Sorry about the Long delay, people. Had a nice little case of writer's block... not to mention work, and finals. Oh boy those finals! And Oh boy howdy all those damn packages! Anyway, this Chapter's a supersized one to make up for lost time...
Semper Fi!
Chapter 21: Showdown In Chinatown-Showdown At The Daniels
Tyler sized up his opponents, then analyzed the best way to neutralize them without haste.
"Let's shake things up, shall we," Sokka exclaimed, stomping his foot into the ground.
The resulting force caused the whole area to shake. Violently. Car alarms blared and the windows in nearby homes and buildings rattled, some shattering. Sokka then stomped again, causing a slab of asphalt to shoot upwards. He then leapt, then kicked the rock solid slab as if it was nothing more than a soda can.
"Holy–" Tyler began as he bounded into the air.
The slab of pavement crashed and shattered a nearby car into a metal slag.
"If he can shake the ground..." Tyler thought to himself.
He knew that San Francisco was seismically active. Tyler knew all about the 1906 quake and the Loma Prieta quake of '89. If he can control the ground, Tyler thought, then he could level the city.
Or the whole region.
Tyler went on the offensive and darted straight for Sokka. He reared his fist up and prepped to let out a vicious blow. Just as he took a swing, aiming for the earth bender's face, Sokka gingerly moved out of the way, avoiding the punch. To counter, Tyler went low and swiped Sokka's legs from under his body, causing the foe to fall.
While the benders of air and fire stood back, as if waiting for their turns, Katara, the lone female joined in on the fight. She spread her legs apart, going into a sturdy stance. Next, she stuck her arms out in front of her body and moved them the waves of the ocean. At first, Tyler felt a fine mist hitting his mask. Just then, two fire hydrants exploded and geysers of water erupted from them.
Briefly, Tyler stood in awe, watching her move, controlling the water the way she did, like a dance. It was eerily beautiful. Katara then changed her stance and moved her arms back and forth, as if she were reeling in a fishing net. Above her, the water too, began to move and sway in resonance with her. Even the hundreds of bystanders caught in the melee watched her movements. Some even clapped, thinking this was some sort of theater performance.
"Take this Magna Man!" she cried.
The dancing geysers then formed into one spiraling column, that bent into Tyler's direction. The liquid then gathered strength and shot forward, whooshing past Katara.
"Oh boy," Tyler muttered, then quickly back flipped, jumped high into the air, and let dual orbs of heat energy well in his hands.
The fist of water then froze to solid ice. Seeing an opportunity, Tyler altered his inertia and landed on the solid water. He then slid on the ice, using as a pathway, straight for Katara. Joining back into the fight, Sokka leapt up onto the frozen pathway, cutting Tyler off. Like a speed skater, Tyler skidded to a halt, the end result causing him to kick up a large spray of ice shavings.
"Nothin' like a snow cone on a warm day, huh?" Tyler joked.
Sokka growled loudly, then went on the attack. First, Sokka made a series of punches, a few causing the ice to buckle slightly, but stay solid. Tyler managed to block and dodge the brut of them, but Sokka landed one clean on Tyler's jaw, sending him to the ice. Sokka then vaulted high into the air, brought his foot to bear, then descended rapidly, his heel targeted for Tyler's chest. Just before he could land his strike, Tyler propelled himself back to his feet and dashed from harm.
Not to be left out, Katara joined in on the fight, jumping onto the ice, then sprinting headlong for her counterpart and adversary. As if they were communicating telepathically, Sokka set his feet shoulder width apart and stuck his arms straight out to his sides. Gathering speed, Katara continued her sprint. She then jumped, landing on Sokka's shoulders. Next, she hurled herself high into the air, corkscrewed her whole body, then posed in a mantis-style strike position. While suspended above, lances of high powered water ejected from the palms of her hands.
With no time to dash, Tyler spun on the ice like a top. The jets of water impacted onto him, but harmlessly dissipated. In the blink of an eye, he came to a stop.
"Cool, huh? Learned that from Superman," Tyler noted, then bounded into the air and grasped onto Katara. "And this is a lil' somthin' somethin' I came up with on my own."
Tyler, with Katara in hold by her robe, began to spin until the two were only a blur to the watchers on the sidewalks as well as the other Benders. As Tyler spun the girl, he got a good look at her face, which was a tone or two lighter than his and though her eyes were fading and beginning to shut, he could tell that they were royal blue and her hair was white like fresh mountain snow. Even though her hair was white, her face was youthful, as if she was around Tyler's age, possibly even younger.
Switching his focus back to the task at hand, Tyler continued his stomach lurching spin. Katara fought to remain conscious, but quickly succumbed from the amount of G-forces exerted on her frame, causing her to pass out.
"Sorry, but I've gotta do this," he whispered.
Tyler released his grasp on her and the girl tumbled, heading straight down, and right into Sokka with a loud crash, the resulting impact shattering the solid ice pathway into glittering frozen ice sickles that gleamed in the early evening sunlight.
"And that, ladies and gentleman, is how you kill two birds with one stone," Tyler triumphantly announced.
The other two Benders–air and fire–stood, as if waiting for their turn while the crowd of onlookers applauded. Tyler gingerly landed on the street and got ready for his next two opponents.
"Sorry to keep you boys waiting. Shall we?" Tyler enticed, thick with confidence after knocking out the first two Benders with near-ease.
By their stagnant stature and emotionless expressions, Tyler quickly realized that these two Benders meant business. Instead of attacking him one at a time like the first two, however, Aang and Zuko performed a series of rhythmic kicks, causing their elements of air and fire to rush towards Tyler. He managed to dodge the fire attack, but the air attack–a solid wall of air–connected with his stomach, knocking the wind from him and sending Tyler to the ground.
Without hesitation, the two continued their onslaught. Tyler jumped to his feet, then quickly dodged a barrage of fire balls and wind punches intent on hitting him somewhere. One lucky fireball impacted his into his face causing Tyler to wail in momentary pain. Instinctively, he pulled his mask down from his face. Aang then flipped himself and landed a glancing kick, sending Tyler straight into a car. Following up, Zuko created a large fireball and hurled it at the crumpled car, causing the auto to explode and send Tyler flying wildly, the two Benders following right behind him.
Raven, along with her mother, Tonya, walked down Kearny Street, which was jammed back with pedestrians and cars. Although Raven wanted to go to Union Square, where all the up-scale boutiques and shops were, she had to admit that Chinatown had an interesting flair to it. Periodically, she'd catch herself looking through some of the windows of small clothing shops or at some of the passers by, admiring their attire, as well as getting ideas for her own clothing creations.
"Mom?" Raven whined, "can we go to The Union now? I wanna check out Louis Vuitton and Prada to see if they still have my bags."
"Your bags? How did you afford bags from there?" Tonya wondered.
"Well they're not mine yet"–Raven then fluttered her eyes, clasped her hands together as if making a wish, then smiled brightly–"but with an advance in my allowance, they could be mine. I'd even let you use one.
"Once in a while," she smugly muttered under her breath.
"How much of an advance?" Tonya groaned, instantly picking up on the fact that her daughter wanted money.
"Oh, not much at all mommy dearest," Raven responded as sweetly as she could, then sheepishly added in, "only four-hundred and seventy five dollars. Plus tax."
"Oh, is that all?" Tonya laughed, which caused Raven to laugh as well. "Then no!"
"But mom–"
Raven was cut off by a scream that gradually became louder and the whistling sound of something falling.
"What is that?" Raven gasped as she, along with her mom, and everyone else in the immediate vicinity raised their eyes to the sky.
"Look out!" someone shouted, causing people to scatter quickly.
Raven's eyes went wide as she saw a screaming Magna Man plummet into a FedEx delivery van, smashing the vehicle effectively. As she watched him fall, time seemed to slow as she swore she could make out the face underneath his mask. In fact, he wasn't wearing his mask at all. And though he was a block down the way, from what she saw, he looked vaguely familiar.
"Rae! We've gotta get out of here!" Tonya ordered.
Raven knew Tonya was right, but she just had to see who Magna Man was.
"Mom, I gotta see him. I just gotta," Raven exclaimed then jogged off.
"Rae? Raven!"
Tyler's eyes fluttered open, only to find faces staring right back at him. His mask was around his neck and if anyone he knew happened to be nearby, his cover would be blown.
"He's... he's just a kid. No older than my own," one guy said.
Tyler noticed a slew of people with cameras. However, to his surprise, not one was pointed at his face.
"We won't tell anyone. We promise, Mags." a lady with a reassuring smile noted, the other people gathered around him and the crumpled truck nodding in agreement.
"Thanks," Tyler responded. "But you all should evacuate now. Trouble's on the way."
"Trouble is already here," a voice boomed from just above.
While some of the crowd turned tail and ran to safety, A large handful stayed behind.
"You wanna get to Mags... you gotta go through us," the driver of the FedEx truck, a man roughly Tyler's heigh but twice his width, growled.
"That goes for me too," the woman who said he would keep his secret, added in.
More people began to form a barrier of defiance around him.
Above, Aang and Zuko glanced at each other, then back down at the citizens below.
"So be it," Zuko grumbled, then smiled in an evil manner, allowing a large fireball to materialize within his hands.
"Oh no you don't pal!" Tyler shouted.
He dug his hands into the panel van then pushed himself up into the air just as Zuko let his fireball go. Below, the people winced, waiting for the inevitable as a rush of heat pin-pricked at their bodies. Blinding pain, however, never happened. Just above them, Tyler caught the fireball before it could strike.
"I think this belongs to you," Tyler said to Zuko. "Commin' at 'cha!"
Tyler hurled the massive orb of fiery ember back at the fire bender. Unfortunately, Aang whirled his hand in a circular motion, creating a wall of air, negating the fireball. He could hear the sighs of the people as they watched his effort go for naught.
"Nice try, Hero," Zuko noted, then whooshed forward.
In mid air, Tyler and Zuko fought, hand to hand, foot to foot. Aang joined in, leaping behind Tyler and going on his attack. Tyler gritted his teeth and went on the defensive, throwing up his arms to block their kicks and punches. Before he knew it, however, the two switched positions with Zuko getting behind Tyler and Aang in front. Zuko grappled Tyler while a hurricane of fists and feet from Aang went to work on his torso, the numerous jabs making his innards feel sore and battered. Even through the onslaught, he heard something that happened to catch his attention.
"What's up, San Francisco! You're listening to Live 105. I'm Jared–and Miles The Intern is over yonder, sitting in the corner after he broke my Buddy Holiday record during the break. While I kick his ass, you all are gonna listen to... you guessed correctly... The Gorillaz. It's coming up, it's coming up, it's DARE! Live 105..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Boy! Boys! Hang on a second," Tyler announced.
Aang slugged Tyler once more in the stomach.
"Oof! I said wait a minute!" Tyler snarled, then panned down below to see where the music was coming from.
"Hey!" he called out and pointed to someone holding a boom box. "You with the ghetto blaster. Crank that up louder! They're playing my jam!."
The guy complied and increased the volume. The music gave Tyler a new found energy, which he quickly used to break free of his incarceration at the hands of Zuko. Tyler balled his fists, generating heat energy within them, then snapped his arms back. Like a crack of thunder, both of Tyler's made acquaintances with the sides of Zuko's face, the addition of the heat energy magnifying the dual strike.
Zuko's grip loosened, allowing Tyler to wrench himself free. He then snapped his leg straight out, his foot connecting under Zuko's chin and sending tumbling through the air head over heels. Following close on his heels, Tyler snagged the foot of Zuko's robe, stopping the fire bender's inertia and coming to a stop. He then snapped the robe, forcing Zuko back towards Tyler.
Aang raced to assist his associate.
"I hope you can still fight without any air in your lungs," he exclaimed.
The air around Aang began to swirl. He removed his hood, revealing a completely shaven head. On the top of his head, there was a large tattoo of a simple light blue arrow that had a point that ended at his forehead. His eyes began to glow a brilliant white as the air around him became more violent. It was then that Tyler saw that Aang was just a kid, easily four or five years younger than himself. Yet, of the four Element Benders, he seemed to be the most advanced and in tune with his element.
Next, Aang moved his right hand in a waxing manner.
"Wax on, wax off," Tyler thought aloud.
"Hardly," Aang smirked.
Aang pulled his hands back, put his body in a sturdy position, then rushed his hands forward, sending a small tornado straight for Tyler–more specifically his face with the intent to suck the air and life clean from within. Tyler managed to pull his mask partially over his face, covering his mouth. Still, the funnel of air hit its mark. He lost his grip on Zuko, who fell onto an air conditioning unit of one of the buildings in Chinatown. Tyler's eyes shot wide open and he clutched his throat, attempting to hold on to any bit of air left in his lungs, which were being deflated like balloons. To no avail, his eyes began to roll back into their sockets as he blacked out and dropped from the sky.
Raven watched the madness that ensued. She wished she was one of those people who crowded around him earlier and got a clear view of his face. She, along with everyone else, watched as he fell from the sky and crashed into the pavement.
"Oh man. Oh man, oh man, oh man," she chanted as the crowd ran to Magna Man's aid.
Once there, she saw his face–at least part of it. His eyes, though barely open, were an emerald green. His hair was had a neatness, yet still wild spike and was a glossy black, except for a few strands at the front that were platinum white, while his skin was a dark tan or caramel-mahogany concoction. If Raven didn't know any better, she would have sworn that he looked familiar. Too familiar.
"Is he alright?" a man asked.
"Someone should give him CPR," another person noted.
Everyone then noticed Magna Man begin to muster, then get up, still gasping for air.
"Okay, people, back up. Give the boy some air," Raven exclaimed, to which everyone complied. "Go get 'em Maggie! Kick some a–"
"Raven!" Tonya exclaimed.
"Sorry, Mom."
Oh great. Of all places, Rae just had to be here, Tyler thought. Hopefully she doesn't know. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and tried to re-inflate his lungs. Tyler then looked up. Aang was still there, suspended above. With that, Tyler pulled his mask completely over his face, then leapt into the air. Can't let another mistake like that happen again, he thought to himself. , Tyler thought. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and tried to re-inflate his lungs. Tyler then looked up. Aang was still there, suspended above. With that, Tyler pulled his mask completely over his face, then leapt into the air. he thought to himself.
"You like air, Breezy? Well lets see how you do higher up," Tyler growled.
Before Aang could mount another attack, Tyler grabbed his arms, then rocketed straight upwards.
"Y'know, a wise man once said, 'Don't start nothin', won't be nothin'!" Tyler called out over the wind created by their speed.
He took a quick look back at Aang, who was beginning to shiver as the temperature began to drop rapidly from their altitude.
"Well, kid. It's been fun, but I've gotta go meet the parents. So I need to wrap this up."
Still rising, Tyler then whirled Aang around and around. He then hurled the boy away, up into the higher regions of the atmosphere.
"Whoa," Raven gasped.
"That was..." Tonya began, but trailed off, not able to find the words.
A slurry of police officers now took up positions, interviewing those who saw the events. Soon, news crews flowed in.
"Hey! There he is! Magna Man!" a person yelled and waved frantically.
Everyone–officers, citizens, and media, alike, raised their eyes to the sky as they watched Magna Man streak past, giving everyone a curt salute and thumb's up.
"There's no way that could have been him." Raven said to herself. "Could it have been?"
To Raven, he looked so familiar, but there was no way that could have been Tyler. If it was him, however, she wouldn't be surprised at all.
Tyler double-timed it home. On his flight, he happened to see a clock, stating that it was 6:30. Normally, that would be more than enough time for him to get ready, but this was a different occasion. He wanted to look better than his best.
Once in his backyard, Tyler deactivated his powers and dropped to the ground. Quietly, he opened the back door, only to hear Eva listening and singing to a Beatles cd. Silently, he snuck through the kitchen and dove though the doorway leading downstairs to his room.
"Whew," he breathed, then grabbed some clean underwear and raced back up the stairs.
In the bathroom, Tyler started up the shower, stripped out of his clothes, then got in.
"Hot! Ooh! Too hot!" he yelped, grabbing the faucet knobs and adding in some more cold water. "Alright, Tyler. Calm down. This'll be easy. Just go, make a good impression, and call it a night."
Once he was clean, Tyler put his underwear and tee shirt on and raced back downstairs, nearly tripping over Kia in the process. He took a quick check at his alarm clock.
"Six forty-five."
Taking a deep breath, he calmed his nerves and shuffled through his clothing. He settled on a pair of black slacks and a crisp royal blue dress shirt. He then grabbed his shoes–a pair of brown renaissance-style boots that reached up to just below his knees–examined them for blemishes or scuffs, then put them on. Finally, he put on his dark red tie, grabbed his reflective yellow jacket and helmet, then took one last check of the clock.
"Six fifty-five. Cutting it kinda close."
Tyler opened the garage door, threw his jacket and helmet on, pushed his motorcycle outside, then quickly slammed the door down and shut.
Chelsea sat by her bedroom window awaiting Tyler's arrival. She was nervous as this was the first time her parents had ever met a boyfriend. They had seen him, however–once at a police station and once at a hospital. Not really an ideal choice of locales. She took a glance at her clock, as it read 6:59. Just then, she saw him arrive on his motorcycle. Grinning brightly, she hopped from her seat at the edge of her bed and darted down to the front door.
"He's here!" she called out.
Chelsea's mother, Karen, emerged from the kitchen. She had never officially met Tyler, but if he was half as good as he seemed to make her daughter feel, she knew he would be a keeper.
"Mom, I can't wait for you to meet him." Chelsea gushed. "Where's Dad?"
"He's in his office." Karen responded.
Chelsea took a deep breath, then opened the door.
Tyler, with his helmet slung under his arm, was about to press the doorbell. Just then, the door opened.
"Tyler!" Chelsea screeched, then embraced him in a tight hug and gave him a small peck on his cheek. "You smell nice. And you've got on a tie."
"Sorry I'm late. I... had to go out to the airport to pick up my mom." Tyler explained–lied.
"It's okay. You're actually right on time." Chelsea said, releasing him from her grasp, though he didn't really want her to let him go just yet.. "And this is my mom."
"It's great to finally meet you, Tyler. We've heard so much about you." Karen smiled.
Tyler stuck his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
To his shock, Karen just glanced at his hand, then embraced him in a hug as well. "Call me Karen...or Misses Daniels... or mom. 'Ma'am' makes me feel old."
Out of the corner of his eye, Tyler saw Chelsea beaming proudly. When Karen released him from her hug, Tyler noticed that she was almost the spitting image of Chelsea if Chelsea was an adult. Signs of aging were evident as there were small creases in the corners of her eyes and mouth, yet her face still had the same angular beauty much like her daughter's.
"Please, come in. Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes."
Chelsea took him by the hand and led him inside. She noticed that he seemed to be shaking slightly which caused her to giggle over his awkwardness.
"What's go you laughing?" he asked.
"You're shaking," she noted.
"Yeah. I guess I am." he replied. "And you look lovely. As usual."
Chelsea got in front of him, looked up at his eyes, then said, "You are so good to me. I love you, Tyler."
"Chelsea Daniels? I love you too," he responded, staring her right back into her eyes, which he then whispered, "Your mom's watching us."
Sure enough, Karen peeked her head from around a corner, a big toothy grin on her face–a grin exactly like Chelsea's. Just then, Chelsea's father emerged from his office. He wasn't tall, maybe a few inches taller than Chelsea, give or take, but he had an intimidation factor that caused Tyler to take a step back from Chelsea.
"Daddy? This is Tyler. Tyler? This is my dad, Keith," Chelsea introduced.
Nervously, Tyler smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Likewise," Keith noted. "Come with me to my office so we can have a little chat, Tyler."
Terrified, Tyler glanced at Chelsea, who motioned him on. "Right away, sir."
Wishing he had some intel before getting into this, he reluctantly followed. Inside of his office, Keith beckoned for Tyler to take a seat, which Tyler complied without a word. Keith took a seat behind his desk. Inside, the office was adorned with numerous certificates and plaques as well as one wall lined with multi-colored books.
"Jack," Keith said gruffly, pulling out a bottle of vintage Jack Daniels liquor from one of the drawers in his desk as well as two shot glasses.
"Uh, no thank you. I'm–" Tyler began.
He poured a few fingers worth into each glass and passed one to Tyler. "I wasn't offering."
"Of course, sir," Tyler murmured, then gulped down the liquor, which burned as it traveled down his throat.
"Listen, son. I'm gonna be frank. Your they boy dating my daughter therefore I don't like you one bit. But for the sake of my Chelsea, since you seem to make her happy, I'll attempt to accept you. But I swear on everything holy that if you hurt her in any way, I'll swear to God I'll cut your penis off and feed it to you. And that won't even be the worst thing. Do I make myself clear?"
The thought of hurting Chelsea in any way, shape, or form, irked Tyler to the bone. Defiantly, he stared down Keith. "Sir? I would never do anything to hurt Chelsea. Never. But yes, sir. You make yourself crystal clear."
At the dinner table, Tyler fiddled with his food. It smelled good–as it was an interesting Italian dish–however, the taste was different. He knew that Chelsea was a vegetarian, but the fake meat in the dish had a strange spongy texture, not to mention that it had no flavor.
"How is everything, Tyler?" Karen asked.
"Excellent, ma'am–I mean, Misses Daniels." Tyler said.
"So, Tyler. What are your plans for after high school?" Keith inquired.
"Well, sir, I-I hope to get a scholarship to a flight school. But if that doesn't happen, I'd like to go to the air force."
"So you want to be a pilot?" Karen asked.
Tyler nodded.
"Hmm," Keith huffed. "The air industry isn't what it was a decade ago. You'd have to be a damn good flyer to make it."
"Dad!" Chelsea hissed through clenched teeth.
"Well, sir. The worst thing I could do is not try." Tyler responded.
"I think becoming a pilot is a very respectable profession, Tyler," Karen said.
"Well then... have you and my daughter had sex yet?" Keith abruptly asked.
"Dad!"
"Keith!"
"What? He's a boy with raging hormones going out with my daughter." Keith explained. "So, Tyler? Have you and my precious daughter fu–"
"Of course not, sir!" Tyler interjected.
"Why? She not good enough for you or something?"
"Keith! Stop it!"
Tyler looked over at Chelsea, who had a saddened embarrassed look, which caused Tyler's blood to boil. "Sir? The last thing I would ever do is something to your daughter that she wouldn't want. She means the world to me and the honest truth is I'm not good enough for her."
"You're right about one thing," Keith noted. "You're not good enough for her. The other times that I had the pleasure of finding you and my daughter together, you two were either in a police station or hospital. I am grateful that you protected my Chelsea, but those incidents were most likely your fault."
"Keith! That's enough!" Karen snapped.
"No–maybe he's right. I-I think I've spent too much time here. I should go," Tyler conceded.
With that, he removed himself from the table and grabbed his coat and helmet. Chelsea intercepted him at the door.
"Tyler? Please, I'm sorry. I-I–" she began.
"Hey, it's okay. I'll see you later, okay?" he whispered as sweetly as possible.
A stray tear trickled down the side of her face, which Tyler mopped up with one of his fingers. He then gave Chelsea a kiss on her forehead. Karen then walked in.
"Thank you for inviting me into your home, Misses Daniels." Tyler politely said, then walked out the door.