Chapter 10: Battle Plans

(Fire Nation Palace)

Ozai, the Firelord, looked over his kingdom from the balcony of his room with a small smile on his face. Ever since the disappearance of the Avatar 100 years ago, the victory of the Fire Nation was almost practically guaranteed. The Air Nomads had been completely wiped out and it was only a matter of time before the Northern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom fell before him. As his smile grew in satisfaction, he heard footsteps coming towards him. He turned and saw a man enter his room and lean against the wall. He wore black armor and had a mask with the left side being pure orange and revealed a single hole where his eyes was while the other side was pure black and had no eye hole. Ozai saw the man's eyes and detected that his held far more experience than they indicated.

"You called?" the man muttered in a low tone.

"Yes Mr. Wilson," Ozai said, "I wanted to know how you are progressing."

"My current employer has supplied much needed weapons to your generals and their men," Slade, or Deathstroke, said, "and I've received word the Judar has your daughter in tow and should make his return in a couple days."

"Excellent," Ozai replied, "Your work is greatly appreciated."

"As long as the pay is good then worry not about the work," Deathstroke replied, "although Judar did inform me of something that I think you'll find interesting to hear."

"And that is?"

"The Avatar...he's alive."

Ozai's eyes widened in surprise at this news. How was it possible for the Avatar to show up after 100 years? It just didn't make sense in the slightest.

"The Avatar's a young boy with arrow tattoos," Deathstroke continued, "Airbender. At least that's from my understanding of the culture."

An Airbender no less?! How the Avatar was able to allude death for over a century is unknown. Ozai retained his collected composure, which Deathstroke found amusing to a degree. He honestly could care less about the well-being of this fool. As long as he was getting paid, it mattered little to him.

"Interesting," Ozai said, "very interesting indeed. This changes things considerably."

"What do you suggest?"

"Nothing for the time being," Ozai said, "Let's let things run their course. If this new Avatar is merely a child, then I have nothing to worry about. A mere child will have no chance against what I'll be bringing to this world."

"If you say so," Deathstroke said, "Apparently he's traveling with several companions. Two Water Tribe kids, a Kyoshi warrior, and even your brother and son."

Ozai's face twisted to disgust at the mention of those two. Iroh was far too soft to be a true Firebender, and his son Zuko was always a disappointment in his eyes. He would try so hard to impress him but always fell short, mainly due to his mother's softness. It was rather pathetic to say the least. Azula, on the other hand, was everything Ozai came to expect and more. She was a Firebending prodigy and was always one to be feared by her subordinates. He had great plans for her, and wouldn't mind making her the next Fire Lord after his passing.

"Anyone else I should know about?" Ozai said, turning back to Deathstroke.

"He's also traveling with a masked idiot with twin swords, a man wielding a massive sword and wore a black cape. Next was a weird blonde girl with a strange arm. I honestly need to gather more research. Then there's a man with white hair and a red coat. Last but not least, there is a teen boy, brown hair and blue eyes with a few strange abilities of his own."

"What kind of abilities?"

"Flight for one," Deathstroke said, which got another surprised look from Ozai as he continued, "he wears a black robe and has a red sword. He also had a tail. Strange, I know."

What kind of freaks did the Avatar bring with him? Were they even from here?

"From what I'm guessing," Deathstroke concluded, "Is that the group of individuals I mentioned are just like me and Judar. They're not from this plane of existence and exist in a different world entirely."

"Is see," Ozai said, he paced back toward the balcony and overlooked his kingdom once more, mulling over all the information he had gathered. Yes, it would be best to remove this weed before it had a chance to grow into a problem. He turned to Deathstroke.

"I need you to go an meet your friend before he arrives here," Ozai said, "I'm afraid since I won't be there, you'll have to explain the situation to my daughter and bring her up to speed."

"Very well," Deathstroke said as he was about to leave before Ozai called out.

"Remember Mr. Wilson," he said, "I won't tolerate failure."

Deathroke chuckled and had only one thing to say before leaving.

"Neither do I."

To be continued...