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Chapter 19

    For the rest of the week, the Gang practiced their fighting abilities. Katara was number one in Tai Chi, Toph with Hun Gar, Zuko and Mai with Northern Shaolin. Sokka and Suki were best at natural fighting; punches and kicks. The oldest couple, the Shaolin Fighters, as Sokka calls them, is deadly with their own fighting skills. Toph may be blind, but she sure can hit. Aang had helped her learn to land a blow anywhere on the body. People may think that her blindness causes her to be useless; but the truth is, it has heightened her hearing and vibration sense. Aang had made her picture the body as best she could, and using him as a dummy, the Blind Bandit, as she started calling herself, can now land a hit in certain points. He had taken them, despite Katara's protests, so Toph can get a feel for the body.

    Zuko and Mai didn't really need that much help. Show them a few moves and they had become even more lethal than they had ever been. Suki has been getting faster, almost as fast as Aang, which was good. Ba Gua suited her best for her evasive strategy. As for Sokka, when Aang, with a little help from Suki, Mai, and Zuko, started teaching natural fighting styles, has been superb. His concentration got better with every lesson. Katara was pretty good, although she was reluctant to hit her boyfriend or any of her friends.

    None of them had seen Jet; but his gang had been at school. Today was Friday, the day they put the chip on Sneers. If Sokka's plan worked, the Gang can get the information they need before moving in. They hoped they wouldn't have to fight the gang, but it was better to be prepared just in case. Aang and his friends were in the hallway, waiting for the gang to show up. Since it was Friday, the school always had a free period, 30 minutes long.

    The Gang started getting fidgety. Where were they? Had they gone out and won't be back until free period ends? But they need not worry for the gang rounded the corner, talking amongst themselves. Toph noticed them first, and she nodded slightly in their direction. Sokka tapped his foot twice, signaling that he got the nod, before walking in the gang's direction, Suki in tow. The Snakeheads quieted as Sokka and Suki passed them. They went around the corner, and Suki opened her locker quickly before bringing out a small cake. From the observations they made, Sneers went crazy over cakes of all kinds. This one was chocolate with whipped topping.

    She quickly gave him something and he put it in his pocket before they quickly walked back towards the gang. As they expected, Sneers was at the back of the group. The couple walked over to him, keeping a few paces behind before Sokka hissed, "Psst, Sneers!" Sneers looked around before turning to Sokka, confusion on his face. His gang looked at him, wondering what was going on; then they saw Sokka and Suki with her arms behind her back, looking innocent. They went on alert. What were those two doing?

    Sokka talked quietly to Sneers, telling him they needed to talk to him. The guy looked back at his friends, undecided. Suki stepped up and talked. Sneers nodded reluctantly and turned to his friends. "They want to tell me something. You guys go ahead; I'll be right there soon." His friends looked reluctant, but they left them alone, heading to the cafeteria for a quick snack. Sneers looked back at the couple, actually sneering a little. "What do you want?" he demanded.

    Sokka cleared his throat. "We, me and Suki along with our friends, wanted you to know that there are no hard feelings with the way your gang treated us. So we made this cake for you. It's chocolate with whipped frosting." It was a lie; they didn't make the cake. Lin and Katara did. They had gotten Lin to believe they wanted this treat made for a friend the night before. She had accepted the task along with Katara's offer to help. The rest of them pretty much sucked at cooking.

    Sneers looked at them, wondering why they were being so friendly. Jet had told them what had happened the other day at the meeting. These guys were not stupid; the Gang knew who they were. So what was up; what were they planning? On the other hand, his mind almost went blank when they said 'cake'. He was hungry, and cake was his favorite, especially whipped topping. Suki brought out the little cake and Sneers's stomach growled. "Um… what's the catch?" he managed to get out. A small part of his brain was wary, telling him to tread carefully.

    Sokka shook his head. "No catch. It's all yours. No strings attached. You don't have to accept our friendship, but take this cake anyway, so you know there are no hard feelings."

    Sneers was still a bit confused and wary; but his stomach growled again, and who was he to ignore free cake? He shrugged and took it from Suki. He gave a shy grin. "Um, thanks, I guess."

    Sokka patted him on the back after removing it from his pocket. "Don't mention it! You just go enjoy your treat." He gave a convincing smile and Sneers nodded before leaving, licking his lips in anticipation. When he was gone, Sokka and Suki clamped their hands upright in silent cheer. Sokka's plan had been simple: Make Sneers believe they were okay by giving the cake. But when Sokka patted him on the back, he had placed the microchip on the guy's shirt. It instantly changed color to match the fabric. Even now he was being tracked.

    They walked back to their friends, and Toph said, "Well?"

    Sokka grinned. "Mission Accomplished!"

    Suki brought out the GPS and turned it on. After selecting the Tracker, a little red dot appeared on the map of the school. "It's working; he's being tracked."

    "So what now?" the blind girl asked.

    Suki grinned. "Now we move on to Part B."

    ***

    Part B was when they followed Sneers after school with the GPS unit. The Gang stayed hidden in the crowd, not wanting Sneers to see them. Suki would check her little machine to make sure they didn't lose him. She also brought her laptop and the Viewer, the fat silver disk. Once they found out where the hideout was, Suki will activate it and let it scan the compound.

    Sneers walked away from the crowd, heading towards what looked like a cluster of old business buildings. From Suki's GPS, they were on the far side of town, where the crowds thin out to nothing the farther you go.

    The Gang watched as Sneers walked over to the tallest building. But they hid behind on of the household's wall when he stopped and looked around. Aang's heart pounded, nervousness and excitement pumping through his veins. They have done it! They found the hideout! Maybe they really could stop this mess.

    Sneers stopped looking, satisfied that no one had followed him, before entering the front door of what looked like an apartment building. Suki made a gesture for them to wait. After a minute she gestured for them to follow her. As they sneaked, staying close to whatever shadows there were, Suki brought out the Viewer. When they got to the building, she pressed her finger into the indentation and it sprang to life. Unfortunately, all the windows of the ground level were boarded up. Fortunately, she brought another gadget from home. Going into her backpack's pocket, she brought out the Lifter and pressed the sensor, and attacked to her belt when it fully transformed. Looking up, she could see the other windows that are opened to the breeze. And there was plenty of metal. She twirled the hook, aimed, and let it fly. It swung around the pole. When it detected the metal, the clamp opened wide before circling and clamped itself onto the wire, creating a loop and tightened.

    After she checked to see it was secured, Suki pressed a button hidden near the clip. Up she went, going at a steady pace. When she got to the open window, the button was pressed again to stop. She had the Viewer in her hand, the thing trying to squirm away. She placed it inside on a desk that had collected so must dust it looked more white than brown. It scuttled across the surface, leaving trails behind before dropping to the center of the floor and waited.

    Suki was already down and the Gang was walking quickly to the house again. She pulled her laptop out and turned it on. The same eagle appeared before the screen with different icons popped up. The background was that of a cute fluffy dog with adorable eyes. Her friends besides Toph looked at her. She shrugged. "What? I like dogs." She clicked on 'Viewer'. Inside the building, the machine scanned the room, looking for hidden cameras while at the same time sending a picture to the computer.

    No cameras or any other threats were found, so they moved on. Suki clicked on the video cam of the machine, and suddenly the screen came to life. She walked the little bug through the building as it formed a map of the corridors. The further down they went, the cleaner it became. When they made it to the bottom floor, it was pristine. The walls glowed white, the chandelier was crystal, even the desk was clean. And in the room was the Snakeheads themselves. Jet sat at the desk while his gang sat on the couches and chairs. Suki clicked the audio on and their voices could be heard so clearly it was like they were right next to them.

    "Were any of you followed?" Jet asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Good. Now to business. Those teenagers are different from any others. They are smarter than most, I'll give them that. They know who and what we are. Montauk figured out that it was my father who had killed his parents. Yatsunoma knows her mother was killed by the same man, and that it was us who had attacked them that day at the mall. It appears that they recognized the Black Mamba tattoo that I showed them. We need to take them out. They can't know how we operate; how we steal the money for our research and rebuilding."

    Toph snorted. "Too late, egghead," she muttered. Everyone shushed her and went back to the video.

    The Duke, sitting on the couch next to Pipsqueak, raised his hand. Jet nodded to him. "Are we going to take out Katara? I thought you liked her."

    Jet's eyes darkened even more, turning cold. "I did," he admitted. "When I learned it was her mother that was killed, I convinced my father to spare her and the rest of the family." His hands clenched. "But she chose the wrong side. She's staying with Aang. So, she, and the rest of her friends, have got to go. Subject closed," he added sternly when The Duke was about to say something. Jet didn't feel like telling them about his mom again. He took a deep breath, his composure back.

    "Anyway," he continued as if nothing happened, "we have to take them out. And the only way to do that is to separate them. Together, they're strong; but apart, they would have no chance against us. We'll figure out how at the next meeting. After they have been taken care of, we will strike at Hakoda's publishing business. Then we will target Aang's uncle Gyatso's healing center. Their jobs might seem simple, but the money they make is huge. It will help with our research. I wish that stupid white and brown dog hadn't escaped. We didn't even get to check to see if the serum works. We never got to give him the shot."

    Aang's breath caught and everyone looked at him. He faced Katara and thought, 'Appa.'

    She frowned angrily and glared at the screen at Jet, like he could feel it. It made sense now; why Appa was hurt on the leg, his fear of the vet. Aang glared at the screen too as Jet continued. "No matter." He shrugged. "We could use another animal; no big deal. If this serum works, it will kill the victims faster if they were shot right in the heart, leaving no traces. Only a few seconds, the scientists said. The only way to be sure is to test it on animals. I never understood why, nor do I care. And if the serum works, we're going to make it a gas to take out any witnesses. Any questions?" There was a tense silence. "Good." He stood up. "Then let's get to the training house! We have work to do."

    They walked out of the building and went over to the low building that could have been a garage. Jet pressed his hand on a scanner and one of the doors opened. They went in, and the door lowered. Once they were gone for sure, Suki clicked on a command button, and the insect came scuttling out of a hole in the glass door. It came to them and Suki grabbed it before pressing the underbelly. It turned back into a disk and she put the rest of her equipment away after saving the video.

    The Gang looked at one another before standing and walking away, their paces quick. It had taken them at least forty minutes to get there, and it would take them another forty minutes to get back. But luckily, they hailed a few cabs, and they were taken back to Katara's and Sokka's place. All of them remained quiet, horror and fear clouding their minds for the next twenty minutes.

    ***

    They sat in the living room. Hakoda was still at work, and wouldn't be home until eight or nine at night. Aang was pacing the floor, his eyes huge and face pale. He had been doing that since they got home five minutes ago, but no one stopped him because of the circumstances. Even Sokka kept his tongue in his mouth. Suki was in his arms, trying her best to comfort him, both of them sitting in the armchair.

    Toph sat with her legs crossed on the couch, Katara next to her. Zuko and Mai sat in the love seat, holding hands. Katara watched Aang, her expression worried. Even though she said when they got their powers to stay out of each other's minds, she couldn't help but pry in her boyfriend's thoughts. He was blaming himself again, saying this wasn't supposed to happen. He was wishing he could turn back the clock, to prevent his parents' deaths. Then maybe his friends wouldn't be in danger.

    Not wanting to lose her mind, Katara stopped her probing and stood up to grab Aang's shoulders. He jumped and turned around, saw his girlfriend and tried to calm down. But his breathing didn't seem to be working with him. He looked so lost, and Katara hugged him, feeling his arms wrap around her tightly in an instant. He buried his head in her shoulder and neck, letting the helpless tears go. His breath caught in his throat.

    "Shh," Katara cooed. "Calm down. Everything's okay. Nothing's going to happen."

    Aang sighed shakily. "My nightmare is coming true," he whispered brokenly. "They're going to kill you guys and I won't be able to stop them." He held her closer when she tried to look at him. "I don't know what to do, Katara. I'm scared for you guys. I don't want to lose any of you."

    "You are not going to lose us," she said fiercely, finally looking him in the eyes. "We've been through too much together. None of us are going anywhere."

    Aang shook his head. "Don't you get it? These people will stop at nothing until every of one us is dead." He started pacing again, anger and sorrow mixing in with hopelessness. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't shown up here, you guys and your families would be safe. Gyatso thought it would be best to come here, but my gut had told me this wasn't over. Now my past has come back and is trying to destroy everything I know and everyone I love!" He was yelling at this point and he continued to do so. "It would've been better if you guys never met me! You could be living your lives better. But I just had to come into the picture and ruin EVERYTHING! OW!"

    Toph had stood up and punched his arm hard. Anger colored her face. "Will you just SHUT UP?!" she shouted, shocking everyone more. They had never seen her this angry. She placed her hands on her hips. "For the Spirits' sake; stop blaming yourself! As far as I can tell, they were planning on doing this anyway. The Snakeheads are evil, Aang! Whether you were here or not wasn't going to stop them from killing these people. I know Gyatso is your uncle and Hakoda is Katara's and Sokka's dad. But did it ever occur to you that you can't help everyone all the time? The point is: you can't!"

    She seemed to calm down some and she sighed before placing her hand on Aang's shoulder. "Look; don't do this to yourself," she said gently. "The rest of us are just as worried as you are. We couldn't prevent the previous deaths; but we can prevent future ones. You're not alone in this, Aang. Don't place the world on your shoulders."

    Aang swallowed hard and looked at his friends staring at him. All of them looked determined and concerned. He looked at Katara and she grabbed his hand that was shaking again. 'Remember what I told you?' she asked softly. 'We'll be there with you until the end. We're staying together when all is said and done. Don't give up on us. We all love you, and always will.'

    He swallowed again and nodded. He took a deep breath, his resolve building back up. They can do this; they had to stop the Snakeheads. They had done enough damage. It was time to stop them. "Well, if we're going to do this, we'll need to be prepared. They had threatened our families, so they made this personal. We have to stick together; their goal right now is to separate us. We can't let that happen. There's only one thing we need before we shut them down: this serum they were talking about. If we can get this to the police, and the scientists take a look at it, maybe they can find a cure for anyone that has been shot or find something helpful. Then we shut this mad operation down."

    Sokka pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! Now we're getting somewhere! These Snakeheads are in for it."

    Mai sighed. "Well, it beats doing homework," she said, bored.

    There were some laughs; when they stopped, Katara said, "Well, now that that's out of the way, me and Aang have somewhere to be."

    Aang looked at her in confusion. "We do? Where?" His other friends were grinning, which confused him even more.

    Katara shook her head. "Don't you remember what today is?" He licked his lips and shook his head. Katara bit her lip, gestured him closer, and in his ear whispered, "It's your big one six."

    Aang looked stunned for a minute. Counting the days back, he learned that she was right. Today was his 16th birthday. Hers was tomorrow. He'd been so stressed out he completely forgot. "Happy Birthday, Aang!" everyone said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

    He blinked. "Um, thanks. But I don't think I told you when my birthday was."

    "You didn't," Katara said, "but I did. Earlier this week."

    Aang stared at her. "Why?" he asked curiously.

    Katara shrugged. "You've been stressed out, so I decided, during one if our breaks in training, to tell everyone and get something planned. And no, I'm not telling you. For now, you and I are going to have fun."

    Aang looked at his friends. They were all smirking now, mirth dancing in their eyes. What could they be doing? What did they have planned? He wasn't too keen on surprises; not since that afternoon two years ago… He pushed that thought from his mind. Aang's friends are wonderful. They wouldn't betray him. They were his family. And Gyatso had always told him he had a way of reading people. He turned to his girlfriend. "Okay. What are we going to do?"

    It was Suki who answered. "I'm going to be driving you lovebirds somewhere. You'll have to wait and see Aang. Katara knows, obviously, since she planned this in the first place."

    Everyone had stood up by now, as if waiting to leave. "Where will the rest of you be?" Aang asked.

    Sokka started, "We'll be at-" before Toph elbowed him, shutting him up.

    She grinned. "You'll find out later, Twinkle Toes. Now get out of here before I kick you out."

    Aang backed away from her, a little annoyed by the nickname. "Okay. No need to threaten me. And don't call me 'Twinkle Toes'. That's seriously annoying."

    "Get used to it, Twinkle Toes. You're stuck with it."

    They laughed while Aang groaned in defeat, hanging his head. "Okay, fine," he said, running his hand through his hair. "You can use it. Just don't say it too often."

    "Whatever you say, Aang," Toph replied with a grin.

    Katara snorted and grabbed his hand when he frowned at the blind girl. "Come on, Aang. Let's get going!" Her excitement was contagious; he couldn't help the smile that broke out. Everyone was encouraging him to go.

    As they were following Suki out, however, Aang heard Sokka call out to him. "You better not do anything with my sister, Aang, or you're dog meat!"

    Aang swallowed while Katara rolled her eyes and scoffed. "At least we have more control," she muttered, causing Aang to snort too. They got into Suki's van, and she drove them away from the house, out of the town, and continued on towards a sparkling lake. A carnival was in, waiting for more people to come and play games and ride on the rides. This birthday might actually be fun.

Description

Chapter 19

    For the rest of the week, the Gang practiced their fighting abilities. Katara was number one in Tai Chi, Toph with Hun Gar, Zuko and Mai with Northern Shaolin. Sokka and Suki were best at natural fighting; punches and kicks. The oldest couple, the Shaolin Fighters, as Sokka calls them, is deadly with their own fighting skills. Toph may be blind, but she sure can hit. Aang had helped her learn to land a blow anywhere on the body. People may think that her blindness causes her to be useless; but the truth is, it has heightened her hearing and vibration sense. Aang had made her picture the body as best she could, and using him as a dummy, the Blind Bandit, as she started calling herself, can now land a hit in certain points. He had taken them, despite Katara's protests, so Toph can get a feel for the body.

    Zuko and Mai didn't really need that much help. Show them a few moves and they had become even more lethal than they had ever been. Suki has been getting faster, almost as fast as Aang, which was good. Ba Gua suited her best for her evasive strategy. As for Sokka, when Aang, with a little help from Suki, Mai, and Zuko, started teaching natural fighting styles, has been superb. His concentration got better with every lesson. Katara was pretty good, although she was reluctant to hit her boyfriend or any of her friends.

    None of them had seen Jet; but his gang had been at school. Today was Friday, the day they put the chip on Sneers. If Sokka's plan worked, the Gang can get the information they need before moving in. They hoped they wouldn't have to fight the gang, but it was better to be prepared just in case. Aang and his friends were in the hallway, waiting for the gang to show up. Since it was Friday, the school always had a free period, 30 minutes long.

    The Gang started getting fidgety. Where were they? Had they gone out and won't be back until free period ends? But they need not worry for the gang rounded the corner, talking amongst themselves. Toph noticed them first, and she nodded slightly in their direction. Sokka tapped his foot twice, signaling that he got the nod, before walking in the gang's direction, Suki in tow. The Snakeheads quieted as Sokka and Suki passed them. They went around the corner, and Suki opened her locker quickly before bringing out a small cake. From the observations they made, Sneers went crazy over cakes of all kinds. This one was chocolate with whipped topping.

    She quickly gave him something and he put it in his pocket before they quickly walked back towards the gang. As they expected, Sneers was at the back of the group. The couple walked over to him, keeping a few paces behind before Sokka hissed, "Psst, Sneers!" Sneers looked around before turning to Sokka, confusion on his face. His gang looked at him, wondering what was going on; then they saw Sokka and Suki with her arms behind her back, looking innocent. They went on alert. What were those two doing?

    Sokka talked quietly to Sneers, telling him they needed to talk to him. The guy looked back at his friends, undecided. Suki stepped up and talked. Sneers nodded reluctantly and turned to his friends. "They want to tell me something. You guys go ahead; I'll be right there soon." His friends looked reluctant, but they left them alone, heading to the cafeteria for a quick snack. Sneers looked back at the couple, actually sneering a little. "What do you want?" he demanded.

    Sokka cleared his throat. "We, me and Suki along with our friends, wanted you to know that there are no hard feelings with the way your gang treated us. So we made this cake for you. It's chocolate with whipped frosting." It was a lie; they didn't make the cake. Lin and Katara did. They had gotten Lin to believe they wanted this treat made for a friend the night before. She had accepted the task along with Katara's offer to help. The rest of them pretty much sucked at cooking.

    Sneers looked at them, wondering why they were being so friendly. Jet had told them what had happened the other day at the meeting. These guys were not stupid; the Gang knew who they were. So what was up; what were they planning? On the other hand, his mind almost went blank when they said 'cake'. He was hungry, and cake was his favorite, especially whipped topping. Suki brought out the little cake and Sneers's stomach growled. "Um… what's the catch?" he managed to get out. A small part of his brain was wary, telling him to tread carefully.

    Sokka shook his head. "No catch. It's all yours. No strings attached. You don't have to accept our friendship, but take this cake anyway, so you know there are no hard feelings."

    Sneers was still a bit confused and wary; but his stomach growled again, and who was he to ignore free cake? He shrugged and took it from Suki. He gave a shy grin. "Um, thanks, I guess."

    Sokka patted him on the back after removing it from his pocket. "Don't mention it! You just go enjoy your treat." He gave a convincing smile and Sneers nodded before leaving, licking his lips in anticipation. When he was gone, Sokka and Suki clamped their hands upright in silent cheer. Sokka's plan had been simple: Make Sneers believe they were okay by giving the cake. But when Sokka patted him on the back, he had placed the microchip on the guy's shirt. It instantly changed color to match the fabric. Even now he was being tracked.

    They walked back to their friends, and Toph said, "Well?"

    Sokka grinned. "Mission Accomplished!"

    Suki brought out the GPS and turned it on. After selecting the Tracker, a little red dot appeared on the map of the school. "It's working; he's being tracked."

    "So what now?" the blind girl asked.

    Suki grinned. "Now we move on to Part B."

    ***

    Part B was when they followed Sneers after school with the GPS unit. The Gang stayed hidden in the crowd, not wanting Sneers to see them. Suki would check her little machine to make sure they didn't lose him. She also brought her laptop and the Viewer, the fat silver disk. Once they found out where the hideout was, Suki will activate it and let it scan the compound.

    Sneers walked away from the crowd, heading towards what looked like a cluster of old business buildings. From Suki's GPS, they were on the far side of town, where the crowds thin out to nothing the farther you go.

    The Gang watched as Sneers walked over to the tallest building. But they hid behind on of the household's wall when he stopped and looked around. Aang's heart pounded, nervousness and excitement pumping through his veins. They have done it! They found the hideout! Maybe they really could stop this mess.

    Sneers stopped looking, satisfied that no one had followed him, before entering the front door of what looked like an apartment building. Suki made a gesture for them to wait. After a minute she gestured for them to follow her. As they sneaked, staying close to whatever shadows there were, Suki brought out the Viewer. When they got to the building, she pressed her finger into the indentation and it sprang to life. Unfortunately, all the windows of the ground level were boarded up. Fortunately, she brought another gadget from home. Going into her backpack's pocket, she brought out the Lifter and pressed the sensor, and attacked to her belt when it fully transformed. Looking up, she could see the other windows that are opened to the breeze. And there was plenty of metal. She twirled the hook, aimed, and let it fly. It swung around the pole. When it detected the metal, the clamp opened wide before circling and clamped itself onto the wire, creating a loop and tightened.

    After she checked to see it was secured, Suki pressed a button hidden near the clip. Up she went, going at a steady pace. When she got to the open window, the button was pressed again to stop. She had the Viewer in her hand, the thing trying to squirm away. She placed it inside on a desk that had collected so must dust it looked more white than brown. It scuttled across the surface, leaving trails behind before dropping to the center of the floor and waited.

    Suki was already down and the Gang was walking quickly to the house again. She pulled her laptop out and turned it on. The same eagle appeared before the screen with different icons popped up. The background was that of a cute fluffy dog with adorable eyes. Her friends besides Toph looked at her. She shrugged. "What? I like dogs." She clicked on 'Viewer'. Inside the building, the machine scanned the room, looking for hidden cameras while at the same time sending a picture to the computer.

    No cameras or any other threats were found, so they moved on. Suki clicked on the video cam of the machine, and suddenly the screen came to life. She walked the little bug through the building as it formed a map of the corridors. The further down they went, the cleaner it became. When they made it to the bottom floor, it was pristine. The walls glowed white, the chandelier was crystal, even the desk was clean. And in the room was the Snakeheads themselves. Jet sat at the desk while his gang sat on the couches and chairs. Suki clicked the audio on and their voices could be heard so clearly it was like they were right next to them.

    "Were any of you followed?" Jet asked. Everyone shook their heads. "Good. Now to business. Those teenagers are different from any others. They are smarter than most, I'll give them that. They know who and what we are. Montauk figured out that it was my father who had killed his parents. Yatsunoma knows her mother was killed by the same man, and that it was us who had attacked them that day at the mall. It appears that they recognized the Black Mamba tattoo that I showed them. We need to take them out. They can't know how we operate; how we steal the money for our research and rebuilding."

    Toph snorted. "Too late, egghead," she muttered. Everyone shushed her and went back to the video.

    The Duke, sitting on the couch next to Pipsqueak, raised his hand. Jet nodded to him. "Are we going to take out Katara? I thought you liked her."

    Jet's eyes darkened even more, turning cold. "I did," he admitted. "When I learned it was her mother that was killed, I convinced my father to spare her and the rest of the family." His hands clenched. "But she chose the wrong side. She's staying with Aang. So, she, and the rest of her friends, have got to go. Subject closed," he added sternly when The Duke was about to say something. Jet didn't feel like telling them about his mom again. He took a deep breath, his composure back.

    "Anyway," he continued as if nothing happened, "we have to take them out. And the only way to do that is to separate them. Together, they're strong; but apart, they would have no chance against us. We'll figure out how at the next meeting. After they have been taken care of, we will strike at Hakoda's publishing business. Then we will target Aang's uncle Gyatso's healing center. Their jobs might seem simple, but the money they make is huge. It will help with our research. I wish that stupid white and brown dog hadn't escaped. We didn't even get to check to see if the serum works. We never got to give him the shot."

    Aang's breath caught and everyone looked at him. He faced Katara and thought, 'Appa.'

    She frowned angrily and glared at the screen at Jet, like he could feel it. It made sense now; why Appa was hurt on the leg, his fear of the vet. Aang glared at the screen too as Jet continued. "No matter." He shrugged. "We could use another animal; no big deal. If this serum works, it will kill the victims faster if they were shot right in the heart, leaving no traces. Only a few seconds, the scientists said. The only way to be sure is to test it on animals. I never understood why, nor do I care. And if the serum works, we're going to make it a gas to take out any witnesses. Any questions?" There was a tense silence. "Good." He stood up. "Then let's get to the training house! We have work to do."

    They walked out of the building and went over to the low building that could have been a garage. Jet pressed his hand on a scanner and one of the doors opened. They went in, and the door lowered. Once they were gone for sure, Suki clicked on a command button, and the insect came scuttling out of a hole in the glass door. It came to them and Suki grabbed it before pressing the underbelly. It turned back into a disk and she put the rest of her equipment away after saving the video.

    The Gang looked at one another before standing and walking away, their paces quick. It had taken them at least forty minutes to get there, and it would take them another forty minutes to get back. But luckily, they hailed a few cabs, and they were taken back to Katara's and Sokka's place. All of them remained quiet, horror and fear clouding their minds for the next twenty minutes.

    ***

    They sat in the living room. Hakoda was still at work, and wouldn't be home until eight or nine at night. Aang was pacing the floor, his eyes huge and face pale. He had been doing that since they got home five minutes ago, but no one stopped him because of the circumstances. Even Sokka kept his tongue in his mouth. Suki was in his arms, trying her best to comfort him, both of them sitting in the armchair.

    Toph sat with her legs crossed on the couch, Katara next to her. Zuko and Mai sat in the love seat, holding hands. Katara watched Aang, her expression worried. Even though she said when they got their powers to stay out of each other's minds, she couldn't help but pry in her boyfriend's thoughts. He was blaming himself again, saying this wasn't supposed to happen. He was wishing he could turn back the clock, to prevent his parents' deaths. Then maybe his friends wouldn't be in danger.

    Not wanting to lose her mind, Katara stopped her probing and stood up to grab Aang's shoulders. He jumped and turned around, saw his girlfriend and tried to calm down. But his breathing didn't seem to be working with him. He looked so lost, and Katara hugged him, feeling his arms wrap around her tightly in an instant. He buried his head in her shoulder and neck, letting the helpless tears go. His breath caught in his throat.

    "Shh," Katara cooed. "Calm down. Everything's okay. Nothing's going to happen."

    Aang sighed shakily. "My nightmare is coming true," he whispered brokenly. "They're going to kill you guys and I won't be able to stop them." He held her closer when she tried to look at him. "I don't know what to do, Katara. I'm scared for you guys. I don't want to lose any of you."

    "You are not going to lose us," she said fiercely, finally looking him in the eyes. "We've been through too much together. None of us are going anywhere."

    Aang shook his head. "Don't you get it? These people will stop at nothing until every of one us is dead." He started pacing again, anger and sorrow mixing in with hopelessness. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't shown up here, you guys and your families would be safe. Gyatso thought it would be best to come here, but my gut had told me this wasn't over. Now my past has come back and is trying to destroy everything I know and everyone I love!" He was yelling at this point and he continued to do so. "It would've been better if you guys never met me! You could be living your lives better. But I just had to come into the picture and ruin EVERYTHING! OW!"

    Toph had stood up and punched his arm hard. Anger colored her face. "Will you just SHUT UP?!" she shouted, shocking everyone more. They had never seen her this angry. She placed her hands on her hips. "For the Spirits' sake; stop blaming yourself! As far as I can tell, they were planning on doing this anyway. The Snakeheads are evil, Aang! Whether you were here or not wasn't going to stop them from killing these people. I know Gyatso is your uncle and Hakoda is Katara's and Sokka's dad. But did it ever occur to you that you can't help everyone all the time? The point is: you can't!"

    She seemed to calm down some and she sighed before placing her hand on Aang's shoulder. "Look; don't do this to yourself," she said gently. "The rest of us are just as worried as you are. We couldn't prevent the previous deaths; but we can prevent future ones. You're not alone in this, Aang. Don't place the world on your shoulders."

    Aang swallowed hard and looked at his friends staring at him. All of them looked determined and concerned. He looked at Katara and she grabbed his hand that was shaking again. 'Remember what I told you?' she asked softly. 'We'll be there with you until the end. We're staying together when all is said and done. Don't give up on us. We all love you, and always will.'

    He swallowed again and nodded. He took a deep breath, his resolve building back up. They can do this; they had to stop the Snakeheads. They had done enough damage. It was time to stop them. "Well, if we're going to do this, we'll need to be prepared. They had threatened our families, so they made this personal. We have to stick together; their goal right now is to separate us. We can't let that happen. There's only one thing we need before we shut them down: this serum they were talking about. If we can get this to the police, and the scientists take a look at it, maybe they can find a cure for anyone that has been shot or find something helpful. Then we shut this mad operation down."

    Sokka pumped his fist in the air. "Yes! Now we're getting somewhere! These Snakeheads are in for it."

    Mai sighed. "Well, it beats doing homework," she said, bored.

    There were some laughs; when they stopped, Katara said, "Well, now that that's out of the way, me and Aang have somewhere to be."

    Aang looked at her in confusion. "We do? Where?" His other friends were grinning, which confused him even more.

    Katara shook her head. "Don't you remember what today is?" He licked his lips and shook his head. Katara bit her lip, gestured him closer, and in his ear whispered, "It's your big one six."

    Aang looked stunned for a minute. Counting the days back, he learned that she was right. Today was his 16th birthday. Hers was tomorrow. He'd been so stressed out he completely forgot. "Happy Birthday, Aang!" everyone said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

    He blinked. "Um, thanks. But I don't think I told you when my birthday was."

    "You didn't," Katara said, "but I did. Earlier this week."

    Aang stared at her. "Why?" he asked curiously.

    Katara shrugged. "You've been stressed out, so I decided, during one if our breaks in training, to tell everyone and get something planned. And no, I'm not telling you. For now, you and I are going to have fun."

    Aang looked at his friends. They were all smirking now, mirth dancing in their eyes. What could they be doing? What did they have planned? He wasn't too keen on surprises; not since that afternoon two years ago… He pushed that thought from his mind. Aang's friends are wonderful. They wouldn't betray him. They were his family. And Gyatso had always told him he had a way of reading people. He turned to his girlfriend. "Okay. What are we going to do?"

    It was Suki who answered. "I'm going to be driving you lovebirds somewhere. You'll have to wait and see Aang. Katara knows, obviously, since she planned this in the first place."

    Everyone had stood up by now, as if waiting to leave. "Where will the rest of you be?" Aang asked.

    Sokka started, "We'll be at-" before Toph elbowed him, shutting him up.

    She grinned. "You'll find out later, Twinkle Toes. Now get out of here before I kick you out."

    Aang backed away from her, a little annoyed by the nickname. "Okay. No need to threaten me. And don't call me 'Twinkle Toes'. That's seriously annoying."

    "Get used to it, Twinkle Toes. You're stuck with it."

    They laughed while Aang groaned in defeat, hanging his head. "Okay, fine," he said, running his hand through his hair. "You can use it. Just don't say it too often."

    "Whatever you say, Aang," Toph replied with a grin.

    Katara snorted and grabbed his hand when he frowned at the blind girl. "Come on, Aang. Let's get going!" Her excitement was contagious; he couldn't help the smile that broke out. Everyone was encouraging him to go.

    As they were following Suki out, however, Aang heard Sokka call out to him. "You better not do anything with my sister, Aang, or you're dog meat!"

    Aang swallowed while Katara rolled her eyes and scoffed. "At least we have more control," she muttered, causing Aang to snort too. They got into Suki's van, and she drove them away from the house, out of the town, and continued on towards a sparkling lake. A carnival was in, waiting for more people to come and play games and ride on the rides. This birthday might actually be fun.