Aang expected a lot this evening, but he did not expect the question that came to Michael for at least another ten years.
"Sorry, can you repeat that?"
He hoped it was all just a misunderstanding. Maybe it's the play of the wind and he heard wrong-
"I asked how one can kill a Spirit."
Nope, he heard everything alright.
The young Avatar felt his head start to spin - he was familiar with this feeling; he felt the same way when he heard about the genocide of his people - Aang did not understand how his friend could ask something so terrible with such a straight face!
Luckily, Aang had a good answer to this question.
"... I don't know and I don't want to know. The world needs Spirits as much as it needs air, without them our world would plunge into chaos. So, I advise you to try not to destroy any Spirits."
Michael scratched his chin and Aang's stomach fell.
'Is he seriously thinking about killing a Spirit?! I know they are not all kind, but this is just awful!'
"Even if one hypothetical Spirit scared the shit out of me? Can Spirits be crippled?"
Aang sighed heavily and began to channel his inner Avatar.
"Mick, you can't cripple someone just because they scared you."
The odd-eyed teenager shrugged his shoulders and sat down leaning on Appa. The evening sun blinded Avatar's eyes a little, but he could see how disappointed Michael's face looked.
"Apparently for now I just have to watch my back. Hell, I really hoped that I could solve this problem in the usual way."
Aang would curse his curiosity for the next couple of sleepless nights, but right now he was just wondering what Michael was talking about.
"In the usual way?"
Mike blinked and looked at the young Avatar, mentally arguing with himself. Aang could see the indecision in Michael's eyes but didn't press for the older teenager to tell him his secrets. Two people and one Flying Bison sat in silence until Michael spoke.
"Well, I grew up on the streets, there's no point in denying that. Even after my adoptive father found me, I didn't move away from my past life. Old habits die hard, you know? On the streets when you have no reputation or money, you can only rely on your strength. So, relying on my strength, I began to build a reputation for myself."
Michael fell silent again, he did not know how to tell Aang just what he was doing so that he would not be killed on the streets of Moscow. Descendants of the Baumans – or were they? What year was I born in, again? – were brutal with thieves on their territory, so he just maintained his reputation as a brutal bastard - which was difficult given his age – until he was recruited to their side.
"You can believe me, if your name is feared on the streets, then no one will even think about killing you. At least if they think it's not worth it. So, anyone who tried to rob, attack or intimidate me found himself with a few broken bones. Well, or without a couple of fingers. The Fire Lord and his army use the same intimidation tactics that I do - ну, не совсем те же, но тебе не нужно это знать -" He muttered in his mother tongue. "-and suddenly no one has enough balls to fight back or attack. This is my usual way. Intimidate your opponent so much that he will be afraid to even think of you, fearing retaliation."
Aang looked at his friend – were they friends? – shocked. He did not expect to hear something like that from Michael. During those few days that they talked, he seemed to him a serious, closed, efficient, and skillful person full of mysteries. He knew that the older teenager didn't have a good life – the scars on his arm made it clear – but he did not expect that the one with whom he was traveling would be… He could not find the right word.
"Torturer or sadist, you're looking for this word." Michael said suddenly.
Aang looked at him with wide eyes, not understanding what he meant.
"I've seen this expression many times." Mike admitted a little sadly. "You can't find the right word to name me, can you?"
The Avatar shook his head.
"Yes, but that's not exactly the word I was looking for… I just didn't expect you to be so sad. You had to fight for your life so often that you had a reputation. I wouldn't wish that kind of life on anyone." As soon as Aang realized what he was saying, his hands immediately covered his mouth.
Michael looked flabbergasted, like a ratfish out of water. But contrary to Aang's expectations – he expected rage, more sadness, or even murderous calm – he laughed.
As the Avatar tried to figure out what was happening, Michael calmed down and tore off some of the bandages from his right hand to wipe away his tears.
"Oh, Gods, the last one who told me something like that was my old man. Thank you Aang, not many see me as a normal person after they know even a part of what I did. Really, thank you."
Aang smiled back at his friend and moved on to a more pleasant topic of conversation. Neither of them noticed Katara who hid behind Appa's body and overheard their conversation…
While Team Avatar - an incomplete version due to the lack of Toph and in the future Zuko – dealt with their problems and were taught their life lessons, Michael began to try to use Energybending in his body.
There was a reason why he did not choose Energybending as one of his powers: everyone could learn this, in contrast to the elemental powers that are given to a person from birth.
Unfortunately, there was little information about Energybending, so Michael could only work with his theories. The only thing he remembered was "To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable, or you will be corrupted and destroyed."
He also remembered that Energybending could be used in the Spirit World, but considering that he could not even achieve that yet… Well, first he needs to learn how to walk, and only then how to run.
He remembered the abilities Energybender could use to find some clue: Astral projection; Bending Blocking and Restoration; Energy Manipulation.
Description from left to right: the ability to push your soul out of your body and fly around like a ghost; the ability to decide who is worthy of their power; and the ability to shoot energy beams from your hands.
All these abilities had one beginning – the Human Spirit that uses Energybending. Which raises the question, how does one train their Spirit…?
Michael did a little brainstorming session and decided not to stop at meditation. Aang did the same in the series when he tried to attain the Avatar state. He did a few more not very pleasant things, but Michael left them as a last resort.
He had a few more options, but they all came from third-rate Cultivation Novels.
"Find energy in your body and start compressing it, then wait until your core reaches its limit and breaks itself to get bigger."
'Yeah, thanks, no thanks, doesn't sound very safe.'
Another option was to find a catalyst to increase the power of his Spirit. The problem is that he, again, didn't know what the fuck he could use as a catalyst. Perhaps he can absorb Spirits weaker than him, but this will definitely give him a ticket straight to hell, so this idea was rejected immediately.
His last idea was to steal information from someone else. Then Michael combined this idea with his plans to get a Vaatu for himself, the old spirit can teach him a couple of tricks. He was going to start work on Substyles tomorrow morning, Water and Air had some pretty useful offshoots after all.
So, not knowing what else he could do at the moment, Michael meditated and made plans for the time when he would reach the North Pole…
'Aang will not like the appearance of the Dark Avatar in his World, so no, you won't be stealing anything.'
Michael is hummed in thought. He may have to leave Team Avatar after stealing Vaatu. If Vaatu doesn't kill him, that is…
Shaking his head, Michael began to think again. He will not be able to open Vaatu's cage on his own, so he will need either Aang's help or the help of another Spirit. But what spirit would be strong enough to open the prison Raava created?
'There are too many confusing points. Will I be able to manipulate Aang to open the prison? Maybe just tell him the truth? Hey Aang, I need a dark spirit of chaos to stop my thieving' hands from itching. Oh, and also because he can help me get home! For some reason, I doubt it will work.'
Cordato gave up his attempts to meditate and simply fell to the ground. Even unfamiliar stars in the night sky seemed beautiful to him, but in a couple of hours, he would have to find the house in which they were staying. Cold has been a bitch to everyone.
'Oh, well. I'll have to plan everything on the fly. Why doesn't it even surprise me?'
He lay on the ground for a couple of hours before coming to the warmth of the house.
He didn't notice how his body remained in the same place where he was lying. He didn't notice that he didn't feel the ground under his feet.
But he noticed that his right hand was made of flesh. And that it was transparent. Of course, he only noticed this when he reached out to open the door.
Michael watched his hand pass through the doorknob with a strange feeling in the back of his throat. He tried to open the door again, but this time his hand went through the metal as if he weren't there. Whatever he tried to do, he couldn't open the door.
After a couple of minutes of useless panic-filled attempts to open the door, Michael realized his situation.
'I was able to force my spirit out of my body and now I'm an Astral Projection. I thought that only Master Airbenders who are not tied to anything mundane are capable of this! Oh, wait, Korra was also able to achieve Astral Projection… Return to the body now, think later.'
He had a couple of obvious reasons to believe that he was not in the Spirit World. Firstly, he did not feel the earth under his feet – he did not feel anything at all – and in the World of Spirits, one should feel as in an ordinary world just without Bending. Second, he was still on Kyoshi Island.
So, his flight to his body was pretty fast, he could only thank Loki for not being followed by the Spirits. He returned to his body - which was a surprisingly easy task – and tried to get up, only to realize that his body was sore all over. Was it from his first journey as an Astral Projection or simply the aftermath of today, he didn't know. So, the normal trip back to their assigned house was pretty difficult for his legs.
As soon as he reached his bed, he immediately fell without even trying to undress. Unfortunately, his fall awakened the "mother" of the group.
"... Michael?"
"Yeah?" He muttered into the pillow, not even trying to lift his head to look at Katara.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, if you need to talk, I'm always here."
This time he lifted his head to look at Katara. The girl seemed actually worried about his well-being, which was a pleasant change from his usual life. He gave the girl a close-eyed smile and nodded.
"... Thanks."
Despite everything, he slept much better than usual.
The next morning, Michael woke up much later than everyone else. He got out of bed feeling that today would be a little different than usual. Enough time had passed for Zuko to hear about the appearance of the Avatar here, so the Dual Bender began packing up his things. He noticed that his clothes were neatly folded in the corner of the room - thanks Katara - so he had no problem packing up.
He put on his trusty black sleeveless T-shirt with black sweatpants – he really needs to steal more clothes – and came out to face the music.
A small interesting fact, in Russia his clothes would be called an alcoholic outfit because of his T-shirt and sweatpants. But since he was in the Elemental Nation, he only got a couple of stares. He made no attempt to hide his bandaged hand, so that was to be expected. He'd heard rapturous talk about the Avatar going to ride Usagi – the giant underwater serpent Michael wanted to eat – so this confirmed the teenager's thoughts about Zuko's arrival.
Without thinking twice, Michael came to the beach to control the situation, he didn't need a dead Avatar on his hands. Walking past Appa, Michael did the smart thing and left his bag in his saddle so he wouldn't worry about it later. The Bison looked at him with a silent question in his eyes, but Cordato just shrugged his shoulders and walked on.
After a while, he already heard a pleasant crunch of sand under his feet and felt the cold wind from the sea. Halfway down the road, he met Katara, who was walking to the coast with furrowed brows. He jogged to her side, deliberately giving his steps more strength so that she could hear him. The girl turned and gave him the same tired smile that he had given her the previous evening.
"What happened while I was sleeping?"
"Well, Sokka got his butt kicked a second time and Aang got a big head from the fans following him like a lost owl cat."
"Huh." 'So, everything followed the canon. That's good.'
They continued walking in silence for a couple of minutes until Michael spoke up again.
"Well, that's to be expected. Aang's a goofy kid first and an Avatar second. I'd also try to get as much fun as possible before fighting in a war at twelve."
Katara said nothing, but Michael thought she began to think about his words. He was able to mentally breathe a sigh of relief, Katara was a good person, but sometimes she forgot the most obvious things. Not that he could blame her.
Together they reached the beach, from where several girls were leaving with disappointment written on their faces. Aang sat in the water and blew bubbles, rethinking his choices in life. His thoughts were postponed for a further date as soon as he saw Katara and Michael in the place of his fans.
"Katara! You showed up! Michael, you too! I didn't know you were awake."
He jumped halfway out of the water and waved happily to his friends. Michael waved back and stepped aside; he didn't want to interfere with their moment.
"I wanted to make sure you were safe. You really had me worried."
"Back there you acted like you didn't care…"
"I'm sorry."
"Me too. I did let all that attention go to my head. I was being a jerk."
"Well, get out of the water before you catch a cold, you big jerk!"
"On my way!"
Michael watched Aang swim towards the shore, not even knowing that Usagi was following him. Katara drew a sharp breath in horror, noticing danger too. Suddenly, Aang was thrown upward in a huge wave, but Michael was ready for this and used Waterbending to send the wave towards the shore. He waved his staff and the water followed his movements, throwing the Avatar ashore.
Usagi jumped out of the water and roared in anger, but had to hide under the water when a fireball crashed into him. A ship with a red flag and a bunch of problems on board was approaching the shore. Fortunately, the three teenagers were able to hide behind a rather large rock and escape the sight of the Fire Nation soldiers.
"Zuko!"
This was the first time Michael had seen the banished Prince. A bald skull with a black ponytail on top of his head, a scorching scar on the left side of his face, and red Fire Nation armor on his body. He would've looked menacing if he hadn't been so short…
"Katara, Aang, warn the residents of the danger, I'll hold them off."
"What?! You can't face them alone! I won't leave you here!" Aang whispered.
Michael looked at the two children with blank expression on his face, but they saw the fire in his eyes.
"Go."
Katara and Aang exchanged glances but ran to the village, but before that Avatar left his last promise.
"We'll fly after you, so be ready."
Michael just nodded and gripped the staff in his right hand. He knew that he would have to fight with fire, so it would be best to beat it off with a metal hand.
As soon as Michael stepped out from behind the rock, the ship's walkway was lowered. Three riders mounted on Komodo rhinos, with Zuko in the lead descended from the boat.
"I want the Avatar alive."
This served as a signal to Michael. He walked confidently towards Zuko, twirling the staff in his right hand.
"And why do the soldiers of the Fire Nation need an Avatar? What dark things are you going to do with a twelve-year-old child?"
Zuko and his soldiers looked down to meet Michael's gaze. General – sorry – retired General Iroh looked out from the ship, hearing that someone decided to confront the Fire Nation.
"You dare to stop me?! Who are you, peasant?!"
Michael met Iroh's gaze and gave him a sympathetic look. The General was surprised at this development but nodded in gratitude nonetheless.
Iroh had tried for several years to show his nephew the way to calm down, but the prince's hatred was too strong. Michael understood how he felt, his father also tried for quite a long time to calm an angry teenager thirsty for revenge.
"It doesn't matter who I am, it matters who you are, Prince Zuko. I heard your story; do you think your father will welcome you with open arms after you caught the Avatar? He gave you the impossible task of capturing someone who hasn't been seen in a hundred years. We both know that this man did not show love to anyone but himself."
Michael knew that angry Zuko meant sloppy Zuko, so provocations were the first thing he threw at the prince.
With an angry shout that could compete with Usagi's roar, Zuko shot a giant fireball towards Michael. The Dual Bender gathered water from the ocean and spun the staff in his hands, creating a water shield. He didn't want his enemies to know that he could collect water from the air, not yet at least.
A fireball slammed into his shield and created a curtain of steam. Michael took temporary cover and sent a wave between him and his enemies. The teenager raised the water wall in front of him and froze it. Several fireballs slammed into his wall the next second.
"We press forward. Take him to the ship and throw him into the cage."
Michael chuckled at the prince's confident tone and smashed the ice wall. He directed the shards at his enemies, but Iroh melted them before they could harm anyone. The steam disappeared immediately and Zuko saw Michael, completely unharmed, leaning confidently on his staff.
"Prince, it seems to me that you are not used to defeat? No, that's not the case. You are simply not used to defeat at the hands of a stranger."
Cordato heard Appa scream in the air and looked up at the sky. The Bison quickly descended to his level, frightening his enemies.
"Huh, that was fast… Well, it's time for me to leave you. Good luck on your mission, General Iroh!"
Michael gathered water under his feet and pushed himself into the air, closer to the Bison. Several fireballs and screams immediately flew after him, but everything was blocked by water. When Michael was close enough, Aang caught him in an air sphere and tossed him into the saddle on Appa's back.
Michael chuckled and looked down to see Iroh wave goodbye to him, so the teen waved back. Zuko turned to his uncle and started screaming in exasperation.
"Uncle! We just missed the Avatar again, why are you waving at them?!"
Iroh just shrugged and pointed at the Bison.
"This new member of Team Avatar was pretty friendly, don't you think?"
Zuko exploded like an angry fireball.
Michael dragged his hand through his hair and frowned. Half a year without a haircut left him with long, unkempt shoulder-length hair. He thought for a couple of minutes and turned to Katara.
"Hey Katara, can you cut my hair a little?"
The girl froze for a couple of seconds and turned to Michael.
"Why me?" She asked and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Seriously? You've lived with this idiot," He pointed at Sokka. "all your life and I don't believe he's capable of taking care of his hair on his own. Considering you're his sister, it only makes sense that you've been cutting his hair all these years. And I don't want to ask for a haircut from a bald kid, or from a teen who probably trims the sides of his head with a boomerang."
Aang and Sokka looked at each other and shrugged.
"Fair."
Katara sighed heavily and after a couple of minutes of searching, she found scissors in her bag. She waved her hand for Michael to come over to her and the teenager sat with his back to her, creating a mirror of ice in front of them.
"What do you want me to do?"
Michael hummed in thought and came to a decision fairly quickly.
"Surprise me, but keep it long."
Taking this as a challenge, Katara immediately set to work.
Katara wet his hair using Waterbending – he complimented her on her improved control and didn't see her cheeks redden at his compliment – and only then did she start cutting his hair.
A cut here, a snip there, a brush in between, it was so calming that Michael closed his eyes and allowed himself to daydream a little, to think that he had returned to his own time, to his first world. He's back in Igorevich's barbershop, the old fool mumbling something about teenagers with blood in their hair. The AC is on full blast as usual and Michael has to grit his teeth to keep them from chattering from the cold.
The old man will not even ask how to cut his hair, he will just do what he sees fit and drive Michael away without even taking his money. The teenager will smile as usual and still leave a couple of thousand next to the cash register. And he, as usual, will have to dodge the scissors that should have been stuck in his skull.
But it was not his time, not his world. He may never see Igorevich or his father again. He knew it. He accepted it. But God forgives those who killed him because if he can find a way to that world, he won't.
"Michael? You're asleep?" He heard through his half-asleep state.
He simply let his body fall onto Katara's lap, muttered something along the lines of "Tnk u" and fell asleep. He can deal with the hair that fell all over the place later, now he still felt tired from the journey as an Astral Projection.
'Though the hair flew away with the wind… That's good, less work for me.'
He woke up deep in the night, head still on Katara's lap and her hands in his hair. Appa snored under their bodies, two more even breaths from somewhere to his left. Michael put his hand on his forehead and enjoyed the cold of his skin through the bandages until Katara spoke.
"You fell asleep when I finished cutting your hair. We couldn't wake you up or move your body to the side. Even after Aang used Airbending."
That was a little surprising – did he feel so comfortable around them that he could truly relax? Not many saw Michael sleeping so carelessly, he taught his body to wake up at the slightest rustle in unfamiliar places.
"Hmm. That's unusual for me. I usually wake up at the slightest sound."
Both were silent for a couple of minutes.
"Michael?"
"Mm?"
"I don't think you're a bad person."
He removed his hand from his forehead and looked at Katara. The girl looked a little guilty but determined.
"What brought this on?"
"I... I overheard your conversation with Aang."
Michael froze for a moment, but relaxed as he felt firm fingers massage his scalp. Katara was not afraid of him.
‘At least for now. I'm not sure she understands exactly what I was doing to survive.'
"Mm." He let out a quiet sound.
They fell silent for a second time, not sure how to continue, until Michael spoke again.
"Katara?"
"Y-yeah?"
"Thank you. If I met someone like you earlier in my life, I would be a better person."
Katara smiled, trying not to glow with happiness. Well, Michael suspected that the girl had a little crush on him. It’s better to kill this idea as soon as possible before it becomes a problem.
Don’t get him wrong, Katara is a wonderful person. He knew that in the future she would only get better, but he simply could not build a relationship with her. She had too many connections with this world. Family, friends, future love, her Tribe. This was her Home and he could never take it away from her.
"You know, before my parents died, we were expecting a new addition to the family. The healer said it would most likely be a girl." He saw the look of horror on Katara's face and laughed darkly. "I never got to see her born, but if I had a younger sister, I think she would be like you."
Katara blinked away her tears and a faint smile returned to her face.
"You think so?"
"I know so. If I call you little sis, don't be surprised. I warned you."
He saw the inner conflict in her eyes and felt like crap about it. He never liked to manipulate people, but it would be better that way. She could lose him and move on, she was a strong woman, but she couldn't just leave everyone else behind. So that will be better for everyone. Especially for his mental health.
In the end, one side won and Katara patted him on the head.
"Well, I'd like that, big bro."
He smiled, but suddenly grimaced and groaned.
"That means I'm Sokka's brother now. Oh, God."
Katara used all her strength to hold back her laughter.
Michael looked in the mirror and smiled, now his hair didn't look like a bad wig, he even attracted a little more looks than usual. His hair fell just below his ears and was about the same level around his head, which looked good with his wavy hair. He could hide half of his face behind his bangs so his eyes would draw less attention. In the end, he was pleased with Katara's decision.
They landed near a stone city built on a mountain, it was one of the few cities that were able to fend off the attacks of the Fire Nation: Omashu. The mountain on which the city was built was surrounded by a huge moat and only one bridge led inside the bastion, which, according to Michael, was stupid. He didn't see if there were more entrances in the city, but if there really was only one, then it was terribly inefficient.
Their arrival in Omashu was expected, according to the canon it was their next stop and Michael hadn't changed too much yet, so for now the story went on as usual. They quietly made their way into the city and Michael walked away from the group to collect to renew his first aid kit. He needed medicine and bandages. Especially the bandages.
So, he missed the moment when his friends – he already named Katara his sister, so he's ready to call them his friends – were grabbed by the guards, he was on the other side of the city. When the guards came for him, he immediately turned into a dark alley and disappeared into the shadows. It was his routine a year ago, after all.
His feet took him to not the most pleasant parts of the city, apparently, even in Omashu, there were slums. Poor people, crippled, sick, homeless, hopeless… He had seen this before; it did not shake his mind.
But what shocked his mind was the guards who grabbed the woman with the basket of food and began to drag her into a dirty alley. This made him pause.
'Well, I promised that I would leave every place I visited happier than it was before. Here I'll have to focus on just getting better.'
Without heavy thoughts, he followed them into the alley, no one even looked in his direction. People were busy with their own problems.
He expected to see what he saw. Two bastards harassed a woman who didn't even try to scream, it was useless in such places. His blood didn't boil with rage, his eyes didn't see red. He just silently approached the two idiots and knocked them out with karate chops to the base of their skulls. The woman looked at her savior with fear, but Michael only nodded in the direction of the exit from the alley. A moment later the woman was no longer in his vision.
His gaze remained on the bodies of the two guards all this time, and he began to notice that something was wrong with them.
Both of the armor had dirty spots and even small cracks in several places. The first dude was missing three front teeth, and the second had a torn left nostril. Their hair was unwashed and cut as if in a hurry. To put it mildly, they didn't look like upstanding citizens of Omashu city.
He searched both of them and checked their bodies just to appease his curiosity. Of course, he stole everything of value in their pockets – a couple of dozen silver coins – but he was more interested in the identical tattoos on their right shoulders.
The design was quite simple and quite rough. If Michael tried to guess, he would say that this is some kind of animal. The problem was that the author of this work of art saw this animal only once, from behind, at night.
He came to the only logical decision for him: these two belong to a gang.
'Now I have a reason to practice Healing with Waterbending. I hope my T&I techniques are not too primitive for this world.'
He took two unconscious bodies and dragged them into an abandoned building with thick enough walls. Luckily for Michael, it was actually abandoned. Four minutes later the two thugs were sitting back-to-back tied so tightly that the rope would bruise them. Not that he cared.
He woke the first one with a blow to the jaw and grabbed him by the hair with his right hand. Cordato didn't want to break his bones, it was too early for that.
"Wh-who are you?! What are you- I-I'm the guard of the great city of Omashu, let me go this very second!"
Michael didn't answer and just studied the look on the idiot's face.
"Do you know what the punishment is for kidnapping a king's servant?! You’ll be ro-rotting in prison for the rest of-"
"You're not from around here, are you?" He cut him off.
The guard fell silent and looked at his warden with hatred.
"King Bumi wouldn't let bastards like you exist in his city for long. I think you're bandits outside. Someone new. The guards wouldn't let someone like you through, so there's another passage here. Am I right?"
The guard remained silent.
"... Well, we can do it the hard way. But when you break, don't ask me to put you back together."
Michael frowned and crouched down to be level with the thug. He was at arm's length – he held the man by the hair so the distance was obvious – the bastard's face was perfectly visible. And Michael will be the first to say that he's seen nicer people than this one.
Sparse eyebrows, a balding spot on the top of his head, a torn left nostril, beady eyes, and decay-scented breath. The teenager was sure that his newest charge had rotten teeth.
"I'll give you one last chance to escape the sea of pain. All you have to do is answer my questions."
The man chuckled and sneered. He wasn't afraid of some brat, the guy in front of him was taller than anyone he'd ever seen, but so what?! As if a child could do anything to him! So, he collected as much saliva and blood in his mouth as he could and spat in the brat's face.
But the unholy mixture froze in the air and fell to the ground with a liquid squelch. And then the man felt fear. This was no ordinary brat, he was a Waterbrat! A Bender who could control water without a single movement! He thought that couldn't be possible!
"Wrong choice."
Water gathered around Michael's fingers and he set to work. He always started with the hands of his… clients, whoever the person was. Bandits, deputies, policemen, enemy gang members, all felt pain in their hands first. This bastard was no exception.
Michael created the thinnest tentacles from the water and they moved like snakes. One by one, each tendril stuck under one of the bandit's nails and pushed. Screams filled the building, but no one outside heard them. Michael limited the sounds with Airbending, a neat trick he learned while fucking around.
When there was a water needle under each of the man's nails, Michael stopped and looked at his prisoner. He looked back with such hatred as if Michael had fucked the bandit's mother in front of him.
'Well.'
With one twitch of his fingers, the needles sharply became wider and tore off all five nails from the bandit's left hand. Blood splattered over Michael's face and hands, leaving his bandages red.
'Hmm, I need to know his name…'
The man again let out a scream of pain that drowned out the sound of the ripped nails hitting the floor.
"What is your name?"
The man did not answer immediately, but as soon as the tendrils, red with blood, moved towards his right arm, he spoke.
"K-Kerr."
Michael nodded in satisfaction, that was progress. He hated when he came across hard cookies. He hated what he had to do to get information, but it was the fastest way.
"Kerr. Tell me where the rest of your people are and how you got into town."
Kerr was silent, so Michael continued.
The water on his fingers became needles again, which immediately stuck into Kerr's arm. And then Michael felt something he did not expect at all. He could feel the blood flow in this bandit's body.
'What? But it's not a full moon right now… Maybe it's because of direct contact with his blood? Ho… I can do a lot of cool stuff with this. All later, work first.'
"Do you know what happens if I push water into your bloodstream? I doubt you have enough brains to know, but I saw it with my own eyes. The water will bring with it the smallest air bubbles that can go anywhere. Into your arteries, heart, brain. In my opinion, the worst thing that air can get into is the brain. You have no idea how much pain it can cause. I know. Even grown men screamed like little girls from it."
Michael knew he was exaggerating, but fear worked great on thugs like this. Cordato couldn't even inject water into his bloodstream, he only aimed at the muscles with his strikes.
The water tendrils tore the muscles in the man's arm and he screamed again. Michael knew he wouldn't be able to use his arm for a month with the right treatment, and never if the bandit left it at that.
Michael froze the tendrils in Kerr's hands and turned them into ice needles. He smiled brightly and squeezed the man's wrist, breaking the ice and driving the shards into his flesh. Kerr roared like a hunted animal and looked in horror at his torturer.
"Tell me. Tell me and the pain will stop."
Kerr was crying and trying not to pass out from the pain, but Michael didn't care. The only downside to Michael being able to feel all the fluids in the pig's body was that he knew exactly when the pig wet his pants.
"I-I'll tell you. J-just p-please stop."
And Michael stopped.
Michael watched the bandit's pulse the entire time he spoke. His new ability to feel the blood in the human body when touched helped a lot with this. He could feel the bastard's heart beating and knew when he was trying to lie.
After Michael learned everything he needed, he tried to heal the bandit's wounds. He knew the theory behind the healing in the Avatar world – why he needed it in everyday life only Loki knew – but in practice... Well, he was able to stop Korr's bleeding and stitch some of his muscles back together.
The bandit will be able to use his hand, but never get rid of the pain.
Interrogating the second one gave him the location of a secret passage to Omashu. These were tunnels under the city that only Master Earthbender could find his way through. And the gang leader was an Earthbender.
Slowly, a picture began to appear in Michael's mind. He learned that there were ten people in the gang – eight, not counting his prisoners – they have weapons and one Master. The remaining eight were longer in the group than the two that Cordato caught, so they were better in fights. They came to Omashu to rob a couple of fools and restock.
Results: seven Non-Benders, one Earthbender – Michael did not know how true were the words about 'A Master who could conquer Omashu if he wanted to!' – against one Dual Bender with a metal arm.
Michael felt that he had every chance of winning. Now he had to search and destroy these bandits before dawn. Great.
Michael walked through the underground tunnels for quite a long time. His internal clock said he spent about two hours underground. The air here was heavy and wet so it stuck to his lungs with every breath. The teen didn't like it.
Following the instructions of the second idiot, Michael was able to reach the underground camp of the bandits. The fact that they didn't even think of closing the passage to the city was suspicious, but he threw it off on the newcomers' arrogance. He squatted down and hid in the shadows, avoiding the eyes of eight people. Cordato heard the sounds of laughter, talk of money, jokes, plans, stories. The bandits talked among themselves and did not even try to keep a lookout.
'It feels like I'm playing STALKER or some shit.'
He shook his head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts. Now he needs to get rid of all eight, and preferably quickly.
'I can take all the air out of the room, but then the fact that I'm a Dual Bender may slip somewhere. Probably half the world already knows, given that I told Aang about it, but still. Better to keep this part of my life a secret for the time being. Waterbending it is. Now, which one of you is an Earthbender...?'
He continued to watch the bandits for a while, trying to understand their hierarchy. Oddly enough, it was quite difficult to figure out which of them was in charge, but Michael was able to notice a difference in one of the bandits. The one who sat closest to the fire moved the coals with sharp waves of his hands.
… Yes, those idiots lit a fire in the tunnel. If it wasn't so spacious, all eight would suffocate on the spot.
And yes, it took Michael about half an hour to notice this movement. He was not pleased with himself at the moment.
'Why is the leader of the gang supporting the fire? And how he moves the coal, it’s burned wood- he moves the earth under the coal. Okay, maybe they're not idiots. Maybe it's not even the boss.'
Michael abruptly changed his mind. He didn't want to fight eight people without all the information. It is possible that one of them was hiding the fact that he was an Earthbender. Moreover, the paranoia of the Cordato family would not allow him to attack head-on without proper information. So, Michael spun his staff and the air around the bandits suddenly became thin.
They clutched their throats and began to frantically look around, two of them immediately fell to the ground in shock. Michael just watched as one by one the bandits fell to the ground from lack of oxygen.
He took almost all the oxygen out of the room, leaving only a small amount so that no one would get brain damage or become a vegetable.
'At the very least, they'll think the Avatar did it.'
Michael took a deep breath and exhaled, returning much-needed air to his opponents. Several water strings appeared on his fingers and stuck into the unconscious bandits' wrists to monitor their condition. He forcibly filled their lungs with air using Airbending and nodded in satisfaction. Now he only has one small problem…
How can he bring eight unconscious men into the city without attracting attention?
His solution was painfully simple: collect all the moisture in the tunnel and create several water platforms. He wisely chose to ignore the fact that it was probably shit water. Michael lifted the eight bandits into the air and walked towards the exit of the tunnel, thanking Loki for his good memory.
He climbed the stairs and pushed back the stone slab that blocked the passage. Michael took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled. He was just happy that he didn't have to be in that tunnel anymore.
His happiness didn't last long, however, in the next second, a stone cart with Aang and an old man landed in front of him. The cart flew down the street and crashed into something with a wet crunch. Michael didn't even flinch and slowly laid the eight unconscious bodies on the ground so as not to kill them as they fell.
The Avatar and the King laughed with happy faces that quickly turned into shocked ones at the sight of Michael. Now, it's worth saying that the teenager was not shy about bathing his hands up to the elbow in blood while working so his appearance was not that surprising. It was also not surprising that his face was covered in blood.
Without changing his expression, Michael opened his flask of water and used Waterbending to wipe the blood from his face – the bandages could wait. The teen bowed to the king with his hands forming a token of respect from the Air Nomads.
"It's good to see you in good health, King Bumi."
Bumi looked at the bandits behind Michael and then at Aang. The Avatar shrugged and pointed to his mismatched-eyed friend.
"That's the friend I was talking about! He’s a total badass!"
Bumi thought for a couple of seconds, but just shrugged. He was insane himself, so he couldn't judge other people for their moral compass.
"It's good to see you too, a friend of Aang... Now. Who are we throwing in jail?"
"MY CABBAGES!"
