Katara's head whipped towards the sound of the voice that broke the stunned silence.

The front solider was an older looking man, a sneer plastered on his face. His black hair was top knotted at the crown of his head, keeping the majority of what hair he had out of his face. A rather aggressive looking triangle formed what was left of his hair on either side of his head.

A scar ran under his right eye and across his wide nose bridge. The man's beard covered the sides of his jaw, styled out to stick to points, mirroring the pointy nature of his shoulder's armor plate.

There were four men behind the man, completely sheathed in a new sort of Fire Nation armor. They all had dark brown breastplates, topped with a deep maroon shoulder piece, outlined in gold. Their pants were the same deep maroon, with an armored pair of shorts, for lack of a better term, covering the majority of their hips and thighs. The shorts were open in the middle with a loincloth for additional privacy.

Each held a long spear type staff, with a jagged hunk of metal for a tip.

"June, get back!" Pu hissed from beside her, grabbing her arm as he skittered back. They were on the side of the crowd closest to the soldiers, leaving Katara unable to escape to don her Painted Lady costume.

I surely can't waterbend out in the open without the whole village seeing me...

Many young children whined amongst the crowd, and Katara looked around. Everyone still looked sickly, despite their high spirits. Bandages were still wrapped around wounds, their hair was still dull and they all looked like a strong gust of wind could simply blow them away.

How could they be so aggressive to such a waif-like people? Their own people?

The Painted Lady statue smoldered behind them.

~0~

Zuko, on the other hand, had been seated far enough on the outskirts to slip away into the shadows without a problem.

He had stashed his bag just inside a fabric shop a good bit away. Zuko rooted through his bag, searching for the mask.

Once his fingers landed on the solid, smooth surface, a warm sort of something rushed through his veins.

Was it nerves? Adrenaline? Excitement?

Hello, old friend.

He secured the mask to his face, changed into his darker set of trousers and top and froze.

His broadswords!

Zuko's twin swords had been confiscated from him on the ship that had helped them travel from the Earth Kingdom to the Fire Nation islands.

He cursed under his breath, hearing another loud crash and scream come from the direction of the soldiers. He took off towards the noise, lingering in the shadows of the buildings. He knew one of these shops surely sold some sort of weapons, as he'd noticed earlier that day a few of the men had small daggers sheathed at their hips.

As if on cue with his thoughts, he stalked by one of the last shops on the platform, a metallic glint catching his eye. There on display, were two twin swords, nearly identical in shape and size to his old blades.

After a glance again towards the crowd in the distance, he leapt over the counter, yanking the swords out of the display.

I'll take that.

Thanks…sorry!

Zuko now took off in a sprint, a small grim sort of smile creeping upon his face, matching the permanent grimace of the mask.

~0~

Katara clenched her fist at her side, glaring at the scarred Fire Nation soldier, who'd dubbed himself General Mung.

"You all have stolen our precious supplies for the last time," he spat, looking across the crowd. "First it was our food and medicine, then it was our money. That's not very neighborly of you…"

The crowd remained silent, and the young waterbender could feel the unease spread like wildfire.

"It wasn't us!" Dock's voice popped up from in front of Katara, though she couldn't see him. "It was the Painted Lady! She brought us food and healed our sick! It wasn't anything from you all!"

"Do you really think a spirit would come back to save you?" Mung paused again, stepping closer. "This, Painted Lady, whom you are so quick to build this… shrine for?"

The Lady's carved face had black soot covering the once pale painted surface. The hat had just seemed to catch, the brim beginning to light up.

The general raised his open palm, fire spreading across his hand.

"Then why do your containers have the Fire Nation Army emblem on them? Why did I find my guards…just the other morning, frozen to my fence?"

With a flick of his wrist, the fireball slammed into the wooden crate that Katara remembered toting back, and it exploded, wood chunks flying everywhere.

"I'm sure she painted that on there too."

Unbeknownst to the crowd, who had been watching General Mung's display of power with newfound fear, the Blue Spirit had appeared, now close to the Fire Nation men.

~0~

"Sir!" A solider from behind Mung called out, and Zuko knew he'd been had. "What's that, over in the shadows?"

With a flick of his wrist, Zuko lobbed a throwing knife through the air, landing in the middle of the soldier in question's chest piece.

The soldier cried out, catching Mung's attention just quickly enough for Zuko to leap forward, pulling his broadswords out from their sheaths on his back.

General Mung roared in anger, while the remaining soldiers angled their weapons towards the Blue Spirit. The four strode forward, attempting to box the masked vigilante in. The woman soldier roared, blasting fire.

Zuko dodged the oncoming blaze before noticing the tallest soldier make a stab at his side. Leaping back, he swung his swords in a low arc, barely nicking the tallest soldier's leg.

The woman came at him again, slashing this time with her spear. He threw up a sword in a defense position, before countering with a swing of his own.

This dance went on for a few moments, Zuko gracefully attacking, only to have to dodge one of their returning blows. Finally gaining the upper hand, the handle of Zuko's broadsword hit the shorter soldier square on the head. He crumpled to the ground, the satisfaction of succeeding drawing Zuko's attention for a moment.

Adrenaline pumped through his body.

The tallest shoulder swung his staff towards the masked man and made contact.

Grunting, Zuko was knocked back, the staff's blade just askew so the sharp edge didn't slice through him.

Pain waved through Zuko's sternum as the breath whooshed out of his lungs.

That's gonna leave a nasty bruise. He thought, staggering back. Stay focused.

The soldier rotated the staff in the air and lashed out again, stepping a bit strangely.

His ankle must be messed up…

Ducking under the staff, he swept out the man's legs with a quick flick of his leg.

"Look out!" A young voice yelled from the crowd.

General Mung launched his fireball moments later.

Thanks, kid.

Zuko leaped out of the way, slashing his swords in an x to disperse the fireball. Gracefully landing on the balls of his feet, he stalked around to stand in between the soldiers and the crowd.

"Leave." He growled, altering his voice.

Sweat dripped down his true face, the one beneath the mask. It was times like these Zuko was thankful for the permanent scowl of the Blue Spirit. His chest felt hot and he sure he'd look significantly less intimidating as the banished Fire Nation prince, especially to such a tyrannical general.

He leveled his gaze on the General.

He spun his swords in twin circles and he held them up in a defensive sort of stance.

Mung stared back at the Blue Spirit with a nasty scowl.

"This isn't over."

The general jerked his head at the last two soldiers. At the motion, they retreated, taking the injured three with them.

The crowd erupted with a cheer.

Zuko whirled around, staring hard at all the people who were gazing at him with a thankful sort of bewilderment. Behind the crowd, the huge statue had it's hat burned completely to a black crisp, the lines of fire creeping down to her already blackened nose and lips.

Better not wait for the shock to wear off, Zuko thought.

With that, he took off behind the nearest building, disappearing into the shadows.

Iroh, who had been in the crowd the entire time, was grinning ear to ear.

Perhaps it was a good thing Zuko didn't rid himself of the mask after all…

~0~

Katara watched the mask vigilante disappear into the shadows.

It was the Blue Spirit! He rescued Aang last year! She had seen his wanted posters everywhere, but hadn't actually seen him in person until now. He was definitely a strong swordsmen and fighter, she would admit.

But what was he doing here? Was he after Zuko and Iroh?

Katara looked around, trying to find either of the two men in question.

By this time, however, the initial shock had worn off, and the villagers began chatting amongst themselves.

"June," Akira broke Katara out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, forcing a small smile to her lips. "Yeah, just glad that the Blue Spirit was here to stop those soldiers."

"The Blue Spirit?" She cocked her head. "Is that what he calls himself?"

She nodded. "He's wanted by the Fire Nation, I've seen his posters traveling the Earth Kingdom."

"Well thank Agni for the Blue Spirit!" Pu chimed in. "He saved us!…though I'm a bit surprised it wasn't the Painted Lady."

Dock/Xu walked up and Katara peered at the man's hat, trying to remember which hat represented which 'brother'.

"I'm sure the Painted Lady will be back! She won't let those soldiers destroy our village!"

Akira smiled gently at the man. "I'm sure she will, Dock."

"The statue!" Someone yelled from the crowd.

Everyone turned towards the statue, not noticing amidst all the excitement it still being ablaze.

The festival's mood seemed to be dulled after that debacle. Families sat around, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Someone go get a bucket!" Dock called out, skittering over towards the base and craning his neck upwards.

Katara saw Noa and some of the other men respond to Dock's call.

The same helpless feeling she'd stomached when the soldiers were there had resurfaced.

Anywhere else, she could simply put out the fire with a wave of her arms.

Not here.

"I think I've had enough excitement for one night," Katara announced. "I'm going to bed."

In actuality, Katara wasn't tired, she was angry.

Angry that General Mung would come to the poor village and threaten them.

Angry that he would take medicine from women and children, from the elderly.

Angry that she couldn't safely waterbend and knock the soldiers into the water with a flick of her wrist.

Akira patted Katara on the back. "Alright."

Katara seemed to be the first to head in for the night.

As she walked in the dark towards her room, she thought she sensed something. She froze in place, her ears listening in for any sort of noise over the dull laps of the waves.

Zuko, meanwhile, had just left the fabric shop, not knowing it was the same place Katara had been staying for a few days.

He had heard her coming and paused behind a wall, mask still on, satchel gripped in one hand.

"Hello?" She called out.

Zuko frowned as he heard steps getting closer. He threw himself over the edge, grabbing onto the ledge and hanging there.

Katara meanwhile, peered around the corner of the wall.

Seeing nothing but empty space, she knit her brows in confusion.

After another moment, she left, going into her room.

Once Zuko heard the distant clunk of her door shutting, he heaved himself back up to the deck.

He pulled off his mask and disguise, shoving it into his bag. He lifted the bag over one shoulder and stepped out.

"My, my, it's lucky for them that the Blue Spirit was around."

A familiar voice said, and Zuko saw Iroh step out from a few paces away.

"It is, isn't it," Zuko commented dryly.

"I thought you got rid of that, young Zuko."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Uncle." He steeled his gaze on Iroh, who regarded him with a small smile. "I simply had to use the restroom, I saw the whole thing from the back of the crowd."

Iroh chuckled, turning slightly.

"Come, Zuko, I have found a place for us to stay for the night."

~0~

Katara paced angrily back and forth inside her room.

How am I supposed to stop them on my own?

If I don't wipe them out all at once, I'm sure Mung will just come back here and destroy everything and everyone..

I owe it to Akira and to everyone to stop them! It's what Aang would do…

She grumbled in frustration, coming to a stop at the foot of her bedroll.

I need air.

Pulling on her disguise, she slipped off the side of the platform and dropped down to the water.

Count your blessings, Katara. We may not always know that's what they are in the moment. Gran-Gran's voice came to mind.

I'm thankful this water is grimy enough to hide my reflection in the moonlight. Katara made herself think, sighing to herself.

Katara floated towards the shoreline, pulling the fog up around her body with a familiar ease.

Once she felt far enough away, she sat down on the rocky edge of the shore.

The water lapped slowly against the rocks.

Katara stared out for sometime, pondering all the options.

Could she blow up the factory? With what explosives?

Chase away the soldiers? What could they fear enough to make them run?

After the moon had risen completely into the sky, Katara had a strange idea come to mind.

She scrambled to her feet, looking around on the rocky ground.

Could I bend the water away from the gunk and metal? Separate the two?

Closing her eyes, she shifted into one of the stances Master Pakku had taught her during their time in the Northern Water Tribe.

If I stand like this to pull the water up underneath me… she shifted into a wider stance, almost squatting. And if instead of bending the water into ice, I focus on pulling it…out?

Her hands gracefully flowed around her body, letting the water lead her, to an extent. After a few attempts and stance changes, she saw progress.

Slowly but surely, the water formed droplets and one by one, rose into the air, leaving clean water. A wide grin formed across Katara's face and she transferred the clean water to one hand while rapidly pulling up and across with the other. The water gushed from the mud seemingly all at once, clear and sparkling in the low moonlight. The mud and metal, now void of any water, splattered the ground.

She pulled the freshly clean water into her waterskin.

Capping the container back, she whooped before she could stop herself, spinning in a circle.

She did it! She could separate the water from the mud!

Now, all she needed to do was figure out a way to put the factory out of business…permanently.

Deep down, she knew only then would she feel right moving on and looking for her brother and Aang.

Katara practiced her new move set ten more times, until she felt comfortable with the motions.

Tiredness ebbed at her mind, so the young girl summoned the fog once more before heading back towards the village.

Once she grew closer, she noticed a bright light coming from the middle of the main platform.

She's still on fire! She realized.

The statue's head had completely burned away, the fire now licking at the shoulders of the woman.

A handful of villagers had noticed the fire too, and had formed an assembly line to attempt to extinguish it.

Katara bent the water around her body, propelling herself through the fog towards the statue.

With a swirl of her arm, she flung a massive water whip around the statue's shoulders. The fire hissed, sending plumes of smoke up into the atmosphere.

Katara slowly released the water back into the river, allowing herself to surf back down the current, around the statue and float at the edge of the platform.

"Citizens of the river!" She called out. "Tonight's actions did not go unnoticed!"

Katara looked at each face in the small crowd that had formed.