Review! Woohoo! And really as good a review as I can hope for in this sort of story.
Honestly, Liz is not a self-insert, just more like me than most of my OC's.
Yes, this tale in general lacks subtlety...
And for the chronically curious, there is in fact such a thing as a 'level nine gymnast' - they're about two steps below 'Olympic gymnast' but can compete at a local, state, and sometimes national level.
I still don't own Avatar. Or New York City. Though that would be cool.
~Taidine
Chapter Four : Of Gymnasts and Jolts
"If you're bored, you're not paying attention."
I promised Ty Lee I would tell her everything I knew in the morning, sent her out of my room, and sat down to do homework. It was strangely relaxing; the simple mental effort of math problems reassured me at least some of my brain was still working. The thing was, just about everyone around me was becoming part of my delusion – so I had no one left to confirm my own sanity.
On the other hand, I wasn't sure I really cared.
Ty Lee got up before me the next morning, as I had half-expected. I woke up to her opening my door with her feet because she was walking on her hands. "Morning!" she greeted with unnecessary brightness.
"Morning," I replied dully, pushing back my covers.
"Okay, start talking." She flipped onto her feet, looking at me with something that might almost be seriousness. "Who are you? Wait, let me guess. Mai?"
"Just Liz," I answered, clambering out of bed. "I know where Katara and Zuko are, though. And Azula's around somewhere."
"I know that," said Ty Lee, making a face. "She left me and Mai tied up and went through the portal after the Avatar. But I slipped the ropes and we followed her! Had to rescue Zuzu, didn't we?" She moved her hands as she talked, miming slipping free of something tied around her wrists, and finished up grinning.
"So Mai is here," I said, padding downstairs and putting up the kettle. Tea was a soothing ritual.
"Um… I think so," said Ty Lee, the smile vanishing. "But she tried to do that thing Azula did, and I don't know if it worked. I hope she's okay."
"What thing? Do you want any tea?" I asked.
Ty Lee shook her head to the second, sending a sine wave through her long braid. "Well, there were these pretty carvings on the walls. Azula said they would keep her from forgetting, like I did. Say…" She tilted her head. "Is that waterbender girl's brother here? I saw him go through the portal."
I was getting down a teacup and honey. "We haven't found Sokka yet. I told you, it's just Katara and Zuko so far. We think we've found Aang too, but he disagrees, so we're trying to keep him safe. You can help us if it'll keep you out of trouble." The teakettle whistled, and I poured boiling water over my teabag, frowning slightly.
Ty Lee took a seat at the kitchen table and rested her chin on one fist. "Gee, you sure are grumpy in the mornings."
I didn't have to endure too much of Ty Lee's chatter, because she discovered Emma's iPod, and was more than happy to sit quietly and listen to music on the train. As for me, I read. There's nothing like a book to keep people from bothering you. In between chapters, I tried to remember if I'd forgotten anything. Cell phone – check. Paper and pens – check. Subway and street map – check. Excuse – check, I'd gotten permission from my parents to 'go into the city with some friends,' which they were okay with, provided I called in periodically to give them status reports. MetroCard and money – check, and those were probably my main assets right now.
We found Katara and Zuko on the street where we had battled the monsters; I was munching a buttered roll, and Ty Lee had a donut, both off one of those ubiquitous street vendors. I was curious to see if they would recognize the newest member of the cast or whether they would just see my cousin.
My question was answered as Katara's gaze fell upon Ty Lee and her pale eyes narrowed. "You! Liz, she's working for Azula!"
Ty Lee's expression was hurt; she held up a hand as if to say, "me?" I shook my head. "Not after the fiasco at the boiling rock," I assured her. "Zuko, back me up here?"
He nodded. "It's because of Ty Lee and Mai… that we got away. Yeah." His voice lingered over the name 'Mai.'
Katara's expression remained suspicious. "If you say so…"
"There he is," I interrupted, spotting Aang – or rather, Michael – and his gaggle of cohorts, crossing the end of the streets.
"Fine. Come with us. But I'm keeping an eye on you," said Katara. "If you so much look like you're going to hurt Aang or anyone else on our team…" She let the threat hang. We headed out.
Michael and company were making for a pair of basketball courts, so we took positions around the chain-link fence of the one they were playing in, watching him, his group and everything outside. We were all a little jumpy, I think, worried something like those snakebats might show up again. Ty Lee clued the gang in on what she had told me earlier: how Azula was after the Amulet too, and how she had done something to protect her identity before entering the portal. So now we knew who was over here with us at least: In addition to Zuko, Katara, Azula and her squadron, Ty Lee herself, and Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Mai had gone through the portal. Suki had been injured on the journey, during a battle with Azula, and captured by the Fire Nation princess; she had wound up with Mai and Ty Lee, and opted to stay behind as a guard when they went through the portal. So now we had the whole story, more or less, but weren't exactly sure what to do with it.
As we – or rather, Katara and Zuko – were discussing our options, Michael fudged a basket and chanced to look our way; his eyes narrowed in displeased recognition. I could imagine his thoughts: we were stalkers, after all, and a somewhat creepy bunch, at that. I wondered how he saw us – did he notice Zuko's intimidating scar or Katara's odd hairstyle?
He turned to his friends, tossed one the basketball, and wandered over. "Look, if you guys keep following me I'm going to have to call the police or something," he said, stopping a safe distance from the fence.
We were right next to the gate onto the court; Katara pulled it open and stepped in, one hand extended, speaking soothingly. "Look, I know you think we're crazy, but you have to believe us," she said. He didn't move, but continued to stare at her, hostile and suspicious. I could imagine how much this was hurting her. "Those monsters yesterday should have proved it. You're Aang, you're the Avatar, and you're our friend. Please…"
Michael dipped his hand into one pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "I warned you," he began.
A rock, a piece of asphalt, came soaring through the air, looping around him in a way that defied the normal laws of projectile motion and knocking the phone clean out of his hands. It skittered across the basketball court and came to rest near the feet of a short girl with dark hair and clouded eyes. "Phone down, Twinkletoes," she commanded.
Katara followed the phone with her eyes, then looked up at the girl who had thrown the rock. "Hey, Toph," she smiled.
I was pleased with myself for having recognized the earthbender immediately. She stomped one foot, and the ground rippled, sending the cell phone up into the air; she caught it neatly in one hand. "Hi, Katara," she said casually. "Zuko. Aang."
Michael's friends were scattering, one by one, until he was alone on the court, barring the rest of the gang. "I'm not Aang!" he declared again, taking half a step towards Toph and his cell phone. She must have sensed it; she stepped back, keeping the distance.
"You want this?" She brandished the phone. "Come get it."
He was looking her over, probably wondering how much a fight a blind girl could offer; without warning, he lunged forward. Toph took a single step and the asphalt in front of her buckled in response, a spur of rock springing up between her and Michael. The boy crashed into it with a cry and dodged around, only to be met by another wall of earth. "Fight back," said Toph, sweeping her hand down. The court smoothed over again. "I know you can."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he maintained. She raised her arms, and a pair of boulders tore free of the asphalt. "I just want my cell phone back!" He sprang forward again; the boulders flew towards him, one behind the other, and he just barely managed to duck.
"What are you doing?" Katara cried out in horror as Toph tore another pair of rocks free.
"Trust me," the earthbender responded, whirling. Michael dodged around the rocks, left then right. A spur of rock rose from the court and caught him squarely in the chest, sending him flying into the air with a strangled cry. Katara let out a gasp of horror and raised her hands into a waterbending form, but Toph almost negligently extended her own palm, and another wall of rock rose, blocking Katara from the conflict. Michael flew through the air, crumpled from the blow. There was a collective intake of breath as he twisted through the air – far too high to land safely, a cartoon character would have been fine but in real life bones break more easily. As high as the chain link fence now, an expression of terror on his face that slowly solidified into frank determination – he extended one hand, palm downwards.
There was a powerful updraft, a twist of wind that knocked his falling form straight and slowed his descent. He landed in an easy crouch, looking around with wide eyes. "Um…" he straightened up, scratching the back of his head, and his expression went sheepish. "Hi, Toph. Can I have my cell phone back now?"
She tossed it to him; he caught it with a negligent puff of air and floated it into his palm.
"Aang!" Katara cried. Toph moved, slightly and deliberately, and the rocks all sunk back into the asphalt, restoring the basketball court to roughly its former state. As soon as the dividing wall was down she raced forward; Aang met her half way, and they hugged briefly. I focused on adjusting my perceptions, my expectations, until I could glimpse the blue arrow tattoo peeking out from under his softly spiked hair.
Katara released Aang and rounded on Toph. "How did you know that would work?" she demanded fiercely. "If he hadn't come around when he did, you could have seriously hurt him!"
"Relax," Toph said, flapping a hand in Katara's direction. "He just needed a jolt, okay? The same thing happened to me. I thought I was someone else entirely until I got pushed off the subway tracks and had to earthbend to save myself. It's no picnic being blind if you can't use earthbending to see, by the way."
"A jolt?" I mused, feeling like I needed to contribute something to the conversation.
Katara looked thoughtful. "She may have a point. I didn't snap out of it until I saw Zuko."
"I… Liz used my name," said Zuko grudgingly. "I guess that's when I came around."
"I was doing stretches," said Ty Lee. "But I don't think I had very far to snap!"
Toph whirled towards Ty Lee's bright voice. "What's she doing here?"
"She's on our side. We think," said Katara.
Toph scowled at Ty Lee, blowing dark stringy bangs out of her face with a quick puff of breath. "Yep," said Ty Lee. "Azula and Mai and me haven't been getting along lately, so we're helping you out instead."
"Okay, I believe you," said Toph. I recalled the whole earthbending-to-detect-lies thing and hoped Ty Lee couldn't dupe it as easily as Azula could. "One more thing…" She spun around, taking in the whole group. "Where's Sokka?"
"Mmhmm, where is Sokka?" asked Ty Lee, starry-eyed.
"As far as we know, he hasn't, um, snapped yet," said Katara. "So we don't even know who he is, let alone where."
But I had been thinking. Everyone else so far had turned out to be someone who was already fundamentally similar to the character – at least, Aang, Katara, and Ty Lee had been, and I imagined Zen had been somewhat Zuko-ish and whoever Toph had been followed the same pattern. So I just had to figure out who I knew, or at least knew of, who was like Sokka. There was really only one group of people who immediately sprang to mind.
"I think I have an idea," I said. "We should pay a visit to Columbus Circle."