"I will crush you!" Polyphemus bellowed, trying to get back up, but he stumbled on his hands and knees, the so-called Thing's blow having knocked him silly.
"Buddy, you ain't crushing nothing!" the Thing said. "I've tackled way worse than you. Galactus. Doctor Doom. Annihilus. And all of sorts of giant monsters and creeps from around the frickin galaxy. You got nothing on them."
"Rahhh!" Polyphemus managed to rush back to his feet and was about to charge when Korra shot her hands out again. Twin pillars of stone shot up as well, right into the cyclops's swinging arms on either side. They both formed around his arms, trapping them as Korra closed her fists tightly. Polyphemus struggled, straining against the stone, but for the moment he was trapped. Korra didn't know how long that would last but she wasn't going to wait around to find out.
"Get ready!" she yelled over at the Thing.
"Ready for whaAAGGHH!" he suddenly yelled as Korra shot another pillar of stone out from under him, sending him flying up in the air as well. He recovered quickly, raising his fist just as he hit Polyphemus, punching him with all his strength. The smacking sound carried over the rocks around them and Polyphemus slumped down, unconscious. The Thing landed back on the ground with a crash. He stood back up, seemed to crack his back, and turned towards Korra who felt her body tense up instinctively.
"Nice work kid!" he said, grinning with two thumbs up and Korra felt herself relax again.
"RRRRAAAGGGGHHHH!" Polyphemus was up again, looking madder than ever. He broke free of Korra's makeshift stone cuffs over his arms and swung his club out again. It struck Ben in the side, shooting him across the small gorge into a stone column, smashing through it. Korra airballed out of the way before the cyclops could bring his club down on her. "Face me, puny mortals!" he bellowed. "I want to eat you for lunch!"
"Don't think I'd be very appetizing, big boy," the Thing said, shaking off stony debris from his shoulders. "But I'm always happy to shove another boulder down your gullet."
To emphasize this, he tossed a huge chunk of rock right at the cyclops, but Polyphemus swatted it aside, blinking furiously down at the Thing. He tried to stomp on him but the figure stepped aside and instead punched hard into his kneecap, causing Polyphemus to howl.
But Korra was beginning to notice that no matter what they did, the cyclops swiftly recovered and got back on his feet, ready to attack once more. He didn't seem to get tired. He was just too big and powerful. They needed to do something else. She didn't think they could knock him out cause if the Thing, punching that hard, couldn't do it she didn't know what could. But if they could trap him…
"Liza!" she called, running over to the girl. "I'm going to need you to distract him for like a minute."
"What are you going to do?"
"Trap him," she replied. "I just need a little time."
"Ok, we'll get it for you."
"Look out!" They both ducked as the Thing came soaring by, crashing into the rocks behind them.
"Ok, I'll get it for you," Liza corrected. "Just make it quick." She then ran towards Polyphemus, sword raised. "Hey, ugly! You still want to eat me? Cause my sword's still itching to carve up your throat."
"Die, feisty girl!" Polyphemus roared, swinging his club down on her. She appeared to disappear beneath it but a few seconds later she popped up behind some boulders.
"Missed me!" she taunted. "You aim like my brother, and that's a low bar." She then twisted and stabbed the cyclops right in his heel.
"RAHHHHH!"
Korra took a deep breath and focused. Earth had been the second element she'd mastered. She didn't remember much from then, the first three elements coming to her easily for her child-self. But she could remember the first feeling of it. The ground beneath her feet and all it contained. The immensity of it. Now she reached again, digging beneath the surface. It was a lot, more than she'd ever really done before. But she could do it. She was the damn Avatar.
"Jordan ain't got nothing on me!" the Thing roared, followed by Polyphemus's howls of rage and pain.
"Korra, anytime now!" Liza cried out.
Korra opened her eyes, feeling the Avatar state take over. She heard Liza and the Thing gasp distantly, heard Polyphemus falter. But she didn't pay attention, focused on her task. She held her arms out and thrust them to the side, connected to the earth and felt all the rock, stone, and dirt beneath Polyphemus's feet roll aside, opening a wide chasm.
"WAAAHHHHH!" the cyclops roared, falling right into it. He tried grabbing hold of something but the earth slipped right beneath his fingers. He disappeared, screaming into the ground, until Korra closed it up again, and it was quiet again. She then slumped over, gasping.
"Whoa kid," the Thing hurried over. "Damn, that was cool. You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." She took another breath before rising and looking him in the eye. "Did I get him?"
"Yeah, you did."
"Well, most of him," Liza added as she walked up.
"Huh?" Korra looked over and saw the top of Polyphemus's head was still showing. And they could still hear the mumbled sound of what seemed like different curses and threats. "Ah, close enough." She held out her hand. "I'm Korra by the way. The Avatar."
"Ok," Ben said, frowning a little as he took her hand. "I'm sure you are. And as you may have guessed by now, I'm the Thing. But you can call me Ben if you prefer."
"The Thing?" Liza questioned, walking over. "Why would you pick that as a name in the first place?"
"Have you seen me, kid?" he asked her. "Though I do wish I had thought of something else when it happened. Now I'm stuck with it. Doesn't matter now though, it's in the past."
Korra frowned, not quite sure she was understanding. "So, you weren't always like this?" she checked.
"Oh, no. I was born with fleshy skin just like you two. This was the result of a cosmic storm," he explained, gesturing to his rocky form. He then frowned at them, as if realizing something. "So, if you don't recognize me that must mean we're either on another planet from mine or in another dimension." He rubbed his head, grumbling. "Damn Reed's probably behind this. Or Doom. Yeah, probably Doom honestly."
Korra shook her head. "Sorry, I'm completely lost. What do you mean 'other planet?' Or 'other dimension' for that matter?"
"Well, I don't think this is my home, on the result of there being two moons in the sky," Ben said, pointing. Korra followed his finger and gasped as she saw it. Liza saw it too, gaping at the sight. Two moons, right next to each other. "First time off world, huh?" Ben said to them. "Yeah, it ain't easy. But you'll get used to it."
"Uh…" Korra mumbled, still trying to wrap her brain around what she was seeing. She kept going back and forth if this was the Spirit World or not, but even the Spirit World had only one moon. Or did it? She'd never really paid attention before. But it must have. Then…where was she?
"Hey!" Korra blinked as two stony fingers snapped right in front of her. "Let's go," Ben said, a little impatiently now. "I know you're probably freaking out about the whole thing right now, but I really would prefer for us to be away from here before the cyclops over there breaks out."
"Uh, yeah, yeah," Korra nodded, tabling the whole two moons thing. He was right, they had to get out of there.
"It would be safer if we just killed him," Liza muttered, raising her sword.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ben lifted up his large, stony hands. "That ain't happening. Dude might be a cannibalistic killer but I'm not. A killer I mean. Or a cannibal. The point is that we ain't killing him. I don't kill. Ever. And I'm not letting anyone else do it on my watch."
"Agreed," Korra nodded. She had never really killed before, trying to channel previous avatar Aang's ways as much as she could. The only time she could say she might have broken it was with Unalaq, but he had done that more to himself. And she didn't want to start now, especially not in cold blood.
"But he's a monster," Liza argued. "He would kill us without thought. He almost did."
"Doesn't mean we have to be like him, kid," Ben countered. "His life, his choices. My life, my choices and I choose not to kill. Now, we gonna keep talking or are we gonna get out of here."
Liza glared at them and then over at Polyphemus before sighing and walking away. Ben nodded approvingly before following, Korra on his tail. They made their way up the rocky paths until the giant cyclops was lost from view. Slowly, the rocks beneath their feet turned into sand and they left the mountainside behind them. Korra kept glancing at the sky, just to check if the two moons were still there. And every time, she felt the jolt of fear in her as she saw that they were still there. Two glowing orbs glaring down at her. She did her best to ignore them.
"So…" she started. "I guess introductions are in order?" She phrased it more as a question, not really sure how to proceed. She'd never really been in a situation like this before. "I'm Avatar Korra. But you can just call me Korra."
"Avatar?" Ben questioned, turning to face her. "What's that mean? You like some sort of god manifestation or something? Oh god, is this Thor's doing?"
"Uh…" Korra blinked. "No and who's Thor? Wait, hold up, how can you not know what the Avatar is? That's…" she struggled to come up with the right word. Everyone knew what the Avatar was. It was common knowledge. The person able to master all four elements and was the bridge between the mortal and spirit world. "I mean, seriously. How can you…" Korra paused again then took another wild look around and up again at the moons. And then a scary thought hit her. "Oh my god."
"Oh, you just had some sort of revelation, didn't ya?" Ben asked, pointing one of his giant, stony fingers at her. "You know something."
"What?" Liza asked, facing her. "What do you know?"
"I…" Korra turned in a circle. It didn't make any sense. And yet it was the only thing that could make sense. "I think I'm in the wrong time."
"The wrong time?" Liza asked, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Time travel kid," Ben replied. "It seems we're dealing with time travel. Though I must admit, I don't think there's ever been a time on my world where there were two moons."
"This must be the world where the Dangers come from," Liza growled, though there was an edge of fear in her voice. "Should have seen it sooner. Though it is emptier than I thought it would be."
Korra was barely listening. It shouldn't be possible. And yet, what else could it be. She had to have been thrown back in time. Like when she had seen the story of the first Avatar, Wan, only this time it was her physical form. Which was way worse as she had no idea how to return.
"Alright, let's just keep moving. Try and find something that can tell us something about this place," Ben said, scanning the landscape.
"No, I need to find a way to get back home," Korra said, turning in place to try and find anything. But it was still the same. Nothing.
"We all want that," Ben said. "I want to get back to my wife. But we ain't gonna get back by just standing here doing nothing. We gotta find a way to get back. Which means we got to start looking around for anything that can help us."
Korra stared at him and nodded. He was right. That was what they needed to do. "Alright," she consented. "Where to first?"
"That way," he said after a moment, pointing directly ahead of them.
"Why that way? Looks the same as everywhere else," Liza commented.
"Yes, but it's the direction that will take us the farthest from the one-eyed giant back there, so until we find anything else to go to, that's where I'm headed."
"Fair enough," Korra nodded and they started walking again. Korra could already feel the sweat dribbling down her skin from the hot sun. She recalled the last time she had been in a desert like this, stranded with a bunch of Earth Kingdom soldiers and Asami and being chased across the dunes in a makeshift sand-sailer by a sand shark. Korra hoped that that wouldn't happen this time. There weren't any sand-sailers around, makeshift or otherwise.
She wondered about her theory. Was she really thrust back in time? This didn't look like the world she had seen Avatar Wan inhabit thousands of years ago. Then again, she may be in a remote part of it. Or, she was somewhere else entirely.
She shook her head. No matter where she was, what she had to do was clear. Find out how she had gotten here so she could find a way back. Until then, keep her eyes peeled for everything and anything.
"So…" she said after a little while, walking next to Ben. She had to skip a little just to keep up with his pace, his large frame covering more distance with each stride. "How long have you been like this, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Little over a decade," he replied, shrugging. "Little more, actually."
"And you got it from a…cosmic storm?" Korra checked.
He nodded. "Yep. Flew right up into it and got this misshaped form as a result. But it's helped me save the world many times over, so…" he shrugged again. "Is what it is, I guess."
"Huh," Korra nodded, still not really getting it. What was a cosmic storm? And how would it change someone into this? The closest she could think of was the criminal Tokuga who had been attacked by a dragon eel spirit and thus gained some its properties, slightly transforming him. But this was a full transformation. And evidently did not come from any spirit.
To be honest, when she first saw him she had thought he had been an earthbender who had gotten on the wrong side of some spirits. Now she didn't really know what to think. Except that he seemed to be a good person.
"So what's your story then?" she turned to Liza.
"I'm a member of the Adventurer's Guild of Freestone," she replied. "Hunting monsters is my job."
Korra didn't really know how to respond to that but Ben just nodded so she did too. Then, as the silence continued, she spoke again. "I'm the Avatar."
"Yeah, you said that already," Ben told her, looking over. "What does that mean?"
"Uh, well," Korra bobbed her head, trying to think. She'd never really had to explain what the Avatar was to someone before. "I'm basically a reincarnated soul. Every generation, a new Avatar is born to help bring peace to the world. They can master all four elements."
"Four elements?" Liza questioned. "What are those?"
"Earth, fire, water, and air," Korra replied.
"Yeah, assumed so," Ben said. "Those do seem to be the four elements people go with, for some reason. So you can control them all. Pretty cool. My best bud, Johnny, he can control fire. His whole body erupts into flames and he yells out 'Flame On' whenever he can."
Korra hadn't heard of that before but sounded a little cool. Except the flame on bit. That sounded lame. She wondered if maybe she should try it. Then again, she wasn't immune to fire. No firebender was. They just manipulated it. So setting oneself on fire wasn't really advisable for one's health.
Since there wasn't really much else to say, they kept walking. Endlessly. Korra felt every step sink into the soft sand, felt the sun's heat on top of her, felt every trickle of sweat drip down her skin. She turned to look at Liza, who was wearing light armor. She must have been roasting alive in there but she made no complaints, just soldiered on. Ben, however, seemed fine, showing no signs of slowing or stopping. The desert atmosphere seemed to be having the least effect on him. Which made sense given his physique.
Korra was really starting to wish they had a sand-sailer right about now. Or better yet, a truck. But she didn't know if those existed yet. She didn't know where she was or even when she was and the only reason she wasn't freaking out right now was that she was too tired to. All she could focus on was the next step in front of her, making her way to that unreachable horizon and hoping something appeared on it.
"Alright, enough."
Korra stumbled to a stop at the words, blinking and looking over at Ben who had stopped walking, turning to look at her and Liza. "Enough of what?" she asked.
"Enough of you two," he replied. "You both look ready to drop. Can't go on."
"Not me, I'm fine," Liza replied, but even Korra could see her legs trembling a little.
"No need to flex for me kid, we don't know what's waiting for us and if it's bad I'm gonna want you in top form. So here," he reached down and lifted her up with one of his large stony hands, hoisting her onto his shoulder where she sat easily. Then he did the same for Korra, plopping her down on the other shoulder. "Should've done that from the start," he said. "Sorry for not realizing it sooner. Anyhow, let's get going."
He started walking and Korra had to adjust to the movements, finding a comfortable spot that didn't shift with each step he took. Then she relaxed slightly, not realizing how tired she had actually been. She looked up at the sun and was surprised to see it now dipping in the sky. They had been walking longer than she had realized, a few hours at least. No wonder she was tired.
"Are you sure you can carry us?" Liza asked. "I don't want to be a burden on you, I'm happy to walk."
"Nah, you're good," Ben replied easily. "It's like holding a couple grapes honestly. Barely feel a thing. You just hang tight there and let old Ben carry ya."
"Ok," Liza said and Korra could sense her body slumping in relief a little.
"So…" Korra said. "Why do you wear that armor? You must be roasting in there."
Liza looked down at it. "It's fine," she said breezily. "It's light armor. Protects me against minor threats. What really helps is mobility which this is good for. Got to be light on your feet to stay ahead of the enemy."
Korra knew that. It was why she didn't wear armor. Also that it was a little too cumbersome for her taste but really she liked being more free with her movements. Armor restricted her bending a little. It worked for some earthbenders and firebenders, but she was raised a waterbender whose bending was more fluid, like the airbenders. Wearing armor just never felt right to her.
"Still," she pressed. "That can't be comfortable."
Liza turned to her. "We don't know what's out there or what could be waiting for us. My mentor told me to never let my guard down in enemy territory. This armor might be the only thing that saves me from a sneak attack. So don't worry about me."
Korra nodded at that and turned back to the horizon. They kept walking for a little while longer before she tipped her head down to look at Ben. "So…" she began.
He sighed audibly. "Just ask what you're going to ask."
"Sorry, it's just…what's a cosmic storm?" she asked.
He frowned at that, but not at her, more like he was trying to work it out for himself. "I don't really know, to be honest. I'm just the muscle guy. I also like to think of myself as the heart of the group, but I ain't the brains. That's Reed's job. So that cosmic storm…well, it was sort of radioactive. All I really know is that it changed our DNA, our very cells. Made us…different. I became this. My buddy, Johnny, became a human torch. Could set himself on fire without getting burned. Reed could stretch and mold his body however he wanted to. And Susie could turn invisible and create force fields. All of us different. But we were a family. And from that storm, we became heroes, defending our world and all other worlds from threats. The Fantastic Four." He chuckled at that. "That's what we call ourselves."
"A little egotistical but it is catchy," Liza remarked.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Ben nodded. "It took a long time for me to come to grips with this," he lifted up his hand and clenched his fist. "Still not fully over it, to be honest. But I've made my peace with it. And I got the life and family I want now anyway. And I don't think that would have happened if that storm hadn't happened. So, it all works out the way it's supposed to in the end."
Korra smirked at that. Now that she could understand. "I was born with my abilities. In a sense, I mean. I only found out I had them a few years later, but still. All my life I knew I was going to be the Avatar. I guess I didn't truly know what that meant until I actually set out into the world." She recalled first setting eyes on Republic City, first walking into it. The trouble she had caused taking on those gang members and then getting arrested by the metalbenders. And after that, meeting her friends as well as one of her greatest enemies: Amon. "It's a huge responsibility."
"Is it?" Ben asked, intrigued. "What exactly is the Avatar's job?"
"To bring balance to the world. The Avatar is the bridge between the spirit and mortal worlds," she explained. "Where I come from, some people are born with a bending ability. Earth, fire, water, air. But, as the Avatar, I have access to all four and I use them to protect the world and bring peace where I can."
Ben chuckled again. "Sounds like a superhero to me," he said. "And trust me, I've met plenty."
"So, who chooses you to be the Avatar?" Liza asked curiously.
"No one," Korra replied, and then thought better of it. "Well, maybe the spirit Raava. You see, the spirit is bonded with me just like she was bonded with all my past lives. When I die, she'll pass on to the next person who will become the Avatar and so on. An endless cycle."
"Whoa," Liza nodded, eyes wide. "That is pretty cool."
"Hmmm," Ben jerked his head. "Reincarnation. That is cool."
Korra smiled. But then she smiled even more as she looked back at the horizon. "Hey," she said, tapping Ben's shoulder. "You see that?"
"Huh?" he asked, then looked closer. "Ah. Looks like we're getting somewhere."
"What?" Liza asked, but then a second later she saw it too. The horizon line had begun to stretch past the desert ground which meant they were coming to a cliff or gorge. The point was that it was a change. And right now, Korra would take what she could get in that department.
She just didn't expect what she did get.
"Wh-what is this?" she muttered
They all stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down on a wide plain. In the distance, they could see a wall with towers behind it, looking like a city which should have gotten them excited. Except they were distracted by what lay directly below them on the wide plain.
It was a massive heap of scrap metal. It looked like several fleets of airships and planes destroyed each other and collapsed right in this plain. Except there were so many pieces of metal that clearly didn't belong on any airship or plane Korra had ever seen. She saw huge metal spikes sticking out, a bunch of weird metal tentacles, some strange cylindrical shapes, and something that looked like a giant battle-axe. And then, of course, there were the big ones. Humongous mountains of metal crashed into the plain, so big that they actually looked like mountains. There was so much more, each piece different to the last. The only thing they all had in common was they were all covered in sand and were rusting away.
And they looked like they had blasted each other to bits.
So yeah, hope you're liking the mystery of this series so far. Please leave a review if you can and if any of you have suggestions for other characters, please let me know and I'll see what I can do. Til next time.