[Lev’s Note]

  This is my totally legitimate cultural exchange fic. No comments about pacing, realism, or hair physics, thank you.

  Scene 1 – The Portal Situation: A Totally Legitimate Cultural Exchange Between Worlds

  The Gaang is camped on a ridge not far from an Earth Kingdom village when the sky splits open. One moment it’s calm and breezy, the next a ripple of light tears the air in half. Gold and blue flash across the horizon, and the ground shakes with a sound like thunder that can’t decide if it wants to be a hum.

  A portal rips open midair.

  Toph tilts her head toward the vibration. “Okay. Either someone just dropped a mountain through the universe… or that’s about to be our new problem.”

  She’s right. Because then I fall out of the portal.

  Someone lands flat on their back in the bushes: an incredibly handsome, fabulously fit sixteen-year-old boy. (Me, obviously.)

  “Ten out of ten landing,” I groan. “No injuries except my dignity.”

  A moment later Teorin tumbles through, looking like he wrestled a thunderstorm. His hair is singed, his shirt scorched, and the glowing gadget in his hand sparks like a campfire gone wrong.

  His eyes immediately snap to me, because of course he’d blame me. “That was your idea of a stabilizer?”

  “I prefer to think of it as an experimental stabilizer. Unstable by design. For research purposes.”

  “Lev.”

  “Look, we’re here, alive, and fabulously well-lit. That’s basically success.”

  “It’s sparking.”

  “It’s dramatic lighting, Teo. Learn to appreciate atmosphere.”

  We both freeze, finally noticing the four strangers—and a flying bison—staring at us.

  Aang grips his staff. Katara holds a hovering line of water ready to strike. Sokka’s boomerang gleams. Toph cracks her knuckles.

  “Why do glowing portals always show up when we’re on break?” Sokka mutters.

  I raise my hands. “We come in peace. Sort of. You’re peaceful too, right, Teo?”

  “Bursts, I hate portal physics,” he mutters under his breath.

  First impressions: nailed it.

  A brief argument between author and unwilling participant, transcribed for posterity.

  [Teorin] What even is this?

  [Lev] It’s my self-insertion fic.

  [Teorin] So, why am I in it?

  [Lev] Why not?

  [Teorin] And why are you sixteen?

  [Lev] Aang’s twelve. You want me walking around as a twenty-two-year-old? What’s wrong with you?

  [Teorin] So how old am I?

  [Lev] Nineteen, obviously. We’re three years apart.

  [Teorin] Of course. Obvious when you arbitrarily changed your own age, and we didn’t even know each other at that age.

  [Lev] It’s fiction, not reality.

  [Teorin] Fiction fine. So how do you know what happened before we fell through? And everyone’s names?

  [Lev] I’m an omniscient narrator, obviously.

  [Teorin] A first-person omniscient narrator?

  [Lev] Groundbreaking, I know.

  [Teorin] You sound like a crazy person. This is less “self-insertion” and more “I have a fantasy version of myself I decided to drop into another world.”

  [Lev] That’s literally what a self-insert is. Keep up.

  [Teorin] Hmm. Sure.

  [Lev] Fine. You want art? I’ll give you art. I will give you myself in all my amazing, weeping glory.

  [Teorin] Weeping?

  [Lev] I’m still sixteen, keep up. Apparently, I now must be realistic. And before you ask, yes, I am still fit and fabulous. Just quiet about it. I played three high school sports. That’s not wish fulfillment. Sheesh.

  [Teorin] Fair. Maybe we could find an in-world magazine. Might have to be illustrated, but they have to have something—

  [Lev] Stop! No media allowed. Strictly prohibited.

  [Teorin] So this is wish fulfillment.

  [Lev] I guess. Now be quiet.

  Scene 1 – The Portal Situation: A Totally Legitimate Cultural Exchange Between Worlds (Again, but with more crying)

  Air leaves my chest as I slam into the ground, staring up at a flashing purple streak. It’s almost pretty. And I sort of hate that, given how much my back hurts right now.

  Grass tickles my neck, and I groan. It hadn’t even been falling, really. So why in the cascades does it feel like I got hit by a train? I swear Teorin said this wouldn’t hurt.

  A moment later, someone else tumbles through. I catch a flash of green wing-jacket before he lands on top of me. Because where else would he land? Clearly, not two feet away.

  I shove Teorin off and gasp in a breath. His hair looks singed. What happened on the other side?

  “What in the cascades happened to you?” I say, rolling onto my side. At least the portal core’s still in his hands, glowing like some kind of green campfire.

  His eyes snap to me, because of course he’s blaming me already. “That was your idea of a stabilizer?”

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  “You said, ‘make it work,’ and I made it work. Didn’t say it would be elegant.”

  Someone huffs behind me, and I turn to find four strangers and a massive, furry… something. Big, white, and fluffy, with a brown arrow on its head pointing down like a cosmic sign that says Feed me.

  The humans have all taken fighting stances. Weapons drawn, eyes wide. The girl’s literally got water hovering beside her like that’s normal, and the kid with the staff has an arrow on his head too, only his is blue.

  “Why do glowing portals always show up when we’re on break?” a boy who looks about sixteen mutters.

  I raise my hands, very carefully getting to my feet. “We come in peace. Sort of. You’re peaceful too, right, Teo?”

  He kicks me. Literally kicks me. I think my response was totally appropriate, given that we are literally aliens. Isn’t that what aliens are supposed to say? Declaring peaceful intent feels like a solid move.

  Blue-arrow-kid steps forward cautiously. “What nation are you from?”

  Nation? “Ah… we don’t really do the whole ‘nation’ thing,” I say. “It’s more like planetary government.”

  A girl who looks about twelve frowns. “He’s not lying. Just… confused. A lot of confusion.”

  Does she have truth powers or something? She looks blind. Maybe I just sound super trustworthy?

  “Oh, yes. I am extremely truthful. If you asked anyone to describe me, they’d probably say—”

  “Lev,” Teorin cuts in.

  Fair. I ramble when I’m nervous.

  Water-girl’s voice cuts sharp. “If you’re not a threat, prove it. Who are you?”

  Teorin brushes off his sleeve, calm as ever, like he didn’t just fall through a portal with a singed hole in his shirt. “I’m Teorin. He’s Lev. We got pulled through by accident. We’re not here to hurt anyone.”

  Obviously. If I wanted to hurt them, I would’ve come more prepared. Guns blazing, less wheezing.

  I make a placating gesture. “Yep. Like I said, very peaceful. Unless you’re made of… I don’t know, cake or something. Then I’ll try not to eat you.”

  Cascades. Maybe not my best line ever. “Not a threat, I swear,” I add, raising my hands in what I hope is a very calming way.

  They blink at me.

  Teorin huffs. “Not helping, Lev.”

  “Yeah, we’re keeping that one away from Appa,” boomerang-boy says.

  The giant furry creature grunts, like he agrees. Appa, maybe?

  “You expect us to just believe you dropped in from another world?” Water-girl demands.

  I point at the sparking rift in the air. “Unless this is your version of fireworks, I’d say that’s a pretty convincing entrance.”

  The portal flickers once… and snaps shut.

  Silence falls.

  “Lev,” Teorin mutters, “you just stranded us in another world.”

  “I didn’t! I read the manual. I memorized the manual. I put the wires exactly where it said, what else was I supposed to do? The red went in the smaller hole. I don’t make mistakes like that. I have perfect—”

  “Lev!” Teorin cuts me off.

  Everyone is staring at me, and I force the panic down. It’s fine. It will be totally fine. I don’t need my sister or my cat or my mom or Rhett. Just me and Teorin. That’s what we are doing today.

  Boomerang-boy points his boomerang straight at me. “I don’t know what sort of trick that was, but weird lights? That feels like Fire Nation.”

  Fire nation? As in nation that was on fire? Or they just really like fire or—

  Arrow-kid frowns at me. I’m not even saying anything. What now? “I’ve never seen hair like that before,” he says. “That gold. Maybe… maybe they really aren’t from here.”

  Misericordia. I go all the way to another world, one that maybe people could just ignore me for once, but I can’t blend in because there are no blonds? Does the universe hate me?

  I take a deep breath. “No blonds here, huh?” I raise my eyebrows. “That’s kinda strange.”

  “Or maybe it’s dyed to throw us off,” boomerang-boy snaps, stepping closer. “Wouldn’t be the first trick.”

  Before I can clarify that my trick repertoire leans more toward card shuffles and witty repartee, Teorin slides in front of me. Idiot. Doesn’t he know I can protect myself? He must have pulsed too because the trees in front of us ripple back.

  Bursts. He’s wound tighter than I thought. Am I actually the calm one right now?

  The only sound is everyone, breathing. Then voices erupt in exclamations. Everyone seems almost panicked. Then silence again.

  Finally, water-girl says, “Was that… airbending?”

  Arrow-kid looks stricken. “But… I’m the last Airbender.”

  Blind-girl folds her arms. “That didn’t feel like airbending. He didn’t even move.”

  “Are you an Airbender?” arrow-kid presses.

  “I don’t know what that is,” Teorin says flatly. “I just used pressure.”

  “That’s what air is!” arrow-kid blurts.

  I wave it off with my most reassuring grin, trying to calm everyone down. I don’t like the way water-girl is looking at us. Or how that water just hovers there. “No, no, no,” I say calmly. “His powers are basically anxiety-based physics. Tactical breathing… with extra violence.”

  Arrow-kid steps closer, like he’s trying to bridge the gap. “Okay, if that wasn’t airbending… what was it?”

  Teorin hesitates. “It’s called Pulsing. I can manipulate pressure. Internal and external. It’s not… bending whatever that is.”

  “So you’re not from the Fire Nation?” arrow-kid asks. “Or any nation?”

  “Nope,” I say brightly. “Just a couple of portal-displaced friends trying not to get water-slammed.” I glance at water-girl’s still-hovering water whip. “Preferably.”

  “You expect us to believe you just fell here?” she challenges.

  “Technically, we fell through something,” I correct. “There was light. Screaming. Mild panic. Very sciency.”

  “Sciency?” arrow-kid repeats, baffled.

  I’m not sure if it’s because science isn’t a thing here or he just thinks I’m crazy.

  “Look,” Teorin says firmly, “we didn’t choose to come here, but we’re not enemies.”

  Blind-girl tilts her head. “I don’t hear lies. Just a lot of weird.”

  Arrow-kid’s mouth quirks. “We specialize in weird.”

  I lean toward Teorin. “Okay, but seriously, that’s perfect. Now you don’t have to be the weird one.”

  “You’re getting dropped in the next river,” Teorin mutters.

  Blind-girl turns toward me. “Wait. If he can do that, what can you do?”

  Now all their eyes are on me.

  Arrow-kid blinks. “Are you a bender?”

  I pause mid-stretch, giving them my best did-you-just-ask-if-I’m-a-duck look. Like… in gymnastics? That has a lot of bending. But they thought Teorin was a ‘bender’, so it’s definitely not that.

  “Define ‘bender.’ What’s the job description?” I ask.

  “You control an element with your chi and move it through martial arts,” boomerang-boy says dryly.

  “So… like Teorin, but with more punching?” I muse.

  Water-girl sighs. “With actual water. Or fire. Or rock. Or air.”

  “Ah. Then definitely not,” I say cheerfully.

  Arrow-kid exhales, relieved. “So you’re not a bender.”

  “Only of expectations,” I reply with a grin.

  Teorin snorts. “He’s not a bender, but don’t get on his bad side.”

  Boomerang-boy raises a brow. “Why, what happens if we do?”

  I give them my most unsettlingly friendly grin. All teeth. All charm. Zero shame. “Nothing dramatic. Just maybe some minor chaos. Spontaneous guilt. Emotional unraveling. You know. The classics.”

  Blind-girl cracks her knuckles, grinning. “I like him.”

  I grin back at her before realizing she probably can’t see it. Or… can she? She moves like she can.

  Boomerang-boy shoots a look at Teorin. “Seriously though… is he always like this?”

  “This is the toned-down version,” Teorin says without missing a beat.

  “Aww,” I say, delighted. “You do love me.”

  “I tolerate you,” he says. “At best.”

  “It’s a start.”

  The portal flickers once, jagged light sparking like it’s trying to cough something else up. I whirl towards it, and everyone tenses, raising their weapons again.

  Then something small and furry bolts out of the hole and skids across the dirt. A brown tabby cat blinks up at us.

  “Cat!” I yell in delight. I’m not sure how it’s even possible that he got here, but something in my shoulders relaxes at the sight of him.

  The kids just stare as Cat immediately threads between Teorin’s legs like he owns the place. Teorin groans. “He just had to make it here somehow, huh?”

  “Obviously. He’s the best cat ever,” I say.

  Teorin just groans again.

  Boomerang-boy squints at Cat. “Okay, so… what is that? It’s like a weird mix between a polar leopard and a cat owl.”

  “Uh. He’s just a cat,” I say.

  “Just a cat?” water-girl repeats, like I’ve announced he’s a ghost. “That’s not a thing.”

  “Sure it is!” I protest. “Tail, whiskers, claws, chaos. Classic cat.”

  Blind-girl tilts her head, listening to Cat’s rumbling purr. “Weird. He feels too… simple. Like someone forgot half the pieces.”

  “Wait.” Arrow-kid frowns. “Is his name Cat, or he is a cat?”

  “Both,” I say.

  Arrow-kid blinks. “You just named him what he is? Isn’t that sort of like if I’d named Momo… Lemur?”

  It is, but what’s wrong with that? It is a perfectly reasonable name. This Momo could totally be named— Wait. “Momo?” I ask.

  Arrow-kid points to a strange flying lemur clinging to his shoulder. Momo chitters indignantly, fluffing his ears like he’s offended at being compared.

  “Ah, you also collect furry creatures.” I grin. “Maybe it’s strange, but that’s just his name: Cat.”

  Cat blinks at them. Then calmly licks his paw and ignores everyone. Momo narrows his eyes at the newcomer, tail flicking, and lets out a sharp squeak. Cat doesn’t even look up.

  Boomerang-boy stares. “That’s wrong. Maybe they are telling the truth.”

  Cat pads over and claws into my pant leg. I scoop him up, then immediately sneeze. Apparently, going to a different world doesn’t erase allergies. Lovely.

  The kids are still staring at us, but I think they’re starting to believe we’re telling the truth—and that we’re not benders. I’m not sure if I should tell them it’s possible we’re just as dangerous. Probably better to stay quiet.

  Far away, on a different ridge, a lone figure shaded his eyes against the fading glow in the sky. The light from the portal was already gone, but Zuko’s jaw tightened.

  “Strange,” he muttered. “And strange things usually lead back to the Avatar.”