It was a peaceful day in the Jasmine Dragon, located in the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se. The birds were singing, the bees were humming, the staff were preparing the tea shop for the afternoon shift, and everything was in a state of general bliss. Until...

"Hey guys, there's a new chapter of The Tale of Kara!"

Sokka's proclamation immediately diverted everyone's attention from their current activities. Katara and Zuko looked up from their of Pai Sho, Aang dropped the ball he was using for a game of catch with Momo, and Toph snapped out of her lazy half-asleep state. "The Tale of Kara? Excellent!" she beamed.

"I dunno if I want to hear more about what my imaginary perfect elder sister is up to so soon after lunch," Katara said as she placed another tile on the Pai Sho board. "Your turn, Zuko."

Zuko placed one of his own tiles. "And I don't think I want to know whether she has other names for me other than 'handsome jerk'."

"Oh come on, we gotta find out what's new with Kara!" Sokka said enthusiastically. "Remember, in the last chapter she was taken aboard Zuko's ship along with Aang!"

"She can stay there for all I care," Katara replied briskly.

"Well, I'm going to listen to this," Toph grinned as she propped her feet up on the low table. "I'd like to see what perfectly perfect stuff she does this time."

"I wouldn't mind hearing this either," Aang said as he threw the ball again for Momo, who promptly went after it. "But you and Katara are still going to come on Appa to rescue me, right?"

"Don't worry, it's only chapter four; a little too soon for you to be getting captured by the Fire Nation," Sokka reassured him before beginning to narrate.

The Fire Nation soldiers led Aang and I through a dark corridor, the only light coming from lamps set in the walls that glowed a rusty red. Our wrists were bound together with strong rope, and the soldiers were none too gentle as they half-pushed us towards the metal door at the end of the passage. In front of us walked the Fire Nation prince, staring firmly ahead and never once looking in another direction. He paused in front of the door and finally consented to turn towards us, his captives. Both of his amber eyes fixed me in their steely gaze, even the one on the scarred half of his face.

"When we enter the room, you will be tested to determine if you are the Avatar," he told us.

Aang frowned in confusion. "There's a test for whether you're an Avatar or not?"

"There should be; otherwise how did you know you were one?" Sokka asked him.

"Well, the monks knew because they'd presented me with thousands of toys when I was a baby, and I chose the four toys that were the toys picked by the past four Avatars. I don't think Zuko's ship would have those toys though."

"True, but we did once have a grinning monkey statue with ruby eyes," Zuko stated to general astonishment.

"Wait, I thought you were playing Pai Sho with Katara?" Sokka pointed out.

"We decided we could use a bit of sickening perfectness instead."

"Oh. Okay then."

"You are advised to cooperate with us and not try to resist. If you attempt to escape," his eyes gleamed with a spark of fury, "I will not be held responsible for my actions."

From beside me, Aang gulped nervously. I tried to make him feel better by sending him a reassuring smile, but I wasn't feeling very brave either. The prince had already proved himself an able fighter, and in a metal warship that was sure to be heavily fortified and full of soldiers, escaping would not be an easy task.

"Question: how does Kara expect for Aang to see her reassuring smile in a dark corridor lit only by rusty red lamps?" Sokka asked.

"Answer: the same way she can bend two elements, have Aang falling for her instead of Katara and making you and your sister sound like childish brats," Toph answered.

"Oh."

Katara shrugged. "Besides, I'm sure the big tough Fire Nation soldiers will wipe the smile off her face soon enough, and I'll be glad to see that," she smirked.

As we entered the room, my heart was full of trepidation. I did not know what to expect, what test they would use on me, or even whether I would be able to leave that room alive.

Katara gave a mock exaggerated shudder. "Oh dear, how simply horrifying this is. How indeed is Kara going to escape? I know: with her perfectly disgusting perfectness!"

"You're not very nice to your elder sister, now are you?" Toph grinned.

"Do I have to be?"

"No, in fact I like you as mean Katara. Makes you sound less like a saint."

"Thanks, Toph."

"Any time."

However, the room only contained a simple wooden table and not much else. A stout man with graying hair stood in front of the table, and the kind smile on his face somehow told me that he would not hurt me. He nodded politely at us. "Hello. My name is Iroh, and my nephew Zuko has asked me to perform a little test on you."

Zuko frowned thoughtfully. "Strange. I never knew about any test to determine whether one is the Avatar. When I was first banished, I did look for any information that would contain any hint of the Avatar's whereabouts, but I never came across anything like a test."

"Besides, you wouldn't even need a test to see if someone is the Avatar," Sokka pointed out. "All you'd have to do is check whether that guy can airbend, and since nobody else alive on this planet can do that, his identity would be obvious."

"And Aang already performed an airbending move in the last chapter - you know, when he was slowing down the penguin's momentum," Katara added. "By then he would've already proved that he was the Avatar."

"Except with Kara bending two elements, I guess they would've needed the test anyway, just to be sure," Aang analyzed.

"Yeah, so they can be sure she's not the Avatar and they would have a valid excuse to throw her off the ship," Toph grinned.

We didn't reply immediately. Aang's eyes darted around the room, possibly searching for any lurking dangers, or perhaps an escape route. Finally he asked, "What kind of test?"

"I assure you, it won't hurt. I've performed it hundreds of times. It only takes a few moments, and then you're free to go. Would you mind if I put a few things in front of you at the table? It will only take a moment."

Sokka looked confused. "How can putting some stuff in front of someone prove that he or she's the Avatar?"

"We won't know unless you stop interrupting and continue with the story," Katara said, slightly irritated.

"Fine, fine, no need to get touchy."

Personally I wasn't so sure that we really would be free to go, but then again, what did I have to fear? I wasn't the Avatar; Aang was, and suddenly I realized that if I was released, he would be left alone on the ship at the mercy of the firebenders.

"Yeah, and they'll all be celebrating your absence," Sokka smirked.

Praying that the situation would not arise, I spoke up, "You sure you won't hurt us?"

"You have my word," Iroh replied as he gestured for me to stand in front of the table across from him.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward to the side of the table, watching as Iroh produced a small flask of water and poured it on the table's surface. The water slid over the wood, merging together and eventually forming a circle before me. Iroh said nothing, but simply nodded once as he wiped away the water and put a burning candle in front of me. The flame of the candle went still, before leaning slightly in my direction.

Iroh's eyes widened, but still he said nothing. Then he placed a smooth pebble before me in an upright position before drawing his hand away. The pebble fell accordingly. He tried again, with the same result. He then took away the pebble and straightened up to look at his nephew. "She is not the Avatar."

Toph snorted. "Well, that told us a lot."

"I think I get it now," Aang spoke up. "This is supposed to test whether a person has bending abilities by observing whether the element will react to the bender's presence. If there was a reaction, it should prove that the person can bend that element."

"Still, I don't think there really is any test like this, is there?" Katara asked.

The Avatar smiled slightly. "No, there isn't. There are certain ways of determining whether someone is the Avatar, but this method has definitely never been used before."

"Considering that this is the Avatar himself speaking, we'll just have to take your word for it," Sokka responded.

Zuko stepped forward. "Then how could she have bent two elements? The soldiers have already told you how she, a waterbender, produced fire just now was she was fighting against me. How is that possible?"

Iroh remained silent for a few moments before finally clearing his throat. "It is rare, but not impossible. Once in a while," he turned to look at me, "a bender is born with the ability to manipulate two elements. It could be because of mixed heritage, where both parents have different bending abilities, or it could just be a blessing from the spirits."

"Then why didn't I know before now that I could firebend?" I asked. "I already showed signs of waterbending when I was a child, but I only produced my first flame today."

"In these cases, one element will be the bender's dominant element, the one that develops earlier and faster," Iroh explained. "The other secondary element is generally not discovered until later in life, but with hard training an individual can control both elements with equal skill. A hybrid bender usually shows great talent in the art of bending, and for me, it is an honor to meet one," he said as he bowed to me.

I was speechless. I had never heard of hybrid benders, and now I didn't really know how to react to the discovery that I was one.

"Ditto for me," Toph said. "I don't think 'hybrid benders' even exist."

"Obviously this is all just some plot device created by the author to explain how Kara can bend two elements, making her that much more special than the rest of us lesser mortals," Katara sniffed.

Sokka smirked. "Oh come on, we all know you're just upset because she took your boyfriend."

"Shut up and continue reading, Sokka."

However, my mind was soon occupied by other matters, for now Iroh was performing the test on Aang. The water formed a circle, the flame was drawn towards him, and even the pebble stood upright before him. It was just as I feared.

Zuko reached out a hand and grasped Aang's arm tightly. "You are my prisoner, Avatar. I'm taking you back to the Fire Nation."

"And that's the end of the chapter," Sokka said as he closed the book and looked up at his friends. "Well, at least we now have some sort of reason why Kara can bend two elements."

"Though that one was obviously thought up by the author," Katara added. "Come to think of it, that test probably was as well."

"Well, it's not like it's complete nonsense," Zuko admitted. "Although I have to say, that's cutting it a bit fine there. I mean, we don't even have any real proof that method actually works."

"Yeah well, there aren't a lot of things in here that have any sort of proof at all." Sokka opened the book again and browsed through the pages. "So, who wants another story?"

And there we have it: Kara is a hybrid bender, two separate elements united in one individual – or whatever Mary Sue-ish statement you can think of. Gee, I just realized how much I missed writing about her. You won't mind if she appears a bit more frequently, yeah? In the meantime, see you all in the next chapter!