I.
Bruce was sketching out a few more drawings on parchment in the dinning room of his old home. It had been so long since he had been there that he almost forgotten what it looked like. So many memories had come rushing back to him as he looked at everything. At the moment, he didn't have time to enjoy memories of a happier time. He had decided on how he was going to put terror into the evil of Ba Sing Se, but how was he going to do it? He already had the layout sketched out, he just needed to figure out where his base of operations would be.
"Mako, did you ever get the designs I sent you?" Bruce asked as he took a break from the sketching to let his mind and fingers relax.
"I did, Bruce. I had different black smiths of the city forging the necessary parts, but I don't know who will be able to put them all together." Mako told him.
"I will, once I can find the place to hide all of it." Bruce said as he got up and began to walk.
"What about that abandoned house? No one ever goes near it anymore." Mako suggested.
"Can't. It's in the middle of a very populated area. Besides, I'm betting kids still try to explore it. If only I could hide everything here." Bruce groaned, making Mako smile.
"I've tried to tell you for years, Bruce. People seeking revenge don't need encouragement, they need guidance. Your father used to have so many ideas for improving this house. Even claimed," Mako said before he stopped and started to think about something.
"Mako?" Bruce asked him.
"Your father once claimed he found a hiding spot in his study. Some place to hide from your mother whenever she was angry at him." Mako said, making Bruce look at him strangely.
Bruce walked into his father's old study, and saw that it looked as if it had been frozen in time. Everything was exactly as it had been left on that night so many years ago. Even the healing herbs and roots were still in their labeled jars on the shelves. Bruce shook his head out of his memories and tried to find this room.
"How do we find out if your father was telling the truth? For all I know, Bruce, he was probably just joking." Mako told him.
"We'll soon find out." Bruce said as he brought his senses to full awareness.
Bruce raised one foot as he closed his eyes, and stomped it hard onto the ground. Bruce began to sense all the vibrations around him, letting them give him a clear image in his head of the room around him. Toph had a point when she said she could see things that others couldn't when she did this. Because to his right, where one of his father's large bookcases stood was also some sort of room. And it had some sort of strange machine in it.
"Mako, help me with this." Bruce said as he started to feel around the bookcase.
"What are you doing?" Mako asked him.
"There's a secret room back here. That has to mean that this is a trick door. I just need to find the lever." Bruce said.
"I'm not sure about this, Bruce." Mako said as he began to feel the other side of the book case.
"Mako, it's going to be okay." Bruce said as picked up a near by candle to help him look at the books.
As soon as he removed the candle, part of the book case spun around, taking Mako with it, and closed with the other side of the bookcase which looked exactly the same as the other side.
"Put – the candle – BACK!" Mako shouted from the other side of the book case.
Bruce put the candle back, but the book case remained the same. Bruce then quickly lifted the candle and put it back, and caused the book case to spin open and remain open. A very upset Mako was on the other side.
"You better wipe that smile off your face, or most of Ba Sing Se's high society will hear about how I used to change your diapers when you were smaller." Mako threatened.
"What is that?" Bruce asked as he pointed to the strange looking machine that sat on the other end of the room.
"I'm not sure. You're grandfather used to be an inventor, and rumor has it that he had hidden machines in different parts of the house when he built it. Your father must have just discovered it before he died." Mako said.
Bruce examined the machine which seemed to be some sort of advanced dumb waiter system. Bruce saw no rope going down the middle of the metal basket, but saw some sort of rope or cable system at the top.
"Want to see if it works?" Bruce asked him.
Mako just looked at Bruce like he had just lost his mind.
The basket hit the floor with a loud clang, echoing throughout the larger room. Bruce seemed un-phased while Mako looked as if he was having a heart attack.
"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Bruce asked him as he got out of the basket.
"Maybe we should have this machine removed and replace it with two poles to slide down." Mako suggested.
"Poles? Where did you get that idea?" Bruce asked him.
Bruce walked into the room and was actual awe as he saw it. It was a large cavern with green crystals that seemed to illuminate the entire cavern with their own inner light. The entire cavern almost looked like it had been sculpted for people to actually live down here.
"What is this place?" Bruce asked himself.
"There were rumors about this, but I never believed it. Ba Sing Se was at one point an underground kingdom. This must be what's left of it." Mako said.
"But this looks more like it's been redone in some parts. You said a place to hide?" Bruce asked Mako.
"Yes, sir." Mako answered.
"Mako, did my father know any Earth Benders?"
"I think he knew a few. Why do you ask?"
"Because I think father found this place and had it redone as a shelter when the Dragon of the West tried to invade the city." Bruce said as he started walking around the cavern and looked up. "This is the study, then that means the living room would be here. And one of the roads to the city should be about fifteen meters to the north of here." Bruce said.
"I think that's about right. Getting ideas, Bruce?" Mako asked him.
"Mako, how hard would it be to get the machine parts down here?" Bruce asked him.
"It would be pretty difficult to get the parts through the house and down the machine." Mako said to him.
"What about an Earth Bender getting them down here?" Bruce asked.
"Sir?" Mako asked him.
Bruce shot his hand and arm in an upward swing, forming a perfect and smooth ramp to where they thought the street was. That's when Bruce clapped his hands together, and spread them apart. The roof of the cavern then opened up, and Bruce made the ramp go higher with another upward arc with his arm. Bruce walked up the steep ramp with Mako not too far behind. At the top, the cavern was still solid. Bruce opened a small hole in the ceiling, and peeked out. Sure enough, it lead to a long forgotten street of Ba Sing Se. It was close to the wall and not too many built anything on the property along the wall. With Bruce's ability, he could open and close an opening before anyone noticed. This was perfect for him.
"Alfred, let's start getting all the parts for the machines tomorrow. We'll have them leave the pieces here, and I can lower them into the cavern." Bruce said with a smile.
"That's one problem down. No you just need to think of a way to protect yourself incase any of the League of Shadow members carry weapons. And they probably will." Mako told him.
"I've already got someone on that." Bruce said.
II.
The man hammered onto the heated red metal in the large room. He examined the metal closely before he dunked it into the large tub of water, standing away as the steam rose. As he took the metal out, he put it back into the fire to heat it again. When he turned and wiped the sweat away, he saw a face he hadn't seen in a few years.
"I thought it was a bad idea for a black smith to grow a beard." The young man said.
"As I live and breathe, Bruce Wen. There had been rumors going around the city that you were dead." The man said.
"As you can see, the rumors were mistaken. How are you doing?" Bruce asked as he walked into the shop.
"I can't complain too much. The leg still aches whenever a storm blows in." the man said.
"Still? I thought you were going to a healer." Bruce said.
"Bruce, I stopped two years ago. I'm sorry, but you're father was the best of the best. Your father was the only healer that could just about cure anything. What brings you to the shop, Bruce? Old memories?" he asked him.
"This is about the armor you've kept." Bruce said.
"The Fire Nation armor? Bruce, I know a Fire Nation soldier killed your parents, but looking at that armor isn't going to solve anything." The man said.
"I know it's not that sodier's armor. I'm here because you said it was special." Bruce said.
"Special? Of course it is. This armor is unlike anything ever made. From what I can tell, they've must have used more than the standard ingredients to make this stuff. It's almost as hard as stone itself. Maybe even harder." The blacksmith said.
"Can you replicate it?" Bruce asked him.
"If you had asked me four years ago, I would have said no." the blacksmith said.
Bruce groaned and gave the dirt a small kick. He popped his neck as he let out a breath.
"Thanks for talking to me, Yin. I'll try and find a better healer for your leg." Bruce said to him.
"Wait a moment, Bruce. I said if you had asked me four years ago. Now? I can give you armor that's stronger than the metal that drill is made out of." He said with a smile.
Bruce Smiled a little until the last part of what the blacksmith had told him.
"What drill?" Bruce asked.
"The Fire Nation tried to attack the city. They used a drill that was as long as a caravan and almost as big as the wall. If it weren't for the Avatar, Ba Sing Se would be under Fire Nation rule right now." The blacksmith told him.
"The Dahi Li. Possible connection." Bruce said to himself. "Yin, if I asked you to make me armor that was as strong as you can make it, would you?" Bruce asked him.
"Anything for the friend of my best friend." The blacksmith said. "I can show you the different styles of armor I have. It might make the choice easier." Yin said.
"Actually, I've already got a design in mind." Bruce said and pulled out the drawing he had been working on the night before.
Yin unrolled the scroll and looked at the design. Yin had to do a double take at what he was looking at.
"Bruce, this is unlike any Earth Nation design I've seen. In fact, I doubt any of the nations have it." Yin said.
"I know. I created it." Bruce said to him.
"But there's no helmet, though. Are you sure you want me to make these other pieces?" Yin asked him.
"I'm sure. If this thing works, Ba Sing Se might have an edge against the Fire Nation. And don't worry about the separate pieces; I've got a plan for them." Bruce said.
III.
Aang had just returned to the house they had been given in Ba Sing Se feeling exhausted. He had just come back after creating the new zoo that was just outside the city gates. Aang walked as far as to his sleeping bag, and fell onto it as Toph and Katara watched. Katara raised one eyebrow when she saw the brown dust fly off of him in a small cloud before it disappeared.
"Busy day today?" Katara asked.
Aang just mumbled into the pillow.
"Did you understand that?" Katara asked Toph.
"Yeah. He said mmph mmph mmph mmph." Toph said with a smirk, causing Katara to roll her eyes.
"Do you enjoy being a pain?" Katara asked her.
"Yeah, but I bet that's what makes you guys like me." Toph said.
"I believe that's debatable." Another voice said from the doorway.
Aang and Katara looked and smiled when they saw Bruce standing in the doorway. He gave them a small smile as they both gave him a brief hug.
"We were wondering when we would see you again." Katara said.
"Well, it took longer than I thought. Nice to see you again, Toph." He said as she stood behind the other two.
"I guess its good to see you too." Toph said to him.
"I see life in Ba Sing Se hasn't changed her much." Bruce said.
"Much? What do you mean much? I'm still the way I was when you ditched us!" Toph said, offended at his remark.
"Staying in a nice house, resting in comfort? It looks more like you've been spoiled." Bruce said, enjoying the fuming look on her face.
"So have you already gotten a house?" Katara said, wanting to avoid an Earth Bending fight.
"Yes, I moved back into my parents' home. Wait, where Sokka?" Bruce asked them, noticing that they were missing one.
"He went to explore the city." Toph said in a matter of fact tone.
"Oh. Well I was going to invite you to my home for dinner this evening, but if you all have other plans." Bruce said.
"Free food? When and where?" Toph asked.
"I drew a map for you. I have a few more things to take care of, so just meet me there at sunset." Bruce told them.
"Thanks, Bruce. We'll see you then." Katara said with a smile as he left. "What made you so happy to agree to dinner?" Katara asked the young Earth Bender.
"It's free food. Isn't that enough?" Toph asked her.
"Are you sure that this is the right house?" Sokka asked the others as they looked at the large two story house in front of them. It had to be one of the largest houses in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se.
"According to Bruce's map, this is the right place." Katara said as she checked the small map again.
"I've got to admit, this wasn't what I was expecting. Toph said as she saw the scale of the house through her senses.
"Well, we might as well go knock." Aang said as he walked toward the house.
When they knocked, they were surprised when an old man answered the door, wearing simple yet elegant robes.
"Is there something that I can help you with?" he asked them.
"Hi. My name's Aang, and these are my friends. Our friend Bruce invited us here for dinner." Aang said in his usual cheery state while the others looked a little nervous.
"Please come in and wait in the sitting room." The old man said and stepped aside for them.
Everyone gasped in awe as they saw the elegance of the house and the expensive furniture. All of it was breathtaking beyond belief. Everything was of fine quality, even the hard wood floors.
"I shall inform Master Wen that you have arrived. Please excuse me." The old man said.
"Did he just say what I think he said?" Toph asked them.
"You mean that we arrived?" Sokka asked her.
"No, that name he said. Did he say Wen?" Toph asked them.
"I think so, why?" Aang asked her.
"I'm glad to see you didn't get lost." Bruce said as he came into the room, and was greeted by a punch in the arm from Toph. "What was that for?" Bruce asked her.
"You dirty liar! You never told me you were Bruce Wen!" Toph said.
"You never asked." Bruce told her.
"What does his last name have anything to do with this?" Sokka asked her.
"Please tell me you're not that dumb. Bruce here is loaded." Toph said to them.
"I might be of one of the richest people in the city." Bruce told them.
"The city? YOU'RE THE RICHEST MAN IN THE EARTH KINGDOM!" Toph shouted.
"SAY WHAT? You have piles and piles of money, AND YOU NEVER TOLD US?" Sokka asked.
"I didn't have it with me in the dessert, so what good would it have done if I told you?" Bruce asked him.
"Well – okay, that's a good point." Sokka said.
"Master Bruce? Dinner is ready." Mako said.
"How about we talk over dinner?" Bruce asked and led the way to the dinning room.
Bruce, Katara, and Aang were the only ones that didn't have their feet on the table, bellies bulging out of their clothes, while picking food out of their teeth with their fingers during a belching contest.
"Could you burp a little louder Toph? I don't think they heard you in the North Pole." Katara said.
"Hey, it just means the food was that good." Sokka said as he belched again.
"I'll let Mako know you liked his cooking. Aang, can I ask you something?" Bruce asked the Air Bender.
"Sure." Aang said.
"During my travel's, I heard many stories about your travels so far. But one story confuses me the most. What's this 'Avatar State' I heard about?" Bruce asked him.
Katara looked at Aang, while Aang just looked down for a minute.
"Why do you want to know?" Aang asked him.
"I was just curious. Aang, I'm not that General you ran into. Personally, I have no use for weapons. If it were my choice, I'd melt them all down and let the world live in peace." Bruce told them sincerely.
Aang took a minute before he looked back up at Bruce. "The Avatar state is a self-defense mechanism. When it happens, all my past lives come together to help me fight against whatever threat I'm facing. I can control all the elements, but I'm not in control. It's like I've been shoved into the back of my own mind. I can see everything that's happening, but I can't do anything to stop myself." Aang said sadly.
"How powerful are you?" Bruce asked a small hint of fear in his voice.
"He took out an entire fleet of Fire Nation ships in one massive tidal wave. WHOOSH!" Sokka said as he imitated Aang in the Avatar state, and falling over in his chair.
"Y-you did?" Bruce asked him.
"Yeah, I did." Aang told him.
Bruce sat there for a minute, not moving or even blinking. Bruce looked down in deep thought as he went over what Aang had just told him. With the recent news he had received at Kyoshi Island, this wasn't very good news for him to hear.
"Bruce, what are you thinking?" Katara asked her.
"I'm thinking that power at that magnitude scared me half to death." Bruce said to them as he continued to think.
IV.
It was almost sunset and the city of Ba Sing Se looked like something out of a beautiful painting. Bruce couldn't see it as he worked in the massive cavern below his home. He had spent all night putting his machine together, and was now finishing up the armor that Yin had sent him. A few pieces he had to put together himself, but he didn't mind. With his mastering the art of Fire Bending, it made things go faster. Bruce was so concentrated on completing his tasks that he didn't hear Mako entering the cavern.
"Master Bruce? Master Bruce?" Mako asked him.
"Huh? What is it, Mako?" Bruce asked him.
"You've been distance for the past few days. Is everything all right?" Mako asked him.
"Not really. When Aang told me about the Avatar State, I started second guessing myself." Bruce said to him.
"You're afraid of entering it like Aang previously has?" Mako asked him.
"Very. Mako, what if I can't stop myself if I enter it? Mako, I want to save Ba Sing Se, not destroy it." Bruce said.
"Bruce, you have a destructive organization and many threats on your journey home. Through every single thing you've been through, has that happened to you?" Mako asked him.
"No." Bruce answered.
"Bruce, Aang has lost as much as you have, and faced similar threats. The entire time, you have kept your anger in check. You have learned to discipline yourself against loosing it, even in the face of danger. I have faith in you, Bruce. Even if you enter the Avatar State, it would be to protect and not destroy." Mako told him with a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"But what if I kill? Mako, I can't take a life. By doing that, it proves I'm better than the monsters out there." Bruce told him as he lowered his finished helmet into a small tank of black paint.
"And it's because of those convictions that you will persevere. You are stronger than you realize, Bruce. I know you can control yourself, no matter what state of mind you are in." Mako told him.
"Thank you, Mako." Bruce said.
Mako glanced at Bruce's worktable, and noticed the many shurikens Bruce had forged. Mako picked one up and examined it, and noticed its odd shape.
"If you don't mind my asking, why so you choose to use bats?" Mako asked him.
"Because bats frighten me, Mako. It's time that the criminal scum out there shared my dread." Bruce said as he picked on up, and hurled it. The small weapon landed perfectly in between the eyes of a practice dummy he had set up, with the light reflecting perfectly off of its smooth surface. "It's time to give everything a field test." Bruce said as he raised the helmet out of the paint, and used a little of his fire bending with his air bending, and dried the paint.
"Tonight? Are you sure?" Mako asked him.
"I'm sure, Alfred. Everything's ready. It's time for this bat to fly." Bruce said as he put the helmet on a table that had a drawing of his parents mounted over it.
"What about your glider you were working on?" Mako asked.
"I think I solved it. With a simple flip of the wrist, I can put it in flight mode, and collapse the two main supports when I'm done." Bruce said as he placed the rest of the armor on the table.
"What about the clothing underneath the armor?" Mako asked him.
"They have a thin layer of chain mail made into them. Yin thought of it." Bruce said as he disrobed and began to slip on the black clothes that were almost similar to Avatar Kyoshi, but not as baggy.
"I don't mean to worry, Bruce. But I just want to make sure you're positive about this." Mako said as he saw Bruce slip on the chest plate, and the gauntlets that each had three curved spikes.
"I'm positive, Mako. Thank you for worrying." Bruce said as he attached the special cloak to the chest plate.
Mako could hear the gloves as Bruce balled his fists, making the leather stretch. Bruce attached the belt and placed his shurikens, gas bombs, and smoke bombs in each pouch of the belt. The last piece now was the unique helmet. Bruce looked up at the drawing of his parents, and took the helmet into his hands. He slid it over his head, and attached it to where it wouldn't fall off. Is fit almost like a cloth mask. Bruce turned around to face his old friend, and Mako gasped at hat he saw. Where Bruce stood, most of the shadows covered him. But what little light there was, made Bruce look like something else entirely.
"My God." Mako said as Bruce slowly walked past him, and to the massive machine that stood ready before the ramp.
"Why did you have to wait so long to close the store today?" the woman asked her husband as they made their way home.
"I still had costumers, I thought would but something. How was I supposed to know they were only looking?" the man asked his wife.
"You could die from such a man!" the woman says.
"As the good scrolls say, 'Heal us, Lord; and we'll be healed. In other words; bring us the cure, we've got the sickness already." The man said as he looked into the sky and pointed to his wife. He received a sharp slap to the back of the head instead.
That's when they were surprised by two men, with cloth shroud's over the face's. One man brandished a curved sword while another man had a length of chain, and was spinning it while both of their eyes remained on the couple.
"W-what do you want?" the man asked them.
"Money, all of it!" the man with the sword demanded.
"B-but it's all we have!" the woman said.
"Either the money, or your hides!" the man with the chain demanded.
The man quickly removed his purse from his belt, and handed it to the man with sword. The thief took it, and both ran off down a shadowed alley and out of sight.
"Why didn't you fight him?" the woman demanded her husband.
"Are you crazy, woman? They were armed!" the man said.
"So?" she asked.
"This is pathetic! The old bags barley had any money on them. Why can't we try and rob people from the upper ring?" the man with the chain asked as he finished counting their loot.
"Are you nuts? Remember what happened to the Wen's? Ever since then, the Dahi Li have been keeping their eyes peeled for anything weird. My brother was arrested by those guys. Three weeks later, he's a completely different guy. I'm not risking my neck out there." His partner said.
"Well how about we hit that tea shop that's been doing so well?" he asked.
"I'll think about it." His partner answered.
As they started to recount, the thief with the sword noticed something. A minute ago, you could see their shadows clearly, but now you couldn't. Everything else was still alight from the moonlight, but not where they were sitting.
"What in the?"
That's when something took out all the lamps around them, shrouding the area in darkness. The only light was from the moon above them.
"What's going on?
"I don't know. Maybe it's that Blue Spirit I heard about." The thief said as he raised his sword.
"I don't believe in that stuff! It's just some lunatic trying to trick us. Spread out, try and find him. Did you hear me?" he asked, but noticed his partner was gone. "Chong? Chong, where are you? WHERE ARE YOU?" the thief shouted.
"Here." A deep voice growled behind him.
Before he knew what was happening, he was being held in a choke hold and could have sword he was being pulled upwards. He was finally let go and shoved onto a flat surface. He looked up and saw that he was on a roof. But how did he get here? When he turned over, he let out a scream of fear at what was in front of him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, a giant bat! He swung the sword at the giant monster, but only for him to catch it in a set of spikes on his arm, and snap the blade in half! He tried to run away, but the thing leapt over him, spun, and delivered a strong kick to his face! He looked up from his stupor and saw the monster standing over him in the moonlight. He screamed as the monster grabbed him by his clothes and held him over the building's edge.
"DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE! PLEASE, DON'T KILL ME!" the thief screamed as he felt the front of his pants become warm and wet.
"I'm not going to kill you. I want to you to do me a favor. Tell all your friends about me." the creature growled at him.
"WHAT ARE YOU?" the thief screamed in fear and panic.
That's when the creature pulled him closer to it until their noses were almost touching each other.
"I'm BATMAN." The creature growled and threw him back onto the roof.
The thief was still panting as he felt fear flow through him like a raging river. The creature, the Batman, just stood there looking at him. That's hen it spread black wings, and leapt of the side of the building. The thief rushed to the side of the building, hoping to see that it was dead. Maybe it had fallen all the way down and died. But when he looked over the edge of the building, he saw nothing. It was like he had disappeared. Not knowing what to do, the thief merely closed his eyes and passed out.
Tune in next time! Same Bat Web Site, Same Bat Story! Sorry, I couldn't pass it up.