Pro-Bending Circuit Finals: Scavenger Hunt (Part Four)

Position/Team: Earthbender, Capital City Catgators
Prompts Used: cooking/preparing food,
large animal, stranger's underwear
Bonus: element included (metalbending)
item/purpose not revealed until end
Word Count: 2,856

Zhu Li nearly skyrocketed from her seat when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The production control room at the Republic City Television Studio had been quiet for most of the day. There had been plenty of action displayed across the series of screens, though. After managing Varrick's live broadcast at the zoo, Zhu Li simply sat back, watched, and waited.

"Sir, you startled me!" she said to the shadowy figure that had emerged behind her. She shivered slightly when he didn't remove his hand.

"How's it coming along, Zhu Li? Just look at all this mover madness. Serendipitous screenplay! Bodacious broadcasting!" Varrick said as he made a sweeping motion with his other arm.

"Sir, there's something I should—"

"How was I today, Zhu Li? Stunning? Dazzling? I know, you don't have to say it. I was made for this business—show business."

"Uh, sir… some footage from earlier today. It's a security concern. Just let me pull it up real quick…" She reached for the controls to rewind one of the videos, but Varrick cupped his hand over hers. Her breath hitched at the touch.

"Don't interrupt the live feed. I want to check in on our scavenger hunt teams." His tone softened as he laced their fingers together.

With his other hand, he pointed. "Alright, on screen one we have team Heavy Metal over by the aardvark sloth cage. What in the—why is that kid, Huan, re-sculpting the water fountain? And Suyin is looking right at him and not even doing a thing to stop him!"

"I think he is an aspiring artist, sir. And his mother encourages his, uhh, self-expression," Zhi Li explained as she watched the young metalbender on the screen.

Varrick released his grip on her and raised a resolute finger in the air. "But on public property! Just wait until his Aunt Lin finds out about this! And I have the video to prove it!"

She sighed. "Sir, do these people know that you have hidden cameras all throughout the zoo? Have they agreed to being filmed? It seems a little… underhanded… to me."

"Never you mind, Zhu Li. I'm going to use the footage in my next movie! And when I make these people famous, they'll thank me for it!"

"But they're already famous, aren't they?"

He seemingly ignored her comment. "Now, let's check on team Baby, Light My Fire on screen seven. Yup, just as I suspected. Former Fire Lord Zuko and Master Katara can't keep their hands off each other. Young Iroh looks like he's turning green just watching them, ha! Innnnteresting, so Kya and Bumi joined their team, eh? I thought for sure they'd join their brother's team."

"There's always been a rift between Tenzin and his older siblings. Something about their father giving him special treatment as an airbender."

To Zhu Li's surprise, Varrick started laughing. She didn't think the issue of estranged family members was all that funny, though. She followed his eyes back to screen seven just as he let out a snort.

"Haha! Toph just put earth shackles on the lovefirebirds! I knew she joined their team to keep them grounded."

Zhu Li just shook her head and redirected. "Tenzin and his family are on screen three now over by the tigerdillos. Meelo is climbing the cage. Ikki and Jinora are fighting over a small furry animal they're holding… which they probably shouldn't have. That reminds me, sir, earlier I saw—"

"Very good, very good. Where is the last team?"

"Uhh…"

"Team Love Triangle."

"Who?"

"Princess Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were a rumored threesome when they were younger. My boy, Bolin, has been with both the twins, I'm almost sure of it. And don't even get me started on the other three."

"Sir!" Zhu Li pointed a shaky finger at screen three.

"Fine, if you must know. Korra dated Mako first, I think. Or did Asami date him first? Well, they both dated him at some point, perhaps even at the same time without the other knowing! But now Korra and Asami are engaged. Crazy, I know."

"But sir!" She started waving her hands frantically

He mimicked the motion. "Engagement. Pshaw. Who'd want to go do a thing like that? Tie themselves down. Cage themselves in."

"The tigerdillos are out of their cage!" Zhu Li yelled. "Look at screen three! A-a-and screen five… the armadillo lions, too!"

"What!?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you! I saw suspicious activity earlier." She picked up the remote to show him the video where she thought she had seen people dressed in black picking the locks to the animal cages. But Varrick had already run out the door and across the street toward the zoo. Zhu Li let out a noise of frustration and slumped back in her chair to watch the scene unfold before her eyes.

Varrick didn't rise to his position by sheer luck. He was an entrepreneur, a man of ideas. The zoo was in an utter state of chaos with its inhabitants running around everywhere, but he knew the way to an animal's heart was through its stomach. At least that's how it worked for him, anyway. Zhu Li always made sure he was well-fed and taken care of, and that was one reason why he loved her. Not only would he literally starve without her, he didn't think he could live without her, basic needs notwithstanding.

There was more than just survival at stake in fixing the situation at the zoo, too. He found the caterers he had hired to prepare refreshments for the event. They were busy assembling the hors d'oeuvres platter and panicked when they saw him coming.

"We're sorry, sir, but everything is not quite ready. The scavenger hunt is still going on, right? You haven't… given away the prize, yet?" the head chef asked.

"No, no. Do you have any meat? Raw veggies?" Varrick barked.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"I need something to lure these animals back into their cages." He started frantically searching through cabinets and drawers. When he opened up a large refrigerator, he smiled widely at his discovery. Containers were neatly stacked there, each labeled with the name of a type of animal. It made perfect sense. They were in the zoo kitchens, and it must be where the daily feedings were prepared.

"Ah-ha!" he declared. "Everyone grab a stack and come with me!"

Zhu Li watched Varrick do the thing as he flitted about from screen to screen, passing out containers of food and enlisting people to help recapture the animals. She sighed and slouched further down in her chair. He was demanding and sometimes outright infuriating. But he was a genius. And also endearing in his own way. She couldn't help it, though. She loved him—despite him being a big idiot when it came to romance.

It wasn't long before that big idiot was standing behind her, panting and wearing a goofy grin.

"Well, am I great or am I great?" he said with a shrug.

"What's that?" Zhu Li pointed to strips of fabric he had draped across his slightly torn suit.

"Oh, this? I dunno. Found it in the bushes. Used it to lasso a few rabaroos. It honestly looks like those wrappings that some women wear…"

"You used a stranger's underwear to—wait!" She grabbed the remote and rewound to a certain point on screen seven. As soon as she did, her face turned an unnatural shade of red. It didn't belong to a stranger. It was definitely someone they knew.

"Eww, eww, old people sex! Turn it off, turn it off!" Varrick shielded his eyes from the sight of Zuko and Katara's romp in the bushes.

Zhu Li switched back to the live feed and let out a fake cough. Then she remembered something else. "Oh, I found Team, uhh, Love Triangle. They headed away from the zoo for some reason. I thought I'd lost them, but—"

She clicked a few buttons and pulled up the video footage of Mai, Desna, Eska, Azula, Ty Lee, Mako, Asami, and Korra traipsing through the lawn of a large mansion.

Varrick tilted his head and quirked a brow. "Well, I'll be damned. How did they end up there?"

"I don't know, sir. They seem to be following some sort of trail? Is all that destruction part of the movie set?"

Varrick's eyes went wide but then he quickly feigned nonchalance. "Oh, yes, my newest film features a monster that interrupts a little girl's birthday party and—is that—are Azula and Ty Lee in the giant bathtub together?" He gulped.

Zhu Li blushed again. She'd seen the footage already. She wasn't sure if she should fast-forward through certain parts or not. There was one segment in particular she knew would make him mad. They had cameras in every room of the mansion since it was staged as an elaborate movie set complete with a booby-trapped ballroom and spooky outdoor labyrinth. The plot possibilities were endless. The only struggle had been finding a good screenplay writer.

"Is that Bernard Wojsynski?" Varrick seethed. "I thought I told that guy to fuck off! He doesn't even know how to write! I don't care that his restaurant venture fell through, and he's out of work! He can't get a job writing movies!"

Zhu Li cringed as she watched the guy scribble furiously on takeout menus. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. She glanced back at Varrick, expecting to see anger still written on his face, but found it white with fear instead.

"Oh shit! I gotta go!"

She watched him run out the door and then turned to study the screen that had apparently diverted his attention before his hasty retreat. She caught a flash of something red. Movement in another screen drew her eyes to a lone koala sheep wandering around outside of its cage. It had obviously been missed in the roundup.

"Varrick, wait!" Zhu Li called after him, but it was too late. She surveyed the cute little creature. It looked scared, and she felt bad for it. She could easily go rescue the poor thing and be back here in time for the live broadcast of the scavenger hunt award ceremony, she figured.

What she didn't see after abandoning her post was that a flash of red filled that same screen, and the koala sheep seemingly vanished into thin air.

Asami pushed open the door a few inches and peeked inside. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

Then the whole troop of Team Love Triangle piled in behind her, forcing their way inside the television studio.

"Whoa," Mako said.

"You can say that again," Korra added.

"OK… whoa."

"She didn't mean for you to really say it again." Asami punched her ex-boyfriend on the shoulder.

"Is that us?" Ty Lee asked while pointing to the screen that showed the mansion. It was cued to the part where they were floating around in the ballroom.

Azula's eyes narrowed. "Somebody is a fucking spy. Look, they're watching the zoo, too. They probably have eyes on the whole city."

"But Azula, look!" Ty Lee pointed toward number six.

It was their prize.

"Aww, is that a koala sheep?" Korra shrieked as tufts of wool and spurts of blood filled the screen.

"It was." Azula smirked. "C'mon. If everyone else is in the zoo, we should be there, too." She turned to walk out the door.

"But what is Varrick doing?" Mako's question made the former fire princess stop dead in her tracks.

They all looked back at the scene where the man appeared to be talking to the large animal with his hands raised in a placating gesture.

"Do you think it understands him?" Asami asked.

Azula glared at the screen and snorted smoke out her nostrils. "Well, he better understand me when I get a hold of him."

With that, Team Love Triangle headed out the door and across the street to the zoo with a steaming Mad Princess leading the way.

Azula grabbed Varrick by the throat. "Alright, where IS it?"

"Where is what?" he squeaked.

"You know what I'm talking about! I'm done playing your games. I am born of fire, and that thing is MINE!"

Varrick squirmed out of her grip and took a few steps backward for safe measure. "Oh, you mean Draco? No, Drogon. No, that's not it. Can't remember his name, but he doesn't really like to be owned, so…"

"How do you intend to give such a prize if it can't be obtained, Sir Varrick? I thought you were smarter than that," Azula snarled.

"Prize? Uhh, what gave you that idea?"

"The reward. For the scavenger hunt?"

"Have you even been doing the scavenger hunt, Mad Princess?"

"I've had my eyes on the prize. Why should I hunt when I already know what I want?"

"I'm sorry, but you're mistaken about—"

"Varrick, Varrick!" Zhu Li's voice broke through their heated exchange.

"Zhu Li!" he yelped. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the studio!"

"Studio! So you're the one who's filming everyone?" Asami stepped forward. "That's a violation of our right to privacy!" She poked a finger at his chest.

"I assure you I meant no harm. It was because…" He looked helplessly at his assistant.

Suddenly a burst of flames lit up the sky followed by a series of piercing screams. They all began scrambling toward the source of the sound. They found Zuko and Iroh II positioned in some sort of standoff with a giant red creature. Katara and Kya stood combat ready with bending water encircling their hands. Others from the scavenger hunt were also emerging on the scene.

"Oh, no you don't, Zuzu! That dragon is MINE!" Azula shot a blast toward her brother which he easily deflected. The dragon drew itself to full height and let out a deafening roar in response to the outburst. Everyone backed up several paces except for Varrick who ran right up to the creature.

"Druk, no! It's OK. They don't know."

The dragon dipped its head and allowed Varrick to give him a reassuring pat. He then addressed the stunned crowd.

"I—this wasn't how things were supposed to go. I'm sorry. The scavenger hunt was supposed to end at the zoo's new amusement park on the south side where Druk would be waiting. He's quite tame, you know."

He turned to face Zhu Li. "Then, when you tuned in to screen four and with the whole world watching, I was gonna do this."

Varrick coaxed the dragon to lower its head once more, and he slipped off a gold ring from one of its horns. He then got down on one knee. "Zhu Li, I know with me, life is just one big crazy scene followed by another hair-brained scheme. I had to come up with a way to ask you that would just… I dunno, make sense coming from me? So, it'll be one wild ride… but will ya… do the thing? Zhu Li, will you marry me?"

The wave of awwwwwws and Zhu Li's somewhat audible yes were drowned out by the royal Fire Nation siblings' protests.

"You are NOT going to reduce MY prized dragon to an amusement park ride! If anyone is going to ride that thing, it's going to be ME!" Azula wailed.

"With all due respect, no ONE should be riding him," Zuko interjected. "I'm not sure where you found a dragon, Sir Varrick, but he should go live at the Sun Warriors' temple where he'll be revered and protected."

"Ha! Neither of you know very much about dragons then, do you!? They're very intelligent creatures. Highly evolved. And apparently easily distractible." Varrick gave the dragon a pointed look. "Besides, I never said anything about riding Druk. He's my friend. He merely agreed to help me with my scavenger hunt proposal. If you need something for air travel, then I suggest you talk to Asami Sato over there."

Azula sent an angry surge of fire toward them which Druk snuffed out with a simple huff. Varrick wrapped his arms around Zhu Li and whispered, "We'll let Team Light My Fire work this out on their own. Let's go somewhere off screen, shall we?"

"So we can do the thing?" she asked sweetly. He didn't miss the mischievous glint in her eye, though.

He slipped the ring over her finger. The hunt was over. The prize was won. Yet somehow he felt like his life had just begun.

A/N: The title is somewhat of a nod to my teammates, although while Varrick had to literally herd catgators in the zoo, thankfully I didn't. Everyone on our team has been super responsive, and it has truly been a pleasure writing with QueenTyZula, FanFictionKatie, and BetterYouThanMe for the Fourth Season of the Pro-Bending Circuit. Also, many thanks to alyssialui for organizing the competition and to the judges for their participation as well. I've added a link in my profile to the Circuit forum, so you can find the first three parts of the Catgators' scavenger hunt story along with many other great stories that people have submitted!