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: From here on out, I'm gonna do the previously stuff with mostly from past chapters from this book. I'll only bring up Book 1 or the prologue when I need to.

\_|_/

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 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

\_|_/

Avatar Roku: Previously, on Avenging Avatar…

When Aang is released from the iceberg, he opens his eyes to see Katara smiling at him.

Steve looked to them and said, "My friends are lost somewhere on your world."

"And you are sure that you have seen many soldiers from Hydra." Thor asks his friends. Natasha nods and said, "It seems like Hydra's nearing completion of their teleportation machine."

"Which means that they'll be bringing their war machines to this world soon." Steve added.

He glanced back as he bitterly said, "My father says my sister was born lucky." He glared as he remembered his father's words to him, "He says I was lucky to be born."

Iroh quirked a brow to see what Zuko's reaction would be. But all Zuko could do was sit down and say was, "I'm tired." Then he looked down to the water and admitted, "Plus, I don't know if I can do it without Bucky."

Fury sounded confident in them as he said, "They're all capable of taking care of themselves. We need to trust in them."

Sam and Rhodey looked to each other and nodded in agreement. They had a feeling that their friends would be just fine.

"The Avatar State, where your spiritual side takes over, yes?" Thor asked as he remembered seeing it the one time at the North Pole. Aang nodded and then looked up as he said, "It was scary." Hanging his head he added, "I was scary."

Pakku directed them, "Fly straight to the Earth Kingdom base to the east of here. General Fong will provide you with an escort to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. There, you'll be safe to begin your earthbending training with King Bumi."

Iroh knew why Zuko was looking so down and said, "I see." Sitting next to his nephew he said, "It's the anniversary, isn't it?"

"Three years ago today, I was banished." Zuko said as he recalled the memory.

The princess, Azula, stood up and stepped out of the palanquin. A group of individuals soon approached behind the palanquin and stood on both sides of the princess. Abomination, Rumlow and Scarlet Widow stood on Azula's left while the Destroyer Armor, the armored Justin Hammer and the bug suit pilot stood on her right.

"We have received some intel of mysterious strangers popping up in the Earth Kingdom." Fong informed. All six of them looked hopeful as he said, "There have been rumors about a beast near the Bang Grove Swamp. And of an archer near the Earth Kingdom capital. As for the third, there has been nothing."

After triggering the Avatar State, his predecessor came in with his dragon. Roku looked back to Aang and said, "It's time you learned."

Roku's dragon flew through the clouds before coming to a cloud where all the previous Avatar's stood. Roku then explained, "The Avatar State is a defense mechanism designed to empower you with the skills and knowledge of all the past Avatars."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked as they continued to fly through the spirit realm. Roku then told him, "If you are killed in the Avatar State," The past Avatars moved through the clouds while Aang and Roku did as he said, "the reincarnation cycle will be broken," They had moved into a line descending to the first Avatar and it faded as Roku said, "and the Avatar will cease to exist."

Soon all six boarded Appa and took off. Aang turned Appa towards the direction of Omashu and the bison complied with a growl.

Azula brought out a wanted poster while saying, "Anyone who harbors these traitors will face the wrath of the Fire Lord."

He looked at it before raising it up to his head, took a moment and then cut off his hair. He held the cut part before handing the knife to his uncle. Nikol watched as Iroh took the blade and cut off the bun. When he had, they both dropped the cut pieces into the river and watched them float away.

\_|_/

Book Two: Earth

Chapter Two: The Cave of Two Lovers

The sky was clear over there spot as the group took a few days to relax. They had decided that a spot by the river was a good place to camp out. While three of the group were taking it easy after a while of traveling, the rest were currently helping Aang to train. Appa floated in a spot on his back and tried to sleep. Thor, Steve and Natasha all stood at the sides, ready to jump in when the two Waterbenders were ready. All six of them had stripped down to be a little more comfortable while they were in the river. Katara was currently teaching Aang a new technique to him.

She was about to start her instructions when Sokka called from his leaf float, "You guys are gonna be done soon, right?" The five looked to him as he floated along in his underwear and had Momo sleeping on his belly as he reminded, "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Omashu today."

"I think that King Bumi wouldn't mind us being a little late." Natasha said with a shrug. Steve smiled to her and said, "Yeah, I don't think that he really cares about being late."

"From what you told me about him in your previous encounter, even though he is a king," Thor added, "you might be right about that." He chuckled as he said, "My father, on the other hand, would be a different story."

"And what's your hurry?" Katara asked as she looked to her brother. Then she quirked a brow as she commented, "As if you're ready to go right now, naked guy?"

"I can be ready in two minutes." Sokka replied as he moved the hair from over one of his eyes. Then he added, "Seriously, whenever."

"So, you were showing me the octopus form." Aang reminded, getting her back on track. Then he pointed to the three Avengers as he said, "And you want their help during the lesson?"

"Right." Katara nodded. Then like a teacher she said, "Let me see your stance."

Aang moved to where his body leaned to the left and brought his arms in front of him. Katara looked over his form before seeing a few flaws in it. Walking over she told him, "Your arms are too far apart." Then walking behind him she gently moved his arms into the right position as said, "See, if you move them closer together, you protect your center. You got it?"

Aang blushed at her touch and looked to her before nodding with a smile, "Uh, yeah." She moved around to get back to her spot as he said, "Thanks."

The three Avengers smiled as they had watched the whole thing. When Katara stood where she was before, she turned and said while assuming her stance, "Okay, let's see what you got."

Aang took a deep breath before reaching down while keeping his arms how she said. Then drawing up some of the water, he spread his arms out and created eight tentacles made out of water. Thor placed his hand to his chin and said, "Not bad, not bad."

"Yeah. He really is advancing." Natasha agreed. Steve then said, "He's getting closer to mastering water."

"Hope it won't be too much for him when we reach Omashu." Nat said as she crossed her arms. The other two didn't say anything, but Katara said, "Okay, you guys. Move to your positions."

The three Avengers did as she said and walked further into the river. Katara and Natasha all stood before Aang while Steve and Thor took to either side of the Avatar. Katara started by throwing a shard of ice at Aang, and he reacted by grabbing it from the air. He moved the water tentacles when another shard came right at him. Natasha then quickly picked up some rocks from the river and chucked them at Aang. Aang maneuvered another water tentacle to grab the rocks from the air and pull them into the river. Steve went in next by taking his shield and throwing it at Aang. Aang was able to grab to deflect it into the air before using a water tentacle to grab it and chucked it back at Steve. Steve grabbed a huge rock from under the water and with a twist he threw it at the shield with a yell. The rock hit the shield and it was enough to knock the shield off its course and it landed in the water beside Steve. The girls started throwing both ice shards and rocks at Aang again. Looking to Thor the super soldier then said, "Let's give him something to block."

"Aye." Thor said, knowing what his friend meant. Picking his shield out of the water, Steve threw it at Thor and Thor was able to hit it towards Aang. The girls gasped at the incoming projectile and it alerted Aang. He looked back to see it coming and was able to move him and his octopus form out of the way. When it had went but a few feet from him, Aang used a water tentacle to grab it and send it flying back. Thor and Steve ducked as it flew over both their heads and embedded itself into the rock arch. Sokka moved the strands of hair from over his eye to look before putting it back. Katara then provided cover for the three as they ran forward. She threw shard after shard which Aang was able to deflect with his water tentacles. When they were but a few feet from him, Aang shot three water tentacles out that grabbed their wrists while sending a fourth that grabbed Katara's leg. All three stopped and smiled to the Airbender as Katara complimented, "You make a fine octopus, Pupil Aang."

They all started chuckling when Aang had formed a water bubble around himself and danced in the middle of it. He was also making the arms move around as well. He soon dropped the octopus and it made a huge splash. The sound of music suddenly came through the trees, alerting the group. Even Sokka was somewhat curious as he sat up and moved Momo's ears out of the way. They then hear someone start to sing…

Chong: Don't fall in love with a traveling girl

'Cause she'll leave you broke and brokenhearted…

The group watched as they walked up to the river. And when Sokka tried to get off his leaf, he yelped as he fell into the water. The traveling group stopped playing their music when they saw the team. The guy in front had a chill attitude as he said, "H-Hey…! River people."

"We're not river people." Katara told them as Sokka came back up and Momo landed on his head. Natasha then muttered as she commented, "Seems like someone's been having too much of a good time."

"Shh." The other two Avengers said. The man then asked, "You're not? Huh, well then, what kind of people are you?"

"Just people." Aang said with a shrug of his shoulders. Everyone was silent for a moment. Thor then commented, "Well this is awkward."

"Eh, not really." The man said as Sokka walked around his friends. Then pointing a finger at them he asked, "Who the heck are you?"

"I'm Chong," He introduced. Then gesturing to the woman to his right he said, "And this here is my wife Lily." Then looking back at the other two he said, "And this Moku…" The chubby man waved before Chong points to the other woman and man and said, "And this is Jamie and Joe." Chong then told them, "We're nomads- happy to go wherever the wind takes us."

Then he played a power cord on his guitar while vocalizing.

"You guys are nomads" Aang asked, a smile forming. Then he said, "That's great! I'm a nomad."

"Hey, me, too." Chong said again. They all looked to Chong with weirded looks as Aang said, "I know. You just said that."

"Great." Natasha said with a shake of her head. Then she sarcastically said, "Just what we need. Hippies."

"And what are those?" Sokka asked as he looked back to her. The spy didn't say much but pointed to the new group. The Water Tribe warrior then just shrugged as Chong then remembered what he had said while rubbing the back of his head and said, "Oh, yeah." Then he looked to Sokka and said, "Dude, nice underwear."

The majority of the group looked to Sokka as he was very weirded out and started to feel uncomfortable. Quickly grabbing Momo from his shoulders, the teen moved him in front of him. Then moving to the left he went to put his clothes back on.

\_|_/

Elsewhere, the now refuge Iroh was staring at what he considered a beautiful sight. He was squatting next to a bush that had a beautiful flower at the top. He took a deep breath from the sight of it. From behind, Zuko angrily came out from behind the bush. With his hair no longer up in a ponytail, he let the rest of it grow out and it now became a much hairier head. Looking to his uncle he said, "I didn't find anything to eat." Then he started ranting, "I can't live like this. I wasn't meant to be a fugitive." He kicked the dirt as he turned around and raised his fists in the air as he angrily shouted, "This is impossible!"

But Iroh wasn't listening as he took a whiff of the flower. Zuko, having heard the loud sniff, looked back to the only family member he could trust right now and asked with a slight glare, "Uncle… what are you doing?"

"You're looking at the incredibly rare white dragon bush." Iroh said as his mind went to a calming place as he clasped his hands together, "It's leaves make a tea so delicious, that it can be so heartbreaking."

But then another plant came to mind as he said, "That, or it's the white jade bush, which is very poisonous."

Zuko took a deep breath before pointing out, "We need food, not tea." With a sigh he said, "I wish that Nikol guy hadn't gone off. We could have used his help." Then he really wished it as he said, "And I'm sure that Bucky would know what to do."

"Well, no sense in dwelling on what we don't have." Iroh said as he continued to stare at the flower. Then he said, "Now, help me figure out which bush this is."

Zuko growled in irritation to this. Then he decided, "I'm going fishing."

He walked away from his uncle to try and provide for them. Iroh looked at the flower as he thought about it. A smile appeared as he said, "Hmm, delectable tea…" But it fell when he said, "Or deadly poison."

He knew that it would be tough call to make, but he believed that he could figure it out.

\_|_/

The wandering nomads had gotten really acquainted with the team. Appa groaned in bliss before looking up to who was on his head. Jamie sat on top of Appa's head and was braiding his fur. Moku was admiring both Mjolnir and Steve's shield as he looked at them. Lily was braiding Katara's hair while Natasha watched from the side. Sokka, Steve and Thor walked back to the group as Aang sat up on one of Appa's legs. He wore a crown of flowers on his head that one of the nomads had made. Aang then said, "Hey, guys, you should hear some of these stories that the nomads got. These guys have been everywhere."

"Though I do love a good tale…" Thor started. Steve finished, "We do have somewhere to be."

"Well, not everywhere, Little Arrowhead." Chong said, not hearing what the two Avengers had said. Then he said, "But where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs."

While Steve and Thor looked to each other, Sokka on the other hand had a slight glare on his face before it became a questioning look. Aang turned to the three and said, "They said they'll take us to see a giant nightcrawler."

"And on the way, there's a waterfall that creates a never-ending rainbow." Moku said before rolling onto his back.

"While normally I do love a good adventure. I don't think we'll have time for it." Thor said. Then he said, "And we shouldn't take any detours."

"He's right." Steve agreed. Sokka then said, "And look, I really hate to be the wet blanket here-"

"Though it's mostly always." Natasha commented. This caused Aang, Katara and the nomads to chuckle. Sokka glared at the spy before saying, "but since Katara is busy, but I guess that it's up to me." He then jabbed his thumb at the two men and said, "And them too."

Katara, Steve and Thor looked to the older teen with slight glares. Sokka then said, "We need to get going to Omashu." Then looking to the nomads as he said, "That means no sidetracks, no giant worms and definitely no rainbows."

"While his comments were unnecessary, he's right. We'll have to get moving soon." Natasha said as she looked to the two Benders. Chong looked between Sokka and the two Avengers and then said, "Whoa. It sounds like someone's got a case of destination fever." He laughed before saying, "You worry too much about where you're going."

"You gotta focus less on the "where" and more on the "going" to." Lily said as if to help, but accidentally pulled on Katara's braid. Sokka then slowly said the syllables of the word, "O-Ma-Shu."

"Sokka is right." Katara said as she looked to the nomads. Then she told them, "We need to find King Bumi so Aang can learn earthbending somewhere safe."

"Well, it sounds like you guys are heading to Omashu." Chong said. Sokka couldn't believe what he just said and face palmed. Even Thor and Steve were baffled by it. Chong then said, "There's an old story about a secret pass right through the mountains."

Aang looked to the others who only shrugged. Lily continued to braid flowers into her hair as Katara then asked him with a skeptical look, "Is this real or just a legend?"

"Yeah, we can't be relying on some wild story.' Natasha agreed with her. Chong then assured them, "Oh, it's a real legend. And it's as real as earthbending itself."

Chong then started to strum on his guitar as Lily played a flute and Moku beat on a drum. Aang and Katara were swaying to the beat as Chong started to sing…

Chong: Two lovers forbidden from one another

A war divides their people

While Sokka gave the nomads a questioning look, the three Avengers were slightly moving to the beat as well. Chong kept playing while singing…

Chong: And a mountain divided them apart

Built a path to be together…

But the flow of the music slows down as Chong tried to think about the song. Then he said, "Yeah, I kind of forgot the next couple of lines, but, uh, then it goes like…"

Getting up on his knees, Chong played while Joe and Jamie danced as he sang…

Chong: Secret tunnel, secret tunnel

Through the mountains

Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel!

"Yeah!" Chong finished. Aang, Katara, Natasha, Steve, Thor and the nomads all clapped their hands as they had enjoyed their performance. Though the current wet blanket of the group was skeptical as he said, "I think we'll just stick with flying. We've dealt with the Fire Nation and Hydra before."

"I'm kind of thinking that we should try this secret tunnel." Steve said. Natasha then asked him, "And didn't you once make us walk for a while without flying?"

Though sore that she reminded him of that time, Sokka said, "Look, all I'm saying is that we should try and make it to Omashu before too long." Sokka put on a smile as he said, "We'll be fine."

"Thanks, for the offer." Aang said as he, Katara and Natasha got up. Then he said, "But Appa hates going underground." He looked to his beloved bison before looking back to Chong saying, "And we need to do whatever will make Appa most comfortable.

The other four looked to each other, but decided to trust Sokka's instincts and Aang's logic. Soon they all boarded Appa and took off.

Ten minutes later…

The group had flown over a small platoon and had been spotted. The captain from a few adventures ago ordered both the Fire Nation and Hydra soldiers to fire their weapons, "Launch!"

The Fire Nation catapults launched flaming rocks at Appa while Hydra soldiers raised their rifles and opened fire. Appa roared as he flew away from the flaming rocks and bullets. Everyone was on Appa's heads screaming their heads off as explosions went off behind them. Even Momo was screaming as he sat on Thor's head and held on to his golden locks. Thor then shouted, "I wish we had gone with the hippies!"

Ten more minutes later…

The team walked past the nomads in a soot covered line. All eight of them had soot covering their bodies and they looked exhausted from the ordeal. Sokka then pointed ahead as he said, "Secret love cave, let's go."

The nomads looked to each other before getting up and following after the team.

\_|_/

Zuko had made it back to his uncle and was carrying a stick over his shoulder. He stopped along the path to the very end of the long stick and glared at the tiny fish that was still struggling. With a huff, Zuko looked back to his uncle who was still squatting by the bush. Somehow knowing that his nephew was behind him, Iroh said, "Zuko," He didn't turn around to face him as he asked in a somewhat funny sounding voice, "remember that plant I thought might be tea?"

Zuko's eyes widened as he thought the worst and he said, "You didn't."

"I did." Iroh said as he turned to his nephew. He had big red splotches covering his body and scratched them while he said, "And it wasn't."

Zuko gasped at the sight of his uncle's state and dropped the stick with the fish. Iroh stood up and informed while scratching his belly with his hand and his back with a stick, "When the rash spreads up to my throat, I will stop breathing." But a smiled appeared as he came over and brought the stick around while saying, "But look what I found."

Zuko looked at a cluster of berries on the stick as Iroh told him while bringing the berries in front of his eyes, "These are pakui berries, known to cure the poison of the white jade plant." But then his face fell as he then thought, "That, or makaola berries that cause blindness."

"We're not taking any more chances with these stupid plants." Zuko said while snatching the berries from his uncle. He tossed the stick away before saying, "We need to get help."

"But where are we going to go?" Iroh said as he kneeled down while scratching the back of his leg. Then he pointed out as he continued scratching, "We're enemies of the Earth Kingdom and fugitives from the Fire Nation and Hydra."

"If the Earth Kingdom discovers us," Zuko said as he started to think it over, "they'll more than likely have us both killed."

"But if the Fire Nation discovers us," Iroh pointed out, "they'll turn us over to Azula." Zuko didn't like the sound of that, and even more when Iroh said, "And who knows what Hydra may do."

They looked to each other before nodding in agreement. They walked off as Zuko said what they were both thinking, "Earth Kingdom it is."

\_|_/

The two groups walked past a ruin between the walls of a canyon. Without looking back, Sokka asked, "How far are we from the tunnel?"

"Actually, it's not just one tunnel. The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love," Chong said. None of the team was liking the sound of that as he said, "so they built a whole labyrinth through the mountains."

"A labyrinth?" Sokka asked in dismay as he turned to them with his hands on his head. Natasha then questioned, "You couldn't have mentioned this sooner?"

"Ah, I'm sure we'll figure it out." Chong said as if not to worry. Sokka still didn't feel any different, but turned around to keep walking. Lily then said, "All you need to do is trust in love…" Then she added, "According to the curse."

This caused Sokka to stop as the rest of the group. When they all had past him, Sokka gave a frustrated yell and shouted, "Curse?!"

"Take it easy, Sokka. We'll get through it." Steve said as he kept walking. Sokka huffed before walking again. They soon came to the entrance of the labyrinth at the end of the canyon. Above the entrance was a few symbols and some moss hanging from the top. Chong laughed before saying, "Hey, we're here."

"So, what exactly is this curse?" Sokka asked as he looked up at the symbols. Chong then recited, "The curse says that only those that trust in love can make it through the caves." He looked back to the group with a shrug and said, "Otherwise, you'll be trapped in the labyrinth forever."

"And die." Lily added. Aang, Katara, Natasha, Sokka, Steve and Thor all looked to each other. Chong nodded as he agreed, "Oh, yeah, and die." Then his face brightened and he said, "Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song."

He took a step forward before strumming a chord and ominously sang…

Chong: And die.

"That's it!" Sokka shouted as he had had enough of the nomads' nonsense. Then he declared, "There is no way we are going through some cursed hole."

"He does make a good point." Steve agreed as he thought about it. Moku looked back and saw a huge column of smoke rising a little ways behind them and said with a point and a smile, "Hey, someone's making a big campfire."

"That's no campfire, Moku." Katara said with a glare as the team knew that it was bad news. Sokka had a glare as well as he said, "It's the Fire Nation and Hydra. They're tracking us."

"But how exactly?" Steve asked as he placed. Then he said, "I know that we were able to get away from them. And we made sure that we weren't being followed."

"But somehow they were able to follow us." Natasha said. Thor then said, "We can think about it later, right now we need to get moving."

"So, all you need is to trust in love to get through these caves?" Aang asked when he turned to Chong. The nomad looked back and said, "That is correct, Master Arrowhead."

Aang looked back to Katara as she still looked at the column of smoke. His heart felt the love he felt for her and believed that it could be possible. Aang looked to the group and said, "We can make it."

Thor then said, "Well it seems that we have no alternative." Then with a shrug of his shoulders he said, "It could be worse."

"That's true." Sokka said. Then motioning his hand to the tunnel he said, "Okay, everyone, into the hole."

The group turned back to the tunnels and walked in. Appa growled in discomfort as he followed after the group. Natasha looked back to the bison and said, "Don't worry, big guy. We'll get through it."

But Appa still didn't look relaxed as he followed them. As they walked deeper into the caves, they walked past a few gigantic statues.

A Fire Nation tank rolled through the canyon with a couple of others. But before they were about to go in, the captain shouted, "Hold on! It's too dangerous."

"What do you mean?" A Hydra soldier said as he came up from the top of another tank. The soldier was an old man with a small mustache and orange tinted glasses. The captain looked to him and said, "I know you haven't heard the song. But I'm not taking any chances."

"But the Avatar and the Avengers." The Hydra soldier pointed out. The captain then said, "I know that the soldiers of Hydra are willing to sacrifice their lives for this sort of thing, but I'm not." Then he ordered as he looked to the entrance, "Just close them in. The mountain will take care of the rest."

The Hydra soldier didn't say anything as he complied with the orders. The tanks raised their harpoons before launching them at the top of the tunnel entrance. With a quick jerk of the two tanks, it was enough to bring a landslide down on the entrance.

Everyone on the inside looked back and watched in horror as the rocks covered the entrance. Appa groaned as darkness filled the entire tunnel. When the rocks stopped falling, Appa ran to the closed off entrance and pawed at it trying to escape. Everyone looked to the groaning bison as Aang held a frightened Momo. Thor then came up to the bison and placed a comforting hand as he said, "Easy, Appa. You must calm yourself."

The flying bison looked to the Asgardian and Katara came up next as she assured the scared Appa, "Thor's right. We'll be fine."

Appa seemed to calm down and stepped away from the blocked entrance. Sokka then assured the entire group, "We will be fine." Then looking to his team he said, "We should make a plan."

"I could use Mjolnir to bust through the rocks." Thor suggested as he tossed his hammer before catching it by the handle again. Aang disagreed by saying, "I don't think that would be the best course of action."

"He's right." Steve agreed. Then he pointed out, "Even if we were able to get through the rocks without causing another cave in." He pointed to the wall and said, "The Fire Nation and Hydra are probably on the other side of that wall. And the moment we go through-"

"Then we'll be walking into an attack." Katara finished. Steve looked to the Avatar and nodded. Sokka then said, "Well, then we'll need to think of another idea."

"Okay. What did you have in mind?" Natasha asked. Sokka placed a hand on his chin before turning to the lead hippie and asked, "Chong, do you know how long those torches will last us?"

"Uh," Chong said as he looked to the torch tied to his guitar. He shrugged as he guessed, "about two hours each."

"And I have a flashlight." Natasha said before pulling it out. She turned it on and earned a few 'oohs' from the nomads.

"And since we have five of torches so," Lily said before she lighting the other four, "we'll have ten hours."

Sokka, Thor, Steve and Natasha all groaned from the stupidity of the moment. Sokka walked up to her and grabbed the torches while shouting, "It doesn't work like that if they've all been lit at the exact same time."

He threw the four torches on the ground and stomped on them to smother the fires to give them time later. Lily put her hands on her head as she realized with an, "Oh, right."

The other five on the team looked to each other with questioning looks. Sokka then climbed onto Appa's saddle to grab something as he told his idea, "I'm gonna make a map to keep track of where we've been in the tunnels. Then we should be able to solve it like a maze and get through to the other side."

"That's actually a good plan, Sokka." Steve said with an impressed look. Sokka looked a little proud of himself as he came down and began drawing. Appa groaned as they went further into the tunnel.

\_|_/

Zuko and Iroh had finally found a village that was willing to help with Iroh's condition. Some patients were being treated while others were finishing up. In a healer's building, a lotion was being applied the affected splotches on Iroh's body. The woman applying the lotion looked between Iroh and Zuko and she guessed, "You two boys must not be from around here. We know better to than to touch the white jade, much less make it into tea and drink it."

Iroh chuckled from his foolishness and rubbed the top of his head while saying, "Oops."

"So where are you traveling from?" The girl asked them as she wringed a cloth in a bowl. Zuko quickly stood up and said, "Yes, we're travelers."

"Do you have names?" The girl asked and looked back to him while tending to his uncle. Zuko looked about as he thought of names, "Names? Of course we have names."

He saw a few of the workers wearing masks and thought them to be germaphobes. Then the former prince then quickly came up with some fake names, "I'm… Lee." Then for his uncle he shrugged as he said, "And this is my uncle… uh…" With nothing better he said, "Mushi."

Iroh leaned to look at his nephew with a glare before putting on a smile and said, "Oh, yes." Then playing along he said as she prepared more lotion, "And I was told that my nephew as named after his father so we just call him Junior."

Then with a smile he looked over to 'Junior' who made a throat slash motion with a glare that said you-are-dead. The girl then said, "Mushi and Junior, huh?"

Zuko stood normal when she turned around and introduced herself, "My name is Song." Then being kindhearted she said, "You two look like you could use a good meal."

She looked back to Iroh who was scratching himself and swatted his hand away from the splotches. Then looking between them she asked, "Why don't you come with me and stay for dinner?"

"Sorry," Zuko said, appreciating her offer, but declined, "But we need to be moving on."

"That's too bad." Song said while putting the cap back on the container of lotion. Then she said, "My mom always makes too much roast duck."

Zuko facepalmed when he knew where this would be going. Iroh, now intrigued, leaned closer and then asked, "Where do you live exactly?"

A smile grew on Song's face as she had company coming over. Zuko huffed in annoyance though he then thought a meal would help.

\_|_/

Back with the two groups, they had come across a dead end. More like their tenth as Sokka held up the map and looked over it. Katara then complained, "Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've lead us into."

"I thought you were keeping track." Natasha said while leaning in close to him, making Sokka flinch. Sokka glared back and said, "I did keep track." He looked at it again and said, "This doesn't make any sense. We already came through this way."

"I'll say." Thor said from the sidelines. They all looked to him as he said, "I picked up a rock and used it to carve an 'A' into the rock here." They all looked to where he was pointing and saw a rune carved into the rock as Thor then said, "Just to make sure that we've came back this way. And I noticed that we came through here about four times."

"And you didn't say anything why?" Steve questioned, feeling annoyed with his friend. Thor shrugged and said, "Well, the first two times seemed a little amusing and I only got worried the third and now."

Natasha groaned from Thor's recklessness while facepalming and then looked to Sokka, "If you were keeping track of where we were going, then how do you explain this."

'Well, I don't think we really need a map." Chong said from the side. Most of the group looked to him and he said, "We just need love." He pointed to Aang as he said, "The little guy knows it."

Sokka ignored the nomad and continued to look over the map. Steve looked to Aang and asked, "Do you really think that love can get us out of these caves?"

"I'm not sure." Aang honestly admitted. Then he said with a shrug, "But if the legends revolve around love, then I guess it would be worth a try." Then he shrugged as he admitted it, "But it wouldn't hurt to have a map, too."

"There's something strange here." Sokka said as he walked up to one of the tunnels. Natasha then sarcastically asked, "Oh, something strange. Do tell us."

"And I have the only explanation." Sokka replied as he rolled his map, and though he was ticked off by the remark, he turned to look at them. They all looked to him with questioning looks. He said with a serious face, "The tunnels are changing."

A rumble suddenly reverberated through the tunnels and everyone looked around while Momo gave a frightened screech. The little lemur crawled into Aang's shirt before it stopped. Steve looked to Sokka and said, "You might be right about that."

\_|_/

It was night time when Zuko and Iroh came to Song's mother's house. They sat by an opening as Song's mother brought the roast duck to the table. Setting it down, the older woman looked to the two and said, "My daughter tells me that you are refugees." Sitting down on her knees she then said, "We were once refugees ourselves."

"When I was a little girl," Song said, revealing a little of her past, "the Fire Nation raided our farming village." She looked and sounded said when she said, "All the men were taken away." Her eyes started to tremble as she said, "That was the last time I saw my father."

Zuko was slightly caught off guard by it, and knew what it felt like to not see some one for so long. Looking down he said, "I haven't seen my father in many years."

"Oh." Song said, feeling sorry for him. Then she asked, "Is he off fighting in the war?"

Iroh slurped his noodles before looking to Zuko. He hoped that his nephew would say something that would give them away. Zuko set his bowl down and took a moment before saying, "Yeah."

Then he narrowed his eyes as he thought about how his father had treated him and the world. Iroh noticed the look too and worried for his nephew, but didn't say anything.

\_|_/

The groups had been standing at the dead end for about an hour now. While most of the group were staying calm, one was freaking out. Chong walked around the lit part of the tunnel and said, "The tunnels, they are a-changing." He sounded distraught as he placed his hands on his head and said, "It must be the curse. I knew we shouldn't have come down here."

Most the team looked to the nomad with questioning looks while Sokka sarcastically said while turning to the nomad, "Right. If only we listened to you."

"But, Chong." Thor said grabbing his attention. The nomad looked to the Asgardian and Thor said, "It was you who showed us the way. And did you not say yourself that you wanted to see this place."

Chong took a moment to think before asking, "I did?"

Thor looked at the nomad with a questioning look before saying, "Yes."

"Oh, yeah." Chong said before chuckling. Thor laughed too as he patted Chong on the back. Suddenly, Thor, Steve, Natasha, Aang and Katara heard something as the Waterbender said, "Everyone, be quiet.

"Listen." She said as she tried to hear what the sound was. A sound echoed through the tunnels and it sounded lie it was coming to them. The sound was enough to make Momo jump off of Sokka's shoulder and fly away in fright. Sokka turned to watch the lemur fly away before turning back to the darkness. He held the torch to see what it could be but only saw darkness ahead. Suddenly, a creature leapt out from the shadows with a screech and it made everyone duck or fall. It flew around each of them while they tried to move out of the way. Chong sounded frightened when he said, "It's a giant flying thing with sharp teeth."

When the creature landed, Moku recognized it and shouted, "No! It's a wolfbat!"

The wolfbat took a step forward before leaping at the group. Flying through the air it tried to attack them. Sokka ran up to it and waved the torch at it to drive it away, but it flew higher. Thor came in and spun Mjolnir really fast to try and blow the wolfbat away, but it only worked for a second as the wolfbat came flying back around. It used its hind paws to knock the torch from Sokka's hand and it flew through the air. It landed on one of Appa's feet and flared. The bison growled in pain and started to run around in fear. His frightened rampage was enough to send Mom flying away. The wolfbat too became fearful from the bison and ran back into the darkness. Appa continued to run around and smashed through a support for the tunnels before turning and hitting another and then running back and forth. Steve yelled to Aang, "See if you can get him to calm down!"

The Airbender started to move towards the bison when the cave started to rumble. Rocks started to tumble from the ceiling and everyone moved out of the way. Cracks spread through the rocky interior and caused a few stalactites to fall from their perch. Aang, Steve and Thor all rushed over to help. Aang used his airbending to push Sokka and the nomads to safety while Thor moved over them to knock the boulders away. Steve ran up to Natasha and Katara to shield them with his actually shield. Aang then rushed back over to them and used his airbending to knock them out of the way while also getting clear of the falling rocks. The five all shakily got up on their feet and started to move around. Appa groaned as he pawed at the new cave in. They all looked to the rock wall that separated them from their friends. Appa looked to the four with a guilty look and Natasha comforted him by saying, "It's okay, Appa."

She rubbed the fur on his head to comfort him. Steve then walked up to the rock wall and shouted, "Are you guys okay?!"

When he didn't get an answer, he looked back and guessed, "The rock wall is probably to thick for them to hear me."

"And my flashlight's dead." Natasha said while picking up the broken tool. The lens were cracked and the bulb was broken. With a huff she placed it back in her pocket.

"Maybe we'll just have to find another way out." Katara suggested. Natasha then agreed by saying, "Maybe these mysterious tunnels will let us meet up at some point."

"You're probably right." Aang said before the five started walking.

\_|_/

On the other side of the wall, Moku had lit another torch as the group picked themselves up as well. Sokka looked to the cave in and remembered that Thor was standing there when the rocks fell. Running to the wall he shouted, "Thor!"

He tried to push some of the rocks away when suddenly a section of the wall burst open. Thor coughed as he stood up from the rubble and set his hammer down to dust himself off. Sokka ran up to him and asked, "Thor! Are you alright?"

"I am fine, Sokka." Thor said as he continued to dust himself off. When he finished he picked up his hammer again and said, "But I fear that we may need to find another way to get back to the others."

Thinking about the safety of the others, Sokka then tried to dig his way through. But when he couldn't make any headway, Sokka slumped his shoulders in defeat. Chong then came up and said, "Yeah, it's no use. We can't get through to them." But then a smile grew on the nomad's as he said, "But hey, look on the bright side, you guys. At least you have us."

He chuckled while Sokka looked really worried and then screamed in agony. The Water Tribesman then digs faster into the rock wall. But his actions cause a burst from the wall and covers Sokka up in rocks with his feet sticking straight up. Thor then looked to Chong and said, "Let's get moving."

Chong just shrugged before he and the other nomads turned to walk down the tunnel. Thor then grabbed Sokka by one of his ankles and tossed the teen over his shoulders before following the others. Sokka then grumbled, "Thanks."

"No worries, my friend." Thor acknowledged. Then he said, "Or as I learned from Stark, Hakuna Matata."

\_|_/

The lamps glowed brightly as Zuko sat on the porch. He looked down at the grass as he was thinking hard about his life. From being in the palace with his family, to his banishment. Then he thought of meeting Bucky to when he lost him. Zuko was frustrated with how his life was falling apart. And he felt that it revolved around his father. He heard the door slide open and could hear footsteps approaching. Song didn't come over but did ask, "May I join you?"

Zuko didn't say anything, so Song came closer and said, "I know what you've been through. We've all been through it." Song sat down beside him and looked out into the yard before she said, "The Fire Nation has hurt you." Then she guessed, "And I guess it's been in more ways than one."

Zuko's eyes slightly widened at her words, but then calmed down. She then gently reached to touch the scar on his face. But when she was but a few inches from his face, Zuko grabbed her hand to stop her. He gently released her hand and she placed it in her lap. Thinking that she upset him, Song said, "It's okay. They've hurt me, too."

She showed Zuko by lifting her right foot and removed her sock. Zuko looked at her leg and could see the burns on her leg. He was surprised to see that Song had been hurt like he had, even if it wasn't in the same spot. Zuko looked to Song with a face of sympathy but didn't know what to say.

\_|_/

After some time carrying Sokka, Thor set him down and let him walk by himself. The Water Tribe teen was now carrying the torch and Momo on his shoulder and walked at the front of the group. But much to the ordinary teen's annoyance, Thor had asked the nomads to play a song. What got even worse was when Chong started to sing…

Chong: Oh, don't let the cave-in get you down

Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown

When the tunnel is darkest

That's when you need a clown

Hey!

The nomads started walking a little faster and passed the two friends. Sokka was a little surprised when Moku brushed past him. He and Thor continued to walk behind them until Chong came back around as he finished…

Chong: Don't let the cave-in get you down, Thor and Sokka

\_|_/

In another tunnel, Aang, Katara, Steve, Natasha and Appa all walked down the tunnel. Steve carried the torch as they rounded a bend. Katara noticed something coming up ahead in the tunnel. She became excited when she said, "You guys, look ahead!"

They all looked to see a door and Aang happily said, "We found the exit."

"Though I was honestly hoping to meet up with the others." Steve said as he and the other three ran up to it. Natasha slowed down when she noticed the statues by the door. Then she looked about the door and found it a little odd. When they reached the door, Katara, Aang and Steve all started to push. Even with Steve's super soldier strength, they couldn't get it to move. Backing up, Steve said to the kids, "We're gonna need something heavier."

"I think Appa has you covered." Natasha said from behind. They all looked back to see Appa preparing to charge. The three looked to each other before Steve shouted, "Move!"

They all moved out of the way when Appa came charging at the door. His strength was enough to get the door open. As the door moved, Steve and Appa rolled the door out of the way. Looking in, Steve then said, "I think we were way wrong."

The other three looked in and saw that he was right. Katara dreaded each word she said, "This isn't the exit."

"No." Aang agreed when they saw what it really was, "It's not even close to an exit."

Two coffins lay in the middle of the room. He looked down from the balcony as he revealed, "It's a tomb."

The five friends walked down the steps to where the two coffins lay. They all looked around as they neared the bottom. When they came down, they looked to the two coffins and Aang guessed, "It must be the two lovers from the legend. That's whose buried here."

"I'm surprised anyone knew where to bury the bodies." Natasha said as she looked around the room. She then assumed, "And judging by how old this place is, it must have been a long time ago."

"Maybe we could learn something here." Steve said as he pointed to an image on the coffins' pedestal. Katara used her torch to look at it and she said, "These pictures tell their story."

They all leaned forward as Katara started to tell the story.

\_|_/

Long ago…

A long time ago, on a mountain top, a man and a woman saw each other.

Katara: They met on top of the mountain that divided their two villages.

They were from two different villages, and didn't know how to interact with each other. But soon after they talked with each other, they soon became friends. And over time, they became lovers.

Katara: The villages were enemies so they could not be together.

The man and the woman knew they couldn't' stay long on the mountain top so they parted ways for now. They made a promise to meet again soon. But as they were apart, they couldn't help but be drawn together.

Katara: But their love was strong and they found a way.

Finding a giant creature that could move the very Earth itself, the two lovers learned the way to do the same to make a way to meet with each other. After some time and practice they were able to learn Earthbending.

Katara: The two lovers learned earthbending from the badgermoles.

They became the first Earthbenders.

The two lovers soon created two tunnels that went through the mountains. When they finally met up with each other, they discovered a way to increase their chances for their love and created a whole network of tunnels under the mountain.

Katara: They built elaborate tunnels so they could meet secretly with each other.

Anyone who tried to follow them would be lost forever in the labyrinth.

After some time, the woman had come into the tunnels and waited for her lover to come. But when she waited and waited, the woman felt that something was wrong. She was brokenhearted when she learned what had happened.

Katara: But one day, the man didn't come.

He died in the war between their two villages.

The woman came to her love's grave site and wept for loss. But soon her grief became anger. She started to use her earthbending to take her anger out on whatever was around her.

Katara: Devastated, the woman unleashed a terrible display of her earthbending power.

She could have destroyed them all.

But after a while of taking her frustrations, she realized that it was not what her lover would have wanted. The woman went before the two villages and said that the fighting needed to stop. They saw the truth in her words and decided to end the fighting.

Katara: But instead of unleashing her anger at them, she declared the war over.

And peace came between the two villages and the people decided to honor the woman and her love.

It took some time, but the two villages helped to build a new place to celebrate the peace between them. The woman also helped them to build by using her earthbending where they couldn't. And the citizen's of the new city decided to name it after the two lovers.

Katara: Both villages helped the woman build a new city where they would live together in peace.

The woman's name was Oma and the man's name was Shu.

The great city was named Omashu as a monument of their love.

\_|_/

"Wow." Steve said about hearing the history. They all felt sad for the two lovers. Then they turned to see a giant monument carved in the lover's likeness. Katara read the inscription, "Love is brightest in the dark."

"Could it be a clue?" Steve asked, feeling as their was more to the words. Natasha shrugged and said, "It could. I mean if love is powerful enough to make two villages stop fighting, then it could get the lovers through the cave."

The group didn't say anything as they thought about it.

\_|_/

Sokka and Thor's group wasn't having any better luck getting through the tunnels. Sokka suggested the map again, but it turned out to hopeless as they were still lost. Moku then started complaining, "Oh, great." Sokka lowered the map as the nomad said, "Your plans have led us to another dead end."

"It's still the same one." Thor said from the side. They all looked to see the rune that Sokka had carved. Sokka let out a groan before turning to the nomad and retorted, "At least I'm thinking of ideas trying to get us out of here, Moku."

"Whoa, wait, wait a minute." Chong piped up. He looked the ceiling as he asked, "We're thinking of ideas?" Then he threw in, "Because I've had an idea for, like, an hour now."

Sokka looked to the man with Momo on his head before letting out a frustrated cry, "Yes! We're all thinking of ideas!"

"Calm down, Sokka." Thor said while placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka crossed his arms with a huff. Then looking to Chong he said, "Give us your idea, Chong."

"Well, then listen to this." Chong started to explain, "If love is the key to getting us out of here, then all we need to do is play is a love song."

Chong then started to strum his guitar and the others joined in. Momo jumped off of Sokka's head before the teen facepalmed himself really hard. Thor then said, "Easy my friend. There are worse ideas."

"But do they have to include music?" Sokka questioned with a twitching brow as they started walking again.

\_|_/

The other five hadn't left the tomb of the two lovers as they were still lost on ideas. Aang then asked, "How are going to find our way out of these tunnels?"

"I'm not sure." Steve said before looking at the torch in his hand. He then added, "But we're starting to run out of time by the look of it."

"I have a crazy idea." Katara said, making them look to her. When she didn't say anything Aang asked, "What?"

"Never mind." Katara said while turning away from them. It seemed ridiculous to her as she said, "It's too crazy."

"An idea is better than no ideas, Katara." Steve encouraged her. Katara then took a deep breath before turning to them and said, "I was thinking. The curse says that we'll be trapped in the caves forever unless we trust in love."

"Right." Aang nodded, not sure where she was going with this. But the two Avengers were starting to get an idea. Katara then said, "Well, while they think of who is precious to them in terms of love, it might help." Steve and Natasha couldn't argue with that logic, Katara looked to Aang as she said, "And here it says, 'Love is brightest in the dark.' So it must mean something." Then gesturing to the mural she reluctantly said, "And this has a picture of them kissing."

"Where are you going with this, Katara?" Aang asked, feeling a little oblivious to what she was getting at. This caused Steve and Natasha to shake their heads. Katara then suggested as her cheeks blushed, "Well, what if you and I kissed?"

"Us, kissing?" Aang asked, a blush forming on his face and looked a little weirded out. Seeing how he reacted, Katara shook her head and turned to the right as she said, "See? I told you that it was a crazy idea."

"Us… kissing." Aang dreamily said as he too turned to his left. Katara then scoffed at the idea as she said, "Us kissing. What was I thinking?" She looked to Aang and asked, "Can you imagine that?"

"Yeah." Aang chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. Then he mistakenly said while pointing at her, "I definitely wouldn't want to kiss you."

He realized what he had said and the two Avengers grimaced from it. Natasha took a sharp breath before saying, "Oh. Bad call."

"Oh." Katara said while crossing her arms. Then she angrily said, "Well, I didn't realize that it was such a horrible option." Then she glared as she yelled, "I'm sorry that I suggested it."

Aang cringed from her harshness and tried to fix it by saying, "No, no, I mean, if it was a choice between kissing you and dying…"

"Oh!" Katara angrily turned away from him. Natasha facepalmed as Steve looked at the scene with wide eyes. Aang then tried again and said, "What?! I'm saying that I would rather kiss you than die." He clasped his hands together as he said, "That's a compliment."

Katara didn't know what to think about it as she looked back to him and said, "Well, I'm not sure which I would rather do!" Looking to Natasha she said, "Come on, Nat. I think it's time to have a girl chat!"

"Uh…" Natasha started to say, but couldn't when Katara grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along. Aang then tried to say, "Katara, wait-"

But he was stopped when Steve placed his free hand over his friend's mouth to make him stop. Then when he removed it he said, "In terms of baseball, three strikes and you're out."

"What is wrong with me?" Aang asked before he and Steve turned to walk after the girls.

\_|_/

In the other tunnel, the nomads continued to play their song as they went through the tunnel. Chong led the group as he sang…

Chong: Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love

Because it's in your heart

He hummed the next verse as Momo chittered and Sokka facepalmed again. The lemur looked behind them to sense for danger while Thor told Sokka, "You'll hurt yourself if you keep doing that Sokka."

"I can't help it." Sokka begrudgingly said. Then he pointed out, "We've been walking for a while and they've been playing their song the whole time. And we still haven't found the way out."

While Thor knew he had a point, he didn't want to discourage the nomads either. The group just kept walking through the darkness as the nomads kept singing.

\_|_/

It was much later at Song's house when Zuko and Iroh started to leave. They stood before the porch to gave their thanks. Iroh respectfully bowed and said, "Thank you, milady, for the duck." He had a big smile when she handed him some leftovers and added, "It was very excellent."

"You're welcome." Song's mother said, feeling appreciated by his words. Then she complimented, "It brings me joy to see someone eat my cooking with such gusto."

"Years of much practice." Iroh said while patting his stomach. He bowed again while Zuko turned to walk away. Iroh noticed this, but remembered their cover and said, "Junior," Zuko internally cringed from being called that, "where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people."

Zuko took a quick breath before turning and bowed as he said, "Thank you."

Feeling that was good enough, Zuko then stood straight again and turned to the gate. Song then said to him, "I know that you don't think that there's any hope left in the world, but there is still some hope left." She tried to encourage him by saying, "The Avatar has returned."

This made Zuko stop in his tracks and glance back. Iroh knew that it was still a sore subject for his nephew considering that the past few years had been revolved around the Avatar. Zuko then looked away and said, "I know."

Then he and Iroh started to walk to the gate. Zuko opened the gate and waited for Iroh to catch up. When they both started to walk away from the house, they passed by an ostrich horse. The beast gave a gurgled chirp when Zuko got an idea. He turned to the ostrich horse before looking at the house. Seeing as both Song and her mother had gone inside, Zuko decided to make his move. Walking up to the ostrich horse, he carefully grabbed the reins and pulled it along. Iroh looked back and questioned, "What do you think you are doing?" Pointing to the house he said, "These nice people have just shown you a great kindness."

Zuko came riding up and said, "They're about to show us a little more kindness." Then reaching down for his uncle's hand he said, "Well? Are you coming or not?"

Iroh didn't like the idea of robbing such nice people, but he did know that it was better to stick together, no matter what happened. He hung his head in shame for what he and his nephew were about to do. Taking a deep breath, he climbed onto the back of the ostrich horse and Zuko flicked the reins to get them moving. They rode away from the house, not knowing that Song had been watching the whole time. With a sigh, she closed the door fully in sadness.

As they continued to ride out of the village, Iroh and Zuko didn't know that they were being watched from a distance. One of the men stood in the moonlight to reveal the symbol of Hydra on his shoulder, while further back another figure continued to watch the two fugitives ride off. Then he said, "They might be fun."

\_|_/

After a few more hours of walking, Aang, Steve, Katara, Natasha and Appa were still trying to find their way out. Aang looked at the torch in his hands and regrettably said, "We're going to run out of light any second now, aren't we?"

"I'm afraid so." Katara said while turning to her friend, no longer upset. Aang looked to each of his friends and asked, "Then what are we gonna do?"

"What can we do?" Katara asked back, feeling like it was hopeless.

"Well, first…" Steve said as he placed a comforting hand on the Airbender's shoulder. They looked to him as he said, "We're not gonna panic. We will get through this. Somehow.'

"He's right." Natasha agreed and placed both hands on both kids' shoulders. Then she reminded, "We've been in tough scrapes before. This is just a little different."

"And maybe your idea could work." Steve said to Katara. Aang came a little closer to Katara and she did the same. The torch was starting to flicker out while Steve and Natasha started to think about those they really loved.

"Peggy." Steve whispers as he starts to think about her. Natasha didn't say hers out loud, but was thinking of someone who had indeed touched her heart. Katara placed her hand over Aang's hand that was holding the candle. Aang looked to her with a smile and she back at him. As the flame started to go out, Aang and Katara leaned forward to kiss. And when the light from the torch was completely out, light illuminated over their heads. They all looked up to see crystals in a trail heading down one of the tunnels. Four of the five were completely amazed by it.

\_|_/

Sokka and Thor's group continued to walk and were on their final torch at this point. But the nomads stopped playing and the group stopped walking when they heard the sound of low growling. They looked into the darkness to see what it was. Momo jumped off of Sokka's shoulder again as he and Thor started to get worried. Thor kept an ear out for both the fleeing Momo and what ever was coming their way. They a looked down a tunnel when suddenly a large pack of wolfbats came charging out of the darkness. They took flight and came right at the group. Sokka held his arms before his face and swatted at them while Thor tried to use Mjolnir to swat them away. He became confused when they purposefully moved around him to get away. When the wolfbats were gone, Chong stood up and praised them, "Hey, hey, you guys saved us."

"It was not us that had them running." Thor disagreed and looked into the darkness. Sokka thought about it and agreed with his friend while Momo rejoined them, "He's right. I think something else had them running."

"From what exactly?" Chong said as a rumbling echoed through the tunnel. They looked behind them as the tunnel wall exploded and a giant creature came walking out. The creature had brown, white and black fur running along its body, five long claws on all four feet. Another boom from the other side of the tunnel and they looked to see another one enter the tunnel. The two badger moles had both escape routes blocked off as they growled at the intruders. One of the badger moles clapped its paws together and made the two sides of the tunnel behind it close. The other badge mole slammed its paws against the ground and a wall of earth rose up behind it. The first badger mole slammed its paws on the ground and created a crevice around Sokka, Thor and the nomads. The nomads all fell to the ground while Thor and Sokka were able to move out of the way. Sokka turned to the one behind him while Thor went for an attack at the other one. Raising his hammer into the air, Thor was about to bring it down on the badger mole when it slammed one of its paws on the ground and a pillar of earth rose between them. Thor smacked face first into the pillar and slid down the side. Sokka had seen what happened and shouted, "Thor!"

He looked back to his badger mole and screamed when it came up to him. It took a stomp and knocked Sokka off his feet with a yell. He landed on his butt with a grunt and looked in fear of the giant creature in front of him. The Water Tribe teen quickly scooted backwards as it continued to come at him. Sokka tried to think of a way to save everyone, but couldn't think straight as he continued to back up. His hand touched Chong's guitar and a note resonated through the cave. Both the badger moles stopped growling when they heard the noise. Sokka and Thor both noticed the lack of aggression from the two creatures and looked to them. The one in front of Sokka gave a soft growl as it liked the sound. Thor then said, "Sokka, do it again!"

Taking Thor's advice, Sokka picked the guitar up while not looking away from the badger mole. Then he started to pluck the same cord repeatedly and the other badger mole walked around the group to get closer to the sound. Chong then assumed, "Hey, those things are music lovers."

"You okay, Sokka?" Thor asked the frightened teen. Sokka's answer was in song…

Sokka: Badgermoles coming towards me

He looked to the nomads and sang…

Sokka: Come on, you guys, help me out, please

"You heard him." Thor said to the nomads. They got the hint and Chong stood up with another guitar and started to play with the others. Then he playing a new tune he sang…

Chong: The big bad badgermoles who live in the tunnels

Hate the wolfbats but they love the sounds.

The badgermoles started to sway to the sounds of the music as they enjoyed it. Thor stood up and summoned Mjolnir back into his hand. With a smirk he said, "I think I know how we can get ourselves out now."

\_|_/

The five were still looking up at the ceiling in wonder. Aang then observed, "It's made of some kind of crystals."

"And they're only brightest in the dark." Steve said, understanding what the mural said. Katara was equally amazed as she then guessed, "That's how the two lovers from the legend found each other.

"They just put out their lights and followed the crystals." She looked from the direction they had come and then to where the crystals led. She saw another door at the end and was happy and said, "That must be way out. The real way out."

The four hugged each other for a moment. When they released, Aang tried to say, "So, um.."

Then gesturing for them to follow she shouted, "Come on! Let's go."

Katara ran for the exit with Appa and Natasha right behind her. Before following them, Steve looked to Aang and asked, "I'm guessing that you guys didn't…"

"Afraid not." Aang shook his head. But then he looked to Steve with a smile and said, "There's always next time."

"True." Steve agreed before following after the girls and Appa. Appa grunted as he ran at the door like the last one and was once again able to get it open. When it rolled out of the way, they all continued through another tunnel before seeing light up ahead. They soon ran into the light of the outside world with Appa in the lead. When he could feel the breeze of the wind against his fur, Appa stood on his back legs with a groan before falling on his back in sheer bliss. Aang, Katara, Natasha and Steve all laughed at this. But their smiles faded when they looked for the others and Aang asked, "What about Sokka and Thor?"

Suddenly, everything started to rumble and the four looked back to the tunnel. Appa rolled back to his feet as two explosions erupted from the mountain side. The four braced themselves from the wind before seeing a giant badgermole standing in front of them with a growl. But when they looked up they saw two familiar faces riding on the badgermole's back. Momo flew down from Sokka's shoulder as Katara happily shouted, "Sokka!"

"Thor!" Aang yelled with a grin on his face. Sokka, Thor and the nomads slid from the badgermole's shoulders and stepped away from the earthbending beasts. Sokka walked up to his sister and asked, "How did you guys get out of the caves?"

"Just like the legend says," Aang said while glancing at Katara, "we let love lead the way."

"And I see that you found your own way out." Natasha said while gesturing to the badgermoles. Sokka nodded and said, "Yep. We let huge ferocious beasts led us."

He and Thor turned to the badgermoles and waved goodbye with the nomads as they turned and walked back into the tunnels. The badgermoles growled as they disappeared into the darkness and used their earthbending to seal up the two new tunnels. Momo flew to Appa and started chittering at the larger animal, mostly likely about the whole ordeal. Appa just gave a soft growl as he laid down to listen to the lemur's tale. Sokka embraced his sister while Aang, Steve and Natasha walked over to the nomads. When they ended the hug, Katara looked to her brother's forehead and asked, "Why's your forehead all red like that?"

"I think you're about to find out." Thor said when he saw Chong walk over. He leaned close to Sokka and revealed, "Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you." Pointing to Aang he said, "I think that kid might be the Avatar. And the two beside him are heroes from another world with the blonde one here."

Sokka just facepalmed again and when he removed his hand it left a huge red handprint on his forehead. Chong took a good look at the spot as if trying to see what it was. Katara looked to Thor and mouthed, "Oh."

"Yeah." Thor nodded. Aang looked to the other four and asked, "So, are you guys going to come to Omashu with us?"

"Nope." Was all that Moku said. This surprised the three, but Aang just shrugged and said, "Okay, thanks for everything, Moku."

The four of the nomads started to walk off to who knew where. Before he parted with the other four, Chong decided to bestow Sokka a gift while saying, "Sokka," He placed his flower necklace on Sokka's neck as he said, "I hope that you learned a little something about not letting the plan you make get in the way of the journey."

Then he pulled Sokka into a brotherly embrace, slightly embarrassing the teen. Sokka then said something he never thought he would, "Just play your songs."

"Hey, good plan!" Chong said as he released Sokka. Then turning to walk away, he started to strum the guitar. The team came to stand together as Chong started to sing…

Chong: Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love

A smile grew on Sokka's face as he crossed his arms while Thor wrapped an arm around Steve and Natasha. Aang took a glance at Katara who just looked to the ground while blushing.

Because it's in your heart

Chong hummed as he disappeared with the other nomads. The team then started on their way to Omashu again. They climbed up a familiar hill since the city was on the other side. Aang looked to Thor and said, "I can't wait for you to see Omashu for the first time, Thor. You are gonna be amazed."

"He's not wrong." Natasha said with a grin. Steve then added, "Just the thought of the city is bringing up some wild memories."

"I do hope to enjoy it, my friends." Thor said as they kept climbing. Sokka then said, "The journey was long and annoying, but now we all get to see what it's really all about." He had a grin as he said, "The destination."

Then running up the hill he glanced back, "Ladies and gentleman I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O-" He stopped and his eyes became wide at what he saw, "Oh, no."

The rest of the group rushed to see what it was and gasped at the sight. The city of Omashu had been taken over by the Fire Nation and Hydra. Smoke billowed from all around the city and more bridges were being constructed. But the most worrying piece of the scene were the giant insignia of both the Fire Nation and Hydra on a flag over the front gate.

\_|_/

This story's dedication to:

Stan Lee: 1922 – 2018

\_|_/

Author's Note: Man, this is probably one of shorter chapters of the whole book. And I'm thinking that there might be another one near the end if you know what I mean. But back to the story. Bad news is, the Fire Nation and Hydra have taken over Omashu, but the good news is, the team will be lending a hand. Plus, we'll see a few new faces added to the cast. Plus, we are getting close to the reveal of the next Avenger. 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.