ThankYou: A Blue Paint Oneshot

Thank You

Katara dipped her fingers into the cool tub of paint, then ran her fingers over her cheeks, tracing a delicate pattern of lines onto her face. She hadn't been planning on taking up the disguise of the Painted Lady after what had happened last time, but rumors of a notorious gang wreaking violence over this city had gotten to her. Every day, fear of this group was all over the city, and the waterbender felt a certain need to protect those who couldn't protect themselves.
Careful not to wake the others, she grabbed the veiled hat and tip-toed out of the run-down shack on the edge of town. She walked with her face down towards the center of town, Katara tried to glide along as gracefully as a spirit would, but couldn't help feel foolish.
She could feel the eyes on her as she reached the restaurant, the Dragon's Lair, that was said to be the gang's hideout. Trying to stay incognito, the teenager slipped into the shadows between the Dragon's Lair and the hotel beside it.
''What are you doing, Katara?'' She muttered to herself, hands on her temples. ''You're going to get yourself killed trying to fight these people!''
But Katara couldn't stop herself from arguing. The townspeople would continue to be antagonized by this gang if she didn't do anything. Katara continued to ponder this for a few minutes before the sound of scraping chairs and deep laughter through the flimsy walls of the restaurant could be heard. That has got to be them, Katara thought. Nobody else would stay out this late.
She peered around the corner of the building as they came out, and sure enough-- it was the gang. The leader of the group was brawny and authoritative, bossing the others around as if it were nothing and stroking his facial hair constantly. The others, a mix of bulky males and lithe females, circled around him in something of an orbit, looking up to the man constantly in adoration and respect. And there were so many of them! There had to be at least twenty, if not more, Katara thought.
Just as she was about to back away, a young man with scruffy black hair spotted her veiled figure around the corner.
''What's this?'' He called. ''Do we have ourselves a stalker?''
The rest of the group turned in Katara's direction, smirking and looking rather menacing. The leader stepped forward, a hand to his beard.
''Well, we better teach this kid what happens to the punks who try and stop us. What do you guys say?'' He turned to them at the last part, and after hearing shouts of assent, moved forward and drew his sword.
''I'm sorry that my friends and I aren't going to be able to save that pretty outfit of yours, little girl.''
The group moved with him, each of them drawing their own weapons, a couple igniting their fists.
Attempting to keep her cover, she said in what she hoped to be a mysterious voice, ''I'm afraid I cannot let that happen.''
A woman let out a bark of laughter. ''Didya hear that? This li'l girl i' thinkin' she can bea' alla us!''
The rest of them shrieked with laugher at the woman's jumbled and slurred words, but Katara forced a fighting stance. The group's heckling died out after a little bit, and a heavy silence laid over them.
''If that's how it's going to be...'' The leader said, and with a jerk of his head, he signaled one of the younger men to attack.
He threw a kick at her head, but Katara ducked and punched him in the stomach. She had to find a water source, and quick. The teenager saw a fountain in front of the hotel next door, but she couldn't get a clear path without taking out half the gang, and although Sokka had attempted to teach her some hand-to-hand fighting skills, she couldn't knock out or bind nine or ten people without water.
The young man got up again, bracing himself to attack as people threw themselves at her from all around. She ducked and spun, hopelessly trying to make her way to the fountain.
'How in the world did I think I could defeat these people without my water skin?' She wondered idly as yet another gang member tried to attack her.
She was losing hope, and fast, before a black-clothed figure suddenly dropped down in front of her. A fierce blue and white mask stared at her, the holes in its eyes dark and mysterious. She wondered briefly why one of the gang had hidden on the roof if they were just going to attack her now, but one look at the shocked expressions of the men and women silenced this thought.
The figure tilted its face down at her, before rasping in a deep voice, ''Go and get your water, I'll distract them.''
She nodded once as the man-- she knew now that the figure was a man-- unsheathed two gleaming swords and turned to face the gang, who seemed to be now recovering from the shock of having a masked figure jump from the sky.
She ran closer to the fountain, pulling a large portion of the clear water with her as she ran back. Her heart pumping with adrenaline, Katara made a raindrop shape with the water, using it to push several of the female firebenders into a heap on the ground. She froze them there quickly, before they could get up again, and moved on.
The Blue Spirit continued to work around Katara, giving her the space she needed, but they soon realized that their methods were not working. The two strangers, or so they thought, would need to work together if they wanted to make any process.
They quickly maneuvered so they were side-by-side, working to cut down and incapacitate their opponents one by one, as quickly as possible. The authorities would arrive soon enough, the  shouting and noises would be hard to ignore, so the two of them would need to finish quickly and get out of sight before people came.
Pretty soon, most of the gang members had been frozen to the ground or were laying unconscious, and only the leader and one of the tougher-looking women remained.
They held themselves with arrogant poise, disdainful eyes looking over their colleagues. ''Pathetic...'' Katara heard the woman mutter, and she was reminded briefly of Azula.
Her eyes narrowed as she brought up a water whip. The Blue Spirit mirrored her actions with his swords, and they moved forward together as if it had been choreographed.
The two gang members moved into their fighting stances slowly as the Blue Spirit and Painted Lady moved closer.
Katara and her fighting partner kicked at the same time, and when their opponents ducked, they separated, but continued to move at the same pace. Katara jumped and rolled over her opponent, sweeping him upwards with water. She got to her feet quickly, spun, and kicked the man in the cheek as the Blue Spirit brought the blunt end of his sword on the woman's head. She fell to the ground and faltered for a moment before forcing herself back up and lighting her fists. She shot carefully placed bursts of flame towards the Blue Spirit, never actually hitting him. Katara wondered what she was doing, it looked like she wasn't even aiming at him...
But then Katara realized she wasn't aiming at him- the woman was trying to melt his swords!
She had no time to ponder this, though, because the leader had just stood back up, a bruise already forming on his cheek. The waterbender pushed him into the front of the restaurant with her water, keeping a continuous stream of it flying at him before freezing him there. The man slumped, his consciousness gone.
Katara turned to face where the Blue Spirit and the woman were still fighting. One of his swords was already bent from the heat of the fire, and she could tell it wouldn't be long before the next one would be wiped out, too.
Just as she thought this, a huge burst of flame shot out, and the Spirit dropped his other sword and dodged out of the way, just in time. He jumped and... it looked like he shot a flame in her direction, but the woman fell so fast, Katara couldn't tell what had just happened. She obediently followed when he took her hand and led her away into the alley between the Dragon's Lair and the hotel.
''I'm sorry, but we had to get away. The officials are coming, and I don't feel like dealing with them right now.''
Katara nodded at his rough voice, still dumbfounded at what had just happened. She felt the oddly too-warm hand leave her grasp, and she felt her mouth make the words, ''Thank you for helping me.''
He nodded once, then said gruffly, ''I guess we made a pretty good team.''
Katara smiled at him. She could feel the paint running off of her face from the sweat and water. He must know exactly who she was by now...
The two of them heard the officials talking loudly. ''Well, lookie here, Kuzon! Some people rounded up that gang we've been looking for since last month!''
''Well, that's certainly handy! C'mon, Jee, let's load 'em up. We can bring 'em to the jail t'm'rrow.''
Katara grimaced, muttering, ''They must have not been looking that hard, it took me about ten minutes to find them.''
The Blue Spirit made a sarcastic noise, muffled from under his bright blue mask. She thought she heard him say, ''You've got that right,'' but the waterbender couldn't be sure.
Silence fell over the two of them, before Katara broke it cautiously.
''Well, I guess this is goodbye.''
He nodded back at her. The man climbed up on a box and was beginning to climb up on to the top of the building when Katara called out to him, ''Wait!''
He turned and faced her, and she felt herself blush at the penetrating black gaze of the mask.
''Thank you again for helping me. I probably would have been killed if it weren't for you showing up.''
The Blue Spirit crouched so he was at eye level with Katara. He grabbed the veil and lifted it up. She swore she could almost feel his eyes boring into her, but all she saw within the holes was darkness. He pushed the mask up slightly, and their lips met briefly. Entirely too briefly, Katara thought. He pulled away, whispering, ''You're welcome.''
And then he was gone, but his presence still lingered. Katara could still feel the warmth of his lips on hers, even if it was only for a moment.
She stumbled back to the abandoned house, washing her face before she entered. The paint ran off into the ground, staining it red.
Katara crept into the house, a voice making her jump. ''How was your outing, Sugar Queen?''
The waterbender smiled at the earthbender's sarcasm. ''Interesting, to say the least.''
''Was it, now?'' Toph said, feigning interest as she lay back down on the stack of pillows.
''Yeah. It was.'' Katara brought a hand to her lips, wondering idly who the Blue Spirit could be.
Before Katara could ponder the matter any more, however, sleep came over her. And she wasn't altogether unhappy when the Blue Spirit entered her dreams.