Chapter Text
“Look alive!” Bakugo announced as he slammed the door open.
“Was that necessary?” Honenuki whined from his position on the couch.
“Whatever,” Bakugo snapped, marching into the house. “Hair Loopies and Icy Hot just discovered that Scarface is in town.”
“‘Scarface?’” Tsuburaba repeated. “You mean Zuko?”
“Who else would I mean, Googly Eyes?” Bakugo scoffed. “Where’s Cowboy Bebop, anyways?”
“I’m here,” Jet called back, opening one of the side doors. Smellerbee and Longshot followed behind him.
“So, if he’s here in Ba Sing Se, what are we gonna do?” Kirishima asked.
Bakugo scoffed. “Hell if I know. Icy Hot didn’t even tell me where they found him.”
“In that case, maybe we should wait for Todoroki to get back,” Shiozaki suggested.
“Tch, fine.”
The group idled into silence as they waited for Todoroki and Katara, with Bakugo kicking at the carpet on the floor. Time passed slowly. After an hour, worry returned.
“What’s taking so long?” Kaminari asked. “They just went to tell the Earth King, right?”
“Yeah,” Bakugo answered, crossing his arms.
“Where they intercepted, then?” Tetsutetsu asked.
Bakugo growled in response, attempting to hide his worry.
“It’s practically night fall,” Smellerbee said, glancing out at the inky black sky. “Should we have a stakeout?”
Honenuki tapped his foot lightly against the floor, thinking. “Bakugo, they were already at the palace when you last saw them?”
“We passed each other right outside the entrance,” Bakugo replied.
“So, following that logic, it wouldn’t make sense for them to have been caught outside. If they were captured, it probably happened in the palace,” Honenuki explained.
“Are the Dai Li making a move, then?” Jet asked.
“It’s certainly possible,” Shiozaki muttered in response.
Tsuburaba hummed lightly. “Something’s not right here, that’s for sure. Either way, I don’t think there’s much we can do right now. I suppose some of us can try to check the palace right now, but it might be dangerous if the Dai Li are mobilizing.”
“So what? We just wait?” Tetsutetsu asked, looking between Honenuki and Bakugo.
Bakugo sighed. “We make our move in the morning. It’ll be stupid if we’re caught in the dead of night. Cowboy Bebop and Co, keep watch for now. Tomorrow, we go to the palace and get to the bottom of this.”
“I agree,” Honenuki nodded.
“Then the rest of us should get some sleep, for now,” Kirishima said, yawning and stretching. “Maybe this is just a false alarm and they’re spending the night at the palace.”
“Doubt it, but keep hoping if that makes it easier for you,” Bakugo scoffed.
The group went their separate ways, waiting for morning to come.
~~~
“My bending’s coming back,” Katara said, rubbing at her shoulder.
Todoroki activated a flame in his left hand. “My Quirk’s back, too.” He looked around at the crystal cave they were trapped in.
“I can’t believe they tricked us,” Katara said in anger, scuffing her shoes against the crystal.
“Our top priority right now should be escaping. We have to warn the others. We were so caught up by Zuko but he’s not even the biggest threat right now.”
Katara nodded. “Can you make some ice? I’ll keep it with me.”
Todoroki hummed in response, summoning a glouble of ice. “Putting us together must have been an oversight on their part. Sure, they took your water pouch, but they should know I can still produce ice.”
“All the better for us, I suppose,” Katara said, pulling some of the ice closer to her.
“Let’s examine the cave and see if there’s a way out. Push comes to shove, we can try to force our way out.”
Katara agreed. Todoroki took the lead, using a flame to provide more light as they explored the caverns.
~~~
Morning came with anticipation as the heroes began setting up for the mission. Honenuki gathered them in the living room.
“Our best bet is to stake out the palace,” Honenuki said. “That seems to be where the trouble is coming from. Forget Zuko for now.”
“But, what if he-” Jet cut himself off, trying to keep his emotions in check.
“He is important, I know,” Honenuki answered. “However, he hasn’t made any moves yet. The Dai Li or whoever is responsible are more of a threat right now.”
“Okay, then, who’s going on the stakeout?” Kirishima asked.
Jet raised a hand. “The Freedom Fighters are skilled with that.” Honenuki nodded in agreement.
“I’ll go, as well,” Shiozaki said. “My vines offer good omnidirectional surveillance.”
“Alright, then whichever one of you is fastest can report back here,” Honenuki said. “We formulate a more concrete plan when we have more information.”
The door suddenly slid open, causing everyone to jump slightly. Aang entered with Sokka and Toph. Momo instantly skittered over to the boy’s head.
“Where’s Katara? And Todoroki?” Aang asked.
“We were wondering the same thing, too,” Kaminari said.
“Shit’s going down,” Bakugo grumbled. “Scarface is back, for one.”
“Wait, Zuko’s here?” Sokka blurted out, in shock.
“That’s not even the main problem,” Kirishima sighed. “Katara and Todoroki saw him yesterday and went to warn the Earth King. Never came back.”
“The Earth King didn’t say anything about that and we just talked to him,” Toph said. “He only mentioned the war plans Bakugo delivered.”
“So, they were intercepted in between getting to the palace and seeing the king,” Tsuburaba muttered.
"Looks like it," Honenuki replied. "It's most likely the Dai Li, in that case."
Toph put a hand out, silencing them. "Someone's at the door."
The group exchanged uneasy glances. "Can you sense who it is?" Aang asked.
Toph nodded, concentrating. "Oh, it's actually an old friend of mine." She broke into a smile, walking over to the door and sliding it open. It revealed Iroh in the entrance.
"I need your help." His words were barely audible over the shocked reception of the gang. The Freedom Fighters reflexively drew their weapons. Only Toph seemed unphased.
"Wait, you know him?" Aang asked Toph. She responded with a cheerful nod.
"I met him in the forest once. He gives good tea and good advice."
Shiozaki paused. "He's not malevolent, either. He helped us at the North Pole."
"May I come in?" Iroh asked. Toph stepped aside, allowing Iroh to enter. Jet cautiously lowered his sword, but the suspicion did not leave his eyes. Smellerbee and Longshot followed his lead.
"You said you needed help?" Honenuki repeated, tilting his head.
Iroh nodded. "Princess Azula is here in Ba Sing Se."
"You mean the scary blue fire lady?" Kaminari specified. "But how did she get in?"
Sokka's face fell. "The Kyoshi Warriors. Those weren't the real ones."
"She must have Katara and Todoroki, then," Aang said.
"She has captured my nephew, as well," Iroh said.
"It seems like it would be in our best interest to work together, then," Tsuburaba said thoughtfully.
Aang nodded. "We'll rescue all three of them."
"Three of them?" Sokka said pointedly. "I'm sorry; where does Zuko fit in?"
"Lesser of two evils," Tetsutetsu scoffed.
"He's still Fire Nation," Jet cut in.
"I understand how you feel about my nephew," Iroh spoke up, "but believe me when I tell you that there is good inside of him. We are not on friendly terms with the Fire Nation ourselves."
"Let's do it," Tsuburaba said. "There's too much at stake to argue over this."
"Tsuburaba's right," Aang nodded. Sokka and Jet agreed more slowly, but understood the gravity of the situation.
Iroh stepped back out, signaling for them to follow. There was a tied up Dai Li agent by the door. Toph instantly trapped him in a tent of earth.
"Azula and Long Feng are planning a coup!" The agent spilled.
"So it is the Dai Li," Honenuki muttered angrily.
"Where are they keeping my sister?" Sokka demanded.
"All the prisoners are in the Crystal Catacombs underneath the palace."
"We'll need to split up," Honenuki said. "Some of us go to the Catacombs, the others help the king."
"Hang on, Honenuki," Tetsutetsu interrupted. "You should probably stay here."
"What do you mean?" Honenuki asked softly, shocked at the suggestion.
"You're not fully recovered yet," Tetsutetsu explained, pointing to the bandages.
"I can still fight!"
"Honenuki, please," Shiozaki jumped in, "we just don't want you to get hurt further."
"But I-" Honenuki's voice faded as he looked to his feet. "Fine. There's no time to argue, anyways."
"Longshot, stay with him and keep an eye on that agent," Jet told his ally. Longshot nodded silently.
The rest of the group headed out, leaving a crestfallen Honenuki by the house.
~~~
Zuko was having a less than stellar day. He was supposed to be working at Uncle’s new tea shop, but was instead captured by Azula. Then, Todoroki almost skewered him with an impromptu ice attack when the Dai Li opened the hatch to the Catacombs to toss him in. Now, Katara was giving him a verbal berating. Understandable, but still unpleasant.
“Let me guess, you’re bait. Now when Aang shows up to help us, you’ll have him in your little Fire Nation clutches.”
Zuko felt no need to answer, too wrapped up in his own thoughts. Todoroki stood a few feet away with a flame in his hand, trying to locate in crevices in the crystal.
“You’re a terrible person, you know that? Always chasing the Avatar, trying to destroy the world’s last hope for peace. But what do you care?” Katara snapped, voice reaching a higher level.
“Hatred is in your blood. You are the Fire Lord’s son!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zuko finally spoke back, fed up.
This mad Katara even angrier. “I don’t know what I’m talking about? How dare-”
“Hatred is in your blood. You are Endeavor’s son.”
Both Katara and Zuko looked up in confusion at Todoroki’s sudden interruption. The boy was still looking at the ceiling, but he no longer seemed present.
“The similarities just keep piling up. I’ve had those exact words said to me.”
Katara looked irritated. “Enough with your nonsensical theories! You’re nothing like him.”
“Quite the contrary-” Todoroki said softly, lost in his own thoughts. Katara shook her head, turning her attention back to Zuko.
“Don’t forget for a second what the Fire Nation has done. I don’t know what I’m talking about? This war took my mother away from me.” She touched a hand to her necklace as tears began to pool in her eyes.
Zuko looked away, expression softening. “I’m sorry,” he half mumbled. “That’s something we have in common.”
Katara paused her tirade, wiping away at her eyes in shock. “You, too?”
Zuko nodded slightly. He was interrupted by the sound of light tapping. Todoroki had pulled out some rectangular device and was avidly pressing his fingers to it.
“Todoroki?” Katara asked.
“Missing mothers… due to… fire people…” Todoroki narrated under his breath.
“What is he doing?” Zuko tentatively asked Katara.
“He has some grand theory that the two of you are meant to be the same person,” she replied curtly.
Zuko felt the confusion wash over his face. “Is that how that other world thing is supposed to work?”
Katara stepped back slightly from shock, and Todoroki nearly dropped his device. “You know that we’re not from here?” The boy asked.
“Uncle knew, and he told me about it a little while back,” Zuko confessed. “He’s been to the Spirit World before.”
“I see,” Todoroki hummed. “To answer your question, no, there is no concrete proof our realities are meant to parallel each other. However, there are too many unshakable similarities between the two of us. By the sound of it, physical appearance is the least of it.”
“What do you mean?” Zuko asked.
“Family structure. Us, an absent mother, a less than stellar father, and a vindictive sibling with blue flames.”
“‘Less than stellar father?’” Katara repeated. “But Honenuki told me that your father is the number one Hero.”
“Being a good hero doesn’t instantly make you a good parent,” Todoroki sighed. “My father is the Flame Hero: Endeavor. For the longest time, he was stuck in the number two spot on our rankings board. He desperately wanted to surpass All Might, the number one Hero. When hope began dwindle for him, he sought out a Quirk marriage.”
“What’s a Quirk marriage?” Zuko asked, but the name made him feel unsettled.
“Eugenics, put bluntly,” Todoroki said harshly. “With his wealth, my father bought my mother from her family in order to get her ice Quirk. Then, they had child after child until my father could have his perfect successor. First was Toya. He had fire that even surpassed my old man’s, but his body was built for an ice user. So, he cooked himself from the inside whenever he used his flames.
“Next were Fuyumi and Natsuo, both deemed failures and rejected. I was the last, and he called me his ‘masterpiece.’ With both fire and ice, he hoped I would surpass All Might in his stead. Training was relentless, not something any five year old should go through.
“Worst of all, my mother suffered mentally and physically whenever she tried to protect me or my other siblings. I can still remember her crying. When I was still five, she reached a mental breaking point, and poured boiling water on my face.”
Todoroki paused for a moment, crossing his arms and glaring at the crystal ground. Katara quickly walked over to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Zuko tried to formulate something to say, but his mind came up blank.
Todoroki took in a deep breath. “She was sent to a mental hospital. She’s still there to this day. A few days after that, Toya vanished from our lives. We’re not allowed to talk about it, and since I was still young when it happened, I don’t know the full details. The search party did a good job keeping it under wraps to avoid a media outrage, and he was never found.”
“That’s horrible,” Katara murmured. “How is your father a hero?”
“He’s a scumbag, but he saves lives and fights villains. In our society, that’s all it takes to be a hero.” Todoroki looked down again. “Despite what I’ve said, he is putting in genuine effort to change. He saw the error of his ways. He’s far from atonement, and he might not ever reach it. But, if he does ever fully come around, then I might consider changing my stance.”
“Does anyone else know about this?” Katara asked.
“The only person I’ve told is Midoriya, one of my classmates,” Todoroki answered. “Though, I suspect Bakugo overheard that conversation, so he likely knows, as well.”
“I see how our parents fit into the similarities now,” Zuko said softly, thinking back to his own childhood, with his father’s harsh - but true - words and his mother’s earnest encouragement. “But what about your Azula?”
“That would be my eldest brother, Toya Todoroki,” Todoroki said.
“But, you just said that he is dead,” Zuko replied, confused.
“I said that he was never found,” Todoroki shot back. “This part is all theory on my end, but I’ve started to put the pieces together. If this theory is true, then Toya is the bleakest part of my family’s story. I’ve begun to suspect that Toya is in fact a villain going by the name of Dabi, leader of the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains.”
“You think your brother is… a villain?” Katara asked.
“It’s possible,” Todoroki sighed. “When we were in that swamp, I saw my mother with Toya. Then, I saw Dabi right afterwards. Going off of what we learned about that place, that means that Dabi is directly tied to my family. And, he always seemed to bear a grudge against me - the masterpiece - and my father. He gloated when I failed to save Bakugo at the training camp, and told my father not to die - in a tone evident that he wanted to be the one to do the deed. It- it all adds up.”
They fell into silence, the weight of the new information and revelations threatening to crush them.