I Do Not Own Miraculous or Avatar.
Chapter Fifty-Two: The Painted Lady.
Her brother was a combination of weird and crazy. It was frustrating.
"Wow." Marinette said, eyeing the murky waters, "This is worse than the Seine."
"The river is pretty polluted." Adrien agreed, "But at least there isn't any plastic. That would be terrible for the river."
"What's plastic?" Toph asked.
"That's a long story kid." Plagg replied, "But at least we know why Sokka hasn't been able to catch any fish lately."
"I told you!" Sokka said, "Normally my fishing skills are off the hook."
"Too bad they aren't on the hook. I am hungry." Adrien complained.
"You two are hopeless." Marinette voiced.
"It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food, assuming that will fit into Sokka's master schedule." Everyone glared at her brother, who held a ridiculously long schedule.
"Yeah, seriously, I vetoed the schedule idea. I hate schedules. They literally ruined my life back in Paris. Mari vetoed it too. She can't sacrifice her sleeping time! The girl is famous for sleeping in!" Adrien complained.
"This is the only way we will make it to the rendezvous sight were Adrien's dad and my dad are waiting. Besides, going into town seems doable as long as we have only two potty breaks." Sokka explained as he led them over the hill that would take them into the village that was supposedly nearby, "There!" He pointed at the village built on the river.
"I don't feel anything." Toph complained, "Where is this village?"
"It's in the middle of the river." Sokka told her.
"Sure is!" A voice said. Instantly, the Kwami's ducked into their respected owner's bag and the team jerked their attention to an older man in a vest and wearing a ridiculous hat, "My name is Dock. Mind if I ask who you are?"
"Uh, we are from the Earth Kingdom colonies." Katara said. She decided to stick with the story Aag and Marinette had come up with earlier.
"Wow! Colonials! Hop on! I'll give you a ride into town." Dock offered, motioning to his shrugged and got into the boat. They made their way to the village.
"So, why do you live on the river?" Katara asked as she eyed the polluted waters. The place didn't seem like a place where anyone would like to settle down and try to start a life. The water was bad to drink. The fish were gone. There was nothing to hunt.
"We're a fishing town, or… we used to be." Dock explained cheerfully, "Before the factory moved in. Up river, the Army makes their metal there. Moved in a few years ago and started gunking up the river. Now our little village is struggling to survive." Katara jerked her attention to the factory barely visible from the town. Katara clenched her fists and glared at it. Even in their own country the Fire Nation ruined everything. They docked and got into the village. Katara's heart melted as soon as she stepped onto the docks. The sick were everywhere. Poor, dirty kids wandered its roads in search for food. Everything was so broken.
"Look at this place. It's so sad." Marinette voiced.
"We have to do something to help." Katara agreed. Sokka heard the comments and stepped in front of the girls.
"Oh no, we can't waste our time here! We have a bigger mission that we need to stay focused on. These people are on their own." He reminded them.
"These people are starving, but you turn your back on them?! How can you be so heartless?" Katara asked her brother.
"I'm not turning my back, I'm just being realistic. We can't going around helping every rinky-dink town we wander into. We'll be helping out by taking out the Firelord!" Toph grabbed Sokka and slapped her hand over his mouth.
"Hey loudmouth! Maybe we should be a little quieter when we talk about taking out the Firelord." She warned.
"But Sokka, helping people is what Ladybug and Cat Noir are supposed to do." Marinette objected, "Right Kitty?" Adrien nodded.
"The Lady is right." He agreed, "We help people, no matter what."
"Come on guys, be reasonable about this. You all must know the mission comes first. In a fight against Akumas, you two often told me you had to ignore all the bad the Akuma was causing a lot and focus on the source. It's the same. There's a lot of bad in the world because of the war. We can't waste our time solving all of the problems in the world only for more problems to pop up. We'd never win. We need to go for the source." Marinette and Adrien looked down.
"You're right of course." Adrien admitted. Katara internally growled. She was helping the people whether Sokka approved or not.
"Let's just get what we need and go." Aang suggested, hoping to relieve the tension. They followed the Avatar to the center of town where a fish shop was located. Weirdly enough, Dock was there wearing a new ridiculous hat.
"Hey Dock, you work here too? Sokka asked, leaning on the booth causally.
"I'm not Dock, I'm Xu. Dock's my brother." Dock replied.
"But…" Aang said helplessly, "We just saw you. You're even wearing the same only difference is your hat."
"Dock works on the docks. That's why they call him 'Dock' and I work in the shop which is why they call me 'Xu'." Aang stared at him, blinking.
"I don't get it."
"Me neither."Dock said, "So, what can I getcha? I'll give you a special deal. If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free." Dock showed them the said merchandise and everyone gagged.
"We'll just take the fish." Sokka gagged, "Mind telling your brother we need a ride back to shore?" Dock grinned and ducked under his counter before returning with the same hat from earlier.
"Hey colonials! My brother says you need a lift!" Dock expressed. Poor Aang looked baffled. The team followed after him, but Katara was stopped by a small boy.
"Can you spare some food?" He asked. She glanced cautiously looked over at her friends before handing him one of the fish Sokka had purchased.
"I wish I could spare some more." She said. The boy smiled gratefully and he ran off to give the food to a sickly woman, likely his mother, so she could eat. She ran back to her group, and they returned to camp were Sokka ranted about the schedule, which Adrien continued to voice his complaints about. Katara wasn't really listening. She was forming a plan. She decided that night she would sneak into the factory and steal back the food the Fire Nation Army had taken from the village. Then, she would give it to the villagers.
That night, when the moon was high and all was asleep, Katara did as she'd promised herself. Morning came and she fed Appa purple berries so Sokka would let her in town to make sure her plan worked. When everyone woke up, she began to pet Appa in concern, hoping he'd play along with her sick bison facade. Everyone went to get on Appa and she stopped them.
"What's wrong?" Aang asked.
"I think Appa's sick." Katara explained. Sokka perked up, fear in his eyes.
"What?" He cried, "Appa's sick? That's awful!"
"Wow. Sokka, I didn't know you cared so much." Toph said, crossing her arms.
"Of course I care! I might as well throw our schedule away!" Sokka cried.
"Yes! Throw it away!" Adrien cheered. Everyone glared at Sokka.
"Uh, and I'm concerned because my big furry friend doesn't feel well." Sokka cried quickly, rushing to hug and pet the sky bison.
"He must've gotten sick from the polluted water." Toph suggested.
"But, he doesn't look sick. You okay buddy?" Aang circled his bison and Appa stuck his tongue out, "Oh no! His tongue is purple! Katara! Can't you heal him?"
"It looks like he needs some medicine. Maybe we can find the right herbs in town." Katara suggested. The team agreed, so they returned to the village. Katara was pleased to find everyone seemed a out happier and less people looks said or hungry. Less kids were about looking for food. Her plan had worked.
"Is it just me?" Toph asked, listening to the excited chatter, "Or does this place seem different."
"Yeah… are the people… happier?" Aang asked. Katara shrugged. They walked up to the fish booth were Dock or 'Xu' worked.
"Hey, Xu." Sokka greeted the merchant, "What's going on with everyone today?" Dock grinned madly.
"Something amazing happened last night. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person… the Painted Lady." Katara leaned forwards, suddenly intrigued.
"The Painted who now?"
"The Painted Lady." Dock grabbed up a small wooden figurine. Marinette looked at it in awe and pulled out her sketchbook, apparently inspired by the figurine's look, "She's a part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit who watches over our town in times of need. I always thought she was a legend… until now."
"See?" Sokka said, motioning to the Figurine for Katara, Adrien, and Marinette to see, "We don't need to help these people, they already have someone to help them. All we need is medicine for our sick friend.
"Medicine?" Dock asked, "Sorry, all the medicine we have goes to the factory. That's why there is so many sick people."
No medicine? Sick?Oh, no. That wouldn't do. Not if Katara had any say.
"Looks like we need to stay another night so Appa can rest." Katara suggested. Sokka growled.
"I guess you're right." Sokka grumbled; he then looked at Dock, "You got any more food to sell?" Dock grinned, holding up two fish.
"One-headed fish or two-head fish?" Everyone but Sokka gagged.
"Two-headed!" Oh my gosh Sokka, "What? You get more for your money that way!" They returned to camp. Katara made two separate plans. The frist, rob the Fire Nation Army of the medicine they took. The second, heal the sickly in town. She went to leave when a voice stopped her.
"You know, Katara, you shouldn't go out like that. If they find out your water tribe, we could get in trouble." Katara spun around to see Marinette with her sketchbook in hand.
"Take a look." Marinette offered, holding the sketchbook out, opened to a certain page. Katara hesitated before accepting the book. The picture on it was beautiful. It was her, but redrawn as if she was the Painted Lady in Dock's story. In the picture, Katara was wearing a brown dress with a hood. Her shoulders were bare and there was a crimson shirt under it. The hood and dress was held together by a rope and seashell. Along her shoulders and on her face was red face paint, done in fancy designs. On her forehead was a pale crescent moon. Her hair was down and pulled back into the hood. A conical hat with a thing, but long veil attached to it was on her head over the hood. On her arms just below her shoulders were the face paint started were golden bracelets. It was amazing.
"Marinette how did you…"
"Shush! Let's get you changed. I'll do your makeup. I already finished the outfit." Marinette said, taking the sketchbook and shoving some clothes, "Don't worry, this will be our little secret… Painted Lady." Katara hesitated before going to change. She was in awe at how scarily accurate the real thing was to Marinette's drawing. The girl had talent. Katara returned to Marinette to have her face painted.
"Marinette, how did you know?"
"I woke up when you came back, remember, I wake just before sunset for patrol and sleep in past alarms?" Marinette pointed out, "Looks like I won't be the only Lady in the group. Ladybug and Painted Lady. Spirit of the river and the spirit of good luck. Don't worry about stealing the medicine at the factory. The spirit of good fortune will handle it. You heal the sick. There is no way you could've done both in one night. I'll meet you at the village once your done. We'll come back here, get more berries for Appa and then go to village tomorrow to make sure there isn't anything else these people need." Katara nodded.
"Thanks Marinette."
"No problem Katara. Besides, I never get to hang out with you as girl to girl anymore. This will be fun." Marinette said with a wink. Katara grinned. The two split up and completed their tasks. The next morning, the team was forced to once more to return to town. This time, it was far more lively than the first day. Sokka marched up to the fish stand with the group trailing behind.
"Hi Donk, is Xu around?" Sokka asked Dock. Dock shrugged.
"Let me check." Dock ducked under his counter and returned with his Xu hat, "Hey there, back again, are ya?"
"We need more food. Our friend is still sick and we can't leave until he's better." Toph explained.
"Oh well, that's too bad. Maybe if you are lucky, the Painted Lady will visit you in the night and heal your friend." Dock sympathized.
"And maybe she'll cook us a midnight sack!" Sokka said sarcastically, "And we'll all have a sing-along."
"Yeah! Maybe!" Dock agreed, "You know, last night she visited again. Healed most of our sick folks."
"Is that why this place seems so festive?" Aang asked, looking around. Katara noticed the villagers setting up a statue of the Painted Lady.
"Yep. It's all because of the Painted Lady." Dock confirmed playfully.
"Can you believe how much an entire village can be affected by one Lady? Er, I mean spirit?" Katara asked the others. Adrien grinned, pulling Marinette into a side hug.
"I can, you should have seen my Lady in action in Paris. She was glorious and inspired the whole town to do good things." He bragged.
"Kitty! You helped too!"
"Yes, and honor I still am glad to have been given even today." Adrien agreed.
"Well, I hope the Painted Lady returns every night, otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was." Sokka remarked. Katara huffed. She couldn't believe her brother. Why couldn't he see all she'd done for these people?
"Why would you say that? Look how much better off these people are."
"Yeah, now." Sokka said, rolling his eyes, "Bu without her, they wouldn't be able to fend for themselves. If she really wanted to help, she would use her spirit magic to blow up that factory." He continued to make his point by making spirit noises. Aang eagerly joined in. Katara shared a look with Marinette. They both knew what they had to do. Night came and Marinette woke up to her Katara with her makeup before she transformed and went ahead to scout out the factory.
Katara began to make her way there when she heard footsteps behind her. She saw Aang following her. She gulped and took off. He gasped and followed after her.
"Painted Lady spirit! Wait!" He called. She knew she needed to lose him, but airbenders were known for being fast. He managed to catch up with her with ease.
"Excuse me,I don't mean to bother you but my friend's sick and we are on kind of a tight schedule. My name is Aang. I'm the Avatar." He lifted his headband to prove it.
"Well, hello Avatar. I wish I could talk to you, but I am very busy." She said, faking an accent.
"Yeah, me too. I hate that." He tried to look under her hat, catching a small glimpse of er ace before she pulled away,"You know, you're really pretty for a spirit, I don't get to meet many spirits, but the ones I do? Not very attractive. Katara froze. Aang found her attractive? She found her face going bright red.
"Thank you but I-"
"You seem familiar." Aang decided. Katara winced.
"...A lot of people say that."
"No...you really seem familiar."Aang pushed. He tried to get another glimpse of her face. Katara gulped, turning away again and attempting to leave.
"Look, I really should get going." She tried. She started to go when there was a sudden gush of wing and her hat went soaring. She grabbed it desperately and forced it back on, praying Marinette's work hadn't been damaged. Sadly, Aang had seen enough.
"Katara?!" He squeaked as if realising he just called his friend attractive. She turned to face him, removing her hat carefully.
"Hi Aang." She said in defeat.
"You're the Painted Lady?" He asked, "But how?" She sighed. She explained to Aang how she had wanted to help people and brought them food. The next day, they were told about the Painted Lady and Marinette, who'd discovered the plot of Katara had made her the costume so she could help the people without the Fire Nation Army suspecting her of being a waterbender. She explained how she and Marinette were planning on destroying the factory. Aang loved the idea and begged for Katara to let him help. Reluctantly, she agreed. They met up with Marinette, and together they ran around destroying everything. Marinette expressed how Adrien was going to be offended that he wasn't invited since he was technically the symbol of destruction. They dumped lava and clogged up steam tubes. They broke iron braces and caused general mayhem throughout the factory.
When they completed their work. They left the factory admiring the chaos they'd ensued before returning to camp.
"We don't want to wake Sokka." Katara warned as they walked into camp only to see Sokka wide awake along with Adrien and Toph, "Oh, hi! Sokka! We were all just out on a morning walk."
"Oh really, a morning walk? They why did you and Marinette stuff your sleeping bags with straw? I know you're the Painted Lady. I know you've been lying about Appa and feeding him purplizing tongue berries." Sokka ranted, sticking his thumb over at Adrien and Toph who were enjoying berries, "Katara and Marinette, what you did put the whole mission in jeopardy. We're leaving right now!" The girls hung their heads. Sokka them whirled over to Aang.
"Aang how long have you known about this?"Sokka demained.
"Hey! I found out this morning!" Aang objected before racing off to help saddle Appa. They worked on packing when Toph heard a strange humming noise in the distance. They all investigated to find several Fire Nation soldiers attacking the village. Sokka freaked out when she was forced to admit they destroyed the factory. He told her she shouldn't have gotten involved and ranted about the dangers of destroying the factory.
"Well, what was I supposed to do?" She snapped.
"Leave!" Sokka cried, "Do nothing." She growled. She had enough of her brother ignoring the people in the village.
"No!" She growled, "I will never ever turn my back on people who need me. I'm going down to the village, and I am gonna do whatever I can." Sokka reeled back. Stunned. She motioned for Marinette to help her get ready when Sokka spoke up.
"Wait. I'm coming too." Sokka decided.
"I thought you didn't want to help" She scoffed.
"You need me, and I will never turn my back on you." Sokka replied. Sh grinned, hugging him.
"Sokka, you really do have a heart." She said. She then pulled away, "Okay, here's the plan." They all listened as she explained, then she went and got dressed before Marinette did the makeup. Toph and Sokka made thunder and wind sounds while she created steam on the river. She walked across the waters to the village and Marinette and Adrien transformed, slowly disabling the jet ski things, leaving only enough for them to leave in pairs. She came to the dock, emerging from the midst as dramatically as possible. They attempted to set a village boat on fire and Aang blew it out repeatedly. One by one eyes turned to her, some in terror, some in delight. She waterbended at two of the disabled skis and serval Fire Nation soldiers were gone in a moment. They leader decided he would face her alone and sent a blast at her feet. Aang protected her with a wind gust that save her from being burnt. The blast sent the leader into the water. She dramatically held her hand in the air and the leader winced.
"Leave this village and never come back!" She ordered. The Fire Nation man was gone in seconds. The villagers cheered. The little boy she'd given the fish to smiled.
"I knew you'd come back." Dock marched up to her with a wide grin.
"Me and my brothers owe you a lot!" He said, before his grin faltered from seeing her up close, "Hey, wait a minute, I know you! You aren't the Painted Lady! You're that colonial girl!"
"Yeah, you're the lady that gave me a fish."
"You've been tricking us! You're a waterbender!" Dock accused. Everyone in the crowd suddenly became angry. Before they could do anything, Sokka stepped in front of her.
"Maybe she is a waterbender, but she was just trying to help you. Because of her, that factory won't be polluting your river, and the army is gone. You should be down on your knees thanking her." He growled. Katara smiled gently at her brother before taking over.
"Sokka, it's okay." She turned to the villagers, "I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't and I shouldn't have tricked you. But I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not, because your problems are real and this river is real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself."
"She's right." Dock agreed, "But what should we do?" Someone, Katara was pretty sure it was Toph, spoke up in the crowd.
"Maybe we should clean the river." Of course, everyone loved the idea. The work took several days, but with the combination of waterbending, earthbending, and cataclysm, it was done. Sokka ranted about the schedule several times during the process, but in the end, they all agreed it had been worth it.
The final night in the village, Katara examined the clean waters, proud of her work. That's when there was a soft light. She looked up, and there was the Painted Lady. She nodded at Katara.
"Thank you." The Painted Lady whispered. Katara smiled as the Painted Lady disappeared. She'd done the right thing.