Chapter 47: The Main Man

A week earlier…

Lobo had to admit, the perfect transit was as spectacular as he had imagined.

The rare opportunity to see a star blocked out by another celestial body, and from the comfort of a habitable planet's surface, had made the detour worthwhile. It had been at an insignificant rock in the middle of nowhere, populated by an insignificant species hardly worth mentioning. The last czarnian only knew about it after stumbling through the system during a drinking binge, and only remembered it after his space motorcycle almost crashed into an unusually large moon. Now he was passing by that moon again on his way out of the system, putting the Main Man back on mission.

A rather unfortunate accident had wiped out the rest of his entire species, though accident was a relative term around Lobo. That loss was a real shame too, as czarnians were one of the few species that could survive in the vacuum of space indefinitely. Lobo always enjoyed the rush of traveling through the void on his space motorcycle, which was equipped with a customized hyperspace drive. He set in a course and the motorcycle jumped into hyperspace, taking him across the cosmos to his next destination.

After a few days in hyperspace, the motorcycle dropped into normal space, giving Lobo a great view of the planet directly ahead of him. This was none other than Oa, home of the Guardians and headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps. Practically every last part of the planet and its rings was a shade of green, and it was rather sickening to look at for someone that preferred black everything. But Lobo's current job necessitated a visit to this planet, despite his rather vulgar feelings about law enforcement.

A tamaranian Green Lantern started flying beside him, possessing all the curves that were difficult to ignore. "State your business."

Lobo turned on a transmitter to broadcast his words through the vacuum, much like a Green Lantern's ring did automatically. "I'm investigating a missing person case."

The Green Lantern used her ring to transmit some coordinates to a pad Lobo had. "Proceed to this location. An investigator will meet with you there shortly."

"Much obliged," Lobo replied, and then sped off towards Oa.

Lobo flew into the southern hemisphere, entering atmosphere and enjoying the wind rushing past him. All around him many Green Lanterns were flying around in every direction, their green auras crisscrossing just about everywhere he looked. Following the provided coordinates led to a city that covered most of a continent, and within that city there was a landing platform at the top of wide skyscraper. Lobo landed in the center and parked his motorcycle, and while he waited, he lit up a large cigar.

In a few minutes a red skinned female Green Lantern arrived, whom Lobo recognized as Katma Tui, and she wasn't terribly pleased to see him. "Oh great, it's you again."

"Hello to you too," Lobo said.

"What did you blow up this time?" Katma demanded.

"Nothing, yet," Lobo answered. He took a long draft from his cigar before he continued. "I'm looking for a girl from Almerac. I heard she passed through Oa not too long ago."

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the missing princess?" Katma assumed.

Lobo raised one eyebrow. "How did you…"

"It's not hard to put two and two together," Katma interrupted, crossing her arms and glaring at him. "And yes, Maxima was here."

"Where did she go?" Lobo demanded.

Normally, Katma wouldn't have been inclined to disclose that kind of information, especially not to someone known for the gratuitous violence that usually followed in his wake. But this was a good opportunity to test her newest recruit, who happened to be from the planet in question. He was going to have to deal with people like Lobo sooner or later, and the first time might as well be in a semi-controlled situation, with her watching from afar. If Lobo's antics got too far out of hand, she would be in a position to intervene.

Katma used her ring to display a star chart. "She went to a planet called Earth."

"Earth?" Lobo complained. He threw up his hands and turned around. "Aw man! I was just there!"

Lobo hopped back on his space motorcycle and launched into the sky, riding out of the atmosphere and away from Oa at full throttle. Back in space he engaged the motorcycle's hyperspace drive again, heading back in the direction that he had come from. It was another few days' worth of travel back to the backwater of space, including the occasional stops for food and rest and violence. At the end of his trip the blue world and its large moon were back in sight, becoming increasing familiar in a way that Lobo didn't like.

With a handheld scanner, Lobo searched for the energies of a Green Lantern power ring. He figured that if the corps had an officer in this sector, he or she would be aware of the runaway princess. He picked up a rather weak signal in the western hemisphere, barely detectable despite whatever fiddling Lobo did with his scanner. It actually disappeared after a few moments, giving Lobo more reason to investigate. So he rode his motorcycle into atmosphere, found a volcanic island where the signal had been, and parked his motorcycle on a deserted corner.

Making sure to take the keys with him, Lobo left his motorcycle behind to go look for the Green Lantern. He double checked the last coordinates on his scanner, and then leapt over the island in this planet's relatively low gravity. His leap took over the volcano and he dropped on the other side, spotting a large group of locals near the coordinates while he was falling. So when he crashed and made a small crater, Lobo stood up and walked toward the locals, not caring in the slightest about the stares they were giving him.

"Hey!" Lobo greeted, waving at the locals as he approached. "I'm looking for the Green Lantern from this rock. He should have information I need. Have any of you seen him?"

A teenage local complained. "Crap."

Lobo checked his pad again, noted the confused looks from all the other locals, and that the teenager was more annoyed than confused. "Must be you I take it. I'm looking for someone in your sector. Young, female, redhead, goes by the name of Maxima."

Now it was a scarred teenager's turn to complain. "Why am I not surprised?"

An adult seemed perplexed by this, even if he seemed to be in charge here. "Excuse me, mister…"

"Lobo," he introduced himself. He walked up to the scarred teen, ignoring all the weapons being drawn by those that appeared to be soldiers. "I take it you've met her?"

"Now hang on a minute," the group leader interrupted, getting between Lobo and the teenager. "These are my prisoners. If you're going to talk with them, you'll have to speak with me first, and at my prison."

"Or what?" Lobo dared.

The dare was accepted. "Men, take him in."

Lobo smirked and cracked his knuckles as the soldiers closed in. "I'm going to enjoy this."

The first attack was quite a surprise, as it looked like the soldiers were punching the air. Flames erupted from a dozen fists, all converging on Lobo's position. Lobo crossed his arms and they were bathed in the fire, threatening to burn his shirt off. After a moment the flames passed, and his arms were feeling quite toasty. The soldiers were surprised at his survival, nearly as much as Lobo was surprised the locals could do that. Lobo then charged for the closest soldier and punched him in the face, a blow that tossed the soldier back a dozen feet and landing on his back.

Now in the middle of the other soldiers, their next volley of flames all converged on Lobo. He was completely covered in a swirling inferno, and found himself enjoying the heat far more than he should. The inferno charred his clothes a little, somehow adding even more black color to the fabrics. Lobo charged out of the fire with his arms sticking out, slamming to four soldiers at once and knocking them down. Then he grabbed the nearest soldier and threw him into another two, laughing all the while as he did so.

"Bring on the pyromancy!" Lobo demanded.

While firebenders continued to attack the strange invader, the Warden quietly slipped away with his prisoners and minimal escort.

Sokka would have been inclined to try something right about now, if only he knew whether or not the stranger could be trusted. Zuko didn't see a way out of this that he liked, if what he suspected about the stranger was true. Suki didn't know what to think, having no idea what was going on here. It was a feeling shared by Hakoda, though he was better at hiding his confusion from everyoneelse. There wasn't much any of them could do while being escorted to the prison, heading up the volcano slope at a fast pace.

More soldiers and firebenders marched downhill as the prisoners went up, more manpower responding to the threat along the road. The Warden kept his escort and prisoners moving towards the summit, reaching it and the gondolas that connected it to the prison. There was limited space within the gondola cars, so the Warden took his two most interesting prisoners and filled the rest of the space with guards. Sokka and Zuko were separated from the others, and forced to endure a slow ride with the Warden for company.

Sitting opposite from his prisoners, the Warden glared at them. "Confess, what is your connection to that man?"

"How would I know?" Sokka complained.

Zuko however, was in more of a mood to talk. "He's after someone I met a month ago, a girl called Maxima."

"Who is this Maxima?" the Warden asked, putting his hands together.

"I'd like to know that too," Sokka said.

"She should be with my sister right about now," Zuko said. Then he looked away. "You can ask her where she is."

"I will," the Warden promised.

"Is that really a good idea?" Sokka asked.

"Best I've got," Zuko admitted.

The ride in the gondola was a short one, and before they knew it the gondola car reached the bottom and the prison. More guards were there to receive prisoners, and the guards inside the gondola shoved Sokka and Zuko out of it. The other gondola car was not far behind, and soon Suki and Hakoda were brought outside and put with the other prisoners. The receiving platform for the gondola was on the top of one the prison's walls, having a good view of the prison yard on one side and the boiling lake on the other.

"Get us in lockdown, now," the Warden ordered. "We could be under attack at any moment."

Suddenly a gondola line snapped, the far end dropping into the boiling lake. Looking up everyone saw that the station at the far end had been damaged, likely from some kind of impact. They also spotted someone jumping out of the ruin, easily leaping the distance over the boiling lake to reach the prison. Lobo landed in front of the Warden and his prisoners, leaving two small dents where his feet hit the metal. He turned around to face the Warden, cracking his knuckles and looking like he wanted the fight to continue.

"Please tell me you have more pyromancers," Lobo said. "They are fun to fight."

"Firebender, and yes I do," the Warden said. "But they're not what you want. You're after someone specific, this Maxima person, yes?"

"I am," Lobo confirmed.

"This prisoner told me where I might find the person you are looking for," the Warden informed. "Give me a few days, and I can have her brought here."

"Really," Lobo said. "Why should I believe you?"

"I'll admit, you have no reason to," the Warden said. "But you also have nothing to lose by waiting a few days. I can even arrange for more firebenders to fight you to pass the time."

That got Lobo to smile. "Deal."

On the very next day an airship was on its way to the Boiling Rock, flying at its maximum speed over the open ocean. Princess Azula was in command of the airship, and was very interested in finding out how her traitorous brother ended up at the Fire Nation's most secure prison. As usual she brought her friends along with her for company, Mai and Ty Lee were enjoying the brand new method of transportation, and would arrive much sooner than the Warden would expect. Maxima had come along for the ride, having nothing better to do than hang out with Azula.

"What is this place we're going to again?" Maxima asked.

"The Boiling Rock," Azula answered.

"My uncle runs the place," Mai said. "He says Zuko is there. I believe him."

"That is good enough for me," Azula said.

Within the hour the airship reached the Boiling Rock, coming in for a landing along the shore. Once the airship was on solid ground, its boarding ramp was extended, allowing the four girls to exit the airship. As expected, a contingent of local troops was there to greet them, standing in formation watching the girls pass them by. They were more ceremonial than anything, simply there for royalty's sake. There were quite a lot of shuffling feet among the standing troops, something that did not go unnoticed by the princess.

Azula stopped walking and faced the highest ranking soldier present. "What's been going on here?"

"Battle drills Ma'am," the soldier answered. "They have been extra rigorous lately."

"I'll have to see them," Azula said.

"That can be arranged," the soldier promised.

"Excellent," Maxima said. "I could use the exercise."

The troops began escorting the troops down the road to the volcano, heading up the slope towards the prison. Before long they reached the gondola and were riding it across the boiling lake, though Azula noticed that the gondola had been damaged and repaired very recently. The prison yard was empty while the place was in lockdown, and only the dozens of prison guards were outside to welcome the royal arrival. Azula and her friends stopped just outside the gondola, finding Mai's uncle there to greet them.

The Warden bowed to the princess, and then put his hands together. "Welcome to the Boiling Rock. I am grateful that you could arrive so quickly."

"Travel is so much faster these days," Azula said, starting to wonder how they ever managed without the airships. "Now, your message said you had my brother. Take me to him."

"Right this way," the Warden said.

The Warden led the four girls into the prison, taking them to the most secure part of it. Inside one particular hallway there were a dozen guards in front of just one cell, all to make sure that Zuko didn't have a chance at escape. The guards saluted to the Warden as he approached, and parted into two groups to let him pass in between. The Warden took out his keys and unlocked the cell door, opening it and gesturing for Azula to enter. She got to see Zuko bound to a chair inside, and she smiled at the sight of her brother like that.

"As promised, he's all yours," the Warden said with a smile.

"Much appreciated," Azula said, and then walked into the cell.

The cell door was closed after her, ensuring the utmost privacy. The Warden then turned around, walked over to Mai, and gave her a warm and welcoming hug. "It's good to see you."

"I've missed you," Mai said.

After the hug the Warden put his hands on Mai's shoulders and smiled. "How are your Mom and Dad?"

"Healthy, rich, in charge of a city," Mai answered. "In other words, completely boring."

"I heard they had another baby," the Warden said.

"A boy, Tom-Tom," Mai said. "He's about two and a half now."

"Two and a half…" the Warden muttered, shaking his head. "I really need to visit more often."

"It would have brightened my days," Mai said.

The Warden let go and then put his hands together. "Much like your friends?"

For him, Mai made a smile. "Well you know Ty Lee."

"Hi," Ty Lee said, waving at him.

"Yes, I remember," the Warden said. "You're the pretty one of the seven, right?"

Ty Lee blushed at that.

"But I'm not familiar with your other friend," the Warden said, eyeing her red hair. "Who is she?"

"Oh that's just Maxima," Mai answered.

"I'm from out of town," Maxima said.

"I see," the Warden said, putting a hand on his chin. He looked back at the cell. "Mai, how long do you think Azula will be in there?"

Mai shrugged. "She could be quite a while, depending on just how much Azula is enjoying herself in there."

"Well in that case," the Warden said. "I have some other interesting prisoners. Perhaps you might enjoy the opportunity to question them yourselves?"

"It's something to do," Mai admitted.

The Warden led them down the hallway, taking them to some cells at the far end. There were just as many guards here as there were at Zuko's cell, guarding another one of the masterminds behind the almost successful breakout attempt. One of the cells was opened to reveal Sokka inside, somewhat beaten in previous interrogations but not broken yet. The Warden gestured for the girls to enter the cell, though only two of them bothered. Mai and Ty Lee recognized him from the Avatar's group, though they didn't know his name.

"Figures this one is here too," Mai mused.

"At least he's the cute one," Ty Lee said.

However Maxima wasn't going in with them. "Have fun in there."

That got the Warden to raise an eyebrow. "You're not interested?"

"Torture isn't really my thing," Maxima answered. "I prefer to banter with someone that can actually fight back."

"Well then you're in luck," the Warden said. "I have just the person that may be more to your liking."

Maxima eyed him with suspicion. "Really now? I find that hard to believe."

"See for yourself," the Warden insisted, and then led the way for her.

The walk was a rather short one, only going into the next adjacent hallway. There weren't any guards down this way, a rather suspicious sight inside a prison. Maxima wondered who would be down this way, for it certainly wasn't another prisoner. Halfway down the hallway the Warden opened a cell door, revealing a rather well-lit interior. However, when Maxima approached, she had to stop and gag, followed by covering her nose and mouth with one hand. She backed away from the cell, and then looked at the Warden.

"What is that stench?" Maxima asked.

"What ste- oh… augh," the Warden gagged when the smell reached him. "I told him to bathe last night."

"It's just my natural musk."

Maxima recognized the voice immediately. "You…"

"You remember me," Lobo said, approaching the open door. "I'm flattered."

"Did my mother send you?" Maxima demanded.

"Yes she did," Lobo answered, reaching the door and leaning against the frame. "Now, there are two ways we can do this; the boring way, and the fun way."

It started with a tremor.

"What the…?" Azula muttered. She was still in the cell with Zuko, having been enjoying herself tormenting her brother with all the various ways he had been a failure. But the shaking of the prison had interrupted her. "This island isn't due for an eruption."

Shackled to a chair, Zuko had a worrisome feeling in his stomach. "And they have met each other…"

In the other heavily guarded cell, Sokka was similarly shackled to a chair, having nowhere to go while he was being interrogated. However, the interrogation had turned into an unexpectedly pleasant conversation with Ty Lee, who turned out to be rather nice when she wasn't fighting. Mai had been standing in the corner eyeing him on occasion, which had Sokka thinking this was a kind of good guard bad guard routine. When the prison shook it had the two girls wobbling, and Sokka was grateful to be sitting down when it happened.

"That can't be good," Sokka muttered.

"How would you know," Mai asked.

"Experience," Sokka answered. "Unexplained tremors are always a bad sign."

At the other cell, Azula exited and faced the guards. "What just happened?"

Suddenly a wall was blown apart by an impact from the other side, pieces of metal sent flying everywhere. A body came through with the shrapnel, hitting the far wall and denting it. Azula looked to see Maxima in that dent, who was quickly getting back on her feet. Maxima ran back through the hole in the wall, and a second later Azula heard a collision followed by an impact that shook the floor. Azula looked through the hole and spotted Maxima in the main prison area, fighting with someone that she could not identify.

"Who in the world is that?" Azula wondered.

Coming from another cell, Mai and Ty Lee were running to Azula. Ty Lee got to her first, and was shocked at the hole. "I think we should get out of here."

Maxima body-slammed Lobo into the floor, cratering it and shaking the prison again. Lobo in turn grabbed her by the torso and threw her into the far wall, smashing her through it and into a storage locker. Maxima charged out of it and tackled Lobo, pushing him to the opposite wall and ramming him through it. That got them to the prison's mess hall and then the galley, disrupting the preparations for the guard's lunch hour. Amid the destruction of lunch tables and the fleeing cooks, Maxima landed an uppercut that launched Lobo through the ceiling.

Seeing the floor torn open by an ascending body had Azula stepping away. "Getting out of here it is."

As they started leaving, Mai brought up the obvious issue. "What about Zuko?"

"Leave him," Azula ordered, trying to remember the quickest way out of the prison. "If he survives, we'll come back for him. If not, well it might be the end he deserves."

Now inside an empty prison cell that had a hole in the floor, Lobo shook debris off himself before jumping back down the hole. He had only gone down one level before colliding with Maxima, who had jumped up in pursuit of Lobo. Both landed a punch that sent them to their left, falling just beyond the edges of the hole. Maxima recovered first and punched as Lobo was getting up, knocking him through another wall into the adjacent cell. She charged through the broken wall and rammed her shoulder into Lobo, pushing him through one wall after another through the entire level.

Zuko was startled by one wall collapsing, two fighters passing through the cell, and barging through the opposite wall. "That doesn't look good."

The same thing happened to Sokka's cell a few seconds later. "Yup, this is not good."

Meanwhile the Warden reached his office, grabbing a microphone to carry his voice throughout the prison. "Attention all personnel, this is the Warden. Evacuate immediately. This is not a drill. Everyone must get out now."

On that order the prison guards immediately abandoned their posts, all of them heading for the gondolas in order to evacuate. They left all of the prisoners in their cells, leaving them behind to share whatever fate would befall the prison. In groups of fifteen, the guards boarded the gondola for the ride out of the prison, taking a few minutes at a time to get each group to safety. For the two hundred guards and assorted personnel that had to evacuate, it would take over half an hour to get them all out safely.

The sight of someone being thrown across the prison and through a wall suggested that they didn't have that much time, and some of the guards resorted to climbing on the roof of the gondola to fit more people aboard. The extra weight was a drag on the gondola line, slowing down the gondola a little as it struggled to raise the heavy burden to the caldera rim. Those that had to wait for the gondola to return for them had no choice but to watch, seeing the fight burst out of the prison wall and into the yard below.

As the prison had been in lockdown, the yard had been empty before Lobo and Maxima barged into it. Lobo slammed Maxima into the ground, pinning her down in the rut they made. Maxima got her leg in between and kicked Lobo off her, launching him into one corner of the yard. She charged after him and swung her right fist, but when Lobo moved his head, her fist punctured the wall. Lobo grabbed Maxima and slammed her into the wall, but then Maxima wrangled herself free and grabbed Lobo. She dragged him through the entire length of the wall, tearing open every single cell on the ground floor.

Including Suki's cell, and she climbed over the broken door to get out. "Who were they?"

Between the damage to prison cells, and the prison guards all trying to evacuate, the prisoners escaping their confinement were free to do as they please. The typical prisoner took the opportunity to take whatever they could find, and try to avoid the battle that had released them. Before long a third of the prisoners were running amok, helping themselves to everything the guards had left behind. As such Suki had free reign to search the prison, and she checked the undamaged cells one by one until she came across a familiar face.

Eventually Suki found Zuko's cell, and he was still shackled to a chair. "There you are."

Zuko watched her open the cell and come inside. "Get me out of this thing before the whole place comes crashing down on our heads."

Suki immediately got to work on removing the shackles. "Do you know where they're keeping Sokka?"

"No, I don't," Zuko answered. The prison shook again. "But I'm sure we can find him."

In a few moments Suki got the shackles off, and then she and Zuko hurried out of the cell. Another tremor nearly shook Zuko off his feet, as he was still weary after his imprisonment. Together Suki and Zuko resumed the search through the cells, doing so much faster now that there were two people searching. But the hallway in front of them was soon demolished when Lobo had been thrown through it, shattering wall and floor while the ceiling collapsed. Fortunately that allowed a voice to get through, a voice they both knew.

"Little help over here!"

Hearing Sokka's voice got Suki's attention, and she realized he was in a recently opened cell. "Hang on!"

That last hole tore through the prison, which Maxima just jumped through in pursuit, had ripped apart half of the floor in Sokka's cell. The chair he was shackled to was now dangerously close to the edge, and Sokka was trying to wriggle away from it. While the door was no longer necessary to get inside the cell, the path to it for Zuko and Suki was obstructed by the missing portion of the floor. Suki needed a running leap to get across the gap and into the cell, but her feet hit the edge and she nearly lost her balance.

Lunging forward, Suki grabbed the arm of Sokka's chair, right before her feet slipped off the edge. Suki plummeted into the hole in the floor, and pulled Sokka down through the hole with her. Suki landed on her feet and bent her knees to absorb the shock of impact, but Sokka landed on the chair hard enough to break it into pieces. The impact knocked the wind out of Sokka, and when he got it back he groaned in the pain. At first he thought he had broken his back in the fall, but still being able to move told him otherwise.

"Are you alright?" Suki asked, crouching and offering a hand.

"No," Sokka answered. He grabbed Suki's hand, letting her help him up. "But I will manage."

One level above, Zuko looked down from the edge. "How badly are you two hurt?"

"My back feels like it's on fire," Sokka answered. "Otherwise, we're fine. How are things up there?"

"Could be worse," Zuko answered, thinking of several ways that could be so. The prison shook, followed by the sound of crashing metal. "And I spoke too soon."

Lobo had just slammed Maxima through one of the main support struts in one corner of the prison, and the weight of the strut above pulled it free from the entire structure. A third of both adjacent walls had been torn down with it, dumping tons of metal into the boiling lake. The prison's interior was now exposed to the outside, just as the falling metal made a large splash of boiling water. A wave washed through the opening and into the prison, scalding the prisoners that happened to be standing on the ground floor.

Her skin red from contact with the scalding water, Maxima was quite peeved right now. At the quickly eroding shore of the island, she grabbed Lobo's neck and dunked him into the boiling lake. Even for them the heat was painful to endure, and Maxima could only hold Lobo in the scalding water for half a minute. The moment Maxima let go, Lobo emerged from the water, head-butting Maxima hard enough to launch her back inside the prison. Lobo then climbed out of the water and shook himself dry, taking a moment to cool down before pursuing Maxima again.

Zuko found his way down to the ground floor, and opened the door to the cell that Sokka and Suki had fallen into. "We need to get out of here before the whole place falls apart."

"Agreed," Sokka said. Although still able to stand, Sokka couldn't hide the limp he had when he tried to walk. "Let's find my dad and go."

On the other side of the prison, Hakoda was still in a cell, wondering what in the world was going on out there. He was surprised when the cell door was opened by a fellow prisoner, though not one that he recognized. Still Hakoda was grateful for the opportunity to escape, and he left his cell without delay. In the hallway outside his cell there were prisoners everywhere, and it was easy to get lost in the crowd. By now the majority of prisoners had gotten out of their cells, and they were running amok within the prison.

He soon found Sokka and Suki coming around a corner in the hallway, and Zuko was approaching from a different direction. Though still in pain, Sokka's mood grew brighter at the sight. "Dad!"

"Sokka!" Hakoda said, running to his son to give him a long overdue hug.

"Ow… the back… watch the back…" Sokka complained, wincing as he felt sharper pain.

"Sorry," Hakoda apologized, letting go of Sokka. "What happened?"

"Bad fall," Sokka answered. Still, he felt better now that he had found his dad. "We have to get to the gondola."

"If it's still intact," Zuko quipped.

Meanwhile, Lobo had thrown Maxima through the roof, launching her into the sky before coming back down on one wall. Lobo jumped through the hole and nearly reached the same altitude that Maxima did, and when he came down he pounded his feet into her back. The impact broke through the metal all the way down the height of the wall, ripping open another long gash in the prison. It was also the wall that had the coolers built into it, and many of the frigid containers were torn off and fell into the boiling lake.

Maxima threw torn and twisted metal off herself, and then picked up one of the coolers and swung it like a bat. It hit Lobo and knocked him into the air, flinging him across the lake and into the caldera. That impact dislodged some rock and dropped it into the water, creating another wave of scalding water that washed into the prison. Lobo leaped back across the lake and swung his fist down, but when Maxima dodged that fist only hit the shore. The blow shattered rock and one corner of the little island fell into the lake, taking Lobo with it and kicking up yet another wave of scalding water.

From the other end of the gondola on the caldera rim, Azula and her friends were watching the destruction unfold. "They're tearing that place apart."

Mai nodded in agreement. "If they keep this up my uncle will be out of a job."

Ty Lee was flinging rocks over the edge and down into the lake. "Shame about the people still there, I liked that cute guy."

By the time Sokka and the others reached the gondola there were only two dozen guards left on this end, still waiting for the gondola car to come back down to get them off this disintegrating rock. Firebenders among them prepared to attack, believing they could handle the five prisoners trying to escape the prison. They didn't have to win the fight, just keep it going long enough for them to leave. The gondola car was only a minute away from reaching this end, and it would be easy to draw out the fight that long.

Watching from the other end, the Warden looked at a pair of guards near him. "Cut the line."

"Sir," one guard said. "We still have men over there."

"You heard me," the Warden said. "It looks like those are the prisoners that nearly escaped before. I'm not giving them a second chance."

The other guard gulped, wishing that he didn't have to do this. "Understood."

The guards jammed metal planks into the gears of the gondola, bringing it to a sudden stop. They lifted a heavy serrated saw into position, worked in tandem to slowly cut through the cable, and halfway through it simply snapped apart. The gondola car plummeted into the boiling lake, catching fire before sinking into the water. The other gondola line was cut next, truly severing the connection between the island and the caldera rim. The guards at the prison were horrified when the gondola was cut, now at the mercy of the prisoners running amok, and they abandoned their now-worthless position.

When the gondola lines were cut, Sokka and the others stopped in their tracks. "Well now how are we getting out?"

"Don't you have a plan?" Zuko asked.

"Not this time," Sokka admitted. "I've been making this up as I go along."

"Maybe you should have thought this part through!" Zuko argued.

"Hey I didn't know we'd be busting out like this fifteen minutes ago!" Sokka argued back.

"There's got to be another way out," Suki interrupted.

On one of the walls, Maxima got a hold of Lobo and threw him off with all her strength, throwing him into the boiling lake and plunging him into its depths. In the scalding water Lobo impacted the bottom near the eastern edge, his body punching a hole through the rock all the way through to the other side. Emerging on the outer side of the volcano Lobo tumbled down the slope, followed by a brand-new river of scalding water draining from the lake. Immediately the waterline of the lake began to fall, exposing more land and expanding the little island that the prison was built on.

"That'll do," Sokka said.

It took a good ten minutes for the lake to drain far enough for the waterline to reach the hole, leaving only a dozen feet of water left in the shrinking ring of a lake. High spots of the formerly underwater lakebed were now exposed to the air, looking like little stepping stones that dotted the shrunken lake. Each of them was scorched and incredibly hot from the water, all with plenty of steam rising up from the still moist surface. Given a lack of any other options for escaping the prison, this new path was worth taking.

So the group went back inside the prison to get down to the lower levels, and then to find a path to reach the now larger island around the structure. Thanks to the big gaping hole in one of the sides, that part was relatively easy to do. But it seemed that all the other prisoners had gotten the same idea, many of them heading for the same place to attempt a breakout. Hakoda and Zuko led the charge through the other prisoners, fighting those that got in their way. Soon they got outside the prison, feeling the heat still coming out of the water.

"Who's going first?" Suki asked.

"I will," Zuko answered.

Even for a firebender, the formerly submerged rock was still hot to walk on. Light steps kept the heat at bay, allowing Zuko to reach the new shore without getting burned. From there he jumped from one exposed stone to the next, taking a path that zigzagged across the semi-drained lake. He easily made it across to a shore that used to be submerged, where he could run to reach the new drainage hole. But before he went for the hole Zuko stopped and looked back at the prison, constantly shifting his weight so he could alternate between each foot in keeping them off the hot rock.

"Just be quick and you'll be fine!" Zuko shouted across the lake.

One by one the others crossed the lake, some slower than others and feeling the heat in their feet. Hakoda had it the easiest, his longer legs allowing for greater strides and fewer steps needed on the hot rocks. Sokka had it the worst, still limping along in pain, and needed to be helped by Suki. His shoes were nearly burned through by the end, and he almost fell into the water more than once, were it not for Suki to catch him. In a few minutes everyone had made it over to the far side, and shifted between feet like Zuko had been doing.

Now sweating a lot, Zuko headed around the shore to the new drainage hole. "This might be tricky."

On the other side of the volcano rim, Lobo was running up the slope, heading beside the new stream that cooked the land. Near the hole, Lobo jumped high enough to pass over the caldera rim, coming back down over the prison to rejoin the battle. But Maxima wasn't where Lobo had last seen her, instead standing on the opposite side of the caldera rim. When she spotted Lobo leaping over the rim Maxima leapt into the air, timing it just right to intercept her foe directly above the prison. Maxima brought down both fists on Lobo's head, launching him straight down into the prison yard.

On impact Lobo made a crater that spanned the yard, and made large cracks throughout the island that the prison rested on. The cracks reached the new shoreline, and water flowed into the cracks and into the island. Again the lake's waterline quickly dropped, and soon there was steam rising up from beneath the ground inside the prison. Now there was only a narrow ring of water in what remained of the lake, and in some spots enough higher stone was exposed to create nearly unbroken paths to the outer shore.

It also put an end to the current through the drainage hole, and Zuko could see through to the other side. "Alright, this is going to feel horrible, but it will get us out."

The hole through the caldera rim was mostly horizontal, with only a mere twenty-degree slope heading down. The rock inside had been scorched by the scalding water, and there was steam billowing out from both ends. Zuko punched a few fireballs through the hole to draw the steam out with the fire, though that only proved a temporary solution. Zuko ran through the hole and quickly reached the other side, and was sweating like a sheep-pig by the end of it. Soon everyone else had gotten through the hole, each feeling like they had just been inside of a steaming teapot.

"You were right, that was bad," Sokka complained. Now outside the volcano, he could see all the way to the ocean. "Well we got the hard part done, should be easier getting out from here."

Spotting one of the brand-new airships in port, and then turning to see some of the prisoners copying their escape route, Zuko got a crafty look. "I have an idea."

Now in complete and utter ruin, the prison was beyond any hope of saving. Prisoners were escaping across the almost completely drained lake, following the earlier escapees to the hole in the caldera. It was safe to say that the Warden's record was completely shattered, as it would be just about impossible to rectify the situation without calling in the army for help. There was talk of abandoning the entire island to the prisoners, letting the island's shores be the walls that kept them imprisoned until order could be restored.

Still in the ruined prison, Lobo emerged from the hole his last impact made in the yard. Sweaty, sore, and somewhat exhausted, he took a moment for a breather. He saw Maxima in the yard walking towards him, in similar but not as bad shape as he was. Lobo raised his fists when she got too close, but Maxima did not strike him again. Instead she stopped just in from of him, making eye contact and standing there for a moment. Then Maxima took the few last steps to Lobo, and she flung her arms around his neck…

…right before kissing him.

After that Maxima pulled her face away. "I've missed doing that."

Lobo was all smiles now. "You sure do love the foreplay."

Maxima put a finger on Lobo's chest. "You weren't really going to turn me in to mother, were you?"

"It's what I'm being paid to do," Lobo said.

"At least wait a little while," Maxima asked. "There's a big fight coming up here and I want a part of it."

If it were possible to make a bigger smile, Lobo would be making it now. "When is it?"

"About fifteen rotations," Maxima answered.

"Well in that case…" Lobo said. "I just won't tell her I found you this quickly."

Zuko wished he could see the look on Azula's face.

Apparently, no one thought that the airship would need more than the barest amount of security, what with the prison's reputation for no escapes ever. As such, when a few dozen escaped prisoners rushed at the airship, they were able to overpower the handful of guards left at the entrance. Zuko only trusted them enough to get off the island, and made sure that he, Sokka, Suki, and Hakoda were in control of the airship when it took off. They dumped off the airship's crew on another island, and then put the prison far behind them.

It took all day to reach the Western Air Temple, and it was dark by the time they got it docked with one of the upside-down buildings. Those that had stayed at the temple were quite surprised, from the airship to the escaped prisoners and everything Sokka and Zuko had gone through. Katara was overjoyed to have her father back, Aang was relieved that they back, while Toph and Taiyo were quite impressed by the whole ordeal. Of all the things Sokka and Zuko could have been doing, they weren't expecting this.

After the family reunion and finishing the story, Sokka held up both hands. "So yeah, that did not go anywhere near what I had in mind."

"Hey, if it did, I wouldn't be here," Suki said. "Now if I could get a spare uniform and fans, I'd be fine."

"Oh, that reminds me," Taiyo said. He walked over to where his things were kept, riffled through a few bags until he found something, and walked back over to hand it to Suki. "I believe this is yours."

Suki recognized it immediately. "My ring! Where did you get this?"

"Azula kept it for the disguise as you," Taiyo answered. "I took it from her shortly after that."

Sokka looked as Suki slipped on her ring, and he held up his own. "Too bad this one is out of power. Might as well be the same as your ring now."

"Can't you recharge it?" Toph asked.

"The battery is broken," Sokka answered.

In a second Taiyo retrieved the power battery from Sokka's things. "Yeah, it looks pretty beat up."

Sokka stared into the broken power battery, gazing into the black scar where swirling green light should be. "Hey, I got by just fine without it, so I really don't need to have it."

But then he spotted something, a slight flicker within the black. Sokka thought he imagined it, until the flicker happened again. A very small bit of green flickered in the black, like some bizarre flame struggling to burn. Like the embers of a campfire left unattended, the green light sputtered back to life. Slowly but surely the light flickered faster and grew larger, green gradually growing within the black. Right before his eyes Sokka watched the green light return to its former glory, albeit with black scars remaining around the swirling green light in the center.

"Are you guys seeing this too?" Sokka asked.

With a smile and a nod, Taiyo handed the battery to Sokka. "Well would you look at that…"

"Maybe that needed to recharge too?" Zuko speculated.

Sokka took the battery in his left hand, shrugged, and stuck his ring into it. "I'm not complaining."

And so Sokka recited the oath.

"In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night,

"No Evil Shall Escape My Sight.

"Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might,

"Beware My Power, Green Lantern's Light!"

Green light flashed from the battery and flowed into the ring, restoring its power to maximum once more. Like a person that had been stranded in the desert, the ring drank the light like so much precious water. Once the ring was restored to power there was another flash of green light, this time from Sokka and changing his clothes to the Green Lantern uniform. Sokka floated above the floor while bathed in the green glow from his ring, all smiles while he touched back down. Sokka held up his hand and looked at the ring, then looked back at the others.

"We're back in business."