Percy Jackson and that kid in the iceberg

Katara plays with magic water. I get wet. (Percy)

"You're going."

Mom's voice was sad, proud, but resigned.

"Just to rescue the Avatar," I said. "I'll come back right afterward."

She shook her head. "No, Percy. I don't think that's what life has in store for you. You're meant to help the Avatar, and you're meant to become a great water bender. You can't do that, become that, here. You'll need to go to the North Pole and learn."

I nodded, swallowing hard. She was right. And I wanted to go, ever since Katara mentioned it. But I didn't want to leave her.

She wrapped me up in an embrace, and I held her tight. I didn't want to leave her the same way my father did.

"I'll come back," I promised.

She smiled. "I know."

———————

The Bison wasn't flying.

"Go. Fly. Soar." Sokka deadpanned.

"Please, Appa. We need your help," Katara pleaded. Aang needs your help."

"Yeah," I chimed in. "You can do it, buddy, we all have faith in you."

"Up," Sokka said. "Ascend. Elevate."

"Except Sokka," I amended. "He doesn't have any faith in you."

Katara gave her brother a glare but then turned back to Appa. "But don't worry about him, Appa. He's grumpy so he doesn't count."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "What was it that kid said? Yee-haw? Hup-hup? Wah-hoo? Uh ... Yip-yip?"

The Bison let out a roar. Suddenly he began to rise in the air. We were flying.

"You did it, Sokka!" Katara cheered.

"He's flying! He's flying! Katara, he's -"

He got a glimpse of our twin smirks and quickly feigned disinterested. " I mean, big deal. He's flying."

Me and Katara both laughed.

——————

When we got to the ship, Aang had already managed to get free. Once more he was facing the teenager (I was going to keep calling him that until I figured out his real name).

"Appa!" He cheered when he saw us.

It was then that the teenager attack. Aang deflected blast after blast, but he was slowing down. The teenager was pushing him to the edge of the ship. I wished this flying beast would hurry up already so we could help him. Because, you know, after that wonderful performance this morning I'm sure I would be a great help.

The teenager drove Aang to the ledge. For a second he wobbled, and then the teenager sent another blast of fire at him and he fell.

"Aang!" Katara screamed.

Could Aang swim? Even if he could, the shock of the cold would probably paralyze him. But he could airbend, right? He was the frickin' Avatar. He could just drown like that, right?

For a long few seconds, there was nothing.

Then Aang—no, the Avatar—rose from the water. Once more his eyes and tattoos were glowing white. A huge vortex spun around him. He was waterbending.

He landed on the deck of the ship, where the teenager and his soldiers were frozen in horror. With a wave of his hand, the vortex of water slammed into the fire benders, knocking them off their feet.

"Did you see what he just did?" Katara said.

"Now that's waterbending." Sokka agreed.

We landed on the deck just as Aang collapsed. His tattoos and eyes stopped glowing. We raced over to him.

"Aang," Katara knelt down beside him. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, Katara," Aang said weakly. "Hey, Percy and Sokka. Thanks for coming."

Sokka grinned. "Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory."

"I dropped my staff," Aang mumbled.

"I'll get it."

I ran over to where Aang's staff was laying. But when I grabbed it so did someone else. It was the Teenager, holding on for dear life and looking absolutely furious, which granted did seem to be his usual expression.

I did what anyone else would do and kicked him in the face.

With a cry, he fell, only managing to grab a chain on the ship at the last second. Without sparing a moment I ran back to Aang. Unfortunately, I ran straight into a soldier before I could reach him. The man shot a stream of fire at me and I would have died there and then if Katara had stopped it with an arch of water. That was nice, but it would have been even better if that water didn't end up soaking me.

"Katara!"

"You're welcome, I just saved your life," she shouted, as she made another movement to freeze some soldiers. Instead it froze Sokka's foot.

"Katara!"

"Ugh, you boys are driving me crazy," she frowned, this time managing to freeze the rest of the soldiers. "Not you Aang, you're great."

"Thanks." He muttered weakly.

I ran over to Appa only to slipping on ice and fall on my bum. I really was not scoring today.

"Would you guys hurrying up?" Katara asked, pulling Aang up on Appa.

"I'm just a guy, with a boomerang," Sokka grumbled, smashing the ice around his foot with the said boomerang. "I didn't ask for all this flying and magic."

I reached Appa and scrambled up. Sokka ran up his tail shouting "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!" and we took off.

Behind us, the firebenders shot a wide stream of fire at us. Aang quickly deflected it, sending the fireball into the mountainside. The avalanche that followed buried their ship.

I decided I liked this kid.

—————————

"How did you do that?" Katara asked Aang. "With the water? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Aang shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I just...did."

There was a pause.

"Why didn't you tell us you were the avatar?" Katara finally said.

"Because I never wanted to be."

"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war," Katara said.

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?"

Aang looked at Katara. "That's what the monks told me."

"Well, if we go to the North Pole, you can master waterbending."

Aang smiled. "We can learn it together."

"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way," she told her brother.

Sokka grinned. "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

"Then we're in this together." Katara declared.

"All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to." Aang pulled out a map. "Here, here, and here."

"What's there?" I asked.

"Here we'll ride the hopping llamas. Then waaay over here, we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. And then we'll ride the wild hogmonkeys. They don't like being ridden, but that's what makes it fun!"

I began to wonder exactly what I had gotten myself into. But whatever it was, I had the feeling that my mom was right. This was my destiny. Helping the Avatar, that is, not riding hogmonkeys. I was going to skip on that one.