Pavitr was numb from shock. He had just lost his only stable source of income because of the girl that currently had a death grip on his wrist. If Arachne really does exist, he thought to himself, She hates my guts.

"Are you sure that was a good idea, Katara?", asked Sokka. Katara's only answer was a glare. "Excuse me.", said Pavitr, "It's not that I want to be rude. Or that I disagree with women having the strength of a gemsbok bull. But would you mind letting me go? You're crushing my wrist."

With that, Katara let out a gasp and released her captive. Upon seeing that his wrist was bruised, she immediately said, "Omigosh, I'm so sorry! Here, let me heal it for you." She went over to a barrel of water, bended some water from it, and applied it to Pavitr's arm. The sensation of being caressed by a river filled his body. When Katara pulled her hand away, his bruises were gone.

"Did you just heal me with water?", Pavitr asked, "I didn't know it could do that." Katara answered, "It's a new skill I learned recently." Aang couldn't help but feel guilty every time he watched Katara heal somebody. Katara had been burned because of his excitement to learn firebending and she would have lived the rest of her life with burnt hands if she hadn't discovered that she could heal with waterbending.

Once she was done, Sokka pushed her aside and asked, "You're pretty local, right? So what can you tell us about this Spider-Man guy? Where did he come from? What's his angle?" Pavitr knew he had to throw the group off his trail, so he quickly answered, "I think he's just a guy trying to do the right thing. I don't know much else besides that."

Sokka visibly deflated with disappointment. "So what are you going to do now that you lost your job?", Aang innocently asked. Pavitr's face turned white at the reminder of his firing and he started to panic. "Oh no!", he wailed, "Without a job I can't afford my apartment and without an apartment I don't have a place to live and if I don't have a place to live I'll have to live the rest of my life begging on the streets and if I live the rest of my life begging on the streets I'll die in the gutter and people will walk over my corpse-"

Sokka promptly smacked Pavitr, effectively halting his rant. "Gah, that hurt!", he and Sokka exclaimed at the same time. "What's your cheek made of? Iron?", Sokka asked as he clutched his stinging hand. Pavitr cringed at that, but soon felt relief when Katara taunted, "You're such a drama queen, Sokka." Aang, on the other hand, was concerned about Pavitr.

He'd been raised, as an Air Nomad, to always show kindness to others. Especially in times of need. They had just cost Pavitr his livelihood and his living space. There was only one thing to do about it, he thought. "Why don't you come with us, Pavitr?", he asked. Sokka looked at Aang like he had grown a second head, but Katara brightened and said, "I think that's a wonderful idea, Aang! What do you say, Pavitr?"

Pavitr was amazed at how quickly this group wanted to take him in. They seemed nice enough (except for Sokka). And Dit-Koh Village seemed to be Fire Nation free. So if he went with them, he could find another place to be useful!

But could he trust them with his spectacular secret? They didn't seem to think he was a menace like Mr. Jinsen did. But if his enemies knew he had friends, they'd get to him through them, wouldn't they? Then again, they were a big help to him against Shocker today.

With that, Pavitr decided that he wouldn't tell them about being Spider-Man just yet. Not until they had earned his trust enough for him to feel comfortable telling them the truth. "Okay, give me until tomorrow morning to think about it", he answered, "There's something I have to do first this evening. Will you guys wait outside the village gate for me in the morning?" They all nodded, so off he ran.

Once he was out of their line of sight, he ducked into an alleyway, changed into Spider-Man, and swung away. There's someone important who needs to know about this first, he thought to himself, I hope Ty Lee will understand.

Unbeknownst to Pavitr, something was watching him, A mechanical device with multiple legs and a telescopic lens for a face.

The device was transmitting a signal to one of many screens in a dark and decrepit laboratory. Within the shadows was a man with several mechanical arms protruding from his back. Two were holding him up, while the other were working various machinery, chemicals, and weapons.

Behind the goggles he wore, his eyes carefully observed Spider-Man's actions in Dit-Koh Village. "Fascinating...", he said to himself, "Most fascinating…"

Next Time: The Demon of Yomi's Kitchen!