"That was amazing! That was spectacular! That was sensational! That was...um...superior!", exclaimed Ty Lee after she witnessed Pavitr's display of his powers. "Superior?", asked Pavitr, to which Ty Lee replied, "I don't know. But you got to admit, what you just did was pretty amazing." The pink clad girl was currently buried in a closet full of clothing, searching through shelves of clothes for Pavitr's new look. Once she found something, she took it off the shelf and handed it to Pavitr while saying, "Put this on!" He went behind a nearby folding screen and slipped into the costume that Ty Lee gave him. "So how exactly can you do the things that you just did?", asked Ty Lee, to which Pavitr poked his head out from behind the screen and replied, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Ty Lee looked puzzled for a moment and replied, "Try me." Pavitr came out from behind the screen wearing a garish blue and black body suit with a bag mask on his head. Ty Lee tried to stifle her laughter, but Pavitr heard it come out and asked, "What?" Ty Lee shook her head and pointed at a nearby mirror, which Pavitr looked into and saw his appearance. He gave a very unmanly shriek and jumped into the air, landing on one of the tent's support beams. He then landed back down on the floor and stated, "No. Just no."
With a look of mischief, Ty Lee said, "Oh, I don't know. I think people would love to see the exploits of the Bombastic Bag-Man." Pavitr shook his head fiercely and shucked the horrid costume off. Ty Lee gasped when she saw Pavitr's muscular physique exposed and thought, Oh sweet Fire Lord! He's a god! Okay, calm down, Ty Lee. Don't scare him away like that boy in Omashu. To distract herself, she went back to looking for another costume on the shelves. She pulled out another one and asked, "How about this one?" Pavitr quickly grabbed it, went behind the changing screen again, then he came out and Ty Lee was amazed by what she saw. Ty Lee squealed in delight and said, "It's perfect! Come look at it in the mirror!" Pavitr did as she said and was shocked by what he saw as well. This costume had a style to it like those worn by warriors that relied on stealth to carry out assassination missions. But the colors on this one made Pavitr stick out like a sore thumb; instead of black, the colors were bright red and blue. The hood-mask combination had triangular eye holes that allowed Pavitr to see out of them. "Hmm.", Pavitr said, "This could work. I would like to make some modifications though." Ty Lee tilted her head quizzically and asked, "Modifications? Like what?"
"Well, I was thinking of some web patterns on the red parts.", Pavitr answered, "And maybe a spider symbol on the front and back. You know, to emphasize what my powers are. I don't want people thinking I'm the Amazing Fly-Man." Ty Lee grimaced and replied, "Yeah, that name's just not you. You're more like a Spider-Man." Pavitr's eyes lit up as soon as Ty Lee said those words and he asked, "Could you say that again?" Ty Lee wasn't quite sure what he meant, but she tried to answer him with, "You're more like a Spider-Man?" Pavitr pulled off his mask, revealing an ear-to-ear smile, and said, "YES! It's brilliant! The Amazing Spider-Man! I love it! Thanks, Ty Lee!" Before Ty Lee knew it, she was locked in an embrace from Pavitr's strong arms. The girl was trying her best to hold down her blush as she screamed mentally, He's hugging me! I'm gonna pass out from all this embarrassment! Pavitr too realized how intimate he was being with the girl he just met and he recoiled back in panic. "Sorry about that.", he apologized, "So you said you wanted to know how I got my powers, right?"
Ty Lee nodded excitedly before doing a backflip and setting up a table and two cushions for them to set on. They took their seats and Ty Lee rested her head on her hands, saying, "Lay it on me, Spider-Man." And so Pavitr proceeded to tell her about his life on Spider Island, his Aunt Maya and Uncle Bonzu, Arachne, and the spider that bit him. Ty Lee listened very attentively to what he had to say and when Pavitr was done, she said, "Wow. That's quite a story." He nodded and replied, "Yeah, I guess it is. So can I ask you a question now?" Ty Lee nodded affirmative, so Pavitr continued, "What's your story, Ty Lee? How did you end up in the circus?" Ty Lee's normally bubbly look dissolved into a melancholy one as she answered, "My home life wasn't exactly the greatest. I was born into a Fire Nation noble family with six identical sisters." Pavitr was shocked by Ty Lee's declaration of that and replied, "Wow, that's cool." Suddenly, Ty Lee angrily slammed her fist on the table and yelled, "It wasn't cool! Do you have any idea what it was like growing up with six sisters who looked exactly like me, Pavitr?! It was like I didn't even have my own name!" Ty Lee then began to cry, tears rolling down her soft cheeks, as she continued, "I joined the circus because I was so scared of spending the rest of my life as part of a matched set!"
Pavitr wasn't sure why, but seeing Ty Lee cry made him feel guilty. He once again brought her in for an embrace and whispered, "I'm sorry, Ty Lee. I didn't mean to upset you. I shouldn't have asked." Ty Lee dried her eyes and said, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." For a moment, the two teenagers locked eyes and were about to lean in further, but Pavitr noticed that the Sun was beginning to rise. Pavitr pushed Ty Lee back and said, "It's almost morning! I better get going before Uncle Bhim and Aunt Maya wake up and notice that I'm gone!" Quick as a flash, he jumped outside one of the costume tent's open flaps and shot a webline to swing back to Spider Island. Ty Lee was left alone in the tent and wondering, Will I ever see Pavitr Prabhakar again?
Next Time: Comes Great Responsibility