and looked about the barn. Tony then said, "Oh, that's just J.A.R.V.I.S. My personal assistant in helping me run things of my company or helping me make my armors. Which I am currently doing right now."

"Not going to be much of a set of armor without a forge." Zuko said as he thought that any other way would be impossible. Tony smirked and said, "Well, that's the thing about working towards the future."

"I have finished running the numbers." J.A.R.V.I.S. informed his creator. Tony then asked, "And?"

"With the repairs that you have made now and the past few months, function has been restored." The A.I. told him. Tony nodded and said, "Looks like I'm pretty much back in action."

"With what?" Zuko asked, not understanding. Tony smirked and said, "Give me a minute."

Zuko stood and waited as Tony placed the object on his wrist. The inventor explained, "What you're about to see is completely revolutionary."

"Just show me." Zuko said, both kind of wanting to see what he was talking about and wanting to get back to sleep. Tony came down from the pile of hay and smirked, "Very well then."

Extending his arms out as he removed the tunic covering him, Zuko's eyes widened to what he was seeing. Tony's chest was covered in red and yellow metal plating. The armor suddenly extending over his hands and face. When his face was fully covered, the spots where his eyes were lit up. Tony could see that Zuko's jaw had dropped at the sight and he said, "Can't believe your eyes, can you?"

"I know that I shouldn't be that surprised, seeing the other Avengers in action." Zuko said as it was amazing. He pointed to Iron Man and said, "But that was truly something to witness."

"Yeah, I know. I'm amazing." Tony said as the metal retracted and he picked up the tunic. Zuko then asked, "Doesn't it get hot in that thing?"

"It really would if it didn't have a cooling unit." Tony said as he covered it back up. Then he said, "And you know, this isn't the first time that I've had a set of armor in a barn."

"Really?" Zuko asked, feeling a little curious at the moment. Tony laid against the pile of hay again. Zuko joined him and laid down as well. Tony looked up to the ceiling and started his story, "Well, before I get to that, maybe I should go back a little to when I first built the Iron Man suit."

\_|_/

The next morning, Zuko and Tony started getting ready for hitting the road. Gansu, Sela and Lee all came walking out. Selena had two lunch boxes and handed one to each of them, "Here. These ought to get you two through a few meals."

"Much appreciated, Miss Sela." Tony said with a nod. Selena had a grateful smile on her face as did Lee and Gansu. But the sound of rumbling came in the distance and everyone looked to see a huge dust cloud heading their way. They all looked to see the soldiers riding up to them on armored ostrich horses. Gansu glared at the incoming soldiers and questioned, "What do you suppose they're wanting?"

"Trouble." Tony and Zuko said as they could only think that was it. They all waited until the soldiers pulled up as all the pig hybrids started bleating and/or squealing. The soldiers stopped a few feet away from the group and Gansu questioned, "What do you want, Gow?"

"We're mostly here for these two fugitives." Gow said and pointed an accusing finger at the two. Gansu and his family looked to Zuko and Tony before the inventor retorted, "Last time I checked, we weren't fugitives of the Earth Kingdom."

The family looked over to Gow and the other soldiers. Gow glared when he said, "But you are at the top of the Fire Nation and Hydra's most wanted list."

"Well, last time I checked, any enemy of the Fire Nation and Hydra isn't so much of an enemy of ours." Gansu defended the two. Gow didn't look too happy with this and said, "If you aren't willing to give them up, or them coming quietly, then do the town a favor by really leaving this time."

"We'll keep that in mind." Zuko said as they all continued to glare at the soldiers. Gow started to turn his ostrich horse when one of the others said, "Don't forget the news you're supposed to give Gansu."

"Oh, right." Gow said before turning back to the family. Gansu's eyes narrowed and he questioned, "What news?"

"News came in early this morning, and I just thought someone ought to tell you that your son's battalion got captured." Gow said, even though he didn't look too upset about it. All five's eyes widened to the news. Gow looked to the other soldiers and asked them, "You boys remember what they said that the Fire Nation and Hydra did with their last group of Earth Kingdom prisoners?"

"Dressed them up in Fire Nation or Hydra uniforms and put them on the front line unarmed is the way I heard it." The soldier on the right said. He spit on the ground before darkly chuckling as he said, "Then they just watched it all go down."

"You watch your mouth!" Gansu angrily said to make them stop. Gow didn't like how Gansu was talking to them and rode his ostrich horse forward. But before he could get close enough, Zuko moved his ostrich horse in front of Gow's. Both sides glared at each other but didn't make a move against each other. But deciding that it wasn't worth it, Gow said, "Why should we bother rooting around in the mud with these here pigs?" He turned his ostrich horse before looking to the two and saying, "I mean it when I say to get out. Hear me."

"Loud and clear." Tony said before the group rode off the farm. The group caused a large dust cloud behind them as they rode off. But as they left, it caused Zuko to think about another time tragic news was given.

\_|_/

Long ago…

It was another day in the courtyard of the Fire Nation palace. Prince Zuko and Princess Azula laughed as they were playing in the yard. Azula chased after her brother across the grass while a servant stepped out into the yard. The servant carried a scroll in his hands and approached Ursa who was sitting under the apple tree by the fountain. She turned to the servant when he stopped and kneeled to present her with the scroll. Ursa thanked them before the servant took their leave. Ursa stood up as she read the scroll, but the news on the scroll broke her heart as tears rolled down her cheeks. Zuko and Azula stopped playing when the noticed the look on her face. They walked up to her and she told them, "Iroh has lost his son. Your cousin Lu Ten did not survive the battle."

Prince Zuko gasped to this while Azula did at least look a little sad. Tears started to roll down Zuko's cheeks as he hugged his mother.

\_|_/

Present…

"What's going to happen to my brother?" Lee asked as his parents were embracing themselves. Zuko hung his head and Tony looked to the boy. Gansu broke the embrace and told them, "I'm going to the front. I'm going to go find Sensu and bring him back to us."

Sela started to sob at the thought of losing one of her sons. Gansu started to walk off, but turned back to the two. He approached Zuko and Tony and said, "I wish the two of you luck on the road. No matter what those thugs say, you'll always be welcome on this farm."

"Thank you, Gansu." Tony said with a bow of his head. Zuko nodded in agreement. Tony then extended a hand and said, "I do hope you find your kid."

"Thanks." Gansu said with a nod and shook Tony's head. Gansu walked off with Sela following after him. Lee walked up to the two and asked, "When my dad goes, will the two of you stay? Please?"

"That's mostly for my friend here to decide." Tony said with a shrug. Zuko shook his head and said, "I'm sorry. But we need to be moving on."

Tony happened to catch notice of what Zuko said and gave a small smirk. Zuko then reached and pulled something out. He handed Lee the dagger that Uncle Iroh had given to him. With a small smile he said, "Here. I want you to have this."

Lee took the dagger and Zuko told him, "Read the inscription on the blade."

Lee unsheathed the small blade and read where it came from, "Made in Earth Kingdom."

"The other one." Zuko quickly said while Tony placed a hand over his mouth to cover a laugh. Turning the dagger around, Lee then read, "Never give up without a fight."

"Take care of yourself, kid." Tony said before the two started to head out. Lee watched them go before placing the cover back on the dagger. The ostrich horse bleated as it walked down the path with Tony right behind them. Lee watched them go until they disappeared into the distance.

As they walked, Tony looked to Zuko and said, "I noticed that you were in deep thought when Gow told the family the unfortunate news."

"Let's just say, that I went through something similar in my youth." Zuko said as they went along.

\_|_/

Near the outskirts of town, Gow stopped his men. One of the soldiers then asked, "Time for the next phase, sir?"

"Indeed." Gow nodded as they turned around. The captain smirked when he said, "We know that the one with the scar and Gansu's boy have a small friendship. And apparently the one with the small beard goes wherever Scarface goes."

"Then let's hurry back." Another soldier said as they all smirked. The four quickly thundered back to Gansu's farm to carry out their plan.

\_|_/

"Tony, there's something that I need to tell you." Zuko said when they stopped for a rest. They sat down on the grass and Tony asked, "What's on your mind?"

"It's something from my past." Zuko said and got started on his story

\_|_/

Long ago…

Zuko and Azula were in another room since not a lot was going on. Zuko once again had his dagger out and pretending to fight an enemy as he swung it around. Then groaned when he pretended that the imaginary enemy got him. Placing his free hand over his heart he fell to the floor with a thud. Azula, who wasn't impressed, shook her head and commented, "You waste all your time playing with knives. You're not even that good."

Zuko blushed in anger to that comment. He quickly got back up on his feet and retorted, "Let's put an apple on your head, and we'll find out just how good I am."

"By the way," Azula said getting up from her chair, "Uncle's coming home."

"Does that mean, we've won the war?" Zuko asked, not knowing what was happening. Azula glared as she said, "No, it means that Uncle's a quitter and a loser."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko questioned, knowing that wasn't true. He defended Iroh by saying, "Our uncle is not a quitter."

"Oh, yes he is." Azula argued as she went around one of the columns. When she faced her brother and said with an unimpressed look, "He found out that his son died and he just fell apart.

"A real general would stay and burn Ba Sing Se to the ground." She told her beliefs of what to do. Leaning up against the column she smirked when she said, "Not lose the battle and come home crying."

"How do you know what he should do?" Zuko questioned, thinking that Azula was being unfair to their uncle. He became sad about his cousin as he said, "He's probably just sad that his only kid is gone…" He hung his head when he added, "forever."

Ursa came walking into the room and said, "Your father has requested an audience with Fire Lord Azulon." Then she ushered, "Best clothes, hurry up."

"Fire Lord Azulon." Azula sneered at the name and title of her grandfather. Zuko ran past his mother as his sister then said, "Can't you just call him 'grandfather'? I mean, he's not exactly the powerful Fire Lord that he used to be." Ursa wasn't liking the way that Azula was talking even when she said, "Someone will probably be ending up taking his place soon."

"Young lady, not another word." Ursa reprimanded. But Azula just ran out of the room while Ursa gave her daughter a worried look, "What is wrong with that child?"

\_|_/

The family reconvened in Fire Lord Azulon's throne room. The four sat in a row a few feet from the flaming wall of fire while Azulon sat behind it. Ozai didn't glance to his children and asked, "And how was it that great-grandfather Sozin managed to win the battle of Han Twe?"

"Great-grandfather won because…" Zuko started as he turned to his grandfather, but couldn't seem to remember the lesson. Azula was quick to pick it up by saying, "Because even though his army was outnumbered, even with a small support from the Titan's forces, he cleverly calculated his advantages." Then she smirked when she said, "The enemy was downwind and there was a drought. Their defenses were burned to a crisp or obliterated in minutes."

"Correct, my dear." Prince Ozai commended and Azula was proud of herself. Ozai then said, "Now, would you show your grandfather the new moves that you have demonstrated to me, please?"

Azula rose from her spot before walking up to the throne. Fire Lord Azulon watched as his granddaughter prepared herself. Azula stood up straight an brought her arms in. Then she extended them out before raising them to where they were parallel with the ground. She faced her right and brought her left hand next to her right before bending once before returning to her normal stance. Then she moved her hands in a circular motion and held them to her belly before moving them in a circular motion before leaning backwards while keeping her hands close. Then she quickly turned to her left before extending both her right hand and foot out before launching two balls of fire from them. Then she turned and jumped before unleashing a blast of fire from her left palm at the floor on her right. From his spot, Ozai had a smirk on how well his daughter was performing. Azula did a few twists, spins and jumps while unleashing a blast of fire. At one point she sent a ball of fire out before bringing it back and sent it away and brought it back again. Zuko was watching in amazement and couldn't help but feel a little jealous about how well his sister was doing. Azula finished by rushing up to the throne and jumping up and unleashing a blast of fire with a kick. She landed in a kneeling position and bowed her head. Ozai then said, "She's a true prodigy. Just like her grandfather, for whom she's named. It was even foreseen by both Johann and Ebony when they visited us."

Azula walked back over to her family and sat down next to her brother. Leaning to Zuko she tauntingly whispered, "You'll never catch up."

It really irked Zuko for her to have said that. Deciding to prove her wrong, Zuko rose up and walked up to the throne. Looking up to his grandfather he said, "I'd like to demonstrate what I've been learning."

This made Ozai's grin fall into a frown. Standing straight just like his sister, Zuko waved his arms around before bending at the knees before extending his arms out just as Azula did. Then he brought his hands together before moving them in a circular motion. Then leaning back on one foot, Zuko accidentally set off a small flame. Fire Lord Azulon watched his grandson with mild interest as he had his hands clasped together while watching. Zuko jumped and tried to firebend while kicking, but fell short. His fall caused Ursa to nearly get up, but she stayed back when she saw that Zuko was alright. Zuko took deep breaths before becoming determined and got back up on his feet. He ran up to the throne and jumped up to kick a blast of fire, but once again ended up falling short and fell on his behind.

Azula smirked at her brother's failure while Ursa got up and rushed to her son's side. Tears flowed from Prince Zuko's eyes as he dejectedly said, "I failed."

"No." Ursa disagreed and brought him to where he faced her. With a kind and loving look she said, "I loved watching you. That's who you are, Zuko-" What she said next really inspired and comforted him at the moment, "Someone who just keeps on fighting, even though it's very hard."

"Prince Ozai," Fire Lord Azulon said, not sounding happy, "why are you wasting my time with this pup?!" Wanting to get it over with he said, "Just go ahead and tell me what you want." He dismissed the others by saying, "Everyone else, you may go."

Ursa, Zuko and Azula all rose off the ground and quickly made their way for the door. But as Ursa walked through the curtains, Azula grabbed Zuko's arm and pulled him off to the side. Zuko was looking very worried when he questioned, "What are you-"

But Azula shushed him as they hid behind the curtains. They moved to a spot and peeked behind the curtains. They saw their father still kneeling before their grandfather as he said, "Father, you must have realized, as I have, that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended. After his son's death, my older brother abandoned the siege of Ba Sing Se, and who knows when he will return home to us?

"But I am here, Father, and my children are alive." He continued while raising onto his feet. But Azulon didn't seem to be in the mood for this as he ordered, "Just say what it is you want already."

"Father," Ozai told him of his wish, "I ask that you revoke Iroh's birthright." Stepping closer to the throne he said, "I am your humble servant," He kneeled as he said, "here to serve you and our nation. Use me."

"You dare suggest that I betray Iroh, my firstborn?" Fire Lord Azulon questioned as he believed that it was a horrid thought. He became angrier when he said, "And directly after the demise of his only beloved son?

"You are just like your grandfather, my father, Ozai." Azulon said as the flames started to rise. He reminded, "He angered our first ally the Titan when he took things too far. And you are doing the same today. I think that Iroh has suffered enough, but you…" His anger greatly flared when he said, "your punishment has scarcely begun!"

The sight of his grandfather's anger made Zuko quickly run out of the throne room. But Azula cast one glance before looking back through the opening in the curtain.

\_|_/

Much later, Prince Zuko was laying in his bed. But he wasn't sleeping as what he heard and witnessed still played in his mind. The door to his bedroom opened and he sat up to see Azula leaning against the doorway. She said in a sing-song voice, "Dad's going to kill you." She had a smirk on her face when she looked to him, "Really, he is."

"Ha-ha, Azula." Zuko said as he sat up. He didn't believe it as he said, "Nice try there."

"Fine, don't believe me." Azula shrugged and walked into the room. But she sounded pretty confident when she said, "But I heard everything between Dad and Grandpa. Grandfather said that Dad's punishment should fit his crime."

She walked around the room and imitated her grandfather, "You must know the pain of losing a firstborn son, by sacrificing one of your own."

"Liar." Zuko said and looked away from her. Faking concern she said, "I'm only telling you for your own good." She pretended to think by saying, "I know. Maybe you could find a nice Earth Kingdom family to adopt you and live with."

"Stop it!" Zuko said, not wanting to believe her. Feeling that it wasn't true he said, "You're lying. Dad would never do that to me."

"Your father would never do what to you?" Ursa said, surprising the both of them. She walked into the room and questioned, "What is going on in here?"

"I don't know." Azula played off. But Ursa knew better and walked up to her daughter. Grabbing her wrist, Ursa said, "It's time that we had a talk, Azula."

She pulled Azula out of Zuko's room, but Zuko couldn't help but feel as if his sister was telling the truth. He repeated to himself to try and calm himself, "Azula always lies. Azula always lies."

\_|_/

Present…

"Azula always lies." Zuko said as he stared up at the sky. Tony looked to him and said, "Uh, you okay there?"

"Huh?" Zuko asked, snapping out of the flashback. Tony then said, "You were so wrapped up in telling your story that you looked kind of out of it."

"Sorry." Zuko said, looking away. But Tony was quick to say, "It's okay, kid. But back to what you were saying. Your dad said something about the Red Skull and someone called the "Titan, right?"

"Yeah." Zuko nodded as he looked back up to the clouds. He looked and sounded confused when he said, "I don't really know much about the Titan. Only that my great-grandfather apparently knew him."

"Hmm." Tony said as it got him thinking. Zuko glanced over to him and asked, "You think he might have something to do with what you told me last night?"

"Maybe." Tony said as he didn't have all the answers. But the sound of bleating made them both look to their left to see an ostrich horse coming down the road. The ostrich horse was pulling a cart along and Sela was the one at the reins. She looked relieved to see them, but sounded very worried when she said, "You have to help me! Please!"

"Easy, Sela. What's wrong?" Tony said and rose up from the grass. Sela got off the cart and said, "It's Lee. The soldier thugs that came after you came back to the farm as soon as Gansu left." She sounded confused when she explained, "They were mostly ordering us to give them food, but I feel like they were mostly there for you two. Then Lee pulled a knife on them!

"I don't even know where he got a knife." Sela shook her head. She started crying for her son as she said, "Then they took him away. They told me that if Lee's old enough to fight, then he's old enough to join the army."

"Heartless cowards." Tony muttered and clenched a fist. Sela then asked, "I know that we barely know the both of you, but…"

"Don't worry, Sela." Tony said and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked to them as Zuko said, "We're going to get your son back."

Both had glares at the thought of the men taking Lee like that.

\_|_/

The sun was starting to set when they made it back to town. Zuko had allowed Tony to ride with him so they would both be ready. When they pulled into the main gate, all the citizens started to move out of the way. Lee, who was tied up against the water tower, raised his head when he heard a familiar ostrich horse bleat. A smile formed on his face and he shouted, "Hey, there they are!"

It got the soldiers attention as they looked up from their game. Lee gave them a smug grin and said, "I told you that they'd come."

Both Tony and Zuko hopped off of the ostrich horse's back just as the soldiers rose from their spots. Gow came walking out of one of the buildings just as Zuko and Tony stepped away from the ostrich horse. Zuko removed his hat while Tony's hand tightly gripped his tunic. The soldiers moved between the two and Lee and Zuko demanded, "Let the kid go."

"I'd listen, man." Tony added. Gow just started laughing at the audacity of the two. But he became serious when he questioned, "Who do you two think you are, telling us what to do?"

"Mostly the guys who have the sense not to go picking on people, especially kids like him." Tony shot at him. Gow narrowed his eyes to this. Zuko then said, "It doesn't matter who I am." His eyes narrowed when he said, "But we know who you are. You're not soldiers, you're bullies; freeloaders, abusing your power in every which way possible. Mostly over the women and kids of this village.

"You don't want Lee in your army. You're just sick cowards messing with a family who's already lost one son to the war." Zuko deduced and was angered by it. Tony then questioned, "So how about you do us all a favor and let the kid go."

"That's all good and well." A familiar voice to Tony said. Everyone turned and looked to see Justin Hammers walk out of the building that Gow had come out of. Tony's eyes narrowed when he said, "Well, well, well. If it isn't Justin Hammers."

"Greetings, Tony." Justin said as if he were greeting an old friend. Zuko glanced to Tony and asked, "You know him?"

"Kind of. He once used the son of someone who used to work for my dad make rip offs of my armor and all that jazz." Tony explained without taking his eyes off of Justin. He didn't sound too happy when he said, "He's nothing more of a pathetic wannabe who wants to try and be me. He's even got an old suit of armor of mine."

"Not still mad about that, eh, Tony?" Justin said when the sound of thrusters made everyone look up. The Mark 42 dropped out of the sky and landed in a superhero pose behind Justin. When it fully stood up, Justin walked backwards before being engulfed by the armor. Tony's glare didn't fade as he said, "It still burns me up to this day."

Ripping off his tunic again, Tony revealed his set of armor. Holding out his arms, his hands were engulfed by the armor before the helmet came around his head. Both his shoes and his pants were shredded when the lower parts of the armor became active.

"Cool." Lee said when he saw the Iron Man armor. Justin laughed inside his stolen armor and said, "Quite the man for the theatrics, aren't you? But if you hadn't noticed, it's still five against two."

"Make that five against three." A new voice said from behind. Iron Man and Zuko both looked back to see a man wearing an Earth Kingdom uniform and holding a spear walking up to them. Zuko was able to recognize him, "Nikol?"

"Nice to see you again, my friend." Nikol said as twirled the spear in his hands. Gow was confused and angry when he said, "I don't recall seeing someone from the army coming into town."

"Well, maybe you were just so busy tormenting families that you couldn't see what was in front of you for days." Nikol commented. Gow and the soldiers were confused and Nikol said, "Allow me to explain, I've been amongst you for maybe a week or so, and yet you never it."

"Impossible." Gow angrily said. Nikol laughed and said, "Not that difficult for someone who can make a lot of mischief."

Fully turning to the newcomer, Iron Man then recognized him and questioned, "You?"

"Yes, me." Nikol said with a grin. Zuko wanted to ask questions about the two, but didn't. He looked to Justin, Gow and the other soldiers and said, "So what's it going to be? Are we going to do this quietly and nicely, or does it have to get ugly."

"It ends up with you losing either way." Nikol said with a shrug. Gow looked to one of the soldiers and questioned, "Are you going to let these strangers stand there and insult you like this?"

The soldier readied the spear in his hands before rushing at the trio. Nikol smirked and said to Zuko, "The first one's all yours."

"Gee, thanks." Zuko rolled his eyes and placed both hands on the scabbard. When the soldier was close enough, Zuko moved out of the way before using the hilt of the blades to knock him back and the soldier yelled. Iron Man looked to the prince and said, "Nice shot."

The soldier fell to the ground and slid a little before coming to a stop. He got up before running off in fright. The other two soldiers readied their weapons and moved in to attack them. But Nikol stepped in front of them and readied his weapon, "Don't worry. These two are mine."

Nikol blocked a strike from one soldier before twisting around and kicking the other away. The three then moved away to continue their battle. Iron Man looked to Zuko and said, "If you don't mind, kid. I have a score to settle with Justin Bieber over there."

"Be my guest." Zuko said as he didn't move. Tony ignited his thrusters and flew right at Justin. The other suit took off and Justin flew around with Tony on his tail. Zuko and Gow stood alone in the street. Seeing as how the others were gone and fighting their own battles, Gow removed the two hammers from his belt and assumed a stance while Zuko removed his duel swords and had them at the ready as well. With a growl, Gow bashed a hammer into the ground before swinging the other to send a rock flying right at him. Zuko moved out of the way and Gow followed up by earthbending more rocks at him.

Nikol was still fending off the normal soldiers by blocking or jumping out of the way of their spears. He was able to step on one of the soldier's spears and it broke the blade off. The soldier looked at the broken spear with worry before Nikol spun his spear before using the butt end to strike him in the gut before following up to a hit in the head. The soldier fell down before looking up to Nikol. Nikol then adopted a crazed look and said, "Boo!"

The soldier screamed before getting up and running away. The other soldier remained a little more cautious as he continued to battle against Nikol. Sela made her way through the crowd and had a clear view of the fight.

Meanwhile, Iron Man and Justin Hammers were still flying through the sky as they went at it. Both would fire a repulsor blast from their hands, but missed and hit either the ground or caused a piece of the town to explode. The citizens all ducked from the falling rubble but continued to watch the battle.

Zuko was still dodging rocks but when Gow sent one right at him. Zuko crossed his blades before slicing right through it. He had a deep glare at the Earthbender as he stood in that pose. Gaw jumped and spun in the air before bringing both of his hammers down against the ground. A stack of three rocks rose from the ground and he sent them at Zuko one at a time. Zuko was able to deflect the first two, but the third rock ended up striking him in the gut. But Zuko stood back up and held out his right sword before bringing them together and rushing at Gow.

One of the townspeople, the old man in the orange tinted glasses, shouted in support of Zuko against Gow, "Give him a left! A left!"

"It's not a fistfight." An older woman told him. The man then pointed out, "He's got himself a left sword, don't he?"

She did think that he had a point there. They all continued to watch the three fights.

Nikol was one the defense against the last soldier as they were in a standoff. Both had the long part of their weapons pressed against each other. Nikol was able to shove the soldier back and they prepared themselves again. The soldier came running at him, but Nikol parried the spear head before kicking the soldier in the gut. The soldier groaned in pain before Nikol grabbed him by the back of the head before bashing him through the window of a building. The soldier groaned in pain from the action but didn't get back up.

Iron Man and Justin Hammers were still flying about. Justin raised his right hand before firing a small missile. Tony raised his arms and the missile sent him flying backwards through the air. He grunted when he fell against the ground and tumbled across the yard. Justin landed a few feet away and sounded really cocky when he said, "Oh, Tony. I'm going to enjoy handing you over. I may even ask to be able to keep the armor your wearing."

His words really got to Tony as he waited for the right moment. When Justin took a step closer, Iron Man rolled onto his back before firing a blast from the Arc Reactor on his chest. Justin cried out as the blast sent him crashing through a few buildings before coming to a stop at the entrance. Justin Hammers quickly got up before flying off.

From his spot, Lee laughed in triumph at how the soldiers and their ally was losing the fight.

Zuko was still battling against Gow as he continued to deflect or slice through in coming rocks. But once again, a third sent him crashing back. Zuko groaned as he picked himself up. He shakily rose onto his feet and turned to where his back was facing Gow. Gow smirked as he planned to take advantage of this. The old man shouted, "Look out!"

"Behind you!" Lee shouted to warn his friend. Iron Man flew above a building and shouted, "Kid!"

Gow swung his hammer against the ground and sent rock after rock at Zuko with each swing. Zuko was able to deflect each rock, but he was losing ground with each one. Gow was becoming relentless as he continued to swing his hammers and fling rocks at his opponent. He looked to his left and saw a repulsor blast coming at him. Gow quickly shuffled his feet and used his earthbending to slide out of the way. The spot exploded when the attack hit the ground. But it allowed Zuko to have a moment to recover. Gow looked between Zuko, Iron Man and Nikol when the spearman rejoined the group. With a growl, Gow leapt up into the air before bringing his hammers down and created a huge wave of earth that spread to all three of them. While Nikol was able to move out of the way, the attacks were able to knock both Zuko and Iron Man off their feet or out of the air. Iron Man grunted in pain as he crashed into a building while Zuko flew through the air. Everyone else gasped at seeing their heroes fall. When he landed, the fall caused Zuko to black out.

Gow smiled at this and was about to advance when he saw Nikol jump above his attack and came at him with his spear. Gow blocked each of Nikol's strikes with his hammers. Iron Man happened to sit up where he landed and looked over to Nikol and Gow's battle. But when he looked over to the unconscious Zuko, Iron Man got up and shot himself towards the Earthbender. Gow saw Iron Man coming and quickly rolled out of the way. Iron Man's fist impacted the ground before he looked up at the Earthbender. Though Gow couldn't see it, he could tell that Iron Man was glaring at him.

The three continued to fight as Zuko laid where he was. But as he was unconscious, he started to remember the last time he ever saw his mother.

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Long ago…

Zuko was sleeping soundly in his bed. But soon it was disturbed when he felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. When he saw who it was he asked, "Mom?"

"Zuko, please, my love, listen carefully to me." Ursa said as she helped Zuko to sit up. She had a pained look in her eye as she said, "Everything thing that I've done, I've done it to protect you."

She embraced him, even though Zuko didn't understand what was going on. The sound of approaching footsteps made Ursa glance out the door. She knew she didn't have a lot of time. Breaking the embrace, she looked her son in the eye and said, "Remember this, Zuko: No matter how much things may seem to change, never forget who you are."

She rose from the bed as Zuko tried to stay awake. Ursa gave one last smile to her son before pulling a hood over her head and she walked out the door.

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Present…

Zuko still laid unconscious on the ground while Nikol and Iron Man continued to fight against Gow. The man in the metal suit tried to punch him, but Gow was able to raise a column of earth to block the attack. With a tap of his foot, Gow created a triangular barrier of earth surrounding the metal man. When Nikol tried to swing his spear at him, Gow was able to catch the spear with one hammer before bringing up the other and smashing through the wood. Nikol backed up and looked down at the ruined weapon before Gow swung his hammer again and a rock sent the man flying. The triangular trap exploded when Iron Man used a repulsor blast from both hands and dust was sent flying. He looked to Gow with a glare and the Earthbender sent one back. Iron Man jumped into the air and prepared a repulsor blast, but Gow was much quicker by rolling forward and with an upward swing of his hammer, he sent of column of earth that knocked Tony out of the sky.

"No." Lee said from his spot. Gow looked between the downed too before looking over to Zuko. Deciding to start with him first, Gow twirled his hammers between his fingers before walking up to the unconscious prince. Really wanting his friend to win, Lee whispered, "Get up. Please."

Both Iron Man and Nikol were rising off the ground when they looked to see Gow getting closer to Zuko. Iron Man was about to get up when Nikol placed a hand on his metal shoulder. The metal man looked to him and said, "Let him handle this. It's his fight after all."

Gow raised his hammers high, but Zuko's eyes suddenly snapped open. Gripping his swords, Zuko spun in a circle with a yell while creating a barrier of fire that expanded from his blades. Gow dropped his hammers in surprised and covered his face. The flames smacked into him and sent the man flying. Gow flew through the air before tumbling across the ground and stopped where he looked up to Zuko. Prince Zuko rose to his feet with an angry look in his eye and held his swords at the ready. Over from where he was tied, Lee was very shocked to see what his friend really was. From their spot, Tony and Nikol were very surprised from the turn of events. Gow got back up on his feet and once again assumed an earthbending stance. With another yell, Zuko rushed forward while swinging his blades around while fire danced around them. Then with a swing of his right blade, he sent another wave of fire at Gow. Gow raised a mound of earth to protect him, but the wave of fire knocked it and him back. They crashed into the corner of a building as Zuko's blades still steamed from the heat.

Gow groaned in pain from being knocked around and grunted in pain when parts of the building fell down on him. Zuko walked up to the downed Earthbender and Gow looked to him before asking, "Who… who are you?"

"My name is Zuko." The prince told him. With a light swing of his blades, the steam cleared and one rested on his left shoulder while he held the other out, "Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai.

"Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne." He finished as he brought the blades together and placed them back in the scabbard. The crowd started murmuring while Lee was still in disbelief of what he saw. Even one villager asked, "Prince of the Fire Nation?!"

"And what about those two?" Another villager asked and pointed to the two. The helmet retracted off of Tony and he said, "My name is Tony Stark. Son of Howard and Maria Stark. True inventor of the Iron Man armor and a founding member of the Avengers."

"And I…" Nikol said before using his magic to change back into his true form. Everyone was shocked and surprised to see what they saw. Nikol, or Loki, was now wearing green and yellow robes. Lifting his arms out he said, "Am Loki. Son of Odin and Frigga. And an heir to the throne of Asgard."

"Huh?" A good number of the villagers asked as they didn't understand. Loki gave an aggravated sigh before waving it off, "It's fine. It's fine. Just carry on."

"Well, the scarred one's a liar." The old man in the tinted glasses said and pointed at him. Then he said, "I've heard of you. You're not a prince, you're an outcast! His own father burned and disowned him!"

"And yet he's the one to have saved your butts." Tony stood up for him. The townsfolk looked to the inventor as he said, "These soldiers, as low as you know them to be, were working with an agent of the Fire Nation and Hydra. Zuko and us just helped to take them down."

"And yet why would someone of the Avengers be working with someone of the Fire Nation?" Another villager angrily questioned. Seeing as how they weren't getting through to these people, Zuko turned away and up to Gow. The man shuddered in fear when Zuko reached for him. But instead of hurting him, Zuko took back the knife he gave to Lee.

Zuko, Tony and Loki all walked up to the water tower where Sela was untying Lee. Lee became defensive and Sela turned to them. Stepping in front of her son she said, "Not a step closer. Any of you."

"Sela." Tony tried to say. But she looked away and said, "Just don't."

Lee looked around his mother to see what they would do. Zuko kneeled down and offered the blade back to Lee, "It's yours. You should have it."

"No. I hate you!" Lee bitterly said before turning and walking away. The three watched as the mother and her son walked away. Looking to the other two, Tony said, "Let's get out of here."

"Sounds good to me." Loki said. But as they started to walk, Zuko thought back to something from his youth again.

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Long ago…

Zuko sat up in his bed before remembering his mother. He called out, "Mom?"

Quickly throwing the blanket off of him he got out of bed. Running to the door he shouted, "Mom? Mom!"

He ran through the palace searching for her. In another room, Azula was holding the dagger that Iroh had given to Zuko and unsheathed it to look at it. But before she could admire or do anything with it, she heard footsteps coming. Sheathing the blade again, Azula hid behind the column and looked around to see her brother running into the room. When Zuko looked in her direction and saw her he asked, "Where's Mom?"

"No one knows." Azula said, not really knowing anything about their mother's disappearance. Then on a different note she said, "Oh, and last night, Grandpa passed away."

"That's not funny, Azula." Zuko angrily said. Pointing at her he said, "You're sick. And I want my knife back, right now."

He went up to her and tried to take it back with a yell, but she moved back out of his reach. She held it dangling in her fingers as she mocked, "Who's going to make me do it- Mom?"

That made Zuko freeze for a moment. But he made a lunge and was able to grab his knife from his sister. Then he ran out of the room to continue his search. Azula watched her brother go with a smirk.

Zuko came out to one of the courtyards and found his father standing under a tree by a fountain. Running up to him he asked, "Where is she?"

But when his father didn't turn around or make a sound, Zuko could only assume that something bad had happened. Prince Zuko hung his head in sadness.

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Later on, just about everyone in the imperial city attended for Fire Lord Azulon's funeral. A good number of citizens were holding up Fire Nation banners. The Fire Sages stood next to the funeral pyre as the Grand Sage said, "Azulon, Fire Lord to our nation for twenty-three long years. You were our fearless leader in the battle of Garzai, our matchless conqueror of the Husin provinces."

While a majority of the Sages stood by the pyre, Ozai, Zuko and Azula stood up on the stage with them. The Sage continued, "You were the father of Iroh, the father of Ozai, the husband of Ila, now passed. The grandfather of Lu Ten, now passed. The grandfather of Zuko and Azula."

Everyone bowed their heads as a sign of mourning. The Grand Sage walked up to the funeral pyre and said, "We lay you to rest." Then taking up the crown just as two Firebenders set the pyre ablaze and he said, "As was your dying wish, you are now succeeded by your second son."

Ozai moved to where he could kneel before the Grand Sage. The Grand Sage stepped up and placed the crown in the bun of the new Fire Lord Ozai's hair. Stepping back the Great Sage said, "Hail, Fire Lord Ozai!"

Everyone started to bow to the new Fire Lord as Ozai rose to his feet. From up where they were kneeling, Azula had a smirk on her face while Zuko looked a little worried about all this. Worried about the future, worried about his uncle and worried about his mother.

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Present…

Zuko, Tony and Loki all rode out of the town without looking back. As they were walking out, Lee watched them go before looking away, feeling betrayed but also a little confused. The ostrich horse bleated as they continued out of the gate as the sun set.

When they had gone far enough from the town, they all stopped. Zuko looked down to Loki and asked, "What will you do now?"

"Probably what I've been doing." Loki said as he looked to the darkening horizon. He sighed when he said, "Of course, I don't know when I'll see either of you again."

"How about never." Tony snidely said. Loki asked and said, "Still upset that I used your stuff during our first confrontation?"

"Yes." Tony nodded. Loki chuckled before saying, "Well, as much as I would like to stay…" He used his magic to once again change his form. He know looked like an old man with a brown robe, "I need to be going."

"Yeah, don't let the door hit you on the way out." Tony said as Loki started to walk away. Loki started chuckling but kept on walking. Zuko watched him go for a minute before asking, "What about you? Where will you go?"

"I don't know." Tony shrugged as he looked about the horizon. But he looked to the prince and said, "But don't worry. I won't be too far."

"By the way." Zuko said when he pulled the device out of his pocket. He handed it to Tony and said, "You can have this back."

Tony looked at it for a moment before saying, "Keep it. Save it for when you really need me."

"I'll keep that in mind." Zuko said before snapping the reins. Tony watched him go before Zuko and the ostrich horse disappeared into the distance as well.

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This story's dedication to:

Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018

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Author's Note: And this is done. I really did enjoy this chapter, and I hope that you all enjoy the little clues I put into it. When we get to the next chapter, the teams are going to be bigger on both sides and the comedy is going to be a little funnier, I hope. I look forward to reading your reviews. Be sure to leave a comment either about if I've done something wrong or if you want something specifically to happen. See you next time.